Music thumped through my ears as I walked down the street to the local bar I worked at. It was a quiet late afternoon, and everything seamed to be moving rather slowly. Checking the road, I crossed over and walked casually into a small night club looking bar called 'Ally Cat Bar'. A short bar occupied one wall with about 10 bar stools, one of which I polled out and sat on thumping my head down on the bar.
"Hey there Amaya." Riku - my boss - said, walking up to me on the other side of the long table. "What's eatin' ya?" He asked softly, resting his arms down beside me.
"My mom is eating me out because I haven't had a boyfriend since Ai."
His eyes softened.
"Don't want to move on, hua?" Looking up at him with green eyes I shook my head sadly, and he sighed heavily. He knew what happened - well, sort of. The story he knew was that some wacko broke into his house one night and killed him; the real story was that he was a fire demon, banished from his tribe and thought to be dead so he moved here, and someone from his tribe found out and came back and killed him. That was far over a year ago though. "Don't let your mom get to ya. I know that she just wants to see you happy with someone else, but if you don't think you could move on, or if you just don't want to, then don't. It's you life, and you mom can say what she wants, but ultimately you make the decisions."
I smiled at him.
"Thanks Riku."
"Anything Koneko," Koneko (Kitten) was my work name, fit in with the name of the bar, " now get backstage and changed."
Happily I agreed. My uniform wasn't exactly my style, but it was cute. The black dress was short but modest and cut very low in the back (how ever it stayed on with just spaghetti straps is still a mystery to me), and a pink bell caller went around my neck. Looking in the mirror, I dampened my hair and then spiked the many layers tips of my raven black hair giving me a very sexy look. Smiling at myself and opting to put on no make up tonight, I walked back out in black strappy flats. Quickly I got back behind the bar and began rubbing the top down just as the first few people came in.
Jade came in late that night, giving Riku a hard time.
"Why can't you ever come on time when it's the busy nights?!" He said loudly to her.
"Chill old man," his young 30 year old face reddened in anger, "you need me. It's not like Koneko can sing." Coolly she waved his anger off and walked back stage to get changed; that's when he got a bright idea.
"Koneko," he said, running up to be after I had just given two men their sake. "I need your help."
My eyes oozed curiosity.
"What is it?"
"I need you to sing against Hyou." Hyou (Panther) was Jades' work name.
"What?!" Never in any day of my life had I ever really sung, except for occasionally in the shower, there was no way I would be able to go against her.
"Please. If you can prove that you can sing better than her, then I can finally fire her ass to Canada, and then hire someone else - someone you recommend - to help you with the bar." Seeing the my malcontent with this idea he said, "It'd be a pay raise."
"She gets payed more than me?"
Sadly he nodded.
"Personally I would have preferred her name to be 'Minx'."
Softly I laughed at the English word.
"Fine, I don't care about the pay raise, but I'll do it. Tomorrow night. Don't tell her it's me, ok?"
"Alright!" Excitedly he hugged me, and I laughed before he quickly released me with a slight blush. "Sorry about that. I got a little over excited there." I laughed again.
Tomorrow night came quicker than I wanted it to; and I nervously put on my mask. The night before I had told my mother that there was a competition going on, and I didn't know how to conceal my identity. With a twinkle in her eye, she dashed into the craft room and came back out a short time later with a silver mask. It was was beautiful. It covered my entire face except for my mouth and chin, but came down my jaw line in sharp points, and large holes were cut out for my eyes. A small, elegant design of white made the mask look more gypsy like. Happily I had put on a black and gray gypsy outfit to match. A black wrap with a white beaded design covered my chest, and the majority of my stomach, with a few loops that went around my small - if even existent - bicep; and a gray skirt that flowed nicely from my hips to the floor and a slit going up to mid thigh with an angled black see-through beaded-mesh shall wrapped around my waist. I walked into the bar - dressed as in my costume - before it opened, and Riku couldn't believe what I had come in.
