8Hi everyone! Just a little something I came up with randomly. At first, I was going to make this part of an original story, but then I thought I could see this happening to Kyo. Who knows, perhaps I'll still turn it into an original idea.
Hope you like it!
~Basketcase
Once again Kyo had been in a fight with Yuki...and lost...
Dammit, I'm never going to be rid of this curse, am I?
Whenever Kyo is mad or upset, he always finds himself walking along a hiking trail through a large forest. He supposed he liked it because the beautiful scenery calmed his nerves. On top of that, it was usually an isolated place, so there is never anyone around to bother him. Immersed in the tall trees and shrubbery, he walked along the path, his hands dug deep in his pockets. Everywhere he glanced was green, and a sweet floral scent was in the air.
The orange-haired boy walked until he came across a wooden bridge which crossed high over a rather large river. He stopped in place when he caught sight of it. "What's this, now?" he asked aloud, and his eyes widened.
On this particular day someone happened to be on the bridge...or rather, was hanging onto it from outside the safety railing, leaning toward the river. His eyes hardened. The girl looked familiar. I've probably seen her around school, he thought. She had blond hair – tied back into a loose bun – and since it was starting toward summer she was sporting a pair of shorts and a blue tank-top.
Kyo walked slowly to the bridge, not wanting to frighten the girl in case she intended to jump. He stepped onto the bridge and stopped, but the girl did not notice him.
"What are you doing?" he asked, and despite his intentions, he sounded gruff. "Are you crazy? Don't jump!"
He startled the girl, and she turned slightly so she could face him. "What? Oh, you're one of those Sohma kids in my class. Kyo."
"Yeah...and you're...umm..."
She stared at him, unimpressed. "My name is Bree Carter. Thanks for remembering."
She turned back around, facing the river, and still holding onto the bridge with one hand.
"Look, I'm bad with names, alright!"
She mumbled something unintelligible in reply.
"Look, if you jump I'm not going to help you," he said, knowing full well that he'd transform into his zodiac animal should he try and pull her back.
Bree spun around and he noticed for the first time that she had a camera strapped around her neck. "Well, thank you very much!" she snapped. "It makes me feel really great about myself knowing no one would come in after me if I jumped off a bridge."
Crap, he thought. I'm sounding like a jerk again! "That's not what I meant," he said hastily, but knew he wouldn't be able to explain himself.
The girl stared at him for a long moment before turning her gaze back across the river.
Kyo ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "Can you swim, at least?"
She paused for a moment before replying, "No."
His eyes widened and he took a step toward the girl. "Look...I usually don't like to talk about this...but my mother killed herself when I was a little boy. Jumped in front of a train. I really...don't ever want to deal with something like that again. So please...just come off the bridge."
The girl glanced at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know where you got the idea that I was going to jump; I just wanted to get the perfect picture." She motioned to her camera. "It's so beautiful around here I wanted to get some nature shots. Especially this river."
"And you're willing to fall in the river when you can't swim, just for a picture?"
"It's not just a picture! Photography is my escape. My mother, too, passed away a few years ago. I live alone with my full-blown alcoholic of a father. Sometimes...rather, all the time...I feel the need to get away from home. So, I leave and take pictures."
Kyo sighed. "Well, would you please just come back onto the bridge? Next time try to be a bit safer when you're taking pictures."
"I will, one second." She held up the camera away from her chest and took a few scenery shots, her camera clicking as she did.
"Come on," he said impatiently, holding his hand out.
"If you don't want to wait for me, then you can –" She'd turned to climb back onto the bridge, but lost her footing. She let out a cry as she lost her grip on the railing.
Images of Kyoko's death raced through Kyo's mind. He'd been unable to save her, knowing that he would have transformed into a cat if he'd pulled her back from the car that struck her. The grief he'd felt ever since was more painful than anything he could bear. I won't let it happen again!
He reached out after the girl and grabbed her wrist. He let out a sigh of relief. He glanced down and saw tears in the girl's eyes.
"I'm going to pull you up," he said. "But you have to promise you won't hug me or put your arms around me. If you try...I'll throw you back over the bridge."
She whimpered in fear and tears spilled from her eyes. Kyo sighed, angry with himself.
"I didn't mean it. I won't throw you back...but I will be angry with you. And it will only cause problems for yourself," he added, thinking about how she'd have to get her memory replaced. The girl nodded in reply. He hoisted her up to the bridge. "Easy, now."
The second she was back on the bridge, Kyo released her arm and fell backward. I can't believe I did it, he thought. I saved her without transforming.
In front of him, Bree had collapsed and burst into tears. She rubbed at her eyes with her hands and peeked at him. She choked, "Why won't you comfort me?"
"I can't..." he whispered.
"Jerk."
He narrowed his eyes at her. Fine, go ahead and think I'm a jerk. I just saved your life. No big deal. Any annoyance he felt melted away as he watched her cry. I guess she hasn't had a much better past than I have...
He dusted off his pants and rose to his feet. He then patted her on the head awkwardly, not really knowing how else to console her. "You'll be alright. You don't have to cry. Come on, I'll take you home."
He held out his hand for her and helped her up. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, but didn't let go of his hand.
"So...which way do you live?" he asked, trying to get his hand back, but she held it in a death grip. Bree led him away from the bridge and through back through the trees. They walked in silence for a few minutes until the girl cried out. She dragged him by the hand down a ditch.
"Hey, what's your problem?" he snapped, trudging through tall grass and ditch water. The girl let go of his hand and knelt down to huddle over a paper box. In the box were five newborn kittens. Kyo turned his gaze further down the ditch where the remains of a black cat, presumably the mother, lay. He stood between the girl and the mother cat so she wouldn't see.
"They must only be a few days old!" Bree said. "There's no way they'll survive without their mother...We can't just leave them here." The girl's eyes began to fill up with tears.
Kyo knelt down over the box, too, and the blind kittens crawled over to him and began sniffing at him. "So why don't you take them home with you?"
A tear spilled over the girl's cheek. "My father is allergic to cats, and he doesn't like them. He'd make me get rid of them the second they came through the door."
Hates cats...he wouldn't like me, then.
"I can't bear to leave them alone, here," she added, the kittens producing squeaking sounds as she pet them on the head gently. One of the kittens tried to climb up the box to Kyo. He sighed and pet it. "They seem to like you, Kyo."
"Yeah..."
"I really wish I could bring them home with me. They're so cute." Without a word Kyo picked up the box and began trudging back out of the ditch. "Where are you taking them? I said I can't take them home."
"Yeah, I heard you! I'm going to take them home. And...you can come by every day and visit them if you want. To help take care of them. They'll be your kittens after all!"
"Really?" Bree exclaimed and grinned. "Thank you so much! This really means a lot to me!"
He mumbled a reply but she couldn't discern his words.
The next morning at school, Bree walked into class. Her eyes found the orange-haired boy and she walked over to him. She narrowed her eyes at him and said flatly, "Oh, it's the hug-less boy."
"Eh?" he exclaimed. His friends mumbled, "Hug-less?" to each other.
Bree shuffled her foot across the floor. "So...can I come see the kittens today?"
"Yes! As long as you don't call me the hug-less boy anymore!"
Bree grinned. "Okay!" Perhaps he's not such a bad guy after all...I hope I get to know him better. I have the feeling we could become good friends...