Authoress here.
I apologize. This chapter will be sad. Because I'm sad. And when I'm sad, my chapter is sad. I wonder how many times I can say 'sad' in one opening statement. Sad, sad, sad.
Yujo Chronicles: Ankara's Story
Chapter Seven
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
So cold...so cold...can't breathe...terrible...pain....darkness.
Two apparition women stood outside of the black wood building, eyes remote and faces dispassionate.
"Sayuuri..."
"Yes?" The second turned to look at the first.
The first woman sighed. "The little one...belongs to no one. I've asked everywhere. She has no home to go to once this outcast leaves."
Sayuuri didn't say anything. Her face showed the slightest signs of remorse and pity, her deep silver eyes wells of thought. "She will find refuge somewhere. Do not worry yourself overmuch."
"The outcast will die." The first woman's voice was matter-of-fact.
Sayuuri's expression didn't change much, but it was evident she was surprised. "He has stopped bleeding. What makes you certain, Huulyn?"
"It has been three days, and still he burns with fever. His Fire apparition blood does not quiet. If he remains here, in Ice World, his death will be eminent."
"What shall we tell the little one?" Sayuuri asked.
"I am not certain. If he does not awaken within the rising and setting of tonight's moon, he will have to leave. We cannot take him. The little one is still too weak. He will die if tonight he awakens not." Huulyn's voice sounded terribly burdened. Her white hair framed the blue-gray eyes, and her concern was plain.
"I am not certain of many things concerning either of them."
Can't...get up...so cold....terrible pain...where can I hide..?...Must...get up...pain...
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
"Hiei." Inside the black wood building, Ankara kept vigil by Hiei's side. Melted ice water, still frigidly cold, surrounded the black-haired demon, keeping the bathing basin he had been laid in full. The ice water was in hopes to break the fever that raged behind his half-closed eyes.
"Hiei." Ankara repeated, calm. She knew he would wake up. If he didn't, she wouldn't know what next to do. She would be worthless. He saved her life so many times, unquestioning, without any expectancy of a return favor. But now, as he lay moaning, sweat beading his forehead, his eyes rolling occasionally beneath the heavy lids, she must make him wake up.
"Hiei."
He looked so terribly young, and so terribly alone. The water reflected the witch-light cast by Huulyn to light the one-room building, making his skin look translucent and sickly. His hands twitched every now and then, and his hair was soaked through with a combination of sweat and the ice water she bathed his brow with.
"Hiei."
Ankara felt a painful burning eat away at her heart. She would be alone, if he left her now. However self-centered it was, she needed him to live, even if he were to leave. Just knowing that someone who walked the worlds cared enough to give her more than a second's thought would bring her comfort. The prospect of being so alone was frightening.
The thought scared her more every time she thought about it, and it was always just below the surface of her mind. Ankara felt tears readying themselves to fall, but she swallowed them back with frantic forcefulness. Already, as his moaning grew less frequent, she felt more lost. Her eyes darted off to one side, to the small knife lying on the low table beside her.
Huulyn had given it to her to help cut out the arrowhead from his thigh. It had been driven behind the muscle, and had lodged itself there. With a careful incision, Ankara had managed to weave it out without damaging the muscle. But now the tool had endless possibilities.
Would it be kinder to Hiei if she were to slit his throat, let him die in peace? Or would it be less painful to take the blade to her own flesh, taste the sweet metal and let it embrace her as a fitting sheath, draining her of the loneliness and fears she held inside.
"Please, Hiei." Ankara took his hand, the one farther away. Bringing it across his chest, she put the almost unbearably hot flesh of his palm to her cheek, willing him to feel her, to recognize how much he was needed here.
His fever's heat burned at her cheek, and a tear slipped unbidden from her eye. It slid down her face to trickle onto his hand. As the moisture touched his skin, it sizzled and floated away in a rush of vapor.
"Why won't you let me cry, Hiei?" Ankara asked, smiling hopelessly. "Why? I'm waiting for you, Hiei, to wake up, call me names and save me from everything. I'll save you back, Hiei, but you must wake up."
Ankara took her other hand and brushed the tips of her fingers across his cheek, then up the rise of his nose. Following the contours of his face, she trailed over the bridge of his nose, brushing his eyelashes, then back down his other cheek to his lips.
