I roll over in bed, pulling the covers high over my head. Another day living a nightmare. Tears form in my eyes, and I reach for my stuffed fox, Shiro, looking for comfort. I can't seem to find him, which is when I sit bolt upright.
"No way." Why am I in my old room? And what am I wearing? I get out of bed, looking down to find I'm clad in a very expensive-looking kimono. Running over to the mirror I know is past a door inside a humongous closet, I eye the girl staring back at me with terrified eyes, trying desperately to remember.
I ran away from this place. I know I did. It wasn't just a dream. It couldn't have been, but...what proof do I have? Tears stream from my eyes, and I grab the mirror, begging it to show me something, anything other than the disgusting girl inside. It remains the same, and I pull back my fist, sending it slamming into that girl's face, shattering her.
This is wrong. As my bleeding hand sends drops of blood to the pristine floor below me, I take shuddering breaths, my heart beating in cut time. "Think, Asaki," I breathe through the panic. I fought Hide. I beat him. I ran to Living World, where I've been for five months. There, I made friends.
Images of Keiko, Botan, Kuwabara, and Yusuke flash before me. Right, friends. Suddenly, I see Kurama's smiling face too, and I fall to my knees, sinking into the blood I've left behind, letting it drip from my hand onto my kimono. The red is as dark as my own hair...darker than his.
I've invented thousands of fantasies in my miserable life, but not even I could have imagined becoming friends with the fox demon who gave me the courage to change my life. I take slow, deep breaths, calming my racing heart. Getting to my feet, I change out of the kimono and put on a shirt and pants, knowing my other clothes were probably destroyed.
This is my old room in my father's mansion. Everything is exactly where I left it five months prior, but that doesn't mean I didn't leave it all that time ago. Taking a deep breath, I think back to my last memories….
Kurama had found me walking home. I'd made him a promise, and then….
"The package!" I gasp, suddenly very angry. That smoke must have knocked me out and someone brought me here. "Of all the dirty, rotten tricks," I growl, fire glowing in my fists. I slam open the door to my room, burning it in the process. Two maids, standing on either side of the door jump, squeaking in fear.
"Where is my father?" I snarl at the shaking girls.
"H-he's in his office," one says, and I stomp off, so far past pissed that it takes all my willpower not to burn this whole damn place to the ground.
Down one hallway and then another, walls and burning doors as I go to relieve some of my fury, I tear my way to where he's waiting. When I get to the door, I kick it open, stalking inside.
There, I find my father sitting at his desk, his face bent over some papers. He looks up as I enter, his eyes narrowed. "I thought I taught you to knock."
"What the hell is your problem?" I scream at him.
"Excuse me?" He slowly gets to his feet, slamming his hand on his desk. "What gives you the right to talk to me that way?"
"What gives you the right to knock me out and kidnap me!?" I punch the wall on my right, my fist going straight through it.
"I merely brought you home where you belong."
"Where I belong?" I laugh, thinking, once again, of all the wonderful people I've met since leaving this hellhole. Haruka, Kana, and Mrs. Tendou appear this time, and tears pool in my eyes that immediately evaporate, I'm burning so hot. "What the hell do you know? This isn't where I belong, you piece of shit, and I'm going back."
"Like hell you are. I don't know what happened to you, but apparently, I need teach you your manners once again." He claps his hands, and two men appear at my sides. "Take her to the ice chamber. Maybe that will remind her of her place."
Ice chamber. Those two words take all the fire from me in an instant. The men grab my arms as my legs give out, and they drag me back the way I came, past all of the remnants of my anger, stopping outside a giant metal vault with a large combination lock. The men open the door, tossing me inside.
The last thing I see as the door closes are the cold, dead eyes of my father.
...
Ice isn't a big deal for fire demons. All we have to do is burn hotter than the cold, and everything is okay...right? This works most of the time. However, there's a room in my father's mansion dedicated to punishing me when I misbehave that he calls the ice chamber.
It's a massive room with a white marble floor and white walls. It's temperature controlled and locked from the outside with a combination that only my father knows. When I was little, it didn't take much to freeze me. Maybe a negative 50 degrees Celsius would do it. As I got older, it took more and more, until he had to eventually rebuild the room to accommodate the negative thousands.
