FINALLY I update, ne? ^^;; I'm so sorry, everyone. School's been crap, and I haven't had much time to type up anything…but, thanks to the help of a few friends *hugs Hinooki* and some very catchy music ((Culumon no theme!)), I have decided to get started! There's one more (story) chapter after this, unless I do the epilogue as a separate chapter.
Anyway, enough griping about that. Last chapter, Kia and Kelsey met Genkai, Koenma dropped by to apologize (riiiight…), and the girls got a special delivery…^^ Thanks to Celebrindae for suggesting this (I'll be using it twice, just to let you know.) So, let the fun begin!
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"Ruuuun!!" Rei burst into the kitchen, startling Kia and Kurama, who were making chocolate-chip cookies while Kurama explained to the blank-looking girl about sine and cosine.
"Err…Rei?" The Youko raised his thin eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"
The priestess turned on him, her voice rising to an unholy screech. "IS SOMETHING WRONG?! SHE'S GONNA SUCK OUT OUR SOULS, THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!!"
"Who's going to suck out our souls?" Kia asked, amused by Rei's extreme histrionics.
"KEIKO!!"
The two bakers shared a glance. Keiko was probably the last person who would suck souls.
"Oh, calm down, Rei!" A peeved-looking Keiko entered the kitchen, clutching a black and bulky…something. "I just want to get pictures of everybody."
Kia looked at her friend. "Umm…Keiko-chan…that beast you're wielding wouldn't happen to be a camera, would it?"
"A SOUL-SUCKING camera!" Rei exclaimed dramatically. "It's eeeeeeviiiiiilllll!"
Keiko sighed tiredly. "Yes, it's a camera, and it doesn't suck souls. It's part of an assignment for school. I have to take pictures of my family and friends for a diversity collage."
"Do Yusuke and Kuwabara-kun have to do this too?" Kurama inquired. "After all, aren't they in your class?"
The girl shook her head in disgust. "Yusuke is, but he and Kuwabara always skip school to play games at the arcade. I don't think they'll be doing this assignment. So…" She held up the camera, smiling hopefully. "How about striking a few poses?"
"I…I'm not really photogenic…" Kia started to refuse, but then Kurama shook his cookie dough-covered spoon at her.
"It's for SCHOOL," he said pointedly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and smiling at the camera Keiko was now pointing at them.
The Mirror Holder glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and then a devilish grin spread across her face. Taking the spoon Kurama had put on the counter, she dug it into the bowl of cookie dough, lifted it up, and then very neatly and calmly plunked the whole mess on his head. Just as Keiko snapped the picture.
Kurama gaped at the grinning brunette. "You already had me help you with all of the homework you missed…did you have to put that mess in my HAIR?"
"Oh, there's just one more thing…" Kia picked up the cookie-sheet.
He eyed it warily. "And that would be…?"
"Change back into Youko so I can beat your ass!"
"One more pose," Keiko interrupted. Rei was still yelling and running around, but they were ignoring her for the time being.
Kia rolled her eyes, but hopped on the counter, still holding her "weapon", and gave the camera a sweet grin. Then she ran after Kurama…who ran away.
The priestess stopped to dip a finger into the bowl as the two exited the kitchen, licking it experimentally. "Not bad," she commented. "But needs more chocolate-chips." And, with that, she picked up the bag, and dumped all of its content into the bowl. "Much better."
Keiko could only groan and shake her head.
The Next Day…
"You were WHAT?" The principal bellowed, his glasses slipping down his face as he glared at the two girls standing in front of his desk.
Kia clutched her schoolbag tightly and looked helplessly at Kelsey. The other sighed.
"Really sick," she repeated impatiently.
"HOW SICK CAN YOU BE IF YOU MISS TWO WEEKS AT SCHOOL? THAT'S MORE LIKE A TERMINAL ILLNESS!"
This wasn't going too well. They'd both been called out of class to explain their long-term absence to the principal, but it was turning out to be more like a lecture. A very loud and annoying lecture.
