NOTES:
No notes really. This is Ti's writing for this chapter, with the plotline Inu87Yasha…sorry that it's taken so long to update…we've had some…major muse problems…
So, here it goes…
Chapter One: Lost In the Woods
Everyone who had been at the Sohma house two days ago was now aboard the Sohma's private bus. It was full of lively voices with Momiji's voice rising above the others.
"LET'S ALL SING A SONG!" Momiji shouted.
"DON'T YOU START!" Kyo yelled, punching him in the shoulder.
"Waaahh, Kyon's mean!" he wailed. He glanced towards Tohru, but she was being protected by Hana and Uo.
"Uhh…Hana-chan? Uo-chan? Do you think I could go help Momiji-kun out, please?" she asked them sympathetically in her timid voice.
Hana said nothing, only stared directly at Kyo, who stalked away to the back of the bus. "Tohru-chan, do you think we'd let you be bombarded by all of these crazy people!" Uo asked her.
"HEY. WE'RE NOT CRAZY!" Kyo yelled from the back of the bus.
"Well, at least Orange-head is crazy…" Uo replied, shooting him a glare.
"You wanna come back here and say that to my face, Yankee?" Kyo called.
"Any time, Orangey." Uo replied. She began to rummage around in her bag. "Oh, and just as a precaution, I brought along—" She pulled out her usual metal bar with bloodstains on it. Kyo's face paled slightly, but enough to let Uo know he was afraid of her…or at least her metal bar…that had bloodstains on it. "Still want me to come back there, Orange-head?"
"Whatever…" Kyo replied, trailing off the end of his sentence, staring intently out the window, trying to turn himself invisible. "I don't even know why I agreed to come along…" he muttered to himself.
As Uo put her metal bar away, Tohru scanned the rest of this bus, which seemed to have quieted down after Momiji had stopped talking. Hatori was sitting up front, trying to read a book, but it looked quite hard since Shigure and Ayame were sitting on either side of him, talking non-stop. A ways away were Hiro and Kisa, who both were sleeping. Across the aisle from them was Ritsu, who was looking rather nervous. In the seat behind him were Haru and Yuki. From the looks of it, Haru was trying to convince Yuki to listen to a song on his CD player, but he seemed fruitless in his attempts. Momiji was bouncing in his seat listening to a CD, Kyo was sulking in the back of the bus, trying not to draw attention to himself because Kagura was scanning the bus for him. Uo and Hana were sitting on each side of Tohru. Figuring that it couldn't get any better, Tohru closed her eyes and slipped into a peaceful nap, the low hum of the motor hypnotizing her to sleep……
"WAKE UP, TOHRU!" Yelled a voice in her ear about an hour later.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO YELL AT HER, YOU STUPID BRAT!" Yelled a second, much angrier voice.
"Mo—Momiji-kun?" Tohru said, snapping her eyes open. She found that Momiji was standing in front of her with Kyo leaning over the seats in front of her, hitting him on the head. Uo and Hana had left her side to go and grab their bags. "Kyo-kun?"
"Oh, now you're awake." Kyo said to her, letting go of Momiji. "Good job, you moronic bunny. You woke her up."
"Yuki told me to!" Momiji shot at him.
"You could have woken her up by not yelling in her ear." Kyo replied, storming off the bus. Tohru yawned widely, which caught Momiji's attention.
"C'mon, Tohru!" he said to her, grabbing her arm and jerking her to a standing position. "You have to see the cabin! It's so huge!"
"O-okay," she replied as she tried to run along with Momiji dragging her behind him. As they got out of the bus and were heading up a steep hill, Tohru cried, "Wait! Don't I need my stuff?"
"No!" Momiji replied as they reached the top of the hill to find the large cabin with a cavernous, dark forest behind it. "Yuki already brought up your bags for you!" Yuki appeared at her left.
