Love's Denial

Hello my Kittens. I now see how many of you love me. I only got one review for my bithday. I was so depressed that I didn't feel motivated enough to hurry with this chapter. So I refuse to apologize to any of you (except my blood sucking kitten of course). Well enjoy kittens and please take some pity on me and review.

All right kittens, understand that some warnings were not put in the summary. You will figure it out as you read. By the way, for the record I have no problem with incest, I just don't like it personaly. Not my flavor and trust me as you will soon see, my flavor is very . . . peverted for a virgin. Well read kittens.


Chapter Fourteen


Tai took a shaky breath as she waited for the doctor to come and tell them what was going on with Aki. They had been waiting in the small and virtually empty room for four hours and had yet to hear a word about her condition. She tried to smile at Kaname as he tightened his arm around her but failed miserably. “Sorry, I . . . “ the older woman tried to say but was unable to finish, her voice cracking with emotion.


Kaname gave her an understanding smile. “It’s okay. Everyone is worried about Aki,” he told her reassuringly, causing her to look around the room at the rest of the group sitting in the hospital waiting room. Yusuke was comforting Keiko, who was still in tears, though they weren't as heavy as before, Shizuru at the window chain smoking, Kuwabarra was popping his knuckles nervously, and Kurama was sitting in the far corner away from everyone else. The room was completely silent except for the nurses calling for doctors and for Keiko’s bouts of sobbing.


Tai gave a small sigh and leaned her head against Kaname's shoulder, but before she could close her eyes a doctor walked through the doors. “Is Yoshido Tai present?” he asked in a foreign accent.


Tai stood up and walked over to the doctor. Everyone else followed, forming a tight circle around the doctor. “Yes, I am Yoshido Tai. Is Aki okay? What happened?” she asked, her voice trembling.


The doctor looked around the room, trying to find his nerves. He was used to telling family members what was going on but these young adults acted like they would kill him if he said anything that they didn’t agree with. They were a very intimidating lot. He cleared his throat. “Ummm . . . can you sit down please? You are making this very difficult,” he pointed out causing Keiko and Kuwabarra to blush.


The group backed off the doctor and sat down on a large couch that was conveniently located a few feet away. The doctor took a deep breath, his composure regained. “Thank you, but you are an intimidating lot,” he started, turning back to Tai, “I am assuming that it is okay for me to share this information with all of these people?”


Tai nodded her head immediately. “Yes, of course. If I hadn’t wanted them to know then they wouldn’t be here.”


Doctor nodded his head in agreement. “Of course. I am Dr. George Johnson. I am in charge of Aki-chan.”


Keiko lifted her head up from Yusuke’s shoulder. “Johnson? You are from America, aren’t you?”


Dr. Johnson smiled at her. “Yes, but that is a discussion for another time.”


“What is going on with Aki and why wont anyone tell us anything?” Kuwabarra demanded, wanting to know what the hell was going on.


The doctor’s friendly smile faded. “Your friend was beaten.”


“What? Are you joking?” Yusuke yelled at him.


Dr. Johnson glared at the loud boy, his face becoming harsh. “This is no joking matter. That girl was dropped off here after passing out on the steps of her apartment. After multiple tests, I have found seven broken ribs, an extensive amount of bruising. She also has a broken leg, three torn ligaments in the other, and a fractured wrist. Now tell me, how else could she have gained such injuries?”


They stared at the doctor in shock, each speechless for their own reasons. Yusuke didn’t know how anyone could hurt another so badly for no apparent reason, completely forgetting about his history with violence, while Keiko was racking her brain for any signs of continued abuse. Shizuru was at a lost as to how Aki would let anything like this happen and Kuwabarra was beating himself up for thinking only of himself and not of his friend. Kaname was confused as to when this had even happened and Tai was beating herself up for not being there for her friend.


The doctor allowed them a few more moments of silence before continuing. “I understand your shock, these things happen so often with out anyone knowing anything. Now Aki is in stable condition and is sleeping. She suffered a sever concussion after falling down the apartment steps. Now before I let you go see her, we need to talk.”


“Sure, anything you want,” Tai answered, being brought out of her thoughts.


“Can you tell me if Aki has a boyfriend that we need to worry about or anyone who would cause this kind of damage?” Dr. Johnson asked, watching as everyone shook his or her head. The doctor sighed. “Well, what about family?”


Keiko turned to Shizuru. “Does Aki have any family?” she asked, her voice a mere whisper.


Shizuru shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t ask me. I’ve only ever heard the girl talk about her personal life once,” she answered.


“No, there is no one but me,” Tai answered the doctor. “Her mother left her moments after her birth and her father gave her away that very night to a . . . an orphanage. She has no real family that would claim her or come to her bedside.”


Dr. Johnson sighed again. “Well, thanks for answering my questions. I’ll take you to see Aki now.”


“Ummm . . . doctor, how long will her recovery take?” Tai asked, following like a robot.


