Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est

PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter

Lingering

A/N:

Panda: Oh hai thar. This is a chapter. That I didn't write. Yeah. Chapters.

Armadilllo: Yes. Tis mine. Fun fact: I hated this chapter when I wrote it.

Panda: Fun times. I remember that. I told you you were being silly. Psha. Yeah. Wow, so we are in the middle of finals and stuff. College life. Yeah. And my brain says no, even though I haven't actually done anything. And did you know we have a soundtrack for this story? We are listening to it. Yeah.

Armadilllo: Yeah, it's pretty adorbs. Haha.

Panda: I got distracted and don't remember what I was thinking. Cats. English. Exam tomorrow. Poetry sucks. By the way, in case you were wondering, the english language is, in fact, heterosexual.

Armadilllo: NO WAY! You never told meeeee.

Panda: Lies. I did too. Right after it became evident. DON'T LIE TO OUR READERS. QQ

Armadilllo: :(. Sorry. But anyway. This chapter. I think I made peace with it. I read it the other day without thinking it was awful.

Panda: I am quite glad. Quite. Glad. Happiness is good. I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THE BUG CLASS. You are happy with your chapter. I am happy with the lack of bug.

Armadilllo: Lolololol, yeah. I am not glad about having to live in the WLH next semester. But it'll all be good.

Panda: You'll be able to get through it. I have faith.

Armadilllo: Daw, thanks. (insert heart here) trololol. But anywho, we don't own any of the characters from Yu Yu Hakusho. Just our OCs and the plot.

Panda: Yuss. And now, we present, in all of its glory, Chapter Eleven: Lingering!


Even after the demons had left, the thoughts they planted could not be shaken off. Kaiya had gone straight to bed when Shuichi and his friend had left, but Marika stayed in the living room, ignoring her homework. She was trying to memorize how the demon energy felt. This, she thought, would be the first step. She didn't want to be totally unprepared when she met Genkai. But she WOULD meet the Master. She WOULD train to use her ability to sense spirit energy if it took her last breath to get there.

She thought of all the demons she had met in the last few days. It had not even been a week! Shuichi, Hiei, the fox-girl and the duck. But these were not the only demons she had ever encountered. She had felt the same way many times before, usually before something particularly bad happened. It was strange, that though the demons she had met were very different, their energy had all felt the same. If she truly could sense spirit energy like Shuichi had said, then perhaps it was more a sense of someone's power than their personality.

Demon energy, despite the negative connotation that demons seemed to have in the human world, did not feel particularly malicious. She didn't know how to explain how the energy felt except to picture it in her mind. The image that came to her mind was of a house surrounded on all sides by other houses that were all occupied. But this house's windows were dark, its doors locked from the inside by a long dead owner. Sadness seeped from the house like a tangible puss, infecting the other houses around it until nothing was left but loneliness.

This was what sent the shivers down her spine and raised the hairs on her arms. She had felt the glare of eyes laughing at her pathetic blundering when she had briefly gone to the demon world. It was disturbing that this attitude could so completely describe the place. The German people had a word for the emotion that came from taking joy in other people's discomfort. Americans called it slapstick. The only way to survive in a world like that was to lie, cheat, steal, fight and kill your way to the top. And then to stomp on those who were in the same position that you yourself had once occupied. It was sickening. She had felt that most acutely when she had gone into the demon world. The whole place reeked of it. Perhaps that was why Shuichi wouldn't tell her what he knew. Information was power, and in the world of demons, that was all that mattered. It was laughable to think that Shuichi might be powerful in this other world.

But Marika could not laugh at the ghostlike house. Its fate was something she had always feared: abandonment. It was a feeling that was hard to shake when she was surrounded by the residual energy the demons' visit had left behind. For a whole race to be abandoned, what kind of unspeakable atrocities must be committed?

