Author's Note: Well hello everyone, and welcome to the first chapter of my new story! Hopefully it will progress further than my other one, Snow Melt, which was sadly put on hiatus in favor of working on this one. Please tell me if you notice any mistakes, and of course let me know if you enjoyed the first chapter! The more reviews I get, the happier and more motivated I am to write ;)
Kurama-OC pairing, rated M for language and possible future sexual themes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho; I do however, own the OCs that show up in the story.
Chapter one: Insanity's Mistress
"The demon won't talk." A burly looking salamander demon with orange colored skin said while coming out of a room that was empty except for a haggard looking rat demon.
"Have you tried everything?" Yomi asked the orange demon.
"Hai."
"Then get Kyouran and have her extract the information." Yomi said and waited for the unruly she-demon to appear. A few minutes passed and she didn't show.
"Yomi-sama," a young demon came running up to the old goat demon.
"What is it? Where is Kyouran?" he snapped.
"That's just it, sir, no one can find her." the young demon flinched when Yomi reacted violently and punched the wall.
That damn demoness just does whatever she wants, doesn't she understand the position she is in? Yomi thought angrily but soon regained his cool composure. He knew about everything that went on in his territory, so he would just have to find Kyouran himself.
Cream colored hair billowed in the wind. Eyes, a misleadingly soft shade of purple, gazed out over the land. Kyouran sat on the edge of a cliff with one leg hanging over and the other drawn up, her left elbow resting on the knee, her right arm behind her and keeping her propped up. She had traveled just outside of Gandara's boarders and therefore just outside of Yomi's reach. She was terribly bored with the work that she did for the goat demon, and incredibly fed up with his superior attitude, thinking that she was under his control. I can leave anytime I want… she would always repeat that same line, yet she never acted upon it. She sighed and brought her other leg up to her chest and wrapped both her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees now. What's the next step in my life? She often came to this cliff to watch the thundering purple clouds of the Makai and try and figure out what she wanted to do with herself. She didn't want to go back to being an assassin, that would be almost as boring as working for Yomi, and she had already been there, done that. So what was there for and ex-assassin, with no skills other than to kill and break people? Every time she came to this cliff she would mull over these same thoughts but had yet to find an answer to them. She sighed again and stood, pulling her mask up over her mouth and nose. She started making her way back to Yomi's territory, and could already imagine his voice nagging her as she continued to walk towards where she was needed.
"Kyouran!" Yomi bellowed as Kyouran entered the interrogation wing of the giant tower-like castle in the center of Gandara. He stalked up to her, trying to intimidate her but failed miserably.
"Yomi." She greeted calmly. His face twitched at the informality.
"Where have you been? I needed you two hours ago!" his decibel level had lowered considerably but his tone still showed how furious he was.
"I was out." Her vague and sarcastic reply accompanied by a shoulder shrug was met with more irritation.
"Out where? Out of Gandara? Because I couldn't locate you anywhere and you are not permitted to do that." Yomi growled. Kyouran looked at him and started chuckling to herself, which only pissed Yomi off further. "And what is so funny?"
"You never get this riled up with anyone but me." she lowered her voice to a seductive drawl and leaned up to his face. "Better be careful or I'll start thinking I'm special." She gently snapped her teeth from under her mask near his ears as she walked by him and into the interrogation room with the still chained demon. He looked up with bloodshot but fierce eyes and snickered at her. She didn't react, just simply leaned against the wall opposite him and stared. Roughly half an hour passed before the demon started yelling profanities at Kyouran, threatening her and challenging her to do her worst. She kept her cool, waiting for his ranting to cease. Once he had somewhat quieted, Kyouran lowered her mask from her face and just barely parted her lips. Mist started seeping out of her mouth, spilling through the air and onto the floor.
"What the hell is this? You expect me to be frightened of a little mist? What good will it do you? I already know you are in here, there's no point trying to hide your presence!" he started shouting again. Kyouran stayed silent and continued to let the mist trickle from her lips and soon it had shrouded most of the room in a hazy fog. "Is this the worst you can do?" the demon shouted again. Silence greeted his question and he had to squint to make out Kyouran's shadowy silhouette. The shadow started moving around in the mist, winking in and out of the chained demon's sight.
