~Authors note~
Hii!! I'm still alive, I swear!! I sorry for the incredibly late update, I was gone on holidays and had no access to a computer So anyway, here is your update! 17 pages long!! BE HAPPY OR ELSE!! ^.^ hm... strange... this document seems too shrink up everything... oh well.
Anyway, please enjoy your chapter! and Review! ^_^
(I want to thank Sango again for her continuous support and ideas! Their amazing and give me those little boosts I need!)
Akeela peered anxiously at the tall man before her. He was just barely over 6 feet tall, with wavy raven-black hair and brown eyes, with black ears he hadn't bothered on hiding. There were bags under his eyes, and worry lines.
Karu stood shakily in a defensive position in front of Akeela, if they didn't get this over with soon, he was going to collapse.
"Akeela… its me. It's really me." Gin said, his voice catching.
The scared little wolf-demon stared at her father. "D-daddy…" She said, tears pooling under her eyes. Before she could launch herself into Gins waiting arms, Karu stepped in between them, making his presence more pronounced.
"Who are you?" Karu asked evenly, carfully keeping the pain out of his voice.
Gin brought his attention to the man blocking the view of his daughter, narrowing his eyes. He eyed the man, he was almost his height. His hair was a darker blonde than Akeela's, and dark chocolate eyes.
Gin growled under his breath, "She is my daughter. Why is she with you?" He was surprised when Karu didn't shudder from the growl. Most humans were afraid of a small thing like that.
"I saved her and have been watching her ever since she got here." As he was speaking, he realized he didn't know how long he had been unconscious. Hours? Days?
Gin narrowed his eyes even more. Two days… and saved her from what? Akeela piped up, "Someone captured mama, but she told me to run away and I heard a weird sustained beep. Then more… police chased after me, and Karu saved me. Then more bad men chased me and he came and saved me again with his friend." She took a deep breath.
Gin had to sit down on the edge of the mans bed, his head was swimming. She said that she had heard a sustained beep. He put his head in his hands, a few tears dripping down his face. Since realizing Yuki's condition, he had read a few books about the machines they used to monitor their condition. A sustained beep… was the patients heart beat.
Yuki was dead. And he couldn't bring her back.
It had sounded like the man, Yuri, had been trying an experiment on her. Unconsciously a low growl rumbled up his throat. How dare he. How dare he!
"Karu?" Asked a frightened voice, "Karu? Are you okay? Karu?"
"I… should lay down." Replied a weak voice.
Raising his head, Gin realized he was taking up the one half of the bed, not able to let Karu lay himself down. He was leaned against the wall, his face ashen. The bandages around his torso were a bright red.
His eyes went wide. Obviously, Akeela was well. Why else would they be here? The man, Karu, was injured. Hence him laying in bed. He mentally shook his head, I'm definitely losing it.
Squeaking his way past Akeela, he helped Karu lay down comfortably. "Thanks." Karu gasped out, wrapping his arm around his torso.
At once, Karu noticed Akeela and Gin's ears perk up. He was about to ask what was wrong, but soon heard the faint sound of footsteps coming down the hall. The wolf-demon was about to dart into the bathroom, but Karu stopped him. "We'll just say you're a visitor. And… droop down your ears or something." He ordered, not wanting to get people suspicious.
Karu's main doctor walked through the door, charts in hand.
"Good day, Karu—" The man stopped, observing the new addition to the room. He covered his hesitance quickly, "Ah, more visitors I see."
"Yes." Karu whispered.
The doctor examined him, surprised when he saw the red bandages. "How on earth did you manage that?" He asked, not a rhetorical question. Karu sheepishly grinned, "Not sure."
The doctor was about to start taking off the bloodied bandages, then remembered the man. "Would you like to step out?" He asked politely. Gin raised his brow, the doctors back to him. "That is fine, I'll stay."
The doctor nodded, being careful was he unraveled the red bandages. Gin inhaled sharply. He had a hole in his chest, a stab wound in his shoulder, and…
Gin closed his eyes.
Claw marks across his torso.
Akeela had not mentioned any of these… conflicts. Opening his eyes, he saw that Karu's were closed, his mouth set in a grim line.
"You shouldn't move." The doctor hinted, starting to work on re-patching him up. Karu just nodded. Finished with the dirty work, the doctor went and washed his hands. "You shouldn't stay very much longer," He advised, "He needs his rest." And with that he walked out.
