Disclaimer: Screw you!!
Story thus far: Cloud and Shizuru have been...violently reunited. Youko is alive and well, jacking stuff from people. Jin and Touya are tracking down someone for someone else.
Enjoy chapter 3!
Vendetta
. . .
"Why?"
It was the only thing Cloud could possibly think of to put his current emotions into audible form. Betrayal, confusion, anger. Yes, it was all there in one single word and best of all Cloud only need spit it out and clamp his mouth shut again. This was a plus because he didn't think he trusted his throat to work properly quite yet (not that it mattered seeing how her hand was clamped about his neck). The human girl's eyes, the warm color of honey – though they were the farthest thing from warm – lifted with amusement. She paused, relaxing her strangle hold on Cloud's wind pipe just slightly and only studied the blond underneath her.
"Why? Because I wanted to know something," she said simply.
Cloud chose this moment to get creative. Jerking his entire body weight to the right he shoved himself off the back of the seat and into the space underneath the table. Shizuru, sitting on top of him, was smashed against the edge of the table top and scraped off him like a horse rider into a low hanging branch.
But she was quick.
The moment Cloud hit the floor he had both his guns out but the human girl had rolled under the table second after him, drawing her blades simultaneously so she was now laying lengthways on top of Cloud, her long daggers criss-crossing his throat.
She could feel the hard edges of his two hand guns digging into her belly, angled to take out her spine along with any vital organs that got in the way. His dark blood hued gaze locked on her pale tawny eyes, feathers of golden brown hair splaying across her forehead in mimicry of the impossibly golden spikes dusting her opponent's skin. They sat like that for a long moment, body to body, weapon to flesh, eyes locked.
She wasn't surprised that the slender looking youkai was a solidly built fighter under all the layers of dark clothing. Her memory served her well and Cloud was still as good looking as ever.
His flawless, if not slightly pale, skin glowed with a strange ethereal life that seemed to outshine all human existence. Soft, wild strands of sun gold hair piled messily atop his head, framing his face and offsetting a pair almond shaped, garnet eyes. An annoyingly admirable example of male beauty. (Though this changed nothing. Hell she hung around with Hiei and Kurama and they were nothing short of heart wrenching) Then again, of course he was. He was immortal, similar to the most powerful of demons, never aging until the day they died in battle. But somehow Cloud was...different. Living out of time.
He hadn't aged a day since she'd last seen him, over a century ago.
"Your weapons," Shizuru murmured, the outline of her lips moving gently beneath her face mask. "Human made hands guns. I saw the runes carved along the inside of the barrels when you drew. Powerful stuff. Anything less than a low A class demon would be toast with one shot."
"Their names are Ash and Raven," he said smoothly. "Are we all properly introduced?" The twin guns dug into her stomach, making her grunt softly.
Cloud's eyes didn't change though his tongue supplied the slick sarcasm. He'd reined his emotions back behind a mask of calm indifference and Shizuru could see the familiar, set of his lips and eyes. He wasn't going to let anything through. He had a poker face only Kurama could match and a gaze few but Hiei could meet head on. Shizuru smiled, thinly.
"So. If you were armed so powerfully, why didn't you kill him?"
"You mean Karasu?" It was more statement than question. Cloud's face was unreadable, save the preset look of cocky detachment in his eyes.
"Yes, Karasu. Why didn't you kill the sadistic bastard?" she demanded, eyes cold with an icy rage that burned worse than fire.
Her blades pressed harder against the vulnerable arch of his throat and the two gun hammers snapped back in time. Shizuru felt her bitter hatred rise up in her. She wouldn't have minded slitting his throat, but she just couldn't do that. No. Not until her vengeance was complete.
Besides. As much as she hated to admit it, Cloud was her only chance at getting what she wanted.
Course he was dangerous as hell.
More dangerous than she could easily take care of. Not to mention he'd changed. She didn't know how much, but this was not the same verilee who'd stood with her on the deck of that cruise ship to the Burning Islands. This was not the uncertain dark angel who shied away from her trust, averting his gaze and speaking in a whisper. This was a new creature. Of this she was certain. How new...was impossible to tell.
Cloud's smug façade slipped into a sad, yet unfeeling look of detachment and answered evenly, voice measured and monotonous. "That is none of your business."
"My business?" she repeated. There a hysterical edge to her voice. "My business?! That's a good one! Of course it's not my business!! It was your business, but guess what?! You screwed up and now it is my business! Deal with it, Cloudhunter!"
"Stop calling me that!" Cloud hissed under his breathe, voice tight.
Shizuru shifted on top of him to straddle the blonde immortal. Cloud cringed inwardly as her thighs slid against his hips making him extremely conscious of their body positions. But he didn't allow a stupid thing like hormones to clog his head. His Ash and Raven followed her belly through the entire thing, never giving her an inkling of a chance to try anything.
"Why?" she teased, drawling lazily, blades tickling his neck dangerously. "Hit a nerve, Cloudy-boy? Do I remind you of someone you don't like?"
"Why do you suddenly care about Karasu?" Cloud inquired, dodging the question. "Why is he your business, suddenly? Why is it my fault?"
