Hello again! I finally finished chapter three. Hope ya'll like it! : )
BTW: I do NOT own Karneval, its characters, or the setting. (Just my sweet, crazy, Yuki-chan!)
I now present Chapter 3: Post-Human/Cat-Brat
After everyone's ears stopped ringing from Yuki's…expressive use of her voice, Hirato calmly stated, "If you aren't a kitten then how would you explain the ears and tail you possess?" He tilted his head a fraction of an inch, bemusement written on his face.
The cat-girl hissed threateningly, forgetting entirely about the fear she felt when she first saw him and was about to fly into a flurry of biting, scratching, and yowling, when Nai squeezed her hand while wrapping his other arm around hers to keep Yuki from doing something she would regret.
Gareki noticed Nai's actions and gave a little smirk. He likes her, doesn't he? Karoku is NOT going to be happy when he finds out…I just hope I'm there to see it! The dark haired boy chuckled at his own thoughts. Yogi noticed his reaction and raised a curious eyebrow at him. Gareki caught his friend's gaze before motioning at the two half-breeds virtually attached at the shoulder. The blonde young man blinked at the sight; he gave a little smile, followed by a quiet giggle.
Yuki, on the other hand, was far from amused. In fact, she was downright mad at the man, older man, she noted with contempt, and wanted more than anything to hit him, but Nai was gripped on to her so she held back her violent urge. Instead she settled for spitting out curses (ones unprintable for even the internet, mind you) toward him.
At her second outburst, the man chuckled and answered her…statements, by saying, "My, my, Gareki-kun what have you been teaching this child?"
"She didn't learn those words from me!" Gareki was practically dying inside with laughter, but he figured that voicing his amusement would land him in hot water with the cat-girl. He guessed correctly. Yogi, however, didn't think quite far enough and laughed. After a satisfying sounding THWACK, he learned then to never do so again.
When Yuki was finished dealing with Yogi, she turned back to her tormentor (feeling much calmer now that she had gotten a bit of the fury off her chest), and icily quipped, "My name is Yuki and I am not a kitten."
"Then what, exactly, are you?" Hirato questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"…I," Yuki paused, thinking, "I'm a Post-Human," She stated with ease.
This revelation shocked everyone besides Nai, who had already guessed as much.
"A-a-a-a P-p-p-post-H-h-human!" Yogi squeaked, terrified. Gareki instantly went on the defensive, while Hirato simply stood there, stunned. He had not been expecting that answer.
Seeing the effect her words had on the blonde and two dark haired men, both young and old, she cackled internally. Hahaha! They're really scared now, huh? Wonder if that'll help me get out of he- Once again, she was cut off in the middle of a thought, as Hirato, after finally snapping out of his trance, appeared directly in front of her. Luckily, she had seen him coming and at a speed Jiki would have had a hard time trying to see (with his glasses off), Yuki grabbed Nai with her free arm, virtually flung him into an astonished Gareki, before leaping high over Hirato, landing perfectly on her feet behind him, her tail flicking in excitement at the coming confrontation between her and our magnificent Captain. Hirato spun around, giving her a withering glare. She simply giggled crazily at this expression of frustration.
Yuki was feeling thrilled that she was finally going to get to fight someone who could hold their own against her. She hated worthless fights; this one, though, was bound to be amazing. She couldn't wait! Anxiously, she extended her claws from both her hands and bare feet. Hirato, understanding her intentions, summoned his cane and got ready to beat some respect into the kitten-brat. Yuki's eyes glittered fiercely and her pupils narrowed into slits, giving even more proof of her feline race. When her eyes changed, her demeanor did the same; before, she gave off a threatening aura, now…there was nothing. It was like she didn't exist, Nai wouldn't have been able to tell if she was alive save for the continual beating of her heart. Suddenly, the creature, which usually called herself Yuki, twitched and appeared, as Hirato did earlier, directly in front of him; in the Captain's case, however, he was unlucky enough to have reflexes much slower than hers, making it easy for her to punch him square in the jaw, knocking him back far enough to have him fall out of the portal and into the open sky. His attacker jumped after him, disappearing in the same way. Yogi, Gareki, and Nai had all been frozen to their spots until Yuki disappeared; her vanishing jolted them back into action. Nai ran to get Tsukumo and Iva, who both happened to be back, while Gareki and Yogi dashed through the portal to assist their captain if necessary.
When they got to the sparing couple, they were shocked beyond belief. Hirato had already lost.
He was falling from the sky, unconscious, with a grinning Yuki perched on top of him. Neither of the young men knew what to do. As the Captain of the Second Ship plummeted closer to the ground, they sprang into action, swooping down to catch him before he abruptly decelerated. By the time they caught up to the two falling people, Iva and Tsukumo had arrived, incredibly worried. When they too saw the state their captain was in, their reaction was that of anger mixed with a small bit of fear. They immediately rushed to Gareki and Yogi's aid and gently took hold of Hirato where the other two were not. Yuki, still on top of the great Captain, had been observing the two males carrying their cargo with such care, but when the other two came she narrowed her eyes, thinking they were trying to take away her precious prey. This incited a growl of warning at the two women; Iva decided that three people would be enough to take care of Hirato and began to attack the cat-girl. This was a mistake of course, but, unfortunately, Iva didn't know this yet. She would soon though; Yuki was perfectly capable of flight herself, so she quickly knocked Iva out as well, grabbed her around the waist, and, after doing the same to Hirato, flew quickly back to the ship (the other three were hanging off Hirato desperately trying to avoid being left behind).