Gin ignored the advice and sat down. When visiting hours were up and the nurse came to shoo them out, Karu asked very kindly that he wanted them to stay. It made him feel better, which the nurse reluctantly obliged to.
It was late, Akeela had fallen asleep on Gin's lap, and he and Karu spoke quietly, careful not to wake her.
"Karu…" Gin said, the mans eyes opened, craning his head too look at him. "Thank you… I owe you my life for taking care of my daughter. With her… obvious differences, I am very thankful you took her in. I am forever in your debt."
Karu just smiled, "Your welcome, I am just relieved that she is safe. She went through a lot for just a small girl."
Gin felt very sober, his gaze turning to grief. "So did you." He muttered, remembering the claw marks. "I… don't know how you stopped it, you only being a human."
Karu immediately knew what he was talking about. "Even though it was… startling and almost revolting," He took in a deep breath, remembering the bodies. "I remembered that there was a small, scared child underneath all of that. So I just pried and pushed and didn't give up until the real her emerged." His voice started to get drowsy. "The only bad thing about all of this, Is that since I 'betrayed' the police, I doubt I'll be able to keep my job much longer." He muttered, frowning.
Gin was quiet, thinking through his trail of thought. "You could… come with us." He whispered, Karu's droopy eyes shot open and focused on him, "Akeela is quite… attached to you. With me being gone a lot and her mother gone…" His voice trailed off.
Karu stared at the ceiling, "The feudal era, huh?"
"I won't make you choose tonight, you can sleep on it."
"Thanks, I will."
"Goodnight." Gin whispered in the darkness, the only light provided being the monitors. Shifting Akeela in his lap and making himself more comfortable, he closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.
_____________________________________
The next morning, Karu had made his decision. He would go back. Why not? In the future, if he stayed, he would always wonder "Why didn't I go with them? What have I to lose?" The only thing he would miss would be Hiromasa, his faithful friend through trails and tribulations. That crazy man had always backed him up, no matter what.
He saw Gin stir and open his eyes. Waiting until he was fully awake he said, "I'll go with you."
It was 8am, the nurse came in to check on him, slightly surprised to still see Gin and Akeela there.
"Ma'am, I would like to go outside for a little while. Is that possible?" Karu asked ever so kindly, gazing up at the now flushing nurse.
"Erm… well, I suppose so." Karu's eyes lit up, "B-but, you will have to be in a wheelchair. I doubt you could stand on your own for very long." His eyes immediately went downcast but consented.
Eating a very… weird, bland meal, they headed outside. Gin pushed Karu out to the small park outside, Akeela hanging on to the side bar of the wheelchair. Lucky for them, in the lost and found pile was a baseball cap. Perfect for hiding Gins subtle ears.
It was a beautiful day out, the wind breezed through the tree's, stirring up the fresh smell of rain.
Karu and Gin watched Akeela play with herself, starting to get hot in the long hoody that Akeela was wearing. She startled a squirl up the tree, and started circling at the bottom, trying to get a better view.
They had been out there for a whole ten minutes, when their peace was shattered.
A shrill scream, no, not scream, shriek, pierced the air. Gin and Akeela jumped, startling Karu.
"Whats wrong?" He asked, bewildered. Gin was so confused, Spirits? Karu can't see them because he's human… why are they mad? Why are they here?
Straining his eyes, he searched the air closely, motioning a startled Akeela over to him. Holding her close, he spoke. "Spirits. You can't hear them because your human and from this age. Since we're more… compatible with spirits where we come from, its easier for us to see and hear them." He explained in a low whisper. A sudden movement brought his attention to ten yards in front of them, above a tall, filled out tree.
"It's here." He whispered, "Keep her close."
The spirit charged then, it's face twisted in fury. It's form was very… wrong. It looked partly human and partly demon, twisted into one body.
"Give me the power!!" It shrieked, it's eyes full of greed and lust.
Power…?
Releasing a small amount of his power, he extend the claws in his left hand and quickly thrust them at the creature. It shrieked as it was pierced, and slowly start to fade away.
"The power… the jewels… give it to me!" It whimpered before fading away into nothing.
Quickly retracting his claws, it finally made sense. The wandering spirits on this earth still wanted power, even in this day and age. The Shikon Jewel must have drawn it out.
