Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Then came an angel ❯ Danger about ( Chapter 19 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Sapadu 
Sort of an exposition. But also a build-up to all the plots in this arc.
Anime/Manga: Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Romance / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.28.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 178 | Status: Work In Progress
Sort of an exposition. But also a build-up to all the plots in this arc.
Anime/Manga: Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Romance / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.28.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 178 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 16
By Sapadu
I wanted to put this in the last chapter, but refrained: It was overkill.
"I AM SO LO-O-O-OST!" Ken shouted, crying in frustration. Nobody around him could speak English, but Ken was drawing enough attention to himself with the skirt he was wearing.
He'd made it to the building just fine, but once inside, Ken had NO CLUE where he was. All he really knew was that he was on the 18th floor, but all the doors looked the same. How was HE supposed to know where the president's office was? He'd attempted to ask five different people for help, but in the end, was too shy to get beyond 'Ano... excuse me...' before he started to stammer.
And, to top it all off, he'd agreed to meet Seguchi-kachou at noon and it was now 1:30. He was an hour and a half late, all because he had virtually no sense of direction.
:: Cheer up. Your mother didn't have any sense of direction when she was your age, and still doesn't to this day. ::
'Shut up, Tree.' Ken thought, feeling very stressed and bad tempered. He really hoped that when he finally found his way to the President's office, Seguchi-kachou wasn't in a mood to want to be an 'evil little bastard' as Miss Ann had described...
"YO!" A pink bunny popped up in front of Ken's face, making him jump backwards with a shout. Frantically looking around, Ken's eyes finally landed on a man with brown hair and blue eyes holding the bunny-like a hand puppet, with a wide smile on his face.
"A-A-Ano..." Ken gasped, getting his breath back, "H-H-Hello... nice to meet you... who are you?" The man grinned even wider, if that was possible.
"Ore wa Kumagoro, NA NO DA!" He smiled, waving the bunny around again, making the toy flap its arms. Ken blinked at the singularly unusual name, but figured it wasn't Kumagoro-san's fault if his parents had been on drugs when they named him.
"Ano... Magami Ken desu. Kumagoro-san... do you know where Seguchi-kachou's office is?" Ken asked, bowing and straightening up. Kumagoro blinked for a moment.
(A/N: Poor, naïve Ken-chan... He thinks Ryuichi's name is Kumagoro.)
"Tohma?" He asked, before nodding and dragging Ken to the elevator, the stuffed bunny leading the way. Ken felt himself start to sweat as Kumagoro pressed the button to the top floor- Ken HATED heights, and hadn't wanted to go all the way up to the top.
Once reaching the top, Kumagoro bounded down to the end of the hall, where there awaited a set of large wooden doors. Looking at them, Ken didn't think it would have been possible to mistake THEM for the entrance to the president's office. Ken couldn't knock on them, as Kumagoro was doing that, quite enough for him.
"TOH-MA! SOMEONE'S HERE TO SEE YOU, NA NO DA!" Ken wished the earth would open up and swallow him as he stood next to the man, going red from the roots of his hair to the nape of his neck. Then, Kumagoro opened the door and bounded in, pulling Ken after him.
Seguchi-kachou didn't really LOOK that old- his hair was a bit pale, so Ken almost mistook it for being white before he realized it was just bleached blond, but the appearance of age stopped there. His face still had a boyish shape, his figure was lean and short, much like Ken himself, and his clothes seemed like those that a college student might wear. And Seguchi-kachou was smiling so pleasantly, Ken almost thought for a moment that Miss Ann had just been trying to scare him with the 'evil little bastard' comment.
"Ah, would you be Magami-san, by any chance?" Seguchi-kachou asked, pleasantly. Ken bowed deeply, feeling very self conscious.
"Aaa, hai! Sumimasen! Sorry I was so late... I got lost..." Ken frantically apologized, straightening- His mother had started to joke that he would throw his back before he was twenty if he kept bowing the way he did.
"Not at all. Please, come in." The president reassured Ken, still smiling that damnably calm smile. Ken stepped inside and closed the door behind him before stepping up towards the desk. He felt incredibly small in this big room, even more so because he was only twelve years old, whereas Ken was certain that Kumagoro-san was at least in his early twenties.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Seguchi-kachou handed Ken a thick manila folder, filled with filings from employees, electricians, plumbers, and many, many customers: complaints about power failures with controversial statements that the wiring and power system were in perfect working order, lawsuits against the production studios because the albums and CDs released were not quality production yet hardware inspectors who had inspected the equipment and the CDs themselves and said there was absolutely no damage, filings from music groups who produced under the N-G label and were constantly having equipment troubles but no physical evidence that there was technical failure...
Pretty typical- probably meaning there was a curse on the company, if not the building itself.
"Seguchi-kachou-san... If it's alright with you, I'd like to investigate the entire building. If this is indeed a curse, the caster most likely left behind a card or mark of some sort- if he or she hadn't, the curse wouldn't be in effect." Ken asked, bowing again. Tohma looked privately amused at Ken's over-politeness, and nodded.
Ken ran before he could embarrass himself any further. This day had been hell enough, as it was.
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Smoke floated in the air from the tip of the smoldering cigarette, it's holder not caring if the ash fell on his hand or not. So what if he got burned? He'd been through worse. And besides, it's not like it hurt or something like that.
Physical pain was irrelevant. A purely medical thing, created so that one knew something was wrong with them. And since he knew what was wrong, he needn't worry.
It was the mental and the emotional that mattered- he felt little of either, anyway- but those mattered more, for they took more care and precision to heal. He knew, in theory, that he SHOULD see a therapist, but he didn't care enough about his sanity or feelings to go that far.
Scattered on the floor at his feet were photographs. He'd spent countless days following the subject, taking many of these himself. Except one. It was from his family album, but it was all he needed- all his personally taken pictures matched that one, in every angle, direction, and point of view.
He thought it a pity that such a seemingly innocent thing would have to die, soon. But then, he reflected, to call his subject pretty would be admitting to the beauty of the one who he loathed. That one had been horrible, mostly because that one had been so close to being his own reflection. Though, that hadn't been without reason. The very fact of THAT was what he had never been able to forgive.
It was so much more simple to not THINK about it. That's how he never felt remorse or regret, later. And the subject couldn't be that strong yet. If he wanted to have his fun, he could have it and break the doll later.
He stubbed out his cigarette and gathered everything he needed.
Muraki was going to Tokyo.
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A/N: Got you there, didn't I. Of COURSE Muraki's going to be in this.
