The Guardian | fruits basket

4: Cat Naps and Uninvited Guests

"Everytime a zodiac member stares at me..." She glanced to the sky and popped the rest of the peach mochi into her mouth, pushing it to the side of her mouth as she spoke, "I not only feel your gaze, but I feel the emotions you have within you. Heavy despair, love for the nature around you, anger... All those emotions fill my mind and when they do, images of my memories that correlate with that emotion come to mind. Sometimes it's painful to see, but on the odd occasion I see a memory I had forgotten all about and it brings me relief that I haven't completely forgotten the people I care about."

She chewed slowly, passing the tray of mochi to Kyo, who took one more.

As Himiko took another, Kyo watched her in wonder. He watched every detail of the pain filled girl in front of him. The way the majority of the hair in her face had fallen out of the ponytail she didn't bother to fix, and how every single time the wind blew, strands would flutter behind her and give a clear view of her pale face. Her eyes remained lowered but on the odd occasion she would look at the sky with longing.

"Stop looking at me like that," she glanced at him, "you're no longer filled with as much despair the more you look at me. Kagura would be jealous, especially with the most prominent feeling," Himiko held back a snicker, "you can't lie to me about your true feelings."

The cat boy's hair bristled and stood on end as he stood up, his teeth gritted. He moved towards Himiko who mockingly stuck her lips out in a kissy face; he pushed her head gently to the side, feigning annoyance.

"You're the unbearable one," he rolled his eyes and shoved her over, closer to the edge of the porch, pressing his back against the same pillar Himiko was leaning against. He bumped shoulders with her.

The two remained silent and bathed in the sun, neither speaking a word, but both eating through the tray of assorted flavour mochi. Kyo was first to break the comfortable silence, his eyes closed.

"I won't tell them who you really are," his voice was quiet and hoarse, the cat on the verge of falling asleep, "although I can't say they won't find out soon..."

Himiko rested her head on the pillar, her face upturned to the bright blue sky, "thanks Kyo."

Both fell asleep in the warmth of the afternoon.

-

When Himiko awoke, Kyo was sprawled across her lap and her face was warm from the sun. The summer breeze was still blowing, however the scent of incense seemed stronger than before. She glanced to her right, the koi pond shimmering in the sunlight.

She moved her gaze to Kyo, whose face was pressed into her leg, his orange air in disarray.

The sun had moved to the other side of the house and she figured it was around four or five o'clock. At that thought, a truck drove down the pathway at the top of the hill and slowly rolled down the steep driveway. The large white furniture truck stopped in front of the house and two men hopped out, noticing Himiko as one went to open the back.

One of the men walked over, and noticing that the boy in her lap was asleep, started to walk quieter. "Miss," he whispered, "where would you like the furniture placed?"

She felt Kyo twitch on her lap and she placed a hand on the top of his head, using her power to calm him. His body automatically relaxed on her lap and she could tell that he fell into an even deeper sleep by his weight pressing down more on her legs.

"Top floor, room on the far end of the hallway on the right," she whispered, "if you could place the bed in the left corner I would be most pleased."

The worker rubbed his eyes and blinked, giving a weary nod. He walked off and helped the other lift the bed off of the truck and take it inside.

Himiko let out a breath and sunk against the wood, both hands either in Kyo's hair or on top of his head. She kept the power flowing through her fingers well until the men had finished setting up the furniture upstairs. With Himiko's quick thanks towards the two they soon left, leaving a trail of dusk in their wake.