Chapter 7

Okay, I'll tell you my answers in a minute. I'll tell you this much though, one of you got it right (I'm glad I seem older, hee hee)
Disclaimer: You know it, do I have to go through all this crud again? You already know who I own, Kimihiro and Kai and Serafin and most of the fanged creatures… so please leave me alone with everything else. grins evilly

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

He jolted up at the Beast's words, his heart racing almost literally out of his chest. Finding himself with such a stupidly eager expression, Kai pulled his bangs back, carefully eyeing Serafin in case she let out any sign of infidelity (unfaithfulness, I know it's usually used for couples, but he's seeing whether she's screwing with him.) The Beast glared him fully in the eye, before rising on her hind legs.

"Why, you think I lie?"
"You're a Seraphim's Pet, not a Seraphim itself, nothing drastic will happen to you if you do. And I have a feeling you're just toying with me. Really, Serafin, I am used to that, and I hate it when people… or in your case…things, try to mess with me about it.

"Listen, Seraphim. I am ashamed! When people expect so much of you and you satisfy them, it's like trying to give water to a thousand people when all you have is half a flask! If you give them a little, they just want more… and more… and more…! Some people tell me that I'm just a late bloomer. Some say I'm a disappointment. Some say all I need is an inspiration—"
Kimihiro grabbed hold of his jacket as the ground began to quake violently. Serafin took a leap to avoid the sudden Earth movement, then landed softly, her legs suddenly extending into slender, pale, human ones, her paws turning into hands, her dog-like face melting into a humanoid face. The clothing that covered her was limited and ragged, and her pale brown her was messily clipped up, enormous fangs stuck from her lips, apparently her teeth had undergone no transformation. Six long, streamlined wings extended from her back.

The Earth gave a final rumble as Kai stared at this new creation, in awe.

"S-Serafin?"
The Angel tossed her head to the side, not wanting to speak to him.

"I'm getting sick and tired of being called a 'pet!' Seraphim 'Pets' run around their masters and mistresses like the bunch of skanks they are, always begging to be ridden, if you know what I mean. And it's not as though they look like little, cute, dogs. They look normal. This is what I look like, okay! You think that not being able to use your stupid powers is bad! What if your entire race were a bunch of bloody sluts and didn't know right from wrong! What if you were looked upon as a low, skanky, sleaze just because of how all your comrades acted? You say that you are ashamed. Yet, not so to the point where you'd leave the place where the restless rest and food is a want, not a necessity. So shut up now that you're satisfied!"
The seemingly stable angel fell to her knees and punched the ground with such force that she bore a hole into the ground.

"Serafin…" Kimihiro walked slowly towards her. "Why didn't you ever tell me earlier?"
"It was unnecessary to do so. This boy needs to stop feeling sorry for his pampered butt and get to the point. Besides, it was like just starting puberty. He needed to have 'the talk.'"
In a flash, she was her dog-like form again, pale blue tail lashing out.
"Hop on, we don't want you to be late."
Swinging her injured leg over Seraphim, she carefully examined the two lacerations. Kai carefully climbed on as well, eyeing her wound carefully. Without hesitation, he reached out to touch it. Groaning, she gently caught his hand.

"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Are you lying to me?"
Kimihiro smiled, bringing her eyes to meet his concerned ones.

"Yea. I guess."
He brought his hand down again on her thigh, earning him a couple inquisitive looks from her. Opening her backpack for her, her pulled out a few alcohol swabs, and, grabbing her hand for comfort, ran them softly down the wound. She groaned again, resting her head on his shoulder to support herself.

"Gomen."
"It's fine."
He ran the alcohol swabs down it again, and she bit her lip. Again. Her teeth sunk into her lips, and a few drops of blood rested on them, daring the others to race down to her chins.
"Ah," Kai said, as he noticed them. "You shouldn't do that, I don't think it'd be a good idea to ruin such perfect lips as yours."
She licked the blood softly.

"Shut up."
Stuffing the medical waste into his pocket, he gently pulled out some gauze, wrapping it securely around her leg, then lifted his head.

"Do you want a bandage instead of this crap?"
She nodded. "I have a few bigger sizes in there."
He needn't be told that, he slowly unwrapped her leg and placed the plastic firmly on the affected area.

"That should do."

"Yea. Thanks."
He grinned, slowly helping her put her backpack on as Serafin gained speed, jetting into the sky.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Serafin landed with a bump, unloading her passengers without hesitation. The area before them was barren, but they could see, right in the center of the land, a vast area filled with people, shaped in the shape of a circle, with an empty space in the middle.

