Epilogue
And so it ended up that Kyo was able to live a long and relatively happy life, so long as he remembered to leave Eris the last red M&M in any packet of those particular chocolates.
What happened in the rest of Kyo's life will be left to people's imaginations – though I will tell you that he worked as a paranormal investigator as his part time job while went to the same college and Tohru and Yuki – because, to be quite blunt, we've intruded into his personal life enough.
His death, on the other hand…
Kyo had lived a very long life – in fact, he was rather smug over the fact that, in the end, he beat Yuki by living longer.
He was 103 when he finally died a peaceful death, during a sudden moment of clarity in which he had been reminiscing with Eris. He suddenly froze up, muttered something about feeling tired, and closed his eyes – they never opened again.
Eris popped the last M&M in her mouth – she didn't know why they were there, seeing as Kyo hadn't been able to chew through the hard, sugary shells for the last few years, even with dentures. She suspected he had had them brought in for her, but she didn't know for sure.
Eris didn't blink, and her eyes never moved from staring at a spot in the center of Kyo's chest. A spot that now, to her, had an orb of whitish light that represented Kyo's soul.
And, as she watched, it twisted itself inside out in a way that Eris had only ever seen once before. She tilted her head for a moment, and then smiled a little, "One down, eight to go?"
The last time she'd seen a soul do a twist like that, it had been reborn. She'd been curious, and followed the boy the soul had been reborn in until he died in an accident, simply watching. The boy's spirit had reverted back into the person who the soul had originally been, before moving on. She didn't know why it worked like that.
Reincarnation was a very rare event that happened in only a fraction of circumstances. At least, as far as she knew.
Everyone knew that cats had nine lives.
She watched as the orb that was Kyo's soul left its body, and was implicitly drawn towards its new one. She followed without hesitation – she'd be the friend that the cat of the Sohma desperately seemed to need, she'd be the cat's friend, big sister, and protector, whatever they needed at the time. There was no way she was going to let the child be sealed away like the family would want. She'd teach them all a very important lesson – the cat had a guardian, a guardian who didn't answer to the Head, a guardian who wasn't afraid to somehow kill the head to protect the cat. Because the cat was important.
Because, one day, those nine lives would all be gone, and Kyo, along with the knowledge gained in his other lives, would be there, she could feel that with all the extrasensory abilities she'd gained as a ghost. He'd remember all the lives that came after, vaguly, like a dream, but somehow she knew, he'd be Kyo.
Kyo gave her a purpose in this world, but more importantly, he gave her his friendship, and she'd given him hers. She'd been around for a very long time before he'd come along – she could hang around for 8 more generations.
Because, one day, that soul would revert back to Kyo. And they'd move on, wherever that led them. Where they went wouldn't really matter at all because they'd be together. And to Eris, that was all that ever, really mattered.
The End
TT: Hey guys! Yeah, author's notes at the bottom today. That, my dear readers, was the final piece to Eyes of the Cat. On the 30th of July 2005 I started this fic, and now, 30th of July 2006, I finish it. Happy birthday, and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it!
This is the longest, most detailed story I've ever written, and I enjoyed every minute of it!
That said, I'd like to thank everyone of you, particually my reviewers. Without you, I would've lost inspiration for the story a long time ago; not only did you give me inspiration, but you also were the reason I continued when I was hesitant with my plot ideas – I wanted to see what people thought, even if they'd end up hating them.
However, even though this is the end of EOTC, I don't want to stop writing about Kyo and Eris! Therefore, I intend to write a series of drabbles and one-shots called 'EOTC: The Cut Scenes'. These will be, as the name implies, ideas that came from the story that were never used. They will relate to different parts of the story, instead of each other, and some may be very short. However, anyone who has a picture involving Eris and Kyo in their head, that they want me to use, simply post a note, either here or in the Cut Scenes when I start it, and I'll do my best! (Please note that, unlike EOTC, these drabbles will not be updated regularly.)
Thank you for being with me throughout this year. I, for one, enjoyed every moment, and hope that you all did too.
Sincerely,
TigerTerror (& Eris!)