A/N ;; Finally! A new chapter! Sorry that this took so long to get out, but I had to remove a lot of filler. (The original length of this chapter was sixteen pages. Now it's almost ten.) Plus, I'm feeling a bit sick, so I couldn't really focus to get this chapter rewritten and such. :'(
The next chapter is almost done been written - I managed to write chapter five before I started to write chapter four, it's funny how things work out that way - and it should be out... two days tops, though I'm hoping for tomorrow.
People who review this chapter get... Blueberry Cake.
Anyway, thanks goes out to Spirits and Shadows, NeonGreenSheep, Daughter of Kabegami, and BoudicaFlamespirit for reviewing the last chapter.
Spirits and Shadows - O.O MONTY PYTHON REFERENCE! Other than that, I don't know what to say. Your reviews are definitely the most randoms reviews I have ever received. They always make me smile. ;)
"...You want to do... what?"
Kouki gulped and glanced towards Ren, who laid beside him. His nervous gaze bore into the serious one of Ren, as the fox's eyes lazily drifted in between the hut and his companion. He had just finished explaining what exactly his plan was to Kouki.
Kouki's emerald-tinted eyes remained widened, a look that was uncommonly seen on the demon's face. He had indeed noticed the malice that had passed through Ren's expression each time the girl was mentioned, and he did know what Ren was willing to do to get what he wanted, but he didn't believe that the kitsune would go that far with an innocent human.
Ren hummed in recognition before he brought his gaze back to rest on the hut that laid in the distance. He didn't think anything of his companion's opinions on his plan, nor did he think that his plan was unsuitable. Instead, he impatiently waited for the time that the two humans would fall into sleep.
"Well..." Kouki said. "...I suppose it wouldn't be unreasonable if she had intentionally stolen your jewel, but... she didn't. I don't see what harm could come from you just asking her for it. I mean, she seems okay. I don't think she would have any lingering doubts about giving it back."
Ren sighed and narrowed his eyes.
Kouki grimaced and turned away from the fox, silencing his voice.
Shin nodded idly as he listened to Kazue recount memories from her days at the palace. She was sitting beside him, hands on her knees, smiling widely as she told him about the time she and a fellow handmaiden – Haruka – had once switched all the kimonos and "a small bit of mayhem" had broken out, as Kazue described it. Shin found the memories pointless to himself, but he stayed silent and laughed when she did, listening intently.
He looked away for a moment, but when a small sniff sounded from his side, he snapped back to Kazue, who quickly wiped her eyes with her arm as she noticed him looking at her. His eyes widened slightly, but a small smile crossed his face, and he brought his hand up to cover her shoulder.
"It's okay," he muttered, ignoring the urge to scold her for thinking of the past when she knew it would only hurt her.
She looked up at him, eyes slightly red, and she smiled before she raised her own hand to rest it on top of his.
"Hey, Shin! Shin?"
Kazue froze. It was a voice she didn't recognize. Who was it? A friend of Shin's? She turned to look at Shin, who grimaced with recognition when the figure of a heavy-set fisherman appeared in the opening of the hut. She hoped it was someone who didn't know of her banishment from Sei'an City.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
When the man caught sight of the girl that sat beside Shin, he dropped the wooden fishing pole that he had been holding and simply stared at her, his lip hanging slightly-ajar. He stepped back.
"You're Ka..." he stumbled over her name. "Ka... Kazue!"
Shin immediately stood up and stepped towards the man, answering all of his questions in harsh whispers, before he growled and grabbed the older man's wrist, silencing anymore words the man had to say. Shin turned back towards Kazue, extended a hand to her, pulled her up, saying nothing to the fisherman as he simply stood beside her. Kazue did nothing and only hoped that it would perhaps help the fisherman understand the situation.
"I-It's nice to meet your acquaintance, Kazue," the man said, offering her a shaky smile. "My name is Kenta."
Kazue exchanged a look with Shin, who motioned to the man. She returned her attention to said fisherman and feebly raised her hand.
"From what Shin has told me," Kenta said, "you're staying here for the night?"
Kazue hesitated. Then, she nodded.
Kenta laughed, not seeming as nervous as he had been. "I guess that's why Shin seems so riled up. He's worried about people seeing you. Everyone already knows about your banishment – it spread pretty fast – but I think I'm the only one who has seen you in person." He turned his eyes to Shin. "I just came here to ask you about the fishing trip tomorrow. I wanted to know if you're still coming with us."
