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Chapter 16: Oh Good! The Anger Stage

Finally. There she is.

"What took you so long?" I ask angrily. "Should I expect my next meal in another year or so?"

"Just eat." She says quietly. "I had other obligations to attend to."

"More important than feeding your hostage?"

"In a word, yes." She walks over to me and presents what appears to be a plain ham sandwich on wheat bread.

"Is this all?" I ask.

She sighs. "Yes, that's all for now. You'll get more if your behavior improves."

I sputter violently. "WHAT! My behavior? What, I'm starved if I'm not a good girl?"

"My, you're a perceptive one."

"WHAT!"

Yukina sighs, and moves closer. "Just be grateful that we won't starve you should you stay the way you are. This ham sandwich is the basis. At the very lowest level of your behavior, this is all you'll be getting per day. With your improved behavior ascends the quality, quantity, and frequency of food. It is so easy to control humans with food, you know?"

"What am I, a lab rat? Or, lab human?" I didn't understand most of what she just said.

"Yusuke seems to think you are. This ham sandwich—"

"Yes, I know all the guidelines of the Cult of the Ham Sandwich already. Can I eat it yet?"

"Not the way you are. Listen, Kara, I know all of your tricks. I'm going to release the arm shackles. If you try anything questionable, like what you did with Keiko, you won't like the result." As she puts down the plate with the sandwich on the floor, and then reaches up; I notice a tiny silvery sparkle in her hand. The key!

Well, chained like this, I haven't a hope that I can take it from her. Beware the girl wearing the fluffy pink kimono. She's just tall enough to reach the arm shackles. She fiddles with my right wrist standing on the tiptoes of her plain Japanese sandals. I swear, everything about this girl yells ancient Japan, and I'm not a fashion critic. How old is she? Can't be more than 15.

I hear a clink, and my wrist gains a lot more leverage. I drop it down, and she does the other one. Both of my arms are now free. I stretch happily. "That feels good."

"I guess it must, after so long." She says. She checks over the link securing my waist to the table and the leg irons as well. She must really be worried about my escape with all the new freedom. I'm flattered. Finally, she kneels down, and gives me the sandwich. I take it from her greedily and start to chew really, really hard. I'm actually pretty scared that she might change her mind and take it away.

OH MY GOD. I have never tasted a better ham sandwich than this one. It, with all its hammy and bready goodness, is flooding my tongue, flooding my empty stomach, flooding my blood. I am the ham. I am the bread. That entire flavor, out of one simple sandwich, all that joy…

"MMMMMMM. MMMMMMMMMM. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" I'm not even aware that I'm making any noise. It's only the sandwich and my smacking lips.

After about three good-sized bites, I finish it off. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"

"Kara, it's a sandwich," says Yukina. She looks a bit worried.

"And a damn good one at that! Give me another!" I say happily. I stare at her. For some reason, she gets this strange look on her face and blinks a lot.

"Why do you like food so much?" She asks.

It's such a bizarre question that I snap out of my hammy dream. "Food?" I repeat, afraid I didn't hear right.

"Yes." She says, sitting down in one of the armchairs and getting comfortable. "What is it about food that makes you love it so?"

"Uh, maybe because I like to stay alive." Man. Is she from Neptune?

"No, no. I know humans need food."

"Are we going to have another talk of the demons?" I say. "You're not telling me that you don't need to eat?"

"That's right on the button, actually. And I'm quite interested in it. It seems like a good hobby."

"Eating is not…not a hobby! Eating is…eating is…" I struggle to find something to express just exactly what it means to eat.

"Well, being a demon, it is a hobby for me. Why do you like to eat?"

I shake my head and cover my eyes. "I can't hear you, crazy woman."

"Why do you like to eat?"

"Cause I like food!"

"Why do you like food?"

"Because it tastes good!"

"There we go! What is it like to taste?"

I stare at her in abject horror. "You can't taste?"

"No. Demons can't. It's pathetic."

"Yeah, it is. Taste is kind of like smell, only on your tongue. And—ugh, never mind. You're not a demon. Of course you can taste. Why am telling you this?"

"Because I'm a tasteless demon."