"This is the meeting place. Kimihiro, can you walk?"
With a humph, she nodded, taking a careful step onto the land, before groaning and reaching for her leg. Smiling, he turned around.

"I'll carry you."
She couldn't disagree, for once, she was curious to see about this 'meeting.' Without hesitation, she boosted herself up with her good leg, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck to keep from falling. With a grin, they began walking down.

(MirSan Flashback)

"Houshi-sama. Kirara is tired."

She slipped from the beast's back, who gave a small sound of approval, and immediately turned back into a kitten. Landing hard on her rear, she rubbed it softly.
"Hm.But your wounds are not fully healed, am I right? Especially the one just inflicted on your rump."

The only cover-up for her obvious blush was the furious expression she placed on her face like a mask.

"No, my wounds are not fully healed. But I should be able to walk still."
"Ah. No need. Climb on my back."
"But houshi-sama…"
The monk smiled, putting a hand up to tell her that he wished to speak.

"My dear Sango, it pains me to hear you address me as Houshi-sama and not Miroku. I wish to have the satisfaction of the fact that we are close."
The tajiya smiled, then started again.

"Miroku…"
"That's better."
"Miroku, what if… what if Kagome or Shippou or Inu see us? What will they say?"
He smiled, boosting her carefully onto his back.

"Shippou can say what he likes. It doesn't concern me, nor should it you. Kagome can say nothing. She rides on Inu constantly, that is her means of transportation. And for today, I am yours."

She smiled, wrapping her arms his neck, nuzzling into the soft black hair that coated his head, her eyes jetting to the glint of his earring, then that of the staff…

'I like this…' the thought seemed dirty in her mind. 'This is… home.'

0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o-

It was quite a sight, those thousands of sand-colored kimono-clad people, all looking at the center toward this old, mustached man.

"He looks like a walrus."
Indeed he did, with his long white mustache acting as tusks, and his large body as blobby as a walrus would be. But she earned herself a glare from Kai instead of the expected laugh.

"Don't insult the elder. You could easily be killed for that. Hear?"
Kimihiro nodded, stung by the sudden serious loyalty in his voice. Resting her head on the small of his back, she sighed. His seriousness at times could be so annoying…

She felt his muscles loosen up a bit, and he laughed softly.

"I suppose you have a point," he said, the tone of his voice suggesting that he had either been reminiscing or just daydreaming. "His got those long white whiskers. When I was younger, they were black, and really slick. I liked to play with them. You know, pull on them and stuff."
She smiled, instantly imagining a baby Kai-sama giggling and gurgling foolishly while yanking on the poor old man's facial hair.

"You're warm."
The words were definitely unexpected, and she jolted, almost falling off of his back. Propping herself up, she peered down at him, expecting him to have a wide, perverted smirk on his face, but instead, she found a face of one in another world, in a distant dream. His eyes seemed almost clouded, but that may have just been because of the way the sun was hitting them indirectly. His smile was slight, and, noticing her silence, he let out a soft sound, close to a laugh.

"You smell like… my mother."
She noticed how his grip on her legs was increasing in strength, how he was starting to boost her up often.

He opened his mouth to speak, and she readied herself for another unexpected 'compliment.'

"We're here." The smile on his face widened slightly, and she looked up.

The crowd was enormous, almost like a sea, from every direction there were nothing but people, people shouting, talking, crying, laughing, little kids running around and older boys flirting with the older girls.

"You can let me down now," she said, suddenly realizing that a few people were turning to look at them.

"Can you walk?"
"Maybe."
"The answer has to be 'yes' before I let you down."
"All right, yes."
"That wasn't your first answer, hime."
She frowned at his newest nickname for her, sticking her tongue out to show that she found it amusing.

"Princess? Me? You must be joking."
He advanced towards the crowd, when two men with rifles stopped them.

"Kai-sama, sir," the first, one dark blue hair and spectacles said, "I am sorry, we can't allow your little friend in. She has to be from the village, no outsiders, for the elder's sake."
He gave the man a glare that had 'death' written all over it, then said with an almost royal air,

"Sorry, Fuyu, we have to pass. This girl will do the Elder no harm."
The other man, obviously not as calm as the first, huffed, "Let me get this through your thick skull! I don't care who or what you are, so even if you did have as much power and wisdom as the elder, I wouldn't give a care what you say! Now let the girl down and leave her with us!"
Kai's body was tensing up again, she could feel the ripples of his back muscles now.