Shizuru smirked, perhaps he hadn't changed as much as she'd thought. Here he was, ducking the queries again. He grunted softly, trying to slide out from under her a bit. Shizuru was having none of it and tightened her thighs about his midrift again, blades threatening.
"That is none of your concern," she told him evenly.
"Then I don't need to answer your questions," he said coldly. Staring into those familiar, beautiful, honey hued eyes Cloud was filled with a growing bitterness. All these years. All those years...he'd thought...been foolish enough to hope...
Cloud jammed the barrel of his handguns against the flat firmness of her navel. Those cold amber eyes thinned to slits and he felt a bead of blood run from his neck. The girl's face was inches from his. He could actually smell the faint fragrance of pines from the high mountains, ice and clean air. Then there was a fading, aged scent. One of a human girl from the Ningenkai. A piece of her past fading fast away from her.
"I don't need an answer straight off anyway," she remarked, smirking.
"Then why are you here?" he frigidly demanded.
Shizuru's lips curved into a calculating smile. "To ask you on a hunting party," she said, voice almost a purr. "I want Karasu dead. I want you to do it."
Her uppermost blade moved up to kiss the underside of his chin, cold steel caressing his pale skin as she bent over to bring her lips against his ear. Her soft, golden brown tresses brushed across his face. The dark angel shivered as warm breath blew near the sensative skin, soft cloth caressing the side of his face, stirring several rogue strands of blond hair.
"And I won't take 'no' as an answer, Cloudhunter."
The sudden silence was not...'golden' per say. More...dark and velvety black...like the interior of a coffin for example. Cloud's teeth were grinding very slowly and painfully, his angelic face set in a perpetually pissed off look of icy rage. Cold anger was harsh, but she supposed he was fresh out of hot anger because you needed passion for that...
and for passion you needed a heart...
Demons don't have hearts.
Cloud obviously wasn't used to being told what to do. And more off, he obviously didn't like the potential feeling had he might have to obey. Shizuru had dug up every detail on the shadowkai that her own experience with him and that of the other Tantei could supply. She knew what he was, where he was from, and most importantly...
How to get to him.
"Hey, and what's going on under here?"
A perverted gravel filled voice chuckled as an ugly head was thrust under the edge of the table top. Shizuru and Cloud's faces snapped up toward the speaker simultaneously lashing out with their weapons. Ash's hilt smashed the youkai's bulky nose in while Shizuru's sword edge carved him a second mouth on his pouchy left cheek. Yowling, the intruder staggered away, drawing stares and laughter.
Distraction averted, Shizuru returned her blade to Cloud's throat while his Ash slid comfortably back to her navel. Much better. Now they could talk like civil people.
"Karasu is not my problem anymore, Shizuru. Why are you so intent on making sure I get saddled with your problems?" he demanded in a painfully controlled voice. "Why come to me? I have enough on my plate as it is."
"Cuz' I think you're anorexic?" she snapped sarcastically. "Does this have a point? You do what I say or I cut you till you die. Not many options to choose from, blondie."
Cloud's lip curled back from his oddly prominent incisors in the most condescending leer she'd ever been unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of.
...And she'd been receiving a lot since the day she'd left the Ningenkai, so this was truly epic for her. The masked girl felt the most unpleasant sensation of fear slither down her spine and burrow into her gut like a cold writhing serpent. Suddenly she wanted to get away from him. She didn't want to touch this creature with a ten foot pole! She was absolutely terrified of this ruby-eyed being.
Shizuru resisted the almost unbearable urge to leap away from her prey but bit her lip and hung in there. Refusing to give in was the first step. Now all she had to do was stick it out. The spell wasn't held by will, it was just a natural aura that dark angel's gave off. They could trigger instinctive survival synapses in the mind of others and make them believe they were terrified out of their head. Shadowkai need only relax their hold on it and let the aura run wild, causing all the foes weaker than them instantly mad with fear.
Shizuru cursed mentally. This fear that nearly made her lose face meant that Cloud was, in fact, stronger than her. Or at a higher level by some degree. However, her resistance to his Fear Shadows hypnosis was wearing off. Cloud's eyes, which had glowed the sickening color of some hellish gateway, faded back to a dark garnet. She smirked and pressed the flat of her blade against his throat and brought her face uncomfotably close to his.
"No. I don't think so. Seen it once and I'm not impressed," she told him, eyes dancing with a small measure of victory. Cloud's eyes became feral slits and the smallest threads of shadow danced over his shoulders, like something dark on his back was writhing beneath him. Shizuru watched his eyes intently, waiting.
"So you want me to kill Karasu? You won't tell me why, but it's safe to say you'll probably kill me once the job is through." His eyes flashed. "If you can."
"Uh-huh," she sang sweetly in her lazy drawling voice. "I've trained as demon-hunter. I can handle you fine."
"You can take higher classed demons?" Cloud asked a ghost of smirk playing across his face.
Shizuru smiled. "Who's pinning whom?"
