Chapter 2
Botan stood anxiously in Yusuke's entrance hall, peeved at the way the monks were looking at her and muttering. She was no fool; she knew that Spirit World's presence was never a welcome sight in Makai, and, frankly, she was eager to make these trips as short as possible.
She never felt at ease in this world, with so much demonic energy swirling around. 'As soon as I'm done here, I'll go visit Yukina at Genkai's temple and catch my breath again,' she promised herself.
The large red doors at one end of the hall opened grandly, and Yusuke walked out, barefoot, with his hands shoved inside his sweatpants pockets. "Oh, hey Botan. Damn it, let me guess, you're not here for beer and gossip." His white t-shirt was clinging to his sweaty body, and his hair was in his face instead of being slicked back.
Botan had been prepared for it, but she still had to fight to keep her voice normal at the sight of him, mere inches in front of her. 'Okay, breathe… think of Keiko.' That always did the trick. Humbled, Botan smiled. "Nope, not a social call I'm afraid. Koenma is really distraught, and wants to see you, Kurama, and Hiei immediately."
Yusuke groaned and stretched his sore arms, not missing the way Botan's eyes got slightly wider. "And what's got binkybreath all worked up?"
"Oh, don't call him that. And I wish I knew, but he wouldn't even tell me. Something here in Makai though." Botan dropped her voice, as the monks wandering around the hall were plainly listening. Yusuke tensed, dropping his arms, his mind flashing back to the conversation he had just had. Carefully, he said, "Okay, well, I'll hear him out. As long as he remembers Reikai isn't in charge of us."
Botan gave him a funny look. "Right, okay, well good then. We'll have a portal out front at noon tomorrow. I better go find the others." 'Or you could ask me to stay… Oh Botan, you're hopeless,' she chided herself.
Yusuke smiled. "Eh, well, if I'm awake by then, I guess I'll jump through. Take care, Botan." He strode off, his mind on lunch, oblivious to the ferry girl's ashamed disappointment.
Mukuro stood on top of the carriage, her legs aching from holding herself steady as they bounced over every damn pebble and pothole. Hiei stood next to her, and she amused herself by picturing steam coming out of the fire demon's ears, as she felt his brooding anger. This was his first year as her general, and she had insisted he come along with her and the men on the week-long Summer Solstice tour. It would be good for the people to know his face, even if it was twisted in a sneer.
The sounds of whooping and clapping pulled her out of her reverie, and she waved serenely to the farmers running alongside the carriage, waving up at her and drinking from jugs of wine. "Long live Lord Mukuro!" they crowed, laughing and stumbling to keep up. Mukuro smiled slightly and waved down at them again, as her men in the carriage in front of her picked up the chant. Reaching into the basket in front of her, she tossed some coins to the farmers, smirking as they tripped over their own feet from stopping too quickly, searching for coins in the grass.
"I can't believe this is what you dragged me along for. Riding through the entire fucking kingdom at the pace of a snail demon, just to keep the simpletons happy?" Hiei scoffed, sorely irritated.
"Shove it, Hiei. These 'simpletons' admire and respect me as their leader. If they didn't, the entire kingdom would starve to death," she answered simply, looking out at the ochre morning sky.
Hiei grunted, biting back his response: 'Not me, I'd hunt my own damn food.' He briefly closed his eyes and let the wind wash over his face, full of all the scents of home. At least it was the last day of this stupid charade, and the feast at Pike's Village would be good.
His eyes flew open at a sudden, foreign smell. 'Humans.' Wordlessly, he jumped from the carriage and ran several hundred yards ahead, where two small human children were clutching each other and looking around in fascination. They had no survival instinct whatsoever, Hiei cringed, as they ran right up to him and began jabbering away a million questions at once. "Mister, why is your hair upside down? Is the sky supposed to be red? What is that smell? Why are you wearing a dress? And why is that hippo walking on two legs?" The hippo demon in question flared her nostrils in irritation.
It was all Hiei could do to not strangle both of these annoying, smelly creatures. Wordlessly, Hiei grabbed both of them by their collars and dragged them fifty feet back, to the humming Kekkai Barrier, and threw them back across to the other side.
As he turned back, Mukuro called out, "You know, the border patrol would have taken care of them." Hiei reappeared on top of the carriage and hunched away from her, hands jammed in his pockets, muttering, "Yeah, or any one of the hundreds of creeps around here that eat humans. Let's get moving!" The carriage groaned to a slow start again.
"Aww, who's got a big mushy human-loving heart?" she joked, smirking at him. He bared his teeth at her, eyes flashing. "Humans are mindless filth, the modern sewer rat. Call me a human-lover again and you will answer for it on the battlefield." Some of the venom in his tone was lost as a pothole knocked him off his balance.
