Job finished she set the scissors down on sink top before surveying herself in the mirror. Well it certainly was different, she wasn't sure she liked it at all, but it was the best disguise she could think of and it would work. Reaching over to the basket on top of the toilet she grabbed the bottle of dye and sighed. When she'd been at the store she'd thought about the colors blond and red, they weren't abnormal, and the look would be different, but blond reminded her of Sakura and red of a girl she'd known in school. The girl hadn't been nicest of creatures and she didn't want to be like that person.
Brunette had been to close to Kome's color and that negated all the normal ones and would be a cold day in hell before she had black hair. It reminded her to much of a past enemy, so she'd had to pick an outrageous one. Green was out of the question, and pink was just to like her so she chose a color no one would expect. So blue it was plus the peroxide to turn her normally brown hair white. It would make the blue more visible. Bleach, cut, then dye. She put the dye in her hair watching the clock's hands tick by the minutes before she jumped in the shower to rinse it out. Watching the blue dye run over her bare skin and down the drain, thoughts began to go around in her head.
Her life had swirled down the drain and maybe somehow the blue dye symbolized something like that, and maybe she thought to much. No, she knew that wasn't true. She always acted before she thought, throwing herself into harms way, or into action without knowing the consequences. People got hurt because of her, they always did. Maybe she was able to sense trouble, or know when things were about to happen, but what good was it when she couldn't prevent those disasters from hurting people. So she had once, she'd also gotten the man she loved killed. Her eyes stung with something a little more than the ammonia from the dye.
Saving someone didn't negate getting them killed, especially when they have saved your life more times than you can count. "UGGG." She slammed her fist into the tap turning off the water. She could just envision the many times she'd seen blades, tendrils, spikes, swords, and bullets pierce his flesh to keep them from her, and each time she saw the images in her eyes she could feel the damage as though it were her own for in truth she had been the target. Rarely was someone actually after just him and even more rarely did he get hurt because of it.
The air was frigid now and that in itself was what shook her from her thoughts. Whipping a towel off a shelf she rubbed it over her hair getting only a small bit of dye on the towel. She dried herself off afterwards before moving to stand before the mirror. Blinking a few times it took her a long while before she could even tell it was her refection. She smiled, noticing it was still her sweet smile, and tried to smile wryly. She practiced facial expressions that were not like her own but wasn't very successful at changing them much. Frowning she tossed her towel over the sink and walked into the other room.
She'd gone shopping earlier that day, when she had known she wasn't being watched. Rushing to buy the items she needed she packed them away under her bed, and before her shower she'd locked the windows and covered them before placing the items out on her bed. She surveyed them now, and not a damn one looked comfortable but she shrugged. No one would expect her to be wearing them.
First she put on the black underwear and matching bra. Neither were sexy items and serviced as nothing other than clothes. Next she grabbed a pair of baggy black pants, that looked maybe four sized larger than anything she had warn before, but the waist was tailored down to the right size. She put them on trying not to swim in the fabric. They billowed out around her legs a ton of pockets all over the place with zippers and chains and Velcro. They were the style popular for punks and druggies and it was absolutely not what someone would look for her in. The shirt, black, and made up mostly of strings and patches, was also something she would have never been caught dead in and it was this that she put on next. It covered her enough to be decent, but that was all. Since her hair was now only inches long she couldn't rely on that to hide her figure and she'd never worn something this revealing before. It was incredibly uncomfortable but when she turned to the mirror there were only a very few thing she could have done to hide herself further.
Blue spiky hair stood out from the top of her head on all sides. Small metal spikes went through her ears instead of the dangly earrings she normally wore and she added a black collar with a large green stone hanging from it. Next was the scrappy shirt and baggy pants. Tall black socks and combat boots were the only thing left for her to add. Green eyes hidden behind thick black mascara looked oddly wide, but they blinked when she blinked. The refection also jumped when the phone rang. She waited silently for the answering machine to pick up.
"This is Momiji Fujimiya's residence. I'm not home right now, but leave a message and I'll be sure to get back to you." There was a beep then the click of someone hanging up. Momiji stuck her tongue out at the machine deciding that she really didn't care if they didn't want to talk to her, but they could have hung up before the machine was done so that it didn't think it had a message. She groaned, then went to put on her footwear.
