Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Musouka ~ Dare to Dream ❯ Crossing Paths; Most Lethal ( Chapter 21 )

Chapter Twenty-One

 

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

 

Flage Sohma - 1922

 

The Dog

 

Crossing Paths; Most Lethal

 

“Shigure, where's Kyo?” Eriko asked, she just go tout of the shower so her hair was damp and was not in a ponytail, but was instead hanging down to her waist. She was wearing a purple sports sweat and skin-tight, blue jeans. Her blue eyes stared at Shigure at the table as if daring him to say something unexpected. It wasn't until Tohru came in with breakfast that he finally spoke.

 

“Hiding,” Shigure answered as he turned a page of the newspaper he held in front of him.

 

“Kyo? Hiding? I find that to be an odd mix of words. Why would he be hiding?” Eriko asked. She felt someone bump into her shoulder and found it to be Yuki when she turned around. He looked to be in a trance, but Eriko knew better, she knew that Yuki was not a morning person and found it believable.

 

“From an earthquake,” Shigure answered, Yuki sat down across from Tohru. Eriko herself continued to stand and ignore the food placed down for her.

 

“Earthquake? Why in the world would there be an earthquake?” Eriko asked, her eyes narrowing.

 

“You'll know soon enough,” Shigure said, it didn't take long for the meaning of the explanation to take action. A low rumble came to their ears, then it gradually became louder and louder. Soon the whole house shook. Eriko clung to the doorframe, while Yuki woke up and he and Tohru held onto the table, the dishes bounced up and down, spilling their contents slightly. Shigure alone seemed untroubled and unmoving by the event. When the havoc stopped completely, everyone was a mess. Once clean and straight black hair was now a tangled heap of ebony silk for Eriko and Tohru's hair was slightly ruffled. Yuki's was more ruffled then before and Shigure looked no different.

 

“Would you be so kind as to get the door Eriko-chan?” Shigure asked, peering at her from behind his newspaper.

 

“Whatever,” Eriko growled as she walked out of the room. She then wondered how Shigure knew someone would be at the door, she didn't hear a knock! When she came to the door, her eyes clouded over. Since when was the door left open without anyone around? She watched the door, when a breeze from downwind finally came to her nose, she realized someone was there.

 

“Who's there?” Eriko asked in a cold tone. A snapping noise came suddenly out of nowhere and it took all of Eriko's self control not to jump. Her body system relaxed when she spotted a `young' girl at the door.

 

“Um excuse me? Are you Eriko? Eriko Sanotomono?” The girl asked, she had shoulder-length brown hair and large, innocent gray eyes. Eriko thought this must have been Kagura, the one they were talking about last night.

 

“Oh! Before I forget Kyo! Kagura called and said she would be here first thing tomorrow morning!" Shigure cried happily. Eriko could nearly feel the icy vibration from Kyo's skin as he froze and paled.

 

“That would be me, you would be Kagura Sohma right?” Eriko asked. Silence passed over them, it was odd to Eriko, she seemed to be a timid girl, but she could at least say something like an answer to her question. When Tohru appeared behind Eriko and greeted the girl, she sprang to life.

 

“HOW DARE YOU KISS MY KYO!” Kagura roared, launching herself on Eriko. Tohru stood where she was, now staring at the fighting duo. Eriko was underneath the ravenous Boar and was hissing for all it was worth. “MY TRUE LOVE DOES NOT DESERVE A HALF-WIT WENCH LIKE YOU! HOW DARE YOU KISS HIM IN FIRST PLACE! THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS FIRST KISS AND YOU STOLE IT FROM HIM WHEN IT WAS RIGHTFULLY MINE!”

 

“Excuse me but who the hell are you!” Eriko shouted back as she wrestled and eventually got on top of her. By this time Yuki and Shigure ventured out of the dining room and were no staring at the catfight.

 

“THE NAME'S KAGURA SOHMA! FINACEE OF KYO SOHMA! FUTURE BRIDE OF THE CAT!” Kagura roared. This shocked Eriko, Kagura pushed Eriko off slightly and made her way to her feet. Both pushing at one another till the other falls. Neither appeared to be ready to go down yet. Yuki and Shigure held their breath, did Eriko hear what she said.