Even stranger than Marika's mental image of demon energy was the smell that came along with it. It smelt of chlorophyll welling from the fresh wounds of a thousand decapitated plants cut down by a mower. Grass and weeds and flowers all fell like tin soldiers on the rug of a little boys room, knocked over by large feet that were careless of who they trampled. Mixed in with this was the smell of blood.

Marika wondered why of all things would they smell like grass. Perhaps they were natural creatures. What were demons really? They must have had lineages just like humans did. Like Marika had come from Natsuki and Tomiichi and Natsuki had come from Ayame and Steven. The latter was the American grandfather who had passed down his blue eyes. Marika absent-mindedly took out her braid and shook out her dark brown hair before realizing that she hadn't wanted to take it out. With a sigh, she began to put the braid back in, her hair intertwining like her thoughts.

Had anyone ever held the demons like she had been held as a child? Did they have parents? They had to; they were creatures of nature after all. It was hard to picture anyone cooing at the harshly intelligent, three-eyed Hiei. Shuichi, though, had said that his name was human. How much could she really trust him though? It could just be the name that he was called in the human world, or a mask he wore to deceive her race so that he could live among them. His energy seemed less potent than Hiei's. It could be that he wore a disguise.

But why would they even come to the human world? They had their own homes, their own people, they could get by without any interaction with humans. Well, she supposed some would need them for food, if stories were to be believed. Demons in the old children's stories had been mindless stupid creatures that gorged themselves on blood. But Hiei and Shuichi hadn't seemed like that. Never in the three months she had known Shuichi had he even done anything remotely threatening. And while Hiei was certainly scary, it seemed that he had been holding back his anger at their 'human stupidity'.

No. There was a another reason that demons came to the human world, besides food. She saw the house again, its aint cracked and chipping. She had been to demon world. She had walked in the dark, where it seemed that you were always alone, able to hear people in the area around you but not know which way to go to get to them. If Kaiya had not been standing next to her she would have been totally alone. Compared to that place, the human world was a light happy place where the people laughed and joked and distracted themselves from the pain of life. There was a sense of solidarity here, as though you could never truly be alone. That perception did not cover even half of all that life was, in Marika's experience. But she could see the confusion.

Looking at them this way, demons and humans did not seem all that different to her. Both viewed the world through a narrow lense. Demons, if Hiei's comments were to be taken as an example, had an incomplete view of her race. They saw humans as stupid creatures that lived for pleasure and never did anything of consequence. Maybe that was where the practice of eating people came from. Men were easy prey. And human stories showed their own prejudices against those of demon world.

But Marika had to wonder what would have happened if humans had been shut into a world of darkness and the demons had been allowed to stay in the light. Would things have developed differently? The outcasted ones would always be jealous and full of contempt for those who had been given the light and took it for granted. And what or who decided which group would be thrust into darkness? A grave error thousands of years ago by a lone scapegoat? A personal grudge? Or a general separation of the races over the years? Maybe the demons chose to close themselves off. Though why anyone would willingly choose to live in shadow was beyond Marika. She could barely take one night of it.

There were stories of humans, demons, and spirits inhabiting the same world but they were so old it was hard to take them seriously. Though if they were true then there had to be a reason that the races had been forced apart. And those who had once been friendly with her race became monsters though their rage and jealousy. It was almost sad.

But even if the demons did deserve pity, or hatred, or mercy, Marika had no time for that. The monsters could continue in their ways, spreading death and dealing destruction. Marika didn't care. But she would be damned if she let them make a victim of her. She would learn how to punch, kick, fight, anything that would let her survive. And more than that, they would regret the day they had picked her out of the crowd and decided to kill her. she would make the demons tell her how to help Kaiya. If she could only accomplish one thing in her life, it would be a cure for her sister. She was determined.

Marika heard her parents unlocking the front door and ran upstairs before they could come in and ask her why she was still awake. There was nothing she could do immediately with her resolve anyway. She had no idea where the psychic Genkai lived, not to mention the fact that she had school in the morning. And more than that, she knew she could not leave home without Kaiya. The demons who were after her knew where she lived, and she would bet her life that they would not leave her sister alone just because their primary target was gone. Some of them did EAT humans, after all and they would not pass up a free meal.

