Some notes to remember here people. If you like to learn more info on Kitsune check out this website! http://www.comnet.ca/~foxtrot/kitsune/index.htm
Below is some general info on Kitsune.
Kitsune are generally highly sensual beings. They like physical sensations very much and indulge them often and no this will not become a lemon! I'm just saying they like physical sensations and actions.
Kitsune also very mysterious and mischievous beings and are not above pulling pranks, inciting extreme emotions, etc. They are emotional, vengeful and can easily lose their tempers. Ever heard of the term "hell hath no fury than a woman's scorn?" Then to properly describe kitsune revenge is "hell hath no fury than a kitsune's temper tantrum". On the other hand they are very loyal to their friends or to those they owe a debt to. They, however, value their freedom very much as well.
Kitsune hate to ask other for help, as a result those who wish to aid a kitsune must do so of their free will. (kind of fits Ruki's personality)
Kitsune have to keep their promises, and especially follow their word of honour. They become self-destructive if they break a promise, and when someone else breaks a promise, they become deadly enemies.
Kitsune are also victims of their own feelings. A kitsune's emotions can cause them harm, or distract them. The Sin of Regret can even kill a kitsune outright.
This was never meant to be
All the signs were there to see
From the first moment that we met
I knew
This was never meant to be
The Daikan Temple was a place of great beauty. The sun was setting in the distance and threw it's dying light against the great Hikawa forest surrounding the Okami mountain. The greenery of ancient trees contrasted greatly against the bare grey mountain backdrop. In this temple an event unlike many others and yet so mundane was happening. A clash of old secrets, old friendships and even older legacies. Small things often change the course of many fates and this meeting was one of those types of 'small things' that inextricably wrecks havoc on the established path. This was a catalyst of a new and old battle.
Ruksashas never got along with Kitsunes. This is an ancient legendary fact that persisted for many years regardless and was recorded well in myths and stories. Ever since the dawn of time these two tricksters fought for the power and affection of their mortal playthings. Strange indeed that two such beings would meet without hostility. Stranger is the situation when they both don't really realize their strengths and differences.
The situation was strange. It wasn't unheard of but it was strange beyond a doubt and strange things attract even stranger beings.
"THERE SHE IS... OUR INFORMATION WAS CORRECT," a gravely old voice pronounced. The voice gave the listener a distinct feeling of rustling leaves in autumn and a powerful presence. It also however sounded like an ancient man who spent far too much time smoking.
"SHE IS MEETING THE RUKSASHA WITHOUT VIOLENCE... VERY ODD INDEED," a younger female voice could be heard. It was soft and had a tone of mixed ire and disbelief.
"She's so cute!" A very young almost childish voice interrupted the two older voices talking. It sounded like a young girl who was on a perpetual sugar high.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" The ancient male voice bellowed.
"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THIS DOESN'T INVOLVE YOU," the young woman's voice replied annoyed.
"I want to watch over my cousin! She's so cute and so is the Ruksasha! You think that anyone in the court would simply stay behind due to your orders?" The young girl's voice answered without sounding intimidated at the least by her the elder's tone of voice. The petulant question that the young girl asked seemed to grate on the two elders' nerves.
"THEY'RE ALL HERE?!" The old voice asked incredulously as if it couldn't believe.
"Umm... Yeah... And can I ask you a question?" The young girl asked unconcerned by the tone of voice used.
"WHAT IS IT DAUGHTER?" The young woman's voice asked sighing in defeat.
"Why are you talking like that?" The girl asked curious.
"TALKING HOW?" The old voice replied in a forceful manner clearly annoyed by the turn events.
"TALKING LIKE THIS," the girl imitated.
".... I don't know..." The young woman answered clearly embarrassed.
And so it began.
*****
In a place far removed from one conspiracy was another brewing in the darkness.
"Everything is in order I presume?" A deep voice echoed through the darkness. Its vast emptiness highlighted the vastness of its... well... vast emptiness. The voice echoed through the blackness and seemed to ripple through space. It sounded cold, measured and cruel.
"All is ready Master... But our prey is not alone anymore. She is surrounded by many," another voice answered. This voice sounded terrified and answered quickly. It was frightened and did not want to tell his master the bad news.
The voice's owner frowned and shifted uneasily in the darkness. It's face scowled at the latest piece of bad news. Things have become complicated again, it took years of waiting for their prey to 'ascend' finally and quite frankly he was at the end of his patience. She was stronger than she ever was now and she would be his.
