Chapter Thirty-Three
Fantaisie Impromptu
Heathrow was a war zone.
Sections had been quartered off, yellow police tape covering hallways that led to other wings. Half of it was still destroyed from the Legion-led attack a month prior. Rubble still littered the tarmac in places, and steel beams still cut the sky.
Guardians in full war-gear acted as security every ten feet - a clear reminder of who was in charge - and at customs, a guard was stationed at every customs officer.
"Next!"
Ashley barely registered that she was next in line; she'd been watching Mako speak to the customs agent for the last five minutes. He was obviously nervous, and the officer and the Guardian watched him intently, like they were expecting him to explode.
"Next!" a shove came at her back, and she was stumbling forward.
"Move!" Came the shout behind her. She didn't hesitate, practically tripping over herself to get away from the female Guardian. She presented her passport to the officer, and glanced at the Guardian next to him. The Guardian wore full gear and black fatigues, complete with a bulletproof vest, and weapons holster. In his hands he held a machine gun of some type. The Guardian symbol decorated his left shoulder, clearly marking him as a member: a cross in front of a triangle. What the symbol meant, she didn't know, but every Guardian that guarded Heathrow had one.
"Passport?" The officer held out his hand, and she passed it to him. He opened it to her information and glanced back up at her. "Ashley Wright. Welcome home." He suddenly smiled at her, kindness chasing away the anxious glare he'd had only moments prior. She struggled to return the smile. "Are you staying or is it just a visit?"
"Just visiting," she said, keeping quiet about the exact reason. "Visiting my family, before heading to Japan again."
"That's a short trip," the officer noted. "Why the rush?"
Ashley glanced at the Guardian. He still glared at her, untrusting. The customs officer didn't bat an eye. "I just missed them. My friend is wanting to study here, so I thought I'd show him around." She pointed to Mako, in front of the custom's officer behind them. The man helping her, Elroy, she read, turned lazily to look behind him.
"Ah, that reminds me: Have you noticed any power developing that you hadn't noticed before?"
Her attention snapped back to him. "What?"
"Any power or strange occurrences," he clarified, watching her. "If so, we need to record it."
Every instinct screamed at her not to say a word, even as she was suddenly aware of her power within her. If they were asking, they likely couldn't sense her power, then, and she hid it, just as Genkai had taught her.
When she hesitated, the Guardian stepped forward and grabbed a device attached to his weapons holster. She flinched, hands up, but he merely pointed it at her as a light swept over her. A moment later it beeped, once. "You're good," Elroy said, stamping her passport. Enjoy your stay." He handed the little book back to her, and it took her a moment to collect her thoughts enough to remember to reach out and take it before walking away. "Next!" Elroy called to the next person in the queue.
Ashley walked a few paces away, but still stood far enough off to the side not to attract unwanted attention, watching Mako in case she needed to help. Another Guardian stood at the exit to the room, watching the dozen customs desks to make sure that nothing happened. She eyed Ashley as Ashley approached, before moving her attention back to the sight at hand.
From where she stood, he looked nervous and agitated. His voice was distressed, having jumped a few notes higher than he usually spoke in.
"-Just need your photo," his custom's officer said, and the Guardian that was stationed at that custom's desk, took Mako by the arm and nearly shoved him into the back of the other custom's desk. Ashley stepped forward, instinctually, to help her friend, but the Guardian's hand shot out, effectively stopping her.
"I'm going to have to ask you to stay there, or I'll need to restrain you." Ashley froze. "Wait for your friend if you like, but that's it."
Ashley breathed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart, and turned her attention back to Mako, who seemed to have figured the same thing out. With a flash, a photo was taken, and Mako returned to the custom's desk. "Obviously a demon-" Ashley could barely make out what the customs officer was saying. "… any abilities?"
Mako spoke, and Ashley couldn't piece together what he said, because in the next instant, the Guardian next to the custom's desk grabbed Mako by the arm again and started to pull him away.
Guardian or no Guardian, Ashley surged forward, yelling at the man to stop. "Look! I'm human, okay? I'm human! We're just visiting!"
"Ma'am!" The lady Guardian shouted behind her.
All at once, chaos reigned as other Guardians from other customs desks raised their own rifles and pointed them at Ashley, who immediately froze and lifted her hands. They didn't stay there for long, though, because the lady Guardian caught up to her and pulled her arms back down, locking them into hand cuffs. "Let's go!" The lady Guardian pushed at Ashley, and the Guardian holding onto Mako dragged him behind them, too.
The Guardians led them both through the halls of Heathrow, eventually into back-hallways not normally open to the public. The metal handcuffs were cold against her wrists and chafed, but she kept her mouth shut. If she hadn't opened it to begin with they wouldn't be in this mess.
As it were, they took Mako to a holding cell, and let Ashley have her hands back once they brought her into their office.
"What was that?" The lady Guardian shouted.
"He's my friend! I didn't know where you were taking him!"
"He said he's an oblivion!" the male Guardian who had apprehended Mako spoke, his voice booming in the small office. The two Guardians were intimidating to say the least, but Ashley held her ground.
"Not a very powerful one!" she admitted. "And he hates himself for it too!" Maybe she said more than what Mako would want her to share, but at that moment, her only thought was to get them both out of there. "Look," she tried to calm down, tried to calm her brain to make rational decisions rather than spew anything that sounded good and damn the consequences. "He will be my charge, okay? This-" she fumbled for her wallet and her driver's license. "This is my permanent address. We will be staying here until Sunday, October 11. If anything happens - which it won't, you can find us here, okay? My father is Bill - sorry - William Wright, of Wright United Technologies. He knows we're coming. You can call him if you need reassurances."
It was another two hours before they were released from their captors. The two Guardians had called their superiors, who had called Ashley's father. The Guardians led Ashley and Mako out from the offices and Mako's cell. Thankfully, their luggage hadn't been lost because they both had only brought carry-on suitcases, so they were deposited outside the offices with five more Guardians watching them. A young brunette woman in a long skirt and heels waited for them, her eyes lighting up as soon as she saw them.