There was flash, a shift of weight and a blur of darkness and suddenly Shizuru was looking up at a twin set of garnet eyes, inches above her own. A neatly identical set of hand guns were pressed still tight against her belly, only now Cloud was comfortably seated atop her, long legs easily straddling her abdomen. The long loose folds of his trench coat spread out from his body like a dark pool, contrasting wildly with his pale face and shockingly golden hair.
"Shit. You're still pretty limber after century," she remarked, lidded eyes shifting up to regard him casually. Looking him up and down.
Cloud ignored the possibly sexual implication and shoved the two lookalike barrels harder against her smoothly defined abs. (Oh come on. It was hard to miss at this range.)
"Don't," he said sharply, his temper edging through. "I really don't have time for your vengeful vendetta. I've told Koenma, the shinobi, the Rift Town bounty rings, Dark Faerie and any other powers that be to just let me be and that applies to you too." The two guns glinted maliciously in the light. "So leave me alone."
"Hmm. Alone. Well it's done wonders for you personality, blondie. Just wanted you to know. The people skills. Mmm, great so far," she informed him with a mock approving nod.
"Damn you!" he snapped. It wasn't a cuss, it was command. "You show up out of nowhere, try to shove a knife through my chest, tell me I'm responsible for everyone's problems somehow, then try to make me go after the one demon I never want to see again and now you want to talk people skills? Do I sense a hint of irony in my words?" hissed the immortal from his vantage point on top of the girl.
"Look. Whether you think you like it or not you're going to help me kill Karasu," Shizuru told him voice cutting at Cloud's ever shortening fuse like a rusty knife, slowly, agonizingly sawing into the dark angel's patience. Her face lifted nearer to Cloud's getting right up close so their eyes were so near it was almost intimate in a violet, hateful way. "You know you want to, Cloudhunter."
"Shuttup."
Raven's barrel was suddenly at her forehead.
The movement startled him. Involuntary, totally out of his control had his hand placed the weapon against her skull. Shizuru, however seemed not to register the new threat and pressed further, a wicked glee in her eyes.
"You want to kill me? Don't kid yourself, Cloud. You're scared to do it. Frightened you'll prove something!"
Cloud shoved her head back against the floor, the back of her skull banging the wooden planking. "Shuttup!"
"You're afraid aren't you? That if you go he'll screw with you're head and break you again?" Shizuru whispered savagely, pressing her blade against his neck, just as a reminder. Her face drew closer to his, her tawny eyes glittering maliciously with a new cold emotion as Cloud squirmed under the emotional needles she slid home. "That's it isn't it? You're that scared of the bastard, huh? Afraid to die?"
BAM!!!
The smoke drifted slowly from the mouth of the Raven's barrel in a thin, steamy trail. Cloud's hands were still steady, though the worn leather on his knuckle guards creaked and groaned under the pressure of his clenched fists. His traitorous finger was also steady, the one that had tightened on the trigger and pumped the single bullet into the flooring a centimeter from Shizuru's skull. Garnet eyes glittered hatefully, drilling his absolute distain into her body like a cold stake.
"I...hate you." The words dripped from his mouth as poison. "Go straight to hell Shizuru and by all means try to take me with you. Go ahead. Try. Because I have no problem filling your head full of metal you raving bitch." His voice was silk soft, but retained anything but gentle comfort. He quietly murmured it to her like a lover's secret or an assassin's promise.
Shizuru's skin crawled as Cloud's loathing tainted his aura, turning it dark. His energy built through his skin; she could sense it powerfully at such close range, darkness boiling up in his slender body like hot oil. He was surely on the verge of transformation his fists were so tight on those guns she was certain the other one was going to go off and drill a shot into her gut, but he didn't lose his cool again.
"That," she said. "Is exactly what I need from you. That right there. Use that."
"What are you talking about?" he spat, eyes glittering, almost glowing with his obvious urge to do her bodily harm.
"That hatred. That bloodlust. You had it for Karasu once," she whispered feverishly. "Use it again and help me right all the wrongs he's made since you gave him his powers."
"Damn you! Stop talking!" Cloud snarled; there was pain in his face, in his eyes.
The way his eyes darted back and forth as if looking for an escape, the panicked expression of guilt, hatred, pride, anger, grief, fear and confusion all roiling together and tearing at old scars. She could see the unhealed wounds she'd ripped into with her words. Good. She didn't want him to be comfortable. She didn't even want to be friendly and then betray him; she wanted to rag on him right now. Make him hurt until he knew pain intimately as she did.
"You know you have to. Before you were just chasing him in rage, but as soon as the rage was gone you decided you didn't care anymore? All those lives he took meant nothing? I guess his attempt to kill everything that I loved meant nothing to you?" Shizuru continued.
She was pretty sure she could take at least one shot from that gun of his, if he aimed at her stomach anyway.
"You still are a shadowkai. The Unlit spawned you. Sorry. Sadism is hereditary."
"STOP IT!! Shuttup!!" Cloud shouted, voice lost in the roar of the tavern.