Kelsey's eyes narrowed. "Well, there you have it. Kia and I both had a very rare disease that threatened our lives until Santa Clause came down the chimney and cured us with magical faerie dust. We'll be leaving now." She grabbed Kia's hand and started to drag her bewildered friend out of the office.
"Hold it!" He stood up, slamming his hands onto the desktop. "Unless you can have a legal guardian verify the truth of your little sickness…which I DOUBT…you two won't be going anywhere for quite some time! Except detention! SIT!"
Kelsey and Kia sat.
"Now, you're going to continue to sit there until your legal guardian arrives! Am I understood??"
"Yes, sensei," Kia muttered resignedly. Kelsey said nothing, only continued to glare at the principal. They both knew that they didn't really HAVE a legal guardian…which meant they were stuck here. For the rest of the day.
"…Sir?" Nezumi, the principal's secretary, stuck her head in. "There's a man here to see you…about his daughters?"
The man rubbed his temples tiredly and adjusted his glasses. "Show him in."
Three seconds later, both girls gaped. Nezumi escorted a blonde man in a drab gray business suit into the office. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and he set his briefcase on the ground, straightening up and adjusting his tie.
"Now, what's this I hear about my daughters being liars?"
"SUZUKI?" Kelsey mouthed silently, her mouth still wide open until Kia reached over and placed a hand on her chin, firmly closing it. She was just as surprised, but figured Suzuki knew what he was doing.
"Well, you see…" the principal settled back down in his seat. "Your daughters, Mister…"
"Utskushii."
"…Mm. Yes…as I was saying, your daughters tell me they've both been very sick?"
Suzuki glanced down at the Mirror Holders. "They speak the truth. They contracted an unknown virus, and have been laid-out for quite some time. They practically begged me to go back to school, even if they haven't fully recovered their stamina yet."
Kelsey caught on, and fell off her chair. "I just wanted…to…learn…" She whispered, coughing weakly.
"And I've decided to take them home early. Come along, girls." The Martial Artist helped Kelsey to her feet, and then picked them both up, placing them over his shoulders. They waved cheerfully to the baffled, flustered principal as Suzuki strode out of the office.
"Those dogs of yours are quite handy," he remarked, as he headed for home. "Suka told me you two needed help."
Kelsey blinked. "She talked to you?"
"Makes sense," Kia realized. "They ARE Kage's children, after all."
Suzuki chuckled. "Yes, she did. And it seems that you two are in desperate need of a father figure. I am truly the master of ingenious disguises, and if you two would…err…like to be adopted…I'm more than capable of taking care of you both."
The Mirror Holders looked at each other--and then burst out laughing.
Two Days Later…
Kelsey and Kia sat cross-legged in the welcome shade of a sheltering tree right outside the house. They had been playing with the three puppies for awhile, but the heat of the unusually warm day had made the dogs decide to settle down for an afternoon nap. Inuki now lay sprawled across Kia's lap. Suka, the lady of the trio, was curled in a tight ball, tail resting neatly across her ebon muzzle. Kageri was on his back, pink tongue lolling out of his mouth as he batted at the air, chasing something-or-other in his dreams.
All was peaceful…until Kelsey leaned forward to pet Suka, and Kia caught sight of something.
"…What's on your neck?" She tilted her head for a closer look, and the blonde clapped a hand over her neck, turning pink.
"Nothing."
"There was something on your neck." Kia thought hard for a moment, and then suddenly let out a gasp. "You DIDN'T!"
"What?"
"I mean, Kurama told me about this, but I never thought you…"
"WHAT?"
"You and Shishi--"
"WHAAAAAT??"
"YOU'VE GOT A DEMONIC HICKEY!" Kia pointed accusingly at her friend. "And I bet SHISHI gave it to you!"
To her amusement, Kelsey turned an even brighter red. "So what if he did?" She retorted, almost defiantly.