Her neck felt rubbery, had since she'd cut her hair in fact. She ran a hand over the new shortened locks before lacing up the boots. They felt odd against her calves and she'd warn them a bit earlier to try and break them in, but they were still stiff. Once done she closed her eyes letting her senses flow out of the room. Kusanagi was sitting in the tree outside. She thought she could hear him grumbling about the locked window, but she shrugged and grabbed a towel and a bathrobe, wrapping the towel around her head and the bathrobe around her body before she went over to the T.V. and V.C.R. putting in the tape that Mrs. Matsudera had given her as she prepared to do one of the meanest things she'd ever done. She sensed for Kusanagi one more time before turning the T.V. on and pressing play. The volume was plenty high enough for him to hear it outside.
It was a news report, first telling of the weather which Momiji had checked to make sure it was similar to their weather. Then the weather was suddenly cut off and a panic stricken man came on. "Oh My GOD!" He yelled. "There's been some sort of creature attack in downtown Tokyo. It looks like some sort of PLANT has been taken over, it's attacking everything. Oh God, not again!" The television broadcast was cut short and just watching it Momiji felt panic rise in her throat. Kusanagi broke the lock on her window pushing it up. He didn't even glance at her before telling her to stay put and then he was gone.
Momiji tore the towel off and threw the bathrobe on the bed making sure she had a wallet, on a chain, full of money and her cell phone in another of her pockets. She had a tazer in yet another and a set of keys hidden in a pocket on the inside of her pants along with her regular set. She grabbed her new leather jacket and raced outside dodging past the reporters and fans camped outside her door.
None of them recognized her in her new threads and she was able to get by without an incident. The first time in over a year that she hadn't been thronged by the people of Tokyo. It seemed that everyone and their pet cat knew Momiji's face and she could barely make her way on the subway to work without being accosted by people who, not only knew what she had done, but had their own opinion about it. Even now she still found plenty of people who felt that she should have sacrificed herself right from the beginning instead of letting most of Tokyo get destroyed. It was days like that when Momiji wished she'd gone back to Izumo instead of remaining with the T.A.C. Sure the research was important, but it made her eyes sting just thinking of all the crap people had been giving her. Many people loved her, but even so the ones that didn't still got on her nerves, more than just a little bit.
With only a backward glance towards her house she ran off into the crowds of Tokyo. It wasn't quite ten on a Friday night and the streets were filled with people and it got even more crowded as she got closer to the center of town. She took a few moments to stand in a telephone booth and sense Kusanagi's presence. He was at the supposed scene of the attack flitting around trying to discover what was going on. She hated herself for doing it, but he hung around Momiji as though he had no other reason for for living. She couldn't escape for even an evening let alone as long as she planned now.
She fingered the large green chunk of acrylic that hung from her choker and felt even worse. It was the exact same type of acrylic that blocked the effect of the Kushinada pulse. It would keep Kusanagi from being able to locate her as it blocked him from sensing her the same way it blocked the pulse from getting to the Aragami. Akiko had made it for her when the whole story had come out ages ago. Kusanagi had kind of dropped hints that he didn't want her to wear it, and she could guess why. It was his incessant need to be near her made it nearly impossible to get away. No, he didn't press her, or force her to do anything she didn't want to do. He wasn't clingy at all and once his presence had been even comforting, Momiji didn't know if she'd destroyed that or if she had just let his indifference get in the way but he'd backed off. Knowing what she'd done to him, so many times over the last couple of years she couldn't bear for him to place so much trust in her, for him to care for her in any way. Settling the rock back against her chest she re-entered the flow of people managing to get herself quickly lost in the stream of people. It was odd, and despite the pushing and shoving she felt oddly at ease completely free for the first time years. No, in her entire life. No more purification, rituals, sacrifices, no more keeping out of trouble and following orders.
Over a mile away in the center of town Kusanagi floated over where an attack should have been taking place but instead he found a normal section of town with no disturbances what so ever. The reporter on T.V. had been greatly mistaken. There were no Arigami, and if he'd thought for a moment before racing off, he would have realized that he couldn't sense any either. Instead he'd unbelievingly flown off without a second thought an expression of disbelief written all over his face. It was much like the one he had now as he stared at the road. He didn't even react when he watched someone steal a purse. With Momiji around he would have been all over him.
