Disclaimer: We do NOT own any anime/manga portrayed in this piece of literature.
Reika sat across from Night, leaning on the table with her elbow. Her chin rested in her hand as she stared out at the sparkling city lights, twirling a lock of black hair on her finger in a nervous fashion. "Sorry that I came underdressed..."Reika said suddenly, trying to make conversation.
"I think it's cool." Night replied in a casual tone.
"You do?" Reika asked skeptically.
"Yup." Night grinned, looking out at the city lights. "Do you like the view?"
Reika nodded in response. "Yes." She replied breathlessly. "I've never seen anything so magnificent..."
Night's smile grew brighter. "Yes, that's why this is the most desirable place in all of Tokyo...it has a great view. Grandma's view is pretty good too, but she doesn't serve dinner." Reika couldn't help but laugh. "It used to be prettier...remember? The stars, I mean. Those are the prettiest." Night paused, "Well, except for..." he stopped himself, shaking his head. "Never mind."
"Yes, the stars were pretty but...all these lights are so beautiful. Tokyo truly is ahead in technology..." She chuckled slightly. Her gaze slid over to Night, and she asked him, now curious. "Except for...?"
Night sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It's really embarrassing..."
"I don't mind, please do go on."
"But I mind."
Reika said nothing for a while.
Night eventually sighed. "You."
Reika blinked, obviously confused. "Me? What about me? Did I do something wrong?"
Night couldn't help but chuckle. "Not really...it depends on who's looking at it. What I'm saying is, you're prettier than the stars. Screw technology. You're much prettier than all the lights of Tokyo."
Reika blushed profusely, sitting up straight and clasping her hands together. She twiddled her thumbs in a nervous fashion, and asked, "Really?"
Night smiled, and nodded. "Really."
Oh goodness, should she tell him what she really thought? Could she really get the guts to tell him what she thought? It was now or never. "Well, you're pretty cute too..."She replied.
Night smiled, but it wasn't the usual smile that scrambled her thoughts. It was much more serious. "Yeah...thanks." Night was silent for a long while. "I don't mean to be forward, but what do you think of me?"
Reika tensed even more, her words caught in her throat.
"You don't have to answer me. It's just that...sometimes I don't know what you're thinking. I know that when you were young, you thought of demons as...vile, evil creatures. Sometimes I wonder where you put yourself now. And since I fall into that...demon category, I have to wonder."
"I..." Reika hesitated, her heart hammering in her chest. "I don't hate demons anymore. I live in the body of one, and I've had to live with them. I never took into consideration that there were good demons and bad demons." She replied.
What she was going to say next was something that she didn't ever think would pass her lips. "I actually like you a lot...I mean, a whole lot. I really do."
Night nodded. "I'll feel like a little kindergartner for saying this in this manner, but...I like you too...probably more than you can imagine." He paused. "But I can't...I can't put you in that position."
Reika felt her heart pang slightly at his final words. "Night, what position haven't I been in?" She asked him, her eyes soft.
Night shook his head. "That's not what I mean. The only position that you haven't been in is the one I can't put you in...for now. It doesn't mean I don't want to...but I can't see...after all that's happened this week, how its going to affect you in a good way...I don't want to hurt you." Night's eyes were scorching, begging her to understand what he was trying to tell her.
Reika was silent. "...okay. If you really think that this is hurting me less, then okay. I'll go along with it." She replied, her voice quiet. Her heart throbbed unhappily behind her ribcage, and she placed her hands in her lap politely.
Night hesitated. "Let me ask you this then; what do you want? Say the word and I'll do it, I swear to you by my father's grave."
Reika hesitated to tell him what she really wanted. She didn't want to be selfish...no, that was a lie. She really wanted to be selfish. "I...I want to be more than friends, but you don't want to put me in 'that position', so, whatever you want, I'll want too." She replied.
Night's eyes narrowed and he leaned against his elbows. "Don't be so...so...I don't know what your being, but stop being that way. What I want is for you to be happy. What will make you happy?"
"I just told you what would make me happy." She responded, her eyes sliding back to the wondrous view of the city. "...but I also want what makes you happy too."
Night sighed irritably. "And I just told you that I won't be happy if you're not happy. Are you ready for a relationship? I guess that's a better question since that was and is my original concern."
"I've been ready since I realized that I extremely regret not finding someone to love." Reika responded, looking over at him. "I really do like you a lot...maybe even love you! It's too early to tell that though...but, when you say things like 'I can't put in that position', it hurts me more than if you would actually put in me that position. Saying things like that stacks on to the pain I feel, don't you understand?"
