Brush
With the ink my brush
will blot the cream scroll black
It will remain changed
'damn it, I wonder what is taking that bastard so long.' I look at my watch again as I wait outside the school for Naraku to emerge. He isn't supposed to be late today, we were actually going to have some fun and go to a concert since it's our birthday and all. I look in my side view mirror idly, looking at some sort of fluid that leaked from my car onto the pavement making a small, reflective puddle of my car. It shouldn't be that long of a wait considering he was totally not enthused in coming to this school, but I don't really blame him; we have never fit in.
There is something about us that just simply does not compute with the rest of this world, as if we are being called to be somewhere else, with other people. It is if we aren't supposed to exist now, but we do. So what if the world rejects us, like we care, like the world cares.
I tap my fingers on the dented door frame to my car as my hazel eyes take in the serene surroundings of people my own age, high school seniors, chatting with friends, giggling with their boyfriends, sketching the nearby vista.
I wonder what it feels like to have that, to be free, to be accepted, to have friends who care about you. Who would do your homework if you didn't have time, to paint your nails with, to simply confide in. I wish I knew. All of a sudden, I felt disgusted with myself and irritable watching them. Bored, I avert my eyes to a large blue van that has pulled up in front of me, not quite making out the face in the side view mirror. I soon grow bored of that too, the van isn't moving.
Though I find it strange a large van here in front of a high-school…but whatever, I don't care. I swear I do not care about anything; I swear it. I turn to the old stereo in my car and fiddle with the radio…perhaps there is some good music on, some jazz fusion that will lift my spirits a bit. I turn the scratched knob to the right while my speakers pop and crackle with static and noise till I find the right station. Stupid piece of junk car, I wish I could just ride a bike like a normal kid, looking in the folded down back seat of blankets, hot plate pots and packets of ramen.
I lean back, taking a small breath enjoying the soothing jazz when all of the sudden something black moving outside my window catches my eye…Naraku is running towards me, shouting something, but I can't hear it over the music. Annoyed I lean back, fully intent on closing my eyes when all of the sudden I see something in my side view mirror…a box with a blinking red light in the puddle under my car. A bomb? Without thinking further, I hastily look out the window to see Naraku's desperate expression; his eyes are wide, wide with worry that I have never seen before. Such an expression I never would have thought to be on Naraku's face.
'Is he really this worried about me?' I open the door and jump out right as the car erupts in a fiery explosion. My body is catapulted through the air and I tumble roughly to the ground in a heavy heap. I hear screaming and shouting all around me, but I can't really make much out, I just feel pain erupt from my arm that I landed roughly on.
"What the…hell…? Could theYakuza here?" I mutter as I try to bring myself to my feet, only to be helped up by none other than my twin brother. Why all of the sudden is he so nice to me? I wince as I look at my bloody arm, it feels broken and probably is. Damn it, Someone in my line of work can't wear a cast!
"Sister, Are you ok? Please get up quickly." Naraku shouts anxiously, and though I feel dizzy and nauseous, I manage to straighten myself out a bit, looking at his slightly relieved red ringed mahogany eyes. I notice our burning car, our home, and the people around here screaming; He needs to get out of here, chances are that he is the one they are after.
"Naraku, so now you are finally acknowledging me as a relative of yours?" I smirk and struggle to my feet, half-glaring up into Naraku's annoyed face. I probably messed up some sort of bother sister bonding moment. I begin to stand up, looking confusedly into my brother's mahogany eyes laced with anger, puddled in anxiety. Obviously he never meant any of this to happen, if he did then he would have either not cared about me nearly fucking dying, or just told me that was to walk home.
"What is this Naraku!" I demand; hugging my left arm I knew I broke. His expression becomes the same hard line one again and yanks my right arm and we bolt down the sidewalk. It wasn't before long that we heard the squealing of car tires and the shots from a sub-machine gun. This is really messy for a Yakuza kill, these people these guys must the new hirees. Naraku and I sprint for our lives, dodging pedestrians right and left as the buildings behind us are riddled with bullets.