"Momiji!" He yelled out loud smacking himself on the forehead. Without taking another look down he headed back to her home her beautiful green eyes the only thing on his mind. Despite the fact he'd left without taking her, something he knew she would scold him for, she should be relieved that there was indeed no attack. Again he didn't think to first sense for her presence or he wouldn't have been so surprised when he returned.
The door was locked, as it normally was this time of night, so he flitted around to the back where her window was still open from when he had broken in. Not very unusual since she knew he'd be back and most likely come in through the window no matter how late it was, but looking inside Kusanagi was puzzled. She wasn't there. The television was turned off, the bed still made. The only thing out of place was a bathrobe and towel tossed carelessly over her pink bunny comforter. Kusanagi poked his head in the window before moving in the rest of the way sliding his legs over the window sill.
"Momiji?" He asked tentatively making sure he didn't walk in on her undressing or something. He grinned wryly. Not that it would be a bad thing if he did. He might just get a chance to get a glimpse of her slim beautiful body. He shook his head. Now wasn't a time for those thoughts. He poked his head around the bathroom door trying to wipe the grin from his face, but it faded as he noticed it was empty. He found it very odd. Quickly he checked her work room, the only other room on the upper floor, then hurried down the stairs taking them two at a time. She wasn't in the kitchen, dining room, or the sitting room. That only left his room in the basement, and it only took him a glimpse through the doorway to know she wasn't there.
"Crap!" He swore standing inside his doorway. Taking a deep breath he focused on his matama's trying to sense the disturbance that the Kushinada made, but it was no where. Kusanagi tried harder, to no avail despite the fact that his range was the greater part of Tokyo. Cat like eyes widened with shock, and maybe a little fright. Surely if she'd died he would have known. Any pain she felt, even something so insignificant as pricking her thumb, he had been able to feel, and suddenly he felt oddly deaf with her presence gone from his mind.
Kusanagi tore up the stairs racing for the phone. The TAC phone numbers were on a piece of paper beside it and he used his finger to trace down the line till he reached Kunikida's and reading the number under his breath he pounded the keys into the phone and jammed it against his ear waiting for someone to pick up.
Brunette had been to close to Kome's color and that negated all the normal ones and would be a cold day in hell before she had black hair. It reminded her to much of a past enemy, so she'd had to pick an outrageous one. Green was out of the question, and pink was just to like her so she chose a color no one would expect. So blue it was plus the peroxide to turn her normally brown hair white. It would make the blue more visible. Bleach, cut, then dye. She put the dye in her hair watching the clock's hands tick by the minutes before she jumped in the shower to rinse it out. Watching the blue dye run over her bare skin and down the drain, thoughts began to go around in her head.
Her life had swirled down the drain and maybe somehow the blue dye symbolized something like that, and maybe she thought to much. No, she knew that wasn't true. She always acted before she thought, throwing herself into harms way, or into action without knowing the consequences. People got hurt because of her, they always did. Maybe she was able to sense trouble, or know when things were about to happen, but what good was it when she couldn't prevent those disasters from hurting people. So she had once, she'd also gotten the man she loved killed. Her eyes stung with something a little more than the ammonia from the dye.
Saving someone didn't negate getting them killed, especially when they have saved your life more times than you can count. "UGGG." She slammed her fist into the tap turning off the water. She could just envision the many times she'd seen blades, tendrils, spikes, swords, and bullets pierce his flesh to keep them from her, and each time she saw the images in her eyes she could feel the damage as though it were her own for in truth she had been the target. Rarely was someone actually after just him and even more rarely did he get hurt because of it.
The air was frigid now and that in itself was what shook her from her thoughts. Whipping a towel off a shelf she rubbed it over her hair getting only a small bit of dye on the towel. She dried herself off afterwards before moving to stand before the mirror. Blinking a few times it took her a long while before she could even tell it was her refection. She smiled, noticing it was still her sweet smile, and tried to smile wryly. She practiced facial expressions that were not like her own but wasn't very successful at changing them much. Frowning she tossed her towel over the sink and walked into the other room.