"What are you afraid of?" the whispered question in his ear startled the demon.
"I'm not afraid of anything! You can't scare me!" the demon was becoming flustered. The question made him think briefly of the things he was scared of, filling his mind with unbidden and terrifying images. Kyouran slipped through the mist, whispering more questions and dodging the demons fists when he took a swing at her with the limited amount of movement the chains offered. The mist was taking its effect, causing her victim to slowly retreat into his own mind. "What causes you pain?" She kept whispering letting the power in her voice help coax the demon into the trance. Once he had stopped moving and responding she brushed her fingers across his shoulder making sure that he wasn't awake.
"Please let me in; you'll let me in wont you?" Kyouran asked in a sweet voice while she placed her hands gently on the demons neck and trailed them up to the sides of his face. His body relaxed as Kyouran took control and slipped into his mind. She picked his brain apart, bit by bit, all the while letting his mind conjure up whatever nightmares plagued him, until she found all the information she wanted. She left his mind, leaving it fractured and dysfunctional. When she stood he grabbed her leg, his eyes staring off into some unknown world and mumbling nonsense; she kicked his hand off and when he reached for her again she stomped on his hand and broke it. The demon screeched, but still his eyes showed that he was lost in a world of horror and darkness. "Disgusting and pathetic." She spat while pulling her mask back up and left the room which was now empty of her toxic mist.
Standing just outside the door was Yomi, who spoke to her as she strode past. "That took an awful long time." His jab at Kyouran's skill irked her but she turned to him with a schooled expression.
"I was feeling exceptionally lazy today, so I let him do most of the work." Yomi's smug expression turned into a slight frown but he let Kyouran go without saying anything else after she relayed the information she had gotten. Two guards came to dispose of the babbling demon that was lost in the insanity of his broken mind.
Later that night Kyouran was laying on top of her bed, waiting for when dinner would be served, when her door opened. Yomi walked into the room and up to the side of her bed.
"You should really knock, who knows what kind of naughty things I could have been doing when you walked in. oh wait, that's right, you know everything that goes on everywhere in your territory. What a perv." She said with a sneer just to annoy him while letting him know she was not happy with the lack of courtesy. She looked at him currently towering over her and saw his face twitch but he gave no response to her jibe.
"We need to discuss your lack of adherence to the terms of our agreement." He said. Kyouran snorted at him and waved her hand dismissively.
"There's nothing to discuss, I went for a breather, that's all." Yomi grabbed her wrist in a tight grip to stop her little wave. Kyouran's expression hardened in displeasure.
"Don't forget that you are under my control and will obey my commands." He growled as his grip tightened. Kyouran left her wrist in his hand and stood while using the skin to skin contact to take control of his sensory receptors. With just a thought she sent unimaginable pain coursing through his body making him jerk his hand away.
"Don't forget, Yomi-sama, that if I had wished it so, I could have escaped. I'm only here because I feel like it." Kyouran circled Yomi now, trailing her fingers across any bare skin she could find, causing a multitude of different feelings and emotions to surface with her power. He glowered at her, but didn't move to stop her. "Don't give me that sour expression," she stopped in front of him and traced the lines of his face. "You'll get wrinkles." This time she had pleasure run through his body, though the only change was a slight flush on his cheeks. She dropped her hands after a moment and was about to leave when Yomi stopped her by placing his hands on her shoulders. The force of his grip changed as if he was debating whether to throttle her or hug her. She sighed and decided for him by gently removing his hands, her shoulder sagging in sudden exhaustion; teasing Yomi was fun but at the end of it all it still required energy and she was still bored as hell.
"You will not leave Gandara again unless I give you permission." He commanded in a tone meant to discourage any arguing.
"I will do what I please." She insisted. This time there was no debate as Yomi lunged for her neck, but stopped millimeters from touching her. She smirked, knowing that he couldn't physically touch her bare skin. Of course Yomi could harm her many other ways, but he only growled low in his throat and left in a flourish, slamming the door after him. Maybe I shouldn't tease him so much, I'm not invaluable so he can try and get rid of me any time he feels like it. But then again, it isn't all that important to be able to stay here. The thought of just leaving flitted through Kyouran's mind, but then she glanced at her plush bed and decided it would just be easier to stay as Yomi's rebellious little pet for a while longer.