I am so confused, why make this kill so public? My heels clack incessantly against the hard concrete, I knew I should have worn flats today; Naraku seems to agree as he continues to ignore my question and we cross a street, narrowly evading the dangerous traffic, before being barreled over by a blue van vomiting volley after volley of bullets. After going down a side street, Naraku finally loses his cool.
"I was planning on escaping tonight after the last drug cloaking solution when this happened! Damn Yakuza, they must have seen through everything, I didn't plan on this at all." Naraku snarled as we ran down the sidewalk into a dark, dingy alleyway, only for the people to jump out of the van to chase after us, cement and wood exploded from all around us from the bullets of their smoking guns, it would only be a matter of time before one found their target. I wanted to try one of the doors, but if I paused in my run for even a moment, I knew one of those bullets would hit me, and then lights out to the aspiring artist Kagura.
"You stupid bastard, why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you, but no, you insist on doing everything alone, don't you." I hiss at him, pissed that he never told me about what was really going on in his little mind of his. I of course know that he is a genius of some sort, he can make any plant grow, under any circumstances. I know this, he could make roses grow in gravel.
'Kado-chan, whatcha doin all alone here?' I ask, holding my volleyball in my hands as the fourteen-year old Naraku stands up and looks at me with his delicate eyes. Naraku doesn't like sports all that much, he'd much rather play games like chess, but he does like practicing with his bokken a lot. The worst is though, he loves games, he loves playing with things like he owns them. He should learn that not everything is his to be played with.
'I am making you a present Kei, look and see.' He holds out a small pot, and coming from the pot is a small sprig of green. I put down my volleyball and look at it suspiciously, Naraku is so fickle with his emotions, one day he tries to beat me up, but I hold my own just fine I am stronger than he is, but he had a weapon, and today, he is presenting me with gifts. I don't blame him, I feel confused too, it is just I wish he wouldn't act like he could just get up and walk away from me forever.
'What is it? it's just a small sprig in gravel.' I announced, my hazel eyes boring into his mahogany ones frustratingly. Is he just playing with me, to see how I would actually react if he was kind to me? Is he trying to use me! I find myself get angry 'I won't fall for your stupid games Kado! If you to play another stupid mind game on me, just forget it!' I turn to walk away, but he grabs my hand, I instinctually grab it back and twist it, hurting his wrist. He yells, but doesn't retaliate. I turn back to see his eyes brim with frustration.
'It is just a flower, a yellow rose. It is supposed to be your birthday present.' He drops it on the ground, the pot tipping slightly and he walks away coldly, I knew then that he would be angry for the next couple of days, so I decided to put the rose in the sunlight so he could have something to care for, cause there is no way I am staying here for the next few days if he is angry. I walk in the opposite direction from my brother, that's another flaw of his; he has to look over everything, as if he wants to control it all.
"What possible help could you—" He is dark voice brings me out of my thoughts as we continue to run down little side streets and alleys, hardly gaining any escape against our pursuers. "—Could you have been? You are stupid and could never understand." Naraku barks at me as if he has some right to say that. If we weren't running for our lives I would have punched him out good. I open my mouth to retort but I hear something else.
"Oh Ichiku, did you really think you'd escape from the shinichin-tai?" I gasp. Those people slaughter for fun, pure fun. To think that the Yakuza hired them was sickening. I pick up my pace, hoping I have some sort of weapon on me. I check over myself and the only weapon I have is a small can of hairspray in my Jaket pocket no use for right now.
We fling ourselves around a narrow alleyway, into anther, and down a small street of residential houses, we ran a lot more than I thought we would, but I am not tired, the adrenaline in my body refuses to give up on me, besides, I have a large capacity for endurance and stamina, not to mention I have to be in tip top shape.
"Naraku, do you have any weapons at all? There is no way we can beat all of them with only our fists." I look into my older brothers eyes, and he reveals to me a knife, a large knife, but is useless to us right now. "Then think of something damnit, use your mind for once!" He looks at me, and we duck into a driveway of some sort of shrine. Immediately, we duck behind a large, somehow familiar tree and wait for them to come our way. He looks at my hand and sees the hairspray.