Shin shook his head. "Next time."
"That's what you said last time."
Shin narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.
Kenta took the hint and took his leave, stepping out of the opening, picking up his dropped fishing pole on his way. He said his goodbyes and walked back into the night, his figure disappearing behind a boulder before Kazue could say anything.
"Ren?"
The fox snapped towards his companion, a low growl escaping from his lips. "What is it?"
"Do you really know what you're doing?"
A brief questioning gaze flashed through Ren's eyes before he turned his gaze back towards the hut that laid in the distance. "Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you positively sure?"
"Yes."
"As in 'sure-sure-sure-sure-sure-sure-sure'?"
"Yes."
"As in 'oh-my-Amaterasu-I'm-so-sure-I-make-Surely-Sure-Sure-look-unsure'?"
"Yes."
"As in–"
Ren shot a murderous glare towards Kouki. "Yes!"
Kouki grimaced and shifted away from the fox. He was glad that Ren's voice couldn't be understood by humans, as it had echoed through the air, and had managed to reach a volume that made his ears ring.
The demon was still trying to convince Ren out of his plan – or at least annoy him until he reconsidered. He knew he wouldn't be able to do that much, as even though Ren wasn't at his full strength, Kouki still knew he stood no chance against the kitsune if he so chose to seriously attack him.
Kouki forced himself to relax. He kept his emerald-tinted eyes away from Ren and instead focused them on the hut, watching for movement.
He was silent.
Then:
"So... are you absolutely sure what you're doing?"
Kouki jumped back, nearly falling off of the outcrop as he felt the sleeve of his red one-piece begin to burn. He yelped and hurriedly began to smut the fire, while Ren stared at him, a smirk curving his lips.
Kouki gazed back at Ren with bewildered eyes. "You burned me!" he yelled, already feeling the uncomfortable process of his skin beginning to heal itself. He let out an inward breath, feeling considerably lucky that Ren didn't do anything more than he did. When he looked back to his wound, he saw that it had already disappeared, a new layer of skin having replaced what had been burned.
Ren turned away from Kouki, his breaths now coming in a bit quicker.
Kouki's expression sobered instantly. "You've been burning a lot of energy these past few days, Ren; a lot of unnecessary energy," he said, frowning at the fox beside him. Ren mirrored his expression as he looked between the hut and Kouki. "But you really don't have to go this far. It's only because you want to hurt her and that you're so weak right now."
The fox scoffed. "It doesn't matter. I'll be getting it back soon."
"I still don't understand why you just couldn't have asked her for it..."
"I know what I'm doing!" Ren snarled.
Kouki shut his mouth and said nothing else.
Ren swallowed hard, his crimson eyes dull. He jumped up as he felt, through sharpened senses, the second of the two humans drift into sleep. The corners of his frown began to curve upward. "There, see?" He pointed to the hut, though Kouki only arched his eyebrows, confused. Ren let out a soft sigh and leapt down from the outcrop, landing soundlessly on the sand below, leaving Kouki to gaze at him from above.
Ren said nothing as he stared up at Kouki, the smirk having returned to his face. He began to run towards the hut.
"Ren!"
Ren ignored him. He entered the mist, the hut steadily approaching in his sight. He took in deep, damp breaths as he went over his plan in his head and his smirk grew wider – if that was even possible. He stopped beside the entrance of the hut, and purposely kept himself out of the humans' eyesight, in the case that one of them would wake up before he could execute his plan.
Kouki heaved for air as he caught up to Ren. As well as being not a strong fighter, anyone could confirm that he wasn't very athletic, either. He stopped at Ren's side, though the fox showed no interest towards the state his companion was in as he trailed his dimmed eyes over the inside of the hut, noting that the girl was closer to the entrance, while her friend laid across from her.
Ren closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, beginning the quick, painless process of shifting into his human form. Well, it would have been painless if he had been at his full strength. Instead, pain burned through his entire body, and he quickly felt his knees begin to buckle. A single drop of blood escaped from his nose and ran down his chiseled face. He stuck out a hand and placed it on the hut to steady himself.
"Are you okay, Ren?" Kouki asked from beside him.
