Chapter Title: Nozomi, Washi Washi Is Not Allowed
Summary: Nico had hoped to never witness Nozomi's washi-washi technique ever again. However luck isn't in her favor when she's woken up at two am to the scream of a voice she had never expected to be able to reach that volume.
And of course, there's more to Kotori's life than meets the public eye.
Time frame: Present, main story-line.
AN: Finally, some advancements!
Nico decided the moment her eyes opened that it was just way too early.
However it was hard to sleep when her sleep had been pierced through by a loud high pitched squeal mixed with a shriek. Just by the almost sing-song high pitched voice that the ungodly shriek belonged to, Nico could accurately guess that it was from Kotori.
Exactly what happened to produce the sound from the ash-blonde, the raven-haired mage didn't know. However it made her torn between being angry at being woken up and mildly surprised that the soft spoken angel could even make that volume of a noise.
Nico nestled deeper into the blankets and pulled them up to her chin as the shriek continued. Pushing her nose into the soft fabric and stubbornly refusing to get up at least for the time being. It was warm beneath the blankets of one of the guest rooms she was staying in right now, the warmth and gentle weight comforting to her currently cranky mood.
What time it was didn't matter, not when her phone hadn't gone off yet and there was zero sun poking out through the curtain clad windows of the room.
However, the resolve only lasted a second. After all, it would be more satisfying to snap at her housemates right?
Nico threw off her blankets in a dramatic fashion and grumbled as she slid off the bed all while her attention was on possibly setting the irritating werewolves, that no doubt were involved, on fire.
Although truthfully the only reason Nico got up was because of the sweet and fluffy smell of pancakes that had tickled her nose and finally registered in her brain. Sure, she loved to cook and was most definitely the best cook in the universe, cooking champions be damned, but no matter how much she loved to cook, Nico loved to eat just as much.
Nico could guess that the person responsible for the scent from heaven knew what they were doing in the kitchen as she headed out of the room and down the stairs. She held a ponytail holder between her teeth as she pulled rebellious and messy inky black hair back into a ponytail that matched her lazy mood.
As she made her way down the stairs her eyes focused on an incident that made her pause. Focusing in particular on a purple headed future scryer who currently had a faceful of angel wings while the wings' owners stood frozen in the scryer's tight hold.
Oh good grief, that definitely explained the shrieking squeal Nico had heard.
Nico rolled her eyes and continued to make her way down toward them. She had hoped to never see that particular form of punishment and teasing from Nozomi again and yet, here she was. Watching a poor bird be teasingly assaulted by the future scryer that was Nico's best friend from childhood.
Kotori, for her chagrin, was clearly unused to having a 'washi washi' as Nozomi called it, done on her if the smashing of Nozomi's face with her wings were anything to go by. The poor woman looked like a spoked bird standing there frozen with her arms held up, her wings unfolded against Nozomi's face, and probably the widest eyes Nico had ever seen from anyone Nozomi had done that to.
"Good morning Nicochi!" Nozomi's voice was bubbly and playful despite being muffled by the feathers pressed against her face, "sleep well?"
"It's two am you asshole," Nico deadpanned as she approached them, "and I'm woken up by the return of your 'washi washi' being done on Kotori. I wasn't aware someone so soft spoken had the vocal cords to shriek so loud it woke me up from clear upstairs."
"Neither was I," a groggy voice sounded from behind Nico and the ravenette jumped and whirled around.
Maki was standing there, red hair in beautiful chaotic disarray with groggy half closed amethyst colored eyes. The redhead was lazily wearing a wrinkled hoodie she had clearly just shoved on over her head and running shorts. However what mainly got Nico's attention was the difference in her ears. Rather than the usual human ears all humans had, there was a pair of soft, fluffy, delicate wolf ears drooping in sleep on the top of Maki's head that matched her red velvet colored hair.
"What did Kotori do to deserve that anyway?"
What gods blessed Maki with being always so eye catching and stunning?! Because while Maki likely enjoyed it, it definitely wasn't good for Nico's heart as it jumped and she dry swallowed.
"She needed help waking up completely," Nozomi hummed mischievously before Kotori gave an impulsive squeal as Nozomi gave her a squeeze.
Maki's attractively stunning just woken up look aside, Nico's focus was now back on Nozomi despite the warmth she could feel on her face.
"Nozomi! Let me go!" Kotori wriggled in Nozomi's hold in an attempt to get free of the purple haired woman's hold.
"Huh, I never realized how much you have here Kotori," Nozomi chuckled, "I bet Umi enjoys that a lot huh?"
Kotori squealed at another short squeeze and struggled in Nozomi's hold, golden eyes now even wider with mortification. "We d-don't do any of that Nozomi!"
Nico gave her an odd look, one of the few things she remembered about werewolves from back in high school, mainly because it had been so embarrassing and awkward to hear at the time, was how high of a libido most of them had and that alphas were usually insatiable. It had been told to her class as a warning about getting involved with a werewolf.
So the following shriek from Kotori that told Nico that Nozomi agreed with her skepticism wasn't a surprise.
"That's a lie Kotori," Maki deadpanned, much to Nico's surprise.
"Do I need to mention that time where-" Nozomi began.
"No!" Kotori's voice nearly broke from the pitch she hit with the hasty shout to cut Nozomi off, "just let mee go!" She struggled hard in Nozomi's hold.
Nozomi laughed, "tell Nico the truth then Kotori, then I'll let you go!"
"No…" Kotori whimpered and Nico would have to be blind to miss the scarlet red that had spread over the angel's freckled cheeks and ears. However the next sound that came out of Kotori's mouth surprised her.
Kotori made a whimpering bark that matched exactly to what Nico vaguely remembered the werewolves' wolfish sounding like when Nozomi squeezed her again.
