Marmalade

Chapter 10: Never Alone

By Takara-Star-Chan

a/n: Yay! Chapter ten! Here we go! Woot woot!

----

"What about this, Tohru-san?" Akito asked, pulling a pink silk sundress off of the rack. "I know I'm not knowledgeable when it comes to clothes, but…"

Tohru's eyes lit up. "It's so pretty!" she took it, and put it over her arm. "Kyo-kun tells me that I look nice in things that show off my shoulders a little more. Do you remember that red dress I wore when we came to get permission from you to be married?"

"I remember," Akito said with a nod. "I have to admit, you looked stunning in that dress."

"That's one of Kyo's favorite dresses on me. I wear it whenever he takes me somewhere fancy. He does that every once in a while." She smiled thoughtfully, staring at the dress on her arm.

Akito pulled a little black dress off the rack. "How about this one? This is pretty sexy."

"I don't know…Kyo-kun doesn't like it when I wear something really low cut and revealing. It's pretty, but…."

"Hm. I see. So nothing remotely close to anything Isuzu-san would wear?" Akito asked in curiosity.

Tohru nodded with a smile. "Yes. On Halloween, someone here in town was having a party. I tried to figure out what I was going to wear. I searched for the longest time until I found something. It was a black fairy costume. It had a black belly shirt, a black micro-mini skirt, and black sparkly fishnets and wings. I didn't tell Kyo-kun what I was wearing, as a surprise. On Halloween, he…um, was surprised to say the least. His mouth hung open as soon as he saw me. We went to the party…and the whole night…he didn't seem to be having much fun."

"Why?"

"I don't know. A lot of guys came up and talked to me…that made him mad for some reason. Then, when we got home, he told me never to wear anything revealing like that outside our room again. I still don't understand…" She got a confused look on her face.

Without thinking, Akito let out a laugh, and dropped the black dress. She leaned up on the rack, laughing.

"Eh? Akito-san? Are you okay?" Tohru looked at her in surprise.

Akito stood up straight and looked at her, still laughing a little. "Even after being married for almost seven months…you still have no idea how man's mind works, do you?"

Tohru looked taken aback by this comment. "Um…no. I guess not."

Akito shook her head. "Tohru-san…those boys at the party were talking to you because of the way you were dressed. Guys like it when a girl dresses in that way."

"Why didn't Kyo-kun like it then?"

"I don't think that's the point. He just didn't like the other guys talking to you for the reason that they were. Men are possessive of the girls they love." Akito picked up the little black dress off of the floor.

Tohru face turned to curiosity as she considered this. "Kyo-kun has said that when it comes to me, he gets really selfish," she said, as if a light bulb were beginning to come on. "So, I guess…oh…I get it now…" Her cheeks went bright red. "I feel embarrassed for wearing that costume now…"

Akito sighed, and began looking through the rack some more. "This has been another episode of, 'What have we learned today, Tohru?'" she murmured with a chuckle.

"What?" Tohru asked in curiosity.

"Nothing, Tohru-san," Akito said, continuing to look at the rack.

----

(Shinigami realm)

Ruuka sighed and stared down at her tea. She hated admitting it…but the angels were starting to annoy her. Being the head shinigami had its perks…except when you were being hounded with seemingly hundreds of questions by the angels.

"Ruuka…we must know…where are Sara and Kasuke?" said Amelia, one of the higher ranking angels.

"Wow…for a group that's supposed to know everything about individuals…you sure don't know much about your fellow angels," Ruuka said, rolling her eyes. "I find that such a shame."

Amelia glared at her. "Don't start! You should obviously know. You are particularly close to both of them!"

"Look; I don't understand what you're so upset about. It's not like they're neglecting their duties, or anything. The world is as it should be. It's not unbalanced or anything. They'll come back when they see fit. They are, after all, the very head angels. I should think they know what they are doing." Ruuka then took a sip of tea.

"Ha! Sara has no intelligence on the matter of how to run the world!" Amelia exclaimed. "Ever since they were reunited, Kasuke's mind has gotten all muddled up with his pretty-lover girl, Sara. His intelligence is slipping."

Ruuka stood up in anger. "Cut the garbage, Amelia. I don't care who you are. Don't you dare talk about either of them like that. Kasuke is a great leader- you know it too. Sara is learning from the best. It's been known for years that you have a thing for him. You're just angry that Sara has what you never can. Turning the rest of the Order against them was just low. You're lucky Kasuke is kind. I'm surprised he didn't just demote you. But he's not an angry tyrannist like you."

