The Threshold of Darkness and Light
Chapter 12
"A-are we almost there?" Kina kicked the dirt pathway, causing dust to swirl up into the air. She sighed, part of her was happy about what happened the night before, falling asleep in his warm arms under the starlit sky, but part of her was still afraid. Afraid if he was wrong, afraid they wouldn't get Shui back, afraid she would fail.
"It's ok to be scared." The red head heard the words Nuriko had whispered to her once, long ago.
She perked up a bit, jogging to catch up to Yue. They had driven through three cities, parked their car and where now hiking through forest. Nuriko and Hotohori had been insisting they joined them but it ruled out in the end Kina would be safe with Yue and the two should stay and watch over Shiva. "Are we there YET?!" Kina moaned sarcastically.
"Ta-da! Here we are, at the old coots house!" Yue pulled back a few branches and in front of him stood a simple brick house. It looked as if it was out of place, there was tons of forest and then just a house. It was located about two miles from town but it was built nicely and had a cozy appearance with its gray smoking coming out of its chimney. Green vines with pink flowers crawled up the whitewashed walls. A cement pathway led to the front of the house where an old woman and man were rocking back and forth on a wooden swing, which had been placed on a sturdy porch.
"Yue?! Is that you??" The man jumped up and ran towards the white haired bishonen.
"Hey Gramps!" Yue hugged the old man who then turned to Kina.
"Who's this young vixen?" He laughed and then the old woman joined them. "Lookie who it is, it's Yue!"
"Yue!!" She hugged him.
"Hey Gram! I've missed you guys! I was lucky I finally found the house this time." He laughed. "Oh! This is my wife Kina!"
"Nice to meet you both." Kina bent down and hugged them.
"Nice to meet you too! You hid this from us, eh Yue?" Gram chuckled.
"No! I just..." He stopped.
"We understand! We think we're finally going to settle down and stay here in one place!" Gramps led them into the house.
"So what brings you both here?" Gram joined them in the large living room carrying a tray of drinks.
"It's an important matter." Yue's face grew serious. "Gram- where did you get this necklace?" He held out the silver chain with the key and heart charms.
Gram lifted it up in the air, examining it. Her face grew soft as she touched the two charms and pearl-like tears filled her eyes. Curiosity filled the two 'youngin's' as they watched her face fill with memories.
"Gram?" Yue poked her.
"AAAHHHHHH!" She jumped back, catching her breath. "DON'T DO THAT!" She promptly yanked hard on Yue's ear. "You want me to have a heart attack?! Then my ghost will haunt you!"
He winced softly but kept his temper. "So can you tell us where and how?"
"Yes." Gram looked down then back up at them, clutching the silver necklace in her frail hands. "In my old days, when I was a foxy vixen...."
"You still are! Reow!" Gramps smirked at her, blowing a kiss from across the room.
"Any ways." She blushed, giggling, then went on. Her face had a dreamy-like look. "Before I met your wonderful grandfather I had a dear friend. He was a handsome young man and our parents arranged us to be married. He was a kind, warm-hearted soul. And we were in love. This, I believe, was a man from your bloodline." Gram pointed at Kina. "I can see it in your eyes, that shining light when you're happy. He had that also."
"So we ARE related?!" Kina leapt up, fear in her throat.
"No you whippersnapper! Just listen!" Gramps winked at Kina afterwards, his voice softening.
Gram continued. "As I said, we were to be married. A few months before the wedding, he gave me that necklace. He was always a strange child, I swear he had some kind of power or something but he always knew what I wanted or what was on my mind. He said it was a family heirloom and that his parents considered it priceless, although he didn't know why. He said he wanted the love of his life to have it." The tears trickled down as her face regained the same dreamy-look from before. "I wore that necklace endlessly but then...a week before the wedding...their was some strange incident and he never returned...and later...they found his body..." She was now shaking and the tears flowed faster. They had obviously hit a sensitive spot. "You couldn't even tell it was him...he was so mangled...some cruel person had killed him! They said it was robbers...I think it was something more but did anyone listen to the crazy babbling of a grief stricken girl? No! There was something very fishy about it.....!!! But I never took off that necklace....never! A few years later...I meant your grandfather and experienced love again. I don't regret anything except I wish I knew why he had died. It was too weird for my liking. And his family didn't seem as broken-down by it either. Every time I spoke to them, it was like I was crying in the darkness and nobody would listen to me. They said I was crazy. My parents grew ill a year later and passed on. I refused to return the necklace to his family and it got so bad after my parents died that I left the town, running away. I moved on, marrying your grandfather, having children and I passed the necklace onto your parents." She nodded towards Yue, "And they gave it to you. And you gave it to your wife." Gram finished, wiping up her tears while Gramps was hugging her tenderly.
