Kokoro No Kaitou : Once Lost, Now Found
Chapter 15
~*~
The other group arrived at the castle a bit later, and had almost the same reaction as Naomi. They all gaped at the edifice - the magnificent, yet distinctly evil place.
"Hey, guys, wait up!!"
They all turned to see a certain carrot-topped teen running down the hill towards them. Call him Grace, but he fell face first and slid down the rest of the way.
Hiei had been surprised and enraged about Kuwabara's just showing up. Surprised at the fact that he had managed to find them without any outside help, and angry that he had disobeyed his direct order to stay behind with Yukina and Naomi.
He growled at him. "Baka! I told you to stay in Reikai!!"
"She came here with Chuu." He said, standing and dusting himself off. "And Kurama's mom was sayin' some weird stuff about Amaya not being Amaya, and to keep Naomi away."
Midori looked over at the castle. "I hope she's okay…"
Dawn noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned slightly, and said, "Better be worried about us." She said. "We were expected."
A whole fleet of the sendings were coming towards them, and they all got ready for the fight.
~*~
Chuu glanced down at Naomi. She seemed quite upset, and he couldn't blame her.
The girl had never known a father, and one day, he just shows up and doesn't say a word about their relation.
He'd be mad too, were he in her place…
They were now wandering around the halls, trying to find either Amaya or Kurama.
Naomi suddenly stopped in front of a door, and the Australian warrior stopped as well.
"Naomi-kun?"
"There's something powerful in there…I can feel it calling my name." She said. She turned and pushed open the door, and they entered.
The room looked like it belonged in a cathedral. The whole room seemed to be made of gold - golden statues and intricate gargoyles decorated the ceiling and floors, and great golden pillars graced the walls. The ceiling was painted with a detailed and beautiful full moon, with a few clouds blowing past it. It was so realistic, that they would've believed it if someone told them that that was really the moon. On the walls, scenes of equal detail were painted of tennyos bathing and koorime playing with birds.
The center of the room was one giant silver stone, its surface fogged over so that it almost looked like ice. There was a thin layer of fog down by their feet, which added to the illusion. The stone seemed to pulse with silver light.
"Wha'…wha' is this place?" Chuu asked.
Naomi's eyes seemed to glaze over for a second. Her hand moved to her necklace.
"This power…is familiar." She whispered.
"Naomi?"
She snapped out of whatever daze she had been in. "Huh? What?"
"You okay?" He asked.
She nodded, and touched her necklace again. "Chuu!"
"What?"
"My necklace…is pulsing." She glanced over at the stone. "In rhythm with that stone."
"Why would it do that?" He asked.
"I don't know." She replied honestly.
Chuu didn't like this room. It was starting to give him the creeps.
"Naomi-kun, I think we should leave." He said.
He grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.
~*~
Kurama took another step into the room, and little flames flickered to life along the walls, lighting up the room.
He blinked for a second, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.
He turned slightly, and saw a woman standing there.
She was beautiful. She had long, flowing silver hair that fell to her waist in glossy sheets. Her eyes were like the churning ocean, a swirl of blue and green. A silver crescent moon adorned her forehead, almost like a tattoo.
Her dress was quite unusual for her. She wore all black, which made her look even paler than normal. The top a halter, and there was a white cord tied beneath her chest. Her skirt was long, and had two slits running all the leg on both sides. Another white cord was tied loosely around her waist. To complete the look, she wore high-heeled shoes with straps that crisscrossed her feet and tied at her ankles.
One had was placed causally on her hip, and he noticed that two golden bands adorned each wrist.
There was a sharp pain in his chest when he breathed her name, and her beautiful face held no recognition of him.
"Ah, kokitsune. I wasn't expecting you just yet."
Kurama looked over at Tsuki, who had just entered from the other side of the room.
"What's wrong with Amaya? What did you do to her?" He demanded.
"I merely took control. I forced her soul out of her body, and let part of mine enter it. In about three hours, Amaya's soul will disintegrate, and there will be no chance of ever getting your precious mate back."
The way she said it…so callous and cold…it sent shivers down his spine. But that was because…before he had met Amaya, he had been the exact same way…
"However, if you can break her bracelets, then my soul will return to me, and her soul will be free to return to her body."
"Why do you need her?" He asked.
