Ch. 17

I have to give my new family credit. Most of them knew not to try and anger a fully grown half-demon. Still can't speak for Centipede, though.
~

"I was right. More than two people." Rin kept her ears cocked forward as she and James made their way through the tunnel.

"Right now, we need to keep calm and think things through," a woman's high voice declared.

"Think things through?" a male voice- different from the first two Rin had heard- cried. "I think we should stay put. Less chance of being spotted."

"Odd, I can hear them perfectly." Rin caught the sounds of agitated pacing. "Why didn't I hear them before? We were standing right next to the peach."

"Maybe the peach's magic was blocking their voices," James whispered back. "That way, Auntie Sponge and Auntie Spiker wouldn't hear them either."

"Hey, that could be it. Good thinking, James-chan." Smiling, James pointed ahead.

"Look, Rin. I think we made it."

Ahead, Rin could see craggy brown walls poking out of the peach flesh. The half-demon squinted at the walls of the peach.

"James, is there a hole in the pit?"

"Yes, but there's a paper screen covering it."

"Alright. Move slowly and stay to one side. I don't want anyone to catch a glimpse of us."

Edging to the right, the two siblings crept closer to the pit. As they did, the first woman's voice rang out again.

"Here now! Where do you think you're going, Yank?"

"I'm going stir-crazy," the rough man's voice snapped back. "I gotta take a look around. Plan our escape from Spiker and Sponge."

"Escape?" the shrill man's voice rang out. "To where? We'll all be squashed... swatted... smooshed!"

Rin and James reached the pit at the tail end of the nervous man's rant. James was staring curiously at the screen and both he and Rin gasped as a silhouette suddenly appeared in front of the screen. The shadow was that of a tall thin creature with curvy antennae on top of its head and at least three arms. When it spoke, it did so with the same rich cultured voice Rin had caught before.

"No one's going to "smoosh" you, my dear boy," it said. "You're six feet long now."

Another shadow, this one long and serpentine, took the place of the tall one. "Bigger target," it moaned in a familiar nervous voice.

What ARE these creatures? Rin wondered. They're not demons, but they're certainly not human! Just what the HELL did those crocodile tongues do? Huh, probably better James spilled them.

"Let the biddies come! I'll take 'em both on," the rough voice declared. His shadow replaced the nervous snake-like silhouette. The rough speaker was, like the first shadow, tall and thin. However, he was endowed with many arms, which he was kind enough to display as he listed off his admirable qualities. "I'm indefeatable! I'm indivisible! I'm-"

Exactly what else the rough man thought he was, Rin and James wouldn't know. The slick peach flesh the two were kneeling on suddenly became flooded with juice. As a result, the siblings felt themselves sliding toward the screen.

"Rin!" James cried, grabbing his sister's hand.

"James!" The surprised half-demon grabbed her brother around his waist. As she did, her claws lost their grip on the wall. Before Rin could steady herself, she felt herself slide forward on the slippery peach. That, combined with her lunging for James, sent the siblings tumbling through the screen and into the dark peach pit.

"I'm in trouble!" the rough-voiced creature cried as he looked up at the surprise guests.

"Ahhhhhhh!" James clung to his sister as they free-fell into the dark room below. Holding onto James, Rin executed a neat half-turn in midair, barely avoiding landing on the many-armed figure. Landing on her feet, the young half-demon stumbled a bit as she and James righted themselves. There was just enough light in the room for Rin to make out several very oddly-shaped creatures.

"Rin!" James was barely visible in the gloom, but Rin could hear the terror in his voice and feel the shaking in the little boy's iron grip on her hand.

"Stay behind me," she told him. James needed no second bidding. He huddled behind Rin as the half-demon tried to make sense of the situation. Considering all the shouting, such a task was not easy.

"It's Spiker and Sponge! They've found us!" the long serpentine creature moaned.

"No, no, no," the tallest creature said. He was holding what appeared to be a monocle to his left eye as he peered at Rin and James. "Why, I do believe it's the children from the hill." He and a shorter, rounder creature began advancing toward Rin and James.

Okay, that's enough of that! Extending her claws, Rin bared her fangs at the group of creatures and let a low growl escape her throat. Immediately, every one of the strange creatures froze.

"Take another step and I'll rip your heads off! I am of the Kurosaki family and we do not make idle threats!" Rin's eyes darted back and forth over the row of strange creatures, wondering if she should unfurl her wings. Perhaps then, she could take James and escape back the way they came. But what were these creatures capable of? Could they fly?

"She's going to kill us!" the serpentine creature wailed, thrashing the tip of his tail against the ground.

"Earthworm!" the tall creature barked furiously.

Earthworm? Rin's sharp ears caught the sound of rushing air. She turned to the right just as what looked like the form of a giant spider descended from a length of thread into the middle of the room. Its four eyes were ghostly green in the darkness and when it spoke, it did so with the voice of a smoky-voiced French female.

"Please, Rin" she said calmly. "We do not want to hurt you or James."

