A/N: You know, I wrote this entire story in third person before thinking "oh, no, I want it in first." It's funny looking at the third person and comparing it with first. It's also extremely annoying to write all of it over when you've got it done.
The story goes fast because the Dark Tournament isn't... Quite important in the story.
Ah, looks like we'll have to up the rating.
Um, if you recognize a certain name in this, it wasn't with Sailor Moon: Hearts In Ice in mind. Though I love Sailor Moon, the name happened to be a coincidence. If you have no idea what I mean, carry on!
Inevitable
Chapter Two
Present Day
I like watching brawls between fighters. I like to be as close as I can, so I can smell their energy radiating off of them. But I only love watching brawls when the fighters have depth, deftness, and daring. And I adore when fighters have that certain spark. These two fighters in the ring now definitely had that spark.
Naomi and Micherure looked on from Koenma's box, eating snacks. I, however, sat on the ledge that separated the teams from the spectators.
The Knife-Edge Death Match had begun. Yusuke, who I personally wanted to succeed, threw punch after knuckle-busting punch at Chu. Chu returned the favors equally. I was mesmerized, as were many.
Sometimes, one can only know another person by feeling their punches, by communicating through their fists. The way a person fights says much about their personality.
"Hey! LITTLE GIRL!" A voice pulled me from my thoughts. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, WE CAN'T SEE!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I turned around, glaring. "I'm trying to watch the fight. That's my friend down there. If you don't shut your mouth, I'll rip off your head and eat you for dinner!" That wasn't entirely a lie.
"Yes, ma'am." The ugly, horned demon settled down, and I continued being enthralled with the dance of fists.
"Oh, head-butt," I whispered. "Definitely the finishing move." I held my breath.
"The winner is Yusuke Urameshi!" The announcer-girl Koto cried. Gasping for air, I slipped down from my roost onto the grass and ran towards the victorious team.
"Ruruna, I didn't know you were watching the fight," Botan murmured.
"Of course I was! Why else would I be here? Yusuke, you were amazing!"
"Thanks." He flashed a smile.
"Such focus. I've never seen a human fight like you before!" I clapped. "I know, let's go eat! It's on me."
"Great! I think I found my new best friend," Yusuke joked. "I'm starved."
-
"You're a lot different than I thought you'd be," mused Yusuke.
"How'd you think I'd be?" I asked, sipping my soda.
"More like him." He pointed towards Hiei.
"No?"
"Toldja there was something weird about her," Kuwabara muttered.
"So, I take it you're a fighter with those arms." Yusuke gestured at me. "Why aren't you in the tournament?"
"Not to sound egotistical or anything, but, to tell the truth, there's nothing to be gained by me butchering you all. I mean, it'd be great fighting Toguro or something. But even if I was in the tourney, I'd lose. It's fixed."
"How d'you know that?" Yusuke asked. "I almost got my ass kicked out there."
"Trust me. The only reason you're here is to fight Toguro."
"She's right," Kurama said. "Toguro wants to fight you more than you know, Yusuke."
"Let's play cards." I produced a deck from my pocket. "What d'you wanna play?"
"Hmm. You always did like cards," commented Kurama.
"Let's play bullshit. I'll deal." Yusuke took the cards from me. "You two know each other?"
"Back in the Makai," I replied. "That was what? Five hundred and fifty years ago?"
"Almost."
"Wow. You look good for five hundred something, Ruruna." Yusuke looked me over.
"Haha! I'm older. I actually don't remember my age."
"You're three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six," Naomi said, counting on her fingers. "At least, I'm going on Micherure's age. She's just twenty years older than you. And I'm sev-"
"That's enough, Naomi-chan, you're making me feel old..." I sorted my cards.
"You are old," Kurama said.
"Thanks, thanks a lot."
"Two aces." Botan put down her cards.
"I wonder what the other teams are doing right now," pondered Kuwabara.
"So do I." Yusuke looked out the window.