"It does not matter! Continue with the plan!" The deep voice demanded. It had no intention of waiting and there was no more time to waste, it had waited seven years for this opportunity and it only came once.
"But Master!" The acquiescent grovelled pitifully hoping that his master would change his mind.
"SILENCE! I DID NOT WAIT THIS LONG FOR NOTHING! THE DAUGHTER OF MAKINO KATORU WILL BE MINE!" The voice barked out loud. It echoed in the darkness and sent shivers down its servant spine.
".... As you wish Master..."
*****
Two people faced each in the Daikan Temple. They who have been on their paths for years, they who are lost and found within, they who have travelled too far too simply give up on their goals. They who didn't know that their meeting again would be nothing but a disaster. They who didn't know it was inevitable.
Abaddon frowned at Ruki. She once again called him Sen. He didn't hate his name; it just didn't sound very intimidating. He sighed and looked at Ruki intently and was somewhat amused to note that her hair was longer than anything he had seen before. The orange streaked red hair was flowing over and past her shoulders. He wondered if it was dyed in or if it was natural, he thought it natural. Normality hardly seemed to fit Ruki. Say she's a bitch and you have to ignore that she has soft spot in her soul. Say she's strong and you have to ignore that she flawed in her emotions. His brain processed information and informed him that Ruki's hair should be shorter, much shorter.
"I am not Sen anymore! It's Abaddon," Sen stated simply. He wondered what had happened to Ruki. Unless she had a miracle hair growing formula, her hair should be much shorter. Perhaps he read Ruksasha's information wrong.
He watched Ruki's reaction very carefully. She didn't react and state once again that his name was really Sen. Then again she seemed distracted and was staring at him in a way he was not quite sure he had seen from her before. Not that he did stare right back at her as well. Her hair stopped somewhere past halfway her back. Her violet eyes seemed more brilliant and the setting sun behind him made them sparkle. In fact Ruki looked... cute... not cute, beautiful. This coming from a guy who witnessed, survived and was victorious in the most brutal digimon card game thrashing ever dealt out by her. Plus generously add some cold observations, comments and downright, dare we say bitchy, disbelief that she was beaten by him. She challenged him over and over again to get over the fact he beat her. The times she beat him, she acted as if it wasn't enough. She lost to him; therefore until she can consistently beat him over and over again she wasn't truly superior. Unfortunately Abaddon kept on beating her in a consistent enough pattern of every game she won; he would win a game prior. If he had any idea that Ruki could become so obsessed with it, he would of let her win. Then again if she had discovered that he let her win, she would never forgive him.
The silence stretched out between the two. They were both unsure on how to talk to each other.
"It's been awhile since we've seen each other hasn't it?" Abaddon managed to say finally. He wondered what was so different about Ruki but he did not have time to pursue it.
"It's been three years..." Ruki intoned quietly. She resisted the urge to rush up to him, kiss him and run her hands through his blonde hair. She did not need a guy, especially a guy like Sen, here standing like an idiot while she was slowly going insane. She managed however to put an edge of old superiority in her voice and was disappointed by the lack of reaction to it by Sen or should she call him, Abaddon? Why the hell did he insist on being called Abaddon? Sen was a perfectly good and normal name. It had been three years since they first met and things hadn't changed between them it seemed. It was still awkward to talk to each other.
*****
A young looking blonde haired boy in a white shirt and black pants sitting in one of the train cars many seats bored to tears. He looked out the window and passing countryside with feigned interest. He was young and the only passenger in the car. That is until the train doors opened and let a young girl in. On the other end of the train car was a young girl, no older than eight, in blue jeans and a pale green t-shirt. It soon became apparent that the new comer was alone and in a mood that was less than pleasant. The young boy's fellow passenger marched straight over to where he was. The girl then set down her heavy backpack on the train car seat opposite to him, sat down and then crossed her arms and glared at him for all her worth.
'What's with her?' Sen thought as he watched the purple-eyed girl glare at him. Her arms were still crossed and her hair was pulled back into a spiky ponytail. Her hair got his attention, whose heard of red hair with orange highlights? Definitely unique and her presence was almost... relaxing to be around but her glare was something that he did not like.
"You know glaring at people for no good reason isn't a good way to get to know others," Sen stated as he kept his gaze on the girl steadily.
"I don't want to get to know anyone else," the girl said in a hostile voice. The blonde haired boy had the perfect hair, perfect eyes and perfect everything. She disliked him and was all too readily reminded of her mother's constant dating with other men. He had the feel good aura that seemed to radiate from every pore of his being. It was nauseating and Ruki disliked it to the extreme. She was at the other end of the train and she felt the boy's sickening aura. She decided to find where the source of the feeling was coming from and try to get it to stop. It was relaxing and made her lower her guard. The very presence of the boy was making her weak due to that and weakness was not a luxury she would allow herself. She would never be weak and she would prove it to everyone and herself.
