Broomsticks And Owls

I have always loved "What If's." What if Luke had killed Vader in Star Wars Episode VI. What if Harry had fallen in love with Hermione instead of Ginny? All of that. But one "What if?" that Distortia (or Ms. Elsewhere as she goes by now) and I would like to explore is in response to Post eleven on This Page. We're going to write an alternate ending as to if Ouki were to say yes to Damien's proposal. So, here goes.

[This will take place directly after my post with Damien].

"I will ru.... " Ouki's words got stuck in her throat. She felt a sudden panic, and then she was unable to breathe. A presure was building on her lungs, and the panic rose as she recognised what it was; She was drowing.

Ouki fell past Damien and onto the floor like a ton of bricks, cracking her head on the edge of the sink. She lay on the floor, clutching at her throat. She stared up at Damien who's eyes told it all; she was dying. He collapsed to the floor and tried to hold her, but she struggled and convulsed. She knew what she was going through and how long she had left becuase she had mastered this torture so well. She could not counter it now because she could not speak; and she didn't know the source.

Suddenly she went unconcious and her head filled with the most vivid images. Damien was there, and behind him a beautiful forest filled with colourful trees and flowers. Behind her was the rushing sound of a violent river. Damien was reaching out to her, his face warm and inviting, but sad. Ouki wanted to go to him, but the sound of the river was so intense, she had to turn around. There, standing on the bank of the river was Chi Inu.

Ouki stared at him for a long moment, and as she did, the sound of the river faded away. Inu stood motionless beside the water, and then, he tilted his head and smiled at her playfully. He beckoned her to him with one wave of his hand, and she felt her foot automatically step forward one step. But her head turned back to search for Damien. She literally turned around, but her feet were stepping backwards now. Ouki brought her hand up, reaching out to Damien, and he stayed where he was, his hand extended too, still inviting, still so sad. And then Ouki felt Inu's arms wrap around her and his warm breath on her neck as he held her there. He turned her around and held her by the shoulders. Ouki looked up into Inu's face and saw that he was angry. He released one of her shoulders to hold on hand in front of her face. He raised his pointer finger and shook it sternly at her. And then he grabbed her in a strong hold with both of his arms and squeezed. She felt herself going down the river, going down the river with Inu holding her. He was going to take her, and keep her for good.

Then, a strong tug in the opposite direction. Ouki felt a warm hand around her waist as she began moving back upstream. She looked up at Inu, who was simply staring, dumbstruck. Then, his grip slipped from her and he sailed down the stream, howling in anger. Ouki looked to her savior, and cried with joy: It was Damien. He had gotten into the water himself and had saved her. Pulling her to shore, he sat down next to her, and embraced her. It was different from any embrace that Inu had given her. No, Damien's embrace was warm, freeing, and she basked in it, feeling it wash over her.

She opened her eyes, looking straight up at the ceiling. Damien was giving her mouth to mouth, and immediately removed himself and rolled her over as she began coughing up water. Several quarts of it flowed out as she coughed and vomited, until finally it became but a trickle.

Wiping her mouth, she sat up, looking Damien in the eyes. For some reason, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her, a weight that she hadn't even noticed up until now. Somehow, she felt like she could leave without a single itch in her conscious, nothing but her and Damien. She didn't even feel a bit compelled to stay for Inu, or even for killing. Smiling, she kissed Damien. Somehow, she didn't know how, but somehow, Damien had broken her from Inu. Breaking the kiss, she whispered in his ear, "Let's go."

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The original terror, and concern that had been spread across Damien's face quickly turned into a grin, and then into a great smile. "Ok, let's pack our stuff." The two set to work immediately, with little words exchanged in between. They wanted to be ready and fast, so that nobody could walk in and ask what they were doing. That would not have been good. They had hardly even unpacked, and they were already re-packing. In five minutes, they were done.

"Where do you suppose we go first?" Ouki asked Damien.

"Just trust me," he replied. Then, grasping her around the waist, and holding his suitcase, the two dissapparated away from the hideout, and reappeared at the Fukuoka trainstation.

A pulse shot through the house that assaulted the senses of every inhabitant. Chi Inu especially knew the cause and effect of such an occurrence. He turned his head to greet it with anticipation. “Impossible.” He whispered, and was thrown from where he stood, his body flipping upside down and slamming through the wall. Dust billowed and then settled. He lay unconscious for several minutes, and in his absence, he dreamed a very vivid dream; and it was Ouki who dominated it.

