Chapter 4
No rest for the weary
A two story house looms down on Shizuka as she stares up at it. It looks very out of place amidst the tall apartment buildings surrounding it. Light tan paint peels off in various places making it look much older than it is.
Before she makes a move toward the house Shizuka draws in a deep breath. Slowly she begins a mental count and lets the breath out.
One.
Two.
Three…
When she reaches eight her breath runs out and she breathes again. With slow and controlled movements she walks to the door. Turning the handle she pushes. Locked.
Frustration nearly overwhelms her as she stares at the immovable handle. Then with a start she reaches into her pant pocket and pulls out a single key. She quickly let's herself in. The house is dark.
Her stomach starts to flip-flop as a feeling of foreboding slithers down her spine. Feeling paranoid she locks the door before even turning on the light. A bump from above her makes her jump.
"Otou-san must be home." her voice a whisper turned shout in the almost silence. Another crash from above and she slowly walks toward the stairs. Her steps light she draws close to her room. The door is open and a faint light breaks the darkness of the hallway. The crashing gets louder as well as a swearing voice.
"Where did she hide the stupid thing?!" a familiar voice.
Definitely not Otou-san. With movements now blotted out by the sound of the person in her room Shizuka lithely slips through the door. With a surety caused by familiarity she grabs a large wooden bat kept by the door for convenience. Slowly she inches her way toward the back of the person as they continue to rummage through her stuff.
Crunch!
The noise echoes through the room. With a start the person jumps around to face Shizuka.
"Ah! Little Chikako come out to play with me!" Shizuka's eyes widen as she recognizes the girl from the parks voice. Shaking it off she holds the bat up defensively.
"Not on your life." Abruptly the girl charges. Shizuka throws herself out of the way when something hard rams her in the stomach.
"Wha-?" She chokes out.
"My tail, you ugly furless human! Would you like to see what else I'm hiding?" Before Shizuka can even grace her with a reply a strange orange light fills the room and a whirlwind of energy surrounds the girl. Cat ears pop up on her head. Her feet grow hair and her toes lengthen, nails growing sharp. Small, but very sharp, spikes jut out from her shoulders and arms. Prying her eyes away from the sight Shizuka bolts out of the room.
"Not this time." her voice follows Shizuka down the hall. As fast as her legs can carry her, Shizuka exits her house and down the walkway. A loud crash and a very familiar cry come from behind her. Turning her head slightly she sees the cat girl-thing crouching in her now broken window sill.
"I love a good game of cat and mouse!" The cat girl smirks and lithely jumps to the ground. "Run girl, let's make this interesting!" She yells.
Running as fast as she can for the second time this day, Shizuka quickly finds herself loosing steam. A large tree looms directly in front of her causing her to stop faster than normal. An oomph of surprise escapes her as she collides with the trunk. Leaning her head against it she pants.
"I can't pant keep pant doing this…" A hand grips the bark as the other grips the handle of the baseball bat. I have to do something. Looking around Shizuka rummages through her mind for a plan, a means of escape, anything that will help her in this situation. After a moment a light seems to come on in her mind. It's stupid but better than nothing...
Using some of her remaining energy she runs around four trees, doing full circles until she reaches the large tree again. Using a running start she leaps into the air and grabs the lowest branch. It's about ten feet off the ground. With sweat pouring down her brow she hoists herself up onto the branch. A feat not aided by the bat in her hand. Once she manages to get up she presses herself against the trunk, in the shadow and the leaves. With calming breaths she slows and silences her breathing. Then she waits… and waits….and waits…
A dark figure appears by the trunk of the tree Shizuka leaned on to get her breath and she immediately goes on the alert.
"Come out, come out wherever you are." The cat-girls voice coos. She walks closer taking the same path Shizuka took, pausing momentarily before continuing on.
"You can't hide forever you know." She says to the trees. Shizuka grips the bat a little tighter the closer the woman gets. She pauses seven feet away from Shizuka's hiding tree. A deep sniffing noise breaks the silence. Sweat drips down her face and her hands tremble slightly. Shizuka unconsciously presses herself deeper into the shadows.
"Baka onna ran in circle." She snorts in disgust.
The cat-girl stops walking right under Shizuka's hiding place, sniffing loudly. As quietly as possible Shizuka drops down to the ground right behind the girl. Ignoring her quaking nerves she swings the bat as hard as she can right at her head. The next thing she knows her wrists are caught in a tight grip as her neck is squeezed with another clawed hand.
"Not very smart, but thanks, I was getting bored." She sneers. Her grip on Shizuka's neck tightens and she lifts her off the ground. With a mighty heave Shizuka finds herself flying through the air and crashing into a tree. White dots dance before her eyes as she slides down the trunk to sit at the bottom. Ouch... Once her vision clears she finds the girl standing above her.
"Why are you after me?" Shizuka chokes out. The girl smirks as she leans down.