Amelia's mouth hung open in surprise. No one had ever spoken to her like that. She crossed her arms and took in a deep breath. "You have a lot of nerve, Ruuka."

"Thanks. Now…get out." Ruuka said, motioning toward the door. "Don't you dare go and interrogate Chii either."

"Why would I go and interrogate her? She has about as much brain as a gnat," she replied rudely.

"For an angel, you sure are stuck up. If you say anything else demeaning about my friends, I'll smack you. Now go." She walked to the door, and opened it.

"Yeah yeah," Amelia replied, walking out. "Whatever."

When she was finally gone, Ruuka shut the door, and sighed heavily. Will she ever leave me alone? Of course she knew where Sara and Kasuke were…but she knew that they weren't just goofing off. If they were, signs would begin to show that they weren't doing anything. The world would begin to fall apart again. If any of the angels-especially the highest ranking ones-neglected their duties, it would show.

She walked over to the table, throwing herself onto the chair.

"I hope they come back soon," she breathed. "I'm so not having fun. If another angel comes to question me, I may just lose it."

Then she looked up at her window, and stood up. Why didn't I think of it before? She would just go and see them. Yeah. That's what she'd do.

----

"I win!" Kira exclaimed happily. "Yay!"

Shigure sighed and smiled. "So I see." A seven year old girl beat him at Go Fish. Go Figure. "Good job, kid."

Kira grinned. "Do you know any other card games? I liked that one. They're so fun! Teach me another one. I want to play!"

Shigure laughed. "Okay, okay." Man, she's a cute kid. "Have you ever played Crazy Eights?"

"No…" she said shaking her head.

"Okay…we can play that then."

Kashuko walked in with a pitcher of lemonade. "Hm. Why don't you two take a break for some snacks. I'll go get the stuff to make sundaes."

"Sounds good to me, Kashuko-san. What about you, Kira-chan?"

Kira nodded. "Yup!"

A few minutes later, Kashuko came out with ice cream and toppings. "Do you want chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla?" she asked Shigure.

"Vanilla, please," Shigure said with a nod.

"What about you, Kira?"

"Um…" Kira stared at the boxes of ice cream. Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla…Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla…Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla…Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla…Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla…

Then, Kira's lip began to quiver. "I-I don't know…" she began to tremble. Then she began to cry. She threw her hands to her face. "I don't know!"

"K-Kira?" Kashuko sputtered in surprise. She knelt down in front of her. "Hey. Hey…it's okay, sweetie." She began to rub her back. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what I want!" Kira exclaimed it tears. "I don't know!"

"It's okay, "Kashuko said in a soothing voice. "How about I give you a scoop of all three?"

"O-okay," Kira replied, calming down, but still crying a little bit. "Okay." She sat there crying as Kashuko scooped up the ice cream.

"Thank you, Kashuko-san," Kira said, when she had received her ice cream.

"You alright, Kira-chan?" Shigure asked in concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said with a nod.

A while later, when Kira had scampered off to get ready for karate, Shigure and Kashuko found themselves alone in the dining room.

"I have to compliment you, Kashuko-san…you handled Kira-chan's out burst very well. I would have had no clue how to handle that." He told her with a smile. "But…why did she suddenly do that?"

Kashuko smiled back. "Hm. She has a mild case of autism. She gets overwhelmed rather easily by things…and she's not that great socially; but she seems to react to you very well. You and Akito are the first people I've seen her open up to so quickly. It's amazing, really. The point is to be patient and calm with children. Children with special needs especially."

"She's definitely a cute kid. I can see how you can't help but love her. It might be difficult, but it sounds to me that at the end of the day, it must be worth it," he said, standing up.

"It is. I'm glad to have her here. Everyone in this house adores her. Although…she's particularly close to Kyo-kun." She chuckled. "Her eyes light up every time she sees him. They're a great pair. Although I have to say…you're the first person I've seen that she has opened up to right away. Normally it takes a day or two…or more." She laughed again.

----

Kyo punched his arm forward, then the other one. "Yah!" he shouted, Kicking now. He was teaching new form to the purple belt students. They needed to learn it so they could advance to the next belt.

When he was finished, he turned to them and said, "Now, you all are going to do that form in unison. Once you get to the end, you will hold a horse stance for twenty minutes."

The purple belts looked at him in horror.

"Tw-twenty minutes, Kyo-sensei?" said, Narube, the youngest purple belt (thirteen, to be exact). "That's crazy!"

The others murmured in agreement.