He withdrew the gun from the floor and reached up to clutch his pale head as if the victim of a sudden migraine. His beautiful features contorted in pain, the old scars tearing open under her words. She could practically smell the proverbial 'blood in the water'. She'd gotten to him. He was confused. He didn't know what to think in this maelstrom of emotions laid bare. This was a vulnerability few but her and Karasu had seen before.
Perfect.
She reached up and snatched a handful of his jacket, hauling herself up in his face.
"Then help me kill him," she hissed, her breath hot across his face. "You own me and Kurama that much."
Looking into his eyes, staring deeply into those ruby filled pools...it was as if something broke.
Shizuru was certain nothing about Cloud had actually shattered; he was too strong for that, but she was satisfied that she'd managed to fracture something. The leather of his gloves moaned like a pair of bloodthirsty wraiths as Cloud slowly, slowly removed his deadly twin hand guns from her body. She knew she'd be sporting a bruise, but it was well worth it for the damage she'd done in his head.
"You made Karasu what he is now you're going to undo it." Shizuru rose to a kneeling position and gentle caught Cloud's hands, fingers closing around his, covering his hands against the two guns. She leaned close, eyes narrowed at Cloud stared hard at the ground without really seeing it. "Until that murderer is dead you'll do exactly as I say. Until you've repaid me and everyone for all the blood you and Karasu have spilled I own your ass."
Cloud opened his mouth, angry words boiling to his tongue but the human girl quickly snapped a hand over his lips, fingers closing over his mouth. He froze, garnet eyes stareing into her calculating topaz eyes, her hand was gentle on his lips but she might as well have slapped him across the mouth.
"You do exactly what I say," she repeated softly. "You know you owe it to me, Cloudhunter."
Cloud hadn't come closer to murdering someone in coldblood for centuries. His hands literally shook in rage as her fingers slipped from his face, the sensative pads of her finger lingering mockingly as she drew back from him. Red rage seething beneath the indifferant countenance and the shadowkai holstered the weapons securely at his thighs and slid back up into his seat from beneath the table. His face was blank, totally indifferent, bored even with her presence. However, Shizuru could sense the anger, self-hatred, loathing and hot pain beneath his fascia.
He was pissed.
But there was noting he could do about it.
Shizuru sat up and comfortably ordered a meal she could digest without being poisoned and smiled at her new partner. He shot her a chilling look at even Shizuru could not meet. His eyes had always unsettled her. She could look at him normally, but not right now. That gaze...was enough to steal the breath from your soul.
"Know this, Shizuru. The moment this is over and Karasu is dead..." Pause. "Expect to be next."
"Fine," she drawled, faking indifference. "If you think you've properly repaid me by then. It's all about getting even, remember that Cloud."
His loathing stare averted and she relaxed only a bit, feeling better as the waitress came back. The girl took one look at Cloud's expression and patted Shizuru on the arm as it that were comforting. Her expression clearly said 'boyfriend troubles?' The human girl snorted and focused on the plate of French fry-like orange and golden brown strips the serving girl set down in front of her.
The masked girl delicately selected one and hooked a finger over the edge of her mask, drawing it down.
Cloud's garnet eyes swung around to assess her quickly.
Other than the colder glint in her eyes and the hard line of her mouth, she too hadn't aged a day. The only other noticeable difference was a small feather shaped burn was emblazoned against her pale left cheek; otherwise, she looked mostly the same. Cloud felt his body begin to relax out of instinct to the face he'd taken solace in for so long. Jerking out of it he just as quickly filled that soothing with hatred and looked away quickly.
Shizuru, unaware of his mental struggle, nibbled the fry. It was good. She cast a smirk at her surly companion.
"Hungry?" she asked temptingly. She waggled the piece of food at the immortal who finally acknowledged her existence and looked at her with a patronizing expression.
"I don't eat." The biting reply contained all the warmth of a stabbing icicle.
This was news. Shizuru liked this.
"Good less rations spent out of my pocket." She ate the fry. "Now let's get down to business."
Jin was aware that something was wrong even in his sleep.
Instantly sky blue eyes flew open and shot about the room, shooting around in his head without actually moving. If there was someone in the room it was best they didn't know he was awake.
He slowly let his breath ease in and out, keeping his breathing rate at the same slow pace as to not give away his new state of consciousness. His long elfin ears easily detected the sound of footfalls with in the room. Quick footsteps, soft and guarded, someone was tiptoeing across the floor, he could tell by the sound.
'Thud...thud...thud...'
There was only one point of contact for each step instead of the 'th-thud...th-thud...th-thud' of a heel to toe step.
Touya didn't walk like that. He walked toe-heel like all ninja were trained to do, besides that; Touya was so quiet Jin could rarely hear him unless Touya chose not to hide himself. And the Ice Master certainly had no reason to hide himself now.
Jin waited, body remaining relaxed yet perfectly prepared to attack. His ears gave a small excited twitch and he cursed silently as the footsteps halted. They had either seen the movement or been distracted by something else. Jin forced his tell-tale elfin ears to remain still, wincing inwardly. Touya had told his time and time again to get that under control. You see his ears often twitched a millisecond before he attacked, giving him away.