"And here I thought you hated him…"
"People change. Feelings change." The Mirror Holder folded her arms across her chest. "Stop gloating."
"I'm not gloating. I'm just incredibly amused. Congratulations. You've been claimed." Kia assumed the voice of a game-show announcer. "You've won the lifelong demonic affections of Shishiwakamaru…yes, folks, THE Shishiwakamaru, who has his very own fan club!"
"Oh, be off with you," Kelsey grumbled, swatting at the brunette.
"Good idea." Jin appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, although the scattered leaves in his crimson hair suggested that he'd been up in the higher branches of the tree. "Come on, lass, ye've got some wrestling to perfect. Ye're probably all rusty."
"I am not!" Kia protested, allowing the Wind Master to draw her to her feet and lead her behind the house. "I just naturally suck at wrestling."
He dismissed this with a hand-wave, crouching down into a fighting stance. Without warning, he sprang at her. The girl, caught off-guard, fell over, but remembered to roll when she hit the ground, wresting a knee free and planting it against Jin's chest when HIS back was on the grass.
"Wide-open," the jovial youkai informed her, grasping her wrists and flipping her over. He kept his grip when they reversed positions, grinning down at Kia and lowering himself until he had her fully pinned.
"I told you I su--" She didn't have the chance to finish, as Jin pressed his mouth firmly against hers. Completely forgetting what she had been about to say, Kia blinked up at him dizzily as he lifted his head slightly. "…What was that for?"
"I missed you," he whispered raggedly. "I was afraid…I wasn't goin' t' see your face…hear your voice…ever again."
The girl fell silent for a moment. Then, slowly, she smiled. "I never told you…I wanted to, but then I died…Jin?"
"Hai?"
It was now or never. She took a deep breath. "I love you."
A long pause. Then… "I love you too…ye've heard what Shishi did?"
"You mean the demonic hickey thing? I just found out. Why?" When he didn't answer, she figured out the answer for herself. "You mean…"
"I'd like to…"
Kia knew she loved Jin…and it wasn't a bad thing for her to be…claimed. Sort of. "Go for it. I don't know how it works, but I don't know anyone else I'd rather be marked by."
"It may hurt." The Wind Master nipped at her lips until she opened them, sliding his tongue inside, and kissing her. Kia slipped her arms up and around him until they rested on his back. Her fingers dug in slightly when she felt a small pain on the side of her neck, but then it was over, and he helped her up.
"No regrets?" He looked truly anxious, and she bit back a laugh as she hugged him.
"None at all." She glanced down at the silver ring adorning her finger and then back up at Jin. "Was that the promise?"
He winked and tweaked her nose. "Ye're a smart lass."
******
"Ah-HA!" Kelsey jabbed a finger at Kia, who lifted her eyes from the book she was reading.
"…And what have you deducted, Holmes?" The older girl asked, setting the book aside and picking up Inuki.
"That now there are TWO winners. I can't believe you fell for the 'your wrestling needs work' bit. That one's been used so many times!"
Kia arched an eyebrow. "And which one did SHISHI use? 'I'm sorry, I tend to have vampiric tendencies?'"
Kelsey threw a sofa pillow at her. "That's none of your business!"
"He DID, didn't he?"
"I'm not telling!"
"You were claimed by a VAMPIRE with weird hair?"
"He does NOT have weird hair!"
"He looks like an insect!"
"Y0U look like an insect!"
"Well, YOU look like an insect's WIFE!"
"YOU look like your mom!"
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
Keiko decided to take one final picture of the two squabbling Mirror Holders. A typical day in the life of an unusual "family". And they wouldn't have it any other way.
*OOC*
Hoo. I'm done. I'm so tired and I'm going to bed, so please review and don't blame me for errors due to braindeadness. Many thanks to Bara-chan, Lexi, Kelsey, Hinooki, and Rein! NEXT chapter!