"Hm. Okay…don't do it then. You can just scrub this entire first floor with a toothbrush. Kayui?"

Kayui looked over from the white belt group he was with. "Yes?"

"Where are the scrubbing toothbrushes you keep handy?"

"In the closet behind you," Kayui said, grinning.

Kyo turned to the closet, and pulled them out. "If you're not going to hold the horse stance, then you will spend the remainder of the class scrubbing. You'll save my wife, and Kashuko some work."

"Aw…do we have to?" Another purple belt, Momiko whined.

Kyo nodded pouring cleaner into five buckets. "You have to work on your concentration and discipline somehow. Since you're complaining about the horse stance, you can just scrub until your parents get here."

He handed one toothbrush to all five of them. "Go to separate corners and start scrubbing."

"Yes, Kyo-sensei," They all said unenthusiastically with a bow. Then they separated, and began to clean.

Kayui came up, patting Kyo on the back. "I like how you handled that…with a smile and with a back breaking chore." He laughed heartily.

"They'll mature soon enough," Kyo said, chuckling. "If they complain again, I'll make them hold a push-up position. That's what Shishou would do to the students that complained."

"I'll have to remember that," he said with a laugh.

Kyo looked over at Kira, who had just been challenged by another white belt. "Um, is it okay for them to be doing that, Kayui?"

"Yes. I told them to challenge eachother," he said with a nod.

Kyo sighed. "I worry about her a lot…I probably shouldn't. I worry about her only a little less than I do Tohru."

"Well…it's only natural," Kayui replied, crossing his arms, watching them. "You've grown attached to her."

"I have," He said, grinning. "She's a great kid." Then he looked over at some of the purple belts who were scrubbing the floors. He laughed. "I can't wait to see how much they mature."

"About that…I've been meaning to tell you…I'm considering selling the dojo."

Kyo's face filled with surprise. "What? Why?"

"Hm. It's getting later in my life…I think it may be coming time to retire," he said with a thoughtful smile.

"But…you're such a great teacher! I mean…even I've learned a lot since I've been here! I mean….you helped me reach my next level of black belt too. Besides, where will Tohru and I go?" he replied in shock.

"Hold on now…I don't know even when this'll be occurring. I need to discuss things through with Kashuko first. Once we decide, I'll tell you. I just wanted to give you a heads-up first," he said with a chuckle.

----

(2 days later)

"Tohru! Lets go!" Kyo called up the stairs. "We're gonna be late!"

"Coming!" she called, her feet coming down the stairs. When she was at the fifth to last step, she lost her footing, and began to fall. Reacting fast, Kyo shot forward, and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Whoa!" he breathed, eyes wide. He helped her stand up straight, and led her down the stairs carefully. "Man. You about gave me a heart attack! Please don't run down the steps…even if we are in a hurry." Then he looked down at her feet. The other culprit. "Especially in heels."

"Y-yes," said, obviously a little shaken up. "I'm sorry."

Then he stood back, eyeing her up and down, head-to-toe. She was wearing a brand new dress that she had gotten with Akito. The dress was made with silk that started as a light pink, but became darker as the dress went down. The top of the dress was a halter, and an empire waistline. The dress beautifully accentuated her and her baby belly. In her hair was a pink rose.

"I'm guessing that's a new dress?"

"Yes, it is," she said, blushing a little.

"Awesome," he said, smiling at her. "I really like this one. You look really pretty."

"I thought you might like this one on me," she said, smiling back. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. It's a surprise," He said, giving her a sly smile. He took her hand. "Let's go."

----

Kyo and Tohru stepped off of the bus, finding themselves in front of a fancy looking Italian restaurant.

"Is this where we're going?" Tohru asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I thought that it would be nice to eat something a little different," he told her, squeezing her hand. "And…there's some things we need to talk about."

"Oh," she replied, her face dropping a little bit. She was worried that something was wrong. Kyo didn't see this as they made their way inside.

Once inside, and seated, He thought it would be good to mention the news he wanted to tell her. He took a sip of water and looked at her. She was looking off at a mother and her baby. She smiled thoughtfully, placing her hand on her belly.

"Tohru," he said, prompting her to look at him.

"Hm?" she replied, turning to look at him. "What is it, Kyo-kun?"

He reached across the table to take her hand. "I had an interesting conversation with Kayui."

"What about?" she asked, cocking her head.

Kyo sighed, considering exactly what to say. "Well…Kayui is thinking about selling the house. He says that it may be about time for him to retire."

"Wha-what? When is this going to happen? Tohru asked in alarm.