Night leaned back against his chair again. "I understand. Hold on a moment please." Night looked out at the city, deep in concentration. Reika waited patiently, her heart hammering against her ribs in anticipation.
Finally, Night let out a deep sigh. It didn't sound like defeat...
He turned his scorching eyes back to her, making her heart stop for a millisecond before exploding into a rapid pace.
He took her hand gently in his with a firm grip. "Reika," he started, this time without hesitation. "I'm totally not a perfect guy, and I don't think I ever will be, but...can you overlook my faults and go out with me...officially?"
Reika's heart stopped for about two seconds before it started back up again. She smiled warmly, and nodded. "Yes, Night. I'd like that a lot." She replied, squeezing his hand.
Night's smile bedazzled any smile that he'd ever smiled. He smiled so bright, it was like the city had reflected off of it.
He was certainly happy.
Before Reika knew what he was doing, he'd gone to her side, lifted her into his arms and started to spin around, laughing with joy. Before Reika could react, he had her down on her feet, his hands on her shoulders.
"You just made me the happiest man in the universe!" He laughed.
Reika smiled at him, giggling. "Then that makes me the happiest women in universe, doesn't it?" She replied with another giggle. She threw her arms around his waist, and hugged him tight.
Night pulled her close, enjoying the way she felt in his arms. "It sure does," he replied.
Reika looked up at him, her smile stretched across her face. "I'm glad it does."
Suddenly the doors opened up from the restaurant, and their waiter walked out with their food in hand. "Oh! I'm sorry, didn't mean to intrude on you two love birds." He blushed slightly, feeling like an intruder.
Night laughed, pulling Reika gently to the table again. "No, it's alright." The waiter let out a sigh of relief, bringing the food quickly over and then quickly left.
As soon as the doors were closed again, Night smiled warmly at Reika. "Let's eat."
Night held Reika's hand tightly as he pulled into Reoko's drive way, turning off the engine. They sat there in silence, enjoying one another's company. "I don't want you to leave..." Night groaned, giving Reika's hand a squeeze.
"I highly doubt that Reoko will keep us apart from now on. We'll see each other soon." Reika whispered back, squeezing in return.
Night smiled. "I would have you stay over with Shiori so that I could see you first thing at breakfast, but I highly doubt Tero has that much patience." Night rolled his eyes. "Let him have his wife."
"Do I have to?"
"I don't want to open the door tomorrow morning to find Tero flaming in anger at the doorstep, demanding to know every detail." Night leaned towards her, a soft smile stretched across his face. "Besides, I'm only one phone call away if you need me."
"But I don't know you're cell..."
"I think it's embedded into Reoko's phone by now...I know her number is embedded into mine." Night winked. "Good night Reika, I'll see you soon..."
"What if Reoko doesn't want to let me out?"
"Shiori will do something about that. I don't think the relationship is as strong as it once was, but it's strong enough for them to beat one another into getting what they want." Night grinned. "Of course I'd never let grandma do anything to harm Reoko, which in turn would harm you." Night looked up at the windows of the mansion. "Tero really wants you inside now. I'm afraid I'm going to have him demanding for his wife back at my window any moment now." Night laughed in amusement.
Reika looked back at the window Night was looking at, and giggled as she saw the curtains fall back into place. "He really wants her back, huh?" She looked back at Night.
"I believe so." He replied.
Reluctantly, she let go of his hand and turned to open her door. Climbing out of the car, she turned and looked at Night. "See you later then?"
Night grinned. "Naturally." Reika smiled back.
"Good night, Night." She whispered as she shut the door. She watched him pull the car out of the drive way and speed away till he could no longer be seen. She sighed longingly as she turned and walked into the house.
As soon as she'd closed the front door, she looked into the living room to find Tero sitting there with a strange expression on his face. It was almost...full of pity. "Hey, Tero." She called, coming towards him.
Tero managed to smile weakly. "How was your...date?"
"Fine..." Reika smiled. "How was your evening?"
"Lonely, the usual...but yet…also a little interesting."
"Why?" Reika was curious now.
"Shiori called."
"Oh? What did she want?"
"You're not going to like it...especially now." Tero warned.
Reika stopped smiling, her mood turning serious. What happened? Did Chinatsu do something again? "What happened?"
