Warnings: nothing really. Shocking, isn't it?
The Wielder of BlackFire:
The Legend Lives Part II-Rose's Renaissance
Chapter Twelve: Struggling with the Truth
"I don't think leaving her alone like this is wise, Kurama," Hiei said with a quiet voice, glancing over at the kitsune as the boy checked the window beside the door.
"I don't either, Hiei, but we have no choice. We'll be back in less than fifteen minutes. She is sleeping now and shouldn't be up for another hour or more anyway. Her sleeping patters have not been quick to adjust to this time zone.
"We must go. The sooner we leave, the better our chances are of returning before she wakes," Kurama replied. "And it should only be fifteen minutes." Hiei grumbled darkly under his breath a fine little line about ignorant and stupid rulers. Kurama smiled slightly at this as he closed the door behind them, locking it securely.
Rose listened with her hands behind her head, laying mutely on Kurama's bed. Fifteen minutes, huh? Ten would easily answer her questions, she thought. She continued to listen, even as the locking of the door faded from memory, just to be sure they were gone and not setting a trap for her. She then sat up on the bed, standing from it and moving across the room silently. She opened the door, the thing that woke her of her slumber. It had been considerately unlocked by Kurama, of course. The click of the lock had been her alarm clock, and always woke her. Whether she fell asleep again or not was left to chance. And chance smiled on her today.
She glanced out the window beside the door before letting the curtains fall back into place, after observing the lock of course, and its locked state of being. Through the glass dawn hinted a slow raise to power in the east, the false dawn blaring to the world that the day was soon to come. The streets of the city were modestly empty of life, the hour still too young for life to creep from sleep and walk about. Her guards were long since gone.
Rose gave a silent, grateful sigh as she turned away from the window, letting herself relax slightly. She let her eyes dart about the room, and they quickly landed on the desired item they had been searching for. The tape she had viewed the day before sat untouched in the mouth of the VCR, green numbers of the time giving life to the face, the tongue protruding tauntingly. She moved forward, pushing the tape into the VCR and turning on the television, its screen glowing in the darkness an advertisement for a hair product. She pressed the power button for the player and waited as the screen popped up. She memorized the current scene it was fixed upon before stopping and rewinding it. The VCR stopped a moment later, its task complete.
Three minutes had passed since she had walked through Kurama's bedroom door. She had the time in plenty. Her index finger reached forward to press the play button. It hovered for a second, uncertain. This was wrong. Her lips pulled into a stubborn line. No, wrong was keeping the truth from her, even if they were her enemies; and especially if they were her allies. Allies do not keep secrets, even ugly ones, from each other. She had a right to know either way.
Her finger fell heavily on the button.
On the Tape+
A small boy in a large hat flickered onto the screen. He sat at a desk that was suspiciously clean in contrast to the biohazard swarming around behind him in precariously tilting towers of paper. The chair he sat in engulfed him and left him smaller than he originally was. He was looking at the screen with sad, yet clearly frightened eyes.
"Greetings, everyone. I fear that I have found information that will prove both frightening and confusing. First thing's first." The boy shuffled about a bit, dragging toward him a large, beaten book. He held it up and the camera zoomed in on a large image on one page.
"I'm sure you must recognize this."
The page on the screen was open to a long, imposing weapon. Two stabs of black jutting as a pair from each side at the base of a shinning steel blade. The hilt of the blade was long and thin, elegant, with a shimmering jewel in the butt of the handle.
"The sword you see here is one that we had actually acquired many months ago, and have just realized that it has gone missing not too long ago. It had been stealing the souls of demons from the Demon World, so we acquired it and put it in our safe. But somehow it was stolen. The following film was actually taken from our safe's camera. Its not long, but I'm sure you will recognize the person and the item."
The tape sputtered to another scene. Rose recognized the scene as the one Kurama had showed her in hopes that she would regain her memory. The entire scene held a new, grimmer, meaning to her.
At the end of the vault scene, the screen skipped back to the boy's grim expression.
"You all, but for Kuwabara, must recognize Rose, who got back her life after you defeated the Four Saint Beasts. She deceived us all so that she might get her life back, and at the same time, obtained a power that, no doubt, she could not control.
The reason why this sword is so important is that it is not a normal, weaponry sword. In fact, its not really a sword at all, but an imprisoned dragon that has been ensnared in that shape for hundreds of years. This dragon is known by every demon in Makai as the Black Blaze. He was a very powerful creature that killed many people -mostly demons- but including humans as well, in his six thousand year life, and consumed their souls for his own purposes. I have a picture of him here." The young child held up another weathered volume, its pages as thin as tissue, revealing a picture of a dragon.
