by K L Ogden
“Obi?”
“Hmm?” His eyes shifted sideways at her.
“You don’t have to sit over there,” she said quietly. Not only did she feel guilty, but she didn’t want him so far away from her. Even two feet from her felt like miles. Obi stood up and watched her as he moved around to the empty side of the bed. She focused back on the TV as he pulled back the covers and slipped into bed next to her. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she was positive he would be able to hear it.
He relaxed quickly resting his hands behind his head. Hitomi propped her head up on the pillows and stared ahead.
****
They laid there in silence for about an hour watching the movie. It was killing Obi inside not touching her but being so close to her. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at her as every cell in his body ached. He finally turned and looked at her as she let out a little yawn. Her lids were heavy and she fluttered her eyes to stay awake.
“It’s okay to fall asleep,” Obi whispered.
“I want to see the end of the movie,” she replied sleepily.
“We can watch it again sometime if you fall asleep.”
Hitomi smiled and her eyes slowly closed. At first he had been worried that she didn’t trust him enough to fall asleep around him, but she quickly eliminated that thought. He got up and turned off the TV, then double checked the locked door. He moved back around the bed and climbed back in carefully so not to wake her. He rolled onto his side and watched her in the dark. Satisfied that she had fallen asleep, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
Obi’s sleep was disturbed awhile later when a loud bang woke him. His eyes shot open and he sat up scanning the room. There was another noisy thump and he realized it was coming from the room above them. He let out a sigh and fell back on the pillow. He turned his head towards Hitomi as she started moving. She moved onto her side facing him and her eyes opened halfway.
“Everything okay?” she mumbled.
“Um hm.” He couldn’t stop himself as he reached over moving strands of hair from her face and tucking them behind her ear. “Go back to sleep.”
“Obi?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you come to the dance?”
He shifted onto his side so he could face her. He suddenly felt nervous. “I wanted to see you in your dress,” he answered honestly. “And you looked beautiful.”
The corners of her mouth turned up. “I keep having dreams about last night.”
“I hope the ending was better in your dreams.” Obi thought about how he had almost kissed her. If it hadn’t been for Bradley he would have. He still wanted to kiss her, but at that time she didn’t know what he was and now she did.
“There’s less blood in my dreams,” Hitomi stated.
Obi watched her eyes slowly close again. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“How have you continued to smile through all of this? Aren’t you worried?”
“You said you’d protect me,” she replied.
“And I will. I always will,” Obi blurted out.
“That makes me feel better.” Hitomi opened her eyes. “Any other questions?”
He shook his head as he stared at her lips. They were slightly parted almost as if they were inviting him closer. If he felt warmness just from her skin, he ached to sense the heat that would travel through him if he kissed her. He wasn’t sure it wouldn’t make him completely come undone.
Obi moved closer to her and tentatively moved his hand back up to her face. He ran his fingers down the side of her face and rested his palm against her cheek.
“Obi…” she whispered as she bit at her bottom lip.
“Obsidian! Hitomi!” Guri’s voice yelled at the door. He started banging on the door.
They both sat straight up from the bed and Obi’s feet were on the floor in the matter of seconds. He rushed over to the door and let Guri in. He hurried inside and slammed the door behind him.
“Guri? What’s the matter?” Obi stepped back as Hitomi slipped out of the bed.
“What’s going on in here?” Guri questioned eyeing them both.
“Nothing,” Obi shot back. “We were trying to get some rest. What has you banging on the door and rushing around frantically?”
He glanced at Hitomi and watched her wrap her sweater around herself tightly as she stood there also waiting for an explanation from Guri.
“Domitori is coming to find you two,” Guri blurted out.
“But the council takes awhile to decide anything. How did he get approval so quickly?” Obi replied.
“He’s doing it without the Savetto’s approval.”
“What is the Savetto?” Hitomi asked.
“The Savetto is a council of shinigami that hand out the lists of souls,” he replied dryly. “There are two sets of councils in the Afterworld, the Savetto and the Juydisu. The Juydisu pick out the souls and the Savetto make the lists,” Obi explained quickly. He eyed Guri while the anger inside him built as he thought of Domitori and his threats against Hitomi. “Let him come,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Obi…” Hitomi turned to him with worry across her face.
“He’s not coming alone,” Guri interrupted.
Obi’s eyes widened and he crossed the distance to her in a blink. He grabbed her arms. “Hitomi, go gather your things. Now.” She gave a nod and hurried into the bathroom.
He watched her rush off and his attention returned to Guri. “Who else?”
