DISCLAIMER I don't own any of the characters in this fan fiction but I have the honour to use them… please forgive me if you don't like it.
I do own Hotaren, Kia, Hakuso and Peya. Kee-a remember okee
Chapter Six - Bewilderment
As everyone said their goodbyes Sakura watched as Yue kissed her brother on last time before rejoining with his brother and finally going home. Touya watched over his young lover as his figure disappeared into the darkness, Spinel's glow could still be seen for a fraction of a second before it became obvious that the brothers were no longer walking on the road but had in fact turned the corner. Once inside the house Touya leaned against the closed door and ignoring his sister's watchful gaze he let his eyes flutter close as a smile spread across his lips. "You know… we never came to a conclusion of what is going to be done about Hotaren?" Sakura's voice was enough to annoy the dark boy, but mentioning the angel of darkness rushed the anger through his blood and nerves. Standing up straight Touya made a move for the staircase. "Goodnight, megumina yume." His voice was neutral but it still made the young girl flinch, perhaps it would have been better if he shouted at her.
At least she wouldn't have to carry the guilt that she made him remember and hold in the newly found dilemma.
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"Hotaren!" Peya whined for the hundredth time as she appeared next to the angel. "I'm bored, can you please get off this roof and do something with me." The blue lioness sat back on her hind legs and let the wind calm her tediousness. Hotaren turned to look at the younger sibling then turned back to stare at the moon with the same cold air of dismissal. "Argh, for goodness sake, you are so maddening." Peya disappeared once again. "Oh come on, too much darkness and not enough light makes Hotaren a very dull girl." The lioness cooed as she tried to catch the angel off guard but her attempt was to no avail. "Finally, sensei's home." Peya disappeared once again as she gave up on her older sister.
Hotaren felt the presence of Kaho and the her creations a little after Peya disappeared as the three beings were met half way down the street by the bored lioness. The dark angel watched the exchange between the sensei and the student as the lioness jumped about then fell silent looked towards the house and up to the roof. Kaho, Kia and Hakuso followed her gaze but only Kaho held the connections and the three siblings turned away from their sister, something the angel didn't miss.
Kaho watched as her youngest creation bounced out of the house and run to meet up with them as they came nearer to home. Peya bounced up and down as she complained that she had been bored senseless then asked about their whereabouts for the past hours. Kaho smiled softly as she informed the blue lioness that they had been to see Kinomoto, Hiiragizawa and Yue. Instantly Kia and Hakuso tensed as they recalled the words that had been exchanged in the earlier conversations about their sister. "Where is the angel of darkness?" Kaho enquired softly as Peya picked up on the distress of her older siblings, turning around the lioness focused on the silhouette that sat on the roof top but her misunderstanding made her turn away at once.
Kaho fixed her eyes on her daughter as she wondered how such a beautiful creature could have become so vindictive.
"I wish I knew what is going through her mind." Kia's voice was fuller of melancholy than Kaho expected and as she looked to Hakuso and Kia she realised that they had been affected a lot more than she though they would have been and she understood that that was the reason for the optimistic and usually hyperactive blue lioness to tap into the feeling of uncertainty and unbelief.
"In a way I don't, whatever is flying around that head of hers is bound to be pretty gruesome if she was capable to do those things." Hakuso's voice shook with disgust.
Kia and Peya looked at their brother in disbelief but when the white panther met her brother's gaze she lowered her eyelashes in agreement as they continued towards the house, Kaho walking up ahead of the three siblings.
"Would this be a bad time to ask what is going on?" Peya's voice was just above a whisper as though she was afraid to disturb the monster that lurked in their mists.
Neither brother nor sister answered the question as they considered and weighed the burden of the truth as well as the affect that it would have on the 15 year old.
"To cut a long nightmare short, Hotaren is the cause of Yue's pain." None of the students noticed that Kaho had stopped walking until they nearly bumped into her when she spoke, startling them into a stop. Peya's eyes drained of any life and her fur turned into a pale greyish blue shade as the words sunk in. The memory of the black pool that she spied in the angel's room earlier jumped at her as she recalled the words that she had heard before Hotaren realised that she was present "he can't keep them up forever" Hotaren must have meant some kind of barrier when she spoke those assuring words, Yue must have found a form to hide from the dark angel.
A sob escaped the lioness's trembling lips as she evoked the numerous times that she saw Yue, his coldness, loneliness, the way he eluded any type of contact with life. He deprived himself of so many things… so many people but all the time Peya had naively believed it was in the genes, just like Hotaren's obsession to make Yue her friend had been some kind of gene malfunction. "How?" Peya turned her humid eyes to her mother for a response that she didn't want to hear.
