Ears
By: Skittlez and OtakuSailorV
Chapter FourMonday at school the school had returned to a monotone stupor, boring Kyoyume to death. Nothing remotely interesting happened until lunch. When she found herself face-to-face with Ichiyasha again.
He had walked up as if there was nothing remotely wrong with it and Kyoyume immediately felt disgust and annoyance mounting inside of her. What was this guys problem? Why couldn't he take a hint and leave her alone? Kyoyume regarded him with an uninterested stare, daring him to speak to her.
He put an arm around her shoulders and smirked. "So, how are you?" He asked her.
Kyoyume pushed his arm back off her shoulders with distaste. "Fine." She answered, watching him warily.
He did the same thing again, this time tightening his grip. "That's good..." He replied. "So..."
Kyoyume narrowed her eyes at him, trying to move his arm off of her but finding that she couldn't. "Do you mind?" She asked tersely, shrugging her shoulder.
"Not at all."
Kyoyume's jaw set, and her eyes looked like they could burn through him if he were flammable in any way. She moved away from him in hopes of getting his arm off. "Well, I do. Get off." She growled out at him.
"Hey! Ichiyasha!" Naraku growled, walking up and punching the boy right in the face. "She told you to get off. Don't you ever quit?!"
Ichiyasha glared at Naraku, righting himself at the blow. Kyoyume watched him, her anger flaring. For the first time, she was hoping that Naraku would do something truly horrible to the boy. "Stay out of this." Ichiyasha said in a tight tone.
"Leave her alone." Naraku retorted, standing as tall as he could.
"Why should I?"
"Because she doesn't like you!"
Ichiyasha made a face, like such a thing didn't matter. "Mind you're own business."
"This is my business!" He growled.
"How's that?" Ichiyasha demanded, keeping his tone even, though there was a hint of malicious curiosity in it.
Naraku's face fell and his eyes narrowed. "My business not yours, c'mon Kyoyume, let's get away from this idiot."
Kyoyume stood, choosing from the lesser of two evils, she followed after Naraku, her anger flaring and snapping in her blue-gray eyes. A muscle twitched in her jaw and she desperately wanted to turn around and gouge Ichiyasha's eyes out. Calming herself, she gave Naraku a partially grateful look, though his eyes weren't on her. He was watching Ichiyasha with mounting anger.
Ichiyasha moved and grabbed Kyoyume's wrist, hard, glaring at Naraku with a gaze that would kill a normal human.
Kyoyume regarded the tight grip on her wrist with a calm exterior, though her heart was racing and her mind was mad with anger by now. The roar of some beast resounded in her mind, her ears twitching angrily underneath her cap. Naraku seemed irked by the same thing, and for a moment, they stood in tense silence.
Naraku smacked the hand away after a second and took Kyoyume by the shoulders, steering her away from her aggressor.
Kyoyume looked over her shoulder slightly, giving Ichiyasha a long, stony glare. 'I'll kill you.' She growled out repeatedly in her mind, though she knew she was capable of no such act. Naraku's grip on her shoulders was hard, and she tried not to drag her feet, though it was hard for he was walking rather fast.
He loosened his grip on her and looked at her. "Are you okay?"
Kyoyume nodded gruffly, still glaring, her inner fire still blazing in disgust. "Yeah." She said, not meeting his eyes as she thought of all the gruesome ways she could destroy Ichiyasha.
He lifted up the sleeve of her shirt a little to where Ichiyasha had gripped her arm. "It's bruising..."
Kyoyume took her hand away from him. "I'm fine." She repeated.
He shrugged. "So sue me for being a good person for once." He grunted.
Kyoyume felt ashamed then for not truly appreciating what he had done. Who knew what might have happened if he had not interrupted? "Thanks." She said, still not meeting his eyes, though her cheeks were flushed in both resentment and embarrassment.
"My pleasure...Ichiyasha's an idiot."
"Agreed." Kyoyume said spitefully, sitting down.
He sat down in front of her and sighed. "Why does he bother you?" He asked.
Kyoyume shrugged. "Tch, hell if I know." She said, her lip twitching with disgust. "The guy's an ass."
"And a pervert."
"Does he usually do stupid shit like that?" Kyoyume asked, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Yes."
Kyoyume made a face. "I thought so." She grumbled.
"Yeah...he'll stalk you to the ends of the Earth." He grumbled.
"Wonderful." She commented sarcastically, looking to the clock to see how much longer she had to sulk around, thinking about this. What she wanted and needed at the moment was something that would take her full attention and force her to stop thinking about what had just transpired.
"Hm..." Naraku pondered for a moment.
"The bell's gonna ring." Kyoyume said, her ears lying flat as she thought about the sharp, loud noise of the bell.
"Uh-huh." He replied. "Wanna get walking, beat the crowds?"
