Shuiichi sipped his coffee quietly, his emerald eyes reading over the story in the newspaper. A strange animal attack in Tokyo Park. That was by his home. "Perhaps I'll visit home this weekend..." He murmured, glancing at his watch. It was time to go home. He gathered his things and strolled out, flashing a smile at the waitress on his way out. His walk back to his apartment was not unpleasant. Pleasing smells and sights greeted him the whole way.
"Kurama..."
His feet slowed on the bridge, his face betraying none of the shock running through his mind; he hadn't heard that name in a long time. But his acute hearing had never been wrong. He strolled to the edge of the bridge, his eyes peering unobtrusively downwards.
"Kurama...under the bridge...please...hurry..."
Whoever it was, she seemed to be in a great deal of pain. Shuiichi finished crossing the bridge, nonchalantly climbing down to the water's edge. He walked slowly towards the bridge, forcing his eyes to stay on the water. This smell told him something disturbing: flowing demon blood. He looked up, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness around him.
A demoness lay on her side on the bank, hidden as far under the bridge as she could be. Her lion tail lay limp on the ground, blood stains up and down it. Kurama recognized her as a demoness he'd worked with on occasion through Spirit World. "Kaiya?" He hurried over, kneeling and rolling her over gently.
Her large yellow eyes looked drowsily up him. "I knew you'd be here." She wheezed out, her claws digging into her own skin to drown out the pain. "You always...walk this path...to go home."
"What happened to you?" Kurama asked, pressing his hands against one of her wounds. He needed to get the bleeding to stop or else she was going to bleed out, demon or not.
"What is it humans say? … Dead men … tell no tales." She smiled weakly.
"Hopefully it won't come to that." His mind raced as he thought of how to get her to his apartment without arousing any suspicions. He couldn't help her until he had some privacy. "Here." He pulled his scarf off and gently wrapped it around her waist, tying the knot over the worst of the wound. Thank goodness he wore a dark scarf. He followed up with his jacket, sitting her up and slipping it around her shoulders. "Up you come."
She moaned in her throat as he pulled her to her feet. He pulled her arm around his shoulders and wrapped his arm gently around her waist. "One step at a time." He encouraged, pulling his bag over his other shoulder.
Kaiya limped next to him; her right foot was dragging a little, but she tried to hide it. She plastered a smile on her face, holding her right arm to her side, putting pressure on the wound. "I'm glad...you don't live far."
Kurama smiled genteely, trying to take as much of her weight as possible on himself. "How do you know my routine and apartment?"
"Contrary...to popular belief...you're not friendless in Makai. Some of us still...keep tabs on you..."
Kurama raised an eyebrow. Demons were keeping track of him? That was unuexpected ... and worrisome at the same time. But he kept his suspicions to himself, just trying to keep her on her feet until they got to the apartment. "Just a few more steps." He used his free hand to grab his keys and open his front door.
"Shuchi!"
He paused at the small voice, listening to the tiny footsteps followed by a small girl throwing herself into his leg. "Hello Aiko." He greeted, feeling Kaiya lean more heavily on him; she was fading. The little black-haired girl turned her face up to him, grinning, revealing crooked little teeth. "Will you come play with me?" She asked in her angelic voice.
"I'm sorry Aiko, but I've got company right now, okay? I'll come see you tomorrow, alright?"
Her face turned sad and she hugged his leg tighter. "You promise you'll come?"
He smiled gently, patting her head softly. "I promise I'll try, I can't promise I'll come."
She looked even sadder, but nodded and let go when she heard her mother call from the apartment a few doors down. "Bye!" She scampered off.
Kurama hoisted Kaiya with his one arm. He dropped his bag and keys on the couch and shut the door with his leg as he lifted her in his arms. He carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. "Stay awake, Kaiya." He pulled the curtains shut and pulled open a drawer, withdrawing a small lockbox and a first aid kit from inside. He put the items on the bed and left the room for a moment for towels and water.
Kaiya's eyes drifted in and out of focus as she fought for consciousness. Even if Kurama had told her to sleep, she couldn't – she was too afraid she wouldn't wake up.
