Still Waiting... For What? (Open, Midori)

[KAORI]

Nothing hurts more than waiting...

It hadn't been very long, had it? Kenshin had
only died around seven years ago. And during
that seven years, Kaori had never felt any lonelier.
After so long with Kenshin around, she had grown
accustomed to his antics, and every time she dozed
off unexpectedly, she awoke to the sound of his
voice, though she could never tell what he said. It
was like his spirit was taunting her, saying 'Haha,
I died and left you all alone again.'

But she knew he wasn't. She knew it was just her
twisted little mind trying to make her think that he
was still there. She couldn't bring herself to admit
it out loud, but damn, she missed him more than
she had ever missed anyone. Even her mother and
sister, they were figments of a past long forgotten.
But Kenshin was a memory close and dear to her
heart.

This was the place that they had met, outside the
rag-tag little village that was about a mile from here.
The giant willow was the tree she had climbed in
her attempts to save her own sorry hide from him,
back in her dark days. She smiled as another string
of memories flitted through her head, then brushed
it from her face, listening for anyone around.

What was she doing back here? Waiting for nothing
to come, that's what it was. The sarcastic little voice
that she had long since come to believe was her
sister's conscience in her head was still roaring,
demanding everything that was senseless. Kaori
climbed into the old willow tree, staring out into the
star-lit night with deep brown eyes, slightly rimmed
with gold.

She was a panther demon, and one with highly
potent blood, at that. Anything with a nose within
scent range would know she was there, since she
had made no effort to conceal herself. She'd been
too involved with her little trip down memory lane.

But maybe something like a good fight would break
her of this soft streak, this feeling of longing for a
human. She had long since begun to rationalize that
she was just lonely, and that any sort of non-violent
companion would do. She could smell demons in the
area, but none of them were the type that would
bother her.

She brushed her short black hair out of her face,
straightening her pale white kimono. It was a bit
weary looking, but she was mainly too lazy to get
anything else. She stared into the night again,
making a mental note to go and get another
kimono whenever she found a decent market.

since I don't even know what I'm waiting for anymore.

[MIDORI]

"Damnit." Midori growled, quietly as she wandered through the endless plains of grass. She had just returned from one of her many missions and decided on taking a detour through the plains of Hiroshi. Not knowing entirely what lurked through these grasses but she figured that it would be a little more exciting then venturing through the same old route's she usually took. But since Midori was not familarized with the area, she had now became lost. The tall grass that covered the land was not helping either. Every corner, every turn, every direction had seemed almost ceaseless and rather annoying since most of it was taller then her. She was always such a short hanyou but she was still young, which meant that there was still lots of time for her to blossom in to the beautiful rose that she failed to acknowledge. Her inability to grow any larger constantly reminded her of her old mentor, Nabiki. "When are you going to get any taller Mimi-san? Your never going to get anywhere being of that size." Midori frowned as her mentor's voice had made its way in to her brain. She did not wish to think of her fore the memories that had it came with brung her to some very dark DARK times. It was hard to keep living with such regret resting within her. Once and awhile she would question whether she had the right to keep breathing. How could she? How could she continue living as if nothing was wrong, as if she had not slaughtered the people that were so dear to her? The truth of the matter was she couldn't but she tried to surpress those thoughts, somewhere deep so that she could not dwell on them. They weren't very pleasant to begin with.

"This place is like a damn maze." She sneered as she used her chakrams to cut through the plains. She had no desire to do so, but if she didn't it would be hard for her to see. Curse her shortness. Sometimes it could be a real annoyance. After several minutes of repeatedly cutting the grass, Midori had soon came to a halt. Fatigued washed over her body like she just took a nice bath in a tub filled of exhaustion. She used her right arm to rub her eyes. At the moment, her eye lids weighed a ton and it was hard to resist the urge to want to completely fall out. But she couldn't, she knew that demons entered these plains and she was attentive that sleeping would most likely be the death of her. The thought was risky therefore she wouldnt follow through it. No matter how bad her body felt like collasping on her, she would defy against its plead. Right now she had to focus on getting out of this mess.

