Sisters of Darkness
Chapter Three, Curious Cats
"You two know how much this sucks don't you?"
Dawn said angrily,for about the tenth time. She was seated on a window sill,glaring out into the night.
Ember and Jayba had given up hours ago,after trying unsucessfully to console their bored and aggrivated teammate. Jayba wasn't really that good with words, and Ember had long since run out of distractions.
All of the cat demon's ideas had only worked for a short time,then Dawn would begin trying to plot a way out of the boring hotel room again.What else could Ember do, knock the girl out?
Ember had enough troubles of her own,she certainly agreed with Dawn,the situation was horrible,being locked up and left with a doting "baby sitter" after finally laying eyes on her true love after all these long years. I wonder where Yoko is, she thought sadly,what's he doing? The three of them had to obey Master Toguro though, Yoko would unfortunatly have to wait.
Dawn's just too reckless, Ember thought, way too much time spent living among humans. That wasn't actually Dawn's fault though, she had not known that she was a demon until only recently,when Master Toguro found her. As far as Ember knew, Dawn had been adopted by human parents; the family had raised the girl,never realizing she wasn't human.
The couple had noticed early on that their "daughter" was quite different from their other children,but they would have never been able to even concieve the real truth. Dawn knew practically nothing of her own background,aside from what Master Toguro had told her. He had found Dawn while she was working in one of Sakyo's clubs.
That was certainly an interesting coincidence, Ember found herself pondering once again, Master knew Dawn immediatly upon first sight, and he won't tell ay of us about Dawn's past, neither will she for that matter. Ember did know that Dawn hated all humans now,she had been treated horribly by them all of her life.
Ember was glad that her childhood had been spent well, in the demon world, with her loving parents. That was how she had first encountered the Spirit Fox,Yoko Kurama. He had been a very close friend of her father's.
The girl had been introduced to Yoko at a young age, and the fiesty little cat demon ess had immediatly fell in love with the handsome, silver haired thief. Ember had vowed way back then that eventually, Yoko would be her's. But now, she was stuck in this nice hotel room, wondering where he was.
Their bodyguard sat nearby, oblivious to his charge's problems,his reptillian face staring into a glowing television screen.
Dawn quietly got down from her window seat, and sat down beside Ember and Jayba. "There has to be a way to sneak out of here!",she whispered, glancing over at the seemingly mesmerized demon guard.
Ember frowned at her, "Just for a little while!" Dawn spoke faster now,not wanting another, we have to obey Master speech from her teammate,"Come on guys! We can get past this fool!" Ember sighed,there was no denying Dawn's desire to explore any longer, "But how?",she asked.
"I could dispose of him for a little while,if you wish." Jayba suggested,her voice wild and sweet,like that of a gentle wind over the ocean.
Ember and Dawn were so surprised at hearing their teammate speak for the first time,that they jumped,causing the erd eyed guard to glance back at the scheming trio. He smiled slightly,then turned back to his T.V..
"Shh!",Jayba warned,"Trust me."
Dawn quickly nodded her agreement,then Ember,somewhat reluctantly,nodded as well. Jayba gave them a sly wink,then disappeared.
Both still visible girls sensed strong energy throughout the room,and the lights dimmed slightly.
The guard suddenly fell over,out of his chair and onto the floor,he was snoring. Everything was still for a few moments,then Jayba reappeared next to Dawn.
"Cool! What did you do?" the startled demon girl asked,patting her new friend on the shoulder. " I simply put him to sleep,for a little while anyway."
"Nothing will wake him?"
" No,not for a few hours." Jayba replied smiling.
" I could have done that." Ember pouted.
" So," Dawn began happily, "what now?",she said turning to Jayba who had already vanished,leaving the door to their room wide open. "Damn! Why can't I do that?" Dawn spat.
"Hey," Ember ran to Dawn,her tiny cat ears twitching wildly, "Let's transform ourselves into cats! We both can do that and hopefully noone wuld pay that much attention to two little house cats."
Dawn pondered the idea for a moment, and then agreed, "That is a good idea Ember; I can hold a small animal form for a long time. We still have to be very careful though,Jayba never did tell us exactly how long our guard will be out for and I certainly do not want to get caught out there by our Master's horrible elder brother!" She shuddered,wrapping her arms around her shoulders,recalling their meeting with him earlier.
" I agree completely." Ember asid,but the girl was no longer in her semi-human form,she was now a little white cat with black tips on her tail and ears.
"Great Ember,like I couldn't have guessed that one. Hey,check me out." The pretty demon was now a small blood red cat,the only thing that revealed her as Dawn were her crystal blue eyes.
"Come on,lets go, and come back quickly." The feline pair bounded through the open door,there was noone in the hallway. "Left or right?" Ember telepathically asked Dawn, "Left,if in doubt,always go left. Try to remember that if we happen to get seperated ok?"
