Me: DOUBLE UPDATE! Ahem. So just as I was about to update this story I noticed that I had only uploaded six chapters then when I checked in my folder I realized I had written eight so far. Erm... This is embarrassing. Ehe... At least I updated right?
So to make up for it, here's another chapter fresh out of- Um, yeah... Just... Here you go...
Killua: Tch. maybe if you stop slacking off you wouldn't be so absent-minded
Me: U-uhuh... I-if you say so Killua. ^_^'
I frowned at my reflection.
My hands twitched by my sides as soon as my eyes were laid upon the dirty red blotch that stained my usual pale grey sleeveless shirt, the brutal tear of where the blade had cut through just made it look like I had picked it up from a dead body.
I took my hand over to my forehead where I let out an aggravating sigh.
Hn, it's not like this doesn't happen everyday… I thought to myself while walking over to my small duffel bag to find some sort of substitute for this sad excuse of a battle shirt.
It had been only four days since I had been poisoned and strangely enough I found that being in the care of four extremely strange men whom I have only known for no longer than a couple of days wasn't that bad.
Ok well it was only Hakkai that merely took the liberty of bringing me food and tea, and also changing my bandages; though I could see that Gojyo wanted to offer his help but was probably afraid of that blond priest who always seemed to have PMS, or me.
Goku though was what I would call, inadequate.
Well I don't intend to use any offense but to be honest, he didn't do anything; in fact I don't think he knew what to do really.
Though he was the only one who ever talked to me and stayed in my room to offer his comfort but that was about it.
The ones that know me well enough would distinguish me as a person who didn't need something like comfort, people saw me as quite blunt and too 'up myself' really.
But who gives a shit? It's not like I'm the only person in the world who thinks and acts like that.
For some reason my thoughts went right back to a certain blond priest I had met just a few days ago...
And by the way he looks at people it seems that he isn't too fond of having company or he just doesn't trust anyone. He stayed in my room a couple of times and claimed that it was his turn to babysit since the others went off for some errands but I could tell he wanted to ask me something, even though he made the room a little bit too stuffy sometimes I noticed him glance over at me a couple of times.
Ever since the incident where he wouldn't stop bothering me about my full name it seemed like he wasn't too sure about wanting to know about it again. He didn't mention anything about it anyway which now got me wondering why he wanted to know in the first place.
[+][+][+]
"Geez, where in the hell is Hakkai?" An exasperated Goku lounged in his chair, hands planted on his stomach as if he had just eaten a whole feast. "He's been in Ayumi's room for a long time now."
At that moment Gojyo had sprayed a mouthful of his beer on the table; earning an immediate glare of disapproval from Sanzo and a disgusted look from the Goku who sat right beside him.
"Ew! You friggin' cockroach!" Goku sat up-right. "I'm not cleaning that shit up!"
Gojyo ignored the monkey's bantering as he was already half way off his seat. "I've gotta get to that room before-"
"Ah, good morning everyone!" Hakkai's cheery voice brought down the recently steaming Gojyo back on his seat.
Sanzo looked up with Goku, his eyes landing straight on a flustering me behind Hakkai. Honestly I didn't know why I was feeling so embarrassed to be standing in-front of them like they hadn't just saved my life.
But the way they all looked at me gave me some sort of a comforting feeling that I just couldn't shake off, not after that anyway.
"Good morning! You guys missed breakfast!" Goku cried out equally cheery.
"That's because you ate it all, doofus." Gojyo grumbled with a frown.
"Whad'ja call me, stupid kappa?" Goku scowled back.
"Oh of course you couldn't hear me, not with your deaf ass."
"Make sense you damn kappa!"
"I'll make sense when you do!"
"Shut up!" An eternally pissed off Sanzo priest yelled with a swift sweep of his paper fan across the two noisy idiots almost immediately silencing them from their pointless argument as per usual.
Well that's what it seemed to me anyway.
But despite all of the fresh madness I figured only this happy bunch could probably provide, I take a breath before clasping my hands together and bow down low so my long hair could cascade over my face.
"Th-thank you very much for saving me, I really do appreciate all you've done for me." My face feels hot under their eyes, heck; maybe some of the other people in the restaurant were probably looking too. Still, as a hunter and a woman with manners I knew better than to act bitterly towards those who have assisted me. Kurapica taught me that...