Walking through the grass, with no idea on where it would lead her to, Midori stopped once again. But this time it was because she had a picked up a scent. The region that had surrounded her wreaked of feline. It was strong and it clunged to her nose like an annoying fly that wouldn't go away. "What is a cat doing around these parts." Midori thought as she followed the aroma. Quiescent had taken over her steps and she was careful not to make any sudden movements. The grass could easily give her postion away since it swayed side to side as she pass through it. This did not strike her as a concern fore she knew that if this feline had noticed she would have been came after her by now. The aroma enhanced as Midori gotten closer. Now she had to be as stealthy as possible because she was within the range of the feline. Since the grass blocked her view she was not able to see the feline, IF it was there at all. She sneered silenty, as she used her claws to create a clear path for her. Doing this gave up Midori's position almost immediately.

[KAORI]

Nothing hurts more than waiting...

Kaori was silent in the tree, only the slight
motions of her breathing and the even slighter
twitching of her tail. So the sounds from the
plains had come easily to her youkai ears, the
methodic swish of the grasses in the wind never
breaking, except when something disturbed
them. And, of course, as with any wild place,
there were creatures in the area.

The scent of a hanyou reached her nose, and
she blinked, not expecting the sudden intrusion
of her senses. Her nose was screaming fox. The
question that was resounding through Kaori's
head was, what the hell was a kitsune hanyou
doing in these plains, which were known for
harboring powerful demons? The scent was
growing stronger, as the creature seemed to
be coming in her direction. She stood up from her
reclining position, eyes falling upon the young
woman as she shredded the grass, ruining what
had appeared to be a successful ambush.

Sarcasm bit up, but she forced it back down, looking
down her nose in a typical hi-youkai stance, arms
folded. Closer visual inspection reassured what her
nose and ears had already told her - young and
small. "Why do you halflings always tear things
to shreds, hm? It seems like everytime I come across
one of you, you're destroying something. That grass
didn't do anything to you."

Damn. Her sarcasm hadn't been beaten down, like
she'd wished. And by the littler demon's stance,
she was prepared for a fight. Kaori certainly didn't
want that. She was in no mood to get her ass
handed to her by a halfbreed. Note to self, improve
fighting abilities. She could feel her fingertips tingling
as the anticipation that she was feeling caused the
poison in her nails to begin it's production, as it did
every time she anticipated anything.

A particularly harsh gust of wind blew through the
plains, sending the grasses lashing. With that wind,
Kaori jumped down, making sure that she landed
somewhere solid so that she wouldn't embarrass
herself and start a fight she didn't want. Better to
leave now than get injured and have to run. She
turned away from the kitsune hanyou, keeping an
eye on her from her peripheral vision as she began
her strategic retreat.

since I don't even know what I'm waiting for anymore.

[SAYURI]

we are broken - -

[/font][/i]
W H A T M U S T W E D O T O R E S T O R E
- - our innocence[/font][/center][/i]

Warm temperatures and humid weather had never been good for her skin. Sayuri was pretty sensible to the sun-beams and hot days tired her quicker. The sun had recently settled down and it had not passed enough time for the atmosphere to cool down. "Asphyxia…" She thought as a deep sigh escaped from her lips. It was not summer yet but the weather showed that it was almost there, which got a little on the demoness' nerves. Sitting down on the dry grass, the snowy-haired lady leaned her back against an ancient tree and took out her flute. This was the only way she knew to calm down and relax, playing the flute. Finally some peace and silence. One of the things she hated the most was to be disturbed by annoying noises. Yet, who said peace would last forever? There always was something ready to unfortunate her. This time the mixed scent of human and demon. Curious, indeed. Two individuals were somewhere pretty close to where she had decided to settle down for the night. Youkais were common creatures in the Plains of Hirosha, yet half-breeds were not. The question although was what were a Hanyou and a demon doing together? Picking up a fight? Maybe, she could not really tell. Plus, she did not really care about other people's problems. If they were going to fight, let them be, it was none of her business.