Kyoyume nodded silently, withdrawn in her own thoughts. 'Great, getting escorted to class. I'll bet people are gonna start thinking we're a couple or something.' She thought grudgingly.
They walked through the near empty halls, the teachers, surprisingly didn't ask questions of Naraku, they made it to the classroom just as the bell rang.
Kyoyume sat in silence as the rest of the class filed in soon after. They all looked happy or thoughtful, and Kyoyume briefly envied them.
Naraku was watching the people dully. "I pity these idiots."
"Why's that?" Kyoyume asked dully, though she had not turned toward him.
"Because, they never know what's going on three inches past their noses."
Kyoyume smirked harshly, eyeing everyone with her strange blue-gray eyes. "Hm." She made a noise of agreement.
"And they hate me because I know more about them than they want to admit. And use it."
Kyoyume knew she was still smirking, this time with full-agreement on her part. She would not say that she hated him, for he had helped her, but still, it didn't make up for his deeds toward her either. Thinking it over, she surmised that she hated him only two-thirds of the time that she was around him.
"Me and the guys are going to a concert after coffee. Wanna come?" He asked, looking around.
Kyoyume frowned slightly, wondering why he was asking if he could just force her to come by pulling her hat off on the spot right then. Shrugging, she gave a small nod. "Sure." She said resignedly, deciding that she didn't want to be home alone after hearing about Ichiyasha's stalker attitude.
"Don't worry, my twin sister's coming along with Hakudoushi and Kanna. You won't be the only girl."
"I'm not." She assured, though her tone was dull and lacking of her usual forceful spirit behind it.
"It'll be fun. It's a good band."
"Ok." The blue-gray eyes blinked closed for a moment, as if she had fallen asleep. Slowly, she lifted the lids again to peer up and see the teacher striding toward her desk. Class was about to start, and she groaned inwardly.
The teacher began drawing diagrams on the board quietly, not even looking around.
Kyoyume watched in a dull manner, her eyes half-lidded and glazed with thought. She only half-listened to what the teacher said; her thoughts were on memories of the day, things she had to do, and about the upcoming concert. 'Should I wear a different hat. . . ?' She thought idly but decided against it.
She stifled a laugh when Naraku passed her a piece of paper. It read: 'I forgot to mention Renkotsu is bringing his girlfriend. Please, proceed to gag now.'
She looked sidelong at him and wondered how he became aware of her new knowledge. Smirking lightly, she shook her head at him slowly, as if to tell him 'you're horrible' in a subtle way.
He laughed and gave her a 'I'll explain later.'
Kyoyume made a face, so maybe he didn't know that she was already aware of who he was referring to.
Class finally ended and they filed out.
Kyoyume gave a long sigh and scratched the back of her neck thoughtfully before standing and following the rest of the class, half-waiting for Naraku to catch up to her.
"Hey, Kyo!" Jakotsu called. "Naraku invited you to the concert right?"
Kyoyume crossed the throng of people to come over to him. "Yep." She said brightly, instantly out of her gloomy mood now that she had a friend to talk to.
"Bankotsu and Hakudoushi and Kanna and Kagura and Me and Renkotsu and....urgh Renkotsu's girlfriend." He replied. "And Naraku and you!"
"Sound like fun then." She was all smiles as she spoke with him. "I'm sure you won't be too miserable with your brother and his girlfriend there." She added brightly, trying to cheer him up somewhat.
He snorted. "Yeah I guess. If they can keep their hands off each other."
Kyoyume giggled at his look. "There'll be so much going on, I'm sure you could ignore it."
"I hope."
"Of course you can." She assured when he looked completely disbelieving. "Or you could always just find a different spot and act like you have no idea who they are."
"That might work. Renkotsu does that to me all the time." He laughed.
She giggled again. "See?" She said confidently as she spotted Naraku and the others headed their way.
A black haired girl that Kyoyume had never seen was walking with them, she was tall with black hair and red eyes, and she looked a little reluctant.
Kyoyume smiled brightly at them all, though it wasn't at all directed toward Naraku whom she had decided it was time to despise again. She remembered Hakudoushi, and as she looked on, she thought she saw a shadow of a girl hanging behind him, almost right on his heels as if she were afraid. Pale and listless, her hair was so white it shone light blue when shadowed, and her eyes were half-lidded eternally and void of any emotion.
"This is Kanna." Naraku said, pointing to the white-haired girl. "And this is Kagura." He pointed to the tall girl, who snorted.
"Hello, I'm Kyoyume." She greeted, giving a small wave at them.
Kanna just nodded and Kagura smirked. "Lets go for coffee. I buy." Naraku said.
Everyone nodded, and Kyoyume spent her time chatting idly with her friends on the way to the coffee shop.
They sat down at the largest table they could find, Kyoyume sat across from Kagura, beside Bankotsu and against a wall. They ordered their drinks and chatted avidly with each other.
"What's this band called that we're going to go see?" Kyoyume asked no one in particular.