"No."

Trying to force his way through, he met Fuyu's arm.

"Gomen, Kai-sama, but we cannot let you through!"

"Sorry isn't enough! Let me go!"
Kimihiro wrapped her legs tighter around his torso, watching with fright as the man by the name of 'Winter' (that's what fuyu means) continued to argue with Kai. Speechlessness overcame her for once in her life.

She shrieked. The other man was tugging on her injured leg, putting pressure on the wound almost deliberately. By instinct, she pulled up the Contour and blasted him in the chest.

The man fell back, and she fell down, her leg stinging and smarting and who knows what else.

Kai pushed against the man's arm again.

"I swear if you don't let us through I'll cut your arm off!"
He pulled out the sword-spear to prove it.
"Us? You speak of her as though you are close. I hope Yoma knows nothing of this."
(By the way, Yoma means monster, if you didn't already know.)
He turned around, seeing Kimihiro on the ground, and helped her to her feet.

"I don't care if that witch knows. I don't care."
The earth itself was trembling slightly, but she seemed to be the only one who noticed.

"I am sure she would though. I suggest you do not appear anywhere near her with this girl in sight. She just might decide to put an end to your newest hoe over there."
Fuyu began to smirk slightly, his piercing brown eyes gazing down at them through the glasses.
The ground went into a full-blast tremor. Kimihiro shrieked and looked up.

"Kai!"
He had Fuyu by the neck, glaring at him almost maniacally.

"You speak of Kimihiro like that again, and I will put an end to you."
She watched as he let him go gently, dropping him to the floor. All eyes were on them.

"Get on my back, Kimihiro."
She stared down at the men, one who looked like he was having a pleasant dream, the other as though he'd seen a ghost, then up at him.

But she obeyed, and he walked through. The heads turned as they passed, a thousand, maybe more, two, eyes locked on them. He stopped when her reached the inner circle, gently helped Kimihiro to a sitting position on the ground, then bowed before the walrus-man.

"Okaan-san!"
Kimihiro lifted her eyes to see Midori, who immediately jumped up and ran into her arms, careful not to touch her legs.

"Midori. What're you doing here?"
The little girl grinned wolfishly, her dark hair somehow brighter in the sun.

"They wanna see if I'm a kitsune, Kimihiro! They said I got fang-things and now my feet are getting too small for my shoes! I wanna be a kitsune! They're cool! And elder says that there was this one that went around with Miroku-sama hundreds of years ago and he was super duper cute!"
"Was he?"
"Yea! Just like me, huh? Don't you think so, mommy?"
Putting a hand to her head and laughing softly, she received a glare from the walrus-man.

Gently releasing Midori, she beckoned for her to leave, then attempted to stand. Mission unsuccessful. She fell to her knees, the wound on her leg squashing against the rocky ground.

"Aita! Ow! Geesh!" she brought her leg from underneath her, finally sitting up.

"Kimihiro Hinoshiba. I am sincerely sorry for the trouble I caused back there, wal—I mean, sir… I'll leave the village if I must…"
Kai gave her a look that said, 'Oh no you won't' all over it.

The walrus man smiled, revealing strong white teeth as opposed to the few, decaying ones she was expecting.

"But you musn't dear, oh no, you are Kai-sama's guest, and you are injured, therefore, you will stay until you are well, eh?"
She bowed her head, and nodded. "You are too kind, sir." A thought erupted in the back of her head though. 'Sama? Why is this man, who is of such high importance, calling Kai master? Is the Kaiwaichi Chosen that powerful?'

A scream erupted in the crowd.

"KAIKO! There you are!" (By the way, I know you're tired of the notes, but adding 'ko' to a name is like a romantically friendly way to address a person. What you would call your boo.)

The smile on Kai's face dissolved as he turned to see who had yelled out.

Of course, it was a female who had yelled out. And she was working her way through the crowd, her dark, long hair swimming about her, her jacket and an especially large T-shirt the only thing she was wearing. Her dark-brown eyes flashed to Kimihiro, and a look she could not imagine on that innocent figure on her face. It was of pure hatred, her lips virtually spelling the words, 'stay away, you sleaze,' and her eyes narrowing. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair, then walked up to Kai, latching her arms around his. He tugged on it, trying to pull away, but she was grabbing on like a vice.

"Oh, Kaiko, I was wondering where you were… I've been missing you, didn't Renai tell you you had to visit me every Friday? I waited for you for ages, I even got dressed specially for you…"

Both Kai and Kimihiro felt their faces wrench in disgust.

