Only You
by Misty
Chapter 1
“Seiko,
wake up!!!”
Nakajima
Seiko sat up groggily. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, and realized that that
really irritating voice belonged to her older sister Michiko.
“Michiko!
Why did you wake me up? It’s still early,” and she rebelliously lay back
down on her pillow. She was having such a wonderful dream, and who was Michiko
to stop her from dreaming?
“You’ll
be late for your interview, stupid!” Michiko said in exasperation.
“Interview?!”
Seiko’s eyes opened wide. “Oh,
right, my job interview’s today!” Throwing back her blanket, she hurried to
get some clothes from her closet.
Kurama
felt bored. All those people he interviewed all gave the same, unsatisfactory
answers. None of them fit the job.
“So,
Shuichi,” his stepfather, Mr. Hatanaka, said to him. “Who do you think fits
the job?”
He
looked at his stepfather. When he died on that fateful day in the Ma Kai, his
spirit fled to the Ningen Kai, the world of humans, and was reborn as Minamino
Shuichi. His mother, Shiori had remarried about six years ago, and so, Hatanaka
became his stepfather.
He
decided to help his stepfather in his business, and he had grown to like his
stepfather. Sometimes, he was almost like a real father to him.
“So?”
Mr. Hatanaka asked again, jolting him out of his reverie.
“None
of them,” Kurama said, suppressing a yawn. “They all do not meet my
standards.”
“I
agree with you,” Mr. Hatanaka said. “Maybe we shouldn’t hire anyone
anymore.”
Kurama
was about to agree, when Mr. Hatanaka’s secretary, Megumi, came in. “Another
girl’s here. She says she’s here for an interview,” she announced.
Mr.
Hatanaka groaned. “Not another one!” he said.
“Maybe
she’ll do better than the others,” Kurama said hopefully. “Okay, let her
in,” he said to Megumi, and she nodded, and went out the door.
A
girl entered timidly. She tucked a strand of her shoulder-length, dark green
hair behind her ear. “Good morning. My name is Nakajima Seiko, and I’m here
to apply for a job as an accountant for your company.”
“Okay,
please have a seat, and we will ask you some questions,” Mr. Hatanaka said,
and nodding, Seiko sat down.
Kurama
watched her silently. The girl seemed familiar to him. He didn’t know why, but
he felt as if he had already known this girl for a long time. But he was sure
this was the first time he saw her.
She
suddenly looked up, her eyes meeting his own. He noticed that her eyes were a
dazzling shade of dark blue.
He
looked away, deep in thought.
He
still couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had met this girl before.
Ma Kai, Twenty Two Years Before the Present
He approached the treasure
chests silently. Close behind him was his partner, Kuronue. They were able to
defeat the guardians of the treasure they were about to steal, and now they
moved in for the kill.
Kurama
was about to grab one treasure chest, when a hand reached out at it at the same
time. Startled, he looked up at a pair of deep purple eyes. It was a girl.
“Who
are you?!”
“No,
who are you?” The girl glared scornfully at the youko.
“Look,
you stay out of here,” Kurama said calmly. “I came here to get these
treasure chests.”
“I’m
going get the treasure,” the girl said evenly. She stood tall with dignity,
and she tossed her long, braided black hair. Her deep purple eyes burned with
contempt. “So stand back, or
I’ll kill you.”
“Do
you want to fight?” Kurama said, amused. This girl wanted to fight him? He
laughed, and said, “A woman like you? I can defeat you easily.”
It
was the girl’s turn to laugh. “Don’t bet on it. Do you know who I am?”
“Am
I supposed to know?”
Suddenly
Kuronue gasped. “I know who you are! You’re Naomi… a member of the Seven
Thieves? You’re quite notorious here in the Ma Kai.”
“Yes,”
Naomi said. “So don’t underestimate me yet.”
Kurama
stayed silent for a moment. He turned to Naomi, and said solemnly, “Okay, I
accept your challenge. I will battle you for that treasure. Don’t be too
complacent, though, for I am the legendary youko named Kurama.” His eyes
twinkled roguishly for a moment.
Naomi
stared at him. So this was the youko named Kurama, also a notorious thief in the
Ma Kai. This wouldn’t be such an easy fight, then. Nevertheless, she was going
to beat him.
They
faced each other, both sure of their victory.