Houki No Majo!
Chapter 8 : Kurama Chapter
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Kitty slowly opened her eyes. For a second, she couldn't remember anything about what had happened, or where she was, but then it all came rushing back in an instant. Ro, the illusion, her revoked membership of her Coven...
Tears welled up at the back of her eyes, and pulled the covers up over her nose, the ceiling above her blurring. Her whole chest ached, and she just wanted to curl up in a corner and die.
Ro...he'd been with her since the beginning. Since before she could remember, Ro had been with her. Playing with her as a child, helping her learn to fly her broom, that time she nearly blew up the house during potion lessons...he'd been there when she cried, when she laughed, when she was mad, and all the times in between.
"Kitty?"
She turned her head to see Kurama, though he was as blurred as the ceiling. He closed the book that had been in his lap, and frowned. "Are you all right?"
"Go away." She whispered, hot tears streaming down her face. "Leave me alone."
He gave her a confused look, because she was speaking in English. "What?"
"I want to be alone, Kurama. Please." She said, though he still looked confused. She sniffled, and repeated in shaky, broken Japanese, "A-Away, Kurama. Please."
He nodded slowly, and stood, taking his book with him. "I'm sorry about what happened to Ro, Kitty, I really am."
She gave a miniscule nod, and pulled the covers up higher. He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, and she suddenly had the urge to call him back. She wanted someone to talk to, but at the same time, that was Ro's job. Ro was supposed to be the one to comfort her.
She rolled over, curling up. "Ro...you bastard...you're supposed to be here to tell me that it's okay. Tell me that everything is going to be okay, and that just because Ro is dead, I don't have to be sad."
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Kurama took a slow sip of his tea, and then looked back up at Koenma, who was talking about what had happened. He'd explained what Kitty had missed, and how the portal had worked. He explained that he knew where Kitty's mother might live, and that they were to go there and try to apprehend her, before she was completely under the control of the demon.
Yusuke explained about Ro, and what he had seen, and there was more talking. Kitty was upset. Of course, that was understandable. Roan was her best friend, blah, blah, blah.
Kurama sighed, and Hiei glanced over at him, though the others didn't seem to notice. What's wrong, kitsune?
Kurama looked into the depths of his teacup, and replied, I'm worried about Kitty.
Hiei snorted. You shouldn't be worried about her. You fail to realize she doesn't give up that easily.
Maybe...Kurama stood, and set down his cup. "Let's go now."
"To Kitty's mother's house?" Yusuke asked.
"Where else?" Kurama said.
Yusuke sighed. "I just thought we ought to wait for Kitty, but-"
"Wait for me for what?"
They all looked over to the room that the witch had been in, to see her standing there, putting her hair back into a neat ponytail. Her wounds were all healed, courtesy of Yukina, and she'd changed into a spare outfit. Still all black, but different from her torn-to-ribbons Coven outfit.
She put her hands on her hips. "Well? You boys going to answer me, or stare like dead fish?"
Koenma cleared his throat. "They're going to the C- I mean, your mother's house."
Kitty stopped and frowned. "Are you guys nuts? They'll kill you before you can get within a mile of it."
The prince of Reikai looked at the others, and then back up to Kitty, who was now smoothing out her skirt. "Actually, Kitty, I was hoping you would help to help them get in there. After all, you'd know the layout like the back of your hand, right?"
She gave her ribbon a final tug, and let her hands drop limply to her sides. Could she help them? She'd always lived with her father, in America, and she'd only been to her mother's house a few times...
But even more than that, there was the fact that she would be helping them to possibly kill her mother. Could she kill her own mother, even after she'd disowned her and wanted to...kill her as well?
Her heart did a flip, and anger built up in the pit of her stomach, and angry tears in her eyes.
That was right, her mother only wished for her death, now. Her and that demon...
But that demon...was controlling her mother...
"I..." Kitty started. The others looked at her expectantly, and she bit her lip.
"Kitty, if you help, it'll make this easier." Kurama said.
She sighed. "I know..."
"Well?" Yusuke asked. "Kitty Kat? You going to help us or leave us hanging?"
The auburn-haired girl nodded, clenching her fists slightly. "I can't let her hurt any more people."
Kurama smiled. "Thank you, Kitty."
"Well, now that we've talked about all of that, I think you all should get going immediately." Koenma said. He turned on his heel, and started walking out the door. "I expect you to be done with this sometime before midnight. One little witch can't be too hard to take down for you guys."
Everyone stood, and Yusuke grinned.
"Well, let's get going!"
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Kitty closed her eyes against the wind for a moment, letting it blow gently at her face. She looked down at the forest green car on the street – Kurama's car, she knew, with himself, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei inside. The fire demon had protested to riding in "that giant metal death trap", but Kurama had managed to coax him into getting in.
They could see her on her broom, and she tried her best not to fly too fast ahead, for fear that she might lose them. She could see her house, and she tried to calm her racing heart.