 

“AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO START OVER! I find this encounter rather a challenge!” Eriko yelled with a smirk. Kagura's large impending orbs minimized slightly, but were still huge and demonic.

 

“Was that a complement?”

 

“The closest one you'll ever have from me!” Does the whole family use animal imagery? Eriko thought as she pushed some of her weight into her hands.

 

“Then I must thank you! AFTER I KILL YOU!” Kagura roared.

 

“I would like to see you try!” Eriko growled back. Her fangs glaring at the Boar with impending doom.

 

“Oh Kyo! You should feel loved! You're being fought over!” Shigure cried up the stairs.

 

“Shut up Shigure,” Yuki said. Kagura instantly broke the chain of thought of the fight, her hands breaking away from Eriko's grasp (which she almost falls from the momentum) and runs up the stairs.

 

“I'M COMING KYO TO SAVE YOU FROM THIS HORRID MENACE AND MARRY YOU IN A FARAWAY PLACE!” Kagura cried as she searched every one of the rooms, flinging clothes outside the doors. Eriko hissed and scurried up after her. Yuki held Tohru back from following her; Shigure stood there with a grin.

 

“It's too dangerous Miss Honda,” Yuki warned.

 

“Yes but-”

 

“Don't worry Tohru, everything will end as soon as Kyo gives in and endures a little pain,” Shigure said.

 

“Pain!”

 

“Shigure, don't make me repeat myself.” Yuki said in a cold tone.

 

Meanwhile upstairs…

 

“Out of my room!” Eriko shouted. Kagura was digging through her closest, but as soon as Eriko appeared she scurried to her futon, thinking the clean and flat sheets contained the Cat.

 

“NOT UNTIL I FIND MY KYO!” Kagura shouted.

 

“HE'S NOT IN HERE! IF HE WAS I WOULD KILL HIM!” Eriko roared, her cheeks blushing ten shades of different crimsons, before and after her shower she was in this room with barely anything on and if Kyo was a peeping tom he would live to regret it. “AND BESIDES HE'S NOT YOUR KYO!”

 

“WHO ASKED YOU!”

 

“NO ONE DID!” Eriko yelled as Kagura whipped around and faced the Fox with glaring eyes of hatred.

 

“STAY OUT OF OUR BUSINESS! WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FAMILY MATTERS!”

 

“THEN I'LL BE INCLUDED THEN SINCE I'M GOING TO LIVE HERE FROM NOW ON!” Eriko roared back, that brought Kagura back down to earth. Her body returned to normal and her eyes became soft gray again. She looked tractable now.

 

“Ah! All right you two! Breakfast is served! Would you like to be treated with magnificent food our young Kagura?” Shigure asked from the door, Eriko gave him a blank stare as Kagura answered with a yes and followed him out of the room. Both sending daggers at one another. “Let's not have violence ruin my home all right Kagura? And besides, Kyo has well by now hidden himself a good distance from the rest of the world.”

 

“Oh? Really?” Kagura asked shyly as they walked down the stairs, Eriko followed closely. Glaring at both of their backs.

 

Little brat. Who does she think she is? Eriko thought.

 

“Don't worry, he'll come back when he's hungry,” she heard Shigure say.

 

“You said that before Shigure,” Kagura replied. Eriko kept her mouth shut and continued her glaring, this girl she emitted deep competition for. Why? She had no idea, but when she said her Kyo she had plenty of rights stating that he was most definitely not hers! But he wasn't Eriko's either…did anyone belong to anyone? Or was it just one's selfishness that kept someone from seeing the rest of the world?

 

“Hello Kagura!” Tohru greeted since her first greeting wasn't exactly what you would call much of a welcome. This new and calm Kagura smiled and waved at Tohru, this baffled Eriko. She was one person, then a complete different being the next. Eriko instantly thought she was in desperate need of anger management. Of course, who was she to talk, she transformed into some demonic - thing! For cryin' out loud! Compared to herself, there was nothing strange about Kagura at all, but her odd obsession with Kyo. Eriko met a lot of protective relationships, but this girl seemed to make that an all-out single protective relationship where only one wanted the other.

