Disclaimer!! Well... Youko and Kuronue really don't show up in this chapter I still don't own them (though it would be SO COOL if I did). But Gloria, Rebecca, Mark, and Achlys I DO own!
Gomen nasai that it took so long for this chapter to be posted, but I got it out before school started... here at least.
Please enjoy this chapter, read, and review!
Ch. 7: Finding You
(Still Becky's POV)
Griping onto Mark's black school sleeve, I cover my nose hoping to block the stench of wet… gah! I'm a fourteen-year-old girl I shouldn't smell this!! I look around this 'bar;' the room has dimly lit candles staying far away from any corners, there are drunken men passed out at their tables and some still drinking only with whores on their laps.
I quickly bury my head in Mark's back afraid I might see something that virgins aren't suppose to see, but the smells and sounds are burning!
Mark stops; peaking around him I see that he stopped in front of a bar and some smelly fat dog looking man. Everything smells in here.
True, but this is how we're going to find anything out about Gloria's whereabouts.
...Look for the elder crow.
Elder crow?
Seeing the man's teal eyes break into my sky blue ones he grins, seeing the innocent look in them. Having a gut feel on what he's thinking I lost the look of a small child and gained the knowledge of a young adult.
Mark bangs his fist on the bar's table gaining the attention of the dog man. "Nani?" he rudely asks, seeing that two teens are in his bar.
"What do you know about a human girl?"
Not moving my head, I see Mark's green eyes have a fire in them and his face has danger written all over his features.
"There's one right hidden you, baka." The inu youkai continues to clean a shot glass with a smug look on his face.
"She's not the one I'm talking about, baka." Mark spat in the man's face, making my jaw ajar at his bold act.
The demon's teal eyes slowly go to a dangerous blood red, markings appear on his face, and his fangs enlarge. Everything in here falls death to my ears, the only things I can hear are the words exchanged between Mark and the inu youkai.
"You should watch your tongue, human." Inu youkai growls out. His markings become more jagged and his fangs grow longer and wider seeing Mark's cocky smirk.
This'll be good. Nani? Why's there a male's voce in my head?
A 'D' class vs. a cocky human, most interesting.
How can two humans – or three if their 'friend' is alive – live in Makai? Oh well, FIGHT!!
How odd? These two humans have the aura of a 'S' class demon….
This is really weird. First something tells me that Gloria isn't dead but gone, now I'm hearing male voices in my head. … What the heck is a 'S' class demon'? Maybe I should've taken some head medicine, or something, before I left home.
The sound of a katana being unsheathed breaks my train of thought. I give a quiet gasp; Mark's new sword is pointing at the youkai's neck (the youkai's marks and fangs has seemingly diminished), showing his white teeth and quieting the other demons.
"Now," Mark says in a dangerous tone that I've, nor Gloria, had never heard before. "Where. Is. The. Brunette. Human. Kitsune."
Something strikes my mind, forcing me to look on the opposite side of Mark I see three scaly green lizard youkai that don't seem to mind the whole human ordeal unfolding near them. I tug on Mark's black sleeve, my light blue orbs not leaving the sight of the youkais.
"Nani?" Mark says in a gentler tone to me, than the inu. All I do to answer his question is point in the direction of the green begins. His deep green orbs follow to where I'm pointing, and soon after his eyes widen in surprise but soon harden into a fueled glare.
Snapping his head back at the prettified inu. "Stay." Mark says. I couldn't help but think of it funny that he told that to a dog demon.
Mark walks over to the three youkais slowly, but at the same time fast, with each step made this place all the more dangerous.
Mark stops their conversation rather rudely. Mark grabbed the one closest to him by the back of his collar, pulled the lizard to his chest, and placed his katana at the youkai's vulnerable neck – making him and his pals freeze.
"Where the hell is Kitsune." What Mark just said was more a statement than a question.
"The human girl that was with us before you and your comrades chased us." I say to clarify what we were talking about.
