Chapter 2- Day Two
Well, two hundred chocolate chip cookies and three hours later, I'm covered in flour and pretty sure I have dried dough on my face. Akia was in a particularly playful mood today, and had started a miniature flour fight between everyone. I'll be surprised if my hair is still black, judging by the whitish tint of everyone else's. We are in the back joking around when we hear the front door to our humble bakery ding. We quickly dust each other off. Flora, my favorite coworker, blows at my hair and pats it gently, laughing as flour flies everywhere.
"You look like a little kid who got into their mother's makeup."
"You look like you got in a fight with the Pillsbury dough boy and lost." I wipe a wad of cookie dough off of her cheek and put it in my mouth, wiggling my eyebrows. She swats my shoulder and starts patting herself down.
"I'll tell them we'll be right there." I let everyone continue to dust themselves off and stick my head outside the door. I freeze when I come face to face with Shuichi, accompanied by a smiling middle aged woman with brown hair.
We stare at each other in utter surprise. The woman looks from me to him, "Do you two know each other?"
Shuichi looks at the woman and nods, "Mother, this is Amaryllis Kavazya. We are in our senior year together at Meiou. Amaryllis, this is my mother."
His mother's eyes light up and she claps her hands together, "Oh, lovely! I don't always get to meet Shuichi's classmates." Her smile widens as I smile shyly at her. I inch towards the counter, keeping an eye on Shuichi, who is looking lovingly at his mother. I bow slightly and offer a hand. She gleefully shakes and we break into small talk about school.
I grab a few treats from the display case and hand them to Shuichi and his mother. Shuichi and his mother have never stepped foot in this bakery before. Why now?
"Please try! These are fresh. We made extras by accident."
"Oh, please at least let me pay, I don't want you to get in trouble." She eventually accepts and seems to thoroughly enjoy them, boosting my ego. I fold my arms and feel a smug grin inch across my face.
In the end, she buys a dozen. I threw in a couple extra without her noticing as she dug through her purse for payment. Shuichi smiles when I look up after the deed. I purse my lips and then stick my tongue out at him.
Even though Shuichi obviously didn't mean to run into me here, I feel oddly out in the open after overhearing the conversation he had with that boy earlier. I glance at him as his mother talks to me about school some more and my plans for after graduation. He doesn't betray any emotion to me, which is starting to irk me.
Shuichi's mother is very loving and seems to absolutely adore him. Apparently, they live right around the corner.
"I'll wait in the store next door for you, Shuichi." She playfully nudges her son's arm and nods towards me. Shuichi shakes his head as she exits, seemingly embarrassed. But, regardless, walks up to the counter, looking around carefully.
"Amaryllis." My name rolls off of his tongue like honey. I can't stop myself from leaning in, laying my arms on the counter and my head on top. I pout my lips slightly and look up at him. Something about the way he says my name gives me deja vu. It really lights my stomach aflame.
"Yes?" I answer him, sounding as sarcastic and dreamy as possible.
"You overheard my conversation earlier in the school yard." He says so matter of fact it makes me squint and stand up straight. I eye him carefully, looking for any sign of hostility. He's not beating around the bush, here.
He shifts from foot to foot and runs a hand through his hair, "Do you really think I'd try something in the middle of a bakery with my mother outside?"
"I don't know you. We've never really spoken." I play the 'I don't know anything game'. He rolls his eyes at my answer.
I cock my head back and look at him down my nose. I suddenly get the feeling that I'm fighting a losing battle with him. Which annoys me. I'm not going to give in so easily.
"So, do you need help finding the girl?" I whisper, trying not to grab any attention from my coworkers in the back.
He smirks and flips through his phone, and hands it to me. I look slowly down at it and there, staring back up at me, is a picture of me.
"Nope, sorry can't help. Never seen her."
"Amary-"
"I. Said. Fucking. Nope." I step further away from the counter. "Listen, I don't know who or what you people are, but I don't want anything to do with either of you. I've done nothing wrong here." He takes notice of my emphasis on the present, and frowns.
"He is on his way here, isn't here? You're a real swell guy." I toss his phone back at him and cross my arms, I look down at my flour covered tights and start patting down my legs.
"Amaryllis, please calm down. I haven't called him yet."
"Yet." I emphasize. "What does he want? Why can't he just fuck the hell off?"
Shuichi takes a step closer to me, he frowns and places both hands on the counter, leaning forward towards me. I'm taller for a girl, from my families perfect breeding, so I'm much taller than a lot of the other human females around, but I'm still a few inches or so shorter than him. His leaning down barely puts us eye to eye.
I cross my arms under my chest, "I thought you don't work for his boss." Paraphrasing what I overheard him say earlier. I dig my hands under my arms, clenching the material of my tank top. I need to find something to focus on or I will start to lose it.
