DISCLAIMER: Well, here we are, almost to the end of this leg of our journey. After this we will only have one more epilogue chapter for Almost Human. But fear not dear readers, for there is no cause for worry. I'm already hard at work brainstorming NtVS:3, and have even gotten a draft of the first chapter written! ...Or maybe there is cause for worry for those of you hoping desperately that I would just give up so you wouldn't be forced to keep reading this crap. -.o Anyway, here's the update, brought to you despite freezing cold and blizzards. :-P
-MH-BtVS-MH-BtVS-MH-
"You've never seen a demon. All the demons that walk the Earth are tainted, human-hybrids like vampires."
The Void churned. Its fleeting moment of consciousness and form in an eternity of Nothing an unpleasant impossibility. Through the eye of an insignificant god of destruction and death it shone, into a universe where things of tenuous and fragile form existed in violation of the laws of Nothing. For infinite and nonexistent time it tore these countless islands of light and matter, stretching all asunder across great and fathomless Nothing, until all faded away in frozen isolation, unaware of the existence of innumerable comrades dying slowly in the endless dark.
Before it was a black furred beast, a limited consciousness that deemed itself powerful. And compared to those of its own kind the beast undoubtedly was, having friends in high places among aged gods that had fallen out of power in the time before this latest foam of universes exploded into being. The foolish beast charged at its top speed, but for the Void that existed beyond the understanding of a mere beast, an instant was no different than an eternity. Whether it sprinted or crawled was of insignificance. Before the beast was in any position to attack the Void's abattoir, the Void would know the beast better than the beast's own gods.
Then the Void knew. The beast, it had connections to not one, nor two, but many of the countless individual universes within the foam. The Void pondered. If there was anything that it understood it was patience. Should it attempt to destroy a powerful symbol of life at its most impressive at this instant, where none of the beast's kind would understand? Or should it merely thread the beast with a few of its tendrils and thus gain a greater hold into every universe the beast touched? It was decided. The Void would withdraw most of its influence from this shell...
The Void was making ready to momentarily withdraw its favour of the great destructive god and set its tendrils into the dark furred beast. But then it became aware of another, on the edges of the fight. The Void felt an unfamiliar startle. Had that one been standing there the whole time? This other beast was in the standard tiny human form, but she radiated a darker power than the one leading the charge. Her tawny brunette hair and unsoiled pale skin should have stood out easily in this hellscape, but she had almost remained completely hidden. She radiated the more controlled power of one willing to stay behind the scenes, biding time until the right time to act with the greatest effect.
The Void immediately drifted in and began a quick attempt to intertwine itself with the quiet, bloody eyed mortal. Then it recognized something unusual, again the unsettling emotion of surprise filtering in, aided by the corporeal body of the destructive god. The Void already existed within the quiet, thinking one, but it was heavily under wraps. The Void was so unused to the complications of awareness. These insights were unnecessary for its ultimate triumph. ...And unlike the dark beast, whose soul bridged many individual universes, this quiet bearer of Void was also at multiple places in the same instant, but also in this single partial universe, as well as spread among many. Very interesting indeed. The Void pondered this and many things as it gifted the destructive god that had reached the end of its usefulness with a last bit of strength, so that its defeat would not arouse suspicion in the obviously veteran warrior beast. And then the Void dispersed, and thought no more.
-MH-BtVS-MH-
Minutes ago
Shizuru watched. This main body of hers held still for precious minutes as she witnessed Natsuki attempting in vain to free her fragile looking sister. The normally calm and patient teenager was only stopped from foolishly rushing across the distance to comfort her most important person by the present impossibility of movement. Shizuru was spread too thin, her consciousness simultaneously existing in many times and places in this universe. She had no energy to spare to comfort Natsuki now, or she would be unable to stop her from dying later. Shizuru might have had enough energy if she were gambling person. She thought that maybe her abilities here, combined with the Slayer's might be enough to destroy their powerful foe. But Shizuru knew better than to entrust outcomes to chance, so she split her energies despite her current desires to comfort Natsuki, so that she could summon Mai. The witch and her dragon should be able to help herself and Natsuki from a safe distance so that all of them, but most importantly Natsuki, could get home from this middle universe in one piece.