Kurama came back in, pulling a chair over and setting up the water and towels on the nightstand. "Let's take a look." He untied the scarf and pulled her shirt up, feeling a little sick, despite all the battle wounds he'd seen in his life. A large chunk of her right side had been gouged out, by claws or teeth or what he couldn't tell. There were more, lighter wounds around it as well. The sickening part was the black color that was spreading from the center of all the wounds; whatever had caused this had poisoned tips. He pulled on the chain around his neck to reveal a key, with which he unlocked the box. Inside was his private stash of rare Makai herbs, one of which he would need for this.
"Kaiya, what kind of demon did this to you?" He asked, dipping the towel in the water and then gently beginning cleaning around the wound.
"A lion demon." She closed her eyes, grimacing at he wiped the raw skin.
"I remember you as being quite the fighter. Did he surprise you?" Kurama dipped the towel in the water again, a sinking feeling as all the water turned dark red.
The corner of Kaiya's mouth twitched. "You...could say that..."
Kurama fell silent, setting down the towel and picking up a medical needle and thread. "This will hurt."
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
Kurama rocked back and forth as he watched Kaiya sleep on the bed. She was pulling through the night so far now that he'd gotten her sewn up and given her an antidote for the poison. He used his leg to move the chair, his eyes staring at nothing in particular as his mind digested what had happened and decided on his next move. Demons tracking him was quite dangerous; but then, what was he to do? He couldn't kill every demon in Makai. He had no idea who was tracking him, but so far this was the first he'd heard about people still being interested in his whereabouts and activities.
This information put a new light on things. His mother, his step-father, his step-brother – they were all in danger. They'd been in danger for a long time, and he'd never even known it.
"Gah-OW!" Kaiya grimaced, her eyes opening quickly when she stirred. "How long have I been asleep?" She asked.
Kurama leaned forward. "Several hours. How are you feeling?"
"Like hell." She smiled slightly. "But, I'm alive, and I thank you for that."
Kurama nodded. "You're welcome. Are you hungry?"
Kaiya shook her head. "No time for that. We need your help."
Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Who's we? And what kind of help are we talking about?"
"Your old crew, the crew I'm part of, and a few various..others. Spirit World even needs your help, although they don't realize it just yet." She cleared her throat.
"My help? Why do you need my help?" He was getting more and more suspicious, and still curious.
"Because you know the girl who holds the key to this whole mess. Your neighbor girl, Chloe. Carmen gave her a box, one that thief stole from Spirit World."
Kurama worked hard to keep his countenance, but the shock was great. Chloe was a very shy, very sweet, very human girl. What had possessed Carmen to involve her? He was going to harm that demoness at the next possible chance. "What's in the box?"
"A piece of a medallion, one which if put together will bring a time of darkness to Makai."
Kurama raised an eyebrow. "As if Makai wasn't already a dark place?"
Kaiya sat up, on hand on her side. "You don't understand. I'm not speaking of a cloud covering or sadness. It would bring back a demon, Raidon."
Kurama coked his head, searching Youko's memories. "Raidon? I don't think I've heard that name before."
"There are few who have. There are none now who remember what happened when he was not contained."
"Then how do you know of him?"
"The story has been passed down among certain groups. Some protect the pieces, while others want to complete the puzzle for their own ends. Spirit World stumbled upon this particular piece and has kept it locked up. We've never worried because chances of stealing it successfully out of the Spirit World's secret vault is nearly impossible."
"Except for-"
"Yes, except for Carmen. What her deal in this business is I'm not entirely sure; she's never taken sides before, so I cannot believe that she's done it this time."
"She's a mercenary Kaiya. I could believe anything of her." He stood and walked to his desk, his jaw tight. Chloe lived next door to his mother. Danger to Chloe meant danger to his family. "Dammit Carmen, what were you thinking?" He muttered angrily.
"Kurama, whatever you may-"
"Shuiichi, Kaiya, please. We're not in Makai." He interupted.
