A shadow passed over the window in Himiko's hospital room. She stirred. Her wounds were nearly healed now, and soon she'd be able to check out of the hospital and get even with that little punk demon... "That's four centuries older than you are, and infinitely more powerful," a voice completed her thought, albeit it wasn't exactly where she'd been going with it herself. Himiko's eyes darted around the room as she sat up straighten in her bed. Her sharp eyes picked up nothing. "It's really too bad you didn't just kill him straight off the bat when you had the chance," a pause, "Too bad for you at any rate. For the rest of us it's probably a good thing..." the voice drifted off. "Who are you?" Himiko asked, attempting to gain some control over the situation she currently found herself in, and didn't find herself enjoying all too thoroughly either. "Who I am doesn't matter, it's who you think I am that counts." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" "Whatever the hell you want it to mean." "You speak in code." "Because I can." "Are you going to kill me?" Another pause. "No. Oddly enough, and luckily for you, I have no desire to kill you. Yet." Himiko "hrmph"ed. Another shadow passed over her window, Himiko twitched. "So do you have a face? Or shall you continue to hide like a coward?" There was no answer. She waited a few more seconds. Still, there was no reply. "Hello?" Nothing. "Answer me dammit!" But no answer could come because Atsuri, the Star of Vengeance, had already left. Himiko released her frustrations with a very loud scream, which the nurses heard and misinterpreted as pain. So they forced more drugs into her arm, and the demon hunter slept while the demon went out to play. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dark Star --- Part X --- Some Days You Learn More Than Others By The GinkCat Started by Chandra Rooney Aforenotes: Ten Q to LC for letting me use her computer, and for her patience with me. Ask her about it if you're curious. On with the show! =^.^= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yasha glared at Kuroi Hoshi, the Black Star, Mother of the Star Demons, and long-hated enemy; and she did the most unexpected thing she could possibly have done at that precise moment. She gave up. Whether it was truly the lack of caring that she displayed to the woman before her, or some sort of passive tactic, only she will ever know (with the possible exception of Kuroi Hoshi who seemed to know everything, or at least a good deal of it). "Let her go," Yasha's voice boomed throughout the suddenly silent hall. Her guards, the ones that had a hold on either of Kuroi's arms, exchanged uncertain glances. In their hesitation, Yasha's impatience grew. "AM I NO LONGER YOUR QUEEN!!" she screamed and let bolts of dark energy fly at the two...we'll call them 'men' for lack of a better word. They disintegrated with a painful burst of silence. "That seemed a little rash," Kuroi said, casually wiping the greasy ash from the sleeves of her suit. She seemed to be the only being in existence who a) understood or b) did not care about Yasha's sudden and evident lack of persistence. "You don't want to tell me where the fifth star is, fine. It really isn't that important to my plans." Yasha sounded like a pre-schooler who knew she was not going to get her way, and therefore acted as though it would not be a big deal. If Yasha played this simile to full effect, soon, once she realized her ploy had no affect on the intended parties, she would start to pout over dramatically, and then if that had no effect either, she would start crying and screaming VERY loudly until she either got her way or exhausted herself and fell asleep. "You're dying to know, so stop pretending." "I don't know what you're talking about," and she jutted her chin out like a stubborn four year old, crossed her arms defiantly as though that would make her mother aware that they were going to go for ice cream, mom just didn't realize it yet. Except, of course, our four year child is a millennia old demon, and there isn't any ice cream in a ten kilometer radius. "You're a child Yasha. You've always been a child. About everything. A child with a lot of power." Yasha's eyes began to smolder. Like the afore mentioned child who finally realized there is no ice cream. "Shiko is awakening. Do you know why?" "Of course I know," the self-entitled Queen of Demons stated. Kuroi smiled. "Good. Then you don't need me here to tell you," And with that, she dissolved into thin air, before Yasha knew what was happening, let alone had time to stop it. After her initial shock that anybody, even somebody as powerful as Kuroi Hoshi, could escape her Realm without a hitch wore off; her anger resurfaced. She still didn't know who the Fifth Star was, and apparently the only creature in the known Universes known to frighten even the Gods was about to awaken at any given moment. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= Tenshi sat, shivering, in the corner of her new cell. This one was much more imposing than the last. Dark, damp, just plain icky. There were webs covering the walls, and where there were webs, nearby there were spiders. Tenshi shuddered at the thought of the kind of spiders that would like to live in a demonic realm. The kind of spiders that built webs inches thick over solid stone walls... It didn't make sense to her either. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= Hitomi and Junta walked up to the front door of the Bright Star Hotel. They both paused briefly to exchange a look that said more than words could have. Some of the words it could have said were 'Gee, this place looks exactly like it did five hundred years ago when I saw it last, and at the same time it looks so different' and 'Gods, I can't believe we're gathering again. Has it really been five hundred years? We should make the next family reunion a little sooner'. But first and foremost that look said 'oh shit, I hope we don't die'. Then Hitomi reached out instinctively for her eldest brother's hand, who kindly took it and gave it a reassuring squeeze before they headed into the Hotel. Once inside, Hitomi pushed her glasses up her nose, her momentary inundation of worry gone for the time being. She knew more about what was happening than anyone. Well. She knew more than any of her siblings did. She wasn't aware that the Demons of the Stars wouldn't be the only occupants of the Bright Star Hotel. Judging by the mild surprise she saw on Junta's face, neither did he. Together, they walked up to the check in counter, to address the creature that sat there. Hitomi racked her memory for the identity of its species, and after a few moments deliberation decided that it must be an Inutatsu. A race of dog-dragons whose purpose in life was to protect humankind, provide luck, stuff like that. They were also believed to be extinct. But that was obviously untrue, because there was a green one sitting at the front desk of this hotel, reading through what appeared to be a very old book, and an obviously funny one at that, judging by the creatures laughter. In fact, it was so involved in it's book it hadn't heard them enter the Hotel, nor sensed their approach. Must be why they were so hard to come by. With a lack of observation like that, it was no wonder so many of them had been killed off. While Hitomi was busy contemplating the green creature reading behind the counter (which Junta found absolutely adorable, little kid's toy adorable), Junta was busy wondering why the hotel looked so... inhabited. It was possible that Zellar had kept the Hotel open for business after they'd all left, it would be a good money maker, and demon or no, money is always useful. But keeping the hotel open would have been dangerous, and Zellar never did like drawing attention to himself. But that was the only safe assumption to make at the present time. There couldn't be any real danger for them in here, because the wards Kuroi, his mother, had set wouldn't let anyone with harmful intent in here. With the possible exceptions of Atsuri and Kurayamino, but fortunately for them the wards were particularly tuned to allow the Demons of the Stars to pass through. That decided, Junta cleared his throat. The little green creature deftly ignored him. Junta saw a little sign on the counter: 'Ring for Service'. Junta looked around for a bell to ring, hoping maybe that would break the creature's concentration on that book it was laughing so hard at... him Junta thought, there was something about that laugh that was distinctly masculine. He couldn't find a bell. "Excuse me, where's the bell?" The creature looked up briefly from his book and casually glanced at the two Stars before him. He shrugged. "Don't have one." He turned back to his book. "But the sign says..." Junta let his voice trail off. "I know. It's to discourage people from interrupting me while I read." Junta and Hitomi exchanged a look of bewilderment. Hitomi had thought she'd met them all. All the weirdos, all the losers, et cetera, et cetera. Then again, she reasoned, she'd never met an Inutatsu before. Junta just looked a little shocked, and then began to chuckle. "Good book, I take it?" he asked the creature with the floppy dog-ears. "Damn straight!" the inutatsu closed the book (on his finger so as not to lose his page) and held it up so that both Star Demons could see the cover. The very old book was a bible. "First edition copy! I loved this book when I was a kid. Never could understand how people that it was all serious and stuff." He shrugged and found a little piece of paper to use a bookmark. Putting the book aside he asked, "So I take it you both are here for that whole 'Gathering of The Demons of the Star' thing, right?" "Yes, have any of the others arrived?" Hitomi answered. "We're only waiting for one more now that you've arrived." "Can you direct us to those who are here?" she asked, and Joodan gave her a weird look. "Uh... sure thing lady." Hitomi looked at him a little oddly, but waited patiently as the inutatsu messed around with a switch board, pulling wires out here and plugging them back in there. Once he was done, he ignored the newly made connections completely, took in a deep breath and screamed. "What the hell was that?" Junta asked. "Works quicker," the green creature said with a shrug. Not half a minute later, a young girl came running - nay, flying is more like it- into the entrance hall from one stair case, while a boy - obviously demon in nature - appeared so quickly down the other flight of stairs one might think he'd simply materialized. The demon boy, Kurayamino, had a sword drawn in each hand, prepared for battle. The sight he was met with was Joodan sitting calmly behind the front desk counter, the place he'd seemed to take up as his own since they re-opened the hotel; two not-quite strangers standing on the other side of the desk; and a very out of breath Tenkou in a robe at the base of the other flight of stairs (he casually noted that her hair appeared to be wet, which must have meant she'd just gotten out of the shower). He let his gaze sweep the floor, there were no scream-worthy occupants, so he let his gaze land stolidly on Joodan. Joodan seemed to feel the heated gaze upon him