All of the Pieces
[ Episode Seven ]
Back in Black
Wherein Hiei lets the bird fly.
My katana returned to its sheath as I examined the small cuts and blood splatter amongst the group, obvious signs of a recent battle. Dark circles ringed the eyes of the humans, and I set my pointed gaze on the tall one. He seemed to understand exactly why my heat had fallen on him, and he straightened his tired shoulders.
"Yukina is safe," Kuwabara said firmly, knowing better than to speak further than that. Silent understandings were the best kind.
The rumblings of the mobile fortress halted behind me, toppling the thick swamp trees with a cacophony of snapped timber. I brought up my hand to signal the massive bio-mechanical centipede, and the legs whirred and popped as it lowered its head to the ground and opened its maw, revealing the entrance.
"Come, I anticipate that you have answers," I said as nodded for them to enter.
The fox and the Mazoku moved on with no qualms, while Kuwabara prodded the utterly terrified female to follow. A twinge caught the edges of my perception, the distinct feeling that I was being watched by an unfamiliar entity. My hand rested on the grip of my sword and my Jagan stirred beneath its bandage, but it revealed nothing in the area. The feeling would not abate, I needed to stay alert.
We made our way down the cavernous hallway formed by the centipede's hardened gullet and stopped at the opening to the strategy room. Mukuro sat at the head of the table with her eye narrowed in annoyance at the incessant bickering of the generals flanking her either side. As we entered, she offered the faintest of smiles to our guests and raised a single finger, effectively silencing the room.
"Have a seat," she said to them, waiving to the occupied chairs to her left.
The handful of generals balked and let out their indignant gasps at being told to give up their seats. One of them, the overseer of the western quadrant, opened his fanged mouth to protest, but Mukuro leveled him with a cold stare that immediately silenced him and had him scrambling to stand. I took my customary place at her right hand, while the other four took the now empty chairs to her left.
"Yusuke, Kurama," Mukuro greeted, nodding to them in turn, "and Kuwabara, correct?"
The human stiffened at the sound of his name, looking shocked that she had even remembered him, but he quickly bowed his head to confirm. He had only been in her presence once, back when he traveled to the demon plane to spectate the last tournament while on break from his studies. Their introduction was brief, but Mukuro's mind, for better or worse, was a steel trap.
"And who are you?" she asked, her gaze falling on the human female.
Yusuke pointed his thumb to the girl and began to speak for her when she looked too scared to open her mouth, "this is–"
"I asked her," Mukuro interrupted firmly. I couldn't tell what, but she was searching for something in the girl's face.
To my surprise, the female took a deep breath and stood, extending her hand across the table for a handshake. "Lyra Beaumont, pleasure to meet you."
Mukuro smirked, and I recognized the genuine amusement on her lips as she stood to return the greeting. "Mukuro, a pleasure indeed," she replied and took her seat. "Now, I suppose you four have some insight as to why the barrier has been restored? While Yomi's frustration over it is quite pleasing to watch, Reikai has broken its agreement."
Kurama took point and began recounting the events of their night. I listened carefully, as the fox was not one to share details that were unimportant. Of course it was more Reikai drama. They had a bad habit of not being able to handle their own messes, and it was infuriating. I cared little for the plights of the human plane, but Enma's machinations had been imposing upon demonkind as well. It seemed both races had a common enemy in the pompous godking.
Mukuro sat back and brought a finger to her chin, processing the information. "Jikoku and Fudo, was it?"
"Yeah," Yusuke grumbled as he kicked his feet up on the table, "don't s'ppose you know them?"
Shaking her head, Mukuro flipped a switch on the arm of her chair, turning on the projector beneath the transparent table top. A holographic map of the surrounding swamp flickered to life, prompting the Mazoku to sheepishly remove his muddy shoes from their perch. With a wave of her hand, Mukuro re-positioned the map to show the topography of Yomi's territory of Gandara. "I know of no beings with those names," she said as the map zoomed in to display a large volcano, "but many centuries ago, this mountain was once referred to as Fudo's Mouth."
"At least it isn't Fudo's Asscrack," Yusuke quipped, unable to contain his mouth. As usual.
Kuwabara leaned in to get a closer look at the display, his eyes set hard in thought. "I guess this is our best lead. How do we get there?"
"My fortress will be able to transport you up to the border with Yomi's land. If I go further, he will see it as an act of war, and I doubt that we have time to spare on negotiations," Mukuro stated as she rose from her seat, prompting everyone else to stand. "It will take about a day and a half to reach the boundary. In the meantime, however, I will have my staff arrange for your accommodations."
"Your assistance is appreciated, Mukuro," Kurama said with a polite bow.
"It's my pleasure to meddle in Enma's affairs," she replied mirthfully. "Hiei, if you would lead them."
I nodded to her and began ushering the group back out to the hallway, stopping when Lyra turned to face Mukuro. The girl took a few tentative steps back into the room and addressed the demon lord, "so, I have to ask... why did you insist that I introduce myself?"
Mukuro tilted her head with a stern look. "I was deciding whether or not to eat you. If you hadn't the strength to speak your own name, I would have. Fear has no value," she replied simply before exiting through a door to her private room.
"Move," I prodded as the human fell into a stunned silence. I led them to the dining hall, where the staff was already busy setting out platters of food. Yusuke sat down with the humans, carefully explaining which foods would kill them and which were safe, and Kurama stood beside me as I sat on the stairs to distance myself from the obnoxious sounds of the trio eating.
