Blue Side of the Moon by Ravyn

Chapter 4

He was leaning against a dark blue car, arms crossed to conserve heat as he watched her approach

He was leaning against a dark blue car, arms crossed to conserve heat as he watched her approach. A faint smile hovered against his mouth and she clenched her fist around her bokken until her knuckles turned white.

“What the hell did you do to my bokken?”

“You don’t like the spells?”

“I don’t know what the hell they are!” She snapped, shoving a finger into his chest. “What did you do?”

His hand came to curl around the fingers pressed into his chest, thumb running over her knuckles. She tried to jerk her hand back and he smiled, tugging so that she and her bokken crashed into his side.

“Well, the first is a “return me” spell.” His lips brushed her ear. “The rest are basic protection spells.”

“Sano said they were expensive,” she snapped, pushing away and glaring at him.

“Those would be the strengthening spells,” he drawled. “If you won’t use steel, then you need something that has the punch of it, darling. Don't worry, I paid for them.”

She glared at him. “Don’t call me that.”

He just smiled.

“You are so very annoying.” She ground out.

“So says the partner who tried to back out of lunch.” Kenshin returned as he reached over to open her door. “It’s cold. Get in.”

“I don’t want…” she started.

“I don’t care.” He said mildly. “You need to eat, and we need to talk. Get in.”

She stared at the dashboard until the car started moving.

“I do not like being bullied.”

“I asked nicely the first time.”

She tilted her head and snorted. “We must have been having two different conversations.”

He smiled and she scowled.

“I don’t find this amusing.”

Those yellow eyes flickered over at her. They were warm enough that she looked away.

“I’m having fun.” He said. “It’s not often that someone argues with me.”

She looked out the window.

“You’re baiting me.”

“Of course.”

She clenched her fists. “You are the most vexing man I have ever met.”

“Thank you.”

She glared at the passing cars until she got her temper back under control.

“Why didn’t Sano and Yahiko recognize you?”

“Aoshi is very diligent in protecting my identities.” He said easily. “A few years ago he borrowed some blood and worked in some semi-permanent spells into my aura. The one you’re asking about pulls images from an individuals mind. Those images are translated into an illusion, and they see what they want to see when they look at me. Nothing more.”

“Oh.”

“You can see through it because you haven’t learned not to look through illusions yet.” He said mildly. “Aoshi is working on incorporating you into some of the spells.”

“What?”

“He’ll need a willing blood sample to finish them.”

“No.”

“We’ll talk about it later.” He promised, reaching over to shut off the engine. “We’re here.”

She looked up and frowned. “Where are we?”

“Inner Kyoto.”

She gawked at him before pushing her door open. “Why?”

“Because this is the most secure location I have,” he returned. “The conversation we are going to have demands privacy.”

“How does that equal lunch?”

“I took the liberty of stopping by a deli and picked a few things up.”

She stopped just shy of the elevator, starring at him. “When?”

“When you were supposed to be at your apartment sleeping.” He returned easily. “I would have cooked, but had things that needed taking care of and ran out of time.”

“… You cook?”

“Yes.”

Thankfully, the elevator ride didn’t require speech, because her brain had shut down at the thought that he cooked. Battousai cooked. Reaching up, she rubbed her suddenly aching head.

“Come on. I’ll get you something for that headache.”

“No thank you. I really don’t trust you around medicine.” She shot at him as she stepped away from the hand on the small of her back.

“You’re going to have to get over that.” He warned, voice laughing.

Why did he have to feel like sunlight and a cat’s purr?

His apartment was filled with leather and plush carpet, and she wiggled her nose when he wasn’t paying attention. Expensive carpet. He hadn’t been lying about the deli, and in a matter of minutes she was starring a plate heaped with potato salad, a thick sandwich, a bag of chips, and a jar of pickles.

“Isn’t this a little much for lunch?”

“You need to gain about five pounds.”

