Flashback chapter...
"No no no…" The large demon shook his head with a sigh, "like this junior. Curl your fingers up tight, so they're flat up front like this…" Holding out his fist the demon tapped against the flats of his fingers, "alright, show me yours…"
Big red eyes glared up at him, and then a tiny hand lifted, fingertips curled into his palm. The stern look on the man's face faded into the barest sign of a grin and he nodded.
"Better, now remember, keep your thumb tucked down unless you want to break it…" he demonstrated the proper position with his own fist, "Now, give it your best shot." Holding up his oversized palm he smirked a little when the tiny fist collided with the center. "Well, you're aims getting better, but you've still got a long way to go Hiei. Try it again…" Another hit tapped his hand, "What are you swatting a bug? Harder." He ordered, watching the child tense in preparation of the next hit.
XXX
Glancing around the boy frowned at their surroundings before finding the giant he'd been walking with again. "Where are we?" He demanded.
"Doesn't matter..." The demon answered, dropping the bag he'd been carrying. "Okay brat, listen close 'cause we aren't going back till you've mastered this stuff."
"What stuff?" Hiei grumbled and climbed up to sit on one of the fallen logs stretched across the clearing they'd stopped in.
"Survival skills pipsqueak," He announced with a smirk, "time you learned how to live in the wilderness…"
"We already live in the wilderness." Hiei muttered, leaning forward on his knees to roll his eyes at the older man's enthusiasm. All he earned was a glare.
"That doesn't mean you could do it yourself." A little curious Hiei turned back to watch the man's enormous hands disappear into the sack he'd been carrying since they left camp, wondering what was clanging around inside it as he dug, "I brought enough food for tonight, but come tomorrow you're gonna have to start hunting for it yourself… so let's start with the fire…" The sudden whoosh of hot air and flash of light made him flinch, and dark eyes turned toward the boy with red eyes standing next to the suddenly blazing fallen tree. "Alright, you little smart ass, what are you gonna do if you're stranded somewhere without the energy to do that huh?"
"I doubt it'll be a problem." He grumbled back, smirking at the flames dancing along the fallen tree's length. The knuckle that collided with the back of his head didn't hit the boy with nearly the force it could have, but was still enough to make Hiei take a step forward to keep from tipping over. Frowning back at the much taller demon he absently rubbed the bump forming on the back of his head.
"You're still gonna learn to do it the right way Junior and I'll be watching to see if you cheat…"
"Sure… boss." The name dripped with sarcasm, but he'd never heard the demon called by anything else.
XXX
"Well, at least you're good at something…" Pausing he looked up from the almost clear water swirling around his knees to watch the boy drop something big and furry on the river bank. It was almost relieving in a way; he'd been starting to think this whole trip had been a waste of time. Days in the obstinate child could only barely start a campfire without using his energy to conjure the flames, he absolutely refused to construct any type of shelter, preferring to hide under trees when it had rained the night before, and fishing lessons had been an unrivaled disaster. He should have expected that though, the boy was too impatient to wait for the fish to come to him and had spent more than an hour chasing them around the stream, leading to a lot of splashing and no dinner.
It looked like hunting had gone a lot better, something that played more to the boy's strengths. He should have suggested it sooner. Wading out of the river the bandit leader paused next to the much smaller boy he had taken charge of some years earlier and surveyed the large animal positioned next to his own squirming stack of wriggling silver scaled fish. "Well, kid, looks like we're eating like kings tonight." He announced with the starting whoop of laughter and stooping to rub his hand roughly over the top of the young demon's head, squashing down his spiky hair. All he received in answer was a scoff from his side. "And tomorrow we'll head back to base…" He added with a shake of his head. Maybe someday the ungrateful brat would appreciate all the trouble he'd gone to for him, he doubted it, but a demon could hope after all.
XXX
It wouldn't be all that hard to find them, when he found one the other was sure to be nearby. It had been that way for a while now, since they'd found the girl and brought her back neither of the kids had been willing to let the other out of their sight for very long. At first he'd though it would be problematic, but the girl had turned out to be useful if underprepared for a life among cutthroats, and keeping her out of trouble also seemed to keep Hiei from causing too much trouble of his own. So he was hardly surprised to find them together in a clearing nearby. Hiei playing with his latest toy, a sword he'd acquired from somewhere and been determined to learn to use, and Kotori watching silently from the sidelines.
"Good job kid, keep it up." He spared the boy and his sword a few seconds of observation then nodded approvingly before turning and making his way to the girl leaning against a tree a short distance away, "Alright little bit, we've got to have a talk." He dropped to a knee and leaned down to be closer to her eye level.
"Sir…?"
"Nice kid… you listening pipsqueak you could learn a thing or two from this one, calls me sir and everything." He smiled over his corner, watching the way the boy tensed still when someone was close to the little winged girl he'd brought home. Shaking his head at that he turned back to the girl looking questioningly up at him, "Guess what I found sitting inside?" Kotori only blinked up at him and the demon sighed, revealing a long blade hidden in a plain brown scabbard. "How many times I gotta tell you to keep this with you?" He asked, shaking it slightly in front of her. The girl only looked at him and then the knife and frowned up at him. "Well, take it."