The mysterious footfalls resumed. They were drawing softer, moving toward his side of the room. Great. Now they were interested in making sure he didn't wake up ever. Well too bad, mister, you're feet are just a bit too noisy.
Jin's blue eyes flickered toward the wall he was facing. The light streaming through the window behind him cast a pale puddle on the wall. A blotch rose up behind him on the wall, arm lifting up. There was a flicker on the wall.
A knife!
He tensed, timed it, perfectly as the lifting blade reached it zenith.
"GOTCHA!!" Jin shouted.
He snapped out of perception and was instantly sitting on the shoulders of the night-time attacker, knees crushing their face while he seized a handful of the demon's hair in a death grip. Jin smiled mischievously as his new 'riding' partner reeled about helplessly, gasping and sputtering until he crashed into a wall. Jin chose that moment to hop off the unfortunate individual and land upside down in the air, grinning like a jester.
The intruder groaned and picked himself up off the floor, moaning...very pathetically.
"Moind tellin' a gent why yur pokin' aroun' in 'is room in th' middle o' th' noight?" Jin inquired, swooping down to pick up the nasty looking dagger the assassin had dropped. It was clean so obviously the little killer hadn't gotten to Touya...well truth be told he'd been dead if he'd gone after Touya first. Speaking of whom...
Jin glanced at his friend's side of the room. The other bed was empty. Probably a good thing; Touya was so strung lately he probably would have frozen this idiot to the wall no questions asked.
"ARGH!!" shrieked a voice.
Oops. Forgot to pay attention there. Jin swerved and ducked the fist swung at his head before hopping lightly to the ground and grinning at the youkai who stumbled across the floor, his own momentum throwing him off balance. The other demon crash into the opposite wall and fell over, feet sticking up at odd angles. Scratching the back of his head ruefully the wind demon sweatdropped slightly, looking embarrassed.
"Sorry 'bout tha'. Forgot yu' were there an' tryin' t' knock me off an' all tha' hoop-ha. Anyway..."
Jin threw a hand out. Instantly all the air in the room leapt to his command and suddenly moved to become a violent wind strong enough to pin the demon against the wall. The red-head smiled innocently at the youkai and casually jumped into the air, hovering crisscross applesauce a couple feet over the ground.
"So if yu' loike livin' in th' world withou' ghosties an' dead men I sugges' yu' spill all th' why's who's and how's tha' yu' decided t' try an' stick meh whoile I was sawin' logs and dreamin' o innocence?"
There was a long awkward pause filled only by the whooshing of the wind and the panting of the trapped murderer. Finally the greasy looking youkai, twitching in a panicky spasm of fear, lifted a meek finger for a second and wetted his lips nervously.
"Uhh...I...I...don't know what you just said...," stammered the demon who was shaking so badly he was ready to faint. "Y-your friend...b-buncha demons downstairs...the boss t-told me to do it."
Jin cocked his head, frowning. Bunch of demons? Touya? In trouble? Not likely, but what had the Ice Master done to warrant such unwanted attention? He was a pro at lying low and if he didn't want to be seen or noticed people rarely took note of him. The wind elf frowned and stepped toward the pinned youkai, releasing him from the windy bindings.
He held a finger in front of the youkai's nose.
"Follow th' finger," he commanded in mock serious tone. The youkai nodded and trailed his captor's finger with his eyes as Jin waved his upraised digit slowly left and right, up and down, back and forth and...
WHACK!!
The youkai slumped to the ground unconscious from the powerful flick Jin had delivered directly into the center of his forehead. Jin doubled up laughing hysterically, floating in the air and rolling around with mirth. Touya (if he'd been there) would have called him ridiculous and juvenile, but that worked for Jin. Sobering up some what, the shinobi retrieved his cloak from his bed and rushed out the door in a flurry of breeze and hyperactive motion.
With a whoop of exuberance he bounded onto the stairwell banister and swooped down the long handrail with perfect balance. Hooting all the way down, he cart-wheeled off the end and flounced (yes flounced) out of the hall and into the tavern, tossing his cloak about his shoulders and grinning toothily at the dumbstruck gaggle of now silent demons. The occupancy of the entire bar was either quietly attending their own business, staring at the strange flouncing demon, or – if you were a serving wench – eyeing the handsome redhead since he was possibly the most attractive creature in the room. The only other option of action was standing in a semi-circle of burly looking demons, all of whom were situated around a calmly seated Touya.
The ice demon glanced up from the mug of herbal tea he was cradling and casually regarded his traveling partner.
"Told yu'" he said in an uninterested monotone.
The other demons groaned, mumbled and cursed profanities as they began to pile coins, trinkets and money on the table top beside the ice demon who calmly continued to sip at his traditional morning beverage. Sweatdropping to the extreme Jin closed his jaw from where his chin had hit the floor and veritably charged his comrade's table.
"An' wha' in th' noin hells was tha'?" he demanded, voice oddly squeaky.
Touya stirred his drink with an impartial look and lifted a hand in greeting to his partner. "Morning Jin."
