Chapter THIRTEEN: Worries and Tears
Kaoru watched as the small hole that led to freedom began to close. Her eyes suddenly widened as she saw that the sakabatou, dagger, and wakizashi had fallen out of the room, which meant that anyone could get them once the hole closed.
Forgetting about her own freedom, Kaoru launched herself out of the hole and just as her hand grabbed the sheath of the sakabatou, a large black boot stepped onto her hand.
Cautiously looking up, her eyes widened as she saw a shadowed figure standing before her. Just as she was about to pull her hand away from underneath his foot, the sound of steel penetrated the air, causing her to freeze when the glint of silver appeared at her throat.
Forcing herself to control her rigid breathing, Kaoru chanced a look at the person's face. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized that the creature before he was neither vampire nor werewolf, but instead a demon.
The sorceress bit her lower lip as she felt the hole closing in around her waist, but the moment the demon moved his foot off her hand to get the other weapons, Kaoru pushed both of her hands on the ground to help her 'bounce' back into the room.
Landing none too gently on her rear end, Kaoru scrambled to stand up. But just as she got to her knees, the entire wall that connected to the outside world was sliced in half along with Battousai's barrier.
'Oh no! He's managed to control the weapons!' Kaoru thought as she took a cautious step back when the demon stepped into the room.
Eyes subconsciously darting toward the katana that was still in the room, Kaoru gasped when she realized that the weapon was gone.
"Take another step closer and I'll scream!" threatened Kaoru as she unconsciously backed up.
"And what are you going to..." the demon's sentence was cut off short as he let out a blood hurdling scream.
Kaoru's own yell joined in when she saw the intruder's heart on the blade of a certain katana. The teenager fainted just as the katana moved upward in an arc from its previous position at the demon's chest and sliced the demon's head in half.
Before her limp body landed on the ground, the sound of something dropping was heard as a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her frame.
Eyes slowly fluttering open as a comfortable warmth enveloped her, she whispered, "Battousai?"
"Stupid wench, you should have screamed earlier," snapped Battousai as he glared down at her, his golden gaze unconsciously looking over her body for any injuries.
"The Seven…" started Kaoru barely above a whisper, but was cut off when Battousai shook his head.
"As long as I have you, I can always relocate the weapons and take them back. Did you sense any magic on him, any type of magic that would allow him to walk around undetected?" demanded Battousai as he helped her to stand back up.
Kaoru only blinked at him before biting her lower lip and shaking her head.
"Damn. Then how the hell did he get in here without me knowing? I should have been able to sense him as well as his partner when they got into the area," scowled the 1000-year-old vampire, his fists clenching until they turned paler than normal.
"He wasn't using magic, he was using the blood of a human to cover up his own ki. The human's blood had nearly no ki energy at all and they used a holy item to cover up anything that you and the others might sense," informed Kaoru as she pointed toward the necklace near the demon's bleeding neck.
Walking over to the demon, Battousai knelt down and yanked the rest of the necklace from the beneath the creature's neck by holding the silver, which prevented the lycans from smelling its owner out.
Looking at the necklace, Battousai's eyes narrowed as he realized that a white wooden cross hung at the end and inside of its center was the blood of a human as Kaoru stated earlier.
"If it's not magic, then what is it?" asked Battousai as he handed Kaoru the necklace.
"It's not considered magic, because it was created by a priest or priestess. Whoever made this is one powerful being if this demon managed to get pass your senses. This necklace acted like a barrier for the demon so that no one would be able to tell what he was until he got within killing range," stated Kaoru as she looked at the item in all directions.
"Which means the other one that kidnaped the half breed and the others had this too," said Battousai more to himself before his head snapped toward the shoji door at the sound of footsteps.
Before Kaoru could question the immortal, the group of vampires and lycans that were staying at the Aoiya barged in. A few girlish screams were heard when everyone had entered and saw the dead body on the ground.
"Kuro, Shiro, dispose of the body immediately. What happened here, Lord Battousai?" asked one of the Elders of the lycans.
"Okina, do you know of any priests or priestesses in the area?" questioned Battousai instead as the two other lycans took away the body.
Caught off guard, Okina only gave him a strange glance before answering, "There is only one priest in the area. His name is Genzai Oguni."
