Akari: Here ya go, fresh from the press.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakushou
(Carrie)
The young woman moved through the town with much determination, her lips were drawn in a grim line, and her eyes stared straight forward. Kunai perched on her shoulder, her demeanor little better than her master's. Carrie walked at a steady pace, not moving out of anyone's way, since people seemed to be avoiding her. It didn't bother her, she was used to it. It had always been like this, ever since she could remember. It wasn't her fault, she always told herself, it was their fault. The close minded people, those monsters. Looking at her with cold eyes, whispering amongst themselves as she walked by. That was her life. That was why she was not a slayer.
But none of that mattered at the moment. She needed to speak with Kama, it was time to set things straight. What had happened to Hiei had been her fault, if she hadn't bothered him when he was sleeping in that tree… That god-forbidden tree…
Kunai nudged her gently, her smooth beak lightly touching her exposed ear. They were at the village council; this was where Kama was.
As she pushed open the doors, everyone looked up from what they were doing. Several conversations were paused as she moved across the marble floor to where a very worried looking woman sat behind a desk.
"Carrie, if I had known I would have never-" Naomi began.
"I need to speak to Kama. It's urgent." Her eyes were cold, unfeeling. She wasn't ready to make nice with Naomi. Not yet.
The secretary sat still for a moment, looking up at the young woman before her with much sadness on her face. Finally deciding she shouldn't push it, Naomi nodded. "Go on up, his in his office."
Carrie gave a curt nod of her head and left, swiftly leaving the terribly silent room. The whispers had started, spreading like wild fire as she ascended the stairs. Just a bunch of gossiping old ladies, she told herself.
The council building was not very tall, just rather wide. It had three stories, and many, many rooms. Carrie knew it well; she had walked about the halls often when her mother had worked here. She moved towards the door at the end of a particularly long hallway, and a peculiar one at that. No other doors broke its pristine whiteness. The lights were dim, which kept it from looking like a hospital, but gave it an incredibly creepy atmosphere. But nothing would slow or deter her from her mission. She was going to do this. She had to do this.
As she reached the door, she reached her hand out for the doorknob. It twisted before she could touch it, however, and swung inwards, revealing a tall, handsome man. It was her mother's brother.
"Carrie." He said, a bit surprised but he his it well. He wore a warm smile, and his eyes were soft and calm. He always knew how to handle a situation, much unlike her mother had.
"Hello, Kiriyuki-san. I need to speak with Kama-san right away." Kunai fidgeted on her shoulder as a black cat appeared at her uncle's feet. He was a large creature, about two feet tall and black as coal. His eyes were haunting, a very clean cut yellow. Kunai did not like him very much.
"We were actually just discussing your circumstances. I was just about to go and find you. Please, come in." He ushered her in with a long, slow sweeping motion of his arm. She obliged and stepped into the room. It was large and dark, the walls were painted a navy blue, the carpet was the same. Carrie realized for the first time that everything in it was amazingly boring. Hadn't Kama ever heard of a color other than blue?
As she entered, the leader of the Demon Slayers motioned for her to take a seat in, this is going to be shocking, a blue chair. She did so, and Kunai hopped down onto her lap, the warmth radiating off of her like a comforting hug. Both of them looked directly at Kama, and both knew what this was going to be about.
"Carrie…" Kama began slowly, his voice heavy with the weight of what he was going to say to her. "You have been living alone now for two years. It worries this village that you are out there without any of us around you to protect you."
"And by 'this village' you mean you and Naomi. We all know that 'this village' doesn't give a shit about me."
"Carrie!" That was her uncle. "Don't take to Kama-san like that!" He had taken the seat next to her, Taku's, Kiriyuki's spirit, narrowed his eyes at me.
Her eyes snapped to him, blazing with a kind of anger that was unusual for a person born of a slayer family. It was the anger of a demon.
"I can talk to him however I want. He's the leader of Kirichi, a village for demon slayers. Well, newsflash for you, I'm not a demon slayer, and I'm not a member of this village." Both of them were obviously taken aback by this sudden spat of emotion from her, she had been so serious looking before, and they both considered her members of the village, as well as a demon slayer.
"Just because my mom was born in this town, just because she used to work here, just because both of my parents were demon slayers doesn't mean I want anything to do with it or this village! My home is out there, in the real world. I just want to be normal! I don't want to go around killing people! And if you say that demons aren't people, then you'd better prepare yourself to die." Her words were cold as ice; her aura flamed like a wild fire. The room was silent for several moments, allowing Carrie to regain her composure a little.
"I didn't come here to talk about who I will live with. I came here to talk about what we're going to do about Hiei. I'm going after him, I'm going to exercise Akari from his body. It's the least I can do, what I have to do. I was the one who got him into it, I need to take responsibility for my actions."
Kama folded his fingers together, and if in prayer, and allowed himself to go into deep thought for several minutes. Neither me nor my uncle said anything. I became aware of the soft ticking of a clock, though it must have been in a drawer for I was unable to find it on the walls. Finally, the elder opened his eyes. He allowed them to drift upwards until they made contact with Carrie's own gaze. She held it strongly, fiercely. He nodded then, leaning back in his chair.
"Very well." Was all he said.
"What?!" Kiriyuki stood, nearly sending his chair tumbling over. "You're going to let her go after that demon, that murderer-"
"Thank you, Kama-san." Carrie said, raising and bowing deeply to him. Kunai had disappeared, and Carrie decided to do the same. She took off at a run, her uncle yelling after her.
"Don't you dare leave! Carrie! CARRIE!"
But she was gone.
