Reoko sighed, and flipped her phone shut.
"Who was that Hitsuboshi-sensei?" Katsu asked from his desk.
"I'm going to go meet some family tonight at six. I'm going to need you to stay home tonight." She smiled wearily at him.
Katsu suddenly jumped up from his desk and ran to hers. He leaned over it, moving his face inches away from hers. "I wanna go! Can I go? Pleeeeasseee?"
Reoko blushed and shook her head furiously. "No!"
He kept asking randomly all through 6th period and after school while she was driving them home.
"Can I please go? PLEASEEE?!" Katsu begged as they walked into the kitchen.
"NO! YOU CAN'T GO!"She exclaimed in an irritated fashion as she slammed her books down onto the table. "Now stop asking me!"She wasn't facing him when she said this.
Katsu suddenly grabbed Reoko's arm and turned her around. He pulled her close to him, and gazed down into her eyes. "Please?"He asked one more time.
Reoko's eyes widened as her cheeks turned a deep magenta color. It took her a while to stutter out her answer of "N-no." She suddenly shook her head furiously, and pushed him away. "Go upstairs, please." She commanded him.
Katsu sighed, and did as he was told, grumbling under his breath as he went.
Reoko sat down at the kitchen table, and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She quickly dialed Tero's number.
"Hello?"
Reoko's heart jumped up as she heard her mate's voice.
"Hey, I'm going to Shiori's tonight around six...could you get here at 5:30 for me?" She asked.
Tero sighed. "Sure sure. I will babe."
She couldhear the grin in his voice. It had been a long time since he had called her that. "Alright...bye dear." And she hung up.
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Tero walked into his home at 5:30 sharp, yelling out. "I'm home!" He walked into the kitchen to see Reoko sitting at the table filing her papers into a binder.Katsu was sitting across from her, eating some of the leftover lasagna from the night before.
Katsu looked up and smiled. "Hi Hitsuboshi-san!" He exclaimed.
Tero suddenly knew why Reoko wanted him home early. He threw her an annoyed look and she returned it with an apologetic one.
She stood, and said, "I'll see you later tonight babe.", then walked over to him and kissed him. "Bye."
Tero sighed. "Bye."
He listened to her footsteps as she left the house, and heard the thud of the door slamming. He stared at Katsu for a moment, and there was an awkward silence.
"You want some?" Katsu offered the lasagna.
Tero sweat dropped. "No thanks..."KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Reoko drove up into Shiori's drive way about 20 minutes later. "I'm a little early...oh well." She shrugged, putting the car in park. She walked up to the door, and knocked on it.
Reoko could hear a piano playing from inside, and she found that Rimundo was the one to open the door. "Hitsuboshi sensei?" He asked, clearly baffled. "I didn't expect...well, I suppose since you are Shiori's sister..." He didn't finish his thought; he only stepped aside and let Reoko in. Reoko looked to the right when the piano playing suddenly stopped. In the living room, a beautifulchandelier glistened in the light from the sun. The room had a couple couches and some chairs, but the thing that caught Reoko's eye was the majestic black sleek grand piano. Takiko sat at it, her fingers still on the keys. She smiled at her aunt.
"Mom will behome in a second; she had to go drop my dad off at the docks." Takikothen beckoned for Reoko to come into the living room. Reoko walked forward, followed by Rimundo. Reoko took a seat on one of the couches while Rimundo took the seat that was closest to Takiko, silent and staring out the window. The sun glistened on the piano through the large window, its light bouncing off the piano,making it seem unreal.
"You have a nice piano." Reoko commented. Takiko smiled at her.
"Mom gave it to me for Christmas last year." She grinned eagerly. "Wanna hear a song?" Reoko smiled and nodded, and Takiko's eyes brightened up, turning back to the piano.
Shestarted to play, her fingers moving over the keys, creating a nice calm song. She closed her eyes, letting her feelingsshow in the song. Reoko closed her eyes, taking in the music.Takiko stressed parts of the song, as if she was trying to tell a story through her music.After a couple minutes of playing,she hit the last cord, letting the cord echo through the seemingly quiet house.
Reoko wasn't sure she could say anything,almost like she would ruin the whole song. "I love this song," Takiko started, not looking away from her piano, "Not only because mom wrote it for me, but because I feel like it has a meaning. To me, this song means that even though we go through hard times, even though things aren't always as we want them to be,no matter how far away the person you love is, they always come back to you.Whenever I'm feeling down, I like to play this song, and even when I'm not down...it's just...my favorite song to play." Takiko finished.