* The final chapter of Kikyoku…o.o Ooooh…
* Tsukai pays a visit…and delivers some news that makes the girls VERY unhappy.
* It's time to say good-bye to the Mirror Holders…
Anyway, enough griping about that. Last chapter, Kia and Kelsey met Genkai, Koenma dropped by to apologize (riiiight…), and the girls got a special delivery…^^ Thanks to Celebrindae for suggesting this (I'll be using it twice, just to let you know.) So, let the fun begin!
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"Ruuuun!!" Rei burst into the kitchen, startling Kia and Kurama, who were making chocolate-chip cookies while Kurama explained to the blank-looking girl about sine and cosine.
"Err…Rei?" The Youko raised his thin eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"
The priestess turned on him, her voice rising to an unholy screech. "IS SOMETHING WRONG?! SHE'S GONNA SUCK OUT OUR SOULS, THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!!"
"Who's going to suck out our souls?" Kia asked, amused by Rei's extreme histrionics.
"KEIKO!!"
The two bakers shared a glance. Keiko was probably the last person who would suck souls.
"Oh, calm down, Rei!" A peeved-looking Keiko entered the kitchen, clutching a black and bulky…something. "I just want to get pictures of everybody."
Kia looked at her friend. "Umm…Keiko-chan…that beast you're wielding wouldn't happen to be a camera, would it?"
"A SOUL-SUCKING camera!" Rei exclaimed dramatically. "It's eeeeeeviiiiiilllll!"
Keiko sighed tiredly. "Yes, it's a camera, and it doesn't suck souls. It's part of an assignment for school. I have to take pictures of my family and friends for a diversity collage."
"Do Yusuke and Kuwabara-kun have to do this too?" Kurama inquired. "After all, aren't they in your class?"
The girl shook her head in disgust. "Yusuke is, but he and Kuwabara always skip school to play games at the arcade. I don't think they'll be doing this assignment. So…" She held up the camera, smiling hopefully. "How about striking a few poses?"
"I…I'm not really photogenic…" Kia started to refuse, but then Kurama shook his cookie dough-covered spoon at her.
"It's for SCHOOL," he said pointedly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and smiling at the camera Keiko was now pointing at them.
The Mirror Holder glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and then a devilish grin spread across her face. Taking the spoon Kurama had put on the counter, she dug it into the bowl of cookie dough, lifted it up, and then very neatly and calmly plunked the whole mess on his head. Just as Keiko snapped the picture.
Kurama gaped at the grinning brunette. "You already had me help you with all of the homework you missed…did you have to put that mess in my HAIR?"
"Oh, there's just one more thing…" Kia picked up the cookie-sheet.
He eyed it warily. "And that would be…?"
"Change back into Youko so I can beat your ass!"
"One more pose," Keiko interrupted. Rei was still yelling and running around, but they were ignoring her for the time being.
Kia rolled her eyes, but hopped on the counter, still holding her "weapon", and gave the camera a sweet grin. Then she ran after Kurama…who ran away.
The priestess stopped to dip a finger into the bowl as the two exited the kitchen, licking it experimentally. "Not bad," she commented. "But needs more chocolate-chips." And, with that, she picked up the bag, and dumped all of its content into the bowl. "Much better."
Keiko could only groan and shake her head.
The Next Day…
"You were WHAT?" The principal bellowed, his glasses slipping down his face as he glared at the two girls standing in front of his desk.
Kia clutched her schoolbag tightly and looked helplessly at Kelsey. The other sighed.
"Really sick," she repeated impatiently.
"HOW SICK CAN YOU BE IF YOU MISS TWO WEEKS AT SCHOOL? THAT'S MORE LIKE A TERMINAL ILLNESS!"
This wasn't going too well. They'd both been called out of class to explain their long-term absence to the principal, but it was turning out to be more like a lecture. A very loud and annoying lecture.
