Chapter 12: You think of a title this time, dammit!
"Oi! Open the door!" Say cried loudly as she pounded her fist against Kyouri's door. A vein throbbed on her forehead after a few moments of silence. "Dammit, Kyouri! Open the door or I'll tear it down!"
Still no answer.
"Kyouri…" Say hissed through clenched teeth. "Open…the…door…"
(Crickets in the background)
Wham!
The door slammed open as Say's temper finally took over and she rammed her foot through the door knob. She stomped into the room, looking around angrily for the missing hanyou. Kyouri's absence in the courtyard that morning had more than annoyed the elder demoness.
"Prepare for pain," she growled as she cracked her knuckles threateningly and her eyes darted to the bed. A large lump was visible in the sheets, and just as Say noticed it she got a whiff of something in the air.
"The hell!" she exclaimed, clamping her hand over her nose as she stared at whoever was in the covers. "Why the hell is there a human in here!"
A hand emerged from the depths of the sheets, pushing them away and revealing the long brown hair that was unique to Kyouri.
"Are you wearing that damn necklace again?" Say asked, narrowing her accusingly and placing her hands on her hips.
"No, it's on the table," Kyouri replied dully, not looking up. Say glanced at the table, and, sure enough, there lay the necklace, a thin layer of dust over it after weeks of neglect.
"Then why…?" Say muttered, glancing at Kyouri again with a look of surprise.
"It happens every month," Kyouri said, meeting Say's eyes for the first time. Say stepped back in surprise as her eyebrows shot up into her dark bangs; instead of the bright green orbs she was used to seeing, a pair of deep brown eyes stared back at her, dim and murky as the earth in the depths of a river.
"You're… you're human?" Say gawked, her mouth dropping open. Kyouri gave her a scornful look as she got out of bed, brushing her long hair out of her eyes.
"Yeah, but just for today," she replied. She added with a sharp glance at Say, "Don't tell Rei, I don't want her getting me when I'm weak. I'd rather we keep this--" She trailed off as Say took her hand and began examining it.
"Incredible," Say grinned. "No talons, the flesh is softer, you even reek of human!"
"Shut up," Kyouri grimaced, jerking her hand back. "If I could stop this I would, but this damn body won't let me."
"That's what being a hanyou is all about," Say shrugged, grinning slightly at her cousin's annoyance. She took on a thoughtful tone, "Hey, Kyouri, if you could, would you turn pure blood?"
Kyouri didn't say anything at first, but then answered indifferently, "Probably. It'd be more convenient, anyway."
"For what?" Say asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Pounding Rei into the ground," Kyouri smirked.
"You already do that," Say scoffed.
"Yeah, but not as well as I'd like to," Kyouri replied, clutching her fist in front of her. Say frowned.
"Is that….really what you think pure bloods are like?" A thin veil of silence covered the girls.
"I don't need to think it," Kyouri snorted. "I know." Kyouri looked at her cousin, noting the troubled expression in her eyes, although her face was hard and stoic. Kyouri gave an exasperated sigh, then turned and plopped down on her bed, keeping her back towards Say. "I'm taking the day off," she said indifferently. "This should pass by tonight. It only happens on the day after the full moon."
"Right," Say muttered, "I'll tell that to Rei, though she won't be happy about it."
"When is she ever happy?" Kyouri asked. Say didn't answer, but walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her quietly.
When is Rei ever happy? Say thought as she lay on the roof of the mansion that night, gazing up at the mostly full moon above her. She thought back, trying to remember the last time Rei had been happy.
Issui.
The young demoness was really the only one that had ever been close to Rei. They were both brought to the mansion at around the same time, and were very close in age.
It was really only after her death that Rei's hatred for their father became truly apparent.
Say closed her eyes, thinking of Rei as a young child. It was hard to believe the little girl that used to wear her pale blonde hair in two tiny buns had grown into such an emotional and vengeful woman.
"When is she ever happy?"
When were any of them ever happy? Was that even an emotion any of them were allowed to feel?
Mother…
Yes, she had felt it. She knew what it was like to be happy.
Didn't she?
She closed her eyes, and memories of a life by the endless river, catching fish and playing with her cousins, all came back to her in a sweet stream of delight.