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"You're awfully quiet today, Saki." Megumi said, following his sister through the street to the cake shop in Shibuya. Everywhere around them, frantic construction was taking place, trying to return the portion of the city back to its state before the earthquake. Saki and her brother walked past it, as though nothing was there at all. Saki had asked to see the supposed cousin of Samantha- Tsuzuki if she remembered his name correctly- concerning the story Tohru-kun had shown her- Saki had borrowed Tohru-kun's copy of the book.
"Tohru-kun has been so worried about Sapadu-kun, lately. It would be best to make sure nothing is truly serious." Saki explained, resting her black parasol on her shoulder. All the workers around them kept turning and staring at the two siblings, both entirely covered in black.
'So much black...' They all thought.
At the cake shop on the corner of the street, Saki and Megumi found a small table outside, and as soon as a waitress came over to take orders, they both wasted no time in ordering the best cakes in the house. This was much to the distaste of Tsuzuki, who showed up a few minutes later and looked heartbroken that they had ordered without waiting for him. Hisoka showed up a few moments after Tsuzuki, looking agitated that Tsuzuki had run away to find these two, but he sat down and ordered tea, anyway.
"Now, then. Tsuzuki-san, I have a question for you about Sapadu-kun." Saki finally said, putting down her mug of tea. Tsuzuki paused, with a forkful of carrot cake halfway to his mouth. Megumi continued to eat his treats (A/N: I don't know what they are- those round balls which Hana-chan served in the episode where the Yuki Fan club girls come to her house- ... I think they might have been takoyaki, but I don't know for sure.) seemingly uncaring about the conversation around him, but Hisoka was keeping his eye on the younger Hanajima sibling. Megumi looked back at Hisoka, half-challengingly, half-uncaring.
(A/N: You know that look Megumi has- that one thing where he glares with one eye, like he's saying 'What're you looking at?')
"Sammy? What about her? She's on a mission now- won't be back for a few days." Tsuzuki said, swallowing his mouthful. Hisoka gave his partner a disgusted look.
"She KNOWS, doufus. That's why she wanted to ask YOU- She thinks you're Sapadu-san's cousin, so it stands to reason you'd KNOW." Hisoka snapped, sipping his tea, irritably. Tsuzuki looked like he might cry for a moment, before puppy ears, paws, and a tail sprouted and his purple eyes shimmered.
"Hisoka... you're so SMART..." He said, sounding awe-struck. Hisoka made a face and pulled out a book which he'd brought along to read. Megumi's eyes never left the Kurosaki.
"Hanajima-san, you were asking Tsuzuki something." Hisoka mentioned, which invited Saki to speak again.
"Yes, Tsuzuki-san." She continued, and when Tsuzuki was paying attention to what she was saying, she spoke, "Where did Sapadu-kun come from?" Tsuzuki blinked at her. Hisoka looked confused.
"Did she never tell you where she was from?" Megumi pressed, inquisetively. Sakishot her brother a glance, as though to say 'Thank you, but please don't interfere'.
"All that Konoe-kachou ever told us was that she'd transferred in from a Brazil ministry, but she'd been transferred sixteen times before that." Tsuzuki said. Hisoka closed his book and whapped his partner upside the head with it.
"You dumbass! If you'd LISTENED when she introduced herself, you'd know she'd TOLD us she was from Wisconsin, America." Hisoka snarled, feeling crabby (probably because Tsuzuki had dragged him here at risk of Tatsumi catching them and docking their pay) and then he added, for good measure, "Baka!"
Tsuzuki sat up, nursing his injured noggin as Saki and Megumi blinked and stared at the pair. Finally, the older of the two siblings opened her mouth.
"Ah." She said, "I see." And then, Saki turned her attention back to her tea. Tsuzuki blinked at her, inquisitively.
"Why do you want to know, though?" He asked, in a rather serious tone that made his partner roll his eyes, "I'll admit I might ask the places she's been to, but why do you have such an interest in Samantha's home while she was alive?" Saki peered at the shinigami over the rim of her teacup.
"It bothers you?" She murmured, in a manner that seemed to be a statement and not a question. The two shinigami shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"Well, it's just a courtesy thing- in the land of the dead, we don't ask about how people's lives were, or where they're from if not our own bereau, or how they died. It's just polite." Tsuzuki explained, awkwardly, mangling his pie with his fork. Saki put down her empty cup.
"That does not matter to me. It was important to Tohru-kun to know, so I would find out." Saki explained, as though they should have known that. She then stood up, placing money on the table, "Thank you for the tea." She said, to a waitress that wasn't there. Tsuzuki and Hisoka both sweatdropped as the two stood up, and Saki opened her parasol again.
'So much black...' They both thought, despite how much their other thoughts were so different. Megumi finished his candy and followed his sister as she walked away.
The ground began to shake.
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A/N: BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
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"Thanks for letting me stay the night here." Tea called, rolling out a spare blanket on the floor and making a mock sleeping bag from the extra linens in the closet. Kendalina sat on her bed and was scribbling something on a piece of paper. Kenda took a swig of beer from one of the cans she had open on the floor between hers and Sammy's beds.
"No problem. We figured we could use some help in navigating our way around this Force-foresaken city." Kendalina replied, still looking over what she'd scribbled, which seemed to be an ofuda. Samantha interrupted from the bathroom, where she was changing and brushing her teeth.
"Kenda, it's God-foresaken. And it's kind of rude to say that in front of someone who calls this city home." Kenda stuck her tongue out at the wall that separated the bathroom from the hotel beds.
Sammy came out of the bathroom, her toothbrush still in her mouth and foam dripping out the corner of where her lips met eachother.
"Kendalina, I, of all people, know how tasty tongues are when roasted with just the right amount of herbs and salt. So, watch it, or lose it." She warned, before stomping back into the bathroom. Tea, in that short time, observed Samantha's sleepwear- it clashed, terribly, altogether. Samantha had pink and white, poufy, tennis shoe shaped slippers on her feet. Then, her baggy, plaid pants were black, purple, and green criscrossed. Finally, her black t-shirt was baggy with white writing that read "Bites When Provoked".
Tea decided not to question, since Samantha seemed to mean it.
Kendalina's pajamas was just a white, button-up shirt, which fell to her knees and the sleeves were rolled to her elbows. Tea, herself, was wearing a pair of pink pajamas with chubby blue, yellow, and purple cherubs printed on them. Samantha had pulled them from a subspace pocket somewhere, at which Kendalina had said something like 'Chi-chan's gonna be sleeping bare tonight', and gone back to sorting through her fuda.