--
I had a bad feeling as soon as the committee decided to have Urameshi's team fight two teams in a row. Due to this feeling, I jumped down to the grass to offer encouragement while Kurama explained to Yusuke that the third team they must face used Team Masho as a pseudonym, and that their true title was the Shinobi of the Spirit World.
"Be careful," I warned. Suddenly, a bulletin appeared, asking that the team be checked out by a doctor. "And here comes the part I hate..."
A woman clad in nurse's garb walked out of the doctor's tent. Her energy did not comfort me. Within a few minutes, my feeling got worse as I saw Hiei and the person I now knew officially as Genkai trapped in the medical tent.
Moments passed, and I could see the gears in Kurama's head turning as his eyes darted over the five members of Team Masho.
"I know what you're thinking," I said. "You've got to win three."
"Right." Kurama took his place in the ring alongside Gama, Master of Disguise. I bit down on my lip, wondering what would happen.
The paint of Gama found its way onto Kurama within five minutes. I did not like where the match was going. Kurama could barely use his left leg, as he dragged it across the ring. His nimbleness decreased drastically; the paint held down all his limbs.
"KURAMA!" Yusuke and I bellowed. But it was no use- the painter danced around him, laughing. And suddenly, the battle changed. Because his neck was free, Kurama was able to use a rosewhip by connecting it to his hair. Gama was sliced into pieces immediately, but had not been killed.
"YEAH!"
"WAY TO GO, KURAMA!" Gama painfully trodded over to Kurama, smiling. I frowned. The Master of Disguise moved strangely while Kurama spoke with him. I dashed to a different vantage point; I understood why Gama felt so confident.
"KURAMA, KURAMA, YOUR CLOTHES!" He was too into the match to hear me, and the deafening chants of the audience did not help. The crowd quieted when they saw Gama fall and Koto began to speak.
"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" She began the count. From where he lay, Gama began to laugh and explained the thing I had been trying to convey. The Makeup of the Seal.
"I don't like this," Yusuke cried. Gama died, and Touya the Ice Master took his place, announcing that Gama would not die in vain.
"He needs to get out of there," I whispered. But that was not to be. The second fight took place. Everything went cold, and Kurama regained the power to move.
"What's happening in there?!" Yusuke was frustrated.
"From what I can hear, Touya's very, very intelligent. He can match wits with Kurama." As we spoke, Kurama took multiple hits from ice attacks, trying desperately to dodge, but to no avail.
"Damn."
"Kurama thinks he can cancel out Gama's seal by using his blood to counter it... But that won't be enough blood to beat Touya."
"Augh! That means he'd have to use all the blood he has to beat him!"
"Right."
"What're his options, then?"
"... You don't want to know."
"DAMMIT! KURAMA, JUST STAY DOWN AND I'LL GET HIM!!"
"He won't do that, Yusuke."
"I know..."
"Wow, people, Touya's created a sword out of ice! It's the barbaric finish we've been waiting for!"
"KURAMA!" Yusuke feared for his friend's life. I did too. Blood dripped from his body, mixing with Gama's paint.
"Kurama... I know what you're going to do, but I wish you'd just accept defeat..." I sniffled. The Ice Master chased Kurama around the ring with his ice sword, and Kurama dodged to the best of his ability. Finally, Kurama began to make his move. I held my breath again.
"TELL FOX GIRL YOU GIVE UP! I SWEAR I'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE." Kurama looked to be losing as he fell to the ground with a gash in his arm. Yusuke yelled at him. But I knew all the options Kurama had. I didn't think I wanted to actually see the outcome, though.
"Let me do what I must, Yusuke," Kurama said. Yusuke stared at him with wide eyes, as did I. My eyes began to water, and Kurama resumed the fight.
At what Touya intended to be the last blow, plant shoots flew out of Kurama's body and into Touya's stomach. Touya fell.
"What?" The boy I stood beside was puzzled.
"He put... the Death Plant into his body..."
