Breathe, guys... no one's dying yet.
I love all you lovely reviewers, but these replies are getting pretty long :/ Would you guys rather I PMed the people who have their ff account instead? That way you'd get it faster. Of course, I would still reply to the anons, etc... here. Your choice. Just tack your preference onto your review. (Muahaha! A subtle attempt to get you to review... Drat. I've just ruined it, haven't I?)
Oh, and I've just noticed my story is part of a community now? What does that even mean? Something about OC x canon couples, which I thought was ironic since she just went on a date with another OC and I'm fairly certain was mortal enemies with Kurama at the time it was added...
Couple of things. I'm sure most of you know, but a furisode is a fancy kimono. Also, the Coming of Age festival isn't on the 15th of January anymore, it's on the second Monday of January, but that was too complicated, so... 15th it is.
Puppylove7: Yeah, Miss Kuronosuke sounded more like Kurama to me too. :) I debated whether Hiei should know what a snowman is, but decided that even though he's watched Yukina play before, Koorime don't really make them. Not to mention, he was banished from that snowy island when he was born. :/ So I'm glad you liked Kurama's explanation to Hiei. I'm also very happy that so many people like my Friday x Shima fluff. To be honest, in the beginning I worried about his acceptance. You know, with all the rabid Kura fans out there and such... *shifty eyes*
authorchik039: Wheeee. New reader/reviewer(?) :D Feel free to imagine me beaming all sparkly at you... Ahem. Anyway. Yes, yes he is. Poor Rikyu has so many feels! TT^TT
Angel of Randomosity: Oh, Kura. You're just a tangled mess inside. Someday, you will sort all your twisted feels out for yourself... someday. Yay! Love for Shima and Hati :D Somehow, that wolf is getting more humorous than I ever intended :P It's your influence, I swear, Miss caffeine and CAPS. Lol.
Guest1:Breathe. Relax. Breathe. Repeat. Read AN above. Better now? Good... Wow. I had no idea that my last chapter was such an emotional roller coaster, but I guess you're right. Haha. I'm super happy that you liked the snowman part. :} My brain ran away with me on that one, but I loved it so much that I had to let it be. I'll try my best to continue surprising you with original but realistic Kurama moments. And glad you like Shima x Friday :)
Guest2: Your comment made me laugh so hard. (Actually, it's still making me laugh.) The reason you feel like Shima's in a lot of danger is probably because he has an angry, psychotic, jealous flying man stalking him from a tree (What has this story come to? Am I even listening to myself here?) but don't worry. (Also, see above AN). I won't kill him off just to get him out of the picture. Besides, that's kind of a cop out.
mrsbeggins: Muahaha. One addicted, the world to go... just kidding. But it does make me happy that you're finding it so awesome. :D
FallenAngelX3: :D Eeeeee. Another new reader/reviewer? Two in one chapter makes me very happy :} Not to mention flattered. I'm glad you appreciate the titles. I really do think about (sometimes agonize over) a clever, one-word title, but I feel like sometimes people don't even notice the little tiny title stuffed up in the corner in size 10 font all by its lonesome :'( Glad you like Friday x Shima and Kurama's interactions as well :]
. . .
"It is only rarely that one can see in a little boy the promise of a man, but one can almost always see in a little girl the threat of a woman." - Alexandre Dumas
. . .
They surrounded him, pushing him roughly to the ground. Sneering, they crowded around him. Those older boys could do what they liked; after all, they were in the first grade and he was only a kindergartener. How could he stand up to them?
He bawled. His knee hurt from where he'd scraped it falling. The tears only brought on more pushing and shoving.
"Hey, you! What are you doing to my little brother?" a loud voice rang out, and to him it was the voice of a guardian angel.
He looked up through eyes brimming with tears and sniffed. Standing in the fading sunlight that framed her from behind like her own, personal glow was a tiny girl with very blonde hair, only a second grader and considerably smaller than most of these first grade bullies.
But he wasn't worried. She was his sister. She could handle them.