If only Shizuru's abilities could keep Natsuki safe in their own universe, but the foams nearer the shell didn't allow for splitting like this. And indeed my mind cannot even hold these ideas in a coherent way in our own universe. The very concepts, let alone the methods, are outside my waking mind's understanding. She thought with bitter frustration, though she was glad that just this once her family curse seemed to offer her a chance to save Natsuki from a creature more powerful than those allowed to exist in their universe.
A small smile came to Shizuru's lips as she watched Natsuki tenderly running her fingers through her little sister's hair. So often it frightened her how much of her existence revolved around Natsuki. From the moment the brave and kind little dark haired hero had appeared in her life all those years ago when they were but children, Shizuru found herself both fascinated by and drawn to the girl. Shizuru was never quite sure exactly what specifically made Natsuki so incomparably fascinating, even before she knew the specifics of Natsuki's big secret... That the charmingly blunt, yet sweet girl was also a mystical warrior, who fought nightly against physical manifestations of evil. Whenever Natsuki's bright eyes held hers, or that rough but always emotional voice said her name, Shizuru felt like they were the only two people in existence.
Almost before she understood the real meaning of the word, Shizuru was in love with Natsuki. Surely she knew that her parents loved each other; or rather her mother loved her father as much as she was capable of loving anyone, while her father seemed to mostly love the woman her mother used to be, before her terrible curse changed her from a vibrant and passionate woman into a bitter and tired shell of her former self. They both loved Shizuru as well. Her mother always spent time with her whenever the poor woman was aware of the world around her enough to do so. And her father cared for his beloved daughter deeply, even if his primary way of showing that affection was so often to be as busy as possible at work, making lots of money so that he could shower his sweet daughter with gifts. However the intensity of her feelings for Natsuki seemed orders of magnitude above those expected familial bonds.
There was something more to it than the pure intensity of Natsuki's regard for her, though Shizuru was consistently amazed that the girl's fumbling words and shy blushing smile could make her feel so special. Being perceived by her acquaintances at school as something of a rich princess she was used to being treated as better than others, but Natsuki's treatment of her was subtly different. Shizuru was always a serious child. She took all of her responsibilities, including her study of naginatajutsu, very seriously. So she often found herself annoyed whenever her father or other males treated her like a helpless and fragile little princess. But even before she knew the mysterious girl's secret, Natsuki's similar but more intense protective treatment of her was one of the few things capable of turning Shizuru into a speechless and shy blushing school girl.
Shizuru came back to herself as the world around them began to shift from a mere inhospitable natural environment and into a true hellscape. Blood red eyes narrowed as the huge, menacing and disgusting god began to form, his great globular and tentacled self an eyesore even in this place filled with great yellow mineral columns of foul venting sulphur. The time was fast approaching when Shizuru would see if her efforts had been enough to allow the three of them to defeat this foe, or if she had merely sacrificed her chance to say goodbye to Natsuki. As Shizuru stared into the strange purplish dark void swirling in front of the creature's eye, she was overcome with a familiar sensation. It was similar to when something happened in her waking life that nearly exactly resembled a dream, the details of which were fragmented at best and only just recalled at the time of the incident. However as soon as she recognized the sensation it was gone, and then Shizuru had no further time to contemplate. Natsuki would need all of her friends' strength and concentration.
-MH-BtVS-MH-
The wolf felt herself practically laughing as she charged her ridiculous looking foe. Her thick, sharp claws clicked against the hard stone ground and sharp white teeth were bared in a canine approximation of a grin. She loved to hunt! And killing a big, strong opponent like this one could only serve to gain her more of the other thing she loved the most; snuggles from her favourite humans. The wolf also had vague thoughts of other things she wanted to do with those humans as well, and she felt the skin on her face warm. Fortunately for her dignity the embarrassed reddening was hidden nicely by her thick fur. Besides, now was not the time for distractions. She could contemplate those tantalizing activities further once she had felled her opponent. The wolf found herself finally concentrating completely on her prey as her sharp teeth sunk into a disturbing waving tentacle. The putrid gush of foul tasting rotten fluids that flooded her mouth quickly purged all pleasant thoughts from her mind.
