Ties of the Past

"Tanoshii yuu ge
saa kakomimashou
Kyou no namida wa
hora
asu no chikara ni shite."

Hotaru sung softly to herself as the rest of the Jyuunishi, and a few of the non-cursed Sohmas played nearby. The game had changed from being hide-and-go-seek to just plain tag.Strands of her dark green tinted hair fell over her light green eyes as she bent over a book. Hotaru was never much for playing with the kids. She was always studying.

"Look out!" Came cry. The twelve year old shrieked at having a soccer ball flying past her head, only to bounce off the nearby tree and roll a few feet away. "Hey, 'taru-chan, can ya give us the ball back?"

She looked over to see Daisuke and a few other Sohma boys waiting impatiently for their ball. The girl picked up the ball and threw it back at them. "You guys nearly took my head out with that thing." She called back. Daisuke just shrugged and the game continued once more. Shaking her head, Hotaru went back to her book, singing softly to herself once more.

"LA LA LA
subarashiki
LOVE and LIFE
LA LA LA
ai subeki
LOVE and LIFE."

Hotaru was barely pass the next chapter when a loud scream pierced the air. Everything suddenly became quiet and the children's games came to a total halt. With confusion hanging in the air, Hotaru looked over. A maid, obviously one that served under Akito and Natsume, ran out into the courtyard.There was a fearful look on her face.

"Akito-sama, someone, please help!" The maid cried. The members of the Jyuunishi immediately all came to attention, everyone save for Mo-chan of course. From the looks of things, her little brother and the others could tell that something had happened to Natsume.

Sensing that something was wrong, Hotaru quickly ran up to the maid. "What's the matter?" She asked, hiding the fear in her voice.

The maid just shook her head, burying her face into her hands. She bursted into a series of sobs that made her words hard to make out. But Hotaru took notice of a piece of paper in the maid's hand and gently prying it away from the woman, she opened it up.

"What's it say, Hotaru-chan?" Chirped Chichiri as the other Jyuunishi now gathered around. Mo-chan quietly stood by her brother's side, her eyes glancing at the note as well.

"It says that Natsume-sama has ran away, and that until she can either be rid of the God or the Cat, or die, the circle won't be complete." Hotaru said, rereading the note once more.

Mo-chan raised an eyebrow at this and she just brushed some of her blonde hair out of her face. "That's stupid, why would Natsume wanna kill herself just because she's both the God and the Cat?" The girl asked, "She can still go to the banquet, right? Then why would she do something ridiculous like that?"

"Because, every other year, Natsume becomes the Cat's true form and this year is the Dark Year." Daisuke replied, arms crossed. "Natsume was born with two conflicting spirits within her and it drives her crazy."

Sei ippai datta ichinichi ni
Sayonara to arigatou
Waratte oemashou
Sore wa chiisa na inori

A black cat ran through the woods, anger filling her heart. Her whole body was burning and itching. Natsume had no idea why she was turning into the monster now.

'Why now of all days?' She thought bitterly. She hated being the Cat, but she hated being God even more. She had to get to him. Him, her father. The one who had caused all of this mess. The one who had cursed her because of her mother.

Natsume finally came to her destination. At the bottom of the hill, through the trees, she could see a simple two story house with a balconey on one side. A soft meow had escaped her throat. She had to see him. The black cat ran down the hill until she was at the porch. Sitting at the front door, she meowed loudly, hoping that Shigure would answer.

If he did, then she would get to reveal Akito's secret to him. That be revenge enough for her. After all, Akito had told Shigure that "thier baby" had died as a still born and instead pretended that Natsume was another man's child. It was because Akito didn't have enough humility to tell Shigure that she had born him both the Cat and God in one child.

Haru
hana saki
midori moeru koro
Donna namida mo
hora
kaze ni nagasarete ku

The door slid open and she saw him. Shigure was standing there with a look of pure confusion written on his face. The novelist had returned home shortly after dropping Morgan and Chichiri at the Main House, since Chichiri had wanted him and Morgan to spend the night with Daisuke and the other Jyuunishi at Hatori's.

"What's this? Natsume?" Shigure asked, kneeling down before her. Natsume mewed, allowing the former dog to pick her up. "I bet you had another fight with your mother and you ran away, didn't you?"

Natsume didn't answer. Instead she just remained quiet as he carried her into his study. Shigure placed her in a chair before walking out of the room for a second. After raiding a closet for a dress that Tohru had left behind, he came back to find a swirl dust appearing everywhere and a nude Natsume curled in the chair. Natsume silently took the offered dress and slipped into it as Shigure sat his seat across his desk.

"Mind telling me why you're here, Natsume?" Shigure asked, leaning back in his chair. He laced his fingers together and focused his gaze onto the girl before him. Natsume looked so much like her mother. If only their baby hadn't died at birth. His heart ached at the truth that Akito had told him. But he quickly swallowed back the sadness as Natsume finally decided to answer him.

"It's about the truth." The girl replied.

"Truth?" Shigure asked.

Natsume noddd, almost wanting to back out of this plan of revenge. If she told him that she was his daughter, would he reject her or would he accept her? She didn't know and she wanted to know. The cat within her wanted to belong to him, but the God within him retaliated, not forgetting the betrayal the former dog had caused to the last God. Her two sides were always battling each other, each one tearing her soul apart. Finally Natsume couldn't handle it and she gripped her head as if to silence their voices that resonated within her head. Her whole body trembled.

'Why was I cursed? Why...?' Her black eyes widened and she let out a scream.

"You stupid idiot?!" Natsume cried, her sudden outburst startling Shigure. Shigure stared at the young girl. She was definitely like Akito.

"What, Natsume?" He asked gently, in hopes of calming the enraged girl.

"You know my mother lies!" Natsume yelled more, "Your baby, her baby, it didn't die! She was so friggin ashamed of me that she lied and told you that I, as your daughter, had died and pretended that I was the daughter of another man!"

LA LA LA
subarashiki
LOVE and LIFE
LA LA LA
ai subeki
LOVE and LIFE