"You look so peaceful, Hiei. You never do. It scares me. Is death really peace? Or do we just have to relive everything, in order to die? I don't want either of us to find out, Hiei." Ankara traced his lips with one fingertip. "This is all too real. I won't ever be able to erase all of these memories, unless I die with you."
Her eyes darted back to the knife, then returned to his face. "You'd hate what I'm about to say, Hiei. Wake up and make me stop talking."
His lips remained silent, his breathing still labored. The ice water was quickly evaporating, due to the heat pulsing from his fevered body. The Fire blood raced painfully in his veins, conflicting against the struggle to hang on, the lifeline made up of one silver strand.
"If you leave me here alone, Hiei." Ankara said softly. "Then I won't have anything to live for. You could wake up and leave now, and I'd be so happy. Even if you were in a different world, and I never saw you again, knowing you were alive would be enough. You could help me bear the load of these memories. What a pair we'd be, you and I. You, brave and proud as you are, me so quiet and scared."
Her hand left his face, and slowly inched towards the knife on the table. "Hiei, die and I will die alongside you. You are the closest thing I've ever had to hold, and I don't mind. But please... Wake up. Don't make me disappoint you. Tell me I'm wrong, you're right, and just open your eyes."
He didn't move. More tears ran down her face, evaporating as they touched his skin.
Trembling fingers touched the cold stone of the knife's handle. Her grip tightened, and she rocked slightly, hovering on a feeble indecision. "Hiei...I will see you again, regardless of where we go."
The knife felt so cool in her hand, and she brought her arm in slowly, resting the blade tenderly against her neck. The razor sharp edge rested innocently against the paper-thin skin, and she trembled, holding his hand to her cheek and the knife to her throat. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, readying herself for the cool of the knife tearing, searing into her throat, swallowing her miseries.
With a sudden jab she forced all of her strength against the blade, intending for it to rip into her throat.
Her wrist gave a violent tug in the opposite direction, and the blade went spinning away to bury itself up to the hilt in the wooden wall in front of her.
Hiei's free hand held her around her wrist, firmly. His eyes were open, halfway and glazed, but open nonetheless.
"Damnation, wench, are you trying to make it difficult for me to keep you alive?!"
Ankara stared at him, wide-eyed. Her hand kept his firmly pressed to her cheek in her shock, and Hiei coughed feebly. He shook his head foggily, all of his movements sluggish.
"Hiei-"
"Couldn't you of waited a few more minutes?!" Hiei complained. "I was about ready to open my eyes, and then you started speaking like the world was going to end. Good thing I had enough strength to move quickly enough before you actually carried out your idiotic notions."
Ankara gave a small half smile, relief paralyzing her and joy flooding her. She let go of his hand and flung both arms around him, sobbing with relief, her tears evaporating against him.
Three hours later
Hiei lay on a thin pallet, dry now and resting peacefully. His Fire blood had seemed to have quieted, and his slumber was that of a healing nature. Within a few more hours, he would be able to travel off of Ice World.
After he had woken up, Ankara had gone to get Huulyn, the local chieftess of the Border village. The stern woman had questioned him carefully, extracting the events of the last few days in full detail. Ankara was then told to bathe and change into fresh clothing; her Sorunial garb was to be destroyed.
After Ankara had left, Huulyn turned somberly to Hiei. "She has no one to take her in, here."
"Are you suggesting that you'd throw her out?!"
Huulyn patted the air in a soothing motion. "No. No matter the circumstance, an Ice apparition will always have a home. What I meant to communicate in telling you that was that if you have any idea to whom she may belong..."
Hiei scowled fiercely. "The last time I was here in this damn cold world, my mother was forced to drop me from a cliff. I can't exactly say I'm popular with the locals."
"I wasn't inferring that. But you are the only link to her we happen to have at our disposal." Huulyn was aggravatingly calm.
"Listen, I've told you everything I know. She was kidnapped from here as a child. She has no memory of it, and there's no way in the seven hells I would." Hiei fought back the urge to yawn. Fatigue was tugging at his eyelids; even his words were beginning to slur.