Nevertheless, the scent of both of the strangers impeded her concentration. There was no way she could keep playing the flute peacefully if there was this constant pestilence annoying her. It did not take too long for her to recognize their identity. The familiar scent of a fox determined the hanyou's nature and the other scent was distinct and it awoke the rage within the snow-haired. Cats. She hated cats and all those who were related to Nekomata, the cat demon lord. It did not matter to her if they were his followers or not, felines were their enemies. Unfortunately, Sayuri's curiosity made her finally stand up and take the direction from which the scent came. There was no need for that, but maybe something profitable could come out from this meeting.

They smelled her approaching, no doubt about it. Yet, what would they do? Leave or stay? As soon as she reached the zone, Sayuri faced the cat-demon. It was female with short dark hair and deep eyes. Judging by the position she was adopting, she was ready to leave. "Turning your back on a possible opponent?" She asked calmly, her voice sounding softly as it usually did. Her eyes glanced over at the hanyou who had no intention to fight either. "Not very clever…" She muttered. Crossing her arms over her chest, the albino kitsune leaned her back on a tree that stood next to her. She observed both individuals with curiosity reflected on her eyes. She was studying them in detail, hoping to have some fun. Sayuri usually ignored other presences and did not mind in changing her trajectory in order to avoid unnecessary fights that could make her waste her time. Nevertheless, this time things were different. She was not in a good mood and although she would have preferred taking a sleep, something had attracted her to the place. "You seem to be ready to retreat." She commented as she brushed her hair away from her face. "Yet you dare to call her halfling before turning your back on her. Indeed, this has not been a smart move." Her paused voice did not show any intention of challenge. She stood calm and relaxed, watching the scene objectively and commenting a few things as if she had not interfered in the encounter between the feline and the half-breed. "They use to get a little aggressive when you treat them with disrespect. They have this little problem with not belonging to anything, am I right?" Now her crystal eyes were fixed on the hanyou's. Sayuri was pushing things a bit too much, but she really could not care less about it.

[MIDORI]

Midori gazed at the feline. She was youkai, that was for sure but her appearance did not look too threatening. Shoulder length black haired, that covered her face whenever the breeze kicked in. Deep brown eyes that had shown her emptyness. She was a question mark. Midori could not quite read her, which annoyed her terribly. She lacked of emotions, showing only a hollow vessel. Midori's ears perked up as she heard the feline youkai's words, sounding more like whispers of the wind. "Why do you halflings always tear things to shreds, hm? It seems like everytime I come across
one of you, you're destroying something. That grass didn't do anything to you." Bemused, Midori clitched her teeth, trying to surpress what ever words were fighting there way out of her mouth. She was never one to bite her tongue, but at this instant she was too drained to create a commotion. She noticed that the woman did not have any intentions to fight either, actually it seemed like she had no fight in her at all. "Dare to call me a halfling yet your retreating like a coward." Midori sneered as she watched the woman turn her back on her in fear. Her sarcastic remarks earlier had caused annoyance to arise. Again with this form of blasphemy. Always down talking her like she was only a mere child. Did she not know that she had the potential to kill off a whole herd of demons, if she desired to. She had done it once before she could do it again.

"Turning your back? What a careless move. I should kill you right now for that." Midori wasn't really going to cause any harm to her. She only uttered those words to scare her. She would have figured that the youkai would have had more sense then to turn her back on a possible enemy. Judging by her actions, she had no common sense, well thats what it looked like at the moment.

