Chapter Fifteen: Third Counterpoint

"Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at
first, but keeps you warm for a long time."

-Unknown (Sadly I couldn't find who said it originally)

Albel Nox

Albel sliced the head clean off of the last of the practice dummies that had been set up for the kendo team. Despite the school being closed he'd made his way inside after busting a window, with a great need to blow off steam.

The half destroyed room was a clear sign that he'd managed to at least get rid of a little of his frustration, but the way his red eyes continued to glare at it made it unlikely he'd worked out all of it.

"I'll get him next time." He stated to no one in particular, picking up one of the least injured dummies to continue training. "I'll feed the freak his own kitty litter."

He grumbled, slipping around the dummy so quickly the average onlooker would have thought he was vanishing and reappearing, vicious strikes causing splinters to fly from multiple parts of the dummy at once.

"Jerk...can't believe that worthless jerk Curtiss is making us wait." He continued his mutters. If it were anyone else he wouldn't care, he might actually laugh about it, but it being Kagome bothered him deeply.

It was his fault for not stopping the bizarre man, he'd allowed himself to get slow cause he hadn't had a challenge in a while. Certainly the other guy was good, but he could have been better if he hadn't let himself get a little soft.

He paused when he'd put the sword to her neck, hesitated long enough that he'd been able to escape. He wasn't even sure why, something about seeing her in that situation had bothered him, and he was even more irritated that he'd been bothered by it at all.

His frustration making a serrated circle right back into itself, and he continued to decimate the dummy until it would no longer stand, making him growl when he didn't have anything else to vent his anger on. He glared at the broken and destroyed room before making a huff and gliding aggressively toward the door. He had to find better sport than this if he was ever going to relax. He hadn't slept well sense the girl had been taken from them and he was intent on doing so tonight. He'd banish his concerns by bathing in bloodshed.

Seto Kaiba

Seto had a frown pulling at his lips, leaving his features in their normal place. He was re-reading the report he'd been given for the fourth time, the scowl steadily growing in size as he did each time. Finally he closed it and leaned back in his office chair rubbing his temples.

"What the hell is this girl playing at then?" He thought in annoyance. "She's been sick all this time but not a single doctor in all of Japan has a record of it?"

He figured when he gave the orders for his doctors to go through her files and attempt to discover what was wrong with her it could be a long shot if they'd figure it out. This was something he didn't expect at all, there apparently were no files for them to even sift through. Not that it wasn't illegal to access those databases but he found a little money tended to fix any sort of issues such as those. No, his problem was even after he had them ask several clinics and finally found her doctor at a small service that was still switching files from paper to computer, there was still nothing there. She was healthy as could be according to the doctor that had been seeing her sense she was but a young child.

So what on earth was going on? She'd definitely missed a lot of class until recently and didn't really seem like the delinquent sort. So there was something else happening that he wasn't aware of and he wanted to know what was happening with this girl that had him daydreaming about her.

He was irritated he'd actually been so concerned to her safety at the beach that night, that he'd been taking all this time hoping he could help her, all to find there was some lie beneath all the illnesses he'd heard about. Even more frustrated that he hadn't recognized it sooner.

"What the hell is wrong with her then?" He asked no one in particular, his office was empty aside from himself. "Why on earth does she keep hanging out with that freak Albel and his sidekicks? She can't honestly like that sort of thing? Can she?"

He frowned more and picked up the receiver to his phone. He had wanted to avoid spying on her in too great of detail but he couldn't help it, he was too curious about her and wanted to make certain there wasn't some darker problem beneath all of the lies she'd constructed around herself.

He only hesitated one more moment before telling his personal guard to investigate Kagome and her family further. Hanging it back up with only a bit of guilt before he suffocated it and returned back to his other work, always busy.