"Now I'll take the next one!" Yusuke smirked.
"No, no look!!" I ran to the edge of the ring.
"KURAMA!"
"Wait, people, Kurama still has a faint heartbeat. It appears he's slipped into unconsciousness while he's still on his feet!!"
"Okay, let's take him out the ring." Yusuke was ready to get Kurama out of there, but the next fighter of Team Masho stepped up. He claimed that because Kurama stood in the ring, he could fight.
"NO! I'M TAKING THIS ONE!"
"It's... fixed..." I whispered to myself. "Kurama..." For the first time in a while, I began to cry, looking at Kurama's bloody and beaten body. I didn't even hear the announcement that Kurama would indeed fight Bakken.
"That's a buncha shit," cried Yusuke. "HE ISN'T EVEN CONSCIOUS!!"
"KURAMA! WAKE UP!" I screamed. Bakken planted a right hook onto Kurama's sleeping face. Punch after bone-breaking punch, Bakken pummeled the redhead's fragile, human body.
"Th-this is unf-f-fairrr!!" I sobbed. The undignified brute, with Kurama in his grasp, pulled his arm back to deliver another blow.
"Bakken, stop!" The team leader called out.
"But why, Risho?"
"Lay him outside of the ring."
"Huh? He killed our friends!"
"Yes, and you would've been killed too." Bakken looked behind him, at Yusuke. I looked to my right at Team Urameshi's leader. He had his Reigan aimed for the oversized demon.
"Fine, take your precious buddy!" He hurtled Kurama's worn body towards our side.
"AH!" I sprinted over to catch him. With Yusuke's help, I carried him to a safe place and sat next to him.
"He'll be alright," I assured Yusuke. "Just go get him. He has no honor."
"Right." Yusuke ran off.
"How're you?" I looked at the person I cradled in my hands.
"I'll live. The Death Plant is going to take a lot of concentration to get rid of."
"I'm sure."
"Are you- Were you, er, crying?"
"Of course I was. You almost died. Yusuke would've cried too if you died." I sighed and slowly continued, "Why'd you leave back then?"
"I had found everything I wanted, so it was time for me to go."
"So you figured out what I am?"
"No. But I did observe two things."
"Which were?"
"You're old."
"Duh. You're old too, in theory."
"No. You're old, but you don't get older. Your body seems like it's in suspended animation. Demons are known for longevity, but all demons I know of look mature by the age you are. You do not. Therefore, I supposed you had made a soul pact of some sort."
"You're clever, Kurama-sama. But I didn't make a soul pact."
"Oh?" We sat in silence, watching Yusuke pummel Bakken into the crowd.
"Got any other ideas for my youthful appearance?" I asked.
"No."
"My body stopped growing at the age of seventeen. That's all I'll say."
"Kind of you to give me information, but I did not say what the other thing I knew was."
"Tell me."
"I believe you received that bite from Micherure when you were an infant."
"Yes. But it is not Tigress poison that stopped my age progression. My... mother is the same way."
"Is? She's still alive?"
"Yes."
"Impressive. Anything else you'll tell me?"
"No. Figure it out for yourself." The wind picked up, and Yusuke began his bout with the fourth member of Team Masho. "Oh, so that's Jin."
"Jin the Wind Master, yes. Do you know him?"
"He battled Naomi once."
"Who was the victor?"
"Jin."
"What?"
"Precisely what I said. He would be one of only two people to defeat the Portentous Papillon. But I suppose it's because he controls the wind. Naomi's power comes from her voice. She sings while she fights. He can suck the air out of her lungs with a tornado once he gets going. And Naomi has a butterfly's wings, and can't take strong breezes, let alone gale force winds," I explained. "Which is why she now uses chakrams as her weapon. She used to use a ring sword, but Jin could control wind, so when she threw it like a Frisbee, he could manipulate it. Chakrams cannot be deviated by the wind."
"What will happen when Naomi sees the person who defeated her?"