She glared up at the huge creature's vaguely formed face through glinting green eyes. The towering sensitive spots seemed impossibly far away, almost touching the great forks of lightning in the thick dark clouds that sent her sensitive ears ringing with loud reverberating thunder. Brown froth from the edge of the great tentacle clenched between her teeth foamed out of her mouth. This giant confused her. How could she possibly reach the more vital weak parts at the top when she couldn't even figure out how it stayed upright? It was as though the giant floated in the thin air like it was water.
As she watched the swirling darkness in front of the large eye began to fade. Then almost before the wolf could detect it, a dark purple narrower, and wickedly barbed tentacle snaked out from within the writhing mass at blurred speed. The wolf jerked her dark head out of the way, but not before the barb sliced into the area above her right eye. Its sharp point cut into her face deeply the same way that another had in the moments before she had turned from a tiny two legged creature into this powerful form. While the barbed weapon recoiled, the wolf saw countless others speeding towards her vulnerable face and reluctantly released her bite on the creature. Before another blow could connect, the wolf was speeding away at a full out run, her body stretched out and her furry belly nearly scraping the ground as she moved at full speed away from the unexpected weapons across the parched, cracked rock.
She whirled around to face the creature as soon as she felt she had gotten out of range of those deadly defences. Her long thin tongue lolled out of her gaping mouth as she attempted to spit out the giant's disgusting taste, watching the creature writhing at this safer distance. Her own blood stung her right eye as it dripped into it and the wolf whined slightly, angry to have been caught off-guard. The undulating giant's weapons glinted as red light from the various magma vents lit them from below, providing the wolf with the barest glimpse of the next danger that sent her again running with all of her speed.
The giant began ejecting its sharp barbs from its body and they whistled through the hot air like countless thrown knives. Though the dodging wolf had experience avoiding or even catching a few sharp projectiles, with so many slicing towards her, not even her practiced zigzagging running pattern could keep her safe from every point. She whimpered as one of the huge needle-like weapons pierced through the thick fur and muscle of her left shoulder, its tip lodging itself in the bone of her shoulder blade. Her once easy running gait was now excruciating, but she had no choice but to continue moving as more of the sharp projectiles were flung in her direction. She managed to avoid any more serious injuries during the next three volleys by running in closer to her attacker. Tufts of dark fur few through the air as barbs grazed her, and more trickles of blood matted the fur along her ribs and chest as some of the huge razor-sharp needles cut into her flesh on their way past. The wolf panted heavily as she dodged the seemingly endless barrage, even as she continually darted into and out of the undulating mass of tentacles. Her own sharp teeth managed to bite deeply into the giant's flesh many times, but all the damage she inflicted on it seemed to have no effect at all on her prey.
But just as the wolf was working herself into a frustrated frenzy, with more and more rivulets of her own blood running down her sides while the giant seemed to regenerate its body as she injured it; salvation appeared. A huge white form cut through the dangerously electrified mass of dark grey clouds, and the wolf was nearly impaled again as she blinked in surprise at the sight of the orange haired female sitting astride its back. Her small human form was dwarfed by the great white dragon beneath her. Mai, she remembered, her heart beating joyfully in her chest at the sight, even as she worried for her witch getting involved in what seemed a hopeless fight.
The dragon's wide leathery wings were held in a fixed outward position away from it as it soared with great and effortless speed toward the heart of the epic battle already taking place between the god and the wolf. His long finned tail twitched eagerly as he approached the god from behind, his huge form completely silent as he cut through the air towards his target.
The wolf resumed her attacks with vigour. Sharp teeth snapped at writhing tentacles more recklessly, taking several more barbs in her heaving sides as she worked to keep the giant's attention focused on her own attacks. It might have come as a surprise that such an ancient god would not have eyes in the back of its head, but the giant was caught completely blindsided by the dragon's first attack. His huge talons sank deeply into the god's massive irregularly shaped head, rending the thick leathery flesh and muscle for long moments. But before the dragon had a chance to do any fatal damage he was forced to begin fanning his huge wings again and rise away from the god, lest he crash to the ground and bring his fragile cargo too close to the ruthless giant or her beloved who was engaged in the battle on the ground.
