Yo minna-san, welcome back! Did you like my last chapter? It was pretty good by my standards. Really, who's thought of drowning incidents lately? I personally don't know. Anyhow… let's recap from the last chapter! Setsunei was looking for a new place to stay and met Ayame and Sasumi in the process. She proved her strengths to those two, including Hiei and beat his face in due to a drowning incident. She met up with Takeshi… again and now has a new enemy to face! In this chapter Yusuke and co. go to a dance and Setsunei is introduced to Botan and Keiko, but not under comfortable circumstances. And she finally meets Koenma. So let's be on with the chapter!(I have never slow danced with any variety of guy whatsoever, so give as many tips as humanly possible! And by tips, I don't mean flame me!)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the cast of Yu Yu Hakusho or Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru. I do own Setsunei, the guy hitting on her, and the guy who captured her
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---------Chapter 4: Dances, Who Needs 'em? ---------
Setsunei and Hiei arrived in a matter of minutes over at Kurama's house and she flung the door open. She glanced at the clock and it read 7:30p.m and saw Kurama on the couch reading a book. She tried to go up the stairs unnoticed, but Kurama stopped her when she was halfway up.
"Setsunei, will you join us at a party tonight?"
"Why should I?"
"It'll be fun, and all of us are going."
"So…"
"You get to sing on stage…"
"Did Hiei also tell you about my singing voice!" she said irritably, shooting Hiei a death glare.
"Sort of…"
"You're dead later Jaganshi…"
"Anyway, Setsunei… are you coming or not?"
"I really don't see any point in it."
"Is there anything to convince you?"
"No."
"Well there is the fact that Hiei wouldn't be around you a lot because of how many people would be there…"
"I'm interested!"
"I knew you'd come. You can get ready at Keiko's house."
"I don't need anything."
"Your clothes are torn, ripped, and dirty. You need something else."
"I have other clothes."
"From what I've heard… All of them were ruined due to the shadow episode I heard about earlier."
"Damn you, Kurama," she said and then continued, "So where is Keiko's house?"
"I'll show you."
"Does Hiei have to follow us there too?"
"No, because you'll be with me when we get there and Botan will be there as well, and so will Keiko."
"Thank you, Oh Merciful God!" she shouted at the top of her lungs
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They arrived at Keiko's house shortly after they left and was greeted by Botan, wearing a grin on her face.
"So you're Setsunei… I've heard a lot about you!"
"What exactly have you heard about me…?" she said, becoming annoyed of the fact about the interesting little reputation she's developed by now.
"A lot! Come on! We have to get you ready!"
Botan dragged Setsunei inside and shut the door. Setsunei looked around the room and observed the chair in the corner of the room. She took a seat, apprehensive of what they planned to do with her outfit. Botan popped out of the hallway with Keiko in tow and looked up and down her figure.
"You need a new shirt and new pants," Botan said still studying her figure, "Keiko has the perfect dress for you!"
Setsunei slid out her daggers out of her sleeves and held them to Botan's throat.
"Listen, I don't do make up… nor do I do dressing up… If you plan to leave with your head… I suggest you listen wisely."
Botan had a bead of sweat pop up on her forehead because of the odds that Setsunei would actually go through with her threat.
"Keiko, now!"
"Huh?"
Keiko came from behind Setsunei and stole both of her daggers and ran off somewhere with them.
"Where is she going with my daggers! Give them back!"
"She took them somewhere to hide so we're safe from your temper. And if you want to see them again… you'll do these 3 things…"
"And those things happen to be…?"
"First, you'll let us do your make up and let us dress you up. Second, you have to sing on stage in the contest. Third, you have to dance with someone."
"The first and second one I can do. But the third one depends on how and who with."
"You have to slow dance with someone."
"Oh no."
"Oh yes! You'll do it if you want to see your weapons again!"
"Temme, daisho ga, kisama no inochi…"
She followed Botan into Keiko's room and sat on the bed. Botan brought out the make up and messed with her face. She then started rummaging through Keiko's closet and was looking at a short, spaghetti-strapped, red dress.
"You can keep your shoes, Setsunei, but you just have to wear this dress! It's so cute!"
"I don't do cute."
"C'mon, please?"
She sighed and said, "Do I have to?"
"Yes!"
She looked at it and grumbled various curses under her breath involving crazed cheerleaders from Reikai who she intends to kill in the most horrible fashion.
"Fine…"
"Alright!"
Setsunei slipped the dress on and threw her other clothes down on the bed. She looked around at the scenery and was glaring at Botan out of the corner of her eye.
"You need too fix your hair too."