"It's not a problem," he said, smiling. Tohru blushed furiously. "At least I didn't have to dig them out of a landslide…or at least a landslide of dirt." She looked at him with a questioning look on her face. "Well…when I opened up the compartment…all of the luggage fell out on top of me…" Momiji laughed along with Yuki. Tohru barely managed a forced chuckle, not finding it very funny that Yuki was almost crushed to death by the luggage.
"Come on, why are we all just standing around outside?" Shigure yelled to them from the porch of the cabin. "Come inside! It's just like home!"
"You say that now!" Yuki called to him. "But soon you'll regret it!" Shigure simply chuckled.
"Oh, will I?" he said thoughtfully, walking into the cabin.
"Honestly, that guy's a mystery to me." Said Hatori from behind the trio.
"A mystery to you!" Momiji cried. "Nothing's a mystery to you, Hatori!"
"Oh, there are things that are a mystery to him," Haru said from behind Yuki.
"He's a mystery to me, too. Stupid Dog…" Yuki said to Hatori.
"It seems as though we both think the same way," Hatori said to Yuki, who smiled.
"Yeah…I guess so…" he replied. "I just wish Ayame didn't have to come."
"Me too…" Hatori replied, sighing. "Well, why don't we at least go inside? It's getting a little cold out here." Hatori then ushered them all forward into the cabin where they found it quite roomy. There was a large family room with a kitchen right next to it and it was just perfect to Tohru.
"Honda-san, I put your things in this room over here," Yuki said from across the family room. As Tohru walked forward, she marveled at how big the cabin was.
"There's even bedrooms, too?" she asked, amazed. Yuki only smiled.
"The Sohma house goes to no expense to give us luxury," he replied as he pushed her into a smaller room. "And I'm sorry to say, but you'll have to share a room with—"
"That's okay! I-I don't mind it at all!" Tohru said, cutting him off.
"Yeah, but Honda-san, you have to share it with Kyo!" Yuki said quickly.
"O-oh." Tohru said quietly. Kyo was already sitting on his bed, his luggage thrown at the bottom of his bed.
"What?" he shot at Yuki.
"You're sharing a room with Honda-san and be nice or I'll kill you, you stupid cat." Yuki replied and walked away.
"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST, DAMN RAT!" Kyo shouted after him.
"Temper, temper…" Ayame called into the room as he passed. Kyo simply sulked on the top of his bed.
Tohru quietly walked over to the edge of the other bed that was adjacent to Kyo's and unpacked her bags that Yuki had set there. She carried the neat piles of clothes and belonging over to the dresser in-between the two beds and placed each pile in her drawer. Kyo said nothing to her, only watched her in her process of unpacking.
"Why unpack?" he queried Tohru once she sat down on her bed.
"Huh?" she said.
"Why do you even bother to unpack?" he asked again.
"Uhh…I don't know…because……" Tohru replied, trying to think. "It's just like moving into another home…I guess…"
"That's really—" Kyo began, but he was cut off by Haru storming in with Yuki behind him.
"Tohru-kun, will you at least listen to this?" Haru shot at her, sitting down next to her on her bed.
"Uh—sure…?" she said, confused. "Why?"
"Because Yuki won't!" Haru said again.
"Hey, there's no need to go Black, Haru," Yuki said warningly.
"Well, if you would only listen to it, Yuki, then—"
"I'LL LISTEN TO IT!" Tohru shouted over their rising voices. She didn't like Black Haru and she didn't want him to destroy the cabin.
"Okay." Haru said, handing her the headphones. She slipped them on over her ears and heard:
"Mujou ni mo kuchiteku
mijikashi inochi mau
saigo ni mita kioku
warau kimi... yame."
"Umm…What song is that?" she asked Haru.
"Zan by Dir en Grey," he replied.
"That was…interesting…" she replied. Haru smiled.
"See? She liked it, Yuki!" Haru said, stalking out of the room.
"I'm not so sure about that, Haru…" Yuki called after him, following him out of the room.