"It's a local band." Naraku replied. "Forgot the name."
"Cool." Kyoyume commented, sipping at her small drink thankfully.
"Uh-huh. Naraku you're being stupid. It's MY band." Kagura corrected. "Remember...me and Kikyou and Yura?" She said boredly. "Don't be dumb."
Naraku acted as if he had not heard. "Oh-ho? Must have slipped my mind. . ."
Kagura rolled her eyes. "That means Sesshoumaru will be there." She added. Naraku's eyes darkened slightly.
". . ." He made no answer, obviously pondering something devious over in his mind. Kyoyume noted that this 'Sesshoumaru' was no friend of Naraku's and would probably either be sadistic like Ichiyasha, or a nice guy.
Jakotsu's eyes however, lit up. "Sesshoumaru? Will Inuyasha and Miroku be there too?!"
"Well, probably. . ." Kagura said, giving him a sickened look. Kyoyume tried to process this all over in her mind. These boys were people that Jakotsu seemed to like, but upon hearing their names, Naraku's eyes continued to darken with hatred.
Bankotsu's grip on his cup tightened. "Inuyasha...?" He started.
Kyoyume's eyes came to Bankotsu and she did more calculations in her mind. Who could they possibly all be referring to? She couldn't even begin to imagine them. "Yeah. . .most likely. . ." Kagura said slowly, watching them all with distaste shining in her red eyes.
"Damn dog-eared piece of shit." Bankotsu mumbled. Jakotsu looked at him with a pout and everyone else rolled their eyes.
Naraku checked his watch. "Better get going, or you'll be late." He said to Kagura and started to get out of his seat.
Kagura got up and left. "See ya there." She told them, leaving.
Naraku resumed his seat and watched her until she had disappeared from sight. Frowning still, he seemed to still be mulling something over. Kyoyume suddenly remembered her ears at almost the same moment. The loud noise might hurt her sensitive hearing. Frowning to herself, she thought about what she would do about this.
She'd probably just have to wear a bandana with a hat over it and say her head was cold or something. That might be a good excuse.
She decided then that she could always just go to the bathroom for a break if things got too intense for her ears if all else failed. Still, she hoped she wouldn't have to.
"Kyoyume, earth to you!"
Kyoyume shook her head, clearing her mind from the thoughts that had consumed her, leaving her outer self in a strange, dream-like state. She blushed with embarrassment. "Oh, uhm, sorry." She apologized hurriedly.
"It's okay, we're about to leave, c'mon!"
Kyoyume left her seat and went to catch up with them, excited that she was going to her first concert ever.
They got to the club-like place and Naraku paid for them all to get in. "Okay, don't get too lost."
Kyoyume nodded, her head turning in every direction, trying to take everything in as she committed it all to memory eagerly. She felt just like a curious little kitten at that moment and she almost laughed outright as a warm feeling tickled her heart. She kept close to her friends, though she still lagged slightly, her feet scuffling on the floor.
Jakotsu and Bankotsu disappeared into a moshpit, but that wasn't Kyoyume's style. "Wanna go play some pool?" Naraku asked.
Kyoyume shrugged and nodded, showing her agreement.
"If you don't know how, I'll teach you, other than that I won't go easy on you."
She gave him a little smirk. "Yes, I know how to play and you had better not. It'll be all the better when I beat you if you weren't holding back just because I'm a girl."
Naraku snorted as they found an empty pool table. "Ladies first."
Kyoyume played along and gave him a mocking bow before setting everything up and taking her shot.
"Stripes." She called as she sunk a ball and taking another shot, and missing.
"That makes me Solids." He commented to himself before taking his turn. He sunk one as well and moved on. His second try was a miss as well, though the ball had come dangerously close to the hole.
Kyoyume narrowed her eyes; the smoky club was noisy. She made her shot, but missed.
Naraku smirked as he sunk the ball from before, and proceeded in sinking another. The third time he missed again, but felt triumphant at any rate. "Hah!" He challenged her with a wicked grin.
She smirked back and sunk a ball, on her second shot she sunk another one, then a third, but she nearly sunk a solid in her third time.
He made a face and Kyoyume grinned back at him with amusement. "Hah!" She mimicked mockingly.
He stuck his tongue out at her and took a shot, but missed.
She giggled, but withheld it when he looked up sharply, only to explode again when he looked away.
"What?" He asked indignantly.
"Oh, nothing." The cat replied innocently before making her shot and sinking one of her striped targets.
Naraku growled a little and made his shot, sinking two of his solids in one hit, shooting again but missing.
There were only a few shots left to make and then everything would be in. Kyoyume looked over the three stripes she had left, and Naraku's two solids. The eight ball loomed dangerously close to being knocked in. Shooting at one of her remaining balls, she managed to get it close enough to getting in, but not quite.
"Haha!" Naraku taunted.
"Oh, shut up you." She said, waving at him as she frowned at the ball.