Lifting my head I see their separate faces holding different expression. Hakkai was still smiling beside me, though it only seemed to make me more uncomfortable as I shifted the weight under my feet. Goku had his head tilted a little curiously as if wondering why I was talking this way all of a sudden. Gojyo looked pleasantly surprised as if he wasn't expecting that at all and as my eyes drifted to Sanzo...
His expression was... blank.
In-fact, he almost looked like he was unfazed at all. His arms were folded and he just stared at me coolly with those dark violet eyes. For some reason, that pissed me off.
Ring! Ring!
The chime wasn't loud enough to fill the busy restaurant but it was enough to alert men around me as their faces all flickered with interest.
"Ah... It's my phone. I need to take this..." Right. An escape from that stupid monk. Finally!
Stuffing my hand into the pocket of my long jacket I quickly fish out my cell phone and make a beeline out of there. Glancing at the screen I saw the caller to be Kurapica.
My heart soars with happiness. He really does care!
Grinning like a fool I quietly make my way out of the restaurant, no doubt would they be curious. I can already hear Goku crying out for me and Gojyo hopelessly telling me to come back.
No matter how good looking he was, a pervert was still a pervert.
The streets were busy with market goers and sellers everywhere. I had to find a good quiet place to take this call and fast before he hung up. Even though it was hard enough trying to get reception here, I was lucky enough to have Kurapica call me all the way from York Shin.
Sprinting back, I rounded a corner and into an empty alleyway that only held trash and vermin. Oh well, it was good enough, the smell wasn't that bad.
I press the button to take the call excitedly.
"Kurapica!"
"Hey kiddo~!"
Wait... what?
"Did you miss me!"
My gut drops in disappointment and I immediately yell into the receiver.
"L-Leorio! Why are you using Kurapican's phone!"
The voice on the other side crackles a little bit, bad reception over there too?
"Hey, hey. That's cruel Ayu-chan. Can't I at least get a 'hi how are you uncle Leorio?' Jeez, the kids these days..."
Frowning at nothing in particular, I kick the wall opposite me in slight frustration. And to think I was going to hear his voice today.
"Yeah, well I was expecting Kurapica instead of the oji-san..."
"O-oji-san!" He exclaimed, making me smile.
I could hear him scoff on the other end; he must have been told off for being too loud... Wherever they were right now.
"A-anyway... Kurapica's taking a cat nap. He's got jet lag after we travelled all the way from York Shin for your butt."
Once again, my heart pounded with utter joy and I couldn't help but blush when he said that. Just for me?
"AYUUUUUMI!"
I had to move my cell phone away from my ear as the shout almost resonated within the small space, I was lucky to have concealed myself in the shadows or else people would be staring.
"I-Is that you Gon?"
Several voices came at once, words mixing and melding as Leorio seemed to be losing i nthe fihgt for Kurapica's cellphone. Didn't Leorio have his own? Why did he have Kurapica's anyway?
"Oi..." Another familiar voice drawled in, the background went quiet all of a sudden and i can only assume it was the doing of Killua.
"H-hey there Killua... Um, what happened to Gon and Leorio?"
I can already imagine the young boy shrugging to himself as he would watch his work from somewhere high above. Whatever he did to them... I didn't want to know.
"It was my turn to talk so they gave it to me."
Another nervous chuckle from me. Killua was a scary little boy...
"Ah, sure... Wait, you're with them now? Could it be you're here too!"
His voice hummed from the other end. "Yup. That old man paid us a visit with Kurapica and asked us to come along. It sounded fun."
As expected from those two...
"Wh-where are you guys anyway?"
"Hm, I'm not sure... We had to rest at some town as soon as we arrived. Everybody's pretty tired... Kurapica's still asleep and we all just happened to wake up at the same time."
My mind drifted back to the blond who was no doubt peacefully unaware of what his cell phone is going through now. Another smile makes it to my face and I lean back against the warm sun kissed concrete wall with my head tilted back.
"I see... Hey Killua?"
"Yeah?"
