Chapter Seventy-Nine
The splatter of blood across the bamboo floor created a sickening sound as it sprayed every piece of furniture within the small living room. The light aroma of flowers died under the hot tang of iron, and the oasis turned quickly into a nightmare. Gasping and sore, Yuna lay sprawled next to Yahiko, her mind and body disoriented. Instinctively, she tried to roll away to gather fresher air into her lungs, but found that her kimono sleeves were caught underneath Yahiko's limp form. Recalling pieces of the situation, she glanced up to find him unconscious and barely breathing. Dark red blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and more smeared across his forehead in a telling sign of head trauma. Most likely from when they had slammed into the Sky Palace barrier. Before that, though, Yahiko had been injured by something else. Something worse. Everything slammed back to the forefront of her brain, which caused her heartbeat to spike, and she called his name at the same time someone behind her screamed it.
"Yahiko-kun."
"Yahiko!"
Honey-colored eyes lifted as Tsubame hit her knees above their heads. The horror and pain on her face was a testament to the extent of the damage Yahiko had taken, and Yuna's lips trembled. It was her fault. Yahiko had saved her, and he had paid the price for it.
"I'll call my father." The foreign voice caused Yuna to jump, and she swung her gaze fearfully to her left to find someone she didn't know inside the apartment with them. It was a young man, about the same age as Yahiko, with large round eyes and whiskers like a koi fish. "He should know someone who can help."
"They won't get here in time." Dismay filled the sweet little floral demon's voice, but her hands did not shy from reaching for the mangled body of her sweetheart. Blatant fear collected in her soft eyes in the form of tears as she carefully studied the wounds on his back. "He'll bleed out."
"Can you heal him?"
"I… I don't know."
"Hey." A hand reached over the top of Yuna's pinned shoulders, and the koi demon's fingers grasped Tsubame by the forearm. Reluctantly, Tsubame looked at him. "You got this." A phone was pressed to his other ear, and he switched his attention when someone answered his call. His hand slipped from Tsubame's arm, and he stood to walk away as he spoke quietly to what Yuna assumed was his father. Still lying on the floor, so far ignored, Yuna reached a trembling hand towards the floral demon. The young lady was hesitating, no doubt terrified of failure and how it would mean losing someone she loved.
"Please… help my little brother." She may not have known Yahiko for very long, but she had grown attached to him. Yuna had so many siblings, but never once had they interacted as siblings for her entire life. It had seemed like such a pitiful thing, to not be allowed to enjoy the sibling affection that others had. Only recently, with Misao and now Yahiko, could Yuna say that she thought she understood what that affection was meant to feel like. She had no desire to lose it when it had taken nearly a hundred years to find it.
"Please… he's dying." Abrupt pain lanced through her entire body only a second later, and she convulsed in on herself. Forcefully passing through the Sky Palace barrier had been unkind, but Yahiko would have suffered more from it.
"He's not going to die!" Tsubame's fraught emotions burst from out of her shy frame, and the flower that blossomed in her hair was beautiful and intense. "I… I can heal him. I will heal him."
"Someone will be here within the hour." Rushed words preceded the reentrance of the koi demon. "What do you need me to do?"
Tsubame swallowed and then took a deep breath.
"We need to clean the wounds. I-I need to see the damage."
"Got it." Soft hands clasped Yuna by the shoulders and pulled her out of the way. The sleeves of her kimono slid out from under Yahiko's body like sad seaweed. "Sorry, Miss." Kneeling where she had once been, the blonde-headed young man lifted his hands and unceremoniously drenched Yahiko's body in sprays of water.
"That's enough." A hand blocked him, and the water cut off like a hydrant. "Help me lay him a bit flatter."
The shirt was cut from Yahiko's body, and then Tsubame dismissed their presence as she focused her power on mending his torn and jagged flesh. There were three large slices dug deep into his body. They angled diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip. One, the longest one, started at the base of his scalp.