"Yeah, and I'd just kick your ass all over again. Just fucking relax, okay? I was only joking." Mukuro muttered. After having to spend a week on the road with him, she was dying to get to Pike's Village and drink her weight in mead.
At long last, when the sky was just beginning to turn a plum color, the procession of carriages was spotted turning off the main kingdom road and beginning their ascent to Pike's Village on the peak. Young boys who had been keeping a lookout ran down Main Street, screaming their heads off that Lord Mukuro was coming.
Mina glanced out the window of Yata's sword shop. She wiped the sweat off her brow, poured a bucket of water on the hot coals under the stone template, and stretched, wincing as her back popped. Mina enjoyed the craftsmanship of the work, and it made the hours fly by in no time, but her body was not happy that she had spent hours sitting in a hunched over position. If Lord Mukuro was indeed on his way then there would be no more customers tonight, and Mina could close up shop and maybe go soak in a hot spring.
Humming happily to herself, she didn't hear the door being quietly opened, or the four pairs of feet stepping over the threshold. But she saw them, their reflections warped in a huge, upside-down broadsword that hung on the wall. They were four young guys from town, some of the more annoying ones who constantly tried to pursue her, and were always rejected.
She whipped around. Best to try the polite approach first. "Hey! Sorry, but we're closing for the night. Lord Mukuro will be in town any minute, so everyone is heading down to the feast." The one in the middle, Ruka, smirked. "Yeah, we know. We came to see you. Why don't you come to the forest with us tonight? A bunch of us are going, while the elders are too busy bending over and spreading for Mukuro." The other three guffawed, slapping Ruka on the back as his grinning eyes stayed on her face.
Mina's stomach clenched in fear, and then she blinked and everything inside of her was ice cold. This was just like old times. Her voice strong, she said, "No, but thanks. I already have plans tonight." Mentally, she was calculating the distance between herself and her sword that was leaning against the wall; when had she become so complacent?
Before she could think about it, Yunolito (Yuno), the pudgy son of the town baker, waddled over as fast as he could and snatched up the sword, sniggering. "Nuh-uh! Why don't you use your secret demon powers? If you got any!" he snorted. No one in town, not even Yata and his family, knew what kind of demon Mina was. She never used her demonic powers, preferring her sword, and she had no outer markings.
The truth was, even Mina didn't know what kind of demon she was. Using her demonic energy felt strange and uncomfortable, and so she had only used her powers twice in her life, in extreme danger. She stuck to her sword, because it felt good in her hand, more 'honest', if she had to label the emotion. As far as Mina knew, she was an orphan. Her very first memory that she could recall was waking up in a field on the outskirts of Alaric, enchanted by the millions of stars above her. She thought she was about ten years old. That night, she had been dressed in normal clothes, with a sword strapped to her side and her one precious reminder that she used to be someone she can't remember: a small silver dagger, disguised as an ornamental piece of jewelry, hanging from her neck. She had fled to the nearest tree, climbed as high as she could, and examined everything about herself, looking for clues. When she figured out how to pull the dagger out of the necklace, she found her name engraved in fancy script along the edge of the blade: Wilhelmina. The script was beautiful, especially when standing out against a scarlet sheen of fresh blood. She had wept that night, for whoever had loved her enough to give her such a beautiful piece, and for her treacherous mind that could not remember them. When the sun rose that morning, Wilhelmina decided to be strong instead of sad, fierce instead of weakened, and to honor the memory of the family she must have surely had. She had hopes that maybe with time her memories would come back to her, but as the years passed, that hope faded to the back of her mind, mostly forgotten. Wilhelmina was just Mina, and no matter what, she knew she would survive.
Yata had never questioned Mina about her abilities. He hardly ever asked any questions at all, and Mina had always been grateful. The other townspeople, however, were not quite so accepting. The young guys around the same age as her, in particular, had a problem with it. In Alaric, as in much of Makai, it is customary for a female demon who can fight to accept a mate only if he can best her. None of the boys in town could beat Mina with swords, a sore point for all of them, and as she refused to ever fight with her demonic attacks, she was unattainable. This made Mina a constant source of anger for the young men.
She stayed silent, staring at the four of them as they grinned maliciously at her, thoughts flying through her mind at breakneck speeds. She didn't know what to do. She could pick up another sword, there were plenty of them all around the shop, but she had always stuck to light, thin swords like her own; trying to fight four male demons in their prime with an awkwardly heavy sword did not bode well. Damn it, she should have broadened the scope of her training. Too late for that now. Ruka and the others were idiots, but four against one without her sword was just plain foolish. 'Yuno could just sit on me and I'd be done for,' she thought, trying not to snicker. She could run, but run to where? Everyone was at the feast, and she was not about to make a spectacle in front of Lord Mukuro; then the townspeople would run her out of town themselves. And she couldn't leave; her heart ached for Relle at the very thought of it.