Nico's eyes widened.
The angel-mage was speaking in wolfish. Weren't only werewolves supposed to be able to speak in that?
Maki's cheeks turned red and the red haired werewolf covered her face as she took a surprised step back. Her cheeks and ears turned darker and dark while Kotori gave a wolfish pleading whine and struggled some more.
The front door flew open with a bang that rattled the door's hinges and Nico jumped about a foot into the air.
"What the-" heat gathered on Nico's fingers and palm, her skin taking on a heat infused red color in instinctive self defense.
Nozomi instantly released Kotori and took a step to the left while the angel was dropped unceremoniously onto her butt. The amusement mixed with surprise confused Nico, what was she so amused about?
Then the now closed front door glowed blue before with something akin to a gunshot that made Nico flinch; a black blur appeared a foot from the ground mid leap in the form of a timber wolf sized black female wolf.
Kotori's eyes widened, "No! Umi slow down or you'll-" the wolf instantly put on the brakes and fell into a sitting position, amber eyes widening and paws churning to go backwards as she shot toward Kotori with more speed than intended.
Before Kotori could finish speaking, all ninety pounds, Nico guessed, of black wolf collided with her and thereby the floor when Kotori fell onto her back, with a loud thud.
Feathers fluttered briefly through the air as the pair of them slid across the floor and Nico squeezed her eyes shut just before they slammed into the set dining table and chairs. The table of which teetered dangerously for a precious second before it fell and broke just like the chairs had.
Nico cringed at the shattering china and splitting wood and cautiously opened her eyes to blink in surprise.
Sure, the table was completely destroyed, but Nico couldn't really see Kotori or the wolf that had run into her. Rather all she could see was a set of impressively massive jet black wings domed around something, Kotori's socked feet and ankles, and another pair of slender legs from the knee down that Nico could guess were Umi's.
The black wings shook then promptly flopped out to the sides to rest against the floor along with their owner's arms and the dazed lolling of a dark blue haired head.
Kotori was sprawled over top of Umi and the angel's face was pressed into Umi's collarbones with her wings tucked into her shirt against her back. When Kotori got back from her trip Nico really needed to ask her how her wings could just vanish into thin air or fold small enough to hide in her shirt. Which one was the actual truth she didn't know just yet.
"Good grief," Nico grumbled after she got over the shock of the last thirty seconds, "is this seriously normal? This chaos is just ridiculous."
"This isn't normal," Maki deadpanned, apparently the only one really unfazed by the events. Nico could smell her as she got close to her, she was almost minty, like a candy cane, minty and cool with something like a breath of fresh forest air. "I haven't seen Nozomi's whole grabby hands punishment in years and Umi only freaked out because of Kotori's emotional levels." Purple eyes focused on Nico, "normally Kotori has greater emotional control, just not when her chest is being assaulted apparently."
"Then why did you," Nico avoided looking at Maki and focused on Nozomi, well aware that she may have a hard time focusing if she didn't, "have to bring it back all of the sudden Nozomi?"
"I was just teasing, I figured I'd do it for old time's sake Nicochi," Nozomi chuckled with a mildly mysterious smile. However Nico saw the friendly sincerity hidden behind the natural front in her old friend's green eyes and so she merely sighed. At this point telling Nozomi off wasn't worth the energy Nico would have to expend when it was two-am, she had an annoyingly gorgeous redhead standing to her left, and there was a werewolf and an angel on the floor around the remains of a dining room table.
"Old time's sake aside, Nozomi," Nico sighed in a deadpan, "I never want to see, or feel! that hell of a punishment ever again." She tilted and turned her head toward Maki, "Maki, tell Eli to keep Nozomi's gropey hands away from someone's chest and to ban the washi-washi technique for good."
Maki's striking purple hued eyes made contact with hers and Nico's heart jumped briefly at the smirk that seemed to just belong there on the werewolf's face before she even spoke up. "Glady," Maki drawled and Nico found the smirk to be rather infectious as her own lips pulled up into the cheekiest of smirks.
They were actually getting along.
Maki wasn't biting Nico's head off, overreacting, or snapping at her through being a flustered mess, she was getting along with her and Nico found a smile threatening to show itself on her face and through her lips.
Maybe Maki Nishikino wasn't so bad, when she wasn't acting like a haughty princess anyway.
Nico may have then had her vision dragged away from Maki at Kotori's worried squeal of, "Umi-chan!" but her attention remained on her discovery about Maki.
After all, maybe, if Maki would act like this more Nico could find herself being okay with being stuck for life with an intelligent, sarcastic, reserved, mildly clumsy werewolf.
But first...
"If your body guard breaks from a mere table Kotori I think you need a new body guard."
Nico had a table to fix so she could finally get to taste those pancakes that were the main reason why she was originally here right now anyway.
"Now move out of Nico's way, breakfast is calling her name and table or not, those pancakes have met their master." Nico rolled her eyes at the angel testing her at least dazed if not concussed alpha mate's ability to track movement with her eyes with Kotori's fingers and headed over toward them, "doesn't the fluffy redhead over there study medicine or something?" Nico glanced back at Maki over her shoulder, "you study medicine right Maki?"
Maki to Nico's surprise merely nodded with mild amusement on her face, "yeah."
"No speaking for you Nozomi," Nico quickly predicted her friend being about to speak up, "and Umi get your butt off the floor so I can fix the table."
"What, you some kind of handy-man now Nico?" Maki asked as Umi shifted forms into a wolf dog that instantly wobbled from side to side balance-wise and Kotori worriedly followed her as she moved away.
Maki's behavior, while rather nice, was also rather confusing to Nico. However, she'd deal with wondering about it later as nothing could break her focus on finally getting something out of coming down here besides a bout of Maki sourced irritation and confusion.