She was fighting him. She had started with a hard punch to his face, and the pain was so real. Inu had stumbled back, shocked that she would dare to attack him. She moved forward again and kneed him in the groin, causing him to fall to his knees. His vision was blurry, every fibre of his body was in agony. She stood above him, and he felt the pain subside enough to reach out and grab her legs. She fell back fast and smacked her head on the ground; the sound was sickening, but she was still able to turn and try to crawl away. He grabbed her ankles and pulled her under him. He flipped her over and pinned her down with his body. Her face was furious, and there was dark red blood oozing from her eyebrow. Then, she stopped struggling and her expression changed. She looked past him and smiled. Inu felt a blunt object shatter across his head. The force of the blow and he threw him off of Ouki. Laying on the ground, he rolled from side to side, clutching the back of his head, feeling actual tears wetting his face. Someone kicked him in the ribs, turning him over. And he stared up into the light and saw Ouki standing in front of it, like a black haired angel, and someone else. They leaned in closer and Inu was able to see both of their faces. Their wands were pointing at him, and Ouki looked at Damien, who knodded. Inu heard his own voice call out in terror.

Inu woke with a start, and had his own senses back again. His collision with the wall was nothing for his quick healing body. Standing up he cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders and then moved swiftly to the stairs. All around him the house's foundation had been rocked as if an earthquake had hit the place. He barely noticed, hell bent on his destination. He almost flew up them and when he reached Ouki’s door, he hit it so hard that it cracked and rocked open. Breathing quickly, Inu entered the room. They were gone. Their bags packed, hastily. Inu closed his eyes and tried to feel Ouki. She had severed the binding.

Chi Inu fell to his knees and felt something well up in his chest he had never really known before; loss. He could not help but give in to the emotion of it, and he brought his face to the floor and screamed, his cheeks hot with sadness and soon, wet with tears. Then a more familiar emotion surfaced. Anger. Revenge. Inu stood up and started pulling the sheets off the bed. He crawled around the mattress, smelling, stroking the fabric. He stood up and looked around the room once more and found what he needed. He stalked into the bathroom and picked up a hairbrush. In it were strands of long black hair. Ouki’s. Inu smiled. The thought of what he was going to do to Ouki and Damien when he found them was so empowering he felt himself again. The ministry would have to wait. Right now, it was time to go hunting. Inu turned toward the door again and stopped. Neko was leaning on the door frame; blood had streaked her face.

"What... the hell was that?" she demanded.

"I'll tell you everything once we are on our way. Now go get cleaned up. You're bleeding." Inu took Neko's face in his hands and kissed her, and then released her so suddenly she almost fell over. He charged off to his room to prepare.

The pair apparated at the Fukuoka train station. Funny, Damien thought. We were only just arriving here a day ago. The two moved quickly through the station, going to the ticket booth for the Shinkansen. Arriving at the booth, Damien asked for two tickets to Yamaguchi prefecture. Paying for the tickets, the two turned and walked to the bathroom for a quick pitstop.

Right before they went in, Damien said to Ouki. "Ouki, no killing on this trip, ok? It doesn't matter what happens, we cannot kill."

Ouki pulled the disabled toilet door shut and pushed Damien further in as she did so. She locked the door and then crouched down and started rummaging through her bag, assessing what she would need. Her mind was racing. Damien had told her they couldn't kill, and the idea of it made her feel hung over. Her mouth felt dry, and her head ached. She paused and pulled out one of her knives. She held it for a moment in her hands, rolling the handle between her fingers. She expertly flipped the blade over, holding the metal, and whipped it against the stone wall, piercing it. Standing up, she stood for a moment and at that moment she realised something. She had no urge to kill. The knife felt good in her hand, but only as a weapon of skill. She turned around and saw that Damien was watching her.

"when I was very .. young..." she started quietly, pulling the knife from the wall. "i was ... terribly afraid of the sight of blood. It made me faint, if the memory is correct." she pressed the tip of her knife into her finger and punctured it. The sharp pain made Ouki jump, and as she watched the blood bubble out of her finger, she quickly put it in her mouth. The taste was metally, and her head was spinning. she wretched, and ran to the toilet, emptying her stomach. She reached up and flushed the toilet, and looked on the white toilet seat where her hands clutched the edges, and her finger had smeared blood there. The sight of it made her dizzy, and she fell to one side, hitting her forehead on the porcelin bowl.

