Chapter Nine
ForbiddenChildLover64

Yay! I'm back with chapter nine! Well, not so much yay, because this chapter pretty much sucks. Well, most of it anyway.

I do not own any of the characters except the secretary (she is going to become and important character—I think). Anyone else belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi.


When I woke up, Kurama was bent over me, checking my wounds. He looked completely at ease. "Ah, you're awake. Good." He said when he noticed my eyes were open. "I still find it amazing how quick you heal. That could, of course, have something to do with my being used to human healing rates. I'll need to get over that." He frowned, as if it bothered him that he still expected it.

"How long was I asleep?" I ask, instead of commenting on this expectation.

"I'm not really sure. As you may recall, we both fell asleep. If you look around, there is no way to tell how much time has passed in this room. No clocks, no nothing. We'll have to leave this room to figure out the answer to that question. Can you walk?"

"Hn." Of course I can walk. What kind of weakling did he think I was? I stood up and pain ripped through my gut but I refused to flinch. "It doesn't hurt." I told him instead.

"Really?" he asked, skeptical.

"Not a bit."

"Hmmm… how about your shoulder?" My shoulder? Oh yeah, my arm had nearly been severed. That could bet the reason the pain in my gut seemed to radiate to the tips of my fingers.

"It's perfect." I lied. "Let's get out of here." He just nodded, and I could tell he saw through me. He knew just how badly I had been injured, yet he didn't comment. With every step toward the door I ached. It was hard to breathe. But I didn't let any of it show. That would be weak.

We walked out the door and the secretary, or whatever she was, looked shocked. I'm not sure why. It could have been that she didn't expect me to return. Or it could have been that Kurama was still a fox demon. It was probably a combination.

It passed quickly and her face became a calm mask. She probably had no idea of what had happened, yet she didn't ask a single question. Kurama, however, did. "How long has it been since we entered?"

She looked through the documents on the desk before replying, "Six hours, forty two minutes… Where is he? And who are you? Where is the redhead?" Her curiosity had finally won out over her professionalism.

I saw Kurama look down in response to her third question. He'd forgotten he was still a fox. Answering, he said, "If 'he' is your master, the answer is dead. I am Shuichi Minamino," Still keeping with the façade then. "And I am 'the redhead.'" As he repeated her description of him, his tone was mocking. Almost as an afterthought he added, "And, since your master is dead, we have proved that Hiei is the heir."

She blinked. This was obviously not what she had been expecting. She sat there a moment, as if trying to wrap her mind around the idea that her master could possibly dead. It didn't seem to work. Eventually she gave up, turned to me and said, "Who are you?"

"I," I replied, "Am Jaganshi Hiei, your new master." I knew her question wasn't literal, that she actually meant, 'How the hell did you kill him?' but I didn't feel like admitting it hadn't been me. And Kurama, it seemed, didn't feel it necessary to enlighten her to the fact that 'Shuichi Minamino' was actually her old master's greatest foe.

She just continued staring, so I glared right back. She quickly realized this and lowered her gaze. "Just do whatever it is you normally do, then. And stay out of our business." Kurama commanded out of absolutely nowhere.

"You're not my master." Was her reply. She then slapped her hand to her mouth—she hadn't meant to say that. Not so bluntly, anyway.

"Well, I am." I said. "And he is my friend, I guess you could say. So you will do as he says as well."

"Yes, sir!" she said quickly.

About five minutes later we were walking through the garden. Why the guy had a garden, I'll never know. And I probably don't want to know. Eventually, Kurama stopped walking and turned to look at me. "What did you think of her?"

"I thought she was an incompetent idiot. Why she was chosen for the job, I don't think I'll ever understand. I don't intend to fire her,—literally or from her job—though. The only reason I won't, however, is because I don't want to be here often enough for her to get on my nerves enough that I would rather go through and find someone else to do her job. Because her job is important in a household of this size, even if she is insignificant." Something is wrong with me. I am talking way too much. Talking tells other people how you feel. But it's only Kurama, so that shouldn't be a problem.

"Really?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes."

"Oh." Now he was… disappointed. Why though? I was about to find out. "I though she was quite good at her job. And that she was very pretty."


How do you all like that ending? I like it a lot. It presents… possibilities. You all tell me with a review where you think this ending should go. Thanks so much!

Sorry this chapter was so short. : D

ForbiddenChildLover64