Kokoro No Kaitou : Once Lost, Now Found
Chapter 3
~*~
The next morning, Kurama awoke a bit earlier than normal. He blamed it on his unusual surroundings at first, then thought better of that.
He had awoke because he had heard voices.
He guessed that in Ningenkai time, it was probably around six. About the time that he normally got ready for school. So, he got up and tried to tame his disheveled hair - a failed attempt.
And seeing as how he was getting nowhere with that, he decided to get some breakfast instead.
He walked back out into the hall, and down into the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Amaya was already there, and Midori was with her. The silver-haired tennyo was drinking a soda, and the phoenix was eating some rice.
Midori smiled at him in greeting, and he returned the gesture. Amaya had her back turned, busily making some breakfast, and thus did not notice the kitsune as he stepped inside the room.
"Morning, Kurama-kun." Midori said, once she had swallowed her mouthful of rice.
"Good morning, Midori." He replied.
Amaya turned around at this, and gave him an awkward smile. "Hello, Kurama. I didn't expect you to be up this early."
He silently wondered if she had forgiven him yet, but decided to not bring up that subject.
"Yes. I wake up quite early to get ready for school every day."
She sighed. "I had forgotten that since you're reborn, you're like a child again. It makes me feel really…old."
"Not at all! I mean, I do have to go through school again, but it isn't anything that I haven't already learned. And I'm still much, much older than you. You're still quite young." Kurama said.
"Still, I feel like such a pedophile, being married - at least, the mate of - someone whose body is younger than mine." She said.
He smiled. "But you certainly don't look a day over eighteen."
She blushed, then smiled back. "Always the charmer. But thank you."
"So…" Midori interrupted. "How old is your ningen body anyways?"
He walked over and sat down at the table. "I'll be eighteen this coming March."
"Right." She paused, before speaking slowly. "What…exactly happened the day that you and Kuronue died?"
"Well, we went to the palace, but we got ambushed." He started. "We were running away, and the pendant that you gave to him snapped. He went back to get it, and…" He drifted off, remembering how the razor-sharp bamboo shoots had rained down upon his friend, killing him in one of the most painful ways that he could think of.
Midori's crimson eyes watered up. "He died…because of my pendant?"
Kurama nodded, and some tears fell down her pale cheeks.
"Then how did you die?" Amaya asked, sitting down as well. She handed him a cup of tea, which he gladly accepted.
"A Bounty hunter. He shot me several times while I was running away." He said. He took a careful sip of his tea.
Midori's sniffling was the only sound in the room for a minute, and Kurama regretted saying what he had. He decided to change the subject.
"So…what happened to you two?"
Amaya, seeing that her friend wasn't exactly in the mood to explain, told her part of the story.
"Well, I had a dream about the two of you getting killed. I woke up, and the lair was on fire. We ran out, and there was a Bounty Hunter there. Touya killed him, and Jin caught me after I fainted. They brought us here to stay with them."
"And how did you end up living with Shishiwakamaru?" He asked. He currently hated the blue-haired samurai, and he needed to know why she would choose to live with him.
"Well, when I woke up, I was already here. Shishi took care of me, and nursed me back to health. I decided to stay here, and Midori stayed with Chuu. After a while, I found out that I was pregnant, and I had Naomi. Midori moved out and got her own home, and she even offered to take the two of us in. I declined. This place was like home to me, and I didn't want to leave it." Amaya said. She smiled slightly, and took another sip of her soda. "Naomi is moving out though. Chuu and Jin are helping her build her house. It should be done within the month."
Kurama was still curious as to who Naomi's father was…
He opened his mouth to ask that very question, when suddenly the silver-haired girl came running into the room.
"Morning!!" She exclaimed, grinning.
Amaya smiled back. "Morning, Naomi."
"Ohayo, Naomi-chan!!" Midori exclaimed as well, suddenly happy again. Kurama decided not to comment on her mood swing.