He eyes me carefully, there's a look in those emerald eyes that I can't put my finger on. We lock eyes again, like magnets, and I feel my anger gain more and more momentum. Anger that seems to come from my inability to figure out why he is making me feel so ...weird. I can't keep myself from staring him down, those dark specks dancing dangerously in those emerald orbs. He's barely said anything, but the looks he continues to give me says a lot. That odd sense of deja vu only strengthens, causing my gut to do somersaults.
"I have lived here in peace. Never bothering anyone." I take a step closer to him I ball my fists at my sides. "You really haven't told him?"
"No. I haven't." He whispers in a controlled voice.
"Hey, Amay! Come on, now! Tell your cute boyfriend you still have work to do!" Akia chimes from the back.
I deadpan and slam my hand on my forehead.
"Amay?" He smiles playfully, there's that look in his eyes again. I shrug and give him the finger.
Shuichi sighs and runs an annoyed hand through his hair. "All I know, is that he is needs to find you. There are requests that are made that sometimes actually make it to Yusuke. He has to follow up. It's his job."
"Yusuke? Urameshi?" OH, great. The profoundly annoying and well known Spirit Detective. Enma's lapdog.
"Fantastic." With an annoyed look, I nod at Shuichi and turn to go into the back. "Good night, Shuichi." I shiver as I get a tingling sensation down my spine. I glance back at him and see him staring after me. What is it about this guy? I give him a dismissive wave and return to work.
I stand in front of him with an air of defiance, refusing to back down. My black gown is ripped at mid thigh, baring my leg. His red eyes dig straight into my golden, our auras clashing. My hands are shaking at my sides in anger. Goosebumps are dancing up and down my legs.
"What have you done, Amaryllis?" He growls, baring his teeth.
I point a finger at him, "I only reacted the way any sane person thrown into that position would have."
"He is dead."
"You knew his intentions… and let me leave the room with him." I clench my hands at my sides.
"I ordered you to play into his little courting game." He growls, standing a few feet from me, daring me with his eyes to lash out. Almost hoping.
"That order would have me raped." I say, my voice husky with anger.
"It is not rape if I tell you to indulge them!"
"That's not for you to decide!" I yell at the top of my lungs, gusts of wind shoot out from around us as I angrily point a finger at him, and then at the man's lifeless body on the ground. His body flies across the room, and against the wall like a decrepit rag doll, cracking it slightly.
He raises his hand abruptly. In it lies a red orb that fills his large hands. It glistens and it's innards appear to swirl in on itself. My eyes grow wide, going from the orb to him. "Father… please...try to understand…" He squeezes the orb, and it's as if my blood is aflame in my veins...
"You will learn obedience, girl."
I sleep through my alarm clock the next day, the quacks were dulled by my jacket pocket. Luckily, I woke up only fifteen minutes late. I make sure my uniform looks decent enough and grab a microwavable sandwich. It cooks away as I gather up all my school books and make sure my homework is packed neatly away. I had a horrible time sleeping. And, because of that, I am in a rather foul mood, to say the least. I grab a canned coffee from the fridge and leave my apartment with sandwich in hand.
I walk into class, greeting Mr. Miko with a smile and take my place in the back. I could feel his eyes on me the entire way. Shuichi walks in a handful of minutes later and takes a seat without acknowledging me. We seem to have fallen back into our silent game, and I let loose a sigh of relief. Maybe this whole Yusuke thing will blow over. I don't need a damn spirit detective checking me out. The boy is about as famous as any human celebrity in the demon world.
I chew on the edge of my pencil as my math class drones on. I keep taking glances at Shuichi, sometimes a glare, sometimes a curious glance. I'm the one breaking protocol, today. It's so irritating how it takes one day for the ritualistic life I've lead to seemingly flip on its top.
I stare at my pencil accusingly. It's all because of this fucking pencil. I see red for a second and snap it in half, gaining a side glance from Shuichi. I ignore him and throw the broken thing into my bag, fold my arms under my chest and look out the window with a huff. There is no way I'm going back home. Who else could be looking for me, but my father? I fiddle with the lazy braid I threw together today instead of my usual tidy bun.I side glance at Shuichi, who is paying very close attention to the teacher. No, that asshole is deliberately ignoring me. I feel myself slowly inching closer to my snapping point. Four years of building up my walls here. Four years of trying to put myself back together. And it takes one day to tear it all down. I can't let this happen.
As soon as class ends, I make a beeline for the exit.
I scoped out multiple exits, purposely taking the long routes to all of my classes throughout the day. I'd say the easiest thing to do would be to head to the roof and scope out which direction to go. I mean, it's not like I'd hurt myself jumping down. I don't have as feeble bones and joints as other humans, even in my human form. I mean, I still have to be careful how I land, but... I just have to make sure no one sees.