He tucked into his sandwich in what clearly was supposed to be an example for her to follow. Taking a deep breath, she dug in too. Thankfully, once she started eating, he seemed content to let her eat and not pester her with questions. It was only after he had cleared the plates and put a pot of coffee on to percolate that he pinned her with that look that always meant she was going to be talking about things she didn’t want to talk about.

“We need to discuss those vibrations.” Kenshin warned as he returned to his seat at the table. “Glare at me if you want, but if we figure out what’s causing the vibrations, we can create a flexible ward that will allow you to block it.”

She blinked at him, the terse words she had been fixing to say dying on her tongue.

“What?”

His eyes were that warm toffee again.

“I told you that I was going to protect you.”

Dammit. This was what she didn’t want to happen. She didn’t want that look to warm the space in her chest, or for her to realize that she could trust him to watch her back. She didn’t want him that close. She didn’t want to believe in him…

“I don’t know what triggers the vibrations.” She said finally. “I don’t feel them for everyone.”

“When do you feel them?”

She bit the inside of her lip. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Alright,” he said as he stood. “Black or cream?”

“Black, please.”

She studied her nails as she listened to him move around in the kitchen. She was not explaining to him that he felt like the warm crackle of a fireplace and kitty purrs, or that Jineh felt like electrocution in the middle of a blizzard. The sound of the coffee mug being set down had her lifting her head up.

“How much basic magic do you know?”

“Excuse me?”

“Basic magic,” Kenshin said. “How much do you know?”

She shook her head slowly, fingers curving along the mug. “Only a little, mostly just what I used to clean the crime scenes.”

“Alright. That’s a place to start.”

“To start?”

“There are some spells that you are going to need to learn. Aoshi assures me that you have the aptitude for personal warding and summoning spells. Not spells that need lots of power, but control.”

“I don’t understand.” Kaoru said, her brows tucking together. Hadn’t their conversation earlier been about vibrations? Where was this coming from?

Kenshin’s shoulder muscles rolled in a smooth, practiced motion. Her eyes flickered to his hands and she stared at the naked katana that hadn’t been there moments before. Wide eyes swung back to his face.

“You won’t have the power to make a pocket for your bokken,” Kenshin said mildly. “I can carry it for you most nights, but it would do you some good to know the spells.”

“You just pulled that out of thin air.”

“Yes.”

“How?”

The edge of his mouth curved a little and he stood. “If you’re interested in some reading, I will find the books.”

“Oh… alright,” she said slowly. “I should be going back soon though…”

“That’s fine. I have a few calls to make. I’ll light the fireplace and you can see if there is something you want to take back with you and then I’ll drive you back to your place.”

There was something evasive in his tone. Watching his back suspiciously, as he left the room, she stood and headed to the window. The blinds parted under her fingers and she stared out the window at the traffic moving lazily below her. The sun was setting, and she sighed when she realized she had already adjusted to eating at strange hours.

She didn’t realize Kenshin had come back until the crackle of the fire caught her attention.

The coffee table had half a dozen books stacked on it. Thankfully, they appeared to be in English. Walking back over, she picked one up and flipped though the page; frowning at the different symbols, and words that while in English, she didn’t understand.

“I brought a pad and pen,” Kenshin said, leaning over her shoulder so that the line of her spine was in contact with his chest. “If you have any questions, write them down and I will do my best to answer them.”

The sound of the phone ringing interrupted anything she might have said, and she jumped at the brush of his mouth against her neck before he was moving away and into the room he had disappeared in before. Reaching up to cover the skin of her neck, she swallowed.

She was really not happy about this. Biting her lip, she looked back down at the book. They were different from Yahiko’s and her curiosity itched. Sighing, she flopped onto the couch and started trying to read.

….

Kenshin put the phone down and rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t even nine yet and already Aoshi was getting calls. If Jineh was on the move, then tonight they would have to go hunting. Kaoru had said she was able to track Jineh, but until they had more information on what he was up to, it wouldn’t do them any good to try tracking him down tonight. There was going to be another body to examine, and another exhausting night for his partner, but it was necessary.

