Kyoko's POV
A sudden panicky feeling overtook me. I froze, jerking Yuki to a stop.
"Something's wrong with Kuon, Yuki. We have to go back now!" I said going back the way we came.
"But Kaa-san, Fuwa's made a contract with a devil. He's a lot more dangerous than he was."
I glared at him over my shoulder. "If you want to go find a hole to crawl in go ahead but I know something's happened to Kuon and I need to help him, Yuki. I love your otou-san and I'm not leaving him, not again."
Yuki let me go. "I've always known you loved him, Kaa-san. Just be careful. I don't want to attend a double funeral."
I smiled.
"Thank you." I said running back down the hall. I don't know how I knew but I knew Kuon was in some kind of trouble. The only question in my mind was if I was going to make it in time. I lost track of how many turns I took as I tried to get back to the lobby. I was more focused on running than where I was going when I went through the first time. It took me a few minutes to find my way back to the lobby. The first thing I saw was Kuon on the floor with a woman crouching over him. I could feel my lip pull back, a snarl escaping my lips.
"Back away from him, now." I hissed at my mother. She looked up from Kuon and took something out of her pocket, a handgun.
"I don't know who you are but you are in no position to be ordering me around. I found this man on the floor and I was about to check his pulse nothing more nothing less." She said training the gun on me. When her eyes left me to glance around the room I sent out my demons. The main forces took the sides and the rear. The remaining forces I used to survey the area seeing how many people there were. There was only my mother and I. I started to walk towards Kuon when she turned back to me.
"I'll ask you again. Who are you?"
I tried to look hurt. "I can't believe you don't remember me, Saene. I mean us devils have to stick together."
She smirked and holstered her gun. "So you've heard of me? Not many of the newer generations have heard of me."
I shrugged. "I like to know who's a devil and who's not. You know? Make sure I'm not hanging around too many devils but not too many humans either."
She smiled icily. "I know what you mean. My first husband was a devil, but he was weak thought of humans as equals not the slaves they are. My second husband is human but I only married him for his money and political power."
I nodded; acting like her ally was the best option at the time.
"So why would someone as powerful as you come to a place like this?"
Okaa-san glanced around. "I'm looking for a woman. She's 35, petite, black hair, and amber eyes. Have you seen anyone matching that description?"
I shook my head. "No, I haven't. Is he dead or did you put him into a nightmare?"
Nightmares were the terms used for the illusions devils conjured to stall humans or put them into a comatose state.
"I put him in a nightmare but it seems that little whore formed a contract with him so he's not actually in a coma he's just out of it." She kicked him in the ribs to prove her point. "That damn kid I formed a contract with couldn't even stand up to him. Got scared and ran off, had to do all the work myself."
I had to work very hard not to use my demons to attack her right that moment. It's best to keep your trump card hidden until you need to reveal it.
"What did this woman do to piss you off?"
She looked up from Kuon. "That whore's my daughter from my first marriage. She's got two kids. The girl's with me at the moment her son is somewhere in Japan. This guy is her kids' otou-san a pitiful man if I must say so. All had going for him was his looks, his acting, and his fighting skills. That whore is causing a few people and I need to take care of her. As long as I keep using nightmares nothing will come back to me." She kicked him again.
I bit my lip trying to contain what little self control I had left.
"Must be a big probably if you have to kill your own daughter."
She snorted. "That whore was never anything I could use. She wasn't smart, she wasn't beautiful, and she wasn't athletic, if I hadn't known better I would have said she was 100 percent human."
I shivered. "Such a worthless daughter and you still kept her?"
Okaa-san laughed. I almost flinched. It was a cackling sound filled with malice and a devilish nature.
"No, no, no. I left that whore with a human couple. I forgot about her until I got married again."
I laughed. "It would be easy to forget such a useless child."
Even though my words sounded fine a small part of my heart shattered. It seemed I was still holding on to a faint hope that my okaa-san loved me. I walked closure to Kuon. I bent down and examined him. "He's quite handsome for a human. I could imagine a one night stand with a man like him but not a long term relationship. Now how'd that girl catch a man like this if she isn't anything special?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. But more importantly I have to find where that whore is. If you joined me I'd be quite grateful."
I shook my head. "No, thank you. I'm more interested in having a little fun with this man." I said looking down at Kuon with what hopefully looked like a calculating gaze.
"I can understand what you're thinking. If that whore hadn't touched him I might have taken a shot at him myself."
I could feel rage boil in my heart but I just shrugged.
"I don't really care who he's shacked up."
She shrugged and strutted off in search of me, totally unaware I was standing right in front of her.