When that door shut in my face, it was like I was a small child again, wanting nothing more than to make her father happy and always failing miserably, never fully understanding what I'd done wrong.
Every time he finally decided to let me out, I promised to do better. Every time, I ended up in there again anyway. It was a hopeless, vicious cycle.
I don't know how long I'm in here this time, but when the door opens, he's standing there, arms crossed. "I take it you've cooled down?" I nod dully, and he smacks me hard, sending me sprawling onto the ground. "Good. Go get dressed. There are guests I'd like you to attend to."
It's like I never left. I do as my father says, following his every command. Sitting at his side, I nod and smile, playing the role of the perfect little doll, even as I put up walls around my heart, my mind begging. Not this. Not again.
Every night, I cry silently into my pillow, the tears evaporating before they even have a chance. This is the only rebellion I'm allowed. The one time I tried to escape, the guards shot me down on the spot, and father threw me back in the ice chamber. I haven't tried since.
In this way, days upon days pass, and I give up on everything except pleasing my father. If I do that, he won't lock me away. If I do that, he won't hurt me again. As long as I play along, I won't freeze. The small child again, promising to do better, constantly terrified of being locked away.
"Asaki!" I jump to my feet a the sound of my father's voice, ready to do as he asks.
"I'm expecting some important guests. Dress appropriately. Something traditional this time."
I've been here for a month, not that the days really matter. Each one is its own special torture, and as my maids help me into a sky blue kimono covered in pink cherry blossoms, I barely register that this is a new one. We don't usually get guests right after lunch, but my brain barely registers this as a pink obi is wrapped around me. Instead, I think about what I might need to do to please father, charm these new guests.
When I'm dressed, I walk to the main hallway, descending the stairs to the sound of my father's voice.
"You all seem so young to be working for him!" he booms, sounding overly jovial. "And human to boot. He's certainly got guts."
"Yeah, that's one way to put it," a voice says, freezing me in my tracks. It couldn't be…. No way. Stupid girl. It would be easier to pretend my time away was just a dream.
Stepping carefully, I make my way down the stairs, focusing on my father until I hear someone suck in a breath. I look up, and I miss a step, landing clumsily on the next one but managing to keep my footing.
No way. Standing before my father are Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama.
My world collapses around me as my father turns, a fake smile on his face. "Ah, Asaki. Come greet our guests."
I continue down the stairs, coming to stand beside him as he introduces me to the people I've left behind, my brain so full of conflicting thoughts and feelings that I can't even think.
"Ahem." I jump as my father clears his throat, looking up at him in terror. "Introduce yourself."
"A-Asaki Anno," I say, extending my hand mechanically, like a robot.
Yusuke grabs it, his grip tight, a grin on his face. "Nice to meet ya."
"You too," I mumble as Kuwabara takes my hand next.
"Uh, hey there," he says, looking awkward.
"Hi."
As I shake hands with Kurama, he smiles kindly at me, and I think my heart is breaking all over again, just like that first day. "A pleasure," he says, his voice unbearably warm.
"Likewise," I reply, desperately struggling to regain some semblance of composure. I slide my hand from his, but his touch still lingers in my palm, making me think of a small bakery and misshapen cookies.
"My daughter's been away for a while, studying abroad, but she's finally come home," my father booms, smiling. "Asaki, why don't you show our guests around the place. We can all meet for hors d'oeuvres and dinner when you've finished, and then we can talk business."
"Yes, father," I say, bowing as he waves a hand at us, walking away. When we're alone, I gesture to the stairs. "Follow me." The boys do as I say, and we make our way up to the second floor.
Yusuke snorts the moment we do, and then he breaks into a full-on laugh. "What the hell are you wearing?" he asks me.
"A kimono, you asshole," I grunt, surprising myself. A warm sensation pools in my stomach that I almost remember.
"It looks lovely," Kurama says, and my face goes as red as my hair. Those words feel familiar as well, but right now I can't place it.
"What are you guys doing here?" I ask, my voice breaking.
