"Talking"
"Thinking"
-Telepathisis-
Flashback
-x-x-x-x-
Chapter Seventeen B
Vampiric Issues, Part II
The redhead stops and closes the book as Artemis walks in.
"Why did you come here?"
"I had been running for three days straight. I could barely pull of a decent glamor...I needed help." She admits quietly. "I could sense Kimi and I knew she'd help if I could only find her..." She pauses. "I used my glamor abilities to make myself look like her and Sora mistook me for her...involving your mother and his were not my intention."
"Hey." Sora enters, purposely standing closer than he ought to Artemis.
"We can continue this later." She steps away from Sora before turning to leave the room.
Said blue eyed boy bars her path. "Is something wrong?"
Flat silver eyes meet his. "No. Now please step aside."
"And if I'd like to continue sharing your company?"
She is out the door before he has time to stop her.
"You need to work on your timing." The redhead states.
0x0x0x0
The next week finds Kurama training; he has finished the work he needs to complete for the week. He spots movement among the trees; Artemis wanders out of the woods.
"What're you doing?"
"Going to bed." The drained girl mumbles before slipping into the dojo.
"I can't picture her as the clubbing type..." Kurama frowns. "So what was she doing out there?"
"Hey." Yusuke pokes his head out of the dojo. "Toddler breath wants us."
The redhead obligingly enters and takes a seat; he finds himself beside Artemis.
"There have been a number of mysterious deaths in the surrounding country side. The bodies have not been found and the spirits of the deceased are confused and disoriented." Koenma states. "I want you to investigate-cautiously."
"'Bout time we did something interesting." Yusuke rises, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Alright, where're we gonna-" He breaks off and hurriedly catches Artemis, who has blacked out and is descending towards the floor. "Woah, what's-"
Sora, frowning, pulls up the back of her shirt; all gape at the deep, half-healed gash across her back.
"What...what could have..." Kurama's eyes are the widest of all. "She's-...not a vampire. This would have been healed already." The redhead frowns. "Maybe...she came across what's doing this?"
Yukina hurriedly takes charge of Artemis; Sora carries her to a room where she can be tended. Despite the ice maiden's best efforts, the gash will not even scab over. After much pleading and cajoling-as well as Koenma directing a flat look at her-Botan is persuaded to try. The girl is flabbergasted, then furious when her repeated tries amount to the same as Yukina's.
"Let's at least bandage it..." The red eyed girl murmurs; her compatriot reluctantly assists.
Sora observes the process, eyes unreadable; the others are congregated in the hallway, discussing what they know about the case. When the three exit, Yusuke stops the conversation.
"She okay?"
"We cleaned and bandaged the injury...but we couldn't heal it." The ice maiden bites her lip, gaze straying to the ground.
"She's a vampire, that's why." Botan mutters disgustedly.
"She's a dimilamia." Sora snarls; his aura flares in response to his anger, causing Botan to jump slightly. "I'm getting sick of 'she's a vampire', 'she can't be trusted' and the ever so popularly implied 'she's a monster'. In case you two hadn't noticed, you're a fox demon and a grim reaper; you're no more human than she is! Hell, Kurama, you're more dangerous than her, but all I keep hearing is 'vampire'!" Stormy blue eyes glow with agitation glare at the group at large. "Until the fact that neither of you are human, nor in any position to be dubbing people 'monsters' sinks in, you ought to shut your damn mouths." With that proclamation, he goes to the kitchen, makes himself a cup of tea, locates the book Kurama had earlier and leaves them all to jump when his bedroom door slams.
"...I gotta agree." Yusuke adds after several moments of silence. "Aside from that bit with the vampires-which was Kimi's fault too-she didn't anything to us."
"Maybe because she's been too busy using these grounds to hunt humans..." Botan mutters; Kurama says nothing, but frowns, as the only evidence he has supports this. Yukina's eyes spark with anger and, turning to Kuwabara and Yusuke, requests if they want tea; they agree and the three leave Botan, Kurama and Hiei in the hall.
"...you have a point." Kurama admits but finds himself actually hoping that's not the case.
"Finally, someone who isn't blinded by Kimi's little 'explanations'!" Botan proceeds to begin ranting about her; Kurama, finding no polite way to leave, ends up listening and finds himself continuing to agree with her. To his surprise, his internal reaction to this is chagrin.
Hiei, forgotten by both, closes his eyes momentarily. When he reopens them, they are far more expressive than normal. He darts off, leaving what he believes to be two people he had been able to trust. On his way out of the dojo and away from them, he happens upon Yukina, Kuwabara and Yusuke.
"...not fair!" The normally sedate little ice maiden is clearly frustrated, if not out right angry. "They're treating her like the Koorime treated my brother; they're ostracizing her because she's different!"
Hiei quickly flees to the safety and numbness of the forest before his cold demeanor shatters any further.
0x0x0x0
"So did toddler breath bother to give us any specific information?" Yusuke questions.
"No." Botan's reply is stiff and distant. Kurama, who entered last, has to sit beside her because it is the only seat left.