"I brushed it earlier. I don't need to do it again."
"It's a frizzy mess, so I want to fix it up!"
"As in how…?"
"I want to make it look cute!"
"As I said before, I don't do cute."
"Don't you want the boys swooning over you?"
"No."
"Oh c'mon Setsunei…"
"No."
"Alright, if you just want me to keep your daggers…"
"Oh fine!"
Botan fixed her hair up in two high pigtails and she used red ribbons for hair ties. She was ready to go as well as Keiko and they both seemed very ecstatic about the dance, whereas, Setsunei was in no hurry to leave. She sighed miserably out the fact that she was reduced to going to a dance to escape her guardians.
How demeaning…
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Setsunei, Keiko, and Botan showed up minutes later and flung open the doors. They all walked inside and met up with the boys.
"Hey." said Yusuke nonchalantly
"Hi Yusuke," said Keiko and Botan at the same time
Setsunei just glared at them and took her seat in a nearby chair. They were playing a slow song now and almost everyone was dancing with someone. Setsunei didn't give much thought about it and was anxious about the singing contest. The song was over and Kurama walked over to Setsunei and began starting a conversation.
"Having fun?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I'm not into social events."
"Why don't you just go out there and dance?"
"Don't like being social. Besides, I'm waiting for the contest. I may not like singing in public, but there's not much choice in the matter."
"Why-?"
"Don't ask."
He just shrugged his shoulders and went back into the crowd and Setsunei just waited for the contest. She began to get bored so she walked around a bit and grabbed a cookie off a nearby table. Some guy came from out of the crowd and came towards her direction. She turned her head over to him to see who it was. He had spiky hair, one half green, one half midnight blue, a sleeveless leather jacket over a black t-shirt, black jeans, and looked like he had a little too much to drink.
"Hey there, cutie."
"Shove off."
"Omae wa kawaii…"
"Bite me, you utsosuki…"
"It's a slow song, you wanna' dance with me?"
"When Hell freezes over, how does that work into your schedule?"
"Oh c'mon…" he said, sliding an arm around her waist.
She took his arm and flipped him over her shoulder. They were announcing that the contest had now begun and Setsunei walked on top of the guy she'd just beat up. She walked through the middle of the crowd and she made her way to the stage. Gasps and conversation were floating around the room as stepped up on stage. They whispered in her ears about what to sing but she had already had that part of her problem solved. She grabbed the microphone and looked at the people in front of her. She just looked away from them and began to sing.
"When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go…"
People were talking about Setsunei's singing voice and were enjoying her song very much. They were quiet so they could listen to the song.
"…You're giving me too many things
Lately, you're all I need
You smiled at me and said
Don't get me wrong I love you
But does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said "No,
I don't think life is quite that simple…"
Setsunei was now dancing to the rhythm of the song and wasn't a half bad dancer either. Some people began to join in and soon everyone was doing it, entranced by the music.
"…When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
The daily things that keep us all busy
Are confusing me
That's when you came to me and said
Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand
It's enough when I say so
And maybe some things are that simple
When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before
When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before
Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before…"
She stopped singing and looked at the crowd and they were all clapping and cheering.
"Encore! Encore!"
"Sing another one, please!"
Setsunei was growing tired of all of the compliments and stepped down from the stage.
"I only sang to get something of mine back. I'm not doing it anymore."
The D.J walked down to Setsunei and congratulated her.
"Good job! You won!- Uh, what's your name?"
"Setsunei. I don't care about winning, as previously stated, I only did it to get something of mine back."
She walked to the back of the room and sat back down in the chair she originally sat in. Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Botan all ran up to Setsunei and started making tons of comments.
"That was awesome!" said Yusuke
"Same thing he said!" said Kuwabara
"That was very well performed, Setsunei." declared Kurama
"I really enjoyed it!" interjected Botan
"I didn't think anyone alive could sing that well." piped up Keiko
"Okay, stop with the talking of my singing! That's the reason why I stopped singing in public in the first place!"
"Okay we'll stop. But you haven't forgotten the last part of our deal, have you?" grinned Botan
She gulped and nodded weakly.
"Okay, here she comes now."
"What! Who!"
"The lady who's going to pair us all off, of course!"
"Wait, Botan, you never told me that anyone would be pairing us off!"
"Now, we all know you wouldn't do it if you knew that, would you?"
"Uh, Umm…" Setsunei saw the lady come around and set her eyes on her. "Wait! I change my mind! Botan!" Setsunei grew nervous and was looking for an escape route as the lady was walking over to her. She saw an exit nearby and was walking over until the lady called out to her.