She opened them, and realized she was still in Japan, far away from the Nile and her mother.
"What's it like? To be in love, I mean."
Feeling complete. Happy. Content.
Is that what she felt? When she was around her mother, did she feel that way?
"Is that…really what you think pure bloods are like?"
"I don't need to think it, I know."
Demons. They were known for their heartlessness, brutality, and sheer ability to kill. In the end, massacring lives, either human or demonic, was the thing they were best at.
So were they incapable of feeling things such as love?
Humans fought and killed each other often enough. Just ten years ago the ground had run red with the blood of humans as they killed to establish a new government.
Did that mean they were heartless, too?
What did it take? Where was the line drawn between human and demon? Since she was a demoness, were such feelings as love and friendship alien to her? All this time she had been staying in this place, she had kept her distance from her sisters. It wasn't until Kyouri came that she had a friend for the first time in centuries.
Why? Why did she pity that girl so much? Why did she feel such a bond with such a pathetic creature? Ever since Kyouri had arrived, Say had somewhat sheltered her from Rei's brutality, using her father's mercilessness as an excuse, saying that she was protecting Rei by making sure she didn't make a mistake.
But there was more to it than that.
Why?
Because she had a mother too.
Say was the oldest daughter of her father, excluding Ichijou who was the only daughter of her father. She had been born in a far away land where rolling sand dunes and luscious river banks coexisted. She had lived there for ten years before her father had sent for her. She arrived in Tokyo when she was ten, and hadn't left the since.
She hadn't seen her mother since either.
"Why did mommy leave? When is she coming back? Say-nee, where is my mommy?"
She hadn't been able to bring herself to answer. She hadn't been able to affirm the horrible truth that Kyouri's mother wasn't coming back.
Just like hers wasn't.
But even though she had tried to protect Kyouri, even aiding her escape ten years ago (though the girl was unaware of it) Kyouri still ended up getting hurt.
Just like Rei.
Is that what it took? If one lost all that was important to them, would they fill up with as much hate as Kyouri or Rei?
Then why wasn't she like them? Didn't she lose her mother? Why didn't she hate her father as much as her sister and cousin did?
Mother let me go willingly.
Kyouri and Rei had lost people important to them, while Say was simply let go.
"My little daughter, take this with you. It'll keep you entertained on the ship and during long nights."
Say pulled out the small Nay flute from her tunic, gazing at it wistfully.
"Think of me when you play it."
This was different than what had happened to Kyouri and Rei.
"Issui is dead. He killed her. I will never forgive her killer."
"Mother left. I saw her leave, but she didn't tell me when she would come back. I don't want to stay here, I want to go home. I want to go home…"
Say had cared for them. She had always cared for them. As the eldest of the illegitimate daughters, it had been her duty to care for them.
To teach them.
Shelter them.
Protect them.
She cared for her sisters. That was the reason she wasn't as hateful as Rei or Kyouri.
She still had her sisters.
And she still couldn't do anything for them.
"How was your trip, father?" Ichijou asked as she carefully poured tea into the delicate little cups.
"Fine," he replied indifferently. "Things are going well here, I presume?"
"Hai, father," Ichijou said, sipping her tea elegantly.
"How is the hanyou?"
"She is improving; even Rei doesn't bother her anymore." Ichijou watched as a large smile stretched across her father's face. She placed her tea down on the table gently. "Father, excuse my boldness, but may I ask why you are putting so much energy into that hanyou? To go so far as to even use Muma-san to manipulate her dreams, I'm afraid I don't understand."
His smile stretched even farther as he gazed at his daughter with his dark red eyes, "Yes, I'm sure you don't." He also put his cup down. "Simply put, she is my brother's daughter." He took this time to pick his cup up again and take a long sip. Ichijou waited patiently until he finished, but he didn't continue even then.
"I'm afraid I still don't understand."
He chuckled darkly as his fangs were exposed by his smirk, "Though we were brothers, we were as different as the day and night. Because of that we had different strengths: I had the strength to manipulate while he had the simple strength of a brute. I was always wary of him because I knew it would be easy for him to kill me if he wanted to, so you can imagine how blessed I felt when I found out he was seeing a human wench."
