Hello again, and sorry. I promise, this will be my final attempt at this story. What happened was the previous characters never fitted with the story, so I altered the story, reduced the OCs and their role, so the canon characters keep their own glory. So...disclaimer. I own only the copyright of the names Mogen, the characters Takashi, Washi'go, Kurochi, Ois, and any other minor OCs that might pop up in this fanfic. Enjoy!
"Kumochi-sama, don't--"
"Don't you see, Washigo-kun?" The tall dark old man leaned back in his red velvet chair as a small boy no older than 10 observed him working on the laptop. "If I sell the shop and the hotel, I can exchange that money and set up in a different country."
"Which country? And if you sell it all, where will I live?" Washigo plopped down on the floor, trying to brush the dirt off his old t shirt.
"Nowhere that I care about," Kumochi replied coldly.
"Aw, c'mon, Kumochi-san." A voice called from the kitchen. "We've worked off our asses getting you rich. Little Washigo-kun risked his life lifting off rich bastards, and he'd be maggot chow in a garbage dump if I didn't step in every now and then when punk rats tried to mug him. I want my share of the dough before you go anywhere, and I'm sure Washigo-kun wants his half, too."
"What are you talking about, Takashi-san?" Kumochi turned in his seat. "I would be getting the greater half, since I gave you food and a roof over your heads."
Takashi left the kitchen and walked into the room. The raven hair chopped short, baggy clothes, and the leather jacket, Takashi was your everyday street punk. Raising a heavily calloused hand, Takashi pointed at the well-groomed tall buisiness man. "Correction, sir: If it weren't for you, lil' Washi and I could find some other sort of hideout, even if it wasn't as gussied up as your little abandoned hotel. I am the one who kept people's mouths shut, Washigo-kun alive, and you out of the tank! Washigo-kun has done most of the work and the hazardous stuff, so you give him half, and I get half of your half." Takashi smirked, leaning back into one of Kumochi's sofas.
"Get off my furniture, you alley rat," The old man yelled. "I'm the one calling all the shots!" He pointed threateningly at his fighter.
Takashi scoffed, conspicuously rubbing against and coughing on his couch. "Not anymore. I'm putting my foot out of this goddamn 'business' and gettin myself a life."
"Please, Takashi-kun!" Washigo stood up and approached Takashi. "With your criminal record, you could never hold down a job!"
"Worry about your own shitty life, 'kay kid? That's how you ended up in Kumochi's spider den in the first place! Besides, I already found me a sweet job at some private investigation joint."
"You're bluffing..." Kumochi growled. Takashi's smirk made him inwardly panic. "Please...I have an offer."
"Hit me with it!"
"So what exactly are you doing here, Hiei?" Yusuke asked impatiently. "I thought you had some special assignment in Makai."
"That's what I'm here for. Makai and Reikai want to have peace, right?"
"Duh," Yusuke replied. "Just spit it out before you lose me."
Hiei sighed, leaning back into Yusuke's extra beanbag. "I'll try not to hurt your delicate brain. When you fought King Yamado to keep him from turning Ningenkai into Netherworld, it turns out that Yamado had made the original Netherworld out of a place much like Ningenkai. After King Yama defeated him, they turned it into some purgatory instead of restoring it to its original. Don't ask me why. Anyhow, someone's trying to do something with the Netherworld and King Yama wants to keep that from happening. So Makai decided to 'volunteer' me to search out the Netherworld freaks."
"That's lovely," Yusuke said. "How long have you been working on it?"
"I'm starting on it in a week," Hiei sighed with dread of the thought.
"Hmm." A dirty thought came to Yusuke's mind. "That'll give you plenty of time to give some sweet goodbyes to your lady!" He instantly regretted that from the look on Hiei's face. "Not going well with Mukuro?"
"No. She isn't my bitch or anything sick like that!" Hiei answered truthfully. "Nothing's going on." Absolutely nothing.
"Aw, c'mon, Hiei!" Yusuke gingerly got up to fix the tea. "I mean-- once you get past the fact she has only half a face, Mukuro's kinda hot!"
Hiei remained silent as Yusuke went into the kitchen. You have it far too easy, detective. You're a newlywed, you know haw to approach most people without pissing them off, or rather, having them piss you off. You're happy and lucky to be able to take everything at face value and not worry about it-- Hiei caught himself and immediately shook the monologue from his head.
SPLASH!
"Damn!" Yusuke's eyes teared up in pain at the spilled boiling water splashed all over him. "They gotta make better lids on these kettles! Shit, this hurts!" He had his shirt halfway off racing for the bathroom when two red eyes appeared inches from his.