"Sure," Nico rolled her eyes before she held her hand out stretched with her palms out facing the broken remains of the table and the area where it had once stood. "But only if music and magic makes Nico one," she shrugged before narrowing her eyes.
Magic surged through Nico's veins, collecting at her fingertips in an energy that was just begging to be released. So, in perfect greek, as reversing time on isolated objects was rather difficult, Nico's lips parted and she sang a short phrase. The music easily provided her with extra control over the complex spell she wouldn't have had otherwise.
The table glowed a soft pink for a mere moment and the faint symbol of an hourglass being turned over backwards in the air appeared, before it shattered into glowing particles and vanished. The pieces to the broken table and chairs then began to fly back together in the exact way they had broken apart till after a few moments, the dining room furniture had been returned back to normal.
Nico looked over at them all and struck a smug pose with a hand on her hip and a smirk, "clearly Kotori doesn't use a lot of magic around you lot."
After so many years of traveling under Umi's belt, Kotori knew she should've been surprised at just how bad Umi was with jetlag, but she wasn't.
Even if the bluenette had been acting as stiff, aware, and alert as usual, Kotori just knew Umi would crash once they arrived at the hotel, especially when Eli was with them. She and Umi trusted Eli with their lives, a trust hard earned from their chaotic first meeting, and she and Maki were the only two people the alpha werewolf trusted to protect Kotori in her absence.
Umi-chan, you're really jetlagged, are you okay? The ash-blonde softly prodded her mate telepathically, golden eyes focused softly with a hint of intensiveness on the blue haired alpha beside her as she saw Umi's head droop just a tiny bit.
Umi cleared her throat and straightened up completely in the car's seat. Sitting stiffly and straightening her tie restlessly while their friends dozed in the seat in front of them. My apologizes, she apologized a little stiffer than Kotori knew she meant to, and was proven correct when Umi's tone softened. I will be alright Kotori, it's merely too warm in here. Once I get moving again I won't be so drowsy.
I know, Kotori hummed, but that wasn't what I was asking, she pointed out, fingers going to the diamond studded band on her left hand that was more for human benefit than her own besides for a fidget device, you're more tired than usual.
Well I wonder why, Umi stated dryly and the corners of Kotori's lips instinctively pulled up into the edges of a smile as the werewolf side-eyed her without changing expressions. Between all of the transformations yesterday, meeting a mage Maki's clearly on the fence about, you, and the events of this morning;.
You could never prove I had anything to do with it Umi-chan, Kotori hummed, her cheeky mischief bleeding over in her mental tone.
Perhaps, Umi conceded, with no proof besides my own memory I can't. Does not mean I won't accuse you in this case, my dear.
Kotori didn't let any more of their conversation appear on her face, keeping the minute gentle smile and not letting it widen at their mutual telepathic conversation. Even in a car with tinted windows and nobody but the driver and driver's assistant, the public masks had to stay on.
Well just for her and Umi anyways, Nozomi and Eli's relationship wasn't a closely guarded secret. There were days where Kotori wanted more than anything to be able to be openly affectionate with her furry bluenette beyond just friends and co-workers. However, if her relationship with Umi was released to anyone else there was a higher and higher chance of the bluenette being forced to retire as her bodyguard and Kotori would be forced to trust some stranger to protect her.
I would follow you around anyway, Umi chuckled and Kotori smashed down a grin, it's not as though I need to be paid to keep you safe Kotori.
Kotori almost gave a snort as the memory of what had happened the last time Umi had been given a day off and told to find somewhere else, crossed her mind. I know, she hummed to the alpha as her golden eyes strayed to the many buildings and shrubbery that passed the windows of the car they were in. And I wouldn't have it any other way Umi-chan, laughter bubbled over into her mental voice, neither would mom for that matter.
Umi's expression didn't change but Kotori caught the briefest of glances of Umi's right canine poking out from under her lip in a microscopic toothy wolf-like smirk that only she would be able to see before it vanished. Your mother would certainly be furious if people pressured the both of you to get a new guard.
Yeah, and it would be stupid to replace someone who's been guarding me for pretty much my entire life, Kotori pointed out, okay so I'm very close to them and I have a relationship with them, but it's been how many years? Nine? Ten? And Mama says you're terrifyingly professional about your job. She looked back down at her hands, silently studying the ring on her finger.
Kotori couldn't see anything on Umi's face due to her robotically stiff public mask, but in times like this she had a deeper appreciation than most for being able to feel some of her mate's emotions. Where she could feel the gentle love and mental warmth oozing through their mental bond right now and knew the mask would drop when they reached their destination just like it usually did.
Well of course, Umi spoke, aware of but not getting involved in Kotori's mild musings, people misunderstand the power of emotional connections. I protect you as my charge with my life for my job, but I protect you with my heart as my friend, and with my entire being as my mate.
If Kotori hadn't been used to the honest oftentimes rather romantic sounding comments Umi made, she would've turned at least a little red like she would've back when they were teenagers.
Instead…
I love you Umi-chan, Kotori replied simply and made sure to keep her expression level and mostly unchanged.
… she remained calm, well, on the outside anyway. She knew Umi could no doubt instantly pick up on her melted heart simply by how Umi's nose gave the faintest of twitches.
However, Umi being Umi, wisely didn't comment on her emotional state in the present situation and company, and merely responded in turn in a heartfelt tone.
I love you too my little bird. The werewolf hummed and Kotori inwardly smiled as they sat in comfortable silence.
She had heard Umi say those words about a thousand times over the years and yet she treasured each time they left those beautiful peach colored lips.
How's your concussion Umi?
A telepathic prod from Eli broke the companionable silence and Kotori's attention swiveled toward their golden blonde friend and packmate.
Kotori saw Umi straighten up a little more in her seat and adjust the edges of her sleeves in a professional manner as she replied, it's not a concussion Eli, I merely bumped my head.
