Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #7 - Kushiyè no Aku Henshin! Ne Onpu ga Kikoeru
- Kushiyè's Evil Transformation! The Music is Heard -
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]
The crescent moon in the night sky was at its peak at midnight, lingering high above everything else. With the darkness of the shadows and night, it was hard to see anything.
Something is wrong. I can feel it...Chunzhu thought to herself, clutching her hands close to her body insecurely. "Where could Kushiyè be? I hope she is alright." Chunzhu continued.
"Looking for me?" Kushiyè appeared through the shadows of the Youkai Mori, leaning against a sakura tree.
"Why did you run away like that? You had everybody worried," Chunzhu told her.
"That is the exact reason why I left...I worry everyone. I'm sick of it!" Kushiyè said, frustrated.
"No, you do not. Now come on back," Chunzhu encouraged the upset okami.
"But Hiei died for me, that stupid bloke," Kushiyè argued sharply.
"Stop it, no arguing! Don't run off because you are worried about us. And besides, Hiei is alive because of you!" Chunzhu was getting frustrated by Kushiyè and her idiotic belief.
"Fine, now please let me be. I'd like to go to sleep." Kushiyè sprinted off into the dark.
"Wait!" Chunzhu called. She wanted to speak with her more, find out why she was so upset, but she was unable to reach her.
In the distance, Chunzhu heard a howl. It was immediately recognized. "Kushiyè!" Chunzhu called, running deeper into the forest. She was unaware of the yellow, evil eyes staring right at her. In an instant, a demon jumped down from a tree and swiped her claws at Chunzhu's arm.
"Aiyaa!" Chunzhu cried in surprise. She looked at the demon that had attacked her, which alarmed her even more. "Huh? K-Ku-shiyè, is that you? Are you okay?" Blood began to drip from Chunzhu's arm. "Could this truly be Kushiyè?" Chunzhu wondered, dodging another attack from the okami. "Kushiyè, do you not recognize me?!" Chunzhu jumped onto a willow tree to avoid Kushiyè's razor sharp claws.
"SUISHORI!" Kurama had sensed something was wrong, and ran from Kuwabara's house to the forest to find Chunzhu and Kushiyè. "I'm too late...She already transformed," Kurama noticed.
Chunzhu rushed over to Kurama when she noticed him, nearly running him over. She slowed down in time, and he grabbed her on the shoulders to calm her down a little.
"What do you mean she ALREADY transformed?" Chunzhu asked.
"What?! You don't know the legend between wolf demons and the Crescent Moon of the Devil?!" Kurama asked in amazement.
"What's the legend?" Chunzhu questioned.
"According to it, every one hundred and thirty-two years, the Crescent Moon of the Devil comes out, and all of the okami youkai lose control of their senses and bodies. They even attack their friends," Kurama explained.
"How long does this last?" she questioned further.
"Until morming," Kurama answered.
"So what are we supposed to do until then?" Chunzhu wondered.
"How about...we keep dodging." Kurama suggested the obvious as he avoided an attack from Kushiyè's razor sharp claws.
"That helps!" Chunzhu cried sarcastically while running from the evil Kushiyè's attacks.
Kurama pulled a rose out of his hair. "I guess we should take the offensive then? Rose Whip!" The rose transformed into his whip, it's petals delicately falling from its stem.
Chunzhu was temporarily hypnotized by the lovely shower of colored leaflike structures, but then snapped out of it when they had all fallen. "Kurama, be careful," she warned shyly.
He nodded at her and expertly tied Kushiyè to a tree with a flick of his whip. It wouldn't hold for long though. Kushiyè was already starting to split it apart. Kurama was amazed that she was able to break it.
"Kurama..." Chunzhu began, "How about I create a distraction so that we can both get away."
Kurama nodded. "I guess that would work. What are you planning on doing?"
Chunzhu shrugged and put her hands out in front of her. "I do not know...Whatever comes to me first, I guess!" She ignored the look on Kurama's face and fired a blast of light. What looked like a mouse or rabbit made of fire and lighting appeared.
"Is that the best you can do?" Kurama asked nervously.
Chunzhu nodded, "Trust me. She has so little self-control she'll hunt it donw before she finds out it is kitsune-bi."
Sure enough, Kushiyè saw the little mammal begin to run, and chased after it, completely forgetting about Kurama and Chunzhu, who started running as soon as she left. Kurama climbed up a tree, also helping Chunzhu up, and intended to stay there until Kushiyè came back.
"The sun is starting to come up..." Kurama said, examining the sky. "This will be over soon."
Chunzhu gave a relieved sigh. "I just hope this does not happen again."
Unfortunately, Kushiyè had come back, and she crept up behind them and swung her arm, slashing Kurama's neck. They both jumped down from the tree and started running again. Kushiyè, however, didn't follow this time. She fell to the ground and returned to her original state. No one had witnessed this though. Kurama and Chunzhu had went to the outside of the forest, looking in, awaiting Kushiyè.
"She is not coming..." Chunzhu started to walk toward the path they had come from. "I am going to see what is wrong. Please stay here."
Kurama nodded in understanding and watched her leave. He let out a little chuckle at her attempt of being brave. She was acting foolish, yes, but she was trying all the same. He looked up, noticing the moon had almost completely dissapeared. But...what if Kushiyè's evil facade hadn't?
* * * *
Kushiyè's eyes slowly opened in awakening. She sat up and froze, sensing something there. Scanning her surroundings, she realized that Chunzhu was there.
What is she doing here? And why am I on the ground? Kushiyè wondered. She was aware of something else odd. Fear. Why was Chunzhu scared? She stood up and walked to her. "Zhu, what's wrong?" As she got closer, she smelled blood. "Are you hurt? What happened?" Kushiyè couldn't remember anything since last evening, when she had run away from everyone. The very last thing that occured was a horribly painful headache...but then what?
Chunzhu backed away from her. Kushiyè could hear her footsteps. The distinct smell of her blood was now definite. Blood, fear...What was wrong? Someone must have hurt her, but who?
"Who hurt you?" Kushiyè asked.
Chunzhu laughed nervously. "Kushiyè..." she weakly managed to say, as if she were expecting Kushiyè to rip her head off.