"She's completely in love with him." I began to laugh. "It's why she's hesitant to fight him again."
"I can find no sense in that."
"They fought for hours, Kurama-sama. Speaking with fists, touching someone through pain. You have never fought with just your skin, so you would not know."
"Hm."
"He was the only person whose hits resonated in her."
"Does he know that?"
"She's... shy." Kurama began to chuckle.
"I can't think of Naomi being shy. The very first time I ever met her as Youko, she told me that I was one of the most handsome demons she'd ever met."
"Yeah, well, she isn't head-over-heels for you. You shouldn't exert yourself by laughing or talking anymore. Concentrate on getting that stupid plant out of your system."
"Of course." He directed his attention to the match.
--Five Hundred Years Earlier--
Steam wafted upwards towards the heavens as the water rushed downward to the earth. The hot springs in Ganderra were legendary for their healing powers, and I had the privilege of bathing in them. Located in a large cave, the springs were only accessible through one opening.
Though the baths were supposed to soothe me, I felt somewhat uneasy, like I was being watched. Eyes always made me nervous. I couldn't hear anything, though, due to the waterfall, and the sulfur in the water filled my nostrils so I could not distinguish smells. And the steam decreased visibility. I tried to push these thoughts from my mind, but when I heard a splash, I stood up.
"... Are you... watching me?" I called out.
"No. I have more honor than that. I knew not you were here- I thought the springs would be vacated this time of night."
"K-Kurama-sama?" I grabbed my towel, wrapping it around me protectively.
"If you wish me to leave, I will."
"N-no... You just startled me, is all."
"Oh." I turned, facing the waterfall and adjusted the towel.
"You have strange markings on your back," Kurama said. "They don't go with the other markings on your body. Almost like they were etched into your skin."
"You are watching me."
"What are they?"
"Wings," I replied. I thought it strange that he did not know. Then again, my dark hair did cover my back normally. It was pinned to my head now.
"Tigers have wings?"
"No. The other half of me does."
"Oh." I sat on one of the rocks the water, as he took a seat across from me, near the entrance.
"So... how are you?" I asked. The silence unsettled me.
"Peachy."
"Kurama-sama?" He looked my way. "Never mind. I think I'm going back now." With a towel over him, Kurama stood as I edged my way over to the opening of the cave. I didn't pay any attention to his actions, figuring that he, too, was leaving the hot springs. Delving into my thoughts, I allowed my legs to lead me down the short, wooded path to the side door of the house. Eventually, I entered my room.
"You really can be unwary," said Kurama, startling me. He sat in my room, wearing his normal clothes.
"You can be bold."
"Why do you take the long way to your room?" He asked. "You seemed to walk through every hallway murmuring gibberish to yourself before coming in here. You could've been attacked."
"By who?"
"Naturally, I could have."
"That would have been a stupid thing to do." I sighed, moving into the next room and closing the sliding doors. I talked to him as I dressed. "I didn't notice where I was going. I just walked."
"The people of your city leave you to your devices. You have no servants, no handmaids, no nothing."
"Of course not. I don't need them. I don't want to have the denizens of this city doing frivolous things for me when they could be building up. I have a dream for them- they could be the greatest kingdom with tall buildings and money for all."
"How quixotic, poetic."
"So are you, when you decide to talk. Why so eager to speak today, Kurama-sama?" He did not answer. I slid the door open, and my eyes met Kurama's torso, as he blocked the doorframe. I had not even heard a sound from him, let alone his movement to the front of the door. I slowly looked up.
"Excuse me," I said. He still stood. "Any moment you choose, you can move out of the way." He glanced down at me with a strange glint in his eyes and placed his hands on my arms.
"I noticed something about your fighting style," he mused. "That your one weakness is brute strength. You're strong, but still delicate like a woman. Docile, too, actually. Your only hope would be to fight arm's length away, and if they get too close, you'd use energy to repel them. But you won't do that to me, not now."
