deadly_garden | The Truth Will Set You Free? [RL with Angie, backdated to 11 pm last night]

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The Truth Will Set You Free? [RL with Angie, backdated to 11 pm last night]

Kurama stood outside Caducus hospital waiting for Angie to walk out the doors. He shoved his hands in his pockets, one hand nervously playing with one of the origami roses Kuronue had taken to leaving in random places for him to discover. He sighed, knowing how important this conversation was going to be.

With Yuusuke's announcment that the tournement was finally going to start this weekend, he had to revise a few things. Knowing the community's habit of posting video without warning, he realized that a few secrets he had been trying to keep since his first day on the community would likely be exposed.

He didn't want Angie to find the truth out that way.

So here he was, standing outside a hospital in the future -- Although it was a comfort to know that the Y2K glitch was a myth -- waiting for her to show so he could tell her he was a demon. Yeah, this was going to be a fun night.

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The click of Angie's heeled shoes echoed through the hospital hallways as she walked towards the exit. She had a late shift tonight, of course, but she was lucky enough not to be on call for the evening. Her associate Dr. Stiles wasn't so lucky, however, and she couldn't help but laugh when he gave her a weak look as he left. She made him promise to finish that paperwork so she wouldn't have to do it for him in the morning, and although he had sighed and complained, she had faith he'd say true to his word.

... hopefully.

The nurse dug through her purse for her cell phone and pulled it out as she pushed open the hospital doors and stepped outside. She smiled at Shuichi and lifted up her finger to ask him to hold on as she made a quick phone call to her mother. She would just be waking up in Germany, after all, and she wanted to say hello.

Truth be told, Angie had no idea what Shuichi was about to tell her. She knew there was something... different, about the young man, especially ever since he had controlled that lily pad back during the Oregon trail virus, but she didn't want to pry. He'd come out and tell her if he wanted to. Besides, he seemed like an intelligent young man. He couldn't be in too much trouble.

After a quick conversation with her mother, Angie snapped her phone shut and turned back toward Shuichi. "There's a coffee shop down the street from here," she said, "It would still be open this late at night."

Kurama remained quiet as she made her phone call, which reminded him to call his own mother before the tournament started. She was probably worried about him.

When she clicked her phone closed he held out his arm for her to take, a showing of the chivalry his mother had drummed into him from a young age. "A coffee shop sounds perfect," he agreed easily, though he had been hoping for something more private, in case she reacted badly.

"I thought I would tell you the legend I spoke of during the dreaming virus tonight, if you'd like to hear it."

Angie took his arm with a smile. What a nice young man. He would grow up to be a fine person some day. At least, that's always what she thought when she talked to him.

"I would like that very much, thank you," she said as she lead him towards the coffee shop.

Too bad Angie didn't know he was already grown up. The "fine person" part was up for discussion, depending on who was asked.

He kept in step with her, trusting her knowledge of the city while keeping his nose out for the sharp, bitter smell of roasted coffee.

"Would you like me to start as we walk, or would you prefer for me to wait until we're settled?"

Angie waved her free hand. "I'll leave that up to you," she answered.

He nodded, searching through his memories for a good starting point.

"Once upon a time, since all great stories start out this way, there was a young kitsune, or demon fox. He was born a strange one to his clan, one of the highest ranking in the land. He was a beautiful silver color with bright gold eyes while the rest of his clan, save for his elderly and powerful grandfather, were an ugly orange color with dirty green eyes.

"Well, this wasn't right to them. Silver hair shouldn't be from birth. You see," he said, turning to Angie as he held open the door to the coffee shop, "Silver hair was a sign of age and power, like the kind his grandfather held."

Anige nodded in understanding as she entered the store and walked up to the counter. She refrained from ordering while Shuichi spoke.

Kurama took a brief moment to order himself -- a cup of chai tea and an orange scone -- and paid. He tilted his head towards the barrista with a smile directed towards Angie. "Order anything you like, my treat."

Angie was already digging through her purse when Shuichi offered to pay. "Oh no, it's alright!" she said modestly, "I can pay for myself."

He bit back a chuckle before he replied. "Really, I insist. After all, the outing was my idea."

The nurse flashed Shuichi a smile, before she ordered her drink.

Kurama grinned back, paying the barrista who flashed him a pretty grin and said to Angie "You're a lucky lady with this boy on your arm."