The two who aren't in a death grip look at one another and gulp, I raise a light delicate eyebrow in suspicion.
Mark presses his katana closer to the lizard's neck. "Well…?"
"She jumped off the waterfall!" Hanging around with Gloria over the years I learned to understand when someone talks this fast.
My eyes harden into a glare. "What do you mean she jumped?"
"Exactly what we said, before we could do anything-" The demon that is Mark's death grip suddenly stops, for Mark has subconsciously moved the ancient Japanese fighting sword so now the demon's neck is bleeding slightly.
"Do you know where her body is?" Mark asks dangerously slow.
"… No." The demon visibly flinches.
"Then you and your 'friends' are of no use to us."
"Ookami! No!!" To late, with a few movements of his katana the lizard demons are dead. Blue blood pouring from their wounds Mark and I leave the bar leaving all different types of youkai's to think about what they've just seen.
"A lot of good that did us, Neko." After placing the sword back into its sheath, Mark places his hands behind his head.
"It was your idea in the first place," My mind drifts back to the sea of human blood. I visibly shiver causing bumps to form on my arms, so I rub them.
How can she NOT be dead, but be gone? I look up at the sky, a habit that comes naturally to me at times like this. Gloria, wherever you are I hope that you're all right.
+Gloria's POV+
"GAH!! Watch it, will ya!" I demand. I'm now fully healed but before I go the old crow, whose name is Achlys, said it would be best if I train with some weapon; and the weapon is a bow and arrow. And I nearly got my forehead pierced through.
Achlys was kind enough to give me some of her spare clothes, which I found really odd considering that I'm dressed like priestess. My hair is done in a high ponytail wrapped in a dark red bow.
"Child, have you forgotten how you've survived against Karasu?" A gentle smile places itself on her black beak.
"No…." I mumble. "But it's just a force of habit to dodge any type of danger that comes my way!"
She chuckles at this excuse and readies her next arrow, showing me how to notch one properly. Letting go of the arrow she hits the bull's eye straight on, a target above my head. "Now you try, Gloria."
"Okay…." I'm rather uncertain about this whole thing, can't I just find one of those demon guardians? Though that sounded great I'd have to gain it's trust, and God only knows how long that'll take.
Readying my bow and arrow I take aim at the mark above Achlys' head. Please miss Achlys. I beg to myself, squinting one eye. But I quickly open it once the black crow demoness orders me to keep both eyes open.
I gulp down the on coming lump in my throat and fire the arrow, shutting my eyes.
There's no scream, sound of blood pouring, ripping of flesh, and heavy breathing. Opening my eyes I see that I've hit the mark!
"HAI!! ALRIGHT!!"I jump up and down, happy that I finally hit my mark. "I did it!! I did it!! I did it!!" I sing, jumping in circles.
The sound of gentle chuckles makes stop my victory dance. "Hai, you did, Gloria. Now," Achlys closes her coal colored eyes. "It is time for you to go and look for your friends."
My chocolate eyes fall towards the grassy green Makai earth. My friends. … Rebecca and Mark, Neko and Ookami. I couldn't help but smile remembering their faces. It seems, like, forever since I last saw them both.
I grip my bow. The last time I saw them was when we where running for our very lives. Hot tears brim my eyes; I quickly close my eyes ever since I got here tears keep coming and I refuse to let them spill, but some find a way to escape my closed eyes.
"Gloria?"
Hearing the calm voice of the elderly crow demoness I quickly wipe away my tears and run up towards the small cone-like hut. "Hai, Achlys?"
She sits in front of a roaring white fire. That fire always seems to be a different color….
"Come sit, child." She 'points' one of her raven wings on the other side of the fire. I do as she says, odd… she reminds me so much of my Grandma… minus the whole crow look. The ghostly fire forms the same circle it did before only now it shows the woods.
"Nani?" My eyes are filled with confusion. I know what the woods look like, so why- "REBECCA, MARK!!"