The other Elders that still remained with the group—Okubo, Saitou, Katsura, Jineh, Enishi, Yamagata, and Amakusa—exchanged confused looks before looking at their lord for an explanation.
"A certain priest has probably joined up with the demons to create items," said Battousai as he pointed toward the silver item in Kaoru's hands, "which can hide the scent and ki of any demon from both vampires and lycans alike. It's because of this little necklace that none of us were able to sense their entrance."
Gasps were heard from Okon and Omasu as they stood at the doorway while the others looked at the necklace with narrowed eyes. This was not what any of them had expected would happen and it could only mean that the demons were now a big threat to them and everyone else.
"If we find this Oguni character, then we'll be able to find the others," spoke up the Okashira of the Oniwanbanshuu, his four most loyal men standing behind him. He was inwardly glad that they at least had some clue as to where to start looking for the kidnaped creatures.
Turning to face the lycan, Battousai eyes turned into deadly slits. Soujiro and Shishio weren't the only ones that were mad about the fact that it was because of a half breed that someone dear to them was now missing. If anything happened to his sister, he'd make sure that both the crossbreed and her mate-to-be suffered.
"I really don't care what you do, Aoshi, as long as you don't get in my way," warned Battousai before turning to the two female lycans. "I want another room that doesn't connect to the outside world."
The two women bowed and quickly left the room to set another one up for the Eldest vampire and his new 'possession' as he had announced in at the conference.
With a snap of his fingers, not only was Kaoru transported into Battousai's arms, but also the four Dark Diamonded weapons.
Quickly placing the katana and wakizashi in their rightful places at his waist, Battousai pocketed the dagger and held the sakabatou in his right hand.
Taking the necklace away from Kaoru by holding the silver strings, Battousai threw it at Saitou, who easily caught it without touching the purified cross.
Without another word, Battousai grabbed Kaoru's right hand in his left and pushed passed the other Elders toward the room where the female Lycans had disappeared into.
Sighing, Okina spoke to the others, "The rest of us might as well get some rest. It's almost dawn and we're going to have a lot planning to do tonight."
Nodding, the other Elders all left to their respective rooms with their own theories about what had just happened.
xXoXx
Rigid breathing and the flapping of wings echoed off of the trees as a violet falcon carried a red and black bat in either of its talons. With both mammals unconscious, the falcon made it back toward its home without much difficulty. What made it difficult was the wound embedded into its stomach.
Descending toward a wooden cabin surrounded by a silver and white wooden fence, the bird landed near the door of the small house in the middle of the woods.
Amethyst smoke surrounded the three creatures, and as it cleared away, the bodies of three young women could be seen lying on the dirt ground.
"Why does this always have to happen to me?" questioned the only conscious woman that was clothed in a purple robe.
Sitting up, the shape shifter looked hopelessly at the two vampires that lay beside her.
"I might as well get you two inside and address your wounds," muttered Megumi to herself as she stood up and opened the door to the small cabin.
Slowly and cautiously, Megumi managed to get both vampires into the cabin without further damaging their injuries and laid each down on the violet and green futon on the ground.
"My sincere apologies, Lady Shura and Lady Yumi, but I couldn't leave you there to tell the others about what you saw," said Megumi as she gave them both a bow before quickly closing the door and looking around for her medical supplies.
The cabin was protected by a barrier, and due to the silver and white wood outside, no one outside would be able to sense the occupants within.
Decorated simply, the cabin held only two futon and a few cabinets in the far left corner of the home. A small low table and a few tatami mats resided in the back along with a chest filled with necessities, giving the cabin a completed and comfortable look to it.
Lighting a few candles, Megumi placed them between the futon and kept one for her self. She grabbed the water filled bowl and washcloth near the front of the cabin and placed it beside Shura's head before moving toward the cabinets in the back.
"Salve…where is the salve?" mumbled Megumi as she looked through the cabinet with one hand while the other held the candle.
The shape-shifter smiled as she found the red circular shaped container and grabbed a few bandages before closing the cabinet and heading back over toward the wounded beings.
Kneeling down, Megumi placed the balm and bandages beside her before looking down at the most injured out of the three. She knew that within time the two could easily heal their own wounds, just as her self, but she wanted to make sure that they stopped bleeding before they died of dehydration.
