A Month With Suichi Minamino
By Payne N. Uranus
.:AN:.
(Payne pops in unexpectedly, acting cheery)
Sooooo... (whistles and claps hands) Um, I have excuses for why this took so long. I really do. You probably neither need, nor want, to hear them, so I won't go into further detail. All you need to know is I do have reasons for taking so long, and they could be considered...good.
Conscience: (stares with deadpan face at Payne)
...What?
Conscience: Nothing (shrugs). Just that, being your conscience, I know when things are "good" and "otherwise", and I don't think you reasons really fall under "good".
Ahem. You think so?
Conscience: Yes. I do.
...Oh. Ummm, well, what about this chapter? Is it good?
Conscience: Could be.
How can you even know the difference anyway? Where do you live? In my brain? In my heart? In my...backbone, where?
Conscience: That is a secret.
You're just saying that 'cause you don't know!
(Conscience disappears in pink cloud of smoke that smells like dog breath and dirty socks)
(Payne gags, clutches at throat)
I only have a few minutes to live, and I have some very important things to say! First off, the thanks for this chapter's near perfection goes out to loveanime18 and saiyuri-dahlia! Saiyuri especially helped me out with the one scene that prevented this chapter getting posted, like, months ago. So thanks to her. Also, to the reviewers of the last chapter, I have to thank Dark ring of hope, OneOutOfControlChick (Here you go! (hands over snowball) Treat it nicely and thanks for the review!), Donna della Penna, SillyMoose8, Lunalom (Thanks so much for the review and the understanding! Haha, you'll have to let me know how that resolution is going for you), DaAmazingMeepers, Dyani91 (Good one! Thanks for sharing!), nancy (That's nice of you to say, thank you very much!), QueenOfCrisis (Yes, she's a very nice person and a great beta. I'm very thankful!), Black-Wolf-Demon-Girl, KitaxHaku (It's these sort of reviews that make me very happy to write. Thanks for the support, I hope you enjoy this chapter.), Tateno Atsukino, BleedingHeart756, and The White Tragic Wolf Sayana B. Special thanks go to YuuYuu-chan, midnightsprite, and Death101- Fox Version for their multiple reviews on numerous chapters. If I forgot anyone, I'm so sorry! But I am dying you know.
That's all there is left to say... I...I... (falls over, "dead")
Chapter 21: Get Out Alive
The night sky was clear as Shiori and Hatanaka made their way back from their impromptu vacation. Stars twinkled brightly from horizon to horizon, the only thing accompanying them in the vast space being the full moon glowing at its highest peak.
However, despite the perfect nature of the night, the car ride to the Kajima's residence was unnervingly silent, or so Hatanaka thought. The brown-haired man glanced curiously to his right, taking in the form of his fiancé leaning against the window, staring out while her delicate chin rested on her fist. He had come to expect the automatic racing of his heart every time he looked at the lovely woman, but it was something he could never get used to. A soft smile came to his lips without him realizing it, and it was mere chance that snapped him out of his attentions and returned them to the road. Still, despite the unwavering love that never failed to blossom in his chest, Hatanaka couldn't help but feel worried.
The phone call that Shiori had shared with her son half an hour or so ago seemed to have triggered this new mood, and the bespectacled man couldn't figure out the reason why, nor could he get his partner to share the information with him. He had allowed the quiet to continue, but now that they were approaching their destination, Hatanaka was becoming a bit anxious.
"So...few more blocks until we see our boys again," he said conversationally.
"Mmhmm," Shiori hummed.
"Two weeks..." he continued to murmur. Tilting his head, Hatanaka flitted his eyes to his companion and joked lightly, "They're probably all grown up now, eh? Being without our parental guidance for so long."
"Mmm..."
There was a long beat of silence before Hatanaka tried to fill it again.
"Honey?" he started softly, sending another brief look over to her. Receiving another distant hum in response, the brown-haired man continued, "Are you sure everything's okay?" That was what she had told him whenever he tried to question her: Everything's fine. I'm okay. Same, same.
"Yes, dear, everything's perfectly okay," was the robotic answer, not without love, but certainly without conviction.
"...Okay," Hatanaka huffed with a defeated shrug. He wasn't going to push, knowing instinctively that it would only get Shiori angry with him for not believing her.
He stared out the windshield, pouting a bit and feeling a little grouchy himself now for the silent treatment, when suddenly a rushing wind buffeted the car on the driver's side. Shiori cried out in shock when the steering wheel that Hatanaka hadn't been gripping strongly enough slipped and caused the car to swerve dangerously towards the curb. Quickly, Hatanaka struggled to correct their path, and pushed down hard on the breaks. Practically skidding to a complete stop against the curb, the two passengers fought to steady their breathing. The brown-haired man shakily patted his chest as his heart beat erratically.
Still can't get used to it, Hatanaka said to himself tiredly, a wry smile once again unsteadily pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"What was that?" Shiori gasped out, her palm flush against her breastbone. Frantically, her eyes searched the road for whatever had caused the strange phenomenon, though nothing could be seen. "My lord, what was that?"
Hatanaka shrugged dazedly. "Speeding car?" he offered half-heartedly. "Bug? Stray wind?"
"What, you weren't watching the road?" The normally soft-spoken woman snapped agitatedly before her eyes immediately lowered in guilt. "I didn't mean that."
Her husband-to-be almost laughed at how quickly she apologized. It was impossible to stay mad at the woman and, in turn, it made him that much more eager to apologize himself. Reaching across the small console between the two seats, Hatanaka patted her hand comfortingly. "It's late," he reasoned lovingly. "And you're anxious to see Suichi again. I understand. I'm sorry I wasn't paying better attention to the road, but my beautiful fiancé staring out the window with such a serious expression on her face worried me a bit, even though she said nothing was wrong." At this, he gave a teasing smile, one that Shiori was quick to return.
"Nothing is wrong," the woman insisted.
"Perhaps," Hatanaka conceded with a slight nod of his head. "But there is something that is making you worry. Share with me?"
Shiori sighed agitatedly, combing her loose hair with slender fingers before turning to look out the window again. A few more seconds of fidgeting passed, but her fiancé waited patiently.
"It's silly," the mother finally admitted, her tone sounding rushed and off-hand.
"Silly or not, something is on your mind, and I'd like to hear it." Reaching over the slim console dividing their seats, Hatanaka gently cupped his lover's cheek with his hand and stroked it gently with the pad of his thumb. "You have nothing to fear with me," he continued, tilting her head so they were looking eye-to-eye.
Their gazes remained locked long enough for Shiori to see the love in her companion's eyes before she looked away and huffed again. Looking down, she mumbled out, "I just have...this very bad feeling that Suichi, my Suichi, is in trouble. When I talked with him on the phone..." Shiori paused to suck in a steadying breath, then finished with, "He sounded distracted, almost worried about something, but... I don't know for sure, of course. I just don't know. I feel like I never know..."
Hatanaka leaned even farther over, and pressed his lips to the worrying woman's forehead. Then he withdrew in order to start the car up again, though the hand previously holding Shiori's face slid down to hold her hand instead. He knew she wouldn't take well to empty words of assurances, but that didn't mean he hadn't wanted to give them, anything to remove the wrinkles furrowing her brow. The sooner they got to the Kajima residence, the sooner he could show his lovely wife-to-be that her worries were groundless.
Hopefully, he thought to himself, they ARE groundless.
Slowly counting down the houses until they reached their destination, Hatanaka pulled up so that the driver's side was beside the curb. From the outside, the house looked calm and peaceful, and very awake, if the lights on inside were any indication.
Hatanaka shook his head and chuckled to himself before telling his fiancé to wait, and got out of the car. Casually strolling to the other side of the car, he opened the passenger door with flourish, bowing and offering his hand to the lovely lady. Shiori rolled her eyes at the display, but played the part of the wealthy debonair and allowed her companion to help her out of the vehicle.
Arm-in arm-they prepared to make their way around the car and towards the front door -- when, in a flameless cloud of debris mixed with large chunks of wood and plaster, the house suddenly erupted.