Kushiyè didn't move. Chunzhu continued, "Well, I really do not have a clue what is going on. Ask Kurama, he's right outside of the forest." She began to walk away. "Come on." Her hand motioned for her to follow.
Kushiyè did follow, with a million questions on her mind. What was Kurama doing in the forest? Were they both hurt? Who did this? Why is Zhu acting so nervous? Why can't I remember what happened last night?
They reached the edge of the Youkai Mori, where Kurama sat, waiting. Kushiyè sensed that Kurama had been injured as well, and he also seemed a little nervous.
"Kurama, tell Kushiyè what happened. I did not really understand that legend stuff," Chunzhu said, sitting down next to Kurama. She cautiously examined the cut on his neck.
Kurama winced as her fingertips fluttered around it, then sighed. "Last night, the Crescent Moon of the Devil came, and legend states that all okami youkai are affected by it, losing control of themselves, and attacking anything in their sight. That's what happened to you, and we were unfortunate enough to be there when it happened." He coughed, the gash on his neck affecting his voice a little.
Chunzhu drew back her hand in surprise, then patted his back and offered to help him up. He refused at first, but then after a failed attempt to get up on his own, she pulled him up.
"Thankfully," Chunzhu continued, "it only happens once every one hundred and thirty-two years." She turned away from the Youkai Mori. "Now that the nightmare has ended, we should go check on the others," she said cheerfully.
Is it really over though? Something still doesn't seem right... Kurama thought, keeping it to himself as he stood up.
"Kurama, do you have something on your mind?" Kushiyè asked a very confused Kurama.
"Nothing," he lied.
I wonder...was that the truth or just a cover-up? Kushiyè thought to herself as they continued through the Youkai Mori.
When they reached the city boundaries, Kushiyè stopped suddenly.
"Hm? Kushiyè..." Chunzhu stopped, followed by Kurama. Kushiyè seemed a little frightened for some reason. "What is wrong Kushiyè?" Chunzhu asked innocently.
"Ummm...problem," Kushiyè whispered in her Australian accent.
"What?" Chunzhu asked, naive to the fact that she looked very foolish.
"Um...just look at me for a second and then you'll figure it out." Kushiyè stood completely still.
"Hm..." Chunzhu looked at her carefully. A long, pointed ear twitched. She streched out her clawed fingers and three bushy tails waved behind her. Those were features no one else in the city had.
"Oh," Chunzhu realized, laughing nervously.
"Right...so what do we do?" Kushiyè asked.
"I have no idea," Chunzhu answered, looking down helplessly.
"How about you go into a human form," Kurama suggested.
Kushiyè smiled, "That would be a great idea!" She paused, and her face faulted, "If I knew how to transform."
"Just focus all of your ki on a human form," Kurama explained.
Kushiyè looked at him with disbelief. "Okay, easier said than done," she commented.
Kurama took her hands in his and transfered some of his human energy to her. "Just give it a shot, Kushiyè," he said reassuringly.
Kushiyè couldn't help but let out a small laugh as a pair of silver kitsune ears sprouted from his head, due to the loss of human energy. After she was finished, she focused all of her energy on a human form.
As Chunzhu saw the ears appear on Kurama's head, a wave of confusion swept over her. Why though? The sight seemed familiar, and made her feel...strange. It was hard to describe. Possibly a hostile feeling? She let her back fall against a tree for support, digging her nails into its bark to restrain herself from inflicting the pain that was forming inside of her. What reason did she have for it though? What was wrong with herself? She let out a sigh from her burning chest, feeling the anger leave as quickly as it had come. She stayed against the tree, the searing pain 'echoing' throughout her body. Why did that happen though? The impossible thought struck her. Kurama could be a kitsune. She remembered one time before her fight with Yousokaze, someone mentioned it...but how could she have been so ignorant? She would have to confront him some other time though. She didn't want Kushiyè to see her so stressed.
Kushiyè's form was already beginning to rapidly change. Her tails dissapeared, paws turned to feet, claws and fangs vanished, and her ears shrunk to a normal size.
Chunzhu took in another deep breath, let it out slowly, and looked over at Kushiyè. She left the kind support of the large tree and took a step towards her...away from Kurama. "Wow, you look so different," she breathed as Kushiyè felt her ears in confusion.
Kurama eyed Chunzhu suspiciously. "What's wrong with her?" he muttered to himself. He didn't bother to worry though. She was probably just a little tired from the assault Kushiyè had set upon her earlier. "Can we go now?" he asked.
"Hai," Kushiyè answered. She took one step. "Ahh!" Kushiyè lost her balance and fell. "Ow."
"Kushiyè, are you okay?" Chunzhu looked down to where she had fallen.
"I...can't...walk," Kushiyè complained.
"Why not?" Chunzhu asked.
Before Kushiyè could answer, Kurama began an explaination. "It's her feet and lack of tails. She's used to having paws and tails to keep her balance."
Kushiyè stumbled to her feet. "Thank you, Kurama, so how can we fix this?"
Kurama looked clueless for a second. "This is annoying. Okay...Try to keep your balance," he suggested.
Kushiyè's eye twitched. "That was helpful," she said with sarcasm.
Chunzhu grabbed Kushiyè's arm. "I will help you," she proffered, "Where are we going, Kurama?"
"Everyone should be at Kuwabara's house." He turned to begin walking, and gestured for them to follow. "I'll lead." He gave a flawless, amiable smile to the stumbling okami to cheer her up.
The unbalanced okami giggled, and Chunzhu rushed up to Kurama, after making sure Kushiyè could walk by herself for at least a minute. "Kurama, when you were transfering your ki...what were those ears?" She spoke in a low voice.
Kurama looked over to a streetsign for direction. "You'll find out one day. Hopefully, you'll be ready." He really didn't want her to know about his...youkai heritage. If she ever found out, she might shoot him to hell by firing a shard of energy into his duodenum. Hell or at least the worst place he could imagine. He began thinking of ways to prevent this...because if his fear came true, she would find out and never forgive him for it. From what he heard, she had a grudge against demons as well. She probably only tolerated Kushiyè as a friend, but as for him and Hiei...He recalled how she had been so dead-set on killing Yousokaze, saying demons were evil...A bad experience, perhaps? Should he get away from her as soon as he could, or try to change her mind with kindness and generosity? Why was he worrying so much anyway? He irritably shook his head to forget all about it.