But… it said… jewels…
"Oh, daddy, here's my jewel." Akeela said, remembering the shard in her pocket. Thrusting it out to Gin, it glinted a vibrant color on the ground.
"I am entrusting this to ye, only to get thy family. Ye must be very careful, ye are now in possession of two parts of the Shikon Jewel." Kaede said carefully, "Who knows what dangers ye may come across, seeking the power."
So that's what she had meant, the wandering spirits on the earth wanting the power to become stronger. They couldn't chance more attacks from spirits, it may expose what they really were.
He looked back to a watching, and slightly confused Karu. But he was going, but in no condition to go with them. If he went with them, he may not get the proper medical attention he needs.
Thinking as he walked he said, "We should go inside. I have an idea."
Getting settled once again in his hospital bed, Karu stared at Gin expectantly. "What's this idea of yours?"
He stated the obvious, "We have two very powerful shards in our possession. Luckily we've only been attacked by one spirits so far, but it will continue and the numbers will increase." Karu nodded, he could understand that. "Your in no condition to go back with us, so we can't go back yet." Karu nodded again, seeing the problem. "But that doesn't mean I can't go back, with the two shards." He explained further, this really caught Karu's attention and he leaned forward despite the uncomfortable tug on his chest, "You would go back with the shards? How would I get back? Would you take Akeela?"
Gin shook his head, "You could… babysit Akeela. I do have pressing matters at the moment. I would come back in one weeks time, you can't get back to the feudal age without the shards. So I'd come with one of them and take you back with me, you would be slightly healed by then I would think, enough to not die for sure." He laughed at this, making Karu frown.
"So, what do you think?" Gin pressed, quite impressed with himself of such a good plan he made up in that short amount of time.
Karu thought on it for a few minutes, going over options and what not. After awhile he sighed, "I guess that's the only option. We'll wait, you go, you come back and get us. We all happy." He said dryly. Gin laughed, and pointed his attention at a confused Akeela. Kneeling at her level, he said, "Honey, I'm going to be going for a few days, just too keep you safe. I'll be back though, don't you worry."
Akeela's face immediately turned fearful and she jumped onto his lap, "Promise?"
Gin smiled, "Promise."
He hugged her gently, "You take care of Karu, alright?" Akeela nodded eagerly, then another thought came to her. "What about mama daddy? Is she going with you?"
Karu tensed, noticing the immediate stiff atmosphere.
Gin hid his face for a second and recomposed his expression, turning back to Akeela, he had a tender smile on his face. "Akeela… mom isn't going to go with either of us. She… left."
Akeela looked sort of sad and nodded, "Okay… well… when will she be back?" That one simple question tore Gin's heart in two. "She's.. nnot coming back, darling. You… you know that place where we put those pretty flowers?" Akeela's eyes lit up, remembering the fun times her mother and she had picked flowers to put on graves. That's where they buried people who had passed on, mama had said. Nodding, Gin continued, "Well honey… you can put flowers on your mother now." A slow realization dawned on her, "I… I have to pick the flowers by myself? And lay them down in my own design?" She asked slowly, solemn. Gin nodded. "I.. I guess that's okay."
Gin let out a slow breath, she still did not understand, not really. It would dawn on her, sooner or later. "That's right honey. And I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I can sense some disturbance in the air, spirits are gathering."
Gin stared into Karu's eyes, "You take care of her, got it?"
Karu gave a small 'tch', but gave him a small smile, "Of course."
Gin nodded, and with one last long hug and words of "I love you," He was out the door.
A week passed, and Akeela waited eagerly at the window of the hospital. She was getting restless. "Dad comes home today, Karu!" She said excitedly. Karu smiled, now sitting up, alone with his thoughts.
She continued to stand there, gazing out the window. After awhile, her legs got tired and she dragged a chair over to the window and sat down. Another couple hours passed by, she played cards with Karu, and he told her stories. She soon fell asleep. After going outside later, and walking around for a while, night fell.
Gin still hadn't showed up. Akeela had fallen asleep long ago, but Karu still lean up against his pillows, awake, straining his ears for any sound. Nothing.