 

“Well, now that we're settled let's make proper introduction. Kagura, this is Eriko Sanotomono. Eriko, this is Kagura Sohma. She's Yuki's and Kyo's older cousin,” Shigure said.

 

“Older?” Eriko repeated.

 

“Yep, she's eighteen.” Shigure answered.

 

Perfect…and to think I was this close to bumping into her, better be careful. Eriko thought to herself with a blank stare at the now-happy Kagura who accepted her presence.

 

“Ah! Hello Kagura,” Yuki greeted suddenly, Eriko nearly jumped, since when has she not scented someone's appearance? Maybe it was because she hadn't been paying attention. Was she feeling more comfortable and secure? That couldn't be it, no, the constant reminder of one day having to leave her friends behind always made her feel left out, different to others around her. Nothing could stop her body from running away, at least, from what she could tell, no other fox generation could escape their fate, and not even her father could…

 

Saniiro Sanotomono…my father…

 

“Are you all right Miss Sanotomono?” Yuki suddenly asked when noticed Eriko. She shook her head and answered with `I'm fine' and followed the three to the table in the other room.

 

Always so formal… Eriko thought with a sigh, when she sat down, to her disgust, Kagura sat across from her. Shigure sat at her left on the other side, and at her left Tohru and Yuki shared a side, why did she have to suffer and be across from this girl?

 

“So Kagura, do tell why you are here? I believe it has something to do with Eriko…” Shigure said in a singsong tone.

 

“Oh…well…yes, do excuse my earlier reaction to your name, it's just that…I've heard from the estate that you and Kyo had an incident under the mistletoe -or whatever that is but I know what you did - and well, I kind of got mad and tried to get here but my studies got in the way. Honestly I would have been here much sooner for my beloved fiancée but if I don't get my university degree I will never fulfill my future's goal as Mrs. Kyo Sohma.” Kagura explained.

 

“Fiancée?” Eriko repeated, the word dripped of venom and fortunately, Yuki and Shigure had detected it and well, only Yuki seemed to prepare for it by getting ready to get Tohru out of the roars of the two teenagers.

 

“Oh yes haven't you heard? Kyo proposed to me when we were little and now we will hold a huge celebration on the day he graduates from school!” Kagura answered, Eriko's eyes shined icily. Kagura noticed and her eyes were replaced by a pair of light-glaring yellow diamonds.

 

“By the way you act I would suppose that you were threatening him.” Eriko stated.

 

She has no idea how right she is… Yuki and Shigure thought in a brief moment of silence.

 

“You wouldn't know! And besides! He did it out of pure love!” Kagura replied.

 

“Why should I believe you?” Eriko asked.

 

“You have no right to interfere in our blessings to one another!” Kagura snapped.

 

“Blessings to one another! I think they're more like issues!” Eriko retorted.

 

“HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!”

 

“WOMEN INTUITION!”

 

“AS IF! YOU HAVE NO FEMININE AFFECTION FOR MY FIANCEE!”

 

“HE IS NOT YOUR FINACEE!”

 

“IS TOO!”

 

“IS NOT!”

 

“IS TOO!”

 

“IS NOT!”

 

“Do you think we should eat?” Tohru asked as they watched the Boar and Fox get into one another's face and shout. Shigure on the other end sighed and has already started eating his breakfast.

 

“It wouldn't hurt,” Yuki answered as he began as well, hesitantly, Tohru did the same, but she kept an eye on both of the girls.

 

“GIVE ME MY CHOPSTICKS!” Kagura ordered.

 

“NO! THESE ARE MINE!” Eriko roared, pushing the girl back.

 

“THEY WERE RIGHT HERE!”

 

“THEY WERE NEXT TO MY BREAKFAST SO THEY'RE MINE!”