"You got dressed especially for him? In that T-shirt? You skank!" The words erupted from her lips without warning, and she brought her hands to her mouth, flushing red as all eyes fastened upon her. The girl gave her a glare that would have killed a werewolf. Slowly releasing Kai, she walked towards Kimihiro, flipping her hair once more.

"Excuse me," she said, looking Kimihiro up and down with this preppy look on her face, her lips forming a sneer, "But nobody asked you about what you thought about it. You needn't consider me your equal."
The words stung her. Her clothes were relatively decent, her shorts were even covered up by a long tie-up (or buckle-up) skirt, and her shirt was not baggy, but it had sleeves, therefore covering her up nicely.

"Your equal? I am most definitely not your equal! In fact, I'm higher than you could ever imagine!"
"Educate me, kohai."
(Means teacher, but as though the teacher is of less class than you)

Growling, she attempted to get to her feet, but found that impossible, her leg slipping from under her. She didn't care anymore, she didn't care that everyone was watching, she didn't even care that she was creating a horrible first expression to the Elder.

"Ha! Can't even stand, you cripple!"
Kai moved forward, clutching his fists.

The Elder lifted his arm to stop him.

"Leave the women to bicker over you. If you come between and stand by one of them, the other will prove to be more trouble than you could ever imagine. You know Yoma."
Launching a foot towards her, Yoma kicked Kimihiro hard, in the stomach, and she doubled over, spitting up a small amount of blood. The ground was trembling gently.

"All right, then," Kimihiro said, heaving, panting, "I didn't want to resort to desperate measures, but…"

Pulling out the Contour, she lashed it out and blasted the girl with it. She fell backwards, exposing to the village her lacy undergarments.

Panting and falling over, Kimihiro wiped her lips, shrugging off the red that came with it, ignoring the pain in her stomach.

"Kimihiro… you all right?" Kai asked, peering over her, slowly picking her up, bridal style this time.

"Do I look it?" those were her last words for the time being, the pain in her leg and her gut combining and destroying her conciousness.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Kimihiro? Kimihiro-chan? Are you awake?" She opened her eyes to meet Midori's happy-go-lucky ones.

She sat up, hand on her head, almost ramming into Midori's.

"The meeting? What happened?"
Midori smiled sadly, carefully looking down at her bare feet, with the little toes and the long toenails wiggling.

"It was canceled. Yesterday. And you blacked out. Yesterday. Kai-sama ordered it. I've never seen him so angry. He tore a hole in the ground, but everyone's partying now, basically because he's got his powers now."

Kimihiro sighed. "But that means you don't get to find out if you're a kitsune!"
Midori nodded sadly.

"There's always next year. Don't be sad for me, okaan-san. Worry about yourself. Like I said. You blacked out. Yesterday."
The smile that was threatening to reveal itself exploded across her face. She could care less how long she'd blacked out for, she could only remember that Midori had missed a once a year opportunity to find out what… who… she truly was. Midori was so… cute. So innocently adorable. It made her smile every time she mentioned the words 'okaan-san.'

"Oh… Midori…"
She gave her a huge hug, then reached down to check on her leg. The bandage was still there, but she felt no pain, from neither the limb nor her stomach. Carefully lowering herself, she let her feet touch the floor, waiting for the pain to return.

But it didn't. Happily, she danced from foot to foot, and looked around the room. Grabbing her backpack, and carefully strapping the Contour to her arm, she winked at the want-to-be-fox, then headed for the door.

As soon as she opened it, her ears were greeted with music, her eyes with people dancing and eating and drinking and conking out. It was like a rebellious teenager's party, with make-out sessions here and there, a couple men having contests to see how long they could hold their liquor, and such.

It was funny to watch them fall over, flat on their faces, laughing their heads off as though they'd never seen a girl before as she passed by, her eyes searching around the room for Kai.

"Oi! Kimihiro! Over here!"
Koji split the crowd slightly as he moved swiftly through, bumping into a few people.

She grinned grimly, he was not the person she wanted to see at the time.

"So… are you better?"

The question was unexpected from someone of his nature, she was expecting a, 'hey babe,' or 'wanna drink?' from him.

"Y-yeah, I guess."

He smiled. "Little brother is really worried about you, you know."
At the mention of Kai, her body tensed up.

"Who was that girl? Yoma? Yoma! Yes, the monster, and quite the skank too, if you ask me."
"Ah, yes, you elaborated on her sleaziness yesterday in the inner circle."
"Who is she to Kai-sama?" Kimihiro surprised herself with her sudden protective tone, her involuntarily clenching and unclenching fists, the redness of her face.

