Disclaimer: Do you think that if I own them I would even be writing fanfictions?!
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
/telepathy/
"ss.Parseltongue.ss"
First things first... I realized that I haven't updated in nearly a year... and I am really REALLY sorry for that... My excuse is that my computer deleted the file when I was halfway through and I was so frustrated that I nearly stopped working altogether... Then... the exams arrived... So you can only imagine what it's like... I only just got my own laptop (where my brother won't accidentally delete my stuff) but the Microsoft office was whacked... So more waiting...
Now I realize that most of you would probably want to kill me for putting off my work like this (believe me, it's not the only work I delayed time and time again) but I ask you to reconsider murdering me considering the dead cannot type...
Last time:
"Yeah… Well, do you really think I won't develop a sort of natural immunity to the venom as a whole after working for hundreds of years with them…" Kurama asked as he raised an eyebrow. Yusuke looked a bit sheepish for a moment before returning to his usual delinquent self. "Although… the other things in that potion left me a bit disoriented after awhile… it'll probably fade by a few hours…"
The group continued on their way to their private quarters.
A little way further down the corridor, a figure stealthily slinked away after their footsteps faded away. Slipping away from behind a suit of armor and hurrying off.
Chapter 10
Days went by with the Spirit Detectives doing nothing but exploring. As they were hired to fend off demon attacks, they don't have much to do on a 'normal' day. Kage sometimes strayed to the library and had taken up to reading on his free time, occasionally with Kurama joining him. They would, of course, find a place where no one would be able to see them. Yusuke usually just walked aimlessly around the castle, exploring every nook and cranny. Hiei, on the other hand, disappeared completely most of the time. The group could faintly feel his aura around the castle but the rest of the student body had no idea where he's gone. It did not help that the high amount of magic in the castle was actually disrupting their senses as it seemed to cover up weak traces of Reiki and Youki. What usually was instinctive to them, they now had to do consciously and with a little amount of effort.
The headmaster had idly thought about just telling the student body that they were indeed wizards, but decided against it when he remembered their little encounter with the young Malfoy, where they clearly stated that they contained no magic in them whatsoever.
Hogwarts being Hogwarts, naturally by breakfast the next day every single students had come up with their own theory and the rumors just got wilder and wilder with each passing minute. By lunch, the majority of the student body had the Spirit Detectives pegged as either undercover dark wizards or a mutated race of wizards, the latter obviously originating from a muggleborn who had watched too much X-men movies.
Whispers followed them everywhere they go; in the hallways, classrooms, hell, even in the bathrooms. Every time the students caught sight of one of them they would pause whatever it is they were doing in favor of staring at them or whispering quietly behind their hands in what they thought a discreet manner. Too bad they have no idea that the demons' sensitive ears could pick up every single word they said as if they were yelling for the whole world to hear.
"That's the one... He's one of them..."
"Heard he nearly blew the school up..."
"They apparently used some kind of dark magic to absorb the powers other people... That reiikiii stuff was probably just some cover up..."
"Heard there was some sort of nuclear radiation leak that altered their genes..."
"Dark wizards... the lot of them..."
They had all learned to ignore the whisperings, although Yusuke and Kage had a few difficulties curbing their temper at certain times, usually when those comments came from the mouth of the one and only the-pompous-ass-brat-with-an-overly-large-inflatable-head-who-just-wouldn't-bloody-die.
But the icing was probably when Kage and Kurama bumped into a petite figure as they were making their way towards their quarter from the library, sending the person, who was considerably smaller than them, to the ground, scattering several books and scribbled papers in the process.
"Ah... Sorry about that..." Kage said as he helped the figure up from the floor and started gathering the books on the floor.
"Quite alright..." A soft lilting voice answered almost distantly. The figure had long blonde hair curling slightly at the tip and was apparently a member of the Ravenclaw house if the blue crest stitched to her robe was anything to go by.
As she stood up straight and dusted her robe after collecting her books, the detectives got a good look on the girl in question. She had blue eyes that seemed a bit vacant, and was wearing a necklace made up from something that looked like bottle caps. Her wand was tucked behind her right ear, where, Kurama approvingly noted, she had easy access to said item and giving no danger of losing a buttock or other organs.
As she got a good look at the two, she cocked her head slightly to the side and said softly.
"You two are... spirit detectives..."
"We noticed" Kurama said with a slightly raised eyebrow at the girl's... eccentricities...
She smiled slightly, still with that slightly vacant look in her eyes, almost as if she weren't actually seeing them.
"Yes... I noticed you felt different too..." She said, and then turned her attention to Kage. Kage shivered slightly as the previously vacant eyes focused on him, but still looking as if not really seeing him. "Especially you..."
