PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'm so sorry to those of you who were reading my story, then noticed that I had taken it down. I forgot my disclaimer(do i need one?) and as I read over it, I started typing in stuff, editing things and, well...TA DAH! I came up with this. I like it better than the first one, and it's much longer, and it's also more informative! So, please don't hate me, and please review it (again for those of you who actually did.)
Enjoy!
Audaciousness
Chapter one: Final Good Bye
I sat in the front of the crowded room, feeling almost nothing. Almost. I was actually angry in some dimension that I had left behind after my parents passed away. Angry at the man at the podium, delivering the eulogy, highlighting everything that everyone already knew. They were kind, they were smart, my mom wore the pants in the family, my daddy was a great cook. Nothing that really meant anything to me, but was 'touching' to everybody else. Angry that there was no real emotion to it, it was as though he was talking about the recent drop in sales at his business, or what he ate for breakfast. I could feel my claws cutting into my palm, pulling my mind from the place it was in. I could feel my heart racing, the blood pumping unnaturally fast through my veins.
That is the reason why, I suppose, that demons didn't allow themselves to feel emotions. Emotions were almost as dangerous as drugs, or a drunk driver. They were unpredictable, and there was nothing a demon hated more than unpredictability. I think my parents were the only exception to this rule. If everyone thought that the fact that they really, honestly, truly and freely loved each other was shocking, the fact that their best friends were a human couple would stop their hearts. For those who had hearts anyways.
I turned and looked to the back of the service room and spied Akitsu. Akitsu was the only person in the room with tears in her eyes. Akitsu and my mother had been best friends for a very long time before I was born, but unfortunately, they were separated when my mom found out she was a demon, and a high ranked demon at that. My mom was abandon as a child, but taken in and raised by a wonderful human family, which was probably the reason she was such a wonderful mother. She and Akitsu practically grew up together. When my mom turned eighteen, she found out she was a demon, and had to distance herself from the people she loved the most to gain what was rightfully hers. They still wrote, and talked, but they couldn't be together personally, otherwise she would lose all of her parents lands and my mom wasn't about to let that happen. It wasn't until my mom got married that Akitsu and my mother saw each other again. My dad could care less about societies rules, and could afford not to care. The only reason why her children and I never met was because Akitsu thought that her children would bring light to the fact that demons still existed, and I was a bit of a show off...you do the math.
I sat back in my chair and forced myself not to look at the coffins. I could feel the emotions taking over, and I fought to control myself. I wiped the tears and looked to the podium, forcing my emotions into a bottle. I relaxed into my chair, and sighed heavily. One thing that wasn't good about my parents was that we were emotionally unstable, and not in the crazy way.
The speaker-I had no clue who he was-finished, so, while everyone went to pay their last respects, I walked to the back of the room, toward the person who really cared, toward the person who wasn't here to make appearances, but really wanted to be here. The person who was taking me in. It wasn't that I didn't have other family, or that no one else would take me in, it was the fact that it was in my parents' will. I smiled a little as I approached. Akitsu stood and bowed deeply. I bowed back, but only a little. I was a little startled when Akitsu took my hands, earning her a few puzzled looks from bystanders, which I pointedly ignored.
"How are you?" asked Akitsu, tears still bright in her eyes.
"As well as expected." I answered coolly and unemotionally. 'It's like when ever I talk about my parents I-' I broke the thought off and kept calm. The last thing I needed was to lose control. Akitsu's quizzical look was evidence enough that I didn't sound like my mothers child. Akitsu and I hadn't met until three days ago the day of my parents death. I had heard about her, but never met her. I frowned a little when a familiar pair of icy blue eyes floated into view. A pair of eyes I was tired of seeing, floating or not.
"Excuse me Akitsu." I said pulling my hands from hers and walking towards the entrance hall. I sat in one of the chairs and tried to shake the thoughts from my head listening to the silence of the room.
"Don't want to see your parents one last time before the coffin's close?" I mentally fought back a growl at the sound of the rough voice. Like the sound of thunder...bad storm kind of thunder.
"I lived with them, I picked out their clothes, and I brushed their hair before the were placed in the casket. I don't need to look at them anymore." I said lifting my eyes to meet those of the man with the voice of thunder. "How did you get in without an entourage?" I asked sitting back in my chair.
"Koga doesn't have to have an entourage all the time." He said sitting opposite me leaning back and smirking. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "How ya feelin'?" I smiled sarcastically. That was the first time a demon other than my parents ever asked me how I felt about...anything. 'Maybe Koga isn't that much of a jerk.' I thought crossing my arms. 'But he is annoying.'
"I'm fine all things considered." He frowned causing the sides of his mouth to wrinkle a little. Koga was an elder, a demon who had lived for more than 500 years, and had helped the Great Leader to bring order to demon society. Koga governed the lands to the east, but, in his free time, he was an internationally famous rock star.
