-[The Fear Of Blood Tends To Create Fear For The Flesh - Hiei Jaganshi]-
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: The Bird And The Cage
The heavy hum of the lack of motion rang through the house as I remained stretched out on the floor of my room, staring up at the ceiling in silence. It had been a while, a few hours, since the last person in the house had gone to bed, and I was the only one left awake as far as I could tell – I could hear Kuwabara's snoring if I listened for it, as well as Yusuke and the girl called Keiko. I assumed that Kurama, was asleep as well, and as for Hiei, other than he had acknowledged my existence, once, maybe twice, I knew nothing about him. For some reason, that suited me just fine. I felt a few of the joints in my back pop uncomfortably as I rolled into a sitting up position, and I frowned as I went into a bendback in one fluid motion to clear out the pops in my back. I went to try and stand back upright straight from my uncomfortable-looking position, but on all of my attempts, I only managed to shift my hands closer to my feet. I used to be able to get back up out of a bendback, it looked like my body had a lot of catching up to do before I could.
After setting myself back down on the floor and rearranging my limbs so I could get back to my feet, I glanced over at the little crystal box sitting on my desk. For some strange reason, I could see it better than everything else in the room, like it was emitting a strange blue glow. I shook my head slightly, dragging my attention away from it before I would begin to think too much, and I began to head upstairs. I could feel it in my body, and I could especially see it, that I was growing more and more frail the more time went by. I knew I wasn't eating very much, if anything, my arms were looking much thinner than I remembered, but I didn't think it was that bad. It seemed like I was here forever, but I knew it had only been a month, and I could feel irritation overcoming me as I calculated numbers. I opened the door of my bedroom quietly, cringing inwardly as I heard the door creek a little bit – I didn't want anyone coming down to see what it was I was doing.
I stepped up the stairs quietly, my eyes having no trouble in seeing where the steps were, and I could see the tiniest hints of light from the doorway ahead of me. It seemed, that I was not going to have any trouble seeing in the dark anymore either. I headed into the kitchen as silently as I could, listening closely for the sounds of people stirring in their slumber slightly. A glance at the clock in the hallway confirmed that it was very late – it read 3.47am. I slowly blinked as I headed for the kitchen sink, taking hold of the glass that was upside down on the sink and pouring myself a glass of water.
How long had it been since I was last at college? I sat down at the bench carefully as I looked down at the wooden surface. I had apparently spent one week in a coma-like state after the monsters appearances in the Shopping District of town, two thirds of a week after that losing my sanity. There was apparently a month just before that I had been gone. Give or take two, three weeks in between my confrontation with a little white fur ball and waking up in Spirit World Infirmary, I had essentially been in their custody for a little over a month. Wasn't I supposed to have been released two weeks into this? I took a sip of my water as I continued thinking. It was definitely two weeks, to a month at the most they would need to ascertain what was going to happen to me, once and for all, and here I was, sitting in this house, with that invisible leash still tied tightly around my throat like a suffocating noose. There was only so much longer I would last before I would succumb to that being sending those parcels to me. Perhaps ... they were having trouble ascertaining what I was? For some strange reason, the thought didn't seem that improbable. Other than my sight, hearing and smell having improved, there was nothing else at all that was out of the ordinary. The breakings of mirrors, I couldn't even begin to imagine was due to my influence, it wasn't something that I would ever be able to do, without physically throwing my fist through the glass in any case.
If Koenma didn't figure out what I was ... if he didn't convince King Enma that I wasn't going to harm anyone ... were they really going to kill me? Was this going to be the best I would experience, before I'm either incarcerated or executed? There wasn't any doubt in me, not any more in any case, that he would hesitate to kill me if the decision was made. I slowly closed my eyes as I set the glass on the countertop carefully. If it was a choice between the two ... I'd choose death. I couldn't take anything less variable than this form of incarceration. If I was going to be locked up in a white padded cell, or a steel and stone cell, then I'd take death. The incarceration was my equivalent to hell.