"You grow more and more tired as we continue. I apologize for my persistence." Huulyn said quietly. "I must ask you one last time. Is there anywhere she could go?"
Hiei couldn't fight his urge to sleep any longer. "Send her to my family," he mumbled as his eyes closed. "My mother has already lost one child. Ankara will be welcome there."
Present time
The visions floating before their eyes died as Hiei slumped foreword on the roof. The sky was streaked pink with the oncoming of dawn, and the few clouds hung in the air were colored a brilliant gold.
Kurama regarded his friend seriously, unblinking. Never before had Hiei opened up so completely about his past, never before had Kurama seen the black-haired demon so shaken.
"Shortly after I revived, I was told to leave." Hiei said dully, continuing where the visions left off. "I never got to see her after that, though I was told by the apparitions she was to be sent to be with Yukina and her caretakers. They told me they had already taken here there, and then showed me a different path to take out of Ice World."
"How long ago was this?" Kurama asked gently.
"Twenty-six years."
A window opened up in the office compound beneath them. A haggard voice called out. "Hey, you punks, get down from there! This is an office building, not monkey bars!"
Hiei stood up without a retort, which was strange in and of itself. But as he prepared to leave the roof, Kurama caught his arm. "Don't just run off like you always do. Thank you," Kurama continued, lowering his voice, "for telling me."
"Whatever." Hiei scowled at the sunrise. "I don't know why this has been bothering me lately. I haven't really given it more than a second thought for years. "
Kurama smiled gently, giving Hiei's shoulder a pat. "Love has a way of doing that, showing up when you least expect it."
"Love?!"
"Of course. What did you think it was?" Kurama's expression was serious, and Hiei felt indignant.
"I don't love, Kurama. And whatever the 'it' you're talking about is, it isn't love!" Hiei scowled fiercely. "Besides...what is the 'it?'"
"The feeling in your chest, like your heart was being eaten away, the terror you felt when you thought she was to be harmed, the relief when she was alright." Kurama stared pensively at the brightening sky. "You may say otherwise, but demon hearts aren't as abrasive to passion and emotion as people think. We're just inclined against it, not incapable of it."
Hiei spat over the side of the roof. "You've just gone soft, with your fifteen years in that pathetic human body. I might of possibly been concerned for the wench, but love-!" The word passed over his tongue like something foul.
But he waited for his friend to find the fire escape ladder to get off of the roof before leaping nimbly down to the ground.
They retreated to the park across the street just as the streetlamps guttered out. Emiko had fallen asleep on the bench waiting for Kurama.
Kurama smiled briefly, and then bent to wake her. A rush of wind made him pause, and look behind to where Hiei had been standing. The raven-haired demon was gone, and Kurama wasn't surprised.
With a little sigh, Kurama turned back to his mate. Brushing a hand to her cheek, he leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Emiko."
With a little moan, Emiko turned over and opened her eyes blearily. Blinking a few times, she sat up. "It's morning already?"
"Yes."
Kurama sat down heavily next to her, and she cocked an eyebrow. "Much on that mind of yours, Yoko?"
He sighed again, heavier this time. "Yes. Hiei's being stubborn with himself again."
"Is it something he wouldn't mind me hearing?"
"I'm afraid he would commit homicide if I told you." Kurama said with a little grin. He sobered quickly. "He usually keeps things to himself, but this will eat at him."
"Knowing him," Emiko said thoughtfully. "He'll wait until he can hardly stand it, and then he'll fix things for himself. He's always looked out for himself before; now will be no different."
Kurama nodded slowly. A part of him doubted Emiko's logic, although that was Hiei's usual pattern. His mate looked at him sidelong.
"Yoko, there comes a point when his friendship with you becomes the deciding factor. If you've done everything you could to convince him to take action, then that's the best anyone can do."
Kurama glanced at her gratefully. Emiko leaned foreword and placed a lingering kiss on the fox demon-gone-human's lips. Breaking away, she looked down his deep orbs and took his cheeks in her palms. "Knowing you, he's sitting somewhere gnawing on what you said, deciding to do what's right."
Kurama enveloped her in a hug, resting his cheek on her hair. "I hope he does. I, for one, couldn't live without you."