As the dragon temporarily retreated the god whipped around, his momentary distraction allowing the wolf to sit heavily on the ground to rest for a brief moment. She was panting heavily as she craned her neck at an uncomfortable angle, her teeth working carefully to get a grip on the huge barb that was impaled into her shoulder blade. The part of the wolf that was still human had thoughts of the dangers of potentially nicked arteries and bleeding out from removing the lodged object, but it was so painful that the wolf shoved those thoughts aside. Her teeth finally clamping down firmly onto the offending spike, the wolf whined in relief as the pain dulled to a more bearable throbbing as she finally removed it. The others stuck much more shallowly in her sides were less uncomfortable, as their resting places were not as sensitive. Her long tufted ears perked up as she just barely heard a bright voice calling her name. "Natsuki?"
The wolf glanced up to see the dragon soaring over her, his huge form dangerously close to the rocks, pure white skin still so vivid against the dark backdrop of clouds and rocks. Natsuki let out a loud bark at the sight of Mai's surprised looking face staring down at her from atop the dragon, the sound of her own joyful canine voice echoing loudly in her ears. I can't believe Mai recognized me. And how is she here? Natsuki wondered, her more human thoughts returning to her rapidly even in wolf form at the sight of her beautiful girl.
They weren't allowed any longer for their reunion though, as the extremely angry ageless god yelled out its indignation, the many layered booming voice shaking the ground below. The god now seemed more focused on Mai and her dragon than the puny cur nipping harmlessly at its many ankles, and it followed their insolent flight past it with the huge glaring eye. Natsuki wondered if it was planning on just staring her witch to death when a wide dark purple blast that looked almost like a lazar shot from its dilated pupil, burning through the air towards the flying pair. The dragon gracefully dodged many successive beams, and suddenly blue sky and red sunlight was again shining down on the plateau as the beams burned away great swaths of the heavy clouds. Natsuki nearly laughed out loud at the sight of concentrated orange and yellow flames shooting from Mai's hands in retaliation, streaking towards the angrily undulating god below her. Too bad Cyclops. Jean Grey was too good for you even when you were an X-men.
The defiant witch's aim was true, and it seemed fitting to Natsuki when the flames crashed into the god's huge eye. It was as though her girl was getting revenge for the giant nearly blinding Natsuki with its own weapons. The god roared loudly as the dark pupil of his eye became pale and cloudy, as even his supernatural proteins were warped by Mai's powerfully hot magickal fire. Still the rest of its massive form seemed unaffected by her attacks, and Natsuki knew that Mai wouldn't have enough power reserves to burn away its entire eyeball with her magicks. Both wolf and dragon attempted to get in more damaging bites to the giant god, but even flailing blindly its great mass of barbed tentacles and even the blunt blows from the more muscular ones were potentially deadly. Both carefully circled its towering form, occasionally darting in to do minor damage, but things were at an unfortunate stalemate.
Then they all froze as the great rocky stage below them again began to shake and shudder violently, the dragon managing to pause in his flight by angling his wings just right so that he hovered out of reach of the once flailing tentacles. The wolf tilted her head in confusion as she realized the god was just as startled by the sudden shaking as the mortals trying futilely to bring it down. Was it possible that there was something else with power in this universe? Something more powerful than even this great god?
Natsuki leaped back just in time as rocks burst outward below her paws and the god. The heads and bodies of countless interlocked snakes surged up from below, seemingly immune to the rivulets of orange liquid rock dripping from their huge heads and back into the chasm from which they came. They were huge, each bigger around than the god's tentacles, their heads longer than the huge wolf's body. They were beautiful too, Natsuki noted in wonder. Their glistening scales running the entire gradient of rich browns, reds and purples, from pale tan to nearly black. And their countless eyes were all that heart stopping, familiar red. Shizuru! The name echoed in her mind with surprise and amazement, as she realized with sudden clarity the identity of her mysterious animal guide, as well as this amazing and powerful supernatural being that seemed easily stronger than the putrid monstrosity above her. She's such a goddess.
The ancient god flailed uselessly as countless many-toothed mouths bit into the tentacles. Natsuki watched in wonder as even the giant was no match for the overwhelming power of her red eyed goddess. The mythical hydra effortlessly wrestled the once nearly invincible being to the ground, allowing the wolf to simply charge in and begin methodically biting into the soft muscled tissue under the wide gaping mouth. Persistently she bit and gnawed, hoping that sheer determination might help her to behead and slay this amorphous devil once and for all.