Breathing slowly as she watched, Yuna lay where she had been left. All of the energy had been drained from her muscles, and her body still felt the after-shocks of the barrier. She did not try to move, or even feel much desire to try. The world had narrowed for her, and nothing mattered except Yahiko's survival. It helped that there was something calming about the gentle green glow of Tsubame's powers. The color green had become slightly precious to her.
When the koi demon turned to face her direction, she didn't immediately notice. His voice pulled her gaze from her brother, though, and she jumped again as if forgetting he was there.
"Are you alright, Miss?"
Honey-colored eyes darted between Yahiko and him in open distraction.
"I'm fine. Yahiko-kun took the worst of it."
"Can I help you up?" Without actually waiting for a response, he dug his fingers under her bottom shoulder and braced her weight when she couldn't handle the maneuver alone.
"Thank you." Shakily, her arms tried to hold herself upright, and she closed her eyes on an exhaled breath. "Are you… a friend of Yahiko-kun?"
"Heh, we're not really friends, per se, but I was trying to help him. The name's Yūtarō." He performed a rather theatric bow, even seated as he was. "Do you mind if I ask what happened? How did a pretty little miss like you get mixed up in this mess?"
A deeply troubled look covered Yuna's features, and she lowered her eyes. The day had been long and had taught her much about how dangerous their situation was.
"Forgive me, but… I don't know you, Yūtarō-san. Even though it appears you know Tsubame-chan, I do not feel comfortable sharing details with you."
"Tsubame-chan and I are really good friends. She'll vouch for me. I know all about Yahiko being held prisoner in the Palace, too. Did you help him escape? Were you one of the maids at the palace?"
"Uh…" Darting a look over to Tsubame, Yuna inhaled thoughtfully. It seemed he was somewhat involved, but she still didn't feel comfortable telling him everything. A part of her even acknowledged that it might be safer to assume a different identify for now. "Yes, that's right. I brought Yahiko-kun his meals. I tried to help him escape, but…" Once more she looked down, this time in shame. "I was caught by… the Emperor. Yahiko-kun saved me from being punished. The Emperor attacked him right before we escaped together."
"Dragon claws." Yūtarō's features were frowning now, and he too glanced at Yahiko's back. "So that's why they look like that." He spoke the observation under his breath. "How did he escape? Do you know? And how did you get here?"
A brief sense of pride puffed out her chest as she recalled what Yahiko had done.
"Yahiko-kun escaped on his own. Somehow, he learned how to use spatial teleportation. The only other person I know of who can use that power is my… is the Emperor. It should have been impossible, especially for someone so young, but he warped us out of the barrier surrounding the palace and directly into Tsubame-chan's apartment."
"Huh, sounds like he got lucky."
The pride melted away, and her voice lowered sadly.
"You may be right… but it took a lot of courage to do what he did."
One single, sputtering cough ejected blood from Yahiko's mouth, and then a huge gasp of air sucked into his lungs. Still caught in fight or flight mode, his hands tried to push him upright, and his lashes fluttered over unfocused black eyes. Blood from where it had puddled on the floor covered his torso and half of his face, and he appeared more dead than alive in that one surreal moment.
"Yahiko." Warm hands touched the back of each shoulder, and Tsubame's voice was soothing but urgent. He jerked because of the contact, and his glazed eyes clenched shut as he wrenched his nose in her direction.
"Tsubame-chan?"
Lowering reluctantly back onto the floor under her light but insistent pressure, his left arm searched blindly for her. Clasping his hand in both of hers, she smiled through her tears.
"Be still, okay? You're injured. I…" She lifted one shoulder to wipe at the moisture on her cheek. "I only just got the bleeding to stop. If you move too much, it'll break the wounds back open again."
"Yeah, ya idiot. What the hell were you thinking, showing up like this? You should have just died off quietly instead of getting Tsubame-chan involved." Yahiko's face turned back towards Yūtarō, and his eyes blinked rapidly so he could see who was talking. A frown almost immediately darkened his bloody features when his bleary vision outlined the koi demon. "I would have comforted Tsubame-chan. You didn't need to worry about her."
