Chapter Twenty-One
Penance and Perspectives
Hiroshima was a place that Isla has wanted to visit since the idea of Ashley teaching in Japan was first brought up.
"Okay, so why Japan?" Isla had asked one unseasonably frigid November morning through the phone receiver. She was already almost eighteen months working with her degree, having graduated the May of the previous year. She'd been working at her dream job up until almost sixty days previously, when she'd announced to Ashley out of nowhere that she was going to start working at ATARIS and learning her mother's company. Technically, it was LTX, a subsidiary that Isla was working at, and she was only a lab assistant, but Isla apparently loved it, and as confused as Ashley was over the sudden change, she was happy for her friend. For Ashley, however, finals loomed on the horizon - the last battle before she could obtain her degree.
Ashley snorted in derision. "Well I have to use those years of Japanese lessons somehow, don't I? I picked up Japanese so easily, I might as well. Especially since I don't…" she trailed off, but Isla knew how to finish the sentence. They'd talked about this exact subject so often. I don't know what to do with my life. Isla let Ashley trail off and waited, automatically knowing her friend was blustering for what was really going through her mind.
Ashley continued, her voice smaller. "I don't know how to explain it. It just feels right."
Now, it was Isla's time to snort. "I thought you didn't believe in fate or destiny or whatever that's called."
Ashley smiled. Isla was never one to beat around the bush. Finally, her friend's laughter died on the other end of the line, and Ashley became aware of the very pregnant pause that grew between them. "If I come visit you, can we go to Hiroshima?"
"I'm sure we could," Ashley replied. Isla was half-American by her dad's side: half Mexican-American, and his family had owned a cattle ranch in the Texas hill country for generations. From what she could remember, Isla's family hadn't had any direct ties to Hiroshima, but at that moment Ashley didn't demand to know why Isla wanted to go to Hiroshima. If she wanted to go they would go. "But you know it'll probably be another year before we get to that point, right?"
Isla hadn't replied, but rather changed the subject.
Now, nine months later, with the bane of summer upon them, Ashley took the bullet train down to Hiroshima, Knox in tow, to meet her best friend of six years to begin the promised road trip through Japan.
The first three weeks Ashley had spent traveling through Japan, Hiei meeting up with her every so often. Yukina and Kuwabara had gladly accepted the role of pet-sitter for Knox while she traveled, and were surprised to find how much they missed his company once he returned to Ashley. -I'm trying to convince Kazuma we should get a dog!- Yukina had texted Ashley a few days later. It had been a good idea to leave him with them, but at the same time, she was glad to have him at her side once again, especially on their newest adventure.
Isla had yet to meet Knox.
"Where's your best friend?" Ashley asked after they embraced with a teasing grin. Isla next bent down and fussed over Knox, accepting corgi kisses and rubbing his wiggling butt.
Of course, Ashley was talking about the little pink-handled knife that Isla carried with her everywhere she went. A birthday present from one of her uncles, Isla had had that thing for as long as Ashley could remember. Of course, Japan had stricter knife laws than England, and Isla would have had to leave it at home. But between that knife and the little gold cross necklace she wore around her neck, seeing Isla without one or both of those items was like seeing a new person. She never left home without both on her person.
Isla rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Ashley was talking about. Standing, she said, "Right next to me; she's being a smart-arse."
They went and ate dinner at a little cafe where Ashley broached the subject she'd been stressing over for the entire trip down: why she would be checking in with Hiei often, the issue with Dion and the Legion, and what it might mean for their safety. She left the big details out, the stuff that Isla didn't really need to know, and just stuck with the smaller details, figuring it was better to slowly introduce Isla to her new world rather than dump her into it all at once. Isla, however, accepted the explanation with only a few questions of her own.
By then, dinner was finished and they headed to the hotel, worn out and exhausted, but they changed into their pajamas, walked Knox, and then stayed up into the late hours of the night catching up. The middle of March had been the last time they'd seen each other before Ashley had left in April; Isla had had a few trips with work planned and hadn't been able to see Ashley off.
"So is he a demon in bed, too?" Ashley blushed scarlet. Isla crowed. "So he is!"
"To answer your question," Ashley said, swallowing her embarrassment and trying her best to answer the question at hand with an even voice. "He is quite skilled… and blessed." The embarrassment came back fully, until she was as red as a tomato and blushing like a little school girl.
Isla laughed and eventually composed herself enough to cock a brow. "So have you told him yet?"
The sudden change in subjects was overwhelming. "Wait, what?"
"Ashley, it's written all over your face. I haven't seen you this deep since Emmett."
Heat grew in her belly as she thought back to Hiei. "I think I love him," she whispered, and nearly squealed. "I haven't told anybody. You can't tell him, Isla, you can't."
She was laughing at Ashley's excitement. "I won't! But Ashley, if you feel that way, you need to tell him." A look of profound sadness crossed her features for barely a split second. Short enough the Ashley wasn't able to determine if what she thought she'd seen on her friend's face was true.
"I know I do, I just… I don't know how to tell him."
Isla smiled, a sad sort of knowing smile. "You'll find the right time. Anyway, is it true that demons have multiple mates?" Ashley nearly choked on her own breath.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Multiple mates. Is that a thing?" Isla repeated nonchalantly and completely seriously. "I know some animal species do it, and I was wondering if demons did it as well."