Even under the simultaneous assault of the wolf and hydra, and the occasional carefully aimed bolt of flame from the sky, the fallen god remained proud and as it began speaking again. Natsuki's strong jaws stopped in mid bite. "So. Old One. You challenge my right to the worlds of your mortals." It sneered, and even as a wolf Natsuki flinched, but not at its words. The fallen abomination spoke in the voice of Shizuru's dead mother. "It was promised that I should again rule over all of their realms once the balance was broken. The very sight of you challenging me here today is all the proof that I need that it is broken."
Between her teeth the god's flesh suddenly started to rot away, peeling back from soft giant yellowish bones far beneath. Its body suddenly began expanding rapidly, bloating out grotesquely and Natsuki's paws scrambled as she hurried to back away before she was crushed. But inside she felt herself being involuntarily drawn towards its disgusting form, and only her great willpower kept her safely away. A howl of pain was cut short as she was forcefully shifted back into her more normal human girl self, the extra cells ripped away as her natural ones collapsed in on each other with a thundering crack. Naked and bleeding she fell with a thud onto the hard ground. She stared, her green eyes wide with horror as they gazed up into the widening grin of evil. Bare rotten strings of muscles remaining around the god's mouth curved up around softening yellow teeth, the swollen splotched red and brown gums rapidly receding to make them appear longer.
"You haven't won. Your success here in this realm between only strengthens us. Soon I will appear in my true form in the pointless kingdoms of all the mortals and bring long overdue destruction to your fragile universes." Its warped form grinned wider as its tone changed into that of another's. "And it's all thanks to you, Slayer." Involuntary tears streamed down Natsuki's once more human cheeks. The death god now spoke in the gentle and kind voice of her own mother. A voice that even after all these years she had never forgotten, now corrupted in her memory by this force of evil.
The god's body began to collapse, becoming smaller and smaller, falling into itself. As it reached a critical mass, smaller than even Natsuki's human form, it exploded, showering the mortals and the entire plateau in huge running and dripping globs of rotting fatty tissue and muscle. They dripped with muck that burned the skin of human and immortal dragon alike as the world around them began to fade. The last thing Natsuki saw as she faded out was a now freed and healthy Alyssa lying in the place where the god had once been. The girl stared into her big sister's eyes, her bright blue orbs wide with wonder and confusion.
-MH-BtVS-MH-
Shizuru sat completely still on the edge of the hospital bed's thin mattress, her posture perfect as she watched the nervous young male resident doctor stitching one of the many long deep cuts on the underside of her forearm. He hadn't been impertinent enough to ask where she got them, and she had barely spoken to him beyond the bare minimum of politeness. The long soft sleeves of her oversized black sweatshirt were rolled up to allow him to work, though his shaking hands made for uneven stitches at best. Still, Shizuru did not pull back the hood of her sweatshirt that shrouded most of her face in shadow, out of view of the bustling emergency room trauma center around them. Only her red eyes were visible, and the resident kept glancing up into them nervously every few minutes. He was obviously searching for something to say to break the uncomfortable silence, but at the moment Shizuru cared nothing for his comfort or even for keeping her pure pale skin unscarred.
This time when she woke from her dream, inexplicably crumpled on the hardwood floor of her room in the Fujino mansion, she was confronted with two vague sets of memories. And these angry looking wounds that taunted her with the truth. It hadn't been all in her head. Was there really this great and powerful force lurking inside her, laying in wait until it could bring destruction to anything that mattered in her life?
She felt her heart start beating faster as two familiar forms stumbled into the busy room through the revolving door. Her proud and beautiful Natsuki with the tattered rags of her clothes barely hanging on her body. The obviously wounded Slayer seemed to lean slightly against the concerned witch walking next to her, an arm thrown casually around Mai's slim shoulders. Shizuru gathered this information in a moment, her years of sitting just out of sight and simply observing Natsuki allowing her to easily notice even small details.