"What the hell are you doing here, you stupid fish? This's got nothing to do with you." Once more, his hands tried to push him upright, and Tsubame became so anxious that she moved to block his arms.
"Yahiko, please…" Bracketing his head in her hands, Tsubame pleaded with him while also physically stalling him from moving his neck too much. The gash that started at his scalp and speared down to his rear was worse than the other two gashes, and had been much harder to close up. They were still very raw, however, as she still had a long way to go to heal them completely.
"That's not true. Tsubame-chan told me you went missing, so I've been keeping her company. I even helped dry her tears a few times." Yūtarō's sweet voice was precisely calculated to the tone that would piss Yahiko off the most, and it worked quite well. "Right, Tsubame-chan?"
"You stay the hell away from her, you pervert! Tsubame's mine!" Weak from blood loss and unbalanced by his rocked equilibrium, Yahiko's locked arms briefly gave way as his angry exertion drained all of his regained energy. With Tsubame desperately trying to calm him down, he landed face first into her chest. Squeaking in surprise, Tsubame caught him to keep him safe, but fell backwards under his weight. Wavering in and out of consciousness, Yahiko lay sprawled half on top of her, very much unaware of what had happened. Warm and now comfortable with his new pillow, he muttered sleepily to complete his claim.
"Right… Tsubame-chan?"
The room was quiet for a few long seconds, and then Yuna covered her mouth to giggle. Tsubame's face burned bright red, but she was now unable to move without disturbing Yahiko's wounds. Bashfully, she turned her face away from them, but only just before a slight smile curved her lips.
"C-can you… help me move him, Yūtarō-kun?"
"Sure." Yūtarō's voice was a little sour, but he winked at Yuna with an over-dramatic sigh. "I guess it's good that he's not dead. I wouldn't like it if she chose me just because there was no other option."
Twenty minutes later, Tsubame wiped her sweat-covered brow before rinsing her hands clean of blood. The wounds on Yahiko's back would not heal completely, but she had closed them at least. According to Yūtarō, wounds created by dragon claws were hard to heal. Yuna had nodded as if surprised when he had explained, but she already knew how dangerous they were. Dragon claws did not only cause physical wounds. They were also known to cause wounds on a demon's core. If the wound was not healed quickly, it would continue to bleed, sometimes sporadically, sometimes continuously, and would eventually result in the demon's death. The fact that Tsubame had stopped the bleeding was a good sign, and a testament to the strength of her healing powers.
Though she openly appeared tired, Tsubame's kind eyes swung to Yuna next with a gentle smile.
"How are you feeling? Do you have any wounds that need healed?"
"Oh no, please don't worry about me." Folding her hands in her lap, Yuna shook her head gently. "The effects from breaking through the palace barrier are wearing off, and none of this blood is mine."
"Good." Tired eyes closed, and Tsubame's smile softened. "Would you… mind taking a bath with me? I'm afraid I can't lift my arms anymore."
While Yuna helped Tsubame to the bathroom, Yūtarō promised to clean Yahiko up as best he could. Someone Yūtarō knew was supposed to be there within the next half-hour to take them all somewhere safe, but a large pit in Yuna's stomach argued that she shouldn't go with them. She was a liability, and an excuse for the Emperor to use lethal force. If she stayed with them, it would make it harder for them to hide, and Yahiko needed time to heal. Though she hated to think it, she was also aware that she did not know the people Yūtarō had called. What if they found out who she was, or knew who she was, and decided to use it to their advantage in some way. They might even hate her simply because she was the Emperor's daughter. She didn't want to risk either scenario when she liked Yahiko and Tsubame as much as she did. If her presence was going to create friction, then she needed to hide somewhere else.
"Tsubame-chan." Washing the other girl's hair clean of blood, Yuna cast her voice low to make sure no one else could hear them. "I want you to keep my identity a secret, please."
"Of course." Her earnest response lightened Yuna's frowning mouth.
"I… I also think it would be best if I left."
A hand grasped her wrist, and the floral demon turned on the stool she was seated upon. There was genuine concern in her eyes, and Yuna's heart warmed. She really did like this young lady, and she was so happy to think that she might one day be her sister-in-law.