True to Emiko's prediction, Hiei sat on the highest perch he could find: the steel beams that would soon become a finished seven-story building. His eyes were glazed over, and he chewed on his lip, deep in thought.
Love...maybe.
The wind brought his hair whipping around, the air cool. He closed his eyes, imagining Ice World, the cool touch of her palm on his face as he lay in the throes of the fever. His fingers sought the pearl hanging around his neck, the same pearl that had been formed of her tears when she had pleaded for his life atop the cliffs, so long ago.
Resolve tightened his grip, and he reopened his eyes. One day, he promised. One day, he would cheat this newly realized love no longer.
End Chapter
End Yujo Chronicles: Ankara's Story
Authoress here.
Yeah, it's over. Our five new favorite heroines are about ready to call it quits and throw in the towel. BUT I'M NOT. So, in order to be pathetic like I promised I would, and to squeeze ALL the life out of the Yujo Chronicles, I will be doing a final story, like an epilogue.
So...look forewords to Yujo Chronicles: The Final Chapter coming soon!
CUT TO THE CREDITS!!
CUE THE AUTHORESS THEME SONG!!!
Hey! I just realized I've mentioned my theme song several times and have never shared it. YES, there is an actual theme song I've written for me. Well, actually for my manga, Safe Havens, but it works as my theme song as well. Like, if I were an Anime, this would play on the introduction. Or something like that. Okay, no laughing. If you understand time signatures and all, I would say on a metronome it goes maybe 120 or so. Here goes:
You're so intoxicating, I find it hard to breathe around you.
You're like a tonic worth taking,
but you burn all the way down ooh-ooh...
I love the way you stand outside on stormy days
and let the rain fall on your face
I like the way you stand outside on sunny days
and let the light make you look like Heaven,
ooh-ooh..
Take me once,
take me twice, take me any time you like,
Far away to a Safe Haven
When it's you when it's me,
It's as perfect as can be.
Anywhere you are is my Safe Haven....
Okay, so it's good for a romance/action manga called Safe Havens, but for an odd Authoress like me, it's...lacking. Note to self: Write better Authoress theme song.
See you next story! And..REVIEW!
I apologize. This chapter will be sad. Because I'm sad. And when I'm sad, my chapter is sad. I wonder how many times I can say 'sad' in one opening statement. Sad, sad, sad.
Yujo Chronicles: Ankara's Story
Chapter Seven
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
So cold...so cold...can't breathe...terrible...pain....darkness.
Two apparition women stood outside of the black wood building, eyes remote and faces dispassionate.
"Sayuuri..."
"Yes?" The second turned to look at the first.
The first woman sighed. "The little one...belongs to no one. I've asked everywhere. She has no home to go to once this outcast leaves."
Sayuuri didn't say anything. Her face showed the slightest signs of remorse and pity, her deep silver eyes wells of thought. "She will find refuge somewhere. Do not worry yourself overmuch."
"The outcast will die." The first woman's voice was matter-of-fact.
Sayuuri's expression didn't change much, but it was evident she was surprised. "He has stopped bleeding. What makes you certain, Huulyn?"
"It has been three days, and still he burns with fever. His Fire apparition blood does not quiet. If he remains here, in Ice World, his death will be eminent."
"What shall we tell the little one?" Sayuuri asked.
"I am not certain. If he does not awaken within the rising and setting of tonight's moon, he will have to leave. We cannot take him. The little one is still too weak. He will die if tonight he awakens not." Huulyn's voice sounded terribly burdened. Her white hair framed the blue-gray eyes, and her concern was plain.
"I am not certain of many things concerning either of them."
Can't...get up...so cold....terrible pain...where can I hide..?...Must...get up...pain...
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
"Hiei." Inside the black wood building, Ankara kept vigil by Hiei's side. Melted ice water, still frigidly cold, surrounded the black-haired demon, keeping the bathing basin he had been laid in full. The ice water was in hopes to break the fever that raged behind his half-closed eyes.
"Hiei." Ankara repeated, calm. She knew he would wake up. If he didn't, she wouldn't know what next to do. She would be worthless. He saved her life so many times, unquestioning, without any expectancy of a return favor. But now, as he lay moaning, sweat beading his forehead, his eyes rolling occasionally beneath the heavy lids, she must make him wake up.
