Yusuke Uerameshi P.O.V
Damn, do I really need to placate Kuwabara so much and agree to these monthly get-togethers? Yusuke sighed as he walked through the border to the Human world that was closest to Genkis Temple. I had been Years since the old bat passed away, but still… Since becoming a demon, everything he felt was more then it use to be. Looking over the forest as he walked, Yusuke reminisced about the first time he went through these woods. Damn, was that crazy shit really over twenty years ago?
Sighing Yusuke stopped just at the back steps of the temple and took in the view. It wasn't that long ago that he was here with Keiko. Being human, Keiko had passed from an illness that her aged body just couldn't handle. In reality, she and he were forty-two years old. While Keiko aged gracefully, He had stayed the same. Looking down at himself, Yusuke clenched his fist.
"Better get this shit over with." Yusuke walked up the steps and threw open the door with a fake smile on his face. "The fun can begin the life of the party has arrived!" Yusuke shouted into the house.
"Really dude are you sure you're like, oh I don't know, in your forties." Kuwabara deadpanned at him.
"Hey, look at his face" Yusuke pointed to himself "I look no were close to that old." Moving over to sit next to Kuwabara at the low table he smirked at him.
Kuwabara just stared at him a moment as if his longtime friend was crazy. Choosing to let it go he sighed leaning his elbow on the table so he could rest his chin in his hand.
"Yusuke, I do believe that they didn't quite hear you in Demon World," Kurama stated as he rounded the corner coming into the back room with a gentle smile on his face.
"Yo, Kurama. Hows the mom?" Yusuke asked knowing she hadn't been doing that well the last year or two. She, like the rest of their human friends, was getting older.
"Mother is doing well today, though still tired." Kurama sat down at the low table with them. "How have you been doing, Yusuke?"
Yusuke side glances Kurama as if to gauge how far he could lie and get away with it. "Same as the last time you asked me." Yusuke tried to sound bored and prayed this subject was dropped.
"If you say so, Urameshi," Kuwabara said as he sighed looking over at him.
Where the hell is Hiei when you need his? Yusuke thought as he glanced over at Kuwabara. Before he could respond to his friends the very person he was thinking about spoke. "If the detective wanted to talk, he would have by now."
And that's why Hiei is my current favorite. Yusuke thought as he breathed out in relief. "Hiei." Yusuke looks up at him from over his shoulder. All Hiei did was nod before taking a seat on the window sill.
"Hiei, its a pleasure seeing you as always." Kurama chuckled as Kuwabara fumed. Typical atmosphere of us, as meetups go.
"Hn" was all that Hiei responded with. As he looked at the window.
"So I take you wanna ask a bunch of questions." Kuwabara pointed at Yusuke and huffed. Kurama for his credit just hid a chuckle behind his hand.
"Kuwabara, have you had any more demon clients lately." Kurama must have thought it best to ask for Yusuke, which was fine with him, after Kurama being his left-hand guy all these years, he trusted the fox more than he ever had during his time as the spirit detective.
Kuwabara looked over at Kurama and smiled. "Hell yeah!" Kuwabara smiled from ear to ear. "I think that they are really starting to trust me after all these years on the council." Yusuke smiled at that, Kuwabara was as hyped up as ever. When he had become King of Demon World, Yusuke had made a council to help him out with running all of Demon World, and Kuwabara was his human voice along with one other.
"I'm happy to hear that man," Yusuke said patting him on the back.
"Indeed it is good news. We have all worked so hard for there to be peace between the worlds." Kurama chimed in closing his eyes in thought. "Hiei, what do you make of the increase of clients?" Kurama then looked over to the silent fire demon.
Tilting his head toward the group Hiei narrowed his eyes. "Just proves even demons can be desperate." Hiei gave Kuwabara a smug smirk.
"Why you!" Kuwabara stood up and pointed his finger at Hiei. "look here you runt!"
"Kuwabara please." Kurama sighed. "Hiei, must you?" rubbing his temples Kurama waved at Yusuke. "And you have nothing to say?"
Yusuke just laughed looking over at Hiei. "So what put out your fire today?" Hiei was always quiet but never distracted, and that's exactly what it looked like his mind was elsewhere.
Hiei glared at Yusuke a moment before huffing and turning back to the window. Okay then… "well on another note anyone have anything to add about the demons that have been going missing?" Yusuke figured a change in subject was best, Hiei didn't seem in the mood to do anything at the moment least of all deal with them.
"A better topic would be, who will be replacing the idiot when the time comes?" Hiei said with no bite behind it as he still faced the window.