"You're really going all out to hide who you are, hua Koneko?"
"That's Kakaku." I corrected with a wink, and he chuckled. Kakaku (Traveler) was an easy enough name to come up with, especially with the costume I was in.
"Ok, will, I've called you in as sick, so I'll be running the bar tonight. You just worry about beating Hyou." With a nodded I wondered onto the small stage facing the bar. Silently I walked up to the piano and pressed in a few keys. Their chime rang in my head and sent all thoughts out of my head, making me smile. Softly I sat down and began to put my fingers upon the keys lightly taping them down before moving onto the next key. Slowly an old tune rang through the quietly filling up bar. It was an old song my mother used to play to me when I was a kid and the thunder from the storm scared me. She would take me to the piano in the craft room and slowly teach me the notes in succession. It was a soft, sad tune but with an underlay - almost - of happy notes. Quickly it changed from a sad song to one of a calming tone, and then a happier sound. As the song - all to suddenly - ended with a long, lasting key, I became aware of where I was, and looked over the stage. The bar wasn't full, but there were several groups in there, only a few fully paying attiton to me. With a blush I bowed and started to walk off stage when someone ran inside. It was my friend, Haruko.
"Amaya!" He shouted, out of breath, and I quickly took off my mask and rushed over to him.
"Haruko," I asked, "what's wrong?"
"Your parents..." He trailed off, before grabbing my hand and running out of the bar and in the direction of my house. My heart thudded in my ears for more than just the extremely quickly pace that he was leading me at. It thudded for fear of what might have happened to my parents for him to run all the way here and steal me away. As we turned onto my street, I saw that my house was surrounded by people and that made me push my legs faster so I ran ahead of Haruko. Pushing my small frame roughly through the crowd, and dashing under the yellow police tape and into my house.
"Grab her!" One of the officers said, pointing to me as I tried to find my parents.
"Hahagimi (mother)! Aboji (father)!" I yelled into the house, tears coming to my eyes. Then I fell to the floor, utter horror echoing through my eyes and enshrouding my face. My mother was propped up against the wall, slumping over to one side. A deep 'V' cut was on her neck, and the milky white bone of her spine shone slightly through the carnage. Following the trail of the now dried blood, my eyes came upon six gashes on her chest and stomach and deep puncture wounds on her shoulders. The think red substance, clung all over her body, and stained the wood beneath her mangled body. My father was laying on the ground on his side, holes large enough to fit a large mans fists were beneath his ribs, and a few broken ones stuck out. Several deep cuts covered his face, one going from the edge of his mouth and crossing over his nose only to go through his eye. More gashes coated his red stained, death white skin. He looked like he had tried to protect my mother. His blood flowed over to meet with his wifes'; his hand outreached to meet hers which lay only a few inches away. Tears freely flowed over my paled cheeks like strong rivers. Someone gently grabbed me, and pulled me to my feet, carefully leading outside where he gave me to Haruko.
"Please take care of her, and do not let her back inside." Solemnly he nodded, his blue eyes sparkling with sadness, but I hadn't noted any of this. My parents corpses was burned into my eyes like a brand, and my stinging eyes watered greatly against the image. As if they were trying to wash away the picture. Haruko held me tightly, and sunk to the ground with me before I started sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. He cooed softly to me, stroking my back. He was really the only one I could think of at this point who could sympathize with me. Two years ago his mother was killed in a car crash due to a drunk driver. A horribly familiar presence radiated off of him, and I pushed back from him.
"Amaya, it's ok. I'm here for you." He reached out to give me another hug, but I stumbled back.
