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Dream Keeper: Okay, you know the drill. *clears throat* I do not own Blue Seed. *sniffs* I wish I did but I don't. The blue seed boys and girls all belong to their respectable owners. I am only borrowing them for this twisted fic and promise to return them, only slightly worse for the wear, when I'm through with them.
Christa: Well, sorry about the cliff hanger last time but we had to get you people to come back somehow! Okay, this will probably be an odd chapter.
Dream Keeper: Don't you mean it WILL be? Don't want to ruin anything so we'll let you have the next chapter.
Christa: Or will we?
Dream Keeper: You know. *looks at the fans* I think that you REALLY want hurt.
Christa: *sees the fans brandish knives and other sharp, pointy objects* *sweatdrop* *gulps* Point taken. On with the fic!
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"Huh?!" Kusanagi exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"If I was his daughter, don't you think I'd be a perfect soul like him? I am not in any way perfect: mind, or soul."
"For one, you are nothing like him, and for two, he's _NOT_ a perfect soul. No one any more perfect than anyone else. Just more powerful." The Kusanagi took time to really look at her. He took in her slender, but not frail body, her long blackish-green hair, her wide, expressive, almost catlike eyes, not to mention the strength that was concealed in her, and decided she was absolutely _not_ Murakumo's daughter. He was about to say something but her eyes drew his back to them and he looked at them a moment longer. They were almost normal blue eyes, but in the center of her eyes, which should have been black and round, were a vibrant green and shaped _exactly_ like a cats, down to piercing the main color of the eye.
"What are you staring at?" She asked, raising a delicate eyebrow to punctuate the question. He was about to answer, but before he could her face lost all its color as she jumped off the bed and threw a bolt of power at him. He had to dodge out of the room to evade it, and the moment he did the door slammed shut and locked behind him.
"What the heck are doing?!" he screamed at the door.
"Murakumo!" he heard Naya yell from inside the door and a cold shiver ran down his back as he listened to what went on inside the room.
***
"Murakumo!" Naya yelped as he appeared in front of her.
"I was wondering if you'd forgotten about me like you had your mission you ungrateful wench!" he yelled as he drew back his hand and slapped her full across the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. "Did you really think you could escape me?" he said scornfully as he deployed the sword-like blade from his forearm.
"I never tried to escape you Murakumo! If I'd tried I would have succeeded." Naya retorted before she thought about what she was saying.
Murakumo's eyes widened a little and his frown deepened considerably. "So, I see the little drone had gotten a mind of its own finally. That won't do at all. Tsk, tsk. I guess I'll just have to kill you!" He raised the blade over his head and brought it down in one fluid movement. Naya closed her eyes tightly, raised her arms as if to block the blow, and waited for it.
A minute went by, then two before she had the courage to open one eye. She found herself staring straight at the tip of the blade that she'd thought was going to impale her.
"What's the matter Murakumo. Are you too afraid to kill me? Have you finally lost your nerve?" she taunted. "Are you too afraid to kill your own flesh and blood?" Naya gathered up all of her courage and spat full in his face.
Murakumo leered at her as he calmly wiped his face on the back of his coat sleeve. "No. There are some preparations to be made before I can do that." He raised his hands and the furniture around the room seemed to twist and melt until, no matter what it had been made out of, it was a strait, rectangular pillar. Then a stream of energy leaped out of his matamas and wrapped around each of them and when he jerked his wrists towards his body they all flew towards the center of the room and surrounded Naya and himself. Then, with another flick of his power, they glazed over and turned a dark gray color.
"What are you doing?" Naya shrieked.
"I'm killing you. Oh, and Naya, by the way. You're not my daughter. Someone with a soul that's more imperfect than Kusanagi's could never be my daughter. I would have drowned her at birth."
"NO!" Kusanagi screamed from the other side of the door. Murakumo looked towards the door and thought for a moment.
"You intended to carry out your mission after all? Than I'll let you. By sundown Naya. You have until then. Oh, I mustn't forget," he said as he bent toward her. In one fluid movement his blade sliced across her chest. Naya screamed and fell sideways as the matama there fell away from her and into his hand.
"That's better. Maybe you'll be a little more inclined to obey me now that I have this." He threw back his head and laughed as she lay clutching at her chest. His laughter was the very essence of evil. "Oh, one more thing." From his outstretched hand a stream of lightning hot energy was released and Naya let out a scream that made the glass in the room crack as it came in contact with her body.