Sen said nothing and wondered why she was so hostile. He noticed a leather cardholder on her belt and saw some digimon playing cards in it. Which was unusual since the game was aimed mainly for young boys.
"You play the digimon card game?" Sen asked curiously. Much to his amazement the girl seemed to straighten her back and arrogantly beam back with pride.
"Yes and I haven't lost yet," Ruki stated. She smirked with pride that she had found something that she was good at. It was so simple and yet so complicated, the cards came into her hands, her brain figured out a strategy and then she set them down and won. It came to her naturally but being in all girl school tended to restrict her ability to find opponents. A lot of the girls thought Ruki was nuts to like Digimon and not some sugary sweet 'Magical Girl Show'. Ruki refrained from shuddering at the lack of taste, and in some case intelligence, that her fellow classmates demonstrated. "Super Pretty Soldiers" was not the height of anime achievement in Ruki's mind. They avoided her but that was all right for Ruki. She wanted to be stronger than anyone is and if that meant being alone, so be it she shall be alone. It worked better that way.
Sen felt unsure how to diffuse the obviously antagonistic girl's mood. She seemed to be on the warpath. Saying something sweet or polite would only make her believe he was weak and earn her contempt. The title of undefeated however annoyed him to the extreme however. She had to be bluffing, no one could be 'undefeated', and it was impossible. He decided that perhaps whittling down her pride was in order.
"Well... My name is Kimatori Sen and I challenge to a card game!" Sen proclaimed and took out his deck of digimon playing cards and then realized something. He paused and looked at Ruki's smirking face.
"Yes... I know that sounded corny," Sen ruefully admitted. He scowled at how idiotic his announcement and challenge sounded. There was just something about Ruki that made act a bit silly and when the hell did he start using bravado?
"I accept blockhead, let's play," Ruki answered and took out her cards from her cardholder.
"You know it's nice to know the name of the 'girl' I'm going to beat," Sen smirked while a more intelligent and diplomatic part of his brain screamed at his obvious faux pas. That was obviously going to rile her up.
"'Girl?' That's how you see me as? Well I'm going to have to give you my name then, to make you remember that Makino Ruki thrashed your ass," Ruki responded annoyed. Ruki also noted she made a rather corny, almost classical a la Pokemon type introduction.
"Does it matter? We both know who the winner is going to be," Sen continued. He wanted to beat his brains out in frustration. He wanted to make peace with the girl and then beat her at the game, not get her even more angry with him.
"Yeah, it's going to be me;" Ruki glared at Sen. She kept up her cold icy tone and began shuffling her cards.
'What an arrogant jerk!' They both thought as they dealt their cards.
The train ride was uneventful. It past idyllic fields, forests and stopped at the occasional town and railway stop. This was completely lost upon the two eight year old children playing a card game. They played for two hours straight and interspersed in the game was jabs;
"Ha! What kind of pathetic defense is that?"
"More than enough for your pathetic offense! So ha!"
Insults;
"Your mother could play better than you!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!"
And bets;
"Okay if I win I get my MagnaAngemon card back!"
"Fine but if I win I get my two modify cards back from you!"
"Try and take them away from me if you can you macho chick!"
"Okay that's it I'm raising the ante! I bet my Malomyotismon card!"
"You little @#$%@"
Stranger things could have happened and if there was any other passengers that came on board during this time the two never noticed. So they played their game trying to ignore the mounting pressure and accumulating bets they were getting. None however refused to draw; it was do or die. For Ruki however, it was die.
"....." Ruki looked at her cards set out in front of her. She had played her last desperation move and the chance was fifty-fifty that it would succeed or fail. She failed.
"....." Sen looked down at his cards set out in front of him faintly impressed that he had won. It was actually dumb luck that he had the Alias card in his hand when Ruki played out her turn but he won. He slowly took a good look at the numbly surprised look on Ruki's face. Then the look on her face began subtly morph into disbelief and then anger.
"That was a cheap move!" Ruki proclaimed. Sen beat her; there was something fundamentally wrong with that. She was supposed to win! She was supposed to be strong! She was supposed to end the game in a glorious and 'unique' way but Sen just had to have the Alias card at that precise moment in his hand.
".... It worked didn't it?" Sen answered and immediately realized that it wasn't a very wise thing to say.
