The movie was packed, every seat taken. I didn't get to pay for the tickets- Samu had bought them earlier to get good seats. The theater in Iruma was one of the few that allowed you to reserve the seating you wanted ahead of time, ensuring you sat where you wanted if you got to the ticket box early enough.
We strolled into the theater, arm in arm, smiling at each other like a pair of teenagers. How far from the truth that was… alas, there was no changing it. And besides, I was having fun.
I managed to sneak my way into buying the popcorn and sodas for the both of us though he insisted in paying for my churro, though I couldn't figure out why. It struck me as odd that a Japanese theater would carry churros, a Mexican treat, but they did and it was pretty authentic to boot.
We settled into our seats as the house lights started to dim. A cool gust blew over me from an air conditioner above me, making me shiver. I'd left my jacket in the car, not wanting to be bothered with it in the theater. I ran my hands over my arms for a moment before feeling Samu's arm slide around my shoulders. Meant I didn't have to adjust my body temperature, so I leaned into him happily.
I glanced away from the screen to look at Samu. He smiled at me before turning back in time to watch Inuyasha slice someone in half. I leaned into him, snuggling into his warmth. He smelled wonderful, I thought with a contented sigh. Like a spring meadow lined with trees, kissed by sunlight. A smell that I would know anywhere in the future, no matter where I was, I would know the smell of Samu.
The night was sharp and cold when we got out of the movie and I regretted not having my jacket for a moment before my skin adapted to the cold warming faster then a human's would have. I spun around for a moment on the sky walk that ran all over central Iruma, taking in the world around me. Then lights overhead flickered for a moment before going out.
"Guess there's a power outage," I said with a shrug. The street lights below ran on solar-charged batteries, it was just the city that was dark. I turned my head up to the sky above. The stars overhead were unusually bright, unobscured by the smog that usually overlaid the land and the light pollution that was so common here in Japan.
"They're so beautiful," I said to Samu, eyes upon the stars.
He embraced me from behind enfolding me in both his arms and the folds of his ankle length camel wool coat. The wool was as warm as he was. "When I was a kid, I wanted to catch a star and hold it in my hands. They were so beautiful where I grew up, so bright and sparkly."
I leaned into him and enjoyed the feel of his voice against my back, his breath over my ear. I shot a glance at the moon and gasped. There was barely a sliver left before the full moon- I'd escaped disaster by but a single night! The full moon pulls my full yukoi form from me, whether I wish it or not. The price I pay for living as a human.
"What's wrong?"
"I um… well, I had the same dream," I lied smoothly, my training taking over. "I wanted to catch the stars and the moon, string them together on a necklace and wear them to a dance."
"A little girl's dream," he mused softly in my ear, turning his face to cuddle into my neck, his breath warm making me shiver slightly.
I inhaled deeply, breathing the night and Samu in together. A scent caught my attention, subtle but unmistakable. I concentrated on my hearing and heard it, whatever it was approaching. I cursed under my breath before whispering, "There's something coming."
I had a moment to shove Samu away from me and jump to the side before something slammed into the ground where we'd been standing. I landed in a crouch, teeth bared, eyes wide in the darkness as I caught sight of our attacker.
I stood, laughing softly. "What kind of idiot are you?"
The one who'd attacked us turned to face me, eyes glowing a vile green in the newly shattered street lights. I whispered a few words, releasing the jakai from my currently bracelet shaped bracers, allowing me to shift to my natural form, my hanyu form. Without a weapon on me, my claws and speed were all I had. Glass seemed to float down from a broken light above as we dove at one another, my claws flashing in the weak moonlight as they grew from my fingertips. I felt my hair lengthen and shift as my ears changed from normal human ears to those of my hanyu form, much like a chow's. I had to blink hard to refocus my eyes after my pupils shifted from human round to the diamond shape of my hanyu and yukoi forms. Everything I saw, heard, smelled and felt was in a kind of hyper focus, details sharper even in the darkness.
"Damn hanyou," the creature hissed at me, masculine by its voice. It rose to its full height of about 5'10" and stared down at me. Blood dripped from its lightly furred humanoid body. The lack of lighting made it difficult to make its color out but if I guessed, it'd be a dark green or blue most likely. I'd managed to catch it in an arch down its chest, very messy but little real damage.
"Hanyou or no, I'll still kick your ass," I growled back at it, moving in front of Samu. He watched us as if it were a dream and he the dreamer, not quite believing what he was seeing. "You're just a lesser youkoi, I can smell it on you. And you're getting weaker with each drop of blood that spills from your body. Quite sad really."
"You bitch!" The youkoi yelled as he launched himself at me, claws curving, glistening with what I knew was poison. I dodged seemingly effortlessly to the side, guiding him into the concrete at my feet with ease. I slammed my hand into his abdomen, reaching upward for his heart as I straddled his body. Grabbing it, I ripped my hand up, tearing his heart from his body. A reflex movement more then anything else brought his hand to rake over my arm before it shuddered for a moment then dissolved into a fine mist that settled into the air. The still beating heart joined the creature, the blood evaporating off of my skin with a soft whoosh. Joy of killing lesser yukoi- their bodies dissolve, making clean up a lot easier. Greater yukoi and hanyu had to be cleaned up after death but that was a whole different ball game. Still left grime, blood and heaven only knew what under my nails though. Not really sure why.
I stood, shaking myself from head to toe like a dog, throwing off any remnants of the youkoi's magic, his jakai. The world fell into a more human focus again, Samu watching me as if I had sprung out of a myth or scroll from ancient times. Cursing fluently in multiple languages, I reactivated my bracers, which had stayed as bracelets, unable to protect my arms that way. The bracelets flared for a moment as they adsorbed my jakai, leaving me human once more.
The street lights, the ones that the yukoi hadn't shattered, flared back to life along with the rest of the city, startling Samu as I walked over and knelt down next to him. "Are you okay Samu? I'm sorry I had to throw you- couldn't think of anything else to get you out of harm's way fast enough."
"What… what was that?" Samu stuttered out, obviously shaken.
"Well," I said, stalling for time. "Um… aw hell. There's no way to explain it out here, come on. We're going back to my place. I need to tell Meele what happened."
I pulled Samu to his feet. He swayed for a moment before fainting, probably from shock, or maybe he'd hit his head when I threw him. Either way I cursed under my breath before lifting over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. Least I hadn't worn high heels tonight, I muttered, making my way to the parking garage across from the Toys-r-us. All that weight lifting I'd done for the assignment prior to this one came in handy, letting me lift three times my body weight easily in human form.
Getting Samu into the passenger seat was just as much fun. Then hunting through his pockets for the keys to the RX, adjusting all of the mirrors, the seat and the steering wheel. I hate being so bloody short some days.
I paid the parking, much cheaper then normal- I love validated parking. The roar of the turbochargers on the night darkened streets woke Samu up.
"What… where…" he turned to me. "Cara?"
"Yes, Samu-kun," I said, up shifting. "Please, hold your major questions till we get to my place. It'll be easier to explain there."
"Okay," he said, falling silent. I could feel him studying my profile as I drove. The left-handed gear shift felt odd but it was drivable after a few moments of adaptation.
My cell phone rang shortly after I got through Fussa. I pulled it out of my jacket pocket, fixing the head set at a red light. I switched it on and said, "Cara here."
"What happened?"
