Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yu Yu
Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.
A/N: Aw, you guys are
really too sweet to me with all the encouragement and reviews, heck, I've even
been getting emails. You seeing this, Kazusa? Creepy stuff!
LOL! At any rate, I really do love hearing that I'm entertaining people,
and I'll try to respond to the mail I get in a quasi-timely fashion.
*rubs head* Real life can blow sometimes, ne? But enough of my
unnecessary rambling... It may be a little rough, but enjoy your next
chapter. ^__~
~*~*~*~
By Any Other Name
~Waking Up the Past ~
Souta knew he probably had a dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at his
sister's tense, even pleading expression after that bombshell she'd just
dropped on him. He couldn't help but look up to the young monk pretending
he wasn't listening while he washed the dishes from their recent dinner.
Still, he could see Shinju's eyes slanted on him discreetly as he set plates in
the wooden rack to dry, obviously waiting just as anxiously as Kagome for his
acceptance or rejection.
However, he was still too shocked to do more than murmur distractedly when he
finally found his voice, "I... guess that remark about his eyes makes sense now."
Shinju blinked, turning around more completely to look from Souta to Kagome,
his lips tugging up in a slight smile before he dried his hands and moved to
stand supportively behind her, "Perhaps it is better that you didn't understand
at first."
"Souta?" Kagome leaned forward, her eyes searching his carefully for his real
feelings, hands fisting against her thighs. "I'm sorry, I-"
"So I'm an uncle?" he interrupted, not really hearing her halting apology, and
shaking his head slightly as the story finally started sinking in. Souta
sat up a little straighter than before, looking at Kagome with his lips
twitching in a smile he thought for sure would crack something if he let it
out, "I'm an uncle." She was scared and hiding the truth just because
she was afraid we'd think less of her?
"Technically twice-" Shinju started, choking off when Kagome elbowed him in the
stomach.
"What happened?" Souta reached out and grabbed her hands to try and comfort
that fear he could feel coming off her. "Nee-san... you can tell me
everything, I promise I'll understand!" This is what she wouldn't talk
about... what she wouldn't tell Okaa-san.
Kagome took a deep breath, squeezing his hands and glancing up at Shinju for
comfort before she closed her eyes and answered, "We weren't sure how much
longer it was going to take... Naraku just kept- just kept changing, making more
of himself, and figuring out ways to hide from us. Miroku-sama started to
get scared that he wouldn't make it."
"Because of the curse in his hand," Souta frowned, digging back into what he
remembered of her stories to try and fill in the lapses of silence where she
was obviously gathering her courage to give him the answers he'd wanted for so
long.
She nodded to show he'd guessed correctly, dropping her gaze down to the
steaming tea resting on the low table between them as the suppressed memories
flowed freely behind her eyes, "Sango talked him into getting married, all of a
sudden. None of us were expecting it, but we knew why she offered."
Her voice lowered, remembering month after month with the frustrated taijiya,
soothing her whenever she tried to blame herself for their lack of success,
"They were trying so hard."
The light suddenly clicked in Souta's head, eyes widening as he reasoned out,
"They couldn't have children. So... you... you were a surrogate."
Kagome could feel the tears pricking behind her eyes as she let out a heavy
sigh, squeezing his fingers tighter, "It was so difficult for them to come to
me. I can only imagine-" she stopped herself when Shinju rested his hand
on her shoulder, bringing her back out of unhappier thoughts and helping her
get herself back under control. "I couldn't have said no, Souta, not to
something that meant so very much to them."
"They didn't have clinic and doctors, so our family records show that
Kagome was taken as a second wife," Shinju rested his hip on the back of the sofa,
drawing Souta's eyes up to his face to give her a sort of privacy for a
moment. "My ancestor was Kazenatsu, the first born son of that marriage."
Souta stared at his sister with amazement, unable to fully fathom the things
she had done and suffered away from everything she had known, and now
this. She cared about them so much, she had children for them... knowing
that she would have to leave them in the past and never see them again when she
returned. But she still did it. And now, this is the descendant of
her son.
