Disclaimer: Kohana, Momo, Piaoliang Feng, Shen Yuan, Naraku, An Hua, Ayame and Ruri are my characters. The personalities and looks of the new seishi are mine.
Red Wings of Fate
Chapter 24: Family Reunions
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
-Conversations between twins-
I'm sorry about the long wait. I lost it when school started and I still don't really have it back yet. This chapter has taken like a month and a half to do. For future reference, when I'm gone for a long time, check the bottom of my bio for my status. I try to update that every two weeks just to prove I'm not completely dead. That way you'll know what's going on with me.
Somewhere the sound of nails clicking against stone echoed through a vast, dark, palace. Inside a room lit with purple a black flames, a white haired woman sat on an obsidian throne. Naraku hissed at an image of Miboshi and Nuriko sleeping peacefully together somewhere in Konan.
"Stupid mortals…" She spat and waved her hand in front of the looking glass. Everything was still for a moment. Suddenly the glass split into two evenly cut halves and crashed to the ground. Naraku watched a stray piece of glass bounce towards her foot and slide to a stop. "I may not have my mirror of souls anymore, but I'll still crush them…including my sister. She'll rue the day she stood against me with that stupid boy…"
She slowly got off her throne and walked to another wall mounted mirror. She whispered a small incantation and the black mirror shimmered showing another scene to the dark magician. The image seemed to spark something in the back of her mind.
She cackled loudly. "Why didn't I do this before? I'll have the upper hand this time." She passed her hand over her amulet and disappeared.
The image left on the mirror was of a quiet house in the real world. A black-haired woman sat in a large chair, intently reading an old Chinese novel. A gentle breeze made a strand of her hair fall in her face. Unnerved by the sudden wind, she looked up. She opened her mouth to scream but it never came out. She disappeared in a flash of black light and the book fell to the floor.
The bright sun and noise of the outside world woke Miboshi up before Nuriko. The first thing that came into focus was the room. She didn't know where she was. It certainly wasn't her room in the palace. Second, she heard someone else's breathing. "H-huh? What the?" She moved her head a bit and realized she had been sleeping on top of Nuriko. Her face took on a deep red color and she tried to wiggle out of her arms.
"Mi-chan…" He moaned, still asleep.
Her blush deepened. "Nu-Nuriko?" She gently poked him. "What's going on?
Instead of waking up, he pulled her closer. "…Never 'lone…Mi-chan…"
A look of shock and horror flashed across her face. She felt tears sting the corners of her eyes. 'Oh Seiryuu, what happened last night?! What did I say to him?! I must have been drunk! He must think I'm a fool!' She panicked and pulled away from him more forcefully.
He groaned and started to wake up. "Mi…boshi…" His eyes opened all the way and he blushed. "Oh…Uh…Sorry…" He let her get up.
She bit back a whimper from the sudden loss of contact with him and sat up painfully. "Ow…my head…Wh-what was I doing last night?" She smelled her shirt and made a face. "Was I drunk? I don't remember…" She desperately tried not to show how panicked she was but she had the feeling she wasn't doing a good job.
He chuckled lightly, now fully awake. "You…you weren't drunk…"
"But it feels like you punched me in the head…" She cradled her head in her hands.
He laughed harder. "You weren't drunk. You were wasted."
She quickly lowered her head, hiding her eyes from his. "Oh Seiryuu…I don't remember anything from last night…did I do anything particularly embarrassing I should know about?"
He reached out and gently made her face him. "You said you loved me."
She gasped in horror. "I did what?!" She quickly moved to the edge of the bed. 'Ugh…it's a miracle I didn't try to go all the way with him. I can't believe myself…'
He watched her for a moment. Last night, he wanted to confess his love for her, but now he wasn't so sure he should. 'She didn't mean it…it was just the alcohol…but I still love her…I should at least say something to her to make her feel better…'
She felt herself start to cry again. 'Now he must really thing I'm nuts…why'd I have to go and ruin everything by getting drunk last night? We were getting so close. I really do love him but how could I tell him that? I must have been stark raving drunk. He'll never take me seriously again.' She never noticed him approach her and wrap his arms around her shaking body.
He rested his chin on her head and gently pulled her closer. "I'll forget about last night if you want me to…" He whispered sadly though knowing he'd never be able to.
She pushed away from his warm embrace, embarrassed and unable to face him. "I really am sorry Nuriko…I really am nothing but trouble…"
He frowned. "Don't say that Mi-chan…"
She bent her head forward letting her hair cover her face. "I don't know why I get drunk like that…I know it's not the first time I've been hopelessly drunk. I drink to forget how miserable I am…but it usually just makes things worse. Seems like I haven't been able to fully figure that out yet…" She slumped forward, vaguely aware of her tears falling to the floor.