"Oh… his bride-to-be. That is, if he doesn't find someone else by the time he turns eighteen."
She fumed. "That slut doesn't deserve him."
Once again, the words found their way to her mouth without passing through her brain.

"Does anyone?" Koji's grin was weak. "He doesn't seem to mind, if you ask me. He gets all the attention he wants, and all the girls he wants. It's tough being…"
"Second best," she finished for him, sighing. Ah yes, the famous second best speech. She had used it herself a couple times, when she was younger and insecure. Her heart wrenched for him, it seemed that he was right. It must heart to see your sibling, your younger one, at that, worshipped, and then you treated like just another villager. Then with his parents too… it was probably harder on him, seeing that he was two years older than Kai.

"But I'm boring you. He only has one thing that I'm sincerely jealous of."
She was starting to get comfortable, and leaned against the walls.

"What?"
He grinned slyly. "You."

"You're kidding. He doesn't have me."
"Prove it."
"What?"
"Prove that you didn't go out there and beat Yoma down for his sake."
She paced, thinking. There was no way she was going to let anyone say that she belonged to anyone, let alone Kai. She was only concerned, not attached, to him. I mean, who would want to spend the rest of their life with a witch like Yoma?
She turned to look at him, her eyes making contact with Koji's. Placing her arms around his neck, she boosted herself up a couple inches with her toes, and mashed her lips against his.

Koji froze, his eyes wide open as he tried to put two and two together and figure out what was going on.

He closed them, probing her bottom lip with his tongue for entrance. She gave it immediately, one thought going through her head.

'I'm kissing Kai. Yes. This is Kai I'm kissing. Yes! He's the one rubbing my back right now… he's the one kissing me, holding me…'

And then she heard his voice, Kai's.

"Kimihiro! You're o—"

There was the sound of a glass shattering onto the floor, followed by a few others. The ground was jerking, violently.

She immediately released Koji, bringing her hands from his hair as she stared up at him, terrified.

"So… I see how it is. Koji, take care of Kimihiro." The tears were stinging his eyes, but the words were constantly repeating themselves in his head, telling him to be a man, telling him not to cry.

But how could he not? The girl he was actually starting to like was not with him, but his brother.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

You were not expecting that, were you? I probably scared the heck out of you… First with Kai and his powers, then Serafin's little fit, then with Koji and Kimi's make-out session. Ha! I bet you thought it was more likely to be Kai and kimi, huh? Hee hee, I'm so evil, but just so you know, Koji doesn't get with Kimi, so don't get scared.

I'm angry with you, mylovemiroku. You guessed right. On your first try. Damn.

I am thirteen (do I really seem older? Thanks!).

Nice try, DEB, but the cookie goes to mlm. I'm so glad you guys think I'm older… I was thinking you'd give me some lousy guesses like eleven, or some far out ones like eighteen…

(yea. I'm tall for my age, so when I went to a Fool the Guesser game at Magic Springs (water/amusement park), she guessed eighteen and I was like heck no! But I won a blow-up Spongebob hammer so I guess it was worth it. )

Thank you, my dear faithful reviewers. I used to think that it was the amount that I got. I don't need a hundred reviews (but I expect that to my 13 and ½ birthday gift, 'kay?) I just need you guys.
Though I would like more reviewers.

I swear, if you've been just reading through for fun and not reviewing, I'll saw your head off. I worked hard on this chappie.

Thanx,

Tetsuna.

P.S. No, seriously. You'd better review me. I expect at least 12 reviews (total, I won't ask for much more). Cuz if I don't get an ample amount, I might just decide to discontinue the fic and send the rest of the story to my best reviewers (mlm and DEB) if they ask for it. So I'm warning ya, peeps.

P.S.S

My cousin came to visit from Ghana! (yes, I am from Africa, no I do not speak the language, please do not bore me with questions because I sincerely hate it when people go on and on. And no, in Africa we do not dig in trash cans for food, we just go by the nearest Mini-mart, and no, we do not paint ourselves and run around naked. Please, I don't want any questions about my origin, I almost was not going to tell you but, hey! There's something interesting about everyone, huh? I'm asking for no questions because I've been asked them my entire life and it get on my nerves. A LOT! (A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT! Worse than my little brother when he's having a good day!) I haven't seen her in years, and know she's like, 17, and my brother bugs her cuz she's still way shorter than me. Ha! Fancy that!
Smell ya later!

Officially!