"I challenge you to another card game!"
"Right now?!"
"Yes right now!"
".... Have it your way Miss I've never lost to anyone before."
"Shut up and play..."
Another new card game and an hour latter.
"Ha!" Ruki proclaimed happily and smiled arrogantly at the annoyed face of Sen.
"Oh shut up!" Sen retorted.
"Let's play again!"
"Why?"
"Because crushing you into the ground is so much fun."
".... Fine have it your way!"
A few new games and six hours latter.
"... I think we're equal now. Not that I'll ever regard you as my equal..." Sen said as he looked over his cards again. He had long since given up trying to shut his run away mouth from insulting Ruki. He had regained all his cards but lost all of the cards he had won from Ruki. The day was now spent and night had fallen. The train still sped on its journey and they were both tired.
"I want to play again!" Ruki repeated stubbornly. They had both won and lost games equally but Ruki found it unbearable. She needed to be better than Sen and until she was she would never give up.
"But my stop is coming up in three minutes. I have to get off, we're almost at Hikawa forest," Sen stated tiredly. They had played enough for him stomach for an entire week. He began to check his backpack over and make sure it was all there.
"Not until I beat you again," Ruki stated stubbornly and began reshuffling her deck.
"Whatever!" Sen said and shouldered his backpack. He got out of his seat and walked down the train towards the door.
"... You're heading towards the 'path'?" Ruki asked. She sounded almost mellow and stared out the window. She felt something that was calling her. In the moonlight she saw Okami mountain's silhouette in the darkness. Sen was baffled by Ruki's question and looked at her.
"What do you know about it?" Sen asked wondering silently why it was so important for Ruki. Could she also feel it as well? The pull of the 'gate'?
"I asked first," Ruki snapped annoyed that Sen dared to ask. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.
"Fine... Yes I'm heading towards the 'path' as you put it ever so nicely," Sen answered. He was frustrated with this girl. He liked being around her but her personality was driving him up the wall. It was as if she regarded him to be nothing more than obstacle in her way or a waste of her time.
"I'm getting off here as well," Ruki said brusquely as she got off her seat. She packed away her cards and shouldered her backpack. She then glared at Sen with a look that could freeze hell over. Sen rolled his eyes and headed towards the train doors.
The train pushed ahead on the tracks and in the distance was a small poorly lit train station. It looked abandoned and poorly kept but functional. The train slowed its advance and stopped right beside the station. The door opened and let the only two passengers off. Ruki took a moment to look around the empty station while Sen got a coat out for himself. A cold wind blew but Ruki ignored it though it was biting.
"Here, it gets cold around here," Sen said and offered the coat he got out for Ruki. Ruki stared at the coat for a moment and then at him. It was icy stare seemed contemptuous of Sen's offer.
"No thanks, I'm fine without it," Ruki said coldly and started to walk away from the station. She faced towards the mountain peaking above a forest. The dirt country road was empty and weird shadows were strewn across its path.
Sen sighed at Ruki's refusal and put the coat he offered to her on him and turned up the cuff.
'Urge to kill rising... And I'm trying to be nice..." Sen thought to himself as he got out of the station. He began to walk the dirt country path, ignoring the ominous shadows of night and headed toward Hikawa forest. Ruki noticed that Sen was walking and would overtake her lead so she walked at a pace that made sure she was in front of him all the time. Sen frowned in annoyance and broke into a light jog trying to overtake Ruki's lead. Ruki noticed and speed up the pace even more.
"Why are you following me?" Ruki asked annoyed as she ran ahead of Sen.
"If you haven't noticed I'm heading in the same direction as you are!" Sen answered trying to overtake Ruki's lead. The train ride had drained them both equally but they weren't exactly ready to admit their inferiority to each other.
They ran down the path without really noticing the scenery. The fields of rice and increasingly thicker copses of trees blurred together like an endless stream of pictures. Eventually Sen slowed down his pace and let Ruki run ahead of him at her breakneck speed. Ruki did not stop until she arrived at the cobblestone road by then her lungs were burning. She took a well-deserved break and placed her hands on her knees to support herself. The backpack she had seemed unbearably heavy and Ruki took off her load. She then looked up to look around her. An ancient forest surrounded the cobblestone road and a bright red arch denoted the first step up a very long flight of stairs. Ruki followed the snaking path of bright red arches up the mountain and blinked. There were hundreds of red arches going up until it stopped at a temple near the half waypoint of the mountain.