"How do you feel about living with humans?" he asked, leaning in towards me. I smiled a little yet again. No one had ever questioned my parents decision in their wills, seeing as how they were only second to the Great Leader. Or, at least my father was. My grand-father (who passed away before I was born) was the Great Leaders second in command and the person who started the Intercontinental Demon Society United-IDSU. The IDSU handled everything from communication to control of demon activities. Basically the demon police, but they know who you know, and they monitor every demon on the planet. Of course the human governments know, which is why only demons deal with demon problems. At least until it gets out of hand.
"I don't really mind it so much." I said shrugging my shoulders. "I'm just nervous is all."
"So, umm, I got you a birthday present, but-"
"It's ok." I said helping him through the awkwardness. Seeing as how my parents died the day after my birthday, all you can be is awkward when you mention it. He nodded and reached into his outside suit jacket pocket, then, standing, he began reaching around in the back pocket of his jeans. Then he reached into his shiny black, Italian, shoes, then paused a moment in thought, scratching the back of his head, above the long brown hair in his low ponytail.
"Ah!" He exclaimed and reached into the inside of his jacket. He pulled out a long black box, and handed it to me. I raised an eyebrow then looked at him.
"What is it?" I asked suspiciously. His hand immediately went to the back of his head-he was nervous.
"Just open it already." He said sitting down across from me. I took my gaze from him to the box. I had no idea what was in the box. I didn't know Koga that well, and he didn't know me. We met when I was like 16. It was my birthday, so I got to go back stage, we met, blah, blah, blah. It was only lately that I had begun to see him a lot, and it was kinda annoying. A lot of other demon males had started to do it too. I think they only want me for my money, but Koga is the only one who knew when my birthday was, (not to mention remembered it) and asked me about my feelings, so I guess I can trust him.
I opened the box, and my eyes widened a little at what I saw. It was a silver chain link bracelet with a bunch of little charms on it. Koga got up and sat next to me, looking at the charms excitedly.
"See the guitar? That stands for me. And the tiara, that stands for you. The two birds, those are your parents. The tiny skull is for Ginta, he practically begged to have his own, and Hakkaku-"
"You picked this out?" I asked, genuinely shocked. He nodded slightly, and I hugged him, sniffling a little. "Thank you so much." I said as he hugged me back.
"Your welcome." he said after a while, pulling away, smiling shyly. I almost laughed. Almost.
After we left, and made it to the cemetery, it was all I could do to keep from falling to the ground and crying my eyes out. At this point, I couldn't hold back the tears, but I had to remember to keep my emotions in check. I looked around for a familiar face, but couldn't find one. I clutched Akitsu's hand a little tighter, and she did the same in return. A signal that meant the world to me. It meant that I wasn't alone. I groaned a little inside as the marble of the coffins' made one last show of beauty before it returned back to it's earthen home for all of eternity.
I looked to the top of the graves, the names of my parents glittering in the meager sunlight with the dew and rain from this morning. I could smell the rain, and obviously so could everybody else, they all had their umbrellas out, but not yet open. The thunder rumbled impatiently above me, and I shivered involuntarily. I looked around and behind me, trusting that my senses were correct. Someone was watching me, but from where, and why? I glanced around suspiciously one more time, and the sensation on my neck disappeared slowly. I shrugged my shoulders a little, shaking off the chill of the air.
"Ashes to ashes," said the priestess as she neared the end of her speech. "Dust to dust." She bowed and then turned toward me, gesturing the little bowl of dirt next to her. I nodded and took the bowl, pouring it's contents first on my mothers grave, then on my fathers. I looked then at the priestess. She nodded and took the bowl.
"May the dead rest in peace, and may the living be joyous to be alive. There is naught greater gift than life." The priestess then bowed again, and left, taking most of the chill out of the air. As her aura disappeared, the crowd began to leave as well. I felt a tiny pressure on my hand and turned to face Akitsu. She looked earnestly into my eyes, and, for a millionth of a second, she looked like my mother.
In that instant, my legs could no longer hold me up, my mind went blank, and my heart got really heavy. Then it hit me, hard.
"Their dead...it's really..." I could feel the tears before they were even there. I fell to my knees. "My mom...dad. Its...official," I looked up at Akitsu. "Isn't it?" I asked.
"Oh Kii...I'm so, so sorry." said Akitsu, kneeling with me. She wrapped her arms around me and I cried, I cried like a newborn baby, I cried like...like something that cries a lot, I don't know. Akitsu began to cry as well, and I hugged her back clutching at her jacket tightly, pulling her closer, hiding my face. 'Why the hell am I crying now?' I questioned myself, feeling the sorrow rising up the emotional ladder to hatred. I pulled Akitsu closer, and fought to gain control over myself. I listened to the sounds around me, silence, birds-
Thunder rumbled over head and my sense of smell returned to me. I released Akitsu and stood slowly, helping Akitsu stand up. She wiped her eyes and then led the way to her car. I sat in the front seat and sat back, waiting for her to start the engine and go. As soon as the engine roared to life, the rain began to fall a heavy sheet of clear distortion covering the windows of the car.