"Do you want me to give you a black eye!?" the small girl smashed her fist into her hand threateningly, head held high and back erect.
"Ack. It's her. Run!" the group of boys scrambled, tripping over their own feet on their way out.
"Lets get out of here," their leader grumbled the order, but fled just the same.
With watery, brown eyes, the little boy peered up at her back. She had never actually hit anyone, as far as he knew, but she certainly knew how to talk big. They were all scared of her, at any rate.
Turning, the girl looked down at the small boy on the ground with determined brown eyes: "Stop crying. How do you ever expect to become a man when you act like such a crybaby all the time? Stand up for yourself. I won't always be here to do it for you, you know."
He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with tiny fists as his chin quivered from suppressing tears.
She sighed and extended a hand toward him. "Here," she offered with a smile.
He placed his hand in hers, as the girl's small fingers curled around his own.
Slowly, Dale's eyes opened, narrowed against the pale, morning light that streamed in through the window.
Friday...
.
.
.
Yusuke and Kuwabara walked along side by side on patrol. They weren't expecting to find much. After all, the streets had been pretty dead for a few days now, with only the occasional glimpse of a Nightmare to break up the monotony.
Yusuke yawned.
"Jeez, Urameshi. You've gotta take this more seriously," Kuwabara scolded his friend, "You look like you're about to fall asleep walking."
"You're one to talk," Yusuke retorted, "I saw you smother a yawn just two blocks ago!"
"Did not!" Kuwabara protested.
"Did too."
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
"DID TOO!"
"Am I interrupting something?" a deep voice, as cold and smooth as glass, cut in.
The boys stiffened.
Yusuke ground his teeth, eyes flashing as he recognized the voice's owner. The spirit detective's hand curled into a fist and began to shake with anger. Keiko...
"You've got a lot of nerve, showing your face around me again," Yusuke Urameshi declared furiously, looking up to glare straight into the icy eyes of the hovering figure before him.
"Now, now. I came to make you a deal. Is that really how you should be talking with me?" Koa's blue-black eyebrow slid smoothly up his forehead and remained fixed quizzically in place.
"You should've thought about that before you pissed me off," Yusuke growled out, crushing his fist into his curled hand, ready to strike.
Koa's relaxed demeanor evaporated into thin air, to be replaced by a threatening one: "Rikyu is far too lenient, letting non-Sleeper's partake in a battle that is not their own. But I've been watching you, Yusuke. I know how to make you break..." a dark shadow fell over his ice-blue eyes as he suddenly appeared in front of the spirit detective, speaking poisonous words directly into his ear.
The commander whispered with a sickly smile, "Tell me, did you say goodbye to her as you left today? Because if you do not accept my deal, you should be prepared to start treating each and every day as if it was your last... or hers."
With a feral growl, Yusuke swung a signature punch. It missed as Koa skipped lightly back.
"People sustain their worst injuries protecting others," Koa commented offhandedly, head cocked to one side, "It is the most unfathomable trait of humankind."
Yusuke howled his anger and rushed forward, throwing punches. Not a single one landed as Koa easily dodged and slid past Yusuke's fists. Like oil and water.
Quickly, they formed a routine. The attacks were unimaginative, the evasive maneuvers easily predictable.
"Spirit sword!" Kuwabara suddenly called out from his position, forgotten on the sides.
And indeed, Koa had forgotten all about the carrot top that frequently accompanied Yusuke Urameshi. That boy had never been a focus of his investigation to begin with. He simply hadn't seemed worth bothering with.
But now, as Koa's concentration was broken by the glowing blade that nearly pierced the bare skin of his chest, he thought he ought to reconsider.
Although the attack was unexpected, it was too slow. Koa escaped with barely a scratch.
But he couldn't dodge Yusuke's spirit gun at such close range. Stupid, really. To have let his guard down like that.
The spirit detective fired one off straight into the commander's chest, aiming for his heart.
With a twisted grimace, the commander quickly fled the scene, disappearing into a dark portal, leaving only the smell and sound of seared and tearing flesh behind.