Moving silently, he padded his way back into the living room. Kaoru was asleep, as he had expected her to be. The circles under her eyes were painfully obvious, and no one managed to stay awake reading spell books without at least a pot of coffee in their system. As exhausted as she had been, he hadn’t given her half an hour before giving into her body’s need for sleep.

Keeping an eye on her lax form, he cleared the couch of her books and the note pad. He considered carrying her into his room, but decided against it. Knowing she had been in his bed, seeing her in his bed, would drive him to distraction every time he tried to sleep after this. It was best to wait to have her there until she was going to stay. Heading to the hall closet, he pulled down a blanket. She was tired enough that she didn’t even stir as he adjusted her position on the couch, covering her with the blanket.

It only took a little concentration to pull his own book from his bedroom. Sitting on the love seat, he settled down for an evening of reading and watching Kaoru sleep.

…..

He knew she was ignoring him. Tightening her grip on the over sized sweater she had been ‘asked’ to borrow, she stared straight ahead. She had made the mistake of pressing her thumb to her mouth while he spoke to someone, and he had smiled. That slow, appreciative smile that promised things.

If it hadn’t made her mouth tingle with remembrance of the way he had woken her… An apology for not being able to let her sleep, he said. The violence she was considering couldn’t be done in front of witnesses, and there were several of those. Apparently something was bothering Shinomori, and several Oniwabanshu members had been waiting for them at the site.

Something had happened. Something that was sending chills down her spine as she waited for Kenshin to come back and tell her what was going on. Wishing she had something to do, she tried not to fidget. Taking a fortifying breath; when had she become such a child, she lifted her chin and studied the building in front of her. It was strange, odd lines and angles. It made something roll in her stomach, hard and cold.

The windows were even stranger. Tilted at angles that made it impossible to see more than a few inches inside the rooms; the building was made for magic. Swallowing, she took a step back and tilted her head to see if the angle was different higher. A shadow moved across the window, and she squinted, trying to see.

Her world narrowed into that section of window. A face stared down at her, eyes wild and red. His smile was too sharp, more fanged than blunt, and she found she couldn’t breathe. Something red was dripping down his face, and when he lifted his hand to the window, blood smeared with it.

Then he laughed.

It ate into her skin and twisted along the paths that terrible disjointed vibration followed.

She screamed.

The sound hung in the air and twisted around her, and she still couldn’t look away. Then there was an arm around her waist and hot yellow was boring into her gaze. She stared at him, stunned and hardly breathing.

“Stay here.”

Then he was gone. She blinked, trying to clear her head, trying to figure out where he had gone. There was a sound, a pulse, something shattering and she lifted her eyes. Two bodies were falling out of that window. Her eyes were huge as she watched them land, rolling away from each other.

Kenshin had lost his jacket. His hair was twisted around his neck and seemed to spark against his skin. In his hand was a sword. A katana whose blade was black from hilt to tip, except for the kanji that burned the same color gold as his eyes. It wasn't the katana he had shown her before.

“Battousai!”

His voice was like grinding nails and she covered her ears.

“Jineh.”

“I see you found my sparrow!” His laugh was worse close. “Mine! Mine!”

Her heart froze in her chest. Cold was seeping into her mind, pressing against her heart, vibrations crawling down her spine and her knees wobbled. She gasped for air, pressing her hand to her heart. It hurt.

“Leave her alone.” Kenshin’s words were a snarl.

“Oh! It isn’t time to play… play. Mine to play.”

They blurred. She couldn’t follow the colors or the movements, and another hard shock in her body kept her from trying. Dropping to her knees, she dug her palms into the broken asphalt and let the pain bleed into her concentration.

“Kamiya-san,” the voice was new. “You have to stop.”

Another mad cackle and she flinched. The voices were dropping away, a painful blur against her skull. Someone was shaking her, but it was so cold. Pain arched through her and she flinched away from it. It wouldn’t stop. There were noises, metal on metal and furious words, and then it just faded away.

…

Hands pressed against her face, her chest, someone was rubbing her fingers.

“Breathe, dammit!”