"Do I look okay?" he snapped in between his panting.
Kouki hesitated. "...I'll take that as a 'no'."
Ren sighed and turned his gaze back to the ground, shutting his eyes, making himself as calm as possible. He shut out all things that annoyed him – namely Kouki – and all things that he could possibly be worried about. He emptied his mind and attempted to move the rest of his remaining energy into his head. He knew he wasn't any kind of fortune teller. He couldn't tell anyone the future or the past. His mental energy wasn't even as powerful as most kitsune his age, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to create anything worthwhile, yet he also knew that he had to carry out the final part of his plan.
He took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out.
Focus.
Create.
Expand.
And then, wait.
Scratch, scratch.
Kazue stirred. "Mmm..."
Scratch, scratch.
She turned over. "Mmm-Mmm..."
Scratch, scratch.
She quietly 'shh'ed whatever it was that was making the noise that tried to dig her head more into her kimono.
Scratch, scratch.
It sounded closer now.
Finally giving up the opportunity to drift back into sleep with a mental sigh, Kazue's eyes slowly fluttered open and she raised a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. She sat up and gently rubbed her eyes before turning her gaze towards the opening of the hut, tiredly searching for the thing that had been making the sound that woke her up. She blinked as she saw nothing.
Scratch, scratch.
There it is again, she thought, leaning more towards the opening. However, she still saw nothing.
Feeling more than a bit confused, Kazue stood up from her place on the floor and stuck her head out the opening, feeling a rather sudden sense of comfort as the smell of salty ocean air filled her nostrils. She stepped out onto the ground and giggled as she felt the soft, flawless sand tickle her feet. She crouched down and grabbed a fistful in her head, letting the grains fall between her fingers. It was surprisingly warm.
As Kazue looked around, she noticed that boulders of all shapes and sizes covered the sandy ground. Well, that is, until the sand cut off and the ground was then covered in thin blades of emerald green grass, where tall trees sprouted and towered above her. There was allowed little moonlight through the canopies of the trees, which gave the area a certain semblance and seclusion. A single statue stood in the distance, covered with moss and nearly completely concealed away behind a collage of green hues.
Scratch, scratch.
Kazue began to walk down the sand that went further down the shore, water brushing against her feet as she did so. She admired the sights, staring up at the clouds that slowly drifted across the dark sky, though she soon stopped short as she noticed a small kitten, limping, and scratching against one of the boulders. As it noticed her approaching, it meowed quietly and began to limp away, disappearing behind a boulder.
"Hey... wait!" She held out her hand as she rushed after the feline.
As the girl made her way towards the boulder, Kazue couldn't help but stop in place and tilt her brows. A feeling of worry mixed in with her auburn irises as she craned her neck to gaze back at the hut. She had left Shin alone on many instances to retreat back to the palace, and she had never had a problem with doing so because it was never for a lengthy period of time.
Now, however, even though she knew she wouldn't be gone for more than a few minutes, she still felt uneasy about leaving him alone. She felt as though something wasn't right. However, she soon shook that feeling away, though, as as she dismissed the uneasiness to her own imagination.
When she turned the corner of the boulder, she noticed a smooth stone pathway that trailed up a small slope. Near the top, her eyes caught the small orange and white figure of the kitten, still limping, taking slow, careful steps. Even in the distance, she could still hear the cat's claws scrapping against the stone.
Kazue took her first step onto the stone pathway, inwardly flinching as a swift feeling of ice racked her body, making each and every one of her individual hairs stand up on end. If the sand felt like a warm summer's day, the stone path felt like a sunless winter day in Kamui.
A quiet meow and the sound of scratching once again reached her ears.
She sped up her movement.
By the time she reached the top of the trail, the kitten had disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the scratch marks it had made dragging itself up there. Kazue quickly scanned the area, but found no other traces that the cat had been there at all. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she stared down at the ground, trying to make sense of something that didn't make sense.
A glimmer in her peripheral vision caught her eye and she turned her attention toward a small pond. She looked towards the tip of the pond and nearly froze. In the bottom of the water, she could see a reflected image of herself, yet it was so clear, like a mirror, even beneath the pond's bubbling surface. She brought her up hands to ruffle her tangled hair, and she couldn't help but let a frown cross her face at her image.