Her parents would be fine. They were hardly at the house anyway. But Kaiya would be in danger if she was left alone. Blindness aside, she was clearly in denial of what was going on. And while that was better for her in the long run (Marika didn't want her to live in fear of demons. If someone had to live with the knowledge then it would be her.), it left her open to attack. Just today, she had dragged a demon into their house. Their house! Kaiya needed to be protected most of all from herself. And there was only one person who could do that. Of course, that meant that Marika would have to convince her sister to come with her when she left to be trained. That was not something Marika looked forward to. Her sister was quite stubborn, after all.

She had avoided sleep long enough. Marika climbed under her covers and greeted the monsters that awaited her with silent screams.

The hard part would be how to bring it up. Kaiya was not usually very enthusiastic about going on these weekend outings. Marika guessed that it would only be harder now that her naturally skeptical sister thought that she was crazy.

She was preoccupied by this dilemma all day. Her classes had passed by quickly and work had seemed shorter than usual. Shuichi left her alone for the most part, seeming to read her thoughtfulness as a sign that she was ignoring him. In fact, she wasn't sure that he had spoken at all until their shift ended.

"Marika, are you coming?" he asked, light jacket in hand. The weather had been bipolar today, so Marika was glad she had worn layers. She hoped that Kaiya had remembered her jacket. Her sister would be even more difficult to convince if she was in a bad mood, and being cold all day would certainly not help anything.

"Marika, did you hear me?" Shuichi asked. Because if she was cold, then it would remind her that she couldn't go outside. And any day that her sister was stuck inside was a tragedy for her. Maybe if Marika went and got her some kind of treat, it would make her easier to talk to. Kaiya loved sweets more than regular food anyway. What kind should she get? Mochi? Pocky? Hello Panda?

"Marika," Shuichi said softly. Marika jumped in surprise. He was right behind her. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed him approach. He laughed initially at her reaction before scrutinizing her. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he said seriously.

He looked worried. "No, no," she said, quickly. "Nothing to worry about." So that just he could hear, she added, "I haven't seen any demons today. Well, besides the obvious."

"Good," he said shortly, already turning toward the door.

What could she even say to him, knowing what she did now? 'Hey, so kill any humans lately?', she thought. No, that wouldn't go over very well. Although, he was a demon. Maybe it would be okay. Then she remembered her dream. She hurried to catch up to him, running a little in the process.

"So, Shuichi, you like science, don't you?" Marika asked innocently. He barely glanced at her before responding.

"Do you need help in class?" he asked.

Marika laughed, trying to move the conversation in a more friendly direction. They had made it to the car. She dropped into her seat, waiting for Shuichi open his door so that he would be able to hear her. "No, I am doing very well in my science, which is actually a miracle if I think about it."

"Then why do you want to know so badly whether or not I am interested in science?" Shuichi asked, his eyes on the road as pulled out onto the street. He seemed suspicious. Marika guessed that it was fair enough. She was trying to get information out of him, after all.

"Can't I make a friendly conversation?" she asked, adding some hurt into her voice. Yes, she was being transparent about her motives, but the least he could do was pretend that he didn't know what she was asking.

Shuichi took a moment to respond. "I used to do very well at science in high school. Everyone said I should go into the medical field."

"So, did you keep up with it?" Marika asked, the interest in her voice thinly veiled. Maybe he had been lying when he said he knew nothing about blindness. Maybe he had discovered a way to heal eyes that had been so badly damaged that they had stopped working. She wondered what it could be, a computer chip or an organ transplant? From what little she had heard her parents talking about, these solutions were years away for someone like Kaiya. What if her dream wasn't meant to come true until then?

"No," Shuichi said. Marika felt all of her dreams crash to the floor. "I wouldn't be a good doctor."