Chunzhu was surprised at his tone when he had answered her. It was almost threatening, and the slight presence of a possible other self made her feel...threatened for some reason. She combed her fingers through a thick handful of blue purple hair in a small attempt to comfort herself. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked at Kushiyè, still having a hard time keeping her balance.
It really was frustrating, being in that state. Kushiyè had difficulty with so many simple things. Even after obtaining a human form, she knew she didn't look normal. Hell, nobody in the group did. Kushiyè's bright green hair caught everyone's attention, not to mention the outfit she was wearing was one she had to make herself, so it wasn't exactly top-quality. She looked at the people around her. Ningens...they seemed like perfection. She received an odd glance from Zhu, which made her stop her thoughts, and fall again.
"We're here!" Kurama announced, knocking on the front door to Kuwabara's house. After a moment, the doorknob clicked, and the door swung open to reveal Kuwabara and Yusuke, relieved but formerly worried.
"You said you were going on a walk!" Yusuke complained. "What happened?"
Kurama stepped in calmly. "I had to save the little fox," he explained shortly, trying to hide the smile that had resulted from the creation of the odd nickname he had just created for Suishori. It was a short description of the events of last night, but he really didn't want to even mention the Crescent Moon of the Devil.
Chunzhu hung her head at his answer and said in a dull voice, "You didn't have to save me." She looked up to smile at Kuwabara and Yusuke, then look down again, removing her shoes and following Kurama.
"Zhu's acting a little depressed," Yusuke noticed, "Should we be worried?"
"Don't worry, she'll snap out of it sooner or later," a voice soothed. Kuwabara and Yusuke looked over to where the voice had come from. They saw a young, lovely girl, looking very familiar, standing in the doorway. Her voice had an Australian tone to it, one they knew...Of course, only Yusuke realized who it was, and couldn't stop Kuwabara from saying something stupid.
"Oi Kurama, who's the bishoujo?!" Kuwabara called, "Did you finally get settled with someone?"
"What?!" Kurama opened the door to Kuwabara's room. "That's Kushiyè!" he answered, a little embarrassed from his friend's thought.
"Idiot." Yusuke teased from under his breath.
Kushiyè took a clumsy step in. "I'm glad you like my human form. Of course, it takes some getting used to." She felt a strong arm sling over her shoulders.
"Don't worry Kushiyè. I'll help," Kuwabara volunteered with a grin.
Yusuke sweatdropped, and followed Kuwabara and Kushiyè as they started going to his room. "So, how do you think Zhu and Kurama are doing?" He couldn't help grinning. "You know, being alone in a bedroom and all."
"Yusuke! I think they have more self control than that!" Kushiyè scolded, then remembering a word she once heard that seemed to fit the situation, "Although kitsune are known for their libidos..." What EXACTLY did that mean...?
"Not in my room!" Kuwabara was ready was ready to ram the door open, but Yusuke held him back.
"Can we see what happens?" Yusuke asked, still simpering. "Right now, they're still talking." He put his ear to the door. "Still talking..." He couldn't make out the words, but he knew it was something deep, by the tones of their voices. ANd then, they suddenly stopped. Yusuke removed his head from the door. "OKay, they've stopped talking and are now doing God-knows-what."
Kushiyè slowly opened the door out of worry and curiosity, and was relieved to only find them exchanging contented smiles. Had they heard Yusuke though? Had they stopped because of that? She decided it was best not to ask.
Kurama whispered something into Chunzhu's ear with a serious face on. Her eyes went soft with possible true happiness for a second.
"Should I tell them?" she asked.
He shook his head in refusal. "Our business," he muttered.
Everyone became nervous again.
She nodded happily as she began to examinehis neck injury. She wore a cute smile as he remained completely still. She was in an especially good mood because...well...perhaps this whole elemental gem stone recovery could work out better with the Reikai Tantei. He was a good conversationalist, and it was actually very relieving to have someone to speak to for once.
Seeing Chunzhu investigating his wound reminded Kushiyè of the others and how they had been injured when they had rescued her from Yousoyama. "Oh! You guys need to be healed, right?"
Chunzhu nodded her head, "Yes, Kushiyè can heal all of you."
Kushiyè glared, "You're going to help, you know."
Chunzhu shook her head. "I do not have healing powers. I do not need to be healed though. And...I suppose I have doone with I can with Kurama." They noticed his neck had been cleaned and neatly bandaged. Chunzhu put on a helpless smile. "Good luck, Kushiyè."
Everyone scrambled off Kuwabara's bed as Kushiyè sat on it, finally relaxing after having a hard time walking. "Okay, come here minna!" she called, holding out her hands, palms down, over her lap.
Conveniently, that was when Hiei jumped in, through the window, and darted over to Kushiyè before everyone else.
"Hiei?!" everyone cried out in surprise.
He nodded, "I arrived when you were speaking." He looked at Kurama out of the corner of his eye. "I was surprised at what you said." He abruptly turned his attention toward Kushiyè and examined her new human form. "You can turn back into your demon form. I can see you're...having trouble with being a ningen."
Kushiyè glared, but intentionally lost all focus for her human form, returning to her original state, complete with wolfen features. Losing her focus meant more energy to be spared for healing. She raised her hands above one of Hiei's wounds, and sent her energy right toward it, healing his injury. She repeated the process with his other afflictions.
After she finished, Kuwabara got there next. When finished, Kuwabara appeared to be a little dissapointed.
Chunzhu looked up from a manga she was reading. "Is there something wrong, Kuwabaka?" Everyone gave soft, muffled laughs at her error. She tilted her head. What had she done wrong?
"It's Kuwabara," he corrected, scowling, "and I thought healing involved physical contact."
Chunzhu returned her attention back to the manga. "Kushiyè just has this thing about being single, I think. Of course...at least she has a choice in the matter," she sighed.
Before Kuwabara could ask, a freshly healed Yusuke walked up to Chunzhu. "I hate to interrupt, but I think there's something wrong with Kushiyè." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and to Kushiyè, who had just finished healing everyone. She was very still, seeming to be in a hypnotized or robotic state of some sort. "I have to go now...I don't want anyone to get hurt...and a whistle is approaching," she said, making no sense, and jumping out of the open window and into the forest.