Kaiya growled as she sat up. "Whatever. My point is, don't underestimate Carmen. She is reputed to be a mercenary, yes. Highly intelligent, a schemer, etc. She knows what she's doing."
"She may know what she's doing but she's now dragged my family into it. For that-"
"Please." She held up a hand. "I understand your sentiments of irritation, but there are bigger things at stake here. That girl needs protection, more than Carmen will be able to supply."
Kurama looked at her suspiciously. "I gave up that life a while ago." He answered calmly, quietly. "I'll protect my family, but that is as much as I want to do with demons and Spirit World. You have friends; let them protect her."
"Ku-, I mean, Shuiichi, please, I'm begging you, listen to me. How can we possibly protect her? She doesn't know us, Carmen doesn't know us, neither one will trust us." She paused, then continued. "If Raidon comes back, neither Spirit World nor the Human World is safe anymore. It took the combined strength of all three worlds just to seal him away last time, and that was when relations between the worlds were MUCH better than now. Please, can't you see this does affect your family, if not directly at this exact moment?"
Kurama said nothing for a moment, instead letting his mind explore this turn of events. Yes, he could see how it could affect his family, if the shards fell into the wrong hands, but Carmen – aah. Here was why he was feeling inclined to help. He didn't trust Carmen, especially not when it came to matters concerning his family. "I'll help turn the shard AND Carmen over to Spirit World, but that is as far as my involvement will go." He said firmly, an unsettling feeling of not knowing what he was getting himself into taking over his stomach.
Kaiya nodded quickly. "Whatever you want."
"Now please lie back and get some rest? You'll heal faster if don't move around." Kurama left the room, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he did so. He dialed a familiar number and put the mobile to his ear. "Hello mother..."
Chloe opened her eyes slowly to the sunlight streaming through her window. She glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was three in the afternoon; she'd managed to get a couple more hours of sleep after school. She stretched and rolled out of bed, her socked feet making no sound as she shuffled to the window, throwing open the curtains. The sun was bright and there was not a cloud in sight. It was looking like it was going to be a beautiful Saturday afternoon. "Mom? Dad?" She called, heading to the front of the house.
Silence.
She found a note on the kitchen table. It read: "Chloe, we closed the shop for today and have gone on a trip. We'll be back in a few days." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "A spontaneous trip? And without me... tch. Figures." She crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash, her mind brimming with ideas for what she could do with all this freedom. First choice: run down to the beach. She dressed quickly, putting a bathing suit on under a large white t-shirt and jean shorts. As soon as she stuffed sunglasses, a towel, and some food in a bag she shot out of the door, her sandaled feet moving speedily over the ground.
"Miss Scott?"
She froze at the voice behind her. It...it couldn't be. "Shuiichi?" She squeaked, turning slowly to look behind her. There he stood, leaning against his gate, red hair pulled into a low ponytail, as real as ever.
He smiled a little, nodding. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He inquired nonchalantly.
She swallowed hard, forcing her legs to carry her back to him. "Th-the beach." She caught his eyes for a moment, but had to look down at the fence so as not to blush.
"It does seem to be a rather nice day for that sort of excursion." His tone was warm, somehow a little different than normal. "Are you going by yourself?"
She nodded in short, jerky movements. "Y-yeah. Haru had to fly to Egypt with his father. My parents are on a trip, so it's just me."
"I see. Would you care for some company? I haven't been to the beach in a long time, it would be nice to get out there again."
Chloe could hardly believe her luck. Shuiichi was asking to come with her, just the two of them? This chance was one in a million. Gripping tightly to her bag she lifted her eyes to meet his. "S-sure. Some company would be nice." She smiled a small smile.
He smiled again, standing up straighter. "Would you like to wait inside? I'll be just a moment."
She shook her head. "I'm fine here." She watched him walk inside, dropping to the ground and leaning against the fence. She brought her hands up to her cheeks, her eyes bright with excitement. Shuiichi was coming with her to the beach! He'd asked to come with her. It felt like a dream. She sighed happily, bringing her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.
"Are you alright miss?"