"Well…" Tohru said, to cover up the awkward silence Yuki and Haru had left behind. "Should I go start dinner?"
"Sure," Kyo replied, standing up. "I'm starving."
As they both headed into the kitchen and Tohru began to pull things out of the fridge, she stopped and stared at Kyo. "Y-you're still here?"
"Yeah…I want to help…" he said quietly.
"O-okay…" she replied.
"Hey, I've got nothing better to do." Kyo said, grabbing a knife and beginning to cut some cheese. "If I try to start a fight, someone'll get thrown through a window or wall…"
Tohru laughed. "That sounds about right." She said, smiling. As she put a pot of water on the stove to boil, Shigure and Ayame entered the kitchen.
"Ah, Tohru-kun, you don't need to fix dinner tonight!" Shigure said. Ayame would have agreed but he was too busy pestering Kyo.
"Kyonkichi is helping the princess cook?" he said, laughing.
"SHUT UP YOU DAMN SNAKE OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Kyo yelled at him, waving the knife in front of him.
"Temper, temper, Kyonkichi!" Ayame said.
"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" Kyo yelled again.
"Anyway," Shigure said. "We're having dinner out by the woods. Haru and Yuki are finding wood for the fire. We're going to have fish. Hiro and Kisa and Momiji are catching the fish right now at the lake."
"T-there's a lake too!" Tohru said, surprised.
Ayame laughed. "Of course!"
"Come on, let's all go!" Shigure said, marching out of the room, with Ayame behind him.
"Sheesh, those guys are crazy…" Kyo said angrily. "Why'd I agree to come!"
"Why don't we at least go outside?" Tohru said, reaching for Kyo's arm. "Come on!" she said, pulling him out of the kitchen and to the outdoors, where they found that it was sunset and the darkness was growing. She and Kyo sat down on some large, flat boulders that were set up in a large circle around the campfire that was burning brightly, Yuki and Haru standing next to it, looking proud, yet tired. Tohru then noticed that Kisa, Hiro, and Momiji were setting up some pans above the fire and setting the cleaned fish on the top of it. When Tohru tried to get up to help, Kyo grabbed her arm.
"Don't even try, Tohru," he said, staring at her. She nodded. "If you do, Ayame or Shigure will be over here bugging me."
"O-okay." She said, sitting back down.
About ten minutes later, Kisa motioned for Tohru to come and help. Jerking her arm out of Kyo's forceful grip, she approached the fire.
"Sissy, can you pass out the plates to the people?" Kisa asked.
"Sure, but not everyone's here yet." Tohru said, looking around.
"HEY, MORONS!" Kyo yelled exceptionally loud. "FOOD TIME!" Everyone from everywhere emerged and ran towards free boulders. Kisa, Momiji, and Hiro already had the plates fully loaded with fish for Tohru.
As Tohru passed out the plates of fish, a car pulled up the dirt driveway. Everyone stopped eating and stared as the person emerged from the car.
"Kana…" Hatori breathed, standing up and walking over to help her. Even though he had overheard Akito's conversation, he hadn't thought she'd actually show up. "Kana, what are you doing here?" he asked as he approached her. Everyone back at the fire was listening and staring intently at the pair.
"Akito-san invited me," she replied in a teary voice. She shut the door of her car rather loudly, startling some birds in a nearby tree. "He said it would take my mind off of my—deceased—husband…" she finished through sobs.
"It's alright, Kana," Hatori replied, leaning down to grab her suitcase with one hand. With his other hand, he gently took her arm and guided her into the cabin. "We'll put your things away and then you can join us for dinner out by the fire."
"Okay," she said quietly as he guided her into the cabin. Sighing quietly, she rested her head on Hatori's shoulder. "Somehow…this all seems to feel so right…" she muttered. Hatori smiled slightly, glad that Akito had invited her. As the cabin door closed, confused chattering began back at the fire.
