I was going to leave this until tomorrow, but I'm bored and I just finished another chapter of this. I am determined to finish it, just for the writing practice and satisfaction if nothing else! x3
By the time Araitsume woke the sun was almost at its highest. The sunlight shone through the window. It had been three days since she had collapsed beside the river. Karasu had been following her everywhere. She could hear Arashi talking on the phone in the room next to hers. No doubt he was talking with Hielo. The two had been together every day. Watching the two of them fall in love made her dream seem far away. Karasu also seemed far away on this beautiful morning.
With a huge yawn Araitsume dragged herself from her bed. As she opened her bedroom door another voice became audible. It was a male's voice, too young to be one of Arashi's friends. Araitsume let out a sigh and made her way to the living room. As she had suspected, Karasu was sitting talking to her mother, Kumo, and her father, Niirohoshi. She growled under her breath. How could they let that into the house? She stood in the doorway, looking at the raven-haired boy. "You're such a stalker!" She laughed.
Karasu blushed and looked away. Surely he wasn't falling for her? If the cat world was real, her future boyfriend was going to be the reincarnation of Ravenshadow. Was it possible he was Ravenshadow? She cleared her head of the thought. 'I don't love him! I don't... but he's... No! I don't even like him!' Araitsume thought. She knew though that this wasn't the case. She was falling in love with him, and if he wasn't Ravenshadow, StarClan would just have to deal with it. She smiled at him. "Have you even eaten today?" She said as she heard his stomach rumble with hunger. Karasu shook his head. "Come on then. You can have breakfast here and then we can discuss that Math problem" She winked at the older boy. Karasu got to his feet and walked toward Araitsume who led him to the kitchen.
"Thanks, by the way. And sorry for turning up like this. I had the worst dream yet last night and I just felt you were the only one who would understand so I came as soon as I could." He laughed nervously. "I do feel like a stalker now." He added, his hands behind his head.
Araitsume was only concentrating on one thing. "What was your nightmare about? How bad was-"before she could finish the sentence she saw Karasu swaying back and forward. She raced toward him and caught him just before he fell. She heard a startled gasp from the door and turned to see Arashi staring down at them.
"Arashi! Please help. Could you carry him up to my room?" Araitsume pleaded. She laid a hand on Karasu's forehead. "He has a fever." She reported. "Do we have any Feverfew in the yard?"
Arashi picked the sixteen-year-old up easily. "Uh... yes. Why?" He said as he walked up the stairs.
Araitsume didn't answer. She darted out the back door and over to the feverfew plant. She didn't stop as she usually did to smell the flowers. Instead she picked a few of the green leaves off and took them up to her room.
She sat beside him, looking down with a worried expression. Her hand lingered above his head. She stroked his soft black hair and memories flooded back. Memories of Ravenshadow. His soft black fur. Sitting sharing tongues as they sat under Silverpelt eating their share of fresh-kill. Then memories of Karasu. She remembered when she first got to know him after she collapsed. The day they had spent with Shida beside the river. The fear she had felt just now as he fell into her arms.
She snapped out of her daydreams as she saw Karasu move slightly. She pulled her hand away from where it still lay on his soft hair. He slowly opened his green eyes and looked up at her. "How...How long was I out?" He asked weakly.
Araitsume picked up the feverfew leaves she had picked earlier. "Just about..." She looked down at her watch. "Half an hour." She handed him her herbs. "It's feverfew. It should make you feel a little better."
Karasu laughed. "You still have a paw in ThunderClan. We have medicine for fevers now. I actually have some in my coat pocket. I keep it just in case."
Araitsume stared at him. "You mean this happens often?" She exclaimed.
Karasu nodded. "Whenever StarClan wants to share information with me." He murmured, too exhausted to say much. He took a deep breath and sat up. He caught Araitsume's gaze and held it. "Where's your dad?" He asked.