"GAH! Hiei!" Yusuke instantly yanked down his scalding t shirt, jumping back a meter. "Ever heard of personal space?" His face turned bright red.
"I can track the Netherworld radicals, but their powers are too strong against demon energy." Hiei replied, completely indifferent to Yusuke's fit.
Okay, that was out of the blue... Yusuke thought before sighing. "Not even your dark dragon flame thingy will work?"
"They have legions of dragons; in fact, most of them are dragons!" Hiei growled.
"Yeez!" Yusuke felt a slight twinge up his spine. "You do your research!" He pondered for a moment. "So... you want me to use my spirit energy?"
Hiei nodded. "You have powers completely unique to you."
Yusuke scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll see what I can do."
It didn't feel good. Not at all. A sort of energy, like constant electric shocks through her skin. She spread her hands out in front of her face. Two gold rings. A band on the left hand, a moderately expensive diamond ring on the right. The hands wearing them were soft and rosy. A twitch ran through them abruptly as she felt another shock.
"What's going on?" Kayko massaged her hands. "I've felt a little odd since a bit before Yusuke came back from Makai, but this is terrible!" Scary thoughts ran through her mind, like brain tumors an seizures. She violently shook her head. "No! I can't think like that! I'm fine..."
"Who you talking to?" Kayko spun around to look at Shizuru, who eyed her suspiciously.
"Oh, I was just thinking..." Kayko dried her hands before the girls left the bathroom. The mall was packed with valentines shoppers, the normally gray marble bright red and pink with cheap paper, plastic hearts and cupids. Every candy store inside was filled with high school girls getting chocolates for their crushes. Recalling her own past with Valentines day, Shizuru turned the other way towards the more neglected stores.
"You've been acting odd lately, kid." Shizuru said. "You're sending out weird vibes."
"What do you mean?" Kayko looked up from staring at the tiles.
Shizuru couldn't understand nor explain it. Her senses made it seem as if she was talking to Kurama or even Yusuke instead of Kayko. Ironically enough, it made absolutely no "sense". "Nothing..." She didn't want to freak her friend out.
"Oh!" A small boy bumped into Kayko.
"Sorry," he said before running along again. His dirty striped shirt and old worn-out sneakers made him look even filthier than he really was.
"God," Shizuru muttered. "Those little kids are so stupid. Bump into something and go sprinting off again. And does he even hose himself?"
Something felt wrong. Kayko rubbed her hands, and they felt naked and empty. "My rings!" She looked at her hands. Both rings were gone. Yusuke had worked so very hard to get them for her.
Shizuru spun to face the retreating boy. "Pickpocket!" She sprinted after him. "Get back here!" The boy sped up, flying out an exit.
"Dammit kid, you don't want to deal with me!" She followed him to a large alley just beyond the parking lot. In a stroke of luck, the boy's foot caught in the grill of a drain. "Gotcha!" Shizuru leapt and grabbed the boy. Her face fell as she saw one of the rings, Kayko's engagement ring, slip out of his hands and towards the drain. "No!" She released him to make a swipe for the ring. By then, it already fell through.
"Shizuru!" Kayko caught up and found the boy retreating as Shizuru frantically reached into the grills, spaced barely wide enough for her to push her arm through. "Did it..?" A chill through her body. A knot in her stomach.
"I'm sorry, Kayko." Shizuru pulled her arm back in defeat. "The engagement ring fell down the drain."
"No!" Kayko fell on her knees and reached into the drain. "Yusuke went through so much to get that for me!"
Shizuru looked at her friend sadly and cautiously. "It's gone-"
"Oh!" Kayko gasped. "I got it!" Sure enough, she pulled out the diamond ring, covered in mud.
"What?" Shizru couldn't even even touch the bottom, and her arm was much longer than Kayko's. She stood up and leaned over to see.
"Wait! He's still got my wedding ring!" Kayko gasped. She jumped to her feet, starting to run, but Shizuru stopped her.
"We'll get security, maybe the police if we have to. They'll do a better job. You saw what almost happened to your engagement ring."
Kayko hesitated anxiously, then slowly nodded.
A corner away, a small 10 year old boy sighed in relief as he watched the two women walk back inside the mall.
Hope you liked this chapter! Now for Takashi's, Washigo's and Kurochi' names:
Takashi (Tah-kaw-shii) is a popular boys name. I think it means roughly "Tall Warrior"
Kumochi (Koo-Mow-chi) is a name I formed myself meaning "spider blood"
Washigo means "Eagle"...I think... I'm not a Japanese expert. It's pronounced "Wash-go" with barely the hint of using the "i."