Sen jogged up near Ruki and stopped beside her. He was less tired than Ruki since he paced himself in his run. Another cold wind blew and cooled the sweat on Ruki making her shiver.
"You shouldn't have run so hard..." Sen observed and Ruki glared Sen. She was cold and she did not need some blockhead telling her that she shouldn't have run so hard.
"You want a coat?" Sen asked ignoring Ruki's glare and noticing Ruki's goose bumped flesh and shivering.
"No... I'm fine, I can do this by myself," Ruki answered and shouldered her backpack. She refused to admit that she had forgotten to pack a jacket for herself; it was oversight on her part. She began to walk up the stairs with Sen calmly following behind her. The long walk up the stairs seemed eternal and Ruki felt her steps falter. She didn't feel cold any more but her sweat had long ago soaked her shirt and the air was getting a bit thinner. Sen didn't seem to suffer as badly as Ruki though he was also starting to get tired. Ruki began to walk a bit slower and eventually Sen overtook her lead and she began walk behind him.
It was intolerable in Ruki's mind. She was should be in the front but her body was too tired. Blockhead was right, amazingly enough, she shouldn't have run so hard and exhaust herself. The only way to rectify this situation was to make herself stronger. Sen did not look over shoulder thankfully for Ruki. She would have hated to see someone ahead of her look at her. It was always the faces that bothered Ruki. Faces that smiled, laughed and stared at her as if they had something that she didn't. She did not want smiles, she did not want laughter and she sure as hell did not want people to stare at her as if she was strange. She wanted to be strong, strong enough to stand on her feet with no one's help.
'Become strong Ruki and perhaps you can travel to where I have been and beyond,' Ruki thought as she reminded herself of her father's words. A father who never returned to a home of distraught and fractured family or could possibly understand the pain. A father that was either dead or had run away years ago that Ruki had become numb to his absence.
Another cold wind blew and cut through body like a knife. It was cold but Ruki refused to slow her pace even more and she forced her body to travel faster to try and catch up with Sen. Sen did not turn around or stop or slow his pace for Ruki. She was grudgingly grateful for that, whoever was the strongest deserved to be in front but that didn't mean she had to like it. She made herself run up the stairs.
Sen walked at a brisk pace. He didn't dare slow down because of a certain purple eyed girl behind him that would sooner rip off his head as a cat would eat a canary when the owner was away if he slowed down. Sen briefly wondered why it was so important for him to be here at the temple. He had been here numerous times and nothing happened. The pull of the place was strong and he couldn't leave it. It was a mystery to him, though it wasn't much a mystery knowing that his little brother was probably colouring his bedroom walls again with crayons. He did not look forward to cleaning it up and his mother would be waiting for him to return home. His ever-patient mother that never smiled yet was always caring. His thoughts were ruined when Ruki all of a sudden raced past him in a burst of speed. Sen was off guard and dumbly realized that Ruki was racing up towards the top of the stairs. He felt his legs move into a sprint up the stairs after Ruki.
Ruki felt her confidence swell in her breast once again. She was in the lead and Sen was off guard. She would reach the top and she would be the first one there. Ruki was exhausted but the now guaranteed victory against Sen energized her and spurred her on. She saw as she began to arrive at the last few stairs an ancient stone courtyard where many years ago visitors would arrive to be purified. There was five stone buildings, three small and two large ones. The largest one was the main temple where there stood ancient statues of different animals inside the opened doorway. It stood beyond the courtyard and was carved into the mountain itself. On one side of the sprawling temple area was the three small buildings interconnected to each other through a small wooden walkway exposed to the air with gardens surrounding it. The second largest building seemed to be a simple living area with all its shoji paper doors opened. In the gate of the courtyard stood an old woman with her grey hair swept back into a ponytail that went past her waist. Dressed in white robes and with a look that belied many years of hardship and experience but tempered with good humour and content. The old woman stood with her back behind the mountain and moon that shone down upon the earth. She seemed almost ethereal in the light and the years only enhanced the feeling of ancient authority and yet grandmotherly understanding.
Ruki was mildly surprised to see the old woman standing at the gate at the top of the stairs as if expecting visitors like her and Sen. Ruki was exhausted by her short run up the stairs and one of her feet failed to properly land on a step. She became off balanced and wildly swung her arms around to upright herself but failed. The old woman seemed amused by the silly sight of Ruki trying to balance herself and watched.
