Charm in War
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho albeit I do own Hatsune, Kuraiya, Rahvanna, the entire Maiyugubi and Nittanuya clans and whatever else isn't YYH related.
Summary: Sequel to Sweetheart and Enemy. While training and taking the time to discover her true origins, Hatsune encounters the reason for turmoil in the Makai. KuramaxOCxYusuke
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Quick Author's Note: This story will be like the last chapter of S&E- third person POV overall with first person (Hatsune's) POV flashbacks and insights. = ] Enjoy.
Chapter One: Books
"Why is a Maiyugubi mage of your standard aligned with a demon and his reign?" asked the tall and temporarily powerless mage. Talismans were bound to his wrists which limited his power and revealed it at the same time.
"Why is a Maiyugubi mage of your lower standard walking into demon territory and questioning me?" Hatsune asked him in return as she stared him straight into his veiled face. She waited for his response, but it was cut short by Yusuke's distant yelling. "Shall I take you to get acquainted with the ruler of the region?"
Still staring down at her, he shook his head. "We will meet again." He turned on his feet and both he and the other mage walked back into the forest as Yusuke sauntered over in time to catch the last few seconds of their appearance.
"So, what was that about?" he asked her, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Wouldn't worry too much about it, Yusuke. Just some mid-leveled mage asking me of my business here. You scared him off apparently- be happy." She looked at him with a smile dancing on her lips.
Usually he returned the smile, but Yusuke was nothing short of serious today- those mages weren't the first uninvited guests today. A few random forest visitors ventured into the land and tried to cause some minor damage. As Yusuke told the short story, they took a few steps and the monks in training took care of them.
"Well, while you won't be seeing those low lives again, we'll be seeing those mages again." Hatsune turned on her heel and walked away from the edge of the territory. She had a book on her mind that she needed to read- one that Koenma had given her before she left.
In her room, she flipped through the pages of the old and mildly dusty book that Koenma had pulled from one of the oldest shelves in the great Reikai library. Titled Mages of Makai, she knew why Koenma gave it to her. First it was the gem from Kurama and now the book from Koenma. To top it off, a visit from the mages themselves made her more curious about the particular clan that she had her own origins tied to. Reading deeper into their known history, Hatsune came across the hierarchy of the predominantly matriarchal society. For many years, the Maiyugubi mages were led by a small group of four male elders. In their nearer recent history, one female elder broke the matriarchal ways and was admitted as a ruling body- Anta was her name.
She flipped through a few more pages and came across the standard powers of their kind, More specialized spells and attacks were listed, but there were a few that were specific to people- like the elders. There wasn't very much detail, but just enough to suggest a great deal of power the elders held.
Restraints and such were a few pages later. Talismans were popular and rather common. A talisman told many things about a mage- power level, sometimes age by the color of the script (though the majority of the script was in black which left age as a mystery), and certain tricks of the person. Paper talismans worked only for lower or mid-leveled mages. Charms were for the more skilled and experienced spell casters, but the strongest of the clan wore restraints made from the finest elements one could find in the Makai. They were supposed to be charmed while being made specifically for that one person- that was the highest level of restriction that could be used, and even then not all powers would be suppressed.
Hatsune knew the two mages that visited her today were lower to mid-leveled. While she didn't know the extent of her own strength, she knew all too well that it took more than paper talismans to restrain her full power.
Sighing, she closed the book and set it back on her small shelf. She stared into the light that resonated from the desk lamp and fell into a rather deep train of thought.
"Make sure none of you lose those. They are vital for exchange of information and for me contacting you in an easier manner. Now, carry on," Koenma said as he tried to shoo all of us out of his office and on our way to the Makai. "Hatsune, you wait."
I stopped walking and stood there as everyone left the massive office. I waited for the doors to close before attempting to ask why I was being held back. Before I could ask, Koenma led me down a hall and took a few turns before opening a door into the massive Reikai library.
I was amazed at all the books in there. I think there was a book about everything and possibly everyone, which was cool and freaky at the same time. I was lead into a very dimly lit part of the library. It must not have been visited or cleaned regularly since the lights didn't work well and it was coated in layers of dark dust.
Koenma picked up a book and patted it so that the obvious dust came off. He gave it to me and looked me dead in the eye as he told me why I was getting it.
"This is a book on all known and now extinct mage clans in the Makai. It's a self-written book, so don't be surprised if it gets a little bigger on you. It records every major even that goes on with them. So far, there are only two prevalent and active groups- the Maiyugubi and the Nittanuya. Educate yourself just in case one or both groups come searching for you. Do. Not. Lose. This. Book. Do you understand?"