"Ashley!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands and closing the distance to embrace her, ignoring the Guardians completely. Even as tired as she was, she didn't allow herself to be embraced by a strange woman, and stepped back last minute to re-asses who it was.
Immediately, she recognized Sophia as her expression turned from joy to hurt. "Sophia! Wow! Sorry I didn't recognize you!" Ashley apologized, feeling like an absolute dunce for the lapse. "Did you change your hair? You look different somehow."
They embraced, and Sophia pulled away to embrace Mako. He stiffened, but allowed it. "Nope!" she replied as she pulled away. "Same as always. I'm her sister by the way, Sophia."
"Mako," said the poor demon.
"You've got an interview later, don't you?" Mako nodded, and Sophia took the duffel from Mako's hands. "You look exhausted. If you want, you can crash for a bit beforehand, and then either I or Ashley can take you over there. You'll do better if you're rested."
"I can take him," Ashley piped up. "There's something I need to do anyway."
Sophia shrugged and led them to the car. Once they were in, Ashley turned to her sister. "So I hear you're a powerful psychic."
Sophia beamed as she started the car. "Jealous?"
Ashley scoffed, and glanced back at Mako in the back seat. He was staring out the window, though, lost in his thoughts. Likely the memories of what had just transpired. She knew she would have trouble sleeping that night, too. "Nah," Ashley replied to Sophia's question. "You enjoy that."
"You have no interest?" Sophia asked as she pulled out of her parking space.
"Absolutely none."
Their banter continued for the rest of the drive, a careless banter that was only achieved through years and years of sisterly history. She knew she'd likely get an ear-ful once she got home, but for a moment, she was safe and everything was okay.
The house looked the same as ever, sitting on Beckett Drive beneath a sky of gray. White face and gray doors so dark they looked black. The shrubs in front were still manicured into their little rectangle shapes. The gold details on the gate leading up to the front stoop still shone even in the dull weather. 212 Beckett Drive hadn't changed in the six months since Ashley had last seen it; it was what was inside that had changed. Or maybe, it had changed much longer ago and she had just never noticed? She really didn't want to entertain that idea at all.
She'd been standing across the street staring at it for the last twenty minutes after dropping Mako off at his interview and showing him where to go. Her father had spoken to her once they got home and Mako crashed upstairs, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it might be. And once Mako had woken, it was like he'd decided not to dwell on the incident, and had made no mention of it; it was back to business as usual.
So now she watched the house, wondering about what was inside. Wondering if she had the courage to cross the street, open the gate, and knock at the door. She'd had the courage to stand up to a bunch of Guardians at Heathrow, but that wasn't the same - she'd been reacting to them mistreating Mako. This was different.
If people gave her strange looks for watching the house, she had no recollection of it. She could remember when that house was purchased. The joy that Emily had felt to finally have a place of her own with her son and the love of her life. She could remember Christmases shared there with her parents and her sister in the living room, Christmas tree filling the bay windows that overlooked the perfectly manicured lawn out back. Daniel had proposed to Sophia almost two Christmases previously in that very living room. She herself had spent many weekends in one of the four guest bedrooms that they had, lounging about in her robe and making breakfast with the residents before heading back over to Cambridge. It was where she stayed when she needed to come to London but didn't want her parents making a fuss. 212 Beckett Drive had become a second home to her in just three short years. Emily had become a second sister. And she adored Derrick.
Now, as she gazed upon it across the street, it hit her that it was just a normal house. Just a regular house that housed regular people. People no one knew harbored hatred against anyone else until they showed their true colors.
But he was still family.
Ashley was glad she'd thought to grab her heavier coat; there was a chill in the air that whispered that winter was undeniably right around the corner.
The front door opened, then. She knew that it had a squeak to it, like something haunted, but from where she stood, she couldn't hear it. A man stepped out and shoved his hands into the pockets of his navy slacks as he leaned against the doorway of the house, watching her.
Blonde hair was pushed back and gelled into place. He wore his usual navy slacks with his usual navy blazer, and from where she stood, a shirt light in color, maybe blue? He liked wearing blue on blue. Had liked it since he was a teen and they were still living in Waltham Forest.
From where she stood, she couldn't see his gray eyes, so dark that they looked more blue than gray. She couldn't see the little scar that marked his jaw on the left side of his face. The door jam he leaned against hid the Longines watch she had bought him for his twenty-first birthday. It had a dark leather band and a silver face with blue numerals. She'd wanted to get him a watch with a navy face, since navy was always his favorite color, but she had seen that watch and it had been perfect for him. The watch that she'd saved to buy him for three years because it was nearly four thousand pounds and had to borrow the last one hundred from Sophia because she was short. It was the watch he never took off except to shower and sleep and if he didn't have it on he was scatter-brained and worried all day. She was also too far away to see his socks, but she knew they likely had tiny flowers on them because he'd always loved wearing socks that didn't quite match his put-together look and Emily liked flowers, anyway. He liked to wear things that reminded him of his two favorite people.
She'd know her brother anywhere.
"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come in?" Oliver finally called to her. His voice carried across the street, easily.
A lump formed in her throat. "Would you even want to see me?"
"You're my sister," he said simply. "Of course I do."
She crossed the street and opened the gate unceremoniously. An action she had done a thousand times before, all without worry about what might await her inside that house. How would she get along with her brother? By now he had to know of her connection to the demons, either from his own intelligence, or from one of her family members. Surely he knew of the Dean's College upcoming benefit. For the first time in her life, Ashley wondered if her relationship with her brother was damaged beyond repair and how they would get along face to face. And even if their relationship wasn't damaged beyond repair, how could she possibly condone his behavior toward the very people she loved and longed to protect?
She couldn't just ignore the fact that he hated demons. Even if it went unspoken between them, she could not see herself remaining friends with anyone who harbored such a hatred to see another being as being lesser, or even killed. She could not stand by idly and be okay with that type of opinion.