Swallowing down a lump I couldn't help but suddenly feel... anxious. My stomach churned unpleasantly and the more I thought about those four all being here for me, the more I felt sick to my stomach. My heart seemed to have slowed to a stop and all I could feel was this uncomfortable slither of a shudder passing through me.
What was that? It felt like...
"Oi Ayumi."
"Yeah, what?"
My hands were shaking.
"Did you blank out or something? I thought you hung up on me-"
"-OI! KILLUA! PASS THE PHONE BACK!"
"Just a minute old man."
"OLD MAN!"
Unable to hold back my chuckle of amusement I shake my head at the thought of them arguing just like old times. For some reason I thought back to those other four men that must still be contemplating my absence back in the restaurant.
"Oops. I gotta give this back now, see ya later Ayumi."
"Yeah, haha, bye."
Both phones simultaneously click shut and I sigh aloud the moment my phone is back in my pocket and I'm leaning back against the wall with my heart still slowly pounding away.
It hurt. For some reason I was feeling guilty.
Could it be because I had forced Kurapica to be with me that they all ended up getting roped into something I knew was a bad path from the start? How selfish of me...
"Damn it..." Running my fingers through my hair I let out another tired breath. I was starving and I hadn't had my fill of sugar since I woke up. I was craving ice cream... fast. Ah, that's right. If I go back now I could probably use my hunter's license to get another half-price without being caught for once. You just never know what kind of people would react to something other than a youkai or a priest.
"Oho~ what do we have here?"
Whipping my head towards the entrance of the alleyway I find the light to be blocked by a group of three men and already I knew what was coming. They wore matching lewd grins on their faces and the two that stood on either side were ready at the entrance. Nobody seemed to notice, either that or they didn't want to get caught up in the mess.
Sparing a glance upwards at the men I push myself off of the wall and begin walking towards them. I didn't have time for this.
"Hey, hey. Where you headed cutie? Wouldn't you rather hang out with us?" The man in the middle stops me from taking another step further, his arm reached out to roughly trap me against the wall. I grit my teeth, waiting for the moment to strike. Anybody had to admit it looked cooler that way...
"Yeah, we were getting lonely."
"And we're pretty bored."
"Wanna have some fun?"
I tilted a brow, deciding that stupidly playing into their hands seemed like a much better idea.
"Depends, what kind of fun are you talking about?" I almost snarled.
The man leaned in, grinning like a jackal. He smelled like cigarettes and cheap booze, as well as sweat. I narrowed my eyes in disgust. All I had to was wait a little longer...
"You know-" Whack!
I couldn't take it anymore. If I had to smell this rat any longer I would have lost my appetite even more. I swung my fist at him, easily sending him to the floor and falling unconscious as blood poured from his mouth. Maybe I over did it.
"F-fucking bitch!"
One of them lunged at me, hand outstretched to grab my shirt. I moved my head to dodge him, digging my fingers into his wrist and sharply tugging to send him crashing into the wall, the side of his face crashing against concrete and probably breaking a few teeth.
The last one of them, trembled but didn't seem to have any intention on backing down as he held his fists up weakly.
Unamused, I cock my head side ways at him in a taunt.
"Are you sure? Cuz... I could easily snap your arms and force you to carry your buddies out of here. Maybe tie you guys together by the limbs..." It was an empty threat, only god knew if I was actually capable of doing such a thing.
The man that trembled at the knees seemed convinced enough though as he let out a weak cry before stumbling out of there to leave his friends in a bloody mess.
"Hmph... I hate doing things like that..." I sigh with my head in one hand, before threading my fingers through my messy lilac hair once more. "I'd better head back before they suspect I bailed out on them..."
Walking back to the restaurant as quietly as I could without drawing any attentino to myself, I easily found my way back to the entrance. Upon entering, I was surprised to still see them exactly where I left them though this time they seemed to be stuck in a huddle and speaking in low voices to each other.
They had their heads down and didn't notice me step up at the ehad of the table, it wasn't until Goku noticed my shadow did he acknowledge my presence.
"Ayumi-chan! You're back!" He looked too happy suddenly, what were they talking about I wonder?
"Ah, finally decided to come crawling back did 'ya?" Gojyo also looked a little too happy to see me after I ran off on them just a few moments ago.