Shiori screamed something unintelligible, but Hatanaka didn't bother trying to figure out what she said. Acting purely on reflex, he wrapped his other arm around Shiori, and pulled them both down behind the car. Once he was sure they were fairly safe, Hatanaka head lifted to watch, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, the destruction unfold through the windows of his car.
In no time, fractured wooden beams rained down onto the pavement, splintering with deafening cracks and sending shards rocketing outward, shattering the windows of nearby houses and scraping the paint off parked cars. Hatanaka could hear the dull thumps as more than a few pieces collided with his own vehicle, could feel the metal frame shudder from the impact. Similarly, shingles and hunks of plaster skidded across the asphalt, whizzing overhead and underfoot. The horrid chime of breaking glass filled in the gaps of silence in the destruction. And, throughout the whole commotion, Shiori kept screaming. Tugging at her fiancé's arms, she screamed and screamed, and somehow, Hatanaka finally recognized the words flying out of her mouth.
"Suichi's in there, Suichi's in there!"
Finally, she got loose from one arm, but Hatanaka couldn't let her leave; the remains of the once beautiful house were still ricocheting across the road. But he felt her pain -- his own son was in there as well. As much as it hurt to hear her cries of anguish, it would hurt far more to see her in danger.
As soon as Shiori's hands touched his other arm, he wrapped them both around her shoulders in order to restrain her. She immediately started flailing, still hollering for her son, and tears streaming from her eyes. They both continued to watch the horror behind the car, stabs of unadulterated loss and despair ripping through their hearts. Soon, the struggle of the grieving mother seized, instead twisting around to bury face into his chest. The two parents stayed, consoling one another with desperate hugs and plenty of tears, until another sight caught the attention of the bespectacled man's eyes.
Hatanaka lifted his head, looked once more through the windows -- both on the driver's side were now broken -- and couldn't hold back a cry of surprise.
Vines.
He saw vines.
Waving, whipping around, high above the houses, were numerous vines, decorated with large, flat leaves and thorns and branches of even smaller vines, sprouting from the rubble-covered earth.
This is like something off the Sci-Fi channel, Hatanaka thought to himself.
Still staring at where the vegetation stemmed from, he noticed with confusion that a lone figure was standing amidst the ruin. Shrouded in the unsettled dust, it almost seemed to glow from the moonlight, but it still offered enough of a clear silhouette that didn't help with Hatanaka's puzzlement.
Are those...horns? And...no, that's not a tail..is it?
Without warning, the figure suddenly darted forward, out of the fog and into the light of the streetlamp that was still erect on the street corner. The sight raised goose bumps on Hatanaka's arms and the fine hairs on the back of his neck. Unable to look away, the brown-haired man shook the quietly sobbing Shiori, trying to get her attention. It took a bit of effort, but eventually she lifted her head as well, and was similarly struck with a sense of awe.
The creature that was now exposed to their eyes was too ethereal for words, made even more so by the pulsing electric blue aura that seemed to encompass its entire being. Its long, glowing silver hair and pure white toga robe fluttered with every move, despite the lack of wind. What Hatanaka had mistaken for horns were, in fact, ears, lined with the sleekest fur imaginable, perched alert on its head. A matching tail flicked agitatedly from the small of the creature's back. And, though it was hard to tell from the distance between the man and the fox-like being, Hatanaka swore that its eyes were gold.
Before he or Shiori could think of anything to say, the creature turned its head sharply to the side, appearing as if it were sniffing the air, much like a dog on the hunt. It leapt from the circle of light into the darkness of the neighborhood, suddenly disappearing as if it hadn't been there at all.
"Was that...a dream?" Hatanaka muttered to himself more than to his fiancé, but from the shaking of Shiori's frame, he firmly believed that what he just saw was real.
Or maybe she was shaking because of the chill in the air. Hatanaka gave a small sound of surprise when he realized that he could see his breath. The tears still slick on his cheeks had started to frost over. Surely it hadn't gotten that cold in under an hour?
"What a sight..." a voice came from behind them without warning. Hatanaka twisted sharply to look over his shoulder only to see another shady silhouette in the moonlight standing a few feet away. "Two cowering humans cuddling together for comfort? Pathetic."
With a tilt of the new arrival's head, his face was illuminated. Eyes so cold they looked like shards of crystal ice. A head of hair that glistened in the dusty lamp light. A chilling smirk that raised the hairs on the back of Hatanaka's neck.
"What's even worse..." he continued, briefly looking off in the direction where the fox-man had gone. "A demon getting so worked up over the life of a single human girl. As if his existence wasn't despicable enough."
"What do you want?" the bespectacled man asked lowly, hugging his trembling lover ever closer to him, as if it would protect her from this dangerous creature.
"Is that the only question humans can ask? What do you want?" the stranger repeated with a small laugh, amused by the question. He raised his hand, palm up, and it started to glow with the same ice-blue aura that seemed to envelope the whole street. Small crackles sounded from inside the hand, and from the cocoon of light came beads of glowing ice. He lifted the palm to his face as he said, "Your race is so unoriginal. It'll be worth it to exterminate you all."
Shiori shrieked and held up her arms in fear, and Hatanaka could think of no other reaction besides hugging his beloved to his body. They both shied away from their impending deaths, eyes squeezed shut to avoid seeing whatever it is that they might see.
And then there was a roar of pain.
The couple panted harshly as they realized that they had been saved, if only for a moment. Lifting his head, Hatanaka managed to catch the sight of the stranger holding his severed limb, the limb that had once held those bullet-sized balls of ice.
"Damn you, Hiei," the stranger seethed. "Why are you always the one to save these humans?"
In the shadows, Hatanaka saw movement, then a glint of a thin metal blade. "Hn. I'm not saving them intentionally, Touya," another disembodied voice said coldly. "They're just a convenient excuse to fight you."
The stranger, Touya, allowed a small, pained smile to come to his face. "Of course. How could I forget that the Hiei Jaganshi despises humans? After all, what better side to be on to kill off humans than one made up of demon traitors and half-breeds?"
Without another word, Touya raised his other arm, and immediately it was incased in what could only be described as an ice sword. Then he dove into the darkness where the offending voice had come from, and sounds of battle reached Hatanaka's and Shiori's ears. Together, they waited for the fighting to die out and for the victor to emerge. They were too paralyzed by fear to do anything else. There was nowhere to go. There was nothing else they could do. The only choices they had were to run for help, but who could say how far they'd get without drawing the attention of the fighters? Not to mention what they would say once they found help... their sons were probably dead, the Kajima family was dead, and the people who might be responsible probably weren't people at all. Who would believe them if they'd said that they saw a half-man, half-fox leap from the ruins of the Kajima's house, or that they were attacked by an ice-stranger that could grow crystal swords from their limbs, or that they were saved from this ice-stranger by a shadow?
So they sat, huddled together, waiting. And waiting.
Out of nowhere, they heard a strong battle cry, followed immediately by a sharp shout of pain, and then silence. And more silence.
Then a small form started to come forth from the night's cover. It wasn't the ice-stranger that Hatanaka and Shiori had seen before, so they had to assume it was that "Hiei" person Touya had mentioned before.
Hiei, who happened to have three eyes.
Dear God, Hatanaka thought before his consciousness fell into the black.
~`*`~
"Tch," Hiei spat with disgust as he stood over the two passed out forms of Hatanaka and Shiori. Just one glance and they collapsed. Idly, the swordsman entertained the idea of transforming into his true demon self just to scare them more, but the humans were already unconscious, so there wasn't much point to it. True, it would be amusing, but then Kurama would have a few words to say to him about it, and he didn't like talking with the whiny fox when it came to being nice to people.
Then again, maybe Kurama wouldn't be in the mood to talk, given what had just occurred...
.:Flashback:.
The wind had barely died before Hiei saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Because of the compact tornado left from Jin's departure, shards of glass from the window Kuwabara had shattered before had been kicked up and whipped around the room. His arms and back were smarting from the various cuts he had gotten when he used his body as a shield for the two human children. Dropping his guard a bit, the fiery swordsman looked up from his crouched position over his charges, and felt his eyes narrow in shock.