Waves of pain rolled in and receded just like the waves of the ocean. Lightning gripped her body fully, with all its intensity. Nothing could have blotted out the pain, except for the brief moments when the lightning receded, only to come back ten times harder the next time. She heard someone screaming, but she couldn't identify who.
{It's a cruel game that Murakumo plays with the person he's torturing. They must be in incredible pain. I wish he would stop} she thought. Her head hurt too much to think further and her heart felt like it was going to explode. {Why don't they give into the inevitable?}
A loud bang and the sound of splintering wood half woke her out of her pain induced trance. All the pain that she'd thought for a feverish moment was someone else's came crashing back into her reality.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" someone yelled from somewhere behind the weird ring Murakumo had made. Naya didn't care. All she cared about was the pain. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. She was left panting on the floor, entirely exhausted and naked, for the lightning had charred her clothes to cinders.
"Remember Naya, tonight." Murakumo whispered in her ear as he dragged his blade across her cheek and a small trickle of blood was left in its wake. Then he was gone. A second later another splintering sound was heard and someone kneeled down beside her.
"Naya. Naya! Come on, look at me!" the voice commanded. She shivered and the person left her side.
{He's leaving.} she realized vaguely. {He must think I'm too much trouble to deal with.} She lay there and felt her anger rise, at who she didn't know, but it weighed her down like a stone tied around her neck. It quickly evaporated though, when she became aware of the feather soft touch of a blanket being draped over her. "Thank you." She managed to croak. When she opened her eyes she saw Kusanagi wasn't looking at her, but around her at the pillars that stood, testifying to what had happened just a moment ago.
***
"A ceramic field." Kusanagi muttered to himself. {How the hell can this be? Kaede never had any kids, and I've never, except with Momiji. Our first child died. How could there be another Kushinada besides Aiko and Shen? It just doesn't make sense!} "Your welcome," he said absently. {The only solution I can come up with is bringing her home with me. I hope Momiji doesn't mind. Well, she didn't the last time.}
He became aware of her whimpering and looked down. Blood was soaking through a small spot of the blanket. "What the hell did that bastard do to you?" he asked as he carefully peeled the blanket away, making sure not to let it slide too low. A small piece of her skin seemed to be missing.
"I told you he'd come back Kusanagi. Why wouldn't you listen? He could have finished me off sooner rather than later. Why? Why did you save me? Do you enjoy torturing me so?" she screamed, tears running down her cheeks, as she feebly pounded her fists against his chest. He let her. She was too weak to hurt him.
"I won't let him kill you. Not while I can stop it. We need to get you dressed and back to my house so we can keep you safe."
"Alright," she said as she stood on unsteady legs. She stayed standing for exactly two seconds before her knees buckled. Luckily Kusanagi was there to catch her. "I think I'm going to need some help." She looked at him apologetically and Kusanagi blushed.
It took ten minutes to get her dressed, even with Kusanagi helping to support her. He was blushing the deepest shade of crimson anyone can manage by the time she was dressed. He hadn't been much help, he knew, since he'd been looking anywhere but her.
As she dragged her socks onto her feet he thought. He still couldn't come up with conclusion as to who she was. "How in the world did she survive what Murakumo did to her anyway?"
"I'm not quite sure how myself." Naya responded. Kusanagi jumped at the sound of her voice and looked at her. "No, I didn't read your mind. You were thinking out loud."
Kusanagi smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just so confused. Do you know who your mother was?"
Naya shook her head. "I'm sorry. I never had a mother. Or if I did, I don't remember her. Murakumo probably killed her if she even stayed around," she muttered miserably. Under her breath she echoed Murakumo's words to herself. "I would have drowned her at birth." {He would have had he known I would turn out like this.}
"I'm glad he didn't. It would have been a waste of a perfectly wonderful girl," Kusanagi said as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We need to get going."
"Sure."
~*~
"Momiji, I'm home!" Kusanagi called as he entered the house.
"Kusanagi, I'm so glad your safe!" Momiji said as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I was so worried that that girl had done something to you. I almost started to think she really did kill you!"
"Well, she didn't. She didn't even try. Forget that she ever did though. It doesn't matter."
"What? What do you mean?" She raised her eyebrow and gave him the "you've done something and I know it" look. "What's going on?"
Kusanagi stepped aside and a self-conscious girl stepped into view. She stood there shuffling her feet uneasily. "Momiji, meet Naya." Kusanagi said evenly.
