Morning
by Leareth
Chapter Three
Yuzuriha's morning always revolved around the same routine: she would hug Inuki good morning, do some stretches, then turn on the small radio on her desk and sing along to whatever was playing as she got dressed and ready for breakfast. She had set herself into this routine when she had started high school, mainly because otherwise she tended to find various reasons to be late for class. This morning, however, there was a slight hiccup – Inuki wasn't beside her bed like he was supposed to be.
Rubbing her eyes, Yuzuriha sat up and looked around her room, first towards the window in case Inuki was on the outside balcony watching the street, then the expanse of floor outside the bathroom, then back to his usual place on the floor beside her bed just in case she had missed him. Her spirit-dog wasn't there. It was only when Yuzuriha looked across the room to the door did she find him.
"Inuki?" Frowning, Yuzuriha got out of bed. Her inugami stood very still and alert, nose just short of touching the door. Yuzuriha halted, recognising the warning signs. Then she gathered herself, and quietly knelt down beside Inuki.
"All right," she whispered, stroking Inuki's head partly to calm him, partly to calm herself. Of all things that could happen first thing in the morning, she never expected danger. Already her heart was beating a little faster and she took a deep breath, trying to think calmly. Inuki sensed danger in the house, that was obvious, but what about everyone else? Sora-chan was usually awake by this time, as was Arashi. Subaru-san probably hadn't left his room yet. Kamui she had no idea – sometimes the boy got up early woken by bad dreams, sometimes he got up late for precisely the same reasons. Still, just because she knew their routines didn't mean they were actually keeping to them today, which meant for now only she could do something about the situation. "Okay, Inuki," she said softly, rolling up the ends of her yellow pajamas – at the very least, couldn't this danger whatever-it-was have the courtesy to wait until she was dressed? "Looks like it's just you and me at the moment. Let's be careful, okay?" Inuki didn't move. "Let's go."
She opened the door. Outside, the hall was empty however she could hear the murmurs of low voices floating up the stairs. It didn't seem like there was anything wrong, but as Yuzuriha tiptoed towards the staircase, Inuki became more agitated. By the time they reached the top of the stairs, the inugami's ears were flat against his head and the not-quite-physical growl he was giving out made Yuzuriha's teeth buzz. "Be quiet," she shushed, kneeling down on the top step. The voices from downstairs were too soft for her to hear properly, but if she listened very carefully, she could make out something …
"… going to make breakfast for all of us?"
"It's just as easy to cook for six people as it is for one. Don't worry, I won't poison the food."
Yuzuriha frowned. The first voice was immediately recognisable as Arashi's, but second voice was completely unfamiliar. It was a man's voice, with a depth that made Yuzuriha think of someone around Seiichiro Aoki's age, however whereas Seiichiro Aoki sounded warm and kind this person sounded like someone Yuzuriha did not want to meet on a dark street. Obviously this stranger was the reason for Inuki's agitation. Still, something wasn't making sense. If the unknown man downstairs was an enemy, why was he talking with Arashi about cooking breakfast?
"Six? Who's the sixth person?"
There was the sound of water running in the sink. "Myself."
"You?"
"Why not? I haven't eaten yet either."
Inuki's growling was increasing with every second. Yuzuriha buried her hand in the ruff of his neck, restraining him – she didn't want to do anything until she was completely certain of just what was going on downstairs. Arashi sounded surprised and disbelieving, but not particularly distressed or in trouble, so perhaps there was just some big misunderstanding going on. Maybe she should go back and get Kamui and Subaru—
Without warning Inuki snarled and leapt out from under her hand, darting down the stairs in a blur. Yuzuriha reached out for him too late. "Inuki!" she yelled, part in irritation part in alarm, before running down the stairs after him. Arashi was standing in the kitchen doorway with her sword in hand, and had turned towards them in surprise. Quickly Inuki blurred past her, Yuzuriha not far behind, and darted into the kitchen towards the man standing in front of the stove. "Inuki!"
The inugami leapt. The unknown man in their kitchen glanced up, his expression startled for a moment before he quickly dodged to one side grabbing something off the spice-rack. The blur that was Inuki coalesced against the wall, reformed into dog-shape, then leapt again for the man's throat. At the last minute the stranger moved, bringing his arm around in a scooping motion – and Inuki disappeared.