While she heard the water running, Tea looked over to Samantha's bed, and noticed, for the first time that it was occupied, not by a person, but by a small, disfigured doll. It's head was irrproportional to it's plush body, and the pajamas it wore were spotted, like a cow hide. There were white, elastic bound booties on the doll's feet and on it's head was a white stretchy cap. The doll's eyes were brown and it's head was bald under the cap, with the pudgy ears poking out. On the covers of the bedspread, Samantha had out a sewing kit and several pieces of fabric, which Tea now guessed were to be an outfit for the doll. She blinked until Sammy came out of the bathroom, with a non-foamy mouth, this time.
"Sammy, what's with the doll?" Tea asked, pointing to the plush baby. Samantha smiled and bounced back onto her bed.
"Her name's Karen." Sammy said, as though this explained everything, and finished sewing the outfit she had on her bedspread. Tea blinked, waiting for more information and when it was apparent that none was forthcoming, she asked.
"And..." Sammy had a nostalgic smile on her face as she held up Karen to compare if the outfit she'd just completed would fit.
"She's precious to me. That's all." Samantha said, putting away her kit and holding Karen in her hands the way one would a newborn infant. Kendalina finishted her can of beer.
"Sammy, go to sleep and get an actual eight hours of sleep tonight." She said. Samantha gave her counterpart a tired smile before crawling under the covers of her bed and falling asleep, immediately, Karen still in her arms.
Tea blinked. Kendalina tossed the empty beer can at Tea's head, bonking her solidly on the cranium.
"Never make a crack about Karen. I don't care if you think that brand of doll is scary or disturbing or irrproportional or ugly. You don't cut someone's lifeline." Kendalina said, as Tea rubbed the spot on which she'd been hit, "That's about the only happy memory from her life that Sammy has, all in that little doll." She explained, and as Tea looked appropriately shocked, she continued, "Samantha doesn't remember anything really about her grandmother, because she died of cancer when Sammy was still a one-year-old. That's the only thing left to mark Samantha's grandmother ever existed- not even her grandfather will admit it- so Sammy never got rid of that doll. Besides, she had to fight to keep Karen- under the sleeves, one of Karen's arms is sewn on because her arm got torn off when Sammy got into a fight with her dad over her- so it's not like Samantha's going to throw her away after she had to fight so hard to earn her right to have a doll." Kendalina opened another can of beer as Tea blinked, assimilating that information. Eventually, though, all she could say was,
"It's bad for you to have an alchohol problem like that." Tea glanced at all the beer cans on the floor. Kendalina gave her a look.
"I don't have a problem- I enjoy every drop!" She proclaimed, sticking her tongue out at Tea, "And it's none of your business what I drink."
"Well, it's not your business to tell me about Sammy's grandparents." Tea shot back, to which Kendalina at least had the good grace to look embarassed.
"Touché." Kendalina commented, with a slight smirk, "At least now, I know that all your friendship speeches aren't just a wad of shit- you've got stuff backing it up."
Tea raised an eyebrow at Kendalina, before looking back at the sleeping Samantha.
"Well... it's just... we don't really know that much about her, and we don't even know why. I mean, sure, we don't know a lot about Bakura or the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle, either, but... those are for really different reasons, and we at least know why. But with Samantha... it's like she's keeping secrets." Tea murmured, almost to herself. Kendalina peered at Tea over her beer.
"What's wrong with secrets?" She asked, sounding almost defensive. Tea gave her a look.
"Nothing's WRONG with them, but... we just don't keep them. There are things which are none of our business and even Joey respects that- and he's the nosiest of all of us- but... you just don't keep secrets. It's like... if you haven't done anything wrong, you should have nothing to hide, right?" Tea explained, feeling rather small under Kendalina's imperious gaze. Kendalina laughed, albeit derisively.
"Did you ever consider that what YOU think of as 'Secrets', Sammy thinks of as 'None of your business'? That perhaps she has a reason for her reclusiveness? That maybe that attitude of 'You should have nothing to hide' is exactly WHY she won't tell you anything? That perhaps what she considers to be nothing wrong, you would condemn her for it?" Kendalina asked, slowly pausing between each sentence to give it all due drama and for Tea to give each one all due consideration.
The younger girl was silent for a long time.
"I just wish she'd give us a chance and trust us." Tea finally said. Kendalina coughed and choked on the beer she'd been sipping before she cleared her lungs and started to laugh, in a derisive, cruel manner.
"Trust you? That's a laughable wish, if I ever heard one!" Kenda gasped, pounding her fist against her chest. Tea flinched, but the Jedi Princess kept laughing, "But... for some reason that I can't POSSIBLY fathom... Sammy manages it. So... she IS giving you guys a chance. It's herself she doesn't trust."
With that said, Kendalina pulled the covers over her head and started to snore. Tea blinked for a moment, before crawling into her handmade sleeping bag. She took one last look at Samantha before falling asleep and was frightened to see that, for a second, something about Sammy... shifted.
But it was gone as soon as it appeared, and Tea went to sleep.
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I know I'm being a Bitch!Author supreme here. It only gets worse- trust me on that.
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Kamui had to leave classes early to get to the train on time. Even if it only went at running speed, it was still, somehow, impossible to catch. Kamui was somewhat relieved to see Keiichi waiting patiently for him at the stopping station and the two boys boarded the train in the first compartment. Kamui had argued about taking the train with Keiichi yesterday when the older boy suggested they go out after class- the Dragon of Heaven thought it was a waste to take the train, especially when it didn't even go that fast, but Keiichi insisted that it would save them time and they wouldn't get tired, either.
"So... where are we going?" Kamui asked, sitting down on one of the seats and setting his bookbag on his lap- his hands still ached from the last injury he'd gotten from Fuuma, and no one would soon forget the scars that showed, both on his palms and the backs of his hands. Keiichi bounced into a seat next to him and grinned, not swinging his legs because, and ONLY because, the seat was too low to do so without scraping his heels against the floor of the train.
"On the other side of campus is a I've heard students rumor that Akira-sensei cooks all the food there, and the meringue tarts are the BEST!- and anyway, I can't believe you haven't heard about it! So... I thought it would be a great place to go..." Keiichi explained, smiling and shrugging. Kamui heard a note of nostalgia in his voice and turned to look at his friend. Keiichi obviously realized he was being watched and started to laugh, scratching the back of his neck.