"Inuyasha even
understood why I did it," Kagome's lips curved up slightly, closing her eyes to
let her mind play over how entertained they'd all been by the way he would
hover, seeing to her care with all the attention and concern as Sango. My
paranoid nursemaids... they all thought I was going to get hurt the moment they
looked away from me. "He was the one who spoke to Miroku and Sango
about asking me to have another," she looked up at Shinju to tell him more
directly, in case he was unaware of that part of his history.
"Another-?" Souta's brows disappeared under his bangs, mind stuttering to a
halt to hear that the hanyou he'd idolized and hoped to have as an older
brother someday had been the one to say she should be with another man.
The thought was baffling to him, to say the least, "Why?"
"Sengoku Jidai was a harsh time to live, Souta," she shrugged as she reminded
him. "Inuyasha said he thought that Sango would fall apart if her
only child ever died. It would be easier for all of them if they had
another child to focus on in that eventuality." He was talking about
all of them though, and we knew it. Those children were all they would
have left of me if the jewel sent me back, and having another baby would mean I
had to stay longer.
"What about the
jewel? Your fight with Naraku?" Souta lifted a hand to his head, raking
his fingers nervously through his hair and admittedly feeling a bit dizzy at
this overload.
"We kept traveling until it was too hard for me to hide that I was pregnant,"
Kagome reached back reflexively to touch her stomach. "Miroku was
terrified that Naraku would target me and the baby if he found out, but we
started our search again as soon as it was safe to leave Kazenatsu with
Kaede-babaa." Miroku still didn't want to leave his son after he'd
waited so long to have him. He'd spent most of life doing nothing but
hunting Naraku and trying to make an heir. I don't think I've ever seen
anyone so...happy.
"But... how did you have
time?" Souta pressed on, inwardly elated that she was speaking so openly, even
if he could tell this was still the edited version of events. It's a
start. Once she sees that she can trust me with this part of the past,
she'll tell me the rest of it.
Kagome smiled faintly at that,
remembering how time had seemed to crawl and fly all at once in those days
while she answered, "It was hard on all of us. But I was pregnant again
with Kyuuei when we finally did track down Naraku. When we
defeated him; I just hadn't told anyone yet. I knew we were close, and
they would have stopped or kept me away if they knew it had taken such a short
time, but I had to be there for them in that battle."
Shinju's eyes had taken on an avid sparkle of interest at hearing her tell the
story he'd been told time and time again, coming around to sit beside her on
the couch and leaning in closer like an eager little boy. It was just so...
out of place for a monk with his strength that Souta couldn't help but stare,
covering his mouth with a hand at the sudden thought of how the two of them
must look to Kagome right now. Hanging on her every word with big eager
eyes, Then again... he's family, so why wouldn't he act the same as we do from
time to time? This is my- well, I don't know how many "greats" there are,
but he's my nephew somehow. Even if he is my age, he watched
Kagome smile and brush Shinju's hair off his forehead with a wistful
expression, wondering just how much of a resemblance there really was between
the Miroku she remembered and his new instructor.
"That's why you stayed away?" Souta finally broke the silence surrounding them,
putting all these new pieces together in his head. "Why you never came to
tell us what happened?"
A glint of pain crept into her eyes, dulling the blue as she slowly rose to her
feet and prowled restlessly to the picture window of Shinju's living room, "We
didn't know if the well would let me come back after we killed Naraku and put
the jewel back together."
Souta glanced over at the monk to see if he understood what she was talking
about, not really too surprised to see him nod slightly in answer to the
unspoken question before they both stared at the tense line of her back again,
"Before you had Kyuuei?"
Kagome stared unseeing at her own reflection in the glass, absently lifting a
hand to press against it and feel the surface warm at her touch, "We rebuilt
the taijiya stronghold, and lived there once it was over. They were... my
family, Souta. We'd all done so much together, things no one else could
possibly understand. And I was afraid if I came through the well that I
wouldn't be able to come back; I couldn't risk it until everything was
ready." We were ready in case the wish went wrong, at least we could
say that it wasn't completely unexpected. And Inuyasha had already messed
up with wishing once...
"Is that why you were in the well?" he bit his lip, suddenly feeling more
anxious himself. She didn't want to come back?
