Fox Games:
Chapter 11- Hidden Past
"You know this clown?!" Yusuke shouted incredulously at Haven.
The demon glanced over at him and as he did so, Yusuke felt as if a needle of ice had pierced his spine and frozen every nerve in his body. He drew in a sharp breath and arched his back, the hairs on his head seeming to stand on end. As Butari looked away again, Yusuke thought he saw the faint traces of a sneer around the corners of his well-shaped mouth.
"Yes." Her voice tone was flat. "I know him."
Butari let out a chuckle that was just like his voice, soft, but with an undercurrent of cruelty. "We go back a long way, Haven and I. Don't we…my love?"
Haven flinched as if physically struck and Kurama's golden eyes narrowed. She must have sensed his movement, for one clawed hand stuck out and gently pushed him back down. "I don't know about you Butari, but for me, it was over a long time ago." Her voice was level.
This time, when he laughed, Butari did not bother to disguise the malice in his voice. "Yes, yes, I know. But now the tables have turned, for I have something that you need." He held out one slender-fingered hand and a shimmering ball of pale yellow energy sprung forth from it. Five pairs of eyes focused on the floating ball and an image spun itself inside.
It was a girl, or rather a woman of about thirty with long dark hair and sharp dark eyes. Her hands were bound behind her and a dirty gag was clenched in her mouth. Haven's eyes widened. "You dirty bastard!" At her sides, her hands balled into fists. "You will give her back to us!" she shouted, her voice cold and hard.
"Rosensa…" Kurama breathed.
Butari laughed yet again and the hatred in his tone sent chills down the spines of everyone who heard. "Not without a price, my dear!" he hissed and the image disappeared. "You must give me something in return…something…" He disappeared and reappeared next to Haven's side, snaking out his hand and intertwining long fingers in her silky hair. "…Of great value…" Haven's breath came harshly, her chest heaving madly as the handsome demon pulled gently on her hair, tilting her head back and exposing her slender, creamy neck.
She tried to scream, to pull herself away, but at the touches from the man next to her, all blood froze to ice in her veins and all thoughts of escape were driven from her head. Everything swirled around her as he leaned closer and ran his tongue along the delicate curves of her neck; her breath hissed sharply through her teeth. Butari chuckled softly to himself; he was enjoying this.
Haven heard a low growl from behind her and in the next instant, Butari sprang away from her with a muttered curse. She felt her legs crumple from beneath her and felt a pair of muscular arms loop themselves around her and lend the strength she needed at that moment. Their opponent now stood once more on the opposite side of the stream, flicking his black hair impatiently out of those cold, blue eyes.
"You will be mine once more Haven…I will have your head to hang upon my wall!" He growled as Hiei shifted into a fighting stance and Kuwabara's Spirit Sword sprang to life in his hand, a forked tongue flicking out for a moment between white teeth. Haven's eyes narrowed. "Hiei, Kuwabara, put away your weapons." The calm, clear tone of her voice startled to two boys into obedience more then anything. Confused, they nonetheless listened to her and watched from hooded eyes as she stepped forward. "Name the time and place, Butari, and I will come to you. As long as you release Rosensa Utamari to these boys alive and unharmed, I will do your bidding." Her emerald eyes flashed angrily at him, but she stood her ground.
Butari threw back his head and cackled, the sound driving all but Haven to their knees with hands over their ears. "Smart thinking, love! You know your place!" He hissed and once more the forked tongue made itself known. Tomorrow at dawn I want you here, alone. No harm will come to Utamari or your friends so long as your end of the bargain is upheld." He turned and walked gracefully towards the underbrush from where he had appeared.
As if forgetting something, he turned back around, that silky smile that Haven knew so well returning to his lips. "Oh, and Haven, don't even think of trying to ambush me. You try anything coy with me and your little friend's life is forfeit." The air around him shimmered and the unbelievable aura of energy surrounding him disappeared.
Letting out her breath in a whoosh, Haven collapsed to the ground, legs turning to jelly beneath her. Her tails fanned out around her, twitching agitatedly. Kurama watched as she swallowed hard and fought to regain some control over her labored breathing. The others rose back to their feet, but Haven only noticed when their four shadows fell over her. "Haven…" Kurama's voice was soft, but shaky.
She looked up at the four boys around her that she had come to know so well and tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Lowering her gaze, the tears slipped free and fell to her lap. Sitting down with her, Kurama pulled her onto his lap as he had done many times before and held her while she cried. The others took seats also and occasionally a hand would reach out and offer a reassuring squeeze or caress. Regaining her composure, she looked up and found four pairs of quizzical eyes resting upon her. She smiled weakly.
"Haven," Kurama started, a slight note of distress in his voice.
"I don't love him anymore Kurama," she answered, refusing to meet his gaze. "He - he is nothing to me…" She trailed off.
"Still, an explanation would be nice," Yusuke prompted.
Leaning back until her head rested on Kurama's strong shoulder she took one of his hands in hers and held onto it tightly. "Do you remember when I told you there was a man I used to love, a man that in the end brought about my downfall and became my ruin? Well…that was him. Butari. I loved him, or at least I thought I did. He didn't always used to be this way. He used to be kind and generous and he loved to wander in the forest for hours on end, just breathing in the sights and drinking in the sounds of the life within it. He said he loved me, more then anything and I believed him, the fool that I was."
"But one day, things changed suddenly. He came to me one day, eyes clouded and face twisted. I asked him what was wrong, begged him to talk to me, but he remained inverted, only telling me that he was worried about a big decision he had to make soon, and that things would be better soon. After that day, things went downhill. He grew meaner, and more distant from me. He stopped caring about the things he used to love and stopped taking his walks and laughing with me. Soon, I did not recognize the demon I had once loved. I saw nothing in him anymore. And when I tried to leave him, he got angry. We fought, physically fought for hours until he finally used the cunning, devious mind he had come to posses and led me into a trap. The last thing I remembered before he knocked me out, was his sneering face, looming above me."
She shuddered. "And when I awoke, and managed to stumble home, all my things were gone. Every trace of him was gone also. I was left with nothing. That's when I made my decision to never let anyone get close to me again, for fear of losing it all once more." She ended her story with a sigh and then began biting her lip nervously with one fang.
Kurama snarled. "I'll kill him! I'll kill that bastard! How dare he think he can use you as payment for his hostage?! You're not going to meet him here tomorrow, do you hear me? We'll think up another plan and fight him for Rosensa. He's not going to lay a finger on you!"
The others nodded their agreement. "There has to be some other way," Hiei stated.
"We can't let him kill you," Kuwabara added.
But Haven looked at them all with clear, sad eyes. "There is no other way. Not even combined could we have any hope of overcoming him. He would slaughter us all and then where would we be? We cannot do anything that will endanger the life of Rosensa!"
"You're NOT going!" Kurama stated firmly. "We're going to think up something else."
Chapter 12- Promises