"So, whatcha all talkin' about?" She asked, flopping down beside the kitsune. She grinned mischievously at him. " Reminiscing about old times?"
He blushed at the implication, as did Amaya.
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" The tennyo stammered.
"Kurama told me that you and him were 'romantically involved.'" Naomi said. "He wouldn't share the details, but that's okay."
Amaya glared at him, and he put his hands up in defense with a nervous grin.
"Wh-what? I didn't do anything wrong! I just said that we were together!" He protested.
"Kurama-kun…" Midori said quietly.
They all looked over at her, and the kitsune was glad that the heat was off of him.
"Since you were reincarnated…" She started. "Was Kuronue reincarnated too?"
Kurama blinked. "I'm…not sure. If he was, then I have yet to meet up with him."
Midori suddenly looked angry, and the room suddenly heated up.
"That isn't fair! How come you got to be reborn, but Kuronue didn't?! He deserved to live too!"
Kurama was surprised at her outburst, as was Amaya and Naomi.
"Uh…Midori-chan? Are you okay?" Naomi asked.
Midori stood, and wiped her eyes. "No…I need some time alone right now."
She turned and walked out of the room. Amaya sighed.
"She misses him so much…"
Naomi stood. "Um, well, I'll leave you two alone. I'll be at Chuu's if you need me."
"We'll meet you there as soon as Shishi wakes up." Amaya said, smiling.
"Right!"
~*~
They all met up at Chuu's house, and tried to decide on a way to deal with the current problem.
There were quite a few suggestions on how to track down the bugs and destroy them, but Touya's method seemed most reasonable. He suggested that they split into groups and try to find people infected with the bugs - because there were sure to be more nearby.
So, they broke up into groups - Chuu, Naomi and Kurama in one, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Midori in another, Shishiwakamaru, Amaya and Jin in yet another, and the final group consisted of Hiei, Touya and Suzuka.
They each went off in separate directions, looking for any sign of the Makai insects.
~*~
Naomi sighed. They'd been walking for hours now, and she was bored out of her mind.
She decided to voice her opinions.
"I'm bored!" She whined.
Chuu and Kurama looked back at her, and she sighed.
"We aren't going to find those stupid bugs!" She continued. "Besides, I don't see why we have to find them in the first place!"
Chuu smiled. "Because if we don't find them, they'll find us. They'll crawl into your skin, an' make themselves a nice, cozy nest."
The girl paled, and Kurama glared playfully at the taller man.
"Chuu, don't scare her like that!"
He smirked back at her. "Don' worry, Naomi-kun. If any bugs try to get near ya, then I'll protect ya."
She smiled. "Thanks, Chuu."
They kept going through the forest, the thick canopy of leaves blocking out any sunlight. Naomi listened carefully.
"Hey, guys…"
They stopped and turned around to look at her again.
"Yes, Naomi?" Kurama asked.
"Do you hear that…?"
Both boys strained to hear what she was hearing. After a minute, Chuu gave her a confused look.
"What? I don' hear nothin'." He said.
She slowly turned so that her back was to them. "Exactly."
All three were instantly on the defense, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Each strained with all of their senses, trying to figure out where any attack might come from.
Suddenly, a shadow leapt out of the trees and tackled Naomi to the ground. She screamed, causing both boys to spin to face her.
"Naomi!" Both exclaimed at the same time.
She growled, and shoved the youkai off of her, jumping to her feet. She held out her hand, and a strange light formed in it. She dived at the youkai, and started slashing at it.
Kurama blinked in surprise when he realized what kind of weapon she was using.
A reiken.
Like Kuwabara's, only made of silver light.
Chuu suddenly started fighting another one of the youkai, which had come out from behind another tree. Yet another attacked Kurama, until all three were fighting.
These demons were tough, and none died easily. And none of three escaped without slight injury.
Naomi looked at the youkai that she had been fighting, taking it in its appearance.
It looked fairly human - almost like a ninja. She nearly giggled at that. The face was entirely covered, with the exception of where the eyes should've been. The rest of the body was clothed in black - baggy black pants like Hiei's, and a black vest over a long-sleeved black shirt.