"Don't touch me demon!" I said loudly, more tears coming from my puffy red eyes, and a few on lookers stared at us and his shocked expression. Holding in a sob I ran off towards the park I ran in every morning. Finding a high branch of a sturdy old cherry tree, the full moon light radiated off of the damp grass and pink flowers, giving the place a heavenly glow. Slowly my tears stopped falling, and the moon sank lower into the sky. When I felt the same presence around me that came from Haruko. "Go away Haruko! I don't want any business with you and your kind anymore!" I said rudely, then opened my still sleeping eyes, only to find no one around me. Holding myself tightly, I swung down from the branch and onto the ground, where I started running to the part of the park that lead into a thick forest. The presence follow me, and I started running faster. My heart beat heavily against my ribs, and my wary legs shook with each step. It came closer and closer, until it surrounded me. "Leave me alone Haruko!" I shouted into the thicket. Not a single thing made a sound; it was as though everything on earth was dead, except for me and the presence. Tears started to form again as I planted my feet firmly into the ground, and clenched my fists so hard I felt my nails start to dig into my skin. "Go away!" I shouted as a twig snapped and I quickly looked in that direction. A man walked out, older than me but not by much. If I wasn't so infuriated I probably would have dazzled at his looks. His hair was long, and fine - the color of roses, and hung loosely around his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, but I am not the boy you speak of." He said gently, his voice ringing of intellect.
I growled.
"I don't give a care. You're a demon - or at least part, and I want nothing to do with your kind. So why don't you and your friend go back to the Demon Realm and leave me alone!" A shifting came from a tree opposite of the man, and I turned toward him. "I don't care what you're here for, but I know that you better leave me out of it!" The mans deep leafy green eyes traveled over my form, and it made me shiver.
"I can very will assure you that we mean you no harm." He said as he took a step forward, and I took two steps back.
"Again I don't care."
"May I explain why we're here?" Reason started to run through my head, and I stood up straight; although I didn't realize that I had taken a defensive posture.
"Fine, but make it quick."
Smiling, he looked kindly down on me.
"Yes we are demons, although we are not the bad kind that you generalize us with." I narrowed my eyes at him, although he felt no effect from it. "We work for Koenma, and he had been informed of your living in the Ningenkai, and asked us to come and see if you would willingly come with us to him."
My hands clenched tighter.
"Koenma has no need to see me. I have done no wrong. I cut my ties with the Demon and Spirit Realms long ago, and I refuse to go back. No matter of threat you hold over my head, I will never go willingly." Then, feeling the demon behind me grow aggravated, I said to the man. "Call your friend off. If you two do work for Koenma, then you would surely be thrown in jail for killing a human."
"You," A mans voice sounded from behind me in a cocky tone, "are not human. You're a demon, like us. Now come with us to see Koenma before I make you." I didn't turn around, but I said back in a superior voice.
"Try me." I saw the red haired man start to open his mouth to discourage his friend or myself, but I put a hand up before he could speak. "Don't. If I make a mistake, let me learn from it. Don't tell me what to do." Still I did not move as the other mans presence rapidly grow closer. I held my breath tried to side step out of the way, but he moved to fast and cut my arm with his blade. Looking over I now saw him. His red eyes looked like the pools of blood my parents lay in, and his hair was a black as the night sky. He came at me again and I tried to dodge, but he cut my side. A deep gash hurtled pain through my body, and I collapsed to my knees. My breath came in heavy gasps as I stood back up, only to get hit in the chin with the hilt of his weapon. I fell back, but caught myself, and stood back up again. The black haired man readied himself for another attack, but his friend stood in front of him and whispered something to him before going back off to the side lines. The one I faced disappeared, and a fire ran through my vanes. Cuts and gashes appeared along my skin. He was moving so fast that I couldn't see him. That bastard. He's trying to draw out my demon powers. Will it's not gunna work on me! Warily I stood up straight, and allowed myself to get hit continuously, before I collapsed. The red haired man started toward me, but his companion waved him off and approached me, touching my neck hard with the tip of his blade. I suddenly felt my blood around me and knew I had to end this soon. Quickly I grabbed the blade tightly with my hand and cringed as it sunk deeply into my skin, but still unsteadily pulled myself up with it, and got dangerously close to his face. "You can't make me do anything." My lungs wheezed with pain, as I stealthily grabbed the top of the hilt and turned the tip so it touched the bottom of my jaw. "Now make a choice; kill me and save me the mercy, or don't kill me and let me live my unknown life in shame." Gently my fingers trailed over his hand which loosened ever so slightly, and I took that opportunity to wiggle my fingers in between his hand and the hilt and took over the weapon which I pointed the tip into his throat. Then he smirked and disappeared. Holding my breath I slashed in the direction I felt him, and heard the cutting of cloth, then something thicker on the tip. I saw him, the shirt over his chest was riped, and a bit of the skin underneath was cut; then he disappeared again. It continued like this for a good long while, before I finally just collapsed onto the ground. Dark spots clouded my vision but I manged to see the blurry figure of the man with red hair and the beautiful face.
