Chapter 2. "Live long and prosper." ^_^
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"Ahhh!" Kuwabara screamed as he bolted out of the woods.
Amara, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara had been trekking through the woods for about an hour now. The day before the Tournament, and they had to get to the ferry. Amara was the only one out of them that hadn't been to this competition before. Yusuke explained how they had lost a very good friend during their last time at the Tournament. She guessed that she would be the one to fill the shoes of the past fifth fighter.
"Is Kuwabara freaking out over another bug?" Amara asked shaking her head.
"Of course." Yusuke yawned.
They had all been losing sleep by the looks of it. Amara leaned against Kurama because she was so tired. Kurama made a really good pillow.
The ferry came into sight, along with a frantic Kuwabara.
"They're all over me!" he yelled while doing a weird dance.
"What's all over you?" Yusuke looked at Kuwabara as though he was insane.
"I went to 'go' along the road and now they're all over me!" He swatted at his pants.
Amara and Yusuke still didn't understand, so Kurama elaborated. "What he meant to say is, he went to go take a leak, and found that the leaves he used to dry 'himself' with were covered in … I'm guessing fire ants."
Now Amara and Yusuke were laughing at his expense.
"Owe!" Kuwabara grabbed his pants yowling. "It's not funny! They keep biting me!"
"*chuckle* Then why don't you just take off your pants?" Amara questioned, quickly following up with her own answer, "Never mind! Keep them on! Please! Oh God, just keep them on!"
Too late Kuwabara had stripped down to his underwear and was running around still screaming. Amara shielded her eyes and kept mumbling, "Oh the horror…"
"For the love of all things humane, put your pants on!" Yusuke demanded.
After Kuwabara put his pants back on, triumphant in killing all the ants, except one, they boarded the boat.
"Guess after killing all those demon guys last time, no one wanted to face us on this ferry trip." Yusuke boasted.
"Or Koenma could have just pulled some strings and got you guys a private ferry." Botan explained stepping into the light.
"Botan, nice to see you again." Amara smiled.
"You too. Wish it could have been on different terms though. Due to the recent death of King Enma, I've been working double shift. This Tournament will be the only break that I get." she leaned against her stick. She also hadn't changed. But she did seem a little more mature…Botan quickly perks up, "Amara, I love what you've done to your hair! You'll have to let me do it for you."
Amara's thoughts… hn…just when you think people have changed…
"I've got a message from Hiei if you're interested." Botan smirked.
"Oh what?" Amara sounded too excited and everyone jeered.
"He told me to tell you guys that he'd be there before the first battle."
Amara looked disappointed that that was the only thing he had said.
"One more thing," Botan turned to Amara, "I told him you were coming, and he sounded really happy. At least as far as happy goes with Hiei."
*Sigh* That was enough for Amara. Just knowing he still had some reaction to her.
~~~~~~The Night Before The Tournament~~~~~~
Amara sits in the middle of their hotel room on a couch, sewing up the last part of her fighting outfit. With the lack of cash, she had become quite skilled with making her own clothes. Everyone had gone out to either explore or get food. Being non-social able, it made sense for her to stay back and do her own thing.
Excited thoughts filtered through her head. Will he forgive her for leaving him? Could they ever be the same way?
After realizing she had just sewn her pant leg to he shirt, she forced the thoughts from her head. So many memories. Good and bad, had made her walk the line of sanity many times. Stable in mind, and step now, everything was just as she had told Shizuru. Alright. Things weren't bad, and they weren't all that good. Every once in a while this sense of emptiness filled her lungs, throat, and overall heart. If it didn't have something to do with Hiei, what else could it be? Three years later, and she was still looking for answers…
The door of the hotel room opens. She doesn't look up. When the heavy footsteps walk in her direction, she isn't shaken. And when the familiar scent fills the room, there was not one wince that her face gave way to.
"Thought I'd find you here." a deep sultry male voice echoed in her ears.
Amara, facing the same direction, closes her eyes and says. "Why do you follow me?"
A beautiful man's face lowers by hers. "Because we are the same. They'll never accept you. Not with your reputation. Your not the bright eyed youth that left Tokyo three years ago, you and I both know how black your heart really is. Same as mine." Kiore strokes away her bangs, staring into her penetrating orange eyes. He truly loved her…but this love was…strange.
"The only reason my heart is tainted is because of you." she uttered.
"I'm not the one that pulled the trigger all those times. We're in on this thing together. That's what partnership is about." His silver eyes glowed madly from the light seeping in through the window.
"I'm not bad…" she mumbled, under the trance he held over her.