The fox human laughed softly, thanked her, and carried the drinks and pastry to a corner table. It was sufficiently secluded that he didn't think they'd be bothered.

As he sat the drinks down he asked "Where was I?"

Angie blushed and waved her free hand. "Oh no, he's just a friend," she added quickly, before she followed Kurama to the tables. She was sipping on her coffee lightly, letting it cool down before she took larger gulps, and grabbed a seat opposite her companion.

She didn't answer right away as she finished testing the temperature of her coffee, but when she was she glanced up and nodded at him. "The silver fox's grandfather, I believe."

He smiled, though if anyone looked closely it held a bitter twist to it. "Ah, yes. Well, the fox's grandfather and his mother both did not like this turn of events at all. You see, the silver fox was the heir to the tribe. And the grandfather's ego could not accept that this little kit's power could be so close to his from birth. As for the kit's mother, she..." he took a sip of his tea to cover the faint choke in his throat.

"She did not quite want to be a mother. She did her duty to her father and that, to her mind, was that."

Angie was leaning back in her chair as she listened with all the fascination of someone who had no idea they were hearing a personal recount of someone's history.

He cleared his throat and tore a small piece of scone away from the main bit.

"So she neglected the kit. Oh, she cared for him as she needed to; made sure he was alive each morning. But she didn't nurture him. When he could walk and handle things with enough dexterity, she developed a habit of leaving him in the wilds with nothing to protect him. If he was alive when she came back for him, she would pay a little more attention to him until she fell victim to disinterest again.

"They even went so far as to hide the kit during the festival times when all the other kitsune clans came together. Oh, they all knew the little on existed. But they'd never seen him."

He took a small bite of his scone.

"... hm, some mother she was," Angie replied a bit harshly, once again unaware of the fact that Shuichi was talking about himself. "I assume the little fox managed to find a way to survive on his own?"

Kurama didn't mind, nor react to her statement. "He did indeed. Eventually he discovered he could steal to survive. So he did. And had quite the natural talent for it. So he grew up, stealing his food and his clothes during the times his mother left him alone. As he grew older, he found he could control the plantlife around him and started to incorporate that into his life."

He took a sip of his tea. "He also realized that he quite enjoyed thieving. It was a challenge to him, especially the breaking of seals. He began to distance himself from his family as he gained his tails, remaining as silver as the day he was born."

Angie paused as she lifted her cup of coffee up to sip from it again. Controlling plantlife? Wasn't there that one time--

--nah, she was thinking too deeply into the story. But still...

The nurse sipped at her drink and nodded, indicating that Kurama continue.

Here he grinned broadly, coming up to his favorite part of the story. "So the centuries passed as he became the most feared thief of the land, and one day, as he was returning home from a successful job, he passed by a stronghold that he knew held several other thieves, including one he'd started hearing whispers about.

"So he snuck in and found him, a little bat kit. He liked the look of him, the look in his eye. He knew there was potential in this one, so he rescued him, telling him that no thief worth the air he breathed belonged in prison. He brought him home that night, to the tribe. The bat saw how the fox was treated, but remained silent for a few years as they lived in relative comfort. But the bat eventually became restless, as he was a gypsy at heart.

"One night, as the rest of the tribe was asleep, he took the fox by the hand and said 'I'm stealing you. From here on out you're my treasure and ransom.' The fox raised an eyebrow even as he allowed himself to be dragged out of the den. '... ransom implies at some point you intend to return me for large sums of money.' The bat grinned roguishly at him and said 'Never happen. I'm all the family you need.' The fox blinked at him, having rarely seen affection directed his way. 'Forever?' he asked. 'Naturally, fox! Together, we'll take over the world!'

"And the fox and bat were together for nearly two centuries, eventually becoming the most feared bandits throughout the world."

He ate another bit of scone, his grin refusing to fade. "They eventually became lovers, closer than most demons ever became."

Angie had to admit, the story was getting rather interesting, though she still couldn't shake that slightly suspicious feeling. She remained silent and continued to sip at her coffee as she watched Shuichi carefully from across the table.

He took a sip of his tea before continuing on. "Along the way they discovered that the fox was favored by Inari, a deity with preview over foxes, rice, fertility, and worldly success. This admittedly made them, and the fox in particular, very overconfident."

