;'- å ηεω sнå∂ε σƒ ∂årkηεss -';
AN: I've been gone a long time, I know. But my exams have been absolutely hectic, not to mention that I didn't get enough sleep...e_e
I have my last Physics exam tomorrow and then I'm pretty much done with exams before the holidays. So, I decided to finish this fanfic that has been on my laptop for two weeks because I'm just getting so sick of it. It's nine pages. NINE PAGES! ;D
Enjoy!
:.:ღ:.:
Kaoru collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. Her grades were going downhill all of a sudden, when just six months ago she was one of the smartest students in her year. She hated school.
Deciding that she needed a long hot shower, she opened her wardrobe and fished out whatever she could find and flung them over her shoulder along with a bath towel.
She was about to enter the bathroom when she noticed a sticky note stuck to her drawer, she picked it up and read it: 'Wait for me. I wait for you. -B'.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow slightly, this wasn't new. In fact, this and been happening since last month to her and her two friends. She knew what would happen now, this meant she couldn't sleep tonight.
Sighing, she picked up her phone and called Momoko, "Hey-"
"Oh, my gosh! Did you get the note?" cried Momoko.
Kaoru, tilting her ear away from the phone replied slowly, "Yes..."
"That means we have to stay up, doesn't it?"
Kaoru nodded, then remembered that she was talking on the phone so Momoko couldn't actually see her, "Yep."
"You don't sound too worried."
"It's happened three times already, Momoko. I know the drill."
"Yeah, but we can't sleep tonight..."
Kaoru rolled her eyes, "It's really not that bad."
After a slight pause, Momoko asked, "What do you do when you aren't sleeping? I mean, it's not like you go shopping or something...everything's closed at night."
"That's my secret," replied Kaoru, bluntly.
Momoko sighed, "I'm going over to Miyako's and read some magazines. You can come if you want..." she trailed off.
"Thanks but no thanks."
"Uh...okay. Well, good luck."
Kaoru snorted, "Goodnight," she corrected.
"No...good luck."
The line cut dead and Kaoru frowned. She looked up at the clock and noticed it was 8:34pm, if she took a shower now, she could get out of the house quicker. With that, she crumpled up the sticky note and threw it into the bin and went into the bathroom.
:.:ღ:.:
A dark shadow loomed near the wall of a certain house. It looked across the street before gliding swiftly across the front of the house, its dark mist shrouding the walls until they became black.
The shadow looked through the window of a girl's bedroom. There was nobody there. Only a small lamp was lit on and the shadowed creature could see the bubblegum pink walls which were covered with a shrine of Justin Beiber posters along with the ordinary girly clothes which were scattered across the bedroom itself.
The creature grimaced and muttered something in an incomprehensible language. It then decided to open the window and enter the sanctuary. Everything seemed quiet except for the occasional sounds coming from the television downstairs. The creature studied the room, the name 'Momoko' was attached to the top of the wall on a shelf along with manga comics.
The creature sniffed the air and realised that it had come just too late. The girl, known as Momoko, had just left; it could tell by the fresh scent that still hung in her bedroom. If only the creature had come sooner, it would have been able to confront the girl.
"You will not escape," it growled in anger, its red eyes blazing.
And with that, its dark shadowed form swirled and flew out the window, an obscure mist trailing behind it.
:.:ღ:.:
The sky was dark. In fact, everything was dark; but Kaoru didn't mind. Instead, she leaned against the rusty railings of the harbour, watching the sea. Well, it was rather the reflection of the sky on the sea.
The wind was cold but refreshing nonetheless, she hugged her arms around her hoodie and inhaled the crisp air. The sea gave it a certain saltiness, but it wasn't bitter. Kaoru dropped the hood from her head and the wind slipped through the tangled mess of black strands. When all the tangles finally came free, her hair blew gracefully around her face.
Kaoru slid down the railing and sat on the dirty floorboards of the pier. She took of her shoes and slipped off her socks, gently dipping her feet into the freezing water. She gasped slightly when the cold impact of the water caused her to tense before she hesitantly pushed her feet further into the water.
Kaoru began to swing her feet in the water, splashing it around as she became adjusted to the coldness.
She hated how she was reduced to not being able to sleep in her own room. It was terrible. In fact, she wasn't allowed to sleep at all, not unless she wanted them to come back.
This had happened three times already.
:.:ღ:.:
Miyako had finished playing the piano in music class and walked to the lockers alongside Momoko. Both were gossiping away about some new boy band and how 'cute' they were. But they were oblivious to what was awaiting them.
