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Reika heard the rip, and cringed. Turning, she looked over at the scene, and saw Katsu's arm in Night's hand. Everyone's eyes were wide in shock, staring at the electrical wires protruding from Katsu's armless side.
Katsu growled. "Now you've gone and done it!" He exclaimed, snatching the arm from Night.
"Wh-what?" Reika questioned.
"Well, since the cats out of the bag, might as well explain myself." Katsu sighed, irritated. "I'm a...robot, per say, from the Nightly Lover Series." He proclaimed.
Night stumbled off of him, his face absolutely disgusted. "You....you're...a.....um....um...t-toy?"
Natsumi glanced back at Kyo and Reika, her face full of mixed emotions. A....um...toy had tried to extract his job on her sister forcefully?
Katsu gave Night an annoyed look. "If that's the word you'd like to use, then yes. It's rather offensive though." He replied. "Most of the 'toys' in the NLS have a 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend', where as, I do not. I was sent out to gather information on the female race to make other 'toys' more compatible and pleasurable with their female counterparts."
Reika only stared at him in disbelief. Had everything he'd done to her just for his little science experiment?
Night looked absolutely repulsed. "So you're saying that you think Reika is your girlfriend?"
"Precisely."
Night growled, and stood up, once again taking a defensive position. "Have you asked her what she thinks?" Night growled.
"I don't have to ask, I already know what she thinks." Katsu replied.
"What do you mean by that?" Night replied.
Katsu held up his hand-the one that wasn't severed of course- revealing his mood ring. "This ring tells me what people feel. It's how I process information on the opposite sex; what turns them off, what turns them on."
Reika blushed profusely as she realized the blasphemy of that idea. "So, every person you touch...you can tell what they are feeling?" What an invasion of privacy.
Katsu nodded. "Yes, I can. I'm still learning what makes you happy, aren't I?" He asked her.
"You haven't made
me happy since we left Hiroki's castle..." Reika muttered.
"I
needed more information." Katsu replied casually. "I tried
the gentlest way I could to get what I needed."
Suddenly Night let out a wordless, angry cry, and before anyone could stop him, he'd sent a powerful kick to Katsu's abdomen. "You 'Night Lovers" must not be so perfect like you say you are!" he kicked Katsu in the face before Katsu could regain composure, "You USED her like she was just some SCIENCE EXPEREMENT! What kind of a 'BOYFRIEND' does that?!" He kicked Katsu in the back, "Didn't I warn you that if you EVER touched her again, I'd BREAK THAT PRETTY, ARTIFICIAL FACE IN?!"
"We've established that..." Katsu spat back sarcastically.
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP YOU WORTHLESS PEICE OF MACHINERY! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT SCUM!" Natsumi was behind Night now, throwing her arms around Night, trying to pull him away.
"Night, we understand that Katsu's a piece of crap, but please control yourself!" Night struggled more, trying to throw himself at Katsu again. "Kyo, please help!" Kyo was immediately at her side, pulling at Night as well. This time they had more success pulling him away.
"How dare he do that to her?" Night's voice was weaker, and yet filled with pain.
"Shhhh, we'll take care of it...man, he really needs some sort of first aid Kyo..." Natsumi's fingers probed lightly along his cuts. Night flinched, but still struggled against Kyo's grasp.
"Yea...but isn't Katsu in....?"
"Katsu's a machine...besides; I could really care less about him for what he did to my sister. Thankfully Night got here in time to stop him from doing worse to her." Natsumi looked up at him with sincere compassion. "Thank you, Night." Night said nothing, only nodded slightly, his eyes still focused on Katsu.
Reika stared at the scene that was going on, her thoughts jumbling around in her head. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she released her miko energy into her blood stream, trying to calm herself before she calmed the room. She walked into the room, and miko power pulsed from her body, causing those around her to settle down.
"Please, can we stop being violent?" She asked, her voice sweet and soft. "I understand that what Katsu did wasn't right..." Her eyes slid over to Katsu. Everyone in the room was beginning to calm. "...but, I just don't want any trouble. I forgive him for what he did," she saw her sister roll her eyes, "and I'm thankful that Night helped me, but I really didn't want a conflict like this to arise." She turned to Katsu, who was standing up from where he'd been kicked down. "Katsu, I don't ever want to see you again. Not in my entire life will I ever wish you and me to be together, nor do I ever want to see your face at Reoko or Shiori's doorstep."