Momiji only faltered for a moment. "I'm glad to meet you." She pasted a smile on her face and held out her hand. "It's a pleasure."
Naya stared puzzled at the offered hand for a moment before she awkwardly extended her own, grasped Momiji's, and shook it. "The pleasure is all mine," she replied quietly.
"NAYA!" two voices cried in unison and came running to her. Kusanagi knew they were going to be all over her so he wisely intercepted his children.
"Not right now. Both of you have chores to do." Both of them groaned and walked away, steeling glances over their shoulders. Naya waved at them as the left. When Kusanagi turned back towards her and his wife she threw him a grateful look.
"What was all that about?" Momiji wanted to know.
"Naya had a run in with an old friend of ours," Kusanagi said sarcastically.
"Murakumo?" Momiji's face paled a little. "I think we should go into the living room."
{What in the world is Momiji up to? There's something she's not telling us and I know it. She's not that good at hiding things.} They emerged into the living room and Kusanagi saw a woman standing with her back to them as she inspected the titles of the books on the shelf before her. "Sakura?" Kusanagi said in surprise. "How are you?"
The woman turned and flashed him a dazzling smile. "Well, the great Kusanagi has been taught some manners! I never thought it possible. I'm doing fine. And you?"
"Fine. What are you doing here?"
"I heard about some Aragami disturbances," she said frankly.
"Oh." Kusanagi took a minute to study her. She wasn't the oversexed brat who thought she could do everything that she'd once been. He knew that the moment he'd laid eyes on her. She was now a sophisticated woman who thought she could do everything.
"Sakura, this is Naya," Momiji said after a moment of silence.
Sakura's eyes traveled to the younger woman standing beside them and grew larger. Immediately she reached into her purse and drew out a slip of paper with ceremonial writing on it. "Die Aragami scum!" she yelled as she started to throw it, but Kusanagi promptly plucked it out of her hand. "What the heck did you do that for? You've got an Aragami in your house!"
"Naya is our guest and so are you. We prefer that one guest doesn't incinerate the other in this house, no matter what the cause," He said evenly, somehow managing to keep a straight face when he spoke.
"Guest?" she echoed. "Have you been brainwashed?!"
"Sakura! You're being rather rude!" Momiji said in a slightly raised voice.
"Well its an Aragami!"
"Stop being such a-"
"Its quite alright Momiji. She has every right to want to kill me. I am a worthless Aragami after all," said quietly.
Kusanagi spun around to face her. "I thought I already told you, you are not Murakumo's daughter!" he yelled. Everyone stared at him.
"I think maybe we'd better sit down and have one of you explain this." Sakura told them as she sat down in a chair, rather than fall on the floor.
Half and hour later Sakura new every detail about what had gone on in the past few days. She sat quietly for a few minutes digesting the information she'd been given. "Oh, Momiji, what I came here to tell you was. was that.. the. The TAC, everyone but us is gone." Her voice was so choked with tears that she couldn't say anything else.
"Gone? You mean-you mean they're all dead? Mr. Kunakita? Koume? Everyone?" Sakura nodded. "Oh God, that means one of us is next," she whispered.
"No." All eyes in the room turned to Naya. "Neither of you will die, I assure you. I take full responsibility for what happened." She hung her head. "I killed them," she whispered. "I killed them all."
"You?" Kusanagi asked, completely shocked. He'd thought her incapable of doing that to anyone, not just the kids.
"They didn't deserve to die! I killed them in cold blood! I shouldn't have! I should have stuck to the mission Murakumo gave me and just killed Kusanagi and the Kushinadas!" When she realized what she was saying, she clamped her hands over her mouth.
"Sit back down." Sakura ordered and Naya realized that she'd gotten up when she'd gotten agitated. "How many matamas do you have?"
"Two. Just two now."
"Now?" Sakura asked, arching a graceful eyebrow. Kusanagi and Momiji sat quiet, knowing Sakura was getting at something.
"Murakumo took one from me today." Her eyes seemed to glaze over and her face lost some of its life.
"You were FLYING with only THREE MATAMAS?!" Kusanagi shouted. {Now I've heard everything. Either that or I'm really dead and this is an afterlife set up to torture me.
"Yes, is there a problem with that? Should I be able to fly with less?" Naya asked, concerned that she was being scolded.
"Can you still fly?" Sakura asked.
"I'm not sure."
"Try," Sakura demanded. Naya bowed and stood. Promptly she rose about an inch in the air before she fell to the ground. "Guess not." Sakura said, slightly amused.