Thoroughly wondering why Isla was even brining this subject up, and disgusted that she would compare demons to animals, Ashley killed the subject before it had a chance to take off. "It's not a thing at all."
Isla saw her discomfort and took on a wicked grin. "Not even a little bit?" she poked.
"Nope!" Ashley exclaimed.
"Three-somes?"
"Isla!"
The girl in question fell into a fit of giggles as Ashley blushed. She didn't even consider laughing as Isla did; did Hiei want to have multiple partners? Was monogomy really a human thing? She hadn't even thought of that, and what it might mean for Hiei, which only made her flush deeper.
Slowly, Isla quietened, and Ashley calmed down, both thinking in their own worlds. Knox sprawled out between them, already lost in his own dreams, if dogs do dream.
"I need to ask you a serious question," Isla said once the two had grown quiet. Ashley felt the shift in the conversation and sat a little straighter. "Have you started showing any signs of powers? Or abilities? Or things you couldn't do before?" Before Ashley could answer, Isla cut her off, continuing. "I know he's a powerful demon, and sometimes that can bring out abilities in spiritually aware people."
Ashley snorted. Hadn't she heard this from Hiei just a few weeks prior? "You know as well as I do that I'm the least spiritually aware person there is."
Isla's face didn't change and Ashley heaved a sigh. "Yes, I've noticed some changes." While she wanted to show Isla what she could do, she also had to remind herself she couldn't do anything. Yes, she made a light explode, but that was weeks ago and nothing had happened since.
"Be careful, okay? And keep it hidden." Isla said. "Promise me you'll be careful. The Guardians have a reputation of making people with powers, or gifts, or whatever you want to call it… they have a reputation of making those people disappear." The Guardians of the Blue: Keep Humanity Human, as their slogan said. Isla was right, of course, as she usually was. The Guardians were not a group to take lightly. They were almost the human equivalents to the Shono Legion. Started several years ago in some middle-of-nowhere town in America. Now, they were usually the ones to take credit for demon-related attacks, just as the Legion often took credit for human-related attacks. "You might not even know someone is a Guardian, Ashley, and the next day you could be gone. That's how silent they are."
Ashley had to poke fun at Isla, then. "What, are you saying you're a Guardian?" she teased, but Isla remained serious.
"It's scary, you know? Your neighbor, your friend, just starts spouting humanity first. It's all nonsense, really. Do you remember that demon that was found up north of here? I sent you the article that had Hiei in it. That was a Guardian-led attack. There's even rumors that they've infiltrated the governments. Do you know how to tell if someone's a Guardian?"
"Okay, now you're rambling," Ashley tried laughing it off. Isla could be paranoid at times. Surely this was one of those times. "There's no evidence of that. Anywhere." Right?
"I'm serious. Do you know how to tell if someone's a Guardian?" She repeated the question, all laughing gone.
Ashley sobered. "No."
"Give me your left arm." Ashley stretched it between them and Isla wrapped her fingers around Ashley's wrist, her touch warm. With her other hand she traced a large X over Ashley's exposed forearm. "It's a tattoo: two rapiers crossed in an X. With the phrase vita in morte between them."
"Latin?" Ashley asked, and received a nod from Isla. "What does it mean?"
"Life in death."
A chill ran up Ashley's spine, making her uncomfortable, and she snagged her bottom lip between her teeth. "That's foreboding." Isla nodded, releasing Ashley's arm. The blonde-haired girl took her arm back and rubbed the place where Isla had traced.
The next morning threatened rain, the air thick and clammy with humidity and heat. A soft wind had already started blowing, promising a storm by mid-afternoon rolling in off the coast.
Even so, the girls packed their luggage to stow in their room and ready for when they had to catch a bus that night, packed a backpack with snacky things, and set out. Knox wasn't allowed for this part of the journey, so they left him in their hotel room.
The hotel was within walking distance of the Hiroshima Peace Park, so they walked there, taking in the sounds and sights of the peaceful city.
The peace park was lush with grass and trees, situated next to one of the rivers flowing through Hiroshima, and even though traffic passed just a stone's throw away, the surreal quiet enveloped the park. It was noisy with people around, yes, but there was an almost hallowed feeling to the park.
Isla had been wanting to come to Hiroshima for almost a year, or at least, that was when Isla had voiced the desire to Ashley. However, upon seeing her approach the atomic bomb dome with it's bare concrete walls, and busted out windows, looking entirely out of place among the city that had grown back around it, she realized that that desire to come probably spanned more than just a year.
Ashley hung back, letting Isla come to terms with what they saw.
There was a peace museum, not far away, and a courtyard with a memorial for the lives that had been lost back on August 6, 1945. The museum was artfully designed and quiet in the way that it honored the souls who were obliterated that day. There were half-decimated belongings of the victims of the bomb: clothes, toys, even an old lunch box, and little bios of some of the victims. Inside, someone had also created a to-scale model of the city and where the bomb went off above the city, and the one mile of destruction that had stretched in every direction from the point of the bomb detonation.
In an instant, the entire city had disappeared and everyone in it.
They had roof tiles that had bubbled from the intense heat. They had a concrete slab that had somehow survived the blast that still had the shadow of where someone was sitting when the bomb went off. Another concrete wall showed off preserved black rain from the soot that had rained down after the blast.
After awhile, it all turned Ashley's stomach, to think that humans could do this to one another, and she had to excuse herself to catch some fresh air outside.