Since both of their lockers were right next to each other, they both opened them in unison, still talking non-stop when Momoko suddenly noticed a sticky note on top of her Maths books.
Lifting the sticky note, she read: "Surrender tonight. -B."
Miyako raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"That's what the note says."
"Huh...I wonder what that means..."
"Hey, guys. I'm heading home. Can you get home by yourselves?"
Momoko snorted, "Kaoru, we're not children. We'll be fine."
"What's that in your hand?" Kaoru said, looking at the sticky note.
"Someone must've put it in your locker, Momoko," said Miyako.
Kaoru snatched the note away from her hand earning a protest from Momoko, "Surrender tonight. -B."
Miyako and Momoko glanced at each other.
"Surrender? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know..." replied Momoko.
Kaoru suddenly narrowed her eyes at her, "Momoko..."
"Yes?"
"Have you been stalking any guys this week?"
"W-what? No! Why would you ask something like that?"
"Well, this note does seem pretty threatening...you aren't in some sorta secret abusive relationship, are you?"
"No, Kaoru!"
"Then why..."
"I don't know, but you should just ignore it, Momoko," said Miyako, who had been silent during their 'argument'.
"Yeah, Miyako's right. Let's just forget about it," said Momoko, throwing the note into the bin.
"Alright, if you say so..." but Kaoru was still skeptical.
Later that very night, Momoko finished washing and changing. Climbing into the bed, she sighed, exhausted. Sleep came easily after the tiring day she had and she lay there, eyes closed, breathing even.
Just after midnight, the windows hatched open from their original locked positions. A dark shadow creature seeped through the tiny gap and poured over the pink walls. It floated over the sleeping girl who was oblivious to the going-ons.
The creature cracked a malicious grin, its red eyes narrowed in concentration. Its shadow-formed body swirled around in circles as it loomed over Momoko, looking like a black tornado forming just below the ceiling.
The creature chuckled darkly as streaks of electricity zapped through its twisted body. The lights in the bedroom began turning on and off, that certainly got Momoko's attention when her eyes began to flutter. She noticed the sudden static in the air before she was even fully awake and she jolted right up. "W-what the...?"
Since she was sitting up, she couldn't see the dark cloudy figure which floated above her head. Momoko walked over to the mirror to check her appearance, she could see the dark rings under her eyes and she knew she would have to get sleep sooner or later.
Then she wondered why she had even woke up in the middle of the night anyway... The lights turned off again and she jumped. Still looking into the mirror, she noticed something dark, moving on the ceiling. Narrowing her eyes, she turned around to meet a pair of red menacing eyes and a wicked grin.
"Hello," it said, its voice a low growl.
Momoko, too scared to even scream, stood rooted to the ground. Someone help me! Anyone, please!
The creature flicked its head back and electricity currents shot in all directions. Momoko narrowly missed a hit by ducking to the floor at the last minute.
"Mum! Dad!" she screamed, finally realising her situation.
The creature frowned and shook its head and made scolding noises at her before sending out more electricity bolts. Oh, great. Just great. She was going to be beaten by a shadow in her own bedroom. Just fucking great.
Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open and the lights turned on automatically. Momoko's parents stood there, looking worried.
"Mum! Dad!" cried Momoko happily as she ran up to them and gave them a fierce hug.
"What's wrong, Momoko?" asked her mother, hugging her back.
"We thought we heard you screaming," said her father as he knelt down to hug his daughter as well.
Momoko turned around and was about to show them the dark creature when she noticed that it wasn't there. It was as though it had disappeared into thin air...
Momoko was still breathing heavily from the fright. Had she just been dreaming it all up? No, she was sure that it was real...
"Momoko?" called her mother, "Are you alright?"
Momoko nodded, "Uh...yeah...I'm fine. But could I sleep in Kuriko's room tonight?"
Her parents glanced at each other and shrugged slightly, "If you want to...sure."
Momoko nodded and muttered a 'goodnight' as she went to her little sister's room.
:.:ღ:.:
Kaoru shuddered, but it wasn't because of the chill in the air.
She and Miyako had been lucky that time. In fact, when Momoko had told them what she thought had happened that night, they didn't believe her and said that it was probably just a vivid nightmare or something.
Momoko persisted that it was real, but then she started to feel that it was her imagination too. Soon enough, they had forgotten all about it.
Until two weeks later, when they received another note...that very night, all three of them faced the creatures. It was unreal. But Kaoru knew it had actually happened, as did the others.
And just three weeks ago, they found another sticky note and decided it wasn't safe for them to sleep in their rooms...just in case.
