Okay, this chapter is a big thing to those of you who migrated from Quizilla, and all of you people know why. This chapter was the chapter that got cut off, so hardly anyone got to read it. Now I will no longer have to worry about messages from people on Quizilla going "Hey chapter 8 got cut off," or "Chapter 8 has a password to it, what is it? I want to read it." Well, I'm not ranting at anyone in particular, there were loads of people who sent me messages like that, and it is to be expected.
JESS, in case you didn't check, your badge is on under the Inerasable Sin (YYH) 7: Sweet Cheeks results on quizilla, which a hyperlink to that is under my profile homepage. I couldn't think of any other place to put it since I didn't have your email. And I forgot to mention where it was at in the last chapter. Hope you like rhinos! I thought it was cool. The rhino is now the signature animal of the Marines! Fun Fun!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho… but I do own this booger in this here Kleenex, but I'll tell you what, I like you. I'll let you have it. As you can see, it is an interesting color…
It had seemed like only moments later when my eyes had fluttered open to the world by the sounds of a soft patter.
"Life?" the voice stifled from the door.
The Wa Ko's too scared to come in… I thought to myself lazily, keeping my face buried in my pillow.
"Please, Life. Don't make me come in there," the vulpes pleaded, remembering full well of the previous occasions.
I lifted my head from the feathered cushion, sunlight from the window flashing in my eyes. I quickly retreated back to the comfort of the plush ness, my skull still suffering from the effects of a hang over. "Get bent and die!" I growled in my pillow.
The door creaked open, following a click with the light switch. "Come on. Get dressed and—er…" He examined my attire. I was still in my gorgeous little 'hunting outfit'. I looked up at his unreadable face, but it was somewhere along the lines of 'shocked and confused that I'm still wearing it'.
"I can't reach the ribbon," I grumbled in my pillow, hiding my slight embarrassment.
I soft sound reached my ears… laughter? I stared bewildered at Kurama for laughing with me being in such a predicament. But there he was, laughing through his thumb. I glared at him, "Shut it, Wa Ko."
He just looked at me with his laughing emerald eyes and reduced it to a chuckle. When he finally ceased, he just shook his head and took a seat on the bed next to me. A faint chuckle passed his lips every so often while untying and unlacing the ribbon. He untied the ribbon pulled off the corset top, my lungs instantly filling with air with a large gasp.
"Oh, thank Goddess," I breathed heavily, pulling myself up from the bed, then grasped my temples from the pounding beneath them.
"That's what you get for drinking the green faerie," Kurama said in an almost mocking tone.
"…Joey…" I murmured absent-mindedly to myself, and then shook it off. A thought occurred to me, "Why did I even go to the U-Club?"
"You don't remember?" Kurama and the others didn't know either, they just had a good hunch that the dream she had was held responsible. But here she is now; he thought to himself, Confused and acting as if nothing ever happened…
"First thing I remember about yesterday is Joey," I thought back to the green, beer-bellied, faerie that drank from his bottle while repeating things like "I don't feel a thing!"
"That's it?" while thinking, Joey?
I nodded, "And the things that followed after that." I looked at his face; he was deep in thought, "Is there some information I should have retained?"
"No!" he waved his hands nervously, "No. Nothing at all."
…"The thing is," Hiei said, catching the others' attentions once again, "That dream brought back something that she didn't need to remember. Guilt is now beginning to overcome her. And if she doesn't do something to get herself over it, it'll literally drive her insane."…
As long as she doesn't remember that dream, he thought, She will not suffer from whatever guilt she had undergone…
I knew he was lying, but whatever it was he was keeping from me, I wasn't really sure I wanted to recognize it. For all I knew, I might have done something very embarrassing and regrettable with one of the mortals… worse than what I remembered doing in the cage with Hiei. The qualms of being drunk…
"I'll let you get ready," he calmly spoke, picking himself off the bed, "I take it you have the rest of your clothes under control?" he added, and I could have sworn I saw his eyes flash gold as a sly grin passed his lips only briefly.
Shoving that to the back of my mind, I nodded, "I have everything under control."
He shook his head slightly, as if trying to shake something out of his ears, "Alright then. I'll leave everything up to you," he said as if I had an important quest to undertake.
"I'll do that," I muttered to his exiting form, and grabbed my baggy black pants and red long sleeved shirt. I showered and brushed my hair. I got dressed and slipped on some eyeliner and mascara. Then I slid on my shoes and trench coat, and went to reach in my pocket for my shades, when I also pulled out a very small top.
It was small, but oddly cute. It looked like a string bikini top of hot, neon pink. When did I get this? I wasn't really much of the type to wear pink, so I tossed it in my bureau drawer with my only three shirts, and I let my shades rest on the bridge of my nose and equipped myself with my weapons as I left.
"Kazuma," I spoke monotonously, acknowledging the carrot-top on the couch with the detective in the living room.
"Nuh," was his response, but I wasn't surprised. He was playing Dead or Alive 3 with Urameshi and only understood his name.
"Mind if I play a round?" I offered.
He looked at me as if noticing I was there for the first time, which was probably the case, "Hell no! You're crazy!"
I groaned, his volume was much too loud for my head, "How is it that you all can act so well?"
"We took painkillers," Yusuke answered, "There should be some in the bathroom cabinet if you need any."
"Hn," I would have if I could have, but non-herbal medicine had no affect on me, for a normal vampire can't usually get sick. It was times like this that made me truly wish I wasn't a half-breed.