"Kushiyè!" Chunzhu called, rushing toward the window. "She seemed weak...and she was acting weird. Is it okay to just let her go like that? She was saying something about a whistle...?"
"You didn't hear it?" Hiei asked, surprised.
"It keeps getting louder..." Yusuke looked toward the Youkai Mori. "It was coming from the forest...but I don't know why Kushiyè acted so strange-," he winced, "It's getting so high pitched..."
Kurama shut the window and led Chunzhu away from it. "I wish we could go after her, but right now going outside would endanger us all. There's a demon present; one skilled with sound frequency. We should wait until the sound stops, and then we can go, but it still could be dangerous to go after Kushiyè, so we can't look for her until tomorrow."
Kushiyè, you had better not get hurt... Chunzhu thought to herself, implying more of a command than a worried statement.
"Daijobou, Suishori," Kurama said as cheerfully as possible. Chunzhu jumped. He couldn't have read a worried face on her, could he?
"Kushiyè is a strong girl. She'll probably be able to handle it," he smiled, and Chunzhu did her best to return the expression.
Kuwabara stood up, "And that gives you time to answer some questions we have. First, what did you have to save Zhu from earlier, Kurama?"
He looked over at Chunzhu nervously. She shrugged, "It would be best to tell the truth," she suggested, running her fingers through her long hair.
"I was afraid they were going to ask," Kurama sighed, "Last night, a curse known as the Crescent Moon of the Devil was unleashed after its routine one hundred and thirty-two year rest. The legend says that it has an effect on wolf demons, and makes them lose all self-control. It was probably just intuition that told me Suishori was in trouble, and so when I got to her, the Crescent Moon already had affected Kushiyè, who had attacked Suishori right before I got there."
Yusuke and Kuwabara looked a little shocked. They had understood, but Kushiyè attacking Zhu didn't make sense. They were friends. And...since when did Zhu matter to Kurama? Fortunately, the Crescent Moon of the Devil only came about once every century, so Kushiyè probably wasn't a threat to them.
"Another question," Yusuke said, looking towards Kurama, "What did you say to Zhu to make her smile like that? Her smile looked so natural."
Kurama shot him a warning glance, which made Yusuke push the question out of his mind. It didn't concern anyone...at least it didn't seem like it did. His main goal was to get her to speak up, and not be so detached and cold. But he himself wondered, where these long, confidential discussions benifiting him as well? Did that motivate him to do so? Was he interested in knowing more so that he could help her or himself? Getting the right kind of information could really help himself in many ways. Was he being a little too selfish? Yes. But she acted selfish as well, so could she have an aim here as well? Somehow, he felt that this would have a dynamic impact on his life, whether he regretted it or celebrated the day he came up with the idea.
Chunzhu didn't like the long, awkward silence. Why was he being so secure? It seemed that everyone had that question on their minds, as well as the desicion not to ask, it being an invasion of his privacy.
"Oi," Yusuke announced dully, making everyone jump at the sudden sound. "I think the sound is calming down." He walked over to the window and opened it. Besides a gentle breeze, there weren't really any other sounds out there.
"What about Kushiyè?" Hiei asked. "I can't sense her."
"She is probably just concealing her ki and hiding from the whatever-it-was," Chunzhu suggested.
Hiei raised an eyebrow, but nodded. It was a half-logical idea, but he wanted to find her. "I'm going to check on Kushiyè," he said, jumping out of the window exactly as Kushiyè had done.
Chunzhu looked at him dart off into the forest. "I hope he finds her..." She paused for a moment. "Kushiyè and Hiei relate in many ways, come to think of it." To herself, she whispered, "She is lucky to have someone care about her..."
"We should be going now, if everything's the same again," Yusuke suggested.
"Good night!" Chunzhu called, walking out of the room.
Kurama put an arm out in front of her. "Suishori, make sure to stay away from the Youkai Mori," he said, his voice serious.
Chunzhu nodded, "Why would I think of going anyway?"
Everyone looked a little surprised. "Don't you want to see if Kushiyè is okay?" Kuwabara aksed.
No answer. Had they said something to upset her? She hurried away, needing some time alone...once again. Somehow, they managed to get her upset about those things. She couldn't blame them though. She hadn't ever told anyone, and they just were concerned. Lost in her thoughts, she accidently ended up in front of the Youkai Mori itself. It didn't look very different, but Kurama had given her a strict warning to stay away from it.
"Huh?" She jerked her head to her right. She thought she had seen something move...a shadow or something. She started walking away quickly. She wasn't in the mood to fight someone, especially a demon. She heard the trees rustling in warning, as if someone was jumping from one to another, following her. She slowly turned around, even though she was afraid. She indeed sensed a strange aura, and the rough shaking of the trees were too large to be taht of a squirrel's. Yet there was no one there. Her large eyes darted to every branch of each tree nearby.
She nervously blew a small flicker of fire from her mouth to her hand. At the sound of another rustling branch, she shot the fire into the tree, and heard a cry. That was exactly what she didn't want to hear.
"Suishori..." A voice spoke in the back of her head. It wasn't her stalker...the voice was too different. A telepath was communicating from somewhere. "I mustn't let you live like this...I haven't given up yet, and I will come back." With that, the voice disappeared.
The voice, although charming, harnessed coldness and even hatred, much like the kind that had swept over Chunzhu earlier. Somebody wasn't only following her, he was also after her. His intentions were unknown to her, because although sounding cold, there was also concern in his voice. She also didn;t sense an Elemental Gem Stone near him, but still couldn't recognize who he was.
She rushed to her house, heart and feet pounding, stirring up the dead leaves around her, until she got home. Panting, she slammed the door behind her, securing the locks. After calming down, she decided to ignore it. If it happened again, maybe she'd take it into concern. But not now. Kushiyè was in the same forest that was emitting the strange demonic whistling noise. The one Kushiyè seemed so afraid of. As much as she wanted to check on her, out of instinctive curiosity, she couldn't She had promised Kurama.
Promises...They were all horrible. Restrictions, really. Something to hold you back, to restrain your freedom. Hers had to be one of the worst ever made. One with Makai...with her sensei...It wasn't breaking. It was shattering. It was thrown on the ground and constantly forgotten. It truly felt horrible, when you stopped to think about it. She was sure one day it would shatter.
