HEY HEY I'M BA-ACK! I'm sorry for such a long delay, really I am, but as the expression goes, better late than never! (I love that expression.) Anyways, to anyone new to my fanfics, this fic is the SEQUEL to The Feline Curse. You can probably get along without reading it, but I ask you to read it anyways, as I'd really appreciate it. Anyways, this fic introduces a brand new main character named Tamora. What I find really cool about her character (...and I created her...geez...) is that she has absolutely no spiritual powers whatsoever, yet circumstances force her to interact with the Spirit Detectives in an interesting way. I apologize in advance since this fic has a slower start than The Feline Curse, but trust me, I will definitely make up for it later. So, in this chapter, we've got all the character information on Tamora needed to begin, the prologue, and the first chapter. Let's get to it!
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH. I do own The Feline Curse, Catalyn, and Tamora. Like usual, five reviews before I update!
Anyways, here it goes. I really hope you enjoy this fic!
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Tamora Korino
Age: 15
Hair: Black, styled similar to Akira Toya from Hikaru No Go
Eyes: Icy blue
Height: A bit under five feet
Other info: Quite flat at the chest, does not look her age, usually has a slightly cold expression
Academic info: Tamora is mostly around boys, as she attends an all-boys private high school (no, she is not a boy, and that is not subject to change). Her father owns the school, and since he has no son, he was able to let Tamora study there. It's a school for the smart and rich. Tamora has the highest overall average there (97). If some boys do tease her about her height or other reasons, she can easily just outscore them on the next test.
Social life: Well, she doesn't exactly have one. Tamora hates working with others, in and out of the classroom. She prefers solitude and doesn't like to be disturbed. If people are rude to her, she's rude right back, and if people try to be nice to her, she does the same (as in, is rude right back). She doesn't care for much, except schoolwork, and she's very emotionless. If ever she were really angry, no one would know; it wouldn't show at all.
Family: Tamora lives with her parents and has no siblings. She hardly sees her father since he is always away doing something. She isn't close with her mom because her mom doesn't try to understand her and gets mad at her for everything. She'd probably be happy if she left. Either way, Tamora couldn't care less. She doesn't remember much of her relationship with her parents from when she was little, but she knows it was extremely painful to her. Besides, she prefers to live in the present without dwelling on the past.
PROLOGUE: THE LEGEND OF THE CLONE
Many years ago in the demon realm, a demon doctor with amazing scientific powers made an important discovery. A baby demon was set to be born, and he foresaw that this demon would grow to wield immense powers. However, the doctor feared that this demon would interfere with his plans to rule the Makai, so he came up with a plan. Somehow, he managed to kidnap the baby and create an amazing clone – a clone that would develop the same powers and characteristics as the original. Then the doctor would tinker with the clone to make it even more powerful than the original. It would serve him and make him the most powerful demon alive. However, one day, a terrible disaster struck, the clone vanished, and everyone involved lost their memory. Only Hiei of the Jagan Eye was able to retain memories of the incident, and still has them to this day. But now the doctor's memory has returned. He has sent his demon minions forth to every possible dimension existing, including the human world, Ningenkai. These demons can control a body for a brief period of time while looking into the person's deepest, darkest, even most forgotten memories. Then they will report back to their master. The doctor, his goal unchanging, is searching far and wide, and will stop at nothing to find his clone, use it, and destroy Hiei.
CHAPTER ONE: WOUNDED
When Tamora woke up, something felt different, but she didn't know what was the cause of this disturbance. There were low voices talking near her, which wasn't normal. Her dad was hardly ever home, and her mom never entered her room. Had she done something stupid the night before, and therefore spurred a serious chat with her parents? Her eyes still closed, she focused and tried to remember.
She couldn't do it. She'd been walking home from school, and--- Nothing more. Well, it was possible that she'd come down with a slight fever, since she was feeling a bit under the weather, so it was only natural to forget. Then she realized that her right arm, her writing arm, was filled with a stabbing pain. It wasn't the kind of pain that came from a bruise. It was ten times worse. And her bed, as opposed to being as hard as a rock, was shockingly fluffy. What was going on?
She opened her eyes and struggled to sit up. Wait a minute – struggled? She couldn't use her right arm at all. Her whole body felt sore and stiff, and her head pounded when she moved. Looking and feeling around, she saw that her arm was in a cast and there were bandages around her head. The room she was in was plain and white. It was a hospital room.
Then Tamora noticed two women standing near her bedside, both looking to be about her age. One of them had long amber hair held loose, and there were two strange bumps on either side of her head. Her eyes were strangely cat-like. The other had blue hair held up in a thick ponytail and amethyst eyes. She grinned broadly.