Rimundo got up from his seat and walked behind her, his hand on Takiko's shoulder. "I like it." He commented. "You played it beautifully." Hesmiled at her. Takiko looked into his eyes and smiled.
"Thanks Rimundo."
Reoko smiled. "It's lovely Takiko-chan." She told her student, turning her gaze to nothing in particular. She seemed to be off in her own world; she was obviously thinking about something that had deep meaning.
It was then that Shiori walked through the front door, an exasted look on her face. "Mom!Reoko's here!" Takiko sang,getting up from her bench.Shiori brightened up.
"Hey Reoko! Ready to go?"
Reoko smiled at her sister, getting up from her seat. "Yes, I am." Shiori grinned,grabbing Reoko and dragging her down the hall and into the garage.
Chris was out there, working on a motor cycle, his face looked concentrated. "Wow, Chris is out of his room, what a shocker!"Shiori laughed, running down the steps. Reoko was frozen at the topof the stairs, staring at the gigantic garage filled with various sports cars and motorcycles. Shiori turned and grinned at Reoko's shocked expression. "Which car? Or motorcycle?"
Reoko looked around, and then pointed at a Volvo C70. "That one." She said
Shiori looked at the car and smirked. "That a good car, nice choice!" Shiori turned and grabbed the keys with the label 'VolvoC70, and ran to the car. Reoko ran down the stairs, greeting her nephew. He looked up at the car they were taking.
"I did some work on that one mom. It should go faster." He grinned, proud of his work.
"Thanks Chris!"Shiori called,getting in the car. Reoko got in the passengerside, putting the seat belt on. Shiori started the car, letting the engine rumble a little bit before driving.
"I don't see much of Chris." Reoko commented.
"He doesn't like to leave his room. And when he does he's playing with the motorcycles or the cars." Shiori answered, moving down the street.
"Why?"
"Acouple years ago he was engaged to a young human girl...a week before the wedding she was murdered by, you guessed it, Chinatsu's little minions." Shiori's face was sour.
"Oh..."
The car was silent for a while. Shiori must have gotten irritated with the silence because she turned on some music, singing along to it. Reoko smiled. She'd forgotten her sister's voice.Her sister had a wide range, her voice clear and beautiful. Reoko started to sing along with her sister, their voicesin perfect harmony. The song ended and Shiori started to laugh.
"Just like old times, huh?" Shiori grinned. Reoko smiled sheepishly.
"Yea, just like old times."
Reoko stared out the window. "Katsu begged to come along." She said suddenly. She couldn't stop thinking about the look he had given her in the kitchen earlier today. It was so intense. "I told him no but...he kept begging. This kid is really weird..."She told her sister.
"It's a good thing he didn't go. His place is not with Ayame and her family. He doesn't need to know about Natsumi and Reika. Keep a good eye on him...he doesn't sound...normal...which is quite ironic because we're far from normal."
Reoko smiled. "Well, he's not normal considering normal people and excluding us." She chuckled slightly, but her smile faded quickly. "He just seems to get really close to me all the time." And she then told her what he had done for her when Reya was about to kill her, and the kitchen incident.
Shiori was silent for a long while, staring outonto the road ahead of them. "I don't know. I don't think he's dangerous...but I think he may have a case of puppy dog love. And he's just incredibly strong. That's all you can really do for right now.You don't have any clear evidence that something is wrong." Shiori said. "I reallydon't know about this one. But let him know the boundaries."
Reoko smiled. "I have a feeling that even if I did tell him the boundaries, he would forget about them the next day." She heaveda heavy sigh. "Tero feels threatened by him though. I can tell." She knew her mate probably more than he knew himself. "Tero never felt threatened by the other guys that liked me. That's the only reason I worry."
Shiori smiled. "You love Tero, I can tell. I always could. I don't thinksome kids going to steal you away. Tero's just worried, that's all. Kyo's always like that, though he usually never says anything. He usually shows it through his actions. Not that I mind the actions..." Shiori blushed and decided to change the subject. "Just don't think too much about it. Your brain might explode or something."
Reoko laughed. "Ha-ha Tero's just not sure about this kid. Maybe it's because he so young...?" She then shrugged. "I think Katsu might've said something to Tero though. He's getting really worked up about it. I should probably ask him later." She smiled.