- Kushiyè's Evil Transformation! The Music is Heard -
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]
The crescent moon in the night sky was at its peak at midnight, lingering high above everything else. With the darkness of the shadows and night, it was hard to see anything.
Something is wrong. I can feel it...Chunzhu thought to herself, clutching her hands close to her body insecurely. "Where could Kushiyè be? I hope she is alright." Chunzhu continued.
"Looking for me?" Kushiyè appeared through the shadows of the Youkai Mori, leaning against a sakura tree.
"Why did you run away like that? You had everybody worried," Chunzhu told her.
"That is the exact reason why I left...I worry everyone. I'm sick of it!" Kushiyè said, frustrated.
"No, you do not. Now come on back," Chunzhu encouraged the upset okami.
"But Hiei died for me, that stupid bloke," Kushiyè argued sharply.
"Stop it, no arguing! Don't run off because you are worried about us. And besides, Hiei is alive because of you!" Chunzhu was getting frustrated by Kushiyè and her idiotic belief.
"Fine, now please let me be. I'd like to go to sleep." Kushiyè sprinted off into the dark.
"Wait!" Chunzhu called. She wanted to speak with her more, find out why she was so upset, but she was unable to reach her.
In the distance, Chunzhu heard a howl. It was immediately recognized. "Kushiyè!" Chunzhu called, running deeper into the forest. She was unaware of the yellow, evil eyes staring right at her. In an instant, a demon jumped down from a tree and swiped her claws at Chunzhu's arm.
"Aiyaa!" Chunzhu cried in surprise. She looked at the demon that had attacked her, which alarmed her even more. "Huh? K-Ku-shiyè, is that you? Are you okay?" Blood began to drip from Chunzhu's arm. "Could this truly be Kushiyè?" Chunzhu wondered, dodging another attack from the okami. "Kushiyè, do you not recognize me?!" Chunzhu jumped onto a willow tree to avoid Kushiyè's razor sharp claws.
"SUISHORI!" Kurama had sensed something was wrong, and ran from Kuwabara's house to the forest to find Chunzhu and Kushiyè. "I'm too late...She already transformed," Kurama noticed.
Chunzhu rushed over to Kurama when she noticed him, nearly running him over. She slowed down in time, and he grabbed her on the shoulders to calm her down a little.
"What do you mean she ALREADY transformed?" Chunzhu asked.
"What?! You don't know the legend between wolf demons and the Crescent Moon of the Devil?!" Kurama asked in amazement.
"What's the legend?" Chunzhu questioned.
"According to it, every one hundred and thirty-two years, the Crescent Moon of the Devil comes out, and all of the okami youkai lose control of their senses and bodies. They even attack their friends," Kurama explained.
"How long does this last?" she questioned further.
"Until morming," Kurama answered.
"So what are we supposed to do until then?" Chunzhu wondered.
"How about...we keep dodging." Kurama suggested the obvious as he avoided an attack from Kushiyè's razor sharp claws.
"That helps!" Chunzhu cried sarcastically while running from the evil Kushiyè's attacks.
Kurama pulled a rose out of his hair. "I guess we should take the offensive then? Rose Whip!" The rose transformed into his whip, it's petals delicately falling from its stem.
Chunzhu was temporarily hypnotized by the lovely shower of colored leaflike structures, but then snapped out of it when they had all fallen. "Kurama, be careful," she warned shyly.
He nodded at her and expertly tied Kushiyè to a tree with a flick of his whip. It wouldn't hold for long though. Kushiyè was already starting to split it apart. Kurama was amazed that she was able to break it.
"Kurama..." Chunzhu began, "How about I create a distraction so that we can both get away."
Kurama nodded. "I guess that would work. What are you planning on doing?"
Chunzhu shrugged and put her hands out in front of her. "I do not know...Whatever comes to me first, I guess!" She ignored the look on Kurama's face and fired a blast of light. What looked like a mouse or rabbit made of fire and lighting appeared.
"Is that the best you can do?" Kurama asked nervously.
Chunzhu nodded, "Trust me. She has so little self-control she'll hunt it donw before she finds out it is kitsune-bi."
Sure enough, Kushiyè saw the little mammal begin to run, and chased after it, completely forgetting about Kurama and Chunzhu, who started running as soon as she left. Kurama climbed up a tree, also helping Chunzhu up, and intended to stay there until Kushiyè came back.
"The sun is starting to come up..." Kurama said, examining the sky. "This will be over soon."
Chunzhu gave a relieved sigh. "I just hope this does not happen again."
Unfortunately, Kushiyè had come back, and she crept up behind them and swung her arm, slashing Kurama's neck. They both jumped down from the tree and started running again. Kushiyè, however, didn't follow this time. She fell to the ground and returned to her original state. No one had witnessed this though. Kurama and Chunzhu had went to the outside of the forest, looking in, awaiting Kushiyè.
"She is not coming..." Chunzhu started to walk toward the path they had come from. "I am going to see what is wrong. Please stay here."
Kurama nodded in understanding and watched her leave. He let out a little chuckle at her attempt of being brave. She was acting foolish, yes, but she was trying all the same. He looked up, noticing the moon had almost completely dissapeared. But...what if Kushiyè's evil facade hadn't?
* * * *
Kushiyè's eyes slowly opened in awakening. She sat up and froze, sensing something there. Scanning her surroundings, she realized that Chunzhu was there.
What is she doing here? And why am I on the ground? Kushiyè wondered. She was aware of something else odd. Fear. Why was Chunzhu scared? She stood up and walked to her. "Zhu, what's wrong?" As she got closer, she smelled blood. "Are you hurt? What happened?" Kushiyè couldn't remember anything since last evening, when she had run away from everyone. The very last thing that occured was a horribly painful headache...but then what?
Chunzhu backed away from her. Kushiyè could hear her footsteps. The distinct smell of her blood was now definite. Blood, fear...What was wrong? Someone must have hurt her, but who?
"Who hurt you?" Kushiyè asked.
Chunzhu laughed nervously. "Kushiyè..." she weakly managed to say, as if she were expecting Kushiyè to rip her head off.
Kushiyè didn't move. Chunzhu continued, "Well, I really do not have a clue what is going on. Ask Kurama, he's right outside of the forest." She began to walk away. "Come on." Her hand motioned for her to follow.