"We're not blameless, you know," Isla said, quietly, having followed her friend out. She was playing with her cross necklace, absentmindedly. "The United Kingdom gave the Americans permission to drop the bombs."
A part of Ashley wanted to joke, "I didn't know Americans needed permission to do anything," but it died on her tongue before she could utter the words. Not here. Not today. Instead, she pushed the sarcastic jab aside, and focused back on the total devastation that the museum showed.
"Never again."
The bus was scheduled to leave the Hiroshima terminal at 19:45. So, of course, Ashley and Isla ran to make it and boarded right at 19:42, the passengers already boarded and seated shooting them disapproving glances as Ashley and Isla huffed and tried not to dissolve into a fit of giggles at their situation.
Thankfully, the bus was mostly empty and they were each able to take a row to fluff a pillow beneath their heads and try to catch some sleep on the three and a half hour bus ride to Nara, their next destination.
If Isla was able to sleep, however, Ashley wasn't aware of it. She certainly had an issue with falling asleep for the first hour of their journey. Even after the bus left the city and the constant jolting motion of slowing down and speeding up at red lights ceased, and the careful speed of the bus reached their maximum, Ashley still could not be lulled to sleep by the engine, thinking instead of all the lives lost.
No one knew for certain how many died that day, seventy five years previously. Officials guessed it was somewhere between ninety thousand and one hundred forty six thousand.
How did a person move on from something like that? How could her own country give permission for such an act?
Betrayal stung at the edges of her heart as her eyes filled and she turned over on her side. Knox, who was in his crate, whined low, and she let her hand dangle off the side of the seats.
When it was taught in school, it was always the Americans dropped the bombs. Nowhere had it mentioned the Quebec Agreement or what that meant for the war.
But in the same breath, Ashley knew that dropping those weapons had been a last-ditch effort to end a war that had engulfed the entire world. End the suffering and the death and destruction and the bloodshed.
But to create more suffering, knowingly?
She slipped into sleep with tears in her eyes, her dreams plagued with fear while she ran from a force she couldn't see.
The bus pulled into the station near midnight. The sun was hours away from even thinking about casting a light over the horizon when the even motion of the bus dissolved into the deceleration to slower speeds and the slow rolling to a stop and slow acceleration woke her. They were within Nara's city limits, and Ashley reached a hand between the seats to jostle Isla.
"I'm awake," came the reply as Ashley's hand found her friend's shoulder. "Didn't get much sleep, though."
"We'll be at the hotel soon and we can sleep there," Ashley said instead, immediately trying to sooth Isla, who didn't move from her spot across the seats.
Morning came too early, sunlight washing over the two girls where they slept, and Isla immediately let out a muffled groan of indignation. "We're not going to get much sleep on this journey, are we?" she asked as she hauled herself out of bed.
Ashley was already in the bathroom, running the shower's faucet. "Hey, it was your idea to do this!" She shouted as the water became hot enough and she stepped inside, letting the warm spray engulf her.
"I'm making coffee," Ashley heard Isla mutter beyond the noise of the shower. Really, she heard a muffled version of it, but knowing Isla, she was able to easily decipher the words herself. "Do you want coffee?" she asked louder.
The night before when they had arrived, Ashley had already eyed the selection of hot drinks they had in their room only to realize there were no tea bags. She'd brought her own tea, as any well-standing British person would, but did she really want to make another pot of hot water before they left their room for the day?
"I'll have some coffee, yes!" she called back, hoping she was heard over the spray. Isla muttered some sort of surprised exclamation that Ashley didn't think to pay mind to, her thoughts already back at Hiroshima and the images that had been burned into her mind.
Shame engulfed her there in the shower. Why had she never paid more attention to the events of the war in school? Why had she just written them off? She'd done fairly in secondary school, even if university had been difficult, but still. The lack of empathy that she'd felt up until yesterday was hard to ignore. She'd felt sympathy sure, but how could she ever hope to understand that pain? There was no way, not in this life, that she would ever know, unless North Korea started something to end all wars. And even then, Ashley prayed that day would never come. Did that make her selfish?
"Did you drown in there?" came Isla's unimpressed drawl.
That woke her up. "Sorry! Just a moment!" Ashley replied, quickly lathering her body and finishing up. This trip was meant to be fun for both of them; she couldn't be the one bringing down the mood, especially when Isla was the one who had wanted to go there in the first place. She needed to keep everything light.
No more thoughts about atom bombs or destroyed cities on this trip, she promised herself.
Isla had somehow already finished her cup of coffee by the time Ashley had dried off and dressed. Had she really been in there for that long or was Isla just really tired?
As they passed with a "Shower's yours!" from Ashley, she glanced at Isla. No, Isla just seemed really tired. Maybe Hiroshima had affected her as much as it had affected herself.
But Isla didn't say more than "Your coffee is in the pot; I left some for you," before slipping into the shower herself.
Knox, dancing in a corner, caught Ashley's attention. While Isla got showered and dressed, Ashley walked Knox, drank her own coffee - with cream and sugar since it wasn't tea - and packed up her duffel so that hopefully they wouldn't be quite so late to the train that night.
Isla took her time in the shower, to which Ashley didn't comment, but within the hour, they were on their way.