Lezard Valeth -

Lezard tossed another glass globe to the floor, shattering it on impact and letting it's remains mingle with what seemed like a dozen others. His outer coat he'd removed and his hair was messy where he likely hadn't taken time to groom it for the day between Kagome's disappearance, seeming in places as if he'd pulled some of it out.

Looking quite the mad scientist as he glared at the floor that was glittering back at him.

"What sort of magics is this fellow using?" He asked out loud, though he was alone in one of his basement level rooms. "I could see her a little when she was alone, in a dark room, with only the gentle red light of an alarm clock to let him see her sleeping.

He'd watched her like that for several hours, unable to pick much up about the room she was in except that it was fairly average and seemed a little like a hotel given the lack of any personal details. But he himself wasn't one to decorate so he wouldn't assume that.

Either way the lack of windows didn't leave him with a way to figure out where she was, it was exceptionally frustrating, watching her sleep for hours. Remembering that he'd made a mistake by using such weak magic against the opponent. He'd made a mistake assuming that a swordsman wouldn't have magics to use back or he'd of been fine.

But he'd grumbled about that enough that he wasn't letting it distract him now, instead he was frustrated that his transfer vessel still wasn't prepared, otherwise he could simply move her soul to it's new body. It was still too rawr to risk it though. There were still things he needed to improve on biologically before he'd be able to upgrade her form.

Not that it required much upgrading, just a touch here and there to bring out her natural beauty even more.

That train of thought brought a smile to his face, which faded a little when she woke and her first whispered word brought his attention fully back onto the now crushed globe.

"Lezard...?"

He knew he couldn't speak though the spell, even though he wanted to reply to her. It made him frown when she tried to call out to him again. She'd thought he'd saved her and he'd only managed to disappoint her. Then she fumbled and turned on the light...giving him a better view of the room he already had a basic idea of...still with no windows.

She tried the door to find herself locked in. Probably realizing that he wasn't the one that had taken her somewhere her eyes widened. The door had begun to open but he'd lost the connection then...and several failed attempts later was down several of the globes he used to scry on others.

After he smashed the last one he decided it was probably best to give up on the attempts for the time being, whatever the man with her was, he was immune to this sort of spell. And whatever it was it seemed to extend to Kagome when she was near him. He walked out of the room, ignoring the glass as it crushed under his boots.

He had other work to do on his love's new body. If he could finish it it would resolve all further issues of this type.

Ishida Uryuu -

Ishida was distracted as he participated in sewing club, taking longer than usual to work on his own project, and therefore getting a lot of people watching curiously as he normally was quite busy and involved with it came to what he was doing.

Now he'd slowed down cause his mind was distracted, concerned for the girl from the junior high, she'd canceled the last tutor session. He knew she still needed a lot of help and she'd stated she wasn't feeling well.

He knew he could have offered to take her by the hospital but his father wouldn't have cared at all unless she had money. As it was there wasn't much he could do, he wasn't even sure what was actually wrong with her.

He'd heard from asking about that she was out of school sick with all sorts of sicknesses often. So it was logical enough that she was just sick again, obviously being of poor constitution. Still...

He wanted to try to do something at least, perhaps he could take her soup or something that she liked, maybe he could ask her friend from the junior high that asked about her when he'd dropped her off that first morning they had met.

That sounded like a good idea, he didn't want to guess what sort of things she liked only to find that whatever he did she ended up disliking. Finding something he knew she'd like was definitely a wiser choice.

Ghaleon -

"Curtiss, worthless leader." Ghaleon would have cringed if he realized how akin his thoughts were to Lezard and Albel. He was continuing his research on the well, while Curtiss had left to speak with the enemy about getting Kagome back. He'd been specifically ordered to stay out of it and with Edward so intent on trying his new ideas there was no way to get out without causing suspicion as to his relationship with the girl.

