~ Kurane: Hey everyone! Sorry about this chapter taking so long! Hope you enjoy it! ~
Chapter 7
'Find her and bring her to me alive.' Knives growled. Leonof nodded, not wanting to further enrage the plant. He left the ship and returned to Legato's home to find Midvalley.
----
The musician was sitting on the couch, playing his saxophone when Leonof entered with a slightly worried expression. Raising an eyebrow in silent question, he stopped playing and waited for an answer.
Leonof turned to him, "Go to Inepril and seek out Zazi the Beast. Rem Saverem has a sister and we are to find her by Master Knives' order."
The Hornfreak gave him a flat stare, "Why does it matter that a dead woman has a sister?"
The puppet master narrowed his eyes in challenge, "Do you wish to answer to the Master?"
"No, not really. But last time I checked, Master Legato was the only one allowed to speak to the Master." Midvalley replied casually as he sauntered out the door.
----
Zazi stopped and looked up at the roof of a building to his left, "What do you want?"
Jumping down from the roof and closing her wings behind her as she landed, Kurane regarded the young demon, "I just want to find out a few things." He raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. After a few moments of silence, his expression grew impatient and Kurane continued, "...How is Legato? I assume he's doing well since he's so important to the plans of that stupid homicidal son of a-" She bit her tongue to hold back the rest of the words.
A look of boredom crossed the demon's face, "Your lover is well."
"WHA!?!" A deep blush lit her cheeks as she glared at him, "Lover is too strong a word, and our relationship is none of your damn business Zazi!!"
His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he regarded the still-blushing demoness, "How the hell did you know my name?" The blush dissipated slowly as Kurane regained her composure, 'I'm telepathic.' Zazi tilted his head to the side as he reevaluated the volatile woman and the potential trouble she could give a certain puppet master.
Kurane raised an eyebrow at the sudden vicious grin that crossed Zazi's face, "Leave me out of your plans." A frown crossed her face, 'Knives probably already knows I'm alive...damn that's gonna screw up my plans.'
Zazi smirked, reading her expression perfectly, "You help me, I help you."
"What did you have in mind?"
"You give Leonof the Puppet Master grief, and I'll make sure the master doesn't find out that you're alive. Deal?" Kurane's evil grin was answer enough.
----
Wolfwood was waiting when she arrived at the restaurant, "What kept you?"
She shrugged, "A demon by the name of Zazi." A quiet chuckle escaped her, "He's a cute kid...well; his host is at any rate." He sweatdropped as he followed the strangely happy demoness into the restaurant.
----
Alex peered over at Kurane as she walked in and gave her a glare to let her know she was late for her shift. She walked over as she grabbed a tray, "Gomen Alex, I got a little sidetracked." She flashed him an apologetic smile as she walked over to get an order from the kitchen.
Anna walked over to her with a full tray, "Are you still up for a game of mahjong after work?"
Kurane grinned at her friend as she loaded her tray, "Sure, if you don't mind teaching me." The two walked towards the tables just as the door opened and three new customers walked in.
"Whoa, who's that?" one of the waitresses near the two friends whispered quietly. At the sight of the tallest of the trio, Kurane nearly dropped her tray, rushing back from the curtain separating the kitchen from the rest of the diner.
Grabbing her friend's shoulder, Anna tried to steady her, "Hey, what's the matter?"
Kurane shook her head, "Nothing, I was just a little startled that's all." She closed her eyes for a moment, 'I didn't expect to see Legato so soon...jeez, he really scared me.'
Wolfwood walked over, "Kurane?" He looked through the curtain and saw Legato, "I'll be damned..."
----
Vash sighed, at the rate they were traveling; it would take hours to get to Inepril. A worried look crossed his face as he glanced down at the ring Kurane had given him, 'Imouto-san...'
Meryl frowned at him, "Pay attention!"
He jumped, startled out of his thoughts, "What?"
She sighed, "It's going to take hours to get to Inepril at this rate, and we're running out of water."
Millie muttered, "I'm thirsty."
Vash nodded, but didn't say anything. Meryl growled at him, "Why are we going to Inepril anyway? Mai city is much closer!"