I plopped down on the couch between the two mortals and watched the game with complete boredom. Games aren't that fun when you're not playing them. "May I play a round with the Detective?"
"No! It's my Xbox!" he boasted, "I always get to play."
"The more reason you should share," I retorted, "Keep up that attitude, and think of what kind of creature you'll be reincarnated to."
Kuwabara stopped his game once again, "Huh?"
"What?" I asked, fairly aggravated.
"Reincarnated?"
"Yes, reincarnated."
"Why do you say that?" he asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You believe in reincarnation?"
"Of course I do," I said, "And you should, too. You already have at least one friend that you know of, who was basically reincarnated, and I wouldn't be surprised if half the beings in the palace all together have been."
"Who's been reincarnated?"
"Kurama."
"But I'm not reincarnated," the vulpes stated, entering the room, "Youko possessed my human form when I was born."
"Same thing."
"How so?" Yusuke asked.
"Youko is him, and Youko had his own life before he entered a mortal to live again. This is Youkos' second life at least," I explained.
"And how do you know all this?" Kurama questioned, "I haven't told you anything about him."
"I spoke with a dog who visited the Makai about twelve years ago, and had a couple tales of you to share with the café," perfect opportunity, "Hand me the controller, Kuwabara," and he handed it to me before he realized he even did, which he then sulked to.
Yusuke did the honors of setting us on a verses battle, considering I didn't know how to yet, but I watched him closely. When the characters came up, I immediately chose Christie, since I was still fascinated by her hair color; Jann Lee, a tanned character with brown hair, was Yusuke's choice.
The fight began, and I narrowly dodged the START button as I pressed the remainder of the buttons offered to me. But, I was KO'd by the detective.
"Come on, Life. You were able to beat Kuwabara in this game! You have to be able to beat me!" Yusuke exclaimed. I, of course, didn't tell anyone that Hiei manipulated the fight with Kuwabara. So in reality, the oaf would very well have beaten me. But Yusuke wasn't as good at this as Kuwabara was, so maybe I did have a chance.
But, "I don't know…"
Urameshi grinned to my admittance of defeat, pressed pause on the game, scooted closer to me and leaned over my controller. He opened something up on the menu, revealing a list of possible combinations. He gave me a brief over the buttons and how to perform a few of the combos before pressing the START button to continue the game.
I could only guess it was because the techniques were fresh on my mind that I won the second round, but they must have slipped my mind after that because I lost the final round.
I growled silently when Yusuke congratulated me for a good game… and for me being poor enough for him to beat me. However, he did offer me a hand up from the couch, which I rudely declined by knocking his hand out of my path and pulling myself up. So what? Maybe I just wasn't always the best loser.
"We train," I said simply.
"We have to wait for Hiei," Kurama said.
"I'm already here, Fox," a voice spoke from the corner of the room. Hiei.
"Wait for me!" a shrill female rang through the halls, making my head pound even more than before.
Botan ran in and skidded to a halt, panting. "What news?" Urameshi questioned.
"No news," she heaved, "I just want to watch," even with her loss of breath she managed to plant on a beaming smile.
I stared at her in silence, "…Whatever…" slipped past my lips in unison with Hiei's 'Hn' as I left the room, bringing up my photographic memory to trace my way to the gym, several paces ahead of the mortals.
Upon entering the gym, Lynn seemed to have flown out of nowhere and landed on my shoulder. She cawed softly in my ear and nibbled on the loops of my earrings as I stepped ten feet away from a punching bag and faced my left palm toward it.
The mortals came in as I collected a decent amount of my invisible mind energy. I always called this mind energy because unlike my colored energy spells, this one was not only clear, but also based purely off the power of my mind. Whereas the colored energy from what I had gathered, was an even mix of an element and my mind.
"What-cha doing?" Kuwabara asked, advancing.
I smirked, "Vis vires," the energy was released and sent into the punching bag; yanking its chain from the lower sweep of the ceiling and ripping a hole in it once it connected with the far wall, the sand poured out. "Practicing my aim," I grinned at his visible appearance of stress.
Urameshi busted up laughing, "Oh my God!" he went up next to Kuwabara and slapped his shoulder, "Watch what you say to her, man!" his laughing refused to cease at the oafs' uneasiness. If I didn't know better, I would have thought the detective was high.
My head wasn't feeling any better, and I almost felt like attacking my own brain to rid the pounding. I plopped onto the floor and rested my elbows on my legs, continuing to rub my temples.
I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and my head bolted to meet the face. Kurama was kneeling next to me, holding out a small, blue teacup.
"I can't drink that," I mumbled.
"I know," he answered and put it in my hands, "Breathe it. It's fenugreek."
I leaned over the cup and whiffed in the aroma, I felt it enter my system and my headache begin to subside a little, "You know your herbs, Wa Ko," I kept my eyes on the teacup as I spoke.
"It's no trouble at all," he knew I was thanking him in my own way.
"Okay, enough with the flirting," Yusuke carped, staring at Kurama as if he were a bit annoyed, "Let's just this over with. Comedy Stand Up starts in an hour."
I forced myself to my feet, still breathing in the scent of fenugreek. My headache was actually almost gone already, "Let's say we make this interesting…"
"More gambling?" Kurama sighed.
"But you never lose!" Kuwabara whined.
"Everyone against me," I said, "One at a time, of course."