She'd gone shopping earlier that day, when she had known she wasn't being watched. Rushing to buy the items she needed she packed them away under her bed, and before her shower she'd locked the windows and covered them before placing the items out on her bed. She surveyed them now, and not a damn one looked comfortable but she shrugged. No one would expect her to be wearing them.
First she put on the black underwear and matching bra. Neither were sexy items and serviced as nothing other than clothes. Next she grabbed a pair of baggy black pants, that looked maybe four sized larger than anything she had warn before, but the waist was tailored down to the right size. She put them on trying not to swim in the fabric. They billowed out around her legs a ton of pockets all over the place with zippers and chains and Velcro. They were the style popular for punks and druggies and it was absolutely not what someone would look for her in. The shirt, black, and made up mostly of strings and patches, was also something she would have never been caught dead in and it was this that she put on next. It covered her enough to be decent, but that was all. Since her hair was now only inches long she couldn't rely on that to hide her figure and she'd never worn something this revealing before. It was incredibly uncomfortable but when she turned to the mirror there were only a very few thing she could have done to hide herself further.
Blue spiky hair stood out from the top of her head on all sides. Small metal spikes went through her ears instead of the dangly earrings she normally wore and she added a black collar with a large green stone hanging from it. Next was the scrappy shirt and baggy pants. Tall black socks and combat boots were the only thing left for her to add. Green eyes hidden behind thick black mascara looked oddly wide, but they blinked when she blinked. The refection also jumped when the phone rang. She waited silently for the answering machine to pick up.
"This is Momiji Fujimiya's residence. I'm not home right now, but leave a message and I'll be sure to get back to you." There was a beep then the click of someone hanging up. Momiji stuck her tongue out at the machine deciding that she really didn't care if they didn't want to talk to her, but they could have hung up before the machine was done so that it didn't think it had a message. She groaned, then went to put on her footwear.
Her neck felt rubbery, had since she'd cut her hair in fact. She ran a hand over the new shortened locks before lacing up the boots. They felt odd against her calves and she'd warn them a bit earlier to try and break them in, but they were still stiff. Once done she closed her eyes letting her senses flow out of the room. Kusanagi was sitting in the tree outside. She thought she could hear him grumbling about the locked window, but she shrugged and grabbed a towel and a bathrobe, wrapping the towel around her head and the bathrobe around her body before she went over to the T.V. and V.C.R. putting in the tape that Mrs. Matsudera had given her as she prepared to do one of the meanest things she'd ever done. She sensed for Kusanagi one more time before turning the T.V. on and pressing play. The volume was plenty high enough for him to hear it outside.
It was a news report, first telling of the weather which Momiji had checked to make sure it was similar to their weather. Then the weather was suddenly cut off and a panic stricken man came on. "Oh My GOD!" He yelled. "There's been some sort of creature attack in downtown Tokyo. It looks like some sort of PLANT has been taken over, it's attacking everything. Oh God, not again!" The television broadcast was cut short and just watching it Momiji felt panic rise in her throat. Kusanagi broke the lock on her window pushing it up. He didn't even glance at her before telling her to stay put and then he was gone.
Momiji tore the towel off and threw the bathrobe on the bed making sure she had a wallet, on a chain, full of money and her cell phone in another of her pockets. She had a tazer in yet another and a set of keys hidden in a pocket on the inside of her pants along with her regular set. She grabbed her new leather jacket and raced outside dodging past the reporters and fans camped outside her door.
None of them recognized her in her new threads and she was able to get by without an incident. The first time in over a year that she hadn't been thronged by the people of Tokyo. It seemed that everyone and their pet cat knew Momiji's face and she could barely make her way on the subway to work without being accosted by people who, not only knew what she had done, but had their own opinion about it. Even now she still found plenty of people who felt that she should have sacrificed herself right from the beginning instead of letting most of Tokyo get destroyed. It was days like that when Momiji wished she'd gone back to Izumo instead of remaining with the T.A.C. Sure the research was important, but it made her eyes sting just thinking of all the crap people had been giving her. Many people loved her, but even so the ones that didn't still got on her nerves, more than just a little bit.
