O.O I'm shocked ya'll haven't killed me yet, with how long I left ya'll hangin' with this one. Eheh…lol, okay, this has been written for several months now, it's just that I haven't had the time to read over it. XD Previously, I actually had all the songs written out, but that just took too long. So I changed it up a bit.
Sheesh, I changed a lot in this story since I started writing it again. I should have changed the song to Papa Roach's Scars, but I decided against it because the timid words from the one I used before just fit so well.
At any rate, I'm sure ya'll ain't here to hear me yammer. On with chapter twelve of Silver Treasures!
Chapter 12: Don't Stop Singing, Baby
Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or Avril Lavigne's song, or any other song mentioned.
The week moved by so quickly, Criss wasn't sure if she'd even seen the sun rise and fall. Kurama and Genkai woke them up at five in the morning and kept them going at it until ten at night. Criss was getting bored with it all. When was the real training going to start?
Or was Kurama just going to baby them?
It was the last evening they were there that Botan, Keiko, and Yusuke came over to see them.
Kurama seemed almost to sink away from JD and Criss as he spoke in the tongue he'd used for his most recent eighteen years. Botan and Keiko were laughing and Criss could barely keep up with what they were saying. Something about Kuwabara being an idiot and a bunch of pigeons. It made little sense.
"What are they saying?"
"Not sure," Criss sighed. "My vocabulary is very limited and most of the words are still a little foreign. Something about pigeons and Kuwabara and dancing…"
"Maybe it's better that we don't understand," JD said.
"Perhaps. We've learned a lot since we got here, ya know? Hard to believe it's only been a week…Kata and styles and ways to draw out our spirit power better…"
Only she really didn't think she'd learned much of anything, to tell the truth. Only silly kata styles that Kurama looked like he'd never used before. They didn't seem very useful. Criss had many other ways of blocking attacks than a simple arm movement, some quite a bit more elaborate than those.
"Yeah. Um…listen, Criss…"
She turned to look at him. "Yes?"
"When I met you in New York, I couldn't stop looking at you," he said. He was very quiet and he wouldn't look Criss in the eye. "I kept saying to myself, there goes the most beautiful girl in the world. Purdy, because she didn't flaunt it. It was totally natural, like you didn't even know it.
"You're still the same beautiful girl now, all grown up. But… I like you, Criss. I want to be your friend. But sometimes… sometimes you just distance yourself so far away from me, from all of us, that I wonder where the beauty went."
Criss smiled sadly. "My dad used to tell me that. I never believed him."
"But you are, Criss."
In her mind, Criss was crying. I only wish I could believe you.
Kurama broke into their conversation with an announcement of his own. "The others want us to come out to the Box with them."
"Sounds fun," Criss said quickly. "What is it?"
Kurama laughed, but didn't answer right away. Keiko and Botan took either of Criss's arms and led her away from JD, Kurama, and Yusuke. Neither girl spoke until they were in a completely different part of the house, in what appeared to be another guest room. Botan and Keiko were smiling in that evil, mischievous way that Criss was sure she'd seen somewhere before.
"What's this Box that Kurama was talking about?" Criss asked. The leers that Botan and Keiko were giving her almost made her keep quiet.
"It is karaoke," Keiko said at last. "A special place for singing."
"Um…okay," Criss blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"We need to get you dressed," Botan said, the smile growing wider.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. "You're not getting me into a skirt."
Botan pouted. Keiko looked confused for a minute. Botan whispered in her ear and the pout returned two-fold.
"No. Uh-uh. No way. Iie. No. I'm not wearing a skirt. I'm not going to go if you make me wear a skirt. I can't sing anyway, so why make me go?"
"You said you wanted to," Keiko said, not once losing the pouty-kitty look.
"That was before I found out about the skirt. I stand firm on the skirt issue. No skirts."
Keiko and Botan finally sighed. "Then can we at least pick what you're going to wear?"
Criss relented.
Somehow, they managed to get the poor girl into one of Keiko's very intricately-detailed flare blue jeans with butterflies on them. A plain, deep sea-green shirt with a blue butterfly was what they shoved her head into. Criss managed to get them to let her wear a choke collar with spikes on it in exchange for letting them put a limited amount of make-up on her face.
When at last they released her from the room that had turned to Criss's own worst hell, they met the boys at the door. Kurama was nowhere in sight. JD was just as clueless as Criss was.
"Where is he?" Criss asked in her still-slow Japanese.
Yusuke answered, but Criss was unfamiliar with the word. Botan translated.
"Hiding. You have to find him."
Criss sighed. Well, if he was a fox demon, he must have good hearing, right?
"KURAMA!" Criss shouted at the top of her lungs. "KURAMA, DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME ALONE WITH THESE PATHOLOGICAL CASES THAT YOU CALL FRIENDS!"
I'm sure no one within a fifty-mile radius didn't hear her.
But, it did do its job, so I guess that doesn't matter.
"I'm sure they'd appreciate that if they knew what the word 'pathological' meant." Kurama had appeared from nowhere, it seemed, his hand on Criss's shaking shoulder.