"Why can't we fight you at once?" Yusuke inquired.
I grinned slyly, "Let's just say that I don't have much control over myself fighting more than one opponent. But if a couple of you are willing to die, then by all means…"
"One on one, it is!" he declared.
"How much?"
"¥4000 each," I shrugged to.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly made of money," Kuwabara said.
"Do you have 4000?"
"Well—yeah…"
"Then don't lose," I snapped, "So are you all in?"
Urameshi, Kuwabara, and Hiei agreed, whereas Kurama and Botan declined.
"If I lose to you, Kurama, I don't owe you anything," I elucidated.
"Fine with me."
"Then let's go."
ooo
Nearly an hour later I was flipping through ¥8000, "Lovely doing business with you, boys," I grinned at their disappointment. I beat Yusuke and Kuwabara fairly easy, Hiei proved more of a challenge though I still claimed victory; like last time, I lost the fight with Kurama, and carried whip slashes across my chest, back, legs and arms. A large gash was in my left shoulder from a seed that he planted on me without my acknowledgement, which prevented me from holding up my weapons and spell-casting arm quite well.
The gym was in disarray. Columns were smashed, weightlifting equipment lay broken and tangled, and punching bags were unhinged and dismembered in heaps on the floor.
"I can't believe I'm broke," I heard Kuwabara mumble.
"Let me treat those wounds for you, Life," Kurama offered kindly, as always.
I shook my head, "They'll heal in time. In about a week, they should be scars." I narrowed my eyes at Hiei, "I'm hungry. Take me out."
"No."
"You owe me ¥5500, therefore, you have to take me out eleven mo—" I was cut short when a wad of bills was shoved in my hands. ¥5500.
No one had a chance to call the Makai demon back for he was already long gone from the gym.
I snorted and held my hand out for Lynn, who was on the bench. She took flight and flew past my hand and out the door. What the hell is wrong with her? I knew she went to Hiei. I just knew it. But why had she lately been choosing Hiei over me? Wait a moment… was I jealous? Jealous of Hiei grabbing all of my birds' attention? My bird, which I had raised for five years from an incubator? After a few seconds thought which felt like a few hours, the answer was simple. Yes.
I wanted to yell at him, but I also wanted to eat, "So, who's taking me out?"
The remaining mortals huddled together and started waving their arms… doing what? I opened my palms toward the floor and focused my energy to my feet. Light purple energy began to gather in the shape of a disc beneath me, "Pendeo." The disc lit up and faded somewhat, revealing many lighter glowing lines in the disc that made the complicated shape of some alchemy-like symbol. The symbol began to morph into hundreds of different colors and then, it shoved me into the air. The symbol began to shrink, but remained beneath my feet as I took a few steps in the air, about five feet over the mortals' heads, where I could see what they were doing…
Janken? The mortals were playing Janken to decide who would take me out. Sort of pathetic actually. I didn't really want to even continue watching. I started backing away, when suddenly, the rest of the energy put into the hover disc left and I fell to the floor, landing on my face.
Ow… the small boom from falling didn't distract the mortals, but I hastily pulled myself to my feet anyway. A moment later the huddle broke up and Kuwabara was shoved in front of me.
"Have fun!" the others were out the door before I even had a chance to say anything to them.
I took a side-glance at the uncomfortable Kuwabara and growled, "Let's go."
ooo
An hour later I sported one of the largest veins popping out of my forehead and the oaf just wouldn't stop talking. The talking was bad enough, but the randomness of his words was even worse.
"—guess Swiss cheese isn't that bad either, but still not as good as cheddar. Mmmm… cheddar. There is this one show on TV I like to watch, but I can't understand a word they're saying because they speak British. Hey, have you heard of this horror movie where there is thi—"
"Will you please SHUT UP!" I roared, "Can you be quiet for five minutes? FOR FIVE MINUTES! You're scaring away all my damn food! If you'd like, how about I just eat you!"
Not even the birds were chirping. The insects were silent. Kuwabara just stood there and stared at me in a mixture of fear and disbelief for not even a minute, "You wouldn't really eat me, would you?" he asked cautiously.
I stared at him, my furious face went to monotone, "Nah, I don't eat junk food," I mumbled and walked on, a new weight lifted off my shoulders.
The birds steadily started back up to chirping again and the insects made their scurrying sounds. The blissful silence last for less than thirty seconds…
"So, anyway, there is this guy who wears other people's face after skinning them off with a fishing knife. I don't like raspberries, there was this one tim—"
I sweat dropped. I no longer had the drive to be mad at him. It took too much energy.
"—and after that I got the runs so bad, I couldn't get off the toilet for a—Ooh! Look! A bunny!"
That caught my attention. My eyes darted the direction his pointing finger. A large, plump, perfect, brown, delicious looking rabbit sat next to a bush, eating the grass. I wrenched on Kuwabaras' arm and leapt onto a thicker branch of a nearby tree.
"What are we—"
"Shh!" I pinched his lips together with my thumb and forefinger before I crept along the branch on my hands and feet, similar to a chameleon, nearing the scrumptious rabbit. I was close enough to pounce it…
"Aw, you're not gonna kill it, are you?" he whispered.
I rolled my eyes, "No," I whispered back with a small hint of sarcasm, "We're just gonna sit here and LOOK at it!"
"Oh, but Life, you can't eat it. It's just a bunny," he begged.