Yuzuriha and Arashi stared in shock. In front of them the stranger was standing up from the defensive crouch he had fallen into. The inugami was nowhere to be seen. "Inuki!" Yuzuriha shouted, trying to reach out. Arashi had to take one hand off her sword to restrain her. Struggling in the older girl's grip Yuzuriha glared fiercely at the stranger. "What did you do!"
The stranger looked amused. He was a tall man, with dark hair and somewhat angular features. His eyes, Yuzuriha noticed, were rather disconcerting: one was amber-gold and the other one was white. Overall he was very handsome, but considering what he had just done to Inuki that didn't count for anything. "I take it that you must be the inugami mistress," the stranger said calmly.
Yuzuriha seethed, hoping that her fear wasn't too apparent. "What did you do to Inuki!"
"Nothing drastic." The man lifted his right hand, showing them what he held. It was a medium-sized jar, the kind that had started its career as a container for pickled vegetables. Sorata had recycled it to store dried onions. It was difficult to see the dried onions at the moment, partly because there hadn't been much left to begin with, partly because of the black ofuda card that sealed the top, and partly because of the swirl of pure energy trapped in the jar that was growling like a miniature roll of thunder. "You'll forgive me if I think that with regards to my personal safety it's not a good idea to let him out."
Yuzuriha and Arashi stared. "How did you do that?" asked Arashi in disbelief.
The man smiled. It did nothing to make Yuzuriha feel better. "I'm an onmyouji, just like Subaru-kun. It's not difficult to bind an inugami if you're quick enough to catch it." There was an angry bark from the jar of dried onions. The man held it out to Yuzuriha. "Here you go."
Arashi's hand tightened on Yuzuriha's shoulder. "Don't take it," she said quietly, raising her sword.
"If I wanted to hurt you I don't have to stoop to any tricks," said the man. He smiled at Yuzuriha. "Go on."
Yuzuriha stared at the glowing jar for a moment, Arashi's slim hand heavy on her shoulder. Then, slowly, she reached out to take it, darting back as soon as she had a good grip. The jar of Inuki buzzed against her palm whimpering. "Oh, Inuki," she whispered. Without thinking she began to peel off the black ofuda—
"Please don't." Yuzuriha glanced up to find the strange man – undoubtedly a Dragon of Earth, now that she thought about it – watching her closely. "I have things to do and I can't get them done if your inugami keeps trying to tear my throat out."
"I'm not leaving him stuck like this," objected Yuzuriha.
"I understand. However, I hope that you understand that if he's set free and attacks me again, he might not be handed back to you so neatly."
Yuzuriha paled, but stood her ground. "I'm not leaving him like this," she repeated firmly. "And I can keep him under control."
For a long moment the Dragon of Earth looked at her, mismatched eyes unreadable. Yuzuriha unconsciously shifted into a defensive posture, but then suddenly the man smiled. "If you say so."
He turned his back on them, returning to whatever he had been doing which was apparently making soup. Arashi, her face unreadable, followed him at a short distance with sword still drawn obviously not trusting him out of her sight. Quietly Yuzuriha moved to one side, huddling over the jar and whispering to it. "Listen to me, Inuki. I'm going to let you out, but when I do, you have to be good, all right? I'm serious – this guy is dangerous and he might do something to you if you try to attack him again, so please, please stay close to me and behave yourself, do you hear?" The jar buzzed sullenly. "Okay."
She peeled the ofuda off. Immediately a pale blur of pure energy jumped out, circling the ceiling once before pouring down the wall to form into a spirit-dog again at Yuzuriha's feet. Inuki's eyes fixed on the Dragon of Earth, a low growling in his throat but otherwise strayed no further, and when Yuzuriha bent down to hug him in relief even the growling hushed.
"I'm home! Oh, Yuzu-chan, good morning!" Sorata closed the front door behind him and took off his shoes, balancing the grocery bag on one arm. Coming down the hall, his eyes narrowed as he took in the way Yuzuriha was protectively hugging Inuki in relief. "What happened?"
"Ah, Arisugawa-kun, welcome back." Yuzuriha jumped as the Dragon of Earth came up behind her to take the bags from Sorata, who glowered but let him. "Thank you very much."
"Whatever. Here's your change." Sorata handed the Dragon of Earth some coins, then glanced at Arashi. "Miss me, Nee-chan?"
