Chapter 5: Dreaming

After the last chapter, I've had to revise my plan for this chapter (just a little). So here goes nothing

"…run ka…"

"Run? Run where?"

"…he knows…"

"He knows? Knows what?"

"…leave me...save yourself…"

"I can't! Wait! Come back…" A hand. My hand?

Everything's gone away… No, everyone's gone away

Why can't I see… is this a blizzard?

…everyone is always gone…

But

What about him…

Who?

The one who can make me free…

…I can be free?

I can be free.

"Don't stop." Pleasure rushed over me. Soft, wet lips pressed against my neck.

"Witch?" the voice deep and amused…amused..., "Where is your spirit, your impudence."

"I-I…can't…" Sharp claws…claws...pulled the kimono over my shoulders, letting the layers fall to my waist…kimono…

The claws moved down my shoulders, spreading a heat where it trailed…I'm trapped… Fangs perceptively nipped at the soft skin to my blood…no…stop…

A sensuous sting…it burns…

…burns…

Kokone's lungs burned. Shit, did I forget to breathe?

She took deep, low breaths to calm her lungs – and now that she noticed: her racing heart. Pressing her hand to her chest, she stilled herself. Listening to nothing but the flow of her body and the beat of her heart. The sound had always soothed her – the comfort of knowing one is alive, she guessed.

She rested for a while, debating just ditching school today. She glanced at her clock. Ha. I've already missed most of it anyway. And she rolled over to go back to sleep.

She paused – the flash of a face. Its features were vague, like it was running away, probably from my dream, but then she had an odd thought, he had freckles…

She shook her head and scoffed, there was no way she could know that.

~CHANGE~

"Hey." Haruhi sat down beside Kyoya.

Kyoya nodded at her, but stayed silent. His hands fidgeted on a small clip, Haruhi recognized it as one of Kokone's jade pins. She watched as his eyes swept over the students pouring out of school.

"You're worried about her?" She felt surprised but now that she thought on it she realized she shouldn't be.

"Hardly, but after last night…" He trailed off, cleared his throat and restarted, "We didn't finish our business for the festival."

"Don't you have her number?"

"Her phone is dead."

"And you would know this how?" Haruhi raised her eye brows.

He dug in his pocket and brought out a rather old flip phone, and opened it to show a flashing red battery on its screen.

"Ah," She understood, "Well, you could always go to her place. Or talk to her brother – I mean they may still be in contact, their related after all."

"Barely. And I've already tried Sendo Tetsuya, he says their very distant. And I would never consider going to a syndicates' compound, that would be both detrimental to my health and my name."

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "Well, you could try her work."

"I was planning on going to the studio after club."

Seems he thought of everything. Haruhi smiled to herself, he was really going through a lot of effort to talk to one girl – even for business.

"You know, you can always just hire another group to dance. I'm sure there's more than one in the area."

Kyoya's lips thinned but stayed silent.

~CHANGE~

Are you leaving?

Yes…It's enough…

Sesshomaru opened his eyes slowly, the memory fading as he woke from his sleep. What is enough?

He pushed the thought from his mind; he could not afford foolish thoughts. But throughout the day the question kept creeping up. It was detracting enough that he didn't even build the energy to glare at his half-brother and the wench.

"Hey, you okay?" She sat next to him.

"Yes." Sesshomaru stared out the window, thumb absentmindedly tracing the band of his enchanted ring, occasionally rubbing at the embedded single jade bead.

"Do…" she gathered up her courage, "Do you want to talk about it? It's therapeutic."

That caught his attention, and he stilled his fidgeting. A glare, but no answer.

"I've been a little worried about you lately." She herself nervously twitched, "Are you sure you don't need to talk about stuff? I know you lost a lot with the extinction period and before that as well."

He was no longer glaring at her but at the wall in front of them. He wished he could kill her, squeeze her little neck and feel the tendons pop, the blood gush, the bones crack and break. She touched his arm and he stood up, shrugging her hand off. She sighed, and crossed her arms, "Jackass. I'm just trying to be a good sister and you always just brush me off."

"You are not trying to be my sister, you are trying to be my mother. You are pushing your need for children; you seem to forget that I am not your child. I am the demon lord of the west, I am more than a thousand years older than you – and, most importantly, you cannot bear children. You traded your offspring for your own life." Sesshomaru seethed.

She stood up and turned away. Her voice shook, but she gritted out: "At least my child didn't grow old before I did. At least I ended up with the man I love. What happened to you? Your beloved Rin dead before she could see the great empire you promised her. Your woman dead before you could even begin to love her back."

She rushed out, wiping tears from her checks. Sesshomaru clenched his hands, Bitch…

Before she slammed the door shut, he heard her say: "We're all you have left; you could at least appreciate that."

"I have no need for such sentiment. Out-living my world is an accepted part of my life." Sesshomaru explained to an empty room.

~CHANGE~

"Is Miss Kokone here?" Kyoya asked politely to the receptionist.

The young woman smiled brilliantly, "I'd have to check the logs, but I haven't seen her and she rarely signs in anyway."

Kyoya waited a few seconds, and then cleared his throat, "Can you check the logs," his voice getting an edge, and he smiled icily, "Just to be sure."

She sighed, "I suppose…" She started typing on her laptop.

"Kyoya?" the door clicked shut.