"Yea, you do that." Shiori closed the conversation.Reoko looked out the window and noticed they were on a mountain pass, an unfamiliar one. Shiori turned a corner and Reoko could see a big castle up ahead as well as some homes below it. Shiori started to speed toward the castle and in no time they were there, parking in front of it. "Get out." Shiori told her, getting out herself.
As Reoko got out, the double doors burstopen and Crin poppedout. She wore her usual frilly dress and knee-high boots. Her hair was curled, her eyes closed and a tiara was on her head.
"I'M A PRINCESS I'M A PRINCESS I'M A PRINCESS!!!" Crin yelled over and over again as she leapt from the top of the stairs, jumping quite literally on Shiori. Shiori fell backward with a UMPH!
"Oh hello Shiori! I didn't see you there!" Crin giggled rolling off of Shiori. "Oh...you...found the tiaras, huh?" Shiori frowned, getting up. Crin giggled and nodded.
"COME ON!" Crin called.
Shiori sighed and looked at her sister. "I worked so hard to hide all of the tiaras..."
Reoko giggled slightly, remembering how bubbly Crin could be. "Well, you were never really good at hiding things Shiori." Reokotold her.
"I wasn't?" Shiori looked confused. "But I could hide things so well from my kids..." She murmured, walking up the steps. Reoko laughed and followed her. They entered the castle. It looked like any normal medieval castle from Sudoku Jedi. (Don't know how to spell XD)Ayame and the man she identified as 'Hikitsu' stood there, smiling...well, Ayame was, and Hikitsu only stared, his arm around his sister's waist.
"Hello Reoko, it's good that you're feeling better." Ayame smiled. She wore a silk black kimono with gold birds in midflight on it. Her silver hair wasleft hanging wavy down her shoulders. Her eyesheld kindness, while her brother, (who wore jeans and a black t-shirt) had an eyepatch and his one eye that wasn't covered was very neutral.
"Reoko, as youknow,this is Ayame and Hikitsu, they are the head of thefamily when Natsumi is around. Reika would be the second in command since she would technically be their aunt."
"Good evening." Hikitsu spoke, his voice emotionless.
"Um...good evening."
Crin ran aroundthe corner, making her visible. "And as youknow,this is Crin...she's one of my best friends and is the youngest daughter of Ayame and Hikitsu." Crin skipped up to Reoko and smiled.
"Hello again Reoko!" Crin hugged Reoko tightly...so tightly that Reoko's back cracked...and kissed Reoko's cheek.She then let go and moved to stand beside Shiori.
Another woman appeared at the top of the stairs. Her long blonde hair made it clear that she was Hikitsu's daughter.She could have been his twin. Shewalkeddown the stairs, her elegant black dress moving silently. "I am Massami; I saw that you were coming." Massamisaid when she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Massamican see into the future." Shiori whispered when Reoko gave Massami a weird look. "These people, and Rimundo, are the ones who usually do the protecting. The rest of the family is in the village bellow. You won't really see them." Shioritold Reoko.
Reoko smiled at them all, and took a slight bow. "Konbawa." She greeted them. She looked over at her sister. "I see." Was all she said.
Shiori smiled. "Shall we go into the dining room?" Reoko nodded and followed the others down the hallways, Crin skipping around Reoko and Shiori. KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Kyo leaned against the rail, looking into the ocean as the waves rocked the boat. The others were inside, having some party while he stood out to watch the sun set. He sighed, wondering what Shiori would say if she were there. Sure they had ridden ships before; like when they moved from England to the America's around the time of the civil war...Shiori had fought in it, pretending to bea guy. This made him chuckle. She did look cute though...
He leaned away from the side of the boat then proceeded to walk around the boat, looking up at the sky. He missed his mate...when he got home, he was going to hold her in his arms for hours and have Takiko take the twins out to something. More than anything he wished he could be home...
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed a helicopter above the boat, coming closer and closer. He frowned, knowing Shiori wasn't desperate enough to send a helicopter after him. The helicopter neared the boat, and Kyo squinted his eyes against the wind to try to see who was flying the black thing that hovered above the boat. People started to come out, looking curiously at the helicopter. "Mr. Yanahara? What is this about?" His client asked, looking at him curiously. Kyo said nothing, only stared. He was starting to feel as though they were all in very grave danger...