I simply nodded yes as I took the book and was led out of the endless shelves of books.
She blinked a few times as she leaned back into her chair and broke her thought process. The wall could have had a hole burned into it since she was staring at it with such intensity. All that information was on her mind, but she wasn't finding anything else out. She met two mages- that was it. It was beginning to get on her nerves. She was growing impatient and slightly impulsive yet she knew better than to act on those.
"I have spent too much time with Yusuke," she thought. She stood up and turned toward the door to walk out, but she ran into Yusuke with only her first step taken. She jumped back from the shock that she just thought and he was there.
"Speak of the devil…"
"Hey, chill," he started off, his hand up in mock defense, "just came over here to ask to ask if you were gonna sit in on the meeting."
She looked at him like she knew nothing. "Meeting? What meeting?"
"It just came up. Apparently you scared the hell out of Yomi and his advisory council so bad to the point that they wanna see what caused the sudden black out."
"Yeah, whatever," she replied. She followed him out and into one of the more intricate room of the land. It was technologically advanced- not the best in the demon realm, but it was close.
Hokushin waited until Yusuke and Hatsune arrived before he cued on of the monks to begin the process of connecting all the circuits for everything to work. The three of them took a seat at the end of the short table- Yusuke at the head, Hokushin to his left and Hatsune to his right.
On the screen before them, Yomi and his advisors appeared- Kurama included. With everyone situated and ready for a brief discussion, Yomi led the introduction.
"Ah, Yusuke, I see I get to interact with the rookie. Daddy too busy to talk?"
Yusuke just smirked. "Yeah, I guess it's time for me to play with the big dogs since he's busy and all. You know the whole not eating thing takes a lot more time than ya think."
With both of the opening statements out of the way, one of Yomi's advisors, Yuda, asked the question that was on eveyone's mind- at their end, anyway.
"Who is the person who caused such uproar in the entire Makai?"
Yusuke pointed to Hatsune as she barely raised her left hand off the table. She just stared blankly at the screen awaiting a barrage of questions. Yuda smiled as three others laughed. They couldn't believe that a young girl of such small stature could cause such a disruption.
"Is this some joke?" asked the advisor that appeared to be more of a clown than a demon. The demon smiled, lips wryly stretched, enhancing the clown look.
"No joke. Problem?" Hatsune asked him. She stared him dead in the eye since he had the nerve to voice the question. He stopped laughing and was about to counter when he was silently silenced by Yomi.
"You'll have to excuse them- they aren't well versed in etiquette. So, how is it that you are the sole source of that?" Yomi asked Hatsune.
She blinked a few times and shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't gotten around to figuring it out yet."
The three of them could see the look on the faces of the advisors save Kurama. His expression was and remained stoic. The others were shocked that a girl with extraordinary powers had no clue how to conjure them.
Another surprise came about as the doors behind the trio were thrust open with a strong current. The two mages that were there earlier today had returned for an early next visit. Hokushin was the first out of his seat and he was a little on the livid side, not that it showed much.
Yusuke turned and looked at the cloaked figures. "Damn you guys are persistent," he said as he stood up and walked over to them. Hatsune turned to face them, but she didn't move from her seat just yet.
"You are not who we seek," the tall mage stated sharply to Yusuke.
"Yeah, yeah, I know why your ugly self is here."
"How professional," Hatsune mumbled. She finally stood and closed the distance standing only a few inches from the mage. "So, we meet again… What do you want?"
"Your attendance is required at the Maiyugubi Elders' Council."
"And, if I refuse?"
"I will drag you there myself."
Hatsune crossed her arms across her chest and just stared at him. Her eyes gave off the luminous green-yellow glow as a monk ran in from the outside. He was slightly out of breath from running so fast, but he managed to spit out what he needed to report. "Dark outside… It's getting dark outside."
"Have fun trying to drag me there," Hatsune said to the mage as she let him know that it would probably be an impossible task for him.
On the other side of the screen, Yomi and his advisory council were getting tidbits of information that would otherwise not be released- not in a willing manner, not yet. None of them said anything and the trio were currently occupied with the intruder.
"It would be my pleasure to escort your temporarily unconscious body," said the elevated mid-leveled spell caster as he disabled the paper talismans on his wrists, both of them falling to the floor.
Author's Note: And, here's the sequel! Yea. Okay, so this story will be updated slowly since I'll be leaving for college in less than a week. I'm typing ahead so I don't keep everyone in the dark for a month or more, Heaven forbid. Let me know what you think as I type away! R&R