The doctor gave her a reassuring smile. “She should be fine in three months. Her worse injuries are the broken ribs and torn ligaments but they aren’t as sever as they could have been,” he told her, stopping outside of Aki’s hospital room. He watched as almost everyone filled in behind her and stuck his head in the door. “Don’t stay to long and please don’t try to wake her up.” He turned to walk down the hall, blissfully unaware of the upset redhead who was leaning outside of the door watching the doctor's every step.


************************************************


She was drenched in blood. It had to be alive, for it was covering everything in sight in its deep crimson color. As the blood seeped through her clothing and stained her skin, she was consumed with hatred. But this hatred was not ones normal strand of emotion that comes from grows from deep-rooted emotions that can be controlled. No, this hatred was built by resentment, betrayal, and pain, so much pain. Just as this, this horrible, satanic emotion was about to rip her soul to shreds, she opened her eyes and everything turned black.


************************************************


Aki groaned in pain as she opened her eyes to the blinding hospital light. She tried to sit up but the pain that shot through her sides made her decide against it. She turned her head to the door as it opened.


“You’re awake,” Tai exclaimed, running over to Aki and pulling her up into a hug, completely oblivious to Aki’s injuries. Tai let her go quickly when she heard her sudden yelp of pain. “Sorry, I was excited.”


“It is fine, but please try to keep control of your emotions,” the blonde haired girl told her friend through clenched teeth. Aki allowed Tai to put pillows behind her back to help her sit up, looking around the room at the group that had followed behind her, giving them all her usual sweet smile. Shizuru was leaning against the door playing with her lighter, Keiko and Yusuke were standing at the foot of the bed, Kaname was leaning against the wall opposite of her bed, Kuzuma was smiling at her from his perch on the air conditioner, and Kurama, her master, was sitting in the chair next to her bed. “Uhhh . . . so anyone want to tell me how I got here?” she asked, still smiling at them through her discomfort.


“I do believe that that is a question for me to answer,” Dr. Johnson said, walking into the room and walking over to Aki. “Aki-chan, it is so lovely to see that you have awaken. You have been unconscious for two weeks. I am Dr. George Johnson and I have been taking care of your case.”


Aki gave him a warm smile, blushing slightly as she held her hands up to stop him from checking her vitals. “Thank you for your time, but I am sure that you have more important patients to worry about, so please, come later and we will have a chat.”


Dr. Johnson tried to smile at the girl but his expression was showing nothing but his immense dismay. The girl was acting as though they were talking about a nice Sunday brunch instead of her injuries. He definitely needed to run a few psychological tests on the girl to see if there was any permanent damage form the concussion. “Well lucky for you, m’dear, you are my only patient at the moment.”


Aki just continued to smile, her trademark blush deepening. “Well then, please do tell me how I came to be a visitor at this lovely establishment and what are my injuries.”


The doctor took a breath and gave up trying to figure the girl out at the moment. “You were found by a nice couple that lives next to you and your friend Tai. According to them, you were found unconscious on the steps that lead to your apartment. We can assume that on your way there you took a nasty fall that lead to the bump on you head. Now as for your injuries, you have a sever concussion, seven broken ribs, a broken leg, three torn ligaments, and a sprain wrist,” he finished, pulling out his tiny flashlight to look into her eyes.


Aki pushed the doctor’s hand out of the way, her smile turning to a wince as she bent her sprained wrist. “How is it possible to gain all of those injuries due to a fall?” she asked him when he finally relented.


He gave her a look of shock. “Aki, you were beaten. That is the only possible explanation.”


“No, I am afraid that you are mistaken. I fell down a few flights of stone steps. I am a very clumsy girl; you can ask anyone in this room if you don’t believe me. I usually trip a few times a day.”


“Do you have multiple personalities?” Dr. Johnson asked, flabbergasted that Aki was disputing what was right in front of her.


Aki gave him a small half giggle/chuckle but had to cut it short when her side protested in pain. “No, I am afraid that there is only one of me, but can you imagine how much fun it would be if there were more. Dr. Johnson, for one so smart, you are most certainly missing an important bit of information. How did I climb up five flights of stairs with a broken leg and three torn ligaments? I assure you that I am not some outstanding creature,” she replied with the same sweetly innocent and kind smile on her face.


The doctor took a step back from her. “It . . . it seems impossible . . . “ he stuttered, unable to find a reasonable fault in her point.


“It is impossible for a human as small as her and as weak as her to do such a feat,” Kurama interjected from his corner, turning to face the group.


“Well that was somewhat rude,” Kuwabarra told him, still pissed off at Kurama for their fight at the club.


Dr. Johnson cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s attention again. “Okay, I can agree with that but what about your ribs?”


Aki sighed and laid her head back against her pillow. “It would seem that some of life’s more intriguing mysteries are the ones that baffle us the most, no. I have no idea how my ribs were broken, doctor and before you asked I remember everything before my fall. Let us just say that it was meant to be and leave it at that,” she told him, her smile plastered on her face yet again.


Dr. Johnson sighed. He was getting nowhere with this girl and he doubted that he ever would. He shook his head and turned to leave. “I suppose you are right, Aki. I will send a nurse to check your vitals after your visitors have left,” he muttered leaving the room, resigned to the fact that the girl was far more cunning than he thought and that he would get nothing from her.