"Hey now…I don't know. He said that he wasn't sure. He just wanted to give me a heads up. We need to figure out what we're going to do when it finally does happen."

"Wouldn't we move in with Shishou-san possibly…until we get our own home?" She leaned forward in earnest.

Kyo sighed heavily. "I guess so. But, we'll have to see." He gave her a small smile, and just stared at her.

"What's wrong?" Tohru asked smiling and blushing. That was the look he gave her when he liked something…really liked something…it was always directed at her.

"Nothing. I just really like that dress on you." He gave a small laugh. He looked her in the eye, smiling still. "You look incredible." He squeezed her hand.

Tohru blushed even deeper. "Thank you. Um…" She sometimes lost all words when he talked like that.

"I was also thinking…maybe you and I should take a trip or something…you know, before the babies come. A second honeymoon, or something." He said with a laugh.

Tohru nodded. "I'd love that." Her mind went back to their first one. It wasn't a week…but three days; but they were the best three days of her life. During those three days, they were either on the beach, or in their beautiful hotel room. She'd never forget that. The passion and joy they had with each other those three days still hadn't left.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked her in curiosity.

"Um…" She looked down in thought. "Disneyland…"

"Eh?" He looked at her in surprise. "R-really?"

She nodded. "Yes. There isn't anything wrong with that, is there?"

Kyo shook his head. "No. That just wasn't the answer I was expecting. It's just…you're having babies in September…and that place has rides. Wouldn't you rather wait until after you had them to do that?"

"You're right, Kyo-kun. I just, um, would like to go once just as a couple; and then another time with our children," She said with a small smile. "But…we could go to an onsen instead…"

"That's the kind of thing that I was thinking. Somewhere relaxing," he said with a chuckle. "Let's go to an onsen for now. Maybe sometime next summer, we'll go to Disneyland. And…maybe we'll take the twins when they're three, four, or five. Okay?"

"O-okay," Tohru said grinning.

Then, the waitress brought out their food, and set it in front of them. During the rest of their time together at the restaurant, they began discussing the soon to be retirement of Kayui and their trip.

"The onsen would be really nice," Tohru said with a sigh. "It's nice, quiet, and relaxing."

"Unless Momiji is there," Kyo said with laugh, remembering their first onsen trip.

Tohru giggled. "Momiji-kun is quite lively."

----

Nikki smiled at Imoru as he sat at the table, and began to eat. "Is it good?"

"Mm. It's delicious, Nikki," he replied, winking at her.

"Good." She walked over and sat down at the table next to him. She picked up a piece of teriyaki chicken with her chopsticks. She smiled as its delicious flavor filled her mouth. "You know…I don't mean to brag…but I'm a pretty good cook."

"You certainly are, babe," he said reaching up and moving a strand of hair from her face. "No doubt about it."

She sighed, obviously pleased that she had given him a delicious meal. Suddenly, she heard a voice. She quickly turned, trying to locate where it had come from. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He looked at her in confusion.

"Hm," she said, her face in thought. If it were a ghost, Imoru would have heard it. If it were an angel or Shinigami…he also would have heard it. So…that could only mean that it was a…

Her face then filled with what could only be described as horror. She stood up, and looked at him sternly. "Don't move. Don't say a word."

"Why?"

"SHHHH!" she hissed. "Will you just trust me?"

He looked at her in confusion. "But-"

"Shut it!"

Then he just rolled his eyes and nodded.

Nikki proceeded to the kitchen, trying to detect energy. She could feel something. But as to where it was located, she couldn't exactly tell. They were sneaky, evil little things.

"Hello," called a raspy voice from behind her.

She turned to see Imoru standing in the entry way. His eyes were glowing purple.

"I-Imoru…I told you not to move…are you okay?"

Imoru then stuck out his tongue, making what sounded like a hissing noise. Then he just grinned. The raspy voice beginning to speak again. "You're a pretty little shinigami, aren't you?" the voice said with a chuckle. "Very lovely."

"What are you doing here?" she practically squeaked, leaning up onto the wall.

"What else…but doing my job?" Imoru's body made steps toward her.

Oh no…she thought in fright. She was only a level two shinigami. There was no way she could take a demon on by herself. Demons, other than the angels, were some of the strongest beings in existence. Two shinigami could take one on…but…one? That's insane.

She stared at Imoru, trying to figure out what kind of demon it was. It wasn't a pleasure demon. Pleasure demons didn't necessarily possess people. Plus, they were pleasant looking and sounding. It wasn't a fright demon, either. Fright demons scared in a sudden instant, then disappeared.