The voice sent chills through her whole body and her head jerked up; her brown eyes met dark orange orbs with a piercing gaze. No words came out her mouth, although her mind was reeling.
Her head came up to look at the stranger, but his eyes caused her apologies to die on her lips.
The stranger's eyes were a dark orange, beautiful and terrifying at the same time. "I'm terribly sorry." The well-dressed man purred, lifting her hand and pressing it to his lips. "How rude of me."
It was the same man! 'How could this be? I-I never thought I'd see him again. Thi-this sort of thing just doesn't happen-!' She thought to herself, saying instead. "I-I'm sorry?" She didn't know why, but she suddenly found herself wishing that Shuiichi would hurry up and get out here to rescue her.
"I asked if you were alright. It's a little unusual to see a young woman curled up by herself on the sidewalk in front of a house that isn't her own." He bent down towards her, his eyes not losing any of their intensity. "A gentleman couldn't possibly leave a lady in distress by herself."
"She is neither alone nor distressed, I can assure you." Shuiichi stepped up to the gate.
Chloe looked up at him. His face was a mask of calm and politeness, but beneath it she thought she saw something protective, dangerous. If he had been looking at her, she was sure she would have shivered right about now. Her eyes moved back to the stranger, watching for his reaction.
"My apologies." His tone was smooth, perfect. He bowed to the both of them, turning to leave, but not before leaving them with a very strange statement. "Watch her carefully. It only takes a moment." Then he strolled away.
Chloe just watched him go, confused about his last statement, confused about his presence, and confused about what had passed between Shuiichi and him when their gazes met.
Shuiichi opened the gate, keeping an eye on the stranger until he was out of sight. "You sure know how to attract the creepy strangers." He teased, extending a hand to help her up.
She took it and stood, pointing out "He brings me a grand total of one. You can hardly say that I 'know how to attract them'..." She dusted off her legs, falling in to step beside him.
"A valid point, but he is rather scarier than your average stranger, wouldn't you agree?"
She didn't say anything to agree or disagree. Her mind was filled with images of a large man illuminated by lightening. She flinched at the memory,quickly covering it with. "He is pretty creepy."
Kurama watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye. There was definitely something she was trying to cover up now. "Miss Scott, has anything happened lately?" He asked quietly, keeping his face calm and pleasant, hoping she'd trust him enough to tlel him, whatever it was. She'd need to start trusting him if he was going to be able to protect from the danger potentially coming her way.
Her eyes widened. "H-happened? How do you mean?" She swallowed hard, wondering how he could have possibly known about the attack at her house.
"You know you can trust me, Miss Scott, do you not?"
Chloe looked to the side. She knew he knew Carmen, in some way, and she did know he was definitely a trustworthy person. She'd been around him her entire life, she knew what sort of a person he was. "You know a woman named Carmen, don't you?" She began timidly.
Kurama felt a distaste in the back of his throat, but said genteely "I'm acquainted with her, yes."
Chloe took a deep breath and took the plunge.
Kurama listened with some surprise as she narrated her story. She was calm throughout the telling, although she did admit to being pretty shaken up by everything, and horribly confused about all that had happened. He waited till she was finished before asking any questions. "So Haru knows about everything that has happened?"
She nodded silently, unsure of what sort of a reaction to expect from him.
"I'm sorry."
Her head whipped around to look at him. There was a look on his face she'd never seen before, she couldn't even think of how to describe it. "It's not your fault." She blurted, just wanting his face to go back to the usual easy, strong face she knew so well.
In an instant his expression fell back gracefully into it's usual arrangement. "Of course not." He gave a small smile, unconsciously using an arm to hurry her out of the intersection they were crossing. "Do you mind if I ask you a question? It's not really related to what you just told me, it's just something you said once that has been bothering me for a little while.
Chloe was surprised, but nodded. "Sure. Ask away."
"When we were talking on the way home from your family's grocery store the subject of your brother came up. You said he and his journals inspired you. You said he was a scientist, past tense. What happened to him? I've never seen him around your house, and I've never heard him mentioned before."