They were right. As long as they didn't fall asleep, the shadow creatures never came to attack them. Which was why Kaoru was now sitting in the cold on the pier, dangling her bare feet in the freezing water.
Resting her forehead against the cold railing she sighed, "Being a Powerpuff sucks sometimes..."
She was tired but she had to stay awake. Anything to stay awake.
From the distance she could see another side of the pier, far away from her, and she swore she saw a dark shadow swish past the railings.
Shaking her head she muttered, "I'm going crazy."
Looking back down at the water, she could see the ripple effect of the reflection of the stars. Since the water was moving, the stars seemed to dance out of place. Gosh, tonight was going to be one long night...
Kaoru stood up and shook the water from her feet, she grabbed her socks and shoes but decided not to put them on until her feet dried. The floorboards creaked under her weight and she shivered as a sudden gust of wind blew across the sea towards the pier where she stood.
Just as she turned around, a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders as she met a wide grin, "Hello, beautiful."
Kaoru gasped. A shadow creature stood in front of her, dark green eyes glowing the dark. She staggered backwards a little bit but a dark black mist formed around her, enclosing her in a circle so she couldn't escape. Startled, she turned back to the creature.
The creature seemed to take a human-figured shape...until it looked like a familiar boy who she hadn't remembered until now.
"Butch," she breathed.
Butch raised an eyebrow, still grinning, "You still remember me?"
Kaoru frowned, "Of course. How could I forget..." she murmured.
"Well, it has been...what, two years?"
"Three," she corrected him, her eyes narrowed.
"Ah, time does fly by when you're having fun," he replied with a wink.
Kaoru scoffed, "Mind telling me why you're here?"
He made scolding noises at her, "My dear, impatient as ever I see?"
She glared at him, "I'm not your 'dear'. And I'm not being impatient, it's something called 'cutting to the chase'."
Butch grinned, "My, my, no introductions or welcomed greetings from you?"
Still glaring, she replied, "We already know each other, Butch. And trust me, you're definitely not welcome."
"No manners either, huh?" he tutted once more and began circling around her, "You haven't changed one bit, have you, Kaoru?"
She flinched when he used her real name, and he noticed as a wide smirk flitted across his face.
"But, of course, I'm glad you didn't. I love the way you are now. Impatient. Tempered. Feisty..." he leaned down, his lips brushing against her neck ever so slightly and she shivered, "And all mine."
At that, Kaoru jerked her head away from him, "What the hell do you want?"
He raised his eyebrow as a lazy smirk spread across his face, "What do I want? Well, I want you, of course."
She immediately regretted asking him. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "Let me rephrase that. Why are you here? And why are you..." she made a gesture to the shadowing mist that floated around him, "...you know..."
"You're very curious too, aren't you?" Kaoru frowned when Butch flashed her a sardonic grin, "Come here and I'll tell you," he said, opening his arms for her.
Kaoru shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere near you,"she spat.
Butch grinned, "Fine. I'll come to you."
Kaoru didn't have chance to respond, nor to even register what he said when he suddenly swooped her into his arms, bridal-style, and whisked her away into the clouds high above, a trail of dark mist floated behind them - marking their journey.
She gasped as the wind blew through her hair, the strands flying as whisps. Butch looked down and grinned at her, holding her tightly, "Enjoying the ride, babe?"
As much as Kaoru wanted to spit a bitter remark, she decided that now wasn't the best time since he was currently holding her 20 000 feet above the ground. What was worse was that she had to clutch onto his clothing, and he was enjoying every single second of it. But it was either that or she would plummet to her death down below.
"Where are we going?" she asked loudly over the roaring of the wind.
He winked, "It's a surprise."
"Stupid bastard..." she muttered, "Just let me go!"
"You sure you want me to let you go? Now?" he asked mischievously, nodding towards the ground down below which was far away from them.
Kaoru sighed, "I meant let me down!"
Butch shook his head, "No can do, babe."
She growled, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
"Capturing your heart," he replied with a lazy grin. In fact, he looked so at ease being up so high in the air. It was as though he had done this a million times already. Kaoru gulped, he probably had.
"Maybe you should just stick to 'capturing you'."
He raised an eyebrow, "Whatever works...does it work for you?"
Kaoru looked confused, "What are you talking about?"
He shook his head, chuckling, "Never mind. We're here."
Kaoru looked away from him, only to realise where 'here' was. "What in the world...?"
Butch put her down but still kept his arms securely fastened around her waist, and she noticed why. They were currently floating in mid-air (not to mention that they were much higher than she had originally thought they were) and they were just about touching the smooth tips of the clouds underneath their feet.