Thankfully, the Nara shrine was just a short walk away, and the threat of rain that they'd endured yesterday was completely gone, the sun shining brilliantly. Almost immediately they began seeing the deer that Nara was so famous for, with Ashley squealing in her excitement to get Isla's attention. Knox's attention was certainly drawn to the deer, and he hung back behind Ashley's legs as she walked, nervously watching their new companions approach them for food.
One such deer approached them boldly and nipped at the hem of Ashley's shirt as Isla laughed, and even as they walked closer to the shrine and the park, the deer followed them, searching for the food it could obviously smell through the backpack - Knox's lunch for the day.
"We've got to get this guy something! Does he take sacrifices?" Isla asked. Ashley's head immediately shot up.
"No, you are not sacrificing me to this deer!" Ashley spotted a food cart a sort walk away. "Look; we'll buy it some treats and hopefully it'll leave us alone."
"Or, it'll become more attached," Isla pointed out with a laugh. The memories of the images they witnessed at the Hiroshima museum the day before a far-off memory.
Ashley approached the trolley, a short line in front of it, with Isla trailing behind her, trying to run away from the deer that followed her like imprinted ducklings. She got behind the third guy in line, a large, blue-gray skinned demon with two pairs of arms. Really, the amount of demons to humans in this park was a good fifty-fifty, Ashley could tell, just by sight, and tensely wondered what Isla's reaction to them would be. While Isla hadn't said or done anything so far on the trip to make Ashley think that she would, she still found herself tensing, waiting for the reaction.
Most of the demons there were able to pass as human, although some, like the man in front of her, stuck out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, Isla seemed totally engrossed with her own playtime with the deer to notice anyone out of the ordinary. On top of that, her friend didn't have the same background that Ashley had. Besides the few demons who were obvious, it was likely that Isla wouldn't notice the differences in their peers at all.
Ashley turned from Isla's high-pitched squeals of joy to pull out her wallet. Fumbling between the wallet and Knox's leash, who had taken to barking at the deer, and shushing him, Ashley's yen fluttered to the ground.
The demon in front of her, she noticed, saw her yen fluttering to the ground and stooped to pick it up before Ashley made a move. Bowing, Ashley thanked the demon, who also cracked a smile with a bow, and accepted the currency back. Something caught the demon's attention over her head, however, and he frowned, turning back to the merchant without further interaction with Ashley.
Shrugging the moment away, Ashley called over her shoulder. "Isla! How many of these do you want?" It was the four-armed demon's turn in line, and he ordered with the merchant as Isla trotted up to Ashley with deer following close behind. They rocked their heads in anticipatory bows as Isla staggered into Ashley, her center-of-balance knocked askew by the excited deer.
"They're like puppies!" Isla exclaimed with a laugh, using her friend to regain her balance and stand straight again. "Like giant, over sized deer-puppies!"
Ashley replied with a smile, very aware of the merchant finishing up the sale to the demon ahead. "How many do you want?" she asked again.
"How many come in a package? Ten?" Isla read the sign for the deer cookies next to the cart. "I'll take three for now I guess? Is that okay?" Ashley nodded and counted out the subsequent yen from her wallet.
"Hey, can you take Knox? He won't settle down," Ashley asked, trying to juggle the anxious dog and her wallet at the same time as he carved circles of anxiety in the ground around her legs.
"Yeah, give him here," Isla replied, at once taking Knox's leash and pulling him away from Ashley. He whined, but followed anyway. "Oh my god," Isla said breathily, something having caught her attention behind Ashley, who counted out her yen. If she hadn't been standing so close to Ashley, she wouldn't have heard the raven-haired girl above the noise of the park.
"What?" Ashley asked without looking up.
"Hold on just a moment - she has gorgeous hair!" As long as Ashley had known the girl, she had always loved crazy hair colors. Possibly because with the line of work she was in and the conservative school they attended, she'd never been able to dye her own hair or give it under-highlights, or whatever they were called. Or maybe it was just her American side coming out. Ashley had never really been sure, but she let her go and approached the merchant as the demon in front of her lumbered away.
"Five, please," Ashley greeted the woman with a bow and gave her order, vaguely aware of the conversation Isla was holding behind her, and catching an awed, "Your hair is gorgeous!" without first asking if the person spoke English.
"Oh, why thank you," the reply came easily enough, the woman's voice sounding like liquid silver, if liquid silver had a tonal sound. Her accent was perfect, too. Smooth, and without any sort of regional inflections, as she spoke perfect English. "You're very kind. Are you from around here?"
"No. London; I'm here visiting a friend for a few days. Are you?"
The woman in front of Ashley asked for her money as she handed it to her.
"Just passing through, myself. When do you leave?" A sudden yelling sound came from some Russian children as they were yelling and making noises at some of the deer, catching her attention and drowning out what she could hear from Isla's conversation.
The merchant handed Ashley her change, which she put back in her wallet and took the little packages of crackers, turning around and nearly running into Isla.
"That was quick," Ashley said as she juggled the crackers from the deer that had already surrounded them again, and her wallet, and reached for her backpack to deposit the wallet and three sets of the crackers into. "Normally I have to drag you away and apologize to them."
Isla glared in feigned anger. "You do not," she retorted but took the package of crackers from Ashley anyway.
"Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but really. That was quick. Even for me. Everything okay?" Ashley asked, taking in Isla's closed-off body language: weight on her back foot, hands shoved into her pockets, looking like a pissed-off child.