He shot, and, low-and-behold, accidentally sank the 8-ball.
A pleased smile twisted Kyoyume's lips upward. Gleefully, she grinned at the now frowning Naraku. "Haha." She said, trying not to burst out laughing at his mistake.
Naraku muttered under his breath. Then he looked back up. "Okay, do you want a reward?"
Kyoyume giggled to herself still, her mind not detecting any harm from his comment. "Of course." She replied.
"How about a drink?"
"Fine with me." She said, shrugging and following him to the bar, where they both ordered something.
Naraku paid for the drinks and took a swallow. "You won't win if we play pool again."
"Is that so?" She asked casually, sipping on her drink thoughtfully.
"Yeah." He answered nodding.
"And why not?" Kyoyume demanded, still sipping idly.
"Because I'm the best."
"Hm, doesn't look like you are anymore then."
"Just think that all you want Kyoyume."
"Will do." She said, sitting her glass down finally with a resounding 'thunk.'
"Hey you two, what's up?" Jakotsu asked sitting down beside them.
"Naraku's pouting." Kyoyume stated blandly, trying to keep a straight face, and found that it was working if she thought seriously.
"Why?"
Kyoyume smiled proudly, not letting herself hold back on gloating at all. "Because I beat him at pool." She replied.
Naraku huffed. "Well you do lose your touch having to take care of a bunch of wild children."
"Is that an excuse?" Jakotsu asked cheerily, taunting Naraku.
"Yes!"
Kyoyume giggled, her shoulders shaking in an effort to hide it. Jakotsu, though, laughed outright.
"Oh, its okay, Naraku, why don't you teach Hakudoushi how to play pool with you instead?" Jakotsu asked.
"Are you kidding?" Naraku snorted. "Trying to teach that brat anything is like trying to talk to a brick wall!"
"He's got your stubborn manipulative, mean side, yes."
Naraku grumbled, and Kyoyume felt herself agreeing with the description of the man, her ears twitching slightly on top of her head.
"But, like you, he's also absolutely adorable. So no worries!"
Naraku gave Jakotsu a startled look, one of his eyes twitching. Kyoyume tried not to laugh; for fear that that might signify an agreement on her part.
"Especially when you get all freaked out like that. Toooo cute!" Jakotsu giggled.
Naraku looked about to whack the hysterical man before him, when he suddenly contained himself and slumped back into his seat, sighing. "Tch."
Jakotsu smiled. "Aw you know I'm kidding, Naraku."
"One can never be sure around you, Jakotsu." The red-eyed man assured him bluntly.
"No, because Bankotsu is my one and only." Jakotsu replied with a wink, grabbing the braided man and hugging him tightly.
Naraku wrinkled his nose and Kyoyume giggled again, finishing off her drink. "Thank you." She said happily.
Naraku looked at his watch and yawned. "Shit I'm tired."
Kyoyume turned slightly to peer at the neon light encircling the clock over the bar. Blinking, she realized that it truly was late and that she was usually in bed by this time. As she noticed this, the need for sleep suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks, making her head heavy. She blinked again, yawning as well. "Wow, how did it get so late?"
"I don't know." He replied looking over his shoulder. "I'll walk you home, that okay?" He asked.
Inside, a frown threatened to crease her lips, but she didn't let the feeling show through. It was late after all, and walking home alone might not be such a good idea. Nodding, she decided that it couldn't hurt to let him just walk her home.
They walked, and at the end of the street they noticed a large stack of billowing smoke coming from somewhere down the road. They hurried along to investigate, and saw many fire and police trucks lined up.
Kyoyume felt something inside of her fizzle, grow in sudden proportion until she was sure it was going to burst from her, and died down, smoldering where her heart was supposed to be as she took in the sight before her. Her home, everything was gone! Nothing was left but a black heap, even the grass was half-hidden by black and gray fragments of what had once been her residence. Her ears stood on end underneath the hat, a painful jolt running through her body at the feat.
Naraku was completely silent, he looked at Kyoyume as a fat police officer ran over to her, his huge gut jiggling along with him.
"Is this your house?" He asked Kyoyume as he came up to them, panting and wheezing for breath, his round face red with exertion. Numbly, Kyoyume nodded, feeling as if she were watching the events through a window, her mind blank.
"Well, we don't exactly know what caused the fire. It mostly destroyed everything...."
Kyoyume looked to the remains as if on cue, looking them over. Pitiful. Her ears fell back, crushing themselves against her skull again in a feeble manner. If she'd had a tail, it would have wound between her legs at this point. Her heart sank further, depression mounting high on her. Her house. . .was gone. . . ? "Most everything?" She asked, her voice just as numb and icy as before.
"Most everything...do you live alone?"
Kyoyume took in a small breath. "Yes." She replied.
The cop shook his head. "I suppose you'll have to find a hotel room for the night..."