*************************************************


Shizuru sipped her coffee as she waited for Tai. It had been a week since Aki had awoken and things kept getting weirder. First there was the whole new demon class mess that Botan dropped on them and now Aki’s sudden ‘accident’. She took another deep drag form her cigarette. If anything else happened, Shizuru knew that she would go insane.


Arriving at the sidewalk café, Tai saw Shizuru sitting at their usual table, daydreaming. “Hey, what’s got you thinking so hard?” she asked the brown-haired woman, wasting no time in jumping right to the problem.


Shizuru turned to her, her eyes glazed. “Mmm . . . nothing really. I was just contemplating everything that has been happening lately. It has gotten crazy,” she told her, stubbing out her cigarette and pulling another out of her pack.


Tai gave her a grin. “Yeah, it has but you must admit that you were expecting something to happen for months now,” she told Shizuru, after giving the waiter her usual order.


Shizuru glared at her. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, trying to figure out what was going on inside of her friend’s head.


“Well,” Tai started, “ever since we were told of Yusuke’s little . . . job, for lack of a better word, he and the others have yet to be sent on a mission. I mean it has been months, yet no demon uprisings or any danger at all. Do you not find that to be strange?” Tai turned and gave the waiter a breathtaking smile as he handed her coffee and pastry to her.


Shizuru waited until the waiter was gone before answering her. “I have been curious as to why things have been so calm with the three worlds but I am sure that it is nothing.”


Tai grinned at Shizuru over her coffee cup. “I am sure that you are right. I mean you do know more about this than I could ever dream of,” she told Shizuru, her tone full of some unknown humor.


Shizuru looked at her, her eyes furrowed in confusion. After a few moments, she shrugged and changed the subject, seeing that their was no real way that Tai could know half of what Shizuru knew of the workings in the three worlds and the way things happened here unless Aki read it in a book. “So how is Aki doing?” she asked.


Tai sat down her coffee and leaned back in her chair with a dramatic sigh. “She is doing well I suppose. The morphine has really mellowed her out and the doctor said that she can go home in another week if she continues to hold up so well,” she answered.


“That is good,” Shizuru told her, pulling out another cigarette. “Did she tell you how it happened?” she asked Tai nonchalantly, trying to put up an air of indifference but failing miserably.


Tai stared at Shizuru, her grin gone. “What do you mean, Shizuru? You were there when Aki told the doctor what had happened. She fell,” the black haired woman told Shizuru, her voice defensive.


Shizuru glared at Tai. “I always found you to be quite intelligent, Tai, but if you think that Aki fell down a flight of steps and that is the sole cause of her injuries, then your intelligence level is that of a monkey or Yusuke, take you pick,” she through at her, her voice rising in anger.


“You have no idea what it is you are talking about. I know for a fact that Aki has only ever-told one flat out lie and this is not it. She truly fell down,” Tai told her, all but yelling and gaining them much unwanted attention.


“Damnit, Tai,” Shizuru started, “I consider the girl to be my friend. I don’t want to see her hurt anymore than you do. We need to stop this before she is hurt so badly that she wont wake up the next time.” They were both glaring at each other, neither giving an inch.


Tai suddenly stood up, throwing a couple of bills from her pocket on the table. She turned away from Shizuru and started to leave, only stopping for a minute to give Shizuru some sound advice. “Do not try to understand what is going, Shizuru. It will get you in trouble. Just do as I do and take Aki’s words for what they are. Don’t try to dissect them or look for some hidden meaning because you will find none. If there were ever a living creature that could hold more secrets than any other, it would be Aki. Back off of it, Shizuru,” and with that she was gone.


**********************************************


Aki sitting up in bed reading when Yusuke and Keiko walked in bearing gifts of chocolate with Kurama following them. She looked up and smile, pushing her glasses farther up her nose. “Hello,” she told them in her normal friendly tone.


Keiko smiled and handed her the candy. “Hi, Aki. How are you feeling? I hope you are doing well.”


Yusuke gave her is usual lazy smile. “Hey, Aki. What’s up?”


“Hello,” Kurama said in cold tone. Anyone who walked in the room could tell that he did not want to be there.


Aki’s smile faltered slightly but only Kurama caught the slip. “I am doing well enough I suppose. I have never been in this situation before so I really have no idea how well I am doing, though Dr. Johnson assures me that I am doing very well,” she told them sweetly, her smile coming back full force and a blush littering her cheeks.


Keiko and Yusuke couldn’t help but smile at her innocent outlook on the entire situation. Kurama on the other hand did not seem impressed. “I thought that Dr. Johnson told Tai later that he was here for a project on abuse and it's effects to the mind,” he stated, gaining everyone’s attention. “Why would he still be continuing to see you if you fell down a flight of steps?”


Aki gave him a sweet smile. “Oh, well another doctor was going to take the case but Dr. Johnson said that I intrigued him so much that he could spare the time to see me. He was just here a few moments ago and upped the amount of morphine in each session. The good doctor has truly been very kind to me,” she answered, pointing to the IV pump sitting next to her bed.