"I won't…" She said quietly, her eyes dropping away from his.
"Listen little bit…" He could hold her whole arm in one hand and did so as he forced the knife into her grasp, "You've gotta be able to look after yourself if you need to… something comes up running away isn't always going to be an option, and someone's not always going to be there to help you out…"
"I won't kill someone…" She muttered.
"Then just maim them, but keep the damn knife with you." Sighing he leaned a little closer, "And don't let the other guys hear you talking about that not killing people stuff, it'll make you easy pickings for em…" Climbing slowly to his feet he turned away with a sigh and shook his head, "How the hell do I keep getting tied down to stubborn brat kids…?" He grumbled walking away.
XXX
They were up to something. After a couple years he'd developed a seventh sense about that sort of thing, it wasn't always right but he could usually tell when the kids were planning something. Sometimes he'd let them get away with it just because it wasn't worth the effort of stopping them for something so simple, sometimes he didn't actually catch on until it was too late, and he was sure sometimes he probably missed their mischief entirely. But right now, they were up to something, and he didn't have anything better to do.
"Where you headed?" He didn't miss how Kotori flinched marginally at the sound of his voice, the way her wings tightened just a little against her back.
She'd recovered from the surprise by the time she turned, "There's a celebration happening in…"
"I remember." Interrupting her should have been enough to make her stumble shake up her story and force her into making a mistake. Apparently she was getting better because it didn't.
"Well, Hiei said if I could get the others to cover for us he'd go with me." She offered a small smile, "That's why I traded watch shifts with them for the last week… so we'd both be able to go for a couple days…"
That was part of why he'd been suspecting them. Kotori covering the other's shifts was useful, since her eyes were better than any of theirs were, but it was also unusual and worth paying attention to.
He watched her for a second, wondering if it would be worth just letting them get away with whatever they had planned now. A glance at Hiei's scowling face when he appeared in front of them made the decision for him. Sometimes it was just worth going out of his way to give the younger demon trouble, and keep him from doing something too stupid. "Sounds like fun, how about I come too? Hell, we'll bring everyone…" He saw their eyes meet briefly and smirked inwardly as whatever plans they'd had were ruined. They'd probably forget about it anyway, when they reached this ridiculous festival they'd been hearing about and the kids found something else to occupy themselves.
XXX
He'd thought it was funny at first, how they tried to mix into the crowd to evade him, how Hiei continued inching toward livid each time he managed to catch up. Kotori appeared to have given up on whatever they were initially planning, and actually seemed to be enjoying herself dragging the boy from place to place in the sea of demons. Hiei was another story though, and history had shown them how easily that kid could sway the other one. Keeping them in sight was probably best. And it kept him entertained, watching them dart around groups of people and corners whispering furiously in hopes of him losing track of them. At least, it was amusing; until it worked.
Coming around a corner a second to late he lost all trace of them, startling considering this was the emptiest of the streets they had gone through since entering the city. Had it been one of the capitals, one of the larger cities he might have been expecting it, but this was a small one, little more than a trading hub, there weren't a lot of places they could have vanished to. Frowning thoughtfully he tugged a bit at one side of his beard and continued down the side street. They must have been around here somewhere; they hadn't had the time to get far.
If those kids were so desperate to get rid of him it couldn't be to do anything good, but that didn't explain the dropping sensation in the pit of his stomach.
Twenty minutes later he was halted in the middle of taking another step, his search stopped by an explosion of energy somewhere away from town that was followed quickly by a column of flames erupting from a nearby stretch of forest. He was instantly glad he could move quickly when he had to as he whirled on a toe and raced for the tree line. Hiei was tough, particularly for a kid, he'd made sure of it, but if he was dumping that much energy into an attack it had to be a desperate one. It only took him minutes to catch up, minutes too long.
In the decade or so that she'd lived with them he'd seen that barrier Kotori could make take some damage. Until now he'd never seen it fail. Rushing into the still smoldering scorched space he found them in an instant. Or rather, he found her in an instant. It took a few extra seconds to notice the second body that she was shielding with her own. A small body that wasn't moving.
He crossed the space in another second, slamming at full speed with all of his weight into the demon standing over them and sending it flopping into a barely standing tree. Dragging his own sword out of its scabbard he turned to face the rest, trying to gauge the extent of the damage from the corner of his eye. He could have sworn the boy wasn't breathing, but it was hard to tell, in fact he wasn't sure how bad it really was until the telltale blue glow that crawled across her hands when Kotori used her healing abilities leaked out from around her.
"Do that somewhere else…" He ordered, not wanting them in the middle if they weren't going to be of use in the fight. For a moment he thought Kotori might argue with him, but unlike the brat he'd raised this one actually obeyed the commands he gave. Still she lingered a little longer than he would have liked. "Go on little bit, get our boy out of here."