"I need her to raise the goddess called Koori. Because when that goddess is raised, a sacrifice is needed to complete her. Someone with her blood…" She ran a finger down Amaya's cheek, and Kurama growled. "And when Amaya is dead and Koori is raised, I'll take over her body. My sendings and bugs will be child's play compared to the powers I'll have. Of course, I can't raise Koori without that necklace. So until I find it, you two kiddies can play."
She turned on her heel and started walking away. She snapped her fingers, and Amaya's eyes flashed.
"Kill him."
~*~
"Ah!" Naomi stopped walking and touched her head gingerly.
"You alrigh'?" Chuu asked.
"Yeah…it was just a little pang." She said.
"Naomi-chan!!"
The hanyou was suddenly tackled to the ground by Midori. Chuu sighed.
"Midori, get off of me!!" Naomi growled.
Chuu helped them both up, and Midori grinned. "So, what have you two been up to, all by your lonesome?"
Chuu stared at her, and Naomi blushed slightly.
"Midori!" Naomi exclaimed, mortified.
The phoenix just giggled, and started singing, "Naomi and Chuu, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!"
"Knock it off!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Have you guys seen my mom?" Naomi asked, trying to hide her blush and change the subject.
"No, we haven't." Hiei replied.
"Only a few ugly sendings." Dawn said. She flipped her flaming red hair over her shoulder.
"Damn…my ningen…body can't…take this any more." Kano panted.
Midori looked over at him. "Are you alright, Kuronue-kun?"
He nodded. "Just tired."
"More like out of shape." His twin snorted.
"I'm not out of shape! For your information, I can bench press more than you weigh, I do a hundred push ups in one sitting, and I've got what you ladies refer to as a 'six-pack'. Do you call that out of shape?" He said.
Midori looked over at him. "You've got a six-pack?"
"Wow, I thought you'd know something like that, Midori." Naomi said, wanting to get back at her for the teasing.
"I've never seen him shirtless before." The phoenix replied.
"I thought that you'd have already." She said.
Midori glared. "Shut up. Daydreaming doesn't count."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Look, let's just go. We need to find that idiot and Amaya before they get themselves into trouble."
"I don't know if this will mean anything…but we found this weird room with a huge gem in the floor. My necklace seemed to react to it." Naomi said.
The corridor suddenly shuddered, putting them all on their guard.
The floor beneath Naomi's feet turned black like a shadow, and tendrils shot up and wrapped around her. She screamed, but her cries were cut off when she was pulled into the floor.
"Naomi!" Chuu exclaimed, running to the spot that she had just occupied.
But the floor was solid again.
"Damn it! She's gone!"
~*~
Naomi slowly opened her eyes, and realized that she was laying on cold, wet stone. She seemed to be in some kind of dungeon…
She sat up, and gingerly touched the side of her head, wincing when she felt a cut.
She looked to the right, and saw Shishiwakamaru there.
"Shishi!" She exclaimed, crawling over to him. "He's…unconscious."
How could I have forgotten about him? He disappeared right after mom did…
"I brought him here earlier, and asked him about the necklace. Unfortunately, the fool had no answers."
Naomi spun to face Tsuki, who had just entered the room.
"Who are you?!" She demanded.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to your aunt?" The fake tennyo replied, smirking.
"You're not her." Naomi said, her sea-green eyes narrowing. "She died when she was little. Who are you? Really?"
She chuckled. "That's not of importance right now. But I'll make you a deal - hand over your necklace, and I'll let you two leave with your lives."
"Sorry, but I don't negotiate with psycho-bitches." The hanyou growled.
Tsuki suddenly disappeared, and Nomi blinked.
"What the-?"
She was hit hard in the stomach, and the force of the blow not only knocked the wind out of her, but made her cough up blood.
Tsuki reached down and easily snapped the necklace off of her neck while she tried to regain her breath.
She smirked. "Thanks."
She turned and shimmered away, leaving Naomi and Shishiwakamaru by themselves.
The hanyou finally caught her breath, and angrily slammed her fist on the ground. "Damn it!!"
Naomi…please…help…me…
Naomi blinked. That had sounded lime her mother's voice…
She shook it off, and proceeded to try to wake up Shishiwakamaru.
She had a bad feeling that they were going to need all the help that they could get.