"Miboshi…" He frowned. He hated to see her so depressed but it didn't seem like she heard him at all. He opened his mouth to speak when she began talking again.
"I really do love you Nuriko…honest I do…since…I don't even know since when…" Her eyes didn't move from the floor. "I was always thinking about telling you, but the alcohol made me do it…" She stood up and started to leave to room, laughing bitterly at herself. "I can't believe how stupid I am…"
He got up from the bed and grabbed her arms with a speed that would have impressed Tasuki. "Wait. Please. Miboshi…do you really…?" His voice trailed off slowly.
She looked up at him with a tear-streaked face. "I love you Nuriko…" She tried to loosen his grip on her sleeves. "I better go…"
"No…please don't." He swept her into his arms, wanting never to let her go. "Oh Miboshi…I love you too…" His voice was hoarse and Miboshi wondered if he was crying. "I love you so much." He whispered as he nuzzled her neck.
She held him close, fearful that perhaps she was having some hangover induced dream. "Nuriko…I…"
"Shhh…" He whispered in her ear. "I should have told you sooner…I wanted to tell you last night…then when you looked so horrified about last night…I thought…" She kissed him softly and smiled for the first time that day.
"Maybe you should get drunk once in a while like me."
He chuckled, happy to see her smile again. "Yeah…maybe…" He kissed more passionately, picking her up and bringing her back to the bed.
They lay together quietly while everything they'd been though seemed to sink in. Nuriko watched her lovingly as she drew patterns on his chest with her finger. "Miboshi…" He reached up to lace his fingers with hers.
"Yes?" She blushed under his gaze. No one had ever looked at her the way he did.
"I swear I'll never let you feel alone again." He squeezed her hand a bit tighter.
Tears brimmed in her eyes again. "Nuriko…" She buried her face in his chest and began to cry.
He was about to ask if she was okay but stopped. Somehow he knew she was crying because she was happy, not because she was upset. He sat up enough to cradle her against his chest and lightly kiss the top of her head. "Miboshi…I'll protect you from now on. I'll do anything to make sure your safe."
She looked up at him and wiped away the last of her tears. "Anything?"
"Of course."
"Even if your own life was in danger?" She asked hesitantly.
"If it meant you'd be safe, I'd sacrifice myself to Naraku."
Her gaze shifted from his to the wall. Fresh tears formed in her eyes. "Please don't say that…"
He looked a little confused. "Don't say what?"
"That you'd die for me. I don't want that." He looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to continue. "Dying is easy…" She whispered, slowly looking back at him. "It's living that takes a miracle…"
Nuriko was silent for a moment, understanding what she meant. He smiled gently. "Alright. I promise I'll live for you."
Miboshi smiled happily and nestled in his arms again. "Do you think the rest of the palace is awake yet?"
"Probably…it's pretty late already. We probably missed breakfast…"
"I guess we should go then huh? I could really use a clean shirt."
"I wonder what An's going to say…" He wondered aloud as they got up.
"That she told me so." Miboshi yawned.
"What?" Nuriko ran his fingers through his hair, trying to fix it a little.
"That night none of us could sleep…while you were nodding off at the table, she and I were talking about you…"
"I thought you said you were talking about 'girl stuff.'"
"We were…she was trying to convince me that I liked you more than I would admit and that you felt the same."
Nuriko smiled. "We had that conversation too. An is very persistent…"
"She wants you to be happy. She knows you've given up a lot to take care of her." Miboshi slipped her hand into his.
"Well, I know I couldn't be happier now." He led her out of the room and they headed back to the palace.
Once inside the palace courtyard, Miboshi headed to the bath house to wash up and Nuriko went back to his room to get fresh clothes. He pulled a clean shirt and pair of pants out and went to toss them on the bed. But he stopped just before he let go. An was sitting on his bed, arms crossed, looking angry. "Morning An…" He smiled nervously.
"Don't you 'Morning An' me, Nuriko. Where'd you go last night? And with Miboshi-ne-chan?"
Her tone of voice scared him. And she also almost never called him Nuriko. "I…she…we…ah…"
And stood up on the bed, reaching about to his chest. She poked him hard, at least hard for a small child. "Everyone's been worried about you two. We didn't know where you went."
Nuriko opened his mouth but couldn't seem to think of anything to say. He'd never seen her so angry. She almost didn't seem like his sister. "An…we just…"A sudden giggling stopped him and he raised an eyebrow. When he looked back at An, she was beginning to smile. "An?"
The giggling got louder accompanied by someone else's laughter. Nuriko turned around and saw Kohana in his doorway, biting back her giggles to the best of her ability. An broke out into giggles as well. "You look funny when you're freaked Ni-chan."
"I'm sure…" He muttered under his breath. "Did the two of you decide to do this last night while I was out with Miboshi?"