and calmly marked his page again, and put aside, leveling his much more pleasant gaze upon Kurayamino's. "I should kill you," was all that the Demon said, in a voice so low it was barely audible. "That wouldn't be very nice. I mean, committing homicide in front of your sibs that you haven't seen in a few centuries, wouldn't kind of an impression would that leave?" Kurayamino smirked. "You think they'd be surprised?" "Did I say they'd be surprised? No. I said it wouldn't leave a good impression. And after not having seen each other for so long, it's almost equivalent in value to a first impression." Neither Hitomi nor Junta were quite sure whether their impression of their often angry youngest brother would have changed in the slightest, but the their impression of the green thing behind the desk was definitely a good one. Atsuri was going to hate him more than Kurayamino so obviously did. That thought brought a smile to both their faces. "What the hell are you two smiling about?" "It's been a long time, Kumi-chan," Hitomi was across the distance between her and Kurayamino in three seconds flat, had her arms wrapped around her brother's neck in an embrace like only a sister could give. Kurayamino found himself returning the hug, and enjoying it. "You're right, a hundred years is too long." "A hundred?" Junta asked sounded merely curious, and not hurt. "How could I possibly stay away from my youngest brother?" Kurayamino simply smiled. A real smile. Not that really mischievous one that makes everyone think of the little kid who's done something that he's going to find absolutely hilarious, that no one else has any clue about until its too late. Tenkou saw the smile from across the room, and found herself smiling back, even though she knew she wasn't the one being smiled at. Maybe that was part of the charm; that he was smiling at someone else, but she didn't believe that. For the first time he seemed genuinely happy. Then she remembered exactly who it was smiling, one of those situations where you know what's going on except it hasn't sunk in yet, and she felt a chill go up her spine. "This is great, and I don't mean to be a downer, but the... the..." Junta pointed at the inutatsu, who simply smiled deliriously in response. "That's Joodan," Kurayamino filled in the blank for them. "Well, Joodan said we were only waiting for one more Star. I think I'm safe in assuming that's Atsuri. So where's Zellar?" Joodan and Tenkou exchanged a glance that was mostly confused, but somewhat worried. "He's... around," Kurayamino answered. "You didn't rejoin did you?" Hitomi asked, sudden horror in her voice, "Tell me you didn't rejoin." "Would it be a bad thing if we did?" "Under the current circumstances... yes. Very!" "Well, then it's a good thing he's up in his room sleeping right now, isn't it?" Hitomi eyed him suspiciously, but didn't say anything. She knew he was lying. They'd rejoined, she could feel his increased power now that her emotions, her joy at seeing her brother, had been placed away at the back of her mind to be neglected for another lengthy period of time. She shook her head. "It took me a while to figure it out, but I figured that you and Zellar must have known. I don't understand how you could not." "I don't follow, Hi-chan," Kurayamino said, despite the fact that he had an idea about what she was talking. A possibility he never wanted to think about overly much. Something he was going to be forced to think about now. Hitomi sighed. "You and Zellar were never intended to be born into the same body. That was Mother's doing, to protect you. You were twins, and she forced you into the same body so that the Fifth Star couldn't be found. No amount of tracking by Yasha or anyone else would be able to find you while you were in Zellar's body. When you separated you were never intended to rejoin. Couldn't you feel that? Wasn't more comfortable for the two of you once you each had your own body. If you hadn't separated then, there would have been a war raging inside you, each of you trying to gain more control. Eventually that will start again, because you and Zellar are two very different people, and no matter what agreement you've come to for the time being, it will never last." "Why do you say that?" Tenkou asked, speaking for the first time since she'd been in the room. "Because," Kurayamino took it upon himself to answer, "We've been separate for so long, developed such a strong sense of individuality, that no matter what, we'll always resent each other for being forced to share a body. Eventually, one or both of us will crack. I'll... *We'll* self-destruct. And take whoever happens to be in the vicinity with us." "Oh. That's pleasant." "And I'd probably enjoy the sight too, if it was happening to anyone but family," a new voice added. They all turned, and saw the tall, dark figure standing at the doorway. "Atsuri!" was all Kurayamino was capable of getting out. "Mind you, if any of you piss me off, I'll enjoy watching anyone of you destruct. And don't think it wouldn't be by my hand either." "How long have you been there?" Hitomi asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "Long enough to have killed you all without your knowing, had the desire so taken me." "And you thought I was unpleasant?" Kurayamino said to Tenkou, who was standing closest to the newest arrival in the Bright Star Hotel. She was staring, at the tall, thin demon, his dark hair falling into his face, (it was neither too long nor too short she noted with some disconnected part of her mind). The muscle definition showed through his clothes, through his posture, which made it