Kushiyè did follow, with a million questions on her mind. What was Kurama doing in the forest? Were they both hurt? Who did this? Why is Zhu acting so nervous? Why can't I remember what happened last night?
They reached the edge of the Youkai Mori, where Kurama sat, waiting. Kushiyè sensed that Kurama had been injured as well, and he also seemed a little nervous.
"Kurama, tell Kushiyè what happened. I did not really understand that legend stuff," Chunzhu said, sitting down next to Kurama. She cautiously examined the cut on his neck.
Kurama winced as her fingertips fluttered around it, then sighed. "Last night, the Crescent Moon of the Devil came, and legend states that all okami youkai are affected by it, losing control of themselves, and attacking anything in their sight. That's what happened to you, and we were unfortunate enough to be there when it happened." He coughed, the gash on his neck affecting his voice a little.
Chunzhu drew back her hand in surprise, then patted his back and offered to help him up. He refused at first, but then after a failed attempt to get up on his own, she pulled him up.
"Thankfully," Chunzhu continued, "it only happens once every one hundred and thirty-two years." She turned away from the Youkai Mori. "Now that the nightmare has ended, we should go check on the others," she said cheerfully.
Is it really over though? Something still doesn't seem right... Kurama thought, keeping it to himself as he stood up.
"Kurama, do you have something on your mind?" Kushiyè asked a very confused Kurama.
"Nothing," he lied.
I wonder...was that the truth or just a cover-up? Kushiyè thought to herself as they continued through the Youkai Mori.
When they reached the city boundaries, Kushiyè stopped suddenly.
"Hm? Kushiyè..." Chunzhu stopped, followed by Kurama. Kushiyè seemed a little frightened for some reason. "What is wrong Kushiyè?" Chunzhu asked innocently.
"Ummm...problem," Kushiyè whispered in her Australian accent.
"What?" Chunzhu asked, naive to the fact that she looked very foolish.
"Um...just look at me for a second and then you'll figure it out." Kushiyè stood completely still.
"Hm..." Chunzhu looked at her carefully. A long, pointed ear twitched. She streched out her clawed fingers and three bushy tails waved behind her. Those were features no one else in the city had.
"Oh," Chunzhu realized, laughing nervously.
"Right...so what do we do?" Kushiyè asked.
"I have no idea," Chunzhu answered, looking down helplessly.
"How about you go into a human form," Kurama suggested.
Kushiyè smiled, "That would be a great idea!" She paused, and her face faulted, "If I knew how to transform."
"Just focus all of your ki on a human form," Kurama explained.
Kushiyè looked at him with disbelief. "Okay, easier said than done," she commented.
Kurama took her hands in his and transfered some of his human energy to her. "Just give it a shot, Kushiyè," he said reassuringly.
Kushiyè couldn't help but let out a small laugh as a pair of silver kitsune ears sprouted from his head, due to the loss of human energy. After she was finished, she focused all of her energy on a human form.
As Chunzhu saw the ears appear on Kurama's head, a wave of confusion swept over her. Why though? The sight seemed familiar, and made her feel...strange. It was hard to describe. Possibly a hostile feeling? She let her back fall against a tree for support, digging her nails into its bark to restrain herself from inflicting the pain that was forming inside of her. What reason did she have for it though? What was wrong with herself? She let out a sigh from her burning chest, feeling the anger leave as quickly as it had come. She stayed against the tree, the searing pain 'echoing' throughout her body. Why did that happen though? The impossible thought struck her. Kurama could be a kitsune. She remembered one time before her fight with Yousokaze, someone mentioned it...but how could she have been so ignorant? She would have to confront him some other time though. She didn't want Kushiyè to see her so stressed.
Kushiyè's form was already beginning to rapidly change. Her tails dissapeared, paws turned to feet, claws and fangs vanished, and her ears shrunk to a normal size.
Chunzhu took in another deep breath, let it out slowly, and looked over at Kushiyè. She left the kind support of the large tree and took a step towards her...away from Kurama. "Wow, you look so different," she breathed as Kushiyè felt her ears in confusion.
Kurama eyed Chunzhu suspiciously. "What's wrong with her?" he muttered to himself. He didn't bother to worry though. She was probably just a little tired from the assault Kushiyè had set upon her earlier. "Can we go now?" he asked.
"Hai," Kushiyè answered. She took one step. "Ahh!" Kushiyè lost her balance and fell. "Ow."
"Kushiyè, are you okay?" Chunzhu looked down to where she had fallen.
"I...can't...walk," Kushiyè complained.
"Why not?" Chunzhu asked.
Before Kushiyè could answer, Kurama began an explaination. "It's her feet and lack of tails. She's used to having paws and tails to keep her balance."
Kushiyè stumbled to her feet. "Thank you, Kurama, so how can we fix this?"
Kurama looked clueless for a second. "This is annoying. Okay...Try to keep your balance," he suggested.
Kushiyè's eye twitched. "That was helpful," she said with sarcasm.
Chunzhu grabbed Kushiyè's arm. "I will help you," she proffered, "Where are we going, Kurama?"
"Everyone should be at Kuwabara's house." He turned to begin walking, and gestured for them to follow. "I'll lead." He gave a flawless, amiable smile to the stumbling okami to cheer her up.
The unbalanced okami giggled, and Chunzhu rushed up to Kurama, after making sure Kushiyè could walk by herself for at least a minute. "Kurama, when you were transfering your ki...what were those ears?" She spoke in a low voice.
Kurama looked over to a streetsign for direction. "You'll find out one day. Hopefully, you'll be ready." He really didn't want her to know about his...youkai heritage. If she ever found out, she might shoot him to hell by firing a shard of energy into his duodenum. Hell or at least the worst place he could imagine. He began thinking of ways to prevent this...because if his fear came true, she would find out and never forgive him for it. From what he heard, she had a grudge against demons as well. She probably only tolerated Kushiyè as a friend, but as for him and Hiei...He recalled how she had been so dead-set on killing Yousokaze, saying demons were evil...A bad experience, perhaps? Should he get away from her as soon as he could, or try to change her mind with kindness and generosity? Why was he worrying so much anyway? He irritably shook his head to forget all about it.
