Disclaimer- Refer to first chapter

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Stray Child

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Chapter One

No one really seems to get why the cat cursed is the most cursed of the zodiac- except, of course, for two people; God and the current cat-cursed. Ignorance breeds bliss, and the whole of the family remains so.

Akito, as a child, had been confused at the blatant disregard and disgust issued towards his new family addition, the cat. A sweet baby, small, vulnerable and innocent, with the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen and soft downy tufts of hair the perfect color of apricot. He had heard the mother had an episode when the monster revealed itself. It was expected and the beads had been given and all had been well. With that, the family were yet again in awe of their new family head. Being able to predict when the remaining jyuunishi were to be born. It was a gift that had come easily to the dark haired boy.

From as far back as Akito could recall he had always known everything there was to know about this… curse. His mind full with the knowledge and nothing else it had seemed; the intricate bonds and feelings.

At four when the cat had been born, his guardians, had been shocked when he had demanded to meet with the cat and the family that housed him. Actions much like he used when the rat had been born months prior. A child still, he had yet to get used to the detachment his mother seemed to enable whenever in company. That had been when he first got introduced to the scorn the family held.

They didn't know how precious the cat was to him.

How could they?

Onyx irises refocused to their surroundings and to the present; a relatively plain room with merely the bare necessities. Dismissing it, Akito's gaze swept over to his own private garden, lingering on the well-maintained room detached and relatively hidden from the rest of the estate. It had only been recently that he had procured these set of rooms for himself; choosing to abandon his more spacious and lavishly decorated ones. All in preparation for what was to come, the year was less than half-way up and the cat couldn't be left out to wander.

It wasn't hate or even anger that drove him to do the things he'd done or would do. The cat was different from the others. The bond was frail. And to be able to connect like he had with the others required the breaking of the walls erected around the jyuunishi's mind. The stubborn feline always seemed to bring out the worst in him. What he gathered, the past God's were unlike himself in ways of understanding.

He wondered then if now was the time to set the kitty straight. Staring at the cage, he pulled almost leisurely at one of his many bonds, the one he was forced to use most because of his weak body.

Ten minutes later a knock came and he let Hatori enter.

-

Kyo glared at his ceiling, nursing not only his pride but sprained wrist. Yuki the damned rat beat him… again. And the ass must have been angry to begin with 'cause not only did it not take long to instigate the fight, but the bastard was pretty damn rough about it.

"Kyo-kun, I have ice if you need it." Tohru called from beyond his door. His crimson gaze softened.

"Whatever." He muttered just loud enough for the onigiri to hear him.

"Well, I'll just keep it out here." She replied obviously flustered. She was going to be spending the week-end at that Hanajima's. Probably a bit late already. Uotani, that yankee would definitely blame him for it. He just knew it. Didn't help that it was kind of true.

He sat up and slowly made his way to the door. Yuki was somewhere, his secret base more than likely, and Shigure was out visiting Ayame. Thank God. Opening the door, he bid Tohru farewell before she was completely out of sight, and instantly regretted it when she almost tumbled down the stairs. So clumsy.

"ah! I'm okay!" She stated a blush across her features.

"Whatever. Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked curiously.

"Yes yes!" she rushed out in dawning horror. "I must be going!"

He smiled watching her take off and then frowned when he jarred his arm. Stupid wrist… stupid Yuki.

The phone rang.

-

A/N

A cliffhanger and the sad thing is I'm just as clueless as you are on what's going to happen next. You can thank the last person who reviewed "God's pet" for this update. Although this isn't really the story they wanted updated, I've decided to put an update for each story before updating all over again. Just going down the list really. Hope you enjoyed the read.