We finally arrived...home, and the rain was pouring harder than ever. I thought about my parents grave sites for a moment and was glad that the plots were under a tree. I shook the thoughts from my head and opened the car door, opening my umbrella at the same time. I closed the door and ran over to Akitsu's side as she exited the car. She thanked me, and opened up her own umbrella. Together we jogged up the stairs to the shrine.
As we got closer, it seemed to get colder. I was shivering by the time we were in the courtyard, but I had also discovered the source. A girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes about my age was standing on the walkway that surrounded her house, looking very worried, and when she saw us, very relieved. I followed Akitsu up to the girl, and she eyeballed me, the same way I was eyeballing her. 'How on earth did this girl get such a powerfully pure aura?' I thought as we all entered the house. Almost immediately, all aura's ceased and Kagome placed herself between me and her mother.
"You're a demon." she said narrowing her eyes.
"Astute observation, Higurashi." I said raising an eyebrow. I looked to Akitsu, who sighed heavily, fatigue written all over her face. "You're a priestess, aren't you?" I asked returning my eyes to the girl. She nodded." Well, now that that's taken care of, you can explain how you came to develop those powers without proper training," I said mock cheerfully. "And I can tell you about how I became a demon." I held out my hand. "Kii Naiya." (a/n: pronounced Key Nah-e-ah) She looked at my hand, then at me.
"Kagome." she said with venom. I lowered my hand slowly. 'It's going to be a long stay.' I thought as Akitsu frowned at her daughter.
"Alright, to the living room, we have some discussing to do." said Akitsu, walking into their family room. It was there I learned about Kagome being the reincarnation of a great priestess, and a little but powerful trinket called the jewel of four souls.
I led Kii up the stairs and then to her room, which was filled with the boxes and luggage she had decided to keep. I opened the door and flicked on the light, and turned to face my new house guest. She entered the room, dark gold hair flowing easily down to the middle of her back, sea blue eyes glittering in the light of the room. I pointed to the door to the left of the entrance as she plopped onto her bed.
"That is the bathroom." I pointed to the door to the right. "And that is your closet. The rest of your boxes are in there." I began to leave, then, I had an after thought. "Oh, and please, don't go into my room, and stay away from my cat, I don't think you guys would get along, all things considered." She looked up at me with a saddened amusement smirking slightly. 'Of all the types of demons, she had to be a dog demon. What is it with me and DOGS?' I asked myself. 'I'm a cat person!'
"I'll remember to keep that in mind." she said relaxing a little with a smirk still on her face. I felt a spark of annoyance, then anger.
"And make sure you clean up your messes, I don't clean up after animals." I said smartly, for the sole purpose of wiping that smirk off of her face. She rolled her eyes and laid back on the bed.
"Why do you insist on insulting me?" She said in a tired sort of way. Automatically, my anger blazed, causing my aura to cackle, but because of the sutras around the house, couldn't be sensed. All she did was roll over on to her side. "All I can say to that is if you try to purify me, there will be more people trying to kill you than me, and I pretty sure your family would go down with you." she said nonchalantly, closing her eyes.
"Are you threatening me?" I asked narrowing my eyes at her sleeping form. I had never tried to purify a full demon, except Sesshoumaru, but that never really worked, not that I couldn't try on her. 'What the hell am I thinking?' I asked myself.
"No, just stating facts." I clenched my fists, then left the room, angry at the fact that I was angry, and at the fact that she had gotten the best of me. I practically marched into my room, plopping on my bed in anger. 'Every action is angry when your angry.' I thought trying to cheer myself up. I laid back on my bed and looked up at the ceiling, anger calming, allowing me to see the mistakes I had made when I was dealing with Kii. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands, then rolled over on to my side. 'And I have school tomorrow!' I thought angrily. 'At least I don't have to go to school with her the time being.' I cheered up a little at this, but still my thoughts were on the girl in the room next to mine.
'I can't believe she is even here after what she did too my mother.' I felt my fists clench, and I rolled over on my side, facing my room. 'Not only did she have my mother sit in the back of the room, but she wouldn't even let my mom do the eulogy! My mother was heartbroken for days over that. She sent a letter telling her she was passed over for someone 'more appropriate'. Who could be more appropriate than someone who knew them for over 20 years. That's a lot of friendship right there! I can't stand the society that she comes from, and I don't like her. She's just like the rest of them, arrogant and stuck up! The only reason she's even here is because of her parents wills.'
I sat up and stomped over to my desk and started on my homework. I looked at the clock. The numbers read seven thirty-five. I let out a frustrated sigh and began with math.
"Has she arrived?" asked a voice that echoed through the darkness of the room.
"Yes, my lord, but it seems she is having some problems with the girl." answered a voice with a slight growl.
"Just remember, we cannot contact her until she has returned." said the voice in the darkness smoothly. "You are dismissed."
"Yes my lord." answered the second voice gruffly.
P.S. I am working without spell check, so if you see any mistakes, PLEASE, tell me, I will correct them. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Only Kii.