Before the Slayer looked in her direction Shizuru lowered her eyes to her lap, her spare hand reaching up to pull her hood more tightly over her face. Her shoulders slumped forward nervously, causing the clumsy resident to accidentally jab her arm more deeply with the threaded needle. He apologized profusely but Shizuru merely shrugged wordlessly, wondering if she was imagining the feeling of intense green eyes studying her slouched form carefully.
She closed her own eyes against the familiar burning sensation behind them that happened whenever she watched Natsuki easily interacting with another, as Shizuru kept herself purposefully distant. It wasn't simply because she wished she could be there next to Natsuki in Mai's place, though Shizuru knew that not even an expert liar like herself could convince anyone that she didn't wish for such closeness. No, the real pain was caused by the persistent thoughts that she would never belong so close to Natsuki, hopeless and dark thoughts that had plagued her ever sense she had first begun to truly understand the intensity of her feelings for Natsuki a few years earlier.
The kind and giving nature of the Slayer that drew Shizuru to Natsuki in the first place was the very thing that fuelled her belief that her getting too close could only hurt Natsuki. The dark haired girl was open and caring towards Shizuru in an honest way, but Natsuki was like that with everyone. It shamed her deeply, but at times Shizuru would find herself wishing that Natsuki didn't have Midori's unwavering support, so that the Slayer might feel less a bit comfortable around others.
Shizuru felt the sensation of being watched fade, and she hesitantly glanced up to see Natsuki's retreating back as she and Mai headed down one of the hospital's side halls without ever checking in at the reception desk. She relaxed with a mixture of relief and disappointment as she realized her disguise of frumpy clothing had worked, Natsuki hadn't recognized her.
Shizuru knew the Slayer's nature meant that she was never completely focused on just one person. Her concern constantly shifted among those closest to her, and even the unnamed and faceless masses that she protected with all of her devotion. And try as she might to convince herself that she could live in the moment like Mai claimed to, caring nothing for Natsuki's total commitment to her, Shizuru knew that such ability to compromise simply wasn't in her nature. Shizuru had learned a great deal about the selfish darkness that lurked within as she endured the last few years with her mother. It was an unnerving set of contradictions. She felt it was vital that she distance herself from Natsuki, and yet the Slayer was the only thing that held her intense obsession. The intense anger and despair that lurked just beneath her calm mask at the thought of losing Natsuki scared her. The lengths that she would go to in order to keep Natsuki for herself alone leaving her feeling disgusted. This year with her mother's death, Shizuru realized just how tenuous her situation was, and she had tried to distance herself from further from Natsuki in desperation.
But it all seemed so hopeless. No matter how she tried to distance herself, she always felt herself drawn back. There was just something about that frustrating selflessness, the open smile with nothing held back and the playful sparkle of bright green eyes. It all kept Shizuru circling closer no matter how hard she tried to fight it, like the moth drawn to the proverbial flame. So should she just give in and keep flying towards the pretty light, hoping that neither of them would get burned? And what choice did she really have anyway? Shizuru sighed softly, causing the doctor's concerned dark eyes to again gaze up at her. She wondered if there was anything else in the world that could ever have the irresistible power over her that Natsuki did.
-MH-BtVS-MH-BtVS-MH-
Natsuki finally felt herself breathing easier as she and Mai stood outside of Alyssa's hospital room, staying out of direct sight of the once more blonde girl lying on her bed. Her bright girlish giggle could be heard filtering out of the room as she teased the lightly blushing but smiling Miyu who sat faithfully in an uncomfortable chair next to her bed. Natsuki had been able to get the android the chip modified by RedWiccan's programming hours before she and Mai had left for the cave to perform the spirit walk, and she was happy to see that the new behavioural chip without all the intrusive controls seemed to be working.
They had woken about an hour earlier in one of the beds in the monastery, the exhausted Natsuki lying on top of Mai with the witch's arms wrapped tightly around her. The Slayer's sides and shoulder were sore and bleeding, and there was a wicked looking cut sliced deep into her right eyebrow. Resilient as she was, the injured Slayer was in no position to get the two of them back to the city. Fortunately their adventures in the spirit world seemed to have left Mai with an enhanced sense of balance. Together they worked out a system where Mai would drive Natsuki's Kawasaki, with the Slayer squeezing her sides extra tight whenever she needed to shift gears. Natsuki hoped that her engine had survived the somewhat trying trip more or less unharmed, even though it had complained rather loudly a few times when Mai accelerated too quickly coming out of a tight turn.