Kurama stood stalk-still in the center of the rubble, head bowed so that his crimson hair shaded his eyes. Blood flowed steadily from the wounds decorating his own limbs and chest. He hardly seemed to breathe.
"K-Kurama," the fire demon heard Kuwabara mumble in his gruff voice from the side. Eyes wide and feeling incredibly anxious, he watched as the buffoon briefly flitted his gaze over to the rest of his comrades as if taking in their reactions. While there was still that dangerous shade to his expression, Yusuke looked just as lost for words, and Hiei merely stood silent, his hard glare now trained on Kurama.
"We'll get him, Kurama," Yusuke growled under his breath. "We know where he's going, we'll --"
"Get out," Hiei suddenly interrupted, his eyes going wide as he came to a realization. Snapping his attention away from the motionless Kurama, the fire demon bared his teeth at the two boys and spat, "Detective, take the buffoon and the humans, and get away from here. Now!"
"Wh--" Yusuke started to ask, but then he felt the ground start to rumble. The rumbling grew, as if the Kajima's land was suddenly experiencing its own personal earthquake, and the group was standing at the epicenter. The slick-haired teen then understood what Hiei was getting at. "Kuwabara! Let's go!"
The two hurriedly collected their limp charges and bolted out of the remains of the house, followed immediately by Hiei. Seconds later, Kurama's energy finally peaked, and a myriad of plants burst forth from the soil, breaking through the rubble and stretching high into the exposed night sky. Dust and small splinters of the home were kicked up in the maelstrom of power Kurama was displaying.
Outside the compound, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke watched on in a dazed horror. The one time the three had seen Kurama react this way was back when Kuronue had appeared, or more accurately, when a foolish demon had resurrected Kuronue from Kurama's memory. Now, however, it truly seemed that Kurama had lost his cool for good.
"Take them," Hiei said quietly, handing over the two human boys he held in his arms to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Take these humans to Genkai."
"Hiei..." Yusuke started, looking at the shorter demon as if the detective was seeing him in a new light.
Hiei turned a level glare on his two companions. "Someone needs to make sure Kurama doesn't do anything stupid. And since neither of you can track down demons as effectively as my Jagan eye, you two are obviously not fit for the job." Unwittingly, the glare softened. "Go."
Knowing there was no way he'd be able to talk the swordsman out of his decision, Yusuke shared a look with Kuwabara, and the two nodded in agreement. "Be careful, Hiei," the Spirit Detective warned, and then they sprinted away towards Genkai's temple.
.:End of Flashback:.
But now Hiei was put in a tough position. He had said he would keep watch over Kurama's actions, and perhaps locate Touya's position, since Kurama was no doubt after Jin himself. Now that the fox's foolish parents had shown up, Hiei would have to take care of them, too.
Damn you, Kurama, Hiei growled inwardly. This wouldn't be nearly as complicated if you hadn't insisted on staying with your human family to being (begin) with.
He'd have to come back for Kurama afterward. Hopefully the fox wouldn't find himself in too much trouble during the time it'd take Hiei to get to Genkai's and back. Without a word, the swordsman bent down to collect the bodies of Kurama's mother and her fiancé, and flitted out of sight.
~`*`~
Yusuke and Kuwabara were pounding their way up the long stairway to Genkai's, their breathing harsh and ragged. Each of them had two humans on their backs, a dead weight that steadily drained their energy.
"Why does Genkai have to have all these steps?" huffed Kuwabara. "Is this a requirement for these stupid shrines or something?"
"Don't waste your breath, Kuwabara," Yusuke gasped out to his partner. "We'll need all the energy we have to spare to help get Mitsuyo back."
"Right."
They finally reached the top after what felt like hours of running. But they couldn't slow down there. The two searched for Genkai's energy signature, knowing that if the humans were just left unattended, chances were that some demon or another would take them out, no problem.
"Genkai!" Yusuke shouted with more than a little irritation. The Spirit Detectives rushed around the compound, looking in the bedrooms and the other temple rooms. "Genkai, where are you, you old bat!"
"What's with all the shouting?" the old psychic's voice called from the side of the temple.
Without pausing for breath, the two teens ran to where Genkai's voice came from, and found that they were at a loss for words when their eyes took in the sights before them. Littering the ground were numerous pieces of demon bodies, blackening the soil with their blood. Standing not far from the shoji doors was Yukina, looking quite somber, but unharmed, and at the foot of the steps leading to those doors was a rather disgruntled Genkai.
Kuwabara stepped forward, surveying the scene. "What happened here?" the boy wondered aloud, turning inquisitive eyes to Yukina. He had noticed the ice on the Soeki-kas' wings.
"Have a little fun while we were gone?" Yusuke remarked as he carried Mrs. Kajima and Suichi over to his teacher.
"Cut the smart-ass comments, Dimwit, and tell me why you've brought these people here," Genkai rasped.
"These are Mitsuyo's family and Kurama's lil step-brother," the slick-haired teen said frankly. "Akio sent Jin and Touya to take them all out. The house is destroyed, they needed a safe place to stay. Kurama's kinda snapped, so would you mind watching these guys while we go reign him in and maybe catch Jin and Touya? I don't think Hiei will be able to handle all that himself."
"Of course," Genkai responded. Beckoning Yukina over with a short nod of her head, the old psychic accepted the body of Suichi and told Kuwabara, "Go ahead and put those two down and get moving. We'll take care of them until you get back."
"Thanks," the orange-haired boy muttered, then added quickly, "Kurama gave them all a sleeping powder that should keep them under for a good while yet, so don't worry about waking them up or anything."
The two quickly bowed their thanks, then took off running again, bounding down the stairs three at a time. There wasn't much time to waste.
~`*`~
The scent is getting stronger now, Yoko discovered with a dark grin. He'll be in sight soon.
Yoko stayed down under the canopies of the trees, knowing that it would provide him with the element of surprise. He focused intently on the wind master's fate, his mind expertly sorting through the racing ideas for when he finally caught up; on how he would rip Jin limb from limb, or let the little Irish thief suffer at the power of his demon plants. If anything else came to thought, Yoko would remember how easily he let Mitsuyo get captured right from underneath his protection. If he let his mind drift even a little bit, the fear and panic that had initially seized his heart in a steel clutch would return to squeeze the very life from his body.
That was not about to happen while Mitsuyo was in harm's way.
Just a little bit farther, the silver-haired demon thought to himself, and immediately he elevated his position from the ground up onto the high branches of the forest. The wind started to kick up, the unnatural gale pulling at the leaves -- a definite sign that Jin was close.
Yoko leapt higher into the foliage. Jin wouldn't be able to hear him coming with all the noise his little breeze bubble was making.
There!
Right above him was Jin. And Mitsuyo. The cocoon of air surrounding the two of them was gentler than it had been before. Yoko saw through all the debris that Jin was carrying with him, and saw that Mitsuyo had passed out.
Good.
Without warning, Yoko summoned a large amount of spirit energy, and fed it into a small seed he had plucked from his hair earlier in his hunt. The kernel pulsed a couple times, then paused before a thick, green stalk shot up towards Jin. It flexed mid-way through the journey, and wrapped around the wind master's ankle tightly. To further strengthen his hold on his prey, the silver fox wound the vine about his forearm, clutching it firmly in his fist.
Jin, unaware of all of this, shouted in surprise as he looked down to find Yoko bearing down on him fast. With his foot caught, he was tethered in place, no longer capable of maintaining the gust of wind keeping him airborne. Waving his arms frantically, Jin's grip on Mitsuyo slackened, and they both plummeted from the sky.
Once again, Yoko's heart hammered violently in his chest as a stab of panic almost electrified his body. He reacted instantly, leaping from branch to branch, climbing into the sky to meet the tumbling body of his charge. As she fell into his outstretched arms, Yoko did his best soften the collision, carefully cradling her limp body against his nearly bare chest. The fox tried to ignore how pale and lifeless she looked, and instead used the image as an even greater incentive to beat the little Irishman into a bloody pulp. A bloody, dead pulp.