"No your not. You are pure vengeance. Pure light. A pure drug that I'm under the influence of. You're not bad at all. But I can make you bad." He pulled her towards him, and his soft lips pressed hard against hers. She didn't resist.
The key turned along with the doorknob of the room. His lips pulled away, and he disappeared through the open window.
Kurama entered carrying groceries. He noticed the dazed look plastered on her face.
"Something wrong?" he asked setting down the bags.
She snapped back into reality, and answered. "Yeah, just zoning."
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Kiore's visit had left her mouth dry, and the taste of his toothpaste on her tongue.
Why do I always give in to him? She asked herself, while lying on her bed. 1 a.m. In seven hours everyone's alarm clocks would ring, and they would take off for the first battle of the Tournament. Amara didn't know how he overpowered her so easily. Did she love him? Could she seriously be in-love with…him…? Seeing Hiei might not be a welcomed thing at the moment. Oh God, why had she let him kiss her?
Hiei and Kiore were two very different people. Kiore was powerful and it poured through everything he did. And Hiei… His kisses were different. Effortless. Sweet, and perfect. Kiore was controlling. Scary enough, part of her liked that. She clenched her fists thinking of Kiore. Why had she let this relationship go so far? Too far…
~~~Kiore & Amara: A Meeting of Lost Souls~~~
Amara had been living in, brace yourself, Southern Germany for several weeks now, and was running out of cash. Germany was as far as she could get on the money she had to buy a cheap plane ticket. Now she snuck into places, scamming people for a place to lay her head one night. It wasn't an honest way to live, but her love of art kept her going from one museum to the next, getting inspired, and finding herself at the same time.
So, on this dark Thursday night, she is unable to find any place to stay. Instead of wandering the streets all night, she goes into this bar on the outset of this really big town. Everything is modern, but you still tell that the community is poor. Anyway, she enters the bar, and the only women in sight are obviously hookers. Wearing black pants that have holes torn in the knees, a red tank top, with tight leather jacket, she didn't seem to fit in with her surroundings. She hastened to an empty booth and ordered a cola with a dollar she had left over. These beefy guys with handle bar mustaches kept looking at her. The urge to run and hide swept over her, but she pulled herself together.
A man wearing all black with dark brown hair covering his eyes sat across the room kiddy corner from her. There was no telling where his gaze was directed, but she hoped it wasn't towards her. All she wanted was to just sit in peace and have something to drink, but the damn Fates have to screw with her quiet time too.
One of the unholy lard asses stood up from his chair. He strutted towards her.
"What's a nice little girl like you doing in a place like this?" he smiled toothlessly sitting down across from her. He had a thick accent but she couldn't tell where exactly he came from.
She studied his face, and didn't reply.
"Oh, so your playing hard to get, eh? Are you one of those jailbait teases, cause I got no problem with that?" he winked at her as his hand moved towards hers.
And with that she stood up, and walked towards the door. At least until his equally massive cronies blocked the exit.
"You aren't going anywhere." One of them mutters.
"We'll see about that." she backed up getting a full view of all the of them all. The man in the corner was now definitely watching her. Amara's eyes began to glow.
"What the hell are you?" The guy who had first started talking to her said in an astonished voice.
"Who cares what she is? This chick needs to be taught a lesson." another guy said while withdrawing a knife.
"Alright, but try not to mess up her pretty face."
They circled her and she stood smiling at them. At the same time they all charged her. Amara transported herself about three feet behind one of them and kicked him hard in the head. He spat out blood and fell to the floor unconscious.
The man without the knife in shock of seeing his friend fall before him, attempted to clobber her while the other stabbed her straight in the back with the knife. She reeled back in pain and released a powerful blast of spirit energy making them both fall forward to the ground. And so she stood their, with glowing eyes, a knife now protruding from her back. She reached back and pulled it out. It hurt so freaking badly, and the blood just kept dripping down her back.
She stumbled out the door and fell to her knees unconscious in a puddle of her own blood.
Maybe it had been 6 or 7 hours, but it seemed so long that she had been in her dreamlike state of mind, but when she finally came to, she was lying in a bed covered in white linen. Everything was hazy.
"Good, you're awake." a man's voice spoke from at her bedside. While trying to sit up, he added, "Don't try getting up, you're still woozy from your fight last night."
Amara laid back. "Where am I?"
"Your safe, believe me. Just rest and you'll be fine." he ordered gently.
"Who are you?" she sounded tired.
"My name is Kiore Imamura. Now get some sleep."