Pressure hurt and she rolled away from it, coughing painfully into the concrete. Her teeth were rattled with the force of her shaking, and she moaned, trying to curl into herself. Everything hurt. Finger tips too long in ice. An arm slid under her back, knees; lifting her up.

“Get out of my way.”

Kenshin. Kenshin was holding her and arguing with someone. She could feel him physically wrapping her around him, but she couldn’t feel him. There was no scorching, no cat’s purr.

She complained in the back of her throat as she was jostled.

“Stay with me. You’re too cold, Kaoru.”

Always her name. Never anything but her name. Damn man.

Every time she managed to sink into the dark corners of her mind, he would shake her. Her teeth felt like they would chip and break in her skull, but it was too hard to open her mouth to ask him to stop. He was mumbling things under his breath. She thought they were in a car, something was vibrating. The sounds of sirens hurt her ears. Those stopped, and she tried to crawl into the darkness before someone banging jarred her back into awareness. Voices and numb sensations crawled down her skin.

“Hey… what the hell did you do to Jou-chan?”

“Move.”

“Ka-… you’re taking off her pants?”

“Man, what the fuck is all the… shit!”

She hardly felt the fingers on her skin, the clothing being ripped from her body.

“Did you fill the tub?”

“You can’t be serious!”

Crashing. Something broke. Sano’s voice, strained.

“Yeah, it’s full.”

“Don’t come in.”

Finally. Quiet. Just as she started to drift again, everything exploded. Heat rushed along her skin and into her veins, burning everywhere it touched. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t expand her lungs to scream. Painful, jarring vibrations jerked along her spine so that her body arched, trying to escape.

Hands held her down.

“Just breathe, Kaoru.”

She coughed, gasped, and light flashed behind her eyes.

“You always say that.” She whispered weakly. Her body sagged against the side of the tub, the marrow of her bones melted. “Stop.”

The hand shifted, holding her up instead of down. Blinking until the last of the spots faded, she stared at the sloshing water, the way his skin stretched over muscle and bone along his wrists. Her body was shaking, but it wasn’t from the cold.

“It’s alright.” He whispered, fingers stroking along her arm. “He won’t find you here.”

She lifted her head, and stared at the man in front of her. His mouth was hard, eyes hot, but his touch wasn’t rough. She should have felt awkward, naked and in the water with him watching her with those eyes. She didn’t have the energy.

“What happened?”

His eyes closed and he took a slow breath. “We need to figure out a new way to shield you. Aoshi is already working on it.”

“Shield?”

“Jineh deliberately flooded your system with his ‘gift’”

“Why am I alive?”

“Let’s get you dry and into bed.”

“Himura….” He ignored her, reaching for the towel, fingers gripping her elbow to keep her in place. “Kenshin… please.”

He stilled, hands going white around the edges of the towel. He took a deep breath and turned around, eyes almost colorless.

“Jineh wants to use you as bait.”

“Bait?” Kaoru questioned, wrapping her arms around her chest so she could sit up a little.

“Why?”

Kenshin’s jaw worked. “Because of us.”

She frowned at him as he lifted her with one hand, wrapping the towel around her. She tried to ignore the way his eyes burned a line down her body. Stepping out of the water, she avoided his gaze as she adjusted the towel.

“I need clothes.”

“Alright.”

She shot him a glare. “Go away, Kenshin.”

“Not until I know you’re sleeping,”

Her knees were wobbling. That’s why she let him hover without arguing, why she let him turn his back when she changed and ignored him when she crawled under the covers. Why she let him play with her hair while she willed herself to sleep. She wasn’t a child who needed a protector from her own nightmares.

The only reason.

…

Kenshin shut the door carefully, testing the wards that Aoshi had built. She would be safe here, tonight. The wards would also keep the nightmares at bay. Pressing his forehead against the wood, he wished he could stay.

“What the Hell just happened?”

Twisting around, he stared at the two men in her life. The boy was bent over the couch, face green as he rubbed his eyes. Sano was standing by the front door, his features confrontational.

“I’ll never sleep again.” The witch muttered. “Fucking naked.”

