Okay, I'm typing this while my grandmother is out, lucky me. She'll be out a whole lot more for the next two days, so I plan on getting this chapter up. Also, I will be posting a new story, They Have Issues, very soon. I've already gotten it written out.
Today is April 7, 2004, a Wednesday. My birthday is Saturday, so there will be a special chapter on Monday.
Love to you all! And thanks for reviewing again, SC.
Chapter Seven: What They Didn't Expect
"That makes it Kurama and Mychela Averys versus Phobos and Deimos!" Juri cried.
-Fear and Panic. How... appropriate,- Kurama teased, trying to lighten her mood of impending doom.
-Isn't it just?- she replied, pulling on her headphones, turning on Fallen, and tuning everything but her upcoming match out. -Who do you want? Mr. Phobos or Ms. Deimos?-
-I'll take Panic. She seems wilier.-
-Is that supposed to imply that I'm stupid?- she snapped.
-No. What's wrong with you today?-
-Nothing.-
He nodded and she sent, -Watch our backs.-
He grinned and a rose appeared in his hand. -Same to you.-
She pulled out her sword and looked at Phobos appraisingly. He looked back at her with an expression something like an animal finally finding his prey. It made her distinctly uncomfortable.
-Let's take these suckers down, Kurama. Whoever strikes first blood gets fifty dollars.- she wagered, trying to get that uncomfortable feeling out of her mind. -You game?-
-Yeah. I'm game.-
She grinned, albeit tensely, and prepared herself to attack.
-You love him. How amusing. You will see his blood run across your hands before you die,- said a strange voice in her head.
Then she knew why Phobos had given her that look. They knew her biggest fear.
Losing someone she loved.
She leapt into the air and, with a silent, pleading apology to Kurama, yelled, "Encircling Shield One!"
He looked up at her, startled, and saw the shield come around him.
She landed on top of the shield.
He saw her land above him, enjoyed the view of her ass for a moment, and then began to wonder why she was protecting him, forbidding him to fight. For as surely as nothing from the outside would penetrate as long as she held it up, nothing from the inside would get out.
Then, he saw the flaming arrows. "Mychela!" he screamed, panicked. If she didn't see those arrows,...
He didn't want to think about it. It brought Youko's anger too close to the surface, threatening his control over the wild demon.
She looked down at him, then in the direction of his terrified gaze.
A surprise attack from cowards too frightened to face their enemies on 'fair' terms. No matter that they were destined to die. They should still play by the 'accepted' terms of the Committee.
"Alectia Snisiar!" she muttered in annoyance, dispelling the attacks.
She 'felt' another ki attack. But, it wasn't headed at her.
It was headed for Grace.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" she screamed, verbally and telepathically, as the attack hit Grace and killed her.
Kurama saw those moments and knew that, were Koenma right on what Mychela and Arelia were, now was the time for them to Awaken.
A flash of white light from outside the ring caught his attention.
Arelia was transforming.
The girl, Arelia, is a Healer-Goddess. Not a youkai. You won't see demonic traits from her. Tods has it messed up there.
:Tods?:
The toddler. Tods.
Kurama didn't say anything more to his darker side. Instead, he watched the transformation.
Arelia, a light-skinned black girl, was becoming a Goddess. A Healer.
Her black biker's suit had become a flowing white dress. Her hair, normally pulled back away from her face, whipped around her in the wind. Green eyes became blind. She grew wings, her hair became longer, and she grew taller and more majestic. More regal.
You'd better take a look at Mychela, Youko said, whistling appreciatively.
He glanced at Mychela, and his jaw dropped.
She was kneeling, surrounded by a black light, her own anger and defiance. There was a tinge of red.
Her own crimson regrets, Youko informed.
Kurama nodded absently.
Mychela's biker's suit had become a flowing black dress, her hair flying behind her, her normally grey eyes becoming as black as pitch. She stood.
Her hands were dripping a black liquid from 3-inch long black nails.
Poison. A very deadly poison. They will only appear when she's hurting, angry, like now.