"It's ok love." Gramps wiped away her tears and Grams smiled.
"I'm sorry." Kina embraced both Gram and Gramps. "Thank you, for your pain of remembering that horrible story, you have helped me a lot. I'll leave you alone for a bit, I need some fresh air any ways." Kina let go of them from her hug then walked out onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. The red head sighed, leaning back on the wooden swing as it rocked back and forth. The door swung open and then shut.
"Hey there! You ok?" Yue sat down next to her, causing the swing to rock backwards.
"Yeah." She leaned forward, letting herself rest again his strong body. "I'm glad we're not related but now I found out my descendents are all psychos!" Kina let out a chuckle, partly laughing but partly fighting tears. "A..are we going to s-save Shui?" She looked up at Yue.
Yue stared into her eyes, which suddenly seemed so profoundly dejected it left him struck dumbfounded. He quickly recovered and replied. "Yeah, we will. After all, "fate" is something you decide yourself." They both sat in a welcoming silence for a few minutes, his words sinking in tediously.
"Are they going to be ok?" Kina nudged her head towards the door of the house.
"Oh yeah! Don't worry about them, they're made of solid stone. It just hurts her a bit to remember. They found happiness somewhere else and in each other. I think that's for the best. Men or women.....whether their companion is an adult or child, should be able to cherish that person as a 'human'. And if people can't do that, it's very hard to understand each other.....and hard to be loved." Yue whispered to her quietly. "Did that make any sense?" He looked down at her.
"Yeah...it did make sense...a lot of sense. And I think it helped me figure out why John has been acting like this." Kina nodded, biting her lip. "I guess we should get going. As long as we have this necklace then John won't do anything to Shui but that isn't a reason not to go get her right now!"
"I agree." Yue stood up. "So what did you figure out about why he's acting like this?"
"I'm not really sure but I don't think he understands how to cherish somebody as a 'human' because after mom and dad died he was pretty much on his own and even before then he rejected them and hated the fact that he was half bishonen." Kina sighed. "This is making my head hurt!!"
"Aww..." Yue laughed, poking her forehead.
"What are those two doing?" Grams walked out on the porch. The two quickly sat up straight.
"Are you ok now Gram?" Yue asked, his face appearing very concerned.
"Of course! Takes more than that to bring me down you!!" The four all laughed and Gramps along with Gram sat on two wooden chairs near the swing.
"I should tell you about the time Yue was three...ho-ho-ho! It was so funny! He found his mother's old dolls! Oh he was dressing them up for hours!" Gramps burst into laughter at his own words. Kina giggled, trying to conceal her amusement for Yue's sake.
"Shut up! I was stupid and little!" Yue felt all the blood rush to his face, causing his cheeks to turn a bright red.
"And then he was supposed to get a bath, ran around the house with his little bum jiggling!!" Grams smirked then handed the necklace back to Kina. "His favorite movie was The Little Mermaid!! He cried every time Ariel sang that song about humans and when her father blew up the statue of the prince!!!"
By now Kina was grabbing onto her sides, laughing so hard tears sprung to her eyes.
Yue glared at them all. "Stop it!!!!!!" He yelled, not angry but very embarrassed.
"No, please, keep going!" Kina managed to say in between giggles.
"Traitor!" Yue glared at her then chuckled at how red her face was from laughing. But then he imagined how he must appear, his face looking like a giant tomato. "I'm just joking!" He poked her side, causing her to squeal.
"No, she really is a traitor." A voice hissed from a nearby tree. "A little witch who got away from me, just when I took my eyes off of her and then she goes and uses her bishonen power to stop me. Well, well well. Nice little reunion here. But since I now know what the Key of Love is, I'll just have to take it from you. Hand it over." The bushes rustled as John stepped into the clearing. He held out his sword, ready to battle if necessary. "If you don't hand it over, I'll use force." John swung his sword at a tree and in the blink of an eye, the tree began to tremble then toppled over, a clear cut in through its trunk.
"Get behind me." Yue stood up, forcefully pushing Kina behind him so he could protect her. "And whatever you do, don't let him get that necklace or you!"
Kina felt her body trembling as she looked into his eyes. John's. They seemed so cold, so sorrowful, hateful...and lonely. And to be truthful, it scared her. It scared the crap out of her. But she couldn't think or even look at him anymore as he charged at them, his sword held steadily in front of him.
Total Akugi ^_^
Gram: And then Yue went in the cats litter box, playing with his Barbie's! He was so gentle with Scuba Barbie but he REALLY, REALLY wanted to get Malabu Barbie, he was so disappointed when he got a bicycle...
Yue: G-R-A-N-D-M-A.....DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!
Kina: I always thought there was something strange about him!!!