With only a backward glance towards her house she ran off into the crowds of Tokyo. It wasn't quite ten on a Friday night and the streets were filled with people and it got even more crowded as she got closer to the center of town. She took a few moments to stand in a telephone booth and sense Kusanagi's presence. He was at the supposed scene of the attack flitting around trying to discover what was going on. She hated herself for doing it, but he hung around Momiji as though he had no other reason for for living. She couldn't escape for even an evening let alone as long as she planned now.
She fingered the large green chunk of acrylic that hung from her choker and felt even worse. It was the exact same type of acrylic that blocked the effect of the Kushinada pulse. It would keep Kusanagi from being able to locate her as it blocked him from sensing her the same way it blocked the pulse from getting to the Aragami. Akiko had made it for her when the whole story had come out ages ago. Kusanagi had kind of dropped hints that he didn't want her to wear it, and she could guess why. It was his incessant need to be near her made it nearly impossible to get away. No, he didn't press her, or force her to do anything she didn't want to do. He wasn't clingy at all and once his presence had been even comforting, Momiji didn't know if she'd destroyed that or if she had just let his indifference get in the way but he'd backed off. Knowing what she'd done to him, so many times over the last couple of years she couldn't bear for him to place so much trust in her, for him to care for her in any way. Settling the rock back against her chest she re-entered the flow of people managing to get herself quickly lost in the stream of people. It was odd, and despite the pushing and shoving she felt oddly at ease completely free for the first time years. No, in her entire life. No more purification, rituals, sacrifices, no more keeping out of trouble and following orders.
Over a mile away in the center of town Kusanagi floated over where an attack should have been taking place but instead he found a normal section of town with no disturbances what so ever. The reporter on T.V. had been greatly mistaken. There were no Arigami, and if he'd thought for a moment before racing off, he would have realized that he couldn't sense any either. Instead he'd unbelievingly flown off without a second thought an expression of disbelief written all over his face. It was much like the one he had now as he stared at the road. He didn't even react when he watched someone steal a purse. With Momiji around he would have been all over him.
"Momiji!" He yelled out loud smacking himself on the forehead. Without taking another look down he headed back to her home her beautiful green eyes the only thing on his mind. Despite the fact he'd left without taking her, something he knew she would scold him for, she should be relieved that there was indeed no attack. Again he didn't think to first sense for her presence or he wouldn't have been so surprised when he returned.
The door was locked, as it normally was this time of night, so he flitted around to the back where her window was still open from when he had broken in. Not very unusual since she knew he'd be back and most likely come in through the window no matter how late it was, but looking inside Kusanagi was puzzled. She wasn't there. The television was turned off, the bed still made. The only thing out of place was a bathrobe and towel tossed carelessly over her pink bunny comforter. Kusanagi poked his head in the window before moving in the rest of the way sliding his legs over the window sill.
"Momiji?" He asked tentatively making sure he didn't walk in on her undressing or something. He grinned wryly. Not that it would be a bad thing if he did. He might just get a chance to get a glimpse of her slim beautiful body. He shook his head. Now wasn't a time for those thoughts. He poked his head around the bathroom door trying to wipe the grin from his face, but it faded as he noticed it was empty. He found it very odd. Quickly he checked her work room, the only other room on the upper floor, then hurried down the stairs taking them two at a time. She wasn't in the kitchen, dining room, or the sitting room. That only left his room in the basement, and it only took him a glimpse through the doorway to know she wasn't there.
"Crap!" He swore standing inside his doorway. Taking a deep breath he focused on his matama's trying to sense the disturbance that the Kushinada made, but it was no where. Kusanagi tried harder, to no avail despite the fact that his range was the greater part of Tokyo. Cat like eyes widened with shock, and maybe a little fright. Surely if she'd died he would have known. Any pain she felt, even something so insignificant as pricking her thumb, he had been able to feel, and suddenly he felt oddly deaf with her presence gone from his mind.
Kusanagi tore up the stairs racing for the phone. The TAC phone numbers were on a piece of paper beside it and he used his finger to trace down the line till he reached Kunikida's and reading the number under his breath he pounded the keys into the phone and jammed it against his ear waiting for someone to pick up.