Fox Love:
Chapter 9- Haven
"My father was a kitsune, my mother too," the girl began. "But
we didn't live among other kitsunes. We lived in a small village in the Makai
with my grandfather. The village was made up of warriors and soldiers, most of
them fighters for hire. My father was the head of a band of vicious warriors,
all veteran fighters and well-trained in the ways of many types of weaponry. My
mother stayed at home, caring for me and my aged grandfather, who had also once
been a warrior, one of the best they say. It was my father who taught me how to
wield a sword and to fight. He taught me how to use and survive by many
different types of weaponry and he also taught me the fighting skills so prized
by his family. I was trained in the ways of no less then five martial arts in
addition to wrestling and was then taught skills that would aide me when I
would, supposedly, follow in my father's footsteps. I learned how to track, how
to hunt, and fish and ride. He even taught me to make my own weapons and a
little bit of the art of healing. I was almost overwhelmed by all that was
being thrown at me, but I managed with the help of my mother, who was less the
warrior and more the kitsune my father wasn't.
I was close to both my parents, too close I guess. For if I had been a little
more distant, I would not be in the situation I am now. When I was still young,
my father was cruelly murdered by those he considered his friends. Thinking him
to be too powerful, they came into our house one night and killed my father,
wounding my mother in the process. She died several days later, in the arms of
my grandfather. I was devastated. But I allowed myself to grieve only a short
time before moving on and assuming the responsibilities left to me by my
parents. I cared for my grandfather as best I could, my meager skills in
healing counting for almost nothing. I also took over the job of the moneymaker,
hiring myself out during the day to anyone who would have me, doing their dirty
work, anything, so long as it brought in money.
But my efforts were in vain, for my grandfather died a few months later in his
sleep, leaving me alone. I sold almost everything we had and went off on my
own, saying goodbye to the only life I had ever known. I wandered for about a
year before coming to a small forest shrine where there lived a renowned
fighting master. Not knowing who it was that I stayed with, I helped him out,
doing odd jobs and running errands for him, saying nothing of my skills and knowledge.
Then one day, he saw me practicing my swordsmanship and my martial arts in the
clearing. He tested me, my strength and my knowledge of many weapons, all of
which I wielded like I had once done. Impressed, he took me on as his pupil,
teaching me more then I could have ever learned on my own. Among the things he
taught me were my speed skills and...the use of my Spirit Energy.
Up until then I had little idea of my own Spirit Energy. I had seen other use
it but had never thought of doing it myself. For me, my weapons were enough.
But this man, called Riuna, recognized my spirit potential and taught me the
ways of controlling my energy. He was also the one that taught me my healing
light, a branch of my Spirit Energy. That man was like a second father to me,
teaching me and caring for me more then I will ever be able to repay him. But
soon, my wandering need took me over once more and I left him and haven't seen
him since. I think part of the reason I left was because I was afraid of losing
him, too. I couldn't bear to lose one more thing in my life."
At this point in her story, Haven paused, her voice choked and her eyes
threatening to spill over. The rest of the boys in the room had moved to the
floor and were seated in a half-circle in front of her. She turned her face
away and blinked rapidly, trying to prevent the tears from running down her
face.
"Let go," Kurama's soft voice whispered in her ear. Her head swiveled
around to discover him right next to her. "Go ahead and cry, just let
go."
But she held her head up proudly. "Crying is for weaklings. I haven't
cried since the day my parents died. I can't afford to lose control now."
But her voice choked again.
Kurama moved in even closer. "But sometimes it's good to cry," he
informed her. "You can't keep everything inside you forever, it just won't
work."
Glancing up at him through blurred eyes, she knew he was right. Giving him a
barely perceptible nod of her head, she let the tears fall. Sobbing, her
shoulders shaking, Haven let go. Year's worth of anger, sorrow, and grief burst
through like water breaking down a dam. Kurama pulled her into his arms,
hugging her to his body. She instinctively buried her face in his chest, crying
and sobbing to no end while the others looked on sympathetically.
Finally, the flood subsided slightly and Haven lifted her head and turned to
face the group once more.
"After I left Riuna, I didn't know where to turn. I wandered aimlessly for
years, keeping myself alive by doing odd jobs and hunting occasionally. I let
myself get close to no one, knowing that if I did so, I would eventually be
hurt again. I couldn't stand the thought of that, so I just kept my distance
and went my way, never staying too long in one place for fear of growing too
close to the people there. It was hard, for many of them were kind to me. There
was only one time when I ever let myself love someone again, and that brought
about my downfall. For he betrayed me and I ended up hurt, angry, and half-dead
with nothing to my name anymore except my clothes and my sword. He took it all,
my love, my pride, my possessions...everything."
"Who was he?" Yusuke asked, interrupting.
"That is not important,"
Haven snapped, a bit of her old temper returning.
"Knowing I could no longer stay in the Makai I left and came here. Using a
spell taught me by Riuna I have kept my identity secret, not allowing myself to
be seen in my true form. I have not been in my Youko form in years and it's
hard, but I know it's the only way."
Here she stopped and looked at the others; the shields in her eyes gone, her
face tear-stained and lined with grief. She stared at them for long moments
before shaking herself, then starting. She jumped slightly, whipped around to
look at Kurama and found him staring at her intently, sympathy and concern
mirrored in his emerald eyes. She lept up and ran from the room, not looking
back, and slammed the door between their rooms. Sighing and rubbing the front
of his shirt, Kurama slumped back against the wall. Yusuke turned to him and
started snickering. Kurama cracked open one eye and glared at him.
"What's so funny?"
"Your shirt," came the choked reply.
Hiei and Kuwabara looked over also. Kuwabara laughed and Hiei's mouth twitched.
Kurama glanced down and saw that there was a huge wet spot where Haven's tears
had soaked through the thin material. Smiling to himself, he got up and went to
change his shirt.
"We've done it!" he thought excitedly to himself. "We've
gotten through to her, broken the walls around her!"
Meanwhile, in the room next to his, a kitsune girl sat on her windowsill and
stared out at the starry night, wondering why she had ever let herself get into
this.
Her face was wet, her eyes were red, and her body trembled. Kurama...why had he
done that? What had he done to her?! She was letting herself get soft, letting
herself get attached to people. But...it felt all right. Yeah, until you get
betrayed by him and the others, the rational part of her mind said. But
even though she felt this was true, she couldn't help liking them. Yusuke with
his cocky attitude, Kuwabara with his love for kittens, Hiei, cold and yet not
so cold, and Kurama...Her thoughts drifted. Kurama, those eyes...they seemed to
pierce right through her. The concern she had seen in his eyes had scared her;
because along with that concern, she had glimpsed another emotion. One she had
not seen in anyone's eyes in years. Love.
