Friday, April 2, 2004

   Past Collides with Present: Chapter 6 Part 1
Chapter 6: Happening Again

A week passed uneventfully. There were no more attacks and no news from Koenma. Kurama didn't mind the former, but the latter bothered him more than a little. Granted, he didn't think much of Koenma's information archives, but surely they would have found something by now.

Shuichi's friend Takeshi had managed to identify Shiori's kidnapper as a doppelganger, which also bothered Kurama. Doppelgangers could shift their shape to anything they wanted, and they were also adept at hiding their energy. All of which meant that Kurama would have to rely solely on his nose if the doppelganger attacked again, and he didn't like that prospect. He also didn't like going to school since it meant that he had to spend the whole day away from Shiori, but he didn't really have a choice. It usually wasn't so bad, since Shiori was usually at work while he was in school, and thus surrounded by people who would undoubtedly notice if the demon attacked again, but today she would be home early. However, he had to take the risk. So he resigned himself to another day of nervous waiting and turned his attention back to his science test.

* * *

Shiori wasn't thinking much about the attack today. In truth, she believed all danger had passed. After all, if the doppelganger had wanted her that badly, wouldn't he have tried to kidnap her again before now, even if there were witnesses? Instead of worrying about it, she turned her attention Shuichi's surprise birthday party, which was to be held later today. She had come home from work early in order to prepare for it. Her son was going to take the younger Shuichi directly to the park after school to give his friends time to get to the house. When they came home.

Shiori grinned happily as she pinned up crepe paper in the living room. Hatanaka was still at work, but he had promised to come home early as well.

She walked into the kitchen and opened up a window. It was simply too nice outside not to enjoy it. She then walked to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of cold water.

The same bird that had witnessed the conversation last week was sitting in the tree again today. It had been watching the house all day and knew that Shiori was home alone. It also knew that no one else would be home for several hours. When it saw Shiori open the kitchen window, it knew it's time had come.

It flew silently down and landed on the floor. Seeing that Shiori was turned toward the refrigerator with her back to it, it began to transform. The bird grew rapidly, gaining a human-like form, except for the jet-black wings. His eyes retained their cruel red color.

Shiori turned around just as he finished. She gasped and dropped the glass, which shattered instantly, spilling water all over the floor. Kage jumped to her in the blink of an eye and covered her mouth. "I wouldn't scream if I were you," he warned. Shiori nodded, her terror showing clearly in her eyes. "Good." Kage pulled her close to him, then plucked a feather out of his wing. Walking over to a mirror, he drew the feather across Shiori's cheek. Shiori cried out and nearly bit her captor's hand as the razor sharp edge of the feather sliced through her skin. Kage merely chuckled and began to write on the mirror, using Shiori's blood as ink. When finished, he laid the feather on the counter, picked Shiori up, and flew out the window. He sped above the treetops quicker than the eye could see, heading for a forest on the edge of the city where he had left a portal to Makai open. He grinned as he went, feeling the woman's terrified trembling. /She knows I'm too strong for her, unlike Puso, he thought. And even if she did struggle, well, it's a long way down./ He swooped down, going through the portal, then flew high again, heading for Puso's castle.

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