"Deal with it. I'm hungry and I wa—"
"RUN, BUNNY! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"
I don't think I ever pushed anyone out of a tree before… until that evening. Forgetting the mortal on the ground, I pounced at the escaping rabbit. My fingers dug into the warm earth where the rabbit sat less than a second ago, and I began to chase it on all fours, not even bothering to act the least bit humane. Hell, I was even growling and roaring like a regular lion. I was hungry. I wanted food and I wanted it now. I leapt over bushes and darted around trees, slowly catching up to the speeding rodent with each passing second. I was going mindless, not even considering a strategy. I was near enough to a point where my fingers grazed its fluffy tail every time I reached out for it. Just a few more seconds and—BAM!
My head was reeling. No tree branch should ever be that low to the ground. But when I looked up I noticed that it was placed that low by a certain carrot-top.
"What the HELL was that for!" I roared.
He tossed the stick into the bushes and picked up the shaking rabbit, "You can't hurt this thing. It's too cute," he held it close to his chest, the rabbits' face buried into his arm.
"And what about me? I'm starving!" I argued.
"You're just hot," I went bug-eyed, "But the bunny is just adorable!"
This isn't normal… He's actually choosing the cuteness of a rodent over the 'hotness' of something basically his own species… The world was at its end.
A hand reached to my forehead and moved away. A large bump was developing and blood covered my fingertips. Wood's a bitch; it's as simple as that.
"Fine!" I yelled, pulling myself to my feet, "You want the rabbit? Keep the damn rabbit!" Kuwabara squealed with delight and held the rabbit closer, "Just keep an eye out on it. If you neglect the thing, it's my supper," I murmured.
I began to walk away, "How much longer do we have to be out here?" he asked.
"We're leaving now," I sighed, "I'll skip out of eating."
"You sure?"
"I'll be fine," I would be fine for then, but if I would go without blood for long, I would definitely go on a bloodlust, and I would be screwed if that started around the mortals. The reason I was skipping out on blood was I was just downright exhausted. That rabbit sure as hell had me in for a run, and the knock to the head wasn't making it any better. "What's its name?"
"Huh?"
"Its name," I repeated, "It's yours. Aren't you going to name it?"
"Oh. Well, uh…" He seemed deep in thought for several minutes as we stepped through the portal. I was faintly surprised he was putting this much thought into a name for a mere rodent, "Kuri."
"Kuri?"
"Yeah! Look at his fur!"
"Are you sure you want me to look at your rabbit, Kazuma?" I hinted him at what I meant with a quick flash of my incisors.
He gulped, "Never mind then."
We made it inside the palace and in the living room, where everyone was lounging around. Yusuke noticed me and grinned broadly, "What took you two so long?"
I glared at him, "Never again," I breathed threateningly "Will he come hunting with me."
"Why?" Botan asked.
I merely stepped to the side, revealing the rodent in Kuwabara's arms, which was at first not visible from the other's point of views, "I named him Kuri!" he chipped excitedly, making the rest of the mortals pull an anime fall.
"What's up with the rabbit, Kuwabara?" Urameshi laughed.
"He decided to claim my dinner as a pet," I growled, and so did my stomach, earning another short laugh from the detective.
"Life," Kurama stood from his spot from the couch, "You're bleeding."
"Also Kuwabara's fault," I muttered, disarming myself and setting the weapons in the corner.
"Here," he gently grabs my hand, "Let's go to my room to get some herbs and take care of it."
I just stared at the back of his head as we left the living room and headed to him bedroom. It was kind of weird. All of a sudden I was receiving all this attention from the kitsune.
He opened a door and led me in. It was bright. Really bright. I slipped on my shades upon entering. The walls were clean, plain, and white. The floor was planked wood and a large green, rectangular rug with a lovely design was spread across the floor. There were a couple tall bookcases filled with countless books and small hooks that hung drying herbs. That piece, I thought to myself, is a witch's' fantasy… The herbs had labels! Really a dream come true.
"Just go ahead and make yourself comfortable," he offered kindly as he went to the bookcase and pulled down pieces of a series of herbs, including myrrh gum powder, yerba santa, and red sandalwood powder. I took a seat on his bed as he advised. His bedspread was much like Hiei's and mine, only in shades of green rather than navy or red.
I watched Kurama as he mixed a series of herbs together into a paste, and shaking something out of his head once in a while. "You alright?" I asked after he shook his head for the fourth time.
"What?" he looked up at me with a slight flash of gold in his eyes, "Yes. I'm fine. Sorry to worry you." He finished mixing the herbs and took a seat next to me with the bowl. He pulled my hair away from the scratch and tucked it behind my ear before rubbing some of the paste on the cut.
"You seemed to have picked up on taking care of me," I smirked.
"Yes, I guess I have. But I can heal things."
"And so can I," I looked at him, "What? You think I can't take care of myself?"
"No, no!" he defended himself and looked at me apologetically, "It's not that. I know you can take care of yourself."
"Then what?" I wasn't so sure, but I had a feeling I knew what, and I was hoping I was wrong. I had no feelings for the vulpes in that way, nor did I want them. It wasn't completely personal, but I just couldn't do that, for more good reasons than one.
"I was raised human," he said, "And I guess I was just brought up to take care of others. I'm sorry if you misunderstood."
Phew… Thank the Goddess.
He finished up and placed a bandage on my forehead, "This thing won't stay on for long. You know that, right?"
