Disclaimer: I don't Kannazuki no Miko, yadda yadda yadda, other legal blabbery...
Author's Note: This story was inspired by Tsuyazakura Kouyuki. Check out his fanfics sometime, they're awesome as hell.
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Chapter 5
"It's getting quite late," Otoha observed, glancing at the clock as Chikane dressed; the morning was quickly slipping away, and Himeko still hadn't stirred from sleep yet. Even if there was no school today, it was something that itched at the blonde maid that someone could sleep in like that. "Should I go wake her?"
"No, leave her be." Chikane glanced briefly at the other woman. "She had a rough time last night. She was in pain, and I don't think she actually fell asleep until the sun started to rise."
The only reason Chikane herself knew this fact was because after hours of tossing restlessly and drifting in and out of slumber, she'd finally given in and gone to check on Himeko one more time. By then the sun had started to streak the dark night sky with gentle reds and purples, and glancing in through the crack of the door had confirmed that the other girl had finally fallen asleep; curled up in a tight ball with her back to the door, the hand she'd bitten cradled close to her chest.
"She was in pain?" Otoha frowned. "Why didn't she call anyone?"
"I think she wanted to go through it alone. I think she didn't want to be a burden."
Otoha seemed to mull this over for a moment. "From her wounds?" she asked at last, her frown deepening. "That's odd, though. We cleaned and bandaged them yesterday; they shouldn't hurt her that much."
Chikane opened her mouth to reply, then slowly closed it wordlessly as what Otoha said hit her full on. She frowned, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.
It was true that Himeko had sustained quite a number of cuts and bruises, ignoring the odd placement of them. Despite that, though, the Himemiya maids were quite skilled at handling wolf wounds and had always made sure their patient suffered no discomfort after being treated. Himeko would certainly feel sore—that much was a given—but she shouldn't have been in as much pain as she appeared last night.
So then… if it wasn't her wounds… what caused her such pain? It doesn't make any sense…
"Ojou-sama?"
Otoha's soft voice, laced with confusion and concern, jolted Chikane out of her reverie; the dark blonde maid was by her side now, her hand resting on her arm. The gentle, uncertain contact was enough to make Chikane force a weak smile. "I'm fine," she assured her old time companion. "Just thinking, I guess."
"You seem to be doing that a lot lately since Kurusugawa-san came here. Is something about her bothering you?"
Bothering me?
Chikane laughed softly.
"Bothering" didn't even begin to describe her thoughts on the girl that was currently asleep, blissfully unaware of the young wolf hunter's turmoil. Something was different about Kurusugawa Himeko, something that nagged at the corner of Chikane's mind, refusing to let her ignore its presence.
She wasn't sure yet if it was the girl herself, or the odd feeling of protectiveness she felt every time she was around her.
Chikane could feel a headache coming on.
At the very least Himeko could stay here until she found a way to contact her family again. Maybe by then, Chikane would at least be used to her presence.
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Although Rakuen was the larger of the two wolves and had longer legs, Tsuki kept pace with him easily as they sped through the dark night forest. Some part of her knew deep down that the golden male could easily run much faster—he was just slowing his pace for her. It annoyed her to no end, and with a soft growl she put on a burst of speed and nearly passed her running companion.
"Hey!" he barked indignantly, but slanting a look at him Tsuki saw good humor in his eyes before he sped up to catch her. She snarled playfully and snapped at his neck to try and distract him, and before either of them knew it their trek home had evolved into a full out race and wrestling match.
"Ack! Okay, okay! I give, I give!" Tsuki finally yelped when Rakuen successfully tripped her and managed to pin her dark, thrashing body beneath his; with a soft snicker the large wolf slid off her, flopping at her side as they both panted for breath. Content at the moment, Tsuki turned and buried her muzzle in Rakuen's fur.
"Your wounds look good," the male rumbled, lifting his head to sniff the back of her neck. "Did someone take pity on you again and bandage you up?"
"Kannazuki Orihime."
He blinked in surprise. "That lone wolf hunter?"
"Yeah, her. Not what I expected her to be. Quiet and soft-spoken, for a wolf hunter."
"That so?"
"Hmmm. But my presence seemed to rattle her a bit. I can't figure why."
Rakuen said nothing, just rested his head on his paws. "The Heads were talking while you were gone."
"Oh?" Intrigued, Tsuki lifted her head.
"Yes. They're worried about you, Tsuki."
"Me?" Confusion lit her dark blue eyes, and she shifted her body. "What do you mean?"
"You've done a lot of good for wolves, Tsuki… everyone's willing to admit it except your brother…"
"My brother takes more after my father, so I've heard. His hatred for humans still runs blood deep."
"Indeed. But you're fighting to try and establish some kind of peace between humans and wolves; you know it's important."
"I only seek peace because I know both worlds." Tsuki slowly sat up, flicking her ear. "I grew up human, Rakuen, you know that as well as anyone."
"But you chose to become wolf and shape this pack," Rakuen insisted, sitting up beside her. "Even though it put you at odds with Tsume, your brother…"
Tsuki growled, her eyes narrowing and her ears flattening as the fur along her back and shoulders bristled. "He isn't my brother," she snarled. "The only reason I haven't killed him myself yet is because my father asked me to try and get through his fool skull before he kills his entire pack. If it weren't for that I'd have ripped his throat out years ago." She looked away. "You know what he did to my family. The one that raised me."
Rakuen let the silence hang between them, letting the black half wolf regain her composure; finally she looked up at him. "So what did the Heads say?" she asked at last, her voice ragged. Rakuen gave her ear a comforting lick before continuing.