Even when it was Isla. Her best friend.
Or even if it was her own flesh and blood.
There were ways to get past differences of opinion such as, "I don't eat meat," or "I don't like her boyfriend." Differences of opinion were a different matter than this. When a person's existence was threatened, human or demon, whether spoken aloud or by unspoken opinion, she could not fathom accepting that opinion as anything other than what it was. Anything else could be swept under the rug, never spoken about, avoided at all costs to avoid a fight. Don't like the boyfriend? Make sure your friend is happy and that he doesn't abuse her. Voice your concerns, but otherwise keep your opinion to yourself. Don't like her boyfriend because he's a demon and you think of them as lesser than you and something that should be killed or otherwise harmed? You're a shitty person and need to re-examine your morals.
Brother or no, she couldn't be friends with a shitty person. But she had to see him face to face, whether to get to the root of his opinion - was it a front? - if so, that's still shitty, but could ultimately be forgiven. Or was it how he actually felt?
She had to know for certain.
But really, she wanted to say goodbye, because if it was, actually, the latter of the two, she wanted to say goodbye at least. As heartbreaking as it was. As much as she hated it. Because Oliver's hatred of demons, if that really was what it was, could not coincide with her love for her friends. With her love for Hiei.
No one forced her to do this. Hiei was in support of whatever she decided, but she felt this for herself.
Oliver held the door open for her as she crossed the threshold, a hesitant smile hovering at the corners of his lips. He shut the door just the same, the door squeaking again as he did, and they stared at each other for a moment before Ashley remembered her jacket and shrugged it off. Oliver took it just as quickly and hung it up.
Ashley swallowed, heart pounding, and glanced around the entry hall of the house. It was just the same as she had remembered. She'd met Knox for the first time six months ago in this very foyer. "Is Emily here?" She asked, her voice softer than she would have liked. She would have loved to see the ebony-skinned woman, but also knew that this conversation would go better if her sister-in-law weren't there.
Why did her brother have to be a stranger? She could have sobbed with the wrong-ness of the idea, but she kept it together.
"She and Derrick are visiting Derrick's grandmother," Oliver said, also shrugging out of his blazer and hanging it up on a hanger in the same coat closet. "I've only just gotten back myself." Even though she had once moved through that house with ease, she followed him through the house.
"You were out?" For whatever reason when her father had said all those months ago that Oliver was taking some time, she hadn't really thought of him doing anything else than visiting Scotland. Of course he would continue his life.
He rolled up his sleeves as he went to the kitchen sink to wash them. "Business," he said with a grin. Just as she had suspected on the street, he wore a white button-up shirt with light blue vertical lines down the shirt. Always the blue-on-blue with him. It was so… Oliver.
A breath escaped her that she didn't realize she'd been holding. He was her brother. No need to be nervous.
"What brings you into town?" Watching him wash his hands, she realized, not for the first time, how handsome he was. In the traditional sense. Not seeing him for so long, though, brought all the details about him to light that she never really paid attention to.
He was tall. Even taller than their father, and broad across the chest. He stayed in shape, too. A sprinkling of freckles ran across his nose and the back of his forearms. As she glanced down at his arms, though, a thin black line on his skin caught her attention, peeking out from beneath his rolled sleeves.
Realizing he'd asked her a question, however, she stammered to catch up, "Oh, uh… The Dean's - The Dean's College is putting on a benefit." As she spoke the words, though, she realized there was no way to avoid where the conversation was about to head. "… For the victims of the Guardian-led attacks."
"That's good. You should stand up for what you believe in. Don't let anyone shake you." She didn't respond. He glanced over his shoulder at her as he put on a kettle of tea. "I'm not going to bite your head off for that, you know."
Embarrassment flooded her. She shifted, drawing in breath to steady herself. "Well, I don't know … I feel like I don't know you anymore. I don't know what you believe."
"Is that why you came here?" He turned, and leaned against the cabinets to watch her. Unable to maintain eye contact at that moment, Ashley turned her back on him and meandered through the living room just a few paces away from the kitchen. The kitchen overlooked one white sofa and two arm chairs. A tv was mounted over the fireplace against the far wall, and a Persian rug was soft beneath her feat. The bay windows where the Christmas tree stood during winter holiday sat behind the arm chairs. They stretched from floor to ceiling, two floors up. The balcony of the second floor overlooked the living room. Beyond the window's curtains, skies darkened with incoming rain, and drenched the living room in shadow as well. Photos decorated the space. Photos of family together, of Oliver and Emily, of Derrick, and Ashley walked through the living room-turned gallery.
"I'm here to find out, yes, but to say goodbye, too, if what I fear is true." The words tumbled out before she could stop them, but there they were. She glanced up from her looking. Oliver's face had nearly crumpled with her words, and his usual confident posture had nearly caved. Sadness flooded her. How desperately she wanted everything she knew not to be true.
Silence stretched between them, and eventually she looked back down, unable to handle the emotion that threatened to spill. The kettle started screaming. Oliver turned, and with his attention elsewhere, Ashley quickly dried her eyes and took several deep breaths, covering her sudden emotion by continuing to look over the photographs. One in particular caught her eye.
Footsteps behind her told her that he approached. The light clink of china against the glass coffee table told her he'd set their tea down. A moment later, a light flipped on behind her as thunder rumbled far away.
She turned, and took in her brother. Her sibling that she'd always been closest to. The one member of her family that she knew better than herself.
He'd composed his expression as well, but he looked nervous, almost. With a huff of a breath, he stood before her and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. The sliver of a dark line took shape, and two rapiers became visible. Two rapiers crossed in an X. The latin phrase, vita in morte was scrawled between them. Life in Death.
Isla had told her this, hadn't she? When they'd met for their trip just over a month ago. How had it only been a month?
But she remembered. The tattoo was obvious. She cursed, her stomach dropping out. It was worse than she thought. A chill ran through her. "You're a Guardian?" she whispered.
