"How do you know that?" Yusuke was immediately on guard. Eyes scanning the area to find any potential ambushes or fighters, no one made themselves known but that didn't mean there weren't any lurkers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurama's own flash about. The sharp green orbs expertly taking in his surroundings and categorizing, a strategy playing out in those emerald eyes.
"Now, now," Rei admonished, her lopsided smirk back on her face along with her shades. "No need to get up in arms. Over the past few years I've had quite a few demons work for me. It's not like looks can stop my employment." She pulled out a flask from her pocket and took a swig from it, what the contents were no one could say but when she sighed her breath wasn't tainted with any trace of alcohol. "The stories they told me were impressive to say the least. Imagine my to surprise to hear Kuwabara was not only a psychic, but one that could challenge some pretty powerful beings. I'm just glad his fighting isn't as unskilled as his attempts at cooking." She chuckled heartedly, her throaty tones filling the air around her with an odd feeling of warmth despite the pressing danger and shock she seemed to represent barely seconds before.
"That doesn't explain why I can't find your mind," Hiei snapped with narrow eyes. Rei cocked her head to the side as if questioning what the weather will be the day after. She hummed thoughtfully to herself, fingers tapping lovingly against the metal flask.
"Bold of you to assume I have a mind," she stated sharply. A growl of warning was her response but either Rei truly was unbothered or was a phenomenal actor as she simply giggled at his irate actions. The members of Reikai Tantei glanced back forth between the two opposing forces, almost as if watching an Olympic tennis match. Hiei was rarely so easily annoyed, and to them all it seemed as though Rei had an impenetrable wall of teasing jibes and smart remarks. But Kuwabara knew differently, the genius chef was always calm, kind, and filled with an odd sense of humor that only she herself understood but only ever became sharp tongued while in the kitchen. The tall woman demanded and expected much of her staff, but she was always forgiving and friendly. "Oh calm down, swordsman, I jest. I had a psychic lock my mind, I didn't like the idea of someone else being able to read my thoughts. Satisfied? Good. Now answer my question. What do you want?"
Botan spoke first. "Well, Miss Yamamoto," she started, "my employer, Prince Koenma, wanted me to hand this letter to you and put you under the protective watch of these four." Rei's interest was piqued at the idea of a letter and she held her hand out to receive the paper.
"May I feel it, Miss Botan?" her scarred hand reached out, tawny fingers delicately stretching in wait of the heavy paper. Shuffling occurred to the left of her hand, paper being passed between multiple people before it was deposited on her awaiting appendage. She felt around the envelope before finding the crease that would unleash it's contents to her curious hands. After flipping open the envelope the woman carefully opened the paper, indentations of complicated dots greeting her fingertips. She steadily ran her pointer finger over every letter combination, message playing out before her in Braille.
Halfway through her reading she stiffened, taut as a wire, the tension in her shoulders only growing more apparent the more her finger traced around the message. Lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed, she finished letter only to shift her head up, head turning as if to regard her establishment with a sightless gaze. Her finger thoughtlessly moved over the contents once again, fearful grip contracting around her heart as a bead of sweat trekked its way down the curve of her forehead. Her hand clenched, paper crumbling underneath her grip, creases coiling their way over the material like cracks appearing in the earth's surface after a severe quake. She unleashed a heavy sigh, breath catching and hooking in her chest, leg twitching and shaking feverishly like a leaf in a hurricane of possibilities and anxieties tumultuously whirling through her mind.
"I... ," she faltered before a sardonic smile creeped onto her face, lips curling, "What utter bullshit is this?" The entire table flinched away from her venomous tone, Hiei and Kurama squirming slightly as the off putting energy grew stronger. "Get out. Get out of my establishment, now."
Kuwabara felt fear creep up his body, chills running down his body as his mind screamed danger. Rei's tone was soft and quiet, yet so so horribly menacing. It was like running in the dark, an unknown predator chasing you. He glanced at his teammates and saw that similarly there was fear in their eyes, even Hiei looked paler than usual. He looked back at his former employer, clearing his throat to try and voice reason.