"Let me go." However, he was right- his grip was like a vice. His legs were apart; I couldn't use his weight against him by swaying him to the side. Almost two feet separated his face from mine. That eliminated a head-butt.
"No struggles?"
"Your claws are digging into my arms."
"I won't make you bleed."
"If you did, you'd be good as dead." I wanted to use my legs, but he was pushing me down. Picking up my feet would do nothing. I couldn't kick him- we were too close. And I did not want to burn his fingers with my aura, or use my shockwave fists. The strength of that attack was fused with my anger, and I was fuming; the force of it would amputate a limb or severely injure him.
"Hurry, Ruruna-dono, try something."
"Checkmate, I get it. Now let me go."
"So you're helpless."
"Sure, if you want to call it hat." What he did next surprised me.
After taking a step back, the Kitsune's lips crashed onto mine. I resisted it for a moment, but something made me relax and let him take over. I loosened my lips, and his tongue traveled inside, touching mine. He pulled back, preferring to move to my ears.
"I moved; you can kick me to make me release you now," whispered Kurama. True, his vice grip had not been removed and I could swiftly kick his knee and break his kneecaps. His mouth moved to my neck, kissing and grazing his teeth against my flesh. A moan escaped from me. I felt his lips turn up into a smile; Kurama loosened his grasp on me.
"You shouldn't get attached to people who could kill you," he said huskily. "I mean, Kami knows I could have knocked you out and-"
"Shut up and kiss me, you bastard."
"Forceful," he murmured into my hair. My hands wrapped around his neck as our lips meshed again. Oh, how sweet his lips were; I barely noticed Kurama half-carry, half-pull me to my bed.
That night, and for many nights after, was pure ecstasy.
-
It wasn't very long until I admitted to myself that I loved him. Of course, I never confessed this to him. We were both promiscuous apparitions who had taken up a number of paramours and submitted ourselves to firelight and bedroom trysts. And the love I had wasn't fleeting infatuation either. The reflection of his soul through his amber eyes wrapped around my heart; Kurama could probably make me do anything. His cool touches ignited passion, a passion that could blaze for days and probably would never quit smoldering. His voice tickled my ears, making my legs weak.
He never said he loved me. I fooled myself into thinking he did. My mind, when I wasn't drunk from his intoxicating presence, mused over the fact that he probably had done this to many others, both male and female, and that I wouldn't be the last. Every impulse of my brain repelled him, but every fiber of my body craved him. I thought over and over about how I was being used and how he would toss me away like the calculating criminal he was. But I wanted him. And I wanted him forever, not like the other short-lived and mildly fascinating partners. However, I could not make him mine, not unless he made me his first.
"Stop teasing," I murmured. His tongue lightly trailed my collarbone. It was almost a year since we had first met in the woods.
"Teasing?"
"Just bite me already. Mark me yours." He pulled up.
"Why would I do that?" That was an icy blow to my heart.
"Haven't you done that to hundreds of others?"
"I'm not that immoral."
"You don't have a mate?"
"No. Do you?"
"No. Even if I tried to mark someone, my instincts would take over and I would kill them," I said.
"How do you know that if you haven't tried?" I quickly dissmissed that question.
"And I don't feel safe giving someone the antidote to my poison."
"Then don't ask me to mark you." Kurama moved away from me to his side of the bed and sighed. "I have never marked anyone. Why would you be different?"
"You like life as a bachelor?"
"It's an interesting medley of events. You like life as a maid?"
"Many can be afraid of me."
"You are no different from a rose." One appeared in his hands. He smiled at it with satisfaction, then stationed it in front of my face. "Beautiful, no doubt. Can be used in a variety of ways. Food, rituals, ascetic value. But it's also quite perilous, with its thorns. And if you add demon energy, it can become lethal. Funny, in a way. Something so beautiful..."
"And so evil."
"Yes." I sighed as he placed the flower in my hands. "Do you use them very much in your fighting?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I never have a need for roses," he said simply, closing his eyes.