"Hiei."
He looked so terribly young, and so terribly alone. The water reflected the witch-light cast by Huulyn to light the one-room building, making his skin look translucent and sickly. His hands twitched every now and then, and his hair was soaked through with a combination of sweat and the ice water she bathed his brow with.
"Hiei."
Ankara felt a painful burning eat away at her heart. She would be alone, if he left her now. However self-centered it was, she needed him to live, even if he were to leave. Just knowing that someone who walked the worlds cared enough to give her more than a second's thought would bring her comfort. The prospect of being so alone was frightening.
The thought scared her more every time she thought about it, and it was always just below the surface of her mind. Ankara felt tears readying themselves to fall, but she swallowed them back with frantic forcefulness. Already, as his moaning grew less frequent, she felt more lost. Her eyes darted off to one side, to the small knife lying on the low table beside her.
Huulyn had given it to her to help cut out the arrowhead from his thigh. It had been driven behind the muscle, and had lodged itself there. With a careful incision, Ankara had managed to weave it out without damaging the muscle. But now the tool had endless possibilities.
Would it be kinder to Hiei if she were to slit his throat, let him die in peace? Or would it be less painful to take the blade to her own flesh, taste the sweet metal and let it embrace her as a fitting sheath, draining her of the loneliness and fears she held inside.
"Please, Hiei." Ankara took his hand, the one farther away. Bringing it across his chest, she put the almost unbearably hot flesh of his palm to her cheek, willing him to feel her, to recognize how much he was needed here.
His fever's heat burned at her cheek, and a tear slipped unbidden from her eye. It slid down her face to trickle onto his hand. As the moisture touched his skin, it sizzled and floated away in a rush of vapor.
"Why won't you let me cry, Hiei?" Ankara asked, smiling hopelessly. "Why? I'm waiting for you, Hiei, to wake up, call me names and save me from everything. I'll save you back, Hiei, but you must wake up."
Ankara took her other hand and brushed the tips of her fingers across his cheek, then up the rise of his nose. Following the contours of his face, she trailed over the bridge of his nose, brushing his eyelashes, then back down his other cheek to his lips.
"You look so peaceful, Hiei. You never do. It scares me. Is death really peace? Or do we just have to relive everything, in order to die? I don't want either of us to find out, Hiei." Ankara traced his lips with one fingertip. "This is all too real. I won't ever be able to erase all of these memories, unless I die with you."
Her eyes darted back to the knife, then returned to his face. "You'd hate what I'm about to say, Hiei. Wake up and make me stop talking."
His lips remained silent, his breathing still labored. The ice water was quickly evaporating, due to the heat pulsing from his fevered body. The Fire blood raced painfully in his veins, conflicting against the struggle to hang on, the lifeline made up of one silver strand.
"If you leave me here alone, Hiei." Ankara said softly. "Then I won't have anything to live for. You could wake up and leave now, and I'd be so happy. Even if you were in a different world, and I never saw you again, knowing you were alive would be enough. You could help me bear the load of these memories. What a pair we'd be, you and I. You, brave and proud as you are, me so quiet and scared."
Her hand left his face, and slowly inched towards the knife on the table. "Hiei, die and I will die alongside you. You are the closest thing I've ever had to hold, and I don't mind. But please... Wake up. Don't make me disappoint you. Tell me I'm wrong, you're right, and just open your eyes."
He didn't move. More tears ran down her face, evaporating as they touched his skin.
Trembling fingers touched the cold stone of the knife's handle. Her grip tightened, and she rocked slightly, hovering on a feeble indecision. "Hiei...I will see you again, regardless of where we go."
The knife felt so cool in her hand, and she brought her arm in slowly, resting the blade tenderly against her neck. The razor sharp edge rested innocently against the paper-thin skin, and she trembled, holding his hand to her cheek and the knife to her throat. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, readying herself for the cool of the knife tearing, searing into her throat, swallowing her miseries.
With a sudden jab she forced all of her strength against the blade, intending for it to rip into her throat.
Her wrist gave a violent tug in the opposite direction, and the blade went spinning away to bury itself up to the hilt in the wooden wall in front of her.