"Rei, I don't know—"
"Silence fool," she seethed, Kuwabara could have sworn he saw fangs as his body immediately froze under her hissing tone. "You are not to come back here, do you understand me? Your Prince Koenma can go rot, there's nothing for me to fear. Something like that has long since passed, got it? It is gone."
"So you're running," Hiei snapped through clenched teeth, eyes narrowed. Rei snorted.
"You can't run from something that doesn't exist," she sneered before standing up. "Get out and never return. Thank you for your business." Rei brusquely pushed away, leaving the chair behind as she quickly made her way back into the kitchen away from her former employee and his associates. Her booted feet clacked against the stone, back sharp as a knife while completely shutting them out. Kurama sighed, running a hand through his long hair.
"Well that could have gone better," Botan ventured staring after her.
"Yes," he replied, "it only makes me wonder what Koenma wrote in that letter."
"Great," grumbled Yusuke, "pacifier breath just ruined his own mission, nice going." The black haired man stood up, trudging away from the table. "I'm going to play some arcade games, what a waste."
"Now hold on just a minute," Botan surged forward to grab onto Yusuke's jacket, "you too Hiei, I know you're just itching to run off. Koenma gave you boys direct orders to watch over Rei, and we're going to see this mission through whether she likes it or not."
"No doubt her cooperation would have made life much easier," Kurama stressed. "But it is what it is, I suppose."
"Alright so then what do we do?" Yusuke griped. "Stalk her? Yeah I'm sure that'll go over well, four men stalking a blind woman. At least Kuwabara knows where she lives."
"Actually Urameshi, I don't," he admitted bluntly. Yusuke turned to him with wide eyes and a clenched fist, mouth turned into a deep frown. "Hey don't look at me like that! Rei likes her privacy so no one actually knows where she lives!"
"Useless as always," Hiei commented, Kuwabara turned to snap at Hiei when Kurama cleared his throat effectively stopping further bickering.
"If you have forgotten," he began glancing sideways, "we are still in a public establishment. Perhaps we should get moving." The rest of the Reikai Tantei glanced in the direction Kurama indicated only to see some of the staff and patrons were giving them dirty looks. "Kuwabara, may we use your home as a meeting ground?" The large man nodded in agreement, the group of five hurried out of the restaurant, not noticing the keen gaze of a distrusting eye following them.
Hiei was perched on a tree branch, body and energy hidden as much as possible as he watched the wild haired woman finally make her way away from her home to a farmer's market. It had been two weeks since the short Koorime was given the task of following and watching the blind woman. Unlike the rest of the Reikai Tantei, Hiei's proximity to Rei would be minimal thanks to his jagan eye. Much to his annoyance the eye proved very useful, which consequently forced him to alert Mukuro that he would be taking an extended leave from the barrier patrol. He was being cautious, overly so in his opinion however the fox had given him strict advice to deal with her like he would an unknown S-Class demon.
Hiei watched as she walked down the sidewalk, large dog leading her while Rei kept her hand wrapped tightly around the harness. The woman was constantly lead around by her rough looking dog. His hair was carefully trimmed and maintained however, meticulous grooming did nothing to hide the large muscles and sharp scars that littered its muzzle and body. She clearly kept the German Shepherd as a warning, the dog didn't even pant happily but looked as serious as an old army vet who had seen too much. It barked every once in a while, to signal Rei when to stop and go while the woman herself spoke in a strange accented voice that Hiei never had the chance nor enough interest to fully identify.
Rei was met by her young employee Kimiko, after walking for several hundred feet, at a crosswalk. The two companions easily made their way to the market, empty bags bouncing against their legs as they carried them loosely. Rei had a smile on her soft face, tittering happily with Kimiko as they discussed the week's menu back and forth, debating on which ingredients will be cheapest and freshest. Kimiko's father was Rei's main fishmonger, many of her seafood entrees coming fresh off his boat which meant that the young woman had the chance to help her boss through the market while also learning important tools of the trade. Rei was well known and very well loved at the market, her weekly trips brought forth daily shipments from the sellers throughout the week. No one could deny that her constant shopping brought forth a booming business for her suppliers and they in turn adored her for it.