Kotori worked hard to keep her expression straight and not give the bluenette a concerned glare of sorts, but didn't comment, leaving it up to Eli.
Eli raised an eyebrow at Kotori's mate, you were wobbling around like a puppy's first steps Umi. Not to mention Maki even diagnosed you with a concussion.
I'm fine Eli, Kotori could hear the stubbornness in her mate's telepathic voice and she stifled a chuckle as Umi continued. As far as I'm aware there is nothing wrong outside of some mild issues. After all as you are aware, an advanced healing speed is a perk of being a werewolf.
A concussion unfortunately, was one of the few things in werewolves Kotori didn't dare heal with mage or an angel's blessing and Umi wouldn't either. It was too dangerous when the temporary damage to the human brain could change and be more severe when the werewolf shifted forms with the wolf form's different brain style and tissue.
Even with the magic of life and light itself at Kotori's fingertips, there were many things the ash-blonde didn't dare manipulate nor even dare to touch. Although most of the time it involved werewolves and wereanimals as a whole. What Kotori's mother had suggested to her as a teenager was very true, that she likely enjoyed studying the finer details in wereanimals than she should've as a liaison.
However it was hard to not be biased when she lived with a trio of them and despite having grown up with one of them, she learned the occasional new thing at least once a week.
Though by far her favorite discovery was of the low crooning growl Umi started making years ago whenever they were alone and she was really happy. That and finding out her mate's cat-like problem with laser pointers in the winter months.
However, learning about Maki's ability to make a perfect rendition of a song through wolf howling and Eli's habits of munching on grass when in her wolf form were pretty high up here on Kotori's list.
A soft telepathic nudge from Umi brought Kotori's straying mind and attention-span back to reality, even if Kotori would've liked to space out like she could've as a teenager and completely ignore what was being said during a meeting or long car ride.
Kotori nuzzled her mind against the familiar sturdy one that was her mate's in gratitude. Because it wouldn't be good for her to be branded as spacey and lost in her own world, not when they were getting so close in mending some of the broken bridges between races. The main project she had been doing for close to eleven years was finally reaching the point where she could be confident about the results.
When Kotori blinked, her senses focused properly on the world around her, it didn't take long to realized that Umi was talking aloud in English.
"... understood," Umi had a simple cell phone held to her ear, her rather bland black smartphone that was just for work pressed up against one of her fair skinned ears. The wireless earpiece usually in her ear dangled uselessly by the howling wolf of an ear cuff Miss. Minami, Kotori's mother, had gifted her back when she turned eighteen. "May the meeting go well, call or request my assistance by ear whenever you require it ma'am."
Kotori watched out of the corner of her eye, keeping her eyes focused on the window beside her rather than looking over at Umi properly and giving away where her attention span really was.
Umi gave a mild nod, "of course. I will alert you and the rest of the guard team when we arrive."
Kotori never got bored of watching Umi work. Umi was just so crisply professional, following nearly every stereo-type for a serious bodyguard and it was fascinating to see just how different her 'work' and 'home' modes were even if she had seen them thousands of times each.
A sharp inhale of breath and a jolt from Nozomi's body made Kotori almost jump out of her skin. It took intense mental prowess to keep her squeak from escaping her lips and nose and the warmth off of her face from her earlier line of thinking. After all, Nozomi was known for poking through the current thought lines of her close friends.
Kotori would never recover from that embarrassment, especially after this morning.
Umi, Kotori! The words pierced through the pack link like a knife.
Kotori felt the car slow to a stop and right away she knew something was up..
They weren't at the destination just yet and that combined with Nozomi's outburst was enough to send danger bells ringing through the angel-mage's head. Not to mention this car wasn't provided by her mother's company, rather this was a car provided by the supernatural leaders here. So it was just another unusual variable that Kotori wasn't exactly prepared for right now.
Umi didn't visibly tense, but Kotori saw the werewolf's hand slip beneath her jacket to the stun pistol concealed beneath her sleek dark blue suit jacket.
What did you see, Nozomi? Umi's voice was cold and direct. From personal experience Kotori knew it was Umi's "protection mode," where all of her focus went to protecting Kotori and everyone around the liaison angel.
I'll show you.
Kotori felt the inkling of someone's mind pressing against Umi's, Kotori have to hide a frown, and felt Umi's mood shift into what she knew as Umi's 'wary protection mode.'
Giving her zero information didn't really help them that much and not for the first time, Kotori found herself mentally sighing at the inconsistency of Nozomi's finicky abilities and at being left out. However she was quickly distracted by the telltale click of the safety on a gun from the front seat hitting her heightened ears.
She knew everyone heard it too, even if Umi didn't visibly react to the sound.
"Listen up," a rough low voice spoke up as the divider between them and the driver and passenger seat of the car slid open and Kotori caught a glimpse of the handgun the driver was holding, "and answer when I ask you something. Understood?"
Kotori stayed silent and merely made brief eye-contact with Umi and through years of companionship, Umi responded perfectly.
So barely a millisecond later and Kotori felt the presence of protective wards silently placed around her body. Wards that if were able to have color in this particular moment Kotori knew would be a deep almost navy blue from their caster's magic type.
If Kotori tried to cast her own right now it would only cause more problems as her hands would glow along with her eyes. While Umi, as a learned magic user, had no tells besides her fingers and her hand was still behind her jacket.
"Crystal," Umi responded flatly to the person threatening them, dark amber eyes surveying the situation while Kotori could see the gears in her brain turning at a calm pace.
"Good," the driver shifted and Kotori caught a brief glimpse of his face through the rearview mirror, "Sonoda remove the jacket and the stun weapon, now."