The next few weeks went much the same with Kyouran running off and Yomi yelling at her, settling into a routine. Finally something interesting happened, although it didn't take away Kyouran's boredom for very long. News of Raizen's impending death and his son being the new king upon said death reached Gandara very quickly.
"So Yomi, what are you planning on doing?" Kyouran asked him as he paced in her room. He didn't answer her, and she wasn't expecting a reply. He would often visit her when he wanted to discuss something or wanted a place to think. At first it had greatly bugged Kyouran, but eventually she gave up trying to bar him from her room and let him do what he wanted. I wonder if that's how he feels when I ignore him and do whatever I want. She thought as she waited for his pacing to stop or for him to leave.
"I'm going to contact an old friend of mine." He finally said and left her room as quickly as he came. Kyouran thought about what he said for a moment before dismissing it and thinking about other more important things.
Kurama was settling into his room at Yomi's castle after being appointed his military advisor. He was trying to think of a way to get out of this, but since Yomi had threatened his family he didn't have much of a choice. After he had checked for any messages with the cell he had linked his home phone to, he started unpacking what he would need while he stayed here. He heard voices outside and stopped what he was doing to listen.
"What do you mean she left four hours ago?!" Kurama heard Yomi shouting in the hall followed by a meek reply from another demon. "Then find her!" Yomi hissed. Kurama mulled over who this person could be to get Yomi so worked up. He didn't have enough information, but cataloged this little incident for later. He heard Yomi approaching his room and waited for him to enter. "Kurama, I request that you attend the war unification meeting in an hour." Kurama nodded and Yomi left him alone.
After the meeting, Kurama decided it would be nice to walk around the castle a bit while he thought. He was planning on contacting Jin and the others that they had made friends with at the Dark Tournament and training them, but needed to figure out a place to keep them while they got stronger. As he made his way back to his room, he came upon a hallway adjacent to the one where his room was located that held an eerie feeling. As he continued down the dark hallway he found a door that was locked but held the scent of a female demon. It was stale, suggesting the tenant had been out for a while. He wondered if this was the room of the she-demon Yomi had been upset about earlier. Again he cataloged the information, waiting for it to come in handy and continued to his room.
"Ah ha ha ha! Satsuki you're a mad genius! I can't believe I've never thought of that!" Kyouran took another shot of some very strong liquor as her friend laughed with her. She had sensed coyote demon's presence around two hours ago when she was taking a walk around Gandara and invited her old friend for a drink.
"Well of course you haven't, you fuck with people's heads. There's no need for you to resort to creative physical torture. What exactly do you do to them again?" Satsuki took another shot as well. Both demons were slightly buzzed by now, but kept the alcohol coming.
"My mist and voice are laced with my yoki which causes my victims to enter a coma-like state. After they enter this state of unconsciousness I invade their mind and once inside I create a separate dimensional space in there and lock them in, leaving them to decorate it with whatever nightmares that lay buried in their hearts. Then I can literally just peruse like I'm in the market, taking what I want or need until I'm finished." Kyouran's nonchalant reply made Satsuki snort.
"Oh come now Kyouran, I've seen the masterpieces you've created. Bat shit crazy and completely insane. Some worse than others. What do you do to make them like that? It seems to run in your family." Satsuki gave a wicked smirk.
Kyouran grimaced, thinking about her deranged family members, but then focused on Satsuki's question and answered again in a nonchalant tone, "depending on what I do to them the insanity can be mild or severe. Picking apart their minds the way I do causes damage, and renders most of their cognitive functions useless. If I happen to be feeling generous I will sometimes leave them mostly intact, and slightly able to function. And like I said before, I lock them inside a separate dimension in their own minds; they never really come out, unless I let them of course, and even then there is permanent damage to their psyche." Satsuki laughed at how normal it seemed for Kyouran to talk about causing people to go insane.
"You really know how to have fun, ne?" Satsuki continued downing the alcohol and ordering another bottle for the two of them. Kyouran took another swig before answering.
"Well I used to. I suppose to some people this kind of thing might seem interesting, but I'm so bored of it. It's the same thing every time, there's no challenge or excitement." She sighed and looked to her friend for advice.