Leaning a bit closer to the water, she noticed that the jewel held around her neck was shining against her chest. The inside of it swirled with a collage of colors, like an aura. It almost appeared as though a whole universe of simply pure light thrived in the core of the small jewel.
She stared at the jewel with widened eyes and watched its reflected illuminate the bottom of the pond. "Beautiful..." she muttered, rolling it around in her hands. It emitted a slight warmth into her palms.
"Yes... it is quite a sight, isn't it?"
Kazue quickly escaped her trance-like state and turned in the direction from which she heard the voice sound. Her eyes found the figure of a startlingly handsome boy, arms crossed over his chest and his bright crimson eyes boring into her own chocolate ones. His expression was set into a firm glare, and Kazue took a step back, showing him her own shaky smile.
"I-It is," she stuttered.
"Do you know what it is?" The boy took a step forward.
"No..." She took another step back, feeling the smooth stone of the wall behind her brush against the back of her fingertips.
He hummed a single note. "Then you don't know what to do with it, either."
"What does that–"
The girl was cut off as a high-pitched siren-like feminine voice rang through the area, seemingly coming from nowhere, but also everywhere. Kazue's hands flew up to cover her ears, though the voice still entered her ears so clearly. It said only one word – a name – and yet the boy across from her almost instantly crumpled onto the ground, clutching his head and muttering words that Kazue didn't understand. His head bowed down to the ground and she noticed that his body was shaking slightly, but if out of pain or fear, she didn't know.
The area around them began to distort, almost looking sickly in the way it moved, and a bright flash of light enveloped the area, casting it in pure, white light. Kazue's eyes shut instinctively, but she could still see the light behind her eyelids. After a few moments, it faded and Kazue slowly opened her eyes, trying to blink away the aftereffects the light had left on her. She looked around nervously, eyes widening as she noticed everything around her had changed. The pond that had stood beside her was now just a shallow puddle. The smooth stone path she had used to follow the kitten was now rocky and rough ground, pebbles littering its surface. The beautiful, wide-open scenery she had admired was now just damp, closed in cave walls, with large stalactites dripping water where the clouds had once been.
A low growl sounded from the boy, and Kazue's gaze went to him. He glared up at her, his eyes dull and distant, almost like he didn't really see her. "What did you do?" he demanded, slowly beginning to push himself off the ground. Two equal drops of blood fell from either one of his nostrils, ran over his lips, and off the bottom of his chin, landing on the ground without a sound. He didn't seem to notice as another growl came from his throat, showing off an array of snow-white teeth, looking for an answer she couldn't give him.
"I-I didn't... do it... I didn't do anything..." With her skin barely brushing against the rough stone wall, Kazue felt the feeling of deja vu wash over her like a tidal wave. The same distant eyes staring at her, being blamed for something she didn't do...
She didn't have much time to think about it, though, as Kazue felt her back hit something hard – the wall, she idly realized – and a hand close tightly around her throat. The boy was standing directly in front of her now – looming over her – his quick-paced, hot breath fanning over her face, his obsidian hair sticking to his forehead. She struggled and swatted against his hold, but he didn't seem to be affected.
Her hands swung up to his wrist, shaking and squeezing at it as hard as she could, hoping to Amaterasu that she would be able to loosen his grip. She began to kick at his ankles, desperately looking for someplace – anywhere – where he was vulnerable.
The feeling that she felt in the throne room returned to her once again. If she made one wrong move, it would be over, and she would lose the game.
Except there was one difference this time.
There were no wrong moves.
"Ren."
He tightened the grip he held on the girl's throat, watching as the color slowly drained out of her face.
"Ren."
Her voice rang in his head again, and he shook his head as he tried to remove the ringing from his ears. He was sure he was imagining it – or that girl must have done something. There was no way he was actually hearing her voice. He had served all connections with her so many years ago.
It was impossible.
She couldn't do that.
The girl's struggles against his hold were beginning to get weaker. A smirk formed and widened on his face. She would give up eventually and he would be able to take back what was rightfully his.
"Ren!"
Ren's hand fell back to his side, the girl falling onto her knees and onto the ground nearly instantly, while he stood, motionless for a moment, before it seemed like his consciousness was swiped out from under his feet. Blackness covered his vision and the last thing in his head was her voice, echoing through the recesses of his mind.
A/N ;; No! It's not possible!