She leaned her forehead on the glass, "When Inuyasha made his wish-" his
last wish, "the jewel brought me back. It was telling me I was
supposed to be in this time." Kagome pushed herself away from the window,
turning to look back at the boys staring at her with open inquiry, "My family
and my life are here, Souta... in my own time."
He couldn't stop a slight smile at the determination in her expression, unable
to say how he was understanding her emotions, just that for some reason, he
could tell what his sister needed to hear to keep her talking, "But your heart
is in Sengoku Jidai."
Kagome jumped a bit in
surprise at that observation, focusing completely on her little brother before she
let out a loud breath and shook her head, "I remember you being less serious
and intuitive."
Souta grinned widely at that and flashed her a victory symbol with his right
hand, "If you can change and get all pretty and deep, then I can have my
moments of serious intuition. I am a monk now, after all."
Shinju's chest puffed up proudly, nodding his agreement to that statement while
Kagome pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and started to laugh, "My
uncle is correct, Kaa-san, our family is well known for such things."
"I'm not sure letting the two of you live within thirty feet of each other will
be good for my sanity," she couldn't help but tease, leaning her back against
the window and giving a full body sigh. It was cleansing, in a way...
telling Souta what happened so long ago and hearing him ask questions and take
interest rather than reject her for being a wife and having children for her
dearest friends. Let alone finding out that his new instructor was so closely
related to their family, He... really did grow up while I was gone.
Shinju folded his arms and
responded to that with the air of importance that apparently passed down the
lines, "It would not be as effective to advanced training if your brother were
to be able to go home and ignore the training and meditations at the
temple. You are aware how important immersion is into our energies,
Kaa-san, and you had to have expected to find housing."
"Now you're doing it on
purpose," Kagome leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling, letting her
soul warm and spread cleansing energy out through the house. "Neither of
you are too big to have your heads knocked together for being a smartass,
remember that."
Souta had closed his eyes when
he felt the warm sweep pass through him, awed at the level of control and power
she used so very casually, "Wow..."
He jumped slightly when he felt
her hand ruffle his hair affectionately, not expecting the movement, "I need to
walk or something after all this or I'll never calm down tonight, Souta.
I'm... jittery."
"Company?" he started to rise,
only to have Shinju reach over and push him right back down.
"Meditations," Shinju scolded in a more commanding voice than they'd previously
heard come from him, or really thought he could pull off. "You want to
train to be a monk? You'll start now."
"But Kagome-" Souta started to protest.
"Can handle herself," he glanced over at her, making a shooing motion with his
hand and waiting until she'd disappeared back into the front of the house for
her jacket until he spoke to Souta again. "She was very afraid you would
be disapproving when she is still struggling with her own loss, Souta.
We'll have plenty of time with her after she re-centers herself."
He frowned at that, making a sound of frustration as he turned to stare in the
direction she'd gone, "She needs family."
"Balanced with solitude so she can grieve in her own way," Shinju nodded, but
reiterated his intentions to keep him from following Kagome on her walk.
"All the family records indicate she was in the past for quite some time.
She was used to quiet and wild times, not people everywhere and
buildings... You can see the pain in her eyes when there are crowds."
"She's getting better," Souta muttered out grudgingly. "She doesn't jump
as much anymore."
He nodded, tucking his feet up under him, "Kagome is going to stay in this time
from now on. She knows it, even if some part of her wishes she could go
back and visit the ones she left behind. But consider this, Souta... she
always knew she would be returning, she only delayed because she knew it would
be the last she saw of my ancestor and her friends."
Souta's head snapped around to Shinju's stoic face, eyes wide and startled,
"How did you-?"
"The records of my family are immaculate," Shinju replied proudly. "After
the jewel sent her away, she didn't return, and it was passed down through our
family to find her again in the future. It's obvious how deeply your
sister cares about you, and she trusts you, or she never would have told you
about me or the past."