He took another long sip and continued, "I allowed them some time, playing the ignoramus while I watched them carefully. I had to play this card carefully, or it could be used against me. My patience was rewarded when I found out the human girl had given birth to a hanyou. I waited a few more years, giving them time to 'bond,' as you might say.
"You see, a prey becomes especially vulnerable when it becomes emotionally attached to others.
"By then, all I had to do was threaten the lives of his wife and child and watch him crumble at my feet." He concluded with a satisfied gleam in his eye as he held his cup up to be refilled.
"But father, you still haven't answered my question about why you're spending so much effort on that girl," Ichijou said as she poured him more tea.
"She's already proving her worth if she can stand up to Rei. A girl like her can be easily manipulated and she is a powerful tool. I believe with the proper training she can become as strong as Say, and if we can find a way to make her a pure blood, she'll be indestructible."
"So she is a weapon?"
"Exactly." He sipped his tea with a content gleam in his eye as Ichijou fell into a thoughtful silence.
Note: Arghhh, I've had this chapter ready for a while, but I just keep forgetting to post it! Gomen, gomen, but I just don't have time sometimes. What's weird is that I'm really not busy at all. It's frustrating how the day just disappears! At this rate I'm gonna be fifty waaay too soon!
Umm, I guess all I have to say is that I have a few sidenotes.
Samurai Champloo's on Adult Swim (on cartoon network) on Sunday's now! WATCH THIS SHOW, DAMMIT! If you liked Cowboy Bebop and Samurai X (you should like Samurai X if you like RuroKen) then you'll totally love this anime too.
I HAVE A WEBSITE! HORAAY FOR MEEEE! Yes, I have a blog on a site called Xanga (a blogring community). You should come check it out! It's at www. xanga. com/ kie(-underscore-)san, just take out the spaces. You should come, read my blog, GET AN ACCOUNT (it's actually really fun, especially for those of us who like to write), and leave me a comment, de gozaru.
Oh, and pretty much everyone guessed that the scene of horrible doom was made by he-who-must-be-mauled-by-squirrels, which is good, because I thought someone would flame me for killing off the whole cast of RuroKen (ha ha ha… -shifty eyes-)
Okay, enough of me ranting!
Reviewer Responses:
WhiteRabbit5: I'M IN A C2 COMMUNITY! I'M IN A C2 COMMUNITY! Yay! Thank you so much! (sessha is so honored). Lol Yeah, that is pretty embarrassing that they were snuggling and stuff, but I gotta say I loved writing that scene (I love cuddle scenes!). BTW, I am going to read some of your fic TODAY (-grin!-), since I have no homework (yaaay, AP is over!).
FairyMage: lol I guess that's the downside to having a beta-reader, ne? Ya, I agree, we need to make the evil one get killed by something horrible (like a kumquat or something). Ah, well, you're just gonna have to wait and see, aren't ya!
K.T. Kyouko: Ha! I made you cried! Mission accomplished! Lol Glad you liked the chapter!
Rayne-chan: Oooh, glow sticks, perdy… O-O. Don't worry, Ray-chan, all will be better (or at least, I think it's gonna be better…).
Omasuoniwabanshu: Yay! (-claps-) You're the only one that got Rei's little comment at the end! At least you realize Rei isn't completely evil, which she isn't, just close. Revenge is a platter best served with popsicle sticks, remember that.
IzakiRioFLAME: (your name is a pain to write!). Nah, I don't think I'll do another GaaraxOC (it'd be weird, as if Gaara was cheating on Kitai or something). Still, I'm glad you liked it!
Micah Cappy Morse: T-T Yay, I'm so happy you don't think it's another brainless SanoxOC! Sano is my second favorite character of RK (Ken-san is the first), and it's painful to see how they butcher him sometimes. I hope you keep reading, de gozaru!
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! I got SEVEN reviews! Hurray! I want to thank all of you guys that leave reviews, you're just awesome. A very special thanks to those of you who have stuck with me through this fic (not saying names, but you all know who you are, so feel special, dammit!). I love you all! HUGS! (-reviewers run away-)
Don't forget to leave a review, de gozaru!
Seriously, leave a review or Rei will zap you.