I quickly climb the stairway to the roof. I slam the door open, irritated that I have to put so much effort into leaving a damned human institution because of some show off Spirit Detective. And of course, as luck would have it, Shuichi and Yusuke whip around and face me as the door slams against the wall.
"Oh fucking hell." I throw my hands into the air. How infuriating.
Yusuke takes a step forward. His eyes are wide and he gives me a quick once over, and looks at Shuichi. In my panic, I feel myself unwilling to handle the situation and bring my hands to my ears, "No no no no… I'm not doing this with you two." I hear students all around the building, to my dismay. I can't just leap from the top of a four story building and think no one will think anything of it. I whip around and take a step back towards the staircase.
A rough hand grabs my wrist. I feel a flicker of anger course through me at the touch, and whip my leg around, kicking Yusuke to side. He slides along the cement roof to my left.
"Don't you fucking touch me." I take an aggressive glance at Shuichi, who is holding his hands up, a surprised look on his face.
Yusuke leaps to his feet, "Fuck. Hey, I'm sorry! I just need to talk to you!" He pleads. He looks at Shuichi for help and Shuichi shakes his head. He's smart to stay out of this.
"I heard your conversation, yesterday." I state, trying to play it off that I don't already know who he is.
"Then why'd you fucking kick me?!" He asks exasperated.
"Well, if you only had to see me,then why'd you touch me?" My braid falls over my shoulder as I put my hands on my hips and lean towards him, snarling.
"It's not like I touched your tits or something…" He trails off, looking away. He has a really shitty way with words.
"Who wanted you to find me?" I take a step towards him, noticing Shuichi take a deliberate step closer, also. I side glance at him, pursing me lips.
"My boss."
"You think you're so slick." I point an accusing finger at him, "Fucking smart ass detective, who told your boss to find me." I snarl at him, my jaw clenched. I can feel my demon form pushing to come out. The energy is pulsing at my fingertips. I clench my fists to subdue it. Don't need to add kindle to the fire. I feel like a cornered animal, though.
Yusuke pauses and cocks his head back, "Ya know. I didn't really ask." I wish I didn't believe him, but I do.
"So you're blindly helping your master. Such a loyal pet." I lay as much venom into my words as I can. He gives me a scathing look.
"Listen, first of all, I trust him-"
"Well that's misplaced."
"Well your fucking attitude is misplaced. How'd you know who I was, anyway?" Yusuke glances at Shuichi.
"I spoke with her yesterday about the situation. However, I never told her you were a Spirit Detective."
"Everyone knows who Yusuke Urameshi is, and generally they know how to avoid his attention. He's like avoiding an STD. You know what you gotta do, but sometimes it just fucking happens." I can't help the look of disgust on my face, even as I hear a small chuckle from Shuichi. I cross my arms and glance back towards the edge of the roof. I'm just about done with this fruitless interaction. I look back at him and see him texting on his phone. I sigh, and look at the ground, defeated. Is this really happening to me right now?
"You might have just texted away my freedom." I can hear the defeat in my voice. I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down. I felt both of them powering up as I began to grow angrier. I have to get a hold of myself, the more I draw on my demon energy the more likely I will be found. I also really don't need to start a fight with these two. If jumping down from this roof doesn't draw attention, blowing up the school probably will.
"Hey…" Yusuke suddenly tosses his phone at me. I snatch it with my free hand.
A cold shiver takes over my entire body. It was him. My father. Endox Kurotaki. I stare at the name on the screen until the screen goes black. He has found me. I fight the angry tears in the corner of my eyes and throw Yusuke's phone back him. It smacks him in the forehead, but he catches it before it falls to the ground. I can't fault him for blindly taking orders. It's what I used to do.
As if he felt my mood take a dramatic drop, Yusuke takes a step towards me, "Hey… do you know who that is?" I jerk my head from the ground and peer at him down my nose.
"Doesn't matter." I coolly respond, though I'm sure my eyes betray me. I can feel hot tears stinging at the corners of my eyes. I'll be damned if I let them see me cry.
My phone begins dinging in my bag. It's Akia, asking where I am. I'm late for work. She's worried sick. I'm never late. I quickly text her an apology and inform her I probably won't be in tonight due to family issues. I'll have to call her, later.
"Thanks, asshole. My boss is probably pissed at me." I drop my phone back into my bag and sigh.
I cross my arms under my chest and stare at the ground. Yusuke puts his hands in his pockets. I can feel Shuichi come to stand next to me. A different kind of shiver goes down my spine and my eyes shoot up to his. What is his deal? He goes to put a hand on my shoulder and I side step away. "We aren't trying to hurt you, Amaryllis."