"Heh... you'll think this is stupid... but when I first got accepted to CLAMP Academy, my dad took me to this restaurant to celebrate. Then, whenever something really big happened, like I got all A's on my exams, or he closed an important deal at work, we'd go for cream puffs at this place..." Keiichi explained, going slightly pink and smiling, ashamedly, "I guess... I just missed going there with my dad... I missed it a lot... so... I told you it was stupid..." Kamui's eyes softened and he didn't laugh. He didn't even smile, but instead, looked sympathetic for the older boy.
"Segawa-kun..." He breathed, not wanting to say the wrong thing by accident, so deciding not to say anything at all.
Kamui didn't say anything for the rest of the trip, but just listened to Keiichi babble on about things of little importance. They arrived at the restaurant in about ten minutes, only for Kamui to suddenly notice that Yuzuriha was standing outside, the Inuki pup floating next to her, and a rather spaced out look on her face. She didn't even notice Kamui until he called out to her.
"Yuzuriha!" Kamui called, and the fourteen-year-old's head whipped around as though on a string.
"Oh! Kamui!" Yuzuriha exclaimed, upon seeing the violet-eyed boy, who ran over to her with Keiichi on his heels. Kamui frowned at Yuzuriha in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" Kamui asked, puzzled. Yuzuriha smiled a very nervous smile, going slightly pink in the cheeks.
"Oh... I'm... meeting a... a friend here..." She stammered, blushing. Kamui frowned and then took a step closer, feeling curious. What did Yuzuriha mean by 'a friend'? And why would she be blushing so much?
"Who?" He asked, in a tone that was almost suspicious. Keiichi clapped a hand on Kamui's shoulder, much like Sorata might have.
"Shirou-kun... I'm sure it's nothing you need to be worried about... Campus security is tight enough that if they were someone dangerous, they wouldn't be able to get in... Come on! Let's go find a table!" Keiichi insisted, almost whining, and tugging at Kamui's elbow. Just as the words came out of Keiichi's mouth, they heard someone calling.
"Oi! Missy, am I late?" It was a man, at least twice their age, if not older, broad shoulders and scruffy black hair. His skin was tanned, tough, and weatherbeaten, and he certainly LOOKED old. Kamui swore he even saw the stubble of a beard on the man's heavy, square chin. But two things struck Kamui that alarmed him- one superficial, the other, serious. The man's eyebrows were bushy and thick, hung low on his brow, and spiked at the ends, like someone had covered them with women's clumpy mascara.
(A/N: Yes, Megami-chan, I know they scare you.)
The second thing that Kamui noticed was his aura- it was a burning, fiery glow of green that was deceptively gentle on the eyes. Kamui had seen it before, when fighting with Fuuma, around the other Kamui or any dragons he brought with him.
This man was a Dragon of Earth.
And from the look he was giving Kamui, he recognized the boy for who and what he was, too.
"No, it's alright, Kusanagi-san! I just got here early since I attend classes at the school on this campus, and I wanted to get here early this time!" Yuzuriha reassured him, with a big smile, kitty ears popping out of her hair. Kamui sweatdropped as Keiichi laughed along with the fourteen-year-old.
"Okay... I was worried I might have kept you waiting for too long..." This Kusanagi man certainly didn't SEEM dangerous... and Kamui supposed Inuki would be a better judge of who would be a threat to Yuzuriha than he. Since the inugami pup actually licked the man's face when Yuzuriha held him up to Kusanagi, Kamui tried to force himself to relax.
"Who's this?" Kamui asked, forcing a bit of civility into his voice. Yuzuriha smiled and introduced him as Shiyuu Kusanagi, and then Keiichi introduced himself to both Yuzuriha and Kusanagi as did Kamui. It was pretty obvious that Kusanagi didn't need to be introduced to Kamui, but he acted as though he had just learned Kamui's name and bowed his head slightly.
"Pleased to meet you. I always did wonder who the roommates that Missy was always telling me about were..." He said, in a non-committal tone. Kamui tried to return the pleasantry.
"Glad to meet the person Yuzuriha's always going off to meet after school." Kamui replied. Yuzuriha and Keiichi blinked at the stiffness between the two, before the youngest decided to break the silence and change the topic.
"And you're Segawa Keiichi-kun, right? Kamui's friend? He talks about you all the time- told Sorata-san, Arashi-san, and I all about you! And he always smiles when he talks about you- we hardly ever see Kamui smile anymore!" Yuzuriha piped up, looking at Keiichi, which made Kamui go bright red, his bangs falling over his face to hide his eyes.
"HONTOU NII!?" Keiichi asked, smiling and blushing, but looking absolutely delighted. The older boy proceeded to throw his arms around Kamui's shoulders and squeeze when Yuzuriha nodded affirmative, resulting in Keiichi embracing a tomato with hair.
The four went inside with Kamui still red as a cherry, and Keiichi saved him further embarrassment by shooing him and Yuzuriha off to find a table for all four of them, which Kamui gladly accepted.
"So that's Kusanagi-san, then?" Kamui asked, awkwardly. Yuzuriha nodded, beaming.
"How did you meet him?" Kamui pressed, trying to sound merely curious. Yuzuriha told him the story of how Inuki had saved a boy in the street from getting hit by a truck and Kusanagi had later come over to pet the inugami, which made Kamui suspect that Yuzuriha had really only liked him because he could see Inuki.
"Kamui... does he really bother you that much? I always thought you two would get along really well... Was this just a bad day or..." Yuzuriha fretted and fussed for a moment as she, Inuki, and Kamui reached a table, but Kamui interrupted her.
"He's a Dragon of Earth." He said.
Yuzuriha fell silent. Then, like a melting candle, her face seemed to melt.
"But... no... Kusanagi-san... he couldn't be..." She protested, her voice faint and weak. Kamui looked at her evenly, and for just a split second, there was a fierce look in Yuzuriha's eye that made Kamui think she was going to slap him, but it was almost immediately gone as she seemed to admit it to herself.
"But he's... Kusanagi-san is... he's too kind to EVER... and... and he... I think he cares enough about people not to..." She stammered, and Kamui was afraid she was going to honestly cry. Inuki nuzzled his mistress's hand with his nose- Kamui always wondered if the inugami's nose felt wet, the way a real dog's nose did.
"I don't believe he'd hurt you... I agree with you on that..." Kamui finally said, wondering what could be taking Keiichi and Kusanagi so long at the ordering counter, "I know Inuki would protect you if Kusanagi meant you harm... but I worry." Yuzuriha looked confused for a moment, and Kamui smiled, "You're my friend, and I worry about you. And, if nothing else, you're also one of the the Dragons of Heaven. All of the rest of us need you, too." Yuzuriha looked almost taken aback for a moment, but then nodded her understanding, wiping tears away from her face.