There was a long moment of silence, punctuated only by the quiet shuffling of
Kagome moving about to get ready for her walk. Shinju appeared to be
completely unaffected, hands clasped loosely in his lap and head bowed forward
in a relaxed, meditative pose despite Souta's unwavering stare. He had to
admit it was more than a little disconcerting to see how easily he ignored the
vibes hanging thick in the main room of his house, but at the same time, he was
still a little overwhelmed at Shinju's ability to turn his emotions on and off
like that.
"Why do you call her eKaa-san?'" Souta leaned back against the soft cushions,
bracing his arm up on the back as he finally felt comfortable enough to break
the quiet.
"I don't remember my mother," Shinju answered in a subdued voice. "But I
grew up on stories of the miko who made my life possible. I used to
dream... ah, nevermind. I was a child, and my parents had died in an
accident right after I was born. I don't remember them. But when I
saw Kagome-sama in my temple, I couldn't help but ask. I'm the first
generation in present times to connect with this side of our family, and I... it
seemed so natural. She told me that she didn't mind it."
They lapsed back into their own
quiet thoughts, both looking up and standing automatically when Kagome
reentered the room and embraced them both before she turned just as quickly to
exit, "Behave and do your meditations. I'll be back before it gets too
late."
"Are you sure you don't need
us?" Souta tried one last time, taking a step forward and reaching out towards her
retreating back.
Kagome paused with one hand on
the wall leading to the foyer, her fingers clenching before she let her head
fall forward until her chin nearly rested on her chest. She had to
swallow hard to get herself under control before she looked back at them and
smiled, "I need you to speak with each other without me here to distract you."
Souta blinked when she was gone
in a flash of long hair and the muffled slam of the front door, slowly sitting
back down and vaguely aware of Shinju doing the same beside him, "What... did she
mean? Speak to each other?"
Shinju suddenly started to
chuckle after he realized they were lapsing back into their own silence
again. He leaned back and propped his chin up on his hand, deciding on
the best way to break the ice with his uncle, "Pizza and beer?"
"Your treat."
~*~*~*~
Yuusuke was starting to worry about Kurama.
In the month since those two had shown up unannounced on his doorstep and
voiced their intentions to stay on for a "vacation," he'd seen the kitsune do
little more than date and fight. That might not have been such a cause
for concern if he hadn't seemed to be actually looking forward to hearing of
jobs from Koenma that would require certain levels of violence. Considering
Kurama was usually the one who would play his hand with calm precision, the way
he was throwing himself into battle was more like Hiei in a temper: eager to
race in and tear apart the offending demons with a kind of glee that was
disturbing to witness. Especially after the behavior they'd all come to
expect from their non-human partners, it was just downright weird for it
to change so inexplicably.
Yet, every time he tried to take Kurama aside and actually try to speak with
him about the change in temperament, Hiei was right there to block the attempt
and tell him to mind his own business in as few words as possible. It had
to have something to do with his sudden interest in dating every girl he could
stand to lay eyes on, but they were both being completely close-lipped about
the entire matter, going so far as to even stop speaking mid-sentence when
anyone else came within earshot.
He vaguely wondered if they
thought he was a complete idiot, sighing at the affirmative answer from his own
internal voice, Kurama probably ain't thinking that, but Hiei sure as fuck
is.
Yuusuke was half-tempted to
simply tell Kurama not to bother making any romantic attempts, considering his
own nearly disastrous experiences with Keiko, and she had known all about his "occupation"
with Rekai.
Working for Koenma and that
realm was practically a death sentence for any personal life, unless you could
manage to find a girlfriend who liked –or at least understood- long stretches
of alone time. Then again, anyone who smiled all the way through
unexplained absences and abrupt departures would probably have ulterior motives
for the relationship in the first place.
So...
Yuusuke sighed, lounging back in
the wrought iron chair that Keiko thought added charm to this latest café she just
had to try, but was quickly putting him on the road to one hell of a leg
cramp. He wasn't seeing a bright side to that situation for his
ridiculously pretty friend on the long term outlook, but at least his looks
could get him a casual sex partner now and then to take the edge off. Not
that he'd ever repeat that where Keiko could hear it come out of his mouth, but
it had to be better than nothing.
