Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or Pop Tarts or anything, for that matter. I do own some lint and maybe a candy wrapper...
A/n- Finally got around to typing up this chapter. I won't bore you with some lame excuse... Point is, it's done! Enjoy!
Chapter 16: Life Goes On
Genkai stood back to admire her creations. She had just successfully made miso soup, rice and tea for a traditional Japanese breakfast. There it lay, spread out on the wooden table in all its splendor.
Normally, Genkai would never make such a variety of food or put that much effort into breakfast. She would just turn on the coffee pot, throw a few Pop Tarts in the toaster and say, "Bon appétit." However, considering the past few weeks' events, she wanted to do something nice for her grandniece. Some good, hearty food might cheer her up a little.
"Avi-chan! Breakfast!" Genkai called down the lengthy hallway. She expected to hear footsteps or the sound of a door opening, but nothing came. There was only silence.
"Where is that child...?" she murmured to herself. Perhaps, Avari was sleeping in late, but it was past 11 o'clock. Even though it was Saturday morning, she always woke up before 10 A.M. Something had to be wrong...
But, what could it have been? Something must have happened while she had been away at the Tournament of the Masters, which she had gotten back from only last night. She hadn't seen Avari since she had come home...
Genkai wandered over to Avari's bedroom door and lightly tapped on it.
"Avari?" She slowly opened the door, puzzled at the image before her.
There, in bed, lay her grandniece. She was surrounded by a sea of tissues and wrappers from chocolate bars. The room was dim, so Genkai didn't notice how puffy and red Avari's face and eyes were. On the television, which Avari had given her undivided attention, was an old, black-and-white film.
'Oh, Lucille...' said the man on the screen, taking his lover's delicate hands in his. 'I will always love you...'
"YOU LIAR!" Avari exclaimed angrily, throwing a hunk of chocolate at the television. She had obviously not seen Genkai yet...
"Avi-chan!" Genkai said loudly, storming into the room. She turned on the light and flicked the television off. "What has gotten into you?"
Avari burst into tears at that moment. Genkai rushed over to the edge of her bed and took a seat on its edge. She handed her grandniece another tissue, who took it willingly and blew her nose disgustingly into it.
"What's wrong?" Genkai asked, more demanding this time. Avari decided she needed to answer before she was kicked out of her bed for disobeying.
"It's Yu...hiccup...-suke," she began, still sniffling and crying.
"What did the dimwit do now?"
"He br-broke up...sniff...with m-me," Avari finally let out, bursting into tears again.
"So?" Genkai said, like it was no big deal. "Then, why are you moping around?"
"I have every right to!" Avari argued. Her heart had been broken and she deserved some time to wallow. That was how you got over these things... Right?
"No, you don't! He's just a boy!" Genkai yelled.
"No, he's not! He's Yusuke! He's special!" Avari yelled back. She was so riled up that she stood up in front of Genkai.
"Oh, please! You should just get used to getting your heart broken! It's going to happen several times before you meet the right man!" Genkai shouted. "Take it from someone who's lived!"
"B-but, what about first loves being your true love?" Avari asked, lowering her tone.
"This isn't a fairy tale world! I didn't know that you were that naive!" Genkai yelled in response.
Avari didn't have a comeback for this one. Her gaze moved down to the floor. She plopped down on the bed and admitted defeat... She was naive. She had really thought Yusuke was her one, true love. She had pictured them getting married, taking over the dojo, raising a few kids... But, that had all changed in the blink of an eye. Genkai was right. This was life; this was reality.
Genkai knew that their argument was over. Enough yelling had been done and it wasn't helping the situation. Only kind words would fix this rough patch. She sat down next to Avari and put her arm around her.
"Life goes on after breakups, Avi-chan," she said, quietly. She let Avari's head rest on her shoulder. "There are plenty of other fish in the..."
"Don't finish that phrase," Avari interrupted. "That line is too cheesy."
"Well, I'm your cheesy, old aunt and I can say what I want," Genkai protested. Avari had to smile at this. Genkai was so corny sometimes... Old fogies usually were.
"You were raised to be stronger than this," Genkai continued. "So, I want you to shower, get dressed and seize the day, capisce?" She looked Avari sternly in the eye.
"Capisce," Avari agreed, with a meek smile.