When Yuki landed back in the ship, she dumped everyone she had been carrying onto the floor. After giving a frustrated huff, she muttered "I'm home" to the sheep and went to sit down next to the wall, wanting to think without too many disturbances. Why didn't I kill him, or rather all of them, when I had the chance? I probably couldn't have taken all of them at once but one or even two at a time would have been simple…so why?! I hate it when I do that! She wrapped her arms around her legs and squeezed, attempting to block out the sounds of Gareki desperately trying to use his medical experience to wake up his mentors and friends. I want to go home…I want to go home…I want to go home…I want to go home…I want to go home. Tears began leaking out of her tightly shut eyes as she longed to return to the people dear to her. Haru-chan, Ka-chan, Uro-sama…I miss you guys…a tear slid down her cheek…I miss you so much. Right after thinking this, she felt a soft hand brush the stray tear away, and looking up she was surprised to see Nai kneeling in front of her, a gentle smile on his face.
"Don't cry, Yuki. It's alright…I'm here, I'll always be right here." He whispered softly to her, knowing how much she was hurting inside. When he said those words to her, she couldn't help it, she simply broke down; weeping, sobbing, crying, screaming, she held nothing back. She wouldn't dare hold back. She couldn't do that. Not anymore, at least.
Nai smiled at Yuki. He understood that she wasn't comfortable…that she didn't really want to fight…that she wanted to go home…that she missed her family…that she was at her limit. He understood. It was because he understood her that he was able to talk to her so gently. He wrapped his arms around her shaking form and held her tight.
Ω
"OOOOWWWW! KIHARU! THAT HURT, YOU IDIOT!" A red haired young man wearing orange goggles shouted at Kiharu, a blue-haired man of the same age.
"Sorry, Kagiri, I didn't mean to hurt you. Though…hehe…the look on your face when I got you was priceless! KYAHAHAHAH! It was sooooo fun-"
WHACK
He was cut off mid-sentence when his master, the ever astonishing Uro, kicked him across the courtyard of his estate. Muttering curses under his breath (mostly they contained the words 'noisy,' 'brats,' 'stupid,' 'loud,' and the sentence 'Yuki really needs to come back soon'), he stalked back into the house, frustrated that he had been disturbed from his work. He sighed softly. I don't know what I'm going to do with those two idiots if Yuki doesn't get back soon. To be honest, I'll probably end up killing them, won't I? Haaah…where is she anyway? The job I gave her shouldn't have taken more than a few hours with her skill set. Hmm…I wonder if she's okay. Ah…well she can handle herself, that much I know for sure. While Uro headed back inside, Kagiri was helping Kiharu out of the tree he had been kicked into.
"Hey, Haru?" Kagiri inquired.
"Sup?"
"You think Yuki misses us as much as we miss her?"
"Course! How could she not? We're her family, ain't that right?"
"Well, yeah…but," Kagiri hesitated, not wanting to voice his concerns, lest they come true.
"But?" Kiharu prodded his friend on anyway.
"Well, what if she finds someone she loves more than us and…doesn't…come…back." His voice got quieter and quieter as he spoke. He did not want such a thing to happen.
Kiharu was silent for a bit, while he thought over Kagiri's words. Finally, he responded with a tight, "I'll drag her back myself…right after I kill the #&%* who took her away from us." His eyes showed he was entirely honest. This made Kagiri feel a lot better. Even if they did lose her for a bit Kiharu would bring her back and everything would go back to normal! Kagiri let out a sigh of relief. Good. I don't want Yuki to rely on anyone besides us. If she does…she'll leave and it'll be kind of hard to bring her back after she has gotten a taste of somebody else's help. No, that won't do at all. I can't wait till she comes back…haaah.
"Kagiri?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't think it'll come to me having to kill someone right?"
"…Don't worry, Haru. Yuki will always come back to us. I was simply worried about the possibility, and now that you've come up with an adequate response to my fear, I can reassure you that Yuki will come back…even if it takes a little force to do so, she will come back, I guarantee it." Kagiri looked up at his tall friend and smiled warmly. "Everything will be alright, I promise." Kiharu beamed in reply and bounded away, happy once again.
Ω
After Gareki made sure Hirato and Iva weren't in any grave danger, he reared around, ready to give the cat-brat a severe scolding. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. Yuki was desperately clinging to Nai, who was patting her back gently and whispering softly to her. Gareki didn't know what to do. What is he doing? That…Yuki…she…he growled at himself, frustrated with his inability to identify her.
"Oi! Nai! Get away from her! She's dangerous," he glared harshly at her when she poked her head out from the protection of Nai's embrace, causing her to wince and quickly withdraw.
"No she's not," Nai said sweetly, "She is just scared and lonely. That's all." The half-niji rubbed his hand along her back and cooed softly at her.
"I can be," Yuki quavered, "I can be incredibly scary sometimes." Gareki very nearly bust a gasket when she said this. Why is she making her voice sound so scared?! She just admitted that she was scary! Why isn't Nai letting go of her and running to me for safety the way he usually does? Why can't he see how evil she really is?! She almost killed Hirato and Iva!
"Nai…come here…NOW!" Gareki ordered, coldly.
Nai, luckily, heard the fury in Gareki's words and turned his head to look at him. The dark-haired boy was frowning angrily and would have simply ripped Yuki away from Nai, if Yogi hadn't been keeping a gently restraining hand on his arm. Nai stared for a while at his two friends, before looking back at the trembling cat-girl he was comforting. Yuki had been listening closely and could hear the warning notes in Gareki's voice. In response she forced her body to be still while she slowly stood up. She steadied herself, took a deep breath, pulled out a small knife, and jammed it into her own arm.
NYAHAHAHAHA! (Sorry, I'm listening to Ah, it's a Wonderful Cat Life! byVocaloid and I couldn't help it, ;3 ) My first real cliff-hanger I'll try to update again soon. Hope you liked it. Later!