~*~
Author's Notes : Would it just kill you all if I told you that I'm finished writing the story, and I just need to type it up?
Also, I'm looking for a beta reader. If you spell well, are willing to scream at me when I make a mistake, and you like the idea of being able to read a chapter before I post it, then let me know in a review. Or, just e-mail me. Snowfirefly@aol.com
Mah : Jin is adorable!! He's my second favorite character.
Volinde : The ending will blow you away! And I'm glad that you're reviewing again.
miyako14 : If the suspense is killing you now, then you'll be killing ME by the end of the next chapter. It's such a major cliff hanger that it's not even funny. I'll have people beating me with spiked maces (the same ones they used to beat Shishi earlier).
FallenAngel5641 : The next chapter will have your 'screaming match'. Not to worry. And if you think this was a bad cliffie, wait until the next one. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!
Blue Pixie Dust : You're welcome! I liked your fic!
Sun Priestess : That's okay! It's just that I thought that I wasn't making the story interesting enough, and that's why no one was reviewing…
Lord of Chaos : No way in hell I'm gonna grow up and build bridges… are you a sophomore then? Or are you just incredibly smart?
Story Weaver1 : Yeah, she is a naught phoenix, isn't she? LOL
DarkVixenNisha : I swear, Nisha-chan, you're probably going to leave a super-long review telling me all the horrible, gruesome ways that you're going to kill me when you're done reading the next chapter.
Katie E. : I give you my word that I will NOT kill Kurama for a third time. Do you realize how weird that sounds? He's my favorite character, and I've killed him TWICE.
FieryKitsune : *grins* You know, the next chapter, you will have an attack. Naomi meets up with Kurama in the next chappie, and the ending is such a cliffhanger that everyone is going to send me death threats.
Suzaku no miko : Yeah, you gotta love Kuwa-chan. He's not bishie, but he's adorable in his won way…especially when he's talking to Yukina!
LuckyKoorime : and last but sure as hell ain't least, Lucky-chan. There are times when I'm right too you know… *coughSOMETIMEScough* You wrote fluff! I'm soooooooooooo proud of you! You get the Atta Girl for the day! ^___________^ Hiei and Cassie forever!!! That was so kawaii!
Chapter 15
~*~
The other group arrived at the castle a bit later, and had almost the same reaction as Naomi. They all gaped at the edifice - the magnificent, yet distinctly evil place.
"Hey, guys, wait up!!"
They all turned to see a certain carrot-topped teen running down the hill towards them. Call him Grace, but he fell face first and slid down the rest of the way.
Hiei had been surprised and enraged about Kuwabara's just showing up. Surprised at the fact that he had managed to find them without any outside help, and angry that he had disobeyed his direct order to stay behind with Yukina and Naomi.
He growled at him. "Baka! I told you to stay in Reikai!!"
"She came here with Chuu." He said, standing and dusting himself off. "And Kurama's mom was sayin' some weird stuff about Amaya not being Amaya, and to keep Naomi away."
Midori looked over at the castle. "I hope she's okay…"
Dawn noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned slightly, and said, "Better be worried about us." She said. "We were expected."
A whole fleet of the sendings were coming towards them, and they all got ready for the fight.
~*~
Chuu glanced down at Naomi. She seemed quite upset, and he couldn't blame her.
The girl had never known a father, and one day, he just shows up and doesn't say a word about their relation.
He'd be mad too, were he in her place…
They were now wandering around the halls, trying to find either Amaya or Kurama.
Naomi suddenly stopped in front of a door, and the Australian warrior stopped as well.
"Naomi-kun?"
"There's something powerful in there…I can feel it calling my name." She said. She turned and pushed open the door, and they entered.
The room looked like it belonged in a cathedral. The whole room seemed to be made of gold - golden statues and intricate gargoyles decorated the ceiling and floors, and great golden pillars graced the walls. The ceiling was painted with a detailed and beautiful full moon, with a few clouds blowing past it. It was so realistic, that they would've believed it if someone told them that that was really the moon. On the walls, scenes of equal detail were painted of tennyos bathing and koorime playing with birds.
The center of the room was one giant silver stone, its surface fogged over so that it almost looked like ice. There was a thin layer of fog down by their feet, which added to the illusion. The stone seemed to pulse with silver light.
"Wha'…wha' is this place?" Chuu asked.