A few more days, Akeela started asking questions, she was getting even more restless. "Where's dad, Karu? He should be here by now?" She asked this often, almost to herself. Another week passed by, Karu decided he was sick of the hospital and ready to go home. He was really worried though, Where was Gin? Didn't he need to come back and get Akeela and himself?
The hospital let him go home, but made sure that if he suffered any discomfort to call right away. It took a bit of coaxing to get Akeela to go back to his house. She was worried that her dad wouldn't be able to find them. Just I case, Karu left a note at the hospital if they saw the man, to give them their address.
Another week went by. It had now been three weeks since Akeela's dad had went back to the feudal era. To keep her memory fresh, Karu had Akeela tell him all about what she did with her mom and dad during the day while he rested. With a saddening heart, he realized that she was already getting comfortable with her dad not coming back, the questions didn't come as much. She was getting accustomed to this. Of course she would stay with him, either way, he had given his word to keep her safe. He had made that resolution a long time ago.
A month passed, and he had finally given up hope. He talked to Hiromasa, and he was still able to keep the 'secret' a 'secret', and he still had a job to pay the bills. Of course, he had to live off of his savings. He couldn't get a babysitter for Akeela, for obvious reasons. Hiromasa visited often, playing with Akeela and visiting.
Karu was used to this now, he started to work three days a week, taking Akeela with him. It was all starting to fit together. Hiromasa even had a close friend who was a lawyer. Without a fuss, Karu had adoption papers stating he was now Akeela's father. No questions were asked about the lack of information on Akeelas side (talk about close friends!!). Of course she consented, she had been explained to that Gin was probably not coming for them. Which put her down in the dumps, but… she still agreed to everything.
Everything was practically perfect, even though she was a half wolf-demon.
~9 years later~
"Hey Akeela! Want to go for a run?" Called Karu from downstairs.
Akeela's eyes snapped open from her short nap, her eyes not yet coordinated. "You say something?" She asked, yawning.
"Run?"
"Oh! Sure, gimmi a second." She called, jumping from on her bed. She grabbed a brush and quickly pulled her hair back into a pony tail. Grabbing her other brush she fixed out the tangles in her tail. Although she was the only half-demon on the planet, she didn't mind the tail and ears. Adored them really, she thought they made her look cute. They were... apart of her. Since she hadn't been able to go back home, at least she had something from it.
Nine years. Nine, long years. Her father, Gin, had not made a single appearance. Karu had told her that after two months of waiting, he had given up completely.
She still remember lot's of events that happened, even though it was pretty hazy. She could remember the last words her father had said to her: "I love you. I'll see you soon." She could remember Karu saving her a multiple of times.
Realizing she was dawdling, she ran down the stairs and almost ran into the patiently waiting Karu.
"Can't think and walk at the same time?" He asked dryly, a grin quirking up at one side of his mouth. He had learned that whenever she took more than five minutes to get ready for anything, she had gotten lost in her thoughts.
"Oh shush," She said playfully. Yup, nine years. She was fourteen now, and Karu was 34. He always sulked every time they celebrated his birthday. "I'm double your age, and some." He would always say, frowning.
"Now what you thinking about?" He asked, reaching for the door knob and handing her her cute trenchcoat.
"Thanks," She said reaching for the coat. "Just thinking about how old your getting." She teased, ducking from Karu's playing punch. They stepped outside, it was an overcast day. Perfect, not too hot.
They always walked down to the abandoned warehouses, nobody was ever around so Akeela didn't have to wear her hat and coat. Besides that, there was tons of room for running. Karu was thrilled that Akeela loved running. They trained together and kept in shape. Besides the running, Karu had Akeela homeschool, and he had her learn swordmanship (well, he learned himself and than taught her), archery, and the history of her time, stuff about medicinal and herbs, stuff she would need to learn if she ever got back.
"I know it's a huge longshot, but just in case. You should still know how to survive if you had lived then." Karu would explain, and she didn't complain. She enjoyed it really.
After running for awhile through the wide paved road beside the warehouses, they slowed to a walk, resting. She sighed and stared up at the sky.
Dad… why haven't you come back?
~Authors note~ _LOL almost put Angels note... AGAIN!_
Wow O_o.... there's no... cliffhangar?!?!?! *readers don't know what to do with themselves*
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I hope it wasn't too rushed or boring or anything like that :S PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you thought of it, are you all still enjoying it!?!? I hope so :)
~Angel~