"In that case, let's split up and search the area." Kurama suggests, sensing that things will rapidly go downhill from the atmosphere in the room. Everyone hastily agrees, although all are wondering where Hiei meandered off to.
0x0x0x0
Yusuke and Kuwabara are heading towards the woods where Genkai's test took place. The two continue through the forest, dodging traps that had once seemed difficult with relative ease. As they near what had been the finishing point, Kuwabara discreetly signals that they are being watched and followed.
"Didn't think we'd wrap this up that fast..." Yusuke thinks as both dart ahead, then turn and use their respective abilities.
Both sweatdrop when the Bat Master slams into a tree and slides down it.
"So much for that..." The brown eyed boy sighs as Kuwabara pokes the K.O.-ed Bat Master with a stick.
0x0x0x0
Sora decides to go it alone, as he is still irritated at everyone. He is confident that he will be able to handle whatever comes his way; his hearing has become a 'super sense', like Kurama's sense of smell. Despite this, he errs on the side of caution and already has his scythe out and is swinging it casually in a loose circle. He stops and stands still when he hears footsteps mingled with cursing heading in his direction.
It goes past him and when he turns to pursue it, he finds he can no longer hear it. He tightens his grip on his scythe, unnerved by the thing's speed.
0x0x0x0
Kurama has opted to investigate alone, as the plants will alert him to anyone attempting to sneak up on him. He frowns, hearing their discontent murmurs; they all rustle, restless, though there is no wind.
'Ahead...' A helpful vine murmurs. 'There is a man...'
'Cold.' Adds another plant.
'Corpse.' Corrects another.
'Living corpse.' The vine states.
"Living..." Without another thought, Kurama summons his whip soundlessly and races ahead. Despite the plants' warning, he freezes.
A bruised and bleeding Artemis is pinned to the ground by what Kurama instantly identifies as a vampire. He reacts near instantly, but his whip barely grazes the vampire's back before he is gone; the redhead barely manages to pull the whip back before it strikes Artemis. Said girl does not seem to care; she lies limp on the ground, merely breathing.
"...are you alright?"
"Fine." She murmurs, opening her tired eyes; she slowly sits up, wincing.
"Why are you out here?" He is unsure of whether to stop her as she slowly gets to her feet.
"...you would not believe me." With that, she heads unsteadily towards the edge of the clearing. "...thanks, though." She leaves him staring after her; moments later, Kuwabara, Sora and Yusuke rush into the clearing.
"What's up?" Kuwabara questions.
"I found a vampire on top of Artemis." He states flatly.
"Kinky." Yusuke mutters.
"Probably working together." Kuwabara adds sarcastically.
"If they were, whatever it was fell apart." The fox demon assesses absently.
"Kurama..." There is a growl in Sora's tone.
"Look, I'm just saying. I don't think they were." He matches the shorter boy's look.
Blue eyes flicker; they become a deeper blue with slit pupils as their owner storms back to the dojo.
0x0x0x0
Artemis gives up on tracking what attacked her for now and staggers back to the room they left her in. She manages to make it to the bed before she collapses onto it. With a shaky hand she picks up the glass of water beside her bed; she manages a few mouthfuls down before her stomach tries to rebel. While the manages to keep it down, she spends the next few minutes half-choking on it. She takes a shaky breath before lying back on the bed, ignoring the fire racing through the half-healed gash. Her eyes close as tears prick them.
"I cannot do this..." She tries to ignore her throat tightening. "I am exhausted and getting weaker by the minute." She opens her eyes and stares blankly up at the ceiling. "I really appreciate Sora getting me that animal blood but if I want my injuries to heal, I need human-or demon-blood." A small sigh escapes her as a lone tear of frustration runs down the side of her face. "At the rate I'm moving, that damn leech will get one of them and I will be to blame."
She sits up as she recalls the first dimilamia she ever heard of. "I can sit here and snivel over an injury and a fever and wait for Kimi to come back and clean up...or I can do what I do best." With a slight wince, she lies back down. "Well, that's that."
0x0x0x0
"Artemis?" Kurama enters her room with a tray of food. He was requested by Yukina to do so, but he also wants to talk to her. He frowns when he finds the bed empty and places the tray on the nightstand. That's when the fact that the window is wide open registers. A dark stain on the floor is noted as a smell Kurama knows permeates the air. He eyes the bright red stain and finds himself darting out the window.
Long strides carrying him over the ground quickly; he follows Artemis's fading scent. "Why am I even bothering? She's probably dead by now..." The thought only makes him increase his pace. A new scent of blood reaches his nose: Hiei's. He reaches the nearest clearing and freezes.
Hiei and Artemis are on opposite sides of the clearing; Hiei has bloody scratches down the right side of his face; Artemis's clothing bears clear signs of katana slices and some blood oozes around the slices.
"That bitch is the one." He stops, spitting out some blood. "That's been draining the humans."
Kurama doesn't question it and wordlessly summons a plant to imprison her.
0x0x0x0
The room where she is held until the SDF can come to take her away is unpleasantly silent.
"I told you." Botan glares at the imprisoned and stoically silent Artemis. "I told you she couldn't be trusted!"