.
.
.
In the midst of the gloom, Koa leaned back against a fragment of pillar, his eyes closed, expression pained.
The atmosphere itself here healed him, forming tiny threads of muted light that reached out to wrap around his wounds, caressing them.
Bare feet padded up to stop in front of Koa.
"You look like hell," a voice said wryly.
Koa cracked an eyelid and looked up into Rikyu's face. A sardonic smirk quirked up the corner of the standing figure's mouth.
The wounded commander said nothing.
"I could have told you they were strong. Though... I'll admit, I didn't know they could do this," he scrutinized the gaping hole in Koa's chest through the dimension energy healing process.
Koa just grunted. He felt weak. When was the last time he had felt so vulnerable? Such a juvenile mistake... to let his guard down like that. Fifty years had really put him out of practice, it seemed.
"You have to watch out for that big one with orange hair and squinty eyes, especially. He's more trouble than he looks," Rikyu advised pleasantly, arms crossed.
"Thanks for the warning," Koa managed sarcastically, voice barely more than a wheezing whisper.
"You didn't ask," Rikyu shrugged, and turned away.
.
.
.
"We have a major emergency!" Botan announced, bursting in through the sliding doors.
I jolted to a seated position on the floor, sending my purple hair flying about me.
"What is it, Botan?" I asked, worry coloring my tone.
The reaper's baby blue eyebrows tugged downward over strong, pink eyes. "There's a festival tonight and I'm totally unprepared!" she declared.
I facepalmed.
"Seriously?" I groaned.
"Yes, seriously! Today is the fifteenth of January, which makes it Coming of Age Day," she explained in a chipper tone.
"Oh. Is it the fifteenth already?" I muttered to myself.
"Well, it's really a holiday for all the twenty-year-olds, but this face is timeless, so..." she pressed her hands to her cheeks as she beamed, "And besides, I just love dressing up in a fancy furisode. Don't get to wear those too often, anymore. Aha. Ahahaha."
I just sighed as I observed her with my head in my hands.
"Oh! Which reminds me," she spun around and bent over, putting her face too far into my personal bubble, "When are you turning twenty, Friday? Even if it isn't until later in the year, this may be your only chance to celebrate. We can always sneak you in." She winked.
"Actually," I said, "I'm twenty now."
"Eh?" she pushed a finger into her cheek thoughtfully, "That's funny. I could've sworn you were only nineteen the last time we asked."
"Hmm..." I hummed noncommittally.
She thought a moment.
The door slid open, admitting Yusuke. He stepped in through the threshold, the others in tow.
They all froze in their tracks as Botan burst out with a sudden shout, "But that means you had a birthday!"
"Well, that about hits the nail on the head," I grumbled, still seated on the floor, resting my temple on a fist.
"Oooh," she groaned, "But that's bad! That means we didn't get to celebrate!"
I picked imaginary lint off my sleeve.
"Alright, it's settled," Botan made up her mind, "We definitely have to go now."
"I'm sorry, but what's settled exactly?" I asked.
The pairs of eyes in the doorway watched curiously.
"You don't get a choice, missy," she waggled a finger at me, "You didn't tell us about your birthday, so there's no getting out of the festival now. We're friends, after all. And friends celebrate friends' birthdays." Botan planted her hands firmly on her hips.
"I got it, I got it..." I grumbled and turned my head away, pouting, "It's not like I didn't have plenty of other things on my mind the past few days." Nightmares... homicidal, flying men... more Nightmares... You know, the usual.
"Wait a second," Kuwabara piped up, "So you're saying Friday already had a birthday. That's great and all, but when exactly was it?"
"The thirteenth, of course. January thirteenth," I answered, leaning back on my hands as I stared blankly up at the ceiling, letting my head hinge on my shoulders..
"That's right!" Botan's fist came down on her hand as a realization occurred to her, "Since it was your birthday, you need a gift. What would you like, Friday?"