Oliver's teeth clenched, and he rolled his sleeve back down. "I'm near the top." He said it without pride or disdain, like they were discussing the weather.
"Dammit Oliver." He sat and reached for his cup of tea. The blow hadn't paused, though. The support nearly fell out of her legs, but she caught herself on the fireplace mantle, her hand grasping at the painted wood. Right next to the face she hadn't seen in years. "And what do you think he would think of this, huh?" She took the frame from the mantle and crossed the room, tossing it into her brother's lap.
Two men looked up at Oliver from inside the frame. They were grinning, delighted, and unequivocally in love. "Charlie wouldn't want you to do this."
Charles Rivas. Charlie. Ashley watched her brother's expression twist. He nearly tossed his cup of tea to the side, but sat it down back on it's saucer. "Charlie is the reason I am," he said stiffly, handing the frame back to her. When she didn't take it, he set it on the coffee table. Just to get it away from him.
Ashley glowered at him. "Why? He fought for demon equality, as did you if I remember once upon a time." She remembered it perfectly. It was her first visit to the University of Edinburgh, where Oliver was getting his master's. He brought her up, just as he promised he would back during that party. Charlie was studying there too. He and Charlie had been engaged since Cambridge, where they had originally met and dated. By the time it was passed in 2014, they were one of the first couples to be wed. So, when Ashley came up to visit them in the Spring of 2015, they had been wed for a full year, and Scotland had recognized their marriage for three months. That was the same trip she'd met Emily for the first time, too. They had all been friends. And Charlie was determined to change the world and spread tolerance for demons. Oliver and Emily were part of it too, as well as some demons that also went to the University. They petitioned to governments, and spoke at events. Ashley remembered how cool she thought they all were.
Oliver looked up, his expression dark. "And he was killed by demons, too."
"That doesn't make it alright to hate them! One demon doesn't speak for all of them. Not all demons are bad!" She started to walk away, but turned on her heel. "I don't even know who you are anymore."
"You know me. You know me the best out of everyone else. Only Charlie knew me better." Ashley stiffened and nearly turned away. She could barely even bring herself to look at him.
"Do I though?" she spat, shaking her head. "I don't even recognize you anymore."
Oliver's tone changed, then. Angry. Frustrated. "I don't know; do you? I thought you knew me. What I was capable of. Maybe I was wrong."
"I cannot even fathom how you could do something like this. I've never known you to be this person!" She hissed, venom spitting.
He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it just as quickly. He looked pained, as if whatever he wanted to say was causing him great pain in not saying it.
She took a steadying breath, hands on her hips. Anger still flashed through her, though. She couldn't look at him. "And…" she took another breath. "And Emily? Does she know?"
Surely she didn't. She couldn't imagine the woman staying with her brother otherwise.
"She knows." Ashley's stomach dropped out.
"And she's okay with it?" Ashley asked, incredulous.
Oliver shook his head. "She's not. She hates me for it."
"So she's not part of it, then."
"No," Oliver replied, glancing down and shaking his head once. His right hand found the band of his watch and he twisted it on his wrist. A nervous habit. "She refuses to be."
"Well that's good at least," Ashley muttered. Silence fell upon them, and in that silence, so did the weight of Oliver's truth. As much as she hated herself for it, a sob escaped from between her lips, tears finally gathering in her eyes for him to see. Try as she might to keep it steady, even her voice shook. She needed to get out of there. At that moment, she couldn't stand to be in his presence. How he'd fallen. "I'll never stop fighting you."
His jaw clenched, but his eyes became red as he fought his own tears. She could nearly hear the very fabric of space ripping a chasm between them. "I'll never stop fighting everything you stand for."
He stood, then, anxiously tapping his hand against his leg as he glared at her, as if fighting himself on something. He crossed the few paces to her and embraced her, slowly, as if afraid she would pull away. As much as she didn't want to be hugged right then by him, she also knew that if she pushed him away she would regret it for the rest of her days. So, she allowed the hug, and hugged him back. Breathing him in. Feeling his arms holding her together. Pretending, even if just for a moment, that she didn't know the truth. That it was just a hug from her brother. That this earth-shattering revelation was still a secret. For just a moment. It would be the last hug from him, she knew. At least until he woke up. And it wasn't her job to wake him up. That thought alone sent her teetering dangerously near the edge of breaking down completely.
Oliver leaned his head against hers as he clutched his little sister. "Good." He whispered into her hair, and squeezed her tighter.
At one point while they where growing up, he would have cried, "Sister germs!" and forced her away, but in that moment, he let her pull away first. And when she did, she didn't look up at him. Didn't say anything. She tried to hold herself together, for she felt she was falling apart. She felt like she was falling into that chasm between them, and if she wasn't, she wanted to. How desperately she wanted to.
"Goodbye, Oliver."
Tea forgotten, she quickly walked back through the house, grabbed her coat from the closet and threw it on, and opened the front door. It squeaked, and it made her stop again, the sound grounding her for half a second, long enough to pause and look back to him. He hadn't moved. His shirt was rumpled from where she'd hugged him, and wetness from her tears stained it from where tears had soaked in. He looked broken, her brother. Her brother who had been her best friend. Her brother who knew her better than she knew herself. Her brother who always knew how to fix everything.
Everything but his morals.
Ashley shut the door behind her and ran down the steps, throwing the gate open and sprinting down the block until she came to an alley and threw herself against the brick, her heart shattering.
It had taken several minutes to compose herself, but by the time she did, she was drenched. It had started raining while she cried in that alley, and though she'd thought to grab her heavier coat, she hadn't thought to grab an umbrella. Absentmindedly, she wished she'd grabbed one of Oliver's, but that thought just sent her into another good cry. So by the time she was finished, eyes puffy and red, and nose as red as her eyes, she was nearly soaked.
Rather than walking the twenty minutes to the Dean's College, she hailed a cab and rode there, apologizing to the cabby of messing his seats. By the end of the short journey, he was just happy to get her out of his cab.