"Thelma! Come back here!" Aiko called from the hallway as a huge dog bounded into the room. A shriek was heard and Naya shot up from the floor and somehow was floating in the air right next to the ceiling. That was the only thing that kept her from going farther.
"Thelma go!" Sakura commanded. The dog put its tail between its legs and started to back out of the room. "Heel." Thelma came forward and Sakura produced a bone for the dog before she sent it out of the room. "Sorry, she's a bit sensitive. Are you okay?" Sakura asked as Momiji shut the door against further intrusions.
Naya had been so terrified it seemed that she'd retreated to some remote corner of her mind. When Sakura spoke she snapped back to herself and found that she was floating in the air. At the same time she remembered that not only was she not able to fly, but that she was without one matama and she was very weak.
Immediately following that, she fell. Kusanagi jumped out of his chair, caught her, and deposited her on the couch before returning to his seat. "You know Momiji, she's about as much trouble as you use to be," he commented. Kusanagi was rewarded with a punch on the arm.
"You'd better watch it Kusanagi," Momiji joked. "You might get another admirer."
"Heavens forbid."
"I'm sorry Thelma scared you. I forgot she was here. You're afraid of dogs then?"
"That was a dog?" Naya asked as she trembled.
"Well, yes. Haven't you ever seen one before?"
"No. To tell the truth all I've seen are small dogs. For a moment I thought it was a hell hound," she admitted.
"A hell hound?"
"Never mind. Before, what was its name, Thelma came in, you were saying?"
"Is that the total amount of matamas you've ever had?"
"No. For a day, once, to complete a mission Murakumo lent me a fourth one."
"What was that mission?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Naya whispered as she lowered her eyes from Sakura's face.
"Where was the matama located that Murakumo took?" Sakura demanded.
"Here." Naya pulled down her shirt a bit, just enough for them to see the spot that Murakumo had cut.
Sakura let out a bark of laughter and a sad smile filled with irony spread across her face. "Well, I guess the TAC got what it deserved after all." A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away with an impatient hand.
"What do you mean?" Momiji asked. "They didn't deserve that!"
"You remember your first child, Calida?" Sakura didn't bother to be nice about the touchy subject.
Momiji's eyes instantly misted over with tears she vowed never again to shed. "How could I forget?"
"Your child never died, or at least not that we know of." Sakura said. She made sure to stay as detached from her heart as she could.
"I was there! I saw her put into the ground Sakura! Don't give me this crap that she didn't die!" Momiji sobbed. Kusanagi moved and pulled her into a comforting hug.
"That baby wasn't yours. You see neither Kusanagi nor myself thought that the Aragami were entirely gone. There were just little things that indicated that, but we thought we'd ignore it and see what happened. Then you, Momiji, became with child and everything changed. We knew the Aragami weren't dead because of a, well, you could call it a birthmark your baby had." She took a breath before going on.
"If you remember, Ryoko had her baby on the same day as you. All of the TAC but Ryoko saw the baby and it was decided that they would be switched right then and there. No one wanted a chance of the Kushinada being killed. So in the dead of night they spirited Calida away up to Ryoko's room and Mr. Kunakita put his child in her place.
No one knew of the birth defect at the time, but it resulted in Alla's death. The baby you buried was Alla. The day of the funeral, when everyone was milling around, Calida was spirited away by someone. No one knew who and they never found her, or a body, but it was assumed that she was dead. Ryoko found out what Mr. Kunakita had done and she was very distraught. That's why their marriage ended."
"You went along with that? How could you! YOU BITCH!" Momiji leaped across the space between them and grabbed for Sakura's throat, but Kusanagi grabbed her and held her back.
"You'd better get out of our house before I kill you myself." Kusanagi growled. Even he had tears coursing down his cheeks.
"But your daughter isn't dead Kusanagi. She's sitting right there." Sakura said, smiling slightly, a she pointed at Naya.
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Dream Keeper: So, how'd you like?
Christa: Okay, we know, a few too many tears, but hey, it makes a good story! ^_^
Dream Keeper: Well, thanx all you loyal readers for your support and kind reviews! You really make our day!
Christa: *yawns* Time for bed! Next chapter coming sometime in the next two months!
Dream Keeper: Sorry, we're having a bit of trouble typing some fics because they are all chapter fics and we've got writers block on some of them!