:You know something.: Kurama accused, knowing he was right. :Talk.:
I'm not quite sure. If I'm right, that girl is very important. The heiress to the Rolle Kingdom. Bunch of nasty hybrids, Youko said, tone superior and disgusted.
:What kind of hybrids? What is she?:
Fox and cobra. The king is Karei, once a reikai tantei. Worked for Tods father.
Kurama looked thoughtful as she turned and faced Phobos and Deimos.
Feathered wings, fox ears and tails, demonic speed, human soul. The soul, though, was buried in mountains of grief, hatred, pain, and agony.
He tried to touch her mind, to calm her, to comfort her.
He was sucked into the chaos.
-MYCHELA!- he cried out, trying to escape the malestrom.
She heard the scream, presumed that it was verbal, and didn't really give a damn. No one hurt her friends, hard earned and much beloved, without dying. Painfully.
She looked down at her hands.
Oh, yes. They will pay, she thought within her fury-consumed mind. They will die. Pain will be their friend. Ah, yes. Their closest friend. They will pray for a quicker death before I am done. Poison them, withdraw it, and poison them again. Again and again until they scream like Grace did.
Somewhere, she knew that she was going insane. That this being wasn't the true her. She wasn't so cruel.
Or was she?
Right now, she didn't care. She wanted to see Phobos and Deimos' blood in her hands, pouring over her skin, draining from them.
"Give me one reason," she told the two cowering, whimpering demons, "that I should be gracious enough to let you live."
Both were silent for a mere moment before crying out, "We have children!"
That didn't suffice.
"They can be taken care of. After all, the Reikai does specialize in that sort of thing," she drawled, trying to rein in her hatred. These two had ordered a defenseless ningen to be killed mercilessly.
Why should she ask for their last words?
-Because you are better than them. You are their superior. You are a royal, and shall always behave as such,- said a familiar voice in her mind. -I am here with you, always, Mychela.-
-Kurama?-
-Hai. I am here with you. Calm yourself. You may kill them, but don't do so in anger. You will feel guilty later. Finish this, koishii.-
She nodded to Kurama and went closer to her two enemies. They scooted as far away from her as they could without falling out of the ring.
"You will die, you do know that?"
They nodded slowly.
"Tell me your childrens' names."
They named two girls and a boy.
"I will take them in." She used the Death Plant she had... appropriated... from Kurama and turned away. Only one word was required now, and it was a word she couldn't wait to say.
"Die."
-x-
Arelia was busy trying to revive poor Grace. Hiei watched, solemn and brooding. Yuusuke, though, was loud and indignant.
"How dare they attack the bystanders! That is so against the rules!"
Yukina and Botan came down.
"You take her soul, Guide, and I will hunt you down to die," said a voice, deeper than the normal wont for a woman. It wasn't said in anger, but in a flat tone that indicated the severity.
Everyone turned to see Mychela (or was it really Mychela?!) and Kurama walking away from the ring, alive, though their two opponents bloomed with death.
"Mychela?" Yukina and Yuusuke gasped.
"No. Not quite Mychela. Her darker side that has slept for far too long," replied the being. "Of course, I will be forced to retreat back into the little known corner of her mind soon. She will think that she has gone insane. Split personalities, though that is an accurate description of what has happened. I guess that, when I appear, you may call me Elyees."
Elyees/Mychela became encircled with that black light again and the real Mychela emerged.
"What... what have I done?!" Mychela cried.
-x-
They were waiting for the next round and Mychela hadn't spoken since she had cried out after Elyees had returned control.
Now, she lay on the bed, staring at something on the ceiling. Or, perhaps, she was done staring at things, and she was now just retreating into her mind, trying to understand what had happened.
"Kurama, what am I?" she finally whispered, not looking at him.
"A hanyou. A hybrid, if you will. God, demon, and human," he replied, not sure if he was capable of explaining this properly. Perhaps he should let Youko take over for a bit.
"A side-show freak at the county fair, hmm?" she queried bitterly. "Something like that, at least."
"NO!" he yelled, not really meaning to get that loud. She glanced at him, raised an eyebrow, and turned her focus back to the ceiling.