"It's not safe for you to be on your own. Please come with us."
"Oh… I was actually going to ask if I could use your phone to call someone." A light blush dusted Yuna's nose, but she tried to hide it with the detachable showerhead. "He promised to show me around if I was ever back in the city. I doubt he thought it would be so soon, but…"
"Are you talking about that stone golem from earlier this afternoon?" Deep eyes, like the center of poppies, blinked at her. "He knows Kaoru-chan and Himura-san. Are you going to try to get in touch with them?"
Yuna shook her head. "No. I don't think it would be safe to go to them, either. I just… I don't know why, but…" Honey-brown irises drifted to one side dreamily. "I felt very safe with Enishi-san." Abruptly, she focused back on Tsubame, and her soft voice rushed to explain. "It's not that I don't appreciate you offering to help me."
"I understand." Taking both of her hands, Tsubame smiled. "At least let me lend you some clothes."
"Thank you."
There was, of course, the possibility that Enishi wouldn't want to help her. If that was the case, she had already decided to find her own way. Yahiko had risked too much for her already, and she was not so weak that she couldn't protect herself.
The borrowed clothes she had been lent consisted of an ankle-length skirt, long socks, a soft, fitted long-sleeved sweeter, and an over-sized hoodie. Her knee-length hair was gathered over one shoulder and tied off with a satin scrunchie, and then the hoodie was pulled up to demonstrate how she could hide her face.
"If you're cold, I can lend you some tights to wear underneath the skirt."
"That won't be necessary. I don't feel the cold very easily." Yuna smoothed a hand over the pink hoodie in wonder. "I've never worn anything other than a kimono before. Would you… go shopping with me sometime? I mean… after this is all over? All of your clothes are so cute."
"I'd love to." The warmth in her expression said she meant it, and Yuna lamented all the things she could have already experienced if only she had worked up the courage to leave the palace decades sooner. "Oh, here's my phone. Do you know his number?"
"Yes, thank you." Glancing at Yūtarō, who was currently trying to scrub the blood out of the floorboards, Yuna stepped into the small kitchenette to make her call. At first, it didn't seem as if he would answer, and she worried about switching the numbers around. When he did answer, her heart was already on the downward side of sinking.
"Hello?"
His deep voice was confused, and her shriveled heart expanded so fast her breath caught.
"Who is this?"
"Enishi-san." Swallowing, Yuna turned away from the door. "Would you still be willing to show me around?"
"Princess?"
He recognized me!
Squeezing her eyes shut and fighting the pull of her lips, Yuna bit her finger to choke back the tangle of happiness and relief fighting for dominance in her chest. She needed to keep her composure, no matter how she felt about the stone golem.
"Yes… I… really need somewhere safe to go and… you don't have to help me, but… I would be very grateful if you could at least point me in the right direction?" Haltingly, and careful to choose the right words, she tried not to demand or ask too much of him. Though he had offered to show her around, he had never offered to hide her from the Emperor.
"Where are you? Do you know? I'll meet you there." The lack of hesitation in his reply caught her slightly off-guard, and she inhaled sharply.
"Oh, let me ask Tsubame-chan."
"Tsubame? The waitress? How did you end up there?" It was his turn to sound surprised, and his cavernous voice rumbled in her ear. He was very quick to pick up on details, and she found his intelligence to be an admirable quality.
"It is… a long story."
"Are you alright?"
"Right, you can tell me everything when I get there."
When he gets here. He's really going to come.
Two men showed up for Yūtarō, Yahiko, and Tsubame before Enishi arrived. Yahiko was still unconscious when they got there, and they wrapped him in a blanket since they had no spare clothes to put him in. After her phone call, Tsubame had explained to Yūtarō that Yuna had someone else she was meeting up with and that she would not be coming with them. In order to avoid any unnecessary questions, they had decided it best if Yuna stayed hidden in the bathroom while Yūtarō's connections helped extract Yahiko from the apartment. Since Tsubame had an automatic lock, Yuna had been assured that she would not have to worry about anything when she left.