Christa: So we've got to get some chapters up on those. Hope you enjoyed. Night! *peace sign*
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Dream Keeper: Okay, you know the drill. *clears throat* I do not own Blue Seed. *sniffs* I wish I did but I don't. The blue seed boys and girls all belong to their respectable owners. I am only borrowing them for this twisted fic and promise to return them, only slightly worse for the wear, when I'm through with them.
Christa: Well, sorry about the cliff hanger last time but we had to get you people to come back somehow! Okay, this will probably be an odd chapter.
Dream Keeper: Don't you mean it WILL be? Don't want to ruin anything so we'll let you have the next chapter.
Christa: Or will we?
Dream Keeper: You know. *looks at the fans* I think that you REALLY want hurt.
Christa: *sees the fans brandish knives and other sharp, pointy objects* *sweatdrop* *gulps* Point taken. On with the fic!
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"Huh?!" Kusanagi exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"If I was his daughter, don't you think I'd be a perfect soul like him? I am not in any way perfect: mind, or soul."
"For one, you are nothing like him, and for two, he's _NOT_ a perfect soul. No one any more perfect than anyone else. Just more powerful." The Kusanagi took time to really look at her. He took in her slender, but not frail body, her long blackish-green hair, her wide, expressive, almost catlike eyes, not to mention the strength that was concealed in her, and decided she was absolutely _not_ Murakumo's daughter. He was about to say something but her eyes drew his back to them and he looked at them a moment longer. They were almost normal blue eyes, but in the center of her eyes, which should have been black and round, were a vibrant green and shaped _exactly_ like a cats, down to piercing the main color of the eye.
"What are you staring at?" She asked, raising a delicate eyebrow to punctuate the question. He was about to answer, but before he could her face lost all its color as she jumped off the bed and threw a bolt of power at him. He had to dodge out of the room to evade it, and the moment he did the door slammed shut and locked behind him.
"What the heck are doing?!" he screamed at the door.
"Murakumo!" he heard Naya yell from inside the door and a cold shiver ran down his back as he listened to what went on inside the room.
***
"Murakumo!" Naya yelped as he appeared in front of her.
"I was wondering if you'd forgotten about me like you had your mission you ungrateful wench!" he yelled as he drew back his hand and slapped her full across the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. "Did you really think you could escape me?" he said scornfully as he deployed the sword-like blade from his forearm.
"I never tried to escape you Murakumo! If I'd tried I would have succeeded." Naya retorted before she thought about what she was saying.
Murakumo's eyes widened a little and his frown deepened considerably. "So, I see the little drone had gotten a mind of its own finally. That won't do at all. Tsk, tsk. I guess I'll just have to kill you!" He raised the blade over his head and brought it down in one fluid movement. Naya closed her eyes tightly, raised her arms as if to block the blow, and waited for it.
A minute went by, then two before she had the courage to open one eye. She found herself staring straight at the tip of the blade that she'd thought was going to impale her.
"What's the matter Murakumo. Are you too afraid to kill me? Have you finally lost your nerve?" she taunted. "Are you too afraid to kill your own flesh and blood?" Naya gathered up all of her courage and spat full in his face.
Murakumo leered at her as he calmly wiped his face on the back of his coat sleeve. "No. There are some preparations to be made before I can do that." He raised his hands and the furniture around the room seemed to twist and melt until, no matter what it had been made out of, it was a strait, rectangular pillar. Then a stream of energy leaped out of his matamas and wrapped around each of them and when he jerked his wrists towards his body they all flew towards the center of the room and surrounded Naya and himself. Then, with another flick of his power, they glazed over and turned a dark gray color.
"What are you doing?" Naya shrieked.
"I'm killing you. Oh, and Naya, by the way. You're not my daughter. Someone with a soul that's more imperfect than Kusanagi's could never be my daughter. I would have drowned her at birth."
"NO!" Kusanagi screamed from the other side of the door. Murakumo looked towards the door and thought for a moment.
"You intended to carry out your mission after all? Than I'll let you. By sundown Naya. You have until then. Oh, I mustn't forget," he said as he bent toward her. In one fluid movement his blade sliced across her chest. Naya screamed and fell sideways as the matama there fell away from her and into his hand.
"That's better. Maybe you'll be a little more inclined to obey me now that I have this." He threw back his head and laughed as she lay clutching at her chest. His laughter was the very essence of evil. "Oh, one more thing." From his outstretched hand a stream of lightning hot energy was released and Naya let out a scream that made the glass in the room crack as it came in contact with her body.