He shook his head, "I need to go to Inepril, but there's no reason for you to follow me. If you to need rest, go to Mai city."
Meryl twitched, "And leave you unsupervised? I don't think so!"
He stopped, "It might be dangerous where I'm going."
She gave him a flat stare, "Vash, it's always dangerous where you go. You're a trouble magnet!!" He sighed and continued walking.
----
Kurane rested her head against the wall in the staff area, a tired sigh escaping her lips. A couple other waitresses walked in and sat nearby. Mina smirked at Kurane, "That blue-haired hottie was staring at you the entire time you know. He couldn't take his eyes off you." Kurane sighed, 'Tell me something I don't know.'
Carine nodded with a grin, "You should put some effort into it. He's obviously interested in you." The only response she got was an irritated glower.
There was a commotion from the front and all three waitresses glanced towards the door when Alex came running in. He swore vividly, "Damn stupid Rodericks! What the hell are they doing this far north?"
Kurane's eyes narrowed, "You mean the Roderick slavers?" He nodded and then winced at the homicidal gleam that appeared in her eyes, 'No bloodbaths please Kurane.' She grinned wickedly, 'I'll see what I can do, but no promises.' He slumped against the wall, 'Why me?' She put her hand on his shoulder, 'Because you're special, Alex.'
Mina bit her lip, "We've never had to deal with them before...what should we do?" All eyes turned to the demoness.
She arched an eyebrow, "Why are you all looking at me?"
Alex gave her a look that said the answer should be obvious, "You've dealt with them before, so you have more experience with them than we do."
The demoness gave a resigned sigh before cracking her knuckles, "Alright, here's the game plan: You guys pass the word to all the patrons not to panic and keep everyone calm while I try to get the slavers to leave."
Carine raised an eyebrow, "Get them to leave? They'll never go for that...but you're counting on that aren't you?" Kurane smirked and walked out of the room.
----
"About time." One of the slavers commented impatiently when Lynn walked over to their table with several bottles of the finest wine the restaurant had. Her eyes held a nervous look when they met Kurane's, and the demoness cast a reassuring glance at her friend.
Pulling out her pencil and pad of paper, Kurane forced a calm smile to her face as she walked over to Legato's table, "So, what can I get you guys?"
Midvalley smiled at her, "Coffee, please." Zazi shook his head, deciding not to order anything for the time being.
Legato met Kurane's gaze, "Cheesecake, please."
She dropped her eyes to the pad of paper, "Alright, what flavor? We have blueberry, strawberry, cherry and plain."
"Plain."
----
Shane paused on his way past the restaurant when he heard the commotion inside, 'The restaurant's unusually noisy today...I wonder what's going on.' He instinctively hid in the shadows of a nearby building when the back door opened and Anna walked out and started fuming at no one in particular, "Damn Rodricks! Who the hell do they think they are anyway?" After a few minutes, she sighed and stormed back inside.
His eyes widened, "The Roderick Slavers? That's not good." Sneaking around to one of the windows, Shane peered in for a few moments before pulling out his drawing pad and pencil. He paused for an instant and peered back in, his eyes meeting Legato's. A shudder ran down his spine as he returned to drawing, making sure to get the details right in an effort to forget those eyes. Once he was finished drawing, he snuck away into one of the alleys, "Zac will definitely want to know about this."
----
Kurane walked over to a table near the wall and the man sitting there looked up at her with blank eyes. She glanced at Legato out of the corner of her eye and muttered something under her breath. There was a momentary silence before he spoke, "The others will be taken care of."
She sweatdropped, 'Was that supposed to be reassuring, Legato?' There was no response, and there was no missing the slight grin that curved his lips.
There was a commotion behind her and one of the slavers shouted at her, "Hey waitress! We're almost ready to leave so get the bill!" Kurane twitched, 'About time they got out of – Waitaminute...they would never ask for the bill...' She turned towards them and her eyes widened. One of them was holding a gun to Lynn's head and another was doing the same to Anna.
----
Derik walked over to his twin brother, the other orphans of the thieves' guild gathering around, "Onee-sama is in trouble."