Naomi's eyes seemed to glaze over for a second. Her hand moved to her necklace.
"This power…is familiar." She whispered.
"Naomi?"
She snapped out of whatever daze she had been in. "Huh? What?"
"You okay?" He asked.
She nodded, and touched her necklace again. "Chuu!"
"What?"
"My necklace…is pulsing." She glanced over at the stone. "In rhythm with that stone."
"Why would it do that?" He asked.
"I don't know." She replied honestly.
Chuu didn't like this room. It was starting to give him the creeps.
"Naomi-kun, I think we should leave." He said.
He grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.
~*~
Kurama took another step into the room, and little flames flickered to life along the walls, lighting up the room.
He blinked for a second, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.
He turned slightly, and saw a woman standing there.
She was beautiful. She had long, flowing silver hair that fell to her waist in glossy sheets. Her eyes were like the churning ocean, a swirl of blue and green. A silver crescent moon adorned her forehead, almost like a tattoo.
Her dress was quite unusual for her. She wore all black, which made her look even paler than normal. The top a halter, and there was a white cord tied beneath her chest. Her skirt was long, and had two slits running all the leg on both sides. Another white cord was tied loosely around her waist. To complete the look, she wore high-heeled shoes with straps that crisscrossed her feet and tied at her ankles.
One had was placed causally on her hip, and he noticed that two golden bands adorned each wrist.
There was a sharp pain in his chest when he breathed her name, and her beautiful face held no recognition of him.
"Ah, kokitsune. I wasn't expecting you just yet."
Kurama looked over at Tsuki, who had just entered from the other side of the room.
"What's wrong with Amaya? What did you do to her?" He demanded.
"I merely took control. I forced her soul out of her body, and let part of mine enter it. In about three hours, Amaya's soul will disintegrate, and there will be no chance of ever getting your precious mate back."
The way she said it…so callous and cold…it sent shivers down his spine. But that was because…before he had met Amaya, he had been the exact same way…
"However, if you can break her bracelets, then my soul will return to me, and her soul will be free to return to her body."
"Why do you need her?" He asked.
"I need her to raise the goddess called Koori. Because when that goddess is raised, a sacrifice is needed to complete her. Someone with her blood…" She ran a finger down Amaya's cheek, and Kurama growled. "And when Amaya is dead and Koori is raised, I'll take over her body. My sendings and bugs will be child's play compared to the powers I'll have. Of course, I can't raise Koori without that necklace. So until I find it, you two kiddies can play."
She turned on her heel and started walking away. She snapped her fingers, and Amaya's eyes flashed.
"Kill him."
~*~
"Ah!" Naomi stopped walking and touched her head gingerly.
"You alrigh'?" Chuu asked.
"Yeah…it was just a little pang." She said.
"Naomi-chan!!"
The hanyou was suddenly tackled to the ground by Midori. Chuu sighed.
"Midori, get off of me!!" Naomi growled.
Chuu helped them both up, and Midori grinned. "So, what have you two been up to, all by your lonesome?"
Chuu stared at her, and Naomi blushed slightly.
"Midori!" Naomi exclaimed, mortified.
The phoenix just giggled, and started singing, "Naomi and Chuu, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!"
"Knock it off!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Have you guys seen my mom?" Naomi asked, trying to hide her blush and change the subject.
"No, we haven't." Hiei replied.
"Only a few ugly sendings." Dawn said. She flipped her flaming red hair over her shoulder.
"Damn…my ningen…body can't…take this any more." Kano panted.
Midori looked over at him. "Are you alright, Kuronue-kun?"
He nodded. "Just tired."
"More like out of shape." His twin snorted.
"I'm not out of shape! For your information, I can bench press more than you weigh, I do a hundred push ups in one sitting, and I've got what you ladies refer to as a 'six-pack'. Do you call that out of shape?" He said.
Midori looked over at him. "You've got a six-pack?"
"Wow, I thought you'd know something like that, Midori." Naomi said, wanting to get back at her for the teasing.
"I've never seen him shirtless before." The phoenix replied.
"I thought that you'd have already." She said.
Midori glared. "Shut up. Daydreaming doesn't count."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Look, let's just go. We need to find that idiot and Amaya before they get themselves into trouble."