Hiei's free hand held her around her wrist, firmly. His eyes were open, halfway and glazed, but open nonetheless.
"Damnation, wench, are you trying to make it difficult for me to keep you alive?!"
Ankara stared at him, wide-eyed. Her hand kept his firmly pressed to her cheek in her shock, and Hiei coughed feebly. He shook his head foggily, all of his movements sluggish.
"Hiei-"
"Couldn't you of waited a few more minutes?!" Hiei complained. "I was about ready to open my eyes, and then you started speaking like the world was going to end. Good thing I had enough strength to move quickly enough before you actually carried out your idiotic notions."
Ankara gave a small half smile, relief paralyzing her and joy flooding her. She let go of his hand and flung both arms around him, sobbing with relief, her tears evaporating against him.
Three hours later
Hiei lay on a thin pallet, dry now and resting peacefully. His Fire blood had seemed to have quieted, and his slumber was that of a healing nature. Within a few more hours, he would be able to travel off of Ice World.
After he had woken up, Ankara had gone to get Huulyn, the local chieftess of the Border village. The stern woman had questioned him carefully, extracting the events of the last few days in full detail. Ankara was then told to bathe and change into fresh clothing; her Sorunial garb was to be destroyed.
After Ankara had left, Huulyn turned somberly to Hiei. "She has no one to take her in, here."
"Are you suggesting that you'd throw her out?!"
Huulyn patted the air in a soothing motion. "No. No matter the circumstance, an Ice apparition will always have a home. What I meant to communicate in telling you that was that if you have any idea to whom she may belong..."
Hiei scowled fiercely. "The last time I was here in this damn cold world, my mother was forced to drop me from a cliff. I can't exactly say I'm popular with the locals."
"I wasn't inferring that. But you are the only link to her we happen to have at our disposal." Huulyn was aggravatingly calm.
"Listen, I've told you everything I know. She was kidnapped from here as a child. She has no memory of it, and there's no way in the seven hells I would." Hiei fought back the urge to yawn. Fatigue was tugging at his eyelids; even his words were beginning to slur.
"You grow more and more tired as we continue. I apologize for my persistence." Huulyn said quietly. "I must ask you one last time. Is there anywhere she could go?"
Hiei couldn't fight his urge to sleep any longer. "Send her to my family," he mumbled as his eyes closed. "My mother has already lost one child. Ankara will be welcome there."
Present time
The visions floating before their eyes died as Hiei slumped foreword on the roof. The sky was streaked pink with the oncoming of dawn, and the few clouds hung in the air were colored a brilliant gold.
Kurama regarded his friend seriously, unblinking. Never before had Hiei opened up so completely about his past, never before had Kurama seen the black-haired demon so shaken.
"Shortly after I revived, I was told to leave." Hiei said dully, continuing where the visions left off. "I never got to see her after that, though I was told by the apparitions she was to be sent to be with Yukina and her caretakers. They told me they had already taken here there, and then showed me a different path to take out of Ice World."
"How long ago was this?" Kurama asked gently.
"Twenty-six years."
A window opened up in the office compound beneath them. A haggard voice called out. "Hey, you punks, get down from there! This is an office building, not monkey bars!"
Hiei stood up without a retort, which was strange in and of itself. But as he prepared to leave the roof, Kurama caught his arm. "Don't just run off like you always do. Thank you," Kurama continued, lowering his voice, "for telling me."
"Whatever." Hiei scowled at the sunrise. "I don't know why this has been bothering me lately. I haven't really given it more than a second thought for years. "
Kurama smiled gently, giving Hiei's shoulder a pat. "Love has a way of doing that, showing up when you least expect it."
"Love?!"
"Of course. What did you think it was?" Kurama's expression was serious, and Hiei felt indignant.
"I don't love, Kurama. And whatever the 'it' you're talking about is, it isn't love!" Hiei scowled fiercely. "Besides...what is the 'it?'"
"The feeling in your chest, like your heart was being eaten away, the terror you felt when you thought she was to be harmed, the relief when she was alright." Kurama stared pensively at the brightening sky. "You may say otherwise, but demon hearts aren't as abrasive to passion and emotion as people think. We're just inclined against it, not incapable of it."