"Oh, you're awake!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed.
Tamora frowned. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"You do now!" she replied cheerfully. "I'm called Botan, and this here is Catalyn." What an original name, Tamora thought boredly, looking into the cat-like eyes. Catalyn gave her a smile, which she did not return.
There was an awkward silence. "Why are you here?" Tamora finally asked. Both women's smiles faded quickly. "Well?" she demanded in a low monotone but with a certain authority.
Botan and Catalyn exchanged worried glances, and Catalyn spoke: "We came to apologize to you on behalf of our friends…since they're the ones that hurt you." There was silence. Tamora's frown deepened. "It's a long story," she added.
"Very long!" put in Botan. She rambled on, "In fact, it's so long and wild, you wouldn't believe us if we told you! So, sorry for the injuries – we'll pay for them, don't worry – and get well soon!"
Tamora glared at her, sensing immediately that something wasn't right with this story. "Don't even think about leaving until you tell me everything," she said sharply. Botan stopped; she had been inching towards the door. Using her left hand, Tamora pointed at her. "I don't trust you," she told her, and then pointed to Catalyn, "so I want you to explain things to me." The two women exchanged glances again, but she didn't care. "First, tell me why, thanks to your friends, I ended up with a broken arm."
Catalyn looked nervous. "You wouldn't believe me if I told –"
"I don't care," Tamora interrupted.
Catalyn sighed. When she spoke, her voice was shaky, but it grew stronger as she went on and Tamora remained expressionless. "There are three different worlds existing right now: the human world – here; spirit world, where our spirits go when we die; and the demon world, a nasty place home to creatures we call demons. Some are decent enough, but a lot of them aren't exactly friendly, and to add to that they have terrible powers. Some low-level demons somehow entered the human world, entering innocent bodies and taking control of them. My friends attacked you while trying to get one of the demons out of your body."
Tamora still didn't show any change in expression. She just listened, taking in every piece of information, without a care in the world as to if it was believable or not.
"They managed to get it out," Catalyn continued, "but they had to knock you out, which explains the bandage on your head. However, before they did, the demon controlling you tried to fight against them, so my friends had no choice but to fight back. They only intended to give you some minor scrapes, but…" she trailed off, looking at Tamora's cast.
Tamora sat in silence, looking directly into Catalyn's eyes. Catalyn looked back, almost with a sort of determination in her eyes. Tamora knew the story seemed far-fetched, but it was obvious that Catalyn's eyes were truthful (it's a sort of feeling she would get with people sometimes, and it had never failed her). Besides, she liked to consider all possibilities before coming to a decision. She decided on a question: "How do you know about these so-called demons?"
"We work for the Spirit World," Botan answered brightly. "You might know me as the Grim Reaper." Yeah, really grim, thought Tamora.
Catalyn added, "And I help out the Spirit Detectives, the humans who attacked you. Our job is basically to track down demons in the human world or demons that pose a threat to the Spirit World."
Tamora processed this information easily enough, but she found another question that caused her to doubt: "No one I know knows anything about Spirit World, so I assume it's a big secret. So, why tell me?"
"It was only just to apologize for your arm," Catalyn said. "It's hard enough fighting an innocent human. But you can never, under any circumstances, tell anyone the things we've told you. And if you need more proof," she added, pulling her hair into a ponytail, "here it is." Tamora stared. Now that the hair was pulled back, the lumps on her head were revealed to be cat ears. A tail flicked out from beneath her skirt. "I'm part demon," Catalyn explained. "I know our word isn't much, but this should be of help."
After more thinking, Tamora decided to believe them. But she didn't appreciate the fact that her arm was now broken. "Why are you trusting me?" she asked coldly.
Botan stepped closer and held out her hands. All of Tamora's scrapes disappeared, and her head stopped pounding. She stared. "I know some pneumatherapy," Botan explained. "It's Spirit Healing. I can't heal broken bones, though. That's Catalyn's department."
"No," Tamora said shortly as Catalyn stepped forward. Botan stepped back. "I did not ask to get involved with this stuff."
Botan still hadn't answered her question. She sighed. "I'm really sorry, Tamora, but you're going to have to come back with us now."
"Excuse me?" Tamora asked, wondering how Botan knew her name without her telling her.
A strange black void opened the ground near Botan's feet. "What's going on?" Tamora demanded.
Botan looked at her strangely, her smile still in place. Catalyn said, "We weren't just here to apologize. We're on orders." She took a deep breath, and she suddenly seemed very business-like. "We're going to have to take you back to Spirit World with us."
End of first chapter! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and tell me what you think!