After they were gone, though, Yuna found the empty space to be eerie. Though her entire life had been spent in the palace surrounded by servants, Yuna was used to being alone emotionally. This, though, was a different type of aloneness. There was no one. Absolutely no one. It was only her in an unfamiliar environment, and everything felt a touch menacing.
When two knocks resounded through the apartment from the front door, Yuna stood up at the same rate that her heart lodged into her throat. Walking as quietly as possible to the door, she did as Tsubame directed, and peaked through the tiny glass hole at the center of the door. It was already dark outside, but the exterior lights illuminated the caller clearly. As soon as she confirmed that it was Enishi standing on the other side, she fumbled a bit with the locks and cracked open the door. Lifting honey-colored irises up to those stunning emerald orbs, a faint smile touched her mouth, but he didn't return it.
"Hey. You alright?"
Unintentional tears pushed against the back of her eyes, but she fought them. She hadn't realized how much the day's events had affected her.
"Yes."
Despite her reassurance, a dark expression tightened his facial muscles, and his hand lifted to lightly touch the bruising leftover on her cheek and temple. Her father never held back in anything, even when punishing his own daughters.
"It's not as bad as it looks. It could have been much worse." Thinking of Yahiko and his wounds, she briefly wondered what her father would have done to her once she had been trapped inside one of the Glass Cages.
"I see." His other hand wrapped around her back without touching her, and he urged her out of the doorway so that he could close the door behind her. "Let's get going."
"Are you sure… you don't want to hear what happened first?"
He glanced at her, and finally offered a half-smile.
"I can guess. Getting you somewhere safe is more important right now."
As soon as they were on the sidewalk, Yuna found herself being half-pulled by Enishi's ground-eating strides. One of his large hands had unceremoniously grasped hers, and though she knew it was to make sure they were not separated, she couldn't help but feel a little giddy about it. The cold air was nothing compared to the warmth in her heart, and she could feel all of the tense muscles in her body relax. She was safe now. Somehow, it felt that way to her.
Unfortunately, even though it was now night, the day had not finished with her.
To avoid as many eyes as possible, Enishi had been choosing streets that were purposefully less trafficked. Though it meant their path was winding and not straightforward, it was safer. He wasn't sure where their final destination might be, but he knew of a few places that they might go for the time being. It was down one of those empty streets that they were cut off by three unforeseen demons, and Enishi stepped in front of the princess as an immediate barrier of protection.
The rustle of feathers was light in the chilly air, and the tengu touched down on silent feet. Their dark clothes and darker wings blended well with the shadows cast by the street lights. On guard and at the ready for a fight, Enishi scowled at the crow demons in confusion. It was the deep red mask covering the face of the center tengu, however, that filled Enishi with rage.
Three steps forward caught the daitengu by the collar of his flight garb, and Enishi pushed him back a step to place him off balance. The two flanking tengu drew their weapons immediately, but Akira lifted a hand to stop them.
"What the hell are you doing here?! You're supposed to be protecting my sister."
In the muted light, a hard swallow worked Akira's throat. His expression could not be seen due to the red daitengu mask of status. Slowly, his lifted hand grasped Enishi by the wrist, and he stood straight and tall before the stone golem. Pulling himself free of Enishi's grip, Akira paused, and then stepped around him to kneel at Yuna's feet. The two guards echoed him without question.
"Princess Yuna. I am Kiyosato Akira, Daitengu of the Tengu Clan. I am here to honor the promise I made to your sister to keep you safe."
"My… sister?" Yuna glanced at Enishi, who looked angrier than ever. Folding her trembling hands inside the sleeves of her hoodie, she regained her composure and lifted her chin. "I heard nothing of this from her. Why should I believe what you are telling me?"
"Yes, Princess." His hand reached into his pocket, and he withdrew his phone. "She left you this message."
Accepting the phone hesitantly, Yuna pressed the speaker to her ear to listen to the voicemail. It was undoubtedly Misao's voice, and Yuna lowered her eyes to hear how far ahead her sister had planned to keep her out of the fighting.