She was silent a moment, chewing on her lip again as per her habit. "We dont really know. He was living in Germany at the time, doing research for some private company. He called me every weekend so we could discuss life, science, etc." She smiled as she remembered those times But her smile faded as her memories moved on. "Then one weekend he didn't call me. I assumed he was just working overtime for the company, although it was very unusual that he didn't find ten minutes even to call me. But I let it go, assuming he'd call the next weekend. He didn't. After a few weeks of nothing I tried calling his apartment and his cell without any luck. I tried for three days in a row – nothing. Finally my parents contacted a private investigator over there." She drew in a deep breath, old emotions and worries resurfacing.
Kurama let her take her time, his curiosity piqued.
"His apartment looked just as it would if he'd left for work that morning. A cold pot of coffee on the counter, dirty dishes in the sink, everything else clean, and one hat, scarf, and jacket missing from the front closet. The detective, he- he found my brother's car, pulled off to the side of the road. The front fender looked as if it had hit something, maybe an animal or fire hydrant. The inside of the car had blood spatters everywhere, but they never did find any body." Her gaze lowered.
He felt a wave of sympathy for her. Most likely her brother had hit a demon that had, well, dispatched the human and disposed of the body. She continued before he could say anything. "He'll come back. I know he will." She took a deep breath, blinking her eyes rapidly.
Kurama looked sideways at her. He didn't want to kill her dreams and tell her that her brother was quite likely very dead by now, but neither did he want to see her hope in vain. She was already so close to the truth now that it didn't seem fair to keep this last bit from her. 'Don't hope too hard.' He kept that thought to himself.
Carmen blinked, her chest hardly moving as she watched Kurama and Chloe on the beach. Chloe was wading, almost swimming now. "Are you really that blind Kurama?" Carmen commented to herself, shifting her position in the tree. She pulled the sticks out of her hair, allowing the long braid to fall so she could play with it. "She hold a great deal of affection for you. Either you're blind, or you are choosing to ignore it. Either way, that's..." She trailed off, her eyes glued to something moving out in the water. Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward. It looked like more than just a school of harmless fish. "Dammit!" She leapt off the branch and bolted forward, jamming her hair sticks onto her belt. "Get her out of the water!" She yelled at Kurama, her feet flying at demonic speed.
Chloe and Kurama both looked, Kurama reacting instantaneously and running for Chloe. "Chloe! Get out of the water!" He called, knowing better than to question Carmen at this moment.
Chloe looked at the two of them, turning towards the shore. "What?" She called, moving slowly towards the shore, shading her eyes with one hand.
Carmen's feet had just touched the water when she saw Chloe suddenly disappear under the water. "CHLOE!" She yelled, gulping in a breath of air and taking a flying leap into the water. She didn't dare look for Kurama; he was undoubtedly right behind her. She could just see Chloe's white shirt ahead in the water; her arms swam strongly, pulling her ever closer to the girl. Carmen poked her head out of the water for a moment to gulp in another breath of air before plunging down into the depths of the sea, diving after the creature that had Chloe.
Chloe stared in terror and the creature that had her. It looked like a huge jellyfish, but the end of all the tentacles had tiny hand-like appendages, some of which were holding her, some of which were searching her. There were two very large eyes, both of which were looking directly at her.
'Where is it?'
Chloe's eyes widened when she heard a voice in her head, and it definitely was not her own.
'Where's the shard?!'
The voice was getting angrier at her apparent silence, and the arms gripping her squeezed painfully tight. Chloe gasped at the crushing force, air rushing from her lungs. She felt panic rush over her in waves as her lungs begged for fresh air. She struggled against the arms restraining her, adrenaline pumping in her veins. Unfortunately, she was still no match. She couldn't hold out anymore; her lungs tried to draw in breath, getting nothing but water. She choked and coughed violently, consciousness fleeting from her grasp.