"You! Girl! Come here so I can pair you with someone!"
Setsunei stood firm and she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see if she had left yet, but instead she came closer and closer to her. The lady put a hand on Setsunei's shoulder and she pulled her along to find someone for Setsunei to dance with.
I was better off never coming to this stupid dance. I was better off drowning at the park. I was better off never showing up at that school that day. I was better off never meeting those idiots. I was better off in that alleyway. I was better off never meeting Ayame and Sasumi. I was better off-
Setsunei's train of thought was interrupted when they suddenly stopped.
"You!" she pulled someone over that Setsunei hadn't recognized yet and made him stand in front of her.
"You two can dance together!"
"Hey! Wait a second!"
Setsunei could barely make out the outline of the person in front of her and when she realized who it was she almost screamed bloody murder.
"Not him! NOT HIM!"
Hiei heard her voice and realized he'd been paired up with her.
"No."
She hated herself for ever even coming to the stupid dance.
Iie Kami, Iiya! Why me! Why him! Why now! No, I refuse! But I really need my daggers back… Ugh, I hate last resorts!
She sighed heavily and said, "Look Hiei, you hate me and I hate you more, but let's get one thing straight… I will keep a promise if it's a necessity to my well being. If you just dance with me for one song. I won't hit you for a week."
"A week?"
"Okay two."
"Two?"
"Fine, three! But that's it!"
"Fine…"
"Okay, do you know how?"
He just looked away.
"Well, I'll teach you." She grabbed his hands and put it around her waist and she put her hands on his shoulders.
"Okay you kinda' sway in a circle, like this."
They were dancing and looked away from each other and set their eyes on other couples. Yusuke was with Keiko, Kurama with a girl who looked a little bit younger than he was, Kuwabara with a girl obviously older than he was, and Botan was dancing with someone up to her waist. Setsunei was getting very shaky and she felt the heat creep up into her face.
What in the- what kind of strange emotion is this…? My face feels really hot and my hands won't stop shaking…
She was lost in her trail of thought and she had no idea that Hiei had the same thoughts running through his head. The song was over and everyone parted. Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, Botan, and Keiko had their eyes on Setsunei and Hiei. As soon as they realized that the song was over, they jumped apart.
"Okay that's over with… Now about my daggers…?"
She strode over to them and started tapping her foot impatiently at them.
"I thought you hated Hiei, Setsunei." said Yusuke annoyingly
"I still do!"
"Did you just want it not to end…?" joined in Botan
"No! Now fork over my daggers you insufferable wench!"
"Okay…"
She motioned over Keiko who had Setsunei's daggers in her hands. She handed them back over to Setsunei and she snatched them out of her hands.
"Where were you keeping them!"
"We can't tell you that or else you'd know where we hid them the next time!"
"You little-"
"Oh c'mon Setsunei, lighten up!"
"No. I still hate all of you and you've made my life a living hell more than once. Shall I go down the list? I'm not staying a minute longer with you sad excuses for people. And if you send that vertically challenged punk after me… you'll regret the day you ever crossed Setsunei Kujiradou."
She walked out of the door and nobody went after her for the fear that she would go through with her threat.
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Those insignificant, good-for-nothing, annoying, stupid-
Setsunei was cursing Yusuke and co. for ever thinking that they could just make crazy assumptions that she would ever love that short and annoying "guardian" that has to follow her everywhere she goes.
The day I say, "Aishiteru" to Hiei… is the day I sprout wings and bring about the apocalypse to the worlds.
She walked down an alleyway to delay the time taken to get back to Kurama's. She saw something move in the shadows and smiled to herself.
Out of the rabbit hole… and back again…
She slipped out her daggers and prepared for what was to come. She was caught off guard and was pinned against the brick wall by some anonymous person. It just happened to be that person from the party who had two sides of his hair dyed different colors.
"You…" she said quietly
"Hello again, konisou."
"Release me or your dismal life ends now."
"You still owe me a dance."
"Only in death."
"C'mon, konisou."
"Keep calling me that and I'll make your demise even more painful than what I had already planned for you."
"What? Don't you like bein' treated like royalty?"
"No, I don't. And if you haven't heard already… I don't show mercy in death."
"Talk is cheap."
"Oh really?"
She stomped on his toes and kicked him in the ribs so hard that it sent him flying into the brick wall. Some fragments of the brick broke away. She turned away and spat her disgust. She turned to walk away, but was stopped by a bunch of other men who apparently came when she wasn't looking.
"Move out of my way."
"Not a chance."
"Unless you want to die one hell of an agonizing death, I suggest you move now."
"It's ten against one. You don't have much authority to boss us around."