Chapter 12
"A-are we almost there?" Kina kicked the dirt pathway, causing dust to swirl up into the air. She sighed, part of her was happy about what happened the night before, falling asleep in his warm arms under the starlit sky, but part of her was still afraid. Afraid if he was wrong, afraid they wouldn't get Shui back, afraid she would fail.
"It's ok to be scared." The red head heard the words Nuriko had whispered to her once, long ago.
She perked up a bit, jogging to catch up to Yue. They had driven through three cities, parked their car and where now hiking through forest. Nuriko and Hotohori had been insisting they joined them but it ruled out in the end Kina would be safe with Yue and the two should stay and watch over Shiva. "Are we there YET?!" Kina moaned sarcastically.
"Ta-da! Here we are, at the old coots house!" Yue pulled back a few branches and in front of him stood a simple brick house. It looked as if it was out of place, there was tons of forest and then just a house. It was located about two miles from town but it was built nicely and had a cozy appearance with its gray smoking coming out of its chimney. Green vines with pink flowers crawled up the whitewashed walls. A cement pathway led to the front of the house where an old woman and man were rocking back and forth on a wooden swing, which had been placed on a sturdy porch.
"Yue?! Is that you??" The man jumped up and ran towards the white haired bishonen.
"Hey Gramps!" Yue hugged the old man who then turned to Kina.
"Who's this young vixen?" He laughed and then the old woman joined them. "Lookie who it is, it's Yue!"
"Yue!!" She hugged him.
"Hey Gram! I've missed you guys! I was lucky I finally found the house this time." He laughed. "Oh! This is my wife Kina!"
"Nice to meet you both." Kina bent down and hugged them.
"Nice to meet you too! You hid this from us, eh Yue?" Gram chuckled.
"No! I just..." He stopped.
"We understand! We think we're finally going to settle down and stay here in one place!" Gramps led them into the house.
"So what brings you both here?" Gram joined them in the large living room carrying a tray of drinks.
"It's an important matter." Yue's face grew serious. "Gram- where did you get this necklace?" He held out the silver chain with the key and heart charms.
Gram lifted it up in the air, examining it. Her face grew soft as she touched the two charms and pearl-like tears filled her eyes. Curiosity filled the two 'youngin's' as they watched her face fill with memories.
"Gram?" Yue poked her.
"AAAHHHHHH!" She jumped back, catching her breath. "DON'T DO THAT!" She promptly yanked hard on Yue's ear. "You want me to have a heart attack?! Then my ghost will haunt you!"
He winced softly but kept his temper. "So can you tell us where and how?"
"Yes." Gram looked down then back up at them, clutching the silver necklace in her frail hands. "In my old days, when I was a foxy vixen...."
"You still are! Reow!" Gramps smirked at her, blowing a kiss from across the room.
"Any ways." She blushed, giggling, then went on. Her face had a dreamy-like look. "Before I met your wonderful grandfather I had a dear friend. He was a handsome young man and our parents arranged us to be married. He was a kind, warm-hearted soul. And we were in love. This, I believe, was a man from your bloodline." Gram pointed at Kina. "I can see it in your eyes, that shining light when you're happy. He had that also."
"So we ARE related?!" Kina leapt up, fear in her throat.
"No you whippersnapper! Just listen!" Gramps winked at Kina afterwards, his voice softening.
Gram continued. "As I said, we were to be married. A few months before the wedding, he gave me that necklace. He was always a strange child, I swear he had some kind of power or something but he always knew what I wanted or what was on my mind. He said it was a family heirloom and that his parents considered it priceless, although he didn't know why. He said he wanted the love of his life to have it." The tears trickled down as her face regained the same dreamy-look from before. "I wore that necklace endlessly but then...a week before the wedding...their was some strange incident and he never returned...and later...they found his body..." She was now shaking and the tears flowed faster. They had obviously hit a sensitive spot. "You couldn't even tell it was him...he was so mangled...some cruel person had killed him! They said it was robbers...I think it was something more but did anyone listen to the crazy babbling of a grief stricken girl? No! There was something very fishy about it.....!!! But I never took off that necklace....never! A few years later...I meant your grandfather and experienced love again. I don't regret anything except I wish I knew why he had died. It was too weird for my liking. And his family didn't seem as broken-down by it either. Every time I spoke to them, it was like I was crying in the darkness and nobody would listen to me. They said I was crazy. My parents grew ill a year later and passed on. I refused to return the necklace to his family and it got so bad after my parents died that I left the town, running away. I moved on, marrying your grandfather, having children and I passed the necklace onto your parents." She nodded towards Yue, "And they gave it to you. And you gave it to your wife." Gram finished, wiping up her tears while Gramps was hugging her tenderly.