The Dean's College hadn't changed much at all. Contrary to it's name, it wasn't connected to a college at all, but instead consisted of two small independent buildings. One was the concert hall, the second was a multi-storied building with offices, recording studios, and practice rooms. Mako was in Laurie's office, she knew. He would be the one to conduct the initial interview and audition, as he did with all the prospective members. His office was hidden in a back hallway that many people thought was a janitor's hall. How many times had she, herself, gotten lost trying to find his office in her early days with the college?
His door was still shut, so she leaned against the wall. The College was quiet except for the low voices murmuring on the other side of the door.
It was another thirty minutes before the door opened, and she'd sunk down to the floor long ago. Quickly, she rose, and greeted her, his eyes alight. Before she could even ask how it went, she heard her name.
"Ashley." Laurie's voice caught her attention. He was hanging onto the wall with one hand, as if he had grabbed it to stop his momentum, and was leaning into the hallway. "A word?"
Ashley held up a finger to Mako to ask, "one minute?" Mako nodded, and turned to lean against the wall as he waited for her.
Ashley followed Laurie into his office, shutting the door behind her. He walked around his desk, and leaned over his chair, bracing his hands on it. The veins in his forearms stood out, and the white button up he wore stretched over his muscled chest. Greying blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and the beginnings of a beard sprinkled over his jaw. When she was in high school she'd had the biggest crush on the man, but even pushing fifty he was still handsome.
"Laurie?" Ashley asked for a moment. Wondering about the seriousness of him. He was never this serious.
"Unofficially," he began, finally straightening. "He's in."
"Really?" Ashley gasped, excitement flooding her. She wouldn't be able to say anything, of course, which would be torture, but this secret she would keep.
Laurie was laughing, mirth in his eyes. "He's good, Ashley. Really good. I haven't seen this level of talent in years."
"Really?" Ashley asked again, in awe. She had known Mako was talented, but Laurie had seen hundreds if not of talented musicians join the Dean's College in the twenty or so years he'd been working with them.
"He's an absolute natural. A prodigy, perhaps." Laurie quietened for a moment, thinking. "What are your plans after this year? I know you're teaching in Japan now, but what will you do when the year is complete in March?"
His question took her aback. Stumbling, she said, "I actually hadn't given it much thought yet. That's still six months away."
Laurie nodded, taking it in. "Well, listen," he began. "If you're interested, the Dean's College would like to hire you full time, first, to stick around to get Mako to a better level of English, but also to join our symphony." Shock slowly filled Ashley, and it took every ounce of determination she had to concentrate on what Laurie was saying. "You'd still need to audition and interview, of course, but our pianist just filed for retirement, and if you're still as good as you were before, we could use your skill."
Speechless. Absolutely speechless. Ashley's heart soared. This was what she'd been wanting for years, really. To be able to have a career making music. To have a career playing professionally.
But - that would mean moving back to England. That would mean leaving her friends, and… would Hiei still be able to visit her if she lived in England? How would their relationship work if that were the case? Going into her teaching year abroad, she had known it would only be for a year, and then she would return to London and find a career. A break of sorts, to get her feet wet in the real world, and then return to work. But all of the relationships and ties she'd made in Japan. She hadn't thought about the end of that experience in so long, it felt like a foreign concept. Did she even want to leave at the end of the year? Her family was in England and her friends were in Japan. But where did she want to be?
Laurie was smiling, watching her. "I can tell you're thinking. I can see the wheels in your head turning. But take your time. Think it over, and let me know, and we can audition and interview you at Christmas. I assume you're coming back for that, right?"
Ashley was nodding even before he finished.
"Second," he continued with a smile at her enthusiasm, "You remember Kabir Dara? He just had a death in the family and had to withdraw from the benefit. With it being tomorrow, we're a little cramped to find anyone so short-notice. We were wondering if you would be willing to play on your own tomorrow?"
She excitement she had felt only moments prior drained out of her as her heart stopped and panic crept in. "You mean… play tomorrow?" Laurie nodded, hands still braced against the chair. "But I haven't prepared anything!"
"What if you did that one piece you were always so good at?" He thought for a moment, his brows scrunched in thought. "That Chopin piece… you know, the one that won you all those awards?"
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. "The Fantaisie Impromptu?"
Laurie snapped his fingers and straightened. "That's the one! You still have it memorized?"
Surely this was a joke. "I haven't played that in years."
"You've got twenty five hours to practice?" he was trying to lighten her panic, she knew, but just the proposition of picking up that piece again after so long was an enormous ask. One much bigger than just twenty five hours. Less, really, if you counted dress rehearsal that began in just eighteen hours."Well, hey. It was your most popular performance. Whatever you decide on, though, I need it by the time I get out of here."
He always left at seven. Ashley checked her watch, blanching. "You mean in two hours."
Laurie shrugged. "Family deaths are never convenient."
Four hours.
Ashley had been practicing for the four hours into the night after dinner had concluded. Sophia curled up in the armchair across from where the piano was, reading a book and twirling a strand of hair around her fingers. A glass of whiskey sat forgotten on the table next to her. Mako had spread out on the floor. Not that there wasn't a seat on the couch for him, but he preferred the floor to spread out his interview notes. His second interview wasn't for another two days, but with the concert the next day, he knew that would take all of his attention. At the grand piano sat Ashley, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up pouring over the sheet music scattered across the piano, trying desperately to re-memorize a piece she hadn't played in close to four years. Across the house, a door open and shut, and a few moments later Hiei appeared at the entryway of the room.
"What is that obnoxious noise?" He groused, and the notes came to a haphazard halt as she reached for one of the pages buried beneath others.
"I don't think I've ever seen you actually use the front door," Ashley said instead of an actual reply.
"Yes you have. I used it when you and I were still a joke."
She didn't even look up at him. "Oh, you're right…" several minutes passed as she studied the sheet in her hand. A pencil poked at her bottom lip as she read over the music. Finally came a slow, "Never mind."
