Chapter Two
"The rules for this year are the same as last year, but now they allow six members on a team, not including the substitute." Koenma said.
"Which, by the way, we don't have." Yusuke reminded the toddler.
"I'm confident you don't need one, but if so, I have a replacement that just insn't here yet, he will show up at the dark tournament."
"So this one's a male." Hiei remarked, "Finally."
After that comment he found himself under the pupil-less gaze of Onyx, or Whisper. They stared at each other , for a while, not blinking, not moving, eyes locked in a wordless battle of staring.
Koenma slapped his desk, both turned to look at him. "Enough of that!" he said firmly, "Your giving me the creeps."
Whisper's mouth twitched. The others were shocked. It was the first hint of any emotion, any real movement really, since they walked in.
"Moving on Koenma," Kurama said, "When do we leave?"
"You leave," the toddler said slowly, shuffling through a leaf of papers. He found the one he was looking for and found the paragraph he needed. "Tomorrow through a portal from here. You'll arrive at the hotel you stayed in last time and you will be treated as V.I.P.'s."
"TOMORROW!" Yusuke shouted, rising from his seat, "That barely gives us time to find out more about our new team members!"
Koenma flapped a hand, "You can find that out in the days you are on Hanging Neck Isle before the Tournament actually starts."
Yusuke calmed down a bit but still mumbled under his breath. Kurama sighed.
"Will anyone from the last tournament be there?" he asked.
Koenma got another sheet of paper and read off names and teams. "Touya, Jin and Chuu, with some other new people, umm," she read through the other names silently. "No one else, just them."
Yusuke made a fist in front of him, a cocky smile on his face. "Alright, I've been wanting to fight Chuu again. It will be good to see them."
"You're friends with some people you're going to fight?" Miki asked, very much the curious child.
Yusuke nodded, grinning. "Yes, we fight, but we're still goof friends no matter what. It just tells us, when one gets defeated, that the other needs to work harder. I'll bet those three have gotten a lot stronger since we last saw them!"
Kurama nodded, "I agree."
Koenma finished briefing them and dismissed them to the living wing of the palace. They gathered in a large, living room type place, all except for Whisper. She walked straight past the entrance to the room and walked down a dark hall until she vanished from sight, blending with the shadows.
Kurama looked after her.
"Don't mind her," came Aiden's voice, "She never talks, she's spoken maybe two words since we've met."
"And what were those two words?" Yusuke asked, an evil grin on his face.
Aiden gave her small wry grin and shook her head, "Stop talking."
Miki gave a small toss of her child-like hands, "They were mainly directed at me though. I have a habit of being a bit of a chatterbox."
They heard Hiei mumble something under his breath and Yusuke snorted.
"Hiei's kind of like that too," Yusuke said, "But he'll tell you off if you annoy him. He's not stingy with degrading words."
"If you don't want a nasty surprise when you wake up in the morning, Detective, I'd shut up now." Hiei said from the windowsill.
Yusuke gave a small laugh, "See what I mean?"
Miki gave a giggle.
Kurama leaned forward, his head resting lightly on the tips of his fingers. "So tell me, Aqua, why did you decide to participate with us?"
The water demoness shrugged. "My family owed Koenma a favor after he helped us rid our kingdom of the lake dragoons, and I've always wanted to be in a tournament of this sort."
"Wait," Yusuke said, "You're royalty?"
Aqua nodded.
"I am too!" Miki called. At the guy's surprised looks she blushed. "Well, not exactly, more chief's daughter. We don't have a kingdom like ne-san Aqua has."
Yusuke had a blank look on his face. "You two are sisters?"
Miki laughed, "No silly! But we're as good as! Right ne-san?"
Aqua nodded, smiling fondly at the younger girl and smoothing the hair on top of her head.
The sun set and Miki yawned, her wings stretching with the rest of her body. "I'm sleepy. I'm off to bed." She said her goodnights, gave a sleepy wave and smile and trotted off, eyes half-closed, to her rooms.
Yusuke laid back on the couch. He regarded Aqua, who looked out the nearest window. "Interesting bunch, you are."
Aqua sighed, giving a small smile. "Miki is…young. She has a surprising power for her age though. I was surprised when I got to know her."