"If by tasteless you mean clothes, then yes, you are tasteless. Who dresses in a kimono these days except for celebrations?"

"Me."

"Why?"

"Because it's my custom. The custom of my people."

"Oh, bah humbug you. No one does that."

"The ice demons do."

"Oh, is that so?" I ask. "Let me guess. You all live in Antarctica, playing with the penguins and harbor seals all day?"

"Don't insult our village!"

"I'll insult it all I want. You don't care. You can't hurt me anyway."

"You are about to be stuck with ham sandwiches for a month!" She says loudly. Now she is getting angry. Who knew that she had this side?

"Bring it on, cult leader. My god, you have got to have a better comeback than denying me crappy food."

"Oh? Would you rather be starved?"

" 'Course I would."

"That can be arranged."

"Aww, is the delusional ice demon getting her panties in a twist? Unless you've got traditional Japanese underwear on, too. What is that, a rag?"

"How—how dare you!"

"Yes, how dare I speak the truth. The truth hurts, doesn't it, pretty? Everything about you is old-fashioned, right down to the loincloth."

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"SOMEONE WHO CAN EXPOSE YOU, FREAK!"

"EXPOSE ME AS WHAT? A RIGHTFULLY IRRITATED POWERFUL ICE DEMON?"

"NO, I WAS THINKING ALONG THE LINES OF STUPID FAKE-HAIRED LUNATIC!"

"YOU'RE THE LUNATIC! YOU STARTED IT!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING? YOU STARTED IT WITH THAT STUPID KIMONO!"

At this, Yukina pales. "I may not like my kimono, but it was my mothers, and I wear it with pride. And you…you just insult it!"

Yukina begins to glow all over with blue electricity, looking quite a lot scarier than before. Is that murder I see in her eyes?

Then, her eyes glow bright sapphire as well. Her hair whips around with an imaginary wind.

I hold my hands over my eyes. It's just a magic trick…just a magic trick…movie special effects…

Is it?

Then, the room gets very, very cold. Even though my navy blue robe along with my navy skirt they gave me are thick and heavy, this cold goes right through them. The lights go out as the temperature drops. The only thing lit up is Yukina. Like a Christmas tree.

Then, the blue fire seems to be concentrated into small, sharp things. I recognize them a moment later to be ice. Ice is creeping up her arms. Her hair turns into a wild mane of ice, still frothing as easily as before in a definitely nonexistent wind.

She yells and places her hands, palms towards me, directly in front of her. She spreads out all the fingers. Then, the ice shoots forwards towards me. I can see how just how sharp those ends are for myself, right up close. Then, they hit me in several, about 5, huge shards. I can feel them cutting my neck, my arms, and all the rest of my body. I feel…blood trickling down my neck, really unpleasantly. Yukina burns even more brilliantly and then, her fire dies.

All in an instant, the lights come back on, and so does the heat. I realize that I'm shivering in my robe. Yukina is completely unmoving. She looks…frozen. Then, her movie-effect-fire turns orange.

Forget her. I check myself over. I have several shards stuck in me. I can feel two cuts in my right leg, one in my right arm, and one sticking out of my windpipe. Shutting my eyes I reach up my arm to pull out the ice. My fingers grasp thin air, and then, become fiery.

I jump. How am I on fire? That was ice!

It doesn't hurt. I look at myself. There are four different places where pinpricks of fire lick my body. But…it doesn't hurt. Am I on some kind of sedative?

I watch, as this red fire goes out. I look at the cut on my arm. Nothing. Not a trace of the things is there. They were solid ice, and I still hurt really badly, but it's nothing like I thought it'd be. I'm not breathing through a hole out of my neck, for instance. And—

I jerk my head up as Yukina screams. She really is aflame. Something happened with the movie set. She screams again. I'm completely powerless to help her.

Someone runs in. Someone big. It must be Kuwabara. He grabs her and throws her on the ground, yelling as the fire licks him too. Both of them start rolling frantically to put out the fire. After about ten seconds, the flames go out. Both of them lay, smoking, on the ground. Yukina's hair and robe have both been badly burned, and so have Kuwabara's hands.

