Angel's Wings
by JiaZai
Disclaimers: This fic has been written just for entertaining purposes. I’ve got holes in my pocket so do not sue.
Author’s Note: Red hair, violet eyes…o…hot~!
Chapter 2
Overture
Kurama
returned home that day to find that no one was home. It was then confirmed in a
letter his parents left that they were on another business trip and Shuuichi was
on a camping trip for that week. Kurama threw his bag onto his bed and proceeded
to change into comfortable clothing. He put on white tee and blue jeans.
Outside,
a storm was approaching as dark clouds covered the weakening sunlight. It was
not before long when the first raindrop fell from the sky and billions of them
followed. Kurama looked up from the sums he was working on and looked at the
rain coming down. He smiled to himself and finished the last sum.
After packing up his books, he went to the kitchen to dig for something to eat. However, to his dismay, his parents were probably too rushed that morning to remember to pack the fridge with things to eat. He gave a small sigh and reached for the umbrella. It just so happened that his mother was very absent-minded on subjects of food. Sometimes she could forget to add spices onto a plate of meat she was cooking and Kurama ended up having to swallowed plain meat. He strapped on his pair of sandals and headed out.
Kurama
headed to the supermarket and bought groceries that could last him a couple of
days. Unknown to others, he had a talent for picking the best meat and
vegetables and cooks wonderful meals. After paying, he found that the usual
route he took was being blocked, as an accident just happened. Kurama looked
around and spotted a lane that could lead home too.
His
sandals plopped onto the lane and he found himself surrounded by hostels. Kurama
had never stayed in one of them before and he sometimes wondered about them. Out
of the corner of his eyes, a girl sat, her red hair down and the rain attacked
mercilessly onto her. She didn’t bother about it though.
Kurama
found the girl familiar and took a closer look. It was Reikuyo. Her violet eyes
stared blankly on the ground, face registering a look of anguish. She looked as
if she was crying. Kurama couldn’t tell. He bent down and brushed some hair
from Reikuyo’s face. Reikuyo looked up, eyes woeful.
“Minamino.”
She said, acknowledging his presence. Her duffel bag laid beside her, wet from
the rain too. Reikuyo’s uniform was wet too. It appeared that she didn’t get
a chance to change.
“Are
you crying?” Kurama asked, concerned. Reikuyo shooked her head.
“Must
be the rain.” She answered quietly. Reikuyo didn’t want to explain more, and
Kurama noticed that.
“You
are all drenched. Want to come to my house? My family is out for a couple of
days, so I can put you up.” Kurama offered. Reikuyo slowly nodded her head.
She had nowhere to go anyway.
-+-
“Here you go.” Kurama said, handing Reikuyo a change of shirt and pants, “These are warmer so you don’t catch a cold.
“Oh,
right.” Reikuyo replied, taking the change with one hand. A towel was draped
on her shoulder. She went into the bathroom and took a shower. The warm water
gave her warmth and she didn’t feel like leaving from it. When she finally
did, a smell of delicious food lead her to the dining room, where she found
herself facing mouth-watering food. Kurama carried a bowl of soup out of the
kitchen and spotted the hungry look on her face.
“Try
my cooking.” Kurama offered, nodding his head towards the bowl of rice on the
table. Reikuyo happily scooped from dishes to dishes and piled her bowl quickly.
Kurama noticed that her hair wasn’t entirely dry yet.
“Let
me help dry your hair.” Kurama said, reaching for the towel and gently
smoothing Reikuyo’s scarlet hair dry. Reikuyo stopped her gobbling and felt
Kurama gently caressing her hair. Her face turned a shade of light pink.
“Erm…I
think that I’ll do it myself…” Reikuyo declined, putting down the bowl and
chopsticks. She took the towel from Kurama and dried her hair. Kurama sat down
opposite her and started eating. Soon, Reikuyo was back to her gobbling and she
asked for three more bowls of rice. Finally, she was satisfied and the two of
them returned to their rooms.
-+-
Reikuyo
stared at the ceiling. It was already 11pm but she just couldn’t get to sleep.
She played with a strand of ruby red hair, remembering Kurama’s touch that
evening. However, her mood dampens at memories of her past. She shouldn’t
really be here. Being too close will endanger her. Reikuyo didn’t want to get
hurt and betrayed again.
She
sat up on the bed and looked at her duffle bag, wondering if she should sneak
away. A gust of wind blew into the room and the silky white curtain drifted
around like a mysterious scarf. Reikuyo proceeded to go and close the window
when she felt a sudden jolt of fear.
The
dim light in the room merged with darkness and up raised a glass figure of a
woman. Colors slowly seeped in and the 3D figure materialized into a woman with
magenta hair and black eyes. Reikuyo moved back from the woman and held her
hands in fists protectively in front of her. That woman was Kaeronai. She smiled
smugly at Reikuyo.
“Good
evening, beautiful lady.” Kaeronai said coolly. Reikuyo kept quiet, cold sweat
running down her forehead. She didn’t think that Kaeronai was a friend.
“Now, don’t be afraid. I’m Kaeronai, a professor who make studies in angels…” Reikuyo’s frown deepened. Angels? Don’t be kidding. Kaeronai paced up to her. Reikuyo held her place with all her alertness up.
“And
our next angel is going to be…you.” Scarlet liquid splashed out as Kaeronai
sliced through Reikuyo with a purple blade that shot out from her index finger.
Reikuyo fell backwards, eyes fluttering. Her face filled with woe, pain and
confusion.
“Shuui…chi…?”
Reikuyo said, coming out less than a whisper. Before her eyelids finally closed,
she saw Kaeronai disappear into the darkness.
-+-
“Shuui…chi…?”