Kotori kept her eyebrows from furrowing and instead ran a mental checklist of what she had in her bag. Umi preferred if possible to scare people off than actually hurt them, and usually her average wolf form was enough to send people running. So did she have extra clothes for Umi if she shifted forms? Normally she did, but this time Eli and Nozomi were with her so they had split up the needed gear for their blue-haired alpha.
Eli however clearly didn't like where this was going as Kotori saw the beta-werewolf silently reaching for her seatbelt.
Don't move, Umi's voice echoed through the telepathic link, strong and firm in a telepathic demand. Stay calm and don't do anything rash Eli, Nozomi.
Kotori watched as Umi's fingers went up to the edges of her suit jacket and she calmly placed the stun pistol outside the window before she scooted forward on her seat and removed her jacket.
"Alright, now get up, leave the vehicle, and stay at least twenty-feet away from it."
That threw Kotori for a loop.
Not many people knew exactly how much of Umi's reputation was truth and not rumor, so most of the time in rare situations like this, people didn't try and separate her from her guard in fear of what she would do. Instead, they usually tried to take Umi down.
These two however, had an oddly high amount of information for a pair that were no dobt attempting to kidnap Kotori.
Kotori's eyes widened instinctively and her mask slipped for probably the briefest of seconds, but it was enough for the man sitting up front to see her brief fear.
Kotori saw a smirk and the opposing weapon was leveled at her, at her chest.
"Don't be scared little bird," Kotori felt a flash of rage at the nickname he was so casually slandering, but the emotion quickly died down in exchange for the fear beginning to roll in her stomach. "I promise we won't harm you if the wolf there," Kotori caught the singular address, Eli's presence as a werewolf wasn't known, interesting… "does what I say."
I'm with you, Umi's voice helped soothe some of the fear bubbling through Kotori's system at the forced separation in a dangerous situation and reconfirmed to herself what somewhere inside of her, she already knew. Do what they say, tell Nozomi and Eli what to do. This isn't new to us Kotori.
Kotori's golden eyes watched Umi as the werewolf discreetly tucked her bag more firmly with her feet beneath her seat and stood up. Being separated like this is, she faltered then swallowed hard and pulled herself together, but I understand, be safe Umi-chan.
Umi didn't respond besides a glance behind her that spoke volumes of itself before she was gone.
Kotori swallowed again and forced a wary mask on her face to hide what she was feeling in the current moment, but even then she wasn't quite all focused on the situation itself anymore.
She could handle having a gun pointed at her by now when her job and her life itself was a rather dangerous one outside of her home city. She had been kidnapped once as a teenager back when she and Umi were still young and periodically there were multiple attempts on her life even now. So that wasn't new to her. What was new was having Umi separated from her during a situation like this. And it made the entire situation a hundred times harder to cope with and even harder to keep a mask on and hide how thrown off center and rattled she was by the loss of her mate beside her.
Another person entered the car and slid into Umi's previous seat. Kotori wanted to shy away from them as the car's engine turned over and they took off.
Their sharp cologne drowned out the traces of Umi's jasmine and oakwood infused scent and the artificial scents were painful to her luna enhanced nose.
She could see the uneasy shifting in Nozomi and Eli's body languages and knew she needed to do something, to reassure them it was okay, but she couldn't, not right now.
Umi had been there almost as long as Kotori could remember, from clear back when they were just starting elementary school even if she had merely been a friend at the time. But now? Now Umi was Kotori's twenty-four-seven ghost and equal companion. Her mate, her lover, her best friend, her fluffy guard, Umi was all of it. They were rarely apart and even when they were, Kotori knew she was nearby ready at a moment's notice to come running. But…
She wasn't here anymore. Umi's side of their bond was temporarily closed down, preventing Kotori from knowing what she was up to and likely due to the alpha focusing all of her attention and mind on whatever she was planning.
Then a flash of black out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and Kotori barely managed to keep the narrowed eyed reaction off her face. Still, she had to know if it was what she thought it was. So silently, while under the guise of looking out the window, Kotori tuned out the driver and stranger's conversation and silently drew on her magic.
Her vision changed and no doubt her eyes glowed as she let her magic's touch wash over the area around her. The earth taking on more rich and earthy tones with bright green and white contrasts for those living and still alive.
The brief sight of, and magic brush against, a flickering form made Kotori's heart clench momentarily at the unfortunate knowledge of a dying life force and unlike normally, she was moving too fast to aid the elderly man.
Kotori gave her head a mental shake, besides she had something else to check with the possibly few more seconds of time she had before someone addressed her.
So Kotori focused, filtering through the thousands of life forms her magic touched as they sped by and feeling her heart ache at the many that were flickering in the beginning signs of beginning to die. Then she found it.
A form that stayed consistent in distance and speed from her position.
With her heart in her throat, Kotori tapped into the lifeforms that the one of interest was skirting around and weaving through. Contrary to popular belief, nature had senses of their own, and Kotori was one of the few hundred people on the planet that could tap into them.
Rhythmic drumming of paws slapping against concrete and dirt filtered into her ears. The sound was accompanied by light breathing through a nose and the rustling of fur being dragged back flat against the body by the air current produced by the creature's abnormally high speeds to keep up with the vehicle going close to fifty miles-per-hour.
It was undoubtedly Umi.
Kotori barely hid the smile that threatened to spread over her face and shut off her magic completely. Letting the lingering magic soak into the earth around her instead of drawing it back into herself. It felt like her world was back to normal, and that she could draw strength from.
"Relax," she prodded Nozomi and Eli in her usual publicly soft tone. Putting a mild emphasis on the word through her luna abilities that anyone but werewolves couldn't hear. "It's alright," she offered her friends a mild comforting smile and didn't flinch at the contact of the gun being pressed into her side at her speaking without being asked.
Yet another thing she had had happen to her multiple times over the years.