At the sight, Rose's eyes widened at the sight of the painting that graced the wall of her room, the only difference was the color. Silver rang starkly against dark blue on her wall, and there was a necklace of a serpent about the throat. However, in the book, the creature was black, the jagged scar on the forehead white instead of black as it was in the painting. But the eyes, they raged the same, stark, insanity-driven blue.
"A long time ago, a priest bound him to the sword shape he is in now. From the books that I have read, he has been imprisoned for nearly two centuries. He once occupied the more Demon populated World before he was imprisoned, back when the human world and the Demon World were slightly more intermingled. He was brought here from Demon World, where he was waiting for his wielder. There were terms of his imprisonment given by the one who imprisoned him. The most important one was that only a human could wield him, in hopes to help purify his soul. This chosen human must have a mind of steel to compete with the strength of his psychic powers, as well as a compatible heart. Apparently, our 'friend' Rose had both of these to be able to take him from the stand. Now, here comes the confusing part. How Thorn managed to acquire the sword. If you notice, they look a lot alike. The only thing I can think of is that Rose, perhaps, had a twin, or maybe it's just coincidence that they look alike. But that's irrelevant.
"Now, for your mission. You are to apprehend Thorn and the sword. Kurama, Hiei, I can only warn you once. DO NOT TOUCH THE SWORD! I do not wasn't to risk you two to the sword's ability to steal demon souls without having to physically touch them. This, actually, puts us at a great disadvantage. Hiei is the fastest, and would be best suited for removing the sword, which is the main source of her abundant power, while the others distract Thorn. So now Yusuke must do this while the rest of you distract her. You will all need to work together to defeat her. She possesses the most powerful and deadly creature we have ever known. I will you all good luck."
the credits began, signaling the end of the film.
Tape Ends+
Rose allowed the tape to run a few seconds into the credits before she reality knocked on the door of her dumbfounded mind and she stopped and began to rewind it. She played and adjusted it until it was on the scene it had originally been on, to ensure that her two captors would not be roused into suspicion if they were to play it again and notice it was not on the former scene. She numbly turned off the television set and sat on the floor for a long moment, her legs tucked beneath her and her shoulders sagging in shock. A dragon? In a sword? And not just any sword either, but the sword. Her sword. And this Koenma fellow. Who was he?
Many of her immediate questions concerning her situation had been answered, just as she suspected they would be. But that was a sacrifice toward new, and more numerous and complicated questions.
They were the enemy, of that she was certain. And now she was prepared. For what, she didn't know. But at least she knew that her trust was not something they could be given.
Suddenly, realizing that nearly fifteen minutes had passed, she replaced the remote and quietly bounded up the stairs and into Kurama's room, closing the door behind her.
Great. Just wonderful, she thought in disgust. Apparently she was a thief, although she had never stolen anything in her life that she could remember. And this wasn't just any petty theft, like shoplifting a pair of socks kind of theft. She had taken something so strong, that even the powerful quivered at the thought of it. Something so magical, it would put the greatest imagination into a black-out of shock.
This was crazy. And yet, she had seen it. Why would they keep such documentation if it was a joke or even a lie? And if it was some twisted plot created by these people, why had they made it out that they were the enemy, instead of being the ally? At least then they wouldn't risk her trust that they seemed to want very badly.
She heard the door downstairs sigh open quietly. Her spine instinctually stiffened and her heart gave a few pounding beats. Now that she knew the truth about their deception, what should she do about it?
The two youkai walked silently into the house. All was quiet. Almost too quiet. Everything in the room looked untouched, but her scent hung fresh in the air.
"She's awake," Kurama whispered. Hiei nodded. Koenme, being the ignorant toddler he was, had held them up a few minutes more than they had wanted. But he did have some useful information. They were to bring the young woman to him tomorrow.
That day passed very slowly, stiffness infiltrating its gentle nature. It crept around the three uncertainly, as though unsure of its course in this house was in danger. The air hung in thick curtains, stifling the day into silence that muffled all sound. Rose's former stance of stubbornness seemed to melt from anger into self-containment. Her lips were pulled into a thin, thoughtfully grim line, unwilling to part from each other. She seemed to ignore their presents with a cold shoulder and blank stares that neither demon could see around to find out what she was feeling. She was weary around them as well, her actions planned and cautious. She seemed shifty and uncomfortable, but not in a definite way, just by a mere gesture that was never used before, or the simple lack of a motion that was expected from her.
"Is something wrong, Rose?" Kurama asked curiously. He had caught her eyes shifting from Hiei to himself, and the tension was so unnatural, it was unthinkable not to comment on it. She turned her eyes, which continued to remain blank and emotionless, toward him, startled slightly, before shaking her head jerkily.
"No," she said too quickly, her voice without its usual force. "Nothing."