Kage was, to say it plainly, surprised.
"What makes you say that,Miss...?"
The girl just hummed happily in response and then continued staring at nothing in particular.
"Luna Lovegood... It is a pleasure to meet you." She exclaimed softly as she gave another dreamy smile at their general direction and a small but noticable curtsey.
"I'm Kage Hiroku" Kage said pointing to himself and gestured at Kurama "and this guy here is Kurama Minamino..."
"I know..." She stared at the both of them with her unique blue eyes and Kage shifted uncomfortable under her gaze, feeling as if he was being dissected and examined by a bunch of scientists. Then she peered at them and blinked owlishly.
"You wouldn't happen to be bitten by nargles in the past, would you?"
Kage was unsure as to how to response and Kurama was nearly as bewildered although the Youko side of him was amused and had found a liking to the strange young witch.
"Err... Not that I know of..." Kage replied hesitantly.
"Well... Of course you won't notice... I'd imagine they're quite elusive to your eyes..." She said matter-of-factly, yet still not losing any of her dreamy state.
"Well... Can you see them..." Kurama replied good naturedly.
"Of course not, silly... Nobody can see them..." She replied with full conviction "They're not dangerous though... So you don't have to worry about that..."
"Is... that so?" Kage replied slowly, racking his brain for anything called nargles and coming up blank.
"Oh yes... You might want to stay out of the way of an Albanian Glinder though..." She warned seriously as she smoothed out nonexistent wrinkle from her robe.
"They're dangerous?"
"Goodness, yes... I believe our resident Potions Professor has been bitten by one..." Luna exclaimed as she got an odd pondering look in her face.
"What happens when you do get bitten by one?" Kage asked, seriously interested on what the young eccentric Ravenclaw was talking about.
She just cocked her head to one side and looked at them with her glassy blue orbs. "Well, look at that... I better get to class..." She gave a small smile and continued on her way down the hall, leaving a rather perplexed Shadow Demon and an amused Kitsune behind her.
"Well, that was... interesting..." Kurama said with a small smile which turned into a chuckle as Kage swiveled around to cast an incredulous look at him.
000
Yusuke was not having a good day.
He was on his way to his room when suddenly the staircases changed positions, leading him to another, totally unfamiliar part of the castle. He had been wandering around the hallways for anything that might indicate where he is, and was having a hard time just doing that seeing as the portraits frequently moved around and every single clanking armours was exactly the same.
'Hell... How am I supposed to find my way through this goddamn maze... ?' He thought irately to himself as he punched the wall in frustration, leaving a small crater with cracks running up the wall. The portraits around him stared at him in annoyance and more than one of them looked surprised when they saw the state of the wall he punched.
"What the hell are you looking at?!" He snapped at them irately, making all of them look away and causing some to huff at him, mumbling about disrespectful children.
If he concentrated enough, he could feel the flare of the others' Reiki, it wasn't too hard to find even with all the magic covering it up, of course, that's probably because they were making no effort to hide their signature Reiki and Youki. He knew the position of the others and figured that getting to Kage and Kurama was a sure method to find his way back, the only problem is that even if he knew the position he didn't know the way.
After nearly half an hour of wandering aimlessly around he was beginning to seriously consider just blasting a hole through the walls and creating a pathway of his own but decided against it when he remembered that Genkai was in the castle too.
He growled in frustration and stomped through the hallways, grumbling about stupid englishmen who built a stupid damn HUGE castle. Some portraits heard what he said and was scandalized to hear his... selection of words when talking about the founders.
"Now see here, boy! The founders are one of the greatest wizards and witches who have ever lived!" One portrait of an elderly lady in a horrible pink robe screeched at him "They wre the ones who-"
"Yeah... yeah... They were dreat and all. I get it!" Yusuke shot back at her "I just wished they didn't built this damn castle! Then maybe I wouldn't have to be in it!"
The portrait stood up to her full height, which by all means was not quite that impressive, and gave him the best glare she had. "Hogwarts has been around for hundreds of years, which is more than you and your little friends can do surely." She stated coldly at him, and Yusuke had a hard time not snorting at the irony.
'If only she knew...'
He opened his mouth to reply but before he even managad to say a single syllable, another voice rang through the hallway.
"You're one of those Spirit Dafectifs aren't you?"
Yusuke turned around to see who had spoken. A guy with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes was walking towards him, and Yusuke actually felt grateful that he had met someone who was above whispering like some gossip mongers, although it didn't made him less wary of the person.
The person was wearing a plain black robe just like many other people in the castle, yet he was definitely not a student because; one, he's too old to be one, and two, he was wearing a badge that clearly states to the world that he was one of those wizards police squad or something.