"How was it Ayumi-san? Is everything fine?" Hakkai asked though I wasn't exactly sure if he was interested in knowing so I just nodded meekly, my suspicions growing more as I let my eyes drift towards Sanzo who was casually finishing off a cigarette. Once again, wasn't he a priest?
"It's been decided, you're coming with us." He said flatly, though he didn't seem to happy about it as his eyes narrowed in a slight glare.
Wait...
"WHAT!"
My gut dropped but this time it felt different as my jaw dropped in I couldn't help but stutter out with my face feeling warm.
"Wh-wh-what do you mean 'coming with you'! Since when-!"
"Since we saved your ass more than once, now shut up and don't ask any more questions." Sanzo said bitterly as he crushed his cigarette in the ashtray on the table.
I was still stunned- no more than that! I was outraged! Is that what they were talking about this whole time?
"B-but I..." My first thoughts fell on another certain group of four who I knew would be more than confused and maybe a little mad at knowing that I had another four men for travelling companions.
...
THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!
"You have no choice." Sanzo said bluntly as if he read my thoughts.
"Would travelling with us be better Ayumi-san? Since we're on the same journey." Hakkai just had to cut in with a point I knew I had to agree on. It was impossible to even start an argument with this man.
"Yeah! The more the merrier right?" Goku grinned like a kid.
"Heh. Look, her face is all red." Gojyo snickered like the pervert he is. "She must be thinking 'how lucky! I get to stay with the handsome Sha Gojyo even longer!' Haha."
Fuming, I reach or an empty beer can and aimed for his head. "Shut up you pevert!" Bullseye!
"Good shot Ayumi-chan!" Goku cheered.
"Oi... Quit acting like animals..." Sanzo's demand went ignored.
"Ahaha!" Hakkai was more than amused at the sudden turn of events.
"Wh-what was that for, damn it?" Gojyo immediately had his arms up to defend hismelf from another shot from me.
I was angry, outraged and most likely driven into violence because of my lack of sugar but for some reason... The idea of travelling with these guys sounded lot better than it should have to me.
"Th-that's her!" A voice decided to cut into our moment of 'happiness'. Turning our attention to the voice that made the entire restaurant almost fall silent, I found my eyes blinking at the familiar man that I had unceremoniously let go of back in the alleyway. He was red in the face and his finger was jabbed right my way as he stood in-front of a group of stocky looking men.
"Th-that's the demon girl that attacked us out of nowhere!"
That lying piece of-
"Ayumi-chan? Do you know him?" Goku innocently tilted his head.
"You... Woman, what did you do now?" Sanzo bit out through clenched teeth.
I was surprised, that guy actually had the nerve to rat me out like that? Did he follow me or something?
"Maybe I was too careless..."
"DON'T JUST MUMBLE TO YOURSELF!"
Ignoring the priest, the man cried out again.
"She's a youkai alright! She probably has a limiter on her or something! Somebody has to stop her!"
"Oh shit... Sanzo, this isn't good." Gojyo shifted to the edge of his seat, ready to bolt out of there.
"Tch." Sanzo bit into his cigarette before doing the same as he held the back of seat, ready to take off.
"Wha-wha-what's going on!" Goku was more than confused by the situation.
"Ah, perhaps this is what you would call a 'dine and dash'?" And Hakkai... was just way too cheerful for something like this.
"Those guys look like her accomplices!"
"Let's get 'em!"
Seconds later, we found ourselves on the road in a familiar jeep with an angry mob of people right on our tail. I watch them from my spot between Goku and Gojyo. Great... At this rate, I wasn't going to get that ice cream after all...
"Get back here!"
"Nooo! My foooood!" Goku whined.
"Just step on it Hakkai! Hurry!" Gojyo gripped the front seat where the brunette male sat.
"Why... does this seem so familiar?" Sanzo grumbled to himself.
"Haha! Hold on everyone, I'm going to floor it!"
Me: I'm also thinking of writing in some extras after some chapters. If you've been reading my Hibari Kyoya story then you would know what to expect I suppose. Maybe I should write them to explain to you guys more on Ayumi's past with the Hunter gang. Hmm... So many decisions to make...