Katsu's face went from irritated to crest fallen. "You-you're dumping me...?" He questioned.
Reika's heart panged. "We were never together."
Night shook his head, pushing Natsumi and Kyo gently away. "See?" was all he said as he started for the door. "I'm out of..."
Suddenly a woman appeared at the doorway, blocking his way; Scarlet. Her expression went from cheery to horrified.
"What in the world happened to you?" She cried as she reached her hand up to help her examine Night's wounds. "Explain, now!"
"Katsu is a sleazy skank who forces himself on girls, that's all." Night grumbled, trying to get around her.
Scarlet understood immediately, it seemed. She threw a look that was indescribable at Reika before she took Night's hand. "Please let me do something about your wounds...please don't push me away..." Night merely sighed, throwing a blank look over his shoulder at the room and let Scarlet drag him away.
Before they left, Scarlet threw one last accusing look at Reika before they disappeared around the corner.
Reika felt her heart almost rip in two as Night walked out of sight. It hurt so bad, this pain in her chest. She was tempted to rip her own heart out of her chest, and feed it to the dogs that lived on the street. Why did things like this have to happen to her?
Katsu was still getting over the fact that she'd forbidden him to see her forever. "Reika...?" He questioned.
Reika tore her eyes away from the door frame, and looked over at Katsu. "Yes, Katsu?"
"Can I...can I at least hug you before I leave forever?" He asked, his eyes gentle.
"Sure." She replied, without thinking.
Katsu strode over to her, taking her in a big one arm hug. He looked at his mood ring, and saw it was deep, deep blue. Depression. "You know, I guess I'm sorry. Hopefully Night will be a better boyfriend than me." He whispered before pulling away.
For some reason, the statement was sarcastic to her, and she pointed towards the door. "Just leave, Katsu. You aren't making me feel any better." She said.
"If you wish it." Katsu replied. He strode out the door, and was never to be seen again.
Reika looked over at her sister. "Can...can I have a glass of water...please?" She bit her lip where she'd been biting it in the past day or two, reopening the cut; she didn't want to cry.
Natsumi was immediately at her side, her arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Sure, sweetie; lets go down to the kitchen." Her voice was sweet, almost like a mother's as she led Reika out of the room and down the hallway. It wasn't long before Natsumi was sitting her down at the table and giving her a glass of ice cold water. "Don't drink it too fast." She ordered in a stern yet kind voice.
Reika drank it slowly even though she wanted to gulp it down. When she pulled away from the drink, she looked up at her sister. "I know we're sisters and all...but I haven't seen you this nice since...I don't know." She suspected it was because of Hiroki, but she decided to stay away from the relationship conversation.
Natsumi shrugged. "You had a long day. I'm not going to treat you like I don't really care what happens to you." Natsumi grinned. "Besides, once you become a mother, you always seem to have a motherly instinct to those who aren't your kids when they're in pain. It's instinct. Sorry." she winked as she got another glass for herself.
"I-it's okay..." Reika replied, taking another drink of her water. There was a moment's silence. "Na-Natsumi?" She questioned suddenly.
"Yes?" Natsumi questioned, filling up the glass she'd just retrieved from the cabinet.
"Night asked me on a date Friday night..." Reika began.
"Okay, and...?" Natsumi asked, situating herself at the table once more.
"I told him yes, but I'm not going."
Natsumi had been in the middle of drinking her water, but suddenly stopped, setting her glass down. "Why? That's unlike you, Reika."
"Be-because, I-I...I don't think Reoko or Tero will approve." She lied, her voice tone rising about an octave. She knew perfectly well that Reoko would be delighted, and Tero would be a grouch, but none the less, still want her to go.
Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Oh don't give me that. The only one holding you back is you." Natsumi paused, thinking over something. "It's your choice. Do the thing that will make you happy."
"That's the problem Natsumi-chan...I don't know what makes me happy anymore." Reika replied, laying her head on the table. Scarlet's scorching eyes reappeared in her head and she flinched. What would Reoko do to make me feel better? Better yet, what would she do if anyone shot her evil eyes? Reika thought. She knew the answers immediately. One: Reoko would tell her that all Scarlet was, was a 2nd rate no good, skank of an actress and that if Night wanted her more than he wanted Reika, then he wasn't good enough for her; Two: If anyone gave her the evil eye, she would run straight up to them, and call them a witch, or a demon, then beat the living hell out of them. Reika smiled slightly at the two humorous responses Reoko would give her if she were there.