“Don’t wake her up.” He moved to the door and lifted a brow when Sano stopped him with a shake of his head.

“Not until you tell us.”

If he broke any of the taller man’s bones, Kaoru would be disappointed. Reigning in his temper, he spoke.

“Jineh has made her a target. Don’t let anyone in.”

“Does that include you?” The witch asked once he got over his shock.

“The wards won’t let anyone but Shinomori or me in. Anyone else, kill.”

“You brought her into this,” Sano snapped. He stepped forward, glowering. “I know this was your doing.”

Kenshin lifted a brow. “Your concern is noted.”

“Why you son of a bitch…”

“Stay out of my way, and do not interfere with us.” Kenshin warned, stepping around Sano and opening the door. “Kaoru is mine.”

Jineh was going to pay for hurting her. For making her scream like her soul was being ripped from her body. For daring to touch her with his magic. Clenching his teeth, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

“What do you have?”

….

Kaoru stared at the cereal in her bowl, little circles being swirled around by her spoon. They had long since stopped being edible. The coffee had dinged its readiness five minutes ago, but she hadn’t worked up the energy to care yet. Last night she had seen the face of the man responsible for the mess she was in. She had looked into his face, and realized what kind of monster he was. Shoving her bowl foreword, she curled her arms onto the table and dropped her head. She should have stayed in bed. Things were always easier, better, when covered from head to foot in soft sheets.

“Damn, Jou-chan, you need coffee.”

She lifted her head and stared at Sano as he moved around her chair and towards the coffee pot. He was hardly dressed, and looked like hell.

“You too.” She mumbled.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been living off this stuff for hours.”

“Huh?” She frowned at him, not sure what he was talking about.

“One sec. YAHIKO!”

There was a yelp and a hard thud. A second later, a pajama clad Yahiko flung himself out of his bedroom, hair wild, eyes huge as he looked around.

“What? Is that bastard back? Where is he!?”

She stared at him. Yahiko looked tense, like his entire body was about to snap if he didn’t move. His eyes locked on her and some of the tension in his body faded.

“She’s up.”

“Oh.”

Kaoru looked back and forth between them, baffled. What on earth?

“Dammit, ugly!”

She jerked, startled.

“Naked!”

She stared at him. “What?”

He pointed an accusing finger. “You! Naked! Him! My eyes! Burned!”

The thunk of something ceramic in front of her saved her from working through his one word statements. Coffee. Picking up the mug, she gulped it down. Coughing at the heat, she waved Sano off.

“I needed that.”

“Drink slower next time.” Sano ordered. There was silence and she peered through her watering eyes to him pointing at a chair. “Sit.”

Yahiko slid into the chair after a moment, face turned away and a little red.

Taking a sip, careful this time of her tongue, she let the heat and caffeine sink into her blood. The cereal was picked up and put into the sink, and a box of donuts was set in front of her instead.

“Yahiko grabbed these last night.”

“They didn’t have any raspberry ones,” Yahiko muttered as he reached for the chocolate covered donut.

“We seem to be eating a lot of these.”

“I was hungry.” Yahiko defended. “It was too early not to have fat and sugar.”

“Have you two even slept yet?”

“We took turns.” Sano mumbled.

Kaoru was silent long enough to make the boys fidget.

“Why?”

Yahiko stared at her. “What do you mean why?”

“Yahiko…”

He pointed at her. “That… bastard comes in here, strips you down in front of everyone, tosses you into the bathtub, informs us that you have Jineh-fucking-Udo hunting you, and then just disappears! And when we try to open your door to check on you, it won’t open!”

She stared at him. “Bastard?”

“Yeah, the creep who brought you in.”

“You didn’t know him?”

Yahiko gave her a hard look. “Shit. I haven’t seen him before in my life!”

She sat back, feeling weak. He hadn’t lied. People didn’t recognize him outside of that damn bar. How much magic did that take? Swallowing, she nodded, trying not to show how much that had bothered her. He had told the truth.

Did that mean…

Later. Think about it later.