Yusuke gave her a stupid grin. “I sure you are feeling really happy.”


Aki smiled and managed a small laugh as Yusuke grimaced in pain when Keiko stomped on his foot. “Idiot,” the brown-haired girl muttered.


After thirty more minutes of casual talking between Keiko, Yusuke, and Aki, Aki decided that it was time for her company to leave. She gave a really big yawn and blinked her eyes sleepily. “I am so sorry, but it seems that my medicine is kicking in,” Aki told the three through her yawn.


“Oh, we will go and let you sleep. Sorry we wore you out,” Keiko told her, standing up and giving her a small hug. “We will stop by sometime tomorrow.”


After Keiko and Yusuke left the room, Kurama sat in his chair, watching Aki. She flushed lightly and lowered her head. “You can go. I really do need the sleep,” she muttered, looking at her hands to avoid looking into her master’s cold eyes.


Kurama deftly stood up and walked over to her bed, lifting her chin up to his face. “I think that you have forgotten who gives the orders here, hummingbird,” he muttered, letting go of her and walking out the door.


Aki groan, lying back in her bed, her head spinning. That meeting didn’t help anything. Now she was beyond confused.


***********************************************


Yawning and stretching, Shizuru made her way through her and Kuwabarra’s kitchen. Today had been an exhausting day. First she had her blowout with Tai and then work had sucked. After that, when she went to go and pick up some dinner, some asshole had poured his beer all over her and later she got pulled over for a speeding ticket. Shizuru just wanted a nice hot shower and to sleep for the next twenty-four hours.


Stripping on her way to the bathroom because she had the house all to herself (Kuwabarra was going out on a date finally), Shizuru began to think about how she was going to get back in Tai’s good graces. Even though she stood by her opinion, Shizuru knew that they would all need to be very watchful over Aki and it would be impossible if they were all trying to slaughter each other. She shook her head, deciding that she would worry about all of that later as she stepped into the bathroom.


As Shizuru turned on the bathroom light, she opened her mouth to let out a blood-curdling scream but a hand reached out to cover her mouth. The woman twisted frantically, trying to get away from the hands that held her. She winced as she stepped on broken glass. Shizuru looked around the bathroom, trying to find something, anything to help her get away from her assailant. They had smashed the mirror and shower door, littering the floor with broken glass. She began shaking as she realized that the walls were covered in crimson and the smell of fresh blood reached her senses.


There was nothing Shizuru could do but hold on to the doorframe with a death grip as whoever it was started to pull her from the room. Her knuckles were white as her fingers finally lost their grip on the door. She tried biting and kicking but nothing seemed to work.


Shizuru could feel tears prickling behind her eyes as she realized that she was stuck. She tried to will them away but nothing could have stopped them. The brown-haired woman had never felt so vulnerable and defenseless in all her life. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Shizuru regained her composure and thought of her options. She chose laid limply in the villain’s arms, trying to save her energy in case an opportunity came for her to escape since there would be no way for her to defeat this . . . thing.


Letting out a sudden gasp of shock, Shizuru was thrown onto a bed. She put her back to the headboard, searching for the intruder. Looking around the room with only the moonlight from the window as light, Shizuru noticed that she was in her room, even though it seemed that is had meet the same fate as the bathroom. Her mirror was shattered and everything else was broken and the normally pale blue walls were red. She searched the room frantically, finally finding the assailant sitting against the windowsill.


It was male, a very tall male, with moonlight pale skin and a small but powerful frame. He had waist length hair that matched the color of her walls. Shizuru could not help but shiver as she felt the raw power coming off of him. Now that she was concentrating, she could sense that he was a demon, a strong demon with a completely foreign aura to her. She was as intrigued by him as she was frightened.


She gripped the headboard harder as he lifted his head and stared at her. He had blood red eyes that were colder than ice on a beautiful face. Shizuru tried to contain her trembling but her body was covered in cold chills as he watched her. Before she could open her mouth to ask what he was doing in her house, he spoke to her. “Do not dwell into matters that you are not prepared to pay the consequences for,” and with that he was gone, leaving Shizuru on her bed surrounded by the wreckage of his visit.


**********************************************


Koenma took a shuddering breath to try to case his trembling as he reached the large double doors that lead to the conference room. He wanted to turn away from the door and run back to his office but alas he could not do that for he had arranged this meeting. He took one last deep breath and opened the door.


***********************************************


Lady Kayu watched the demi-lord walk into the room through lazy black eyes. She wanted to laugh at the fear she could smell off him though she did understand. Even the little prince’s father didn’t have enough balls to hold a meeting alone with a group the strongest blood-dragons.


Koenma sat down at his empty end of the conference table and stared down the long table at the group of blood-dragons gathered there, watching him intently. He looked at them and noticed that they all looked distinctly alike. Each had short black hair no longer than their chins with black eyes and deathly pale skin. He had to search each one of them to be sure that he actually had the Lady Kayu. “Hello, Lady Kayu. I am so sorry that we had to met this way,” he told her in a loud clear voice, hoping that the fear he was feeling was not reflecting in any way.