 

“WOULD BOTH OF SHUT UP!” Kyo appeared behind Yuki and Tohru, Tohru jumped five miles upward and looked up. Eriko and Kagura stopped (both standing on the table with only their left foot on the ground.) both had their hands on what Eriko claimed to be her chopsticks. It was funny how both of them looked at Kyo wide-eyed. Though Kagura's was more zoned out while Eriko's were blazing white-hot flames.

 

“YOU TWO-TIMER! HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU WERE ENGAGED!” Eriko roared.

 

“Uh oh…” Kyo mumbled as he bolted from the door. Eriko raced after him. “I didn't! She was about to kill me I had no choice!”

 

“YOU WERE SCARED OF A GIRL!”

 

“Well! Yah! Anyone would be if you were facing a boulder with death written all over it!” Kyo pointed out as he ran out of the house, the chilly air came in contact with Eriko's skin as she followed him out as well.

 

Back at the table…

 

“Aren't you going after them?” Yuki asked Kagura, who was still staring out in space.

 

“Hm?” Kagura mumbled, then she turned around. “Where did she go!”

 

“She and Kyo ran out to the movies together,” Shigure lied as he continued to eat away at his breakfast.

 

“I'M COMING KYO!” Kagura cried as she raced off at top speed out of the house (straight out of the house thus, making Kagura holes through the walls) and raced off away from the Sohma House.

 

“Well, that was easy.” Shigure said gleefully. “Another fabulous breakfast as always Tohru-chan,”

 

Idiot… Yuki thought.

 

Back to Kyo and Eriko…

 

“KYO SOHMA!” Eriko roared, honestly, next to Kagura, Kyo hadn't felt so frightened, since when had Eriko had a temper tantrum? She never had one for as long as he known her - which was only a few weeks believe it or not - and he never considered her physically dangerous. But now here they were in the woods, one running for life and the other chasing for vengeance.

 

“Listen to me Eriko!” Kyo ordered, now he began feeling the aching surging through him, he was tiring out, strange, and he didn't feel like this a moment ago…

 

“Kyo!” He looked up at the sky, no wonder, it seemed that a storm was on its way, or snow more like it. “It's going to rain soon!”

 

“I know that!”

 

“Then stop running!”

 

“I will once you promise not to strangle me when you catch up!”

 

“I wasn't going to strangle you! Where did you get that idea from?” He stopped and looked back, Eriko caught up with him and slowed to a stop and the two faced each other. Now she was calm, now seemly happy. She seemed much more energetic…

 

“I love snow, don't you?” she asked, looking up at the sky.

 

“Quite the opposite,” Kyo answered. “It's wet,”

 

“Too bad,” It was quiet now, no noise except birds arguing for a place out of the rain and out of the little snow that still stuck to various places. The sky filled with large, heavy gray clouds neither was hesitant on spilling their loads. “Um…Kyo?”

 

“Hm?” The air was moving; the wind picked up wet leaves and whirled them around. The bare branches of the trees swung with the chilly breeze slightly, whatever white lace that hung off of pine trees flew off and landed on the ground or melted on their short journey. No other animals scurried about except the constant fluttering of doves and swallows in the atmosphere.

 

“Are you tired?” Eriko asked.

 

“Not really, why?”

 

“You just seem out of it,”

 

“Don't worry about it.”

 

It was an awkward silence, nothing to say could do nothing, but the silence encouraged the heart. And Kyo's heart played along with the silence and edged towards Eriko, she noticed but showed no signs of it. He finally grabbed her right hand, and when she looked at him, he smiled.

 

“Follow me, I know somewhere we can stay, away from everyone here.” Kyo said, when she accepted he pulled her gently through the woods. How anyone would know where `here' was a mystery to her, but she played along and followed Kyo.

 

“Where are we going?” she asked.

 

“Here,” Kyo finally said, he pushed some brush aside and allowed her in first. As first, she only saw grass. Then she noticed the surprise, it was a pond. It was a wide clearing with the pond with a thing sheet of ice on the top. She could see small glimpses of kois swimming to and fro beneath it; it amazed her to how they are still alive. Kyo sat on the grass near the pond, it was wet, but when she sat down, she found it quite comfortable.

 

“When it dries and it gets warmer, we can come back to it and enjoy the night.” Kyo stated as he drifted off.