I slowly opened my eyes as I saw a slight flickering against my closed eyes, feeling the tiniest of irritation overcome me as I lifted my head off of the palm of my hand and looked up. I had expected that maybe, someone had woken up and come down to see what I was doing. My eyes fell upon a mass of swirling purple energy in the front yard, circulating into itself slowly as I watched it. It looked like one of Koenma's portals, now that I thought about it. But ... why was it hovering outside the front door like that? I reached over to the cutlery drawer with my less-injured hand as I watched the portal, my hand closing over the handle of the smaller-sized meat cleaver in the drawer, and I slowly pulled it out of the drawer and held it at the ready. I couldn't hear anyone coming down the stairs, and I couldn't see anything ... odd about the portal, well, any more odd than the fact that it was swirling outside like that at this time in the morning. I stepped around the counter after a few moments, my eyes remaining upon the portal outside the window as I began to head towards the door.
As I stepped to the front door and slowly opened it, I saw someone suddenly step out of the portal, and I held the cleaver at the ready to strike as I saw the figure turn towards the house through the crack in the door that I had made from opening it slightly. Their features began to come into focus as I watched them, and I slowly lowered the meat cleaver and opened the door as I recognised him. He was the blue ogre, George, that worked for Koenma. It was odd, seeing him here, I didn't even know he could set foot in the Human World.
"Miss Meia, Koenma would like to talk to you." George said as soon as he was within a few meters of me, and I blinked in shock.
"At this time a night?" I asked curiously, and he nodded immediately.
"He said he wanted to talk to you without the Spirit Detectives awareness." George spoke, and I could only blink again. Koenma wanted to talk to me without his spirit detectives knowing? This couldn't be good. "Please, there's only so much time until the Spirit Detectives notice us." George said, and I hesitantly inclined my head forward in a nod. If the people that were coming after me were going to lure me away and then kill me, they had come up with a smart plan. If I really was faced with incarceration and death, I was willing to let these beings kill me to just get it over with. I was tired of this. George began to make his way towards the portal, and I began to follow, the meat cleaver still held in my grip. I didn't really get why, maybe to make sure no one jumped me before I knew what was going on. I felt a gaze fall upon me as soon as I had stepped down onto the ground outside, a piercing gaze that I began to register as belonging to someone of the Spirit Detectives. I paused before the portal, my gaze remaining upon the swirling mass as George stepped through it. I tapped the portal with my fingertips before I stepped through, my gaze narrowed as I walked. The portal lead to somewhere I didn't expect. I was expecting, if anything, to be transported to some cave in the mountains or something, or at the very least, that this was a true Koenma portal leading me to the toddler-ruler's office, but what I was looking at was not either of those. I was staring out at a large sea of dining tables, all of which seeming to be housing many beings. I blinked, then I saw George wading through the sea of tables to one in particular in the corner closest to me. My gaze then fell upon Koenma sitting at the table, for some reason, in Adult form. I hesitated for a few moments as I managed to put the meat-cleaver in the belt under my long jumper, and then I began to head through the sea of beings towards George and Koenma.
"Ah! Meia! I didn't expect George to convince you to come so soon!" I heard Koenma say, and I said nothing as I came to a stop at the table that he was seated at. I guess he must have gotten tired of eating in his office, so he decided to head out to a restaurant. "Have a seat." I heard him say, and, I hesitantly obliged, making sure I wasn't going to stab myself in the back with the meat cleaver half way through sitting down. "Ogre! Go get a menu for Meia, would you!" He said abruptly, and I leant back in my seat through shock suddenly as George began to leave through the huge crowd of people.
"N-No, I'm fine--" I began, but I cut myself off as Koenma looked at me.
"You'll have to forgive me for saying so, but you look a little on the frail side of things." Koenma commented, causing me to bite my lip. I knew I was on the frail side of things, but I didn't think it was that bad. "And there's no need to make me feel guilty for continuing to eat." Koenma commented, and I rather believed that he wouldn't feel guilty in the least. A few moments later, a Menu was dropped down in front of me, as if ending the statement all together. I suppose ... it wouldn't hurt to humor him, while he got around to explaining to me what it was that he had George come and collect me for. I opened the menu after a few moments, trying to find the smallest, and vegetarian thing in the whole menu, and all I could find, was a vegetable chow mein. I blinked, trying to spot any waitress or waiter, or something, but all I could see was a pen in the menu, and a dotted line on the menu. "Sign your name to what you want, and it'll be brought over." Came Koenma's voice, and I snapped my gaze up just in time to see him devour a dumpling in one bite – he seemed to eat a lot.
"What?" I said, and I saw him motion to the pen in the menu.