"Well?" snapped Ruka. "What are ya gonna do now, princess?"
Mina kept her composure. Haughtily, she replied, "I think you got too much dirt in your brain the last time I kicked your ass, Ruka. I guess I have to remind you again why this will never work out, my love." She blew him a mocking kiss, and bolted. She was so fast, she disappeared in front of their eyes, but they could follow the wind. Ruka took off after her, the other three following, Yuno panting along at the end.
Kurama had avoided Yomi all day like the plague. He knew the ruler would immediately be able to tell that Kurama was concealing information, and the fox demon was still pondering what to do with it. On one hand, this was information that Yomi should absolutely have; Kurama was Lord Yomi's second-in-command, and it was his duty to inform the king that another ruler was strategizing against him. On the other hand, Yomi's cold temper was ruthless, and this might be enough to provoke him into waging war against Alaric. Not only was peacetime much better for Gandara, in terms of both the people being happy and the economy, but it would also endanger Hiei, his best friend, who would not be able to stay out of the fights because he was duty-bound to Mukuro. 'And because of his stubborn loyalty and honor,' Kurama thought with a small smile. It had been at least a year since he had spoken with the short-tempered fire demon, and he rather missed the banter. Well, honestly, he missed Hiei.
Even if Yomi did not initiate conflict, the ruler would immediately be suspicious of Mukuro and send his own spies into her camp, which would strain the already tense, fleeting relationships the three kingdoms had. Enki might even have to get involved, with all of his friends, and then things would be as messy as they were before the Makai tournament. Kurama felt a headache building behind his eyes, and rose from his desk to make himself an herbal tea. On a whim, he added rum to it, sighing in contemplation as he stirred.
The worst possible situation would be for Yomi to find out about the traitorous weasel demon from a source other than Kurama, because it would have all the same consequences, but Yomi would probably lock Kurama in a cell too, if not execute him for treason on the spot, after which the ruler would become paranoid and truly trust no one.
But Kurama was relatively certain that, barring Mukuro herself losing all reason and telling Yomi she had sent in a spy, the secret was his alone. 'Unless…' Kurama felt a chill run through him as he clanked his cup down suddenly. 'Unless this one was not the only spy here. If there is another, or multiple others, they may try to frame me for treason, and replace me as Yomi's general. Damn it.' Kurama had to tell him, and straight away. He strode to his door, the tea forgotten.
"You cheating, lying asshole!" the fox girl screeched, slapping the fish demon across the face so hard that he fell behind the satin curtain, flopping uncontrollably.
Mukuro's men roared with laughter, chowing down on the feast and watching the play. Hiei snorted and did his best to ignore the drama that was littered with cheap jokes, and focused instead on the amazing food. Tuning out the performance, he ate and idly watched the townspeople scurrying around, serving their every whim. Having a position of high authority had some perks, he thought, as he kept noticing young females looking at him with lustful eyes. Smirking into his wine, he laughed internally at what they would say if he told them he was the Forbidden Child.
Suddenly, he felt someone staring intently at him. Turning around casually, he saw Koenma's lackey, that annoying ferry girl, disguised as a fortune teller in a cloak, waving at him frantically from behind one of the restaurants.
Sighing in resignation, he got up and meandered over to her, smirking when he saw her agitation at his slow pace. "Finally," snapped Botan. "That's a nice way to greet someone," he countered. Botan flushed, and looked down, clearing her throat. "Lord Koenma asked me to notify you, Yusuke, and Kurama, that he urgently needs to speak with all of you. There will be a portal right here where I am standing, tomorrow at noon. Do you understand?"
Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "No," he drawled condescendingly, "that was too much for my tiny demon brain to handle." It was sarcasm but there was an edge to his voice; damn Reikai, always thinking they could pull him away from his life whenever Koenma needed his ass wiped.
Botan sighed. "Just please take the portal tomorrow, it really is important." Before he could say anything else, she had jumped on her oar and zoomed away so fast, she might have been a shooting star.
With a bad taste in his mouth, Hiei returned to the feast but sat with his arms crossed, frowning and deep in thought. "What crawled up your ass and died?" Mukuro asked, avoiding looking at the rabbit demons that were now rutting on stage. Hiei's mouth twisted. "Spirit World. Lord Toddler wants to see me, the fox, and the detective tomorrow at noon." Mukuro sighed. "Well," she said gloomily, pouring herself another goblet of mead, "you can at least find out how much Kurama is about to screw us over."