"Well, they said you were hiding from me…"
"Not from you, per say," he said. "From them. Whenever we go out to the Box, they always attempt to 'dress' me for the occasion. Quite like a paper doll. I see that Keiko and Botan managed to get their, eh-hm, claws into you."
"Yeah, thanks for the warning," Criss said, sarcasm dripping from her like honey. "These are Keiko's. I didn't think I'd ever get into a twelve again."
"Those are twelves? I thought they were eighteens." Kurama joked.
"Watch it, buster, it took me three months to lose that weight."
"What will you do if I don't 'watch it'?"
Criss smirked. "Rip your balls off."
"Point well taken."
"I thought so."
"Well, now that we're all here, shall we go?" Kurama said, first in English, then repeated in Japanese.
It was the first time since their arrival that they'd been outside of the temple, and Criss forgot all about being forced into the girly outfit. Tokyo in the early night was too captivating to recall meaningless things like clothes. The people, the sounds, the smells, she couldn't take it all in fast enough.
As suddenly as they'd started walking down the streets, it seemed to Criss, they arrived at a large blue building that used cheesy neon lights to spell "Box". She hadn't really thought that it was really the English word. Keiko pulled her in through the rotating doors, into a slightly dusty but nonetheless cheerful lobby. There was a desk and then two halls on either side.
"Room sixteen, Kumo," shouted a pale-faced college student in rough Japanese. Several bills passed between Keiko and the student and a short brunette led the way to a door marked "16".
"We come to the Box so often that they automatically give us this room now," Kurama explained to JD and Criss. "Kumo and Charlene run the Box on weeknights."
"They've been here that long?"
"Well, Kumo has. Charlene is an American transfer at Tokyo University. She's been working since her first semester, last year."
Room sixteen was a very simple room, about twelve foot square on all sides with two rows of plain wooden benches facing a raised platform. On the platform was a raised column, holding a computer-like screen. A large, currently blank, screen was across the entire back wall.
"I warn you, I can't sing," Criss said.
"It doesn't matter, so long as you enjoy yourself," Kurama smiled. "Most of us can't sing, either. You should be glad Kuwabara's not here. He has a most raucous voice, and he loves to sing."
"I think I'll thank my lucky ears, then," Criss said, dryly. "What is it about that guy? He's so simple…"
"He is," Kurama said. "But he has a big heart."
A corner of Criss's mouth twitched at this.
"So, who wants to go first?" JD asked. Kurama translated for him. Almost immediately, Yusuke grabbed Keiko's arm and dragged her onto the stage. Criss sat down between Kurama and JD and watched as the two sang a sweet duet in Japanese. She couldn't keep up with most of the words, though "aishiteru" was definitely among them.
In that little room, they sat and listened to song after song, both English and Japanese. Even JD was singing with Botan, a song that Criss recognized by JJ and Lil Romeo or something to that extent. She'd never remembered music very well. Kurama got up and sang something call "Pink Rose" which, aside from its title, was in Japanese and hard to follow anyway.
Criss smiled in her little corner of the room. Everyone was laughing, clapping, whistling, and cheering as JD bowed to the little audience after singing an Usher song.
"Baka!" Yusuke shouted. He said Criss's name, though she didn't recognize anything after that. Kurama must have seen the clueless look on her face, because he launched into a translation soon after.
"He said that you haven't had a turn yet."
"Th-That's all right, I don't—"
"It's tradition. Everyone has to have a turn."
Her hands twisted around each other. "N-No…I…"
Kurama reached down and grabbed one of her hands, pulling her in two easy steps up onto the tiny platform. He handed her a microphone and returned to the little audience. Criss glanced down at the little screen, unsure, unwilling, and a more than a little upset that she was going to have to sing.
After a few minutes of looking through the Japanese songs and not recognizing them, she went through the English ones and finally found a familiar face among the unknowns. With a gulp, she pressed the "play" button and waited for the music to begin.
It began with a sound like a light gong in the distance, followed by a deep guitar and drums. In a quiet voice, Criss began to sing.
Well, I couldn't tell you
Why she felt that way
She felt it
Every day
She could hear the sound of her own voice in the microphone, so soft, it was barely audible. The others merely smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Kurama nodded, a smile touching his lips.
I couldn't help her
I just watched her make
The same mistakes
Again
Her confidence started to swell up within, like some creature eating away at the frightened little girl inside. She smiled back at Kurama and sang a little louder.
What's wrong, what's wrong
Now
Too many, too many
Problems
Dunno where she belongs
Where she belongs
The room erupted into cheers and whistles, clapping and shouting as she finished. She grinned shyly, suddenly caught in her own world. Criss wasn't exactly sure what to do as she stepped off of the platform and dove back to her little corner of relative safety. When everyone had gotten a chance to sing, Criss was the last out. The others filed out of the room, into the darkness outside. Criss smiled into the soft wind that whipped her longer hair away from her face and eyes. The honey-colored mass was a complete tangle, but Criss didn't mind.
"We'll leave tomorrow morning to go back to the college," Kurama said. JD was talking to Botan about ten yards in front of Kurama and Criss, and Keiko and Yusuke had been lost somewhere on their way out of room sixteen.