She nodded again. "I understand." She said, though truly she did not. Her entire body was screaming, her legs were frozen to the spot as she continued to stare at what had once been her home. She couldn't say she had been particularly attached to it, it was simply the fact of the matter that she had lost all her memories and belongings contained inside; that something so horrible had actually happened to her. 'Why?' Her mind demanded harshly, grounding out the word and whispering it at the same time.
Naraku lowered his eyes slightly. "You can stay with me." He whispered. "If you need to."
Kyoyume normally would have been flustered right away by the offer, but found that in this state of shock she was in, she was actually more calm and thoughtful. "I would not want to intrude." She whispered back as the policeman started to walk away.
"We have a big house. You wouldn't be intruding, even if its only for a day or two." He retorted. "You can use the guest room."
She paused, thinking it over for a moment. Her eyes had grown somehow distant in this time, the pupils small and vague, the color of her eyes deepening and making it look as if she were asleep without closing her eyes. She felt the same distance growing inside of her, pushing her away from those around her. "I don't know....." She finally admitted, her mind warring on the decision as she spoke.
"Don't worry about it, come on. Let's get out of here." He muttered, pulling her away from the ruins of what had been her house.
Kyoyume had made a protesting noise at first, trying to pull away to stay with her charred home, but Naraku had pulled harder, urging her away. She gave in, since it was apparent that he was stronger and would win a contest of strength if she tried to stay behind much longer. Still her eyes lingered on the mound of fire-worn ashes until they were out of sight.
They walked down main street and turned on a distant road, it looked dark and foreign to Kyoyume. On the end of the street was a large, ominous looking house. Naraku walked in, pulling Kyoyume along with him. "Hakudoushi, Kanna, I'm home." He called.
Kyoyume was blushing brightly, her senses only slightly coming back to her, though she still felt void of any real emotion. 'Mom and dad's pictures were in there. . .' As Naraku had called out, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard, along with the soft padding of secret feet touching on the carpet approaching them.
The pale haired boy and who seemed to be his small white haired sister stood at a doorway. "Hello, Naraku." They greeted.
Naraku pulled Kyoyume into their view a little roughly. "This is Kyoyume, she's staying here for a while." He introduced them.
"Hello." Kyoyume mumbled, they both nodded. She looked around, the large house was quite dark. The furnishings were black or dark blue and the walls were painted to match.
Hakudoushi sent a sideways glance at Naraku, smirking slightly, in a way jeering at his elder sibling. Kanna just stared with those strange, empty eyes of hers that Kyoyume's had resembled a moment before.
"You can sit down, want something to eat or anything?" Naraku asked her.
Kyoyume shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm fine." She assured him, finding that sleep was the only thing she really wanted right now. Maybe, when she woke up, she would find that everything that had happened was actually a dream. . .
"Okay, lemme show you where you can crash. C'mon."
Kyoyume let him tug her along, still blushing slightly from the tight grip he had on her arm. "Uhm, are you sure this is ok?" She felt herself asking.
He let her go quickly. "It's fine, and since you have no more clothes, I'll see if Kagura wants to take you out shopping tomorrow, or you can borrow some of her clothes..."
Kyoyume bowed politely, starting to become flustered as more and more of her personality began to leak through to her again. "T-thank you so much, but you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."
"I'm not worrying I'm taking care of you."
"But I've been taking care of myself for a very long time now, I can manage; you don't have to do anything, really....." She insisted.
"I don't have to, but I want to."
Kyoyume blushed slightly, hanging her head in defeat. "Why?" She felt the single word fall from her lips. Why did anybody care about her here? No one had before, so why now?
"Because you're stuck with no where else to go."
Kyoyume didn't answer, but took the answer in thoughtfully. It was true, but still. . . "Thank you." She said at length, in a quiet tone.
"No reason to thank me. You can sleep in here." He told her, leading her to a door by a set of stairs.
Kyoyume looked in. It was very nicely furnished, she saw here that she would lack for nothing. She flushed at how nice it was and looked at Naraku for a moment in astonishment, not quite finding the words to describe the many emotions that welled up inside of her all at one time.
"Good night." Naraku bid his farewell, then added: "My room's right upstairs if you need anything."
Kyoyume bowed deeply, thanking him and wishing him a good night as well before he left. Now, left on her own in this strange house, she walked in and sat on her new bed. Wonderingly, she looked around, gratitude overwhelming her so much that she felt tears sting at her ears, but turned her head skyward until they were gone. 'I'm not gonna cry.' She told herself, though her heart desperately ached.
She fell asleep trapping those tears in silently.
Her dreams that night were fraught with images of her parents, mostly scenes from the pictures, suddenly engulfed in flames. Waking the next morning, she found that she had been hugging her pillow the entire night. Her arms ached slightly from the contact. As her eyes opened and she realized that she had not been dreaming, she felt sorrow threaten to overcome her.