"What?" Marika asked, incredulous. "But you said yourself that you had all the makings of a good one."

"Except for the most important thing," Shuichi said as he pulled into the pickup area of Kaiya's school. What was the most important thing? Perhaps it was that he didn't want to save human lives. But Marika didn't have any more time to consider it. Kaiya was already standing outside, with a jacket on, Marika was glad to note. She got out of the car and guided her sister into the car.

"Are you going to say hello to Minamino-san, Kaiya?" Marika asked after she had gotten back in the front seat and buckled herself in.

"Hi," Kaiya said monotonously.

It was clear she was in a bad mood even with a jacket on. Marika shrugged helplessly at Shuichi. He didn't look over at her, or give her any indication of camaraderie, which was okay with her. He was a demon, after all, and now that she knew that, there was no reason for either of them to pretend they were friends. 'Except for the small fact that I need him to tell me what he knows about a cure for blindness,' Marika thought. They didn't talk anymore during the short drive from Kaiya's school to their house.

Shuichi pulled into the driveway, still not looking in her direction. He seemed very tense. Kaiya got out of the car and began feeling her way up the driveway. Sighing, she opened her door and went to make sure that her sister did not trip over the big rock in their parents' small zen garden. But suddenly there was a hand on her arm, preventing her from leaving the car.

"Marika," he began, "please tell me that you have forgotten about going to train with Genkai."

Marika was furious. He didn't want her to train to defend herself? Well, she would show him. Maybe he didn't want her to go because that was where he had hidden his research. "I can't do that. Maybe your kind thinks of us as easy prey, but not this girl!"

She pulled her arm out of his grip and stormed into the house. 'Pshh,' she thought, 'Shuichi.' The name in itself was an unspoken condemnation. Just because he was a demon he thought that he had the right to boss her around. Marika would not have hung around with him at this point if it were not for her prophetic dream that he would tell her the cure for blindness.

Remembering her intent to ask Kaiya about going to Genkai directly after school, Marika raced to catch up with her sister once they were inside the house.

"So, Kaiya," she said as casually as she could muster, "did you have fun this weekend?"

"We've been over this already, nee-chan," her sister responded.

"Oh, yeah," she replied. Darn, she had forgotten about that. "So... what are you doing next weekend?"

"Look, I know that you are crazy and all, but I didn't realize it affected your memory too," Kaiya said scornfully. Marika had no idea what she was talking about. Had she forgotten something that Kaiya had planned? It seemed unlikely. Then she realized that her sister was making a barbed comment about Marika's determination to go everywhere with her little sister. Of course Kaiya would make a comment about that. Marika hid her irritation and continued trekking on. This was not going as planned.

"Oh, so you are free?" she said, keeping her tongue in check. "Because I was planning on going to see that psychic that Shuichi was talking about. Let's go, yeah?"

"You know, I could handle the strange things about you before,"Kaiya said patronizingly "But now your gay co-worker has made you even more crazy. Do mean to tell me that you honestly believe him?"

"No, of course not," Marika lied, trying not to seem too eager. "But I am curious about it. I just want to go see her, that's all."

"What makes you so certain she even exists?" her sister asked disbelievingly.

"I looked it up on the internet," Marika told her. "Apparently she was advertising for an apprentice a while back. She just looks like a normal sensei."

"Why would I care how she looks? I'm blind, remember?" Yes, Marika did remember. The words hurt her physically.

"I know," she said quietly. "I just thought maybe you would want to know that she is not crazy,"

"You do realize that looks have nothing to do with whether or not someone is crazy, right?" Another blatant jibe at Marika. "After all, she advertised herself as some psychic. What does she even do, read your palm?"

"See?" she said, trying to ignore her sister's bad attitude. She had to convince her to come along, no matter what. Kaiya obviously wasn't going to agree, but Marika kept trying. "These questions are exactly why I want to go. I am just curious. Where's the harm in that?"

"No," Kaiya said firmly. Marika's heart fell.