Kuon's POV
I walked around aimlessly. No matter what hallway I tried I kept ending up in the lobby with no other human in sight. I had no idea what had happened to Kyoko and Yuki and I was getting anxious. I was more than a little unnerving when the lobby started to shift and twist around. Great know I'm hallucinating. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was hoping when I opened my eyes things would be back to normal. When I opened my eyes I was greeted by a pair of amber eyes.
"Finally! I was getting worried." Kyoko said hugging me.
Saying I was confused was an understatement.
"What the hell happened? I was having a weird dream were I was stuck in the lobby and couldn't get out."
She pulled back and smiled wistfully. "That's a little taste of what we devils call nightmares. Illusions that are meant to put human into a coma."
I held up my hand when it looked like she was about to say more.
"I don't want to know the history of devils or all the details. Now, who the hell gave me this nightmare?"
Kyoko's lip pulled back in a snarl. It was scary but strangely sexy. "That would be your future mother-in-law."
I sighed. "Your family doesn't like me."
She laughed. "My okaa-san doesn't even like me, and we have no idea who my dad is so who knows if he hates you or not?"
I smiled and kissed her. "Good point. Now where's Yuki?"
Kyoko's expression turned worried. "I don't know. And my okaa-san is armed with more than just nightmares."
I immediately stood up. "Which way did you two go?"
She stood up and pointed towards the hallway that led to the Modeling section and an employee exit.
"Okay, what kind of weapon did she have?"
"Some sort of handgun."
I gritted my teeth. "How confident did she look while holding the gun?"
She frowned. "Her stance was poor but she looked comfortable with it in her hands."
I growled under my breath. The woman could kill without a second thought. Not a good sign when you have a kid who's not used to fire arms.
"How much gun experience does Yuki have?"
Kyoko smiled. "I have a small caliber handgun stashed in my apartment. Yuki knows how to fire it, take it apart, put it back together, take out the clip, put in a clip, and how to take it out of someone's hands, with and without touching them." She added her smiled turning malicious.
I smiled softly. "That's our boy. He's got my skill for fighting and your demons."
Kyoko smiled up at me. "Yes, but his demons aren't that powerful. Until he's experience a deep betrayal that turns love or admiration to hatred he won't have the true powers of his demons."
I frowned as we turned another corner. "Well, let's hope he doesn't have that experience."
After turning another corner I caught of glimpse of black hair. Himeji Saene and Yuki were face to face. Himeji-san had a gun trained on Yuki's chest.
"Who are you?" She asked him.
"Hongo Yuki." He lied. He was using the surname from Kyoko's stage name, smart boy. She lowered the gun and stretched a hand towards him. Yuki grabbed her hand as his demons grabbed her gun. He flipped her over his head and snatched her gun while she sailed through the air. Yuki spun around gun in hand and trained on Himeji-san. "Don't move or I'll put a bullet in your heart, old hag."
She stared at Yuki in amazement. "You're a devil, a demon handler."
Yuki raised a brow but didn't speak.
"Very few devils have the power to summon and control demons." She continued. "You could be a very power devil, Hongo-kun. If you get the proper training you could rule Japan."
He snorted. "I've have a trainer. My kaa-san has been teaching me for years how to defend myself with human and devil means. I don't need some slimy bitch like you teaching me."
She looked up at him, trying to look hurt. "I was afraid you would hurt me. Many human try to kill me on spot. I had that gun for self defense."
Yuki snorted. "I know why you're here, Himeji Saene. You're here to take out Mogami Kyoko, your daughter. You also have your granddaughter, Mogami Aoi or Hizuri Aoi, if you use her tou-san's surname, as a hostage to threaten your daughter into silence."
I whistled at stepped into view Kyoko right behind me.
"Why did you figure all that out?" I asked.
Yuki glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "After you two lied about going to meet that Kamiji Yuu guy, I did a little digging and a little hacking."
Kyoko gasped beside me. "You did what?!" She demanded.
Yuki winced. "Later, Kaa-san. Now what do you want to do with her?" He asked turning his eyes back to Himeji-san. I saw Kyoko bite her lip.
"Shoot her hands. She's actually not that strong aside from her nightmares. Take out her hands and we should be fine until the police get her."
I placed my hands over Kyoko's ears as she closed her eyes. I nodded to Yuki. Two shots and a blood curling scream echoed through the halls. I lowered my hands from Kyoko's ears and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into my chest.
"I know that was hard on you, Kyoko. If you want to cry go ahead." She pushed against my chest so she could look up at me.
"I'm okay, Kuon." Her eyes said that she was fighting back tears because she didn't want to show weakness to her okaa-san and she didn't want to cry in front of Yuki.