"Good to see you too, Hiei," Sophia said from the armchair, finally looking up. She hadn't changed since the last time he'd seen her. Her right hand held her page in the book, but she wore a tired smile.
"I thought you'd be in bed," Hiei said, the comment aimed at Ashley, but she was lost in her own thoughts. Instead, Sophia replied:
"We would be, except Laurie volun-told Ashley to play at the benefit tomorrow so we're keeping her company."
Before Hiei could formulate a reply, an exhausted groan came from the piano."I'm pretty sure Chopin wrote this piece to torture me."
"Yes, Ashley," Sophia replied casually, rolling her eyes and turning back to her book. "Chopin wrote that piece specifically to torture you."
"The sixteenth notes against the triplets make me want to cry," Ashley mumbled. Truly, she only barely felt like crying, but the frustration was there. She was just being dramatic. Another hour and she'd have it down again. Really, the polyrhythm was easy. She'd excelled in technical pieces for years. It was just getting the feel of the piece down again and remembering where her hands went. The muscle memory was just a little buried under four and a half years of a physics degree and teaching English.
"You were the best at this piece once upon a time," Sophia reminded her.
"And you'll be the best at it again," Mako said quietly from the floor. Ashley shot a smile at him.
Hiei kept his mouth shut and crossed the room to stand behind Ashley to take a closer look at what it was she was working on. In her left hand she held the music and her right traced over the keys, sometimes hitting a note or two as she went over the allusive rhythms for what felt like the millionth time that night. If she'd had a full day to prepare she could do it no problem, but sound check was at eleven tomorrow morning and she knew that as jet-lagged as she was she would want to sleep in tomorrow, so she was still up practicing so she wouldn't have to worry so much tomorrow.
She felt Hiei behind her, his body a ghost of a touch. How much did she want to curl up with him in bed and drift off to sleep, so she pulled away from him. "I need to finish this."
A low curse slipped from between his lips. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Is there even white on that page or did a pen explode?" She couldn't keep the smile at bay when he said that. It wasn't that bad; she'd played worse. She tilted her head back to look at him. His scarlet eyes met hers. "You can read that?" Awe filled his voice.
It was hard to talk with her head at the angle it was, so she simply said, "Yep."
He leaned down to kiss her, squeezing her arms in a light embrace as he did. His scent washed over her; he'd been to Demon World. She would recognize that scent anywhere these days.
He didn't linger, but instead slipped away and sat on the floor next to her and leaned back against the leg of the piano.
"Hey Sophia!" Ashley called out her sister's name, drawing out the last syllable. A moment later, her sister peeked her head into Ashley's room.
"Trying on your dress for tonight?"
"Yes!" Ashley groaned, trying at the zipper again and groaning in frustration. "But the zipper is stuck. Help?"
Sophia smiled gently and crossed the room. Ashley turned back to the mirror. It was the dress she'd performed in time and time again. For events like this, she would wear whatever color of dress she wanted, and yet she'd always found luck in playing in black dresses. The dress she'd worn through high school and that one year at the beginning of university, was simple enough. Floor-length, and opaque, except the top. Lace covered her shoulders and had three-quarter length lace sleeves. Ashley gathered her hair in her hands so Sophia could hopefully get the zipper to close, but after a moment of Sophia's hands fluttering at her back, she stepped to the side to appraise Ashley.
"Of course it's not closing," Sophia remarked, and Ashley let her hair drop, the blood racing back into her arms. "No one weighs the same as they did before uni."
Ashley rolled her eyes with a huff. "Load of help you are!" Hands on her hips, she glanced at the dress in the mirror. She'd wondered if this would happen when she went into her closet to find it. She knew she didn't weigh the same as high school, but she also wasn't fat. Still, did she want to wear the exact same thing as she had five years ago? Not particularly, but the dress rehearsal was in two hours and the concert began in six. Hiei had left an hour previously to do whatever it was he was doing to prepare for the battle in just a week.
"Do you have anything?" She turned to her sister, who was watching her with affection. Sophia immediately shook her head.
"Not a thing. But I'll go with you if you like to find something?"
Fifteen minutes later, Ashley had found Mako, who was heading over to the concert hall early to practice, and the three of them they were racing out the front door. But as they opened it, they nearly collided into the man entering in the process.
"Daniel-? What on earth!" Ashley took only a moment to regain her bearings and attack Daniel in a hug. Sophia's fiance, and Isla's… Isla's brother. She released the poor man, and stepped back. "What are you doing here?"
For all of Isla's charm, she looked more like her mother. Whereas Daniel looked more like their father. They both had dark hair and brown eyes, but it Daniel's heritage was more obvious - his Mexican-American blood shone through. Isla had always been more fair-skinned. It had been less obvious for her. Daniel wasn't too much taller than Sophia, and his hair stuck up in every direction, mussed from the wind. Circle glasses slipped down his nose as he pushed them back up.
He was smiling as Sophia stepped around Ashley and gave him a quick kiss.
"Well, I was just coming over for breakfast - Sophia mentioned you were in town, but I guess you're on your way out?"
"Yeah, my dress doesn't fit. We're heading out to try to find something else before rehearsal."
"Ashley." Mako caught her attention, speaking Japanese. "I'll see you there?"
"Oh hey, yeah. Sorry man!" Daniel stepped out of his way.
For a moment, Ashley was completely lost as to why Mako was staring at Daniel as if he'd grown a second head.
As it dawned on her through, she turned to Daniel. "Wait. Last I checked, you couldn't speak Japanese?"
"Ah, yes," the man shuffled uncomfortably. "I seem to have the ability to translate languages. Anyone who's in my vicinity can understand each other. Been something I've been honing recently." He tried not to look too proud, but the pleasure he had at being able to control his ability shone through.
"That would have been helpful to know yesterday," Mako muttered, turning back to Ashley briefly. Ashley nearly choked in laughter. Dinner the night prior had been difficult, trying to catch up with her parents and play translator for Mako.
"Daniel," the man stuck his hand out to Mako. The young demon took it and replied with his own name. "Nice to meet you!"