If I had just done what she told me to, none of this would have happened. Did I… mess up everything? I really am not cut out for any of this.
"Your sister is very worried about you, Princess. She will be pleased to know you have been found." Akira stood and lifted the mask from his face to place it instead over his heart in salute. "Will you allow my people to safeguard you?"
"I…" Undecided, she darted a second look at Enishi. Going with them was probably for the best, but…
A suppressed sigh issued from Enishi's nose, and he raked a hand through his hair before he spoke gruffly.
"You should go with them. They'll keep you safe."
She wilted slightly, but nodded her head in acceptance.
"Alright."
A hand signaled for the two tengu guards to flank Yuna, and their duties passed from protecting their lord to protecting her. Stepping away to follow Enishi, Akira cut him off before he could leave.
"You should go with them, too, Yukishiro-san." The suggestion sparked Enishi's anger back into being, and the stone golem looked like he might take a swing at him.
"Someone has to protect my sister."
"Your sister is safe." Enishi stopped to glare at him, but Akira did not look away. "You have to understand, I have a responsibility to my clan. I could not abandon my duties to them. As a clan, we promised to keep the princess safe. But that does not mean I abandoned your sister." Even though she wanted me to. "I left two guards with her, just like I had two guards shadow you."
Green eyes glanced up into what appeared to be empty darkness, and his frown became offended.
"You had me followed?"
"For protection only. It was lucky that I did. They lost track of you this afternoon, but found you again this evening when you met with the princess. We have been searching for her for most of the day."
Refusing to feel bad about his part in their loss of her, Enishi crossed his arms.
"All I hear is that my sister will always be second to your duties."
Stormy eyes closed. "I cannot deny that." A deep, regretful bow lowered the daitengu into a ninety-degree angle. "But I promise I would never abandon her. I will use everything at my disposal as Daitengu to make sure she is protected, safe, and comfortable."
One of the guard-tengu standing beside Yuna saluted before speaking.
"Our Lord must put us first." The salute relaxed, and the guard grinned. "Which is why we will always put his Lady first."
"Please go with them, Yukishiro-san. I will go to your sister now." She is stubborn, but I will not abandon her, even if she tries to cut ties with me.
It did not appear that Enishi wanted to agree, but he did understand that the Tengu stronghold would be a good place for all of them to hide from the Emperor.
"Enishi-san…" Yuna looked vulnerable and uncertain standing between the two tengu. Her hands twisted together, and she briefly looked down. "If you're worried, you should go to your sister, but… I-I would very much like to see you again afterwards. To thank you properly for your assistance."
Her considerate and polite words were a thin façade to cover what Enishi could read plainly on her face. "Don't leave me alone." Stone teeth ground together, and Enishi leaned towards Akira to growl under his breath.
"…Fine. You get one last chance." Emerald eyes were hard as gems. "But it is the last one you get."
X
A/N: This chapter was sooo long. It was tough to get out, but somehow I ended up with more to write about than I thought. Ugh. I don't understand how that happens sometimes, lol. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with the chapter, but it was rough going getting myself to write it. Probably because I want to get back to writing Kenshin and Kaoru (they're up next), and I was getting impatient having to stay true to the storyline.
Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. I wasn't aware there were more people reading than I thought. XD It's nice to know others are also enjoying the fun ride I've set this story on. It also didn't occur to me that there were other websites for fanfiction. (Well, I mean I knew of some smaller sites when I first started out, but I didn't know there were other dedicated sites that were open for everyone to post on.) It does make sense, but I don't surf the web or get into social media that much. It's a little amazing I even got into posting on this website at all, lol. Thank you for all the encouragement and love. I will work harder to make this story the best it can be. Next chapter: Kenshin makes a risky decision, and Akira confronts Tomoe.
Side note: I started working on a cute one-shot story. It bombarded me early in the week. I'll only work on it if it doesn't interfere with this story, but it should be fun if I can post it sometime in the near future.