Ruki was not amused and felt gravity pull her backwards. Ruki managed to see the serene old woman stand where she was at the gate and wait. Ruki didn't have time to rebalance herself and Sen not expecting Ruki's abrupt stop ran into her by accident. A bit dazed but otherwise fine Sen immediately tried to push Ruki forward realizing that she was off balance and about to fall because if she fell, she would land on him and they would both fall down the stairs. For all their mutual efforts they both failed and the two came tumbling down the steep steps. Ruki landed on top of Sen who took the brunt of the pain as the tumbled down the steps eventually coming to a stop after twelve steps.
"Ahh.... That hurt..." Sen managed to say as he rubbed his back in pain. He felt thankful that his backpack managed to absorb most of the damage or else he would be in serious pain.
"#$%#" Ruki muttered as she pushed herself up to her feet. Her arm that felt as if it had been crushed and nursed it a bit trying to hid her injury.
Above them at the top of the stairs the old woman stood and looked down on the two with a slight smile on her face. Sen noticed her presence and scowled.
"You knew that was going to happen didn't you Kaho?" Sen shouted upwards to the old woman.
Kaho simply smiled and shrugged.
"Welcome back my young Ruksasha and it seems that you have picked up an unlikely companion," Kaho said greeting the two children. Ruki simply glared balefully at Kaho with a mix of disbelief and wonder. There was something about Kaho that Ruki couldn't really understand or grasp.
"Why didn't grab me when I was off balance? You were close enough!" Ruki asked annoyed and in pain. She was on her feet and slowly climbed the stairs.
"My young kitsune! It simply doesn't work that way here. Stay as long as possible, seek what you want and become what you 'need' to be," Kaho said mysteriously and turned away from the two. She walked away and back into the temple chuckling.
"What kind of bull$%@^ is that?" Ruki asked Sen. She turned her head around to face him but could only see him shrug.
"... She's just Kaho... That's all I can say," Sen answered.
*****
Sen and Ruki stood facing each other unsure. Sen remembered now why he was here and opened his mouth to say what was needed and then planned to leave immediately but Ruki beat him to the punch. Ruki's self control was disrupted and found her body pull forward towards Sen. One of her arms wrapped itself around Sen's waist bringing him closer to her body in contact with his, her other arm went around his head and pressed his head closer to her. Lips met lips and Sen's eyes widened with panic. Ruki's mind was fuzzy and then became clear when she exerted more of her will to control herself and realized what she was doing.
'Oh @#$*,' Ruki and Sen thought at the same time. Ruki could feel her hand in Sen's clothing and hair, she realized how soft it felt but managed to keep her fingers from stroking and feeling his body. The warmth from his lips surprised her and she could smell a faint scent of rosemary. Sen on the other hand was completely shocked and his mind in chaos. He could feel nothing and decided to check his brain for some much-needed information.
Electrons sent information to his brain for answers and soon received some as more electrons race through his brain's pathway. Ruki is not the type to randomly kiss someone for no good reason. Reason concurs, as does memory that confirms it. Pleasure and desire however says screw it and enjoys the ride while survival instinct says runaway before Ruki realizes what she is doing and harms him. Reason and memory agree that running away is the best and safest route of action. Once again Ruki had the initiative and stopped kissing him and stared at him in shock. Her arms were still around him and her purple amethyst eyes bore right into him.
Pleasure is disappointed but desire is still there. Survival instinct orders brain to get legs moving. Survival fails and legs are rooted to the spot. Ruki's eyes narrowed with unrestrained anger and promised violence. Ruki let go of Sen and backed off a bit still glaring at him.
'Oh boy...' Sen thought as he watched Ruki pull her fist back. Everything was in slow motion and he debated whether dodging her punch or taking it was a good idea. He decided to take it but it was going to hurt.
SMACK!
Ruki pulled her fist back quickly after punching Sen in the face angered. She lost control over herself when Sen appeared out of nowhere. It was embarrassing and the bastard looked as though he enjoyed the damn thing. If Sen wasn't there then it wouldn't have happened. A more rational part of her mind asked how her line of reasoning could apply to this situation. After all it wasn't Sen's fault that he arrived a bad time but Ruki blithely ignored it. She was angry, embarrassed and annoyed at her uncooperative brain and at her inability to put her urges under control. Loss of control was weakness and she was not weak.
Sen fell to the ground from the force of Ruki's punch and inanely realized that she had somehow become impossibly strong within a short period of time. The punch was like a sledgehammer and came so quickly Sen wondered whether he could actually dodged in time even with the perception diffraction he had. It hardly mattered because Sen began to realize that Ruki was no longer quite human any more. He briefly wondered if she was ascending after so many years of trying. Sen lay on the ground dazed slightly and simply stayed on the ground.