"What do you mean replace me?" Kuwabara raised a brow at the fire demon.
"Kuwabara, I believe that Hiei is only referring to the fact that you are the most aged among us." Kurama glanced over at Yusuke as if to gauge how he was handling that.
"I'm not that old guys, I'm as healthy as an ox." Kuwabara smiled while flexing his arms.
"And as stupid one." Hiei smiled as he said it, his eyes closing.
"SAY THAT TO MY FACE SHRIMP!"
"Now children" Yusuke chuckled. "Hiei has a point. The next one to go from our group with be you are your sister, as far as of old age goes."
Kurama frowned seeing Yusuke pass that off so easily. Yusuke pretended not to see the frown. "Yes, though we three are older we will not be done in by age any time soon, I, myself am over 3000 years old. Hiei is over 300 -"
"376, to be exact."
"Yes, Hiei thank you." Kurama cleared his throat and waited a moment to see if anyone else would interrupt. "While none of us want to think about this, it is just as important as the new case."
"Speck for yourself fox."
Glancing over at Hiei, Yusuke smirked. "Yo fire boy, choosing now to tune in?" Yusuke raised a brow. Though like always Hiei said nothing.
"Okay, I get it," Kuwabara said looking down at the table as he sat back down. "But I want my kid to take my place." All eyes were on Kuwabara, even Hiei whipped his hand around almost falling off the window sill.
"What kid?" The three of them said at Kuwabara, who blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, ah, Yukina and I are having a baby. She's about two months along."
"That's great man! Congrats!" Yusuke pulled Kuwabara into a hug slapping his back.
"Yes, congratulations." Kurama smiled while side glancing Hiei. Yusuke too glanced over at Hiei form over Kuwabara's shoulder and smirked at the fire demon. Hiei looked ready to murder Kuwabara but forced himself to sit back down.
"Hey uh, Yusuke?" Kuwabara separated from him and looked him in the eye with a severe expression.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Yukina thinks its a high chance we will have a girl… If its okay with you, we would like to name her Keiko."
Yusuke gave Kuwabara a soft almost heartbreaking smile and patted him on the shoulder. "I think she would like that."
"Next topic," Hiei said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.
"Yes, agreed. So when Kuwabara passes, his child will take his spot on the council. That's settled. Now for the case?" Kurama moved them right along as to pacify Hiei.
"I got nothin," Kuwabara said surging.
"Its the same for me as well," Kurama said looking at Yusuke. "There just aren't any leads."
"Man this bites." Yusuke flopped back on the ground. "Only thing we know is that demons are going missing in both worlds. And not even spirit world knows what's going on."
"Hiei, have you been able to find anything?" Kurama asked the fire demon, but he didn't answer.
"Hiei?" Yusuke questioned as he turned his to him.
"Hn" is all they got from him. Yusuke looked over at Kurama and sat up, gesturing to Hiei. Kurama just shook his head not knowing what to say about Hiei's behavior the whole time.
"Ah, you okay there Hiei?" Yusuke tried again to get him to respond. Hiei seemed to snap out of it and stood.
"Are we done here?" Hiei put his hands in his pockets looking ever the typical stoic fire demon that he was, though his behavior as of late was questionable.
"Yeah man, if you gotta go, then go." Yusuke watched Hiei make a swift exit as if he couldn't wait to leave. Granted Hiei wasn't a people person or any type of breathing being type of person in general, but over the years he had been some semblance of normal with himself and group.
"Hiei has been rather distracted as of late." Kurama had seemed to hear Yusuke's thoughts.
"Yeah, shorty didn't even pick that much of a fight with me today." Kuwabara was looking in the direction Hiei had left. "I wonder if it has to do with that girl?"
What girl? Hiei hates everyone."What are you talking about Kuwabara?" Yusuke looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
"Oh, about six months ago Hiei brought a girl to me that was knocked out and injured pretty badly." Kuwabara had his hand on his chin in thought as he recalled the girl. "A little thing, 12 maybe? White hair and purple eyes. She was a fire demon according to Hiei, but that's all he would say about her."
Hiei hanging around a kid? The guy can't even stand Kuwabara. Yusuke thought for a moment as he processed that information before speaking. "It has been around six months the Hiei has been acting strange, even taking off for days at a time with no word. Which isn't unlike him, but we always have a way to get ahold of him, this time around he has been completely falling off the radar." Yusuke thought about the girl again, nothing described would lead him to believe she was somehow related but then again he and Yukina look nothing alike either.
"Unfourcently we have no real way of knowing the girls' age, the way in which a demon age varies from species to species but the general rule of thumb is that for every 14 years for a human is around 1 for a demon." Kurama waved a hand at himself and Yusuke. "That's why we still look as we do."