He knew he needed to tread carefully, that he was risking a lot even when he'd embraced her and thankfully Edward had been distracted enough not to realize what he nearly walked in on. Still, she tasted as sweet as ambrosia as far as he was concerned, and such a savory treat as her lips was a difficult thing to resist. She reminded him so much of the past, but this time he was the one that had earned her attraction. Even if a few spells had to be utilized.

Enchantment magic had always come easily to him, people were so quick to believe that something good was put before them, they would much rather see him as friend than enemy. Or perhaps lover if his plans continued as he hoped. Though the idea he knew many would consider sacrilegious if they had any true concept of what she was, he was accepting of it.

He'd stopped considering how black his heart truly was ages ago. Still, it said much that the girl could get it beating so rapidly, breathe life back into him. He hated that he couldn't do more outright to help her, but doing so would draw too much attention to him and he needed the others to think him nothing more than a slightly above average caster. Particularly Lezard, he'd felt the power in the boy for a while and knew he was downplaying it. The aggressive spell he'd used on Kagome's kid-napper, albeit unsuccessfully, had seethed with dark energy so great it would have taken someone blind not to notice it.

He knew Lezard was playing things carefully and hiding his power but he wasn't sure just how much the young boy could command and that made it more needed to keep his steps light. The boy already obviously suspected and could pick up the enchantment spells despite the hours Ghaleon had put into masking them. He didn't know their extent, but even noticing at all proved that in no way should he be considered a novice and doubted he was at a student level in the magical arts.

His scowl had begun to show and he found himself telling Edward he was simply tired when the boy asked him what was wrong. Forcing himself to focus on the moment and at least push Kagome and his troubles to the back of his mind temporarily.

Sephiroth -

Streaks of water trailed along the curves of Sephiroth's muscles in intimate ways the majority of the women that knew him only dreamed they could. Making thin transparent lines of liquid as he leaned forward in the shower to wet his hair. Eyes closed as the curtain of warm water washed over his face for a moment.

"Why not follow the order?" He repeated the question to himself again. "I don't know her, she could be the cause of all of this trouble, and yet, -I- hesitate."

He stressed the word 'I' even in his own thoughts, as if it were a travesty even then for him to consider such a thing of himself. The silver strands of his hair with the water gave the optical illusion of the water being silver as it ran along his back down to his thighs and then circled along his legs before running past his feet to the drain. Taking a few strands of the magnificently colored hair with it.

"Just kill her then?"

He could clearly remember the cold tone of Rufus on the line, with that edge of superiority, his common voice really. Nothing in particular was out of place with any other order the boy gave. Surely, he'd never cared for the youth when he took the chair from his fat father, but at least his father had been appropriately frightened of the Sephiroth. Rufus still didn't seem to even recognize that his head could easily have been separated from his neck during several of their interactions.

As such, Sephiroth had been used less and less as a member of Shinra's guard. The secretive company that built war materials he'd always worked for, there wasn't much use for a man of his talents in another field. He'd been a personal guard most of the time against members of less natural means that would attack the company. Sometimes an assassin, striking before the enemy could, but not always with a reason. He'd killed people without knowing why in the past and hadn't given it much thought.

"So what's different about her?" He opened his eyes to send a glare at the bedroom where she was still likely sitting on the edge of the bed just where he'd left her. Though being as there was little purpose in that he set right to the long process of shampooing his hair.

He considered it carefully, the way one might seriously look over a battlefield before choosing where to put troops.

"It's not the woman thing...at least it shouldn't be." He reasoned to himself. "I've killed men and women, though I suppose her age could have something to do with it. I have never pulled my blade on a child for the company. Though really she's old enough that she's not a child anymore. If I met her on the street in other circumstances I'd simply consider her a younger woman."

After getting himself lathered he began to rinse, leaning his head back this time into the steamy spray. "No, that seems very unlikely as well. So what then? Because she's at the center of all of this. I suppose it's logical enough to keep her alive in case it is her and we need her to undo it...but I believe her when she says it's not her fault."