"As I said before, they're worried. You've been going off on your own more and more, drawing out one-on-one fights with Tsume. They're afraid that you'll eventually kill yourself."
"Darn, you mean they finally figured out I'm trying to commit suicide? Geniuses."
Rakuen chuckled, but sobered quickly. "My point is, they're beginning to talk about the possibility that you… should… continue your, uh… your bloodline… before you die…"
It only took Tsuki a moment to figure out exactly what Rakuen was saying. She sighed. "You mean, basically, they want me to have pups." She looked up at the moon, shaking her head with a soft laugh. "I can't say I didn't expect this."
"You know they hope that any pups you have would bear your love for peace…"
"And they don't consider the fact that my pups might be like Tsume? We share the same father; his lust for human blood runs through both our veins."
Rakuen had nothing to say to this; he flicked an ear and lowered his eyes. Tsuki sighed again, standing and stretching. "Let them hope," she murmured. "I'll have pups when the time feels right." She glanced briefly at Rakuen, brushing his shoulder with her tail so he would stand as well. "And I'll choose the father, so they won't turn out like me and Tsume."
"Tsuki, you aren't like him."
For a moment the black half wolf thought of Kannazuki Orihime, and how she'd heeded her plea not to unclasp the necklace her mother had given her.
"You don't know that."
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Himeko didn't know whether to be relieved or embarrassed when she woke up to discover that she'd slept in extremely late, even by human standards. As she sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, she winced. "Ow," she murmured weakly, shivering a little.
She was still sore—much more so than she'd been the day before—but the pain had receded to something a little more comfortable. It wasn't entirely gone, but around late night it had finally started to fade, and she had dozed off just as the sun began to rise into the sky. Today it was just a dull ache, steadily pounding throughout her bones but she could still move—albeit slowly.
But she had survived her first night, and she was still human.
Score for me, she thought, feeling unusually giddy. She knew it was a small victory, not really meaning much of anything in the way of interactions between humans and wolves, but it was a personal win for her and meant something.
Her ears perked up as piano music filtered down the hallway; curiosity roused, Himeko quickly dressed before she peeked into the hallway. A quick glance around confirmed that no one was currently present, and she followed the music to one of the main rooms, pausing in the doorway.
Chikane sat at the piano, her eyes closed and her fingers moving like lightning over the keys as she played, seeming unaware of what she was doing. She knew it was rude to stare, but Himeko found it impossible to look away; the music the dark-haired girl was akin to the songs the disguised she-wolf had often howled at night with her pack mates, not quite the same but just as haunting, just as beautiful.
Listening intently to the tune, Himeko didn't actually realize it had stopped until Chikane quietly cleared her throat; heat rushed into the golden-haired girl's cheeks, despite the small smile on Chikane's face. "I'm sorry, Chikane-chan! I didn't mean to stare, it's just…"
"It's all right. I'm glad you enjoyed it." Chikane leaned back, lifting her hands from the keys. "You look better. Your wounds aren't bothering you anymore?"
Somehow the question seemed to carry a double meaning, and Himeko took a moment to mull over her response before she spoke again, feeling wary and uneasy. "Not much," she said. "They still hurt a little, but it's nothing I'm not used to."
"That's good. You had a rough time last night… I was worried about you."
"… The first night is always the hardest, or so I've heard."
It was a mental game of cat and mouse as wolf and wolf hunter danced around each other, perhaps occasionally hinting at the truth, moving closer only to jerk away at the last moment before any contact was made. It was enough to make Himeko's skin prickle like it had the night before, but this was less itchy and—much, much more enjoyable.
By the moon, am I actually enjoying this game of wills?
Himeko was jolted out of her thoughts as Chikane rose, brushing off her pants—idly the wolf noted she was wearing a blouse and jeans today, nothing fancy—and stepping toward her.
"My parents haven't come home yet, so I'm afraid you won't meet them until later," Chikane began. "Usually I go into town with them or Otoha-san, but Otoha-san is busy in the kitchen training a new maid. And I figure you probably need to learn your way around if you'll be here awhile." She gave a smile that was both guarded and friendly. "Care to join me?"
She had nothing to lose, and she needed to learn everything she could about this small town while she was there. Himeko nodded.
"I'd love to."
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It didn't take Orihime very long to notice that she and Sakura were now being followed.
About a week or so after she'd treated the mysterious woman named Tsuki, a large black dog had started trailing the horses at a respectful distance. The black animal was too large to be considered a dog, and yet also too small to be considered a wolf. For the first few days the creature trailed the two hunters at a respectable distance, but as time passed the animal gradually inched closer and closer to them.
By the size alone Orihime judged the animal to be half wolf, and female by her build; despite the knowledge, though, she made no effort to chase the dog away. She was a friendly animal, and the horses didn't seem to mind her presence. By the time she'd been with them a week, she could walk side by side with Orihime's horse.
It didn't escape Orihime's attention that the dog seemed to crave her presence; she certainly let Sakura pet her and feed her, but Orihime was the one she constantly sought, sometimes curling up by her feet at night and sleeping there. The dog's fascination with her was odd, but she didn't mind it. She liked the black animal, for what it was worth, and her fur was warm and soft.
At the beginning of the second week, the dog continued to walk alongside Orihime's horse as if she belonged no where else. Idly, Orihime noted her eyes were a shockingly dark blue color.
Around mid-day, when she and Sakura stopped the horses for food and water, she noticed a pink shell pendant hung around the black dog's neck.
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I realize I've written quite a few flashbacks, but the story of Orihime and Tsuki is, unfortunately, long and complicated... paticularly with Rakuen, Tsuki's childhood friend. Sometimes I wonder what you guys think of him... (laughs)
Read and review, please!