“Deiman and Kooisan. You better get your stuff. We need to go meet Rediisu.”
“Rediisu?”
“He’s got Hitomi’s mother.”
“What?” Hitomi came running out of the bathroom as she buttoned up her jeans. “Who has my mom?”
“Rediisu. It’s just a precaution,” Guri replied.
“But I thought Rediisu was a bad guy,” she said confused.
“He’s not. Hitomi, please get your stuff. We need to go.”
She looked to Obi and he moved over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down resting his forehead against hers. “Your mom will be fine. But we need to hurry. I can’t let anything happen to you.”
Hitomi let out a shaky deep breath and went back to the bathroom. Guri left the room to go check them out as Obi grabbed all his things stuffing them into his bag. Hitomi came out toting her bag as he zipped his up. He pulled on a t-shirt as he turned to her.
He hated the alarm on her face. The only thing that mattered to him was getting her somewhere safe and erasing that expression.
“Got everything?” he asked.
She gave another nod and without even a second thought he grabbed her hand intertwining his fingers with hers.
“I’m scared Obi,” Hitomi whispered.
“I promise to protect you.”
“I’m not scared for me. I’m afraid for my mom.”
“Rediisu is a strong shinigami. She will be fine.” He lifted his other hand and ran it down the side of her head raking his fingers through tendrils of her hair. “You might want to tie your hair back. Let’s go.” He pulled her out of the room and they met Guri outside.
Chapter 12
Hitomi felt her pulse racing. She couldn’t believe that her mother was being brought into the situation. Her mind couldn’t focus on anything but Regina. The air suddenly felt cold around her and she couldn’t contain her shiver.
“Where are we going?” Obi asked Guri.
“Just follow me. It’s too dangerous to meet at his house.”
She watched as suddenly Guri’s wings poked out from tears in the back of his shirt. They spread out to their full span and he took off into the air. Her eyes followed him in the sky as Obi let go of her hand. She tied her hair back as her head was still tilted up and all of a sudden Obi scooped her up in his arms. Hitomi let out a gasp and her body shuddered again.
“Are you
cold?” he asked concerned.
“No. You just surprised me.”
“Hold on tight.”
Hitomi wrapped her arms around his neck as he stared at her. Their faces were dangerously close as abruptly a set of black wings spread out from Obi’s back. Her jaw dropped in awe. His wings were as black as the night and practically sparkled from the lights in the parking lot. They were so gorgeous and soft looking, she wanted to reach out and touch them.
Before she had a chance, the ground below them was getting further and further away. The rush of the air against her face was chilly and she tucked her face into the crook of his neck. At least the rain had stopped, but the night air was much cooler. She clenched her hands together behind his neck and he pulled her tighter against him.
If she hadn’t been so afraid, she would have been overwhelmed being in his arms. But her mind was only occupied with thoughts of her mother. Regina had nothing to do with any of this and she would never forgive herself if anything happened to her. She closed her eyes and buried her head against him.
Hitomi concentrated on the rhythmic flapping of his wings as the wind smacked against her skin. She only briefly opened her eyes, but the cold stung bringing tears to them. The only thing comforting her was the heat of Obi’s body as worry clouded her mind.
She had no idea how long they had been in the air, but she felt relief when Obi shouted out to Guri that he smelled Rediisu below. They started to descend as she lifted her head.
“Are you okay?” Obi asked.
“Yah.”
“You’ll get to see your mother in a few minutes.”
Hitomi glanced down at the heavily wooded area beneath them as the trees grew larger. Obi tucked her head in as she felt branches hitting her hands and yanking at her sweater. She tightened her grip around him listening to the breaking of twigs and rustling of leaves. For a few moments she didn’t hear or feel anything and then there was a distinct thud of something hitting the forest floor and she lightly bounced in Obi’s grip. He let go of her head and she looked up at their surroundings.
The forest was thick and even darker than the night sky. She was barely able to make out Guri’s form a few feet from them.
“Which way?” Guri asked.
“North. You should be able to pick up on him in a few minutes,” Obi nodded his head in the direction. Guri hurried off in the direction Obi had motioned as Obi let Hitomi’s legs down carefully setting her feet on the ground. She kept her arms around his neck and looked up at him. He kept his gaze from her as his wings rustled and then quickly tucked away. He brought his hands up to her arms and pulled them away from him.
“Obi?”
“Let’s catch up with Guri before he gets lost,” he said grabbing her hand but still avoiding her face. He moved at a quick pace tugging her along with him. She could barely make out trees as they hurried through the forest. Following close behind him, she continued to trip over unseen things on the woodland floor. Obi always easily steadied her as if anticipating each stumble and then they would continue.