"First of all, it's Detectives... with a 't'..." Yusuke replied snappishly, "and yes, I am.."
"Oh, sorry... err..." The man said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yusuke Urameshi..." The young detective quickly replied.
"Right." The wizard said shortly before introducing himself "I'm Black... Sirius Black..."
'Bond... James Bond...' Yusuke couldn't help but gave a lopsided grin as the thought crossed his mind. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that the name somehow sounded familiar.
"Are you lost, Mr. Urameshi?" Sirius asked him "Not many people comes to this part of the castle ever since..."
"Just Yusuke... I still can't get used to the Mr. And Mrs. Stuff you englishmen used..." Yusuke said offhandedly..." Yusuke said as the grin was wiped off his face and a scowl took its place "and I guess I am..."
"What?"
"Lost."
"Oh..."
Silence stretched between them as Yusuke scowled towards the air, it always irritated him to no end when he actually had to admit that he was lost, that was usually Kuwabara's job.
"Well?" He demanded at the considerably young, but still older, wizard.
"Oh! Of course... err... Maybe it's better if you follow me... The hallways might change again..." Sirius said as he started walking at a comfortable pace, gaining his usual confident air as he walked through the halls with familiar ease.
As they walked away, they heard the antagonistic clad in pink portrait grumbling about how the auror should've left the 'ungrateful ill mannered brat' to die in the halls. Yusuke glared back and was about to shout something impolite when another voice beat him to it.
"Ah.. Shut your trap, you hideous pink hag..."
The protrait turned an interesting shape of purple which clashed horribly with her robe before scampering away in a huff. Yusuke looked at the man beside him in astonishment, his eyebrows raised so high it would've disappeard behind his hairline had he not gelled his hair back. Sirius looked at him and gave a dog-like sheepish grin.
"Sorry... Never did like the b-... err... witch..." He hastily corrected "One of Rocher's little spies that one was... Got me caught more than once..."
"Who?"
"Rocher... He was the defence against the dark arts teacher once... The slimy bias git... Docking Gryffindor points left and right, not unlike Snivelly..." He scrunched up his nose in disgust.
Despite himself, Yusuke found Sirius' character interesting and couldn't held back his curiosity.
"What happened to him?"
As soon as the question left his mouth, Sirius' face stretched into a full blown grin and his blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Oh... This and that... Nothing too big... as long as it get him out of the school..." The auror replied with a laugh in his voice. Now, Yusuke was really curious.
"I've got time..." Yusuke said in what he hoped was a nonchalant way.
He needn't have worried though as Sirius took that as his cue to start launching into the story. Pretty soon they were talking about all the pranks they did back in their school days. Yusuke was excited to hear about some of the magical pranking materials that didn't need to be activated by magic and was eager to try it out, while Sirius was considering using some of the muggle methods Yusuke mentioned.
They were soon descending into an argument of who did the best prank. And Yusuke had to admit defeat when Sirius told him about one that involves the giant squid, animal transfiguration, polyjuice, gender switching and, strangely, peacock feathers.
"And you did all of this by yourself?!" Yusuke asked after he finished roaring with laughter.
Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say, as the laughter in Sirius' eyes ebbed away and the mischievous grin fell in one second flat.
"No... Not by myself..." Sirius said, and then fell quiet. "We called ourselves the Marauders..."
In that moment, something seemed to click in Yusuke's brain. The Marauders. Padfoot, Moony, and two others. The group of pranksters that Kage used to talk about, two of which he mentioned with considerable fondness. He couldn't remember any other detail about it as he rarely paid any attention when others are talking.
"Oh... err... Really?" Yusuke tried to mask his sudden revelation with an air of curiosity. Unfortunately, his acting skill wasn't good enough to the trained eyes of an auror, and said auror mentally frowned at the change of attitude.
Just then, they passed a particular portrait that Yusuke recognized, or rather, the frame that he recognized as the canvas was, currently empty. Just as if on cue, his stomach growled in hunger. It seems that while 'exploring' (he refused to admit that he was lost a second time, even in his mind) he had managed to skip lunch altogether.
Fortunately, his stomach's antics managed to actually break the ice as Sirius let out a raucous bark-like laugh, causing Yusuke to grin sheepishly at him. The older man then proceeded to give him a tour of the castle, or rather to the kitchen, as they continued their discussion about pranks, although with noticeably less vigor than before.
The subjects of the Marauders were left untouched except for the occasional mention of Moony who, Yusuke couldn't help but notice, Sirius seemed to be extremely fond of.
'Well... That happens when the other two became right bastards...'A snide voice answered in his head, he idly wondered whether one of the others snuck into his mind but quickly dismissed the idea as no mental connection was in place.