"It's not so much as anything happened...it's more of what is going to happen."
"Did Chinatsu..."
"No. It's our move."
"What?"
Tero took a deep breath. "Shiori thinks...she's pretty sure that she found a way to defeat Chinatsu. And when that happens..."
"The curse is broken." Reika murmured, her eyes wide as the past evening flashed into her mind.
Night stepped into the hallway, humming happily as he stepped lightly into the kitchen. Shiori had just been clearing something up with her Dad...whom he had never met. "Yeah...okay...I'll remember that, Dad...let me know when you reach Uncle Sesshy...love you Daddy, tell Mommy I love her. Bye." She hung up, letting out a long breath.
"GOOD EVENING GRANDMA!" Night sang as he grabbed her around the waist, dancing with her. Shiori giggled.
"What brought this on? Did the date go that well?" Shiori asked.
"It's official! Reika and I are dating!" Night grinned happily as he twirled Shiori around.
"Oh how...OH NO!" Shiori gasped suddenly, pulling away from her grandson. "Night, I'm...oh no..."
"Oh no?" Night echoed, confused. "What's so 'oh no'? Is there a bug?" Night looked behind him to check the counter for any giant bugs. It wasn't like Shiori to freak out over a bug...a cat, maybe. But she'd probably try to kill the cat, not cower in fear.
"Night, there is no bug."
"So nothing frightened you?"
"No."
"Oh..."
"Night..." Shiori hesitated, "I...I found a way to defeat Chinatsu."
Night grinned. "That's great Shiori! Congratulations!"
Shiori shook her head, refusing to look at Night in the eyes. "Night...Night, when we defeat Chinatsu...the curse is broken."
Night blinked at her. "And?" The past night was still swimming in his head; therefore he couldn't see where Shiori was going with this.
"When the curse is broken...Natsumi, Hiroki and...Reika...disappear."
Reika was lying on Reoko's bed, now curled up in a pair of Reoko's pajamas. She didn't want to leave Reoko's body just yet; she had just acquired herself a wonderfully amazing boyfriend! Tero sat up next to her, his night lamp on as he read a book on some medical brain surgeon stuff. He was rubbing her shoulder as she lay on her side, turned away from him.
"Shh there there now, you know you've got plenty of time before Chinatsu is finally dead." Tero comforted her, rubbing her.
Reika pulled the covers up closer to her chin in response.
Tero sighed, and closed his book, placing it on the night stand next to him. He leaned over and turned the night lamp off, then settled down into bed next to Reika. He turned towards her, and hugged her around the waist, tight in his arms.
"I don't think Night would appreciate it if he found out I was holding you like this..."Tero coaxed her to change back into his mate.
Reika didn't respond; she needed arms around her now, even if they weren't Night's.
"Please?" Tero pulled himself closer to her, whispering in her ear. The body in his arms grew, and he grinned. She'd given in, finally tired of laying in consciousness in the real world. "I missed you." Tero nuzzled into Reoko, kissing her neck.
Reoko yawned. "They're together, correct?"
Tero nodded, and continued to nuzzle into her. "She's worried that her time is almost up; Shiori called with a plan to kill Chinatsu." He replied.
"Oh, bother. She's such a worry wart..." Reoko responded, yawning deeply.
"That she is my darling." Tero purred, kissing her once more.
Reoko didn't respond; she was already asleep.
Shiori lay in bed with Kyo at her side, holding her waist in his arms. "Kyo, are you still awake?" she murmured.
"Yeah," Kyo whispered back.
"Natsumi wants Hiroki."
"Hiroki wants her, too." Kyo moaned, "But I don't want to..."
"Unless we want to get to sleep, I say we do."
Kyo groaned. "Fine...but I want my body back tomorrow morning."
They changed into their incarnations, their bodies changing only slightly as they did so. As soon as they were changed, Hiroki gently took Natsumi's face in his hands and pulled it towards him so that he could kiss her softly.
Natsumi grinned. "Sorry about a few days ago."
"Shiori almost murdered me, you know that?"
"Sorry, I just...kind of lost control while sleeping I guess."
"Its okay, I'm still alive, aren't I?"
"Yes, yes you are." Natsumi chuckled. "So, did you hear that Reika and Night are...?"
"Yes," Hiroki sighed, "It's still so weird to me..."
"I know. We'll get used to it, Night's a good boy."
"But what about Shiori's...?"
"Maybe there's a chance that we can stay," Natsumi suggested.