"Would it kill you to at least
pretend to be enjoying yourself, Yuusuke?" Keiko punctuated that remark by
swatting her fiancé with a menu before looking around the sunlit street to see
if the others were close to arriving. "It isn't often we get to have time
to ourselves, so why can't you just admit Kurabara would never let anything
happen to the boys and relax?"
"I know he wouldn't," Yuusuke
winced and rubbed his cheek as he readjusted in the uncomfortable chair and
followed her search, adding his own deeper senses to reach out in a wider
radius.
Her annoyance changed to
understanding in a heartbeat, and she reached out to clasp his hand before he
tapped a hole in the table, "Kurama? Look, Yuusuke, he's probably just
lonely. Even if he is supposed to be some great thief, he's still
been living a human life for a while now. Maybe it's getting him down."
Yuusuke made a face at the
remarks, threading his fingers through hers and settling back into the least
annoying position to watch the humans and peaceful demons bustling about their
weekend lives, "It's still creepy that you can do that, and don't give me that
ewoman's intuition' crap, cause I ain't buying it." After that, however,
his expression softened and he admitted, "But for his sake, I hope not.
Can you imagine how hard it would be to find a girl to put up with... well,
everything?"
"Can't imagine," Keiko rolled
her eyes and promptly kicked him under the table. "Hello? Aren't I
proof that it's possible to make it work out? I don't have any powers or
anything, and I can still be understanding!"
"We've known each other since we
were kids though, Keiko, it just ain't the same," he scowled at her and rubbed
his abused shin awkwardly with his free hand when she refused to let go of the
other. "You put up with me before, and you were already all attached when
it started to get weird."
"That's putting it lightly," she
muttered under her breath, but giggled at the sour look that earned her.
"Anyhow," he drawled out to make
sure she was finished before continuing, "Kurama would have to start from
scratch. He never really kept any childhood friends, and he doesn't have
much in common with his family except for the loyalty he has for his
mother. Most girls would drop him after the first couple of disappearing
acts he pulled when Botan does the poofing in thing and hauls us up to Koenma."
Keiko felt herself frown
slightly, "You really are worried about him."
"Well, shit, Keiko, think about
it," he gestured expansively with one hand, still keeping his voice low to
avoid drawing any unwelcome attention to the less than normal discussion.
"On top of that, he's got to find someone who won't mind that he'll always be
the pretty one in the couple and always will be thanks to Youko-" he broke off,
face going blank before he sighed and shook his head. "I forgot all about
that. Another thing that'll make it hard for him is Youko."
"What about Youko?" Keiko's brow
furrowed in confusion, trying to unobtrusively prod him into revealing more
about the kitsune spirit she had yet to truly see for herself. It might
be a serious topic about a man she considered to be a close friend, but she
still couldn't help the curiosity.
"If he doesn't like her, he'll
make Kurama's life hell until they get rid of her and move on," he explained,
mentally crossing his fingers in case he was calling Youko all wrong.
"From what little Kurama will talk about him, and what I saw, he can be a real
bastard about things not going his way."
"Oh," she looked down at their
joined hands, feeling sorry for their troubled friend for the first time...
really ever. He was adored for those looks wherever he was, smart,
stable; there really wasn't anything about him that she could say was bad, but
she had the impression he was more polite in his human persona, "I never really
thought it would be so hard for him."
Whatever Yuusuke would have said
in response to that was forgotten when a light flashed not two feet from his
face, momentarily blinding them both and sending the volatile man into a fit of
blistering curses. He was just starting to stand, intending to quickly
and quietly murder whomever was responsible when a Polaroid was slapped down on
he table, and a disturbingly perky male voice chimed in, "Freebie! Sorry
ebout that, but I just couldn't resist a cute shot like that, you know?"
Yuusuke paused enough to rub at his
eyes, Keiko's hand on his arm holding him back before he could go after the
younger man currently whistling and spinning an expensive looking camera on his
forefinger by the strap as he walked away, "The fuck-?!"
"Hang on, Yuusuke, don't hurt
him," she chided quietly, glancing from the retreating back down to the
developing photograph. She might not appreciate the surprise, but at the
same time, she was willing to forestall judgment until she saw the
product. She had to squeeze his arm again once more before the image
finally faded into view, making her eyes widen and her lips curl in an
unconscious smile, "Don't hurt him."