"And you," Mako replied stiffly, as he turned back to Ashley. "I'm going on over. See you there?" Ashley nodded and Mako slipped out the door, leaving Ashley and Sophia alone in the foyer with Daniel.
Daniel continued once the door clicked shut behind Mako. "You know, Isla was actually working on learning this skill when…"
Ashley should have caught his sudden hesitation to finish the sentence, but something else caught her attention instead. "Wait, Isla had psychic power?"
Thinking back to their vacation at the end of August, Isla had never brought it up.
Daniel nodded, somewhat sober. "She had a sound ability. Sound waves and such. Her boyfriend, Arnold, pulled it to the surface."
Ashley was connecting the dots as he spoke. "Arnold was a powerful demon?" How could she not have known all of this about her best friend? Daniel was nodding. "I'd love to meet him. Is he in town this weekend?" The prospect of getting to meet him - and for a moment feel a little closer to Isla, was nearly overwhelming.
Daniel shifted, uncomfortably. "He, uh… he was traveling at the same time Isla was. They were supposed to meet up at Heathrow on their way back in." Daniel didn't have to say what came next. "He died in Heathrow as well."
She'd never even met the man, but knowing he was gone, too, was like someone swept her legs out from under her. The idea that she might feel close to Isla again, even if just for a moment, had been brief, but it had been powerful. She was gone. It was as simple as that. She nodded, and coughed, once, to clear the lump in her throat. "And how are you doing?"
He nodded before he spoke. Sophia slipped a hand around his waist. "Better." He didn't say anything more on the topic, and who could blame him? His little sister had been killed.
She couldn't imagine losing one of her siblings-
But she caught herself, but not soon enough to avoid another lump to form in her throat. She had lost a sibling, hadn't she? It was better than losing him to the finality of death, though.
"You're welcome to stay, Daniel," Sophia spoke next to him. "I should only be gone an hour or so, and I'll be back until the benefit. He nodded.
"It was good to see you, Ashley," Daniel tried to look happy and chase away the black cloud that had descended upon the conversation, but Ashley couldn't seem to match the same happiness, try as she might.
Still, she and Sophia slipped from the house and made their way over to her favorite dress shop. After trying on dresses for an hour, she found one that worked well enough, made her purchase, and she and Sophia went their separate ways.
Dress rehearsal was a lot of waiting around. The performers listened to how it would work - only two were new to the benefit structure, Mako included - and then each performer took the stage to practice their piece and the sound crew made sure everything sounded okay. Same with the lighting guys. A camera crew set up in the back, and tested their equipment. Of course it would be recorded, and likely broadcasted, too. Really, it wasn't anything new. When it was a benefit like this, the College liked to broadcast to one or more stations. It increased donations.
She went through the Fantaisie Impromptu without fanfare, and then Mako joined her on stage for their piece. Once they were done, they were done until the evening. Nearly two o'clock Mako left his violin in Ashley's dressing room, and they left the concert hall to head back to the house to grab a few last-minute things and relax.
Mako had this audition - the formal audition - and then a final interview in front of a panel of College members tomorrow. "After this I'm halfway there," he remarked quietly from his seat in the cab.
His somber tone caught Ashley's attention. "Are you nervous?"
"No," he replied. "But I don't know what I'll do if I don't get this."
He tore his gaze from the window he leaned against, and glanced at Ashley, who offered him a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine," she replied, biting her tongue from telling him what Laurie had told her just yesterday. He would do more than fine, she knew. "I've heard you play. You're incredible. And our piece is incredible. You wrote that."
Mako finally chuckled. "We wrote it."
Ashley rolled her eyes. "No, you dork. We came up with an idea. You brought it to life."
The Jagan hated most of Europe. The parts where magick had once reined free, and the United Kingdom was teeming with it. The magick clashed with his Jagan, and it made locating Ashley extremely difficult. Really, the only thing that saved him was the cell phone he had. The Jagan was nearly useless, and almost not worth the effort it took to use it for location purposes here.
His phone chimed, and he glanced at it - Sophia, asking for a word before he went in. That was fine. He would arrive in plenty of time.
Everything was taken care of. At least for the next couple of days. He could take a moment to enjoy this time with Ashley, what might be their last weekend together -
No. He refused to think like that.
But even so, the thoughts still rose at times, unbidden. The fact was this: the battle was planned for one week from tomorrow. Next Saturday would change everything. Not everyone would make it home. They knew that every time they went into battle. He had known that fact since his earliest days. Blood would be spilled, and there was little anyone could do to change it. Who would be cut down, however, was unknown. Hopefully as many of the Legion as possible.
Ashley, Mako, and the Wright family were already at the concert hall, and he headed straight there. The benefit had begun nearly an hour previously, but he really only wanted to go to see her. She was playing close to 7:30, he knew, so he would get there by then.
He dropped to the ground in front of the concert hall, a figure waiting for him. "Thought you wouldn't make it," Sophia said in greeting.
"I'm here," he replied. "What's going on?"
"I figured you'd rather us talk away from Ashley," she replied, leaning on the balcony. A garden sprawled beneath, but Hiei knew she didn't much care about it. He nodded. She'd been right about that. "Something is coming," she began, crossing her arms. She wore a nice enough floor-length dress, green in color, though Hiei didn't notice it immediately. Her words sent off alarm bells in his head. Before he could open her mouth, she plowed on. "I just got notice of it today."
"From your source."
She nodded, her expression neutral. They both knew Hiei wouldn't push as to who her source was. She wouldn't divulge.
"Do you know what it is?" He asked instead.
She shook her head, brunette curls bouncing. She'd kept her hair down, bangs swept back away from her face. "No, but I know it's a Guardian-led attack. We haven't heard much from the Legion. They're unaware of your plans, too, if you're curious."
He knew, as soon as she said it, that he should have been. That that thought should have occurred to him, to ask Sophia, but Kurama was usually the one to think of things like that, not him.
