Chapter 3

Last Time

"Oh yeah, I'll give you a 24 hour head start to hide, then I will come and find you. The game will last for 3 days if I don't find you, you may leave, but if I do you will die" I explained with a smile "Fun right"

"Deal." he said

"Great, you have 24 hours, let's begin."

This Time:

Kurama's P.O.V.

She left after saying that, I guess giving me a sign that I'm supposed to start hiding. I can't believe I have to stay here for 3 whole days and play a fucked up game of hide-and-seek. I started walking northwest, having no idea how to go about my current situation. Upon further inspection of the surrounding area I notice that this place is so dream-like that I wouldn't believe it exist if I wasn't standing here. The sky was almost too blue, and the grass and trees are almost too green, not to mention how everything held a slight glow almost as if it was pulsating.

~ This forest is alive. ~

~ This...bitch...is...CRAZY!~ Youko added. ~

~What does Hikari being a crazy bitch have to do with what a just said? ~

~ First-of-all you didn't say it, you thought it. Second, it has everything to do with it. I'm tellin' you Red this girl is the craziest, sexist person I have ever met. ~

~Why do I waste my time talking to you? ~

~Simple, because you looooooooooooooooove me. ~

~If I loved you I'd be gay. ~

~I already told you Red, foxes aren't gay; we just like to be with the same sex sometimes. There's nothing wrong with that. ~

~There's a lot wrong with that. ~

~Not if the man you're hooking up with is sexy and amazing in bed. But if they can't satisfy my needs then I'm not gay. ~

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I kept walking for a few more hours until I found a river. The water was a clean crystal blue color. I sat down under a large oak tree that had grown a foot or so away from the edge of the water. I removed my shoes and socks, closing my eyes as I placed my feet in the water. I let my mind wonder, temporarily forgetting about the game I was a part of.

9021090210**

I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes the sun was disappearing beyond the horizon as the full moon was rising. The water in the river-which I still had my feet in-had turned cold and was giving me chills. I pulled them out and slowly put on my socks and shoes as I wiped the sleep form my tired eyes. I stood quickly but soon regretted it because of the small dizzy spell it caused, but I let it pass as I continued to walk once more. The birds from earlier in the day had quieted and all was silent. Thinking back to how long I must have slept, I estimated that I about fifteen hours until Hikari's little game officially started and I would be forced to fend for my life.

As the copper colored sun continued its slow descent, taking with it the different shades of violet and red that flooded the twilight sky, I started to hear a faint melody that seemed eerie and familiar.

~That song!~

It was the melody to the same exact song I heard in my head before I met Hikari. Except this time the music was not in my head. It was actually playing. I followed the music and ended up walking for about half a mile until what looked like a grove came into view. It was on a downward slope in the center of the forest. It seemed to be so much more alive than the rest of the forest which was dulled in comparison to the awe-inspiring beauty of this one section of land. I kept walking with a strange impulse telling me that I needed to be in that grove (F.Y.I the "impulse" is NOT Youko.)

Every cell in my body was pulling me towards the center, telling me that I needed to find the origin of the song that seemed to be getting louder as I got closer. With each step time, seemed more urgent...more important. The need was pushing my body forward, faster. I was running now, pushing through the thick underbrush of nameless trees, bushes, and flowers. All at once I came to a stop. A thick wall made of thin vines and thorn branches blocked my path. I clawed at it, my hands bleeding as the thrones punctured my skin, but I was unable to control myself.

My vision blurred as the words replayed in my head, over and over again getting louder with every passing second. My body continued to move, continued to dig. Then it all stopped. I could no longer hear the words. The melody continued as my vision cleared. The first thing I saw where my hands -bloody and scared- stretched out front of me still embedded in the wall. I also saw the hole I made, it wasn't large enough for me to slip through, but was it deep enough to see that I had broken through to the other side without being able to see what was there. I also noticed that the blinding need that was driving my entire body was now only a lingering pull. Now -with the ability to think clearly- I slipped off my shoes and carefully placed my hands inside of them. I used them to continue with my digging. After a few minutes of trying to pull and dig my way through the wall I had finally made a hole big enough to squeeze myself to the other side.

I tried to catch my breath as I slowly took the shoes off of my hands and looked at the damage I had caused. My hands where covered in dried blood but most of the smaller wounds had stopped bleeding. The larger, deeper cuts still bled heavily and my blood spilled freely onto the ground.

I took off my jacket and wrapped it around my hands loosely to protect them from any further damage. They stung badly as I did so. I didn't bother putting my shoes back on my feet, the insides where filled with blood and dirt. I stepped up to the wall and peered through. There wasn't much I was able to see except a faintly glowing light.

~ I can't believe I'm about to do this. ~

I doubted my sanity once again as I lifted my wrapped hands to protect my face. Without giving myself a chance to turn back I quickly pushed my way into the wall. It was thicker than I originally thought. The further I went the larger the thorns became, to the point they started to resemble small daggers. Pain radiated through my body as they tore away at my skin.