"Why is Kana here?"
"Why is she barging in on our vacation?"
"Who is she?"
"Her name's Kana."
"She used to be Hatori's fiancé."
"Really?"
"He was married!"
"No, he was engaged to be married!"
"Do you think they'll ever stop talking?" Tohru asked Kyo.
"Yeah right." Kyo replied. "HEY. MORONS. SHUTUP!" he yelled at the bunch of them and just in time, too. Hatori and Kana emerged from the cabin. It was a good cover-up, however…
"I'M SO SOOOOOOORRY!" Ritsu cried at Kyo. Kana stared at him as she sat down between Momiji and Hatori. "I'M SORRY FOR YELLING AND ASKING QUESTIONS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! I'M SORRY I WAS BEING SO LOUD AND WONDERING WHY KANA HAS COME HERE UNINVITED TO OUR VACATION—"
"Akito-san invited me!" Kana protested above Ritsu's unusually loud voice.
"AHHH! I'M SORRY FOR THINKING YOU CAME HERE UNINVITED! I'M SOOOOOOOOO SORRY!" Shigure simply stood up and poked Ritsu in the side. Ritsu sat back down in a daze, and continued to eat the fish.
"Here, Kana-kun," Tohru said, holding out a plateful of fish. "There's enough to go around."
"Thank you," she replied, taking the plate carefully in her hands and setting it on her lap. As Tohru sat down, chatter broke out among everyone. Luckily, they all averted their conversations away from Kana's arrival. On the other hand, Kana was beginning to enjoy herself once her mind was off of Ritsu's loud outburst. She was in what looked like an enjoyable conversation with Hatori. Luckily (for Hatori), Ayame and Shigure were silently cheering for Hatori behind Kana's back, since they wanted nothing but happiness for Hatori. Momiji was watching Aaya and Shigure intently with mild interest; Hiro and Kisa were talking quietly, as were Yuki and Haru, but they were much closer together than Hiro and Kisa were. Kagura was talking with Hana and Uo and Tohru and Kyo were talking about anything that popped into their mind.
After about an hour of eating and chatting, they cleaned everything up and were ready to turn in, however:
"Let's start with a scary story!" Ayame boomed.
"Oh great, not another 'scary story'," Kyo said. "If that's the case, then I'm leaving." With that, he stood up and trudged away.
"For once, I'm actually with the stupid cat." Yuki said, getting up and leaving as well.
"Anyone else?" Ayame asked. No one moved. "Alright. Shigure-chan, why don't you start?"
"Let's see…" Shigure began. "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away—"
"That's Star Wars, stupid." Hiro shot at him.
"Aah…so it is…" Shigure replied. "Anyways—"
"You think you're going to tell us Star Wars!" Hiro started up again. "It isn't even remotely scary."
"Hiro!" Kisa hissed at him.
"What? Oh fine, I'll just shut up." Hiro replied to Kisa's silent pleas. "Just tell us a different story. One that's scarier, please."
"Okay, okay…" Shigure said. "Just give me a moment to think…"
"He is a famous novelist." Ayame boasted.
"Yes, yes, but that's besides the point." He replied. "Anyway, let's begin—"
"I'm sorry!" Her dirty sneakers pounded against the damp earth of the campsite. Her breath came in ragged, heaving gasps. She ran and ran, yet he was still gaining on her.
"I…I didn't mean it—" Her frantic pleas were suddenly cut off as something warm and hard connected with her head. The girl felt her legs buckle underneath her, and before she could react, the ground was rushing to meet her.
"I'll be good! I'll be good!" Through the vivid colors flashing before her eyes from the force of the blow, she caught a glimpse of the pallid face looming over her. His face as contorted in a mask of perfect rage, yet us painted red lips were parted in a maniacal, taunting grin.
"I'm—" Her voice was yet again silenced by another blow. But this time, she didn't even feel the pain. Her body had collapsed before her brain could even process what had happened.