Kaoru looked amazed. The view was amazing, the clouds looked like a sheet of cotton laid down beneath them and the sky was slightly lighter and blue because of how high they were - even if it was the middle of the night and half of Tokyo City was asleep.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
She turned back to look at Butch, she'd almost forgotten that he was there. In fact, the view was spectacular without him. She frowned, "I guess so..." she murmured.
But he wasn't so easily fooled, rather he gave a well-satisfied grin, "Say what you may, but I know you find this beautiful."
He was right. The atmosphere, the view, the colours...they all fit perfectly. Kaoru just wished that he wasn't there with him. That would have made it even more perfect. So lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed that he was stroking her cheek softly until he planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
"W-what the hell?" she exclaimed, shoving him away before quickly holding him by the shoulders again when she realised that she would fall if she didn't hold onto him - much to her dismay.
"Something wrong?" he asked, smirking as though her outburst hadn't affected him one bit. And it hadn't as he leaned in for another kiss, but this time, Kaoru was prepared when she covered his mouth with her hand.
"Are you crazy or do you not happen to realise that you are harassing me?"
"Harassing you?"
Kaoru scowled, "Yes, harassing me. As in, sexual harassment."
"I'm crazy," he said, bluntly. In fact, it sounded so casual that Kaoru just blinked at him, not expecting that answer. But he leaned in and whispered, "Crazy for you."
"No, I'm gonna stick with just plain crazy."
Butch grinned, "You think I'm crazy?"
"Yes!" she replied, frustrated.
"Maybe I am," he said. And, suddenly, he just let her go. It took her a few seconds to realise that he was no longer supporting her and that she was falling through the clouds at such a high speed.
But, surprisingly, she didn't feel great panic, but she did realise that if she hit the ground...she would be flat-Kaoru-pancake. In other words, not good.
"Fuck," she muttered as the wind blew past her when she dived through the air. Huh, it wasn't such a bad experience. No wonder skydivers enjoyed it so much. In fact, the faster she fell, the more her adrenaline built up, and she actually felt like wanting to hit the ground.
Though, she wished she had at least a parachute...or maybe incredible spidey-powers like Spiderman. But then again...she was a Powerpuff...
She grinned inwardly to herself as she reached for the compact in her belt. But just as she was about to transform, arms wrapped themselves around her and Kaoru struggled until she slowed down, then she noticed that she was leaning against a person.
Butch grinned, "Did you really think that I'd let you fall to your death?"
That was when the panic started to rush in and Kaoru suddenly realised that she probably would've fallen to her death. Blood pumped through her ears frantically. Oh, sure, now she was scared - right after she'd been saved.
"Okay, you proved your point: you are crazy."
His grin grew wider, "Just the way I like it."
She frowned, "Take me back to the pier."
He raised an eyebrow, "Already?"
"Yes," she growled.
Butch rolled his eyes but smirked again, "Impatient. Tempered. Feisty. You're all mine."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"What? That you're mine? Because you are!"
"No! I'm not!"
"Maybe not just yet. But, trust me, I'll make you mine."
Suddenly, she noticed that her feet touched solid ground. Kaoru looked behind her, she was in front of her house. She hadn't even noticed that they'd been descending the whole time. She looked back at Butch who was looking at her with an emotion she couldn't quite pick out. But the expression quickly faded away when he touched her forehead with his own. Their breaths mixed with each others'.
"I won't disturb your sleep tonight," he said, their noses rubbing against each other slightly, "but next time I send you a note, I'd prefer that you didn't crumple it up and throw it in a bin."
Kaoru's eyes widened. Shit! He knew about the note! Wait...he sent those notes to her? But, doesn't that mean that...his brothers were sending notes to Momoko and Miyako? Damn it!
"Oh, and let me remind you. Don't try to run away from me when I send you a note, next time. Same goes to your friends. Because, trust me, my brothers and I will find you. All three of you. You're mine, understand?"
Kaoru was still in shock, and so she nodded her head.
The corner of his lips twitched upwards and then he pressed them against hers, taking her by surprise. But, before she could even respond, he was gone. A dark mist flew by her. And, though it was barely audible, she was sure she heard a whisper saying, "All mine."
:.:ღ:.:
AN: Slightly twisted Butch? Yes, I was watching 'The Woman in Black' the night before – worst mistake ever (I thought it was a thriller, not a horror...they should put DVDs on the right shelves...).
I know that most of it seems a little off...my writing is lacking BIG TIME, mostly because I haven't written a fanfic nor read a book in a long time – that's what excess studying does to you.
I'm planning to write some sort of sequel to this, so if you feel it's incomplete...it will be completed in the sequel.