"It's ok love." Gramps wiped away her tears and Grams smiled.
"I'm sorry." Kina embraced both Gram and Gramps. "Thank you, for your pain of remembering that horrible story, you have helped me a lot. I'll leave you alone for a bit, I need some fresh air any ways." Kina let go of them from her hug then walked out onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. The red head sighed, leaning back on the wooden swing as it rocked back and forth. The door swung open and then shut.
"Hey there! You ok?" Yue sat down next to her, causing the swing to rock backwards.
"Yeah." She leaned forward, letting herself rest again his strong body. "I'm glad we're not related but now I found out my descendents are all psychos!" Kina let out a chuckle, partly laughing but partly fighting tears. "A..are we going to s-save Shui?" She looked up at Yue.
Yue stared into her eyes, which suddenly seemed so profoundly dejected it left him struck dumbfounded. He quickly recovered and replied. "Yeah, we will. After all, "fate" is something you decide yourself." They both sat in a welcoming silence for a few minutes, his words sinking in tediously.
"Are they going to be ok?" Kina nudged her head towards the door of the house.
"Oh yeah! Don't worry about them, they're made of solid stone. It just hurts her a bit to remember. They found happiness somewhere else and in each other. I think that's for the best. Men or women.....whether their companion is an adult or child, should be able to cherish that person as a 'human'. And if people can't do that, it's very hard to understand each other.....and hard to be loved." Yue whispered to her quietly. "Did that make any sense?" He looked down at her.
"Yeah...it did make sense...a lot of sense. And I think it helped me figure out why John has been acting like this." Kina nodded, biting her lip. "I guess we should get going. As long as we have this necklace then John won't do anything to Shui but that isn't a reason not to go get her right now!"
"I agree." Yue stood up. "So what did you figure out about why he's acting like this?"
"I'm not really sure but I don't think he understands how to cherish somebody as a 'human' because after mom and dad died he was pretty much on his own and even before then he rejected them and hated the fact that he was half bishonen." Kina sighed. "This is making my head hurt!!"
"Aww..." Yue laughed, poking her forehead.
"What are those two doing?" Grams walked out on the porch. The two quickly sat up straight.
"Are you ok now Gram?" Yue asked, his face appearing very concerned.
"Of course! Takes more than that to bring me down you!!" The four all laughed and Gramps along with Gram sat on two wooden chairs near the swing.
"I should tell you about the time Yue was three...ho-ho-ho! It was so funny! He found his mother's old dolls! Oh he was dressing them up for hours!" Gramps burst into laughter at his own words. Kina giggled, trying to conceal her amusement for Yue's sake.
"Shut up! I was stupid and little!" Yue felt all the blood rush to his face, causing his cheeks to turn a bright red.
"And then he was supposed to get a bath, ran around the house with his little bum jiggling!!" Grams smirked then handed the necklace back to Kina. "His favorite movie was The Little Mermaid!! He cried every time Ariel sang that song about humans and when her father blew up the statue of the prince!!!"
By now Kina was grabbing onto her sides, laughing so hard tears sprung to her eyes.
Yue glared at them all. "Stop it!!!!!!" He yelled, not angry but very embarrassed.
"No, please, keep going!" Kina managed to say in between giggles.
"Traitor!" Yue glared at her then chuckled at how red her face was from laughing. But then he imagined how he must appear, his face looking like a giant tomato. "I'm just joking!" He poked her side, causing her to squeal.
"No, she really is a traitor." A voice hissed from a nearby tree. "A little witch who got away from me, just when I took my eyes off of her and then she goes and uses her bishonen power to stop me. Well, well well. Nice little reunion here. But since I now know what the Key of Love is, I'll just have to take it from you. Hand it over." The bushes rustled as John stepped into the clearing. He held out his sword, ready to battle if necessary. "If you don't hand it over, I'll use force." John swung his sword at a tree and in the blink of an eye, the tree began to tremble then toppled over, a clear cut in through its trunk.
"Get behind me." Yue stood up, forcefully pushing Kina behind him so he could protect her. "And whatever you do, don't let him get that necklace or you!"
Kina felt her body trembling as she looked into his eyes. John's. They seemed so cold, so sorrowful, hateful...and lonely. And to be truthful, it scared her. It scared the crap out of her. But she couldn't think or even look at him anymore as he charged at them, his sword held steadily in front of him.
Total Akugi ^_^
Gram: And then Yue went in the cats litter box, playing with his Barbie's! He was so gentle with Scuba Barbie but he REALLY, REALLY wanted to get Malabu Barbie, he was so disappointed when he got a bicycle...
Yue: G-R-A-N-D-M-A.....DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!
Kina: I always thought there was something strange about him!!!