She lay there. Limp. Warm. Dead. Gleaming bloody silver in the moonlight, an abnormally large kitchen knife stuck out from the crown of her head. The pale assailant's morbid grin widened as his dark, heaving, heavily makeup-ed eyes traced over the thick rivulets of blood streaming down her skull.
In a fluid movement, the small killer leaped to the side of the girl's body and withdrew the knife from her skull. Crimson dripped down its smooth surface, which was coated in bits of brain fragments and stringy nerve cells. Raising a gloved hand to his mouth, the killer's tongue quickly flicked out, tracing over the smooth length of the blade. An almost erotic smile curved his lips.
Bending to crouch next to the lifeless girl, his rough tongue then traveled once over the girl's blood-streaked cheek, licking away one clear path through the dark blood.
Moving his blood-ripened lips close to her ear, he whispered in a low growling voice.
"Don't ever steal my cake again."
"Cake!" Hiro interrupted. "That's not scary at all!"
"It's a work in progress," Shigure said, shrugging.
"It sounds like Kyo from Dir en Grey…" Haru said to himself.
"That doesn't make up for it's crapiness!" Hiro retorted.
"Hiro, shh!" Kisa said, tugging forcefully on his arm, making him sit down.
"Anywaaaay…" Shigure continued. "The man's crazed eyes guided him toward a rather large family, huddled cheerfully around the campfire. Raising the blade once again behind the oldest of the children—"
As Shigure was saying this last part, a dark, looming figure was creeping up behind Kagura, something shimmering in his hand. "—He let out his maniac scream—" The figure raised the glimmering object and let out a shriek.
"OOO AHHH EEE OOHH OOOOO!"
Kagura shrieked, jumping up and whirling around in blinding rage to find Ayame laughing behind her. She didn't care though, because her anger was kicking in as she began to chase Ayame, whose laughter soon died as he ran for his life.
"SHIGURE, HEEEEEELP!" Aaya screamed as he ran into the woods with Kagura on his tail.
"Sorry…I'm too preoccupied over here!" Shigure yelled back. "So, what did you guys think of my story?"
"It wasn't too bad…" Tohru said, still trying to rub off the chills it had given her.
"Yeah, but you shouldn't have done that to Kagura!" Haru said.
"Aw. Aaya was just having some fun." Shigure replied. "Let's all head inside. It's getting really cold out here."
"Okay…" they all mumbled.
"Where did Kyo and Yuki go off to?"
"I'm not sure…I think they were heading for the woods…" Haru replied to Tohru's question. "They'll show up soon."……
After about ten minutes of chasing Ayame blindly through the woods, Kagura lost sight of him and now found herself lost. A soft rustle in the tree next to her made her shriek in terror. "Kyo-kun? I—is that you?" she asked, but no one replied.
She continued forward and found herself in a clearing. But something wasn't right in the clearing. As her eyes adjusted to the strange darkness, she saw something hanging in the center of the clearing. Looking closer she noticed—
"A noose!" Kagura exclaimed loudly to herself. "What's this doing out here?"
Slowly and cautiously, she moved forward and touched it gently, making sure nothing was caught in it. Her fingers traced along the rough edge of the rope as she heard another rustle in the bushes.
"Hello?" she said. "If someone's there, you can tell me." A pause. "Kyo-kun, if it's you, you can come out…"
Suddenly a dark figure lunged at her from out of the bushes.
"What the—"…………
TRANSLATIONS:
"Even emotionlessness is rotting
dance a short life
the memory I saw at the end
you laughing... die."
Yes, it is Zan by DeG.
And makeup-ed (if it is a word) means like…a ton of makeup on…anyway…me and inu87yasha's friend, Kristal, wrote the little story on Kyo's 28th birthday in honor of Kyo. Yes, the killer is Kyo (the Kyo from DeG) if you didn't catch it from the cake comment…or Haru's comment…