Hiei watched them, boredom etched on his face, as they entered the market and began to mull around. Kimiko supplied Rei with a constant stream of information, breaking the food down into the colors before them. All of the vendors allowed the blind chef to sniff at their products, utilizing her well trained nose to test the quality and freshness of the organic that splayed out before her. All of them had respect for her, and if one looked close enough you could fear churning in a few of the eyes belonging to the younger heirs that would take over the farms in the future. It took them three hours to finish perusing through every stand, bags heavy and fat with fresh finds. The two companions linked arms before strolling down the road, steps slightly stunted by the weight of their spree.
The streets began to slowly draw silent, it was heavy with danger and ominous warnings. Reí realized the out of place silence at the same time Hiei did, body stiffening underneath flaring foreboding of danger to come. Nenito began growling as his haunches rose, canine senses acknowledging the shift of atmosphere while preparing for attack. His sudden change from stoically calm to outwardly aggressive startled Kimiko, her body naturally shifting behind Rei as she stared down at the dog. Her eyes were bright with fear, brown orbs shimmering in the light with pinched eyebrows and a loose mouth.
"Rei," she whispered to her boss, thin yet strong hand tugging on the older woman's skull and flower printed shirt, "What is—"
"We must move," she interrupted dropping her market finds on the ground, she began running which forced Kimiko to drop her own bag in surprise. "Quickly!" The two began booking it down the street, turning randomly at every crosswalk, Nenito boldly leading them around as they tried to out run the danger.
Hiei followed along, running parallel to them as they made their way. Kimiko was panicking breath wheezing in and out as she struggled to understand the situation she was in with limited information. Rei herself seemed harried, her face tight as she sprinted like a profession, hand tight around her employee's as she promoted her underling to keep up without ever breaking.
Crackles began to follow them, Earth creaking behind them with sharp jolts. The creaks drew closer, crumbling asphalt and stone piercing the air as a putrid scent of decaying life assaulted their noses. Kimiko panicked further, fear causing her to stumble and fall. The young girl's knees hit the ground with a wince inducing crack, her body lurching forward as gravity claimed her. Rei tumbled at the sudden deadweight of her employee, she reached back to grab the girl before trying to rouse energy from her.
"Kimiko, please," she said breathlessly, desperation lacing her voice, "I need you to get up, we don't have much—"
The ground directly behind her shook and broke apart, a looming creature bursting out of the ground with a loud roar. The thunderous noise that bludgeoned the air vibrates through Rei's bones, her skeleton shaken by the sheer power of just his call. The scent of death and decay choked her, her throat tightening and squeezing as her breath was stolen by such a pungent smell. Nenito took guard in front of her, muzzle opened wide to bark at the demon standing above her. She herself stood up on shaky knees, her body protectively shielding Kimiko from the sight of her attacker. The woman's fists were raised body ready for a fight as she hunched down to give back as much as she received.
A loud bark was her warning and she dodged to the side while taking Kimiko with her, the ground shattered into little pieces by his large clawed hand. A crater was a souvenir for the Earth as he lifted his hand up to shake it loose of any clinging minerals.
"Quite the nimble one aren't you?" he taunted voice deep with amusement and lust, whether blood lust or otherwise was down for debate. "Of course, that's to be expected of the great blind prophet."
Hiei paused in his running, mind frozen as he took in the information. He looked at the unassuming human from his new hidden spot, his eyes trying to garner any recognition within her face. But then again Rei wasn't fully unassuming, such a hard hand and weird energy. The woman lived her life being exceptionally unexceptional yet retaining such bold and flavorful talent and awareness. Rei's face briefly shifted with confusion, head tilting before she drew herself to her full height and unbuttoned her sleeves. Her hands rumpled them up her forearms, exposing the threaded muscle that resided there.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she growled, "but if you don't leave us now I won't give you a chance to explain."
"Bold words for a stupid girl." The ground rumbled again from all around her, the street shifting and quaking, weak against the vibrations. "But your friend isn't like you is she?" Rei stiffened with surprise as she heard more of the earth crack, his voice faded at the end. His presence all but disappeared, striking her with fear.
"Kimiko!" Blood splattered into the air like flower petals driven by the wind.