Isla, very much like a child, started listing, "Pointed ears. Violet eyes. Silver hair. She was definitely a demon."
Ah. So Isla had finally noticed their peers in the area. Still, it wasn't like Ashley to assume. "So? Not everyone with pointed ears and crazy hair or eyes is a demon, Isla. They could be cosplayers. You'd be amazed how many people do that here. Don't assume."
Isla leveled her gaze at Ashley, scrutinizing her, as if she was really seeing her friend for the first time since she had arrived. "Are you the Demon Justice Warrior now? Just because you're dating one of them?" She smirked, trying to find humor in her words, but it didn't touch her eyes. A part of her, and Ashley didn't know how deep that part ran, was completely serious in the accusation. There was her reaction. "You need to be careful around them, Ashley. They only bring trouble."
Ashley bristled. "You don't need to be rude. I was just stating a fact. And leave Hiei out of this, please."
They finally walked away from the merchant's table, off to the side near some benches, five or six deer following them, and Knox sticking close enough to Ashley's feet again that he kept tripping her. "What? I heard you call him this morning. Is he really so over-protective that he won't let you out of his sight for five days? Makes you call and check in with him?"
Ashley's irritation flared even as she tried to stay calm. The rational side of her stated that there was no way that Isla could know everything they had gone through with Dion and she was just making stabs from her hurt pride for Ashley calling her out. The other, more emotional side, insisted that Ashley lash out at Isla as well and call her out on her prejudiced bullshit.
Taking a deep breath, Ashley's rational side won. She forced a pasted smile on her face. "I explained all that to you two days ago. Now, can we try to have a good time? What color was her hair?"
Immediately, Isla's mood lifted like a cloud. "It was this gorgeous silver color! And it was long and silky - it's obvious she takes really good care of it - hey don't look at me like that; she let me touch her hair."
Ashley's brow raised immediately. "You asked first, right?" she asked with a half laugh.
Isla scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning away from Ashley and a smile broke over her face instead, specifically for the deer that had followed them.
Ashley bowed, to which the deer in front of her bowed back. As she fed the creature the crackers in her hand, more showed up, to which she bowed, and repeated the process again. Even Knox started loosening up around the deer, his small tail wagging back and forth as he hesitantly sniffed Ashley's new friends.
At one point, Ashley stuck one of the crackers between her lips, an idea forming in her mind, and leaned over for the deer to take it from her. Tentatively he did, and snacked on it as Isla caught Ashley in the act and mimicked her friend.
Their previous tiff behind them, and their crackers all but gone - the last package stored in Ashley's backpack so they had some when they went into the shrine - they headed toward the Kasuga shrine, Knox confidently leading the way.
Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, which was an odd sound, especially when contrasted with the white clouds that dotted the blue sky. Within thirty minutes, however, about the time that they finished taking selfies outside the shrine and made their way into the building itself, the deer following close behind as the storm moved into the area, the skies opened up.
Thunder rumbled again, echoing inside the shrine as the rain on the roof far above their heads sounded like rice falling into a bowl.
As much as Hiei had other things he had to be doing while they were on this trip, at that moment, as Ashley took in what was around them, she wanted him near, to share this experience with him. She thought about texting him, but he had also been on his way toward Dion that morning. Knowing he wouldn't appreciate a text from her while he was hunting Dion, and trying not to laugh at what might happen if she sent it and Dion got ahold of the phone a second time, Ashley made a note to herself to call him later that night. Hopefully by then he would be at a place where he could talk.
The space inside the shrine was wide and cavernous, and if not for the deer and the cluster of people who had suddenly crowded the inside to escape the torrential downpour, it would have felt even more immense.
They had three hours before they needed to start making their way back toward the bus station, but those three hours slipped away quickly like sand between cupped fingers. There was so much to explore in the shrine itself, and Ashley and Isla made their way through with Knox, taking photo after photo, while being awestruck at the bronze statues inside.
After they had prayed to the temple's god and the rain had stopped, they made their way out onto the grounds again, and explored the land around the shrine, just taking in the beauty of it and eating a late lunch beneath one of the trees. The deer tried to knock them over to get to the food in their hands, and with laughs they pushed the deer-puppies - as Isla kept calling them - away.
Too soon, Ashley had to rise from her place on the bench, stretching, and looking over the grounds. Isla stayed seated, her legs pulled up close to her chest. It was so peaceful here, so quiet. Human and demons mingling and living at such a stark contrast from the rest of the world.
"If we don't start heading back we'll miss our train," Ashley finally spoke, breaking Isla of her reverie. She nodded, quietly, and rose, leading the way back toward the entrance of the park.
Day three of their journey streamed through the open windows of the onsen that they had collapsed in during the late hours of the night after another four hour train ride from Nara to Hakone.
After getting dressed and walking Knox while Isla took a shower, Ashley dialed Hiei, remembering that she had forgotten to call him the night before. He picked up by the third ring.
"Good morning," she greeted him, wishing he was closer. Isla's words from the previous day slipped into her memory, then, and she batted them away as the distractions they were.
Hiei merely muttered a quick "Hn" into the receiver. The wind was loud, wherever he was, and Ashley would have missed it if she didn't know him so well.
"I miss you," she muttered, quietly, as she flushed from embarrassment. She could practically hear his smirk on the other end. "Have you caught up to Dion?"