"You agree?" she joked. "There is no harm?"

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," Kaiya said sarcastically. "I forgot you never understand anything I say. I meant 'no, I am not going.'"

"Why not?" Marika tried without success to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"I don't want to encourage your crazy," her sister sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be the responsible, older sister?"

"So now 'crazy' is defined by a sense of adventure and curiosity?" Marika responded defensively.

"No," Kaiya said. "I think adventures are perfectly okay. But not if you are convinced that some woman can teach you to use magical energies or whatever."

"I told you I don't think that," Marika lied through her teeth. "But fine, if you don't want to go, then we can do something else."

Her sister did not seem enthusiastic. "Fine."

"So where do you want to go, Kaiya-chan?" Marika said, changing her approach. She laughed evilly on the inside. If it was her sister's idea to go somewhere, maybe it would be easier to convince her.

Kaiya seemed suspicious, not to mention surprised that she was being allowed to choose the activity. She answered after a moment of hesitation. "Naoshima."

Damn. Art Island. It had been Kaiya's dream for years to go there. Especially before the accident. Everything on the island was art, and a large amount of it was outside, which was perfect for her sister. Even if she couldn't see any of the art, she could still enjoy herself in the outdoor gardens and exhibits. It all sounded boring to Marika, not to mention the cost of admission. That was probably why Kaiya had chosen Naoshima. She knew that Marika would feel bad to deny her this dream and knew that she wouldn't want to go in the first place. And the cost was outrageous. Without thinking, she voiced her thoughts.

"Hm," she said, "I don't know. It is kind of expensive."

"Oh. I guess we could just stay home, then," Kaiya said with relief. "I wouldn't mind having a day to myself here."

"You didn't let me finish," Marika said quickly. "It is expensive, but I know how long you have wanted to go, and you have seemed like you have been stressed lately."

Kaiya still seemed suspicious. "Well then. Thank you. I'm glad to know that my opinion matters."

"It's settled then," Marika said decisively. "I will tell okaa-san and otou-san. I'm sure they won't mind."

"I... really?" Kaiya seemed so surprised that Marika had actually agreed to it. Her conscience nagged her about lying to her sister. But it was a necessary evil.

"Yes, of course," Marika said. She laughed, but it did not reach her eyes. "I told you we would go someday, right?"

"I guess you did," Kaiya still sounded surprised. Was Marika really that bad that something this small surprised her sister? "Thanks nee-chan. I guess I take back some of that bit about you being crazy."

Yes, she really must be awful. She had a bad feeling that when the other foot fell, and Kaiya learned of this deception, the fallout would envelop all of Japan.


Panda: LOOK AT THOSE LIES. LOOK AT THEM.

Armadilllo: Why did she feel that lying was necessary? Marika is a bad kid. That's why.

Panda: Lying. It is bad. Gosh. Poor Kaiya. POOR KAIYA. I don't know what else to say.

Armadilllo: Well, it could be said that the lies were a needed evil. Otherwise, where would Kaiya end up? Where would Marika end up? Deep existential questions.

Panda: Alas, everything happens for a reason.

Armadilllo: Triangle babies should not exist. I still don't understand. Why?

Panda: I dunno. Does Kent Williams know? Does he know who Yaban Hito is? Can he give us the preview for the next chapter?

PREVIEW for Chapter 12: Sightless Vision

Stairs; flimsy story; door; mad; Yukina; food; trees

Armadilllo: Apparently, he can. Idk how that worked ;)

Panda: I AM SO IMPRESSED.

Armadilllo: My song memory. Too OP. For my own good. :D

Panda: Too true. I think that is all I have to say for this Saturday. Lord. We are catching up to me. Crap. I need to get on that. Like naow.

Armadilllo: #fact. And Chapter 13 is the week after next! Get excited. You might be shocked. You may be appalled. But hopefully you will like it :D

Love,

C. E. Taylor & G. E. Hemmy