Arashi didn't even look at him. "Hardly."
Sorata pulled puppy-dog eyes on her for a moment before returning to seriousness and asking, "Did anything happen?"
"The Sakurazukamori threatened Inuki when the inugami tried to attack him."
Sorata's eyes narrowed. "But everyone's okay, right?"
"Sakurazukamori?" squeaked Yuzuriha as Inuki growled again. Eyes wide, she stared up at the strange man, who simply smiled at her as he went back to the kitchen. "He's the Sakurazukamori?"
"The way you say it, it's almost as if you expected me to have three heads." The Sakurazukamori took out the groceries and inspected them critically. He must have been satisfied, because he took the fish out of the wrapping and put it on the chopping board.
"I don't think she expected the feared assassin to be a chef," said Sorata dryly. "Look, just how long are you going to take? Usually I'm a really hospitable guy but you've got to understand that the sentiment doesn't extend to my enemies for obvious reasons."
"As long as I need to take and no more."
Sorata and Arashi's faces darkened. "Um, Sakurazukamori-san," began Yuzuriha hesitantly.
"Seishirou. Sakurazuka Seishirou. And who might you be?"
"Yuzuriha. Um, just what are you doing, Sakurazuka-san?"
The Sakurazukamori smiled at her. "I'm making breakfast. I did originally intend to only make breakfast for Subaru-kun, but after conversing with your lovely Ise priestess I realised that if I was using your kitchen it was only polite to include the rest of the household."
Sorata's jaw dropped. "You're what?"
"You heard me correctly." The Sakurazukamori fetched a knife from the rack and began cleaning the fish. "Don't stare like that, Arisugawa-kun, it's not your best expression, especially when you're trying to impress a young lady."
Reddening, Sorata clamped his mouth shut. Yuzuriha blinked. "Why are you making breakfast for us and Subaru-san?"
"Because, Yuzuriha-chan, Subaru-kun is the kind of person who skips the most important meal of the day unless he's firmly reminded otherwise, and I thought it would be good for him to have company to help remind him. You will having breakfast, I hope?"
Yuzuriha looked from Arashi to Sorata. Arashi was still watching the Sakurazukamori as if he were a live snake, but Sorata just shrugged. "I guess so?" said Yuzuriha, just as the front door bell rang. Every body in the kitchen looked up.
Sorata stepped forward. "I'll get it." As he did so Inuki slipped out from under Yuzuriha's hand and padded down the hall. Yuzuriha quickly followed him, not before casting an unsure glance at the Sakurazukamori. Interestingly enough he looked wary, but before Yuzuriha could wonder about it, Sorata had opened the door.
Kasumi Karen and Aoki Seiichiro smiled at them. "Good morning!" the Soapgirl said cheerfully.
Yuzuriha ducked under Sorata's arm and around Inuki's wagging tail to greet them. "Karen-san! Aoki-san!"
"Man, am I glad to see you guys," said Sorata with visible relief. Yuzuriha squeaked as she was nearly squashed by Sorata leaning out the door towards Karen and Seiichiro to whisper urgently, "We have a problem."
Karen and Seiichiro frowned. "What is it?" asked the Windmaster.
"One of the Angels invaded—" began Sorata, but then he was cut off as the door was abruptly pulled wide open. Inuki snarled.
The Sakurazukamori looked over the newcomers. "Good morning," he said cordially, leaning nonchalantly on the half-prostrate Sorata who spluttered at his conversion into an arm-rest. Yuzuriha grabbed Inuki to physically hold her inugami back from snapping at the Angel – just how had he come up behind them so quietly? "You must be two of the other Dragons of Heaven. If you've come for breakfast, you've arrived at the right time though I think we now need more fish."
Despite the suddenness of the Sakurazukamori's appearance, Karen, Yuzuriha noticed in awed admiration, had immediately summoned a flame into her hand, and whilst Seiichiro Aoki hadn't reacted quite so dramatically the air around them was noticeably more active. Karen's eyes were hard. "Who are you," she demanded.
"Sakurazuka Seishirou of the Dragons of Earth." The Sakurazukamori smiled at them, ignoring Sorata's calls to Arashi to rescue him. "Would you like to come in?"
Chapter Two Chapter Four