"... You know you're officially the first girl whose ever kissed me in my entire life..." Sen said after thinking about it. Though how it all happened was not quite as how he expected and Ruki was on the absolute bottom of his list of girls that might kiss him other than his mother (not in the way some people would imply).
"And I would care because?" Ruki said as she cringed with embarrassment by Sen's reminder of what she did.
"It's times like these I wish I had one of those cameras," Kaho said as she walked towards the two. She had a tray of food and a bag of ice.
"You saw everything?" Ruki choked.
"Quite... I have to admit I never thought Sen would let you punch him," Kaho said after much thought. She looked up into the sky with a look of consideration.
".... If I tried to have dodged then Ruki would have started a fight with me... and I'd win," Sen said and then realized that what he said was not a good thing to say out loud.
Ruki simply twitched at Sen's commentary.
'Why do I feel like I'm in one of those cliche filled anime shows?' Sen thought to himself and wondered why it felt like he was being watched by something.
*****
Akiyama Ryou and Monodramon walked down relatively quiet Shinjuku street in Tokyo. The day had not been good for them both, not only did Ryou have to get off the train that Monodramon had fought, he had to buy a new ticket wasting more of his money. He wondered what people would think if they saw the completely destroyed train seat and the dented door and broken glass. One thing was for sure; Ryou could not possibly afford to pay for the damage so running away from the scene of the crime was the only way to avoid it. Ryou and Monodramon hated running away and they both mutually vowed to get back at Ruksasha. Preferably by beating him up and then stuffing the cigar he smoked down his throat. In any case despite their difficulties which included an overly curious five year old boy who tried to steal Monodramon thinking it was a toy and a overly macho sixty year old who berated Ryou for having a 'stuffed toy' among other things. They had finally arrived in Tokyo city and with even more difficulty managed to find where Ruki lived. The overt attempts from the man, who allowed Ryou to use a computer but had to give an autograph and meet his daughter, Ryou could do without.
"The price of fame sucks doesn't Ryou?" Monodramon commented as he nursed his tail from the enthusiastic pulling from a little girl who wondered why the 'doll' of the Legendary Tamer could move.
"Tell me about it... the train we got on had so many people that recognized me I thought it was the unofficial 'Stalk Akiyama Ryou Club' meeting in there," Ryou sighed as he looked once more at his paper that had Ruki's address on it.
"Just feel glad that it wasn't that guy who was hitting on you and not his daughter," Monodramon commented.
"Don't remind me please... At least we know where Ruki lives. Thank whatever is up there that she has such a famous mother." Ryou shuddered at the reminder and the girl that supposedly the daughter of the computer man.
They walked down the street and eventually came to a walled off house with a old fashioned gate as an entrance. It was quiet and both were quite impressed by the size of the house. It was large especially in a city like Tokyo and had an air of ancient yet inviting presence. There was a rather large and impressive garden from what Ryou could tell as he peeked through the opened gate and the house itself was massive.
"Wooza! What a house... I wonder if there's any chicks in the house," Monodramon commented.
"Well her mother is a model and..." Ryou never had an opportunity to finish his sentence.
"Great! When do we smack the ^*#$% up and fight?" Monodramon asked.
"What are you talking about? Ruki, Renamon and her grandmother lives here as well," Ryou felt like laughing. It was definitely not the way he wanted to get things done, first he had find the other Tamers and talk to them.
"Oh... More than one female... Okay... I'll correct my question... When do we smack the ^*#$%es up?"
Ryou sighed a bit though it was rather amusing how Monodramon worded his question and entered the gate into the front area of the house.
"What?! There's more than one ^*#$% in the house!" Monodramon followed Ryou in through the gates. All of sudden Renamon simply fazed into existence without much fanfare in front of the two.
"I resent being called that," Renamon said as she stood at the door of the house. Her face was neutral and before Monodramon could say anything inappropriate Ryou said something.
"We're looking for the others Renamon. We had a rather 'interesting' dream and wondered what's the problem," Ryou said. He gave a 'don't say anything look' to Monodramon who pouted.
"Ruki's gone missing and no one knows where she went."
"... That's a rather big problem."
*****
Hirokazu and Kenta stood in front of Jen's apartment door. They had searched the city for the umpteenth time hoping to find some sort lead where Ruki maybe. The police was searching within the city but nothing turned up. Tired, thirst and feet sore the two arrived at Jen hoping that he found something. Marine Angemon slept in Kenta's pocket, snoring which sounded like it's speech.
"...Pipipi...pipi... Pipipi... pipi..."