She reached out and started to pull the mask away, and gasped when a flame suddenly lit up from the inside. She withdrew her hand as though it had been bitten, and the 'ninja' deflated.
There had been nothing inside the clothes…just a talisman.
"They were puppets…" Kurama said. "Interesting…"
Naomi shuddered. This was way too creepy for her liking.
"Yeah. But why woul' anyone wan' ta send one of these blokes after us?" Chuu wondered out loud.
"I just hope that the others are okay." Naomi said quietly.
~*~
Kuwabara looked around the clearing that they were in. There were bodies everywhere, as though there had been a battle. He hated battles like the one that had obviously occurred here - ones that weren't really fights, just slaughters.
There were bodies of women, children, and the elderly, and a few young men.
He felt the urge to kill whoever had killed these people so.
"Ew." Midori said, stepping over a body.
"Hey, guys, I think I found something!" Yusuke called.
They all ran over to him, and looked down at the pile of dust by his feet.
"What's that?" Midori asked.
Kuwabara reached out and touched it, and some of the white powder blew away in the breeze.
"I don't know…" He replied.
He suddenly cried out, and the other two looked at him in surprise.
"Kuwabara, what's wrong?!" Yusuke exclaimed.
He pulled back his finger. "I got a cut on a spike beneath the dust."
They both glared at him for scaring them like that.
He sighed. "I swear, when I find out who did this, I'll-" He cut himself off. "I'm thirsty."
They both stared at him, and Yusuke sweatdropped. "You're thirsty?"
"Yeah."
"Fine. We'll find you some water, you big oaf."
Kuwabara followed him into the nearby village, scratching at his arm. He had a bug bite…
Oh well, he could take care of it later.
~*~
Author's Notes : Dun dun dun…. Ok, there's a thunder storm coming, so I'll skip the replies for this chapter. They'll be in the next one. Also, there isn't time to spellcheck, so if you see anything, let me know.
Chapter 3
~*~
The next morning, Kurama awoke a bit earlier than normal. He blamed it on his unusual surroundings at first, then thought better of that.
He had awoke because he had heard voices.
He guessed that in Ningenkai time, it was probably around six. About the time that he normally got ready for school. So, he got up and tried to tame his disheveled hair - a failed attempt.
And seeing as how he was getting nowhere with that, he decided to get some breakfast instead.
He walked back out into the hall, and down into the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Amaya was already there, and Midori was with her. The silver-haired tennyo was drinking a soda, and the phoenix was eating some rice.
Midori smiled at him in greeting, and he returned the gesture. Amaya had her back turned, busily making some breakfast, and thus did not notice the kitsune as he stepped inside the room.
"Morning, Kurama-kun." Midori said, once she had swallowed her mouthful of rice.
"Good morning, Midori." He replied.
Amaya turned around at this, and gave him an awkward smile. "Hello, Kurama. I didn't expect you to be up this early."
He silently wondered if she had forgiven him yet, but decided to not bring up that subject.
"Yes. I wake up quite early to get ready for school every day."
She sighed. "I had forgotten that since you're reborn, you're like a child again. It makes me feel really…old."
"Not at all! I mean, I do have to go through school again, but it isn't anything that I haven't already learned. And I'm still much, much older than you. You're still quite young." Kurama said.
"Still, I feel like such a pedophile, being married - at least, the mate of - someone whose body is younger than mine." She said.
He smiled. "But you certainly don't look a day over eighteen."
She blushed, then smiled back. "Always the charmer. But thank you."
"So…" Midori interrupted. "How old is your ningen body anyways?"
He walked over and sat down at the table. "I'll be eighteen this coming March."
"Right." She paused, before speaking slowly. "What…exactly happened the day that you and Kuronue died?"
"Well, we went to the palace, but we got ambushed." He started. "We were running away, and the pendant that you gave to him snapped. He went back to get it, and…" He drifted off, remembering how the razor-sharp bamboo shoots had rained down upon his friend, killing him in one of the most painful ways that he could think of.