"I guess your right," Kuwabara said looking back and forth between him and Yusuke.
Yusuke took that moment to really look at Kuwabara while he and Kurama talked about who this girl could be to Hiei. Kuwabara's once orange hair was gray now. Still the six foot something giant he always was, even in shape for sure. Though he had crows feet and laugh lines. He wasn't as fast as he uses to be, nor could he take a beating like the old days. Kuwabara was no longer the 14-year-old street punk that took Yusuke's daily beatings like it was nothing. Kuwabara's ever-aging face was a daily reminder that Yusuke, though born human, just wasn't anymore. He would outlive all their human friends. Already Genki was gone, now Keiko. Both gone of illnesses that just didn't get better. Their fragile human bodies giving out to strain. Yusuke for all his might and abilities didn't have the power to save them. He would have Hiei and Kurama for years to come but what good was it to make new human friends if this heart-wrenching pain was what if felt like to lose them each time.
"Yusuke, earth to Yusuke." Kuwabara waved his hands in front of Yusuke's face.
"Oh, my bad. I wasn't listening." Yusuke spoke quietly glancing at them both waiting for them to say something.
"No problem Urameshi," Kuwabara said putting his hands down.
"Hey, Kurama do you know where Hiei lives?" Yusuke asked him effectively changing the subject so that they couldn't question him.
"No, I'm afraid not, why?" Kurama looked thought full for a moment as if wondering what that had to do with anything.
"I want to go to his place and get a reason as to why he's been disappearing and who the girl was."
"I don't think that's wise Yusuke. Hiei would tell us if there was something to know." Kurama put both elbows on the table putting his fingers together in front his face, with a look that said this is a bad idea all over it.
"If we don't corner him he's not going to tell whatever it is till it blows up in his face." Yusuke deadpanned.
"I agree with Kurama. Going and poking around in his business just seems like a bad idea."
"Your both no fun." Yusuke stuck his tongue out at them. Kurama narrowed his eyes at him but didn't say anything. Yusuke smiled at Kurama cuz they both knew that Yusuke would dig up the information anyways.
"Yusuke we should get back to Demon World, we have a council meeting to prep for." Kurama stood up and made his way to the door.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I probably won't be there, but I'm sure you will fill me in." Kuwabara said standing as well.
"No problem Kuwabara." Yusuke stood up and followed Kurama out of Genkis temple. They were silent the whole way back to Raizens Castle. Giving Yusuke time to really take in Kurama's appearance for the first in a while. Though Kurama was fourth three years old, only a year older than him, that was just the age of his human life. In reality, Kurama was much older than that. Yusuke wasn't sure of his exact age but know that fox demons like Kurama gained a tail for every 1000 years of life and Kurama had four. Making him at least 3000 years old. Despite all that he looked maybe twenty-one at best. I was hard for Kurama to tell his human mother, Shiori, about being a demon. But she had embraced him with open arms as well as all us other demons. She was sick right now, the prospect of her getting better due to her advanced age wasn't good. We were all waiting for her to go at this point. The thought making Yusuke again feel that pain in his chest. He, himself, looked basically the same as he did when he first returned to the Human world after the first Demon World Tournament. The only thing that had really changed is that he stopped slicking his hair back unless he was in public for some event in the human world. He had even stopped wearing human world clothes for the most part unless he had to. As it was, Yusuke was currently wearing the same outfit has Raizen, with his demon markings out and proud.
Walking into his castle, Yusuke went right to his study ignoring Kurama and everyone else. He wanted to know were Hiei lived so he could confront him. He was the king, after all, it was his job to make sure his Right-hand man was doing okay.
"Hokushin" Yusuke called out once he took his seat at his desk, he didn't have to wait long before said demon came into his study.
"Yes, Toshin?" Hokushin had taken to calling him that since he won the right to be king. So does pretty much everyone else in Demon World now. Yusuke wasn't complaining though, he had learned that it was their way of showing him respect, the fact that he looked like Toshin Raizen helped out too he supposed, what with the fangs, claws demon markings and wearing outfits.
"I want you to find out were Hiei lives."
"Hiei?" Hokushin questioned him with a raised brow.
"Yeah, I think there might be something wrong. And since Hiei doesn't tell anyone about himself that doesn't involve this place I have no idea were the fucker actually lives." Yusuke waved his hands around in a dramatic manner.
"As you wish Toshin." Hokushin bowed and left the room.
See that fucker try and dodge me now. Yusuke thought before getting to work.