"That things driving me up the wall... Get it to stop snoring Kenta," Hirokazu whined as he was subjected to listen to the sound for more than an hour.
"He's tired so leave him alone all ready," Kenta answered.
Hirokazu was about say something sarcastic but the door opened and revealed Shiuchon decked in what looked like a nurse uniform. The two boys blinked and behind her they could see Terriermon bandaged up and what looked a bar of soap in his mouth.
"Hello... I was just cleaning Terriermon's potty mouth, you want to help?" Shiuchon asked cutely. Lopmon behind her looked rather triumphant and had a rather satisfied if somewhat sadistic look on his face. The two boys blinked and looked at each other deliberately. They knew what to say and do in situations like this.
"Ah we want to..." Hirokazu began slowly smiling. He watched Terriermon squirm with discomfort.
"But we have to see Jen for a sec, so maybe we can help you afterwards," Kenta finished. Terriermon had an unmistakable look of horror on his face and tried to struggle out of his bandages.
"You won't take me alive!" Terriermon said as he spat out the bar of soap from his mouth and get up to ran away. Shiuchon seeing that her 'patient' was leaving ran after him.
"Terriermon come back! We haven't even started the operation!" Shiuchon proclaimed as she ran after Terriermon. Lopmon rolled his eyes and chased after his young Tamer to torture Terriermon. Lopmon owed him a debt of pain and pink lace. Hirokazu and Kenta entered calmly and decided not to mention what Shiuchon was doing to Terriermon, lest Jen would try to rescue him.
"Well that was entertaining," Hirokazu stated as he entered the Li's apartment. They immediately headed over to Jen's room and opened his door. Jen was busy looking over a map of Japan that had a superimposed image of train stops all over the main island on the computer.
"Who is it?" Jen said as he typed more information into his computer.
"It's us, don't sweat okay?" Hirokazu said.
"I wish it was only that easy," Jen muttered to himself tired.
"Is anything wrong?" Kenta asked. Marine Angemon began to stir a bit from his nap.
"Well other than the fact that Ruki got on a train that runs the entire length of Kyushu and has over three hundred stops," Jen answered.
The cellular phone rang and Jen answered it. Jen didn't want to admit it but he was rather annoyed and didn't want people over because he had hit a dead end.
"This is Jen speaking... Takato?"
"Hey Jen, ow, I needed to talk to you," Takato said as he winced in pain. The ice did not relieve pain he was getting from his bruises.
"What's wrong with you? You sound like your in pain," Jen said. Hirokazu and Kenta came closer and tried to listen into the conversation. Jen felt rather nervous and claustrophobic, he hated when people crowded him like that.
"What's Takato saying?" Hirokazu asked.
"Yeah spill the beans," Kenta said.
"Just a sec you guys!" Jen said. He hated being crowded in like this.
"Is someone there? Jen?" Takato asked.
"Just Hirokazu and Kenta, so tell me what you wanted to say," Jen said. He tried to move away from the two.
"Hey! We have a right to hear!" Hirokazu stated and moved in closer.
"Anyway Jen I think I know why Ruki went away!" Takato exclaimed.
"What? Takato knows where Ruki went away to?" Kenta asked not quite hearing what Takato said clearly.
"Keep going," Jen said. He got up from his seat and walked away from the two rather impatient boys.
"Well you know how she's always the loner and tough attitude she has. I think she wanted a sort time out and get away from it all," Takato theorized. Jen thought for a moment and had concur with Takato. It sounded like Ruki to do something like that but it didn't change the initial problem they had. No one knew where Ruki went except for Abaddon.
"That's a good theory but the only problem is it still doesn't tell us where she might of gone to," Jen explained. He thought about it, he was surprised he didn't really think why Ruki might have left. He was too busy trying to find out where she went rather than why.
"I know but I thought... well it might be helpful because if we go and get her she might not like it," Takato explained.
"Yeah... Thanks for the theory, I'll see you latter," Jen said.
"Yeah see ya," Takato turned off his phone and sat down in a seat hard. What was Ruki looking for? He fingered the business card that Abaddon gave him and wondered whether or not to use it.
Jen heard the dial tone and turned off his cellular phone. Hirokazu and Kenta was still rather close by.
"What did Takato say? Did he decide to get Abaddon's help? Come on tell us!" Hirokazu demanded.
Jen simply looked at Hirokazu. Getting information from Abaddon seemed like the only way to find Ruki but Takato had the card to call Abaddon. In either case the price to pay for such information could be more than they could truly afford.