Chunzhu was surprised at his tone when he had answered her. It was almost threatening, and the slight presence of a possible other self made her feel...threatened for some reason. She combed her fingers through a thick handful of blue purple hair in a small attempt to comfort herself. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked at Kushiyè, still having a hard time keeping her balance.
It really was frustrating, being in that state. Kushiyè had difficulty with so many simple things. Even after obtaining a human form, she knew she didn't look normal. Hell, nobody in the group did. Kushiyè's bright green hair caught everyone's attention, not to mention the outfit she was wearing was one she had to make herself, so it wasn't exactly top-quality. She looked at the people around her. Ningens...they seemed like perfection. She received an odd glance from Zhu, which made her stop her thoughts, and fall again.
"We're here!" Kurama announced, knocking on the front door to Kuwabara's house. After a moment, the doorknob clicked, and the door swung open to reveal Kuwabara and Yusuke, relieved but formerly worried.
"You said you were going on a walk!" Yusuke complained. "What happened?"
Kurama stepped in calmly. "I had to save the little fox," he explained shortly, trying to hide the smile that had resulted from the creation of the odd nickname he had just created for Suishori. It was a short description of the events of last night, but he really didn't want to even mention the Crescent Moon of the Devil.
Chunzhu hung her head at his answer and said in a dull voice, "You didn't have to save me." She looked up to smile at Kuwabara and Yusuke, then look down again, removing her shoes and following Kurama.
"Zhu's acting a little depressed," Yusuke noticed, "Should we be worried?"
"Don't worry, she'll snap out of it sooner or later," a voice soothed. Kuwabara and Yusuke looked over to where the voice had come from. They saw a young, lovely girl, looking very familiar, standing in the doorway. Her voice had an Australian tone to it, one they knew...Of course, only Yusuke realized who it was, and couldn't stop Kuwabara from saying something stupid.
"Oi Kurama, who's the bishoujo?!" Kuwabara called, "Did you finally get settled with someone?"
"What?!" Kurama opened the door to Kuwabara's room. "That's Kushiyè!" he answered, a little embarrassed from his friend's thought.
"Idiot." Yusuke teased from under his breath.
Kushiyè took a clumsy step in. "I'm glad you like my human form. Of course, it takes some getting used to." She felt a strong arm sling over her shoulders.
"Don't worry Kushiyè. I'll help," Kuwabara volunteered with a grin.
Yusuke sweatdropped, and followed Kuwabara and Kushiyè as they started going to his room. "So, how do you think Zhu and Kurama are doing?" He couldn't help grinning. "You know, being alone in a bedroom and all."
"Yusuke! I think they have more self control than that!" Kushiyè scolded, then remembering a word she once heard that seemed to fit the situation, "Although kitsune are known for their libidos..." What EXACTLY did that mean...?
"Not in my room!" Kuwabara was ready was ready to ram the door open, but Yusuke held him back.
"Can we see what happens?" Yusuke asked, still simpering. "Right now, they're still talking." He put his ear to the door. "Still talking..." He couldn't make out the words, but he knew it was something deep, by the tones of their voices. ANd then, they suddenly stopped. Yusuke removed his head from the door. "OKay, they've stopped talking and are now doing God-knows-what."
Kushiyè slowly opened the door out of worry and curiosity, and was relieved to only find them exchanging contented smiles. Had they heard Yusuke though? Had they stopped because of that? She decided it was best not to ask.
Kurama whispered something into Chunzhu's ear with a serious face on. Her eyes went soft with possible true happiness for a second.
"Should I tell them?" she asked.
He shook his head in refusal. "Our business," he muttered.
Everyone became nervous again.
She nodded happily as she began to examinehis neck injury. She wore a cute smile as he remained completely still. She was in an especially good mood because...well...perhaps this whole elemental gem stone recovery could work out better with the Reikai Tantei. He was a good conversationalist, and it was actually very relieving to have someone to speak to for once.
Seeing Chunzhu investigating his wound reminded Kushiyè of the others and how they had been injured when they had rescued her from Yousoyama. "Oh! You guys need to be healed, right?"
Chunzhu nodded her head, "Yes, Kushiyè can heal all of you."
Kushiyè glared, "You're going to help, you know."
Chunzhu shook her head. "I do not have healing powers. I do not need to be healed though. And...I suppose I have doone with I can with Kurama." They noticed his neck had been cleaned and neatly bandaged. Chunzhu put on a helpless smile. "Good luck, Kushiyè."
Everyone scrambled off Kuwabara's bed as Kushiyè sat on it, finally relaxing after having a hard time walking. "Okay, come here minna!" she called, holding out her hands, palms down, over her lap.
Conveniently, that was when Hiei jumped in, through the window, and darted over to Kushiyè before everyone else.
"Hiei?!" everyone cried out in surprise.
He nodded, "I arrived when you were speaking." He looked at Kurama out of the corner of his eye. "I was surprised at what you said." He abruptly turned his attention toward Kushiyè and examined her new human form. "You can turn back into your demon form. I can see you're...having trouble with being a ningen."
Kushiyè glared, but intentionally lost all focus for her human form, returning to her original state, complete with wolfen features. Losing her focus meant more energy to be spared for healing. She raised her hands above one of Hiei's wounds, and sent her energy right toward it, healing his injury. She repeated the process with his other afflictions.
After she finished, Kuwabara got there next. When finished, Kuwabara appeared to be a little dissapointed.
Chunzhu looked up from a manga she was reading. "Is there something wrong, Kuwabaka?" Everyone gave soft, muffled laughs at her error. She tilted her head. What had she done wrong?
"It's Kuwabara," he corrected, scowling, "and I thought healing involved physical contact."
Chunzhu returned her attention back to the manga. "Kushiyè just has this thing about being single, I think. Of course...at least she has a choice in the matter," she sighed.
Before Kuwabara could ask, a freshly healed Yusuke walked up to Chunzhu. "I hate to interrupt, but I think there's something wrong with Kushiyè." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and to Kushiyè, who had just finished healing everyone. She was very still, seeming to be in a hypnotized or robotic state of some sort. "I have to go now...I don't want anyone to get hurt...and a whistle is approaching," she said, making no sense, and jumping out of the open window and into the forest.