"Get everyone inside the boat, NOW!" Kyo yelled, running toward the crowd. People started to panic, screaming random stuff as they pushed at the doorway at the same time, trying to get in. As Kyo reached the crowd, an explosion blew behind him, Kyo fell forward onto his face. People screamed in terror around him, and he had to sit up quickly to avoid being trampled. He looked behind him and gasped.
The whole front of the boat was gone...and they were sinking fast.
KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKTero stared at Katsu from acrossthe table, who just smiled back at him. He shoved lasagna into his mouth. He was not happy with this situation. Swallowing the lasagna, he asked "How much longer are you going to gathering data on Reoko?"
Katsu's smile turned into a grin. "I don't know. Maybe another week or two?"
Tero resisted the urge to throw his plate at Katsu. "Absolutely not. I will not let you get near my wife in any way that resembles a relationship more than a teacher student one."
Katsu flashed him a smile. "What about when you're at work? What are you going to do then?" He asked.
Tero had a smug look on his face. "I'll talk to Reoko about this. She'll most likely go along with it."
Katsu frowned. "You spoil all the fun, you know that?"
Tero rolled his eyes, and got up from the table to put his dish in the sink. "I don't trust you at all, and I know that you are definitely stronger than anyone I've met." He was obviously afraid that Katsu might force himself upon Reoko.
Katsu frowned, "I would never force myself upon a woman. You can't get angry with me if she complies well with my actions."
That irked Tero. Katsu had a point...
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Reoko was silent as they walked to the dining room; she was having a mental conversation with Reika.
My nieces and nephews are adorable...Reika said. Reoko could tell she was beaming with pride.
Yes yes Reika I get it. Reoko chuckled slightly.
Shiori smiledas she sat downat one of the seats, right next to where Ayame sat, obviously showing that Shiori had some power in the family also. Reoko sat next to her. Crin sat on the other side of Ayame. Masami and Hikitsu sat on the other end of the long table.
"How are youdoing Christina?" Crin asked, running her hand over the table. Reoko's eyebrows rose.
"Crin likes to name objects." Shiori told Reoko, who nodded unsure...
"We are so glad that you have finally joined the family Reoko." Ayame smiled at her, ignoring her daughter's strange actions. She was used to it.
"What?"
"Well, we may not be family to you, but to us you are family."
"Oh..."
"Well, Shiori would be like a daughter to me...a much younger daughter, but still."
Reoko didn't know what to say. She had known the connection to Ayame's family and Shiori's was strong, but she didn't think it was that strong.
"We want you to know that now that Chinatsu knows that Reika is a threat to her, she will come after your family." Hikitsu spoke. Reoko could feel shivers running up her back. "Thankfully she didn't know for all this time, but unfortunately she knows now. We will make sure that you have access to our family's protection like Shiori does."
"I wouldn't have survived without them..." Shiori muttered, her eyes closed.
"Well, that's because you used to be so reckless, and you wouldn't listen to Natsumi. I swear, if she could have, she would have beaten you till you got some sense!" Masami commented, a smile on her usually expressionless face.
"Oh hush." Shiori grumbled.
Reoko had a serious look on her face. "Thank you, I appreciate this."She nodded slightly. "You've soothed my worries slightly." She smiled anxiously.
Shiori looked like she was about to say something, but she suddenly paled. Her eyes grew wider, and she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Shiori? Shiori dear, what's wrong?" Ayame asked, reaching out to tough Shiori's hand. This made Shiori snap out ofit, yet she still looked freaked out.
"I...I don't know...one minute I was going to saysomething...I don't remember what...and the next...I feel strangely cold..."
Reoko reached out to tough her sisters shoulder. "Shiori, are you coming down with something?"
Shiori started to quiver. "No...No I don't think so...something's not right...something's wrong..."
"Did youforget todo something?" Crin asked, starting to get serious. (SHOCK!)
"NO, no...I did everything! I Talked to Reoko on the phone, I took her here...and I took Kyo to the docksso he could go on that trip..." Suddenly Shiori stopped talking.
"Shiori?" Hikitsu asked, standing. Masami looked concerned also.
"Kyo..." Shiori whispered, jumping up from her seat. "EXCUSE ME AYAME!" Shiori yelledbehind her, running into thehallway once more. Reoko threw a look at Ayame before getting up and running after her sister. WhenReoko found her, Shiori was sitting on a chair, one arm wrapped around her waist and her cell phonein her other hand. Shiori bit her lip nervously, waiting for someone to pick up. Reoko watched as Shiori growled and slapped the phone shut, only to open it and try again. Once againShiori got nothing but the answeringmachine. Shecried out in frustration as slapped the phone shut again. She looked into Reoko's eyes, panic overflowing her senses."We need to go,now." Shioriwhispered, standing up.