There was a knock on the door. "Miss Kyoyume." A quiet monotone spoke up. "Naraku would like to know if you would join us for breakfast."
Kyoyume brushed away the tears that had come to her eyes before they spilled over. "Oh, uhm, yes." She said, coming out and discovered Kanna outside her door. "Thank you for inviting me." She bowed.
Kanna returned the bow silently. "Just doing as I am told, Miss Kyoyume."
Kyoyume followed after her. "Y-you don't have to call me 'Miss,' you can just call me 'Kyoyume' is you want." She said, trying to make conversation.
"Okay M- Kyoyume." Kanna replied leading the girl into the kitchen.
"Good morning." Kyoyume smiled at everyone pleasantly.
"Mornin'." Naraku replied, he and Hakudoushi's eyes were half-lidded, showing they were NOT morning people.
Kyoyume sat down by the others; Kanna pulled up a chair next to her's.
She looked at the breakfast carefully, before grabbing a few things to eat.
Gratefully, she munched in silence, unsure as to if they were supposed to talk with each other during breakfast. Of what she remembered of mornings with her parents when they were alive, they had always talked, but not everyone did things the same.
"Naraku, pass the toast." Kagura demanded, yawning.
Naraku sent the basket containing the toast skidding down the length of the table toward her. She caught it effortlessly, causing Kyoyume to stare. She corrected herself, though, when she noticed what she was doing and averted her eyes.
"So, Kyoyume," Kagura pointed her toast at the girl. "We're going shopping today I suppose?"
Kyoyume flushed brightly in embarrassment. "Well, uhm, yes, but you don't have to."
"It's okay, perfectly fine, happy to get out of the house." She retorted, glaring at Naraku slightly. "And besides, it's on Naraku."
Kyoyume glanced Naraku's way, shocked that he would do such a thing. But he wasn't paying any attention at the moment. Mutely, she nodded at Kagura and finished her breakfast.
Hakudoushi finished his breakfast and stood up, stretching. "I'm gonna go take Entei on his rounds okay?" He told Naraku, smirking as he walked away.
Naraku watched him go, making a little bit of a grunting noise as the noise of a slamming door was heard in some distant part of the house. Kagura stood and went to Kyoyume, pulling her from her chair roughly and dragging the cat-eared girl after her. "C'mon, better get started before the rush gets out there first." She advised.
"Uhhhhh...okay."
Kyoyume eventually managed to gain her footing again and started to walk after her as quiet as she had been at breakfast.
They got into a red car, Kagura started the car. "Okay...so where do you want to go?"
Kyoyume thought it through. She hadn't exactly been shopping around here yet, so she didn't know what was available. "I'm not exactly sure." She replied truthfully.
"Well, the mall usually works for unsure people."
Kyoyume smiled at Kagura's sarcasm. "That'll do me then."
Kagura nodded.
As they drove off, Kyoyume examined the way to get back to Naraku's house carefully. She might need this information for later on, wouldn't she?
"I'm surprised that Naraku has been so nice to you."
Kyoyume turned, forgetting her scrutiny and quirked an eyebrow at Kagura. Of course, she had thought the same thing, but she never thought anyone would mention anything to her if they agreed. Not sure how to reply, she thought it over a minute. "Really?" She finally decided that was good enough of an answer.
"He hardly ever lets anyone in the house 'cept Bankotsu and Jakotsu. And that's hardly ever, and hell, he even locks me out sometimes."
"Oh. . ." Kyoyume trailed off, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry." She apologized.
"No big, I've got places to go when I don't go there."
Kyoyume sat thoughtfully, pondering what Kagura had told her. Naraku was doing something nice? Nah, it couldn't be. . .but Kagura would surely know, wouldn't she? She sighed inwardly. This was so much trouble; she missed her own comfortable home. 'Mom and Dad's pictures. . .' She thought, feeling lonely. Shaking herself out of it, she forced herself to compose.
Kagura pulled into a crowded parking lot. "Its hell on weekends, stay close." She warned the shorter woman.
Kyoyume nodded, pulling her hat a little tighter over her head. She hated being around lots of people at one time. It made her nervous and self-conscious. But this was inescapable, the only way out would be to tell Kagura her secret, and that was unacceptable as well. She would have to go through with it. "Ok." She replied, a little anxiously.
They walked into the crowded mall and Kagura headed straight for a certain store. "This place won't be too crowded." Kagura noted as they walked into Hot Topic.
Kyoyume took note that it was true. The hustle and bustle of people outside had abruptly stopped as they entered the store. Though there were several people inside, there was enough space between them for each of them to breathe properly and enjoy their own personal space. Kyoyume relaxed.
Kagura looked through the selves. "Pick yourself some clothes out, its all on Naraku today, make him suffer!" Kagura laughed slightly.
Kyoyume giggled, though she had initially tried to suppress it. "I couldn't do that!" She said back, though she desperately wished she could. He deserved it for black mailing her in the first place.