His eyes light up maliciously as he takes out a lighter from his pocket and lights it. I understand and move to get out of the way. Then, the impossible happens, gunfire peals like thunder from behind us, I push myself in front of Naraku with speed I didn't even know existed. I feel the bullets hit me in the side, driving into me like a power drill to a soft piece of wood.
"AAAAAhhhh" I shriek into the night as blood flows freely from my wounds. I don't know how many bullets hit me, but it really doesn't matter, I feel like my side is splitting open, I feel a set of smaller, yet strong arms push me up against the tree, my vision blurred for a second until I realized that this was no time to be going unconscious.
I blink to regain my focus only to Naraku use the can of hairspray to set one of the assassins on fire, he is running across the lawn screaming and yelling, trying to outrun his burning skin. Naraku pulls out the large knife while evading bullets coming from a gun held by a guy wearing red lipstick and green eye shadow.
"Get'um Bro…" I try to use my legs to stand, but they are so cold, and they are too heavy to lift, I just can't seem to move anything, but Naraku needs my help! I manage to move my right arm and my legs to bring myself to a crouch position. Naraku slices and stabs at the guy wearing red lipstick, but he dodges each blow with a dancer's grace. Right as I was about to get to a standing position with help from the tree, I feel a cold barrel of a gun pointed to my temple.
"I would stop if I were you Ichiku, your beloved little sister is about to say goodbye. One muscle movement from either of you and she goes straight to hell." My mouth goes cotton dry as I turn slowly to a guy with a pointed cross scar on his forehead and his hair tied in a plait. Naraku stops immediately, his face covered in a veil of stoicism, but any fool could see the despair, hatred and complete defeat hidden in his face. He clenches his fist around the large knife, about to chuck it until a voice chuckles.
"We really don't want to finish off the girl; we only want you. Come with us Naraku and won't have to worry about her at all. Everything will work out fine." A haunting voice creeps over the small glade we have found ourselves in, a man with jagged stripes on his cheek bones holds an uzi and points it to me as well, drowsing any hope of a rescue attempt for me.
I feel my eyelids grow heavy, but I have to try something! I lift my foot up to try to stomp on his with my stiletto heel, but another pain riddles through my stomach as the man holding the uzi grins a bit, his smoking gun is held tightly in his grasp.
"Oops, sorry, I have the worst trigger finger." He laughs maliciously as Naraku bristles and boils with anger, his mahogany eyes are red with rage. I double over and fall to the ground motionless…what a great birthday. I see the blood splash to the green grass and I squeak out a pointless plea for the blood to stop. My whole body is beginning to feel heavy, stiff and cold. It's so hard to even keep my eyes open.
"Stop it! Stop this now. You have given me little choice, I will come with you." Naraku's fuming voice cuts like scalpels through the assassins and they take a step back, looking among themselves to see if they actually heard what they think they did. Naraku, the devil that is supposed to care about nothing and no one actually is signing his freedom away to insure that his sister might survive. My heart almost stops; did Naraku negotiate with the Yakuza? He is going to throw his life away, all because of me. I turn my head up towards him with a fire in my eyes.
"Nara—ku don't be such afool!" I slur, it's all I can say before a strange beeping comes from my hurt arm, my watch? Wait a minute, this is the time that I was born, 16:16, and this is the time that I will die, how fitting. I part my lips to say goodbye before I feel a surge of something rush through me. Is this death? A breeze encircles my body, and my wounds, I think, are beginning to heal. I look up and the same is happening to Naraku, a purplish cloud is swirling around him like cotton candy.
I then feel my body tremble with a power I never felt before, I am aware that the assassins have taken many steps back. I feel my canine teeth lengthen considerably and my left arm crack back into place. My eyes seem enhanced, I can see the tiniest detail and I can hear things far off in the distance, and of course, I can smell the sweat and the horrible metallic blood stench. The heaviness and fatigue that once consumed my body have left a small bit and I am left feeling somewhat better, but still too weak to move much. I manage to flip over to see Naraku glare menacingly at the assassins, a purple mist shrouds him and his long black wavy hair floats ominously in the mist. His hands are clenched at his sides and he picks up the knife from the ground. I notice some of my hair flies into my direction, it is now a dark violet, and softer than i remember.