With that said and done, Genkai left the room, leaving Avari to her things.
-----------------------------------------
Avari emerged from the bathroom into her room. She wore a bathrobe and a towel on her head. That shower had really helped to clear her thoughts and to cleanse her of the pain. Already, she felt about 15 percent better than she had before. She knew it would take time to completely get over Yusuke, but Genkai was right. She needed to seize the day and not admit defeat in this matter. Moving on with her life was the best thing she could do for herself.
She walked over to her open closet, contemplating what clothes would suit her mood best. Gray hoodie? No, that was too sad of a color. Yellow sweater? She didn't feel that sun-shiny just yet! It had to be just the right color; not too bright, but not too depressing...
Clink, clank. Avari turned toward the sound. Something had just hit her window. Was it that stupid squirrel that threw nuts at her window again? Or was it Genkai out in the garden, asking her to get something from inside the temple? She walked over to the window and pulled up the blinds.
She did a double take at what she saw.
There stood Yusuke, meekly waving and giving a cheesy, unsure grin.
"What do you want?" Avari said loudly, to make sure he heard through the glass.
"Are you trying to take up fortunetelling?" he asked, noticing the towel wrapped around her head.
"If you came here to make fun of me, I'm ignoring you," Avari warned. She was about to lower the blinds and shut him out. What could he possibly be here for? He didn't have training with Genkai until the next day, when she would conveniently go to the library to avoid him. And if he was going to try and get back with her, he had to be kidding himself. There was no way she would forgive him that easily!
"Wait, wait! I came to talk!" Yusuke said hastily. "Open the window."
Curious to hear what the dimwit had to say, Avari opened the window, just had he had asked her to.
"Shoot," Avari said, commanding him to spill the beans. She leaned on the window sill, awaiting his response.
"Uh... I came here to patch things up a bit. Things didn't go like I had wanted them to yesterday..." Yusuke began.
"And?"
"And I really do want us to still be friends," he finished.
"You know, Yusuke. That's a good idea," Avari said, nodding her head to emphasize how she agreed. "In fact, I have a present for you. Wait right there." She walked out of her room and came back a few moments later.
Yusuke came closer to the window to see what the present was. Was it one of those corny "Best Friends" key chains? Or maybe it was some home baked chocolate chip cookies? Or the new Megallica CD?
He saw that a large bowl was in Avari's hands. Bingo! It was those amazing chocolate chip cookies she made for him all the time! Maybe this whole just friends things was going to be better than he had thought...
"Here you go!" Avari said, cheerfully. She smiled and held out the bowl to Yusuke, who held out his hands to receive it through the open window. Although, instead of putting it in his hands, Avari thrust the bowl into Yusuke's face.
The bowl fell onto the dirty ground with a light thud!
Yusuke blinked in surprise. He was covered in miso soup. He wiped minced garlic and ginger pieces from his eyes and pulled a carrot out that had been lodged in his nose.
"Did you really think I would forgive you that easily?" Avari asked, but it was meant more as a rhetorical question. "Well, I hope you enjoy your soup. Have a nice day, best friend!"
Before Yusuke could respond or even comprehend what had just happened, she gave him an evil smile and slammed her window shut. From the sudden movement, he winced. She then pulled down the blind, meaning she didn't want to associate with him any more.
Inside her room, Avari smiled proudly in her mirror. She was positively gloating. Never would she have had the guts to do that to a guy before. But now, she felt like she had come out of her shell.
Proudly and happily, she had enough inspiration to finally decide on an outfit. She donned on a pale pink polo shirt and a pair of comfortable, dark blue jeans. To her, pink was a happy color. It was how she felt when she was happy or giddy. Therefore, it suited her mood decorously.
---------3 P.M.----------
Avari let out a long sigh. She was bored.
Genkai had gone out grocery shopping, but had asked her to come along. Any kind of shopping was not good for Genkai and Avari to do together. It always ended in some big argument over a sale or what was better than what. So, it had been best for her to stay home. It didn't help that her best friend was half-dead in a hospital bed and Yusuke was out of the picture.
This left her alone on a Saturday afternoon with nothing to do at all. There she sat, on the temple stairs, watching nature's flow. She had watched a bee go from one flower to the other for the past fifteen minutes. How pathetic was that?