"And we don't want you to hurt us!" the aptly-named Earthworm shrieked.

"Don't tempt me!" Rin shot back. Meanwhile, James had worked up enough courage to peer around his big sister.

"You won't hurt us or try to eat us?" he whimpered.

"Goodness no, dear!" The high woman's voice cried from the form of the rounder creature next to the taller one cried. The many-armed creature looked behind him.

"Better turn on your lights, Glowworm!" Immediately, a bright light flooded the room. Rin growled as she was momentarily blinded. Blinking furiously, the young half-demon heard the strange creatures start to approach her and James again. Hissing, she bared her fangs in the direction of the footsteps and was pleased to hear them halt. Rin's ears twitched as she heard James gasp from behind her and as her vision cleared, she understood why.

Standing together, their eyes fixed on Rin and James, was a group of giant bugs. Rin's eyes slid over each one of them as they started back at the two siblings. From left to right was an elegantly dressed grasshopper, a prim, matronly ladybug, a nervous-looking earthworm, and a rough-looking centipede. Hovering in the background was an overly-dressed glowworm and a black-and-white striped spider.

What in the HELL? Rin's eyes darted over the strange group. Aside from the various bugs, the young half-demon saw they weren't the only oddities inside the peach pit. Old gardening equipment, a packet of seeds, an old glove, a discarded wash bin, and various bits of trash were now easily three times their original size and strewn about the room in a rough attempt at decoration. Huh, I guess when that old man said the crocodile tongues would work their magic on anything they found, he meant anything!

It was the grasshopper who spoke first. Holding up his four arms, he took a tentative step toward Rin and James.

"Please, young miss," he implored in his rich cultured voice. We mean no harm to either one of you. I promise."

"And why should I trust you?" Rin snarled, flexing her claws.

"How can we trust you?" the earthworm cried.

"Earthworm, honestly!" The grasshopper rolled his eyes skyward.

"Indeed." The spider, still dangling from her thread, sought out James's small form hiding behind Rin. She caught James's eyes and smiled at him. "All Rin is doing is protecting her brother. It is all she has ever tried to do."

How did she know that? Rin's eyes narrowed as she stared at the spider. The spider, for her part, stared calmly back at the young half-demon. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by the centipede. Pushing the spider out of the way, he met Rin's eyes with his own blue gaze and a wide grin.

"Yeah, like all Angel Fangs there will try to do is suck your brains out while you're sleeping," he declared with a wink.

"RAAAAAR!" Rin darted forward and slashed at the centipede.

"YAAH!" The centipede jumped backward as the half-demon's claws sliced at his middle. The only thing that saved the cocky arthropod was the stepladder behind him. The centipede blundered into it, falling to the ground with a clatter. As a result, Rin's claws ripped harmlessly through the air where the centipede had been moments before. The spider yanked centipede backwards, pulling him farther away from the hissing half-demon.

"Idiot," she snapped.

"Really, Centipede, you quite deserved that," the grasshopper added.

"Oh, he's going to get a lot more. All of you will, if you even-"

"We most certainly are not," the grasshopper insisted. "Please, miss. Rin, isn't it?"

"Hai."

"Hi?" Centipede had pulled himself to his feet.

"She means "yes,"" the spider clarified.

How did she know that? Unless...

"Well, then," the grasshopper was saying, "you have my word, Rin, that neither you nor James are in any danger."

"Of course you're not," the ladybug said, her tone gentle. By this point, she had approached James and was smiling kindly at the little boy. Reaching into the small purse dangling from the end of one of her lower arms, the ladybug drew out a small white handkerchief. James was huddled against a wall of the each pit and he instinctively flinched as the ladybug reached toward him.

"There now, it's alright." The ladybug ran the handkerchief lightly over James's face, brushing a few strands of hair off his forehead as she did so. "No need to be frightened, dearie."

Rin quickly returned to James's side. The little boy moved to stand closer to his sister, but his look of terror had vanished, replaced now by wary curiosity as he looked up at the ladybug.

"You're bugs, though, aren't you?" he asked.

"Indeed we are, my boy," the grasshopper confirmed as he joined the small group. He smiled kindly at James. "Fascinating, isn't it?"

James nodded. "Was it because of small green things in the dirt?" he asked. Immediately, everyone turned their eyes on him.

"Why, yes, James, it was," the ladybug replied. "Do you know what they were?"

"Supposedly, they were crocodile tongues, but I don't think that old man was completely sane," Rin answered.

"Old man?" Centipede asked. He pulled a cigar from his back pocket and chewed it. "What old man?"

James took up the story. "This morning, a strange man gave Rin and I a bag of those green things. He said they were magic crocodile tongues and that we had to drink them so we could leave Auntie Spiker and Auntie Sponge." James's face fell slightly. "But I slipped and dropped them."

"I think it was for the better you dropped them, James" the spider said, dropping back to the floor close to the two siblings.

"I quite agree with Miss Spider on that," the grasshopper said with a chuckle. "We wouldn't be here if you hadn't, James."

