A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I have most of the chapters written, I've just been busy with school. I'll try to have what I've got posted before summer break.
Chie's PoV
My breath was visible in the cold morning air, my body trembling. There was blood on my hands. Isamu had left me alone to try and hunt for supplies. The moment he did though, a part of me snapped. I realized we were just a couple of kids running around in the woods. Without a home, without a family, without anything.
A lone demon had sensed my presence and entered the clearing to try and take advantage of my defenseless state. He came at the worst time, when my mind had just processed our situation. Without thinking, I grabbed the demon's head and twisted it until his neck snapped. But it did not stop there. I took the dagger Isamu had left me with and started carving into the beast. Had he still been alive, I had no doubt his screams would have pierced my eardrums but somehow I knew it would not have stopped me. I was not thinking at that point, instinct drove me. I was just another animal. Tearing into the poor creature's body, removing his insides for some unknown purpose. I was probably trying to make him as empty as I felt.
By the time I snapped back to reality, I was disturbed by what I had done. I remembered the whole process I took and a part of me felt pleasure at another's expense. It was a small part that I hoped would never reemerge.
I was wrong. When Narita captured me and my brother, he placed me in a room with another demon. He wanted to see who would be the stronger subject. I won. And I did exactly what I had done before, except there was no knife. My nails were broken and caked with blood. The doctors watched my process without interrupting, they seemed pleased.
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Isamu's PoV
"You have to be freaking kidding me?!" I stared in disbelief at the list the old woman handed to me. "You want me to climb all the way up a mountain to pick a berry?! Have you gone senile?!"
"Stop whining, you big crybaby." Genkai sat on a her porch with an indifferent look, sipping a cup of tea. "Yukina has been wanting to make a special jam for a while but no one sticks around long enough for her to ask. Besides, this starts off your living here for free business nicely. Pretty soon, you'll be somewhat useful." Her slurping sounds were getting on my nerves.
Chie was in the garden with Yukina, probably talking about the great things humans do. The entire gang was already gone, but I could feel the short one hanging around in the woods and the ice maiden said Kuwabara would visit near the end of the day. Well, the human I could care less about but Hiei's presence in the wilderness I was about to go into kind of made me uneasy. He hardly spoke and the glares he cast anyone who happened to be annoying at the time sent chills down my spine. Hopefully, hunting was not one of his favorite hobbies.
"Is there something else? Or are you gonna gawk around and make your trip at the last minute? I'm going to give you one warning: don't go into the forest at night. There are some old demons still living in those woods." How kind of her to care.
"I was waiting for you to tell me what this berry looks like. It doesn't say on the list."
"How should I know? Go ask Yukina, she wants the thing so damn much."
I sighed, rubbing my temples and walking around the compound until I was at the garden. Chie was sitting against a tree, talking to Yukina while the koorime pulled weeds out of the garden. "Yukina," I sighed in frustration, fighting off a headache. "Genkai has me going after some berry she said you wanted. What does it look like?"
The girl stood up, wiping dirt off her kimono and walked right up to me. I froze, ready for an attack when she lifted her heads and barely grazed my forehead. A blue aura emerged from her palm and I began to feel the pain in my head recede. "Thanks," I muttered.
"You're welcome," she said brightly. "The berry you're looking for has four leaves at the stem, each shaped like a heart. The berry itself is about the size of a bird's egg and is light blue."
"Sounds weird." She just nodded and walked to the side of the building. She picked up a pack and handed it to me.
"The trip there is going to be long, you'll be gone almost all day. I packed you a lunch and some snacks so you won't lose your strength." Yukina turned and pointed at the mountain behind the hill the temple rested on. The mere thought of climbing it made me feel exhausted. "You shouldn't lose your way, the mountain is very close. But there are a few monsters there, so be careful."
"Careful is my middle name." I shouldered the pack and started down the trail behind the temple. Chie yelled, "Good luck." I waved over my shoulder. This was going to suck.
