Kaleidoscope, Ch. 2

Hurry up, Botan...

Serenity stood on a sturdy tree branch, waiting for Botan to catch up with her.  Serenity knew Botan was down below, running as best she could—jogging, really—around the rocks and branches scattered on the uneven ground.  She realized that it honestly wasn’t fair for them to race when Botan didn’t have her oar to fly on.

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, a smirk playing at her lips.  Her high school’s track and field coach had approached her on numerous occasions, praising the “godlike speed” he’d observed during gym period, begging her to join the team and lead them to victory.  But all his bribes and threats amounted to nothing; Serenity preferred to display her innate talent for sprinting on her own schedule.  She prided herself on the fact that, like a rare and elusive wild animal, she had never been tamed.

Serenity spied Botan near the base of the tree, gasping for air.  Still smirking, her eyes now a happy shade of blue, she climbed down from her perch and put an arm around her.  “You’re such a slowpoke,” she whispered, with humor in her voice.  Botan nudged her good-naturedly, and they shared a laugh.  Together, they began to walk the remaining distance to Ratoshi’s house for the reunion; soon, they could hear raucous laughter and party music.

As Botan and Serenity approached, they noticed a tall, skinny figure standing in front of the house.  This was Rumichi, who had been living with Ratoshi for some time.  She had taught Serenity all of the martial arts she knew as well as introduced her to the rest of the Urameshi team.

Her black and blue hair flying behind her, Rumichi ran the rest of the way to greet her friends and escorted them to the porch, where other people were chatting.  “Botan, why are you so sweaty?” she asked. 

Botan jerked her thumb toward Serenity.  “With this one, it’s like a never-ending game of tag,” she puffed.

“Speaking of tag, Serenity,” Rumichi said, “Kurama and I want to race in the backyard.  Maybe you can finally beat me.”

“Hmph.  The usual; I should have known," said Serenity.  "Is our dear host Ratoshi not coming this time?”

To answer her question, Rumichi pointed a short distance away, where a lean and lanky brunette was standing on the porch amidst a handful of people.  From the girl’s back grew large wings the color of ebony.  Serenity knew the small crowd was oohing and ahhing over them; she shook her head, smiling.  Ratoshi Verdesca: part Angel, part fox demon…one hundred percent the center of attention.

Rumichi, Serenity, and Kurama all left the porch and walked around to the back of the house.  Serenity whistled in amazement at the size of Ratoshi’s backyard; even though she’d been to this house countless times before, the wooded lawn that stretched behind it always took her by surprise. 

The trio all climbed up the nearest tree, each settling onto a different branch. Kurama transformed into his half-demon* form.  Serenity watched the metamorphosis: Kurama’s hair changed from red to silver, his eyes changed from green to gold, and he acquired silver fox ears and a tail.  Rumichi transformed into her half-demon form as well, gaining features reminiscent of both a wolf and a gryphon.  Her facial features became more angular, and a lion tail grew from her backside; pointed, furry ears became visible through her thick hair. 

Serenity crouched close to the ground, like a runner about to take off from a starting block, and chuckled to herself.  Don’t need special powers, she thought.  These two legs of mine work just fine.  Her eyes glowed green with determination.

Serenity heard Rumichi’s voice through the Mindlink, which allowed them to communicate telepathically across considerable distances.  :First one to the fallen tree at the far end of the yard wins.  No holds barred.:

:Sounds good to me,: she countered.

Kurama counted to three, and the race began.

*the “half-demon” form in this fan-fiction is the demon form in the original anime and manga by Yoshihiro Togashi, and a character's demon form is his or her corresponding animal.