After traveling down several floors without seeing anyone,the two cats suddenly noticed movement up ahead, just around an upcoming corner. Both the girls froze,they could sense a powerful demonic presence heading straight for them.
Ember became extremely frightened, "Could that be our Master?",she whimpered. "No,it can't be him," Dawn quickly replied,attempting to calm her friend, "His aura would be much stronger you know that,although," she paused in mid sentence, "We need a place to hide."
"But where?" Ember whined,"There's nowhere to hide here!" Dawn's mind raced,she knew it would be best to follow her immediate instincts or the two of them would be discovered. The red cat flattened her sleek body up against the closest wall,Dawn was going to try and run right past the approaching strangers.
Ember immediatly understood her friend's seemingly immpossible plan,and having no other choice,followed. Dawn was faster than the white cat had guessed she would be though, and Ember lost sight of her for a moment as Dawn flew around the corner.
The demon ess felt panic enter her tiny feline heart,but as soon as Ember rounded the corner herself,she saw Dawn. The red cat was frozen still in the middle of the hallway,staring up at two shadowy figures.
Ember kept running until she was at Dawn's side,ready for a fight,but once she looked up,the white cat saw a heart renchingly familiar face.
At fist,the girl felt as if she were going to faint,then she all out leapt into the very startled arms of Kurama.The cat purred and gently pawed at his face,Kurama laughed, "Hello little kitty, who do you belong to?",he said.
"It seems you have found yet another admirer Kurama." A short figure,dressed in all black,standing beside the red-head practically spat. Hiei's here too! Ember thought,glancing over to where Dawn still stood,all but forgotten until now.
When the white cat looked over to her companion,Hiei glanced to the other cat as well. The red cats eyes were a sparkling light blue, and something about them affected him oddly,Hiei felt as if he had been lightining struck through his very soul.
Annoyed at this strange feeling,the demon slowly approached the crouching animal,and gently reached out to touch her,Dawn didn't like him coming so close to her at all,she arched her back and growled menacingly.
Wanting to run,but feeling as if her paws were glued to the carpet floor,she could only continue to growl and hope Hiei would back off.
The fire apparition hesitated, he could sense a strange power imminating from this cat,but it didn't seem like enough to pose any real threat.
"What's wrong Hiei?" Kurama asked,attempting to hold the seemingly smitten white cat out of his face.
Hiei did not answer,he knelt slowly beside the little, angry cat and brushed his hand across her back.
The red cat abruptly ended her threatening display,and looked up into the demon's crimson eyes.
For a moment,there was only silence,both creatures searching each other for something, but neither had any idea what it was.
In a flash, Hiei had averted his gaze.He felt elated now for some reason,the same way he usually felt before or after a good fight.
Kurama bent down,placing Ember gently at his feet,"Let's go Hiei." he said,"Kuwabara tends to get jumpy when we're away for too long."
Hiei laughed as he walked away.
Ember,who had been completely ignorant of what had just occured between Hiei and Dawn,continued to rub her feline body back and forth between Kurama's legs. He looked down at her and said, " I'm sorry little one,but I have to go now." Ember gazed up at him adoringly,oblivious to what he had just said. Your eyes are magnificent, he thought, as he gently pushed her aside, and walked away.
The white cat looked over to Dawn,who was standing perfectly still,seemingly stunned. "Are you okay?" ,she asked. Dawn shook her head, "Of course I am!",the red cat curtly replied,trying to hide her strangely emotional reaction, "You're the one who's losing it!"
Ember leapt straight into the air in complete agreement, and after giving her aggitated friend a sly wink,bounded down the hall chasing after Kurama.
"Great," Dawn sighed, "Here we go again."
Mist and Sakyo stood together gazing out of their hotel window. "I actually like it here." Sakyo said.
Mist seemed surprised, "Really,is it because I'm here now,or did you win some more money today?"
The half demon smiled seductivly,and gently ran her fingers through Sakyo's long, black hair.
"Both actually," he replied,staring deep into Mist's green eyes,"Let's not talk,",he whispered,placing his hands on her hips. They began to kiss,then Sakyo took her hand and led Mist slowly to the bed.
He lay down and wrapped his arms around her,"You being here with me is always better than the money." Mist couldn't help but laugh, "Oh how you lie Sakyo!",she said, between giggles.
Sakyo shook his head,"No, not me,never, not to you anyway.",then, he began kissing her again.
Ever since arriving to the room several hours earlier,Letha and Karasu had not left their bed. The demon pair lay quiet and content; wrapped in each other's arms.
" I must admire you as usual my dear," ,Karasu said,his voice soft and sweet in Letha's ear," I know there is noone else living who could survive my embrace."
The demon ess smiled, "I admire you period.",she said. " I hate to admit this to you but, my mind seems to be elsewhere tonight."