Thats when she smelled her. The stench of a kitsune had irritated her nose. Causing her turn towards its direction. A beautiful youkai had appeared before them. Her appearance was quite the shocker. She glowed as the sun illuminated off her skin. She was white, pure white. Very similar to a field of untouched snow, on a cold winter day. She was gorgeous that was a given, but she had something about her that Midori did not like. She watched her carefully, as the youkai leaned against a tree talking nonsense to the feline. Addressing her failure, making it known that she was running away. Yes it was a coward move, but she did not have to mock her for it.

"How about you butt out of this." Midori snarled. Her frustration was not developing into anger. One bad trait that Midori had aqcuired was her temper. It was painfully easy how anyone of the sort could push her buttons. She tried to keep it maintained but she always failed to do so. The other person would usually constantly belittle her or say something that would blow her fuse. As of right now BOTH of the youkai's before her were working her nerve.

The kitsune youkai had spoke, commenting on hanyou's and there need to belong. Her words hit Midori's skin, like daggers piercing through an unhealed wound. She dare to speak of such matters calmly, acting as if this would aggrivate her. But that was the point. Her purpose was to piss Midori off and she knew she shouldn't let her unvaluable words get to her, but she couldn't shake it off. It was disrespectful and she would not tolerate it. "I do not wish to belong. Don't speak of things you know nothing about." She was pushing her, testing her. Trying to ensue anger upon her and Midori was letting it happen.

[KAORI]

Nothing hurts more than waiting...

Kaori literally had to supress the urge to roll her eyes at the appearance of the pretty little kitsune youkai... wonderful, another person to comment on her obvious retreat. Was it so difficult to believe that she just didn't want to fight? She was in no mood, and being so near to a place so dear to her memory, she really didn't want to even argue with anything. However, she did have her pride, and it wouldn't allow her to be insulted in such a way without making a smart-assed comment. She managed to bite that down, staring in the direction she'd been going before turning to look at the kitsune youkai and the hanyou with half-lidded eyes.

Another thing, why were both of them assuming that halfling was an insult? Growing up in the panther tribe, halfling was just a term for what was, similar to calling a full youkai full-fledged. She'd have to remember that others didn't see it the same way... And after so long from home, perhaps her memory was failing. She didn't speak while the hanyou was.. almost berating the kitsune, though she did bite down the smirk that was threatening her, preferring her usual emotionless face. She could feel her fingers tingling... just in case.

Suddenly, she who had seemed to be the center of attention a moment ago wasn't important at all as the kitsune seemed to piss the hanyou off worse than even Kaori's slip of the tounge had. It would have been amusing to watch, in normal circumstances, but at the same time, Kaori had no longing whatsoever to get in the middle of a fight. Not to mention the auras that she felt rolling off of the other two... The kitsune seemed to know what she was doing, and the taunts that were rolling off her tongue were rubbing the hanyou the wrong way, it seemed.

The little hanyou's comment about killing her had reached her ears, and her mental response slightly shocked her. She wouldn't be too against it, at the moment. Her mental attitude was that she wasn't doing anything worthwhile at the moment, and thus, was wasting time and space. It had been a fight that Kenshin had gone through for the first ten years or so, to get her out of the state she was falling back in. The halfling didn't make any move towards her, however, so she took an instant to remind herself about what Kenshin had said made her special.

She knew exactly how pathetic she was. She couldn't fight, and she had to rely on the memory of a dead human to give her the will to live. A slight sigh left her lips, her eyes opening a slight bit as her eyes flickered from the youkai to the hanyou. "I have no longing whatsoever to get into a fight with either of you. So, unless you have some buisness with me, I'll be going on my way." She couldn't fight, but she was fast enough to get away, certainly... Even in these plains, she was fast, and the dark forest that she'd spent twenty years in loomed in the distance, and she was positive that she could manage to either lead her pursuers to the lair of the giant demon bear that lived there or lose them by the river.

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since I don't even know what I'm waiting for anymore.