"And when was that?" Kurama asked.
"About a month ago. He was searching well before that. He had Whisper living here before me a Miki got here though."
Yusuke sat up quickly, leaning his arms on his legs, holding a hand out palm up. "What is her deal? Why is she all… oh I don't know… uh-"
"Reserved?" Aqua asked with a grin.
Yusuke nodded, "Yes, putting it lightly."
"Have you heard of the Whisper Clan?" Aqua asked.
She got a blank look from Yusuke, Kurama nodded and Hiei came and sat on a chair to better hear this story.
"Well, she's part of that. They are all like that, they use their Whisper magic and hardly ever say two words to each other. Their main way of 'talking' I guess you could say is through actions. They are trained from the cradle to fight and to use their magic and to never let their emotions, thoughts, anything, show. They are born with the knowledge of the Whisper language and are schooled in how to use it. From what I learned from Koenma, she's second in rank in her clan."
"How did you find all this out, from Koenma?" Hiei asked.
"Partly, but I did do my homework too. I wanted to know what I was faced with for teammates."
"So Miki, or Hawk, is a cheerfull kid, Whisper is a walking shadow and you are..?" Kurama said.
Aqua winked, "Somewhere in between. Not as outgoing as Miki, but not as statue-like as Onyx."
"You don't use their nicknames?" Yusuke asked, resuming his stretch on the couch.
"Not when they are not around." Aqua replied.
Hiei stood up and started walking out.
"Are you retiring for the night, Hiei?" Kurama asked the fire apparition.
Hiei nodded and walked down the hall.
The remaining three decided it was time for bed too, they would have to get up early the next morning.
Hiei lay in his bed, hands behind his head, one leg bent up, the other straight. He had taken off his cloak and shirt and belts and shoes, leaving him in his pants. He removed his bandana and closed his normal eyes. In his mind he moved through the halls until he came to Onyx's rooms. He walked through the door and up to the sleeping girl. He could barely tell if she was breathing. Without hesitation he dove into her mind, wanting to find out more about this mysterious demon.
Instantly it felt as if a red-hot poker jabbed itself into Hiei's Jagan eye. He took in a sharp breath through his teeth, clapping his hands over his hurting eye. He opened his real eyes and almost flinched. Onyx was on top of him, on her hands and knees. Her clawed hands gripped the mattress beside his ears, her bare knees were light on the mattress. She slept in just the short tunic, her long hair kept back in a ponytail at the bas of her neck. Long strands on her hair had fallen out of the tie though, falling on Hiei's chest, softly tickling the muscles. The situation would have been romantic if either were interested. They weren't
A voice sounded in Hiei's mind, a female voice, a whisper, light and breathy.
"What do you want?" Onyx asked telepathically.
"I need to know more about you." Hiei said aloud. He shifted slightly, his red eyes staring into Onyx's pure silver ones.
"Why?" she asked. The question sounded again and again, like a many of people were whispering.
"To see if you'll see this through, we don't want third-rate traitors who will sell us out to the enemy." Hiei said plainly.
In an instant Onyx's hand was on his throat. Hiei gripped her arm and shifted. Her grip tightened around the soft flesh. Her eyes narrowed.
"You think me a traitor, wielder of the Flame?" she asked in his mind, the question sounding over and over, like and echo.
"I wouldn't know, since you won't tell us anything!" Hiei hissed.
Onyx bared sharp fangs and emitted something like a growl. Hiei froze.
"I could break your mind so easily, wielder of the flame, don't try me." She said aloud, in a murmur. Hiei's eyes widened. She had spoken, aloud. Her voice was distinctively feminine, but with an edge of power that held years of experience.
She returned to her whisper in the mind. "You need not fear of my loyalty to Koenma. I am not a criminal."
Hiei glared at her. "It's not your loyalty to the baby I'm worried about, it's your loyalty to the rest of us."
Onyx said nothing for a while. "I gave my word." She released Hiei's throat and sat up, still on her knees. "Now, sleep."
Hiei's eyes suddenly felt heavy, he fought to keep them open until she left. He saw Onyx reach out two clawed fingers. They gently, with a feather-touch, closed his eyes. Then, before the sleep completely took him, he felt her fingertips run down his cheeks.