I get on my hands and knees amazed that they're still alive, unnoticed by me tears of joy ride down my smiling face.
Mark is slicing down branches, low vines, bushes, and other types of vegetation that are in his way with an ancient Japanese fighting sword, a katana. Rebecca is calmly walking behind him, slim arms crossed over her chest.
They're exactly the same as they are last time I've seen them.
Rebecca with her mid-back light brown hair sways to and fore with each step she takes. Her sky blue eyes follow Mark's clean katana blade. Her creamy colored skin being silhouetted by the Makai leaves. And she's still wearing her school uniform.
Mark's short, shaggy, wild, hair moves rapidly due to the amounted force to puts into his swings. His evergreen eyes are dancing with a fearful fire; only when he's extremely pissed off is when one sees this fire. His slightly tanned body is forming sweat beads. He's still dressed in his uniform, too.
"Damn-it-all-to-hell!" He says through his slices.
"Will you calm down, Ookami." The thing Rebecca said was more of an order than a question.
Mark stops on the spot and whips his head around to face Becky. "CALM DOWN!!"
There's that vain again. I sigh at Mark's temper; I look back up at them both beginning to wonder what they're going to talk.
"How, in God's name, do you expect me to CALM DOWN!!"
"Just take a deep breath," Rebecca inhales through her mouth in demonstration. "And exhale." She says with difficulty, due to the fact that her lungs are with air, but exhales releasing the oxygen.
"Breathing isn't going to help with anything!!"
"It helps keep you alive." Rebecca states matter-of-factly.
Mark anime falls to the ground; I give a small giggle hearing Neko's response.
"Damn, onna…." Mark mumbles to himself. He jumps back to life. "Now to find Kitsune!" He swings to his katana left, right, up, and down.
Rebecca rubs in-between brows and fallows after the encouraged human wolf, mumbling to herself. "Now if only he's this inspired about school."
The image fades and the circle goes back into the fire.
"They're heading east." Achlys tells me.
"East, huh? … ALRIGHT!!" I punch the air. I quickly grab my bow, quiver, and arrows. Fastening the quiver on my back I place the arrows inside and do the same thing with my bow. "Time to move out!" Running out with lighting speed I head towards east.
"Child?"
I stop, kicking up dirt as I do so. "YEAH!?"
"East is that way." Achlys points in the opposite direction that I'm running.
"Oh," a blush finds its way across my nose. "I knew that!" I head towards where she's pointing.
Wait almost forgot. I make a quick dash towards the kind demoness and gently grip her elderly shoulders.
"Achlys, I promise to visit whenever I can."
She chuckles softly and her midnight winds pat my hands. "I know you will, child." Her matching beak smiles.
I give her my own smile and release her shoulders. "I'll see ya' 'round, kay." Seeing the kind, elderly, demoness nod I run off waving goodbye.
"I know these big feet anywhere… Mark's been here and so has Becky." I say inspecting a rather large footprint and a smaller heeled-print. Standing up I dust of the dirt and fallow the feet.
"I hope their close, I can't take much more of being on my own."
I hate being by myself; I've always had my friends with me. If not both, one shared the same class as me. Why didn't I ask Achlys if she could come with me?
"Damn tears." I wipe away the on coming water works. Maybe I'm allergic to this world.
Running with speed I never knew I had I see to 'oddly' dressed figures, causing me to break out into a sprint.
"NEKO, OOKAMI!!" I wave my hand in the air.
The two figures turn around slowly, not knowing if the voice they just heard really belongs to their brunette kitsune. But once they turn around fully and see the enlarging running priestess. Her long dark brown swishing back and forth and chocolate colored eyes filled with great joy.
"I KNEW IT!! She is alive!" Rebecca yells with joy and runs up to me.
Once we reached each other we hug one another like never before. Giant bear hug attack! Mark soon joins us adding a great force and lifts both of us off our feet.
"I'm... so glad... that... you're both... all right... gah!" I say through difficult breaths.