Waves of pain rolled in and receded just like the waves of the ocean. Lightning gripped her body fully, with all its intensity. Nothing could have blotted out the pain, except for the brief moments when the lightning receded, only to come back ten times harder the next time. She heard someone screaming, but she couldn't identify who.
{It's a cruel game that Murakumo plays with the person he's torturing. They must be in incredible pain. I wish he would stop} she thought. Her head hurt too much to think further and her heart felt like it was going to explode. {Why don't they give into the inevitable?}
A loud bang and the sound of splintering wood half woke her out of her pain induced trance. All the pain that she'd thought for a feverish moment was someone else's came crashing back into her reality.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" someone yelled from somewhere behind the weird ring Murakumo had made. Naya didn't care. All she cared about was the pain. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. She was left panting on the floor, entirely exhausted and naked, for the lightning had charred her clothes to cinders.
"Remember Naya, tonight." Murakumo whispered in her ear as he dragged his blade across her cheek and a small trickle of blood was left in its wake. Then he was gone. A second later another splintering sound was heard and someone kneeled down beside her.
"Naya. Naya! Come on, look at me!" the voice commanded. She shivered and the person left her side.
{He's leaving.} she realized vaguely. {He must think I'm too much trouble to deal with.} She lay there and felt her anger rise, at who she didn't know, but it weighed her down like a stone tied around her neck. It quickly evaporated though, when she became aware of the feather soft touch of a blanket being draped over her. "Thank you." She managed to croak. When she opened her eyes she saw Kusanagi wasn't looking at her, but around her at the pillars that stood, testifying to what had happened just a moment ago.
***
"A ceramic field." Kusanagi muttered to himself. {How the hell can this be? Kaede never had any kids, and I've never, except with Momiji. Our first child died. How could there be another Kushinada besides Aiko and Shen? It just doesn't make sense!} "Your welcome," he said absently. {The only solution I can come up with is bringing her home with me. I hope Momiji doesn't mind. Well, she didn't the last time.}
He became aware of her whimpering and looked down. Blood was soaking through a small spot of the blanket. "What the hell did that bastard do to you?" he asked as he carefully peeled the blanket away, making sure not to let it slide too low. A small piece of her skin seemed to be missing.
"I told you he'd come back Kusanagi. Why wouldn't you listen? He could have finished me off sooner rather than later. Why? Why did you save me? Do you enjoy torturing me so?" she screamed, tears running down her cheeks, as she feebly pounded her fists against his chest. He let her. She was too weak to hurt him.
"I won't let him kill you. Not while I can stop it. We need to get you dressed and back to my house so we can keep you safe."
"Alright," she said as she stood on unsteady legs. She stayed standing for exactly two seconds before her knees buckled. Luckily Kusanagi was there to catch her. "I think I'm going to need some help." She looked at him apologetically and Kusanagi blushed.
It took ten minutes to get her dressed, even with Kusanagi helping to support her. He was blushing the deepest shade of crimson anyone can manage by the time she was dressed. He hadn't been much help, he knew, since he'd been looking anywhere but her.
As she dragged her socks onto her feet he thought. He still couldn't come up with conclusion as to who she was. "How in the world did she survive what Murakumo did to her anyway?"
"I'm not quite sure how myself." Naya responded. Kusanagi jumped at the sound of her voice and looked at her. "No, I didn't read your mind. You were thinking out loud."
Kusanagi smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just so confused. Do you know who your mother was?"
Naya shook her head. "I'm sorry. I never had a mother. Or if I did, I don't remember her. Murakumo probably killed her if she even stayed around," she muttered miserably. Under her breath she echoed Murakumo's words to herself. "I would have drowned her at birth." {He would have had he known I would turn out like this.}
"I'm glad he didn't. It would have been a waste of a perfectly wonderful girl," Kusanagi said as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We need to get going."
"Sure."
~*~
"Momiji, I'm home!" Kusanagi called as he entered the house.
"Kusanagi, I'm so glad your safe!" Momiji said as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I was so worried that that girl had done something to you. I almost started to think she really did kill you!"
"Well, she didn't. She didn't even try. Forget that she ever did though. It doesn't matter."
"What? What do you mean?" She raised her eyebrow and gave him the "you've done something and I know it" look. "What's going on?"
Kusanagi stepped aside and a self-conscious girl stepped into view. She stood there shuffling her feet uneasily. "Momiji, meet Naya." Kusanagi said evenly.