Kelsey's eyes narrowed. "Well, there you have it. Kia and I both had a very rare disease that threatened our lives until Santa Clause came down the chimney and cured us with magical faerie dust. We'll be leaving now." She grabbed Kia's hand and started to drag her bewildered friend out of the office.
"Hold it!" He stood up, slamming his hands onto the desktop. "Unless you can have a legal guardian verify the truth of your little sickness…which I DOUBT…you two won't be going anywhere for quite some time! Except detention! SIT!"
Kelsey and Kia sat.
"Now, you're going to continue to sit there until your legal guardian arrives! Am I understood??"
"Yes, sensei," Kia muttered resignedly. Kelsey said nothing, only continued to glare at the principal. They both knew that they didn't really HAVE a legal guardian…which meant they were stuck here. For the rest of the day.
"…Sir?" Nezumi, the principal's secretary, stuck her head in. "There's a man here to see you…about his daughters?"
The man rubbed his temples tiredly and adjusted his glasses. "Show him in."
Three seconds later, both girls gaped. Nezumi escorted a blonde man in a drab gray business suit into the office. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and he set his briefcase on the ground, straightening up and adjusting his tie.
"Now, what's this I hear about my daughters being liars?"
"SUZUKI?" Kelsey mouthed silently, her mouth still wide open until Kia reached over and placed a hand on her chin, firmly closing it. She was just as surprised, but figured Suzuki knew what he was doing.
"Well, you see…" the principal settled back down in his seat. "Your daughters, Mister…"
"Utskushii."
"…Mm. Yes…as I was saying, your daughters tell me they've both been very sick?"
Suzuki glanced down at the Mirror Holders. "They speak the truth. They contracted an unknown virus, and have been laid-out for quite some time. They practically begged me to go back to school, even if they haven't fully recovered their stamina yet."
Kelsey caught on, and fell off her chair. "I just wanted…to…learn…" She whispered, coughing weakly.
"And I've decided to take them home early. Come along, girls." The Martial Artist helped Kelsey to her feet, and then picked them both up, placing them over his shoulders. They waved cheerfully to the baffled, flustered principal as Suzuki strode out of the office.
"Those dogs of yours are quite handy," he remarked, as he headed for home. "Suka told me you two needed help."
Kelsey blinked. "She talked to you?"
"Makes sense," Kia realized. "They ARE Kage's children, after all."
Suzuki chuckled. "Yes, she did. And it seems that you two are in desperate need of a father figure. I am truly the master of ingenious disguises, and if you two would…err…like to be adopted…I'm more than capable of taking care of you both."
The Mirror Holders looked at each other--and then burst out laughing.
Two Days Later…
Kelsey and Kia sat cross-legged in the welcome shade of a sheltering tree right outside the house. They had been playing with the three puppies for awhile, but the heat of the unusually warm day had made the dogs decide to settle down for an afternoon nap. Inuki now lay sprawled across Kia's lap. Suka, the lady of the trio, was curled in a tight ball, tail resting neatly across her ebon muzzle. Kageri was on his back, pink tongue lolling out of his mouth as he batted at the air, chasing something-or-other in his dreams.
All was peaceful…until Kelsey leaned forward to pet Suka, and Kia caught sight of something.
"…What's on your neck?" She tilted her head for a closer look, and the blonde clapped a hand over her neck, turning pink.
"Nothing."
"There was something on your neck." Kia thought hard for a moment, and then suddenly let out a gasp. "You DIDN'T!"
"What?"
"I mean, Kurama told me about this, but I never thought you…"
"WHAT?"
"You and Shishi--"
"WHAAAAAT??"
"YOU'VE GOT A DEMONIC HICKEY!" Kia pointed accusingly at her friend. "And I bet SHISHI gave it to you!"
To her amusement, Kelsey turned an even brighter red. "So what if he did?" She retorted, almost defiantly.
"And here I thought you hated him…"
"People change. Feelings change." The Mirror Holder folded her arms across her chest. "Stop gloating."