"Hiei, hurry, put her on your back." He said, and the short one (although I had no right calling him that considering I was a good two inches shorter than him) muttered something in response that I couldn't hear before I blacked out completely.
A dark fog covered my eyes like a thick film when I opened them. Pain coursed through my vanes and I groaned loudly, expecting to still be in the forest; although as I blinked the fog away I noticed that I wasn't. I was in a house much like my own. The door to my immediate right slid open and a much worried Haruko walked in and knelled by my side.
"Oh thank goodness you're ok." He said, lifting up the covers and checking my left side. "We thought those wolves did a real number on you."
Confused and tiard, I looked oddly at him.
"Wolves? What are you-" He cut me off by smiling at me.
"After you saw your parents you ran out and into the forest, where a pack of wolves attacked you. I found you just as they were about to kill you." With a tiard smile I thanked him, and fell back asleep.
Hiei watched on from the tree just outside of the room. Haruko had a silver tongue. I suppose that's why he's so much more favored over any of Koenmas' other spies. He though, and quietly jumped in the window when he opened it for him.
"Ok," he said, cracking his knuckles out of habit, "she's asleep again, and her wounds are almost completely healed. Tomorrow I'll go help her go through her parents stuff. Once she's completely calmed down from what's happened you can approach," He put empathized on that word, "her again. Don't force anything on her." Hiei observed silently as the 18 year old glanced down at her with the most tender and loving look that it made the fire demon smirk.
"You love the girl." Quickly Haruko looked back up at him with a stone-faced look.
"I don't. Emotions such as that are forbidden in my job, and I can't afford to lose it now. I care for her as a human."
That just made his smile grow.
"I can see it in your eyes and how you talk of her." Then young man only looked away.
"Think what you want, but I don't love her. She may be a demon by blood, she's human to the core. She fully believes she's human. I couldn't bring the Makai onto her again. She's spent so much time trying to forget it." Quietly Hiei turned around.
"I'll come back for her in a week. Have her ready by then." And with that he jumped out the window and disappeared. Haruko sighed and moved some hair away from Amayas' young 16 year old face, whispering,
"I promised Ai I would protect you, and that's what I'm always going to do."
Going through my parents things was hard, but Haruko made it so much easier. He kept me calm when I wanted to cry, and when I did, comforted me with soft words. After Ai died, he was the only friend I had. A soft gasp came from my lips as I came into the living room, holding a large, thick box with one arm, and a note in the other.