XXX
"So Junior, what are you going to do now? Take her with you? Leave her here? Better make a choice fast 'cause I don't think she'll be out very long." He looked down at the unconscious girl supported by his hands. He didn't really expect an answer, but he did expect the hesitation. Decades now they had both been there, so many years he'd lost count of them. The kids, no he reminded himself, not kids anymore, they weren't fully grown yet, but they weren't kids, and he couldn't keep letting them off as if they were, no matter how much they seemed it to him. The two hadn't been apart more than a few days in all that time. "Well Hiei? Which is it?"
There was another long second of quiet. The red eyes he looked down into were cold suddenly, colder than he'd ever recalled seeing them, and the smaller demon's shoulders were tense as he turned away to begin walking again. "Keep her." There might have been more to the statement, but if there had been Hiei didn't say it.
"I'll keep an eye on her." He promised quietly as the dark haired boy turned to continue his path away from their home. He watched until Hiei vanished in a blur before carrying the girl back toward the cave and inside.
XXX
"What do you mean gone!?" His knuckles hurt from striking the wall, and his head from the chunk of rock that had fallen on it as a consequence of the punch. Everything in the cave was perfectly in place, nothing missing or moved in any way. It looked exactly as it had when they'd left, with one exception. There was no winged girl keeping watch over it all. "I told you to watch her!" He snarled, turning toward one of the others, the one that had volunteered to stay behind with the girl.
"I was Boss… I swear she was just here… and I didn't hear anything, she couldn't have been taken or…"
"Of course she wasn't taken you idiot!" He almost hit the wall again, but stopped short, his knuckles throbbing to remind him not to. "Think for a damned second… where the hell do you think she went?"
"Maybe it's for the best…" One of them said quietly to another, obviously trying to keep from being overheard and failing miserably, "Without her here, he's got no reason to come back…"
In his fury he might have broken the demon's neck on his way out the door. He'd just have to check when he got back.
XXX
He didn't like the coat, but it helped him blend in, if it was even possible for him to blend in here in the human world. It also covered the throbbing wound in his side that had started bleeding again. It made walking hard, hell it made standing hard. He was supposed to be somewhere around this city, but so far it hadn't been easy to find the brat. Thankfully in the crowd no one seemed to have noticed him, he blamed the hat he'd placed on his head to hide his horns and the coat that kept him mostly covered.
A smile tugged at his lips when he saw her, when she let him see her, he'd known she was following for a few minutes now, probably just checking to make sure, but the shape he'd been expecting didn't appear near her as she walked toward him, stopping just short of where he stood, and heedless the crowd of humans swarmed past them, splitting like a river at a fork and converging again once they'd gone past. For a long second he was quiet as she blinked up at him with large light blue eyes. "Hi, little bit."
"Sir…" She dipped her head a little, and then glanced back up questioningly.
"Well, where is he?" He was starting to get dizzy, and blamed it on the wound, but did everything he could to keep from showing it. There was something he needed to do.
"Not here." She answered quietly, "I'm sorry… I don't know where he is." He knew in an instant that she wasn't lying, he'd never seen this girl look that sad; it couldn't possibly be a lie.
Then she hadn't found him yet either. He was frozen for a second staring at her and trying to stay on his feet. This ruined his plans a little, but didn't derail them entirely. "Then what are you doing here?"
"Surviving..." She gave him a small half smile, "I guess some of the things you tried to teach me did rub off."
"Another new life huh? What you up to now? Five names…?"
"Six." She answered quietly, "I think."
"Yeah, what's the real one?" It was almost a running joke, he'd been trying to figure out since he'd found out Hiei had provided the name she went by what her original one was. She would always answer the same way.
"Kotori," She answered quietly, looking down, "That's the only one I think counts."
Feeling his strength slipping again he took a step out of the crowd, he needed to get a move on. "Little bit I need you to…" He wavered, and slumped over against the wall of a building they were standing beside.
"Sir…!"It was the only name she'd ever called him, and that's how she used it, as a name rather than a title. She was beside him so quickly he wondered if she'd moved before he had, wide blue eyes filled with concern.
"It's nothing… I want you to tell him something… the next time you see him…" He panted between labored breaths, trying to ignore that he was slipping further down the wall, and slapping her glowing hands away from him when she began searching for a problem. It was too late, even for her healing abilities to do anything but prolong the suffering of this wound. She couldn't save him, but he knew Kotori was not the type to accept that, she would try until she collapsed, and at the moment that was dangerous.
"I… I might not see him for a very long time…"
"Maybe sooner that you think..." He hit the cement sidewalk on his knees and allowed her to guide him into a sitting position, didn't shove her hands away when she went for the wound this time, it was too late to even prolong it now, but as she tried he leaned over to whisper against her ear, felt her stiffen and turn to look at him, "Now get moving…" He whispered finally, barely able to force his head back against the wall behind him, "find our boy little bit."
"Sir…" He glared when she didn't move away from him, and he was surprised to see a sort of acceptance in her shockingly sad eyes, her hands weren't glowing, "there's something I've wanted to ask for a long time."
"Hurry up kid, I don't have all day."
The gruff tone seemed to steady her some, and he watched as her trembling hands returned to her sides. "I've only heard you called… what's your real name?"
"Don't be dumb kid… why do you think I called him Junior?"
