Kurayamino breathed a sigh of relief after they left the building. [So, I guess that's it. Mom finally got rid of me for good...] [You're being very final about this. Are you feeling all right, Kurayamino?] Zellar shifted his bag on his shoulder. It hadn't been difficult to come up with an explanation for why the two off them were going off together. They had a lot to catch up on and without Atsuri and Nesuni the Pentagram couldn't really do any more planning. It was weird, leaving them all behind... It'd screw up the Pentagram of Stars, for a start. Zellar wondered if his mother would go to the trouble of looking for him, or just take the opportunity to use his disappearance as an excuse to find the replacement she'd always wanted. But whether Kuroi Hoshi would be able to find a new Mind Star was another matter. With the final battle so close, Zellar wasn't certain he could afford to be unsure of his loyalties. "Maybe we should look for somewhere to crash... It can't be an amazingly good idea to just stand around with the Kobun and god knows what else stalking the streets..." Kurayamino mumbled, disrupting Zellar's train of thought. "Well, Kuroimura isn't exactly known for its accommodation... There aren't really many other hotels and--" "Then I suppose we'll have to wander around until we find somewhere..." Kurayamino smiled then noticed the way his brother continued to gaze at the Hotel. "C'mon Zellar, you can relax now. If everything goes wrong, you can always go back to them. I won't hold you to any decisions." "Okay, okay... So lets get out of here." With that, the Twins left the Bright Star Hotel and the Pentagram of Stars and walked out into the streets of Kuroimura... ******************************** Dark Star XXVI - Cabals Scrawled by Katy Coope Started by Lady Chaos Presented by Improfanfic ******************************** "Varaeir?" Nesuni called, her eyes darting briefly around the shrine before coming the conclusion that it was unoccupied. "It's looks like your half-blood friend isn't here, Kichi love..." Kichigaisaka flashed his warm, glittering smile. "Well, it does seem that we spent a little longer together than he had planned..." Nesuni draped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. She was feeling much better since they'd had their little talk. "Is that such a bad thing?" She purred. Kichi ran his fingers through Nesuni's hair. "Oh course not... An eternity with you would still not be long enough." "You're sweet, Kichi" Nesuni giggled. "But where did your friend go? If he's such a staple to the plan as you say, surely we should keep a closer watch on him..." "Varaeir knows his part in the plan to the letter, or at least he thinks he does. If I'm as good a judge of character as I think I am, He'll be on his way to meet Un-sama's little pawn as we speak." "You don't think he's having doubts?" Nesuni asked, "He seemed distracted before... I don't think he likes me." "Then he must be a fool." Kichi soothed. "For who but the dead and the mindless could less than enchanted by you, my dearest?" There was a moment of perfect silence, then their eyes met, Kichigaisaka pulled Nesuni into an embrace, and they kissed. *** [Damn, this wasn't meant to happen...] Varaeir pressed his back against the cold stone wall of the alley and waited for the two figures to pass him by. [Kichigaisaka will want to know about this... Firu may still be alive, and now Zellar is involved... Kichi may not have been telling me everything, but I'm sure this wasn't in the plan... Hell, I wasn't meant to like the other guys involved either, but at least they seem genuine... I'm going to have to improvise...] The twins were engrossed in conversation as they walked, as if they hadn't had a chance to talk together for some time. Varaeir slipped into step a distance behind them in shadows as they passed, his feet making no sound on the cobblestones. [At least that's one good thing I got from my heritage] he thought, as he listened in on the conversation. It appeared the that the twins were without somewhere to stay... [That could provide an opening...] "Zellar? What are you doing--" The twins both turned instantly at the sound, a sword already in Kurayamino's hand. Varaeir saw the weapon and backed off a pace. "Hey..." Kurayamino glanced at Zellar. "You know this guy?" He asked, turning his attention back to rather scared looking young man who had interrupted them. "Kinda... Is there any particular reason you're here, Varaeir?" "Is there suddenly a law against walking around? If so, you're as guilty as me..." Varaeir smiled amiably, but there was still a hint of unease in his eyes and posture... "Okay, I'll rephrase that." Kurayamino said, "Why were you following us?" "Oh, yeah. Well, I wanted to talk to you and your brother. I couldn't help hearing that you have a little problem, Kurayamino." "Zellar, who is this guy and how does he know our names?" Kurayamino asked, "Does it really matter, Kurayamino? And can you please get rid your weapon now? I can assure you won't need it." Varaeir said, holding his hands out in front of him to show that he wasn't carrying a weapon. Kurayamino glanced at Zellar, then back at Varaeir. "Okay, so what do you want to talk to us about?" He asked relaxing slightly but keeping the sword in his hand. "I couldn't help overhearing you're lacking in accommodation for the moment. I know a place you can use..." "You seem pretty anxious help us. Who sent you?" "Nobody." Varaeir said, quickly thinking up an excuse. "For the moment, I'm unaligned." "Oh?" "I didn't get so well with my last associates. We had rather... Differing opinions, so I left them," the psychic continued, before turning to Zellar. "You seemed like a good person when I met you before, Zellar. I hoped your brother would be the same and came to find you..." Varaeir trailed off and bit his lip. Kurayamino looked at Zellar again. [He seems pretty genuine to me. We might as well go along with him. If he turns out to be on one of the other sides, we outnumber him so he shouldn't be too tough to deal with. What do you think?] [Sure. Be careful what you have in your mind though, he's a telepath.] "Okay, okay. So you can provide us with somewhere to crash then?" Kurayamino asked. Varaeir nodded. "I inherited a deal of money and possessions that I was never going to use so bought myself