"We should be saying that to you!" Mark exclaims, setting us both on our feet. Though we don't let go of each other. "Where the hell have you been, Gloria?" Mark gentle hits the top of my head with the butt of his katana.
"She's been with someone who took great care of her, the elderly crow." I nod, agreeing with what Rebecca said.
Mark gets right in her face a lazy expression on his face. "How the hell do you know this?" He pokes her forehead.
Swiping away his hand, Rebecca gives a cat-like grin. "Because, I know everything."
Mark and me look at one another and mushroom sigh. "Damn, onna."
Rebecca's grin widens, gives a peaces sign, and 'meows' like a kitty.
"C'mon!! Kitsune!! Why did you blind fold me, and give Neko my katana?" Mark whines blinded and sitting on the opposite side of a humongous Makai tree, his sword being pointed at him by Rebecca.
"Because, I smell like blood and it feels like my hair hasn't been washed in weeks!!" I exclaim from a calm flowing river my arms crossed over my chest, wanting my privacy.
"It's only been about two short days!"
"Ookami," Rebecca says. "She's been in her own blood, meaning she technically had a bloodbath. And I'm guessing that having the stench of your own blood in your hair is no fun. Especially, if you've met death's doors."
"Ya' know," I begin. "It might be the water's temperature but... I got goose bumps when you said that!!" I rub my upper arms with a freaked out look on my face.
"Just hurry up! I wanna find a place with a roof tonight, maybe a place near a village."
I sigh and agree to that.
Taking a gulp of the air I dive underneath the blue, clear, liquid. Swimming, twirling, diving further, I think about what Achlys told me… about the Hear Crystals. I should tell soon. After all, they have the right to know it does have something to due with them. I just think about what I'll say to them.
I quickly reach the surface and greedily take in breaths of fresh air. My dark brown eyes look over to where Mark and Rebecca are. I think that I always knew that there was something different about us. I quickly get out of the water and put my underwear on and wrap my chest up with the 'Makai bra'. I mean I never broken a limb even after a bad fall, or having something heavy fallen on me. I don't get that sick easily, but when I do I get hit with everything all at once and it normally lasts for about two days or so. If, God forbid, my friends got really sick or seriously hurt and I'd check it out there would be nothing there. I pull on the white tabi socks.
Becky seems to have an answer for everything and knows practically every answer to a question on a test/quiz. And she… was 'pulled' to that portal a few days back and whenever we go past a graveyard she looks back at them with sympathetic eyes or something… and cats, I think, are pulled by an unknown force. I dress my lower self with the red miko pants and the wooden sandals.
Mark's always getting himself into fights. He always seems to win them sporting a few good hits to himself. No matter what it is he's afraid of nothing even if it's a giant bug, sharks, heights, or even dieing. Just like a wolf. I put on my miko white shirt and bring my hair back up.
My hands freeze up in the sky, near my hair, and my chocolate orbs widen. Why the hell do they call me kitsune?!
"Oh well. I'll figure it our sooner or later." I shrug my shoulders and walk towards the tree.
"Alright, I'm clean as I'll ever get in this world!" I grin at them, though Mark can't see it.
We've walked several miles, or are yards longer…GAH!! I hate math!
Anyway.
Night has fallen over the demonic world. All three of us couldn't find shelter or a village for the night so we decided to sleep out underneath the stars. Mark went to go get the wood, and Rebecca and I made the fire.
Currently; Mark's cleaning his katana, Rebecca is staring at the fire, and I'm laying with my arms behind my head looking at the stars thinking about how I should tell them.
"Kitsune?"
"Hm?" I look over at younger sister; with cursorily shining in my eyes, I see her poke the fire with a long sturdy stick.
"What do you have to tell us?" her voice is creepy calm.
My eyes widen, and then slowly relax and a smile makes its way across my lips. That's another thing, she always seems to know when something is on my mind.
"Tell us…? Tell us what?" Mark stops taking care of his blade and wipes his head from me to Rebecca.
