Insight
"It started years ago, when the tome resided in a guarded structure, very similar to this temple." Shiroko spoke as soon as everyone had settled, her sisters seeming to brace themselves as old memories were surely flooding back to them.
We were so young back then and our parents were alive. Our mother was a gifted spell caster and our father was well-trained in many martial arts. Our aunt actually helped develop little Midori's elemental powers, considering she was very much the same. We were a happy family, even with the pressure of our guardian duties. Especially when we started training to guard the tome. It was rather sudden and we weren't sure why we were being trained so early on. It is true, we showed promise in our own individual gifts but it still made no sense to us. Later on we would find out just why they pulled us into being guardians so young.
Half a year into training, my sisters and I heard rumors of places being invaded but nothing happening. It was curious because the guards would be killed but nothing of value was stolen. Well, nothing of value to them. Little did they know that their libraries had been raided for books with valuable information about our tome; the Curse Tome. A lot of different nobility carried information about this tome as many of their families were collectors of many different sorts and merely for the sake of collecting. We've even had some of them try to steal the book but none of their men could get passed our parents nor us.
Unfortunately, the one who did this was much more skilled and definitely smarter about it. It went quiet for another half a year but there was just a tension between our parents and the other guardians that we were sure there was still something going on. So we trained even harder so that we could help our parents when the time came because they seemed to be preparing for the coming of someone. They were reluctant to leave their post to their relievers, even though the other guardians were by no means weak, they were the best and they had a feeling something would happen every time they were gone. There was no peace of mind while we were at home, though they tried, we could tell. We did what children did and remained resilient as to not add to their worry but even we were wearing thin.
Then the day came when that horrible man came and took our parents away from us.
It was a quiet night, like any other uneventful one. We'd just relieved the day guardians and they had told us that it was the usual weak thieves enticed by the rumors of the tome. We figured it would be the same as always. A bit of extra training while taking turns watching for intruders. It was a fairly small structure so it wasn't hard to defend. All of us were used to the duties by now so it was a bit less pressure on our parents… or maybe it was more, as they would still worry about us. You know how parents can be. Anyway, it started not long after the day guardians had left.
A high pitched scream cut short echoed nearby and our father and Kuroko went to check it out while our mother and I surrounded Midoriko who always held onto it, even back then. She was the only one unaffected by its darkness, thank goodness for that.
Kuroko came back alone and slightly wounded. She was distraught but she had the resolve of our father and I could see the determination to keep us safe even with the tears streaking down her face. Mother immediately erected a shield of protection, quickly reciting the spell, and with perfect timing as lightning crashed into and around the shield. I could see my mother was struggling and it worried me because I had never seen her falter before. I stayed close to my sisters while my eyes darted around the area. He finally showed himself and the fact that he was human was all the more distressing. How could a human have done all of this?
"You're much stronger than those guardians I just took down." His voice, which I had come to hate, commented about those he had slaughtered. "Too bad for your mate as well, he would have made a wonderful bodyguard. Perhaps I'll take your daughter instead," he glanced at Kuroko, "She seems to have taken after him in that respect."
"I'll kill you." The ferocity in my mother's normally gentle voice was bone-chilling, even from just those three words. Her voice trembled with the threat but the threat was well received none the less.
"Oh, I believe it. That is a positively frightening glare you've got there. Must be where that daughter of yours gets it from." And he was, again, referring to Kuroko who was indeed glaring at him. I could tell she wanted to kill him just as much. After all, she watched father die. But we would both know that pain. "Too bad you won't be able to… because neither you nor your daughters will be alive after I take that tome."
"Over my dead body." And how I hated this feeling. From her voice, she was ready to sacrifice herself because she knew she could not win. She signaled me behind her back and I was so reluctant. To leave her to die because if he had killed our father so easily then our mother's life was certainly forfeit.
I shook my head, whimpering "No.", tears already running down my face. My sisters looked up at me, then up at her and both shouting "No!" as well. We didn't want to lose her as well. But then she turned to me and the glare was gone, that gentleness we were used to there and it caused tears to flow even more. I couldn't do it… so she did. She used her last moment to send us away, letting the shield down and…
Shiroko couldn't finish as the recollection of those night's events made it difficult for her to talk through her sobs. She didn't think she would have to relive those memories and wished that she could forget them. At the same time, they were important to have. Especially now. If only she had been stronger, she could have saved them. Or at least her mother. She knew that Kuroko blamed herself for her father's death. She never told them what happened. They never asked. Only she carried that particular sadness alone and it made Shiroko feel all the more like a horrible older sibling for not being able to even help soothe that sadness.