The thought spurred Yoko into turning his attention back to Jin, still free-falling towards the ground. Flipping his body in mid-air, the silver-haired demon pressed his feet into the underside of an approaching branch, and pushed off so violently that the tree shook from the launch. He was catching up to Jin now, his hair and clothes flapping from his speed. Some twenty feet from the ground, they were level with each other.
Yoko quickly corrected this. After slipping his arm free of the vine, he cocked his fist back and slammed it into the side of Jin's face before the other apparition could even utter a sound. The wind master plowed into the ground with explosive force. He skidded, face first, across the forest floor for some distance. Landing lightly on his feet, Yoko swiftly manipulated a nearby tree's branches into a safe cradle to rest Mitsuyo's body inside. Once he was certain Jin wouldn't be able to free her easily, if the scenario in which he passed Yoko's defense arose, the fox demon focused once more on his opponent.
Yoko swore that Jin wouldn't even know what hit him.
Without warning, he pounced with cat-like strength and grace, landing beside the Irishman, who had just barely finished regaining his footing. The silver-haired fox grabbed Jin with both hands on his shoulders, and forcibly pulled him back into the ground. Instinctively, Jin flipped mid-way through the fall, and slid on the balls of his feet. He was unable to set his sights on his attacker, though, since Yoko crouched down, and slammed his knee into Jin's unprotected stomach. The air rushed out of the other apparition's lungs, and he bent at the waist, giving Yoko an opening to thrust his open hand down on the back of his head, bringing the spiky redhead to a painful collision with the ground. The same hand closed in a fist, locks of hair firmly in his grasp. When he pulled Jin back up, he immediately threw another fist in to his nose, the loud crack alerting the two of the sure break. Pleased with the results, Yoko loosened his hold just enough for Jin's head to drop, and used it to backhand the wind master across the cheek, sending him tumbling to the ground.
There was no need to further draw out the beating. Yoko had other plans for Jin. Reaching back into his hair, he plucked out another seed, and knelt to plant it into the soil just as the Irish apparition tried to rise from it. Jin wobbled a bit on his feet, shaking his head to clear his mind from the pain and doing his best to regain his bearings. He put a hand to his nose, crying out with a harsh wince at the violent throb the contact elicited. When it pulled it back to examine it, he groaned at the large collection of blood. He lifted his head, and had to stop himself from gawking. Seeing the silver fox kneeling before him was enough to send Jin's mind reeling.
"Y-Yoko Kurama?" the redhead stammered, eyes wide. He immediately attempted to take flight, cutting his losses in order to regroup and maybe try again at a more opportune moment. There ain't no way I be hanging around to see what crazy cook-up this guy's got in mind for me, Jin thought with a disbelieving laugh.
But Yoko would have none of it.
I don't think so, Yoko growled lowly. He quickly reached out for the stalk that was still wrapped around the Irishman's ankle before it could slip into the air, and caught it in a firm grip. Then, he pounded the end into the ground, pouring his Spirit Energy into the plant so that it was anchored by its newly grown roots. Now literally tethered in place, Jin had no way of escaping.
The redhead stretched for the sky, pulling in earnest at the makeshift leash. It did no good, and now that Yoko was back to growing another plant, Jin didn't need to have experience with botany to know that whatever was in that seed would not bode well for him.
"Ya won't be needing that there plant of yours, Foxy, will ya? Not for yer ol' pal Jin, yeah? C'mon, ya got yer girl, and I'm willin' to bow out of this with no hard feelin's bout the nose or anythin', so just let go of me foot, and I'll be outta yer hair!" He hovered in mid-air, waiting for a reply. Yoko seemed to act as though he hadn't heard a word Jin said, but proceeded to focus more intently on his work. The ground had begun to shift from whatever it was the silver-haired apparition was preparing.
Falling into a state of panic, Jin dove for where the vine had tied itself around his leg, and started to wind up for a Tornado Fist. He'd blast the whole damn limb off if he had to. Once the mini tornado had completely stabilized around his forearm, Jin punched it towards the thick shoot. He had no idea how much Spirit Energy Yoko had laced into it, and was immensely thankful that the fist sliced through the stalk like paper.
Now that he was free, Jin gave a whoop of joy. "Sorry pal!" he called down to Yoko, still kneeling on the ground and concentrating. "Guess we won't be finishing this brawl of ours after all! Be seein' you!"
Yoko didn't appear surprised by Jin's escape. Instead, his steely gold eyes became half-lidded as he looked up at Jin out of the corner of his eye. "Going so soon?" he muttered softly.
"Eh?" Jin blinked, in the middle of zooming up into the sky, but his big, pointy ears had caught Yoko's words.
The next few events occurred before Jin could even properly understand what happened. The ground had started to tremble and break apart, and then it seemed to erupt. Chunks of earth and stone rocketed into the air, trees were turned over, roots were exposed, and dust clouded the forest for miles. Jin, desperate to leave, created a small whirlwind to clear the air so that he could find a way to escape. What he saw instead made him freeze.
Behind him, where only air had been, was suddenly the thick trunk of a weeping willow that had popped right out of the ground, fully-grown. But it was no ordinary weeping willow. Before Jin could even so much as move a molecule of air, several thin, drooping branches whipped out and caught the Irishman in a full body-bind, trapping his legs together and his arms to his sides. The only he was capable of moving was his head, but that didn't stop him from straining against vines. He cried out as he discovered that each leaf was as sharp as a razor, and each time he twisted in the tree's grip, they cut cleanly into his skin. It did no good. The next second found the Irishman thrown to the ground at a tremendous speed, the impact jarring the earth for the second time in those past few minutes. His nose had its own heartbeat now, and the amount of blood oozing from his body had doubled. But the ride didn't end there. The branches still hadn't released Jin, and the dazed demon was once again lifted into the air, only to be swung towards the forest floor in the opposite direction. Another earsplitting crack wrenched the air as the redhead's body broke through overturned tree trunks and slammed into the ground once more.
This bruising cycle continued thrice more before the thin vines binding Jin's body loosened, and his barely conscious form flopped ungracefully to the base of the tree, bruising itself even more on the large roots below. Several new vines came into play, wrapping themselves almost gently about limp wrists and ankles, and slowly dragged Jin until his feet had left the ground, and his back was pressed firmly into the rough bark of its trunk.
With blood trickling down his temple, and various broken bones throughout his body, Jin barely had strength enough to lift his head. However, when he did, the sight nearly tore a scream from his throat. Standing in front of him, cold, golden eyes glinting harshly in the moonlight, pristine white clothing flapping carelessly in the night breeze, and with a sword made entirely out of blades of grass roping its way down his arm, was Yoko Kurama.
"Do you know where the weeping willow got its name?" the apparition asked emotionlessly, head tilted as he considered the sword on his arm. Not waiting for an answer, Yoko continued, "There are many omens that follow this specific tree, from various cultures throughout history. My favorite, though, is China's association with the weeping willow. It's used as a cemetery ornament to mark grave sights of lost loved ones. It symbolizes grief, and tears. Hence its name. Or maybe it's the name that sparked its use? I cannot say. Just as I cannot say whether this plant is really suitable to use to end your life. Since I personally cannot bring myself to grieve your passing."
"You dare touch what is mine," the silver-haired demon uttered in his gravelly voice. Lifting his head, his icy gaze pierced that of his prey's. "You dare try to steal what belongs to me."
Jin couldn't bring himself to respond.
"You dare to harm her. To allow others to harm her. These actions are all unforgivable."
The branches around his limbs began to tighten painfully, cutting into his skin. Others had begun to shake and shift eerily, moving against the breeze currently blowing.
"This moment marks the beginning; you will pay for your actions. There will be no mercy."
Each tiny leaf from every vine seemed to simply slip off, floating away from the branches and hovering in the space between Yoko and the tree to which Jin was bound. As they idled there, Jin noticed how they all seemed to shine almost metallically, and how stiff they were. With a smooth raise of Yoko's arm, the leaves started to rotate in large arcs around the willow, and Jin recognized the movement with a flash of horror -- it was the "Petals and Thorns" move, nearly the same Kurama had used at the beginning of his match against Karasu in the Dark Tournament.