obvious he wasn't one to be messed with. (Unless messed with in the proper fashion, that same afore mentioned part of her mind commented). Kurayamino realized that the object of his fascination, his lust, and currently, his rage was duly ignoring him. Atsuri finally seemed to notice he was being noticed. By a beautiful young girl. By a beautiful young girl who appeared to be wearing no more than a flimsy robe, no less. He gave her a once over, and then noticed that his youngest brother, Kumi-chan as he abhorred being called by anyone but Hitomi, was looking thoroughly unimpressed. Which was enough for him to pursue this, whether or not he thought the young girl was worthy of his attentions. (Which, he thought, she did, but it would be better to let Kumi-chan believe he was doing this solely to aggravate him). "Aren't you going to introduce me to your pretty friend here, Kumi-chan?" Atsuri asked, never taking his eyes of the girl, more specifically, never taking his eyes from the stretch of her legs he was currently admiring. Regularly, Tenkou would have freaked out at such an obviously animal observation of her body, but she didn't even notice it was happening. She was too busy admiring his strong shoulders to notice. Kurayamino was fuming. The only possible way for him to portray his anger any more vividly would have required him actually being capable of forcing steam out his ears. "No." "I'm Tenkou," she answered, finally raising her eyes to meet his. "My name is Atsuri." he answered with a level look into her eyes that would have made most girls melt into a puddle of whatever it is they melt into. Kurayamino was standing there, way at the other side of the room, clenching and unclenching his fists rhythmically. Hitomi was getting a little nervous. Junta actually thought he saw steam. Joodan was reading again. Kurayamino's anger level was about to hit the ceiling. Junta watched as he opened his mouth to scream something, probably obscene, when a strange tension followed by a relaxedness overtook his body. "Hey look at that everybody's here, isn't that nice. Tenkou, you realize you aren't wearing any clothes? Did everybody make it here safely? I really ho-" Zellar was there for a second, and in that second, Tenkou got rein of her emotions, blushed fiercely and ran back up the stairs. Atsuri looked somewhat disappointed that she was leaving, but watched her go all the way up the stairs. With the same suddenness in which Zellar had gained control, Kurayamino took over. He threw unclenched fists up into the air above his head in a non-threatening manner; "I'm not going to kill anyone. I'm not going to kill anyone, I promise I'm not going to rip his little fucking head off!" he paused for a moment, caught his breath, let his arms drop to his sides, and added, "I'm okay. Really. I swear I won't hurt him. I won't hurt him. I won't hurt him." "Why are you repeating yourself then?" Joodan, the one who always asked the right questions at the wrong times (although he thought of those times as the right times, otherwise he wouldn't have asked in the first place, right?). "I'm reminding myself." "Good plan, Stan." Joodan replied. Then he went back to his book. It was a damn good book, if he did say so himself. And he often did. Hitomi sighed. "Now, this is a perfect example of why you shouldn't have rejoined. You almost lost control there, didn't you, Kumi-chan?" "Not for the same reasons you're thinking," He muttered quietly. "See, I believe what just happened accounts for the single positive reason why they should have come together in blessed-one-bodyness," Joodan added, without looking up from his book. "How do you mean?" Junta asked. Joodan, looked up from his book, with a look of 'can't you figure it out yourself', but explained anyway. "Had Zellar not taken over at the precise moment that he did, we would have ended up with one less Child of the Black Star, and everyone knows there has to be FIVE. I'm not going to make any allusions as to who I believe would have won, but I do have to add, that whomever lost would probably have made a very big mess of you know, gross stuff that I'd just end up having to clean anyway. Things turned out much better this way, don't you think?" Against both Hitomi's and Junta's previous thoughts on the subject, Atsuri laughed. "You and I, I think we'll be getting along," he said to the inutatsu. "I know," he replied with a smile, and started chuckling at his book again. "Gods, have I got a headache," Kurayamino whispered, and he went back up the stairs, to his own room. Junta and Hitomi looked at each other, then to Atsuri, and all three of them shrugged an 'I don't know' to some unspoken question. As if to answer, Joodan spoke without looking up from his book. "Hotel's five stories high, doesn't really matter what room you stay in, but so far only rooms on the first floor have been taken. You want to be sure you're getting an unused room, go to the second floor. Or higher. It's not a big deal. Good night." And the three Demons of the Stars went upstairs to find themselves a room. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= Kyoku awoke with a yawn, and created the ripple in time that would land him back in the city square by the fountain. He stretched, looked around. No one saw. Good. Not a big deal if anyone had though. He'd have just killed them and sent the body into a rift in time, a place no one would ever be able to find it. But all that much easier on him if he didn't have to. Now the mayhem could really start. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= Kuroi watched the whole passing of events from the rafters. Not really rafters, considering the Bright Star Hotel was a somewhat classy place, and would never have exposed rafters in the main hall, but there is no real name for the place she'd stolen herself to, and The Rafters was the best name she'd been able to come up with for it. It was a Neither Here Nor There Place. Limbo, some people called it, but Kuroi just couldn't think of it that way. Not since Chubby Checker had sung that damn Limbo Rock. The Rafters was a good name, and from there she was able to see everything that was going on at any point in time, and tracing her would be next to impossible. She had to laugh at her children, not at the fact that two of them had come close to destroying each other, but at the fact that nearly four hundred years had passed and they hadn't changed in the slightest. Many may think of that as a bad thing, they hadn't grown up, they were still the immature brats that they had been four centuries earlier, they were going to bring about the end of the world. Almost everyone would have thought that, in fact. But Kuroi had hoped, those centuries ago when her children were first dispersing, that they would only gain in strength and knowledge, that their demeanors and personalities would remain the same. It was imperative to the happenings that were about to happen. They just didn't realize it yet. And if things went smoothly, they would never realize it. And if things didn't go smoothly, they would never live to see their mistake. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= Tenshi sat, staring at the webs on the walls. There was something about those that just didn't make any sense to her. Why would a spider web up a wall of solid stone? Not that she could tell there was actually any stone under those webs because they were so thick, but the rest of the walls were made of stone, so those must be too. Right? Earlier, Tenshi had been thinking about how Kuroi Hoshi had gone from a seemingly powerful woman , one with the upper and in the situation, to one that seemed to be weak and full of cowardice. That had seemed highly strange. If she ever had the chance to see the woman again, she would have to find a way to bring it up without being offensive. But in the meantime those webs were really bothering her. It didn't make sense to her. Finally frustrated, she got up to investigate the web from a closer vantage point. There were no insects caught in this web, in fact, from this closer point of view, it didn't look like it could have come from any naturally occurring species of spider. And then, looking past the web, she realized it was so thick that she couldn't actually see the wall. For some reason that she was unsure of, probably the nagging feeling of not being absolutely certain that was at the back of her head. She started pulling away the webs, and to her surprise, there was no wall there. Well there was a wall, but it wasn't a stone wall at all. Tenshi stared at it in confusion, and after a moment or two, she realized it was a portal of sorts. It was just a matter of what was on the other side of it. She tentatively put one hand through and pulled it back through again. It came back in the same condition. She contemplated her next move. It was a simple choice. Stay or leave. She thought about it for a split second, realized that after everything she'd been through in her existed, all the places she'd been, nothing could be worse than this. For the time being at least, she was right. Without a second thought, she jumped through the portal and into the unknown. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= Kuroi smiled. Tenshi found the portal she'd created for her. The one that would close once she jumped through it. She thought perhaps the girl wouldn't find it. But she was obviously at least a little smarter than she'd thought. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= In her home beyond the worlds, she rolled over. Her sleep was getting lighter. She twitched. The dreams were coming to an end. Fading to black. And when that happened, when the last remnant of deep sleep had passed, she would awaken, suddenly aware of hungry she was, of how long it had been since she'd had a good meal. And then an infinite number of worlds would be doomed. =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= After notes: 1. Chris is an @$$hole. Ask LC. She might explain. Then again, maybe not. 2. Atsuri doesn't mean anything. I thought it sounded good. 3. I apologize to LC for the aggravation I caused her. Really. She may not believe my sincerity, but then again I don't blame her, I wouldn't believe me either. 4. Thanx to Jonatan Streith for using the piece I'd written, it was much appreciated, and I'm glad he thought it was good enough to use. 5. Thanx to LC for the ideas throughout this story, and thanx for letting me modify them at my twisted will to my liking. It was duly appreciated. 6. I made good use of my creative license in this one. I'm sorry if I ruined any ideas other people were hoping to make work in this story, LC didn't fill me in on all that discussion stuff until I had the whole story planned out. And seeing as I'm lazy and I had no clue what I was going to do until last night, I thought a serious re-working of my plans would just end up in delays. 7. I think I had more fun writing this one than I did the other one. Could you tell? I'm not absolutely sure. It's the effect of coffee on my creative process, I think. Mostly that anyway. And I pass on the torch. Except it's not a torch because I don't think the flames would really be all that good for the computer. And Stuff. =^.^=