The wind howled and crackled through the receiver. Was he in a tree? "Not yet. She's slipped through again," the frustration reflected in his voice, but that was all he said on the matter. "Kurama will be joining Yukina and Keiko with you today," he said instead. "You haven't had any issues?"
He tried to keep the detachment in his voice, the way he left any emotion - misplaced and ignored - but knowing him, and knowing how close they'd become these last few months, Ashley could find the tell-tale signs of his worry.
One, he admitted Dion had slipped through their grasp again, which was unlike him as he always said something akin to, "We're close" or "We'll get her soon." Two, he was sending Kurama to join their girls day. Three, his last question was asked in a rather clipped manner, as if he was somehow afraid to hear the answer.
"No issues," Ashley replied evenly, watching Knox catch the scent of something that had likely been roaming around during the night. "Isla and I have some… differences it seems."
She didn't mean for the emotion to catch her like it did, but even as she tried to clear her throat and hide it from Hiei, she still heard it loud as a bell.
Hiei wasn't the type to ask her if she wanted to talk about it, or comfort her, or ask what those differences were. He was the type to hear that she and her friend had differences and that be the end of it. He didn't pry, but he allowed her to open up about it if she wanted to by staying silent. He did in that moment, whether intentional or being distracted by something on his line of the phone. Either way, at that moment, Ashley really didn't want to go into detail about it. And considering the subject matter, that was a ranting that would more than likely go over better with another human who understood whatever psychic abilities were and who loved a demon and hated the world that they lived in.
Unfortunately, she had no one that fit that bill.
"It's nothing," she quickly brushed past the subject, steeling herself and clearing the emotion from her voice. "Do you know when Kurama is supposed to be here with them?"
"Sometime in the morning," Hiei replied. Meaning he didn't really know. Ashley had Kurama's number; she'd text him. A sound came from Hiei's end, like he's started to say something but thought better of it. Ashley waited. The wind howled.
Softer, as if he'd turned away from whatever he'd been doing, he said, "Just… Stay in one piece. You have three days. Think you can do that?"
Ashley smiled softly into the receiver. How very Hiei. "I'll try real hard," she replied with a smirk.
They disconnected, then, and as she walked Knox back to their room, she sent a text to Kurama. -Hiei tells me you'll be joining us today! What time do you think you'll get here?-
Knox entered their room first, tongue lolling in excitement to see Isla even though they'd just been gone less than ten minutes. "Knox!" Isla exclaimed, feeding his excitement. "It's been so long! Did you go pee?" she asked, her voice high and cute for the corgi.
"Looks like my friend K- Minamino is going to be joining us today," Ashley said, quickly correcting herself to use his human name. "I just texted them to see when they'd get here."
Isla nodded, her hand finding her cross necklace to fiddle with it again. "That's fine. A girls day was too much to hope for anyway." The sarcasm that dripped from her voice was nearly overwhelming, but if Ashley told her that Minamino was coming so that she'd have an extra layer of protection from Dion they'd likely just get into another disagreement about demons. It wasn't her secret to tell that Kurama was a demon, anyway. "I can't wait to meet more of your new friends."
"Hey now," Ashley rebutted, not feeding into Isla's disdain. "I like for all of my friends to get along. That's what we'll do today, won't we?"
She felt like a mother scolding her child, but Isla could deal with it. Of course, she would have made new friends going to a new place. It wasn't like she lived in a bubble after all. Dion or no, Ashley had met her friends before Dion was a player in the game.
Isla plastered on a smile that didn't touch her eyes. "Of course. We'll have fun."
"Do you need to go back to sleep? You're awfully irritable this morning."
Isla sighed. "It's not like this place has coffee. I'll be fine once I get it I'm sure." She fell back onto the bed in mock exasperation. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Ashley replied evenly, unlocking her phone as a text from Kurama came in. "I just don't want today to be difficult, you know? I want us to have fun."
-We should arrive in the next twenty minutes. Where should we meet you?-
"They're about twenty minutes out," Ashley said, standing and hoisting her backpack onto her shoulders. As fun as it was for Knox to come with them, she was also grateful that it had just been her traveling alone during the first three weeks of vacation. She made a note to herself to thank Yukina and Kuwabara again when she saw them. "Let's go get food and we'll meet them out front."
Sure enough, twenty minutes later, with food in their stomachs and Isla sipping on a hot coffee, she'd relaxed into the person Ashley usually knew her to be.
They decided to meet at the ropeway that would take them up the mountain. And as Isla finished her coffee and threw away the cup, around the corner came the three people Ashley was looking forward to seeing.
As she introduced them to Isla, who looked slightly uncomfortable around Yukina, Ashley realized it was like she was introducing her two worlds together. Isla, who came from home, where they were sheltered humans who had to deal with demons and the repercussions that came from having them live in this world. Then there was Kurama, who was a demon, and Yukina and Keiko, whom she'd known since first arriving. They'd been there while she started dating Hiei, and as she'd learned how demons tried to fit into a world where they weren't wanted. Like meshing oil to water. Hopefully their trip up the mountain would go smoother than the metaphor she'd created in her head.