"Well then maybe it's time to move on and find something else that catches your interest." Satsuki's words were ones that had run through Kyouran's mind plenty of times, offering little help with reaching a solution to the problem.
"I've thought of that many times," frustration seeped its way into Kyouran's voice and she took it out on the new bottle that was set on the table. "I don't know what to do! I've honed my skills to be a killer, to mess with people's heads. I had my sickly sweet fun when I was living with my mom and sister; it got boring so I became an assassin. That too became boring, so when Yomi offered to work for him I thought it would be fun. But now he thinks he has control of me, and the only fun I have anymore is pissing him off. What is there left for me to do?" she finished off the bottle and threw it across the room at some drunken, purple-scaled demon who had been making obscene gestures at her and Satsuki for a good ten minutes.
"Kyouran, you're what, 640 years old? This is the age where most high strung demons start settling down. If it were any demon but you, I would suggest finding a mate." Satsuki kept her eyes on Kyouran while talking, and decapitated the angry purple demon who had stormed over after having been hit with the empty sake bottle.
"A mate?" Kyouran considered the option, but threw it out when she remembered how well that went with the rest of her family. "You're right," Kyouran smiled at Satsuki. "If it was any other demon maybe, but I'm just not suited for that kind of thing."
"Ha! I can just imagine those family gatherings." Satsuki cackled at her own joke and Kyouran dropped her forehead against the table.
"I don't even wanna think about that." Kyouran whined. Satsuki reached over and patted her head in sympathy. Kyouran and Satsuki continued to chat and drink until they couldn't see straight.
"Aaahh, what time s'it?" Satsuki and Kyouran stumbled out into the street, leaning heavily on each other to stay upright.
"Ha ha ha, who caressss, I'll bet you…I'll bet you Yomi is friggen pissed at…at me. S-stupid ole goat." Kyouran stuttered through her half thought sentence as she followed Satsuki to the place she was staying at. They dragged themselves up the stairs to a small apartment and collapsed on the bed together.
"You'll gets inta trouble, if ya stay here t'night, won't cha?" Satsuki mumbled with her face half covered by a pillow.
Kyouran pulled her mask up before she said, "Who cares, he always forgives… forgives me. I think he secretly liiikesss me." Kyouran snorted at her own statement, her drunken mind supplying her with hilarious images of Yomi pathetically confessing his undying love for her. This sent her into a fit of giggles, and Satsuki couldn't help but start laughing as well even though she had no idea why, turning into full blown hysterical laughter until the two passed out.
In the morning Kyouran woke up with a furious headache, and helped herself to a hot shower. The water and steam helped lessen her torment a bit, and when she was done she woke Satsuki with a not so gentle nudge.
"Get up ya lazy bum. You reek of alcohol and its making my headache worse." She snipped and then went to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of them.
Satsuki groaned and slowly sat up to glare at Kyouran. "Don't be so bitchy just cause you're hung over; I'm in pain too you know." She kept grumbling to herself as she went to take a shower.
After breakfast Kyouran said goodbye to her longtime friend and started making her way back to Yomi's castle. She snuck around to the back entrance and lowered her yoki to almost nothing to avoid detection and flitted up to the safety of her room. Once she had the door shut and locked she fell on her bed and decided to try and sleep off her hang over.
The next morning as Kurama got dressed he detected a pathetic amount of yoki near his room. It must be that female from the other day; I wonder where she has been. The thought must have also been going through Yomi's mind as well because shortly after Kurama heard him storming over to the creepy room. He heard yelling coming from the room, and what sounded like airborne objects as the smaller yoki signature suddenly flared and then disappeared.
Walking out of his room Kurama ran into a seething Yomi. "Having difficulties?" he asked in a measured tone. Yomi clearly didn't want Kurama knowing about the altercation and calmed himself.
"She is a handful." He grumbled and then gestured for Kurama to follow him. The red head did so and they talked about Kurama's plans.
After the meeting with Yomi, Kurama contacted the demons he was planning to train and Genkai, to set up a training facility on Genkai's property. Over the next couple of days he arranged everything and then announced to Yomi that he would be going to the human realm for a while.