"But you can! At least get two outfits and...some jewelry, this skirt is cool!"
Kyoyume grinned again, laughing. "Ok, ok." She agreed; maybe she would splurge, if only a little bit. . .
Kagura grabbed the black skirt off the rack. "What do you think?" she waved it in Kyoyume's face. It was kind of short, but not too short, and black, with a little bit of light blue.
Kyoyume made a bit of a face, she didn't go with skirts very often. "It's. . .nice." She conceded, trying to sound as if she agreed.
Kagura rolled her eyes and put it back down on the rack, looking at jeans. "What about these?" she asked, pointing to a pair of plain jeans that came with a bottle-cap-belt.
"Ok, that's fine." She said, embarrassed slightly. She hoped she had not upset Kagura already. Looking over everything else, she picked out a few shirts that looked like they would match and two more pairs of pants.
Kagura was looking at shoes. She pointed to a pair of black leather boots. "Aren't those nice?"
Kyoyume turned her head to one side. They did indeed look nice, though she could not imagine herself wearing them. Kagura on the other hand, she could see vividly putting them on. "Yes." She nodded, smiling slightly at the image in her head. Kagura would look even more menacing than before with them on.
"Yeah, they'd give you a couple of inches, Kyoyume, but I think you need something more like...this." She remarked, pointing to a pair of Chuck Taylor's with a blue-flame detail. "Match your hair."
Kyoyume laughed, seeing that it was true. "Yes, they do, don't they?" She asked, knowing that Kagura would never believe her if she informed her that the blue color of her hair was natural.
"Some people are just born different, you don't look like one who's ever dyed her hair, lets pay for this and get out of here before the pop-punkers flood the place."
Nodding, Kyoyume followed her to the cash register and gulped at the sum that was added up. "Are you sure. . . ?" She started, but dropped off. Of course Kagura was sure; Kyoyume had never known her to be anything but.
Kagura pulled out a Credit Card. "Its my brother's." She informed the cashier. The girl nodded and they walked out of the store with two large bags.
Kyoyume hefted one of them over her shoulder, making sure that her hat was securely in place as she did so. "Thank you, Kagura-san." She said, bowing her head at the opposite female.
"No problem, I need another girl in the house to talk to."
Kyoyume smiled slightly. "I'll bet. Must be tough living in a house full of boys. But you have Kanna."
"Kanna doesn't talk much."
"I see." Kyoyume said thoughtfully.
They drove in something of a comfortable silence most of the way, pulling back into the driveway of their 'home'. Kagura pushed the door open. "Naraku, you bastard, we're home!"
"Ahhh!" Came Hakudoushi's scream as he flew past them and darted into another room, still bellowing in mock terror. "Help! The Wind Witch returned!!" He cried in the distance. There was a grunt of reply from Naraku in another room, and a loud 'smack' was heard. Hakudoushi ceased his cries for a moment, only to rebound with more fervor than before. "You asshole! What was that for?!"
Kyoyume's eyes widened slightly at the ruckus, Kagura just shook her head in annoyance and put the bag she carried down on a chair.
Kyoyume placed hers on the floor next to it and followed her through a winding path of rooms and hallways until they came to the room where Hakudoushi and Naraku were. Hakudoushi held his hands over his head, hiding the place where Naraku had struck him on the head. Naraku leaned against the counter, watching him with bored interest, a steaming cup in his hand. Hakudoushi continued to rant at him, becoming quite loud. Kyoyume's ears hurt, though she didn't dare complain.
"Your both damned fools!" Kagura cried. "Hakudoushi go be NORMAL! Naraku, don't hit the small stupid ones."
"He was being particularly stupid." Naraku defended off-handedly, taking a sip of his drink. Hakudoushi glared at them both in turn. "You're both ones to talk!"
Kagura sighed heavily, walking over to the small silver-haired boy and punching him in the head. "I am older, wiser, and in every way the boss of you Hakudoushi don't," she started, grinding her knuckles into his head, "mess with me."
He whined, trying to get away from her fist, but only found that it followed him everywhere he went. Finally managing to break away, he ran behind Kyoyume's legs, peeking out at Kagura and Naraku daringly. "Which makes you old, ugly, and mean, you witch!" He taunted her angrily, sticking his tongue out at her. His hair was messed up from where she had ground her knuckles into his head.
Kagura rolled her eyes. "You never get sick of that one do you?"
"No, cuz it's true." He taunted further, still hiding behind Kyoyume who was rather confused by the situation.
Kagura shrugged. "Naraku contain your brother."
"He's your brother too." Naraku replied carelessly. He didn't ever take orders from Kagura.
"Well he's YOUR responsibility." She replied leaving the room.
Naraku watched her go and shrugged. Hakudoushi grinned mischievously and let out a sigh of relief. "Ah, she's finally gone." He came out from behind Kyoyume's legs carefully though, watching the doorway she had walked through suspiciously.