"She made him believe that he was an outcast, that he was hated by all… that he was a… curse-" Kia's voice broke as she related the conversation that she heard earlier. "Hotaren manipulated people to treat Yue like he was nothing, she made them say things and do… things so that he wouldn't get close to anybody." Peya shook her head in incredulity but she knew it was true she could see it in the eyes of her sensei and her siblings, she could feel it in the vibrated emotions that radiated from the tears and uncertain shifting. She could hear it in the pounding of her mocking heart, as it thumped in her chest chanting the truth about the not so innocent angel.
"Why?" Peya asked although she didn't want to, she wasn't in control any more as tears run down her cheeks, and her body shook non stop, she could hear the debates that turned in her head as she looked for a sane excuse for her sister.
"Why what?" the voice was cold and demanding, Hotaren walked into the light her eyes challenging everyone to answer her question. None of the creatures looked at their sister knowing that she had heard their conversation.
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A few days later
He couldn't sleep, tossing and turning wasn't helping the young man find a comfortable spot in the double bed, finally Touya resigned and instead began to search for the lingering smell that belonged to his lover.
Deciding that the aftershave was not going to satisfy his hunger for answers or for Yue, Touya kicked the covers off and got out of bed, picking up his jeans and a vest top he slipped them on before walking out of his bedroom, in the hallway he paused and listened for any disturbances, silently he tiptoed to the staircase and waited a few seconds to make sure that no one woke up but just as he took a step down the first step, Fujitaka appeared at the bottom of the staircase, he was smiling carefully as though not to scare his son off, then he spoke. "Touya, just because we haven't heard anything from Eriol-san or Kaho-san it doesn't mean that you can go play hero." His voice had a tint of warning as well as worry as the brunette looked at his son.
A grin crossed Touya's mouth as he descended the steps and looked at his father. "Ota-san you're not as good at reading minds and behaviour as kaa-san is, I think you should leave it to her. Oh by the way I'm just going for a walk." Touya rested his hand on his father's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry." None the less Fujitaka's worried frown didn't entirely disappeared when he smiled at Touya.
"Why are going at this time of the night?" he looked perplexed as he realised what Touya had just applied.
"To think about Yue and Hotaren, it's a habit I've grown into." Touya admitted readily as he looked at his father's reaction at the mention of the dark angel.
Fujitaka paid no attention to that but did look confused "Yue? But you saw him less than two hours ago." He stated in amazement.
"I didn't say I was going to see Yue, I said I was going to think about him, and no I can't do that in my bedroom." Touya answered his father's question before the man could form it in his mind completely.
"Fine just as long as it applies to the dark angel too, I don't want you looking for trouble." Fujitaka darkened his face in warning.
Touya turned to look at his father and studied the shadows that lined the usually smiling face, "Ota-san… trouble is my middle name!" he grinned before walking out the door but not before considering Fujitaka's caution. What if his father felt something that was going to take place? "The bond between Yue and you is stronger than you know. Just don't try to push him away if things get confusing especially now that he needs you so much. He still hasn't come to terms with his return home." Nadesiko's voice burst into Touya's head before he could take more than a few steps away from his house, and the notion that his mother's advice meant something more than the caution that he had taken before, began to form in his mind.
Nadesiko looked down at her husband after she witnessed the exchanged between father and son. Fujitaka could feel something was coming she could tell in the way he stood and in the shadows that covered his eyes. She had felt a twinge of fear but she never liked looking into the future and she wasn't about to break that habit either. Besides her husband's behaviour already told her more than enough of what she wanted to know. "Rurouni, I couldn't find you in bed, I'd wondered were you'd gone." Nadesiko watched as her voice pulled Fujitaka out of his trance and as he pulled a smile onto his face whilst turned to look at her.
"Hime, you should be in bed." He began to ascend the stairs two at a time, when he reached his wife he waited for her as she bowed down slightly and captured his lips in her own. Grabbing her around her middle Fujitaka pulled his wife up a little and climbed up the last step and strolled to their bedroom, Nadesiko cradled in his arms.
Hotaren watched as Kaho and her siblings worked on the garden, ever since her brother and sisters became aware of her infatuation they had worked on avoiding her as much as possible. It wasn't hard to do as the house was large and the dark angel had kept herself in her room or on the rooftop in the nights, but it was getting annoying now, she could feel the disgust vibrating from the angel of the wind, but she couldn't stand the pity coming from the cats and she could certainly not stand the melancholic disappointment that surrounded her sensei. It was so much harder to handle her own emotions now that she had to feel such petty feelings from the only people that knew her and somewhat loved her. She didn't want any of it, but she had it and she was going to carry it until she made Yue pay for what he did to her.
"Talking about that angel… I wonder were he is…"
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Megumina yume - Blessed dreams
Rurouni - Wanderer
Hime - Princess
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