"I have to apologize," Kotori spoke softly and offered them her trademark gentle smile as Nozomi and Eli settled in their seats. "You were making my friends here a little nervous and that's why I spoke up."
"See," the driver spoke up with a minor chuckle and Kotori felt the gun in her side lessen in pressure, "I had heard about your very compassionate nature Minami. But I admit, I thought it was a mere act."
Kotori smiled gently and shook her head, being meticulously careful in keeping all of her emotions in check and off of her face. After all, it was more important now than ever that she kept her cool and it was much easier with the knowledge that Umi was tailing them. "It's no act," technically the compassion part wasn't, the whole gentle doormat and couldn't hurt a fly on the other hand was to a certain extent. "Part of why my mother chose me as a liaison is because I care about all supernaturals and humans alike."
Besides Umi, her pack, and her friends and family anyway. She cared and treasured them above all others, almost no matter what.
The driver chuckled a little harder, "oh how sweet the song of the innocent youth," he tsked and Kotori narrowed her eyes just slightly in wariness from beneath her gentle mask. Even for someone who had literally just kidnapped her and two of her packmates, Kotori felt as though something was off with the stranger.
There had to be something she didn't know about, that they were hiding.
"Move the gun away from her Yosif, there's nothing here for Miss. Minami to cause trouble with. Now then, there seems to be more people than I've been paid to bring with us."
Eli visibly stiffened at the phrasing but Kotori leveled her naturally droopy gentle golden-eyed gaze at her.
Eli… she warned briefly before she focused on the driver with her usual gentle smile. "What're you going to do to them?" Inwardly fear bubbled softly through her stomach. After all, these guys weren't exactly peaceful from what she had seen and experienced so far.
Kotori jerked forward as the car came to a sharp stop.
"As reimbursement for you, Miss. Minami, not causing any problems, I'm releasing your friends without anything more than a threat. However, any sharp movements from any of you and I'll gladly let my friend here end one of you."
"Can you guess who I'll shoot first?" The barrel of the gun in the lackey's hands jabbed harshly into Kotori's side once more.
Kotori flawlessly hid a flinch at the sensation, the sharp click of the safety being disengaged that hit her ears, and the gravely rough voice of the man beside her. Realistically the gunshot wouldn't kill her, not with her wards. However it would definitely break a rib or two and leave an unhealthy and painful amount of bruising.
It didn't take much experience to be able to read the subtle tensing of Eli's body language, especially when Kotori had seen Umi do the same thing many times in the past. The tensing of their muscles for a lunge or attack.
Eli, don't attack them, Kotori discreetly narrowed her eyes at the blonde. Take his offer and leave the car with Nozomi.
What?! Kotori felt Eli's shock slam into her with the force of a freight train and it disorientated her, throwing Kotori off and making it harder to keep up her flawless mask. Kotori are you out of your mind?!
Eli- Nozomi spoke up, green eyes flickering toward the blonde, but was cut off.
You'll be alone in a car full of people trying to kidnap you Kotori! Eli snarled.
Kotori took an inward deep mental breath to settle the nerves in her stomach that Eli's shock had stirred up and heightened. My main weaknesses aren't well known Eli, it takes a lot to put my magic out of commission.
Still! Kotori this is insanity!
Kotori straightened up a little more and lifted her chin, "as the liaison officer for supernaturals," and the Luna of your pack, "I request you leave the vehicle." The request wasn't a request, not with her rare cool but fierce tone of voice rather than her usual gentle soft-spoken one.
"Looks like the little bird actually has a backbone," the man beside Kotori almost cooed and Kotori felt a chill go down her spine at his tone of voice. By the narrowing of Eli's eyes Kotori saw, Eli didn't like it either.
Kotori let her eyes narrow at Eli even as the gun was pushed harsher into her side and the driver spoke up.
"You have thirty seconds Mrs. Minami to remove your friends or we finish them for you."
Kotori paid no attention to his threat and instead spoke to Eli. She didn't like pulling out some of the underhanded cards given to her by being a pack luna, but in this case there was no choice. Eli, so Kotori further sharpened her tone and added a low growl into the mix that showed she was serious. Take Nozomi and leave the vehicle now. She felt bad and forcing her friends to leave made her control over her fear and nerves unravel just a little. However, it was necessary, nobody was going to get harmed or killed because of her. Not if she had a choice in changing the outcome.
The microscopic dip of Eli's chin in a form of werewolf submission told Kotori that despite the expression of restrained frustration on the beta werewolf's face, they would do as she had told her to.
"Time is short Minami."
"I understand," Kotori forced her voice to be even and level, gentle and soft-spoken to match her normal public and rather natural tone of voice. She nodded toward the door with a mild smile, topaz colored eyes hiding everything she was thinking and feeling even from the people that were essentially her family. "Go on, I'll be okay," she spoke gently and her heart stung at Eli's refusal to even look at her anymore. She knew the blonde didn't agree with what she was doing, but she didn't really have any other choice.
"Look, both of you get moving before I do something to Minami's pretty face," the man beside Kotori drawled and Kotori stifled a shiver. This man was strange, his scent masked by heavy cologne and the way he acted wasn't normal.
Kotori had dealt with humans and supernaturals alike for years beyond the mutual involvement that came with mingling in cities and neighborhoods, but even if he was acting weird what could she do about it right now? Nothing. There was nothing she could do with so many people in a small space when her magic wasn't naturally pin-point focused.
"Don't hurt her, " Nozomi spoke in English as she unbuckled herself, green eyes flickering with knowledge and minor hesitation and concern. "We're going, right Eli?"
Eli mumbled some response in Russian, which reminded Kotori of their first meeting, stubbornly refused to look at Kotori as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
Kotori swallowed slightly and watched them both reluctantly leave the car. A sense of foreboding hit her violently as the door shut behind them and the car lurched into motion.