 

“That would be nice,” she said back. She then looked up, it was almost evening by what her nose told her, but when weather changed it was hard to predict the time by nature since Mother Nature was rather hard to figure out.

 

“Kyo?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Are you two really engaged?”

 

“Did you really believe her?”

 

“Should I?”

 

“No,”

 

“Then that's all you had to say,”

 

“Whatever…”

 

To Kagura

 

“I'M COMING MY DARLING!”

 

“I've already told you ma'am! There hasn't been any teenagers by how you described them that have been by here!” the ticket seller at the movie ticket booth stated for the twentieth time.

 

“You can't possibly remember everyone! Can I please just go and check inside and see if they're in there! It's urgent!” Kagura begged.

 

“No can do miss, you have to have a ticket. And besides, do you even know which movie these two are even watching?” the man asked.

 

“Well no…”

 

“Good, then if you wouldn't mind, you're blocking people,” the man said, pointing behind her. She instantly jumped to the side as the person behind sighed and asked for a ticket. There were several people behind her, all glaring at Kagura.

 

“My poor darling…” Kagura whimpered.

 

“Hey! Do you know where the Sohma House is?” she looked up, it was a man in his early twenties with black, long hair with two white streaks framing his face. His orbs looked down at her blankly.

 

“Oh yes, I was just there lucky for you.” Kagura answered.

 

“Good, do you mind telling me because I need to drop this stuff off for a girl named Eriko for school tomorrow,” Kagura fumed.

 

“WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS GIRL!”

 

“HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU TO KEEP ABSURD QUESTIONS TO YOURSELF!” Rikuyami roared.

 

“DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”

 

“THEN STOP SCREAMING!”

 

“I ONLY SCREAMED ONCE!”

 

“I HEARD YOU WHINING AT THE MAN FOR THE PAST THIRTY MINUTES!”

 

“WERE YOU STALKING ME!”

 

“WHO WOULD!”

 

“YOU WOULD!”

 

“YOU DON'T KNOW ME THAT WELL!”

 

“Oh! So you do stalk pretty girls hm?” Kagura asked sweetly. The once two white-streaked haired boy was now almost completely engulfed in white hair now; his eyes turned large slightly and out came a bubbly personality.

 

“Hello! Sorry about that! My name is Rikugenki!” The now jittery man replied, Kagura sweat-dropped.

 

“Erm…hi, I'm Kagura Sohma.”

 

“Ah ha! So you're a Sohma too! I'm so pleased to meet you!” Rikugenki replied happily, ignoring the books in his right hand and shook her right with his left happily. “Don't mind Rikuyami! He's always like that!”

 

“Riku-who?”

 

“My other self!”

 

“Multi-personalities?”

 

“Yep! You catch on faster then Riku's past girlfriends!”

 

“Are you saying I'm your girlfriend?”

 

“No! Just saying you're not as slow and much more prettier!” Rikugenki replied, making her blush slightly. “Well then! Let's hurry off to the Sohma House! But anyway, where it is?” Kagura was still not moving, when he tugged her hand slightly, the books tumbled.

 

“Ack! No! No! No! No! No! Those are Eriko's schoolbooks! She can't take them tomorrow looking like this!” Rikugenki cried as he scrambled to the ground and picked up the books that were not in the least dirty. When Kagura went to help he- “Sorry Eriko-chan! I'm sorry for being so clumsy!” Now he changed again, giving Kagura a moment to quickly grabbed the books as his hair turned completely white now.

 

“I am so sorry for the inconvenience, you can go home, I don't want to burden you.” Kagura nearly fell, how many personalities did this guy have?

 

“Oh it's all right, I was about to go back anyway.” Kagura reasoned.

 

“Well then, please lead on my lady, you are the one who knows where this place is anyhow.” Rikuhikari stated. “By the way, my name is Rikuhikari, I hope my former `selves' weren't a bother Kagura-chan.”

 

“Oh not at all, they were rather interesting.” Kagura said as Rikugenki grabbed her hand much more gently then Rikugenki and allowed her to lead him to the Sohma House.