one of the old buildings and fixed it up. The place is far too big for my needs so I have plenty of extra space... It's not too far from here..." "I guess there's no harm in checking it out, right Zellar?" Kurayamino said as his shadow sword dispersed into the air. "Great. Well, it's this way..." Varaeir smiled and started down one of the alleys, gesturing for the twins to follow. That excuse he had come up with worried him... He wasn't sure where it had come from but now that he thought about it, it wouldn't be so difficult for it to be true... [I'll just have to see how Kurayamino's mind works. Maybe Kichigaisaka is wrong...] *** Naoto perched on the remains of the fountain, waiting. Gyoshi should have met up with him over three hours ago, yet the Mind Kobun had yet to make an appearance. But, having nothing better to do, Naoto waited. And waited. A few moments later, a small butterfly flew into vision. Naoto's eyes followed it around the courtyard, it's appearance giving him something to focus on. As it neared him, the Kobun clicked his fingers. Naoto caught the insect as it fell lifeless from the sky. He examined the way the scales on its delicate wings caught the light, it was quite a pleasing sight. He placed the dead butterfly gently on the rubble, along with the other lifeless creatures by his side. [The dead are so much easier to deal with] Naoto mused. [They don't make promises that they won't keep, they never leave you, they never hurt you...] *** Gyoshi watched silently as the two figures passed his hiding place in the trees, totally oblivious of his presence. The first, a tall man with dark hair and sharp blue eyes, Gyoshi recognized as Kichigaisaka. 'Lord Kichi' had a had a varied reputation, depending on who you asked. Many saw him as a respectable and powerful individual, but a select few saw him as a back-stabbing, manipulative madman. But Gyoshi knew all that and it didn't interest him at all. What did interest him was the young girl, Nesuni, that accompanied him. There was something distinctly unusual about her aura. There seemed to be two of them. One was like that of a Star, but the other... It was cold, unnatural. It reminded Gyoshi slightly of the torture machine he had used on the guardian sprite, Tenshi... It made him feel uneasy. Nesuni and Kichigaisaka were talking quietly to each other as they left the shrine and made their way back to more populated areas. Gyoshi couldn't quite make out the words but he gathered that they were going to meet someone. Suddenly the Kobun realized what time it was and slipped between dimensions to join his comrades. *** Tenshi lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and trying as best she could to clear her mind. After over 400 years of solitude, so much had happened in the last few days- It was difficult to keep a grip on herself. She had been reunited with Zellar, or at least she hoped she had... He kept leaving her, leaving her alone again... [I don't want to be alone...] She thought about going downstairs to talk to the others, they all seemed to understand the situation so much better than she did. But she wasn't sure if they trusted her, or even if she trusted them... [I don't want them, I want Zellar. Just like it used to be...] She remembered them saying something about a battle... Did that mean her Zellar would have to fight? He might get hurt, or maybe killed and then she would have lost him again... That was not a thought she wanted to dwell on and banished the idea from her mind. Maybe she should go and talk to Tenkou, she had comforted her before... [Yeah, I'll go and see Tenkou. She is friends with Zellar, maybe she can help me understand...] The sprite swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She took a moment to smooth out her clothes and hair then walked out of the bedroom. *** "How do you feel now?" "Better. Quite a bit better. You make a good doctor, Miyami" Kyoku said, sitting up and flashing a feral grin. "Are you sure you don't need some more 'medicine'?" Miyami purred, draping herself over her fellow Kobun. "I don't think you are completely cured yet..." "Later..." Kyoku said, feeling Miyami's hands wander. "And in some other place. As talented as Yuji may be, he has no taste in decorating. And it's cold here..." "Then why don't we go back to my place?" Miyami pressed her body close to Kyoku's and whispered in his ear, "the bed is nice and warm there." "Not now. We can have much more fun later when I am fully recovered. If you're so desperate, go practice on somebody else. There must be plenty of other men in the town for you to play with." "None of them are as good as you, Kyoku-san..." "Miyami, I said later." Kyoku slid out from her and started looking for his clothes. Miyami slumped back on the bed. "Spoilsport." *** "Gyoshi? I see you decided to show yourself at last..." Naoto mumbled, idly fingering a long black feather. "I was distracted." The Mind Kobun said, walking across the courtyard to the rubble where his companion sat. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" "Hai. Yuji and I fought a star, and something weird happened to Kyoku." "'Something weird'? Such as?" "I haven't seen him myself, Yuji said he's in a bad way." Naoto put down the feather next to it's previous owner on the stone. "I'll have to go and see how he is... But that can wait. Right now, we have more important business to attend to..." ******************************** Author's notes- Okay, I know that was short, and nothing happened in it but hey, It's Christmas and I was busy ^_^; Comments and stuff go to katy@coopefamily.demon.co.uk Flames and stuff go to whoever the heck you want, but not me please ^_^ Hmm, not much to say really. I decided the Kobun and Varaeir needed a bit more characterization, so that's what I wrote. So there. ^_^ Thanks to everyone who's written for Dark Star in the past, with special thanks going to Lady C for starting it. And hugs go to Philip Barkow for prereading and being the only other person in the queue after me... Speaking of which... SIGN UP PEOPLE! You know you want to! I know we're being moved to 'Beware the Radish,' but that doesn't mean you shouldn't help keep this Impro alive... Anyway, rant over, best wishes, hope everyone had a great holiday season and have a good new year! Katy Coope www.coopefamily.demon.co.uk -- Katy Coope