"Marnin – Aye! Hold up! Dun change th' subject yu rott'n turncoatin' scuse fer a partner!!"
Touya looked vaguely startled by his friend's outburst, lifting a slim brow in query. Jin was so slow to anger it was almost uncanny, so either he was in a bad mood or that measly little demon almost actually got him.
Frowning very slightly Touya turned to his partner to ask him what was wrong but the wind demon did something he rarely did and cut him off. Planting one hand on the table he leaned across the space between them a jabbed a finger in Touya's direction.
"Yer a crazy one Toy! Ravin madder 'n a jack rabbit playin' hookie!" he declared, stabbing at his comrade with his pointer finger of death, steadily making Touya lean farther back in his chair, face blank. All the while an angry stream of hyper fast speech was pouring out of the wind demon so quickly even Touya was hard pressed to understand it all.
"Yu' dun send strange demon up t' a pal's room an' have 'em play pin cushion wit' a pointy knife, tha' cha don't! Worse th'n makin' thing's blow up in yur face or chasin' birds inta hurricanes, really, really it twas! There's only one thing worse than tha' an yu know wha' tha' is?"
Touya blinked.
"Hoo-kie?" he repeated slowly, not answering Jin question.
The two shinobi stared at each other for the longest moment of awkward silence ever cast in either fiction or reality and stared, two pairs of blue eyes locked on one another. One pupiless pale blue and blank with confusion, the other bright cerulean and sparkling with...amusement?
Jin burst out laughing so loudly anyone near by jumped or cringed at the sudden explosion. Touya made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and looked away, shaking his head. Jin had already thrown himself into the seat across from his friend, smiling his universal smile of total carefree Jin-ish-ness. His ears twitched energetically before he chuckled and answered his own question while waving down a waitress.
"Th' only thing worse than siccin' a pansy-ass youkai loike tha' inter me room is nah ordering me some breakfas' afterward." He sighed and shook his head in mock exasperation as the serving girl bowed and scuttled off to get the food. "What a jerk yu are sometimes, Touya."
"Hmm..." was Touya's only reply as he lifted his cup to his lips as an excuse not to engage in idle morning chit-chat. Jin, however, caught the very slight quirk to the ice demon's mouth that he'd come to look for as a sign of his friend's amusement. Satisfied, the wind demon leaned back in his seat and yawned wide, stretching.
"So why up so early?" Jin inquired, folding his arms over his stomach and looking at his friend. "We came in late enough tha' yu' could probably afford a few spare hours in th' sack."
Touya shook his head. "You idiot. It's half an hour past dawn."
Jin's mouth dropped for the second time that morning. "Wha?!"
The slender, but striking ice youkai came the closest to an outright smile right there than he had the entire conversation. Placing his cup back on the table he cocked a brow at his shell-shocked friend and gave him a mock disapproving look.
"That's what the bet was about. All the youkai last night saw you pass out and bet that one of their guys could sneak up there."
"I did nah pass out!" protested the fire-haired demon indignantly.
"I had to carry you upstairs."
"Oh...so that's how I got up there..."
Touya snorted in disbelief and resumed drinking his tea as the waitress dumped a clattering plate of food onto the table, smiling half friendly half suggestively at the two travelers. Jin grinned evilly at Touya who rolled his eyes toward some other point in the air, avoiding all eye contact.
"By the way," Touya picked up after the girl had gone. "I didn't think they'd pull a knife on you. Sorry about that."
Jin waved it away as he started to shovel food in his mouth. "N'nufink tay kin thoo ith a thupid thik lok thaf."
Touya's nose wrinkled very slightly at his comrade's vacuum imitation. Jin ignored him and swallowed the lot with hardly a chew between mouthfuls.
"I said: Not nothin' they kin do wit' a stupid thing loike tha. The knife I mean. Sides, he was probably thinkin' 'imself all smart, cut off a piece of clothin' or somethin' an' prove it t' th' lot o' yu, tha' he really did it."
The Ice Master made a noncommittal noise but said nothing else. He was like that in the morning...and the afternoon...and evening...Jin continued to inhale his food.
{poke, poke, poke}
"Neh?" Jin paused, feeling something soft jabbing at his leg.
"Excuse me...umm...you two are traveler-people right?" came a timid female voice.
Jin twisted his head around to look down. His eyes found a very small winged girl peering up at them from the tavern floor. Her shining, overlarge eyes were pure jet black in her tawny furred face. Half fuzzy, half feathery wings hung, small and unusable from her tiny back. She blinked her inky eyes at Jin, whom, of the two, seemed to be the nicest. Grinning a small, innocent grin she turned on all the charm a toddler could posses.
"I need some help...if it's not too much trouble, travel-people."
"Loike wha', li'l lass?" Jin asked, grinning at the kawaii little youkai. Touya was inspecting his herbal tea but listening intently none the less.
"My sisters are sick. I thought since you've been every where and anywhere you might knowees what t' do t' make them all better and bouncy!"she said cheerily, grinning hopefully up at him.
Jin glanced up at Touya who made no readable silent reply in return.