He chuckled, "I figured you would act that way. Don't worry, the way I mixed those herbs makes it absorb into the skin in about an hour. I just put the bandage on you to keep your hair from getting in the mix." We left his room and started our way back toward the living room.
"Is that so?" I asked, entirely interested, "I never heard of that. May I have the recipe?"
"Sure. First you need rue herb and sea salt—"
"Sea salt?" I wasn't sure if I heard correctly, "But it didn't burn. And sea salt isn't used for healing…"
"No, but it is used for purific—" he was cut short when he fell to the floor. What the— and I soon met him after that with a thud to the back of the neck.
ooo
My heavy eyelids opened slowly to discover that I was shackled to a wall. –Hell? I struggled against the chains, but they wouldn't budge. I closely examined the chains that held me in their binds. Redwood… damnit. I was about to break the chains with a spell when I noticed something carved into the wood. They were runes. Squinting my eyes, I was able to identify them as Fehu, Uruz, and Isa. The runes of security, strength, and standstill. So basically, there was no point of trying to escape. Runes and wood bound me.
Accepting my defeat, I glanced around the room. It was dark, even for me. The only things I really could see were a heavy curtain and a door; the details remained shrouded.
I remained there, letting my weight drop for me to slightly swing painfully around by my wrists for what seemed like hours. Hell, with the bloodlust I was feeling, it could have been days. It was amazing that I wasn't gnawing at myself. Finally, the door creaked open.
I peered toward the door to see a figure. In the light of the doorway, I saw it hold up a very thin cane-like fixture, which curved upward at the end. A match was lit, and set to the curvy thing on the cane, where there was a wick. The figure, still unidentifiable, lifted the cane up to the ceiling. A candle chandelier. It lit the twenty or so candles, bringing a fresh, dim light to the room.
The figure was a female, possibly about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had straight, glossy, drowned out, pale blonde hair that stopped from grazing the floor by a few inches. Her pale, silvery light blue eyes seemed almost glazed over, and would have seemed almost inaudible with her pale, milky smooth skin. She wore a dress of pink satin and rose accordion pleats with an overdress of burgundy and a gold print brocade look with a long training skirt, all trimmed with ecru lace. A short gold chain hung around her neck with a small black pendant. Upon looking at her was like looking at a life-size porcelain doll. Her face, her dress, the look of childish innocence in her dead eyes; everything about her was a porcelain doll.
And so was the room. The room, which I could only guess was hers, was also fit for the princess of porcelain dolls. Baby pink walls with white trimming, and the floor was pine planked. A complicated design of light pink and white was set on a large oval rug, which a white round table surrounded by four small chairs sat on. A larger than king-size four-post with a feathery baby pink satin comforter with highly detailed white stitching patterns, and white lace trimming. Covering a large wall were countless shelves filled with hundreds, if not, thousands of little porcelain dolls in their little tea party dresses. The only things in the room that didn't follow the theme were the chains that shackled me, and the curtains covering the window, which were thick and black. I looked back at the girl to be greeted with a sweet, childish smile with her rosy lips, "Hello."
I stared at her. Who was this girl? Here I was, chained to a wall in a room fit for a four-year-old, and this girl just stood there and beamed like she had herself a new toy. "Who the hell are you?"
"Shh!" she pressed a polished finger on my lips, silencing me, "Little ladies don't talk like that," her entire act was fit with the room and look. Childish, innocent, sweet, "That's what Mommy says." It was then that I realized she was speaking English the entire time, in a small British accent.
"Who are you?" I repeated, hoping that a bit cleaner language would be rewarded with an answer.
She moved away her finger and held her dress out to curtsy, "My name is Ashleigh Woodruff," her smile all the sweeter, "I am pleased to meet you."
"Uh-huh," seriously, what was wrong with this girl? "Let me go."
"Look at your clothes!" she exclaimed in what could have been horror, ignoring my words, "You're dressed like a boy!"
I looked at my attire of the baggy pants, medium sized shirt and leather jacket. So, maybe if my clothes were put on a male, it would make no difference.
"You wait right here," she beamed, "I'll go get you a dress, Dolly."
"Not going anywhere," I murmured sarcastically as she fleeted the room. Wait a minute, Dolly? She called me Dolly? But those thoughts were interrupted when the door opened once again. Assuming it was the girl, Ashleigh, I paid no mind to it… until I heard a few deep voiced snickers.
"Looks like we couldn't get any luckier," my face darted to the doorway, revealing three red mutant/human-like demons. They all carried sly grins. "The boss left behind her little play thing."
Boss? The girl was their boss? "Let's have our fun with her…" they all smirked and advanced toward me. The center one reached a hand out and firmly grabbed my chin, "What a pretty little vermin…" I spat in his face.
Of course, vermin, as he called me, was referring to my non-Makai blood, and neither mortal. Apparently he knew that. And our kind being known as 'demons' to both sides, but belonging in neither, gave us one of those many degradable titles.
The center demon reacted to my counter with a slap across my face, before he forced his disgusting chapped lips to mine. I struggled in the binds as the three of them began feeling me up; kissing me, touching me, scratching me, tearing at my shirt, whatever they liked for a full five minutes. When the center demon was suddenly pulled away.
Terror filled the body of the demon when he came face to face with the innocent Ashleigh, only, the innocent Ashleigh didn't look so innocent anymore… Her normally dead gray/blue eyes burned with a pure, almost glowing, freezing silver and her childish countenance was contorted into a face that couldn't even be matched by the ghost children in movies. The long nails of her tiny, delicate hands literally dug into the shoulder of the pain-stricken demon.