"Natsumi, do you promise not to tell anyone?" Reika asked, sitting up to take another sip of her water.
Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Naturally. Who would I tell besides my mate?"
"You won't tell even him?"
"If it meant that much to you, then I wouldn't."
"Then don't, please." Reika responded.
"Not a soul will hear it then." Natsumi zipped her lips with a swipe of her fingers across her face.
"I...I'm not going because of Scarlet."
"Ah, I see." Natsumi nodded. "I don't really know this Scarlet. What is she like? I mean....besides what she did to make you not want to go."
"I don't know what she's like either, but something is trying to tell me that she'd be willing to exterminate me if I got in the way of whatever she wants from Night..." Reika replied. She then did something she'd never done before; talked trash "I think she's an evil witch."
Natsumi's eyes grew wide. Silence passed. Then suddenly Natsumi burst into hysterical laughter. "THAT WAS AMAZING! Well...I've heard better insults, but still! That was AWSOME!" Natsumi's laughter settled into giggles. "Wow. Well...I'm still not entirely sure what to do about her. It's not like I can blast her...but I can do this; I can stick by you and kick her butt if she does try to do anything. She's probably not that violent though. We woman can be weird when it comes to our men....even when we haven't quite gotten together with them."
"I don't like to fight though..." Reika replied, her face full of disapproval at the thought of a cat fight. "I shouldn't have said what I said either..." She muttered. "Anyway, I really don't think I can face Night on Friday. I have a feeling Scarlet will be watching somewhere from the shadows.
Natsumi scoffed. "I highly doubt that. Sometimes you do have to fight for your happiness. And if Night makes you happy, then you shouldn't give up without a fight. You don't want to live throughout eternity knowing that you could have achieved greater happiness. If you don't trust me on anything else, trust me on that."
Reika sighed, running her hands through her hair. "I guess when the time arises, I'll be able to get angry and mean like Reoko would if someone was threatening her happiness." She replied, leaning against the table.
Natsumi laughed. "I hope so. Just do what makes you happy."
Reika suddenly stood up, and said. "I'm going to go. I don't want to stay here any longer." She said it, indicating that she didn't want to run into Night.
Natsumi smiled as her sister turned to leave. "Oh, Reika?"
Reika froze, and answered back. "Yes?"
"No driving."
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It was finally Friday night. Reoko was pacing her room, trying to convince Reika to go on the date with Night. She looked over at the clock; it was 8:30. She only had 30 minutes to convince Reika to go on the date.
Reika had explained everything to Reoko, and Reoko was delighted that she'd said yes, but disappointed that Reika would let Scarlet push her around. Reoko sighed, and bore through it as she went to Shiori's house everyday after school till the day of the date. Every time she'd go, Shiori would ask, 'Is Reika going to make a grand appearance.' and Reoko would always reply with. 'Nah, she refuses to come out. She wants her beauty rest.'
"Reika, you have to go. You just can't stand Night up. It's like Bella standing Edward Cullen up. It's unheard of." Reoko argued aloud, continuing to pace.
Tero watched her from the bed, sighing. Reika was being stubborn.
No, I won't go. Reika was beginning to cry; Reoko could tell by the tone of voice she was using.
"Why not!? Just because some stupid, whore of a girl gave you the evil eye? F her! Who cares what she thinks? Just go." Reoko responded.
NO! I'M NOT GOING AND THAT'S FINAL! Reika suddenly began sobbing, feeling horrible that she was standing her date up. This was mean and horrible behavior that was not of her stature.
Reoko glanced over at the clock; 8:45 is what it read. She only had fifteen minutes to force Reika out, get her dressed, and have Tero forcefully drive her to her destined location. "Reika, you're going to give me a migraine..." Reoko muttered, rubbing her temples.
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Meanwhile, Night stepped out into the garage, heading for his car. "Hello beautiful." He greeted the car playfully though he wouldn't get a response.
Just as he opened the door, a feminine voice called out, "Where are you going?" Night looked back at Scarlet who was leaning against the door frame on the other side of the garage.
"Going on a date." Night replied.
"Are you sure you feel well enough for that?" Her voice was hard.
"I may not be a pure demon like you, but I do heal quickly." Night answered. "Go practice your lines or something. I'm going to meet my...well...my date." Night climbed into the car. "See you later." With that he slammed the door, turned the car on and drove out of the garage, leaving Scarlet in the dust.