"He went out for a walk, why?" Araitsume watched as her friend's eyes filled with fear and sorrow. Realization dawned on her as she realised what information StarClan had shared with him. "What's going to happen to him?"
Karasu closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. "There is nothing I can do." He whispered. "It's obviously not meant to be changed." A gunshot sounded from outside, causing him to flinch. He jumped off of the bed and darted down the stairs. Araitsume followed close behind.
They ran down the street and into the woodland. Near the edge of the small wood they found her father, Niirohoshi, lying face down in a pool of his own blood. Araitsume gasped, her eyes filling with tears. Karasu pulled her close to him. She buried her head into his shirt, trying to block out the scene before her.
A small female shape ran through the long grass. In her left hand she carried a gun, no doubt the gun used to kill Niirohoshi. He wanted so badly to charge off after the bitch, but he couldn't stand the thought of not being there for Araitsume. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Digging around in his pocket he found his phone. "Arashi? This is Karasu. I think you should get down here."
"No...Ho-How could this happen?" Arashi kneeled down beside his father's lifeless body. "Have you called 999 yet?" he demanded.
Karasu shook his head. "I wanted to give you two a chance to say goodbye." He still stood close to Araitsume, his arm around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, hoping for as much comfort as she could get.
After telling the police all that they knew, Araitsume, Arashi, their mother Kumo and Karasu made their way back to their street. Araitsume stopped outside her house. She turned to face Karasu. "I-I don't want to go back in there. It just won't seem right without him."
Karasu cupped her face in his hands. "You can stay with me as long as you like."
"Thank you."
"Kumo? Could you maybe pack an overnight bag for Araitsume?" Karasu asked. Kumo nodded slightly and disappeared into the house. Arashi turned to face the raven-haired boy, anger raging inside him like a forest fire.
"You and your dreams!" He yelled, shoving Karasu backwards. The younger boy tripped, landing on his back. "What use is seeing the future if it's already too late?"
Karasu pushed himself to his feet. He glared at Arashi, fury burning in his green eyes. "I did everything I could!" He clenched his fists and stood opposite the eighteen-year-old. The two stood staring at each other for a few moments before Arashi ran at Karasu. Araitsume jumped in front of him, taking the blow. She fell to her knees, clutching her stomach.
Arashi stared at her in shock. "L-look…" He snapped his head back up to glare at Karasu. "Look what you've done now!" He hissed.
"St-Stop it!" Araitsume shouted. "Stop fighting! Both of you!" Araitsume felt tears gather in her eyes. In the state her brother was in, she wouldn't put it past him to murder Hielo. She didn't think she could handle another death, nor be able to live with herself knowing she could stop it. However, right now she was too tired and upset to do anything about it. Karasu shot one last glare at Arashi before helping Araitsume to her feet. Kumo ran back out the door and over to Karasu. She handed him a plastic bag with enough clothes for the night and the next day.
"If you need anything else just give me a call." She laid her hand on her daughter's shoulder for a moment, before retreating into her home. Arashi followed close behind, leaving Araitsume and Karasu alone in the street.
"Are you sure your parents won't mind me staying?" Araitsume asked as she walked down the driveway leading to Karasu's house.
Karasu looked down at his feet sadly. "What parents?" he asked. "They both died in a car crash when I was young."
"Oh. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-"
"It's fine. You didn't know" Karasu murmured, slotting the key into the keyhole and opening the door. "Welcome home!" He smiled. Tiny footsteps could be heard racing down the stairs.
A girl slightly older than Kinomi, with shoulder-length golden hair flecked with white ran and hugged Karasu. "You've been gone for ages!" she complained. Her sea blue gaze flicked toward Araitsume. "Who's this?"
"Kimi. This is Araitsume. She'll be staying with us for a while." He replied, ruffling the young girl's hair.
"Stop it!" she laughed as she pushed his hand away. "Will she be in my room?"
"No, silly! We have a guest room." Kimi looked slightly upset at this. "But maybe if you're good she'll read you a story tonight."