"Don't. Touch. My. Dolly…" her voice was monstrous. Her entire fingers buried into his shoulder, blood splattering on the floor, and she threw him face-first into the opposing wall.
The other two demons attempted to make a break for it, but she grabbed one by the back of the head and pulled him to his knees, where she gripped his head and swiftly twisted her hands, followed by loud, sickening cracks of his breaking neck and he fell to the floor.
Suddenly, she vanished into thin air. The final demon had made it to the door and swung it open… and there she was. Or, it was sort of her. Her milky skin was a rotting gray, and her pearly whites were all deathly long; her canines about an inch and a half each, pressing against her bottom lip. The demon made an effort to turn, but she pulled him to her and dug her unusually long fangs into his jugular.
A minute later, she dropped the corpse on the floor, her skin no longer gray, but back to its milky white, and her incisors were at a normal length for a vampire, whereas the inch and a half length was actually uncommon. "Poor Dolly," her voice was childlike once more as she paced over the corpses mindlessly.
I just had to give her kudos for her ruthless fighting tactics. The scent of spilt blood filled my nostrils and raised my bloodlust. And after seeing all of that, I didn't really want to go messing around with her, even if I was a hostage.
"I got you your dress," she smiled, holding up a rather puffy bundle of forest green, "I thought it would match with your eyes."
I didn't say anything. What was there to say?
She set down the fabric on the edge of her bed and stepped in front of me, "What's that on your forehead, Dolly?" she plucked at something and pulled it off. It was the bandage Kurama had put on my cut, and by the looks and smell of the browning blood on it, it had been at least two days old.
How long have I been here? Ashleigh's hand had not left my cheek, I realized, and I looked into her dull, gray blue eyes.
"You're so pretty, Dolly," she muttered, and leaned in closer to me. Oh. My. Goddess… Why me? Why, oh why me? I felt her pressed her lips against mine, not as rough as the demon had and somehow more secretive, but it still didn't make it anymore acceptable. I didn't move; I just stared at her wide-eyed and in shock as her hands slid to my sides, timidly deciding which path to take. They decided to take the south route… and that's when someone like me is wrenched back to reality.
I opened my mouth and bit her lip hard, forcing her to back away to give me air, "DON'T GO THERE!" I yelled.
Her bitten lip quivered as it healed, "But Dolly—"
"NO!" I repeated, "Ladies don't act like that!"
I had hoped she would understand me by the way I put it. She seemed the type who would try her best to behave like a little princess. Her eyes downcast for a moment before turning back to me with a smile, "Ladies don't act like that."
I mentally sighed. I could only thank the Goddess for the blessing. "Now, let's get you dressed, Dolly." She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small silver key and reached up at the chains, which wasn't that hard for her since she was a few inches taller than me, and unlocked the shackles.
I would have run, if I had known where I was going. And I didn't want to try and run away from a girl who knew exactly where she was going when I had no clue of where I even was. Plus, I was too exhausted to run even if I tried. So I just stood there, massaging my wrists as she went unshackle my ankles, which I soon followed rubbing them as well. "Come here, Dolly," she motioned near the bed, "Let me dress you."
Huh! There was NO way I would let her dress me.
"Come here, Dolly," I noticed her eyes give a quick flash of silver.
OR maybe just this once… I stood there as she stripped me of my clothes and slid on the many layers of the dress. By the time I was completely dressed, I felt like a bell. A big green bell. But the dress actually wasn't that horrific. Basically, what mostly showed was a velvet forest green over a black under dress; there wasn't much complication to it.
"You look so pretty!" she giggled and cupped my hands into hers. She smiled into my eyes for a moment before she actually frowned, "You're hungry," she spoke immaturely gloomily. Her hand reached to my forehead and she retrieved it even quicker, "You're cold! Oh! Hurry, Dolly! Get in bed!" She dragged me to the bed and lifted the covers for me to climb in, which I reluctantly obeyed.
"You stay here," she spoke soothingly, tucking in the covers, "I'll get Basil to make you something that will help you get better," she smiled at me and swiftly pecked my cheek before rushing out of the room.
To tell the complete truth, I wasn't feeling the greatest. I had been deprived of blood for at least a couple of days, which made my temperature drop. I needed the human blood for the oxygen, and my body wasn't getting any, making it run slower. I was tired, very tired. And I felt my eyelids begin to droop.
ooo
I was awoken to a slight nudge on the shoulder. I felt too weak to counter it, so I just continued to let my eyes rest.
"Dolly," a soft voice of an angel spoke, "Dolly. Basil made you something. It'll help you get better."
I forced an eyelid open to see a male with purple eyes in a black suit holding a silver platter with a few silver goblets setting upon it. Ashleigh was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling her warm smile. She grabbed a goblet from the platter and held it beneath my nose, "Drink it, Dolly."
I sniffed it. Blood. Warm, not animal blood. I suddenly felt this energy surge through me and I snatched the goblet greedily and chugged it down. I suddenly felt my body breathe for what felt like the first time in years. I hungered for more and the child could tell, and she handed me a second goblet. I proceeded to gulp down the deliciously warm blood as she held a look of satisfactory.
"All better?" I looked at her and nodded. Why was she being so kind to me? Wasn't I her hostage? There were so many questions that needed answered.