"Well, Koenma called us in for a meeting about a week ago. Said we had to go to some big shot's house by the name of Taro Anno." Yusuke spits on the carpet, and suddenly, I remember why I started liking him. "I didn't know who the hell that was and neither did Kuwabara, but apparently Kurama's met him before or something."
My eyes fall on the demon, and he smiles gently. "How could I ever forget the last time I was here?" His words pierce me straight through my heart, and I press a fist to my chest, trying to hold myself together.
"Anyway, Koenma said we had to go, pretending we had a business venture for him from the toddler, but really, our job was to recover something he'd taken from us." Yusuke points his finger at me like a gun, pretending to pull a trigger. "Imagine our surprise when we realized it was you. So, how've you been?"
"Am I dreaming?" are the words that come out of my mouth. I look from one to the other, unable to believe what I'm hearing and seeing.
"Nah, we're really here, Asaki!" Kuwabara says, grinning. "We're gonna save you."
"That is, if you want us to," Kurama says, eyeing me carefully.
"I…." Before I can say anything more, a maid, heads our way, and I say, loudly, "I'll show you around, honored guests." Gesturing for them to follow, we walk past her, and I sigh. "Be careful what you say when there are ears that can hear you."
"Noted," Kurama says.
"So, what happened anyway?" Yusuke asks, voice low.
"Took me by surprise and kidnapped me," I reply, raising my voice and opening the door to the library. "And here is our library!" I push them inside, closing the door behind us. "I tried to escape, but the guards attacked me."
"Attacked you?" Kuwabara says, sounding disgusted. "His own kid?"
"What does it matter to him?" I snap. "It's not like he can permanently hurt me, and he stopped me from leaving just the same."
We walk through the library, and then I lead them on, down hallway after hallway as they ask me questions about things like defense and traps and such.
"No traps. He employs hoards of strong demons and pays them well. I think the only reason I got out of here the first time is because I had the element of surprise."
"Well, we'll just have to kick their asses," Yusuke says, making a fist.
"Yeah, try that. See how far you get."
"Hey, Asaki, what's behind this door?" I stop, turning to see what Kuwabara's pointing at, and suddenly, the clarity I'd been feeling since we started walking is gone.
"Why do you need a room that can get to negative 1000 degrees?" Yusuke asks, poking the giant metal door.
I stare at it, my eyes losing focus until a hand falls on my shoulder. Slowly, I turn, looking up into green and red, and I blink, regaining myself. "It's nothing," I say. "Let's keep going."
Kurama removes his hand and we move ahead, making our way through the rest of the place. By the time we're done, I've answered all the questions I can about getting me out of here, leaving us no closer to my actually leaving.
"Don't get yourselves hurt because of me," I say. "If it comes to that, just leave."
"Asaki," Kuwabara says, his expression solemn.
"We're not leaving you here," Yusuke snaps. "I don't care if we have to blow the whole place up. Actually, that sounds like fun."
"If you kill anyone, you'll get in a lot of trouble," I say as we head down the main stairs again to find a servant waiting.
"Young Masters, Young Mistress, dinner will be ready shortly," the servant says. He turns to me, bowing. "The Master has requested that you change into dinner attire."
"He would," I grumble. "Thank you. Dismissed." The man bows again, leaving us. "If you wait here, someone will show you into the dining hall," I say. "I guess I have to go change again."
"Finally, some grub!" Yusuke cheers, and I shake my head, turning to leave.
"Asaki," Kurama says, his voice low. I look at him, my heart skipping a beat at the expression on his face. It's stony serious, and it makes me worry a little. "We'll see you shortly."
I nod, practically running up the stairs. When I get to my room, the maids have a dress laid out for me on my bed, ready to help me into it, but I walk right past, lifting a floorboard beside my bed. Underneath lies a box that I heft out, opening the lid to find a dress I haven't touched in 100 years.
Honestly, "it was all a dream" is just such an annoying concept that I had to toss it in here for a few moments. I'm sorry! Asaki is a lot of things, but she's not completely hopeless. This is a little insight into one of her traumas, and I hope it gives an idea of why she hated her home life so for sticking with me, and a special thanks to ahyeon, Sidako, AmericanNidiot, and Bossbecca23 for the reviews!