Kitten

Yah! New chapter~! And the plot thickens. Oh yeah, before I forget, tissue alert! You all better have a full box! And character deaths, don\'t worry, it\'s not Tyson or Rei, and unfortunately it\'s not Kai either.

Blackrose: What side is Bryan on? I\'m trying to figure that out myself! Anyways, hang on, because this roller coaster ride just reached the top. Hope you continue to enjoy! And was this fast enough?



A lynx’s head poked out of a pile of ashes, pure white, which was strange for that type of animal and a long tail, which was even stranger.

Her nose twitched as gold eyes opened and she pawed at the figure a few feet away from her, their body twisted and broken. At the sight she gave a mournful meow as she pawed at the chorded necklace until it fell loose. Her clawed fingers ran through the pink hair as she touched the face of her most recent master. She was dead, just like everyone else.

Stifled tears escaped her eyes as she thought back to all the days she had been passed from one circus to the next. She remembered the days back in D’s care and wished that she was still there. If she had been that mean man, Romero, wouldn’t have taken her kitten away from her. She hiccupped slightly as she glanced down at the necklace around her neck, opening up the locket. Her new master had replaced the picture in their with something much nicer. The old one had been a cruel reminder of the punishment that awaited her if she ever disobeyed her first master. She was smart enough not to after experiencing it the first time, and being forced to watch every night as the lion, Lee, was punished.

He was the lucky one. The boy with the big, flaming hair had seen him and rescued him but she was left. Left to be sold off to the highest bidder.

She could plainly remember a few days back, when she had decided to end her misery. She had been planning on running off and taking Julia with her, and Raul. They had always been so nice to her.

“Mariah!”

The lynx-girl glanced up, her gold eyes focusing as Julia and Raul leaned through the bars, smiles on their faces They reached over and scratched her behind her pointed, white ears, causing a purr to erupt from her throat as she leaned against the bars, pressing against their skin.

“We’ve been earning money,” Raul whispered as he focused at her, a grin on his lips. “People give it to us when we perform on the streets and we finally made enough to pay Romero off. After that you’ll be free!”

“And we’ll all leave,” Julia finished for her twin as she lost her fingers in the pink hair.

“And I’ll be free?” Mariah tilted her head to the side at that. She couldn’t remember being free since she was little. And even then D kept all of them locked in rooms since Rei had almost killed his friend.

Lee and she had been sold far before Rei had. She thought D would only give them to good people but they were taken to a horrible circus where people could stare at them all day. She hoped that Rei had had better luck, even if he never remembered them. D had given him a pill to make him forget them, since he had been so upset at the leaving of his friends.

“Here’s Romero,” Julia whispered to her brother and they pulled away to offer the blond man their money.

However, after hearing their request he just shook his head and told them to get ready for the next performance.

She watched them perform with their tops with ease, her eyes trained on her two loving masters as they bowed before the crowd upon the finish of their performance, the ribbons falling lightly around them as the cameras flashed. She knew it was her turn next as Romero threw the choking chain around her neck and she was pulled into the flashing lights, Raul and Julia giving her confident looks.

However the flashing lights and the strangling of the chains were too much for her senses as she tried to pull away, only to feel the whip land on her bare skin. It lashed across her bare legs just underneath the short dress of roughly hewn fabric that barely hid her thin form.

She lost control at that very moment and attacked, her claws flaying out as they dug into Romero’s throat.

Mariah’s sensitive ears picked up the screams of the crowd as they ran, her white tail flicking as others from the circus came and shoved Julia and Raul out of the way. They came with whips and canes and guns and fire.

Mariah gave a shriek as they attacked, causing her to back into the corner and like any wild animal she attacked. A harsh hiss was torn from her throat as the bodies fell dead around her but in the panic the lights that lit the circus had fallen and the tent had been scorched, causing it to all come down on top of her.

Mariah gave a final mournful yowl as she clutched Julia’s body to her breasts. There was no sign of Raul and she assumed that could only mean he had perished in the flames.

After hours she took to her feet once more, shutting the locket that held the picture of her masters cuddling her close. She had freedom now, but at what cost?

Kenny looked around at the sad faces. \" Hey guys, today is a happy day. Let’s go see Brookie\'s baby,\" he said with a small grin, wanting to cheer them all up.

Rei looked up and smiled. \"Sure,\" he said with a nod.

Everyone got up and walked down the hall to Brooklyn’s room. Count D still was holding Jueru, as Daichi rolled Max down into the room.

\"Hey ya!\" Tyson said as they walked in.

Brooklyn smiled as his friend walked into the room, and his eyes grew large when he saw count D. \"Hello D.\"

\"Good to see you’re well Brooklyn,\" he said with a smile.

\"What’s her name?\" Hiro asked as he looked down at the baby’s face.

\"Artemis \"

\"As in the Greek goddess of the moon?\" asked Kenny.

\"Yes,\" Garland said. Jueru looked at Artemis and started to laugh and waved her arms over to the smaller baby. She wanted to see what the fuss was about.

\"It looks like someone want to see.\" D said as he handed Jueru to Garland. Garland smiled as Brooklyn moved his arms so Jueru could get a better look. For a spilt second black eyes met bright blue.

Jueru smiled and said, \"Artis!\"

Everyone in the room blinked, and blinked. Daichi looked at his child \"What did you say honey?\" he asked sweetly.

Jueru smiled up at him and said, \"Artis!\" as she giggled.

\"Her first word is... Artemis?\" asked Max as he pouted. \"Aww, I wanted it to be daddy.\"

Everyone laughed but stopped when a loud yelling made them stop. Without anyone knowing Jueru had placed her hands on Artemis\' head and found her fluffy ears (1). Being a baby and not knowing what they where, she pulled on them.

Bryan held a cloth to his face as he saw the glaring of the creature before him.

“You let him go?” Kai spat at him as he flexed his claws as if wondering whether he should strike Bryan once more.

“We only want Rei and Tyson,” Bryan whispered as he cowered from Kai, not wanting to upset the volatile jackal again.

“We’ll do this my way!” Kai snarled as he picked Bryan up by the shirt collar. He would have Tyson in the end and no one was going to stop him, Bryan least of all. The tiger would die now that he had the power and Tyson would never escaped him again. “We need to find a way to rid ourselves of the tiger,” Kai snarled as his crimson eyes met Bryan’s.

Bryan nodded his head as he shuffled through the medical cabinet and pulled out an unmarked bottle. “Just leave him to me.”

1) Her ears are very small, and with her hair color they are hidden well. It will stay like that for all her life (Like Inuaysha\'s)