Momiji only faltered for a moment. "I'm glad to meet you." She pasted a smile on her face and held out her hand. "It's a pleasure."
Naya stared puzzled at the offered hand for a moment before she awkwardly extended her own, grasped Momiji's, and shook it. "The pleasure is all mine," she replied quietly.
"NAYA!" two voices cried in unison and came running to her. Kusanagi knew they were going to be all over her so he wisely intercepted his children.
"Not right now. Both of you have chores to do." Both of them groaned and walked away, steeling glances over their shoulders. Naya waved at them as the left. When Kusanagi turned back towards her and his wife she threw him a grateful look.
"What was all that about?" Momiji wanted to know.
"Naya had a run in with an old friend of ours," Kusanagi said sarcastically.
"Murakumo?" Momiji's face paled a little. "I think we should go into the living room."
{What in the world is Momiji up to? There's something she's not telling us and I know it. She's not that good at hiding things.} They emerged into the living room and Kusanagi saw a woman standing with her back to them as she inspected the titles of the books on the shelf before her. "Sakura?" Kusanagi said in surprise. "How are you?"
The woman turned and flashed him a dazzling smile. "Well, the great Kusanagi has been taught some manners! I never thought it possible. I'm doing fine. And you?"
"Fine. What are you doing here?"
"I heard about some Aragami disturbances," she said frankly.
"Oh." Kusanagi took a minute to study her. She wasn't the oversexed brat who thought she could do everything that she'd once been. He knew that the moment he'd laid eyes on her. She was now a sophisticated woman who thought she could do everything.
"Sakura, this is Naya," Momiji said after a moment of silence.
Sakura's eyes traveled to the younger woman standing beside them and grew larger. Immediately she reached into her purse and drew out a slip of paper with ceremonial writing on it. "Die Aragami scum!" she yelled as she started to throw it, but Kusanagi promptly plucked it out of her hand. "What the heck did you do that for? You've got an Aragami in your house!"
"Naya is our guest and so are you. We prefer that one guest doesn't incinerate the other in this house, no matter what the cause," He said evenly, somehow managing to keep a straight face when he spoke.
"Guest?" she echoed. "Have you been brainwashed?!"
"Sakura! You're being rather rude!" Momiji said in a slightly raised voice.
"Well its an Aragami!"
"Stop being such a-"
"Its quite alright Momiji. She has every right to want to kill me. I am a worthless Aragami after all," said quietly.
Kusanagi spun around to face her. "I thought I already told you, you are not Murakumo's daughter!" he yelled. Everyone stared at him.
"I think maybe we'd better sit down and have one of you explain this." Sakura told them as she sat down in a chair, rather than fall on the floor.
Half and hour later Sakura new every detail about what had gone on in the past few days. She sat quietly for a few minutes digesting the information she'd been given. "Oh, Momiji, what I came here to tell you was. was that.. the. The TAC, everyone but us is gone." Her voice was so choked with tears that she couldn't say anything else.
"Gone? You mean-you mean they're all dead? Mr. Kunakita? Koume? Everyone?" Sakura nodded. "Oh God, that means one of us is next," she whispered.
"No." All eyes in the room turned to Naya. "Neither of you will die, I assure you. I take full responsibility for what happened." She hung her head. "I killed them," she whispered. "I killed them all."
"You?" Kusanagi asked, completely shocked. He'd thought her incapable of doing that to anyone, not just the kids.
"They didn't deserve to die! I killed them in cold blood! I shouldn't have! I should have stuck to the mission Murakumo gave me and just killed Kusanagi and the Kushinadas!" When she realized what she was saying, she clamped her hands over her mouth.
"Sit back down." Sakura ordered and Naya realized that she'd gotten up when she'd gotten agitated. "How many matamas do you have?"
"Two. Just two now."
"Now?" Sakura asked, arching a graceful eyebrow. Kusanagi and Momiji sat quiet, knowing Sakura was getting at something.
"Murakumo took one from me today." Her eyes seemed to glaze over and her face lost some of its life.
"You were FLYING with only THREE MATAMAS?!" Kusanagi shouted. {Now I've heard everything. Either that or I'm really dead and this is an afterlife set up to torture me.
"Yes, is there a problem with that? Should I be able to fly with less?" Naya asked, concerned that she was being scolded.
"Can you still fly?" Sakura asked.
"I'm not sure."
"Try," Sakura demanded. Naya bowed and stood. Promptly she rose about an inch in the air before she fell to the ground. "Guess not." Sakura said, slightly amused.