A small smile flickered over James's face a the tall insect's words. "The old man did say marvelous things would happen," he admitted.

"Did he say 'marvelous pigs in satin'?" the glowworm called from above the group. The elderly creature peered through a pair of opera glasses as she clutched at the sides of the hollowed-out lamppost head she was crouching in.

"No, dear lady!" the grasshopper. With a sigh, the ladybug tugged an entire megaphone out of her purse and handed it to the grasshopper.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ladybug," he murmured before calling up to the glowworm,

"Marvelous things would happen!"

"Oh. Thank you, Mr. Grasshopper!" the glowworm called.

"Most welcome!" Mr. Grasshopper handed the megaphone back to Mrs. Ladybug, who returned it neatly to her purse. "Poor Ms. Glowworm is a bit deaf," Mr. Grasshopper explained.

"I, for one, have exquisite hearing!" Earthworm, who had up until now been silent, piped up.

"That makes two of us," Rin replied, twitching her own ears at him. "I heard you all the minute James and I entered the peach tunnel."

"Good!" Centipede replied with a grin. "Then you know we've gotta get outta here!"

"You mean leave the hill?" James asked. "But we can't! Auntie Spiker and Auntie Sponge and the rhino-"

"RHINO?" Earthworm quickly slid across the floor and darted into the oversized glove.

"You're a big help, did you know that?" Rin asked. The other insects ignored Earthworm entirely.

"I say, dear boy," Mr. Grasshopper said to James, a hint of amused laughter in his voice. The tall insect bent down closer to James. "I've lived on this miserable hill for decades. There are no rhinoceri here."

"Except for Sponge," Centipede added. Jumping around Mrs. Ladybug, he knelt so that he and James were practically eye to eye. "She's twice as big as a rhino, eh, kid?" He laughed and James did so as well, covering his mouth slightly. Despite her irritation with the brash bug, Rin had to smile at the sight of her brother's mirth.

"She is twice as dangerous as well," Miss Spider said, crawling back onto her web. "My life hangs by a thread every day."

Oh, that we know.

"I've had to send all three hundred of me children to safer pastures," Mrs. Ladybug said with a sigh.

"Hah!" Earthworm cried, poking his head back out of the glove. "You think hiding in solid rock is fun?"

"Smashing solid rock can be fun," Rin replied. Earthworm immediately retreated back into the glove.

"I can barely remember what fun is," James said softly.

Not surprising. Rin bit her lip as she watched Mr. Grasshopper kneel down next to James.

"Well that's because you've been stuck here too long!" Centipede knelt down by James's other side, his blue eyes alight with excitement. "That's why we've gotta get outta here and find someplace that'll refresh your memory of what fun is."

"I take it you have a place in mind?" Rin asked.

"Sure I do," Centipede replied, sauntering over to her. He looked ready to throw a few arms around the half-demon, but at the sight of Rin's bared fangs, he quickly pulled them back. With a grin, he continued,

"I'm thinking a big city with bright lights everywhere! No matter where you look, there's something going on, people enjoying themselves, and the fun is yours for the taking. Stay out late at night and come home at dawn. Then, you sleep all day and find something new the next night! Oh yeah, that's where we gotta go!"

"Your idea of a better place is a city where all people do is have loud parties?" Rin asked. "Sounds like a non-stop headache to me."

"I agree with Rin," Miss Spider replied before Centipede could answer. "If we are to find a new place to live, I would rather it have somewhere dark and quiet. I enjoy night life, but I would prefer the moon over water than flashing lights over people's faces."

"That makes two of us," Rin muttered. Miss Spider didn't say anything, but Rin saw the corners of her mouth curve upwards at her words. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ladybug had approached the group.

"I'm sure night life is lovely, but not everyone here is nocturnal." She gently ran a few fingers through James's hair. "We should find a place where the days are as nice as the nights. Perhaps somewhere with a nice park with plenty of flowers." The kindly insect smiled as James looked up at her. "And plenty of children for you to play with, James."

"I'd like that!" James said, a smile lighting up his face.

"Of course," Mr. Grasshopper agreed, still kneeling and wrapping a fond arm around James's small shoulders. "There is nothing better than having someone you care about to share enjoyment with." He shot a cool glance at Centipede before turning back to James. "Personally, my dear boy, I've always found a lively conversation and music with someone you love can be just as good- if not better- than a nocturnal free-for-all."

"Yeah, maybe for you," Centipede retorted.

"Hah!" Earthworm popped back out of the glove. "You call that a life? A pile of dirt big enough to hide in is all I want. Aye, hide and not come out again."

"Suit yourself," Rin replied with a roll of her eyes. "I hide from no one!"

"Well then you-"

"Where are you two hiding?" Spiker's voice, sharp and angry, cut off Earthworm's tirade as she and Sponge searched for Rin and James.
~

While I didn't exactly trust the creatures I would later call kin, I did believe they wanted to help us. Well, that, and the fact that I could tell they cared about James just as much as I did.