"Kay. What kind o' illness?" Jin asked, swiveling in his seat to lean down and look at her.
"Dun know," she said childishly, frowning in serious contemplation. "Sick, sick. Father had it first, then Nami and Kath and me. Get all cold and coughs and hot. I got better firsts. Then father got mad at everything and marched off screaming. He took the axe so we think someone's going to die tonight. Sick, sick."
No one was surprised by the demon child's casual regard to death. That was normal.
"Dun sound too great does it, Touya?" Jin asked his friend, bright blue eyes turning like headlights on the frigid ice demon. Touya, however, knew what the Wind Master was really saying.
"We'll go," Touya deadpanned. "We have nothing better to do."
"You know my dad," piped up the little girl child. Touya finally looked at her, face still unreadable, but listening. "He was in your hunting party, 'member? Kara-kash?"
Touya did remember and he didn't like the thought. If his memory served (and it always did. I think the ningen term was photographic memory...) then her father was the first one to come down with a severe cough during the extent of the hunt. Only hours after nearly catching up with their target's energy signature.
Then several of the men in his party claimed Kara-kash had nearly been killed, by the target. Kara-kash was strong thought, probably the strongest in the group and quickly got the men back in pursuit. No matter though, soon the virus had spread through the entire group and no one was fit to give chase.
"My father escaped your big dangerous bounty," the little girl declared proudly as was expected of youkai children. Kids were trained at a young age to praise their parents publicly at all times. If your sire or mother was weak you made sure no one else knew that. It was a survival instinct. "He got away," she continued loudly, drawing stares.
-Or was spared?- Touya thought, brows creasing just slightly.
"Let's go see your father."
"GOODIES!!!!!" shreiked the little girl and danced away like a hyperactive marionette. Jin, delighted, followed suit while Touya considered whether or not knocking himself out on the table top would be preferable to the hole he'd just dug for himself. Just think...
Two hyperactive demons. One a child at heart, the other a real child.
Great...
. . .
"Botan? Botan? Botan!!!"
The girl jerked up, waves of blue hair flying everywhere as she looked frantically back and forth.
"Ahh! What!! No, I haven't seen him since-eh? Huh?"
The piles of paper work and filing soared every which direction as the curly haired girl who'd spoken jumped back from the head ferry-girl. Botan blinked, confounded at the new comer who was dressed a fire red kimono to match ginger hair, offset by her dark blue eyes. She blinked slowly at the blushing Botan.
The bluette, flustered, brushed away stray papers clinging to her face (she'd fallen asleep in them) and tried to smile at the red head.
"I'm terribly sorry. Just dozed off a bit there. Heh heh. Umm, what was it you wanted?" she asked casually, picking several paper clips fro her azure tresses. The other girl paused a moment. Botan twitched very slightly, her smile nearly cracking as she figured that the redhead was probably thinking of all the interesting rumors flying about the head ferry girl. Geez. These people would not let it go. Botan felt a familiar pang in her chest and fought it back.
"Err, yes. Lord Koenma wishes to speak with you. He says he has some urgent business to speak with you about and to be ready to leave as soon as possible."
"A mission?" Botan asked, blinking. The connection clicked and she leapt up with an excited squeak, raspberry eyes dancing wildly in her face. Quivering with anticipation she tackled the messenger girl and swung her around in a tight hug. "I'm going on a MISSION!! It's the world GRAND!?!" she nearly sobbed with joyful emotion. She dropped the rather shell-shocked red-head and dashed through the veritable ocean of frantic paper-filing ogres and stand-by ferry-girl to reach the giant double doors leading into Koenma's office.
She bashed through the entryway and kick/slammed the doors shut behind her, nearly shrieking now.
"When can I go!? Is it a real mission? Do you have new information? What is it Koenma! Oh please tell me! I MUST get out of the office PLEASE!!" she was begging as she half threw herself across Koenma's desk. There was an awkward pause in which wide gold eyes and feverish raspberry ones were inches apart but neither spoke. Koenma cleared his throat momentarily.
"Umm...Botan? Could you let go of my shirt?" the teenage formed Koenma asked, slightly flustered.
Botan blinked and realized that she had in fact flung herself across her employer's desk and did indeed have her hands buried in his collar. She instantly released him and stepped back, sweatdropping, embarrassed to have been so anxious with her emotions. She'd long since promised herself to stop being so spontaneous. It wasn't safe.
"Heh, heh. Whoops?"
The Reikai Prince was half sprawled in his chair, tussled head barely peering over the top of his desk. Swallowing he sat up and went about straightening his robes, while giving Botan negative looks. The ferry-girl rubbed the back of her neck nervously, laughing somewhat woodenly.
It was strange to see Koenma at eye level all the time.
Over the last hundred years he'd had a bit of a growth spurt and no longer was required to stay in his child-form which had come to look more like a surly pre-teen anyway. Suffice to say, everyone preferred older teenage Koenma to snappish 'no-one-understand-me' younger teen Koenma. The demi-god sighed and leaned forward to pick up the slightly skewed file Botan had upset with her dramatic entrance and handed it to her.