"It's been a week already. I can't believe it." Criss sighed and stared up at the part moon.
She pondered the events to the evening. Why had they all been so…weird? She tried to remember back when they'd first met at the start of the semester. Something about their relationship had changed…
Kurama broke her from her thoughts. "Criss…?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you suppose Jun didn't want to join our group?" Although Kurama was sure that he had some sense of what the other girl was planning, he wanted to know what Criss thought. After all, the girls lived in the same room.
Criss pressed her lips together, forming a thin, white line. "She doesn't care about other people. She only cares what she can get from them. If I've learned anything about her during the time she's been my roommate, it's that."
There was silence.
"Shuichi."
"Hai?"
"You…You like Jun, don't you." It wasn't a question. "I saw your dorm that day after she pushed you in. You like her, don't you, Shuichi."
Her tone was entirely unaccusing. She stated this entire thing in a simple, matter-of-fact tone that Kurama wished she'd just yelled. She was so quiet. Like a little puppy, lost and hungry and afraid.
"We did not do anything, if that's what you're implying. I'm not sure how I feel about her." It was the truth. A truth that Kurama was surprised that he could voice. Since when had he been so willing to reveal things to people, even his friends?
"I'm not asking you to explain. I knew you would, eventually, after that night. All men do. Even my father did it once, after my mother passed away. That's not what I'm asking, though."
Kurama waited patiently, though he was a little upset that she'd been so general, and had, in fact, continued to accuse him despite her tone.
"I asked if you like her, Kurama."
"…No. At least, nothing beyond that of a simple friend."
"Then why did you do let her kiss you?"
Kurama sighed, an uncomfortable, itching feeling in the back of his throat. He tried to speak, to say something. Anything. Even Youko seemed to shift uncomfortably in his mind. Criss waited patiently for two beats before jumping back from everything she'd said.
"It's all right. You don't have to answer. I just remembered something, though."
He swallowed hard, expecting something far worse than the answer he got. "What?"
"I remember who Jimmy is."
…
Jun sat on the cold, stony floor. Rocks dug into her thighs. She ignored them and ignored the strand of black hair that had swept annoyingly into her eyes. Her mother, the Gold Digger, Sparkle, was before her. She dared not move. If she was caught in her actions, she would be terminated. Immediately, without question.
Sparkle's Battalian was based, ironically, within a prairie dog city that had been collapsed and rebuilt into a system of larger dirt caves. Prairie dogs were famous for their underground cities, and this one had reached the top of the mother material of the soil itself, the stone beneath.
Although far below ground, Jun could still see by the tiny shafts of light that the critter diggers had left. Her mother looked much like she did, only older, more mature. Sparkle had dark hair, braided down her back and pooling at her feet. Jun was humbled to be before her, as she was every time. Humbled, and absolutely terrified. Her eyes darted to the sword at Sparkle's side. It was a simple katana, with the traditional pommel and length. Its hilt and sheath were a dark purple color.
Jun was more than just frightened of her mother. She was frightened by the power the sword at her side held. The Ume-Ken. Her throat contracted. She had been forced to create the monster that eventually killed Criss's father. It was entirely her fault that Criss was the way she was. Sparkle's voice terrified her from these thoughts.
"The energy you've been gathering is too little, Princess," her mother said. "Why is this?" Jun bit back a groan at her real name.
"My mother, the humans of Jefferson are far too weak to take substantial amounts of their Spirit energy without consuming them," Jun answered. She'd planned this answer a thousand times over. She hoped her mother accepted it. "It would look suspicious if they were to vanish, or turn into wraiths. I am gathering as much as I can without killing them. We need them alive to continue the harvest."
Her mother inclined her head ever so slightly. "All right, Princess. I am a patient woman. I shall wait. Damn this Spring Break. Even a week will throw our people off."
"I know, my mother," Jun said, feeling her face burn up at her real name. She hated that name. "I will make up for it next week by draining more than usual."
"Excellent. You are dismissed."
Jun rose and began to leave.
"Oh, and Princess?"
Jun froze.
"Don't screw up."
Jun nodded and walked slowly out of the room. If only she could have talked to Kurama more! He would understand, if only she could talk to him for longer. Nobody on that team trusted her because of her previous actions. Why did she have to behave like a little tramp, rather than the intelligent, well-brought-up girl that her father had raised?
Oh, yes.
Because Sparkle had murdered her father, too. Just as Jun had been forced to help murder Criss's. Jun sighed as she left her mother's hearing range. If only she could find a way to stop these plans.
Without taking the lives of her friends.
…
…
…
I realize that Kurama is acting entirely out of character with regards to training Criss and the others, and I did it for a reason. Kurama realizes after Genkai decides not to help teach them that a single week would be wasted effort with Criss and JD, so he babies them. And he also realizes that Criss is a seasoned warrior, whereas JD has never or rarely seen a kill. (We find out later that he's never seen a kill.)
Oh, yeah, and now we see that Jun isn't quite the little bitch we thought she was. () Bleh. Nicely done, if I do say so myself.
At any rate, please review. I shall have the next chapter up as soon as possible, m'kay? Sorry for the wait.