"Thelma! Come back here!" Aiko called from the hallway as a huge dog bounded into the room. A shriek was heard and Naya shot up from the floor and somehow was floating in the air right next to the ceiling. That was the only thing that kept her from going farther.
"Thelma go!" Sakura commanded. The dog put its tail between its legs and started to back out of the room. "Heel." Thelma came forward and Sakura produced a bone for the dog before she sent it out of the room. "Sorry, she's a bit sensitive. Are you okay?" Sakura asked as Momiji shut the door against further intrusions.
Naya had been so terrified it seemed that she'd retreated to some remote corner of her mind. When Sakura spoke she snapped back to herself and found that she was floating in the air. At the same time she remembered that not only was she not able to fly, but that she was without one matama and she was very weak.
Immediately following that, she fell. Kusanagi jumped out of his chair, caught her, and deposited her on the couch before returning to his seat. "You know Momiji, she's about as much trouble as you use to be," he commented. Kusanagi was rewarded with a punch on the arm.
"You'd better watch it Kusanagi," Momiji joked. "You might get another admirer."
"Heavens forbid."
"I'm sorry Thelma scared you. I forgot she was here. You're afraid of dogs then?"
"That was a dog?" Naya asked as she trembled.
"Well, yes. Haven't you ever seen one before?"
"No. To tell the truth all I've seen are small dogs. For a moment I thought it was a hell hound," she admitted.
"A hell hound?"
"Never mind. Before, what was its name, Thelma came in, you were saying?"
"Is that the total amount of matamas you've ever had?"
"No. For a day, once, to complete a mission Murakumo lent me a fourth one."
"What was that mission?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Naya whispered as she lowered her eyes from Sakura's face.
"Where was the matama located that Murakumo took?" Sakura demanded.
"Here." Naya pulled down her shirt a bit, just enough for them to see the spot that Murakumo had cut.
Sakura let out a bark of laughter and a sad smile filled with irony spread across her face. "Well, I guess the TAC got what it deserved after all." A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away with an impatient hand.
"What do you mean?" Momiji asked. "They didn't deserve that!"
"You remember your first child, Calida?" Sakura didn't bother to be nice about the touchy subject.
Momiji's eyes instantly misted over with tears she vowed never again to shed. "How could I forget?"
"Your child never died, or at least not that we know of." Sakura said. She made sure to stay as detached from her heart as she could.
"I was there! I saw her put into the ground Sakura! Don't give me this crap that she didn't die!" Momiji sobbed. Kusanagi moved and pulled her into a comforting hug.
"That baby wasn't yours. You see neither Kusanagi nor myself thought that the Aragami were entirely gone. There were just little things that indicated that, but we thought we'd ignore it and see what happened. Then you, Momiji, became with child and everything changed. We knew the Aragami weren't dead because of a, well, you could call it a birthmark your baby had." She took a breath before going on.
"If you remember, Ryoko had her baby on the same day as you. All of the TAC but Ryoko saw the baby and it was decided that they would be switched right then and there. No one wanted a chance of the Kushinada being killed. So in the dead of night they spirited Calida away up to Ryoko's room and Mr. Kunakita put his child in her place.
No one knew of the birth defect at the time, but it resulted in Alla's death. The baby you buried was Alla. The day of the funeral, when everyone was milling around, Calida was spirited away by someone. No one knew who and they never found her, or a body, but it was assumed that she was dead. Ryoko found out what Mr. Kunakita had done and she was very distraught. That's why their marriage ended."
"You went along with that? How could you! YOU BITCH!" Momiji leaped across the space between them and grabbed for Sakura's throat, but Kusanagi grabbed her and held her back.
"You'd better get out of our house before I kill you myself." Kusanagi growled. Even he had tears coursing down his cheeks.
"But your daughter isn't dead Kusanagi. She's sitting right there." Sakura said, smiling slightly, a she pointed at Naya.
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Dream Keeper: So, how'd you like?
Christa: Okay, we know, a few too many tears, but hey, it makes a good story! ^_^
Dream Keeper: Well, thanx all you loyal readers for your support and kind reviews! You really make our day!
Christa: *yawns* Time for bed! Next chapter coming sometime in the next two months!
Dream Keeper: Sorry, we're having a bit of trouble typing some fics because they are all chapter fics and we've got writers block on some of them!
Christa: So we've got to get some chapters up on those. Hope you enjoyed. Night! *peace sign*
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