"I understand..." She agreed, and Inuki barked, quite cutely.
A/N: Bleh. I want to post this, so I'm going to.
Bah! Review, or I'm not updating, dammit!
By Sapadu
I wanted to put this in the last chapter, but refrained: It was overkill.
"I AM SO LO-O-O-OST!" Ken shouted, crying in frustration. Nobody around him could speak English, but Ken was drawing enough attention to himself with the skirt he was wearing.
He'd made it to the building just fine, but once inside, Ken had NO CLUE where he was. All he really knew was that he was on the 18th floor, but all the doors looked the same. How was HE supposed to know where the president's office was? He'd attempted to ask five different people for help, but in the end, was too shy to get beyond 'Ano... excuse me...' before he started to stammer.
And, to top it all off, he'd agreed to meet Seguchi-kachou at noon and it was now 1:30. He was an hour and a half late, all because he had virtually no sense of direction.
:: Cheer up. Your mother didn't have any sense of direction when she was your age, and still doesn't to this day. ::
'Shut up, Tree.' Ken thought, feeling very stressed and bad tempered. He really hoped that when he finally found his way to the President's office, Seguchi-kachou wasn't in a mood to want to be an 'evil little bastard' as Miss Ann had described...
"YO!" A pink bunny popped up in front of Ken's face, making him jump backwards with a shout. Frantically looking around, Ken's eyes finally landed on a man with brown hair and blue eyes holding the bunny-like a hand puppet, with a wide smile on his face.
"A-A-Ano..." Ken gasped, getting his breath back, "H-H-Hello... nice to meet you... who are you?" The man grinned even wider, if that was possible.
"Ore wa Kumagoro, NA NO DA!" He smiled, waving the bunny around again, making the toy flap its arms. Ken blinked at the singularly unusual name, but figured it wasn't Kumagoro-san's fault if his parents had been on drugs when they named him.
"Ano... Magami Ken desu. Kumagoro-san... do you know where Seguchi-kachou's office is?" Ken asked, bowing and straightening up. Kumagoro blinked for a moment.
(A/N: Poor, naïve Ken-chan... He thinks Ryuichi's name is Kumagoro.)
"Tohma?" He asked, before nodding and dragging Ken to the elevator, the stuffed bunny leading the way. Ken felt himself start to sweat as Kumagoro pressed the button to the top floor- Ken HATED heights, and hadn't wanted to go all the way up to the top.
Once reaching the top, Kumagoro bounded down to the end of the hall, where there awaited a set of large wooden doors. Looking at them, Ken didn't think it would have been possible to mistake THEM for the entrance to the president's office. Ken couldn't knock on them, as Kumagoro was doing that, quite enough for him.
"TOH-MA! SOMEONE'S HERE TO SEE YOU, NA NO DA!" Ken wished the earth would open up and swallow him as he stood next to the man, going red from the roots of his hair to the nape of his neck. Then, Kumagoro opened the door and bounded in, pulling Ken after him.
Seguchi-kachou didn't really LOOK that old- his hair was a bit pale, so Ken almost mistook it for being white before he realized it was just bleached blond, but the appearance of age stopped there. His face still had a boyish shape, his figure was lean and short, much like Ken himself, and his clothes seemed like those that a college student might wear. And Seguchi-kachou was smiling so pleasantly, Ken almost thought for a moment that Miss Ann had just been trying to scare him with the 'evil little bastard' comment.
"Ah, would you be Magami-san, by any chance?" Seguchi-kachou asked, pleasantly. Ken bowed deeply, feeling very self conscious.
"Aaa, hai! Sumimasen! Sorry I was so late... I got lost..." Ken frantically apologized, straightening- His mother had started to joke that he would throw his back before he was twenty if he kept bowing the way he did.
"Not at all. Please, come in." The president reassured Ken, still smiling that damnably calm smile. Ken stepped inside and closed the door behind him before stepping up towards the desk. He felt incredibly small in this big room, even more so because he was only twelve years old, whereas Ken was certain that Kumagoro-san was at least in his early twenties.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Seguchi-kachou handed Ken a thick manila folder, filled with filings from employees, electricians, plumbers, and many, many customers: complaints about power failures with controversial statements that the wiring and power system were in perfect working order, lawsuits against the production studios because the albums and CDs released were not quality production yet hardware inspectors who had inspected the equipment and the CDs themselves and said there was absolutely no damage, filings from music groups who produced under the N-G label and were constantly having equipment troubles but no physical evidence that there was technical failure...
Pretty typical- probably meaning there was a curse on the company, if not the building itself.
"Seguchi-kachou-san... If it's alright with you, I'd like to investigate the entire building. If this is indeed a curse, the caster most likely left behind a card or mark of some sort- if he or she hadn't, the curse wouldn't be in effect." Ken asked, bowing again. Tohma looked privately amused at Ken's over-politeness, and nodded.
Ken ran before he could embarrass himself any further. This day had been hell enough, as it was.
*********************
Smoke floated in the air from the tip of the smoldering cigarette, it's holder not caring if the ash fell on his hand or not. So what if he got burned? He'd been through worse. And besides, it's not like it hurt or something like that.
Physical pain was irrelevant. A purely medical thing, created so that one knew something was wrong with them. And since he knew what was wrong, he needn't worry.
It was the mental and the emotional that mattered- he felt little of either, anyway- but those mattered more, for they took more care and precision to heal. He knew, in theory, that he SHOULD see a therapist, but he didn't care enough about his sanity or feelings to go that far.
Scattered on the floor at his feet were photographs. He'd spent countless days following the subject, taking many of these himself. Except one. It was from his family album, but it was all he needed- all his personally taken pictures matched that one, in every angle, direction, and point of view.
He thought it a pity that such a seemingly innocent thing would have to die, soon. But then, he reflected, to call his subject pretty would be admitting to the beauty of the one who he loathed. That one had been horrible, mostly because that one had been so close to being his own reflection. Though, that hadn't been without reason. The very fact of THAT was what he had never been able to forgive.
It was so much more simple to not THINK about it. That's how he never felt remorse or regret, later. And the subject couldn't be that strong yet. If he wanted to have his fun, he could have it and break the doll later.
He stubbed out his cigarette and gathered everything he needed.
Muraki was going to Tokyo.
********************
A/N: Got you there, didn't I. Of COURSE Muraki's going to be in this.
*********************
"You're awfully quiet today, Saki." Megumi said, following his sister through the street to the cake shop in Shibuya. Everywhere around them, frantic construction was taking place, trying to return the portion of the city back to its state before the earthquake. Saki and her brother walked past it, as though nothing was there at all. Saki had asked to see the supposed cousin of Samantha- Tsuzuki if she remembered his name correctly- concerning the story Tohru-kun had shown her- Saki had borrowed Tohru-kun's copy of the book.