The kitsune gave her an I-don't-believe-you look that was all business. She didn't hold his gaze long, unusual, since she would compete in a staring contest at any time to show her defiance. She scowled, her right hand moving to finger her necklace in a nervous fashion. Hiei glanced at the red-head, who sat next to him. She was… dare he say afraid? No. Just… upset. Yes, that had to be it. Afraid wasn't in her vocabulary.
Rose stared up at the bland and impassive old face of Kurama's bedroom ceiling. She had to get away before they took her to Koenma. If they thought she still had this impossible power, that strength that lived in her sword which was such a ridiculous thought, and he wanted it badly enough, it seemed, before when she was ill, then he might kill her to get it, just as he was probably expecting of the others before. But why would they come after her unless they wanted to kill her? Why not just steal the sword from her instead, without her knowing? The toddler didn't look very intimidating, he was only a child after all, but there was no doubt that he was just a stand-in for more powerful people, someone used as a pawn willingly so his superiors would not be discovered.
It was late that night when she finally sat up from the bed. The moon was high in the navy sky. With painstaking slowness and silence, she rose from the bed and stood, being sure to avoid a creek in the floor that would sound an unintentional alarm as to her being awake, as she crept toward the window. She removed her pocket knife from her jean pocket and opened it. She knelt down by the window, looking first from the thorny vines to the sharp weapon before her. It glinted a seductive grin in the wane moonlight that trickled through the trees, reflecting the bars to her prison off its highlighted surface. And in that reflection she saw freedom. In the past, this instrument helped to shut out the pain of the soul with pain of the body. It would do much more now.
She looked up to the vines, which seemed to glare at her smugly. She set her jaw and reached out, being sure to place her fingers carefully around the body of one branch, and brought the knife upward. The teeth of the tool struggled to get a hold on the smooth and strong plant as she began to saw at her prison bars.
She worked with vigor, her hand grasping the vine to still the plant as she worked, cutting her hands on unnoticed thorns, and making them bleed black bubbles in the flickering light. She ignored her raw and bloodied hands as she started on the second vine, which was just as strong as the first. It took another half an hour to cut the second one. Two down, only a dozen more to go. She glanced at the glowing hands of Kurama's bedroom clock briefly. At the rate she was proceeding at, dawn would come long before she was more than half done.
Her eyes suddenly began to feel heavy, as though invisible weights were strung to them and pulling them downward. Her arms were tired, aching and numb from the work. She pushed through the dull throb all of the pain had whittled down to, and ignored the blood that ran down her arms and she continued on, gritting her teeth as yet another thorn pierced her skin. By three thirty that morning, her pace had slowed to a laborious crawl. She had maybe five or so of the steel-like vines cut, but there was still nearly ten left. She tired drastically, her head drooping and her fingers loosening their grip on the knife.
'Dammit, I can't fall asleep now. In two hours the sun will be up. I have until then to finish,' she thought, struggling to motivate herself into a faster pace. But she knew deep down that it was impossible to complete her mission towards freedom. However, giving up was not something she was used to taking as an option. If she were to fail, her two guards would be weary of giving her even a slim chance to escape after discovering her secret. It was now or never. She only hoped that she could find the strength to continue.
….……………….….…...
Authoress' Note: lala! I know, its been a LONG time. Gomen ne! I'm going to start editing these faster, okay? I'm no longer grounded has a 72 in chem -twirl- so updates will be better, as long as my computer doesn't become dumb. Which it is now. Thank you all for sticking with me through this!
Reviews:
Really Dizzy:
Lookie here! A new reviewer! Sweet! and you'll hafta find out about the passy and other stuff. Thanks for looking in on this!
Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha:
lol. Yeah, Rose is kinda a hard charry to create, and I have trouble with her sometimes. There are just scenes where what she wants to say and what I want her to say just don't fit together. The thing with sensing Hiei is one of them. She wants to know what he's feeling, but I'll be damned if I let her find out so soon! I'll tell ya though, she wattles it outta me soon. Anyway, no more failing classes. Here's the update! Don't worry, I wont stop this story! Its all written, it just needs editing and stuff. Trust me, I wont rest until it's complete!
The Password:
This is just a note for all of you who think you know the password right now. I would just like to say that I will not make ANY comments in yer review replies about it. Not only would, if you are correct, it spoil it for others, but I do not wish to make you think that you are right when you are wrong, or vice versa. I've gotten comments in the past about the password as well, and that's dandy, but please just know that if you think its blatantly obvious that the password is 'Blah Blah BLAH!' please keep it out of reviews. If you would, however, like to send me an e-mail about it with questions, I would be happy to see what I can do as an author without spoiling my story. In truth, I'm going to stop giving any and all hints as to what might occur in my stories out of contexted. I think it really might be spoiling the over-all story. But I do thank you ALL for the great reviews!
Reviews are like money, only they can't buy me a Sesshoumaru-sama plushie v..v