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The clock read 8:55, and Reoko had given up all hope of convincing her incarnation to do what she wanted her to do. She lay on her bed, holding her head in between her hands.
"Shh shh...it's okay babe." Tero tried comforting her, rubbing her shoulder.
"Hopefully, I'm trying to think of a solution or some way to get her out of my head..." Reoko concentrated with all her power to transform into the blasted little girl.
"Well, you know...you're out of time." Tero sighed, breaking the bad news to her.
The clock read 9:01.
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Night sat at the dinner table overlooking the city. The candle flickered in the wind. She was half an hour late. Where was she? He wondered as he sighed from boredom. Maybe she was lost...no, Natsumi made Shiori make sure that Tero knew that Reika was never to drive again. Tero knew the way around this place. So what was going on? Maybe she was held up in traffic...a logical excuse. Maybe Katsu had kidnapped her...Night pushed the rage away. No...he couldn't consider that just yet.
Maybe she just wasn't coming....
She didn't seem like the type to do that. But after what he did to Katsu...maybe she was upset about it. He didn't blame her. She just had such a...pure heart. She couldn't hate Katsu. He wasn't able to do anything serious to make her hate him. The only person she'd ever hated as far as he knew was Izanagi and Chinatsu.
But did she hate him?
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Reoko stared at the clock. 9:30. Her heart panged. "I can't sit back and let Reika do this." She reached over for her phone. "I have to tell him." She opened her phone, dialing Shiori's number.
She heard Reika wail in her head. NO! DON'T YOU DARE TELL HIM WHY I'M NOT THERE!
Reoko did her best to ignore her incarnation's wailing as the phone rang.
"Hello? Reoko?" Shiori answered quickly, surprised.
"Night's number, now." Was all Reoko had to say before Shiori quickly repeated it to her sister.
Reoko memorized the number, and then flipped her phone shut. She opened it again, and dialed Night's cell number.
Ring...ring....ring...
"Oh god, please answer." She muttered over and over again.
No answer.
Reoko shut her phone, and Reika let out a sigh of relief. "I'm not letting this happen." Reoko growled, a string of curse words flowing from her mouth. She jumped up from her bed, phone still in hand, and sprinted out of her room down the stairs. It wasn't long before she was in the fastest car she had, the Ferrari, and was speeding out of her drive way. She kept dialing Night's number, but he never answered. It took Reoko three minutes to speed through the streets of Tokyo, until she finally turned the bend. There it was; the restaurant. Reoko parked her car in the nearest parking space, almost killing a motorcycle next to her. Moments later, she was running into the restaurant. "Night Yanahara, I'm with the Night Yanahara party." she panted to the waiter who was going to question why she was there.
"Alright, Night Yanahara..." He muttered, his finger pacing the table list. He was moving too slow. "There." He pointed towards the balcony.
Reoko dashed out onto the balcony, yelling. "Night?! I swear if you aren't here, I will personally kill the next living thing I see..." She growled the last part under her breath.
Reika's cries seemed to get so loud in Reoko's head; she wouldn't be surprised if people could hear her screams.
She stopped at the top of the stairs, panting. There Night was, just getting up to leave. He grabbed his jacket and turned, meeting her eyes. He looked stunned for a moment.
"I'm sorry, but I don't date taken women, much less married ones." He said plainly as if he said it everyday of his life.
Reoko smacked her forehead, only increasing her headache. "No, stupid! I tried calling you to tell you why Reika's not here, but I had to speed at extremely illegal speeds to get here and stop you from thinking that it's all your fault she's not here!" She explained in one breath.
Night flashed a smile that made Reoko see why he dazzled Reika so much. "Well, sorry about that! I kept my phone in the car because I didn't want to be interrupted by anyone during the date...I mean, seriously! Who wants to have a perfectly romantic date and then suddenly a phone call from unwanted intruders comes along and ruins it? Not a lot. So what's up?"
"Okay, so, my
head might explode if I tell you this, but it might trigger her to
finally come out of my head. She's not here because of Scarlet."
Reoko told him. She was right; Reika began to kick the insides
of her head. Reoko groaned, and put her hand on the side of her head.
"This is painful, but I really need to get her out. She's
jealous of Scarlet," there was a large crash in her head,"
and she didn't want to show up because Scarlet apparently shot her
the evil eye the day Katsu left."
Night stared at
her blankly before bursting out into laughter. "Is that so? She
did that? That's a little odd of her to do that...she's a
pretty nice girl! I mean...she practically worships the air
Reika breathes...she's crazy, don't bother about her."