Lady Kayu gave him a heartless laugh. “Yes, of course you are,” she told him sarcastically.


Koenma cleared his throat to cover up his wince at her tone and cursed his father for his wonderful advice. ‘Flatter her, be kind and gentlemanly. She likes to be flattered. Be careful, though, for if you show them any weakness, they will kill you,’ was what Yama had told him. It seemed as though she already wanted him dead. He tried again. “My lady, I have heard that there have been more deaths since your last messenger came and visited me,” Koenma exclaimed, trying to find some common ground for the two.


Lady Kayu turned to one of the men beside of her and gave him a look. The servant immediately stood up and went to do her bidding. She turned back to Koenma. “Your information is correct,” she told him as the blood-dragon returned with a large bag. He walked to the middle of the table and opened the bag, emptying it contents on the table.


Koenma resisted the urge to wretch as a decapitated head rolled to him. He looked up the table and saw at least forty different heads lying there.


Lady Kayu watched Koenma closely as he turned slightly green. “Pick up the head, Lord Koenma,” the dark-haired leader ordered.


Koenma had to swallow his lunch again as it came back up at her
order. He reached for the sawed off head with a shaky hand and turned it over. The demon’s face was mutilated. He sat it back down on the table and turned back to Lady Kayu. “Are . . .uh . . . are they all like this?” he forced out.


Kayu glared at Koenma, her immense anger at having her most loyal kin murdered so easily reaching its boiling point. “Yes, each of their eyes have been gauged out, their tongues ripped from their throats, and their lips and noses cut off their faces. Their bodies have been too mutilated for us to discover what else happened to them.”


“Whether this is some colossal joke that is being played on us by this sick sociopath,” she told a speechless Koenma, “is what you are to discover. I have been beyond kind to you and am allowing you to do this investigation before handling the situation myself. I have even given you a fair deadline yet you are still letting more and more of my kin die,” she exclaimed, her energy rising with her anger causing the room to tremble around them.


Koenma gripped the table, watching decapitated heads roll of the table and took a deep breath. He had to be careful. “I have my best man on it and according to their latest report, they have a few leads,” he told her quickly, hoping to keep the time they had until war broke out.


Lady Kayu stared at the young prince closely, trying to see if he was lying or not. She leaned back in her seat and made her decision. “I give you until the winner is announced in your father’s tournament. If the perpetrator has not been caught by then, one of my kin will lead my people against all three worlds and they will each fall,” she told him, dismissing Koenma with a slight nod.


Koenma jumped up and left the room without uttering another word. No more needed to be said. In a little over three months they were all going to die.


***********************************************


Kuwabarra was pulled from his sweet kiss with his date by his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. “Hey,” he answered a little harshly.


Shizuru tried to control her voice. “Kuwabarra, come home now. Someone just broke into the house.”


Kuwabarra immediately hung up the phone and said a quick goodbye to his date. He rushed home, running the few blocks to the house. When he reached his home a few moments later, he through the door opened. “Sis! Shizuru, where are you?” he yelled out.


When Kuwabarra heard her muffled yell, he rushed to her room. “Shizuru, what the hell happened? Are you okay?” he yelled, rushing to her room ad throwing on her bedroom light. He saw her clutching a blanket to her barely clothed chest while she was sitting in the middle of her bed. He started over to her bed but stopped when he ran into her turned over dresser. He looked around the room, a look of shock coming over his at the mess. “Damn, what the hell was all this?” he asked making his way cautiously to her. When he reached her, Kuwabarra held out his arms and she rushed in them.


“I’m sorry,” Shizuru muttered, the endorphins wearing off and her fear coming to reality as her body began to shake uncontrollably and tears coming to her eyes.


Kuwabarra chuckled as he carried her to the hall and put her feet to the ground. “No problem. You know that you don’t always have to be the strong one,” he told her, checking her for any injuries and only finding a cut on her foot.


She smiled at him and made her way to the living room, looking carefully for any damage or red walls. It seemed that the demon only wrecked her room and the bathroom. “This is a bunch of bull shit,” she muttered, pulling her cigarette pack out of her jacket pocket as she wiped her hand over her face to remove her face of any more tears. She deftly lit one and through herself onto the couch, her momentary weakness forgotten.


Kuwabarra sat down next to her. “What the hell happened?” he asked.


Shizuru took a deep breath and started. “I had just gotten home and was going to take a shower when I was grabbed from behind. He dragged me from the bathroom to my room. He stared at me for a few minutes before he left.”


“That’s it?” Kuwabarra exclaimed. “Some psychopath came to our house, fucked up two rooms, scared the hell out of you, and then just left. That does not make sense, Shizuru.”


Shizuru groaned. “It was a message, Kuzuma.”


Kuwabarra stared at his older sister. “A message, what kind of message?”


“Tai and I had a row earlier about Aki and she gave me some . . . friendly advice. Let’s just say that both messages happen to be very similar. Both told me not to try to figure out what happened to Aki,” she told him, pulling out another cigarette.