"Of course we did." Kohana laughed. "We needed something to keep ourselves busy."
Nuriko rolled his eyes. An jumped from the bed into Nuriko's arms. "Ni-chan, are you and Miboshi-ne-chan going to have a baby now? I still wanna be an aunt."
Nuriko turned on Kohana, thinking she put the idea in her head. She held her hands up, still snickering. "I didn't tell her to say that. She did that on her own."
He let out an annoyed sigh. "Would you guys just get out of here? I need to change." He wasn't mad, just not in the mood to deal with them.
Kohana quickly left Nuriko's room. An looked up at Nuriko. "I'll go, but first I gotta ask something."
He set her on the floor. "Yeah?"
"You and Miboshi-ne-chan are together now, right?" She looked hopeful but still unsure.
He chuckled and bent down to give her a hug. "Yeah, we are. You were right."
She immediately brightened and hugged him. "Told ya! So are you gonna get married and have a baby?"
"That's enough out of you. We haven't talked about that. I just told her I love her this morning."
"Fine, I can wait." She scurried out of the room. "Don't take too long." Nuriko smiled and closed the door.
Suboshi leaned against a window frame, staring out at the sky. He had felt uneasy all day. Things had been a little too quiet lately.
"Suboshi, are you okay?"
He turned slightly to see his brother in his doorway, looking at him questioningly. "I'm…fine…why?"
"I've passed by your room a few times today and it doesn't seem like you've moved."
"It's nothing." He shook his head. "I just think it's been a little too quiet."
"Too quiet?"
"Don't you think it's odd that Naraku hasn't been around? You'd think she'd know her sister is back and training Piao and Shen to fight her. She seems to know everything else."
Amiboshi joined his brother at the window. "I never really thought about it…you would think she'd know…"
"But maybe I shouldn't say anything. She'll probably show up soon…"
"She does a habit of showing up when we get comfortable."
"Suboshi? Amiboshi?" The twins turned to see Momo in the door way. She smiled at Suboshi. "Lunch is ready so whenever you guys want to come, you can."
"Thanks Momo." Suboshi smiled back, making her blush a little. "We'll be there in a bit." She nodded and went on her way.
Within the dinning room, everyone was carrying on their own conversations with the people around them. Everyone except for Kohana. She stared at her food never actually touching it. Tasuki nudged her a little. "Hey, you okay? You haven't touched your food."
"I'm fine…" She mumbled. "Just not very hungry…"
"Come on Kohana, something's wrong, isn't it?" Tasuki always seem to be the most perceptive to Kohana's moods. Ever since they had recruited Tasuki, the pirate captain seemed to have filled the roll of big brother and big sister for the young priestess.
"Really…I'm fine." Kohana pushed her plate away and stood up. "I'll be in my room. Excuse me." She left the room drawing very little attention to herself.
Tasuki frowned. It was obvious that something was wrong, it was just a matter of finding out what. 'I could make her tell me…but I don't think she'd appreciate that…neither would Hotohori if I ended up getting her upset…maybe Hotohori could get her to open up…they're practically married as is…'
After everyone finished eating, Tasuki followed Hotohori out of the dinning hall. "Hotohori! Got some time?"
"A little bit, yes. Is something the matter?" He slowed his pace and he and Tasuki walked down the hall together.
"Not with me but…I think something's wrong with Kohana…"
Hotohori immediately got concerned. "Why?"
"She seemed depressed today…hardly touched breakfast…I thought she'd be better after Nuriko and Miboshi came back together but she was depressed at lunch again…"
Hotohori pondered Tasuki's words. "I'll check on her."
"She said she'd be in her room." Tasuki watched Hotohori headed down the hall. 'Hope she's okay…Hotohori should be able to help her…'
Hotohori gently knocked on Kohana's door. "Kohana? May I come in?" His brow furrowed when she didn't respond. He knocked again but there was no response. Worried, he opened the door and walked in.
To his relief, he found Kohana asleep on the bed. Upon closer inspection, two things caught his eye. The first thing he noticed was that she had been crying. Second, he found a picture lying on the bed next to her. There were 3 people in the picture besides her: a baby, a man and a woman who looked like an older Kohana.
'Her family…' He sat on the edge of her bed and brushed her hair from her face. "Kohana…"
She shifted slightly and opened her eyes slightly. "Hotohori…"
"Tasuki's worried about you…she said you seemed depressed."
She sighed. "It's nothing really…"
"We can't help if you don't tell us what's wrong…"
"It's nothing anyone can really help with…" She rolled over and sat up.
"Kohana…It hurts to see you so depressed. Please tell me what's bothering you." He slipped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.