"Fraternizing with the enemy, are we?" A voice jeered mockingly.
The two fun loving men swiveled around to look at the man who spoke and their eyes immediately hardened. All traces of humor was immediately wiped off as they came face to face with none other than James Potter.
"Potter." Sirius gave a minuscule nod in his direction, his voice tight and his whole posture stiff, as if expecting an attack.
"Black." He said shortly and gave a sneer to Yusuke. "Once a traitor always a traitor, eh?"
Sirius had his jaw clenched together and his nails digging into the palm of his hands, while Yusuke was glaring daggers at the elder Potter.
"I guess it's fitting... Fellow Dark Wizards banding together..." James sneered at the two.
That did it. Yusuke lunged at the older man and grasped his collars, lifting him until the tips of his toes were barely touching the ground, an impressive feat considering Yusuke was a good four inches shorter than the head of the Potter family.
Yusuke's eyes glowed with power as his aura flared about, not enough to be visible but certainly enough that Sirius gasped as the power washed over him.
"Look." Yusuke growled out to him. "I don't know what your problem is but Sylvester-"
"Sirius."
"-Sirius here is twice the wizard you will ever be, you pompous ass. So you better back off or I'll-"
"What? You'll hit me?!" James choked out in what was supposed to be a condescending tone, but the small glimmer of fear and uncertainty in his eyes betrayed his emotions "Don't... kid yourself, boy. Someone... like you can't... possibly do a single... useful thing. I bet your mother... is just a... lowlife whor-"
"YOU LEAVE MY MOTHER OUT OF THIS!!" Yusuke hollered as he drew back his fist. But just as he was about to land a crippling blow, considering every blow Yusuke made is a crippling blow to a normal human, a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him.
He glanced at Sirius who was shaking his head slightly with a small frown in his face. Yusuke made a noise of disgust and released the hands holding up the taller man by the collar, making the elder Potter crumple to the ground, coughing and rubbing at his neck as he glared at Yusuke.
"You really should learn to grow up, James..." Sirius said morosely as he looked at his one time best friend.
Hazel eyes flashed towards the dark haired man and pinned him with a sharp stare behind a pair of silver rimmed glasses. "I never recall ever giving a dark wizard permission to use my given name, Black." He said coldly as he rose from the ground and smoothed out his robe.
Yusuke saw a flash of hurt in Sirius' eyes before it turned blank and his whole posture stiffened.
"My apologies, Potter." The previously jovial man replied emotionlessly, all but spitting the last word out.
With that said, he turned on his heels and stalked off, not even bothering to see whether or not Yusuke was following behind him, which he did, but not before throwing a rather rude gesture at the offending party.
000
Hiei was sitting on top of the roof of the great castle, his jagan was exposed and glowing an eerie purple light. The magic flying around within the castle was making it harder for him to sense anything else, a fact that he did not take too kindly. He could feel the energy of every single person within the castle and was unsurprised to find that the majority of them possesed so little power.
'Weak... These humans are weak...'
He idly noted when Yusuke's Reiki flared for a moment, something that he had anticipated all along; that boy couldn't control his temper if his life depended on it. However, something else made him stop in his track. There was some sort of energy resembling a Youki gathering on the edge of the castle grounds, there were, he realized, a whole pack of them. Just as the source of those energy drew closer to the castle he began to feel a gust of cold wind blew through him, as tendrils of ice seemed to lick his very skin.
'The forest'
Sure enough as he opened his eyes and gazed at the forest, he saw a portion of the foliage decaying and crystals of ice began appearing on branches while sheets of ice began crawling at the now bare ground.
He quickly sent a mental message to the rest of the spirit detectives residing within the castle.
/Something's coming/
000
Meanwhile, in another part of a castle, a figure was pacing in front of the fireplace as he pondered the conversation that he had witnessed a few days ago. Books were scattered across the coffee table, books about various magical creatures. The fire flickered slightly as one of the woods snapped in a burst amber sparks.
These people are surely powerful, he can tell that much. Add to the fact that they can actually resist the Veritaserum, or at least the Minamino boy could. He could feel that something was different about them. He felt that they weren't lying about Spirit Energy, but he knew that they weren't telling the whole truth either.
He had done research on humanoid magical creatures with an abundance in physical strength, breakneck speed, and other facts that he had gathered about the four, and only one creature matched their characteristics.
Demons.
--
Well? How was it? Did you like? I know there wasn't alot of action here, but I just want to introduce some characters first...
Another thing... Do any of you have any idea for pairings? I'm not really that fond of excessive romance and I couldn't write one to save my life, but it'll do a good job of spicing things up... Add your pairings idea to the review and I might just use it if I actually like it...
Please review... And ideas are very welcomed...
AJ