"You are a rare kind of demon. Millennia ago, there were several Gods and Goddesses that defied an edict that said that they couldn't mate with demons. These Deities were in love with demons. Kitsunes, fire, ice, electric, every kind of demon. Most of the youkai and their mates were eliminated, as were some of their children, but many escaped. You are a descendant of that mix, but you also have human in you. Somewhere along the line of your ancestors, a kitsune mated with a cobra demon and then someone mated with a human. Perhaps not even in that order. But you are a descendant of the Forbidden Mates."
She had looked at him while he had spoken, respectfully silent.
"But, I'm not supposed to exist, am I?" she finally asked. "The children were supposed to have been wiped out like Hitler intended for the Jews or the Gypsies. I'm not supposed to be here."
He couldn't lie to her. "No, you aren't. Most of the detected children have been... murdered."
She nodded. "Why am I special?"
"You have avoided those attacks five times. Koenma thinks that you could be a valuable ally to the Reikai."
She nodded again. "Kurama, can I ask a favor?"
He looked at her. "Certainly."
"Can I stop pretending to be brave right about now?" she murmured.
He sat beside her and pulled her close. "You should feel like you have to pretend to be brave for anyone, Mychela. Least of all for me."
She buried her face in his shoulder and wept. "I'm glad I didn't die."
"Why?" he asked. He had to make sure that she wasn't suicidal or homicidal. If she was, he would deliberately block Elyees from coming out again until she was ready mentally and physically.
"Because I wouldn't have met you," she replied, grey meshing with green.
He kissed her, knowing that he could be taking advantage of her, but that look was one he couldn't resist.
She didn't pull away. Indeed, she pressed closer. Slowly, he pushed her back on the bed and gave up any semblance of restraint.
-x-
She didn't want to wake up. Then again, she did.
She was slightly sore. A pleasant kind of sore, though. Not sore like she was after Nathaniel had hurt her so many times.
She wriggled, finally noticing that she was rather warm.
That's when she felt a male body. A warm, very much alive, male body.
She opened her eyes, saw red hair, and smiled softly.
She knew now what those romance novels had meant when they had said that one could love their lover.
Which she did.
Intense, gentle green eyes caught hers.
He's been watching me while I sleep, she realized, for some reason embarrassed.
"How long-"
"Fifteen minutes, tops," he reassured, realizing her awkwardness and being touched by it. He kissed her. "You're beautiful, extraordinarily so, when you sleep."
She suddenly blushed. "Thank you. Was it-" her blush deepened until he could literally feel the heat radiating from her face "-as good-"
He broke off her sentence before she burst into an uneasy flame. "Yes. I loved it."
She closed her eyes. "Is it okay if I go to sleep now?"
He pulled her close against him and covered them both up. "Why would I object?"
She blushed darker now. "Erm..."
He chuckled at her lack of skill in this situation. It was charming and so gracelessly innocent that he couldn't help his amusement or the rush of emotions that suddenly had him floundering..
"Sleep, Mychela. We'll talk more in the morning."
She smiled and situated herself, hair tickling his neck, fingers curled against his chest and was immediately asleep.
What do I do now? he asked himself.
He had never intended on taking a lover until he returned to the Makai. Now, he had a lover, Mychela, and, for some odd reason, he had no intention of ever losing her. Or ever giving her up.
-x-
Hello, folks. How d'ya like them apples? Or perhaps I should say that chapter? Anyway, I managed to type this in less than two days, considering I can only type when my grandmum's out. Aren't I lucky?
My life sucks.
So, hello to all my readers. If you're a reader, become a part of the circle of reviewers, whom I adore. If you're a reviewer, I say hello to you all and Happy Easter.
Does anyone really still search for Easter eggs? I do because my little brother makes me. I'm luck about it this year because I have to head back up to Stone Mountain to me and Ivy Raine's school. (I don't live at home.)
If anyone knows a good YYH RPG, I would be grateful. I've been looking for one and can't find a good one. Most of them are all girls, all dating (or fighting over) Hiei or Kurama. *sigh* Annoyingly typical.
C ya in Chapter Eight: Her Fears and Family Feud!