I hummed, still staring up at the ceiling: "I'll let you know when I think of something." No need to rush, after all. I'd still be here. Celebrating on my own...
It seemed terribly wrong somehow, when I'm sure the people I'd left behind would consider it a day of mourning.
I shifted uncomfortably. True, I had forgotten about my birthday at the time, but even if I had remembered it... well, it wasn't anything important anyway. People have birthdays all the time.
Hopefully, I'd live to have a few more.
"We have a party to get ready for, everyone!" Botan announced to the group, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Umm... so does this mean we don't have to go on a mission, tonight?" Yusuke interrupted hopefully from his position blocking the doorway.
Hati nosed his way to the front, "What are you talking about? Don't think you'll get off that easy. Such bad behavior is entirely impermissible." I could feel his eyes boring through my skull. Apparently, he still hadn't forgiven me for ditching to go on that date a few nights back. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
"We have the furisode to get ready... the snacks... transportation," Botan ticked off on her fingers, lost in her own world.
"Actually," I rejoined the conversation, "Hati's right. We really do need to get on with our mission."
"But... but!" Botan protested indignantly, head snapping toward me.
"Relax," I flapped a hand at her, "We can still go, but I'm thinking we should wear something more practical... Well, you can dress up if you wish."
"But your furisode!" she wailed.
"I'll do just fine with the usual," I told her firmly. Well, I might dress up a little bit, but as I'd been chagrined to discover, kimonos really weren't for me. And how could I be expected to go out and kick some Nightmare butt when I could barely walk, anyway?
"Umm..." a small voice spoke up from behind the crowd in the threshold, "So does that mean we'll still be celebrating Kuronosuke-san's birthday?"
That voice... it couldn't be...
I strained to see around Yusuke's big shoulders as I sat a little taller.
"Oh yeah..." he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Look who we picked up, guys."
Moving aside, they let the small girl through. The ice maiden was really a sight for sore eyes.
"Yukina!" I perked up, scrambling to my feet.
"Hello," she said with a small smile, waving her fingers tentatively, "I hear you had a birthday while I was gone, Kuronosuke-san."
"Nevermind that, Yukina," I pushed past the boys to get to the ice maiden, "You're back!" Grinning, I draped an arm around her shoulders.
"Let's have some tea to celebrate..." I suggested, leading her away into the kitchen, passing a certain redhead as we went.
Well, I supposed it couldn't hurt to have some of that jasmine tea he was so skilled at making... the mission would still be there later.
We settled down at the kitchen table, and I poured us some tea as soon as it finished brewing.
Sipping it delicately, I sighed. Oh, jasmine, how I love thee.
I took another sip.
"You look happy," the ice maiden observed with a twinkle in her bright, ruby eyes, "Did something happen with that boy?"
And for the second time, Yukina made me choke on my tea.
I really had to remember to be more cautious around her when I was drinking hot beverages. Her unnervingly insightful observations surprised me every time.
Flapping my hand at her, I hissed under my breath: "Shhhhhh!" and jerked my head around to indicate the other room where Botan was busy rushing about with the festival preparations.
Leaning out of our chairs, the two of us peered around the door to make sure she hadn't heard.
Yukina covered her mouth with a hand and giggled.
.
.
.
Kkkkrrsh. Kkrrshh. Kkrrsh.
Botan ran a brush through my unruly hair. She hit a snag, jerking my head back. Inside my mind I grumbled, but said nothing to the ferry girl.
Upon discovering that I intended to wear jeans and the same, fleece-lined jacket that I'd been wearing throughout the winter here - - mainly because it was the only jacket I owned - - Botan declared that she wasn't letting me leave the temple without at least torturing me by ripping all my hairs out one by one at the roots.
Or maybe that was just my interpretation.
I think she termed it "prettying me up a bit."
Potatoes, tomatoes, potatoes, tomatoes.
"That's odd..." the reaper muttered to herself.
"Hnng?" I grunted by way of question, biting my lip to keep from yanking the brush out of her hand and throwing it across the room as I felt a few more hairs separate from my already tender scalp.