Carmen saw Chloe's body jerk; she'd probably just taken in a breath of water. Suddenly something thin and green flicked past her, wrapping around the unconscious girl and pulling the girl and the creature back towards the surface. Carmen heard the creature let out a yowl as it felt itself being dragged around. She didn't bother looking; she knew that was Kurama's doing. Carmen flicked out her long claws and took on the beast, slicing through tentacles left and right to free Chloe. "You stupid mutt!" She spat bubbles at the creature, a strange giddiness at seeing the creature's blood flowing freely through the water.
Kurama gave one more good pull, this time freeing Chloe and bringing her towards him. He continued pulling till she was in his arms. He let go of the vine and swam for the surface, glad when he finally broke the surface. He gasped in a large breath of air, pulling Chloe up. "Come Chloe, breath!" He slapped her cheek gently, kicking his feet and taking her towards shore.
Carmen gave a final slice before kicking off the dead beast and swimming strongly for shore. She caught up to Kurama and the unconscious girl just Kurama was able to begin walking again. "Is she breathing?" The green-haired woman wheezed.
Kurama got back onto the shore, laying the girl down and putting his ear to her mouth. "No." He pumped on her chest a few times before plugging her nose and blowing air into her lungs. He sat up and pumped on her chest a few more times and then gave her more breath.
Chloe suddenly started coughing violently, sending the water from her lungs.
Kurama rolled her onto her side so she could clear her airways. He felt a wave of relief wash over him now that she was recovering. He glanced up at the nearby Carmen, both sharing a look. This was only going to get worse.
Chloe took in several deep breaths of air, feeling weak and exhausted, but very glad to be alive. She sat up slowly, her arms wrapping around her shivering frame.
Carmen lifted Kurama's jacket and draped around the girl's shoulders. "You're safe now." She crouched down to get to eye level.
Chloe pulled the jacket tight, feeling tears slip down her cheeks. "If...if you hadn't been here..." She ducked her head.
Kurama waited a moment before deciding on his course of action. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "But we were, and you're safe. It didn't hurt you, did it?" He used his free hand to tilt her chin up.
She shook her head.
Carmen stood and walked to the water's edge, her jaw set, her mind whirring. She couldn't let this continue. The attacks would only get worse. Something had to be done, now.
"Wh-what was that...that thing?" Chloe asked, taking in a shaky breath and lifting her head.
"A monster, from my world." Carmen answered, turning to face her.
Kurama gave Carmen a warning look, alarm bells ringing in his head. What was Carmen doing?"
"Huh?" Chloe looked confused.
Carmen pulled her hair sticks out and beging winding her braid back onto her head. "I'm not from this world, in case you haven't already guessed as much. I come from a place known as the Makai, the Demon World. I'm not a human as I led you to believe – I'm a demon." She paused a moment to let that sink in before continuing. "Not a demon as they are commonly portrayed. Many demons, such as myself, have human characteristics, but have powers that humans only dream of. Not all demons are humanoid though. There are many, like the one that tried to take you, that are sentient but don't have a thing in common with humans."
Chloe was silent. Kurama tried to gauge her reaction, but he couldn't read her at all. "Chl- Miss Scott?"
She looked between the two. "Demons." She said finally.
Carmen nodded, putting her hands on her hips. "Demons. Humans don't know about them, and Spirit World works hard to keep it that way. Spirit World is the third realm. They're sort of the gatekeepers between the living and the dead, for both humans and demons."
Chloe shifted away from Kurama. "Why did you tell me all this?" She asked quietly.
"Because you're in the middle of something that will change everything you know and everything you are. And because you'll get killed if we tried to keep you in the dark." Carmen finished putting her hair up, vibrating her whole body to dry off a little.
Kurama tried to catch Chloe's eye, to see how she was reacting to all of this information. "You don't have to be part of this. You shouldn't be part of this, really." He spoke kindly. "Unfortunately, it would be difficult to extricate you now, even if we took the shard away. Demons would still be after you."
Chloe looked slowly at him. "You...you knew about all this?"
Kurama nodded. "I told you I've lived a strange life."
The girl staggered to her feet, looking at the both of them before turning and walking away across the sand.
"Where are you going?" Kurama called after her, also rising to his feet.
She paused, simply saying over her shoulder "I need to be alone."