Kuroko had wrapped an arm around her sister in the middle of the story and was currently shushing her with soothing words of reassurance as tears ran down her face as well. Midoriko had tears welling up in her eyes but she kept her composure and sat in front of her sisters to give them a bit of privacy as she attempted to continue where Shiroko left off.
That wasn't the last we would see of him. That bad spell caster followed after us, somehow through mama's spell. I hate to admit that he was that good. I still don't think he was as good as mama, she was just distracted because she had to protect us. And daddy too. I wish aunty had been there, she would have showed that bad man what for. Anyway, he followed us but big sister used a spell to make us undetectable. He knew we were there but he couldn't sense us. The frustration on his face was funny but I didn't laugh because it was a serious situation at the time. But his face was still funny, heehee.
So after he finally gives up on finding us, we get away and go back to… bury mama and papa. We do it while still having big sister's spell to cover us or he might have found us again. Which was awful because she wore herself out that night. Both of my sisters. I was still really young but I could understand something bad had just happened. I finally understood everything when we were burying our parents… we took them back home and buried them besides each other… then we lived with my aunt, training harder than before. We didn't see him after that because we began to travel after we grew up a bit more. We were constantly on the move because we knew he was looking for us.
"And that's pretty much it." Midoriko wiped away her tears, glancing at her sisters with sad eyes before looking back at the group, mostly Kirei. "Then we heard about all the memory loss cases. We didn't think it was him at first but considering all the targets were thieves, it kind gave him away."
Kirei nodded, absorbing the story. So this man was planning this for a long while and his skill level had been quite high from that long ago. Well, from the look and smell of them, they were still young in comparison to her and her brother. But it was long enough. Actually, that seemed like it was around the time they had just left the Makai. No wonder she had no idea of its disappearance from the once protected site. She had coveted that book at one point, honestly. When their parents were still new guardians, in fact. She was quite sure they looked very similar to that young couple she had encounter centuries ago, when she was still a young and power hungry spell caster. She'd learned, however, because their mother was no push over and neither was the teacher. She'd been thoroughly deterred from stealing the tome after encounter that duo it. It really was a surprise that her mother had been overtaken by the man. But that just made the seriousness of this matter all the more real. She really did have to be careful because she was dealing with someone who was probably her equal. The thought was absurd but not farfetched after their story.
"So he knows complete, unspoken magic. Needing merely the incantation in his mind to trigger the spell." Kirei finally spoke, all eyes still on her.
Midoriko looked to Shiroko who had slightly calmed down and the girl nodded, "Yes, even back then he was quite skilled and I'm sure he's only gotten stronger."
"Humans have quite the affinity for magic, I've heard. I've taken down many centuries ago who thought my tails would make them stronger. Only more so after I stole that staff." Kirei nodded, not too surprised that he was quite strong.
"Is that even true?" Kuwabara asked, finally able to speak after listening to the enrapturing story and discreetly wiping tears away, empathetic soul that he was.
Kirei shrugged lightly, "We'll never know," she turned to Kuwabara with quite the sinister smirk on her young school girl face, "They never could take any of them."
A chill ran down Kuwabara's spine, "You foxes are scary…" he slightly inched away from her and closer to Yusuke, who only laughed.
"Haha, you should already know that. You've seen Kurama in action." He clapped a hand on Kuwabara's shoulder, causing the young man to jump.
"Dammit Urameshi!" he clutched his heart, only causing the fellow human teen to burst out laughing.
"As funny as you two are, we have serious matters to discuss." Genkai's irritated voice cut through Yusuke's laughter and both of them scratched the backs of their heads before looking away and nodding. "So, what's the plan then?" she asked, looking back at Kirei.
"Am I the lead in this case now?" Kirei asked, threat of laughter in her voice. "But, straightforward, really. Find him and kill him." She shrugged, saying it quite easily.
"Easier said than done." Kuroko spoke up, a growl in her voice.
Everyone looked at her and it was quite easy to see that she was still reliving the memory. From the sound of it, he would be difficult to take down. Not to mention he couldn't be working alone with how frequent these cases have been popping up. Which reminded Kirei…
"He never… had anyone with him? Recent cases alluded to a helper of some sort. This helper of his is a bit sloppier than he is and his scent was that of a lightning elemental demon. He may have even been with him those years ago."
