Crescent Kat
Chapter Ten
An Encounter With Kukiro
by
Kyla
There, in front of Kurama, Kat, and Hiei, stood a figure with long hot pink hair and crystal blue eyes. "So nice to see you again, Kitty Kat," Kukiro sneered at the hanyou and took a step forward. Kat whimpered, and the smirk on Kukiro's face widened. "Come now, you little half-breed... Did you really think that you and your parents had really seen the last of me? You merely delayed your capture," Kukiro said in an even tone then chuckled. "Now, it's time to come with me... We'll go see your parents," she cooed in a fake tone and instantly sped forward.
"Rose Whip!" Kurama exclaimed, and the rose in his hands extended into that of a whip, the crimson petals falling from the stem and swirling around the small group. He cracked his whip, and it wrapped around Kukiro's left foot. The redheaded yoko swung his arm, effectively flinging the mysterious girl away.
Kukiro climbed to her feet with an angry scowl on her face. "So, you found someone to protect you, Kitty? How sweet..." she sneered and slid a sword out of its hidden sheath just in time to block Hiei's blade as the little fire demon attacked her from the side. She shifted her gaze to the side to glare at Hiei. "Hm... another friend of yours?" she muttered with a frown.
"You are out numbered. I suggest you leave," Kurama stated matter-of-factly, his whip at the ready while Hiei jumped back a few feet and carefully regarded the girl with an ice cold glare.
Kukiro was about to reply, but Kurama channeled some of his energy into the surrounding plant life, and plants instantly jumped to life, stretching out their vines and branches to Kukiro in a threatening manner. She growled and dodged many of the plants, but a thorned vine of roses dug straight through her abdomen. With a wince, she snarled, "Fine. I'll leave... for now... but I will be back!" She vaulted herself high into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone, just vanished, literally, into thin air.
"Huh?" Kat seemed to realize that Kukiro was gone, but the hanyou jumped to her feet and shouted, "No! Come back! What did you do with my parents!" She got no answer in return and sunk down to her knees in defeat.
Hiei sheathed his sword and nodded to Kurama in departure. The next second, he too was gone. Kurama walked over and knelt down beside Kat and spoke softly, "That human was the one who took your parents?"
"Yeah," she sniffled, her gaze directed at the ground, fists clenched. "She's a first class bounty hunter, and she's been after us ever sinceI was little..."
"Why?" Kurama inquired with a thoughtful frown.
"Because my parents and I... are the last of the Lunar Cat tribe," Kat murmured and slowly stood, dusting the dirt off her pants.
"Lunar Cat tribe?" Kurama asked cluelessly. He hadn't known there were different tribes of cat demons, so he was very much confused.
Kat nodded and launched into the story as to what her tribe was exactly and where they had lived for hundreds of years,and then... finally, she told the redhead what her parents had told her of their flee from Makai and to Living World while she and Kurama sat under a closeby tree.
"And Kukiro? When did you first run into her...?" Kurama questioned. Kat seemed reluctant to tell him much more, afraid she would later regret telling him everything. "I can't help you if I don't know what's going on and who your enemy's are," he said kindly.
Kat heaved a big sigh. "It was five years ago next week that we first ran into her..." She faded into the memory, the words spilling from her mouth almost unconsciously.
(( Flashback ))
It was such a nice day outside, and Jya and Linda had decided to take Kat out to the countryside for a few days. There they could train in peace, and they were sure Kat would quite enjoy the quiet of the country compared to the loud of the big city.
The three got to the countryside and settled in a log cabin they had rented. Kat insistedon sparring first. She always loved to spar against her parents, even though she always lost. She was improving at a quick rate, too.
They fell into a daily routine for the 5 days they were going to stay there. They would wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, do warmups and spar for a little while, eat lunch, go hiking or fishing or something of the like, then it was supper, some quality family time until finally it was time for bed.
On the fourth day, however, while they were sparring, there was a suspicious rustling among the bushes close to where the three trained and sparred. Jya and Linda weren't stupid. They sensed that whatever it was, it had an extremely high amount of spiritual energy.
The two cat demons kept a cautious watch around the area while Kat never even noticed, and it was partially because she wasn't old enough to really be able to control her senes; therefore, she did not sense anything.
Suddenly, an arrow was fired from somewhere in the trees, and it struck Jya in the leg. He winced but quickly yanked it out and ushered Linda to take Kat and run, but then, they were surrounded by a barrier that only someone of great spiritual energy could create.
"Ah, ah, ah... Why leave now? I just got here after all," Kukiro appeared from a nearby tree, a smirk plastered on her face.
"Who are you?" Jya snarled and stood in front of Linda, who held Kat tightly in her arms. All three watched the mysterious girl, waiting for an answer.
"Why, how rude of me... I seem to have forgotten my manners," Kukiro sneered, "I am Kukiro, First Class Bounty Hunter, and I hear there is a bounty on your family, dead or alive, in Makai, and hey... it's nothing personal; I just need the money." She raised one hand and concentrated her energy, and the barrier around them tightened, making a smaller circle around herself and the Kaisho family; then some energy from the barrier lept out like lightning bolts and struck the family of Lunar Cats, shocking them until they lay panting on the ground, burn marks scattered over their skin. Jya tried to stand up to fight Kukiro as she approached, but he couldn't get up from a kneel. He glared at her in warning as if to say, "You'd better not come any closer..."
Kukiro chuckled and meandered even closer to the three cat demons. "Hm, how sad... I thought the last of the Lunar Cat tribe would be more... challenging to capture, yet here you are, on your knees," she smirked and was about to kill Jya with a small dagger she unsheathed, but Kat was suddenly on her feet, her eyes shining a bright yellow. "Leave my daddy alone!" she shouted and power surged from her. A ribbon of black swept around Kat, Jya, and Linda, stretching into a protective ball around them, then the bubble launched off into the sky and vanished, transporting Kat and her parents safely home. Kukiro called after them as they disappeared, "You can't escape me! I'll find you!"
"Mommy? Daddy? What happened? I thought we were outside... How'd we get back home so fast...?" Kat asked looking around her home. She hadn't remembered it was her who had saved them from Kukiro, and she didn't even know it.
(( End Flashback ))
"Sounds like it wasn't the best day of your life," Kurama said after hearing her story. He was a little confused at this whole thing, but he decided to wait to think about it later. Right now, Kat looked about ready to fall asleep where she was. "You look tired.. We can talk more tomorrow if we need to. Let's go inside," he stated standing up and extended a hand down to help Kat up.
"Thanks," she mumbled and took his offer. She felt relieved to have all that off her chest as Kurama pulled her to her feet. They walked inside and upstairs. "Night," Kat whispered to Kurama, afraid Shiori might already be asleep in the next room and fearful that she might wake her up.
"Good night," Kurama replied equally as quiet and walked on down the hall to his room, bringing the door to where it was only open a crack.
Kat sighed and collapsed onto her bed after shutting the door behind her. She stared unseeingly at the ceiling and eventually got up to put some pajamas on and let herself crawl under the comfortable covers and fall asleep...
Kyla: How was it? Two thumbs down? Pretty good? Could be better? Review!