“So you stayed up all night.”

“We took turns,” Sano interjected, cutting off Yahiko before he could go on another rampage. “We thought it was best.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

She waved her hand. “For this. For this mess. This is my fault.”

Yahiko snorted. “Yeah. Nice and noble and full of shit.”

She glared at him. “Excuse me?”

“Taking all the blame for this is just fucking stupid.” Yahiko snapped. “Even I know that.”

“What he means is, stop being an idiot.” Sano suggested.

“But…”

Yahiko pushed away from the table. “I can’t deal with this! I am going to take a shower! There will be no hot water when I am finished! Deal with it!”

Kaoru gawked at his back and he stomped off, a string of curses falling from his mouth. She twisted around and stared at Sano.

“What on earth…”

Sano let out a slow breath. “He was worried about you.”

As if that explained everything. Except it might.

She blinked. “Oh.”

Sano’s smile was crooked. “I called Meg. She is going to come over and make sure everything is alright. She said she would bill us for it later.”

“I’m fine.”

“I don’t care.”

She shoved away from the table. “I’m going back to bed then.”

“Probably good for you,” he agreed.

She shook her head and left.

Sometimes, she just didn’t understand them.

….

Kaoru was starting to get antsy. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Kenshin in over a week. She hadn’t gone out much. She told herself it wasn’t because she was afraid, that she was terrified of what might happen. It was the fact that she was being watched. She just didn’t know if those eyes were friendly. Shadows within shadows, a strange quiet vibration that ran across her mind like muted sound; then there were her dreams…

It was hard to breathe in those dreams. Thick with shadows and bright sparks of fire. A black blade that cut the darkness and eyes like a cat that would watch her knowingly, chased away by the loud, endless laugh that ate at her confidence. The phantom arms that she could almost feel if she leaned just a little further behind her…

She slapped her hands down on the counter in front of her. Yahiko jumped, dropping the controller he had been holding, and Sano looked up from cleaning his gun.

“I’m tired of this.”

“It isn’t…”

“Safe?” Kaoru grumped, stomping over to the couch and flopping. “I don’t care. I’m tired of this. There are people watching the apartment! How is that safe?”

“Oniwabanshu,” Yahiko agreed. “I don’t know them.”

“Why does that matter?”

“It doesn’t,” Yahiko replied uneasily. “I just don’t know them.”

She gave him a hard look, but let it go. “Okay.”

Starring at the TV for long moments, she finally sighed. “Did Aoshi or … my partner say I couldn’t go outside?”

“No.” Sano said slowly.

“They probably thought it was common sense.” Yahiko said, but it was missing its normal bite. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he returned the gesture.

“Okay, fine… here,” he tossed her a controller. “You do know how to play, right?”

“Of course!” she growled. Grabbing the bright plastic, she stared at the buttons. “Now… which is for running? Kidding, kidding, kidding…”

She was loosing terribly when Yahiko suddenly stiffened, eyes shooting to the window.

“Oh fuck…”

“What?”

“The buildings on fire.”

Sano jerked up. “You sure?”

“Yes! Shit! We gotta go; it’s going to get bad!”

“Fire? Here?” Kaoru asked, baffled when she was jerked off her feet by Sano.

“Shoes!”

“These buildings can go up fast,” Yahiko said as he jerked on his shoes. “They’re old wood.”

“Can’t you put it out?” Kaoru asked her voice breathless with her adrenaline.

“They’re using an accelerator. Its magic based. I could try, but we would probably burn up first,” Yahiko snapped as they moved down the hall. “Take the stairs. We gotta hurry.”

“This is why I like the ground floor,” Sano hissed.

They clamored down the stairs, footsteps echoing loudly. Screams and smoke were filtering down the stairwell as others raced for safety. They hit the doors to the outside, gasping for clean air.

A hand settled on her shoulder.

“Stick close!” Sano yelled in her ear, the noise of the flames increasing. “This could be a trap!”