He stayed quiet, but nodded in appreciation. "We're thinking the go-ahead will come in the next few days."
"You'll let me know?" He confirmed, but he didn't need to. She would, and Sophia murmured her reply as such. "She still hasn't made any decisions, you know," Hiei continued, relaxing a little. For a moment, he could relax. Nothing was coming to get them. At least not in that moment.
Sophia quirked a brow at him. "You told me on your porch a month ago - respect her decision. She hasn't made any big decisions."
Sophia smiled, crossing her feet at the ankle and breathed in amusement, a soft puff of air through her nose. "She will." She paused for a heart beat. "You know, Spirit World is beginning their punishment." That caught his attention. "It took Ashley much too long to recognize me when I picked her up yesterday."
"You're sure it's Spirit World's influence?"
"Who else could it be?" Sophia shrugged. "I broke their laws, so I'll be punished. In the worst way possible."
Hiei barely paused. "I'll make sure she remembers you, anyway."
That got a chuckle, even if it was humorless. "Probably not a good idea, but I appreciate you. Just let them get what they want and it'll all be over sooner, and it won't drag on."
Hiei clenched his jaw. He didn't agree, but it was better not to argue with the woman - much like her younger sister. He could always do the opposite later.
He and Sophia finished their conversation amicably, and she pointed him toward Ashley's dressing room. He knocked twice, and entered the room. Mako lounged on the couch while Ashley sat at the vanity. Upon seeing Hiei enter the room, Mako rose. "I'll see you out there," he said, and Ashley smiled as he left, passing Hiei with a curt nod.
The door shut behind him, and Hiei took her in. Ashley rose from her place on the vanity's bench, the black dress spilling to the floor like silken water.
He hadn't noticed Sophia's dress, but he noticed Ashley's. It was a one-shoulder piece, with diamonds or rhinestones in a pattern on her right shoulder, hidden beneath soft waves that she'd gathered on that side. Her hair was also gathered to the same side. Her make up was done, and she barely looked the same, but in the same breath, she looked more grown up than he'd ever seen her.
Suddenly, he was very aware that he'd decided to fore go the tux she'd offered him the night before and had come straight from training in his usual black cloak.
"You're quiet," she remarked as he crossed the room to her.
"I'm debating ripping that dress off of you," he whispered in her ear with a growl, his hands snaking over her hips.
A small laugh escaped her lips. "You better not. This is the only one I have and I go out in fifteen."
"Fifteen… minutes?" Hiei growled and kissed her, catching her bottom lip between his teeth. Absentmindedly he hoped she wasn't wearing lipstick, but rather one of her lip stains.
Oh well.
Her breath caught, and he kissed her, his tongue meeting hers. A hand found its way into her hair, careful to slip under her pony tail, and careful not to muss her hair. His other hand found her buttock and pulled her to his body, roughly. In his cloak, she couldn't slip her hands to his body, but instead, she did grasp his neck, and the other wrapped around his waist. He was certain she could feel him throbbing. Oh, but she looked heavenly. And they hadn't had sex in nearly a week. It took all of his self-control to pull away when a knock came to the door and an attendant stuck her head in.
"Ashley Lynn, you have ten minutes."
A blush rose to her cheeks, as Ashley pulled away from Hiei and thanked the woman. "Will you walk with me?"
He didn't need to be asked twice. He took her hand, and she led him through the hallways and through a door that led to the back of the stage. It was dark and quiet, but Hiei could see nearly perfectly. The performer, a young boy on a saxophone, was playing still, but Ashley took her place at the edge, where she could easily walk on as soon as he was finished. She turned to Hiei, then, and pulled him close, though nothing that was too indecent. They would have fun later, but right then, he just wanted to be in her world.
Breathing deeply, he leaned his head down to her, and she leaned forward so that their foreheads touched, noses centimeters apart.
She breathed in his scent, and he breathed hers. She traced lines against one of his palms, and with her other hand, released his that she'd been holding, bringing it up to wrap around his neck again.
For minutes they stayed like that, letting the sultry sax weave notes that promised good times later.
Too soon, the sax's final note hovered in the air, and went silent, applause filling the space instead, bringing them both back to the present. Ashley pulled away first, a smile playing at her features. Hiei watched her, as she watched him. Behind her, on the stage, the sax player exited the stage, and crewmen rolled out a piano.
"You're next."
- End of Chapter Thirty-Three -
Thank you to JohnGreenGirl for your lovely review and support!
I'll keep this brief, because I've got a friend coming into town for the weekend, and I still need to finish cleaning. I did a quick spell check, but I'll edit it better later. Still, I'm so happy with the way this chapter turned out. I think it's one of my favorites that I've written; I hope you all enjoyed it too! Also, Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu is an actual piece. I hope you go listen to it! (I was reading the comments of it and where Ashley complains about the triplets against the sixteenth notes making her want to cry, someone actually said in the comments section of Youtube, so credit to that person!)
We've only got one more chapter until the end of Part 1, which I hope to also post by the end of this weekend. (If not I will post it before the beginning of next.) So exciting! And with this chapter, I've also passed 200,000 words written for this story, and this chapter is 10,400 itself. Wow. I can't believe we're here.
One final thing, there was a review that a guest left me awhile back that's buried in my reviews now. Since it was a guest, I couldn't respond to the review, but the comment that was made was that even though Isla holds the view of hating demons, Ashley should still respect her opinion. And that even though Ashley holds a different opinion, she should still accept others for their faults and not pressure her beliefs on them. Way back in 2005, there wasn't such a thing as being able to respond privately to reviews, so I would write my replies to each person's reviews in the author's note at the end of each chapter. Since I didn't get to respond to that review privately, I'll do that now publicly. This viewpoint has been bothering me since it was left. If that person is still reading please refer to the scene with Oliver for my opinion on the matter. If you still disagree, please do not message me directly; we will not be able to see eye-to-eye on this matter. And please to anyone else reading this, do not negatively respond to that person if you're to leave reviews as well. This conversation is closed.
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.