I groan getting up. "Well… its rather a long story, or rather explanation." I scratch my right temple nervously laughing.
Neko eerily moves her head, so she can face me. "We have time."
Honestly she scares me sometimes.
"Okay," I sigh. "Brace yourselves." I sit Indian style facing the roaring fire.
...
...
...
"I'll be damned." Is the first thing said after... what an hour's tale? I'm not really sure how long it was, but it felt like forever for me to finish and for a response.
"That sure does explain a lot." Rebecca says inspecting the lines of her hands. I nod in agreement.
"Hm." Mark smirks. "So that's how I've always been winning my fights." His emerald eyes watch the dancing fire. "The Crystal of Courage, huh?"
"The Crystal of Knowing."
"And the Crystal of Healing."
This is possibly one of the rare times when all of us are quiet and serious.
"Gah!" Hearing the groan and collapse of Mark makes both blue and brown eyes to look at him. Mark's form his laid near the fire, his katana, by his side, one arm underneath his head the other griping the deadly blade. "You girls might want to go to sleep now. Don't worry," his emerald eyes fall on us, the red and orange fire reflecting his eyes. "I'll protect you."
The moon is red here. I think while gazing at the blood colored moon, a sad look in my eyes. 'Damn witch.' When Youko said that, did he mean Achlys? He seemed so cold and dangerous. I've never seen him like that before… kind of scary.
I visibly shiver, remembering that deadly whip in his hands and imagine the look in his golden eyes. He seemed so relaxed and caring when we first met… okay a little pervy, too, but more caring than anything.
"Gah." I sit up and shake my head.
What am I thinking?! He's just a dream guy! … But….
My chocolate eyes turn towards the fire. When we said goodbye, it felt so real and so sad… and when he kissed me.
I trace my lips gingerly, remembering the warmth that I felt when I woke up. I sigh and fall back on my... back.
Does it count if you get kissed in a dream? I turn away from the fire and yawn, covering my mouth. I'll ask Becky about it tomorrow….
"MAN!!" Mark bends his back backward, groaning. "Sleeping on the ground without any cushion can really give a guy back-pain." Hearing a 'crack' come from his back Mark seems to turn into jell-O. "Oh yeah… that felt nice." He says relaxing his back.
I laugh quietly at my male friend. I missed his immaturity and Rebecca's maturity.
"I almost forgot!"
Hearing Rebecca shout that makes both Mark and I look at her. Becky digs into her school's pocket and brings out my small golden cross necklace.
"My necklace!" I yell happily. I do a short run to her and allow for the necklace to gently fall in my hands. "Where did you find it?" I ask, hooking it around my neck.
"By a broken tree… where your…."
I know what she's talking about, so when she doesn't finish her sentence I don't pester her about it.
"Hey, I'm here now!" I hook my right arm around her neck. "And there ain't nothin' that's taken we away from you guys again!" I wrap my other arm around Mark's neck.
But about five minutes later, Rebecca's entire body becomes tense and her sky colored eyes alert.
"Neko?" Mark and I chores, confusion filling our eyes.
"Something with great power and energy is coming this way!" As odd as it is, her voice seems to have panic in it. All three of us put our backs to each other.
I ready my bow and arrow, my eyes gazing into the darkest parts of the forest that surrounds us. I don't blame her though. Those damn lizards scared me, too.
Mark unsheathes his clean blade, his emerald eyes looking up at the branches. Rebecca readies herself in a stance she created, and, my guess looks towards she senses the powerful aura.
A wolfish grin forms on Mark's lips and a light green fire dances in his eyes. "Ya' know girls, I'm glad that this… whatever it is, is coming. I've been itching for a fight ever since I killed those lizard youkai."
Soon yellow, blue, white, purple, eyes form in the darkness of the shadows and fangs are beginning to be seen. I swallow the growing lump in throat, seeing the indigo eyes… they remind me about Karasu. Not happy thoughts.