"I don't know if this will mean anything…but we found this weird room with a huge gem in the floor. My necklace seemed to react to it." Naomi said.
The corridor suddenly shuddered, putting them all on their guard.
The floor beneath Naomi's feet turned black like a shadow, and tendrils shot up and wrapped around her. She screamed, but her cries were cut off when she was pulled into the floor.
"Naomi!" Chuu exclaimed, running to the spot that she had just occupied.
But the floor was solid again.
"Damn it! She's gone!"
~*~
Naomi slowly opened her eyes, and realized that she was laying on cold, wet stone. She seemed to be in some kind of dungeon…
She sat up, and gingerly touched the side of her head, wincing when she felt a cut.
She looked to the right, and saw Shishiwakamaru there.
"Shishi!" She exclaimed, crawling over to him. "He's…unconscious."
How could I have forgotten about him? He disappeared right after mom did…
"I brought him here earlier, and asked him about the necklace. Unfortunately, the fool had no answers."
Naomi spun to face Tsuki, who had just entered the room.
"Who are you?!" She demanded.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to your aunt?" The fake tennyo replied, smirking.
"You're not her." Naomi said, her sea-green eyes narrowing. "She died when she was little. Who are you? Really?"
She chuckled. "That's not of importance right now. But I'll make you a deal - hand over your necklace, and I'll let you two leave with your lives."
"Sorry, but I don't negotiate with psycho-bitches." The hanyou growled.
Tsuki suddenly disappeared, and Nomi blinked.
"What the-?"
She was hit hard in the stomach, and the force of the blow not only knocked the wind out of her, but made her cough up blood.
Tsuki reached down and easily snapped the necklace off of her neck while she tried to regain her breath.
She smirked. "Thanks."
She turned and shimmered away, leaving Naomi and Shishiwakamaru by themselves.
The hanyou finally caught her breath, and angrily slammed her fist on the ground. "Damn it!!"
Naomi…please…help…me…
Naomi blinked. That had sounded lime her mother's voice…
She shook it off, and proceeded to try to wake up Shishiwakamaru.
She had a bad feeling that they were going to need all the help that they could get.
~*~
Author's Notes : Would it just kill you all if I told you that I'm finished writing the story, and I just need to type it up?
Also, I'm looking for a beta reader. If you spell well, are willing to scream at me when I make a mistake, and you like the idea of being able to read a chapter before I post it, then let me know in a review. Or, just e-mail me. Snowfirefly@aol.com
Mah : Jin is adorable!! He's my second favorite character.
Volinde : The ending will blow you away! And I'm glad that you're reviewing again.
miyako14 : If the suspense is killing you now, then you'll be killing ME by the end of the next chapter. It's such a major cliff hanger that it's not even funny. I'll have people beating me with spiked maces (the same ones they used to beat Shishi earlier).
FallenAngel5641 : The next chapter will have your 'screaming match'. Not to worry. And if you think this was a bad cliffie, wait until the next one. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!
Blue Pixie Dust : You're welcome! I liked your fic!
Sun Priestess : That's okay! It's just that I thought that I wasn't making the story interesting enough, and that's why no one was reviewing…
Lord of Chaos : No way in hell I'm gonna grow up and build bridges… are you a sophomore then? Or are you just incredibly smart?
Story Weaver1 : Yeah, she is a naught phoenix, isn't she? LOL
DarkVixenNisha : I swear, Nisha-chan, you're probably going to leave a super-long review telling me all the horrible, gruesome ways that you're going to kill me when you're done reading the next chapter.
Katie E. : I give you my word that I will NOT kill Kurama for a third time. Do you realize how weird that sounds? He's my favorite character, and I've killed him TWICE.
FieryKitsune : *grins* You know, the next chapter, you will have an attack. Naomi meets up with Kurama in the next chappie, and the ending is such a cliffhanger that everyone is going to send me death threats.
Suzaku no miko : Yeah, you gotta love Kuwa-chan. He's not bishie, but he's adorable in his won way…especially when he's talking to Yukina!
LuckyKoorime : and last but sure as hell ain't least, Lucky-chan. There are times when I'm right too you know… *coughSOMETIMEScough* You wrote fluff! I'm soooooooooooo proud of you! You get the Atta Girl for the day! ^___________^ Hiei and Cassie forever!!! That was so kawaii!