"Sign it with that." He said, then I saw him take one gigantic bite out of a giant spring rol. I hesitantly did as he said. The ink was weird, it was a marble-like colour combination, and the colours seemed to continue swirling around, even on the paper. I clicked the lid back on the pen after a few moments, and then all of a sudden, the ink vanished like a figment of my imagination.
"That's cool." I said without thought, carefully placing the pen back on the menu. There were no prices or anything, so it very much seemed that I wouldn't need to pay, or something. Koenma said nothing as I waited, I just observed the many being that were seated in the huge room, and it was indeed, a spectacle to behold. There were human enough looking people seated here and there, a few ogres, a few of the shade demons that I had come to know to exist, and there were many, many other beings in here. There were half-bird looking creatures, with the hands and feet covered with feathers and their face depicted a kind of bird. There were also half-rhinoceros beings as well, much to my shock. My gaze traced from being to being, not even noticing my chow mein arrive in the least as my gaze fell upon a being with black skin, and a great many tattoos down their form. However, unlike any of the other beings I had looked at, this one locked eyes with me, and she looked mad. She was wearing black leather with white trim over the seams. She had long, black hair reaching down to her hips in dread locks, and she had, for some reason, startling blue eyes. I had, in reality, expected her to be human, but for some reason, my gut told me otherwise.
"What the hell are you looking at?!" The woman spat, and I blinked in shock as she rose from her seat and began to approach me. I didn't do anything, what was this human-looking, but clearly not human woman coming towards me like that for? "Is there something funny about a dark skinned woman eating here in a restaurant with--"
"Calm down, Barnette." Koenma stated from where he was sitting, not even looking over from his dumplings.
"Calm down--?! Koenma, I don't care--"
"She hasn't even consciously seen a Kitsune." Koenma stated, looking up at the woman clearly called Barnette, and I could feel curiosity overcoming me. "She was likely just curious because she hasn't seen more than Ogre and Shade Demon." I saw the woman look back at me scathingly, and it was a few moments before she turned on her heel and stomped back to her table. "I'd suggest eating, Meia, before your meal goes cold." I blinked, looking down at the table in front of me to see that indeed, my chow mein had arrived. I blinked before I hesitantly began to eat, hearing Koenma grab something from the pocket of his robes after a few moments.
"I haven't consciously seen a Kitsune?"I asked after a few moments, placing my gaze upon Koenma after a few moments. He looked at me, and then, I saw him smile sheepishly. I had to admit, without that pacifier, he looked quite handsome.
"I think we forgot to tell you, what with Youka attacking you in the infirmary." Koenma stated, and I merely placed my chopsticks down on the plate. "I apologise if this seems rather alarming, but there is only one out of the four Spirit Detectives you currently live with that is in fact, human." I blinked, biting down on my lip as I watched him. Only one? That was a little unexpected. "Kazuma Kuwabara, is a human." I blinked again. "Yusuke, happens to be a sleeper, he is, half demon, and coincidentally, half human. We had believed him human for a great many years. Kurama, is the body of a human, with the spirit of a Fox in his body. The Fox-Demon, Youko Kurama had taken residence in the form of Suichi. And Hiei, well, he's more demon than the rest of them." I blinked again. Hiei was the one I had suspicions of not being human, what with how he acted like he was better than everyone. "Hiei's a fire demon, and he's currently on Probation for a crime or two he's commited." I inclined my head forward after a few moments. With how Hiei acted, that didn't surprise me in the least for some reason. "Now, you eat up, and I'll explain why I had you brought here." He stated, and I obeyed without too much difficulty. Whoever cooked in this place was very, very good. For some strange reason, though I knew there were beings eating meat, I couldn't smell it.
I guess, there's nothing too drastic to be worried about, I haven't been attacked yet. I thought slowly, taking another bite of my food, and I glanced up at Koenma to see him place an envelope on the table. I observed it for a few moments before glancing at Koenma again.
"I've had another discussion with my father about your apparent intent on destroying the three worlds." He commented, and I blinked. I was supposed to be intending on destroying three worlds? "My father believes the absolute worst of you, I have no choice but to admit that." I nodded my understanding on that – there was no hope in hell I would have guessed otherwise. "We have come to an agreement which suits both his needs and mine, and it does you a heck of a lot better than what you're enduring now, by the looks of it." I felt a little self-conscious as I saw Koenma take my appearance into consideration again. I really must have looked a wreck.