Reoko gave Shiori and serious look. "What's going on Shiori? Tell me." She demanded.She grabbed her sister's hand with a dominant force, leading her sister down the hall towards the exit of the home.
Shiori started to cry. Obviously this was bad enough if Shiori started to cry. "I d-don't...k-know! One second I'm totally fine...and the n-next...I have this horrible feeling...t-that something is...t-t-terribly w-w-wrong!" Reoko pulled Shiori out the door and to the car.
"I'll drive. Where to?" Reoko asked.
"The docks." Shiori answered, trying to get a hold of her.
Reoko got a sick feeling in her stomach as she jumped into the car with Shiori. "Kyo?" She asked as she started up the car. She knew the feeling Shiori was getting; she'd had it many times before. It was sort of like a 6th sense.
Shiori nodded. "I think so..." Shiori picked her cell phone up again and started to dial Kyo's number again.
"Will Ayame and her family understand?"
"Of course." Shiori didn't say anything more.
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After thirty minutes, they finally arrived at the docks. Shiori practically jumped out of the car and ran to the coast guard where a group of people stood, murmuring. Shiori pushed her way to the front, not quite understanding what was going on. The guard there looked down at her curiously.
"What's going on here?" Shiori asked, though she had a feeling she knew what it was about.
"A boat blew up and sank a couple miles out." The guard answered. Shiori paled.
"Was it...a party boat?"
"Yes itwas mam."
"Do...do you happen to have a list of the passengers?"
The guard handed Shiori a clip board. Her eyes scanned it. There were a bunch of names. Most had "Missing" or "Dead" and a couple had "Survived" Next to their names. Shiori scanned the list.
Then she saw it.
"Kyo Yanahara-missing"
Shiori dropped the clip board onto the sand. Her whole world seemed to have stopped. Missing...no. not missing. She would know if he was still alive...but it said missing...couldn't there still be a chance? Hadn't she been missing once? Hadn't her sister thought that Shiori had died? Could there still have been a chance? No. She knew that. She would know. The bite on her neck...the one that her mate had created...the one that looked like a dragon tattoo...it was cold. Ice-burning cold. She felt like half of her was ripped away.
"That...Kyo Yanahara...he's my husband." Shiori whispered. The guard paled.
"I'm sorry Miss Yanahara, if there is anything we can do..."
"There's nothing." Shiori whispered coldly. She turned and shoved her way out of the crowd, to where Reoko stood. Undoubtedly she had heard the conversation.
She passed her sister, heading to the boardwalk.
"Shiori, wait! What are you doing? Stop, where are you going?" Reoko called after Shiori when she broke into a run.
Reoko cursed and started to follow. Shiori ran to the board walk and started to run down the wooden structure at demon speed, making it to the end within seconds. Normally it would take a human ten minutes to get to the end.
Shiori stopped at the end, jumping up on the railing. Tears fell down her face uncontrollably as she started to openly cry out her mates name over and over again, as if he could hear her. No...He couldn't be dead! Her mind thought...her heart wanted to believe it, but she knew it couldn't. There was only one way to know for sure...the guard said only a couple miles out...
Shiori jumped over the railing and into the freezing ocean water, which she ignored. She started to swim against the current, tears still falling down her face. She now only spoke his name, deciding to keep her energy up. She wanted to find him, for him to hold her in his arms again...
She knew it wasn't possible, but she still wanted to try.
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-sigh- my cousin got mad when I wrote this...yes it was my idea to kill Kyo off. I'm evil, I know. But the reason I kill characters off is because Shiori and Reoko are fighting a war basically. There are going to be deaths, its only natural in war. So this chapter was depressing, I know. I'm sorry to say that though the story gets better, more action packed, it also gets pretty sad in some parts. But thats why its good! Its realistic in the whole There-Is- Death-In-Life. So don't kill me! I swear I don't kill people off just for fun...okay, thats part of the reason, but its not a big reason! I PROMISE! AND I NEED REVIEWS! TEN CHAPTERS AND ONLY 10 REVIEWS? That makes me feel emo.
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alice