At the moment, she could have cared less about her mother, but what was really tearing her heart apart was the fact that in that house, the one she was heading towards, she had met her familiar. Her familiar, her best friend, her beautiful, wonderful Ro.
Hot tears pricked at her eyes once more at the thought of him, and she quickly shook her head. She had to be strong...for herself, and for Ro's memory...
He would have advised her to do what she was doing, right? She thought so, but she wasn't sure...
She kept waiting to hear the soft mewling sound he always made when she was upset, his sound of comfort. Any second now, he'd crawl up onto her shoulder and scold her for getting so upset over "something as stupid as this". Right, he'd scold her, then tell her not to cry, then give her a quick lick on the cheek to cheer her up.
But, that little kitty kiss never came.
She landed down in front of her home, or what used to be her home, and let her broom fade from her hand. She looked up at the massive brick walls, and wondered why no one had attacked her when she landed.
Was no one home?
The car pulled up behind her, tearing her from her thoughts. The Reikai Tantei piled out, and realization hit her like a ton of bricks. By bringing them there, no matter if her mother had disowned her or not, she was betraying her Coven! Betrayal...
She bit her lip, and looked back to the house. "There's nobody home. If there had been, we would've been fighting by now."
"Alright, then let's go on and have a look around." Yusuke said. "See if we can't figure out where they are."
Kitty nodded. "Stay here, first, though. I need to go take down any barriers before you guys can come in."
She turned on her heel and walked towards the house, determined not to let a single tear fall. She strode up to the door, and placed her palm on the glossy mahogany surface. There was a doorknob, she knew, but it wasn't for opening the door. The knob would only set off an alarm.
She let her energy flow into the deep, dark wood, and she felt a small click on the other side, and it swung open. Apparently, her mother had not yet found the time to recast the spell so that she would not be permitted to enter the house, and Kitty was glad for that.
She turned back to the others, and gave them the signal that it was alright for them to come forward. Then, she turned and entered, her breath catching in her throat upon seeing the familiar place.
She slowly walked up to the grand, twisting staircase in the middle of the entrance. She slowly started to ascend, letting her hand slide along the rail as she did, memories washing over her like a wave in the ocean.
She and Ro had played on those steps so many times, when she had been just a child, and he just a kitten. They'd had so many good times there, and he wasn't there now to reminisce with her about them...
She felt a lump form in her throat, and she quickly tore her eyes away from the rail, and towards the top of the stairs. Once on the second floor, she heard the others enter the house, and Yusuke's whistle at the impressiveness of its structure.
She didn't want them to see her so upset, so she quickly made her way to her old room, the one she had stayed in whenever she came to visit her mother. She placed her hand on the gold knob – this one, she knew, was a real knob, intended for use in opening the door.
She opened the door, and slowly entered, shutting it behind her. She'd done her part – she'd gotten the Reikai Tantei into the house. She would let them "do their thing", and then she would escort them out. In the meantime, she planned to sit in her room and get in a good cry.
She walked over to her bed, slowly sitting down on it. Tears spilled over as she allowed herself to fall, burying her face into the familiar covers. She sobbed, suddenly not caring who walked in and saw her doing so. Her sheets were filled with the scent of Ro, as he used to sleep on the bed when she wasn't there.
She curled up, not wanting to ever leave that place, that place that smelled so much like Ro. Her darling, beloved Ro.
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Kurama looked around the room, trying to see any papers that stood out, which might possibly help. But, there were only books of spells and demons. Nothing that would help them to locate Kitty's mother, or the demon who was controlling her.
He sighed, and looked over at the others. "Any luck?"
"Nope, there's nothing here." Yusuke said, putting his hands on his hips. "I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way – find her, beat her up, and ask questions later."
Kurama sighed. "It would seem so."
Hiei looked up, and seemed to be listening to something. "Someone just entered the house."
Kurama frowned. "All right, let's go see who it is, and be prepared for a fight."
They all started walking towards the entrance.
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Kitty sniffled, the last of her tears landing on her pillow. She felt she couldn't muster any more, and so she just sat there, whimpering slightly.
She completely froze when she heard her door click open, and someone entered, the door clicking shut once more. She couldn't bring herself to turn around and look, and the person's footsteps clicked over to her.
Mother...?"Kitty?" asked a voice.
She sat straight up, her eyes widening at the sight of the person.
"You!"
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Author's Notes: MWAHAHAAA!! Gonna cut it off there, because I'm that way. Hope everyone enjoyed the little cliffy thing, and now I'm onto the Hiei chapter!
Sun Priestess: Thanks! I really liked Ro too...sniffsniff
SerenityRose 222: Okies, well, here's another Kurama chapter for you!
Kuranga108: Thank you! I love the occult, and witches too.
TPM-girl: Yeah, and here's another update for you! This story is going to be my focus, so expect plenty of updates!
LynnRedwolf: Okay, okay! I'm writing the next Hiei chapter right now.
KittySand Katie: Maaaaaaaybe.........
FoxyGirl15: Thank you!
Story Weaver1: I like Ro a lot. He's really cool.