"Tohru-kun has been so worried about Sapadu-kun, lately. It would be best to make sure nothing is truly serious." Saki explained, resting her black parasol on her shoulder. All the workers around them kept turning and staring at the two siblings, both entirely covered in black.
'So much black...' They all thought.
At the cake shop on the corner of the street, Saki and Megumi found a small table outside, and as soon as a waitress came over to take orders, they both wasted no time in ordering the best cakes in the house. This was much to the distaste of Tsuzuki, who showed up a few minutes later and looked heartbroken that they had ordered without waiting for him. Hisoka showed up a few moments after Tsuzuki, looking agitated that Tsuzuki had run away to find these two, but he sat down and ordered tea, anyway.
"Now, then. Tsuzuki-san, I have a question for you about Sapadu-kun." Saki finally said, putting down her mug of tea. Tsuzuki paused, with a forkful of carrot cake halfway to his mouth. Megumi continued to eat his treats (A/N: I don't know what they are- those round balls which Hana-chan served in the episode where the Yuki Fan club girls come to her house- ... I think they might have been takoyaki, but I don't know for sure.) seemingly uncaring about the conversation around him, but Hisoka was keeping his eye on the younger Hanajima sibling. Megumi looked back at Hisoka, half-challengingly, half-uncaring.
(A/N: You know that look Megumi has- that one thing where he glares with one eye, like he's saying 'What're you looking at?')
"Sammy? What about her? She's on a mission now- won't be back for a few days." Tsuzuki said, swallowing his mouthful. Hisoka gave his partner a disgusted look.
"She KNOWS, doufus. That's why she wanted to ask YOU- She thinks you're Sapadu-san's cousin, so it stands to reason you'd KNOW." Hisoka snapped, sipping his tea, irritably. Tsuzuki looked like he might cry for a moment, before puppy ears, paws, and a tail sprouted and his purple eyes shimmered.
"Hisoka... you're so SMART..." He said, sounding awe-struck. Hisoka made a face and pulled out a book which he'd brought along to read. Megumi's eyes never left the Kurosaki.
"Hanajima-san, you were asking Tsuzuki something." Hisoka mentioned, which invited Saki to speak again.
"Yes, Tsuzuki-san." She continued, and when Tsuzuki was paying attention to what she was saying, she spoke, "Where did Sapadu-kun come from?" Tsuzuki blinked at her. Hisoka looked confused.
"Did she never tell you where she was from?" Megumi pressed, inquisetively. Sakishot her brother a glance, as though to say 'Thank you, but please don't interfere'.
"All that Konoe-kachou ever told us was that she'd transferred in from a Brazil ministry, but she'd been transferred sixteen times before that." Tsuzuki said. Hisoka closed his book and whapped his partner upside the head with it.
"You dumbass! If you'd LISTENED when she introduced herself, you'd know she'd TOLD us she was from Wisconsin, America." Hisoka snarled, feeling crabby (probably because Tsuzuki had dragged him here at risk of Tatsumi catching them and docking their pay) and then he added, for good measure, "Baka!"
Tsuzuki sat up, nursing his injured noggin as Saki and Megumi blinked and stared at the pair. Finally, the older of the two siblings opened her mouth.
"Ah." She said, "I see." And then, Saki turned her attention back to her tea. Tsuzuki blinked at her, inquisitively.
"Why do you want to know, though?" He asked, in a rather serious tone that made his partner roll his eyes, "I'll admit I might ask the places she's been to, but why do you have such an interest in Samantha's home while she was alive?" Saki peered at the shinigami over the rim of her teacup.
"It bothers you?" She murmured, in a manner that seemed to be a statement and not a question. The two shinigami shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"Well, it's just a courtesy thing- in the land of the dead, we don't ask about how people's lives were, or where they're from if not our own bereau, or how they died. It's just polite." Tsuzuki explained, awkwardly, mangling his pie with his fork. Saki put down her empty cup.
"That does not matter to me. It was important to Tohru-kun to know, so I would find out." Saki explained, as though they should have known that. She then stood up, placing money on the table, "Thank you for the tea." She said, to a waitress that wasn't there. Tsuzuki and Hisoka both sweatdropped as the two stood up, and Saki opened her parasol again.
'So much black...' They both thought, despite how much their other thoughts were so different. Megumi finished his candy and followed his sister as she walked away.
The ground began to shake.
********************
A/N: BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
********************
"Thanks for letting me stay the night here." Tea called, rolling out a spare blanket on the floor and making a mock sleeping bag from the extra linens in the closet. Kendalina sat on her bed and was scribbling something on a piece of paper. Kenda took a swig of beer from one of the cans she had open on the floor between hers and Sammy's beds.
"No problem. We figured we could use some help in navigating our way around this Force-foresaken city." Kendalina replied, still looking over what she'd scribbled, which seemed to be an ofuda. Samantha interrupted from the bathroom, where she was changing and brushing her teeth.
"Kenda, it's God-foresaken. And it's kind of rude to say that in front of someone who calls this city home." Kenda stuck her tongue out at the wall that separated the bathroom from the hotel beds.
Sammy came out of the bathroom, her toothbrush still in her mouth and foam dripping out the corner of where her lips met eachother.
"Kendalina, I, of all people, know how tasty tongues are when roasted with just the right amount of herbs and salt. So, watch it, or lose it." She warned, before stomping back into the bathroom. Tea, in that short time, observed Samantha's sleepwear- it clashed, terribly, altogether. Samantha had pink and white, poufy, tennis shoe shaped slippers on her feet. Then, her baggy, plaid pants were black, purple, and green criscrossed. Finally, her black t-shirt was baggy with white writing that read "Bites When Provoked".
Tea decided not to question, since Samantha seemed to mean it.
Kendalina's pajamas was just a white, button-up shirt, which fell to her knees and the sleeves were rolled to her elbows. Tea, herself, was wearing a pair of pink pajamas with chubby blue, yellow, and purple cherubs printed on them. Samantha had pulled them from a subspace pocket somewhere, at which Kendalina had said something like 'Chi-chan's gonna be sleeping bare tonight', and gone back to sorting through her fuda.