"And what agreement would that be?" I asked, and, I felt a little nervous as Koenma straightened up in his chair – it appeared he was finished eating.
"The agreement, is actually quite close to what I had been intending in the first place, only, there is a guideline that I wasn't counting on." I swallowed the bite I had just taken, and I set my chopsticks down on my plate again as I watched Koenma. "The guidelines of the agreement, are actually in these envelopes, but I will explain to you what they entail." I inclined my head forward as he motioned to two envelopes on the table in front of him. "You will remain living in the Spirit Detective household until we have ascertained what you are, as we have already ascertained, as my father had to admit, that you did not intend any harm to any of the three words, thanks to Hiei."
"Thanks to Hiei?" I repeated suspiciously, and I saw Koenma smile wryly.
"He does the bare minimum when he's given an order, but his observations on your minds workings were just enough to verify that you were, in fact, living as you were – in the belief that you were human, and living as such."
"Great. He is a telepath." I commented sarcastically, and I heard Koenma cough to stop himself from laughing.
"In any case, since we have ascertained that you mean no harm, you are to remain living in the Spirit Detective Household. However, that is only living there. You are able to leave the house for any given reason, and you will not be followed on the provisio that you return to the Spirit Detective Household every evening by eight, unless you have given prior notice on your absence." I felt my eyes widened as I stared at Koenma, and I saw him smile at me.
"I-I can leave – on my own?!" I said quietly, and I saw Koenma smile even more.
"You can visit Motoko, and you can attend college again, it is up to you now." Koenma answered, and I could feel myself swelling with glee – it was almost an endeavour and a half not leaping out of the chair and dragging Koenma into an embrace. "However, this is the guideline my father threw in. You are to remain on an instance notice, and anything that your abilities will aid to, will be utilised, even if it's to act as bait to capture an S-class Demon." I blinked, my sudden glee vanishing at that. Bait. It sounded like King Enma was going to keep me on that leash and possibly use me to draw out anyone he wanted hunted down. "It's only until we have ascertained what you are." Koenma must have picked up on my mind set. "However I'm not stupid enough to just leave it at that, though my father believes that's what will be and won't be anything more than that, which is the reason I wanted you here without any of the Spirit Detectives." I blinked in shock, remaining silent as Koenma watched me. "I would like you to attend special training, for self defence, and offence. I'm not willing to send you into any situation without you being able to defend yourself."
"Okay?" I said quietly, and Koenma smiled.
"There is this temple that I would like you to visit every second day, there, you will meet a lady called Genkai. I've already spoken to her about your situation, and she has expressed her desire to help you manage any abilities that you have." I blinked again. "This is to be kept very quiet, so far, only you, Genkai and myself know of this little arrangement, and I would like to keep it as such." I inclined my head forward in understanding, my gaze dropping down to the envelopes. "Now, I suggest you begin to head back, it won't be long before the Spirit Detectives notice your absence." Koenma said, and I nodded. "Keep one of the envelopes with you at all times, and give the other to either Yusuke or Kurama. I don't trustKuwabara to put it somewhere safe." I inclined my head forward, and grabbed both the envelopes, feeling the glee beginning to build up in me as I stood up. "This is the location of the temple, keep this with you." Koenma added, and I was passed another piece of paper. "I take it there's no questions?" I shook my head quickly, and I saw Koenma smile again with a slight chuckle. "Go and hand that to Kurama and then go see Motoko." I grinned suddenly, taking proper hold of the papers.
"Thank you!" I said, then I turned on my heel and began to head for the portal quickly, hearing the tiniest hints of Koenma chuckling slightly. I stepped through the portal at a sprint, not caring about anything as I walked. I'm free! I can do whatever I want during daytime now! I stepped through the other side of the portal, and I couldn't stop the huge grin from taking over the whole of my face. I never thought I'd be so happy with just the tiniest of release from my incarceration, I was almost feeling dizzy from the glee.
However, my glee was cut short as I felt the same piercing gaze upon me. I came to a stop, and hesitantly looked up at where it was coming from. Up on the roof, stood who I could immediately tell was Hiei, and I felt my stomach drop as I saw that he was watching me with that same condencending look across his face he wore everywhere he went.