Midori's crimson eyes watered up. "He died…because of my pendant?"
Kurama nodded, and some tears fell down her pale cheeks.
"Then how did you die?" Amaya asked, sitting down as well. She handed him a cup of tea, which he gladly accepted.
"A Bounty hunter. He shot me several times while I was running away." He said. He took a careful sip of his tea.
Midori's sniffling was the only sound in the room for a minute, and Kurama regretted saying what he had. He decided to change the subject.
"So…what happened to you two?"
Amaya, seeing that her friend wasn't exactly in the mood to explain, told her part of the story.
"Well, I had a dream about the two of you getting killed. I woke up, and the lair was on fire. We ran out, and there was a Bounty Hunter there. Touya killed him, and Jin caught me after I fainted. They brought us here to stay with them."
"And how did you end up living with Shishiwakamaru?" He asked. He currently hated the blue-haired samurai, and he needed to know why she would choose to live with him.
"Well, when I woke up, I was already here. Shishi took care of me, and nursed me back to health. I decided to stay here, and Midori stayed with Chuu. After a while, I found out that I was pregnant, and I had Naomi. Midori moved out and got her own home, and she even offered to take the two of us in. I declined. This place was like home to me, and I didn't want to leave it." Amaya said. She smiled slightly, and took another sip of her soda. "Naomi is moving out though. Chuu and Jin are helping her build her house. It should be done within the month."
Kurama was still curious as to who Naomi's father was…
He opened his mouth to ask that very question, when suddenly the silver-haired girl came running into the room.
"Morning!!" She exclaimed, grinning.
Amaya smiled back. "Morning, Naomi."
"Ohayo, Naomi-chan!!" Midori exclaimed as well, suddenly happy again. Kurama decided not to comment on her mood swing.
"So, whatcha all talkin' about?" She asked, flopping down beside the kitsune. She grinned mischievously at him. " Reminiscing about old times?"
He blushed at the implication, as did Amaya.
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" The tennyo stammered.
"Kurama told me that you and him were 'romantically involved.'" Naomi said. "He wouldn't share the details, but that's okay."
Amaya glared at him, and he put his hands up in defense with a nervous grin.
"Wh-what? I didn't do anything wrong! I just said that we were together!" He protested.
"Kurama-kun…" Midori said quietly.
They all looked over at her, and the kitsune was glad that the heat was off of him.
"Since you were reincarnated…" She started. "Was Kuronue reincarnated too?"
Kurama blinked. "I'm…not sure. If he was, then I have yet to meet up with him."
Midori suddenly looked angry, and the room suddenly heated up.
"That isn't fair! How come you got to be reborn, but Kuronue didn't?! He deserved to live too!"
Kurama was surprised at her outburst, as was Amaya and Naomi.
"Uh…Midori-chan? Are you okay?" Naomi asked.
Midori stood, and wiped her eyes. "No…I need some time alone right now."
She turned and walked out of the room. Amaya sighed.
"She misses him so much…"
Naomi stood. "Um, well, I'll leave you two alone. I'll be at Chuu's if you need me."
"We'll meet you there as soon as Shishi wakes up." Amaya said, smiling.
"Right!"
~*~
They all met up at Chuu's house, and tried to decide on a way to deal with the current problem.
There were quite a few suggestions on how to track down the bugs and destroy them, but Touya's method seemed most reasonable. He suggested that they split into groups and try to find people infected with the bugs - because there were sure to be more nearby.
So, they broke up into groups - Chuu, Naomi and Kurama in one, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Midori in another, Shishiwakamaru, Amaya and Jin in yet another, and the final group consisted of Hiei, Touya and Suzuka.
They each went off in separate directions, looking for any sign of the Makai insects.
~*~
Naomi sighed. They'd been walking for hours now, and she was bored out of her mind.
She decided to voice her opinions.