"I'm not gloating. I'm just incredibly amused. Congratulations. You've been claimed." Kia assumed the voice of a game-show announcer. "You've won the lifelong demonic affections of Shishiwakamaru…yes, folks, THE Shishiwakamaru, who has his very own fan club!"
"Oh, be off with you," Kelsey grumbled, swatting at the brunette.
"Good idea." Jin appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, although the scattered leaves in his crimson hair suggested that he'd been up in the higher branches of the tree. "Come on, lass, ye've got some wrestling to perfect. Ye're probably all rusty."
"I am not!" Kia protested, allowing the Wind Master to draw her to her feet and lead her behind the house. "I just naturally suck at wrestling."
He dismissed this with a hand-wave, crouching down into a fighting stance. Without warning, he sprang at her. The girl, caught off-guard, fell over, but remembered to roll when she hit the ground, wresting a knee free and planting it against Jin's chest when HIS back was on the grass.
"Wide-open," the jovial youkai informed her, grasping her wrists and flipping her over. He kept his grip when they reversed positions, grinning down at Kia and lowering himself until he had her fully pinned.
"I told you I su--" She didn't have the chance to finish, as Jin pressed his mouth firmly against hers. Completely forgetting what she had been about to say, Kia blinked up at him dizzily as he lifted his head slightly. "…What was that for?"
"I missed you," he whispered raggedly. "I was afraid…I wasn't goin' t' see your face…hear your voice…ever again."
The girl fell silent for a moment. Then, slowly, she smiled. "I never told you…I wanted to, but then I died…Jin?"
"Hai?"
It was now or never. She took a deep breath. "I love you."
A long pause. Then… "I love you too…ye've heard what Shishi did?"
"You mean the demonic hickey thing? I just found out. Why?" When he didn't answer, she figured out the answer for herself. "You mean…"
"I'd like to…"
Kia knew she loved Jin…and it wasn't a bad thing for her to be…claimed. Sort of. "Go for it. I don't know how it works, but I don't know anyone else I'd rather be marked by."
"It may hurt." The Wind Master nipped at her lips until she opened them, sliding his tongue inside, and kissing her. Kia slipped her arms up and around him until they rested on his back. Her fingers dug in slightly when she felt a small pain on the side of her neck, but then it was over, and he helped her up.
"No regrets?" He looked truly anxious, and she bit back a laugh as she hugged him.
"None at all." She glanced down at the silver ring adorning her finger and then back up at Jin. "Was that the promise?"
He winked and tweaked her nose. "Ye're a smart lass."
******
"Ah-HA!" Kelsey jabbed a finger at Kia, who lifted her eyes from the book she was reading.
"…And what have you deducted, Holmes?" The older girl asked, setting the book aside and picking up Inuki.
"That now there are TWO winners. I can't believe you fell for the 'your wrestling needs work' bit. That one's been used so many times!"
Kia arched an eyebrow. "And which one did SHISHI use? 'I'm sorry, I tend to have vampiric tendencies?'"
Kelsey threw a sofa pillow at her. "That's none of your business!"
"He DID, didn't he?"
"I'm not telling!"
"You were claimed by a VAMPIRE with weird hair?"
"He does NOT have weird hair!"
"He looks like an insect!"
"Y0U look like an insect!"
"Well, YOU look like an insect's WIFE!"
"YOU look like your mom!"
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
Keiko decided to take one final picture of the two squabbling Mirror Holders. A typical day in the life of an unusual "family". And they wouldn't have it any other way.
*OOC*
Hoo. I'm done. I'm so tired and I'm going to bed, so please review and don't blame me for errors due to braindeadness. Many thanks to Bara-chan, Lexi, Kelsey, Hinooki, and Rein! NEXT chapter!
* The final chapter of Kikyoku…o.o Ooooh…
* Tsukai pays a visit…and delivers some news that makes the girls VERY unhappy.
* It's time to say good-bye to the Mirror Holders…