"Basil," she turned to the butler, "Make us some tea."
The male said nothing but turned with the empty goblets and left. "He can't talk," she whispered, "He got his tongue cut off when he drooled on his old masters' favorite chair."
"A werewolf, I assume?"
She nodded and giggled, "Werewolves are pretty dumb animals. Don't you think so, Dolly?" I didn't say anything. I had explained before that I wasn't prejudice against werewolves, unlike a little more than half the vampire population. "But they do make good pets," she added, "I've had Basil since I was eight."
That wasn't to be common among families. Owning disabled werewolves as pets. It wasn't often; actually, it was quite rare. A werewolf had to be pretty disabled to allow itself to be treated so low. And for just a removed tongue? Basil probably had something else wrong with him…
"Come on," she pulled me out of bed, "It's almost tea time," she led me to the small tea table and set me on a chair. I was feeling a bit comfortable at first, until I felt a shackle on my ankle and realized she chained my ankle to a lead ball. Yes. I felt right at home.
She took a seat in the chair across from me as Basil entered again with a new tray with a teapot and two teacups. He set them down accordingly and poured the 'tea' into the little cups. The tea was actually overheated blood, with a teabag of chamomile for favor. "Thank you," I uttered as he set the cup in front of me.
Basil soon left, leaving just Ashleigh and I alone once again. "Why am I here?" I asked after several minutes of an occasional sip of my tea.
She looked up at me and smiled, "I don't know."
I thought I was going to spit out my tea. "I don't know"? How the hell could she not know?
"I'm just doing what Mommy tells me to do," she finished.
"Mommy?"
"Mommy's my master. She told me to kidnap you for me," she spoke casually with a sip.
"Your mother told you to kidnap me?" I asked.
"No," she said, "My mother died when I was born. Mommy lets me call her that."
"Why?"
She shrugged, "She told me she knows what its like to live without a family."
"What about your father?"
"He's alive," her lips quirked, "But he's usually working. He loves me… he just doesn't get to see me a lot," she then stared at me with almost fascination, "You remind me of Mommy," she added, "I think that's why I like you."
There was silence once again as I stared at nothing in particular, but it was in the general direction of the black pendant on her necklace. It was a rose. "Are you pure lamia?"
She nodded, "Are you?"
I shook my head, "Half from my mothers' side."
"What about your daddy?"
"A mortal," I muttered, and Ashleigh cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Did she break a law?" her voice was hushed as if the room was full of people.
I nodded, "It doesn't matter though. He's been dead for a hundred and thirty years."
"That's good," she sighed, relieved apparently. She stared into her teacup for a while before looking back up at me, "Dolly, you have tea on your chin…"
"What?"
She took her napkin and dabbed it on my chin. "There," she beamed.
"So," I brought up another subject, "Why did 'Mommy' have you kidnap me?"
"She's busy right now, too," she sighed, "She's in Paris with an old witch for something… but she said she'll be back in two weeks and she'll bring me tons of presents!"
"You don't know what she wants with me?"
"No," she took the teapot and refilled our cups.
With a shock, a sudden thought occurred to me… Kurama… He was knocked out too, I remembered. Is he here somewhere? Was he left in the Reikai? Was I in the Reikai? This was as good of a time to ask as ever.
"That boy," I said, "That boy with long red hair that you knocked out…"
"Yes?" she asked me to continue.
"What happened to him?"
"I left him," she answered simply.
"Why?"
"I don't think I needed him," she thought out loud, "Mommy didn't tell me to get him, I don't think…"
I yawned. "Oh, Dolly! Are you getting tired?" she asked, concerned.
"It's probably just the chamomile," I replied with another yawn.
"Let's go to bed then," she suggested, "The sun will come out soon." She walked to the porcelain doll covered wall and reached behind a blue dressed one and pulled. There was a handle there, opening up a portion of the shelves to reveal a walk-in closet. She disappeared for a few moments before returning with two thinner cloths, one of baby pink, and the other of green.
With no objections, I let her change me into the green cloth, a nightgown. It reached my knees and the sleeves were short and reminded me of marshmallows. She changed in front of me with no discomfort and parted the blankets and urged me in bed, near the edge. She crawled in after me and pulled me close to her by my waist. "Good morning, Dolly," she mumbled.
But a thought came to mind, "Ashleigh?"
"Mm-hmm?" her face buried itself into my hair.
"How old are you?"
I felt her stomach move as she yawned and pulled me closer, "Twenty-seven…" she muttered as if she finished talking, and I felt her grip slightly relax with sleep.
Twenty-seven… dolls… dresses… Mommy… I knew what this meant. It wasn't like very descriptive symptoms of a disease, but they were faint. She may be disabled, I thought, Just like Basil… A mentally disabled vampire. Very odd considering vampires, witches, shape shifters, and werewolves hardly ever got sick, unless it was born. Hell, it was even hard for a cleric to be sick, but I guess that would have something to do with their healing abilities. Werewolves were more common to be sick, since they took the form of a human most of the month, but vampires were very rare. But it wasn't impossible. But we were going off topic…
The problem is, How do I get out of here? Did the mortals know where I was? Were they even looking for me? And Mum… was she okay? An idea struck me… I'll just teleport out of here…
But I had to be out of Ashleigh's clutches to do that, or else she'd come with me. Damn. It was my only option.