As they caught up and boarded the ropeway, Ashley stole a side-long glance at Kurama. Isla hadn't yet figured out he was a demon, much like she hadn't until he'd told her. Isla laughed with him and treated him like an immediate friend. But Yukina, Isla tried to create physical space between herself and the teal-haired girl, even though Yukina had been nothing but nice to Ashley in the time she'd known her, and nothing but nice to Isla in the fifteen minutes after they'd met. And as much as Ashley could tell, Yukina wasn't a demon. But the hair and eyes, she realized, must have turned Isla off to the idea of Yukina being human. Yes, Isla treated her politely and civilly, but it was a forced civility that Ashley only picked up on because she'd known the girl for so many years.
Once they debarked, Ashley pulled Isla aside. "Ease up there. You're being obvious."
"They don't belong here, Ashley."
Her words caught Ashley by surprise, and shock only registered in her mind as anger flushed through. Now was not the time, but she would bring it up again later, when they were alone. Skipping over the obvious jab at Yukina, sweet Yukina, Ashley snapped. "She's human, Isla. Behave yourself." Whether or not that was actually true was beside the point, as Ashley realized she didn't quite know one way or the other.
Isla shrugged Ashley's hand off her arm and stalked away, catching up to Keiko. "Have you been here before?" Ashley caught the question from Isla.
A hand at her elbow nearly made her start. "Is everything alright?" Kurama asked gently, shifting his gaze from Ashley to the girl now standing next to Keiko.
Ashley sighed, determined not to bring down the mood. "Isla has some… opinions." How much did Ashley wanted to rant, but would Kurama, a demon, understand? No; it'd likely hurt him while it made Ashley feel better. "I'm just seeing them for the first time."
"Ah," he replied, walking next to Ashley. "She doesn't believe demons should be here." He nodded, as if in understanding.
Ashley flattened her lips into a line. "It's frustrating." She hesitated, but no one else was in earshot and Kurama had asked. "We were so close up until I came here. Granted, my eyes were opened thanks to you and everyone else, but she refuses to open her mind and let down her prejudice. Like, I won't, I can't go back to how I thought before, and I'll admit, before I tolerated the presence of other demons, but you all belong here. This is your world, too. But she refuses to come forward and meet me halfway, or even just get to the tolerating level. I just… I don't know how deep our friendship can go if we're on different levels." Or how long our friendship will last, was what she didn't speak aloud.
"Come on, you two! Hurry up!" Isla turned back toward them with a smile. She already had one foot on the path leading up to the gysers.
"Sorry-" Ashley realized she'd been rambling as Kurama lifted his hand in a light wave, as if he was pushing her worry aside.
"It's no bother. We can talk about it more later, if you like? Now, I don't think is the time." He smiled, to which she returned the gesture, and shrugged.
"Perhaps. Thank you." She doubted she'd rant to him again. It was good to at least speak her worries aloud, but he was close to the issue at hand. It would do no good to upset him over this, even though he didn't seem the least bit bothered by it.
Officials had blocked the geysers off, but had created trails so that tourists could climb up and get closer to them. Although, how close came into question. Not only was it warm from the steam, but the stench of the sulfur was nearly overwhelming. Keiko started looking a little green barely a half hour into the hike and their group headed back, Kurama and Yukina heading straight for the black eggs.
"I'm not eating that," Isla announced as the group tore into their individual eggs. Isla held hers hesitantly, as if she was afraid it might bite her.
"It's literally just a regular boiled egg, Isla," Keiko chirped. Ashley stayed silent, watching Isla interact with her friends.
Isla merely raised a brow.
"It'll add years to your life," Yukina chimed in, taking a bite of her own.
With that, Isla glanced back down at her innocent black egg, and slowly, carefully, peeled it. "Extra life is good," Ashley could have sworn Isla muttered as she peeled. Her raven-haired friend devoured her egg without further grumbling.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the geological museum on site and heading back down the Hakone ropeway to Hakone itself to shop and enjoy the onsens. Kurama mostly hung back to let the girls shop, keeping a mindful ear on them, but doing his own thing for the most part. Really, the only reason Kurama was there was to provide peace of mind to Hiei, so he minded his own business for the most part.
Isla slowly warmed up to Yukina over the course of the day. She was still awkward around her and civil, but watching the two of them interact Ashley could almost swear that Isla wanted to be friends with the girl, but for whatever reason, kept Yukina at arm's length. It was almost like she was self-monitoring. Any time Isla caught herself being nice to the girl and becoming friends, she would put physical space between the two of them and become cold again.
It was the strangest thing to watch.
By the time the sun was setting, the five of them had made their way back to the hotel to drop off their souvenirs and get down to the bathhouse. Kurama headed over to the men's and then it was the women left to bathe at the sento.
Each of them had their own little stall, and made quick work of getting their bodies clean, before wrapping themselves in a towel and heading outside to the actual onsen. The way the sun set and silhouetted Mount Fuji was magical. Other bathers were already in the onsen, enjoying the warm waters, and the girls found their own little corner of the onsen. Each girl politely looked away as the others slid into the water, but Isla happened to look up right as Ashley was entering, and stifled a gasp.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to look!" She anxiously apologized, flushing red enough that the tips of her ears took on a purplish tint. Ashley laughed, although embarrassed her friend would see her so uncovered, at the same time it wasn't scandalous. "But are you okay?"
Taken aback, Ashley raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"That mark on your abdomen. Has it always been there?" By this time, Isla had garnered the attention of Keiko and Yukina as well. Ashley immediately knew what Isla was talking about as the other girls asked Isla what it was she saw and she explained it for them. It was about an inch wide; just a pink puckered line drawn over her left ribs. Like a scar that had never healed, even though she'd never been injured there before.