Kuwabarra gave her a confused look. “You don’t really think that Aki had anything to do with this, do you? I mean she is the most harmless thing I’ve ever meet.”


“No,” she started, “I don’t think she was directly involved but I do think that the demon who broke was the one to hurt Aki.”


Kuwabarra nodded his head in agreement walking to his room and grabbing his pocket communicator. ”We need to contact Koenma since the police will be useless. Do you wanna call Yusuke or should we wait?"


Shizuru put her hand on the communicator, closing it. "Uh, lets wait, Kuwabarra," she muttered lightly.


"What the hell, Shizuru? Are you shitting me?" he demanded.


"Listen, Kuzuma," she started, "what if this guy comes after Aki again because we ran to Koenma? We know nothing about this dude. What if he is one of these 'X' class demons that you guys are having to deal with?"


Kuwabarra sighed and sat back down next to her. "What do you want to do, 'oh smart one'?"


************************************************


As she made her way slowly up the steps that lead to her apartment with Kuwabarra, Shizuru, Tai, Kaname, Yusuke, and Keiko, Aki had to groan in pain through her laughter. She had gotten out of the hospital on schedule and now was watching Yusuke ad Kuwabarra tried to trip each other while walking. She knew that it was mostly for her entertainment but that was okay. Aki needed the laugh. “Please be careful. If one of you fell down and knocked me over then I highly doubt that my recovery would go smoothly and Dr. Johnson would be very upset at me for having to visit him again so soon,” she told them, causing Kuwabarra to blush and Yusuke to give her a stupid grin as they immediately stopped their semi-dangerous play.


“Opps, sorry,” Yusuke muttered, while Kuwabarra nodded in agreement.


Aki just gave them that same sweet smile. She continued making her way up the many steps with Shizuru to the right of her. She turned to Shizuru and gave her a big smile. “I heard that you got the promotion you wanted at your job, Shizuru. Congratulations.”


Shizuru forced a smile, trying to hide the urge to yawn. Since her encounter with the demon, she had not been sleeping well. That along with her job and her constant contact with Aki, Shizuru was exhausted. After their company left a week ago, Shizuru and Kuwabarra decided that if the demon was the one to hurt Aki like they expected then surely he would show up again to finish her off. The two had still yet to come up with a plan to prevent this short of them staying with her at all times or telling the others. It was a no win situation. Shizuru was brought out of her musings when she almost tripped on one of the steps and remembered Aki’s comment. “Oh, yeah, thanks. It is awesome,” she muttered, blushing with embarrassment.


Finally reaching the door, Aki turned and smile at her. “That is great.” She walked into the apartment behind Yusuke and Kuwabarra, her eyes widening in shook. Kurama stood in the middle of the front room, underneath a huge ‘WELCOME HOME’ banner while looking highly pissed off. “Uhh . . . what is all of this?” Aki asked Tai cautiously.


Tai gave her a huge shit-eating grin. “You’re party, dumbass. Did that doctor fry a few of your brain cells during all those tests?” she asked her, not waiting for an answer as she moved to a table that was off to the side of the room, holding alcohol and food.


Aki hid her groan as Keiko shoved her onto the couch. “You shouldn’t be standing, Aki. You just came back from the hospital,” Keiko told her, fluffing up pillows and covering Aki up with a throw blanket.


Aki blushed. "I'm okay, Keiko, really. You don't have to wait on me," she told her with a huge smile. She leaned back when she finally left her side. It was going to be a long night.


************************************************************


Lady Kayu stood by her picture windows, watching the sunrise with a wistful expression. It would be a lovely day. She turned from the window and walked back to her large bed and lover wearing nothing but a wicked smile. "I thought you were asleep. How long have you been watching me?" she asked, pulling the sheet from his body and straddling his slim hips.


The blood dragon gave her a sexy smile and reached up with one hand to pull her face down to his while the other cupped her bottom, bringing her closer to his erection. "Only an hour or so. Tell me what has you so distracted," he murmured after giving her a deep, long kiss.


The black haired female moaned in pleasure as she lifted her mouth away from his. Lady Kayu watched him through half-closed, lust-filled eyes. Her lover was a beautiful creature, even by blood-dragon standards. Of all of the men she had ever had, Riku was her favorite and most interesting lover. He was younger than her of course but it only added to his allure. Riku was tall and pale with piercing black eyes and short black hair like all pure breed blood-dragons but he actually looked like a male, unlike most other males who had somewhat feminine features. Indeed, he was perfection. "I was distracted by all the things I have planed for you today, darling. It is a beautiful day, and I wish to do some . . . celebrating."


Riku grinned. "Oh, and pray tell, what are we celebrating, my lady?"


Kayu gave him that same wicked smile and as she opened her mouth to speak the door to her room busted open. She turned around, not bothering to cover herself, facing her unexpected visitor. "Lai, it is so lovely to see you off you hidden mountain. Do tell us what it is we can do for you."