While she heard the water running, Tea looked over to Samantha's bed, and noticed, for the first time that it was occupied, not by a person, but by a small, disfigured doll. It's head was irrproportional to it's plush body, and the pajamas it wore were spotted, like a cow hide. There were white, elastic bound booties on the doll's feet and on it's head was a white stretchy cap. The doll's eyes were brown and it's head was bald under the cap, with the pudgy ears poking out. On the covers of the bedspread, Samantha had out a sewing kit and several pieces of fabric, which Tea now guessed were to be an outfit for the doll. She blinked until Sammy came out of the bathroom, with a non-foamy mouth, this time.
"Sammy, what's with the doll?" Tea asked, pointing to the plush baby. Samantha smiled and bounced back onto her bed.
"Her name's Karen." Sammy said, as though this explained everything, and finished sewing the outfit she had on her bedspread. Tea blinked, waiting for more information and when it was apparent that none was forthcoming, she asked.
"And..." Sammy had a nostalgic smile on her face as she held up Karen to compare if the outfit she'd just completed would fit.
"She's precious to me. That's all." Samantha said, putting away her kit and holding Karen in her hands the way one would a newborn infant. Kendalina finishted her can of beer.
"Sammy, go to sleep and get an actual eight hours of sleep tonight." She said. Samantha gave her counterpart a tired smile before crawling under the covers of her bed and falling asleep, immediately, Karen still in her arms.
Tea blinked. Kendalina tossed the empty beer can at Tea's head, bonking her solidly on the cranium.
"Never make a crack about Karen. I don't care if you think that brand of doll is scary or disturbing or irrproportional or ugly. You don't cut someone's lifeline." Kendalina said, as Tea rubbed the spot on which she'd been hit, "That's about the only happy memory from her life that Sammy has, all in that little doll." She explained, and as Tea looked appropriately shocked, she continued, "Samantha doesn't remember anything really about her grandmother, because she died of cancer when Sammy was still a one-year-old. That's the only thing left to mark Samantha's grandmother ever existed- not even her grandfather will admit it- so Sammy never got rid of that doll. Besides, she had to fight to keep Karen- under the sleeves, one of Karen's arms is sewn on because her arm got torn off when Sammy got into a fight with her dad over her- so it's not like Samantha's going to throw her away after she had to fight so hard to earn her right to have a doll." Kendalina opened another can of beer as Tea blinked, assimilating that information. Eventually, though, all she could say was,
"It's bad for you to have an alchohol problem like that." Tea glanced at all the beer cans on the floor. Kendalina gave her a look.
"I don't have a problem- I enjoy every drop!" She proclaimed, sticking her tongue out at Tea, "And it's none of your business what I drink."
"Well, it's not your business to tell me about Sammy's grandparents." Tea shot back, to which Kendalina at least had the good grace to look embarassed.
"Touché." Kendalina commented, with a slight smirk, "At least now, I know that all your friendship speeches aren't just a wad of shit- you've got stuff backing it up."
Tea raised an eyebrow at Kendalina, before looking back at the sleeping Samantha.
"Well... it's just... we don't really know that much about her, and we don't even know why. I mean, sure, we don't know a lot about Bakura or the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle, either, but... those are for really different reasons, and we at least know why. But with Samantha... it's like she's keeping secrets." Tea murmured, almost to herself. Kendalina peered at Tea over her beer.
"What's wrong with secrets?" She asked, sounding almost defensive. Tea gave her a look.
"Nothing's WRONG with them, but... we just don't keep them. There are things which are none of our business and even Joey respects that- and he's the nosiest of all of us- but... you just don't keep secrets. It's like... if you haven't done anything wrong, you should have nothing to hide, right?" Tea explained, feeling rather small under Kendalina's imperious gaze. Kendalina laughed, albeit derisively.
"Did you ever consider that what YOU think of as 'Secrets', Sammy thinks of as 'None of your business'? That perhaps she has a reason for her reclusiveness? That maybe that attitude of 'You should have nothing to hide' is exactly WHY she won't tell you anything? That perhaps what she considers to be nothing wrong, you would condemn her for it?" Kendalina asked, slowly pausing between each sentence to give it all due drama and for Tea to give each one all due consideration.
The younger girl was silent for a long time.
"I just wish she'd give us a chance and trust us." Tea finally said. Kendalina coughed and choked on the beer she'd been sipping before she cleared her lungs and started to laugh, in a derisive, cruel manner.
"Trust you? That's a laughable wish, if I ever heard one!" Kenda gasped, pounding her fist against her chest. Tea flinched, but the Jedi Princess kept laughing, "But... for some reason that I can't POSSIBLY fathom... Sammy manages it. So... she IS giving you guys a chance. It's herself she doesn't trust."
With that said, Kendalina pulled the covers over her head and started to snore. Tea blinked for a moment, before crawling into her handmade sleeping bag. She took one last look at Samantha before falling asleep and was frightened to see that, for a second, something about Sammy... shifted.
But it was gone as soon as it appeared, and Tea went to sleep.
*******************
I know I'm being a Bitch!Author supreme here. It only gets worse- trust me on that.
******************
Kamui had to leave classes early to get to the train on time. Even if it only went at running speed, it was still, somehow, impossible to catch. Kamui was somewhat relieved to see Keiichi waiting patiently for him at the stopping station and the two boys boarded the train in the first compartment. Kamui had argued about taking the train with Keiichi yesterday when the older boy suggested they go out after class- the Dragon of Heaven thought it was a waste to take the train, especially when it didn't even go that fast, but Keiichi insisted that it would save them time and they wouldn't get tired, either.
"So... where are we going?" Kamui asked, sitting down on one of the seats and setting his bookbag on his lap- his hands still ached from the last injury he'd gotten from Fuuma, and no one would soon forget the scars that showed, both on his palms and the backs of his hands. Keiichi bounced into a seat next to him and grinned, not swinging his legs because, and ONLY because, the seat was too low to do so without scraping his heels against the floor of the train.
"On the other side of campus is a I've heard students rumor that Akira-sensei cooks all the food there, and the meringue tarts are the BEST!- and anyway, I can't believe you haven't heard about it! So... I thought it would be a great place to go..." Keiichi explained, smiling and shrugging. Kamui heard a note of nostalgia in his voice and turned to look at his friend. Keiichi obviously realized he was being watched and started to laugh, scratching the back of his neck.
"Heh... you'll think this is stupid... but when I first got accepted to CLAMP Academy, my dad took me to this restaurant to celebrate. Then, whenever something really big happened, like I got all A's on my exams, or he closed an important deal at work, we'd go for cream puffs at this place..." Keiichi explained, going slightly pink and smiling, ashamedly, "I guess... I just missed going there with my dad... I missed it a lot... so... I told you it was stupid..." Kamui's eyes softened and he didn't laugh. He didn't even smile, but instead, looked sympathetic for the older boy.