"But that chance is pretty small, it's almost not even considerable."
"Yea, that's true."
"You're pretty tired."
"Shiori had a long day."
"She did go off crime fighting or whatever..."
"That tends to wear us both out."
"I see..." Hiroki kissed her forehead. "Then goodnight my love, sweet dreams."
"Goodnight..." Natsumi yawned as she fell asleep in his arms.
Reoko checked herself in the full length mirror one last time, examining her appearance. Today, she was wearing just a casual pair of clothing, not caring whether or not the meeting was supposed to be business attire. She had a bunch of gold jangle bracelets on her wrist, small gold hoops in her first ear piercings, and then various studs lining her other piercings. Her hair was put up in a sloppy bun, some of her hair hanging out of it in a cute manner. Her sunglasses were perked a top her head, and she was wearing a black tank top and faded stone short shorts. "Time to get going..." She muttered, grabbing her keys as she ran down the stairs and out the door.
A few minutes later, Reoko pulled up in her 2008 Muricelago Lamborghini, parking it in Shiori's driveway. Climbing out of the car, she locked it, and then ran up to the door, rapping on it lightly.
The door opened quickly and there stood Shiori in jeans and a red tank top. Reoko stared. "I thought this was business attire..."
Shiori rolled her eyes. "It's just a family meeting...besides, if you knew that, why didn't you wear business attire?"
"Because business attire is for losers."
"I see. Well, Dad is here and your here...we're just waiting for Uncle Sesshy."
"Sesshoumaru? I haven't heard from him in..."
"Hundreds of years? I know. But he's got a ton of power, and power is what we need...if it comes down to it, we may even need our old swords."
Reoko's eyes brightened up as she heard the word 'swords'. "Oh! How exciting!" Reoko clapped, walking into the entryway. "Poor Eternity...she's gathering up dust in our dojo." She faked a tear, and wiped her eyes.
Shiori rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her. Her sister was being unusually chipper.
"Yeah, well mine is..."
"Let me guess, still looking brand new?"
Shiori shot her an annoyed glare. "Well," Reoko explained, "You always were obsessed with your sword. Don't feel bad, I bet Dad still has his like that too."
"If he didn't break it..." Shiori muttered as she opened the door to a wide, bright room with comfortable chairs and a big window overlooking the large lot of land that Shiori owned.
Inuyasha looked out the window with amazement. "I want land..." He muttered to himself.
Reoko giggled. "Father!" She exclaimed, running over to him and throwing her arms around his neck. "I missed you." She hugged him.
Inuyasha was silent as his daughter hugged him. "I missed you too..." He grumbled as his daughter pulled away.
Reoko bounded away from her father, sitting in one of the chairs. As she sank into the chair, she crossed her legs and threw her head back, closing her eyes. "I think I'm going to sleep until Uncle gets here."
"I'm right here." A quiet voice spoke from the doorway. Shiori whirled, her heart exploding into a panicked rhythm.
"Who let you in?"
"No one."
"Well why did you barge in like that?"
"I was expected, and I'm family, so I assumed I could. Did I offend you?"
"No...not really...just surprised me, that's all."
"You should have noticed me."
"It's been a long week." Shiori sighed. "My mate will be here in just a moment...he's terrified of my dad still."
Inuyasha grumbled something about stupid punk kids and his daughters.
Reoko's eyes fluttered open, and she saw her uncle standing in the doorway. It was weird seeing him in modern clothing. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt. His silver hair hung down his back as he stared into the room with his emotionless eyes. Nothing had changed; just the clothes. "Hiii Uncle Sesshoumaru!" Reoko called from her relaxed position on the chair.
Sesshoumaru gazed over at his niece, and gave her a smile; it was something that didn't suit his features, but it was mesmerizing because he rarely ever did smile.
Suddenly the door burst open and Kyo walked in, coming to sit down next to Shiori. "Hey Kyo, long time no see...sort of." Reoko piped. Kyo grinned - in her mind, Reika couldn't help but note that Night got his smile from Kyo - and then nodded to Shiori for her to start.
"Well...I told Dad and Uncle Sesshoumaru what exactly has been going on...though Uncle Sesshoumaru had to be filled in on all of the details on how Reoko and I got this way, so we should all be on the same page." Shiori paced the room, talking as she did so. Though she didn't look professional and the atmosphere certainly wasn't, she couldn't help but speak in a professional manner. Reoko assumed it was one of those habits that died hard.