"Cool! There's this new book I got, but I need some help with some of the words." She raced back up the stairs.
Karasu ran a hand through his hair. "She's hard work." He smiled. "But it's worth it to know she's safe." He signaled with his hand for her to go in and locked the door. They walked through into the living room and sat on the couch. He sighed. "You probably have a lot of questions. Let's see how many I can answer." He paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing. " My parents died when I was 10. After that I was left on the streets. A while later I met Hane. He was part of a gang. A gang called Ketsueki. They kidnapped wealthy people's relatives to get money. If the money handed to them wasn't enough, they killed off the family one by one." He looked at the floor, clenching his fists as though he thought he could punch the memory out of his head. "Hane had me taking drugs by the time I was eleven. I eventually managed to escape one night while he was sleeping. That's when I met Touketsu. She rescued me off the street. I stayed with her until I turned 15. Now she pays for the house. I have a part-time job so I have the money to keep Kimi and I alive." He leaned back against the cushions at the back of the couch, his hands behind his head.
Karasu's story shocked Araitsume. She stared at him as though she couldn't quite believe it. "Hang on." She said, sounding genuinely confused. "You didn't mention any of this happening to Kimi. Isn't she your sister? Where was she?"
The raven-haired boy looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I never said she was my sister. I found her on the street, just like me. I didn't want the same thing to happen to her. If the gang had found her…" he trailed off, turning his head away. "The women in the gang weren't treated well at all. Some were just killed, others were…" he paused, searching for a word to explain it. "Used."
Small footsteps thudded down the stairs. Karasu turned his head to the door to see a grumpy-faced Kimi standing with her arms crossed glaring at him. "Hurry up Kara! It's almost my bedtime and you haven't read any of my book with me. I want to find out what happens to Firestar and Scourge!"
Karasu sighed, forcing himself to his feet. Araitsume stood up. "I'll read with her." She offered. "It would help me get my mind off of…"
"Yay! Ari's going to read with me Kara!" Kimi bounced around excitedly before racing over to Araitsume and grabbing her hand.
After reading Kimi the last few chapters of 'The Darkest Hour' and the prologue of 'Midnight' Araitsume stood up. "Goodnight Kimi." She smiled.
"Kara's never had a girlfriend before." Kimi yawned. "And I never thought he would find someone pretty like you."
"Kimi, I'm sorry but Karasu and I aren't dating. We're just friends." She brushed a stray lock of hair out of the young girl's face. Kimi looked slightly disappointed.
"It's funny though. You two are together in my dreams. There's a cat whose fur looks like your hair, and one like Kara." She yawned. "And his cat looks after me, that's how I'm sure it's him."
The young girl closed her eyes. Araitsume stared at her in shock. Could she remember the other world as well? She shook the thought from her head and walked out of the room, turning off the light and closing the door behind her. Karasu strolled over to her from where he stood outside the master bedroom. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He laughed.
Araitsume shot him a glare that pierced through him like daggers. "She remembers, Karasu. She was there."
Karasu blinked, feeling confused and startled at the same time. "A-are you sure?" he pressed. Araitsume nodded. Karasu flinched, thinking of all the terrible things that happened to those who knew the truth about who they had been. He couldn't bear the thought of something terrible happening to Kimi. "Ho-how about we discuss this tomorrow? You can sleep in my room." He gestured towards the guest room. "The springs in that bed are completely broken; I'll sleep there and let you get some rest."
Araitsume blushed as she asked,"Can't you sleep beside me? I- I don't want to be alone tonight." She felt the familiar feeling as hot tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Her father's sudden death had shaken her, and made her realize her dreams had been real. She had seen it all before. It wouldn't be long now until Arashi murdered the unsuspecting Hielo. She felt strong arms wrap around her and Karasu pulled her close. She buried her face in his shirt again.
So... I hope at least the people who have read this are enjoying it so far. Not my best work, but I still don't mind it.