"Your first mistake was to threaten Mitsuyo," the spirit fox stated stonily. "Compared to the others, this is a mere misdemeanor. So, a punishment commensurate of the deed will be dealt first. Hopefully..." Yoko trailed off, his eyes narrowing even more so, and his voice gained an icy chill, "this will warn you against trying this ever again. If you survive."
And with a movement that Jin could not detect, the leaves were unleashed upon him. His previous observations had proven correct; each leaf had a razor-sharp edge and a solidity to them that made cutting through skin simplistic.
Though he hadn't realized he still had the energy, the attack ripped howl after howl of torment from his beaten body as miniscule incisions were carved into him. Blood spurted from various places before his mind could even recognize the pain. There was no way to protect himself. At one point, he forcibly gathered his strength, hoping that one good gust of air would at least starve off the rest of his punishment and give him enough time to recuperate. He sucked in a large amount of air, compressed it, and shot it all out of his lungs in one compact air bullet, but all it seemed to do was provoke the leaves further.
None of the damage was life-threatening. After all, it was a misdemeanor's punishment. But it left Jin drained and dispirited, and his mind was continuously thrumming from the agony, making it impossible to think.
With one last outcry, the leaves retreated, and Jin slumped, thoroughly exhausted. His clothes were in tatters, having nearly been stripped away from the onslaught. The smell of blood was in the air, and he could only stare listlessly as droplets fell to the ground before his eyes. The whispered flutter on the wind told the Irishman that it wasn't over yet.
"Your second mistake," Yoko spoke again, as if he had never stopped, calmly brushing his hair back from his face, "was to make a violent move against Mitsuyo. This is a more serious offense, and will be responded to accordingly." The grass sword was still out, and Jin couldn't help but eye it with dread. Perhaps the silver-haired apparition could read his thoughts, for Yoko easily stated, raising the blade in question, "This will not be used until we get to your final mistake. We have a ways to go until we reach that point."
Once again, the willow branches began to sway dangerously, looking like hundreds of thin whips without the leaves to add any recognizable shape to their slender forms. Just by the sight of them, Jin was able to deduce what sort of torture would be added in with the leaves this second go-round.
But whatever this second stage of punishment was supposed to consist of would be left a mystery, as a long, echoing shout rang through the air.
"Kurama!"
At once, Yoko's face hardened, anger shining through the carefully fixed mask once more. He closed his eyes as he tried to focus again on his objective.
Make Jin suffer. Keep Mitsuyo safe. Protect Mitsuyo. Remove threat. End Jin.
"It seems we have company," Yoko stated out loud, his voice deceptively cool. Jin could barely keep his eyes open, so dizzy he was of the blurred images now dancing before him. "I suppose this means we must put an end to our private affairs sooner than planned. I apologize for rushing your torment, but at this point, it simply cannot be helped."
He raised the hand with the grass-blade wound down it, and shifted his legs into a crouch. It would end quickly, and nearly painlessly. But before he could make any further movements, there was a disturbance in the bushes surrounding them, and from their midst burst a haggard-looking Yusuke and Kuwabara.
"Kurama!" Yusuke said again, his voice breaking from all the yelling he had done that night. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" His eyes caught sight of their quarry hanging from the tree, his head lolling from side to side as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. Shortly after that, he saw the leaves still flitting around in the air, and the weeping willow devoid of any sort of foliage. Eyes widened noticeably. "And what the hell have you done to Jin?"
Yoko, however, was unaffected. "Good evening, Detective," he said lowly, his attention back on Jin while his sword arm was raised as if waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
Scowl deepening, Yusuke stepped up in Yoko's face, staring him down with his hard gaze. "Don't you "Good evening" me, Kurama! Yoko or not, I will not put up with this bullshit. What do you think you're doing."
"Urameshi," Kuwabara's voice called from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, the slick-haired teen noticed the pointed jab his partner was sending one tree in particular, and Yusuke immediately noticed the comatose form of Mitsuyo. He looked back at Kurama, who had yet to really show any sort of reaction to their arrival, so fixated he was on his revenge.
"Kurama," the spirit detective said in a quieter voice, putting a placating hand on Yoko's stiff shoulders. "Listen, okay? That's not Jin. You know it isn't. It's his body and all, sure, but you know that's not the real Jin."
"He still committed acts that put Mitsuyo in danger. There will be no mercy," Yoko responded in a monotone.
"Who's controlling them, huh?" Yusuke pressed. He had to find a way to get Kurama to look at him. "Who's controlling Jin and Touya? Remember back in the tournament, when we fought that crazy doctor? And those three guys had those stupid packs on that took away their free will? This is the same thing, isn't it? And we didn't kill those guys, despite all the bad things they were forced to do, did we? Did we?" If it wasn't for the fact that this was a very delicate situation, and that if he said the wrong thing, Yoko would probably flip off the deep end and start a mass murder, Yusuke would have groaned at having to talk to his friend like he was a child. "No, instead, we beat the shit out of the doctor responsible! And Akio is Jin and Touya's doctor in this case, isn't he? So, logically..." -- logically was such a Kurama word, but hopefully it would help get the message through to him -- "Logically, the person responsible for putting Mitsuyo in danger, the person who really committed all these acts against her, is Akio. Right?"
During this whole talk, Kuwabara had gone to free Mitsuyo from the tree in which she rested. It took some doing, seeing how determined Kurama was to keep the young girl safe, but before long she was cradled in his arms instead of those branches.
"Got her, Urameshi," Kuwabara informed him as he walked back over with her, avoiding all eye contact with Kurama, afraid the sight of Mitsuyo as she was would set him off again.
Yusuke nodded in return, "Good work, Kuwabara." He turned back to Kurama and said in a stern voice. "Look. Don't do anything stupid. Jin's out of the game. Even if he did put up a fight, it's three against one now. He has information about Akio, information we need to take him down. So let's get them both back to Genkai's, alright? You've made your point."
Yoko showed no outward signs of even hearing any of Yusuke's words, until a feeble groan came from the direction of Mitsuyo's body. Golden eyes jerked to the side, finally glancing away from his prey. Yusuke noticed this, and stated innocently, "She'll be coming back around soon. What d'you think she'll do when she sees you this way, and Jin strung up there like a broken puppet?"
The silver-haired fox closed his eyes at this, and when they opened again, they were green once again -- still cold, still glinting demonically, but green nonetheless.
"Alright," Yusuke sighed, relaxing noticeably. "Alright, now I'm going to go over there" -- he jabbed his thumb at the weeping willow that had become still in the last few moments -- "and get Jin down. Then we'll head to the temple. But, I swear to God, Kurama, if that thing even comes close to touching me, I will kill your tree, got it?"
As if in response, the shard-like leaves lost their rigidity and began to flutter to the ground, landing softly at Yusuke's feet. The Spirit Detective marched off, ignoring how nervous it made him feel. It was like walking into a mine field, never knowing when Kurama may just change his mind and summon those same scarlet-tainted leaves to cut them all up into bite-sized pieces.
Distant movement in the trees beside them caught both Kuwabara's and Yoko's attention. They both stilled, but Kuwabara, being the more spiritually sensitive of the two, sighed and announced, "It's just Hiei, was wondering where the brat had gone. Saying he'd watch over ya and all, then not being here when he should've..."
Yoko's green eyes darkened at the idea that his friends felt there was need to watch over him, but otherwise did not react. A few more moments of rustling bushes followed in relative silence, and then Hiei emerged as expected. However, the two motionless forms that he was carrying were not.
"Mother!" Yoko gasped, and gave a grunt of surprise and pain as the sight of his limp relative literally shocked him back into his human form. He stumbled a bit from the transformation, not used to it being quite as violent. Regaining his bearings took a little time, time that Hiei used to shortly explain the situation.