Here his eyes took on a deep sadness and he started playing with his tea, idly stirring it and not looking at Angie, but downwards, past the chai, the table, and even the floor, eyes unfocused. "One night, the fox suggested they rob a vast stronghold in the eastern regions. He'd heard there was a golden mirror there, protected by an impenetrable security system. Well, it couldn't be impenetrable to one favored by a god, could it? The bat agreed and they set off."

He inhaled, voice quivering only slightly, hardly noticeable. "They broke in and stole the mirror without a hitch. They laughed as they made their escape, running through a dense bamboo forest. But then, somehow, the chain on a pendant the bat always carried with him, a gift the fox had given him after their first heist together, snapped.

"The bat spun around and ran back for it, heedless of the fox begging him not to, saying that he needed it. Suddenly, from the canopy, a shower of bamboo spears, each one shappened to a vicious point, rained down on the bat, peircing him several times. The fox stood in shock for a split second, before screaming for the bat and starting to run to rescue him. But the bat told him to run, get away, save himself even as his blood poured from the hollow spears.. There was a bright light and the bat screamed. The fox, with tears in his golden eyes, turned and ran. The next day, he returned to the site, only to find the bamboo and blood soaked ground."

Kurama swallowed, trying valiantly to not let the memories overwhelm him, sliding his free hand back into his pocket to again finger the paper rose. "The fox found himself alone again, and he felt empty."

Angie, although she had remained silent for most of the tale, had stopped sipping at her coffee and was staring at the table. It was an incredibly sad tale, and as much of a level headed and intelligent woman as she was, she still had emotions.

She slowly placed her cup on the table and sighed. "It's... a very tragic legend," she said, a bit sympathetically, "Unless there's more to it?"

Kurama shook his head, both to answer her question and clear his mind. "No, there's more to it. The fox continued on with his life, though to him he was merely existing. He would lose himself in one night stands and daring thefts, eventually forming a small band of bandits. He took a goat demon as his second in command and they orchestrated heists. Unfortunately, he was still in grieving for his bat and made the mistake of sleeping with his second."

He took a bite of his scone, making a note to try and duplicate the recipe for his mother. "This of course lead the second to becoming just as over confident and arrogant as he had been once. So he laid a trap for him, hiring an assassin to cut out his eyes and leave him for dead. He later found out this goat became one of the kings of the land because of that event. But thinking he was dead, the fox was alone again.

"He remained alone for several more centuries until he was found by a bounty hunter and gravely injured. Needing a safe place to hide and regain his strength, he crossed the barrier between the demon lands and the human ones, taking refuge as the unborn child of a couple. The father died when he was young, but the mother raised him.

"This mother was vastly different from his demon mother, and it intrigued him. When she saved him from injury one day, he decided to remain with her. A few years after that she became ill and the fox attempted everything in his power to save her, but he didn't succeed. Not until a pair of demons who'd managed to track him down suggested he assist them in a heist. One of the targets was a mirror that could grant any wish that was asked of it at the cost of the wisher's life."

... now this was intriguing, and Angie found herself watching Shuichi with a calculated expression from across the table. Her suspicions from earlier weren't exactly quelled as the story continued. If anything the part about the fox demon becoming human made her a bit more suspicious. But still, she didn't say anything.

She could be a good listener, after all. And she was probably just imagining things.

He quirked a smile at her, knowing she was likely already figuring it out. "So he agreed, and separated from the group as quickly as he could to wait out the time until he could make his wish. The detective that was sent after him listened to the story the fox told him and as the fox made his wish jumped in, telling the mirror to take his life instead. The mirror, apparently moved by the pair's actions, granted the wish and allowed both of them to live.

"The fox, the detective, and two others later became a group of detectives working for the lord of the dead, ruler of the spirit world. This then lead to..." He grined and took a last sip of tea, folding his hands together and looking into Angie's eyes. "The future, for the story is even to this day, to this moment of you and I sitting here, still going."

She lowered her gaze, and suddenly she had a feeling she knew exactly what was coming next. She wasn't angry-- more irritated than anything that he didn't tell her, but then again... she couldn't exactly blame him. "I see," she answered with another sip of her almost-gone coffee.

Kurama nodded, gazing down at his hands now. "I won't insult you by pretending you haven't figured it out yet, but... it's important for me to say it."