He scowled at that and blinked
again, rubbing at his eyes and bending down to see the photo, "Why not?
It's just a snapshot, and we don't even know that little punk!"
Keiko made an impatient sound
and smacked him on the shoulder hard, "Because it's beautiful! I never
get decent pictures of you, let alone you and me together," she scolded him,
tracing a finger down the squared edge. Whoever that "punk" was, he'd
managed to angle them both into the shot during a moment where Yuusuke's eyes
had been soft, attention on their clasped hands while she smiled at him.
"I never thought I'd manage to get a picture of you like this," she elaborated
when he continued to look annoyed.
Yuusuke finally sighed and
stopped trying to pull away from her, sitting down and glumly admitting to
himself that the photograph definitely looked professional, "I'll be damned-
hey, wait! Sonofabitch, that's the same kid on skates from that
day! Takashima or something that guy called him!"
"The investigator?" Keiko's
brows lifted in surprise, turning to look at him once more before he turned a
corner and disappeared from their sight. "Are you sure?"
"He's not exactly the type to
blend in, Keiko," Yuusuke grumbled out, wavering between irritation at her lack
of confidence in his observation, and disbelief at her lack of
recognition. It had been a more memorable afternoon thanks to that kid,
after all, "Besides, I recognize the weird vibe he gives off, I was just busy
with the whole being blind thing."
She shrugged, still admiring her
picture, "I just thought he wanted to look like a model. Or maybe a rock
star," she tapped a finger to her chin as she mulled that over.
"Rock star?!" Yuusuke was on his
feet the second that dreamy note entered her voice, pointing angrily in the
direction Takashima had gone, "That little cocky punk?!"
She giggled again and tried to
wave it off, getting him to sit back down as the arguing sounds blended into
the background noise to the cause of their heated debate where he stood in a
shielded alley. His phone was giving off that muffled trill as he waited
for the other end to pick up, regarding his camera with no small amount of
pride.
"And?" the voice on the other
end inquired with a note of impatience.
"I told you to leave it to me,"
Takashima rolled his eyes, leaning back against the bricks and watching people
walk past on the street. "Although, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear
that you were right... again. She's perfectly normal human, but he's got
the glow of a first-level brat, one of the Rekai employees. You can
examine that little aura to your heart's content once I get this developed."
"Your lack of manners is still
obnoxious."
"Isn't it though? Maybe
this'll teach you to separate a kid from his only family," he chuckled richly
and raked a hand through his hair to make sure his style hadn't gone
flat. "I just might settle down if you give me back my sister."
"Stop being dramatic about
events I had no control over," the tone of voice never changed, but he'd been
with his boss long enough to know he was teetering on the dangerous edge of
seriously irritating him. "I've kept you alive until now, and she'll be
the first to agree that such a feat would have been impossible for a lesser
youkai."
"Probably true," Takashima
readily agreed just to walk that edge a little more.
"You still aren't finished,
Takashima, or are you going to tell me you can't get imaging on those two demons?"
he taunted with just the right note of disdain to get his best investigator
bristling.
"You'll have them by the end of
the week," he assured him, all wounded pride and stiff determination.
"I'm no amateur, dammit, you know that!"
"I'll hold you to your
deadline," he gave no indication that he intended to acknowledge the latter
statement. "You know how I hate loose ends, and those two looked like the
sort to cause trouble."
"You realize you're sounding
like the pot at the moment," Takashima pointed out, smirking at the answering
growl as he stepped back out into the foot traffic, narrowly missing bumping
into a girl and two teenagers as he mentally started to plot out how to
accomplish his task. He murmured half-hearted apologies, eyes on the sky
as he wandered off down the street, "You think he's mentioned you?"
"I highly doubt it," he snorted
at the thought. "That thug I let you hire is proof of that, unless he is
just abnormally oblivious to the fact that he's working for Rekai and
me."
"I guess we'll just wait and
see," Takashima sighed with mock gravity. "End of the week."