"Oh yes I do. I could kill you all without even trying. You think numbers will help you? You've got to be kidding me."
"Let's see."
The one talking to her snapped his fingers and everyone came at her all at once. Setsunei dodged their hits and she killed several of them. She went for the one in front of her who was hurling the throwing knives. She barely got cut on the cheek by one. She almost hit him but she was tripped by the leader of the group. He pinned her against the wall, but this time she couldn't really get away.
"Who can kill who now?"
She was struggling against her bonds and he looked at her closely. She looked at him with contempt and burning hatred in her eyes.
"Alright what do you want?"
"I heard you do performances… Setsunei…"
"You heard wrong. I don't do performances. Now tell me… how did you figure out my name?"
"Rumors…"
"You lie."
"A lot of people talk about you Setsunei… Especially Takeshi…"
"Exactly what do you hear about me and tell me your intentions of WHY THE HELL YOU'RE KEEPING ME HERE!"
"Songstress Divine they call you. A wonderful voice, but a nasty temper… How in the world you wound up with someone like Takeshi is beyond me."
"If you think there's something between me and that lyingbastard with an I.Q less than that of a rock,let me tell you that you're dead wrong. Now let me go."
"No. I have a good reason for keeping you here."
"Let go."
"You have something I want."
"Whatever it was, it was mine first, so burn in hell you sad excuse for deformed pond sludge."
"Too bad."
His palm glowed to an icy blue color and he touched her forehead. She went limp but she was still conscious.
Karada ga... ugokanai!
"What the hell did you do to me?"
"Simple, I paralyzed you so you can't pull that stunt you did with that guy over there." he said gesturing to the guy still embedded in the brick wall.
"You still are going to die."
"Whatever."
She looked away as he slung her over his shoulder and carried her off.
What am I going to do? Every time this wears off, he'll just do it again to prevent me from escaping. How am I going to get away? If I scream, I doubt anyone will hear me… But then again… Oh, what have I got to lose?
She screamed so loud that he dropped her due to the ringing in his ears. She kept screaming until the faint sound reached the ears of Yusuke and co.
-------------------------------------
"What was that sound?" Yusuke inquired
"It was someone screaming!" shouted Botan
They thought about who it might've been. And then it hit them.
"Setsunei!"
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Setsunei ran out of breath and stopped screaming. The guy who captured her got up still suffering fromher desperate cry for help. He looked at her with contempt, but then his gaze softened.
"Smart, Setsunei, but even if someone heard you, they wouldn't get here in time, so your efforts are wasted."
She thought about it and realized that he was right. She pretty much figured it hopeless to even bother trying because there was nothing left that she could do.
Luckily for her, Hiei was keeping a silent eye on her when she left. He killed the person holding Setsunei captive and she fell to the ground watching him fend off the rest of his allies. She was lying in a pool of the leader's blood and Hiei just killed the last of the guy's followers.
"Could you please pick me up from here now! I'm lying in his blood here and it's not something I like doing every day!"
"Why don't you get up yourself?"
"I can't!"
"Why not?"
"The guy paralyzed me okay! Now please, get me out of here!"
He walked over and carried her back to Kurama's.
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"You should be paralyzed for a few more hours so all attempts at escape are futile. And it won't take me that long to get the others."
"Oh shut up. It's not my fault you're a bunch of good-for-nothing wastes of time. You're lucky I keep my word otherwise I'd kill you."
If I could move…
"You're the one who keeps getting caught by all the wrong people."
"Shut up."
"No."
"I hate you."
"I hate you too."
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Hiei retrieved the rest of the gang and explained to them what happened to Setsunei.
"Nani!" they chorused
She just looked away from them still as limp as a rag doll.
"You are not going out on your own anymore!"
"You've said that so many times and apparently, you don't really mean it. You're the ones who let me go out on my own. Now how much longer do I have to wait before this stupid spell-thingy wears off!"
"Another hour and thirty minutes at least." said Kurama
"Ugh!"
"You left. It's your own fault." said Hiei mentally smirking about Setsunei's fault
"It's not my fault that I got this stupid pendant that doesn't even benefit me!"
"It probably would if you'd let us help you!" said Yusuke
"I don't want your help! I can find them on my own!"
"Find what?" asked Keiko
She mentally slapped herself in the back of the head for letting that slip out.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could you let something slip like that!
"Nothing. I lost something a long time ago and I'm still trying to get it back. You need not know what it is."
"Oh sure, like that's going to stop us from trying to find out what it is that you lost." teased Yusuke
"It's my business!"