He took a deep breath. "It isn't a legend, and I am the fox. My real name is Yoko Kurama, though most have taken to just calling me Kurama, and I am a kitsune and a thief." He opened his hands to reveal a small lily flower nestled in his palms.

So she was right. Or rather, her suspicions were.

The nurse didn't say anything, though her gaze flickered to the lily flower nestled in the demon's palm. She drank the last of her coffee and placed the cup back on the table, before leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. She looked annoyed and pensive, though not angry, which was a plus.

After a moment, she spoke. "I'm not pleased you didn't tell me, just so you know."

He chuckled ruefully, closing his hands. He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "I don't expect you to be. Though if it helps, the only ones who know are those from my own world and friends of Yuusuke's. Though... that will likely change this weekend." He said the last sentence softly.

Angie blinked, and for a moment all the irritation in her voice dissipated. "This weekend?"

He nodded. "There's going to be a... tournament of sorts in the Makai, my... you would call it homeworld. I have to participate, and I know the community's habit of posting video at inopportune times." He sighed and bowed his head. "I didn't want you to find out that way. I wanted to tell you myself."

Angie let out a small 'hm.' "At least you have the decency to tell me beforehand."

He glanced off to the side, now avoiding her eyes. "I lied to protect myself, I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it. I also lied to protect my mother, my human mother and not that woman who was my demon mother."

He glanced back at Angie now, worry all but visible in his eyes. "If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. If you wish to slap me, you're welcome to do so somewhere less public. If you have no desire to ever speak with me again... I won't like it, and I'll have lost someone I consider a close friend, but I'll respect your choice."

The nurse arched an eyebrow at Kurama from across the table. "Please. Don't consider me that juvenile," she said with a bit of an indignant tone, "I'm not going to slap you or never talk to you again. I can understand the reason you never told anyone."

Even if not being told did irritate her, she wasn't so selfish as take out that irritation on him. Especially when he was being to mature about it all.

Edited 2009-07-28 04:37 (UTC)

The redhead nodded, a small smile quirking at the corner. "Forgive me, it's the typical reaction I see from people when they hear things like this. Or fainting, but you're sitting down so I needn't fear that." He was clearly thinking of Keiko as he mentioned that.

"Still, my offer to answer questions remains the same."

"Hm." Angie glanced down at her hands which were folded on the table in front of her. Surprisingly, for just finding out a young man she thought was gifted and upstanding was actually a thieving demon was a bit of a shock, but she didn't have very many questions... the community was irrational, but she had come to accept this long ago.

She did want to know one thing, of course. "I certainly hope you aren't stealing today."

Here his smile became wide. "Not since I met Yuusuke when I saved my mother. That was about a year and a half ago, I believe." It was true. Though he'd accepted the job to steal the quake materia from Rufus, he wasn't finished with his recognizance and research.

"Good." As long as he wasn't involved in anything illegal, Angie would be just fine with his past.

Glad that things had turned out better than he had expected, though not as well as he would have liked, he began clearing the table, putting their mugs and his plate on the tray. "May I walk you home?" he asked, fully intending to only walk her to her door.

Angie stood up and clutched her purse tightly. She eyed Kurama for a moment, clearly debating on whether she should say yes or not, before she decided that it couldn't hurt. "If you wish to."

...Definently not as well as he would have liked, he reflected as he noticed how tightly she clutched her purse and examined him as though she was deciding if he was some foul thing or mearly looked the part. He minutely shook his head and held out his arm.

"I can promise you this," he whispered. "I will not steal from you or anyone else on this world. And I will inform Kuronue that he is to do the same."

Her grip loosened. "I would very much appreciate that," she said. It would help her sleep easier at night, of course. Not because she was afraid he'd steal from her, but because she knew she wouldn't... technically... be helping a criminal.

Kurama was free to do as he wished on other worlds, and she wouldn't complain. But she didn't want to be involved herself.

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The Truth Will Set You Free? [RL with Angie, backdated to 11 pm last night]

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DAMNIT YAHOO, TELLING ME WHEN I HAVE AN EMAIL MIGHT BE NICE.

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... was I supposed to do this two comments ago?

Yeah, kinda were, but it's okay. ^^

Sorry |D

Don't worry about it. Just trying to avoid the whole "run off the side of the page" deal is all. ^^

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