"Something is troubling you," Kurama sighed, leaning on the wall to stare at me in that annoying way he always did when he wanted me to talk.
"Nothing of importance."
"You know that doesn't work on me, Hiei," he intoned. Damned nosy fox.
My thumb tapped idly on the pommel of my katana as the weight of unseen eyes still peered at me. My Jagan continued to show that nothing was amiss, but my gut was not in the habit of lying to me, and I knew better than to ignore it. "Something is watching."
"I sensed it, too. It has been following us since we entered Makai, but there is no aura, no scent," Kurama mused, rolling a small seed between his fingers, making it look as if he was cleaning his nails.
"Hn," I huffed impatiently. Something was playing games with us, prompting a fire to rise in my chest.
Lyra began coughing uncontrollably at the table, and I wondered for a moment if she had begun choking on her food –imagine my surprise when I had found out that it was actually possible for humans to die this way– but Kuwabara soon followed with a fit of his own. They crumpled to the floor, gasping for air but unable to fill their lungs. Yusuke knelt and rolled Kuwabara onto his side, panic and confusion darkening his eyes, while the fox rushed to the girl.
"Hiei," Kurama called as he lifted Lyra's head to his lap. I was next to him in a blink, and he turned her heaving body just enough for me to see a small, bloody 'X' cut into the back of her neck.
"What the fuck," Yusuke growled as he pulled a bloodied hand from behind Kuwabara's head.
I removed the bandage over my Jagan and scanned the room, but there was still no presence there but ours. With a flick of my thumb, my blade sprang from its sheath and I held it at the ready. I looked down at Kuwabara, his face taking on a blue tinge as he fought to breathe, and flames sparked from my hand, shrouding my katana in deadly heat. "Show yourself!" I snarled.
A satisfied laugh echoed through the room, seemingly coming from all directions. My instincts told me to block, so I lifted my sword up and heard the audible ting of metal striking metal, but there was no other blade in sight. I jumped back to reposition myself, and I felt a warm trickle of blood drip down my cheek. I ran my fingers over the fine scratches on my face and narrowed my eyes, anger bubbling up within me like lava.
Yusuke shouted as an unseen force threw him back into the table, three slashes resembling claw marks carved into his chest. Thinking quickly, he ran his hand over the wound and flung it outward, spattering the invisible opponent with crimson. My eyes locked on the floating bloodstain as the figure darted away from the Mazoku and charged Kurama.
Got you.
Demonic flame surged from my sword as I swung, the blade catching against flesh with a familiar resistance. The fire spread, consuming whatever had been cloaking the assassin and revealing a sinewy creature that was both man and bird. Hands tipped with talons shot up as he covered his midsection, a green sword falling from his grip with a clatter. Solid black eyes locked onto mine and he opened his beak as if to say something, but only a gurgle escaped as blood rose from his esophagus and drowned his tongue. The top half of him separated from the bottom completely, and the pieces plopped lifelessly to the floor, perfectly cauterized.
I reached down and grabbed the mossy-colored blade, examining it. The edges were slicked with a clear liquid, obviously some form of poison. There was a jeweled embellishment on the pommel that looked out of place, and I pressed on it, opening a compartment in the hilt. Inside was a small vial, and I quickly tossed it to Kurama. He smelled the contents and immediately poured a few drops into the mouths of the now unconscious humans.
A few quiet moments passed with no effect, Yusuke impatiently slapping at Kuwabara's face to rouse him, but he soon followed Kurama's lead and began chest compressions. A few more uneasy seconds passed before a desperate sucking of air filled the room, both of the humans gasping their way back into consciousness. Lyra clawed at Kurama's arm in panic before she realized who was holding her down, while Kuwabara –more accustomed to returning from the brink of death– calmly sat up as his breath returned to normal.
"What... the hell... was that?" he sputtered.
My boot tapped the heap of demon on the floor and I sneered. "Tengu," I said. "An ugly one."
Yusuke marched over to the corpse and pulled up a shred of the burnt cowl that had covered the beast. The dark fabric had a strange, swirling pattern in the weave and Yusuke narrowed his eyes. "This looks a lot like the cloaking spell that Koenma used."
"Yes, it's definitely Spirit World magic," Kurama added. "It seems that Enma has taken to employing demons."
"Yeah, makes perfect sense! 'Oh, you've been screwing over my species for centuries? Here, let me help you!'" Yusuke mocked, throwing the fabric across the room in frustration.
The shroud sailed to the doorway and landed square on Mukuro's head, who raised a quizzical eyebrow as she surveyed the chaos we'd left in her dining hall. She neatly folded the fabric and tucked it in her belt before she spoke. "We haven't even served drinks yet."
I was going to hear about this later.
[A/N] Hello loves! Thank you for reading, once again! I've been having some complications from my neurological disorder of late, which makes it very difficult to write. Chronic nerve pain and seizures give me massive brain fog (thank goodness for spell check!), so I wasn't sure if I'd get this one out in time, but I made it! Hiei is such an odd-duck to write, too. He's a ball of loyalty under a crunchy IDGAF shell. XD
The continued support of Baoh joestar has been greatly appreciated! Your reviews truly light up my day!
I have two side stories for the next episode planned, so I will probably start a separate story for AoP shorts. They won't be required for understanding the story, but they will add character development and other fun stuff that doesn't fit within the perspective of the character being focused on for that chapter. ;)
