| What of Jin and Touya? | |||
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CHAPTER SEVEN:WOUNDED, DEAD, AND SINGING The figure edged its way toward her, making Kaze's body tense to the point that it hurt. She was in no condition to fight, and she knew that. Her leg was busted. Her stomach was torn up. And her head had to have had a heavy metal band banging away in it for all the booming sounds making a vicious headache attack her. She also knew that she had to cover her ears tightly, or else risk her life. All that guy had to do was penetrate her senses and then scare her. To her death. Now the big question was, did the scrawny, creepy guy with the death-glare know that? 'Judging by the fact that he's a Shi no Shinpishugisha (Mystic of Death), he probably does.' she thought, eyeing the intruder warily. His cold eyes glared back, making her flesh crawl in chilling discomfort. "No..." Kaze breathed, knowing what the mystic was doing, "No....Leave me alone...." "Anata wa baka desu. Shi desu. Ima desu." it responded. (Translates to: You are a fool. You will die. Today.) The voice slithered within the girl's hearing range, even through the clamping of her ears, and she began to shake. Her body was numbing, her mind was going blank...She was dying. 'There's... no escaping this. Those boys did nothing... but delay my death. But fate is funny; it catches up. And when it does, man does....it...suck....' the thoughts squirmed feebly in her mind, then died as she lost consciousness. "Anata wa baka desu. Shi desu. Ima desu." That was all he heard. He watched as Kaze collapsed, softly, onto the floor. Whether she was unconscious or dead, it didn't matter. All he cared for was ripping out the beast's throat. No one, not even a Mystic of Death, would get away with either. "Bold thoughts." he muttered under his breath. Normally, Kaze would have been able to block the Death Mystic's assault on her brain. But right now, it was too much. She was injured, she was (thought to be) alone, and she was exhausted. He had to give her credit, if she was still alive. "'though she's a crazy one, and a bit of a hermit, no doubt about that." he added, rushing forward rather blindly and pouncing upon the Mystic's back. Startled, the beast shrieked, unsure of what to think. All it could see was red hair swinging in front of him. Only fools dared to attack a Mystic of Death. "Baka! Anata wa shi desu!!" ( Idiot! You will die!!) the Mystic shouted, struggling to get the burden off his back. The red-head remained where he was, scratching at the black rags clothing Kaze's attacker. It was much harder to get a good hold on something that wasn't staying still and could kill a demon than he'd assumed. Thrashing, the Mystic was putting up a tough struggle to stay on its feet. Suddenly the Mystic twirled, sending Jin through the air. The wind master caught himself with a blast of wind, then forced another blast at the pesky Mystic. It slashed him through the midsection, and (after a while *say....3 minutes* and a lot of curses from the writhing creature) killed the intruder. Then the wind master turned to the girl laying on the floor beside the couch. There was no doubt that the girl was alive, shaking and shivering in her unconscious state. However, as Jin approached Kaze, a second figure came into view through the corner of his eye. It was Taki, lying in a crumpled heap near the door. Casting a look back at the other girl, Jin walked to the ex-ninja. What he found was not what he'd really hoped to find. Taki, master of silver moonlight, lay cold and unmoving; dead. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Neko and Touya walked hand in hand, happy they were giving love a chance. Neither could say they hadn't loved before, but both were sure of one thing: things happen for a reason. So maybe that's why they had to discuss a very unusual topic. Well, unusual in onlookers' views. " So let's see...Jin, Kaze, Kanaria, Taki, you and me....we're gonna need a bigger house at this rate..." Neko giggled. A smile spread upon Touya's lips, and then faltered. "But there's still a problem. Well, quite a few but, what about the demons that contacted Spirit World? They claimed to have Kaze, and wanted you in the Demon Slave Trade as an exchange. Any idea about what they're planning? Or who they are?" the ice master questioned. Neko fell silent, lost in deep thought. "Well," she began, leading Touya up a faint trail leading to the house, "they may know about us. Kaze and I are technically supposed to be dead in the Demon World, but perhaps these demons crossed paths with the other Shape-shifters of Darkness. The Demon Slave Trade would probably pay a big price for our re-enslavement. I don't think they're anyone to worry about." _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What he wouldn't give for both girls to wake unharmed. However, with Taki laying before him, cold and obviously dead, Jin didn't think even Koenma could work a deal to revive her. And now he also had to handle a very frightened and jumpy Kaze. She'd woken only minutes before, and she was still in a state of extreme shock. Yet, for some reason, Jin felt that it wasn't only the recently killed Mystic of Death and parted Taki that filled her with so much paranoia. There was something else there; like lingering ash in a fireplace. Despite the fearful look in her eyes, something deeper commanded her focus. "Kaze? Is somethin' wrong, lass?" the wind master inquired, having covered Taki's body with an appropriate white sheet. Kaze continued to stare at the fallen moonlight warrior. Without warning, she jumped up, landing on both her wounded and healthy leg, and lifted the sheet back off the body. She then did something Jin found even more odd, and produced a silver feather from a buckskin pouch at her waist. Holding her palm flat, the silver feather