Imoru stepped closer to her until he was right in front of her. "Tell me…do you know who you were as a human, dear?"

"No," Nikki replied, trembling. "I remember nothing."

"Hm. I thought so," it said to her. Then, Imoru raised his hand, hitting his hand across her face.

She fell to the floor, her face stinging with pain. Then he knelt down, twisting her arms hard against her back. She let out a scream in pain.

"Well I know!" the demon said in delight. It let go of her arms and laughed. Then, it leaned down, sinking his teeth into her shoulder. An image flashed in her mind. A man was biting her out of anger. Hard. She screamed again, tears running down her face. She knew what she was up against now…the worst kind of demon…a pain demon.

"You committed suicide my dear," it said, ramming Nikki's face into the floor. An image flashed into her…through her…so real…so sensory…of a train ramming into her. She felt her body fly from the impact, and crash into a hard brick wall. It felt as if every bone in her body had shattered. She then felt her body land against cold, hard concrete. The impact causing excruciating pain radiating throughout her entire being. She couldn't scream it hurt so bad. She could barely breathe. She then felt blood pooling around her, the scent filling her nostrils, enveloping her. She heard screaming around her; and among all of them…she could make out one, small shrill scream.

Then, when Nikki opened her eyes, she was laying on the floor in a different part of the kitchen.

"Have you had enough yet, my dear?" the raspy voice said, laughing.

"Let me go…please…," she moaned, trembling.

"I see," the demon said, still laughing. Then it twisted her leg. Nikki screamed again as another image forced its way in.

"You stupid, stupid woman! How can you even defend that…that...monster? I wish you both would just disappear!" Shouted a man at her.

Nikki felt as if her heart were being ripped to pieces at those words. Her eyes looked into the sad teary eyes of a small boy with orange hair. It was as if the pain was the only thing surrounding them. Then, she felt the image fade away into dark nothingness.

----

"Hey!" called a voice. "Wake up!"

Nikki slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring in to strangely familiar eyes. "Hm?" She sat up, and looked at the strange girl sitting before her.

"Hey," Yoshi said with a small chuckle. "You okay?"

"I-I don't know…" she stared at her, feeling terrified and confused.

"You had a pretty nasty run in with a pain demon, huh?" Yoshi said, touching Nikki's shoulder.

"H-how? W-what? How did you make it go away?" Nikki sputtered in shock. "Y-you're just a ghost!"

Yoshi snorted. "Oh yeah…sure…totally underestimate the ghost girl. Everyone does."

"N-no! I'm sorry! I mean…I just didn't know that ghosts had the ability to fight back demons!" she replied, eyes wide.

"It all has to do with energy usage," Yoshi said with a sigh.

"H-how's Imoru?" Nikki asked, leaning forward.

"He's fine. You're lucky I had come over here to haunt him in the first place."

"You're the one who haunted us last time?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Yup," Yoshi said, helping her stand up. "You're lucky I got here when I did. What was it doing here?"

"I don't know. I asked it, but it just said that it was doing its job. Then it started to hurt me, and…I had images flash into my head. The demon told me that I had committed suicide. That would explain why I can't remember my life." Nikki said, teary eyed.

Yoshi stood back from her, looking at in curiosity. "Did you have a vision of your death?"

"I think so," she said with a nod. "I felt myself get hit by a train…I'm guessing that's how I died."

Yoshi looked into her eyes. It's Ami, she thought. "Oh…well. You sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I think so," Nikki replied, smiling. "Are you going to give us a haunt like last time?"

Yoshi looked at her and laughed. "Hm. No. Not today. I think you both have had enough scaring for today. I'll just be on my way now."

"Wait! Tell me how to fight a demon if it comes back!"

"You know how to draw in energy, right?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"Draw in as much energy as you can and blast it at the demon. You won't hurt Imoru if he gets possessed again. He'll just pass out," Yoshi said with a shrug.

"It's that simple?" Nikki asked, cocking her head.

"Yes, actually." Yoshi nodded and began to disappear. Then, she reached out, placing a piece of paper in her hand. She smiled, and disappeared.

Nikki unfolded the paper, seeing a familiar image. It was a picture of an orange cat and a family. On the page were the words: "I love you, oka-chan. Love, Kyo."

----

A/N: This has to be one of my favorite chapters so far. I love the scene at the end between Yoshi and Nikki( a.k.a. Ami). But…one question…what was that demon doing there? Hm….

God Bless!

-Takara-Star-Chan