"Kushiyè!" Chunzhu called, rushing toward the window. "She seemed weak...and she was acting weird. Is it okay to just let her go like that? She was saying something about a whistle...?"
"You didn't hear it?" Hiei asked, surprised.
"It keeps getting louder..." Yusuke looked toward the Youkai Mori. "It was coming from the forest...but I don't know why Kushiyè acted so strange-," he winced, "It's getting so high pitched..."
Kurama shut the window and led Chunzhu away from it. "I wish we could go after her, but right now going outside would endanger us all. There's a demon present; one skilled with sound frequency. We should wait until the sound stops, and then we can go, but it still could be dangerous to go after Kushiyè, so we can't look for her until tomorrow."
Kushiyè, you had better not get hurt... Chunzhu thought to herself, implying more of a command than a worried statement.
"Daijobou, Suishori," Kurama said as cheerfully as possible. Chunzhu jumped. He couldn't have read a worried face on her, could he?
"Kushiyè is a strong girl. She'll probably be able to handle it," he smiled, and Chunzhu did her best to return the expression.
Kuwabara stood up, "And that gives you time to answer some questions we have. First, what did you have to save Zhu from earlier, Kurama?"
He looked over at Chunzhu nervously. She shrugged, "It would be best to tell the truth," she suggested, running her fingers through her long hair.
"I was afraid they were going to ask," Kurama sighed, "Last night, a curse known as the Crescent Moon of the Devil was unleashed after its routine one hundred and thirty-two year rest. The legend says that it has an effect on wolf demons, and makes them lose all self-control. It was probably just intuition that told me Suishori was in trouble, and so when I got to her, the Crescent Moon already had affected Kushiyè, who had attacked Suishori right before I got there."
Yusuke and Kuwabara looked a little shocked. They had understood, but Kushiyè attacking Zhu didn't make sense. They were friends. And...since when did Zhu matter to Kurama? Fortunately, the Crescent Moon of the Devil only came about once every century, so Kushiyè probably wasn't a threat to them.
"Another question," Yusuke said, looking towards Kurama, "What did you say to Zhu to make her smile like that? Her smile looked so natural."
Kurama shot him a warning glance, which made Yusuke push the question out of his mind. It didn't concern anyone...at least it didn't seem like it did. His main goal was to get her to speak up, and not be so detached and cold. But he himself wondered, where these long, confidential discussions benifiting him as well? Did that motivate him to do so? Was he interested in knowing more so that he could help her or himself? Getting the right kind of information could really help himself in many ways. Was he being a little too selfish? Yes. But she acted selfish as well, so could she have an aim here as well? Somehow, he felt that this would have a dynamic impact on his life, whether he regretted it or celebrated the day he came up with the idea.
Chunzhu didn't like the long, awkward silence. Why was he being so secure? It seemed that everyone had that question on their minds, as well as the desicion not to ask, it being an invasion of his privacy.
"Oi," Yusuke announced dully, making everyone jump at the sudden sound. "I think the sound is calming down." He walked over to the window and opened it. Besides a gentle breeze, there weren't really any other sounds out there.
"What about Kushiyè?" Hiei asked. "I can't sense her."
"She is probably just concealing her ki and hiding from the whatever-it-was," Chunzhu suggested.
Hiei raised an eyebrow, but nodded. It was a half-logical idea, but he wanted to find her. "I'm going to check on Kushiyè," he said, jumping out of the window exactly as Kushiyè had done.
Chunzhu looked at him dart off into the forest. "I hope he finds her..." She paused for a moment. "Kushiyè and Hiei relate in many ways, come to think of it." To herself, she whispered, "She is lucky to have someone care about her..."
"We should be going now, if everything's the same again," Yusuke suggested.
"Good night!" Chunzhu called, walking out of the room.
Kurama put an arm out in front of her. "Suishori, make sure to stay away from the Youkai Mori," he said, his voice serious.
Chunzhu nodded, "Why would I think of going anyway?"
Everyone looked a little surprised. "Don't you want to see if Kushiyè is okay?" Kuwabara aksed.
No answer. Had they said something to upset her? She hurried away, needing some time alone...once again. Somehow, they managed to get her upset about those things. She couldn't blame them though. She hadn't ever told anyone, and they just were concerned. Lost in her thoughts, she accidently ended up in front of the Youkai Mori itself. It didn't look very different, but Kurama had given her a strict warning to stay away from it.
"Huh?" She jerked her head to her right. She thought she had seen something move...a shadow or something. She started walking away quickly. She wasn't in the mood to fight someone, especially a demon. She heard the trees rustling in warning, as if someone was jumping from one to another, following her. She slowly turned around, even though she was afraid. She indeed sensed a strange aura, and the rough shaking of the trees were too large to be taht of a squirrel's. Yet there was no one there. Her large eyes darted to every branch of each tree nearby.
She nervously blew a small flicker of fire from her mouth to her hand. At the sound of another rustling branch, she shot the fire into the tree, and heard a cry. That was exactly what she didn't want to hear.
"Suishori..." A voice spoke in the back of her head. It wasn't her stalker...the voice was too different. A telepath was communicating from somewhere. "I mustn't let you live like this...I haven't given up yet, and I will come back." With that, the voice disappeared.
The voice, although charming, harnessed coldness and even hatred, much like the kind that had swept over Chunzhu earlier. Somebody wasn't only following her, he was also after her. His intentions were unknown to her, because although sounding cold, there was also concern in his voice. She also didn;t sense an Elemental Gem Stone near him, but still couldn't recognize who he was.
She rushed to her house, heart and feet pounding, stirring up the dead leaves around her, until she got home. Panting, she slammed the door behind her, securing the locks. After calming down, she decided to ignore it. If it happened again, maybe she'd take it into concern. But not now. Kushiyè was in the same forest that was emitting the strange demonic whistling noise. The one Kushiyè seemed so afraid of. As much as she wanted to check on her, out of instinctive curiosity, she couldn't She had promised Kurama.
Promises...They were all horrible. Restrictions, really. Something to hold you back, to restrain your freedom. Hers had to be one of the worst ever made. One with Makai...with her sensei...It wasn't breaking. It was shattering. It was thrown on the ground and constantly forgotten. It truly felt horrible, when you stopped to think about it. She was sure one day it would shatter.