Kurama
jolted up from his sleep, totally awaken and alert. He thought he heard Reikuyo
calling him. Did something happen? Or was it his hallucination. He threw his
blanket aside and hopped off from his bed. He went out into the passage way and
knocked on Reikuyo’s room door.
There
was no reply. Kurama wondered if she was too asleep to hear the door knocking.
He decided to take a peek. Kurama opened the door slightly. Reikuyo was not in
bed. Kurama opened the door wide and was shocked to see Reikuyo lying in a pool
of blood.
He
kneeled down and held her onto his lap. Reikuyo had a deep cut across her
abdomen. Her eyes was closed tightly, face contorted in pain. Kurama didn’t
know if she was going to make it. He covered her mouth with his. By giving her
some Rei, Reikuyo’s life would be saved.
Suddenly,
Kurama eyes widened in shock and he pulled away from Reikuyo. He felt jolts of
Rei within Reikuyo’s body. Very strong Rei. Blue lights gathered at her wound
and warmth radiated from these lights. Reikuyo’s wound merged together and
disappeared. Her expression turned peaceful and her once short breaths returned
back to normal.
Kurama
carried Reikuyo onto the bed and he pulled a chair next to her. Kurama pulled
the covers over Reikuyo and tucked her in. His eyes fixed on her and his
eyebrows knotted into a frown. Reikuyo must be no ordinary girl. She must have
been attacked because of her strong Rei. However, it seemed like she didn’t
know about it.
Kurama
realized the danger Reikuyo might be in. He needed answers and advice from
someone.
-+-
“Get
this pile finished immediately!” Koenma yelled, his pacifier twitching
animatedly along with the movements of his mouth. The frightened Oni quickly
picked up the pile and was out before you can say ‘documents’. Botan stood
in a corner, giving a little sigh at the sight.
Suddenly,
the door opened and Kurama stepped in, eyes focused and expression serious.
Koenma took a look at Kurama and he stopped his stamping. He hopped off the
chair and proceeded out the door.
“Botan,
take over for a minute.” Koenma ordered, leading Kurama to the library. He
knew about this the moment Kurama met Reikuyo. Kurama’s visit was expected.
He’ll have to do some explaination sooner or later.
“Koenma,
I want to ask you about this girl that I met.” Kurama started.
“I
know what you want to ask.” Koenma said while sitting onto a chair. “Her
name’s Reikuyo, right?” Kurama nodded, then proceeded to tell Koenma about
the way Reikuyo’s wound healed.
“She
is currently in my house. I don’t think the attackers will come again
tonight.” Koenma let out a breath slowly. The two of them finally met, but it
seemed like trouble is all that is going to come.
“Kurama.
All I can tell you is that she is someone very important and you are to protect
her.” Koenma answered. Kurama will have to find out the rest by himself.
Kurama
frowned at Koenma. He was not satisfied with that answer. However, he knew that
he’ll not be able to get anything out today. So with a nod, he left the ReiKai
palace.
-+-
Huge
white feather covered wings flapped in mid-air as Tamayi looked into the room
where Reikuyo laid. Her ruby red hair laid in masses on the bed and she looked
so in peace. Could it be because of that boy? Tamayi wondered. His glass-like
silver eyes searched the room and he bit his lip. He could understand why
Kaenorai wanted Reikuyo as the subject. He could feel her strong Rei from all
the way out here.
Suddenly,
he felt another kind of Rei radiating. He looks down to find Kurama staring up
at him. Kurama’s green emerald eyes screamed ‘keep off’.
Tamayi ran a hand through his sapphire blue hair and with a flapped of
his wings, was out of sight.
Kurama
went into the house and up to Reikuyo’s room. Once again, he took his seat
next to her and he gently brushed aside some hair from her face. She looked
rather pale. Kurama looked at the dark patch of blood on the carpet. Reikuyo
must have lost a lot of blood. She would need a good rest.
“She should awake soon…” Kurama thought, as he got up and went into the kitchen. Spilling half a cup of rice into the pot, he decided to prepare some porridge for Reikuyo. She needed food to get back her blood. And so twenty minutes later, Kurama gently stirred the porridge and proceeded to taste it.
“Shu..ui..chi…”
A voice called out, Kurama turned around and Reikuyo hugged him limply, burying
her head in Kurama’s chest. Kurama stood there blankly, dropping the spoon
onto the floor. He didn’t know what was happening. Did Reikuyo struggle all
the way down just to get to him? Why did she do that?
Unconsciously,
Kurama reached his hands to the back of Reikuyo and gently hugged her back.
Kurama felt Reikuyo wetting his shirt with her tears. Kurama’s eyes softened
and he held her tighter. He didn’t know why she cried, but all he could do was
to offer a little comfort.
-+-
The
next morning, Kurama woke up with a start again. No, he did not hear Reikuyo
calling him. Kurama had personally tucked Reikuyo in last night, assuring her
that it was just a dream. Reikuyo simply nodded her head quietly and soon fell
asleep.
So
what’s with all these rusty feelings now? He turned to his alarm clock. 6am.
Sliding on his slippers, Kurama plodded to Reikuyo’s room. Last night, she had
struggled out of her room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. She seemed
rather terrified and yearned for someone to comfort her. And so Kurama ended up
embracing her till the porridge almost burnt.
Reikuyo
just suddenly became so vulnerable, as if all her actions before were just
fragments of her great acting skills. Kurama slid on his slippers and went out
into the passageway. He had better check on Reikuyo in case anything happened.
He knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer.
“Could
something have happened again?” Kurama thought, anxiety spinning in his mind.
He swung the door open. The room was empty. Kurama opened the cupboard and to
his suspicion, the duffel bag was no longer there.
He
closed the door of the cupboard and he bit his lip. Where could Reikuyo have
gone?