Zac, the guild leader, sighed, "Isn't she always? What kind of trouble is she in this time?" Shane held up the sketch he had made while peering in through the window. Zac whistled appreciatively, "Roderick slavers. She definitely knows how to get in trouble."
Shane spoke up, "That's not all. This guy over here -" He pointed at Legato, "- is dangerous too, and I could tell he had an interest in her." There were a few minutes of silence as Zac was caught up in a sudden memory.
- Flashback -
Kurane looked over at Zac, "Did you sleep well last night?"
He nodded, "I did thanks." A smirk crossed his face, "I think you slept better than the rest of us though."
She chuckled, "I dunno about that, you were smiling in your sleep when I checked on you."
He blinked before he remembered being carried to bed, "Hnn...waitaminute, when were you awake?"
"Around midnight." Kurane glanced over at Wolfwood before her eyes rested again on Zac. She whispered quietly, "That was the first time anyone has ever acted like a father towards you, wasn't it?" He nodded and they finished their breakfast quietly.
- End Flashback -
Zac was silent for a few moments longer; this time deciding what the best course of action was. He grinned when he was ready, "Alright. Sheryl, Josephine and Shane; you guys head over there and keep an eye on the situation. If Kurane comes out with anyone, Shane, get drawing. Jamie, Rosalind and Michael; follow them from the other side of the street. Derik and Tony; head to the North gate. Vash should be arriving today from what I heard, so keep an eye out for him. Jacob you're with me; we'll head to the South gate in case he's heading up from Felnarl."
----
The commander smirked, "Thought that might get your attention. Now come with us willingly or we'll be forced to kill these nice people; starting with him." As he finished the sentence, he aimed at Alex.
Flashback –
"Alex, put this on under your shirt; the closer to your heart the better."
He blinked at the small pouch of red liquid, "What the hell is that?"
Kurane rolled her eyes, "It's called a pouch of fake blood, now put it on!"
"Why?"
"Just a premonition."
- End Flashback -
Kurane closed her eyes for a moment, 'How am I gonna pull this off? How the hell...' A slow grin spread across her face and she laughed, "Go ahead, shoot him. Why the hell would I care?"
Alex's eyes widened, 'Kurane what the hell are you thinking!?!' She gave him a slight wink, 'Get ready to do the usual.' He blinked a couple times, and then had to bite his tongue to stop from smirking as he figured out her plan.
"So you don't care? Fine then."
Alex took that as his signal and glared at Kurane, "What are you doing, wench!!" As usual, she twitched and a pulsing vein appeared in her temple before she grabbed a table and threw it at him.
- Interruption -
Wolfwood: How is that going to save him?
Kurane: Be quiet and you'll learn.
Vash: Hey Wolfwood, why aren't you helping?
Wolfwood: Good question. *glances at Kurane* Well?
Kurane: *twitch*...Shut up! I'm working on it!!
- End Interruption -
The bullets and the table hit Alex so closely together, that Kurane wasn't certain if he had survived or not. Glancing at her, the commander smirked, "Are you sure you didn't care?"
Walking over to Alex, she fought to ignore Lynn's tears. She glanced down at him; the pouch of fake blood had ruptured when the table hit him, and the thickness of the table had shielded him from the bullets. As Kurane watched, Alex opened one eyelid a crack. Anna looked over at Kurane, "Is he dead?"
Forcing the faint smirk from lips, she turned to her friends, "He's dead." Kurane's eyes met Lynn's tear-filled ones, 'It's ok, he isn't dead. Keep crying though, I need them to think he died.'
Anna saw the surprise flicker across the young waitress' face and shook her head, 'He's good at faking death. Although I guess he's used to getting hit with tables, isn't he?'
Kurane sweatdropped, 'Eheheh, yeah.' She glanced past the curtain at Wolfwood, 'There you are! Why haven't you been helping?'
He stretched with a smirk, 'You seem to have it under control. Besides, I probably would have been in the way.'
A flicker of amusement lit her eyes, 'True, you are very good at being in the way.' She glanced over at Carine and Mina, who were still trying to sneak the patrons out the back door without being noticed and cracked her knuckles, 'Hurry it up a bit. Things are about to get violent.'