He turned to his name and saw a shabby looking Kokone. Her hair widely escaping her pin up, make up hurried and asymmetrical, clothes frumped and loose. Kyoya's cheeks heated as he realized how upon further inspection that he found it rather … cute.

"Kokone!" Kyoya stepped forward eagerly; he stopped and composed himself, "We didn't get to discuss the festival."

"Oh," she glanced to the floor obviously embarrassed, and as she turned her head, Kyoya saw a dark bruise on her lower jaw, almost hidden by concealer and thick black hair. And almost immediately Kyoya's hands were bringing her face closer, wiping at the heavily coated concealer.

"Who did this?" Her eyes stared intensely through his own; he had to keep his mind on the blue and purple marring her face.

"No one." She tugged her face away, "And it's really none of your business."

"Someone hurt you. Shouldn't that be someone's business?"

"No one hurt me, and if someone did, it certainly wouldn't be yours." Kokone rolled her eyes and brushed past him.

His teeth ground and his fists clenched, he imagined slamming his fist into the bastard who could do such a thing. She turned back and laughed at his tensed figure: "I promise, no one hurt me. I was trying a half-Buddha on the silks and I kneed myself." Her face flushed with resigned embarrassment.

Kyoya almost laughed in both relief and foolishness – not a feeling he was accustomed to. In fact he couldn't help a small, bashful smile to shine through; why do I even care? The receptionist sighed, "Sendo, you shouldn't be on the silks without supervision."

Kokone motioned Kyoya into the hallway, rolling her eyes and called a: "Nosy bitch" as they walked by. She showed them to a small room with a sofa and kitchen area.

"So, about the festival…" She began; turning away from him as she made coffee, "The girls are on board, and they do expect to be paid. But I think I should pass, I haven't really felt normal."

"Why?" Kyoya said impassively, but he felt disappointed bubble up.

"Just haven't been sleeping," She stretched a closed-lipped smile.

"And the spontaneous tears bit." Kyoya mocked, and silently added not to mention the whole wind thing.

She scoffed, "Just the sleep deprivation."

"Yes, that must be it." He stared at her, disbelieving.

"Anyway, as you can see," she motioned to her cheek, "I've been in a slump, so I don't think it would be a great idea."

"Yes, makes me wonder how you became an instructor."

"Shut up, asshole. I happen to be a great dancer."

"Then, prove it." Kyoya sniffed at the insult but was glad that she was responding to him.

"Maybe I will…" She gave him a look, somewhere between a glare and a smirk. He found he liked it, the spunk and confidence she exhumed.

He put his hands in his pocket and almost jumped when he felt the phone and pin. "Oh, yes. I almost forgot." He held out her phone and was going to pick out the bead also but couldn't make himself hand it over.

She looked surprised, like she didn't even realize it was missing. "Well, thanks. I guess." She threw the flip-phone in her bag and Kyoya made a mental note not to expect any contact by that cell. Unknown to Kyoya, Kokone was much more worried over the missing pin then over some useless phone. And when he didn't offer it as well, Kokone had the thought the heirloom was lost to her forever.

~CHANGE~

I have things I need to attend to…

The thought nagged, brilliant at first but fading fast as he watched her dance. Though her face was covered by a plain white mask, he could see her in the way she moved, the way her hair seemed to be curled by the humidity as it flowed about her, the gentle force she seemed to possess as she stretched her arm out, fan snapping open. He could almost sense her closing her eyes; though, he could not see her face, and felt the peace exhume her body. For a moment Kyoya wondered if the crowd was as entranced by her as he, because as her arm movement flowed into a step of her foot, the crowd seemed to step with her. The need to watch as closely as possible, to listen for each chime of bells, to smell the sweet aroma of wild flower and salty swell of sweat.

And then it was over. The last thump of the drum sounded and she seemed to collapse in a graceful heap of black hair and white, red silk. Everything was still for a moments and before the claps of the audience could even begin a squad of new dancers all baring the Noh-mask of damsels and the stiff fabric of a princess and Kokone was gone. A new beat pounded, new bells sounded.

"That was something." One of the twins sounded behind him.

Honey nodded in agreement, and in one of his odd moments where he looked his age, stated: "That wasn't just something. It was enticing. Like the best chocolate and strawberry cake ever." His adult moment gone and the child returning. He climbed up Mori.

~CHANGE~

Sesshomaru was looking out another window, into another volley of lights, the energy of his compound celebrating the coming Spring. Laughing and shrieking and hollering came muffled as the sound waves vibrated his glass pane. Colors flowed past his sight – streams of oranges, reds, whites, blues, blacks, whites, blurred and curved his fields as they marched on to the shrine near his palace. Humans and youkai pulsing together as one unit, the distinction as archaic as the Chinese influences robes he wore.

His sight flickered inward as he noticed the light of his phone vibrate on. Leisurely, he made his way to it and when he flicked it open he didn't say a word, but heard the gasping of breath and "Yagami? Is Mr. Yagami there? Please I – I can't stop the bleeding and …" A sob; his eyes widened, he never expected this call so soon, "Please come. She's convulsing," A faint 'no, police; please I can't go to the hospital' "I need to get help, to do something!"

The faint voice froze him; it was softer and younger but… "No." He breathed and hung up.

Kagura…