She nodded, grabbing onto his arm as they moved through the growing crowd. She froze at the sudden cold, a shiver running across the surface of her mind. Her fingers dug into Sano’s skin and he twisted. Before she could warn him, before she could cry out, an arm slid around her waist, a hand settled over her mouth.

Sano’s eyes widened in shock, and Yahiko’s terrified eyes peered at her from beside him.

A pressure in her mind. Then things went black.

….

Sano stared at the space Kaoru had been in. Stared in disbelief. He was frozen, everyone was frozen. Gritting his teeth, he slowly shifted his weight, working to break whatever Jineh had done. He had taken Kaoru. Kaoru. Gone. Just like that. Howling internally, whatever it was that had locked his limbs into ice snapped and he staggered, knocking someone over.

“Yahiko!”

The witch wasn’t frozen in anything more than shock. Mage spells didn’t stick well to witches.

“He took her!”

“You have to fix the damn fire!”

“She’s fucking gone!”

He grabbed Yahiko’s shoulders and shook. Wide eyes locked onto him and he breathed deeply.

“If you don’t stop that damn fire, we’re going to smell dead bodies for fucking weeks! Fix it, and then we’ll deal with Kaoru.”

Yahiko swallowed and then nodded. “Okay.”

Sano didn’t understand magic. Didn’t understand witches or mages or what made them different. His skills were limited. Channeling energy into strikes was easy. What Yahiko had to do to put the fire down was different. Harder. The boy had been turned away by his teachers because of his stubbornness and unwillingness to bend on his own personal honor. There was a great deal of strength in Yahiko that had been untrained for too long. He didn’t have the training for this, yet they had to try. He could probably do it, the way his emotions were stressed right now. That always did something to witches.

The boy was muttering under his breath, hands held away from his body. They were glowing, and his hair was twisting around itself. Sano wanted to reach over and steady him, but the last time he had done that, he had almost lost his hand.

The sounds of the fire died. They didn’t fade, they died. Went out. Yahiko staggered backward, face lacking any color. His eyes were black with strain and his lips pressed in a hard line. Sano reached out and caught him.

“A little slower next time, brat.”

“Shut up,” he said weakly. “I can’t feel the Oniwabanshu.”

Sano frowned, looking around as people slowly started to twitch. “Shit. I hope they’re not following Jineh.”

“He’ll kill them,” Yahiko agreed, leaning against him. “He doesn’t need them to tell Shinomori. There are enough witnesses.”

“I don’t think those were Shinomori’s men.” Sano said grimly. “They wouldn’t have gotten close. We need to get word to Misao.”

“Yeah, but where the hell is she?”

“Where she always is; watching the shadows for Shinomori.”

….

Kaoru woke up cold. She was on a floor, and it was wet. Shifting a little, she bit her cheek to keep from gagging at the heavy metallic scent. Moving carefully, she slowly sat up; jerking her shoulder up to wipe her cheek.

Blood. The floor was covered in blood. Her stomach rolled, and she leaned over, dry heaving. Her eyes watered with the force of her retching, and she shook. It took several moments to calm herself down enough that she didn’t burst into hysterics. She was covered in blood.

Screams welled in her throat and she bit her cheek hard. She would not panic.

The door slammed open. She froze at the sound of footsteps, and the sound of sloshing.

“Pretty little sparrow is awake.”

A shadow fell over her form, and a hand fisted in what was left of her ponytail, jerking her eyes back.

“Mine to play with. Mine. Mine. He thought he would get you.”

She couldn’t look away from the strange glowing eyes.

“Oh yes. He wanted to play with you first… but this is fun! I get to hunt the hunter!” The hand twisted tighter. He leaned forward, dragging his nose along her temple. “Screaming. Screaming inside your head.”

Her body was frozen and cold, jagged spikes of pain rolling through her mind with each crashing vibration in her body. She wanted to scream. He laughed, shifting and dragging her across the slick floor by her hair.

“Oh yes. Scream. Make him angry. Never so much fun unless he is angry. I’ll lock you in my prison and then you’ll scream for me.” He giggled; a high, broken sound.

“Scream for me.”

 

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