"Listen. Don't worry about it. It's really not your problem."
Images of my father flash through my mind. Images that take my breath away, causing me to close my eyes and lean my head back. "I am a wolf in sheep's clothing, anyway. I never really belonged here. I don't fault you for following orders, Urameshi."
"Does this put you in danger?" I feel Shuichi's eyes looking over my face after Yusuke's question. I glance up at him, realizing then how close he had gotten to me. I'm a danger to myself when I'm in such a worked up state.
"What kind of situation it puts me in isn't any of your concern." I say carefully, looking him straight in the eyes. "Do not get involved."
Yusuke rocks back and forth on his feet and basically ignores what I just told him, "What does that guy want, then?"
"Me, obviously."
"Well, no fucking way. Why?"
"I guess it's my good looks and charm," I throw my arms in the air, "It doesn't fucking involve you two. Just mind your own business and I'll mind mine." I then turn and begin stomping down the stairs, "You better get fucking paid for this shit, I swear…" I don't need anyone to get there hands dirty for me. I don't need to be protected. I don't need to me coddled.
I hear footsteps behind me. I take a quick glance behind me to see both of them coming down the stairs after me. I grab a hold of the railing and throw myself over, landing gently at the bottom of the stairway, and make a run for it. By now the school is empty, save a few teachers. I burst through the front doors and skid to a halt, glancing around to make sure no one is looking. I run as fast as my human form will let me, through the streets, up the stairs to my apartment, only stopping to let myself in. I slam the door and I sink to my knees with a scream. I pound the ground and let the hot tears I was holding back flow. I throw my bag across the room, its contents scattering everywhere. My body shakes with my silent sobs. That fucking broken pencil rolls across the room towards me. I throw out my hand, making it stop, tapping into my demon energy out of spite. Out of fear. Out of defeat.
My sobs burn in my throat. I refuse to let them be heard. I angrily stand up, scratching the wooden floors of my apartment as I do, and storm over to the fridge, throwing that damned pencil into the wall with a sweep of my hand as I do. I grab a beer out of the fridge, and as I angrily snap off the lid, I see it's contents slowly levitate out. I'm out of control. I throw the bottle as hard as I can across the room and watch as it breaks against the wall, little pieces of glass flying everywhere.
I've tried so hard to move on. I've built on this blank slate I gave myself upon successfully stealing my own freedom. I tried. So. Fucking. Hard.
I quickly strip out of my uniform and jump into the shower. I take deep breaths and let the steamy water wash off my tears. I try to let the steam bring me back down, to calm me. But, I'm stuck in the reality of my situation. The ache in my stomach that is trying to tell me how absolutely fucked I am is winning over what is left of my optimism. I pound the wall of the shower, seeing the white tile crack slightly. I'm losing control.
I dry myself off and walk out of the bathroom, carefully eyeing my small studio apartment. It's a mess from my tantrum. I spy half of the broken pencil, lying in the middle of the floor and stare at it. I'm blaming my problems on a pencil.
I'm the problem.
Yusuke and Kurama have just finished searching the school grounds and the immediate surrounding area.
"I didn't expect her to just...jump, like that."
"She felt cornered." Kurama states, running a hand through his hair. They stand just outside the school gates.
"Do you know her very well?" Yusuke asks, whipping out his phone to check for messages from Koenma. He sees five missed calls, and a voicemail. As well as a few urgent sounding texts. All from Botan.
Kurama blatantly ignores his question, "Yusuke, who was the requester?" Yusuke shrugs and hands him his phone.
Kurama reads through the messages, his eyebrows furrow and a troubled expression slowly takes over. Endox Kurotaki.
"Koenma said Enma withheld this info until he asked?"
Yusuke nods, "Why, who is it?"
"A demon warlord." Yusuke groans and runs a hand down his face.
"Well at least we haven't pissed him off. Wonder what the connection is with that girl." Yusuke takes his phone back and reads through the messages. Botan was just doing her usual follow ups, trying to finish up her reports on Yusuke's reports. An endless cycle of paperwork.
Yusuke sighs and rubs the back of his head, looking around. "I don't know, Kurama. I have a really bad feeling about all of this. I'm going to have to talk with Koenma about what the hell is going on. It just doesn't feel right." He glances at Kurama, waiting for an answer as he appears to consider the situation.
"We'll both go. That information being withheld is unacceptable."
I also noticed that I spelled Botan's name wrong in the first chapter.. I'll update it when I can.
Thank SynBell and Layla for reviewing! Glad you like it so far! Got your reviews as I was giving this chapter a last look over.
Please let me know if this chapter was too long or not long enough. Let me know what you think! :) Please review! Criticism welcome!