"Segawa-kun..." He breathed, not wanting to say the wrong thing by accident, so deciding not to say anything at all.
Kamui didn't say anything for the rest of the trip, but just listened to Keiichi babble on about things of little importance. They arrived at the restaurant in about ten minutes, only for Kamui to suddenly notice that Yuzuriha was standing outside, the Inuki pup floating next to her, and a rather spaced out look on her face. She didn't even notice Kamui until he called out to her.
"Yuzuriha!" Kamui called, and the fourteen-year-old's head whipped around as though on a string.
"Oh! Kamui!" Yuzuriha exclaimed, upon seeing the violet-eyed boy, who ran over to her with Keiichi on his heels. Kamui frowned at Yuzuriha in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" Kamui asked, puzzled. Yuzuriha smiled a very nervous smile, going slightly pink in the cheeks.
"Oh... I'm... meeting a... a friend here..." She stammered, blushing. Kamui frowned and then took a step closer, feeling curious. What did Yuzuriha mean by 'a friend'? And why would she be blushing so much?
"Who?" He asked, in a tone that was almost suspicious. Keiichi clapped a hand on Kamui's shoulder, much like Sorata might have.
"Shirou-kun... I'm sure it's nothing you need to be worried about... Campus security is tight enough that if they were someone dangerous, they wouldn't be able to get in... Come on! Let's go find a table!" Keiichi insisted, almost whining, and tugging at Kamui's elbow. Just as the words came out of Keiichi's mouth, they heard someone calling.
"Oi! Missy, am I late?" It was a man, at least twice their age, if not older, broad shoulders and scruffy black hair. His skin was tanned, tough, and weatherbeaten, and he certainly LOOKED old. Kamui swore he even saw the stubble of a beard on the man's heavy, square chin. But two things struck Kamui that alarmed him- one superficial, the other, serious. The man's eyebrows were bushy and thick, hung low on his brow, and spiked at the ends, like someone had covered them with women's clumpy mascara.
(A/N: Yes, Megami-chan, I know they scare you.)
The second thing that Kamui noticed was his aura- it was a burning, fiery glow of green that was deceptively gentle on the eyes. Kamui had seen it before, when fighting with Fuuma, around the other Kamui or any dragons he brought with him.
This man was a Dragon of Earth.
And from the look he was giving Kamui, he recognized the boy for who and what he was, too.
"No, it's alright, Kusanagi-san! I just got here early since I attend classes at the school on this campus, and I wanted to get here early this time!" Yuzuriha reassured him, with a big smile, kitty ears popping out of her hair. Kamui sweatdropped as Keiichi laughed along with the fourteen-year-old.
"Okay... I was worried I might have kept you waiting for too long..." This Kusanagi man certainly didn't SEEM dangerous... and Kamui supposed Inuki would be a better judge of who would be a threat to Yuzuriha than he. Since the inugami pup actually licked the man's face when Yuzuriha held him up to Kusanagi, Kamui tried to force himself to relax.
"Who's this?" Kamui asked, forcing a bit of civility into his voice. Yuzuriha smiled and introduced him as Shiyuu Kusanagi, and then Keiichi introduced himself to both Yuzuriha and Kusanagi as did Kamui. It was pretty obvious that Kusanagi didn't need to be introduced to Kamui, but he acted as though he had just learned Kamui's name and bowed his head slightly.
"Pleased to meet you. I always did wonder who the roommates that Missy was always telling me about were..." He said, in a non-committal tone. Kamui tried to return the pleasantry.
"Glad to meet the person Yuzuriha's always going off to meet after school." Kamui replied. Yuzuriha and Keiichi blinked at the stiffness between the two, before the youngest decided to break the silence and change the topic.
"And you're Segawa Keiichi-kun, right? Kamui's friend? He talks about you all the time- told Sorata-san, Arashi-san, and I all about you! And he always smiles when he talks about you- we hardly ever see Kamui smile anymore!" Yuzuriha piped up, looking at Keiichi, which made Kamui go bright red, his bangs falling over his face to hide his eyes.
"HONTOU NII!?" Keiichi asked, smiling and blushing, but looking absolutely delighted. The older boy proceeded to throw his arms around Kamui's shoulders and squeeze when Yuzuriha nodded affirmative, resulting in Keiichi embracing a tomato with hair.
The four went inside with Kamui still red as a cherry, and Keiichi saved him further embarrassment by shooing him and Yuzuriha off to find a table for all four of them, which Kamui gladly accepted.
"So that's Kusanagi-san, then?" Kamui asked, awkwardly. Yuzuriha nodded, beaming.
"How did you meet him?" Kamui pressed, trying to sound merely curious. Yuzuriha told him the story of how Inuki had saved a boy in the street from getting hit by a truck and Kusanagi had later come over to pet the inugami, which made Kamui suspect that Yuzuriha had really only liked him because he could see Inuki.
"Kamui... does he really bother you that much? I always thought you two would get along really well... Was this just a bad day or..." Yuzuriha fretted and fussed for a moment as she, Inuki, and Kamui reached a table, but Kamui interrupted her.
"He's a Dragon of Earth." He said.
Yuzuriha fell silent. Then, like a melting candle, her face seemed to melt.
"But... no... Kusanagi-san... he couldn't be..." She protested, her voice faint and weak. Kamui looked at her evenly, and for just a split second, there was a fierce look in Yuzuriha's eye that made Kamui think she was going to slap him, but it was almost immediately gone as she seemed to admit it to herself.
"But he's... Kusanagi-san is... he's too kind to EVER... and... and he... I think he cares enough about people not to..." She stammered, and Kamui was afraid she was going to honestly cry. Inuki nuzzled his mistress's hand with his nose- Kamui always wondered if the inugami's nose felt wet, the way a real dog's nose did.
"I don't believe he'd hurt you... I agree with you on that..." Kamui finally said, wondering what could be taking Keiichi and Kusanagi so long at the ordering counter, "I know Inuki would protect you if Kusanagi meant you harm... but I worry." Yuzuriha looked confused for a moment, and Kamui smiled, "You're my friend, and I worry about you. And, if nothing else, you're also one of the the Dragons of Heaven. All of the rest of us need you, too." Yuzuriha looked almost taken aback for a moment, but then nodded her understanding, wiping tears away from her face.
"I understand..." She agreed, and Inuki barked, quite cutely.
A/N: Bleh. I want to post this, so I'm going to.
Bah! Review, or I'm not updating, dammit!