Kyoyume looked at the little boy with something of polite bewilderment. What a strange child he was.
Seeing that Kagura was truly gone, he disappeared around the corner, probably to go taunt her some more.
Kyoyume stood there awkwardly, looking around for nothing in particular, maybe an escape.
Unsure of what to say or do, she looked around curiously. She knew she should thank Naraku, but was rather embarrassed about the sum of money she had spent. After a moment of contemplation, she bowed slightly in his direction. "Thank you for everything, Naraku."
He waved his hand in a way that suggested a total ''it was not a problem, don't thank me'' gesture. "Sit down if you'd like."
She promptly took a seat, wanting to relax her ears as well, but was afraid of another family member walking in while she had them uncovered. She had not let them out from under the hat for quite some time, and they felt cramped beneath the thick fabric.
"You can take the hat off, no one in this house will tell or anything. Your secrets safe with us."
Kyoyume briefly wondered if he read minds, and nodded with a slight smile. Her ears bristled outward, stretching and twisting on top of her head the moment they were free. When she was finished exercising the stiffness out of them, she left them alone, though they constantly turned in the direction of every little noise.
"They're nice, why do you hide them?" He asked distantly, kind of staring off into the space between the large cat-like ears.
Kyoyume blushed self-consciously, a strange form of sadness welling up in her at the mention of such a personal thing. "It's not normal to have cat ears." She said, not wanting to mention how she had been chased away from several schools and neighborhoods when people had found out her secret. It was hard to talk about.
"Oh...yeah, normalcy is a must in the world isn't it?"
Kyoyume smiled wryly. "It would appear so." She said, the ears turning slightly to hear her own voice.
"Yes." Kyoyume replied, lowering her eyes slightly. She felt ashamed for some reason. It felt like she was running from herself now that she had a moment to think about it. Like a coward. But she couldn't very well tell everyone what she was, could she?
"Don't let it bother you. Don't let people hate you, you're much too nice for it. You don't deserve it." He remarked absently.
Kyoyume blushed further at the slight compliments. "Thank you. I try not to, but it's hard sometimes."
"I know the feeling."
She looked up at him quizzically. He did? "You do?" She questioned, hoping she wasn't pressing him.
"Sometimes."
She nodded, not wanting to ask further. He seemed distant at the moment.
"I'm not on the best terms with most people."
'I would think not!' Kyoyume thought indignantly, remembering how he was blackmailing her, but said nothing. She listened intently though, trying not to be rude.
He laughed. "Hell, everyone has half a mind to hate me. But I do what I gotta."
"What you've gotta?" Kyoyume inquired, echoing his last statement.
"I mean, people beat up people and do drugs and have sex when their bored. I find out their secrets. Sometimes I use it."
"Ah, I see." She said thoughtfully. 'Like mine. Well, at least he hasn't tried to use it against me. . .yet.' She thought to herself.
Naraku smiled to himself slightly. "It sounds awful, I know. But there's more to it."
"Do tell."
"Like...well people do things that would get them arrested or killed or hated. And by my knowing, I can make sure it doesn't happen. And some people just provoke my wrath."
Kyoyume giggled at his terminology, making her ears flex slightly. "I see." She said between the tiny bursts of laughter.
"Well, they do, like...hmm...example...I cant think of any right now. But I can tell you a bunch of people doing illegal things!" He retorted.
"I don't doubt it." She replied, his attitude furthering her humor.
"Yeah, like, lesse, Renkotsu...."
Kyoyume hung her head, humor suddenly dismissed at the memory of what she had seen with Ayame. "Oh dear."
"But it's so stupid, it doesn't even matter. Hmm...well I cant think of any other illegal ones off the top of my head."
"That's ok. I already know." She informed him with an embarrassed grin.
"I know you do. See? I have connections, because, I'm good like that!"
She stifled another laugh. "I should have known." She replied.
He grinned triumphantly. "Yeah, yeah."
"Hm? Expecting praise now?" She asked, noticing that he was gloating.
"Maybe."
"Mm, that's too bad." She joked slyly.
He sighed in mock-defeat. "Do you want to know why I'm blackmailing you?"
She shrugged. "Well, if you're going to tell me, I might as well know. I should know anyway, mind you."
"Cause your cute."
Kyoyume blushed brightly; the red engulfed her entire face instantly. "E-eh?!" No one had ever told her that before, or rather, ever been so blunt about it.
Naraku shrugged. "Truth."
Kyoyume hung her head, trying to hide her bright red face. She felt so embarrassed, though she didn't know why. She should probably be glad that someone had said that to her, but she was still wondering - why would he blackmail her just because she was cute? There were plenty of other cute girls in the school, many that were far more beautiful than she was. So why?
He knew it was in her eyes. "That is for me to know." He answered slowly.
End Chapter