[SAYURI]

we are broken - -

[/font][/i]
W H A T M U S T W E D O T O R E S T O R E
- - our innocence[/font][/center][/i]

The halfbreed could either be brave, or foolishly naive. She was pretty self-confident, probably a bit too much for her own good. Sayuri did not know of what the panther demoness was capable off, but none of them were acting with enough caution. Treating each other with respect as if wanting to provoke the other one, yet not really starting a real fight. What was this supposed to mean? It was a nonsense to try to get on somebody's nerves without having the real intention of challenging him. No, none of those individuals seemed to be common sensed. "Just like I thought, they get pretty aggressive."

[/b] It was more than obvious that Sayuri had just planned all this. Slightly provoking the hanyou pleased her curiosity. So she was right, after all. Not many halfbreeds had come across her way, but those she had met seemed to share the same moral. The albino had never had the intention of hurting the girl's feelings, she just wanted to test her.

It was somewhat strange that she had not left the scenario yet, just like the hanyou had demanded her to do. However, her words were exactly the reason that forced her to stay. This temper, this anger, this rage towards the whole world made the individual extremely interesting. Sayuri was not the one to follow a discussion. She usually remained quiet and ignored other's offenses and harshness. Fortunately the lady had been gifted with a lot of patience, which used to spare her from entering stupid and time-wasting fights. She smirked pleased, instead. She had been right with her theory, at least with a part of it. The hanyou had reacted just the way she had expected her to do. However, it was the panther who took her by surprise now. Stating that she did not want to fight was not really what she had expected her to say. Maybe some arrogance or insulting words, but not an excuse like that. As a consequence, Sayuri had to ask herself if she actually had some business with the demon. "Not me." She answered almost immediately. The dark-haired was intriguing, yet not enough stubborn to awake the kitsune's curiosity.

The tone of her voice seemed tired, as if she truly wanted to leave the place, overwhelmed by the whole situation. Nevertheless, would the hanyou be so pacific and let her leave without hesitating? Her pride had obviously been hurt and it would not be surprising if she demanded an apology. Sayuri was not the one to talk now, she had to wait for the other two to move their chessman. "However… what makes you believe that any of us could wish a fight?" She was basically talking for herself more than for the hanyou. She did not know the halfbreed's intentions, but it was not of her interest to battle the panther demoness, at least not for now. She was free to go, though, an Sayuri would not try to stop her, indeed, she would pleasantly let her go. The last thing she wanted was to get her clothes dirty with somebody's else blood, after all. The will of fight was missing in the panther and that was probably what gave the albino lady so much confidence.[/blockquote][/size][/blockquote]

[MIDORI]

The panther demoness intrigued the young hanyou in a way that made her lessinfuriated . Her econtained hints of curiousity as the feline had stated that she had not wish for a fight. Youkai's were prone to cause a fuss, due to there "I over power you" attitudes cause them to create all sorts of trouble. So why did this particular youkai wanted to avoid the possiblitiy of a fight? Could it be because she did not know how to? Midori was certainly not like that one bit. She was always ready to attack if someone had insulted her pride. Which both females had just done whether they realized it or not. The kitsune was pig headed due to the human blood that had existed within her. She did not let things go so easily and when some one rubbed her the wrong way, chances were that they will be on her bad side for quite some time. She was always the type to hold grudges.

Her ear slightly twitched as the kitsune had commented her on her aggressive approach. She did not know how to react to that statement. The kitsune could be mocking her on her unnesscary attitude or simply just making it known how quick a hanyou could get irritated. It was obvious that agitation had conquored the half-breed as she clinched and unclinched her fist. Did she really want to show her immaturity to these two youkai's? Not that it mattered, but it would cause a great deal of animoisty AND a bit of conflict. "You haven't seen aggressive whitey." Midori retorted, obviously trying to tease the kitsune for her pale appearance. She leaned against a tree, applying her weight on it. Her arms rested on the tap of her head while she looked from the the kitsune to the feline.