Finally, several more shouts echo down the hallway, and Kurama, Hiei, and Shizuru run in quickly. They look at Yukina and Kuwabara laying there, and then at me accusingly. Really, I'm just as shocked as they are. What was that? How did Yukina catch on fire if she was making the room into an Arctic world with her special effects. Could that blue electrical current have caught her on fire? Was she even icy at all?

"What happened?" Asks Kurama, bending down to pick up Yukina. Kuwabara stands up on his own.

Ironically, Yukina is smiling. "Guys, I'll be fine. Just put me down for right now. But, I did it. I made her release some power."

"Really?" Asks Kuwabara. "What kind of—"

"Say nothing." Mutters Yukina, thinking I can't hear. "I'll tell you when we're outside."

They all nod, and walk out. They didn't even pay any attention to me. As they shut the door, I look at my wounds again.

The fire is out. They aren't even smoking. I can only see slight slits where the blades penetrate me. The pain is almost nonexistent. Did—did I imagine that whole thing?

And what do they mean, I released power? That was all an illusion! It must have been! When people catch fire, they burn. Period. And the fire definitely spreads.

Right?

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Yukina's POV:

"Are you sure you're okay, Yukina?" Asks Kurama, setting me down in the chair.

"I will be." I say. "But that was some energy fire."

"How did you get burned?" Asks Hiei.

"Well, I thought about some way to get her power to react to me. And then, Kurama, I remembered you. Remember when you broke her leg with your whip?"

"Yes. It caught flame, and although it was raining, the fire stuck around. Kara escaped while I tried to put it out."

"Exactly. I guess you know that must have been a spirit fire."

"Yes. But it was only recently that I figured out why that was. It's her power. Demons can't touch her without feeling major pain. And the same goes for demon weapons. They both share the same genetic codes."

"Right. Kara was the cause of it. But I don't think she's put that together, being dumb as a brick like she is to any form of mythical power. So, I decided to use that same thing. Of course, it was at cost to myself," I gesture to my burns, "but if she believes us, it'll be worth it. I staged a very annoying conversation about why exactly humans like food."

Shizuru snorts and tries desperately to cover it up with an obviously fake sneeze.

"Eventually, she got really mad, and I acted like I was really mad too. Eventually, she insulted my kimono, and I got "furious" because it was my "mothers". Then, I went demon."

"Really?" Asks Hiei. "You haven't done that for ages. You must really care about making her believe."

"Well, I had to make it seem real, or she would have known something was up. So, I went all icy, and fired Shards of Winter at her. She made a noise like a squashed chipmunk and I watched all four of them sink into her arm, leg, and neck. Then, the fire came. The Shards all caught flame with a spirit fire, and I also did, instantly. I stopped my demon self from coming completely all out. Then, I—the pain was incredible. That flame just eats away at demons. I couldn't help screaming. That part wasn't an act. That is definitely no ordinary Spirit Fire. That is her power. The one we need to take Koenma down. It's a completely anti-demonic force."

Everyone else is silent for a moment. "Is Kara hurt?"

"Not really, no. I wasn't aiming to hurt her. I was aiming for her to burn them, the Shards of Winter. And that she did extraordinarily."

Kurama shrugs. "I just hope she doesn't blow it off again as some sort of movie special effect."

"If that happens, she'll have made go through all that pain for nothing. I'll kill her myself. We can find someone else."

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Kara's POV:

There's still nothing. Nothing. How is this possible? It can't've been a dream. I can see the dried rivulets of blood running down my arm, leg, and neck. But the shards are gone. What really gets me is that although they may have melted from my body heat, there is no water from them. Was that dry ice that she fired at me? Maybe it just gassed off into the air.

But then what was the fire? I've always really liked magic, and I like to learn the tricks of one, even though I'm not very good. I have no idea how they'd make such real looking fire project onto me. It makes no sense.

What happened back there?

If it wasn't a magic trick, (there's just no way that they could have pulled it off) then what just happened?

Why can't I find any way to explain this? Why does the only logical reason left lie in…believing them?

No. No, I won't accept it!

But I always run into dead ends with my own methods. Next time they try to tell me something, I'll allow it. Maybe I'll understand more. I'll decode the hidden messages in their fantasy.

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A/N Review! Next chappie everything is explained. So sit tight!