I emerged from the other side with a quiet sigh of relief. I removed my shirt which had been torn to shreds and moaned in pain at the movement. I looked down, my pants where still okay to wear. Every part of my body was scared and in pain, but the worst of it seemed to be on my torso. The deep gashes wept blood and I tried to ignore the pain as best as possible. I managed to get one scratch on my face; it ran across my left cheek in a long, thin line.

The pull I had felt was completely gone now, but I had come this far and was determined to find what was hiding in here. I looked around to see that the wall had formed a circle. In the center stood giant tree that towered over the wall easily. The base alone seemed to be about twelve feet thick. Standing as far from it as I could I looked up to see thick branches covered in emerald and silver colored leaves that sparkled in the dim moon light. Floating above my head were purple roses, red lilies, and white sunflowers that dotted the air, acting as lamps and casting light.

"Is anyone here? …. Hello? ….. Can anyone hear me?" I called but there was no answer. I walked forward to examine the enormous tree. Once I was close enough I saw the markings that covered it. They were similar to the ones on Hikari's forearms. I had pressed my hand to the tree when I sensed her behind me, and turned around quickly. Before I was able to make a move her hand was around my throat; smashing my body against the tree with such force she nearly crushed my windpipe.

"Why are you here?" the words came from her mouth in a snarl. Her lips were curled back exposing large glistening white fangs. Her eyes had lost their beautiful light purple color and where instead blood red.

"I…don't…know. I heard…your song." I chocked as her grip tightened.

"What?" her expression changed the moment she registered what I had said. She stopped snarling like an animal long enough to release me from her death grip. I fell in a heap doubling over from the pain, coughing and chocking as I tried to fill my lungs with air.

I looked up at her face her mouth was tilted down at the edges in a slight frown and her eyebrows where knitted closely together. I watched her eyes as the crimson slowly faded revealing their natural lilac color.

"What song?" her words were clipped, her body tense has though she where preparing to receive a blow. I started to repeat the verse as I straightened and leaned my head against the tree breathing deeply.

"As your world falls apart at the seams,

You will find the girl who died in your dreams,

Her eyes are beautiful but filled with rage-"

"Find the key to her hearts cage." she finished in a whisper staring into my eyes and then the ground.

Turning away she put the palm of her hand to her forehead as if she had a headache. I tried to stand but the movement caused the gashes on my stomach and sides to reopen, so I sat back down and watched her. She pushed her hair from her face and tilted her head back, her eyes closed.

"You are injured." It wasn't a question but I answered anyway.

"Yes, I am."

She turned towards me her eyes roamed my body, not in a lustful, but more as if she were checking for something. Walking over she knelt beside me on my right and stared at me once again. I stared back, she wanted to say something, I could tell, but she stayed silent.

"I thought you wanted me dead?" I asked trying to fill the silence and also suddenly curious.

"I do." She said with a smile playing on her lips. "But you still have plenty of time. I made you a bargain, did I not? Do not be so quick to end your life."

"So I take it that I'm a house guest until then?"

"You could say so."

I shifted in my seat and groaned; the pain had turned from a buzzing sting to an aching burn. Hikari eyed me, and then suddenly started to breathe deeply. I looked in amassment as the crimson color that had been in her eyes moments before slowly leaked from her pupils into her irises, like food coloring in water, as she stared at the fresh blood on my torso and face.

"What's wrong?" I asked trying not to make a move towards her.

She blinked a few times before meeting my eyes, "It is nothing. It's just your scent, it triggered my instincts." Her eyes flickered from my cheek to my eyes.

"My scent?"

"Yes, you smell like a human but slightly different."

"Oh, yeah. I put my soul in a human body."

"Interesting."

We sat in silence for a few moments, I kept my eyes on her and she kept hers on the moon that hung over us. I found myself wanting to know more about her- other than the fact that she liked to play sick games, of course. She didn't move, or blinked, or breathed. I was going to ask if she was alright, when she spoke first.

"I can heal you." She still didn't move.

"Why?" if anything it would only be easier for her to kill me in my current state.

"Would you chase an injured animal?"

I didn't know how I was supposed to react to being called an "animal", but I understood what she meant.

"The catch?" I inquired

She smiled but continued to keep her eyes forward, "I cannot give without being given something in return."

"What do I have to give you?"

"Your blood will be enough," she looked at me then. She was trying to control herself. Her pupils where rimed with a blood red color, while the rest remand lilac. "you also have to trust that I will not harm you."

"What does that matter?" she had lost me there. I knew nothing about her except the FACT that she wanted me dead, and she was asking that I trust her.

She sighed deeply "If you don't you will put yourself in more pain. Do you still want me to heal you?"

"Yes." I didn't think that anything could be worse than what I was already feeling, and I also wanted to be able to fight my way out of here when the time came.

She crawled into my lap and I had to steal myself to keep from yelling in agony. Cupping my face in her hands she leaned forward and ran her tongue along the scratch on my cheek. I felt the wound close instantly. She held my eyes for a moment, and I watch as hers turned completely red.