"This all could have been avoided if that half breed never existed," growled Megumi to her self as she remembered what had happened that night.
xXoXx
Flying through the window, which led into the hybrid's bedroom, Megumi managed to get there just as her sister got punched in the stomach by a man cloaked in black. She watched in horror as the impact of the punch threw her sibling into one of the already blood-stained walls.
Eyes darting around the room, she gasped as she saw Shura, Tomoe, and Yumi spooned against the floor with blood pouring out of the cuts in their pale bodies.
Quickly transforming back into human form, Megumi rolled out of the way as the creature in black tried to jab her with his katana. Even though she had moved in time for the weapon not to go through her, his sword had managed to leave a slash mark on her abdomen.
Standing back up, she got into a defensive stance just as a few smoke bombs were thrown at the now identified demon before her. She recognized the attack when she saw the green fumes escape the bombs and fill the room.
The shape shifter could barely make out the form of the man jumping out of the window along with two bodies thrown over his shoulders. Her eyes widened in shock as the smoke cleared to reveal whom the man had left behind, which could only mean that the other two whom had been in the room were the ones that were kidnaped.
Hearing the footsteps of the others in the Aoiya, Megumi transformed into a falcon and forced the other two to change into their bat forms before flying off. She knew that if she left the two at the restaurant, then her sister's plan of having no one know about their stay in Kyoto would be at risk. Not knowing whether or not they had seen Misao try to save them, Megumi decided to be on the safe side and took them with her.
But with her sister now taken away, she wasn't certain about anything anymore and didn't know if she should still go through with Misao's plan. Then again, the one person that they were supposed to kidnap was already kidnaped by someone else.
Confused and flustered about what to do, Megumi followed her instincts and made up her mind of helping to aide Shura and Yumi back to health before doing anything else.
xXoXx
"If Tomoe didn't exist, then that demon would have never attacked you two just to get to her, and Misao would still be with me," seethed Megumi as she clenched her fists on her knees, her bangs covering her tear-filled eyes.
Remembering the reason why she had taken the two vampires with her, Megumi attended to their wounds as gently as possible without disturbing their much needed rest.
After washing their blood-caked bodies, Megumi applied the ointment to their cuts and quickly wrapped bandages around their numerous injuries so that they wouldn't get any infections.
Folding their kimonos, which she had taken off so that she could see the wounds clearly, Megumi stacked them in the center of the futon where the candles were. The shape-shifter smiled at her work and stood up when she was sure that she had taken care of all of their wounds.
Walking over toward the chest, Megumi pulled out a black and red robe for the vampires. As she dressed the two, she made sure to avoid touching any of their newly cleaned scrapes as best she could, flinching slightly when the girls moaned in their sleep from the contact.
Megumi slumped down in the one of the free corners of the cabin when she was finished and slowly began tending to the slash on her abdomen.
"I hope you're all right, Misao," whispered Megumi as she looked out of the window above her once she had taken care of her own injury.
xXoXx
Kaoru flinched slightly when Battousai's hold on her right wrist tightened. She'd be lucky if it didn't bruise.
Quickening her pace when the vampire almost dragged her toward their new room, the sorceress looked around at the simply decorated area outside of the main housing area of the Aoiya. She knew better than to try and make conversation with the creature before her, so she took the liberty of keeping herself occupied as she followed Battousai.
"Why?" Kaoru nearly jumped at the sudden question that broke through the silence.
"Why, what?" asked Kaoru carefully as she stopped, causing the vampire to turn around and face her with narrowed eyes.
"Don't play dumb. Why didn't you call out for help? Were you about to just stand there and let the bastard cut your head off?" demanded Battousai, his voice dead serious as his hold on her wrist caused her hand to become purple from the lack of circulation.
Kaoru turned her head to the right so that she couldn't see the intense golden glow of the immortal's eyes.
Battousai further narrowed his eyes darkly before letting go of Kaoru's hand and turning the other way to once again walk toward their new sleeping quarters. Dawn was soon approaching and he had no intent to being caught in the sun's rays.
"I didn't scream, because I didn't know if you'd even come to save me, not the sorceress that could get you your weapons, but me."
The moment that the whispered words reached his ears, Battousai froze in his tracks.
"If you think that I see you as anything more than a tool, a possession, then you're deadly wrong," spoke Battousai as he continued his trek forward, ignoring the salted scent that reached his sensitive nose.