.
.
.
"I thought you dyed your hair, Friday?" I asked curiously, putting the brush down and running the purple strands through my fingers. Humans didn't naturally have hair this color, after all. I hadn't thought to ask before, but... well, the answer had seemed so obvious that it didn't cross my mind to question it.
"Yeah," she said shortly, before musing, "Actually, it should be about time to dye it again."
"Oh? You haven't colored it recently?" I questioned with a small frown, cerulean eyebrows knitting together. This was certainly very strange. Hmm... I wonder...
"Not since coming here, no... Why - - ouch!" she protested when I plucked a purple thread from her head.
Discretely, I tucked it into a pocket.
"Watch it!" she turned her head to glare at me.
"Sorry, sorry!" I said sheepishly, putting on my best cat-face, "My bad."
Grumbling under her breath, she turned back around.
I would have to remember to take the sample back to Reikai. The analysts would know what to do with it there.
.
.
.
Yukina held up the small mirror with an apologetic smile.
An uncomfortable feeling knotted my spine. I hated mirrors, though where this recent aversion had come from, I didn't know.
Reluctantly, I looked in the silver pane, intending to give it just a quick glance and make a brief show of praise for Botan's work.
Tearing my eyes away from its reflective surface, I stared at the blank wall, eyebrows pulling downward.
I opened my mouth. And closed it again. And frowned.
I could see now why Botan had been confused.
It had been a month already and my starkly-contrasting, blindingly white roots were nowhere in sight. Even in my best months, I could usually find a sliver somewhere that needed a touch-up.
Curiouser and curiouser.
A sinking feeling developed in the pit of my stomach. This did not bode well. A wisp of a thought crept in through the back of my mind, but I pushed it away blindly, certain I wouldn't want to hear what it had to say.
"Don't you like it, Friday?" Botan questioned in response to the frown.
"Ah... Yes, of course. I was just a bit surprised... It looks like I won't be needing to dye my hair, after all," I laughed awkwardly and placed a hand behind my head, hoping she wouldn't notice how forced it sounded.
.
.
.
My brow creased in thought as I waited.
She was always so odd... Friday.
Most humans would take full advantage of a day where the world would supposedly revolve around them. Receiving attention and gifts, not to mention a celebration.
But she had let it slip quietly by... Right under our noses it had passed without so much as a whisper or offhanded remark.
Sometimes, she was funny that way.
She was the center of attention so often that it had never even occurred to me to wonder whether she desired it.
They just seemed to go together, wherever she went.
Although... perhaps I wasn't the only one experiencing new things.
"We're going to be late! Hurry, hurry!" Botan pushed Yusuke through the door, cutting off my wandering thoughts.
"Keiko can wait a minute. Jeez. You act like it's the end of the world..." Yusuke grumbled, an open bottle of hair gel in hand.
"Yusuke Urameshi, you had better not make your fiancee wait for you alone at the festival! Even for you, that's unbelievably rude," Botan scolded.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped, glaring daggers after the ferry girl who had already scampered off to inform the others of our immediate departure.
I stared blankly at the boy who held his arm aloft in protest, hair-product in hand.
"Whatever..." he finally grumbled, lowering his arm.
Finding a nearby window, he continued smoothing his hair, making use of its dully reflective surface.
I sighed as I waited, casually clothed and with my own hair in its usual unattended condition.
.
.
.
"Don't complain," I told Botan as I strolled down the dark street, thrusting my hands deep into the pockets of my fleece-lined jacket, "We have work to do, after all."
"But we only got to stay for a couple of hours!" the ferry girl protested with a moan, "You guys are no fun at all!"
"Just get going already," Yusuke ordered loudly, letting his head list unconcernedly to the side, "Don't forget you have to take Keiko home."
"I'll be fine, Yusuke," Keiko protested the apparent excess of concern.
Yusuke put his hands on her shoulders protectively and stared searchingly down into her eyes as she looked up at him with a wide gaze.