The newcomer gave Lady Kayu a feral grin as he marched himself over to the pair, his long, jet black hair bouncing on the top of his head. "As always it is a pleasure, but unlike you, m'lady, I am here strictly for business," he told her, completely ignoring the state of undress of the two.


Lady Kayu gave him a sickly sweet smile as she pushed her hair from her face. "Well, you must not keep us waiting, Lai. What have you come to discuss?"


"It has come to my attention that last night you . . . hired a group of vicious demon mercenaries to take care of your heir during the tournament," Lai replied, his stance one of control and voice full of anger.


Lady Kayu had to resist the urge to groan at Lai. She looked up at the male blood-dragon, almost trembling at the feel of the pure energy coming off of him. If Riku was beautiful then Lai was breathtaking. He had been that way ever since their childhood. He had the features of all pureblooded blood-dragons, but his eyes were large and expressive and his power rivaled hers. It was a pity that he detested his purity. Kayu cleared her throat and smiled bigger than over. "Your ears have gotten sharper lately, my friend. How did you know of my meeting when it just happened last night?" she asked in a mockingly innocent voice.


"That's why I saw Shishi last night. No wonder you are in such a good mood today," Riku muttered, leaning up on his elbows and grinning at Lai.


Lai's eyes grew wide in shock. "Shishi!" he yelled, his energy spiking in slightly before he gained control of it. "The man wants to fuck her not kill her! They could have easily been mates a few years back if she had felt anything more than friendship for him," he exclaimed loudly.


Kayu gave a dramatic sigh. "Lai, don't make such a fuss about this. You knew that this day would come since the moment she was brought before me. Her death was inevitable. Now as for Shishi, you wouldn't realize just how bitter being rejected could make a male. His exact words were that he would enjoy fucking the life out of her. Do you think he would really do that in front of all those people?" she asked as casually as if they were talking about kittens and puppies during afternoon tea.


Riku gave her a huge grin. "Wouldn't surprise me any. Shishi is a kinky bastard. I wonder if I can have a go before he axes her. I have always wanted to make scream as I fuck her into the floor."


Lai took a deep breath, attempting to control his rising anger. "Is your mommy not enough for you, Riku?" he asked, his voice low and deadly.


Riku growled and started to rise up but was stopped by Kayu. "Enough," she started, her voice taking on a harsh tone, all thoughts of mocking Lai gone. "Your disrespect is grating on my nerves, Lai. I understand that you have no pride in your blood, but I relish in it. Our ancestors would be furious that one of impure blood would be taking the throne after me. It is a travesty," she finished while standing up and pulling on her robe that was on a nearby chair.


Lai snorted. "What a wonderful justification for murder. Our ancestors were nothing but a bunch of incest crazed, egotistical bastards who thought that their weakness made them superior to all other demons. Do not try to push that bull shit on me, Kayu. We had the same teacher,” he uttered in disgust.


Kayu glared at him. "Listen to me, Lai, and listen well. I realize that you have a . . . fondness for the little monster, though I don't understand why myself, but I will not allow that little bastard whore to take control over our kin when my rule is over. I might not be permitted to kill her myself but she will die, one way or another."


"I think we're done," Lai said as he turned around and walked to the door. Before he left he turned his head and looked Lady Kayu in the eye. "When you come after that girl, understand me, I will come for you. Oh, and just so you know, she is not a little child anymore. If you thought that she was a threat before then wait until she delivers Shishi's head on a platter," and with that he left.


Riku groaned and leaned back against a pillow. "He's as cheerful as always."


"Yes, he has always been a pain in the ass," Kayu told him, pulling off her robe and walking back to the bed. "Now, where were we, darling?"


************************************************************


Kurama glared at Yusuke for the hundredth time that evening. When he got the chance, he would beat the hell out of the sprit detective. The fox had had no intention of coming to this party but when Yusuke came to his apartment and wouldn't go away, Kurama was forced to agree to come and welcome Aki home. Yes, he was one unhappy youko. He was so distracted by his own musings that he did not hear the question Keiko directed at him. “Excuse me. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you want, Keiko?” he asked.


Keiko gave him an understanding smile. She had noticed that something had been on Kurama’s mind lately but when she brought the topic up to Yusuke, he told her not to meddle. Her fiancé was an insensitive jerk. She leaned closer to the red haired male. “That’s okay, it is so loud in here that I am sure you couldn’t have heard me. I was wondering how you were able to pull this off in so little time. You are a miracle worker, Kurama.”


Kurama gave the human woman a small smile. “It really wasn’t that difficult. It was really quite simple. I just sat out food and drinks and hung up a banner,” he replied lightly.


“You are a good friend, Kurama.”


Kurama’s smile grew thin. “If you say so.” This night was never going to end.


******************************************************


Tai stretched her arms and gave a big yawn. It was four in the morning and everyone had finally left. She was exhausted and could only imagine how tired Aki was. The dark haired woman looked over to her fair friend, who was watching her pick up trash. “Are you sure you don’t need a pain pill?” she asked for the hundredth time.


Aki gave her friend a small grin. “No, they don’t work on me for some odd reason. Do you want me to give you a hand? I still have one that works properly.”