"Since you're staying here with us, you can't constantly turn away from us when we ask you something about yourself." said Kurama calmly
She thought about that strange boy she met again.
Don't turn away Setsunei…
She looked around to see if that boy was here again because she could have sworn that she heard his voice.
She sighed out of annoyance and said, "I'll tell you when we meet Koenma."
There was a knock on the door and Kurama went down stairs to answer it. A few minutes later Kurama walked in the door and was followed by Koenma in his teenage form.
"Setsunei this is-"
"I know who it is already."
Damn…
"Well then now that introductions are made you should let me get a closer look at her."
He walked over to her and looked over her.
"Does she have the pendant?"
"Yeah." Yusuke said quietly after he remembered what happened the first time he tried to see the pendant
"Let me see."
He was lucky that Setsunei was paralyzed otherwise she would have killed him for getting that close to her, regardless of who he was. He grabbed the pendant, studied it carefully and let it fall from his hands.
"I'm pretty sure she's the one, but there's one more thing I need to check before I know she's the one."
"And that happens to be…" she said still annoyed
"Do you know who you are?"
"Yeah. I'm Setsunei Kujiradou."
"No, I mean do you have any memory of your past?"
She fell silent and looked away.
"I think that's a yes." said Botan
Everyone looked at her strangely and she was growing tired of the eerie silence.
"I know. I know. It's weird that I don't recall any part of my past. I woke up in an alley somewhere in Shinjuku without a clue who I was, where I was, and why I was there in the first place. All I know is my name and the rest I've got so far I pretty much assumed for myself."
"You don't remember anything?" Kurama inquired
"No. Not even my age. I guessed that one too."
"Nothing at all?" asked Hiei a little shocked
"Nope. I don't know who my parents are. I don't know when my birthday is. I can't remember where I came from. And every time I try to remember things, it hurts my head worse than a migraine. Now will you stop with the interrogation! Memories are a touchy subject."
Everyone fell silent and Setsunei just looked at them with a cold hearted look.
I should have just said no and rid myself of these annoying fools.
"How long was that little session? I'd like to be able to move before my cremation ceremony."
"Thirty minutes."
"Argh!"
"Hiei, watch Setsunei in case she recovers more quickly than expected."
"She may be a pendant bearer, but I don't think that she has any ability to recover any more quickly than expected."
"We can't take that risk."
"Damn you all. I'm paralyzed! I can't move! I can't even twitch my left pinkie! Now can I be alone for once!"
"No!"
She grumbled curses and stared out the window out of contempt. She started humming some mysterious tune to keep herself from screaming out loud. They shut the door behind them and she muttered curses about something involving detectives that won't give a minute of peace even if she threatened to commit suicide.
"It won't help to complain and curse our names every time our backs are turned."
"It makes me feel better."
"But it's bothering the rest of us."
"I don't care what you think if you haven't noticed lately."
"You still should listen."
"And you still should have that bruise on your eye."
She won the argument and she was silent. She started humming the rest of her song.
"What are you humming?"
"Some song that you don't know."
He was quiet and he was beginning to fall asleep due to Setsunei's humming. She noticed the soft breathing and assumed he'd fallen asleep. She grinned and got up.
They were right to suspect that I'd recover quickly… heh heh…
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and she went over to the window. She looked back and she opened the window and jumped through.
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"Yusuke there is something you need to know." stated Koenma
"And what's that?"
"Setsunei's singing…"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"That's how she manages to use her spirit energy and why so many people like her singing. Her spirit energy comes from her mouth when she sings. And it can be siphoned from her when she sings as well."
"So if someone kissed her… they'd get stronger and she could kill someone with her voice if she wanted to?"
"And put them to sleep, hypnotize them, hurt them, and paralyze them."
"So if she recovers early… then-"
They thought about her accidentally hearing the conversation and putting Hiei to sleep, or just unintentionally putting him to sleep without eavesdropping on the discussion. They all immediately got up and ran to the room. They flung the door open and saw a sleeping Hiei and an open window.
----------------OOC---------------
Nice chapter, no? Setsunei dances, sings, gets herself captured yet again, gets rescued by the 'vertically challenged punk', gets paralyzed, and sneaks out while Yusuke and co. discover a new power of Setsunei's that she has yet to know about. Let's reveal what will happen in the next chapter!
------Unfamiliar Emotions and Thoughts of Memory ------
Setsunei leaves and goes to search for that mysterious boy who seems to know so much about her
Yusuke and co. are frantically searching for her and are failing in their attempts
Something Setsunei doesn't do very often… O.o
What perils will befall our beloved Setsunei in the next chapter of Terra Angel!