She was virtually alone now, after all, who knew where Umi was at this point.
Kotori straightened her shoulders and directed her vision outside, golden eyes instinctively drawn toward the warm sun through the tinted windows. Now alone Kotori needed all the strength she could get. Even if it was just from merely staring at the sun through the tinted windows and letting the cool rays from the glass absorb through her skin and shift into the essence of energy and light itself.
She had gone through this before, it would be fine. She just had to believe it, hope for help and the strength to make it, and play her cards right. After all, humans weren't much of a problem to a magic user especially one such as herself, right?
After who knows how long Kotori had been staring out the window, the driver's rough voice speared through her silent bubble.
"I apologize Mrs. Minami, but those who share blood with wolves aren't allowed in my presence if given the option. So they all had to go."
Kotori blinked, did they have a problem with werewolves?
"I'm sorry to hear that," Kotori spoke softly, keeping a calm gentle smile on her face and relying on the training Umi had given her many years ago. "I hope to unite supernaturals and humans alike including peace between all of the different races and cultures that make up the supernatural world." The words came easy there, after all, that was her end goal and purpose as a liaison and…
As her mother's daughter.
"I admire your determination," the driver chuckled hoarsely, "after all you've dedicated your entire life to making that happen."
"Well it's a cause that's too important to ignore," Kotori pointed out softly, "especially when ignorance is a starter for conflict."
A tall building vanished from Kotori's window. They were entering the corporate business district.
"Once again your words are true," the driver chuckled, the sound more malignant than before. "It's a pity you got dragged into this Kotori Minami, for you could've been so much more."
Kotori felt more alarms go off in her head at the phrasing and immediately prepared the magic simmering softly in a general pool at her stomach before cautiously unbuckling her seat belt.
"Shirokov, if you please."
"With pleasure," the man beside Kotori chuckled and Kotori immediately shifted closer to her door at the almost purring malignant response. "See Minami, there's been a misunderstanding here," the man purred as Kotori felt the gun be removed from her side to be tossed carelessly behind him.
Kotori didn't speak and instead opted to discreetly focus her magic on the cabin of the car. A memorized nonverbal spell on the tip of her tongue.
"My name is Shirokov as you well heard, however…" The man's hazel eyes flickered in color before their irises adopted a distinct red ring that made Kotori smash down the instinctive urge to hunch her shoulders to hide her neck. "... what you didn't hear was that I along with my companions, aren't puny humans and I wonder what your blood would taste like, Angel of the Sun."
Vampires.
Werewolves' mortal enemy and one of the two races that sought to gain control over magic and shifters alike.
Of course they made Nozomi and Eli leave, even if they weren't fully aware that Eli was a werewolf. No doubt Kotori, Eli, and Nozomi had traces of Umi's scent on them due to their proximity and how they lived in the pack house with the alpha.
However in Kotori's case Umi's woody jasmine scent likely clung to her more for a multitude of reasons including that Umi was with her all of the time and of course, their relationship.
Kotori found herself briefly thanking that the full moon had passed a few weeks ago and it wasn't winter otherwise that could've caused more problems.
"Not now Shirokov," the driver spoke roughly and the other vampire merely rolled their eyes and bared a fanged malicious smirk.
"Of course sir, there's time for that later. For now," red ringed hazel eyes focused intently on Kotori's before the angel could react and Kotori found herself paralyzed, frozen with sudden fear. "It's time for you to go to sleep, sweet one."
Fear rolled over Kotori like a tsunami, fear that wasn't Kotori's in the first place invading her delicately balanced emotional levels and manipulating them.
Kotori felt ill, she could hear her heart as it pounded irregularly at lightning speeds in her ears, felt the nausea clenched around her stomach in it's tight grasp, and cursed.
Emotional manipulation, a skill a powerful vampire owned and abused to twist the mind into a chaotic mess.
Kotori lurched slightly toward the seat as her vision spun briefly, the forced emotions making her entire body react in confusion and terror which was not what the angel needed right now.
"Poor angel," the vampire cooed and Kotori watched him approach through dizzy half closed golden eyes while she braced herself by her shoulder against the back of the seat. "Too pure to be able to fight manipulation.
Kotori narrowed her dizzy visioned eyes and concentrated her magic into her shaking left palm. confused and disorientated by the vampire's emotional manipulation. But where light should've condensed into a ball on her hand, nothing happened. Instead, Kotori felt her magic flow back into the rest of her body, pooling at her stomach like it did when idle.
Kotori's eyes widened with real fear.
They hadn't forced emotional manipulation on her to make her easier to handle, somehow they had known that her magic could be suppressed with high emotional distress without access to her soulmate's reserves.
"W-What…?" Kotori stared at them, her shock managing to outbalance the fear. "h-how…?"
It wasn't a complete secret that Umi was her soulmate, but everyone merely viewed it as a platonic bond. However, the knowledge of her magic's suppression under emotional distress without access to her romantically bonded soulmate, was information private to a handful of people outside of the pack.
Panic bubbled in Kotori's stomach, did they know her relationship with Umi wasn't a platonic soulmate bond nor coworkers?
Kotori's wings tried to unfurl to protect her naicked body in the form of a barrier, but they were stuck.
What the?
All of her tops and jackets had the secret wing slits she designed in high school in the back, just like Umi's. So why were her wings stuck in her jacket?!
"What, don't like our present?" The vampire smirked and Kotori could see their sharp canines, similar to werewolves' in length but smaller in size, through the expression. She could also see the cloth they pulled out of a plastic bag and her luna heightened nose picked up on the bitter scent of chloroform right away.