"I'm bored!" She whined.
Chuu and Kurama looked back at her, and she sighed.
"We aren't going to find those stupid bugs!" She continued. "Besides, I don't see why we have to find them in the first place!"
Chuu smiled. "Because if we don't find them, they'll find us. They'll crawl into your skin, an' make themselves a nice, cozy nest."
The girl paled, and Kurama glared playfully at the taller man.
"Chuu, don't scare her like that!"
He smirked back at her. "Don' worry, Naomi-kun. If any bugs try to get near ya, then I'll protect ya."
She smiled. "Thanks, Chuu."
They kept going through the forest, the thick canopy of leaves blocking out any sunlight. Naomi listened carefully.
"Hey, guys…"
They stopped and turned around to look at her again.
"Yes, Naomi?" Kurama asked.
"Do you hear that…?"
Both boys strained to hear what she was hearing. After a minute, Chuu gave her a confused look.
"What? I don' hear nothin'." He said.
She slowly turned so that her back was to them. "Exactly."
All three were instantly on the defense, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Each strained with all of their senses, trying to figure out where any attack might come from.
Suddenly, a shadow leapt out of the trees and tackled Naomi to the ground. She screamed, causing both boys to spin to face her.
"Naomi!" Both exclaimed at the same time.
She growled, and shoved the youkai off of her, jumping to her feet. She held out her hand, and a strange light formed in it. She dived at the youkai, and started slashing at it.
Kurama blinked in surprise when he realized what kind of weapon she was using.
A reiken.
Like Kuwabara's, only made of silver light.
Chuu suddenly started fighting another one of the youkai, which had come out from behind another tree. Yet another attacked Kurama, until all three were fighting.
These demons were tough, and none died easily. And none of three escaped without slight injury.
Naomi looked at the youkai that she had been fighting, taking it in its appearance.
It looked fairly human - almost like a ninja. She nearly giggled at that. The face was entirely covered, with the exception of where the eyes should've been. The rest of the body was clothed in black - baggy black pants like Hiei's, and a black vest over a long-sleeved black shirt.
She reached out and started to pull the mask away, and gasped when a flame suddenly lit up from the inside. She withdrew her hand as though it had been bitten, and the 'ninja' deflated.
There had been nothing inside the clothes…just a talisman.
"They were puppets…" Kurama said. "Interesting…"
Naomi shuddered. This was way too creepy for her liking.
"Yeah. But why woul' anyone wan' ta send one of these blokes after us?" Chuu wondered out loud.
"I just hope that the others are okay." Naomi said quietly.
~*~
Kuwabara looked around the clearing that they were in. There were bodies everywhere, as though there had been a battle. He hated battles like the one that had obviously occurred here - ones that weren't really fights, just slaughters.
There were bodies of women, children, and the elderly, and a few young men.
He felt the urge to kill whoever had killed these people so.
"Ew." Midori said, stepping over a body.
"Hey, guys, I think I found something!" Yusuke called.
They all ran over to him, and looked down at the pile of dust by his feet.
"What's that?" Midori asked.
Kuwabara reached out and touched it, and some of the white powder blew away in the breeze.
"I don't know…" He replied.
He suddenly cried out, and the other two looked at him in surprise.
"Kuwabara, what's wrong?!" Yusuke exclaimed.
He pulled back his finger. "I got a cut on a spike beneath the dust."
They both glared at him for scaring them like that.
He sighed. "I swear, when I find out who did this, I'll-" He cut himself off. "I'm thirsty."
They both stared at him, and Yusuke sweatdropped. "You're thirsty?"
"Yeah."
"Fine. We'll find you some water, you big oaf."
Kuwabara followed him into the nearby village, scratching at his arm. He had a bug bite…
Oh well, he could take care of it later.
~*~
Author's Notes : Dun dun dun…. Ok, there's a thunder storm coming, so I'll skip the replies for this chapter. They'll be in the next one. Also, there isn't time to spellcheck, so if you see anything, let me know.