became engulfed in a pale blue light, and hovered above her hand vertically. This caused Jin to become breathless in amazement, and he was unable to ask her what she was doing. As if blowing some one a kiss, Kaze gently persuaded the glowing feather to float through the air and hang over the body. It then fell upon the dead girl's chest, above her heart. Without hesitation, Kaze whipped out a slim silver flute, lifted it to her lips, and blew into the instrument carefully, as though a stronger breath would shatter it. As her nimble fingers slid across the wind instrument, a soft, sad tune filled the air. Jin watched, astounded, as the feather and light began...pulsing. Strange as it was, the object was pulsing. As was the limp figure of Taki. The music continued, growing more cheerful and faster as the player wished. When the pulsing of the body, which was completely matched the tune, reached the point where light surrounded it, lifted Taki up. She remained suspended there, until, quite suddenly, Kaze stopped playing. Softly, slowly, Taki's body lay back on the floor, still glowing. The wind master edged toward her, and realized, gladly, that the girl was breathing again. And also that the strange feather was gone. He felt his ears twitching wildly, and glanced back at Kaze. But the shape-shifter was gone. "Kaze?" Jin called, before hearing footsteps above him and the opening of the iron gate. Remembering what the doctor had told him, he raced up the stairs. Kaze rested between her black wooden door and the gate, a second feather in hand. However, this one wasn't silver; it was white. The girl apparently was too far into her thoughts to notice him, and she pressed the feather to her own chest, about her collarbone. It glowed silver at the edges, dazzling Jin. He waited, and witnessed yet again the mysterious works of the feathers. Like Taki, Kaze began to glow with a pulsing light. She was also lifted into the air. But when the light dimmed and the pulsing halted, the girl fell to the ground and landed on her feet. Coming to his senses, the wind master darted in between gate and door with her, and grasped her shoulders. He looked her over, and, upon recalling yet again the orders of Kasumi, looked angrily at her. "Ya know yer not ta be up! Ya should be restin'! Go sit or lay down!" he growled. The girl, also snapping to her senses, attempted to push him away. But she was still too weak, and Jin too stubborn. When she failed to move, whether to go sit or lie down, he became extremely frustrated. Moving rather roughly to unlock the door and begin escorting her to her bed, Jin accidentally caused both to lose their balance. And for him to land atop her, right as Neko, Touya and Kanaria entered the hallway, facing them. Kanaria, unfortunately, was the first to notice. "JIN!!! HOW DARE YOU!!! GET OFF OF HER.....NOW!!!!!!!!!!! YOU LYING, CHEATING BASTARD!!" she yelled, causing the two ice users behind her to back away slowly. "DON'T MAKE ME GIVE YOU A PERMANENT SEX CHANGE!!!" At this Neko and Touya couldn't help but laugh, seeing Jin in a very strange predicament. Where was the video camera when you needed one? Kaze, however, thought differently. Jin obviously wasn't reacting fast enough, and Kaze was going to make sure he never made the same mistake again. Finally gaining enough strength, she shoved him off of her quickly, then stood. Neko gasped, clearly worried that she was aggitating her wounded leg. Her gasp was lost as Kaze stormed up before the wind master, grasped him by his black (human) muscle shirt, and backhanded him as hard as she could. Which sent him headfirst into an introduction with the iron gate. Jin stumbled back, covering a red slap-mark with one hand, and a fresh bloody nose with the other. Shocked, he glanced at Kaze, his deep blue eyes wide. "Don't you EVER do that again! I know what I can handle, not you. So butt-out, wind boy." Kaze hissed furiously. Jin scuttled away, slipping out of the gate and next to Touya before Kaze decided to strike him again. Then the girl turned to Kanaria. "And you, little miss bitch! Don't go assuming every time something like that happens. I don't care if you're a friggin' earth sprite! You are a guest here; you don't go and interfere with whatever I do or what Neko does. We own this home. Jin and Touya were here before you. And they didn't go and tie us up. So shut the hell up, you prissy little whore!" Kaze continued, clearly past the set limits for her patience. Turning on her heel, Kaze strode into her room, shutting the door in the group's faces. "Damn." Touya responded, his eye twitching at the violent outburst. Jin rubbed his cheek, glancing about for a tissue. A second later, Kanaria was holding him in a rather deathgrip-like hug. "Oh, Jin! She's just awful to you! Just look at what she's done." she said, moving to kiss his neck. But Jin had had enough. "I hate ta agree with some one tha' just hit me an' all, but Kaze's right. Ya shouldn't assume, lass. The doctor said she should be lyin' down, not on her feet. I was just tryin' to get her door open for her." he explained, using the hand rubbing his cheek to nudge the girl away. Tears instantly filled her eyes, but Jin didn't care anymore. Kanaria always did this to him. 'Big crybaby.' he thought to himself, turning and walking to his room. As soon as the door shut, he heard Kanaria wail. "Well," Neko stated, looking at the sobbing girl behind her, "I should go make dinner, right Touya?" The ice master lifted an eyebrow, slightly confused. Then he realized that Neko was trying to get them out of having to try to comfort Kanaria. Not that he blamed her. Kanaria was a bit of a....prep. Pretty much, it was her way, or the highway. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Taki woke in her room, shivering. Although she had a heaping pile of thick blankets atop her, she still couldn't rid herself of the chill. Wondering why she was still so cold, she was reminded of the dark figure that had approached her... "But I couldn't cover my ears...I heard it. The shriek of death. I should be dead now..." she said softly. A swift movement came to her attention. She turned her head, finding herself looking into silver eyes. A calm male voice spoke to her. "You're okay. I just came to make sure you are all right. Jin told me everything." he said, and Taki now recalled who this was. "Oh. So what did happen, Kasumi?" she inquired, questioning how she was still alive. Kasumi smiled softly, his white hair falling over his face elegantly. "You died, Taki. But, according to Jin, Kaze revived you with a glowing feather." he replied. "A feather? Of all the things to revive one with, a feather?" she remarked, not sure how a feather could've done anything. " I was a bit....unconvinced as well. But Jin said she also healed her own wounds with another feather. When I went to talk to her, she was indeed healed. It would appear your hosts really are the real deal." the doctor continued. Taki's eyes grew wide at the thought of Kaze, the coldest of the household, healing her. "But what happened to the Mystic of Death? Did it get away?" the moonlight warrior questioned. Kasumi laughed. "Dead as a doornob!! Jin killed it after Kaze fell unconscious." "Kaze fell unconscious?" she repeated. Kasumi nodded. "And then Jin stepped in and blasted it apart." he explained. "Lovely." came Taki's dry reply. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As night came, Jin found himself unable to sleep. His body was tired, but the day's events continued repeating inside his head. Again he relived witnessing the Mystic tapping into Kaze's mind, the struggle with the beast, and then the final encounter between Kaze and himself. Since she'd slammed her door, Kaze hadn't come out. Although Neko assured him that she'd probably gone through her window and into a nearby clearing, Jin still couldn't help but feel that the girl had gone somewhere more dangerous. "Ah, but whatta I care? Not my fault if she gets herself hurt again..." he grumbled, rising from his bed and pacing about the room. Cloud cover screened most moonlight from view, and it was darker than the previous few nights he'd spent there. His open window let in a cool, natural breeze. As well as something else. It was faint, but Jin could hear it; singing. But it wasn't the singing of the song that truely made him curious. Rather, it was the voice singing the song. Jin crept from his room silently, careful not to wake anyone else. Again he chose to float over the creaky boards scattered throughout the floor. Using an outstretched hand to guide him, he found the door fairly easily. Once he was out of the house, Jin sped into the forest on a soft breeze. He hadn't been able to do much flying lately, and the rushing air about him brought him a heart full of joy, pointy ears, and tangled, windswept hair. It didn't matter that it was pitch black: he'd lived in darkness his entire 1,027 years of life. He could hear the singing a little better, but could understand nothing of the muffled words. Nor could he pinpoint the voice: its location and owner remained elusive. But the swifter he went, the swifter and clearer the song became. Jin sailed on the wind, letting it take him to the source of the music. Beside a stream it set him, and across the stream was his answer. And a strange answer it was. Kaze stood in the shadow of a great oak, a small twister of feathers surrounding her. She was in fact singing, and Jin was surprised at how she sang. For if she spoke as though with sand-paper in her throat, she sang as though the winds themselves resided there. Soft at times, strong at others...And as she sang each note, the feathers began pulsing, lined in silver, blue and even black. It was then Jin realized the light was really energy: silver was life energy, blue was spirit, and black was demon. Each feather spun around elegantly, as though on a carosel ride. They rose, they fell, and rose again. As the wind master became aware of all this, he finally listened to the song. SONG: ***When the Wind Was Green: By Frank Sinatra*** When the wind was green At the start of the spring When the wind was green Like a living thing It was on my lips And it's kiss was fair You were there When the wind was red Like a summer wine When the wind was red Like your lips on mine It caressed my fate And it tossed my hair You were there Then came the fall and all of love Came tumbling, stumbling down Like leaves that lost to frost and found They were flying-crying In a brown wind dying But the winter's come and we both should know That the wind is white like the swirling snow And we'll never see all the wonderful things to be seen When the wind is green END SONG Jin stood dumstruck, having heard the song so long ago. Now he remembered, and remembered well. It had once been the song his mother had sung to him as a child. It was the song of his life, practically. The song his mother used to sing to make him sleep, the song that had told the story of his parents' love, and the song that he'd sung at their funerals over 700 years ago. As he thought back, tears began to cloud his eyes. It wasn't long before Kaze stopped suddenly, mid-song, and the swirling feathers came to a halt. Wiping away his tears hastily, Jin watched carefully. He sensed something was about to happen. Something dark and strange. Ears twitching, he listened hard. Everything was silent, and not even a twig moved. Shocked, Jin realized that Kaze had caused the natural winds to stop. The wind master's blue eyes locked on the girl, looking for a sign of what was going on. He was tempted to step forth and question her, when he finally heard it. Wings. |
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