She was quiet for a moment, enjoying his presence. "It's two things I guess…I've had something on my mind recently that I want to talk to my sister about…goodness knows I can't do that…" She moved out of his arms and brushed her hair behind her ear.
"And the other thing?" He asked softly after a moment of silence passed without her continuing.
"Just a feeling…" She started slowly. "I just feel like Naraku'll be back soon…"
Hotohori wrapped on arm around her. "I think everyone feels that way. And if it's true, we'll fight back like we always do."
She leaned on his shoulder. "This time feels different…"
He gently kissed her forehead. "It'll all be okay Kohana. I promise."
"I hope you're right." Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Yes?"
The door opened and Shen stepped inside. "Am I interrupting?" He glanced back and forth between the priestess and emperor.
"No. We were just talking. What is it?" Hotohori let Kohana go so that they could both face Shen.
"She's coming. Piao felt her before I did…but she'll be here soon."
"Well, let's go meet her." Kohana slid off the bed and went for the door, followed closely by Hotohori.
Outside, most of the other seishi were already waiting. In the sky black clouds seemed to form out of nowhere.
"Fantastic…" Nakago muttered under her breath. "Now she has to make a special entrance…"
"She's just looking to intimidate us…" Chiriko frowned. "All puff, no power."
No sooner did Chiriko finish her phrase than a lightning bolt stuck the ground, just missing the blonde seishi. Everyone jumped back and Chiriko jumped at Tomo. He rolled his eyes. "Had to open your mouth, didn't you?"
Her eyes narrowed. "You're so sleeping alone tonight."
"Hey! I…"
Momo angrily cleared her throat. "Would you two talk about that some place private after we're not worried about whether or not we'll see tonight?"
The two mumbled an apology and turned their attention to the matter at hand. A dark bubble hovered a few meters in the air in front of them. "You all came out to see me, isn't that wonderful?" Naraku's small form emerged from the black globe. She glared down at her sister, standing between Shen and Piao. "Should I be afraid?"
"You never should have come back, Sister." Hime said calmly.
Naraku hissed. "I don't have a sister." Her eyes suddenly turned to Kohana. "You on the other hand…"
Kohana's eyes immediately darkened. "How'd you know about my sister?"
She laughed loudly. "I made the most of the time I had you trapped in my precious mirror. Your memories were quite interesting."
Suboshi grabbed Momo as she attempted to lunge at the demon woman. "You had no right to do that!"
"Temper, temper." She chided, waving her finger back and forth. "But I suppose that's what happens to a girl whose parents don't love her enough to stay around and teach her manners."
Momo's face turned red and tears stung her eyes. "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" She fought against Suboshi's grip on her. "Let me go Suboshi! She's gonna pay for that!" His grip didn't falter.
"Don't I, Priestess?" She smiled in a calm, evil manner. "I've seen everything."
Momo squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to listen to Naraku no matter how right it seemed she was. Suboshi held her closer. "You're loved here Momo…don't forget that." Her body relaxed slightly in his arms.
Kohana's eyes had shifted from Naraku to the dark bubble that still floated behind her. "Why'd you start talking about my sister? Did you do something to her? If you did, I swear I'll…"
"Don't worry, little priestess. She's fine…for now."
"For now? Where is she?!" A note of panic rose in her voice. The bubble behind her floated forward and dissolved. A black haired woman, both tired and angry, emerged from the darkness, bound by black thorny vines. Kohana gasped in horror. "Ayame!"
Miboshi looked at Nuriko. "Is that her sister?"
"I think so…I've never seen her before, but she does look like Kohana…"
The woman above them tossed her head back so her hair would no longer cover her face. "Leave my sister alone!" Ayame's sapphire eyes burned determinately despite the fact that she looked like she'd gone through hell. "And you better let me go or you'll be sorry!" She struggled to free at least one arm but only succeeded in giving herself more shallow cuts from the thorny vines. Naraku only smiled at her attempts to free herself.
"Well, now we know where you get your spunk from." Tasuki rested a hand on Kohana's shoulder.
Kohana tried to manage a smile but her eyes remained on her sister. "What do you want Naraku?"
"Who cares what she wants? Let's just attack." Nakago raised her hand, already glowing blue. A few other seishi followed suit and got ready to attack.
Naraku pulled Ayame forward, putting her in the seishis' line of fire. "I suggest you don't do that. Wouldn't want the blood of two innocent people on your hands, would you?"
"Two?" Ashitare asked, glancing at Kohana.
Kohana stared at the ground. "Ayame's a few months pregnant…if anything happens to her…well…it happens to her daughter too…"
Nakago immediately lowered her arm. She couldn't bear the thought of accidentally hurting a child while she herself was awaiting her first. The others lowered their weapons as well.
"That's better." Naraku smirked. "Now…so long as you don't try anything stupid, she'll be fine."
-Shadow Hawk