"Oh." He eventually fell into slumber, and I watched him as he dreamed, tracing circles in his skin with my fingertips. It hurt a lot. He had no need for roses. I wondered if that had a dual meaning. If his comparison of me to a beautiful, perilous rose stretched to include the description an unneeded object.
"Dammit, Kurama-sama, you're so unfair." I never usually cried. This was probably the third time I shed tears, including the incident with me almost killing the Kitsune. I didn't cry very many tears this time. Only three.
The Silver Bandit looked so beautiful, swimming through his dreams. So peaceful. He always did.
--Present Day--
"Why is Hiei acting so funny?" Naomi asked, flying in. "I asked him about his arm and he didn't ask me to piss off."
"His long-lost sister is here," Kurama explained. "We're not supposed to tell her he's her twin."
"Yukina-chan?" I asked. "That's the reason they've got the same eyes. Wait, does Kuwabara know?" He'd tripped and fallen himself into love.
"No... Hiei doesn't want Yukina to know... It's a bit of a secret."
"Oh, I like secrets! Cookies?" Naomi put a basket in front of Kurama. "Yusuke likes them." Kurama bit into one.
"They're delicious."
"Thanks! I made them myself!"
"Why... are there random rose seeds on the table?" I asked, putting my plate on the coffee table.
"They're mine." Kurama picked the seeds up.
"You use them now?"
"The demon energy trapped in my body profits from the fact that they are easy to use as a weapon."
"He uses his rosewhip a lot," Micherure added, crossing the width of the room. "I watched his training with Hiei and Kuwabara. Is Kuwabara always an idiot?"
"I prefer the phrase 'slow to catch on,'" Kurama smiled.
"What is that noise?" Naomi asked.
"Sounds like a lot of laughter," Kurama said. The butterfly hovered over to the door and opened it.
"Yusuke! You have a blue whatchadoodlebob on your head! Get it off before it lays eggs and the babies hatch and crawl into your ears and burrow into your brain and kill you!!" Naomi said this all in one hurried, anxious breath, running out into the hall; I followed her. Her comment ignited another chorus of laughter.
"It's not funny!" Naomi countered. "My cousin had a watchadoodlebob in his hair once! At least, I think my cousin is a he..."
"It's not a whatcham-whatever. It's my spirit beast," he said wearily. I looked at his head.
"Puu." The blue spirit beast cocked his head to the side.
"Aw, it's sooo cute!" I pet the little blue buddy. "Is this what your soul looks like?"
"How wonderful!" Naomi snatched it off his head and started to hug it. "Aw, your soul is so fuzzy and harmless!"
"Thanks... At least you're not laughing like they are." He jabbed his thumb at Botan and Koenma.
"It's not laughable! It's kawaii!" Naomi squished it.
"They think that because I'm tough I can't have a nice soul."
"But you're not a bad person..." I said.
"Thank you. HEAR THAT, TODDLER BREATH! THEY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THE STUPID BLUE THING ISN'T BIG ENOUGH TO BITE MY DAMN HEAD OFF!" He stomped away, and Puu followed.
"That was special," Kurama said, now in the hall. "See you. I have business to attend to."
"Bye."
"Buh-bye!" Naomi waved.
"I'm gonna take a walk, Naomi-chan."
"Okay. What do you want me 'n Rure-chan to do?"
"I don't know. Play videogames, eat, whatever you want to do."
"Yes!" Naomi flew back into our suite and opened the window, jumping out. "KAREOKEEEE!"
"So retarded," Micherure muttered, standing in the doorway. "She doesn't even detect that some parts of this island reek with his stench."
"So you noticed." I sighed. "You can't protect me, Rure-chan, not from him. Your orders from the Queen say not to."
"I know, but I do abide by your wishes, and I hate that bastard."
"Stay at the hotel. I'm going for a walk."
"Are you sure you'll be okay? I mean, he can be quite... Forceful." She narrowed her eyes.