"I've seen you in a bathing suit before," Isla said, turning back to Ashley, shock written over her face. "But I've never seen that."
"Well usually I'm wearing a one-piece anyway," Ashley said with a smile, but it didn't ease Isla's worry. "It's fine! I promise!" Hiei had seen it that first night they had had sex, too, and asked about it, and she'd told him the same thing she now told her friends, "It's just a birthmark, we think. The doctors checked it out and everything. It just randomly appeared when I was about fourteen or so. No one knows what it is, but it's harmless."
"As long as you're sure," Isla muttered, still not convinced. She watched Ashley like she was worried about her.
Ashley had to laugh at Isla's concern. "I'm fine. It's my body and I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either." At that she changed the subject, feeling more than a little self-conscious and trying to enjoy the night rather than focusing on her imperfections.
Yukina, Keiko, and Kurama had all gotten rooms at the hotel of the onsen as well, and by the time morning came, they rode the train in to Tokyo up until Ashley and Isla de-boarded for Tokyo Disney with exclamations of how much fun they had all had. Yukina held onto Knox's leash, taking him back with her as she promised she would cook for them all before Isla left. Then the train doors slid shut between them.
Ashley glanced at Isla, who looked uncomfortable again. Quietly sighing, she exclaimed, "Shall we go?"
Tokyo Disney was a fun-filled day, with quarrels and disagreements about the state of the world and the occupants thereof far away. By the time they stumbled into Ashley's apartment that night, she would have sworn they were both too tired to notice anything, but that didn't stop Isla from commenting on the state of her blackened, shattered overhead light above the futon and kotatsu.
"I just had a little accident, that's all," Ashley brushed it off to Isla's horror as she put the pieces together.
The next day was reserved for sleeping in - for the first time all vacation - and sightseeing around Tokyo. Going to the Tokyo Tower, visiting Asakusa, visiting the Imperial Palace, and going to a couple anime cafes were just a few things that Ashley and Isla did that final day. Stumbling back to Ashley's flat, tired as hell, but laughing all the same, Ashley's phone chimed. Digging it out of her pocket, she read, "Looks like Yukina's hosting dinner tonight. Wait until you try her cooking; it's phenomenal!"
Isla was already inside the flat, putting her purchases down as Ashley locked the door behind them. "What if we don't go, though?" She asked it hesitantly, as if she was afraid to ask it at all, and Ashley froze, just about damn tired of Isla's shit mindset toward people different from herself.
"I don't want to go," she repeated, turning toward her friend. "Why don't you and I just have dinner tonight? Last dinner between us before I have to go back." She suggested it in a friendly way, but Ashley couldn't see it as friendly.
Ashley decided to test the waters. "What if Hiei joins us?" Isla bit her lip, hesitant.
There. That hesitancy. "What is wrong with you, Isla? You've had this prejudice to you this entire trip and I'm so tired of it!"
Isla, realizing what she was doing, stopped biting her lip and said, "Demons don't belong in this world." She looked tired when she said it, her gaze exhausted, but her voice was strong; adamant.
It hit Ashley, then, what she was missing. "Say it again. Tell me what you think about demons."
Isla set her jaw; determined. That was new. "Demons don't belong in this world. They're just trying to lead us astray from God-"
"No." Ashley said evenly, amazed she'd missed it before. "You're quoting. I don't know who or what you're quoting, but you're quoting, like you're repeating this shit from someone else. It's like you don't even believe what you're saying."
"But I do-"
"Then you're a terrible person."
The air drained from the room.
"You should be ashamed to wear that cross."
Isla looked like she was about to break. "Ashley-"
"No. Don't." Ashley was done. Completely done. Isla had done nothing except show coldness to all of her friends, including disdain toward Hiei. She was done pretending like nothing was wrong. "If you're quoting like I think you are, then tell me."
Isla said nothing. She didn't fidget, she didn't move, didn't try to deny the accusation. Her gaze stayed on Ashley, hurt and betrayed, but she said nothing.
"I can't be around you right now," Ashley threw up her hands. "I'm going to dinner at Yukina's, who is a fabulous cook, and you can sit here and miss out."
Without a backward glance, Ashley took her purse and walked out the door, leaving Isla alone in the flat.
- End of Chapter Twenty-One -
I don't actually know what to say about this chapter. It was a beast, a monster, a mountain I couldn't scale for five months. Literally; I started writing this in January and couldn't figure out where I wanted to go or how to get there. Then I realized I needed to flesh out Isla's character, and she became loosely based on a friend of mine.
I had to do some digging with Isla, and while I know where she's headed and how we get there, Twenty-One became easier to write. Not FUN, but easier. If anyone is interested, I wrote a side story called "Puncture Wounds" going into Isla's backstory. It'll stand as a one-shot for now, but I'll add more to it later.
Thank you to Ruler of the elements for your review on chapter twenty, and musicnutftw for your review on chapter twelve. I loved getting to read both of your reactions! They both, quite literally, made my day.
Chapter 22 will be out on May 19! See y'all then! I do not own, in any way, the characters, places, or ideas of the Yu Yu Hakusho universe created by Yoshihiro Togashi. I only own my own characters and plot.