Turquoise eyes popped open and glanced at the door again, fingers still pulling through his hair, his expression having taken a more thoughtful notion. "Surprising...why would I believe her? Certainly she could be an amazing liar, particularly if she could pull of a spell capable of frustrating so many organizations that are involved in supernatural activity. So I wanted to believe her?"

"Perhaps she's gotten me under this same spell...I already swore I'd keep her safe." He began to scrub off his body now, the soap and suds having the same envied position as the water. "It all still falls under the original perimeters of the job. Justifying it could be a part of it though, thats often the first step if anyone falls under the sway of a spell. Yet I could have easily made good on my original threat and cut her when I first picked her up."

"I can't believe I could have captured her if she was a good enough caster to do this on her own." He finally decided. "So perhaps someone else has in fact cursed her as she says. Then they've targeted me as well? Or this entire world somehow tying it all to the girl? Perhaps why the order to kill her came so quickly. Rufus would have no reason to tell me all the details, he never has in the past."

He nodded a little at that. It was logical, perfectly so, even if he'd fallen under some spell to make him be kind to the girl, it wasn't harmful and it was certainly the most interesting job he'd had in some time. He smiled a little as he thought about her getting all snippy with him, he liked women with fire, he got to witness them so rarely.

There was something about her, she wasn't just normal, but being that she was spending time with the crew from the military's organization that wasn't surprising. More surprising is that she'd shown no power of her own just yet, none he'd noticed. He'd half to ask her about it, as it was he didn't know if Rufus would try to send his lackeys to retrieve her.

The doorknob turned a little but stopped at it was locked, there was a knock and he could hear her voice, nervous even through the noise. "Are you almost finished?"

He was hoping Rufus sent Reno, he was in the mood to hurt him for whatever he'd done to his bedroom with the Panic spell, she'd apparently fell under it again.

"Yes, I'll be out soon." He replied, sighing a little at the bother and finishing with a last rinse before turning off the water and stepping out to pick out his towel. She was afraid, again, he could feel it even through the wall, it was one emotion he was very familiar with. He dried quickly, ran a brush through his still dripping hair and threw a pair of shorts on before opening the door, towel settled over his shoulders.

"Okay I'll..." He paused as she pressed into his chest, shivering again as before but a little worse. "Reno, I'm going to torture you for this..."

She was so small compared to him, her head only coming up to his chest, where she was pressing close, her own hair still wet cool against him considering steam was still rolling from where he'd taken the hot shower. She was a little cool in general though her hands had settled on his chest gently and it was a shocking disturbance that he found himself aroused by the simple contact. She smelled of his soap, but there was definitely a feminine odor beneath it that drew him in. He'd barely settled his arms around her in a reply that had seemed natural at first before shifting them to her shoulders and holding her back. Trying to ignore how frightened her gaze was as she looked back at him.

"Esuna." He repeated the spell from earlier, allowing his magic to break her from the spell that was making her so terrified.

Her eyes widened a bit more and he was rather sure he hadn't seen a blush so deep from anyone before as she backed up and stuttered an apology. He just nodded and began searching his room for the culprit of this second attack, there had to be something planted inside if it kept reacting like that.

Then he heard people entering the front room.

"Hey Sephiroth!" Reno's voice was always unmistakable, it made him inwardly cringe in annoyance. "Boss wants us to pick up your charge. Says you aren't listening and aren't gonna get paid if you don't hand her over."

A small, wicked, smile played over his face as he picked up the device beneath the bed causing the disturbance, then he grinned a moment in the same dark manner before leaning down to Kagome on his way out of the room. "Stay here...I need to punish someone."

End Chapter

Whew, I had a hard time with this chapter too. Sephiroth is difficult to write for. Probably the most so out of the variety of folks I've introduced with this fiction. Poor Reno...

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Thanks so much for all the support I've gotten on this lately when I've made posts. I certainly worked harder to get this out faster cause of all the lovely feedback I've received.