"It's nothing personal, kid." Grabber her arms the girl rotates in circles, bringing Shizuka with her. With each revolution she gains in speed until Shizuka finds herself completely off the ground. Abruptly the girl releases her, but to her surprise she finds herself propelled forward.
"What the-?" Looking down at her hands she sees two pale hands gripping her wrists tightly. She struggles against Shizuka's grip. While thus distracted she fails to realize that she's being maneuvered in front of her target. They crash into a tree and tumble to the ground. The cat girl acting like a living cushion for Shizuka. Jumping to her feet Shizuka glances around for her bat. Seeing it she runs to it and picks it up. Already knowing that she can't outrun her she turns and finds a defensive position. The girl is now standing, all sense of cockiness gone from her angry face.
With a hiss she charges. Hands growing long sharp claws as she goes. Shizuka barely manages to dodge a direct hit but the cat girls claws still nick her in the side. As she continues past Shizuka her tail whips around. With a jump she misses it. Before Shizuka lands the girl turns and with claws fully extended jabs her hands into Shizuka's stomach. The force of the blow propels Shizuka through the air, rolling to a stop on the ground. A searing pain branches up her front. Touching a hand to her abdomen, she winces. Lifting her fingers she stares at the red viscous stain there. Everything around her begins to go sluggish…almost as though someone surrounded her with a thick jelly.
The sound of footsteps pound through her head, and a foot nudges her onto her back. Shizuka's eyes stare up at the cat girls blood covered claws as they reach down and trace the side of her face, parting the skin beneath them. The cat girl raises her hand and looks at her blood stained claws.
"I was supposed to bring you back in one piece, but Kala can just put you back together enough for our purposes." Grinning happily she raises her arm, "It's been fun!" The needles rush toward Shizuka's unguarded chest.
"SPIRIT GUN!" "FIST OF THE IMMORTAL FLAME!"
A bright blue and red light fills the park and engulfs the cat girl. With a great deal of effort Shizuka covers her eyes with her arms. A burning sensation covers her body briefly before it fades. The light doesn't fade but she finds herself away from it. Lowering her arm she stares over at the form of the cat girl. Her screams are dulled to Shizuka's ears. As she watches the girl's flesh begins to burn off, her mouth widens in agony. Looking over at Shizuka the girl stumbles a step toward her. A surge of the light and her body is engulfed by this strange fire. As quickly as it appeared the light fades, leaving the park seeming darker than it was before. The thing that was holding Shizuka let's go and she slowly sinks to her knees.
"Are you alright?" a faded, but slightly annoying voice says in her ear. All she can do is stare at the destroyed body of the cat girl. The pain that has been pulsing through her body intensifies in a sudden surge. Shizuka wraps her arms around her stomach and keels over. A moan of agony escapes her, eyes squeezed shut.
"Hey! I think she's hurt!"
"Obviously, dimwit." A deep masculine voice says angrily.
"What was that shrimp?" the first voice says in defensive anger.
"Enough you two. Let me see her." Someone kneels next to her and places a soft hand on her side, "Where is she hurt?"
"How should I know? She fell down before I could get a good look at her." The first voice says still defensive.
"Her stomach, side, and face." The second voice says in annoyance. Many hands grab her and roll her onto her back. Another soft moan escapes her. They must think I'm unconscious. Those same hands pry her out of her fetal position, laying her flat on the ground.
"That's nasty." a new voice enters her hearing.
"Yeah, look at her skin, it's turning all greenish! She looks like a pincushion. Must'a got beat up pretty bad."
"Not…helping…" Shizuka gasps out. The next few moments pass in startled silence and the hands touching her wounds pause briefly.
"There's nothing I can do for her here. Let's get her to Koenma-san's." the gentle voice that must go with the hands says and he pulls his hands away from her.
"To Koenma's? But we can't take her there." The first voice, confusion very evident.
"Hey! Anything to make pacifier-breath angry, I say we hurry!" The new voice says very loudly.
"We also need to find out why that youkai was after her." The voice that goes with the hands mutters calmly.
"Whatever you do, could you do it soon?" Shizuka's mind begins to swirl as a feeling of drifting begins to overwhelm her. Something warm shoves itself under her shoulders and knees and lifts her from the ground.
Each jolting step of the person carrying her sends dozens of shafts of pain through her body. After an indescribable amount of time passes the person stops moving. Gently he lowers her down onto something very cold and the warmth of his body leaves. Suddenly overcome with fright she clutches at the person. With warm hands he releases himself from her grasp.
"I'll be back to check on her later, it that is alright."
"Absolutely, Kurama-san, I'll make sure to make her as comfortable as possible while you mix the antidote." a woman's voice says quietly.
"Arigato gozaimasu."
The sounds of a heavy metal door being closed breaks the silence and a cold hand touches her cheek. As the hand lays there Shizuka gives in to the blackness that she's been fighting against.
----------
Sorry it's been so long since I last updated...Life's been busy and I haven't found any time to write or do anything. My style is a bit rusty at the moment but I'm hoping to oil it soon.
As usual please leave any comments, kudos, complaints...whatever you want.
