Chapter 2: To Outfox a Fox
Kurama couldn't believe what he was seeing. He'd thought he would check in with his friend and make sure he was okay, but he never could have imagined this.
He blinked a few times. Maybe he was seeing things because that couldn't possibly be a fairy hovering in front of Hiei's face. The fire demon didn't seem particularly perturbed by its presence. He probably didn't even know what it was. Fairies usually stayed in Spirit World. What was it doing here?
Oh. It had started to glow softly and now had Hiei's full attention. Kurama watched as Hiei tried to swat it away to no avail. Hiei was suddenly dusted with a shower of pollen. The fairy stopped glowing and the next thing he knew, Hiei was shrinking. "Ah!" Kurama gasped in surprise. Where Hiei had been, there was now a fuzzy black kitten in his place.
Kurama placed a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh at his friend being cursed by a fairy. It must have been insulted at being called a bug. He quickly regained his composure. Fairy curses were nothing to sneeze at. They could be very permanent if the offended fairy wasn't appeased. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, the fairy changed, or rather grew. Kurama could now tell that this fairy was female and, while still small in stature, was now big enough to pass as human. Her butterfly-like wings were all that gave her away to what she truly was. She was a sight to behold perched on the tree branch as she was. Kurama was feeling rather lucky.
Suddenly, a basket appeared in her hands and she picked up a highly agitated Hiei-kitten by the scruff and put him inside. Not good. The fairy stood and spread her wings, preparing for flight. He ran forward quickly, but he was too late; she was already in flight. The fairy did nothing to hide her energy signal, so, even though he'd lost sight of her, she was easy to follow.
He followed her for quite a distance, even after passing into the Demon World. Finally, he came to the edge of a small clearing. On the far side, was a little house and, just outside was the fairy as she argued with another girl. Hiei-kitten was still in the basket at their feet. The other girl, who was of a smaller stature than even the fairy in her large form, turned and Kurama got a good look at her ears.
Now he knew that he just had to be dreaming. Why else would there be an Elfin girl with a fairy girl in the Demon World? Two of the rarest creatures to ever exist. Most believed them to be merely myth.
Kurama decided that the best course of action would be to wait and evaluate the situation before deciding what to do next. Kurama continued to listen to their conversation.
Hana pouted, "You've been so down lately, I thought this would be the perfect thing to cheer you up. I didn't think you'd be mad."
Mari sighed in exasperation, placing her palm on her forehead, "I'm not really mad, I'm just a little freaked out. Did you not think that he might kill us for this?"
Hana stared blankly at her for a moment. No, she hadn't really thought of that, but... "Oh!" She bent down and picked up the fluffy kitten, now known to be Hiei, by his scruff, "He can't hurt us like this! Look how fluffy and adorable he is! Practically harmless, teeth and claws aside." She giggled as Hiei struggled uselessly, claws extended as he tried to swipe at the fairy girl. She giggled and scratched behind his ear, resulting in a low growl issuing from his throat.
Mari gaped at her, "And what about when you turn him back? What then? It's not like I can interview him if he can't talk!" She paused, staring thoughtfully at the kitten, "He can't talk like that, right?"
Hana's eyes widened, "Huh. I dunno."
Mari sweat-dropped, "It's your spell, isn't it?"
Hana giggled and stuck out her tongue with a wink, "Let's ask him and find out." She lifted him higher, "Can you talk, little Hiei?"
The girls stared at him a moment and waited.
And waited.
"Mew."
They gasped collectively and then burst into giggles as Hiei started struggling again. Mari recovered first, "Okay, that was really adorable, but really... how am I supposed to interview him when he can't talk!" Her hands went to her head in frustration.
Hana sighed heavily, "Alright, I'll turn him back, then." She placed Hiei back in the basket. Before Mari could stop her, a voice rang out in the distance.
"I would listen to your friend if I were you. He will most certainly kill you if you turn him back now."
The girls snapped their attention to the direction of the voice.
"Eep!" Hana was so shocked that she lost control of her humanoid form and shrunk down to her normal size. She flew immediately into Mari's hair to hide, tangling herself in the blonde strands.
Mari took a step back, "K-Kurama?" She couldn't believe her eyes. Glancing at Hiei, still in the basket, she wondered if he'd tracked the fuzzball here.
Kurama followed her gaze, "Yes, I'm here for my comrade. Seeing as you seem to know who we are, I'm sure you understand what's at risk."
Mari held her ground, though she could feel Hana shiver in her hair. Her thoughts raced. She was up against Kurama, a master of wits. How would she battle him? Then it clicked, quick as a snap. "No," she smirked, "I don't think you'd dare hurt us. Not when we're the only ones who know how to reverse that curse. Considering the rarity of fairy curses, it won't be easy for you to figure out on your own. I doubt you'd even know where to start." Hana stilled at her friend's words, understanding what she was doing. She started untangling herself from Mari's hair.