Hiei spat over the side of the roof. "You've just gone soft, with your fifteen years in that pathetic human body. I might of possibly been concerned for the wench, but love-!" The word passed over his tongue like something foul.
But he waited for his friend to find the fire escape ladder to get off of the roof before leaping nimbly down to the ground.
They retreated to the park across the street just as the streetlamps guttered out. Emiko had fallen asleep on the bench waiting for Kurama.
Kurama smiled briefly, and then bent to wake her. A rush of wind made him pause, and look behind to where Hiei had been standing. The raven-haired demon was gone, and Kurama wasn't surprised.
With a little sigh, Kurama turned back to his mate. Brushing a hand to her cheek, he leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Emiko."
With a little moan, Emiko turned over and opened her eyes blearily. Blinking a few times, she sat up. "It's morning already?"
"Yes."
Kurama sat down heavily next to her, and she cocked an eyebrow. "Much on that mind of yours, Yoko?"
He sighed again, heavier this time. "Yes. Hiei's being stubborn with himself again."
"Is it something he wouldn't mind me hearing?"
"I'm afraid he would commit homicide if I told you." Kurama said with a little grin. He sobered quickly. "He usually keeps things to himself, but this will eat at him."
"Knowing him," Emiko said thoughtfully. "He'll wait until he can hardly stand it, and then he'll fix things for himself. He's always looked out for himself before; now will be no different."
Kurama nodded slowly. A part of him doubted Emiko's logic, although that was Hiei's usual pattern. His mate looked at him sidelong.
"Yoko, there comes a point when his friendship with you becomes the deciding factor. If you've done everything you could to convince him to take action, then that's the best anyone can do."
Kurama glanced at her gratefully. Emiko leaned foreword and placed a lingering kiss on the fox demon-gone-human's lips. Breaking away, she looked down his deep orbs and took his cheeks in her palms. "Knowing you, he's sitting somewhere gnawing on what you said, deciding to do what's right."
Kurama enveloped her in a hug, resting his cheek on her hair. "I hope he does. I, for one, couldn't live without you."
True to Emiko's prediction, Hiei sat on the highest perch he could find: the steel beams that would soon become a finished seven-story building. His eyes were glazed over, and he chewed on his lip, deep in thought.
Love...maybe.
The wind brought his hair whipping around, the air cool. He closed his eyes, imagining Ice World, the cool touch of her palm on his face as he lay in the throes of the fever. His fingers sought the pearl hanging around his neck, the same pearl that had been formed of her tears when she had pleaded for his life atop the cliffs, so long ago.
Resolve tightened his grip, and he reopened his eyes. One day, he promised. One day, he would cheat this newly realized love no longer.
End Chapter
End Yujo Chronicles: Ankara's Story
Authoress here.
Yeah, it's over. Our five new favorite heroines are about ready to call it quits and throw in the towel. BUT I'M NOT. So, in order to be pathetic like I promised I would, and to squeeze ALL the life out of the Yujo Chronicles, I will be doing a final story, like an epilogue.
So...look forewords to Yujo Chronicles: The Final Chapter coming soon!
CUT TO THE CREDITS!!
CUE THE AUTHORESS THEME SONG!!!
Hey! I just realized I've mentioned my theme song several times and have never shared it. YES, there is an actual theme song I've written for me. Well, actually for my manga, Safe Havens, but it works as my theme song as well. Like, if I were an Anime, this would play on the introduction. Or something like that. Okay, no laughing. If you understand time signatures and all, I would say on a metronome it goes maybe 120 or so. Here goes:
You're so intoxicating, I find it hard to breathe around you.
You're like a tonic worth taking,
but you burn all the way down ooh-ooh...
I love the way you stand outside on stormy days
and let the rain fall on your face
I like the way you stand outside on sunny days
and let the light make you look like Heaven,
ooh-ooh..
Take me once,
take me twice, take me any time you like,
Far away to a Safe Haven
When it's you when it's me,
It's as perfect as can be.
Anywhere you are is my Safe Haven....
Okay, so it's good for a romance/action manga called Safe Havens, but for an odd Authoress like me, it's...lacking. Note to self: Write better Authoress theme song.
See you next story! And..REVIEW!