Karasu smiled, holding her tighter, "There's no need to be nervous, you have learned all you need to know, perfected all that I have taught you. You will defeat your first opponents easily,it is overthrowing our Master that will test both of our true strengths."
Letha grinned evilly and tried to imagine the day when she and her beloved Karasu would be free.
"I'm not afraid of fighting," she said,"I just do not enjoy the thought of being out there in front of all those stupid, weaker apparitions, entertaining those fools."
"Don't worry darling," Karasu whispered to her, his pale,thin hands caressing her delicate throat, "You're going to knock them dead, literally."
After following Hiei and Kurama back to their room,the two cats found themselves staring straight in the face of an ugly human boy, who,unfortunatly for them, happened to have the biggest thing for "kitties"; as he liked to call them.
"Where did you guys find these kitty cats?",he bellowed, " I love cats!" Hiei merely shook his head in digust, and Kurama laughed.
Ember tried to be friendly to the loud,obnoxious human,but still would not allow herself to be seperated from Kurama for very long.Kuwabara kept trying to hold her,but she continually evaded his grasp, "Wow Kurama,that kitty really likes you.",he said,turning and looking around the room for the second cat.
After a few moments,he found her. The red cat was sitting in a shadowy corner,silently watching Hiei,who had seated himself on a windowsill and was glaring out into the night.
"Oh there you are kitty!" Kuwabara said,practically running over to Dawn's dark hiding place. She didn't notice the boy until his hands were on her,picking her feline body up off of the floor. Startled, Dawn proceeded to scratch Kuwabara's hands and face,until he finally let her go.
"You idiot!" Hiei spat,standing and walking towards the angry,red cat who stood at Kuwabara's feet,growling and hissing. "Why did you scratch me kitty?",the human wailed, reaching for her again. That's it, Dawn thought,I'm killing this fool now! How dare he touch me!
But before she could launch her attack, she noticed Hiei standing directly over her. He swiftly reached down and picked Dawn up,the angry cat growled for a moment,then began to slowly calm herself.
Hiei looked at Kuwabara, whose mouth now hung open in complete shock,and smirked triumphantly. "This cat obviously doesn't like for fools like you to touch her.",the fire apparition said, gently rubbing the cat's back.He returned to his window seat and put her down.
"I can't believe it," Kuwabara stuttered,bright red blood dripping from a small gash in his forehead, "All cats like me,I know it!" His teammate only laughed cynically.
"Shut up shrimp boy! My cat loves me,I wish she was here instead of this weird red one. Come to think of it,I've never even seen a cat that color!" Kuwabara yelled,pointing at Dawn.
Kurama looked down at Ember,who was sleeping peacfully in his lap,purring. Where did you two come from? ,he thought,looking over at Hiei with the other cat, Kuwabara is right, she is an odd color.
"I'm serious guys!" his teammate's grating voice interuppting Kurama's silent podering, "That mean cat needs to get out of here! Only evil,monster cats would let a short,creepy guy like Hiei touch them!" He stormed off and decided to go to bed, still grumbling.
"I over heard some apparitions whispering today about seeing one of Toguro's main guards escort five cloaked figures into the stadium today.", Hiei said,turning to Kurama.
"I think I heard something about an odd group like that too,do you think they were Toguro's teammates?" Kurama asked.
Hiei turned back to the window,"That wouldn't make much sense Kurama, why were there five,and why the disguises? Toguro has no need to be discreet on this island,and he doesn't seem to care much for showmanship."
Kurama nodded,disturbing the white cat, she opened her eyes and looked up at him again,it almost seemed as if she were smiling.
The red cat was up now and pacing the floor in front of the door, she mewed to her companion, who reluctantly left Kurama's cozy lap, and joined her.
Hiei watched them,knowing something very strange was going on. The white cat meowed to Kurama, begging to be let out, "Alright," he said, walking to and opening the door. As soon as there was a slight crack,both of the cats bolted out.
"Interesting," ,Hiei said, getting up and walking to the door, he looked both ways down the silent hall, "It almost seemed as if our conversation about Toguro ran them away."
"I noticed that as well." Kurama agreed, "There certainly was something odd about those two."
"I have a feeling that we'll be seeing them again." Hiei said, stepping out of the door and into the hallway.
"I believe you're right." Kurama said joining him,"They were obviously not mere house cats, I could sense energy from them both,but it was strange, like nothing I have ever felt before. I take it you want to try and follow them."
"Naturally," Hiei said, "I'll go left,you take the right." Kurama nodded and stalked silently away.
Ember couldn't believe that she and Dawn had gotten seperated. It happened during their mad dash out of Kurama's room,had her friend told her to always go right,or was it left? All Ember could do now was follow her instincts,and hope that Dawn would meet her back at thier room. The white cat kept running,never noticing the dark figure stalking silently behind her.