She did as told and fell asleep quickly. It was like she had never slept before, and now had the chance to.
The next day she awoke to the sun coming through the window. Kiore, was nowhere in sight. Of course she couldn't really see last night and she didn't know what exactly he looked like. Peering around the room, a beautiful white rose bloomed in a vase on the bedside table. Could this possibly be this guy's house?
Pulling herself up and around the bed she put her feet on the cold wooden floor and stood up. Bandages covered her chest and back, and she wore gray shorts. Had this stranger undressed her and nursed her wound? Now a little creped out, she moved up and towards the door. Her hair fell over her shoulders, very loosely tied back. There was a narrow hallway outside it. And she grasped the wall and walked slowly.
She stared around the corner and saw him. A beautiful man, with dark brown hair and sparkling silver eyes sitting drinking coffee with his shirt off wearing black pants. Someone moved around in the kitchen. An older woman wearing a calico dress was making breakfast.
"Good morning." he smirked while not looking up.
She blushed.
"Oh dear! Come with me honey, I'll get you some decent clothes." the women said dropping everything and running to her.
The women's name was Ella. She was originally England but moved here because she wanted to be closer to her family. Evidently this Kiore guy was a friend of their family, and Ella spoke very happily about him.
"Oh, Kiore is such a nice boy. 17 yrs old and he is already an accomplished businessman. And he is so handsome! When he brought you here last night and begged me for help I was sure you had to be his girlfriend, but he explained he just saw you get hurt. Well, the jury is still out whether or not you feel the same way, but oh my, you've just met him. I'm sorry, I ramble. This must be making you uncomfortable?"
Amara was completely red now. She didn't know him or this women and she felt so damn embarrassed. Now wearing jeans and a blue sweater, she entered the kitchen, her hair still a little tossed around.
"Sleep well?" he asked.
"Yes. Thank you for everything." she bowed slightly.
"Don't apologize. When I asked you my next question you won't be as quick to answer." he stared at her serious. Ella left the room.
"Hn…" she muttered.
"I noticed your powers in that tiff you had last night, and I could use your help. I'm going to make you an offer that I don't think you'll want to refuse."
"What do you mean?" she raised her eyebrow.
"I am in the line of business where I could use a partner."
"What kind of business?" she was baffled at how blunt he was being to her, a stranger.
"I'm an assassin, if you believe it. I get paid millions of dollars for each hit I do. But they are getting quite troublesome. People are guarded very well. That's where you come in. Help me on a couple jobs, and I'll split the cash with you, fifty-fifty." He smiled.
"Assassin? I don't kill. I can't do something like that. It's illegal." she shot back.
"I'm being generous here. See, I know more about you than you think, Sona. Before you mother's death, she hired me to kill you. Now since her passing, I can't very well get paid. You have a lot of power, and I need you. Help me; you get money that you deserve. Like the inheritance they are holding from your possession. You'll never have to worry about cash again. You don't even have to kill. I just need assistance."
"The name is Amara. I threw that other name away with my past. As for your cash, take it a go to hell. I don't need your dirty money." Amara sounded spiteful.
"Humph. Thought you might say that. So I brought something to insure your side of the deal." he held up a small file and threw it across the floor at her.
"What the hell?" she uttered while flipping through it. It was a police report on her! Evidence of her being the murderer of her parents! Pictures of their bodies. Skin and hair from her. Everything played out to make her guilty!
"You are a wanted felon. Third degree murder, breaking and entering, and second degree murder. They haven't posted a warrant for your arrest yet, but that is at the top of the police list in Kyoto. They want you dead or alive for a very hefty price. 3.4 million dollars for your capture and return. It's all in there. And for your help, I can make every shred of evidence, every file with your name on it, and every last detail about your involvement disappear. Just like that." he snapped his fingers. "But if you don't want to, I can just send a little phone call to a few bounty hunter friends of mine. They always need the money."
Her stare narrowed. "If I helped you, how do I know you wouldn't just turn around and call them anyway. How can I trust you?"
He laughed. "You can't. But do you really have any other choice?"
"I could strike you dead before you could make that call to your friends. I could burn down the police station in Kyoto. I have more choices than you think." She glared.
"Guess underestimated you. But you are still left without money, and you know that this world is open to the rich."
"I agree. I guess I will take your offer, but I refuse to kill." she stared down at her feet.
"Alright, but the time may come when you'll need to." he shot her a look of empathy.
"Then I'll make exceptions."
~~~~End Flash back~~~~
Amara's eyes shot open to the sound of five alarm clocks ringing around her. The first battle would begin soon.