Carine paused and cast a glance at Kurane, 'About to get violent? Alex nearly got killed. I'd say things are already violent.'
The commander walked over to the distracted waitress and reached for her arm, "Come on already. Let's get moving."
Wolfwood sighed and came out from behind the curtain with his pistols drawn and aimed at the slaver, "Are you sure you want to do that?" The other Rodericks laughed and aimed at him.
Eyes narrowing in anger, Kurane shifted into her demon form and moved between Wolfwood and the commander of the Rodericks, "Bad move."
----
As gunfire and screams sounded from the restaurant and patrons ran out the doors, Shane glanced over at Jamie, the concern in his eyes mirroring hers. Josephine put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Onee-sama's fine and so are the others." He nodded, but the concern on his face didn't diminish.
Sheryl bit her lip, "I hope Lynn isn't hurt."
The other two turned to look at her, "Lynn?"
"My big sister."
----
Covered in blood, mostly from the Rodericks, and holding a terrified Lynn while running for the cover of the counter, Kurane was in a bad mood. Her mood lightened somewhat when she saw someone helping Alex get out from under the table. Her eyes narrowed however, when she recognized the person as Midvalley. Lynn broke free of her grasp and ran to Alex, holding him tight. Midvalley turned to the demoness and noticed her few wounds, "You should take better care of yourself, Kurane."
"You could help deal with them you know." She growled as she grabbed a wet cloth and started wiping away the blood.
"There are still Rodericks over here Kurane!" Wolfwood called. With a sigh, Kurane extended her claws and prepared to rejoin the fight.
Anna grabbed her friend's wrist, "Hold still a minute." She grabbed a wet cloth and wiped some blood from her friend's face. Kurane smirked, 'Take care of the love birds will ya?' A frown of annoyance crossed Anna's face, '...Fine.'
There were several screams followed by a series of gunshots and Kurane shuddered, fearing that she knew what it meant. Standing to look around, she wasn't surprised to see Wolfwood moving towards her. She also wasn't surprised to see that all but one of the Roderick slavers was dead. With a muttered curse, she ended the slaver's terror.
----
Vash smiled, "We're almost at Inepril!" His grin proved to be infectious, as Millie and even Meryl joined in.
"I'm so glad we can finally rest soon!" Millie sighed.
Meryl blinked, "Who's that?" She pointed to a small child near the gate of Inepril.
Vash tilted his head to the side, "I don't know." Mentally, he tensed, 'That must be one of the kids from the thieves' guild Kurane watches over. That's not a good sign.' Without a word of explanation, he sped up.
Derik recognized the man rushing his way as Vash and turned to Tony, "I'll lead him to the restaurant, you notify Zac." Tony nodded and ran off.
----
Legato stood and approached Kurane, Zazi following behind. She sighed, "Time to leave so soon?" He nodded and as their eyes met, she felt an overwhelming compulsion to sleep. He caught her before she fell and, casting a cursory glance at Wolfwood, he turned to leave.
Anna's eyes widened and she stepped in front of the four, "Stop right there! What the hell do you think you're doing!?! You can't just take her with you!"
Wolfwood walked over and pulled her out of the way, "She'll be fine. Don't worry."
She nearly slapped him as the four left the restaurant, "How could you do that? You should be protecting her!"
"It's not that simple." He heard her voice in his mind again, 'I want to go with him, so Onii-san, please take care of everyone for me. Oh, and could you wash the dishes from breakfast? I didn't get a chance, and I don't want them to be all moldy when...if I come back.' Wolfwood frowned, "Besides, it's what she wants."
- Interruption -
Wolfwood: Why do I always get portrayed as the bad guy?
Zac: You are working for Legato.
Kurane: He's got you there Nico-Nii. Besides, you don't always get portrayed as the bad guy.
Wolfwood: True.
- End Interruption -
Vash followed Derik to the restaurant, and when he saw the look on the orphans' faces, he knew it was too late. He walked over to Zac, "What happened?" Without a word, Zac handed him the picture drawn by Shane. Vash trembled slightly, "No..." His features hardened, "Damn you, Legato!"
Zac blinked at him, "Legato?"