The emergency room at the Hellmouth hospital had been crowded as always as they walked in, and despite Mai's urging Natsuki had refused to stop long enough to seek treatment for her wounds. Mai had reluctantly allowed Natsuki to put off seeing a doctor for a bit longer when she saw how anxious her friend was, and aided her by continuing to offer a shoulder for the wounded but stubborn Slayer to lean on as they walked down the maze of hallways to Alyssa's room. But Natsuki simply couldn't rest until she knew for certain that she and Mai had been successful rather than coincidentally having the same bizarre dream.
Even from this distance out of direct line of sight, Natsuki could tell that her little sister was well on her road to recovery. Certainly from what her sensitive hearing could make out, two of the nurses at the nearby station were currently discussing the young blonde girl's sudden unexpected awakening. But although the nurses had actually been into her room to check on her, they didn't realize something that Natsuki did. From the words of Alyssa's conversation with Miyu that drifted through the cracked open door, the Slayer could tell that her little sister was very different now from the much too serious and sad girl that she first got to know near her high school's church.
Natsuki felt a gentle squeeze as Mai grasped her hand, and shifted her focus to see concerned greyish eyes and a questioningly raised eyebrow. "Aren't you going to go in?" The witch asked, as if unable to fathom coming all this way while tired and injured to lurk in a shadow in the hallway.
But the Slayer shook her head firmly as she again looked back at the silhouette of her sister just barely visible from their vantage point. "No. I just wanted to make sure that she was okay."
"Why not though? I know that she's is almost overly fond of Miyu compared to anyone else, but I know she would still like to see you. And the nurses said that she was well enough to handle another visitor for a little bit." Mai reasoned, though her voice quiet, almost as though she feared alerting Miyu and thus Alyssa to their presence here without Natsuki's agreement.
Natsuki smiled at her witch's thoughtfulness but this time she didn't turn away from her careful watching of Alyssa and Miyu. Mai though watched the Slayer with increasing worry. They had won, but she was acting as though she might never see her little sister again. "I'm not going in." The Slayer finally replied, her tired voice even huskier than usual. "Miyu is going to be taking the two of them to America for now, and I don't want to risk someone suspecting any greater connections between me and Alyssa more than I already have."
"...Oh." The witch replied in a regretful voice, reaching out to rub the tired Slayer's back soothingly, "I'm sorry Natsuki."
"I'm not." She said as she gazed regretfully through the door for more long moments, though she could practically feel how unconvinced Mai was by her monotone words. She let out a long sigh, "Eh, alright. I am sorry that I won't get to spend time getting to know her, but I'd be really happy if this helps her to have a normal kid's life for at least a few years you know?" Natsuki explained, "Miyu can get internet access pretty much anywhere and is an expert at covering her tracks from people trying to follow her. She promised to keep me updated on how Alyssa's doing, even though I won't know exactly where they are." She shrugged helplessly as she turned back to Mai who was still looking at her sympathetically. "Anyway, you ready to leave? I'm good to go now that I've seen for myself that she's going to be okay."
"Shouldn't you see a doctor first?" Mai asked sceptically, pointing out wordlessly how Natsuki was still leaning against her as though standing on her own was too painful.
Natsuki pouted theatrically before nuzzling her nose against the witch's pleasantly warm neck. "I'll come back if I don't feel better by tomorrow. Please can we just go home?" She pleaded as she interlaced her fingers between Mai's, gently caressing the back of her hand with a calloused thumb as she continued her reasoning. "I want to spend time with you."
The witch sighed slightly, her greyish eyes showing both her exasperation with Natsuki's stubbornness as well as her own desire to go along with such a delightful sounding suggestion. "Okay... but if we just go home and rest, you promise me you'll come back here tomorrow?" Mai's heart beat faster as Natsuki simply nodded absently in response, a glint in her green eyes and a slight change in her touches from merely comforting to something a bit more provocative stating clearly that resting was not really what the Slayer had in mind.
"Plus I'm starving and hospital food sucks."
"You just ate almost all of the food we brought with us before we left the monastery." Mai teased, laughing slightly at how some things could always be counted on with Natsuki.