"Wha…what's goin on? This guy is some sort of freak! Look at his eyes, they are blood red, and his eyelids are ice blue!" The guy with the pointed cross scar admits, looking at him with a worried expression, this was too weird to be true, humans can't change their eye color on command; they cannot make purple mist! The man lifts his gun and fires a few rounds. Naraku takes his arm and puts it in front of him to shield himself, and his arm flattens out into a plate of flesh, or something hard… a shield! I feel suddenly scared of my brother, my eyes are wide and I get the weirdest vibe coming from him that makes my hair stand on end.
"Shit! We are out of here!" The assassins run into the van that pulled up at some point in time and Naraku lets them go, he walks towards me, the mist leaving him I get a menacing feeling coming from him too. Something happened to us, and now I feel different, oh so different. I try to sit up, and miraculously, I am able too, my wounds are healing more rapidly than I could imagine.
"Kagura." He came to my side automatically, but I recoil from him like a frightened animal, it's my instinct, the weird feeling in my head is telling me to get away, far away, that he is a threat, danger. Danger. DANGER! Something inside me snaps as I look into his blood red eyes, they look so familiar, they bring such a familiar blood freezing pain. more pain that the bullet wounds.
"Stay back! No…wait, I didn't mean it. just, i…I don't know. STOP!" I stutter, grabbing my head with my trembling hands, trying to make the feeling go away, my heightened awareness, my enhanced senses, the tingling feeling of healing in my stomach and my side. It's too much for me to bare right now, and I think it is for Naraku too…he collapses next to me, his knees buckling and his breath coming out in raspy gasps. What is happening to us? Suddenly, I feel myself take control of my instincts and I reach a clammy hand towards Naraku's shoulder and place it there. He bucks and writhes, but eventually calms himself. We both huddle against the protection of this enormous tree, trying to cope with what happened to us.
"Naraku, this is weird. If I didn't know better, this is how I felt in my dreams, I felt powerful, quick, deft. But never to this magnitude, What could this be?" I look to him for answers, and his wide eyes look back to me in a pensive narrowness. He is probably angry I brought up our dreams, our hauntingly real dreams of medieval villages, fire, and of course the people who we saw. Though we each saw different people in our dreams, they different ones we saw all seemed familiar once we told each other.
"There is only one explanation for these abilities. I once read, in a legends book, of Youkai who once roamed the land, most in the form of animals, some assumed the forms of humans. They were much stronger and swifter than humans, and could easily rule them. Don't you see? We are destined to rule, or to accomplish something. We are now Youkai, Kagura." She looked at her hands, they were strong. She felt like a youkai, but Naraku felt different, but still a threat.
"Are you surewe areyoukai?" before he could answer that question, a shrill voice echoed over our heads, and we looked to see a girl, my age, pointing a bow and arrow at us with a threatening expression on her twisted face. Her brown eyes constricted in anger and her black locks toppled down her shoulders to her back. She wore the same school uniform as Naraku, it was a sea-foam green color, a lighter color than the jr High uniforms which were a forest green.
"How did you two scum get here? Naraku and you too Kagura deserve to die!" I watched in confusion as she shot an eerily familiar blinding lilac arrow at us. My eyes widened for a moment before I took advantage of my abilities and flitted out of sight, the arrow lodging itself in the tree next to me. However, I looked to Naraku, and I could see a startling recognition on his face…could she possibly be, the one in his dream?
AN: well, here Kagome makes her appearance, and let me clear some things up real fast. one, Kagura and Naraku are twins, of course not identical, but they are the same age, Naraku goes to school, while Kagura works to make money. Kagura's and Naraku's real names are Kei and Kado. In this fic, Kagura is a hanyou, while naraku is still a hanyou. OK, with that settled, please drop a review and tell me how im doing!