"Woah, woah," Damien yelped as he reached for Ouki, picking her head up off of the toilet. Leaning her against him, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the cut. Muttering a spell [which escapes me for the time being], he healed the cut, leaving only a faint scar behind. "No more violence for you," he whispered in Ouki's ear, waiting for her to regain consciousness.

Ouki swooned and turned her face toward Damien's voice. She opened her eyes but squinted from the light and the pain in her head. With Damien's help she stood up and made her way to the sink.
"Oh..." Ouki felt weak in the knees but she held her breath and washed her hands clean of the blood. She looked back at the toilet. "Public toilets are disgusting.." she observed. She took out her wand and cleaned up. The toilet was almost too clean. She looked at Damien and shrugged.
"let's get the hell out of here!" she declared and took Damien by the hand.
Ouki waited on the train platform still clutching Damien’s hand. She could feel the tension in his stance, and understood it. They needed to get as far away as possible before Inu knew they were gone. Ouki pulled her hand away from Damien and brought it up to her mouth, catching her breath.
“He knows.” she whispered. She turned around and checked the entrance to the train station. Their train arrived, and she moved to board it. Even as she sat down and the train was on its way, she knew he would never stop until he found them. Ouki felt fear welling inside her. She swallowed hard. She had to find the strength to fight these new emotions and to use them to her advantage. Be strong. Fight. And live.

Damien took the aisle seat. However, he kept glancing past Ouki and out the window, just in case. This is going to be a long ride he thought. He constantly scanned up and down the aisle as well. The fear was biting into him. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he began to sweat. Why the heck am I so scared? he asked himself. He looked out at the mountains flying by. At every peak, he kept thinking he'd see Inu waiting there, with his wand ready.

But he didn't. And after the first hour, Damien began to relax. They were on their way, and Inu was back in Fukuoka. They were safe, he finally decided. How wrong he was.

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Chapter 2

Inu put his arm around his tiny companion and kissed the top of her head. She looked around the carriage as they sat at their table. Her cat like eyes bored into every soul that was there.
"Where are they? Why don't we search this place?" she hissed.
"Dearest. I know where they are. Be patient. I want it to be a surprise." Inu stroked her hair.
"She knows you're coming." Neko sulked.
Inu looked down at her and leaned back. He put his hand under her chin and tilted her face to his.
"Jealous love?" he smiled. She pulled away. He grabbed her face with one large hand. She let him, she loved it that way. He looked into her face for a moment, and then kissed her so hard that when he withdrew, her lip was bleeding. She brought her fingers up to her lips, felt the blood and licked it off her finger in one long stroke. Inu knodded.
"Nothing to be jealous. She's too... human for me." Inu scoffed. "I prefer the company of... animals." Neko's breath increased slightly, and she smiled at Inu, he teeth stained slightly with her own blood.
"Come, let us walk." he said, taking her hand and pulling her into the isle. A man sitting in the seat across the isle had been watching them. He looked disgusted. Inu stared back at him. He pulled Neko back and held her roughly under his arm. She rolled with it, and played with her increasingly swelling lip.
"Do you think she is being mistreated?" Inu asked the man.
"Are you alright miss?" the man spoke only to Neko.
"Are you alright, dearest?" Inu pulled away from Neko and held her by the shoulders, inspecting her. Neko let him. Then she looked over at the man.
"Oh, I think I would be so much better..." she climbed into the seat next to the man. "If you would kiss my lip better?" she placed her hand on his chest. The man was afronted and backed up against the window. She got onto her knees and leaned into him, grabbed his face and kissed him. As she pulled back she muttered a spell and waved bye with her fingers to the man. Getting back into the aisle, Inu lead her away, and the man was left stunned. He loosened his collar. He was starting to sweat. He would be dead with the hour.

Standing up, Damien told Ouki, "I'm going to go find a bathroom." Leaning over, he kissed her lightly, and then went down the aisle in search of a lavatory. Looking out the window, he saw more mountains racing by. Pretty soon, they'd be off of Kyushu and back onto Honshu... I still can't believe we escaped this easily, he thought to himself. Then he entered the lavatory.