Natsuki grinned as they headed back down the hall, more than willing to help Mai make fun of her a little now that she knew for sure that Alyssa was indeed again among the waking... as well as no longer a threat to anyone. "Yeah well... you're just lucky that I was too worried that our spell didn't work right to take care of the other half of my problem." She teased back, admiring the light blush brought to her witch's pale cheeks by such suggestions. Hmm... Life is good. She purred softly to herself at how much things were really looking up this evening.
When they reached the still bustling emergency room however, the Slayer paused once more as her sensitive nose caught traces of a familiar scent. Even compared to all the alcohol and bleach trying their hardest to keep the hospital clean, it was a scent that Natsuki was so attuned to that it was picked out easily. ...Shizuru? But again when she glanced around the room frantically, checking some of the more difficult to see areas three times, she saw no signs of her best friend and recent sharer of amazing kisses. And there was something else I needed to ask her about... Natsuki thought as she tried with much frustration to once more sift though the disjointed and rapidly fading memories of the spirit walk.
"What is it?" Mai asked, having also looked all over the room wondering what could have made Natsuki stop and unable to think of anything from just looking at the crowded emergency room.
Natsuki shrugged helplessly, "I don't know... I thought that someone I knew was here is all." She explained, even though the notion that her senses could be wrong was very disturbing, "I guess it's possible that someone just uses the same shampoo..." She trailed off without further elaboration, but Mai knew instantly from the wistful tones exactly who this unidentified someone must be.
Blue grey eyes scanned the room again more sharply as she reached out with her magicks as well, but while she felt a low underlying throbbing of darkness, the Hellmouth she realized, she was unable to detect the familiar and unusual power that she recognized as Shizuru. "I don't think she's here..." She replied hesitantly, reluctant to offer her sore and tired Slayer bad news.
Natsuki smiled good-naturedly as she lead the way through the revolving door, her grin broadening as they finally exited the busy hospital and stepped onto the sidewalk. The sun had just set less than half an hour ago, but Natsuki always loved looking at her territory at night. Even though there was a vampire approaching the two of them in the corner of her vision. Some newbie that didn't recognize the Slayer hoping for an easy weak target from the hospital. It was probably even weaker than a normal fledgling since it had been drinking mostly from the sick and old from the moment it walked out of the morgue.
"Hello pretty girlies," The vampire lisped, "Did you want me to walk you to the bus stop? There's plenty of scary peoples out there who'd jump at a chance to take advantage of such juicy and innocent looking morsels." He offered helpfully. His slightly pudgy looking face scrunched up in confusion as the two humans started laughing.
"Yeah, why don't we all walk together into that nice dark alley over that way?" The dark haired one offered helpfully with a confident gesture, "It's a shortcut to our bus stop."
"Oh! Of course. Yes, well just follow me. I'll keep the crazies away, yes indeed." The vampire nodded, once more enthusiastic despite his confusion. After all, just because he was immortal now he didn't figure that pretty girls should stop being confusing. Even if he could finally get some of them to do things he'd only dreamed about as a weakling human.
The Slayer suppressed a growl at the disturbing predatory smile on the vampire that served to make him look more like one of those human predators that took advantage of weak children than a noble wolf or tiger. She barely waited until they were out of sight of the main hospital doors before she attacked him, and she grinned despite the pain in her sides when she saw two more vampires joining the fight. She looked to her right to see Mai roll her eyes at her before smiling slightly, raising one of her pale freckled hands that danced with bright orange magickal fire.
Natsuki grinned as the claws of her left hand penetrated the first vampire's chest, shredding his unbeating heart into ribbons until finally he exploded into dust. It was kind nice that there were constants she could count on no matter how crazy her life got. She loved how some things, even what some might consider bad things, never seemed change. She blushed happily as she suddenly found herself kissing her witch passionately over a few piles of dust. Hmm, I guess a little change now and then was never a bad thing. She blushed a bit harder as Mai giggled at how enthusiastic Natsuki now was about getting them to her bike as quickly as possible, but the Slayer was in too much of a good mood to mind. Maybe I'm even well enough to drive. She thought happily, enjoying the feel of the warm night air on her face and Mai's kind hand lightly gripping hers.