Kurama chuckled, "Well, I tried, but it seems you've called me on my bluff. I would much rather resolve this peacefully, but know that I will take whatever means necessary to bring Hiei back in his original form."
Mari's grin widened, "I was hoping you'd say something like that."
Kurama was taken by surprise, temporarily shocked into silence, "What do you mean?"
Hana came out of Mari's hair and flew up to Kurama, just out of his reach, "She means that I'm the only one who can lift the curse. If you want me to lift the curse, then you have to listen to Mari!"
Kurama cocked his head to one side, "Alright, I'm listening."
The little fairy blushed. He was so adorable when he did that!
Mari straightened her spine, still smiling, "I'll tell Hana to lift the spell if, and only if, the two of you answer all the questions that I, along with many others, have for you. You see, I have dreams of being a world renowned reporter and interviewing the two of you just might make that happen."
Kurama's gaze stayed level on her, "I have no problem answering your questions, but I couldn't help but notice that Hiei can't speak as a cat. You'll have to turn him back to answer your questions. Once you do, what's to stop us from leaving?"
Hana froze, but Mari didn't skip a beat, "Hana," she addressed her friend, "Is there any way for you to alter your spell?"
The fairy turned to Mari, also turning her back on the fox demon, "I guess that would depend on how you want to alter it."
Mari thought a moment, "Could you give him his normal form, but if he were to, say, turn violent or raise his energy, then he would devolve into this adorable kitten form?"
Hana's eyes brightened, "Yeah! I could do -" she was suddenly cut off as Kurama snatched her from the air by grabbing her legs. "Hey! Let me go!" She struggled to free herself.
"Hana!" yelled Mari, but what could she do? She didn't have the strength to take on someone like Kurama!
"I'm sorry," Kurama's voice sounded genuinely apologetic, "But I can't let you do that."
Hana let out a small growl of frustration, "I don't think you understand who you're messing with, Kurama." Energy started to crackle around the little fairy's body.
"Um," Mari stepped back, "You might wanna let her go. She's got a bad side and you don't want to meet it."
Kurama could smell that she was telling the truth and he let go of Hana just as she let loose a jolt of electricity. "Well, that was close." Faster than he was expecting, the now pissed Hana darted into his red hair. "Hey! Get out of there! What are you doing?" A combination of not wanting to get shocked and not wanting to squish the fairy girl was all that kept Kurama from forcibly removing her.
When Hana emerged, her arms were loaded with three seeds. Kurama watched with fascination as she carried them over to Hiei, who hadn't moved. Mari watched with smug satisfaction. Hana ate one of the seeds as she started to glow, then banged the other two together over Hiei's head until a fine powder fell onto his fur. Once the seeds were used up, her soft glow dissipated and she fluttered back to Mari.
Kurama could only be amazed as the small kitten slowly grew until it was Hiei as himself sitting there instead. Kurama approached the fire apparition, none too happy. "What were you thinking!" he practically shouted at Hiei, making him flinch, "Don't you know anything about fairies?"
"Hn, I've heard things, but I never imagined they'd be real," he cast a meaningful glare at Hana, "It's not like I've actually seen one before. Now that I have, I'm rather anxious to kill it."
Kurama tried to stop him, "No, Hiei! Don't -" but it was too late. Hiei lunged, but, much to his surprise, he landed on all fours just short of the girls. He was back in the body of a cat. His fur stood on end as he growled ferociously. At least he tried to be ferocious, but all he could do was produce little meows as he swiped at Mari's leg.
Mari lifted him by the scruff up to her shoulder where Hana was now perched, "Look how cute he is when he tries to be menacing!" The girls fell into a fit of laughter and even Kurama found it to be somewhat amusing.
Sobering quickly, he took the struggling Hiei-kitten from Mari, giving him a hard look, "It seems your carelessness has gotten us both into quite the predicament, Hiei..."
~TBC
Hiei's Cat Thoughts...
What's going on? Why do I have fur? Where's my sword? What happened to my Jagan! What the hell!
Ugh, your screeching could deafen kittens... Wait...
Hey! Put me down, you little wench! I have claws! Don't touch me like that!
"Can you talk, little Hiei?"
Can I? Should I even try? Maybe I could threaten them.
"Mew." DAMN YOU! Go to hell, you vile disgusting creature! I hope you rot for forcing me through this humiliation!
Oh, it's Kurama. He'll get me out of this. Wait, he's not? Why is he agreeing with them!
"Now that I have, I'm rather anxious to kill it."
Why am I a cat again? Didn't she turn me back? She must have altered the spell like they talked about! Damn it! I'll kill you, bitch! Feel the fury of my claws!
Hey! Put me down! Stop laughing before I claw out your eyes!
This is so humiliating.
Shut up, you stupid fox.
A/N:
Hey, look at that, another chapter! Enter the fox!
As mentioned in the previous chapter, this will turn into a Q&A, so please send your reviews with questions for our two favorite demons!
One of them is stuck as a cat until you do! Thank you for reading!