"So I'm going to get to the point. Throughout all the battles since Reoko and I patched up our relationship, it's like they've had more improvement...but we still get our butts kicked. I have taken these battles and compared the things we are doing right and the things we're doing wrong. The right thing is that we're working together...but the wrong thing is that we're not one. Chinatsu will attack, Natsumi will get ticked off and emerge, they get into a fight, Reika pops up, helps when Natsumi is in trouble and can't do anything, then Hiroki or Kyo swoops in to save the day when they're both down. But the reason Chinatsu feared Reika so much was that Natsumi she could deal with. But both of the sisters together would cause her downfall. We knew this. But we didn't attack as one. We took turns. What I propose is that we attack together." Shiori met Reoko's eyes. "I assume Reika is listening, correct?"
Reoko nodded.
"Good. The reason why I called my dad and my uncle is that even though they obviously aren't involved with the situation, first off they're still family, second of all they both have some wicked awesome power. The more power we combine, the more it's likely that we can end this whole mess in one battle. What do you say? Oh, and on a lesser note, if we don't get rid of the curse quick, both Reoko and I will probably die since our bodies can't take the souls mooching off of our energy forever."
Reoko had closed her eyes once more, and then popped one of them open at Shiori's ending statement. "Death wouldn't be so bad; we've lived for quite a while." her voice soft, and teasing as she spoke. She suddenly felt the eyes of the room on her; and they weren't friendly.
"Reoko..."Shiori started.
"I'm just thinking about Reika. She's so bummed about the whole thing." Reoko frowned. "I'd like to go into research to see if I could possibly save her without actually having to die."
"Reoko, how are you going to do that since no one has ever had this kind of experience? First of all, I know it's hard. Nights isn't too happy with me right now either, but think about it this way; If the curse isn't broken, then we all die a horrible, miserable death. Not just you and me, Reika and Natsumi and Hiroki as well, leaving Chinatsu to win and use her powers to make everyone's lives more miserable." Shiori pointed out. "I know Night wouldn't want Reika to be in pain at all. But if you don't believe me, she can ask him herself. Oh, by the way, Night wants to see Reika after this."
Reoko sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to do this, and I understand the concept of our deaths. Kyo's death won't come to him as fast as ours though, because Hiroki was dormant for about two hundred years, unlike our incarnations who awoke right about after we mated." She pointed out. "I just want to look into at least trying to save Reika..."She mumbled slightly."There's a first time for everything."
Running her hands through her hair, Reika buzzed in Reoko's head with excitement as Shiori told her that Night wanted to see her. "Oh, yes, Reika's eager to see Night."
"Well then we should wrap it up, then. Who's with me?" Shiori asked again.
"I am." Inuyasha grumbled.
"I'm you're mate, of course I'm in! You shouldn't have needed to ask." Kyo smiled, taking Shiori's hand in his.
"I'm your sister and I'm in the same situation, so I am till something else is revealed."
"Normally I work alone, but since you're both my nieces I'll do it." Sesshoumaru answered in his normal tone.
Shiori grinned, "Great! Then I'll..."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and a scent drafted into the room that made Reika go mad within Reoko's head as she tried to get out.
"Come in, Night." Shiori sighed.
The doors opened and Night and Rimundo strode in, serious expressions on their faces. "Shiori, we have a situation." Night said, his tone almost grave.
"What's wrong?" Shiori's relief flashed to worry as she let go of her mate's hand, coming a step towards Night and Rimundo.
"Mother is here." Night answered. Shiori's face twisted in horror.
"Oh no..." Shiori muttered under her breath before she turned to Rimundo. "Rimundo," She ordered, "Please lock up anything that could be used as a weapon."
Both Night and Rimundo looked confused, "Why?" Rimundo asked.
"Because if I lose my patience, she'll have a better chance at living if it was just my claws."
"Please don't try to kill each other...we don't need that again..." Night groaned as Rimundo nodded and went to do what Shiori had ordered.
"I'll try." Shiori muttered before turning to everyone with a stressed smile, "I'll let you guys know when this attack is going to go on, now if you'll excuse me..." Shiori whirled and left the room at demon speed, leaving everyone stunned.
"I'll go make sure they don't try to kill each other," Kyo muttered, getting up to follow after his mate.
"I guess the meetings done then." Sesshoumaru sighed as he got up to leave as well. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"I guess I'll...go find something to do." He said, leaving as well...
Leaving only Reoko and Night in the room.