Yes, she had homework and training she could be doing. But, when you're at such an intense level of boredom, you lack the motivation for these kinds of things. You just want to lounge around, doing nothing. You just want waste time because it feels like there is no time... like it stopped. And you're just waiting for something to happen. You're in this purgatory between the minutes and time's just hanging there... It's quite peaceful actually.
A moderately strong breeze began to pick up. Out of the corner of her eye, Avari saw a piece of paper being carried by it. Obviously someone had been extremely inconsiderate to the environment and had littered. Just go ahead and add to the pollution and grime that you see everywhere! Actually, the paper would disintegrate, but that was still littering!
The paper began to blow more and more in her direction. Perhaps it wanted her to grab it and put it where it belonged, a recycling bin.
Another gust blew and the paper flew right into Avari's face.
Was this Karma's way of getting back at her for miso-souping Yusuke? What goes around, comes around... That was the ancient philosophy. This was a rather pathetic way of getting back at her though. And Yusuke had deserved it! He had broken her heart, after all. The miso-souping had been Karma getting back at him.
She grabbed the paper off of her face. She lazily glanced at it, expecting it to be some stupid flyer for a fundraiser or an advertisement for a cleaning service. To her surprise, it was actually a note; a note addressed to her.
Avari,
Go to the Mighty Oak at 11 o'clock one night before the Full Moon. Bring the locket to secure the life of your family.
She gaped at the signature of the letter's author. Under the message in bright, blood-red ink was the name of her half-brother.
Yamiko.
When he said her family, he had to have meant Genkai. She was the only living relative Avari had, aside from Yamiko himself. She hardly considered him family though... And there was no way she was going to let him take Genkai's life!
She knew it was the wrong thing to do, but she was getting tired of Yamiko bothering her! Avari was going to give him the locket. Even if the family heirloom would be in the wrong hands, at least Genkai would be safe. She knew Yamiko would want nothing more with her once he had the locket. He may have been a manipulative, cold-blooded, ruthless bastard, but he wasn't one to do pointless tormenting.
And hopefully unleashing the power of the locket would be impossible for him! Or maybe she should notify Koenma... or maybe Genkai could do that... and get him to send in some Spirit World employees to take Yamiko down. That would be the best way to do it.
The Mighty Oak... He had to mean the famous, 300-hundred-year-old tree in the town's park. But, when was the full moon? Couldn't he have been more specific! He could have easily put the date!
Avari ran into the temple, all the way into the kitchen. Posted on the refrigerator was a calendar with the new and full moons posted on it. According to it, the next full moon was...tomorrow night? That soon! That meant that Avari would have to go meet Yamiko tonight! ...one night before the Full Moon...
He could have given her some more warning! Although, he was a very spur-of-the-moment type of person. That was one of the few things she remembered about him. At least, she could just get it over and done with so that she could move on with her life.
And what was so special about the night before the full moon anyway? Yamiko has probably written it to try and confuse Avari... So that she would come on the wrong night. Then, he would have every reason to hurt Genkai. That bag of douche... She wasn't so easily fooled!
--------10 P.M.---------
It was now 10 P.M. Time to prepare. Avari rummaged around in her closet. She knew it was in there somewhere... under the piles of dirty laundry, shoes, papers and other things. Obviously, she was not someone who cared for a clean room. The piles of junk she had laying everywhere would cause any person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, to have a seizure.
Aha! There it was! It was her midnight blue, skin-tight jumpsuit. She hadn't used it since her mission to Starlight Cave with Yusuke. It felt like an eternity had gone by since then... Life was really flying by.
Avari slipped into the suit with ease and zipped up the front. It felt strange to be wearing the suit again, but it also felt good. She felt like she was working for Koenma again as a spy. It brought back all of the memories of her past missions... When she had met Riley and helped make her a Spirit Guide, when Yusuke had turned into a ferret on their mission to Starlight Cave... Those had been the good old days.
She grabbed her old lightweight boots, after digging through the masses of stuff in her closet again. While lacing them up, she smiled. It really was a pleasure to be getting back into her old gear. Spy work had truly been the passion in her life. Maybe someday she could convince Koenma to trust her again, after she had the weight of the locket off of her shoulders.