Reoko could tell he wasn't talking to her. "You know, I paid a
lot of money for this...would you please come out so that we can talk
this out? Its not the romantic evening I pictured, but hey, I get to
be with you, so that's good enough for me."
"You know, "Reoko responded even though she knew the comment wasn't made towards her, "you aren't making her feel better by telling her that Scarlet is a saint."
Reika listened to Night's words intently before calming herself down to a sniffle. Suddenly, Reoko changed into Reika, the eye color changing, as well as chest size and height. She stood their in a now oversized mini skirt, and an oversized black tank. Tears were already staining her cheeks.
Night was immediately with her, brushing his fingers across her cheek to wipe the tears away. "Don't be sad. She isn't a saint, I'm sorry if I made it sound that way...I'm just a stupid guy, after all." He winked, making Reika laugh a little.
"No, I'm sorry for being stupid." Reika responded with a sniffle. "Look, here I am now in Reoko's clothes with tears running down my face. I pretty much ruined it. I'm sorry. "
Night surprised her by laughing. "No you didn't. The night is technically still young. We haven't had food yet and I'm hungry! Come eat with me, please?" Night's eyes became puppy dog like, and, being a dog demon, he mastered it perfectly. "Its reaaaaaally good..."
Reika hesitated. "I-I guess I can eat with you...I, mean, I did agree to a date didn't I?" Reika smiled shyly.
"You did but if you don't want to, you don't have to, you know that, right?" Night asked seriously as he took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
"N-no, I want too." Reika nodded, her heart thumping in her chest. She squeezed his hand back, smiling.
Night grinned and led Reika to the table. "Shall we order?"
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Shiori sat in her office, looking over every piece of information she'd ever gathered on Chinatsu. There had to be a way to defeat her...
Natsumi's power alone matched Chinatsu's power. If she simply just let Natsumi take a whack at her, they'd accomplish nothing. They were part of the same soul technically. They'd just been split into two different bodies. Chinatsu was strong enough to acquire her own body. Natsumi had been stricken with too much grief and heart ache to have her own. It had been that way for Reika -- the loss of her sister and everything she'd worked to accomplish-- and Hiroki -- a death that was not meant to be -- as well.
It still ticked her off that Hiroki used her mates body, but she assumed that Kyo and Tero felt the same way.
Reika's powers had power to temporarily seal Chinatsu once, but it cost her life. Now Reika had no chance, what with the powers Chinatsu had gained in these years since then.
Hiroki...well, Hiroki was just kind of there to bring emotional support to Natsumi. He probably did have powers, but it was no where near the ability to defeat Chinatsu. It had been enough to kill Izanagi, something everyone was quite grateful for.
Shiori sighed, rubbing her temples. They needed to work together. She knew that. They were trying that.
But it wasn't working.
She was starting to feel tired herself. She'd had Natsumi for so long now; how long did she have left? She loved Natsumi like a sister; it wouldn't be easy to see her go.
But they couldn't exist together forever.
She didn't know when Reoko first changed, but it had been after she had. She had a little more time...but if one of them were to die, the whole mission would be useless.
What were they doing now? Shiori decided. Might as well go back to the present.
Well, from what she'd seen in Natsumi's memories, Natsumi would lose her temper, attack Chinatsu, and when Natsumi got herself in a fix, Reika swooped in and used her awesome priestess powers of doom. Then Hiroki (or Kyo) would appear to give Natsumi emotional support, and just when the solution to Chinatsu's demise could be found, Chinatsu ran off.
Basically, even though they worked together, they didn't work as one.
The solution, Shiori realized, her eyes growing wide, was to work as ONE. Not just together, but as ONE.
Maybe if Natsumi and Reika combined their powers, they could defeat Chinatsu. Maybe Chinatsu knew that and that's why she fled the scene before they could decide to do so.
And maybe it didn't have to be just Natsumi and Reika. Maybe, if her dad still had his sword, maybe they could get him in on it. Wouldn't her father like to help liberate them?
And what about their uncle Sesshoumaru? They hadn't heard from him in so long...but he'd been on good terms the last time they'd met. Maybe they could look him up...
Shiori grabbed the phone, ready to put a call in to Tero, her father and Kyo. She wouldn't disturb Reika and Night on their date. She wasn't that stupid. She'd look Sesshoumaru's number up too; she'd just have to talk to her dad...