"They had arrived at the house when we made our dramatic exit. Touya was with them. I just got back from disposing of him and came back to get these two." The red-eyed demon took in the general chaos of this part of the forest, and sent a side-glance to Kurama. He hadn't been surprised to see him in his transformed state, but he was still relieved that the fox was back to normal. Not that he'd say it out loud. "I don't suppose all this is your fault, Kurama?"
The redhead turned away silently, his face emotionless. Every once in a while, his eyes would dart back to his mother, each time reassuring himself that she was physically unharmed.
"Geez," Kuwabara huffed with a scowl. "This is crazy! If Akio keeps this up, half of Toyko (Tokyo) will be knocked out and staying at Genkai's. We really need to figure out what's what before anything else happens. D'ya know if they saw anything?" He indicated to the two adults.
"They saw enough," Hiei responded shortly, now looking in the direction of Yusuke, who was making his way over with Jin draped along his back.
"Hiei, good to see you," the slick-haired teen drawled, eyeing Kurama's mother and her boyfriend with an exasperated look. "Guess that explains where you were when Kurama was going badass on this one here."
Hiei didn't see it prudent to respond. A mere "hn" sufficed.
"Since we're done here, I suggest we leave before any one of these guys decide to join in on the conversation," Kuwabara said, re-situating Mitsuyo in his arms.
"Yeah," Yusuke nodded. "Let's head out."
Kurama wordlessly reached out to relieve Hiei of his mother's body, his gaze doing a repetitive sweep between her and Mitsuyo. There wasn't much else that mattered to him at this point. So, with each person supporting another, the group dashed off to their destination.
~`*`~
"...There," Yukina said quietly as she finished sprinkling the sleeping powder over Hatanaka and Shiori's faces. Placing the pestle and mortar down next to the futon the two adults rested on, she turned to give Kurama a reassuring smile. "They'll be out until tomorrow morning at the latest, along with the others. They should be fine until then."
After Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei returned with Mitsuyo and the others, they arrived at the temple to find Botan and Genkai waiting for them, grave looks on their faces. Everything was different than what had been planned before, and it was time to examine the facts. The whole gang had gathered in one of the guest rooms Genkai had set up in her temple. Hiei was kneeling at the room's kotatsu (1) as Genkai tended to his various injuries. Yusuke and Kuwabara, having already been seen to, sat by the shoji doors lost in thought. Kurama also had been treated by Yukina before, and was leaning against a nearby wall, eyes fixed on his mother.
The redhead nodded wordlessly at Yukina's report. Though he hadn't uttered a single word since they came back with Mitsuyo, Yukina understood. Wordlessly, she packed up the various herbs Kurama had instructed her to use in order to recreate the powder, and left the room.
Silence remained.
"So what now?" Kuwabara asked roughly.
Botan cleared her throat, standing idly to the side as she announced, "Koenma told me to inform you all that the Kajima residence has been seen to by a Spirit World official. They're writing off the destruction as a gas explosion. Luckily, the Kajimas have good insurance, so they'll be taken care of shortly. He also said that it would be best to erase the memories of last night from all of Mitsuyo's and...Kurama's family, and return them to their homes once they're able to go. After that, though, he said the course of action is up to you. As long as Akio gets taken out."
"Right," huffed Yusuke from his side of the room. "Because that's so easy to do, taking Akio out?"
"And what about Jin and Touya, huh?" Kuwabara added. "That Isamu jerk said that we couldn't save them ourselves, that they were the ones that had to get free from whatever it was Isamu did. Is there anything we can do to make it easy on 'em?"
"We don't know," Botan shrugged helplessly. "You have to remember, Akio's the only human on record that's been able to accomplish these things. As far as what Akio's capable of, we're totally in the dark! We haven't developed methods of dealing with these things yet..."
"It's late," Genkai cut in quietly as finished tying up the stitches she'd sewn in Hiei's arm. Snipping the thread, the psychic wound gauze around the wound before she started packing up her medical kit, still speaking in her soft voice, "It's late, and we've all had a few battles we need to recover from. Rest tonight, and we'll try again tomorrow. With situations like these, it's best to take things a day at a time."
Kurama suddenly spoke, his voice low and cool, "One of us should take watch tonight, just to be safe." It was a silent understanding that he was volunteering for the job.
"I'll inform Koenma of everyone's conditions," Botan said, summoning her oar and preparing to take off for Spirit World. "Maybe he'll have some suggestions that I can report back to you all by tomorrow."
"Thanks, Botan," Yusuke mumbled with his head bowed. The next instant, the shoji doors were open, and the pilot of the river Styx flew up into the sky and out of sight.
There was a beat of silence in which no one said a word. Then, without any noticeable prompting, Kuwabara stood up and left the room. Following him was Genkai. Hiei, after giving Kurama a quick, searching glare, flitted out of the temple to his perch in one of the trees outside, leaving only Kurama and Yusuke in the room.
"Hey...Kurama," Yusuke started hesitantly. He slowly got up and walked over to where Kurama was leaning, keeping his head down so as to avoid looking the stony fox demon. Guilt tugged at his shoulders, but he kept them up in an effort to show maturity and strength for his companion. Yusuke knew he was a bit out of line back at the Kajima house, and wanted to apologize. However, facing an angry animal apparition was a bit intimidating to say the least. Remembering what had occurred not too long ago, the teen experienced a sudden wave of sympathy for Jin. Poor bastard had to face the full wrath and barely survived.
Kurama's eyes released their locked gaze on his mother's still face in order to connect with the boy who came closer, giving Yusuke his full attention.
"I...I just wanted to apologize for what I said back there," the Spirit Detective said in a quiet tone. "At the house. I-I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."
He looked up and was a bit taken aback to see that Kurama had cracked a small smile. His glittering emerald eyes were still stony and cut with anger, but the tenseness in his posture had lessened somewhat. "There's no need for apologies," the redhead replied, the gravelly voice still not sounding like his own since his detransformation from Yoko. "I should not have instigated the argument. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine. Though I believe partial credit should go to the demon that accompanied Jin tonight."
Yusuke gave in to a small smile in return. "All the same, I just wanted to make sure you knew I didn't mean anything I said. You're a strong, smart fighter, Kurama, and a respectable guy. I never forget that. I think...I think I'm beginning to understand why you've been so off lately."
At once the fox demon's stance stiffened, and the smile, while still in place, grew bitter. "I appreciate your kind words," he rasped gruffly, completely disregarding that last comment. "You give me far more credit than I deserve."
Yusuke respected the silent message. "Right," he said, and took an unsure step back. Then, grinning his defeat, the black-haired teen turned and made to leave the nearly empty room. When he reached the shoji doors, the young Spirit Detective glanced over his shoulder at the still form of his companion.
"Kurama," he called.
The redhead didn't respond in any manner, but Yusuke knew he was listening.
He paused again, thinking over his words, before giving a reassuring smirk as he said, "You...should talk to her. I think you should."
Yusuke waited for a reply, but after a few moments of silence, he guessed he wouldn't get one. He wasn't surprised, but felt a bit disappointed. Reaching for the grip in the door, Yusuke paused when he heard a quiet, "Why?"
Sliding the door open a couple inches, Yusuke sighed. "Because she needs to know," the abnormally serious boy answered, before pulling the door open wider and exiting, shutting it gently behind him.
~`*`~
Yusuke's duffle bag was oddly full, or so Mitsuyo thought as she listlessly observed its contents. "Oddly", because what purpose did belongings have when one ran towards the arms of death?
A small part of her was sure that she was overreacting. Making rash decisions. Being immature. Sure, she had just endangered everyone she had ever loved and cared for, along with her newfound friends who were doing everything in their power to protect her, but at least everyone was alive, right? It was forgivable, right?
Yeah. Right, Mitsuyo rolled her eyes at the notion.
Kuwabara had been the one to explain the night's events to her when she had finally come to. He told her about Jin taking off with her, and Kurama losing his composure trying to get her back -- though the carrot-top teen did hastily elaborate that Kurama hadn't really lost control, he had just been really angry and stressed, but she knew that he was just attempting to make her feel better about how Kurama had reacted. She hadn't believed him. Kuwabara also told her about Kurama's parents and brother, and her own family, and how they were all resting in various parts of the temple. When she had asked if she could go see her parents, even her little brother, Kuwabara had sheepishly informed her that it wouldn't be a good idea, seeing as they were knocked out by Kurama's powder and shouldn't be woken up at the moment. Apparently they were going to need their memories modified. Humans shouldn't know anything about demons or Spirit World, after all.