She walked over to her full-length mirror. She pulled her silver hair into a ponytail and tied a dark-blue bandana over it, to hide her hair. It was such a glossy, glistening silver that the moonlight would reflect off of it and give her presence away. Looking at her reflection, she looked so right in her entire spy attire... It was who she really was. Even if Koenma didn't want to hire her back, maybe she could work for the FBI or the CIA. She had enough experience! And the job would be a blast!
Looking over at her alarm clock, it read the time 10:16 P.M. She needed to hurry up and get going! It would take at least 30 minutes to walk to the Mighty Oak. And she wanted to have a few spare minutes to wait for Yamiko, or whatever minion he decided to send this time.
Hastily, she grabbed a small, black backpack. She shoved a pair of nunchakus, a pocket knife, a compass, a flashlight, freeze-dry food, a space blanket, her cell phone and a water bottle into the bag. Even though this was supposed to be a harmless meeting of Yamiko and Avari finally coming to terms over a long-going dispute, one could not be too prepared. As a spy, you were taught to always bring the basics. You never knew what could happen. Better safe than sorry.
Gracefully and cat-life, Avari slide out of her open bedroom window. She walked across the courtyard of the temple almost noiselessly. With her dark-colored clothes, she blended right into the dark backdrop of the night. No one, unless they had extremely keen eyesight, would be able to see the slightest bit of her.
------The Mighty Oak. 10:48 P.M.------
Avari came to a dead stop under the Mighty Oak. It was in a very open part of the park, since it was on the main pathway. Therefore, she decided to hide behind the 10-foot-thick tree. Only a few more minutes until all of her troubles would be over. Yamiko would get what he wanted, the locket. And Avari would get what she wanted, peace.
She slumped down against the tree trunk and allowed herself to sit down on the ground. Hopefully, he would get here soon. Her warm, comfortable bed was calling, beckoning for her to go home to it and let sleep take over. She yawned lightly. It had been a long day... Eventful, but also boring. It was weird how being bored and sitting around all day could make you so tired.
Avari glimpsed at her watch that was strapped to her wrist. It glowed in the dark. In blue numbers, it read 10: 57 P.M. Any minute now... She would be free to live a more normal life. No more demons attacking her, no more threats to her friends and family; just peace.
She heard a twig snap behind her. She shot right up and crept around the tree. Apparently, Yamiko had been too lazy, yet again, to come and see her himself. He had sent one of his minions to come and claim the locket. Although, this demon was obviously of very high rank. Her half-brother wouldn't trust just anyone to retrieve and deliver a source of great power.
This demon looked almost human, except he had feathery, dark-blue wings sticking out of his back. His skin wasn't scaly like the other demons; it looked like normal human skin, but with a hint of green to it. Also, his hair was a rather abnormal color; a light teal. His eyes are also teal, but a much deeper teal than his hair. He was dressed in a dark-blue cloak with teal edging. On his neck, she saw the red X that all of Yamiko's faithful minions bore. The demon stared at Avari, as she did the same.
"Do you have it?" the demon said, in a deep, almost poisonous voice.
Without saying a word, Avari kept her gaze intently on the demon. She quickly unclasped the locket from her neck and handed it over to the demon.
"Pleasure doing business with you," the teal demon said, surveying the locket to make sure it wasn't a fraud. It looked to be the real thing. It even gave off the faintest glow of violet, as powerful gems often did.
Avari turned around to head back home. Their deal was done. Yamiko had what he wanted and now he could leave Avari alone to have what she had wanted. She couldn't help but noticing how empty and naked her neck felt without the locket clasped around it. She had worn it for so long without removing it. Perhaps the next day she would go out and buy a new locket, just to make her feel more comfortable.
"Wait," she heard the demon call after her. What did he want now? A good fight? She was in no mood for that at the moment. She just wanted to go home and sleep!
Before Avari could turn around, she felt a cold hand grab at the back of her neck. Chills raced down her spine. She went to yank his hand off of the back of her neck and teach him a lesson, but she didn't have time to. The hand's grip tightened and Avari felt a weird sensation run through her body. She felt... numb.
Then, everything went black.
-To be Continued!-
A/n- How was that? You tell me! Please review! And tune in next time to The Power Locked Within to learn what has happened to Avari! Only 3 more chapters left guys! Review, Review, Review! That's what the SUBMIT button is for! Infinite thanks to those who do!