Damnitt Ember, Dawn thought,I told her to go left if we were seperated! With her friends kitty brains all scrambled with her Kurama nonsense,it was no surprise that the two had gotten seperated.
Dawn circled back once more,looking for Ember,and saw nothing. How late is it, she thought nervously, what will happen if we get caught, will we be punished? Horrible scenerios flashed through her mind,Master Toguro was noone the she demon wanted to anger,ever.
She was so preoccupied with her fears that she ran nearly head first into Hiei's feet. The red cat jumped back,startled, then looked up at him.
Hiei did not seem very happy to see her again,he had drawn his sword and was pointing it directly in her face.
"Who and what are you?", he asked, red eyes flashing dangerously under the dim hallway lights. Dawn knew there was no escape,the fire apparition was faster than she was,even in her present form.She did sense some weakness in him however,his right arm holding his sword was badly injured.
I can't fight him, she thought desperately, I just don't have the time! Dawn knew she had to find Ember and get back to their room before the guard awoke.
A risky plan popped into her mind, she knew that talkiong to the angry demon was her only option.
The red cat sat down on her haunches, looked Hiei directly in the eye, and said, "I'm a demon,just like you." ,she told him, matter of factly.
Hiei didn't seem at all surprised, "I had already guessed that, what are you,some kind of spy?"
Dawn sighed, she had no time for this!
"No," she said impatiently, "I am not a spy, my friend and I recently arrived here at the tournament and we were exploring."
Hiei glared at her,"It seems the only thing you two explored was our room," he spat, "That seems rather odd to me."
The red cat crouched lower, "I assure you, our intentions were not spying, if you must know, my friend has a thing for your teammate Kurama, in case you hadn't noticed."
"How could I not notice, so what's your excuse?" Hiei said,calming slightly.
Dawn rolled her blue eyes, "I stayed with her to make sure that she was safe, that's all. Now I have to go and find her silly ass and get back to our room before we get caught out here."
"Caught, by who?"
The cat didn't answer right away, just sat staring at him. Finally,she spoke, "I'm sorry,but I can't tell you that yet,but I assure you that you will know soon enough swordsman.Now if you please Hiei,may I go?"
A few more tense moments passed, then Hiei finally sheathed his sword. "I can tell that you're not lying.", he said,brushing his hand across a white headband he wore.
Dawn was surprised to notice a faint purple glow beneath the cloth,directly in the center of his forehead. The demon ess knew that glow could mean only one thing, "You possess the Jagan.",she whispered, in awe.
"What do you know of such things?" Hiei snarled,taking a step towards her.
Dawn took a few shaky steps back, "I'm sorry, I've just never meet anyone who had one before, I must return to my room now or I will be severly punished by my master."
Hiei quieted his anger and considered her plea, he had a few more questions to ask this "cat" first though, "Who is your master?"
"I can't tell you who he is for fear of his wrath, we were not supposed to reveal ourselves to anyone yet. I'm afraid if I told you, you may be even angrier at me as well, you already thought that I was a spy. Believe me Hiei,you'll know soon enough."
Hiei looked at her,perplexed, "You're a very confusing little cat." ,he said.
Dawn laughed, "Again, I'm sorry, I would like for you to know this though, I have admired you for some time now and it has been a pleasure being aquainted with you. I know that you would would make a very worthy opponent."
The red cat bowed to him,causing Hiei to take a small step back. For once, he didn't know how to respond, he had never been complimented like that before, especially by a cat.
Hiei looked at the cat sitting before him, and he knew she spoke the truth, those icy blue eyes of her's held no lie. "You may go now," he said still shaken somewhat, "Perhaps we will meet again. By the way, what is your name, you seem to already know mine, along with many other things you shouldn't."
"My name is Dawn, perhaps we will meet again." , she said, quickly bowing again before disappearing down the dim hallway.
This is ridiculous, Hiei thought, watching her leave. "We will meet again Dawn", he told her telepathically, "and then you will tell me everything I want to know."
Jin, Wind Master of the Shinobi, sat alone atop a cliff somewhere near the shore.
His team would be fighting soon, the sooner the better, Jin thought angrily. Truthfully, the only thing the young demon could think of was Yuki.
How could it ever have come to this, he thought.
The Shinobi had supposedly entered the Dark tournament because they wanted Hanging Neck Island as the prize for winning. Jin wanted it too,but he wanted his fiancee's safe return more.
Risho had promised that Yuki would not be harmed as long as Jin fought and won, the team captain had told him this after Jin had found her missing a few months ago.
The memory of that horrible day sent a tremor of rage through the demon's soul. Jin had to find his Yuki, she had to be with him.
Soon my love, he thought, soon we'll be back together. He looked up into the dark, starry sky and smiled, I already feel your presence...
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