Her next question was of Kurama, and if she could see him. Kuwabara hadn't known how to answer that request, saying that he didn't know where he was or if he was willing to have company.
"Just because of tonight, ya know, he may have gone on a walk to cool off," he added hastily at her downcast expression. "I'm sure he'll come by and see you once he's back to normal, you know? He was just worried, probably doesn't want you seeing him acting like an actual human being.." It was probably meant as a joke, but Mitsuyo agreed full-heartedly. Kurama hardly ever acted human. The fact that her brief kidnapping had brought that out in him terrified her.
She was going to go to Akio. She would give herself up so that no one else would be hurt. Not her family. Not her friends. Not Kurama. It'd all be over.
Mitsuyo wasn't planning on helping Akio with his whole "taking over the world" plan, of course. She'd die before that happened.
The idea was fairly simple. She figured if she made it look like she had run away, Kurama and the gang would think she'd ran to avoid her fate, and try to track her down by going to places they'd think she'd go. If she just left everything, they would probably think she had been kidnapped by Akio's men, and know exactly where to go. Since that was the one place she didn't want them going to find her, Mitsuyo figured she had better pack. That way, even if Kurama and Yusuke and the others wanted to find her, they would probably think she had left town. That she was a coward, and had tried to escape.
Better thought a coward than a suicidal fool, Mitsuyo though to herself, not exactly pleased with the idea, but knowing it was for the best. Or is it essentially the same thing? Then again, what does it matter? The ending won't change.
Mitsuyo had packed all the essentials -- clothes, food, the basics -- and grabbed as many objects as she could get away with. Most didn't have any sort of use to her, but the point was to collect things that would be obvious in their absence. She needed everyone to see she had taken things and left. She'd wait for nightfall, when everyone was asleep. While her evasive talents seemed to be on par with Hiei's, Mitsuyo didn't want to risk a confrontation. After that, she'd just walk. The girl didn't know the first place to look for Akio, but knowing him and his persistence, the evil bastard would no doubt have scouts around the place, just waiting for an opportunity to get her.
With a sigh, Mitsuyo sank onto the futon that she had used when she had been here training, and waited.
I'm actually going to do this, she thought blankly to herself, surprised at the amount of conviction she felt every time she mentally went over the plan. This will actually happen. I really will do this.
A knock on the door abruptly yanked her out of her stupor. Panic washed over her as Mitsuyo realized that she had left the bag with all her things laying out in the open. Surely if it were Genkai or Yusuke, they would wonder what she was packing for, and the whole plan would be blown.
"J-Just a minute!" Mitsuyo called out, hastily grabbing the bag and throwing it into the sliding closet door beside her bed. "I'm naked!" she added for insurance. Scanning the room to make sure she hadn't missed anything too revealing, Mitsuyo plopped back on the bed and said, "Okay, c'mon in!"
It was Kurama.
Or his head, at least, but Mitsuyo figured the rest of him was still attached to it and was just waiting outside the doors.
"Hello," the redhead said lowly, his eyes briefly meeting with hers before slipping to the side, uncomfortable. Mitsuyo didn't mind, she found it hard to keep eye contact with him, too.
"Hey," she said back, standing again in order to nervously stuff her hands into her pockets.
The two said nothing more, allowing the atmosphere to thicken with tension for a few beats of silence, before Kurama asked in an almost desperate voice, "Could we perhaps...talk for a moment...please?"
I'm not going to stay, Mitsuyo said quietly. No matter what we say to each other, I won't be the cause of anyone's hurt anymore. I'm going to leave.
"Sure," she acquiesced, backing up as if to give him room to enter, even though there was plenty of room to begin with. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Just..." Kurama started with a shake of his head as he stepped inside the room. He rubbed the back of his neck with something akin to shame, his gaze still downcast. "About tonight. I must apologize--"
"No, Kurama, it was all me," Mitsuyo interrupted quickly. She took a small step forward in earnest, "I should have listened to you, and waited to talk with you later, or something. If I hadn't been so intent on proving my worth to you guys, then..."
"Mitsuyo, you have nothing to prove to us," whispered the spirit fox quietly. Mitsuyo didn't hear or see him approach, since her eyes were studying the floor intently, but when she felt warm hands cupping her face and lifting it, she was suddenly all to aware of Kurama's presence. "Not when you have already proven so much over the past two weeks. Put any other human in your position and she would be a nervous wreck the second she learned anything that you have. You persevered where anyone else would have failed. That alone has shown us what a strong-willed and powerful asset you are, no matter the company you find yourself in. I..." Kurama faltered a bit, voice catching at the sudden emotion he was feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I apologize for making all of this even more difficult for you. I have... no excuses that could stand to reason. The only thing that I can say for certain is that...everything I have done was in the effort that you might be kept safe. I kept you in the dark because I thought it would protect you. I did not want to involve you in the fight because I knew that while you were in danger, I could not perform to the best of my abilities... I would be too worried about you to focus."
All of this information was starting to make Mitsuyo's knees go weak. Holding on to Kurama's wrists with her own hands, she tried to clear her head. Somehow, clearing her head also meant clearing her throat, and it hurt more than it normally would have. Her throat felt tight. "Uhum," Mitsuyo said in a tremulous voice, shaking her head slightly as if it would somehow encourage her brain to work. "What are you trying to say?"
Kurama sighed, a pained sound that made Mitsuyo's heart clench achingly in her chest, and removed one hand to comb the loose strands of hair from the brunette's face. Illuminated in the moonlight, the girl's skin glowed with a haunting beauty that effortlessly kept Kurama's attention from wavering.
"What I have been trying not to think, let alone say, for the past week, Mitsuyo."
Mitsuyo's brain seemed to be short-circuiting. She couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around all the things that Kurama had shared with her this evening. Maybe it was partly due to exhaustion from all the kidnapping that had gone on only a few hours prior, maybe it was because of the denials she had been feeding herself since long before that, but she just couldn't grasp the hints the fox seemed to be dropping for her.
"That you're sorry?" she offered distractedly, slowly coming to realize that Kurama's face was a lot closer than it had been before.
His nose brushed lightly against hers, and butterflies immediately erupted in Mitsuyo's stomach.
"That I might feel something more than friendly towards you."
Those words made Mitsuyo's butterfly-invested stomach flip-flop. Idly, she wondered if the butterflies were okay when that happened, as it had occurred a few times before now.
Don't be silly, she told herself. Butterflies fly, so they're not affected by the stomach flipping. If they had landed on the stomach, then they'd be flipped too, but butterflies are tough, they can handle being flipp-- okay, why am I thinking about butterflies when it looks like Kurama's about to ki...
"Kurama," she murmured softly. Any more movement than that, and their mouths would have most certainly... "I don't want to be your pity case."
Pulling back a few centimeters, Mitsuyo saw those clear, emerald eyes pin hers with an unwavering stare. The girl clung to the sight; it felt like it had been forever since the last time she had seen these eyes, with that familiar twinkle, with that familiar warmth, with that familiar human aspect of Kurama that never failed to provide comfort.
"Mitsuyo," Kurama whispered back, and Mitsuyo couldn't stop herself from closing the distance he had made, as if to hear his words more clearly. Her eyes started to droop. "Under no circumstances have I ever considered you a pity case."
And then his lips were on hers.
Mitsuyo heard Kurama inhale sharply, or maybe that was her, she wasn't quite sure. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure of anything. But when the shock wore off, all she knew was this was happening, this was finally happening. This moment, this brief moment in which she was able to experience the purest form of love with the one person who seemed to drive her insane with just his very presence in her life. This person, who she had once considered unreachable. Unattainable. This one person who, on more than one occasion, opened her eyes to a new world. And now, her first kiss.
