Next chapter. Okay now that the stage is set and it only took three chapters, I'm going to get more into the action stuff, kay? What good is a story without a little fighting? :rubs hands together laughing manically: Enjoy the chapter. ^_^
Disclaimer: Just incase you guys forgot, I don't own anything but Mika, Artemis, and Mericu. I meant it. I notice a few new stories with people using these names. Mika and Mericu were name I came up with that sounded Japanese. Oh well, use them for now. You have my permission.
Chapter 4: Mika Learns the Family Business.
(Meaning what her mother did in the past.)
I woke the next morning fully rested. I was back in my human form since I could no longer feel my tail. I felt oddly warm, I mean warmer than I normally did there. I tried to sit up but something was holding me down by the waist. I looked to my left and there was Kurama sleeping with his arm wrapped around my waist and he didn't have his tunic on.
I nudged him and said, "Kurama could you let me up please?" Kurama groaned and tighten his grip on my waist. "Kurama I know you are awake. Can I please get up?" I whispered in his ear.
Kurama opened his eyes and stared at me for a minute. Then he rolled over on top of me and smiled, "You're not going anywhere."
"If you don't let me up now, I'll never scratch you behind the ears again," I said sternly.
He pushed himself up so he could look down at me. Kurama then said, "You couldn't last more than a week."
"Try me," is all I said and glared at him.
Kurama let out a sigh of defeat and got up off the bed. I sat up and swung my legs off the side of the bed. Kurama put his tunic back on and left me so I could dress. I changed my clothes into a set that was sky blue and lined green.
"Mom must have loved sky blue," I thought, changing.
I left my room and found Kurama in the hallway with his hands in his pockets. We both went to breakfast and found Artemis had decided to sit near us this morning.
"So how did your training go yesterday, Mika?" Artemis asked in a mischievous tone and an evil smile on her face.
I swallowed hard. "Does she know what happened?" I thought and looked at Kurama for an answer.
"She's a natural. I think we could take her on the theft we've been planning. We could use another person inside anyway," Kurama told Artemis.
"Do you think it wise to take her, Kurama?" Mericu said sitting down next to Artemis.
"I kicked your ass, didn't I?" I said glaring at Mericu.
"Mericu, you left that part out when you told me what happened," Artemis said evilly. Mericu could only stutter. "Next time don't leave anything out!" Artemis yelled and hit Mericu over the head and he fell unconscious.
I let out a laugh but stopped when Kurama cleared his throat and spoke up, "I think Mika will do fine. I'll just take her through some techniques today."
The idea finally dawned on me. I turned to Kurama and said, "What if I mess up? I could screw up the entire theft."
"Your mother was our second best thief, you'll do fine," Kurama said and gave me a reassuring smile.
"I knew you had to be related to Diren," Artemis said with excitement, "I could smell it. So how is my old friend?"
"Umm, fine I guess. But I miss her," I said and lowered my head.
"Don't start crying! We can't have you crying tomorrow night," Artemis said in her angered voice.
"I wasn't!" I spat, then tried to give her a smile, "I just looked down for a moment."
Kurama took me out to the clearing, that I trained in yesterday, because he knew I wasn't going to eat anymore. I transformed into my new demon for along the way. When he got there he taught me different ways to sneak into and around a building or hideout. Kurama explained the rules of being a thief. There were a lot of them for a band of outlaws. He set up an obstacle course for me so I could practice with traps.
I fell to the ground in agony after a knife slit my arm. I grasped it and felt the blood trickle through my fingers. "I'm never going to get this!" I yelled.
Kurama walked over and looked at my injured arm. "Just keep at it. And stop whining! You're a demon, have some dignity!" He yelled, though I knew he didn't want to sound mean. Kurama held his hand over the ground and grew a plant with large leaves. He picked off a leaf and said, "Here. I can't have my star pupil bleeding to death." He smiled warmly and I allowed him to see my cut. Kurama then tightly wrapped the leaf around my arm where the cut was. The leaf seemed to cling to itself making a bandage. "That should heal it," Kurama said, getting up and offered me his hand.
I took it and he helped me up. I did the obstacle course over and over again. I finally did it and Kurama had me do it a few more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke. By about 3:00 I had done it 10 times and ended up with a total of 6 bandages. Kurama told me we could rest and I gladly flopped to the ground. Kurama climbed a nearby tree and disappeared from sight.
"This is nuts! How did you do it, mom?" I thought out loud.
I was driven from thought when something hard hit my stomached. "There's lunch," said Kurama jumping out of the tree. And joining me on the ground.
"An apple?" I asked, disappointed in the meager meal and sitting up.
"You can have more. I just thought I would throw one at a time at you," he said biting into another apple.
I glared at him and then turned to my lunch. "Demons eat bacon, eggs, and now apples! A person can start to think they trying to be vegetarians," I thought to myself. I sliced the apple with my claws and ate all but one slice.
Kurama was deep in thought and staring blankly ahead. I took this as my chance to get back at him for throwing the apple at me. I picked up my remaining slice and threw it at him. The apple slice bounced off his neck and into his tunic. I fell over laughing at Kurama as he stood up and shook his tunic until the slice fell to the ground. Kurama cleared his throat and I stopped and stared at his beautiful golden orbs.
"In all seriousness, there will be no fooling around tomorrow night. Now lets get back to training," he said holding out his hand.
I took his hand and with his help got up. I still had a huge smile on my face. Kurama lead me over to the trees.
"Lets get back to sparing," Kurama said and walked a few feet in front of me.
"At least I'm in the shade," I thought and got ready to attack.
Kurama oddly enough formed a rose whip without thorns. He noticed my confusion and let out a loud laugh. This only confused me more. Kurama then went to strike and I ducked down and the whip just missed the top of my head. Instead it hit the tree really hard but didn't knock it down. Then Kurama called back his whip and stood there.
"Ha you missed!" I yelled.
"No I didn't," he says and points upward.
I looked up curious as to what Kurama was talking about. My eyes widened in shock as almost every apple on the tree fell and hit me. After the last apple hit my head I turned my attention to a chuckling Kurama. "Very funny," I said picking up one of the apples at my feet, "Apples are considered plants, right?"
"Yes," Kurama answered, raising an eyebrow.
"Just checking," I said and put some of my spirit energy into the apple, before hurling it towards Kurama.
Just before the apple hit his face, vines sprouted from it and wrapped themselves around Kurama. They bound his arms and legs tightly together causing him to fall over. Kurama laid there, his eyes open wide in shock.
I walked over towards him. I smiled down at him showing my fangs and then said, "How was that? Just came up with it."
"Very good, but next time…..," he said and then sliced through my vines with his claws, "…make them stronger." He stood up and held out a piece of my vine, "But it was clever though. I'll give you that."
I was disappointed that he had sliced through my latest creation as if it was nothing. But of course I wasn't allowed to think long, before Kurama attacked me again. "Who's side are you on? First your teaching me and now you're trying to kill me," I said dodging Kurama's whip.
"Even when it seems safe you can be attacked. Just remember that for tomorrow," he told me and attacked me once again.
"If this is what it takes to steal something, how am I going to survive tomorrow night?" I thought, "But I'm not going to let them down."
Well there's another chapter. Yeah that one was a little shorter, okay a lot shorter. The next one should be longer. In the next chapter Mika goes with the Yushin clan to steal some major goods the only thing is will Mika be able to get back out alive? You'll just have to wait until next time. He he he. R&R See ya.