She drained it in one gulp. Mukuro loved the Summer Solstice, and she loved Pike's Village, but the play was always dreadful. 'Not to mention sexist,' she thought wryly. 'Oh the irony...' She commanded everyone to stay put as she got up; she was going to go take a bath in one of the hot springs. 'And maybe not come back until this god awful thing is over…'
Mina had a stitch in her side; she had been running for at least an hour, zigzagging throughout the ghostly empty town, the fields, the forest. But still, the guys (well, minus Yuno) were just a hesitation behind her, and it was starting to piss her off. She couldn't use her powers because she knew she would destroy the idiots, which would be a problem, mostly because Ruka's father was the town High Elder. 'Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way,' she thought as she zigzagged through one of the tulip fields, which was always staggeringly beautiful under the night sky. 'Maybe this will just take a little ingenuity…'
After a few minutes, she finally saw what she was looking for: the hot springs. Without hesitation, she jumped into the deepest hot spring, the muddy geyser that children were forbidden to go in because it was deceptively deep. Her clothing, boots and sword had the desired effect of dragging her at least 10 feet below the surface. She immediately went still, eyes peacefully closed, meditating. It had been years since she had used this technique, but it was like riding a bike. Artificially slowing her heartbeat and lowering her body temperature, Mina shut everything down and climbed into the small box in the back of her mind.
"Uh… Shit. Do you think she's just trickin' us?" Guillo asked, rubbing the back of his neck, staring into the muddy depths.
Ruka smirked. "Of course she is. She thinks we're fools, but we'll just wait! Everyone has to breathe at some point." He plopped himself down at the edge of the spring and waited, one hand supporting his chin, the other tapping his knee.
But after ten minutes had gone by, the other guys were whispering that no one could survive that long without breathing, not even a water demon since the spring was pure mud. Ruka was glowering at the surface, watching for any bubbles, but there were none.
At the thirty minute point, they were bored. "Come on Ruka, she's obviously gotta be dead by now. You won, okay? Come on, let's go, we can still get dessert." Ruka frowned but followed them, looking back occasionally, still suspicious.
As soon as the stupid boys' energies cleared the forest, Mina's eyes snapped open and she swam to the surface, gasping in huge breaths and coughing, elbows on the ground around the geyser, frantically rubbing her painfully stinging eyes that now had mud in them.
"Here. Chivalry is clearly dead." Out of nowhere, a woman handed Mina a clean cloth, which she gratefully accepted, since her muddy fingers were doing nothing good for her eyes. Through unwilling tears, she squinted up at the lady, but could only make out a blurry outline of a naked body. 'What the hell… I didn't sense her energy at all…' After the night's events, Mina was on high alert, and no longer the soft village girl she had been on her way to becoming. In the blink of an eye, she hoisted herself out of the spring and landed on her feet, looking almost feral, her bloodshot eyes only heightening the effect. Her fists clenched and she put one foot back, ready to silence this intruder.
The woman lowered herself into the same pool as Mina, up to her shoulders, apparently oblivious, sighing in satisfaction as the hot mud coated her skin. "That was impressive," she said, looking at Mina, plainly unperturbed.
Mina could finally see again, and she resisted the urge to gasp when the woman contentedly brushed her short hair out of her face, revealing terrible scars and a fake eye on one side. Manners suddenly flooded back into her mind, and she relaxed her stance. "Thanks," Mina mumbled, wincing as she ran her fingers through her hair and tied it up. "So, why didn't I sense you?" she asked, taking off her ruined clothes, sliding back into the spring and somehow feeling less dirty when the mud was purely on her naked form.
Mukuro grinned. "Well, I could teach you, but you're D-class at best, so it's not really worth the bother. Tell me though, where did a D-class young girl learn that meditation technique? I know for a fact that only one old geezer teaches it, up on a mountain in Tourin, and he's been dead for six years."
Mina chuckled and ducked her head. "I've been to just about everywhere in Makai; before a family took me in here, I pretty much covered the entire land. I had a friend who used to travel with me, and he liked to say that I was searching for something but didn't even know what." She played with the mud idly, a faint smile sketching across her features as she thought of Mario; it had been years since she had seen him.
Mukuro couldn't help but recall her own days of being young and searching; she had finally found herself in leadership and battle. "What is your name?" "Mina. Well, it's Wilhelmina, but I prefer just Mina." The girl toyed mindlessly with the fist-sized dagger around her neck.
"What is yours?"
Before Mukuro could say anything, she felt Hiei approaching. Almost immediately, he was standing at the edge of the geyser. "Mukuro. I was told to find you and fetch you back," he droned, bored. "The townspeople want to present you with some stupid award or something." He glanced over in surprise at the spluttering young girl.