The three looked thoughtful before shaking their heads, "I can't recall him working with anyone else but you never know. He could have a slew of apprentices at his beck and call. The current frequency also indicates that he is rushing. I haven't a clue as to why."
"It's because he's human." Hiei said, as if it were obvious. "Magic slows the aging process but they still age. If he had the Cursed Tome, he could solve that easily." He was currently sitting off to the side, eyes closed as he was still resting from his days of no sleep.
"Those are only rumors, though. He couldn't possibly think that the book would give him eternal youth or immortality. Even we don't know that but that's because the tome should not be read." Shiroko was the one who said this, the one out of all three who stayed away from the book because she had reacted to it very similarly to Kirei's earlier episode in its presence.
"Actually, Hiei is right." Midoriko spoke up reluctantly. Hiei smirked. "Of course, the one who can hold it would be able to read it." She nodded, a hand over where the book currently rested, tucked away under her obi. "Plus all those other spells, he could be nearly invincible!"
Yusuke groaned, "Man, can't these bad guys be more creative? Eternal youth or immortality? Same shit, different day." He complained, not noticing Genkai's tenseness after the statement.
"That's just how some people are. You can't change them, no matter how hard you try." She then turned, heaving a heavy sigh. "I'll turn in for the day. You lot be careful."
"Yes, Master Genkai." Kirei answered, the rest murmuring their own acknowledgements. She watched the old woman till she was out of sight. Clearly the old woman had a past dealing with such a person. From the sadness she sensed, this person must have been close to her. She was always so curious about Genkai but she never pried. Even though she was much older than her, Kirei respected her as if she were her elder. They did have that kind of relationship, as if she was a parent. She had raised her in this human form, pretty much. It was hard not to feel that way. Maybe they would find out what she meant by that. One day.
Yusuke also watched Genkai leave, wondering why she decided to leave so suddenly, "Old bag probably needs a nap." He said lightly before looking to Kirei. "I know we're all probably in a rush to look for this guy but he's obviously gonna find us eventually so… can we eat? I'm starving." And his stomach emphasized the statement, growling almost obnoxiously.
"Urameshi! How can you think of your stomach at a time like this!?" Kuwabara yelled at the spirit detective before his stomach rumbled in agreement, causing him to glare at it in betrayal.
Kirei looked to the three girls, "You must also be quite tired and hungry. Wait here. I'll put on tea and make us lunch." She got up but the three girls rose with her.
"Oh, Miss Kirei, we couldn't let you make us food after you're going through all this trouble for us." Midoriko skipped to her side, hanging onto the surprised girl's arm. She pulled Kirei to sit next to the quiet and observant Kurama, "We've heard the rumors. You two must have just met again, right? We'll make lunch. Don't you worry about a thing and enjoy this time with your brother."
"But you don't know where the kitchen is…" Kirei frowned, not used to being given time of her own.
Kuwabara shot up at the moment, "I'll show them! I haven't done much of anything lately anyway."
Yusuke slowly got up, "Sure, you're just doing this out of the kindness of your heart." He turned towards the three sitting, "I'll keep him in check." Then he walked after the three before they all halted with Kirei's voice.
"Shiroko! I need you to stay behind. I might need your help."
This caused Hiei to open one eye, curious. Would she be restoring Kurama's memory now? He watched as Shiroko shooed her sisters away and came to join Kirei's side. He sort of missed that youko form of hers already. It suited her better than this human one. He wished the two kitsune would just remain in their true forms, as it should be. He did still hold a bit of a grudge against humans. Especially with the ones he'd been spending too much time with recently and being confined to the one human city. Though he should be directing all of his anger at Koenma. It was his word keeping him here and he couldn't fight those that would be sent to fight him. Well, he couldn't fight almost all of them. Looking back to the brother-sister pair, he didn't like how he felt close to them. Even Kirei, whom he hadn't known for very long. Perhaps it was because Kurama would talk about her all the time. He just felt like he knew her. He had always wanted to meet her and getting this chance, he hadn't been disappointed. She was every bit the sister Kurama had describe and she didn't fail to hold his attention. It was a foreign feeling but he was drawn to her and he couldn't explain it.
Hiei closed his eyes fully again, resting his head on the back of the wall, exasperated with the concern he's had for these kitsune. 'Damn foxes.'
AW: Shorter chapter than the other two but it is a bit of a flashback chapter and hinting at someone getting feelings. Poor, confused fire apparition. Hiei + Feelings = Adorbs to me though. xD Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter and be ready for the next chapter where we get a glimpse of the villain. Reviews are appreciated! Thank you in advanced!