Tai laughed, throwing the trash bag she was holding on the ground and walked over to her friend and sat down. “I’m leaving it for tomorrow,” she started. “Aki, I . . . we need to talk.”


Aki gave her a sad smile as though she knew what was coming. “What is on your mind, Tai?”


“I have been thinking about this for a while now. You know that I consider you to be my dearest friend and that there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you but I can’t keep-“ Tai started but was stopped when Aki raised her hand.


Aki gave her an understanding smile. “It is okay. I have been expecting this for months. You want to start your new life with Kaname and I want you to be happy. It is the reason why I didn’t tell you I was leaving until the last minute when I left for . . . home.”


Tai let out a huge sigh. “I want to help you but I can’t risk it if I want to be with Kaname completely with no reservations. I love him, Aki.”


“I know this and if you hadn’t brought this up, I was going to. I do think of you fondly Tai and want you to commit completely to Kaname. I didn’t really want you to be a part of my . . . life’s goal anyways. This is about me and it is about time that you have gained a life apart from mine,” Aki told her quietly.


“Thank you.”


Aki gave her a huge smile. “Now let me see your arm.”


*****************************************************


Yusuke walked outside, stretching as he made his way to the bus stop. He was supposed to be meeting Kurama and Kuwabarra for a friendly spar though it was liable to turn violent if those two ended up alone together. They had yet to make up after their fight and it was pissing the raven-haired detective off. How were they supposed to beat the bad guys if two of the team were bickering and one was pissed because he had broken-up with his boyfriend? Not very well. Yusuke could only hope that they could get it together soon before they ended up getting killed by a demon or by each other.


He was so distracted that Yusuke didn’t see the messenger from sprit world until they had thrown a clipboard at his head. “What the hell?” he yelled searching the area and finding a pink-haired woman floating above him wearing a kimono and holding an envelope. “Hello, Urameshi Yusuke. I am one of King Yama’s assistants and have come to you with a message,” the girl told the pissed off young man. She handed him the envelope and with a wave and short goodbye was gone.


Yusuke stared at the fancy piece of paper as though it had fangs. Nothing that came from the king of the sprit world could hold good news. He sighed and shrugged, ripping it open while hoping that it would be like ripping off band-aid. He pulled out the fancy paper and started reading his mouth dropping open. “Bull-fucking-shit! This is not happening again!”


***************************************************


Kurama glared at Kuwabarra from across the porch. Yusuke was late again. Of course one could leave it to the detective to make him wait with the baka while they were quarreling. They had yet to say one word to each other, instead opting for a glaring contest. So far they were tied.


Just as Kurama was about to stand up and leave, a woman with shocking lime green hair showed up out of nowhere carrying two envelopes. She introduced herself as Yama’s assistant, handed to two each a paper and left.


The two just stared at one another for a few moments, neither opening their envelopes. Kuwabarra was the first to break to silence. “What do you think they could be?” he asked in a gruff voice.


Kurama looked down at the pretty piece of paper. “With Yama anything is possible. It could be our death warrants or it could be an invitation to dinner,” he replied nonchalantly, glad that the ice between the two had been broken at last.


Kuwabarra reached for the top of his and closed his eyes. “Guess there is only one way to find out,” and with that they both opened the envelopes and pulled out their papers.


After quickly reading his five times, Kurama was the first to speak. “Well, at least we aren’t going to die in the immediate future,” he told Kuwabarra while silently cursing Yama and listening to Kuwabarra curse him verbally.


*****************************************************


Hiei sliced another demon in his path, fighting off the budding urge to rush to the human world. These feelings were beginning to grate on the fire demon’s nerves. As he sliced another body in half, a figure appeared above him. It was an orange haired woman. She handed him an envelope carrying King Yama’s seal and left. Hiei sliced another demon as he opened the envelope with one hand and pulled out the letter. “Ah, damnit,” he muttered, reading the letter and slicing yet another unfortunate demon rather harshly,


*****************************************************


Smothering a yawn behind her hand, Aki snuggled father into the couch while she watched Tai and Kaname clean the apartment. They had forbidden her to do anything but watch them and now she was bored out of her mind. Just as she was about to dose off into lala land, a woman with bright purple hair appeared out of nowhere. She was floating in the air and carrying an envelope. “I am here to deliver a message from King Yama as his assistant,” she told the trio and left after handing Aki the envelope.


Aki opened the envelope slowly, taking care not to rip it to shreds and read the letter even slower. Tai was about to die from her curiosity. “Well, what the hell does it say?” she demanded, her hands on her hips.


“Nothing much really,” Aki replied while leaning back in her seat.
Kaname looked at her with an expression of disbelief coming across his face. “All of that drama for nothing?”


Aki blushed slightly. “Really, it was only demanding my presence for a tournament that is being held in sprit world in three months. See, it is nothing that is exciting,” she replied deftly.


Tai and Kaname watched her in horror. “Have you lost your fucking marbles?”

There you go kittens. Did you enjoy it? Review and let me know.


Kitty's Corner

blood-illusions-I am so glad you like the last chapter and hope you like this one too!