It was just an innocent pressing of lips, but as the initial sensation wore off, Mitsuyo had the urge to move. In some way. Any way. Tilting her head a bit, she brought a hand up from where she was still cleaning to Kurama's wrists to delicately stroke the soft skin of Kurama's face.
She had wanted to do that for ages. It made the butterflies flutter even more.
Kurama sighed again, sounding far less pained than it had the last time, and dropped his hands down from her face so that he could pull Mitsuyo closer by the waist, all the while moving his lips gently, reverently against hers. It was like kissing flower petals, like he had when he was younger in his human form. The idea had been foolish, but he had wanted to do it anyway, unable to truly get a handle on those strange human emotions he had felt. It had been an interesting experience. Fresh and wet from the morning dew. Only, Kurama knew for a fact that kissing flowers had never elicited such powerful reactions from him, had never made him feel as electrified or as alive as kissing Mitsuyo did.
He kept this kiss relatively short, since he was unsure how the brunette would react to this change in their relationship. Withdrawing regretfully, the redhead pressed on last lingering peck on Mitsuyo's trembling bottom lip before resting his forehead against Mitsuyo's. He breathed in deeply through his nose in order to regain some semblance of control before he pushed Mitsuyo farther than she probably wanted to go. Keeping his eyes half-lidded, Kurama waited patiently for the girl to open hers, wishing to see what was going on in her head.
For her part, Mitsuyo had no idea when her eyes had closed, or if she even wanted to open them anymore. Who would she see in front of her this time? She had seen too many faces of Kurama to know for sure.
It took a bit of effort, but she finally gathered the strength necessarily to awaken from the drunken daze Kurama's kiss seemed to have pulled her into. Fluttering her eyes, Mitsuyo blinked up at Kurama, who still had that look in his eyes, the look that made Mitsuyo's breath hitch and her heart skip a beat.
I'm going to leave tonight, she remembered, and suddenly the desperation the brunette felt tripled. The space between her heart and her throat seemed to constrict in the most painful of ways. Threading her fingers through Kurama's long, luscious mane (yes, it was definitely softer than she had first suspected), Mitsuyo pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and caught the redhead's lips in another kiss.
This one was not so innocent. Mitsuyo still had no idea what to do, as inexperienced as she was, but she followed the emotions that instigated all of this, and they seemed to steer her well. Fire burned in her veins, and the frantic pounding in her chest blocked out all the noise her mind was screaming.
Kurama, caught off-guard by the abrupt display of affection, was quickly swept away, all the control he had tried to collect getting knocked down in the process, like an unstable tower of blocks. He crushed her body into his, sucking and nibbling on her pliant lips, encouraging her to reciprocate. Mitsuyo was overwhelmed the passion flowing inside her, and granted the redhead access without much thought.
Despite how forgone his rationality seemed to be, Kurama was not in any way brutal with his affection. Through sensual, almost teasing, techniques, he coaxed Mitsuyo into play, teaching her and guiding her through the steps he had almost forgotten after years of disuse. Their tongues, teeth, and lips seemed to work as one, anxious to express every emotion they seemed to be experiencing in their very bones.
After what felt like a century, the two parted, gasping for breath and flushed from the toll their feelings had on their bodies. Mitsuyo instinctively snuggled closer to Kurama, unwilling to separate for fear that reality would come crashing down on her again. She had no idea what had come over her then. She had been so sure that she was prepared to sacrifice herself, for the good of her parents, of the human world. Of Kurama. Of everyone.
Now she didn't want to go.
I have to, Mitsuyo whimpered internally, pressing her face into Kurama's chest to stifle the tears she felt burning behind her eyes. This is something bigger than just me.
"Stay the night?" she heard herself whisper brokenly to the redhead, who had wordlessly started to stroke her back, up and down, in a comforting manner.
"Of course," Kurama responded just as quietly, gently leading her over to the futon that Mitsuyo had prepared shortly before Kurama had arrived. He was still reeling from the girl's reaction, not knowing how to progress from here, or how to even keep himself in check any more. It had been a long time since a female had tested his self-control like Mitsuyo just had. And Mitsuyo was completely new to this. God help him when she actually became a practiced lover.
He tried not to think about it.
Without another word, the two got under the covers, dressed as they were, and cuddled back together, with Kurama on his back and protectively cradling Mitsuyo against his chest. He tried to ignore the increasingly damp spot blooming on his shirt, or the silently shaking shoulders of the girl he held in his arms. It hurt him, not knowing why she was crying like this. His first thoughts were that maybe he had pushed her too far, scared her with the intensity of his passion, but Mitsuyo had asked him to stay.
Mitsuyo had asked him to stay.
With that one thought comforting him, he continued to comfort the weeping girl, and as her breathing slowed, so did his, and Kurama slipped off into a restless sleep.
~`*`~
Shortly after being captured and treated, Touya and Jin had been placed in a separate room, each having been administered with a heavy dose of Kurama's sleeping pollen. Yusuke, who had taken over the night shift, had slipped outside onto the patio of the temple for a little stargazing. No one could blame him. It was nearly dawn, with the barest hint of the sunrise dusting the horizon in a golden glow, and the Spirit Detective had been up all night just like the rest of the gang, running around and fighting battles.
However, it was during this slack in security that two new figures flitted out of the forest surrounding the temple and into the compound unnoticed. Though one was obviously much taller and bulkier than the other, they were equally light on their feet as they sneaked into the room containing their comatose companions. They had suppressed their spirit energy as far as they could go to remain undetected by any of the others inside the temple.
As the two stood over Touya and Jin, they wordlessly stooped, each taking one of their sleeping bodies and draping it across their backs. Then, without another sound, they slipped out the shoji doors and back into the cover of the foliage. In a matter of seconds, they were on their way back to Akio's compound. The infiltrators had agreed that it would be a rescue mission only, despite how eager Rinku was to try out his new yoyo attacks. If their numbers were greater, then they would stand a better chance.
"We'll let the chaps have the night," Chu had said, "and we'll get 'em tomorra when we're all good and ready to have a healthy brawl, yeah?"
"Fine," Rinku sighed with a slight whine. They would have the night to recuperate. Tomorrow, or maybe the day after, would be when the fun started.
In the other room, where Kurama was still soundly asleep, Mitsuyo quietly slipped into a new pair of clothes and grabbed her runaway bag. On the small coffee table resting in the middle of the room was a note that said, plainly:
I'm sorry. Guess I'm not as strong as you think I am. Please don't come looking for me.
xx Mitsuyo
She went to the open window across the way and, with a small, lingering glance over her shoulder at the oblivious redhead, Mitsuyo placed her hands on the sill, and escaped into the dawn.
~`*`~
.:AN:.
(1) A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself.
The end of the chapter, and the beginning of the end of the story! What's Mitsuyo planning, and how will this help take Akio out? How will Kurama take Mitsuyo's disappearance? And what'll happen when Chu and Rinku jump into the mix? Mwahaha...here's a hint: Did we forget about the necklace? It'll make a reappearance in the near future.
The stuff Yoko shared about weeping willows is true, in case anyone was curious. I was, which is what made me look it up, and I thought it was really interesting. There's other stuff about the weeping willow too, but it didn't really apply, so I left it out.
The status of chapter twenty-two is coming along slowly, but since the start of the busy months is about to hit, I can't guarantee that progress will pick up at all. I suppose we'll see what happens, though either way, this story will be completed soon. I think I said there'd be maybe four chapters left, and that's if I spread things out. It could very well be three, or even two. We'll see!
And yes, the title of this chapter is taken from the song by Three Days Grace (don't own!). I thought it was appropriate, since the lyrics are similar to the situations of both Mitsuyo, Jin, and Kurama...in various contexts, of course. Probably the others too, if you really twist the lyrics...I don't know, actually, I just thought it worked. (shrugs).
Conscience: (appears out of thin air) Aren't you supposed to be dead? I hit you with my "Payne Killer" gas!
No! All it did was make me laugh really really hard at inappropriate times! Now you will pay...
Conscience: (gulps before promptly disappearing back to where all consciences reside -- in Hawaii)