"Haruko, look at this." He came over and gently took the box from me as I read the note aloud and sat down on the couch. "Dear Amaya, I know that you have for so long been in our care and love, but now that you are reading this then it must mean that our passing is immanent. Yasuo and I always knew and loved you even more for what you were - a demon - and that is why we have left these items for you. They will help you channel and control your powers, as will as protect yourself. Of coarse you are to need proper training with them, so upon our deaths I have already arranged for Koenma to have Genkai train you again. I know that you already know how to use them, but still you haven't used them in over 15 years, and you need to remember quickly how to wield them again. Amaya, I know that you don't want anything to do with it, but please, for us, admit that you are a demon. With us gone, there will be no one to protect you, and I know that you don't like hearing that, but it's true. You're the last of your kind. You are the last remaining Spirit Cat left alive in all of the realms. We couldn't let anything happen to you - for your sake, and your races'. Please become Rena again; become Homwaido Desu (White Death) again. With love, Yasuo and Sachi Yamiko." Tears over flowed my eyes as the paper dropped from my hands to the floor. This time Haruko didn't comfort me, for he was to shocked at that last sentence to even blink. "So... So a few days ago, in the forest...that was real..." I trailed off, and he still said nothing. Quickly I grabbed the parcel and tore open the packaging. Inside was what I hoped I would never see again, but yet here I was picking them up and holding and looking at them like they were a long lost friend. There in my hands were my old weapons: two long katanas with white sheaths and black hilts and black bands so I could attach them onto my back, two crescent moon daggers with white hilts and a belt to keep them in, two more short daggers with black holsters - one for my thigh and one for my shin, and then two assassin blades hidden in a pair of black fingerless gloves that came up to my elbow. After examining the blades that were still so sharp that they could cut through anything as if it was air, I put them aside and looked back into the box. Underneath my weapons was my old outfit. Picking it up with the most care I had, my fingers felt the soft material and a smile creased my mouth - all tears gone. Placing the fighting kimono aside, something glimmering caught the edge of my eye and I dug back down into the box and came out with another note and a small velvet box. "This," I read aloud again, "was something that my grandmother - a very powerful psych - left with me hoping that one day hoping that I would follow in her footsteps. Unfortunately I never did, so I hope that it'll help you more then it ever did help me. Sachi." Carefully opening the velvet box, my eyes sparkled brightly at the silver chained necklace. On the end of it was a small round green gem on the end of it, with a swirl of a small thin silver wire that connected it to the chain. Smiling I carefully picked it up and put it on. It dangled carefully between my breasts, and I played gently with it.
"You," Haruko finally spoke, "where Howaido Desu?" I looked up at him over my weapons and kimono that I had gathered up in my arms, and responded,
"No, I am Homwaido Desu." And with that I walked down the hall to my room where I firmly shut the door.
That night Haruko traveled to the Spirit World, the sadness of his news burdening his shoulders as he sulked through the mass of rushing ogres to Koenmas office.
"Sir?" He asked tentatively, his brown hair shrouding his face slightly as he walked in.
"Yes Haruko? What did you need?" The young ruler asked happily, a smile evident even through his blue binky.
"I have something that you really need to know, Koenma."
He pushed his brows together.
"I thought I gave you the week off to help your human friend? What were you doing working at a time like this?" Haruko bowed then stood in front of his desk.
"I am on vacation, this was information that I found out from my human friend." He seamed to be extremely interested.
"It must be important if you felt the need to come at this hour. What was it?"
"I know who Howaido Desu is, and where she is."
"What?!" Koenma stude atop his desk in a sudden furry, and the boy shrunk back some. "Who?!" He had some hesitation in his voice.
"She's my human friend - who actually isn't a human... The one I suspected would be a demon."
And the ruler grew silent.
"What is her name?"
"Her human name is Amaya Yamiko, her demon name is Rena.. Will I don't know her last name." Again the ruler was silent.
"Thank you Haruko, I'll be sure to put in some extra money into your account as overtime. You are dismissed." He sat down thoughtfully, but Haruko didn't move.
"Sir, if I may be so bold as to request that you don't send your detectives after her. I'll handle and get her for you." After that he walked out, allowing for no confrontation. Koenma let out a heavy sigh, and rubbed his temples.
"She went into hiding for nearly 20 years and then she appears in the Ningenkai. From what Haruko told me, it sounds like she was trying to run away from what she had become - Howaido Desu. That doesn't make sense though. She was the most respected and feared of demons, even over many of the male demons. Why would she want to give up all that power for a life a solitude?" Sighing again he went back to going through his paperwork.