"You are a pathetic accuse for a youkai aren't you?" Midori questioned with a hint of sarcasm lining between her words. Her frail nature made her seem quite weak. Not that Midori cared if she had any sort of power or not, it just captured her attention that the feline did not even respond to the threat that she had casted at her. It seemed like the feline had no care if this would be her last breath or not. She wouldn't kill her, Midori did not have enough energy for that. All she wanted was to strike some type of fear in her but judging by her reaction she looked more the willing to be killed by the hanyou. "Go ahead a run. Nobodies stopping you." Midori pouted alittle. Obviously the feline had poked a nerve with her "halflings destorying everything" comment. The grass was in her way and due to the hanyou's small stature she was inable to see with the plains blocking her view. It was an annoyance to be gifted with such lack of height and it could sometimes be a disadvantage for her. It was not like she was cutting the grass up for no reason, but of course the feline wouldn't know that.

Midori pushed herself off the tree and looked at the albino kitsune who showed no means of harm. It assured Midori that none of them was interested in a commotion which somewhat relieved her. "I advise you both leave the perimeter immediately. I need this place to stay for the night." Midori demanded as her eyes flickered from both of the youkai's before her. She was tired and she felt exhaustion striking every bone in her body. She had not slept for days and it was surely showing.

ooc: sorry i took so long to post. i wasn't aware that anyone had responded xD

[KAORI]

PICTURE URL

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I HAD SWORN TO MYSELF THAT I'M CONTENT WITH LONELINESS
b e c a u s e n o n e o f i t w a s e v e r w o r t h t h e r i s k

{{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - }}

Neither of them apparently had buisness with her, though her mind told her to warn the hanyou of the dangers of sleeping here... The plains were crawling with demons. Most were easily dispatched, if you were awake, but for those who chose to sleep, they themselves were easily dispatched. She made certain that her careful mask of composure was kept, still keeping to the idea that she didn't want to fight. If she ever saw the hanyou in a place where she did actually want to fight, the insults would not be forgotten easily.

"However… what makes you believe that any of us could wish a fight?" Kaori raised her eyebrow at the kitsune youkai, wondering for a moment where the hell she'd come from that she'd ask something like that. "Experience. There are rarely people that don't want to fight." It was true... She'd had very few experiences with demons that hadn't resulted in a fight, not even with her own family.

"You are a pathetic accuse for a youkai aren't you? Go ahead a run. Nobody's stopping you." Kaori actually grit her teeth at that, though the action was slight and inaudible even to herself. What had happened to her, that she'd become such a pathetic excuse for a demon? She hardly even considered herself a true panther anymore... Only in blood. She felt her eyes go to the sky, then flicker back down. Perhaps it was time for her to make a visit back up to the tribe, back north. Nothing to get back to your roots than a visit to your roots, right?

The hanyou's comments had made her think better of warning her off of sleeping there - no sympathy from her if she was eaten. She looked from one to the other, quiet for a moment. The hanyou suddenly looked more like a tired child in her mind than an annoying brat, and she felt an internal twinge of guilt. She was probably no more than a child, forced to grow up nearly as fast as she had been. Her life probably hadn't been kind to her... Any other eyes would have shown pity at these thoughts, but Kaori kept her face and eyes neutral, something that she considered one of her best talents. She kept quiet for a moment longer, then a slight sigh escaped her lips, and she reached up slowly to rub her head.

"This is no place to sleep, young one. There is a pit of powerful snake youkai not far from here, and their naga takes intrusion into their territory very badly. And if they came across you in your sleep, they'd eat you." The last part was merely to emphasize her point, which would probably be ignored. With that she turned, her guilt no longer in place since she'd warned the child. She'd have no problems leaving now, unless the hanyou had a problem with being called young one, which she could easily see happening.

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notes || OMG, I'm so sorry that took so long! *fails at life*
word count || is at 789
tagging || those people named Midori and Sayuri
lyrics || paramour – The Only Exception
credit || • • PSYCHO KILLER !? of CAUTION 2.0

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