Meryl and Millie had caught up to him by then, so Vash didn't answer the guild leader's question. He handed the picture back to Zac and walked away. Meryl called to Vash, but when he didn't answer or stop walking, she looked down at the orphan, "Can I see that?" After studying the picture for a minute, she gazed at Zac, "Who took this photo?"
Shane blinked at her, "Photo? That's a drawing."
Meryl's eyes widened, "You drew this?" He nodded, blushing somewhat.
Millie glanced at the drawing over her friend's shoulder, "Wow! You are really talented!"
"Who's the woman in this drawing? I swear I've seen someone like her before."
Derik walked over to her, "Her name's Kurane."
'That's why Vash is so upset, she's the one he mentioned the other night. Waitaminute...I have seen her before!!' Meryl twitched as she realized exactly who she was looking at. She gave the drawing to Shane and ran after Vash, "Vash! Wait up!" Despite his expression, she couldn't reign in her anger, "You never told me that this Kurane is also the Demoness!! Why the hell didn't you mention that little detail!?!"
Vash avoided her gaze, "Don't follow me. Where I'm going is too dangerous for you."
Wolfwood walked over to them, "And just where are you going Vash?"
When Vash looked up at him, his eyes were glowing blue, "I'm going to save Kurane."
----
Rai Dei the Blade looked down at the unconscious demon, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes, 'She has been to the realm of death...I wonder, what did she see? She must have attained Bushido (A/N: Bushido means spiritual awareness.).' Without hesitation, he picked her up and carried her from the room.
----
Discomfort. That was the first sensation Kurane registered as she came around, and also her first clue that something was wrong. Her next clue was when she opened her eyes to find herself chained to a wall in what looked for all the world like a dungeon. When a man dressed as a samurai approached, Kurane arched an eyebrow, 'Did I hit my head on something? Or am I drunk out of my wits? Or is it both?'
Rai Dei approached her, "You are finally awake. How do you feel?"
"I'm chained to a wall and I really want to shoot someone. Is that the answer you were looking for?" She smirked with a pulsing vein in her temple.
He blinked in surprise, "Not exactly." He quickly regained his composure, "You have seen the realm of death have you not?"
Her expression revealed a rapidly fading patience, "So what if I have? What does it matter to you?"
"Tell me what you saw. I must know if I wish to attain Bushido!"
Amusement flicked across her face, "Spiritual awareness is overrated. Besides, I wasn't conscious before I died, so didn't see anything."
A devastated look set into his face, "That can't be...You must have seen something!"
----
Dominique looked out the window in boredom, "This place is dull." She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, "What the – oh, it's only you Chase."
He grinned impishly as he took a seat, "This place is about to get a bit livelier, but I may need some help from you."
Her eyes narrowed at him, "What do you want?"
Chase sighed, "A friend of mine has managed to get herself into a bit a trouble, and I was hoping you would be willing to help her."
"Her? Leave me out of your girlfriend's problems." She growled, giving him a flat glare.
His eyes widened, "Girlfriend?" Chase chuckled quietly, "Somehow I don't think Kurane would find that amusing."
"Kurane? You mean -? Legato's jewel is here?"
"Yes, and Rai Dei is trying to pry the secrets of Bushido out of her." There was a loud explosion from the basement and Chase burst out laughing, "Let me rephrase that, he was trying to pry the secrets of Bushido out of her."
Dominique couldn't suppress an amused chuckle, "I guess she doesn't need my help."
"Actually -"
----
Kurane looked up when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, "Who's there?"
Dominique looked in at the hostile, blood-covered demoness and her eyes widened, "Wow." She walked over the charred pile of Rai Dei and approached Kurane, "They didn't bother to clean you up while you were unconscious, huh?"
The demoness regarded the blood still covering her, "Guess not." She shrugged and muttered under her breath, "Doesn't matter anyway."
Dominique shook her head and unlocked the chains binding Kurane to the wall, "Come on, I'll show you to your room and you can clean up and change your clothes."
"Thanks."
(A/N: Once again, I am very sorry about how long it took to get this chapter up. Obviously, I don't own Trigun or the characters, only the plot and the members of the orphan thieves' guild. Hopefully, next chapter won't take as long as this one did.)