"I can take care of myself. If I'm not back in three hours, I give you permission to kill if you see him."
"Okay."
The sun had dipped below the sea by the time I had reached the shore. Jets of sunlight stretched across the sky, taunting my eyes with its beauty. Sitting on the sand in silence, I detected a presence that I had not felt in years.
"Beautiful," he said. "And I don't mean the twilight."
"Takashi."
"Oh, must you be so formal? You could at least use my first name, Himeko."
"Do not call me that."
"Why not? It is your name. Nayotake Himeko."
"Shut your mouth, Takashi." I still had not turned to look at him.
"Say my name, then. I said yours. Say my name, or else I will shout your name so that the fish in the sea may hear."
"No."
"Okay then." He took a deep breath. "N-"
"Do what you will."
"You don't care?"
"No."
"Hmph." I stood up and slowly pivoted to see the man I spoke with.
If I had not hated him, I would probably have had an infatuation with him. His eyes were the color of the deepest seas, and his dark, mussed hair surrounded his face like the most perfect frame for the most perfect work of art. His face could only be found on beautiful canvas, painted with the most careful hands. His body flowed poetically, like the wind could wrap him up and take him to the stars. A part of my childhood self still wanted to marry him, but my current self would never see past the bitter hate. Which was a good thing.
"Still feisty. I love that."
"You're an asshole."
"Ouch. And I can tell you mean it. Your eyes are red."
"Since when do you come down from your almost-throne and grace Ningenkai with your presence?"
"Hmph. I... was speaking with someone. You know how funny it is when two people who normally would never talk suddenly have their goals aligned in a similar way?"
"No. Normal people don't have my goals. I wouldn't know the feeling."
"Well, usually I don't fraternize with humans, but I found one that I can use for my plans."
"Plans?"
"I've always wanted to have you as my bride."
"Excuse me while I throw up."
"So sardonic. You didn't think that way when you were a little girl. Still, though, in so many ways you are still a little girl. And I am still your older cousin, guiding you so you will learn the lessons of life."
"Guiding me?"
"I suggested that the Queen have Koenma send you and your little friends to this miserable island. You've several years until you've got to give up your little life. Why not spice up that monotonous, dreary life with a bit of a bloodbath? I understand you've taken quite a liking to Team Urameshi."
"They're interesting." He acted as though I wasn't there. I was getting tired of his little monologue.
"Remember when you were Queen of Ganderra? One of the Three Kings? You didn't act like a queen. However, that's beside the point. Who dethroned you? I should really like to know who defeated you. I mean, it's you."
"That's really none of your business, Takashi."
"Anyway, that doesn't matter. You and I will marry, my dove." If there was one thing I hated more than him, it was his obsession with me. I could not make a move without him seeing. I bared my fangs and put up my fists.
"You just drone on and on," I growled.
"If you even think about striking, I'll-"
"You'll what? Kill me?"
"Heheheh, you know I could."
"Not even in your dreams," I snarled, closing my eyes and inhaling. I could smell his blood rushing from his digestive tract to his heart. I could smell the adrenaline flowing into his veins like a drug as I heard him wield his scythe. Then he put it back.
"No," said Takashi. "I want to wait until your friends meet my friends. And then you and I shall meet and do battle on a grand stage. Winner takes all. If I win, I will have you as my own."
"If I win, I'll slit you from navel to neck. And you will feel every single thing. I'll take your throat so you can't scream, only watch in horror as your blood pools around you. And your heart will still be beating, because we both know the only thing that kills a Welkin is decapitation- and, maybe, my poison. But I won't bite you then. I'll pull your heart from the vena cava and the aortic arch, and I'll take your heart as mine. I'll eat it first." I quieted. He blinked and began to laugh.
"Baby, if only you knew. My heart, you've already got it." Takashi continued laughing as he faded away. Soon, all that was left was his voice. "See you, Himeko."
"I really, really hate that name." I returned to the Hotel Kubikukuri, feeling more burdened than when I had left.