"I want to you find the human in this file, Botan. His soul has come missing. Simple find and retrieve," he said nonchalantly. At first Botan was confused. He'd called her in so hastily for a retrieval mission? Something didn't make any-
She looked at the file.
-Oh...-
Slapped right in the front cover of the plain manila folder was a hand written note, drawn in Koenma's scrawling script. Her bright wine hued eyes flashed from the words to Koenma and back again. The Prince shifted somewhat nervously and pretended to file paperwork, while watching her. Botan quickly read the letter.
Botan,
I'm sorry I can't speak with you. I fear my father is listening in on my conversations. Things are getting more precarious. Dad is becoming distrustful. I know he suspects me, but I'm willing to take that risk. Botan you must get out of here. You have to run to Yuusuke's Realm. I've already sent a secret message, I can't tell you how, lest someone find this (the messenger would die) and they know you're coming. They've set up an envoy to take you safely into the kingdom in the usual place. My father will not tolerate you here any longer because of the thief's continued evading of his bounty hunters. He wants to take out his frustrations on you. I managed to persuade him to give me more time, but he plans you kill you once you come back from this false mission. You cannot return, Botan. Yuusuke and Keiko will take you in and I'm certain 'he' will come to you as soon as he can.
-Your friend,
- Koenma
Botan looked up at the prince a long moment. A saddened pair of golden yellow eyes looked despondently back at her from pale, handsome features. Koenma smiled very thinly and closed his eyes as stray tresses of dark brown hair slid into his face. He lifted his arms to take the file from her. Botan saw his hands were shaking.
"Be sure to complete your mission and return in a timely manner," he said in a remarkably calm voice, as he slipped the folder from her hands. "I need you back here so as possib-,"
Botan placed a hand over his mouth.
He froze, staring up at her. The ferry-girl's bright raspberry eyes glittered with unshed tears of gratitude. Several of them managed to leak from her lashes and spill down her cream colored cheeks. Koenma felt this own eyes sting and bit back a fearful sob as Botan quickly drew him into her embrace. Botan hugged her friend and employer tightly against her as he clung to her shoulders, body shaking with silent tears.
The bluette wanted to scream, wanted to freak out right there, but she knew she couldn't give Koenma away like that. He was already sacrificing too much for her. There was no telling what his father would do when Botan simply didn't return from her mission and if he ever found out his son had something to do with it...
Spankings were the very least of his problems.
Whispering, he murmured almost inaudible into her ear. "I'm scared, Botan." His arms tightened. "For both of us."
"You don't have to do this," Botan whispered in return, rubbing Koenma's upper back soothingly, feeling tight muscles, taunt with stress and fear. "I can face death. I'm the Grim Reaper remember?"
"No!" he whispered fiercely, gripping her shoulders tight. "Promise me. Promise. You must get to Yuusuke. You must warn him. My father is scheming something. I don't know what, I'll try to get you word, but you must not return, do you hear me? Botan, I won't let you die. My father is..." Koenma paused then simply held her tighter. "Don't die on me. Promise."
Botan, tears streaming down her face, gripped the prince tighter, knowing how terrified the young ruler was to face the wrath of his father and doing so anyway for her. Botan and Koenma had always been ferry-girl and overseer, but since the trials against Hiei and Youko they'd banded together out of instinct.
Seeking support in friendship that they were forbidden to have with their old acquaintances, Botan and Koenma had become veritable 'best-friends' and confidantes. Nothing more than that, (that was Ayame's territory) but Botan still felt her heart was being ripped out. Crying, she drew back and cupped Koenma's face in her hands, feeling her throat threaten to close on her.
"Thank you. I'll live to help you, I promise," she half whispered, half mouthed.
Koenma's beautiful amber eyes were over bright as he nodded, biting his lip. Botan quickly leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss across his forehead, fingers stroking lank and sweat soaked brown hair one last time. She stepped back, drawing away slowly, painfully, letting her hand slip from his face, to his shoulder, and down his arm until only their hands held each other.
Koenma mouthed a single word to her and she forced herself to release her friend's fingers and flee for the door and her life.
The young ruler slumped back in his chair, one hand covering his face, slender fingers hiding his eyes. He didn't move for several hours, gauging, waiting. Four hours passed in silence and Koenma felt a surge of relief run through him. If everything had gone off without a hitch, then Botan was already sufficiently distanced from here.
Now he just waited, expectantly for the summons.
-"Koenma!"- a voice boomed through his mind, none too gently ringing through his skull, causing his head to reel painfully. He struggled not to pass out as the voice continued to assault his mind. -"I'd like a word with you. Come to me immediately."-
Body trembling in anticipation of physical agony, the Reikai Prince stood to his feet, took a breath and walked toward his office doors to speak with King Enma.
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-Remember...
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{Me} What was that? Make sense? No? What? If you have any suggestions regarding plot, writing or something, just ask and I'll stick a little review reply under my next update. I was pretty happy with this chapter.
{Cloud8.9} Especially the Touya and Jin part. She wrote it directly after inhaling a giant pixi stick.
{Me} Shuttup. OK!