|| A Bouquet of Red and White Roses || [Yu Yu Hakusho Fan-fic] {Edits}

Beyond the Facade

From the front, Mai stabbed me in the shoulder. In attempts to ignore the pain, I elbowed her in the stomach and kicked her back. She slid back, keeping her ground as she clutched onto her stomach. I took a deep unsteady breath and shifted my position. I charged towards her and did a side kick which caused her to fly back. She ended up crashing into one of the trees in the park. While she was a good distance away, I struggled to steady myself. I glanced down at the wound that she had inflicted. "Damn", I muttered as I applied some pressure on it to stop the blood. A sudden change in the wind caused me to fall back. Mai had returned and had failed to get me to fall. She missed. She looked just as exhausted as I did. She wasn't bleeding from the arm, but she was bleeding from the mouth and the side of her head. My next attempt was to knock her out by hitting the back of her neck. For a minute, we were glaring at each other.

"Where is she !?", she had shouted. "What did you do to her !?" What is she talking about, I thought. "What the hell are you talking about !?", I snapped back, "Where is who !?" Mai's glare only hardened as she moved towards me. I wasn't ready to fight back, so the best I could do was avoid getting stabbed again. I failed to do so when she managed to slash my arm. After sliding back, I tried to refocus on her movements. I straightened up and watched the area in front of me. When she wasn't there, I kicked upwards only to hit something hard. There was such a hateful look in her eyes. I wonder if Mai calculated the time and distance it would have taken for her to land on the ground. Perhaps if she had, she wouldn't have been on the ground. Looming over her, I stepped on the blade that she had been carrying and broke it beside her. It was now shattered, like broken glass. And with my other foot, I stepped and placed pressure on her back. If she was smart, she'd talk.

"I could kill you right now", I said bitterly, "But there's something that I need to make sure of." Mai smirked. "Why're you acting like an idiot all of a sudden ?", she snapped, "You're such a lier ! You know what I'm talking about ! Where is Izumi !? What did you do to her !?" I looked down at her and shifted my weight. A look of pain appeared on Mai's face as she flinched at the weight. "The only idiot here is the one that I'm currently speaking to", I replied, my voice sharp and absolute, "Now talk. What the hell are you talking about ? What happened to Izumi ?" From under my foot, I could feel her struggling to take a breath. "Weren't you the one ?", she said, "..The one who took Izumi !?" "Like I said.. What're you..." I stopped talking and grabbed Mai's arm as I pulled her in front of me. Mai winced at the pain of having her arm behind her back. I scowled at the person I was looking at. Mai didn't move at all. That person was holding a blade right beside Mai's neck. 

"So you noticed", he said indifferently. "If I hadn't", I replied, "Then I would've died a long time ago." He didn't reply. "Haru", Mai muttered, "Help me..!" I tightened the grip I had on her arm. Haru and I locked gazes. I took a deep breath and sighed in dismay. I released the grip I had on Mai and let her fall foreword. Haru caught her and pointed the blade at me. If only that person wasn't behind me. "That's enough", I heard her say. I peered over my shoulder and smirked. "If it isn't you", I said. "Nanao." She took a step towards me and placed the blade on where my heart was from the back. "Don't move", she ordered. I put my hands up and sighed. "Whatever you say", I replied, not moving at all. Nanao removed the blade from my back and made her way over to Mai, who was glaring at me. I didn't make an effort to glare back. What a waste of my time. Haru was watching me the entire time. Mai seemed relieved that Nanao was there. However, Nanao on the other hand.. The sound of a sharp slap echoed throughout the night. There was a startled look on Mai's face. Haru was looking down. "If I recall", Nanao said in a stern manner, "You were to stay at the base until everything was officially confirmed. Yet what did you choose to do ? You chose to go against my orders and went off on your own. If Haru or I hadn't shown up, you would have died." Mai was silent. 

I looked over my shoulder to see Ciel walking up to us from the shadows. "Damn right she would've", was what she said. Nothing was in Ciel's hands, but she was always full of surprises. I sighed, slightly lowering my guard. Ciel walked over to me and examined my wounds. I flinched when she gingerly touched the cut on my arm. Tilting her head to the side, she smiled. I knew that smile. I knew what she was going to do next. Without a second thought, I wrapped my arm around Ciel's arm. "Let go", she said in a low voice. "No", I replied back, daring to test her patience. At times like this, Ciel wasn't one to play games with. She peered over her shoulder. The desolate look in her eyes made me shiver. "Don't" I said again, "What good will it do to kill someone for a single mistake ?" To my surprise, Ciel turned to me. With her other hand, she flicked me on the forehead. "You're one to talk", she said, eyeing my arm. I reluctantly let go of her arm and watched as she removed her jacket and put it over me. "It'll hurt you know ?", she mumbled, "When we clean those wounds." I nodded my head slowly. "I know", I replied back. "I'm well aware." The both of us turned to Nanao, who was already looking our way. "I want an answer Nanao", I called out, "What happen to Izumi ?" Nanao glanced down at Mai before turning back to me with a regrettable sigh.

"First, allow me to apologize on this pitiful girls behalf", she began to say. I grinned. "One may forgive but one will always remember", I replied. Nanao feigned a smile. She glanced at the two behind her. "Haru", she said, "Take Mai back. I'll meet you back at the base. Understood ?" Haru nodded his head with Mai on his back. "Understood", he replied before disappearing. Nanao turned back to Ciel and I. "Izumi is missing", she said once we were all alone. "She's been missing for about a week now." Ciel and I exchanged glances. "Well that explains her sudden absence from school then", Ciel mumbled, "But how strange.. we were told that she was gone for an important business of some sort." A look of interest appeared in Nanao's eyes. "Gone for important business ?", she asked. We both nodded. "However it was all too sudden", I added in, "The very last time I saw her, she didn't appear to be rushing or focusing on anything important. She seemed to be the same as usual." 

"But that still doesn't explain why Mai attacked Shiori." 

Ciel and Nanao locked gazes. Nanao was the one that gave into Ciel's scowl. "Mai attacked Shiori because she believed that you had something to do with Izumi's disappearance", she explained with a dismayed sigh. "She was ordered not to go out and do anything rash without the confirmation that you were involved with her disappearance but that hopeless girl decided to go against that order and find you. By the time we confirmed that you weren't involved, it was already too late. Luckily for her, Haru was keeping tabs." She stopped talking and grinned. "Although", she said, with a grin, "I'm quite surprised you didn't kill her right away." I crossed my arms and sighed.

"Although I'm one of those people", I replied, eyeing Ciel's nonchalant expression, "That doesn't necessarily mean that I'll waste my time in killing someone who isn't worth killing."