No one replies, nor says anything when the SDF arrives, shackles her and leads her off.
Botan tries again. "Well, that solves that."
"Botan." Sora turns to her.
"Yes?" Hopeful pink eyes meet stormy blue.
"Shut the fuck up."
0x0x0x0
All are silent and still in the room Artemis had been held in. Botan is glaring at Sora; the look he gives her causes her to cease and look away. Hiei enters via the window and sits on the sill. He finds himself being given the 'can I talk to you?' look by Kurama, but he ignores it.
A black shape drops from the rafters and lunges at Hiei with a snarl; it stops mid-jump and hits the ground with a thud, an arrow protruding from it's chest. It rises and makes for Hiei, but the person who just dropped the bow is faster; they plunge a glowing dagger into it's head up 'til the hilt. The former vampire rains to the ground and forms a pile of ash.
"H-how did..." Botan gapes. "You can't use those weapons, you're a-"
"I am a dimilamia." Artemis snaps as the blade ceases glowing; she slams it back into it's sheath. "I am also a Hunter." She calmly repositions her quiver before picking up her bow; she holds it in a loose, confident manner.
"You're late." Hiei states.
"Better late than never." She retorts, sticking her tongue out at him. "Anyway, thanks."
"Once is more than enough." He mutters.
"Considering you helped me take this guy down and helped me heal for the most part, I'd say you deserve several thanks." The girl replies before carefully stretching.
"How did you get away?" Botan snarls.
"She explained the plan to the SDF before we executed it." Hiei comments.
Sora blinks. "So..."
"Nope." She shudders. "I may need it to heal but it tastes pretty nasty." She curses softly when she feels the injury on her back reopen.
"C'mon." Yukina grins and takes her to the room. "Ow..." She whispers softly as she examines the injury.
"He got me from behind." The other girl murmurs.
"Will bandaging do?"
"That would be nice."
The ice demoness promptly bandages it gently but firmly. "I'll send someone back with some food in a bit!"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." The ice maiden smiles before bustling off to the kitchen.
0x0x0x0
"Care to explain?"
Artemis looks up from her book to find Kurama with a tray of food. "The plan?"
"Yes." He places the food on her lap before pulling a chair over.
"...thank you." She hesitantly takes a bite; when she finds that the taste does not resemble sawdust, she takes another. "...well, I could hardly let the vampire get one of you. He had already attacked me from behind, so it was apparent that he was just out for blood."
"Wait, you knew-"
"I did not want you involved, any of you. You are not Hunters; you should not be included in Hunter business." She sighs. "I was raised by those rules...and it is hard for me to work outside them."
"How did Hiei get involved?"
"...I was trying to track the vampire. Hiei found me after I collapsed and ...I am not sure how he knew I needed blood, but he gave me some of his. After I was coherent enough, he explained that he wanted whatever was attacking those people dead. I told him I wanted the same thing and we both lapsed into silence. I realized that after I was gone, the vampire would most likely take out the one who got rid of me first as a 'thank you'." She pauses to eat a few more bites. "I told him that and he figured he would be able to hold it off, if not kill it...and that he was the one who had the best chance of doing so. After that..." The silver eyed girl shrugs. "It all just fell into place."
"How would you know so much about it...after one meeting?"
"I was trained since I could walk to hunt and kill vampires, werewolves and other such creatures...well, not all of them."
"What do you mean?" Kurama questions, intrigued.
"Hunters only kill vampires and other supernaturals that break the rules...some instances are excessive feeding or killing. You cannot say that you only kill the 'bad' ones to normal people; they think all vampires, et al. are evil, out to kill them...you know the drill." She sighs. "We also are taught to profile them. 90% of the time I am accurate; I did not think, after his sneak attack, the profile needed revision."
"So you mean-"
Sora enters, lugging the book with him. "You need blood, right?"
"At the moment, I am fine. Thank you for your consideration." She replies smoothly.
"But you won't heal without it, right?" The blue eyed boy presses.
"I am fine." The is a hint of Kimi's stubbornness in her manner.
"If you need blood, you can have some." He holds out his wrist.
"Sora..." Kurama murmurs.
"No, thank you-mmf!"
She waits until he removes his wrist and then spits it out onto the floor.
"What was-"
Artemis promptly whacks him upside the head with the book. "Read it, you idiot!"
Scowling, he opens it and flicks to the pages on 'dimilamia'.
"What about-" He breaks off as he sees the passage on half-demon blood. "I..."
The girl crosses her arms. "Apology accepted, provided you never do that again."
He nods.
"What's...?" Kurama interrupts.
"Half demon blood is the dimilamia equivalent of heroin. Just as addictive...and just as deadly." She pushes her bangs out of her face. "Sorry for losing my temper, but...a dimilamia I knew got addicted to that stuff. It..." Her voice trails off. "...wasn't pretty."
-x-x-x-x-
This is the other half of the chappie...so no flashbacks.
Sorry for the late post; the next actual chapter should be up tomorrow...but I make no promises. It's finals week and I really need to get studying.
Catchall later!
Emma