The fabric of her jacket stretched and bulged under her wing's strength but didn't tear under the hundreds of pounds of pressure as Kotori scrambled frantically backward along the bench seat. Panic surging through her blood in her haste to escape the unfamiliar vampire stalking toward her like a predatory cat while the two kidnappers up front merely chuckled.
"It was made just for you, Kotori Minami," the predatory vampire cooed maliciously.
Kotori's back hit the locked car door and her panic and fear shot up higher through the roof. She could feel the trembles in her arms and knew her fear showed all over her face as the drugged cloth was brought closer and closer to her.
Without her wings and focused magic while in the small confines of a vehicle, her only lines of defense were disabled. Even her luna abilities, as all of her luna abilities were passive in the form of being useless in a fight, besides one and revealing that would be suicide for the project they had all been working so hard to build and finish.
Kotori shied away from them, screwing up her face and shutting her eyes in fear as they got closer and closer to her.
Closer...
The vampire's cologne was filling her nose.
...and closer...
The acidic tang of blood on their breath bit into her heightened sense of smell and her heart was beating fearfully in her ears.
...and just a little closer…
Kotori whimpered in fear, the sound coming out more wolfish than human without her noticing.
"W-What?" The voice was louder than it had been earlier.
Kotori's golden eyes snapped open to find the vampire close to her holding stock still with wide hazel eyes focused on her in a blank stare of pure shock and disbelief.
Wait… if her hearing was sharper than before…
The car began to slow down slightly, "what's going on back there?"
Kotori's golden eyes snapped to the window behind the vampire and much to the luna's horror, the proof of her suspicions of the activation of one of her abilities stared right back at her.
Fluffy wolf ears sat flattened in fear and horror on either side of her feathery tuft on the top of her head.
Her fear and panic had gotten so high that it triggered a rare luna response and caused her ears to shift forms, thereby revealing her well kept secret.
A secret that could ruin relationships between certain supernatural races if found out by the full public and had been kept perfectly for close to seven years now. A secret that couldn't go public, a secret that was...
...that she was a luna, a pack leader to werewolves. Making her in their eyes, unreliable, unable to be relatively unbiased, and in some races, a traitor to their friendship.
"It's Minami, she's got-"
The cabin went dark, pitch black dark.
The crystal scent of familiar lunar magic pierced through the blood and cologne that filled Kotori's nose and she clung to it for a mere second.
"What the- Hey! What's going on back there?!" Kotori heard the driver shout but she was focused on forcing herself calm. She clung to the traces given off by the magic, focusing on the caster in an attempt to wrestle her emotions under control and thereby reverse the luna ability.
"I-I don't know!"
"What do you mean you don't know?! Get her knocked out already!"
Her ears changed shape just as the darkness flashed out of existence, leaving her staring a foot away from the predatory vampire who looked both rattled and extremely angry.
"You're so not worth the trouble-!"
That's when something slammed into the roof of the vehicle and made the entire vehicle shudder beneath it's sudden weight and threw the vampire away from Kotori.
"Shit!" The driver scrambled to fix the weaving Kotori could feel the car was doing, "what the hell is that?!"
Kotori stared wide-eyed at the roof where there were four six-inch deep imprints of overly massive paws surrounded by the dented and bent metal from the creature's weight. A smile of relief spread over Kotori's face, she recognized the exact size of those paws, having held her hand up to them many times in the past.
Umi-chan!
All at once, her bond with Umi reactivated. Flooding the angel-mage with Umi's very alien alpha-wolf mind in the current moment and the anger seething through the bluenette's well guarded mind.
There was brief screeching of metal like a dog was digging with their front paws, before a set of tough, jet black, sharp retractable nails punctured through the limo's roof. Which was quickly followed by the entirety of a massive royal blue paw. An intimately familiar, blue paw.
"Shit! Get that thing off of us!" The driver swore as Umi's weight shifted and sent the vehicle swerving a little across the mainly unused road.
However, Kotori's attention was drawn to the vampire in the back with her, who was staring at her, a mixture of shock and horror lingering on their face.
"You… you…"
Kotori stared back at him as another paw made it through the roof and both were quickly retracted.
"That w-werewolf…" the vampire stumbled, "a-and you… you h-have ears-"
"Get it off the car you idiot! Shoot it or something!"
"-like th-them," disgust darkened in their eyes and Kotori lifted her hands defensively, magic crackling warily through her veins.
"You're… you're part of them!" The vampire bared his teeth and light flared at Kotori's palms as he approached, "a-and that guard!" He hissed and panic bubbled up into Kotori's throat.
He couldn't have, he couldn't have figured it all out, right?
There was no way.
Nobody outside of their pack and their families knew that Umi wasn't just her soulmate and that they were much, much more than just coworkers and friends.
The vampire slunk closer and Kotori cautiously tucked her hands into a closer knit defensive position, the usually vibrant green of her magic beginning to take on a blue color in an almost lava-lamp fashion. A sign of anxiety combined with the usage of her magic as she flicked her wrist. Putting up a simple short silencing spell just in case he said what Kotori was hoping and praying that he wouldn't.
"You're all about the werewolves aren't you?" the vampire snarled and Kotori parted her lips to utter an attacking spell, but the words rolled back and got lodged in her throat at his next snarl. "After all, you've abandoned being human and are fucking mated to the one attacking us!"
Umi's weight made the car shift even as Kotori's spell dissolved, and Kotori's breath hitched at the accusation that could in a way, ruin everything.
A/N: This took way too long to write… My brain struggled so bad in connecting everything and not making it seem too rushed that this ended up being 9.6 thousand words. Welp my brain's fried, but I'm excited to continue!
Guest ~ Asking me to update my Oregairu collection on other stories doesn't make the updates come out any faster ;)
Alexa Hyuuga ~ It's finally been updated! Although I've literally been writing this chapter since the last update and just barely finished it XD