The strong bond between them made even such a small gesture feel so personal that I felt like an intruder and had to turn my head away, unable to watch.
I scuffed the toe of my boot on the rough pavement idly.
"I won't let you become a target for every lowlife that's afraid to show his face to my fist, Keiko," the words were half-joking but his tone was low. It wasn't too hard to tell what the spirit detective was thinking about.
Those commanders always seemed to go from bad to worse.
There was no audible response, but I assumed she nodded as Botan stepped in to lead her away.
Silently, those of us who remained divided into our usual pairs.
My four-legged partner and I hadn't been walking for long when I halted suddenly in my tracks.
A sharp pain like an icy bullet tore through the space behind my eyes, numbing my mind. Although the source wasn't tangible to my senses, I felt it deep in my bones.
"Is something wrong, Friday?" Hati questioned, unable to feel what I was sensing.
Wrong? Yes. Something was terribly wrong.
Without warning, every cell in my body screamed at me to move, and I bolted, following the invisible tug that drew me away from the hub of the city.
Dimly, I heard the pounding of Hati's paws as they hit the sidewalk behind me, but I couldn't wait for him.
Time was running out.
.
.
.
When I first saw Shimabukuro, I didn't want to believe my own eyes.
I came tearing around the corner, feet flying over the pavement, only to find that the damage had already been inflicted.
My feet faltered, dredging to a stop.
A cold, foreboding wind whistled through the industrial corridor, the lines coming off the power plant swaying in its passage. The moonlight overhead cast dimly off the many windows, setting them gleaming in a low, predatorial sort of way-watchful eyes under dull lids.
The high, stone walls seemed to go on without end, enclosing us from all directions in this undreamable nightmare.
Dripping like a slow leak from a broken faucet, the new blood ran down his arm to splash in bright bloom over the dull concrete. The orange-haired boy shook, body pushed past its limits.
Back against the wall, he curled over on himself, his good arm holding his ribcage as though it were the only way to keep the fractured pieces from falling to the floor before him.
One of his eyes was sealed shut with a massive bruise, as dark as the skin of a plum. A small, trickling river of red oozed out from his forehead and his lip was cracked.
Through the untouched eye, he glared fiercely up at the figure before him.
If I had had any doubt as to the guilt of this third party, the crimson tinge that coated his two short swords as they hung at his sides immediately made up my resolve.
Of course it was him.
It was always him.
With a surprised look adorning his deceptively angelic face, Rikyu looked up to meet my eyes. He obviously hadn't counted on this unscheduled interruption.
His yellow eyes held no guilt, no remorse.
And in that moment, this face I wore cracked.
Then from behind its carefully maintained cage of iron bars, another emerged.
.
AN: I've become so addicted to caffeine even in the first month of school Starting to read all "late"s as latte. Yeesh.
Couple of things. (1) I have a "mini" aka very large journal post on my bio at the moment that shares some of my thoughts on writing. There's some tips there if anyone is interested or just curious. (2) I just thought I should let you guys know that I'm available for you to PM me if you want a quick response or have a question (about DTMB, fanfiction, YYH, life, the universe, everything, 42, whatever...). I know I'm always saying I'm busy, but I don't bite (really) and I'll try to get back to you ASAP.
Credit where credit is due... Some of you may have caught these, but "potato, tomato, potato, tomato" is from Megamind, and "curiouser and curiouser" is an Alice in Wonderland reference. For some reason, Friday was just on a role with the references today.
Oh, and let me clarify. Dale's dream was on the 13th (makes sense he would dream about Friday on her birthday, right?). So a couple of days passed around the Koa fight before the festival.
I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)
Update (Again): There's a super awesome picture of Rikyu x Friday up on my deviantart (closeup and full picture). I realize now may not be the time, considering... well, you read the chapter. But it's finally finished, so I had to post it!
Thank you for reading :)
Preview: Do I really need to entice you with a preview this time? Don't forget to let me know your reply preference if you review! :D
Please REVIEW!