Obi’s pace slowed as they caught up with Guri who was standing in the middle of a small clearing. The sound of running water could be heard nearby.
“He’s got his damn barrier up. Can you tell where he is?” Guri huffed.
“Rediisu, I can smell you,” Obi said taking a few steps forward.
“Obsidian,” a voice answered as there was a flick of a lighter and suddenly a bright flame lit up the area. He walked out of the nearby brush holding a torch, his face illuminated in colors of orange and yellow.
“Rediisu,” Obi gave a nod.
“I’m glad you all made it. We were starting to worry.” His eyes darted between them resting on Hitomi. He stepped forward to her and she almost gasped remembering his incredible beauty. He took her free hand in his and leaned down kissing her knuckles. “I hope you remember me Hitomi. I’m Rediisu.”
“Of course,” she stuttered as she felt her cheeks get hot.
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Obi gave him a little push and Rediisu dropped her hand as he smirked at her.
“Where’s everyone else?” Guri stepped forward.
“Follow me,” Rediisu motioned.
Obi followed first keeping Hitomi close to him and Guri walked behind them. They were silent as they trudged through the dense woods coming up to a creek and then walking along the bank. Obi grabbed her hand with his other and wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.
“There are some slippery rocks up here so be careful,” Rediisu informed them.
Hitomi slipped and tripped her way across then she realized they were heading behind a waterfall. She saw a faint light ahead glistening off the falling water and attempted to hurry causing herself to slip. Obi lost grip on her and she fell forward onto her knees. He quickly helped her back up to her feet.
“Are you alright?”
“Yah,” she winced as she ran her fingers across feeling the tear in her jeans and wet blood coming from a new gash. “It’s just a cut. I’m fine.”
Obi let out a loud huff and easily scooped her back up in his arms. “I should have just carried you from the beginning,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t have let you get hurt.”
“Hurry up you two,” Guri whined behind them.
She could feel a noticeable difference in Obi’s demeanor. He seemed to be trying to distance himself from her and he kept refusing to look at her. Hitomi reached up and rested her arms around his neck watching him as his jaw clenched. His eyes stayed focused ahead.
After a few more minutes she realized they were actually heading behind the waterfall. They stepped into a large cavern lit with a glowing fire. Sitting next to the fire warming her hands was her mother and next to her was a young looking guy. Hitomi assumed it was probably another death god, but she was more focused on the fact that her mother appeared to be unharmed.
“Hitomi!” Regina jumped to her feet and rushed over to her. Obi let her down and Hitomi ran over. They caught each other in a tight embrace. “I was so worried about you.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay mom.” Hitomi squeezed her firmly.
“I’m perfectly fine. What about you? Are you alright?” Regina pulled away and inspected her. “I see you fell.”
“Yah, it was just on the way here. I’m okay though.” She gave her a smile and Regina hugged her tightly again. Hitomi turned her head to find Obi. He shifted his eyes away from her and followed Rediisu over to the other guy.
“At least you’re being looked after fairly well,” Regina commented.
Hitomi watched the four guys walk off towards the back of the cavern as they talked quietly amongst themselves. “Yah. Very well. Mom, who’s that other guy?”
“His name is Liam. He’s…well, he’s what the other boys are.”
“A death god?”
Regina sighed heavily and stepped back. She took Hitomi’s arms and grinned at her daughter. “Let’s go sit by the fire. I have some things I need to tell you.” She followed her mother over to the fire and Regina draped a blanket over her shoulders as she sat down. She made sure that Obi was in her sightline as her mother sat down next to her. Obi glanced over at her and she quickly smiled at him. His face was blank in expression and he turned away from her.
Hitomi’s first thought was to march over to him and demand to know what was wrong but her mother grabbed her hand.
“Hitomi?”
She pried her eyes away from him and turned to her mom. “What?”
“Oh sweetie, I have so much I want to tell you. If only this would have started after you were 18. There would have been nothing they could have done.”
Hitomi stared at her perplexed. “What are you talking about mom?”
She let out another loud sigh. “I can’t tell you until you are 18.”
“But I’ll be 18 in a few weeks. Why can’t you tell me now?”
“I can’t tell you because of the laws of your father’s world.”
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“My father?” Hitomi’s brow furrowed. “You mean that you know exactly what is going on and you can’t even tell me? And what does my father have to do with this?” Her voice got louder and she noticed Obi and the others come over to them.