"If you're late, I'll make you
wait another month to see your sister, Takashima," the voice warned
sharply. "And you know my threats are never idle."
"You're a cruel bastard, Big
Dog."
"I have never been anything
less," he retorted with lofty nonchalance.
~*~*~*~
Kagome frowned and apologized to
the girl she'd accidentally shoved into when the young man fully absorbed in
his phone had materialized from beside her and forced her to side step or be
run down. The couple behind her had not been so light on their feet,
momentarily causing an awkward scene before apologies were made and he
continued away without another word.
That youkai again... is this an
area they control then? Like a pack or something? she stepped out of the way to give
herself time to more leisurely observe him, one hand coming to rest on her hip
in an unconscious habit. He's at ease here, not guarding, so it has to
be friendly territory.
She had just turned to start
walking again when she almost became the cause for an identical scene,
barely missing stepping right into a girl hanging onto the arm of a rather
harassed looking man with the most unique head of hair she'd ever seen.
Kagome had opened her mouth to apologize when her attention was caught and held
by a flash of youki, encouraging her to draw away from the pair before
whichever one of them was giving off the feeling could get a decent look at
her, Yeah, that'd be great, Kagome... one walk alone and you get accosted by a
future youkai. If Sesshoumaru is alive, he'd skin you for doing something
that stupid.
The new move, however, backed
her into a solid, overly warm object that immediately turned to face her with a
shocked look in his vivid, claret eyes. Kagome took an unconscious step
back, her mind already shifting back into defensive mode while she struggled to
separate the youki into individual pulses, Shit! There were two
youkai! She reigned in the heat that longed to pour out of her soul,
call to the forces it felt so close; instead forcing herself to bow politely
and avert her face as she murmured, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to run into
you. Excuse me."
Hiei's brow furrowed, distracted
from his fun at Kurama's expense as he started to reach out, only to find the
girl had strangely seemed to vanish amongst the humans pressing in around them,
That was... strange.
What was strange? Kurama's response to the broad thought
was ragged, hovering at the edge of patience as he wracked his brain for the
fastest way to end this "date."
That human, he scowled into the people, getting more
irritated by his failure to pinpoint the one. I didn't feel her.
It was like she didn't give off any aura at all.
A ghost? he latched onto that, already trying to
disengage the stubborn girl's hand. She was a little too enthusiastic
about the grabbing thing to sit well with either Youko or himself.
No, Hiei shook his head. She was
solid, and she gave off body heat. I've never felt something empty like
that.
eMagic,' Youko purred in satisfaction, bored to
death with human dating and more than ready to focus on something new. eI
could think of a few-e
Not now, Kurama cut him off, sensing a long list
of possibilities from his other side. We're meeting with Yuusuke and
Keiko for dinner, remember?
eFuck that. This would
be more fun.'
I've already lost her,
Kurama, it'd be pointless right now,
Hiei sounded none to pleased with that, his eyes still darting from person to
person in his attempt to locate that empty aura and getting more frustrated
when he failed to do so. Too many damn humans.
eWell shit.'
We have more than enough to
do without adding in a new puzzle, Youko, Kurama finally managed to get his arm back, crisply telling
the young woman that he was going to have to cut their evening short. That
youkai and the baby thing... We're stretched thin enough.
eBullshit,' Youko snorted in disgust. eThere
are never too many puzzles. You're just getting too wrapped up in the
annoying one.'
I am not in the mood right
now, Kurama forced
himself to smile politely in the face of her vocal displeasure, assuring her he
would call again despite Youko's remarks that he'd already made a mental note
to forget. Whatever the hell it was, Hiei, forget it, and let's get
away from this one before she makes a scene. We can come back later when
the humans are gone.
"Hn," Hiei was already using a
slight "push" on the girl to keep her from following, but he was still letting
himself get too wrapped up in that unique experience of being accidentally
bumped. Tonight, fox. I don't like knowing there might be a
thing out there we can't feel.
You were probably just too
focused on making me miserable, he
brushed it off, gripping the shorter youkai by the arm and hauling him off
towards the restaurant. It wouldn't be the first time.
Or the last.
Go fuck yourself, Hiei.