I slowly struggled myself out of Ashleigh's grasp, taking about five minutes, and turned around and replaced me with a large feathery pillow, which she squeezed tightly. I slid off the bed and landed lightly on my fingertips and the balls of my feet. I took a step away from the bed, and there was a rattle. The chains!
I rolled over and gripped the chains, silencing them in hushed alarm. I glanced at Ashleigh, who remained asleep with the pillow being clutched even tighter. A silent sigh passed my lips in relief. I seated myself on my bum, still gripping the chains in my hands for dear life, and carefully pushed myself across the floor with my heels. Several minutes later, I was as far as the chain would take me, about five feet away from the bed. This should be far enough… I stood up slowly and set my hands to my sides. "Abitum," I spoke as clear as I could as quiet as I was, and felt the purple energy surge beneath my feet. Nothing happened.
What? I moved my non-chained foot to see a tiny hole, about a two-inch radius. That was odd… it was supposed to reach a four-foot radius, very odd indeed.
I dropped to my hands and knees and peered inside the little hole. It was from the ceiling of Koenma's office. Koenma was in his teen form, seated in his chair and stamping papers with a very frustrated face. I could hear the door open and Mum came into view. Mum…
"Hello, Koenma," she said.
He glanced up at her, "Alex."
"Have you found her yet?" she asked, concerned.
"The detectives just got back from the Ningenkai. They have found nothing so far…" he sighed, "I'm worried she may be in the Makai."
How was I going to get through when only my hand could make it through? I reached my hand through the teleport and felt around. The closest thing was just the ceiling but it was better than nothing. I tapped the ceiling with my twisting hand as loud as I could without waking Ashleigh.
"Did you hear that?" Mum suddenly jumped.
"Hear what?" but Mum had begun to ascend to the ceiling and pacing around when she saw my hand.
"What the hell is that?" I pulled my hand away and pressed my eye against the hole. My mums' face came into view a moment afterward, "Life?"
"Shh…" I pressed a finger to my lips, "Help me out of here…" my words were barely distinguishable in the silence, and my head sharply turned to the bed. Ashleigh stirred for a moment, mumbling, before rolling over and became silent once again.
I gave Mum a look of desperation without any more words. She nodded and dropped to the floor and spoke lowly to Koenma, who also nodded and brought down the screen. It flickered before bringing up the face of an irritated detective. Short words were spoken and the screen disappeared, followed by the opening of the door about five minutes later.
All the boys and Botan entered. "Now what did you have to tell us about Li—"
"Quiet!" Mum placed a hand over Yusuke's mouth and pointed to the hole in the ceiling, "We need Hiei to talk to her…"
"Hn," the Makai demon cocked an eyebrow.
"She can't talk for some reason. We need her and Hiei to talk through telepathy…" Koenma whispered.
"Does she know telepathy?" Kurama questioned hushed.
"Not naturally," Mum said, "She does know a spell that can allow her to read other minds, but she needs to be touching you."
"Not that that's needed," Hiei spoke monotonously quiet, "You just need me to speak to her telepathically and read her answers."
She nodded, and Hiei looked up at me, "What have you gotten yourself into?" he asked, annoyed.
Kidnapped, I thought, knowing of course that he would read me, Just get me the hell out of here…
"Where are you even at, onna?" he snapped, "I had to spend over a week in Ningenkai looking for you! It doesn't even help you don't have Spirit energy!"
Don't yell at me, Makai Boy! I have no idea where I'm a—wait… you said week? My eyes went round in shock; I had been without food for over a week…
"You are absolutely no help, kyuuketsuki," he growled, "What use are you?"
Just get me out of here! I yelled, I don't know nor care how! Just get me out of here! My eye twitched slightly.
He starred at me for a long moment. I felt m mind be opened up and skimmed through. He then smirked, "You're being held by a sick female vampire who's in love with you," his grinned widened all the more, "This is priceless."
Just get me out of here, I begged.
"Maybe. Or maybe I'll just wait a few days before coming after you…"You wouldn't dare! I shrieked.
"Have fun, kyuuketsuki onna," he turned and left the room.
"Hiei, where're you going?" Kurama tried to stop him.
Oh no… I scratched at the ceiling, chipping off small pieces of the plaster, Oh no no no no no… He wouldn't… But I knew deep down that he would do just that. Anything for his own amusement.
"We're screwed," Yusuke smacked his own face.
"Wait a minute," Kuwabara mumbled, "Alex, can't you read people's minds?"
"No," she whispered, "I can only distinguish the basics. I can't read fluently like Hiei."
Hearing her say that made me almost want to scream… almost. I wasn't stupid. I felt a prickle in my mind as I felt Mum's mind do its best to understand me.
"I can only get that she really needs out of there," she murmured, "We need to get Hiei."
I heard a sound behind me and shot back to the bed once again. Ashleigh was moving again, and wasn't settling down. I turned back to the portal and gave an alarmed face before relaxing my energy and let the purple glowing hole shrink till it disappeared.
Almost not caring, I grabbed the chains and jumped next to the bed, the lack of silence from the binds rattled with me, but I slid into the bed right in time for Ashleigh to twist over and rest her arm over me, the pillow abandoned. I felt her begin to relax again. Damn, it was hopeless. I was going to be stuck here for the rest of my days.
That's the chapter. Could everyone do me a favor and help wish for a friend of mine to be healed? He got in a car accident and is hurt really badly. Like, REALLY badly.
-The Hidden Pagan (a.k.a. Seira Relur)