Friends: Old and New
Chapter 37: Demon World Stow-Away
Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
Hiei and Shampoo faced each other across a small, smokeless campfire. Shampoo was grinning, thoroughly pleased with herself. Hiei was scowling, anything but pleased with Shampoo.
"Your cursed form should be beneath the notice of most demons," he stated. "You will remain in it and you will remain close to me."
Shampoo pouted. "No be mad. Shampoo only want to help."
"You think this is helping?" Hiei snapped.
"You say Shampoo was ready," she protested. "Before, when we fight bad Spirit Detective."
"Ready for a small team of A-Classes in Living World. Not for Demon World politics, not for a war."
"Then send Shampoo home."
"I don't trust you to go."
"Is so bad that Shampoo want to see you safe? Not want to be sent away?"
Hiei could see she was completely sincere. She came because she worried about him and because she wanted to be with him. He grimaced, being involved with people certainly complicated life.
Hiei dumped a bucket of cold water over Shampoo's head. Then he smiled unpleasantly when the lavender cat sputtered indignantly. "Stay close, don't cause any more trouble," He ordered shortly.
Shampoo turned her back on him and began grooming her sodden fur, showing her displeasure as only a cat is capable of doing.
Hiei grunted and went back to roasting the day's catch. He shared it with Shampoo. By the end of their meal she'd forgiven him the water incident and he'd resigned himself to the complications her presence brought.
Before the sky fully darkened Hiei put out his fire. He continued on for a few more miles with Shampoo riding on his shoulder in her diminutive feline form. Eventually he found a sizable tree that he deemed a good spot to spend the night. The branches were broad enough for him to sleep comfortably and it wasn't one of Kurama's beloved flesh-eating varieties.
Hiei settled in for the night with his back against the trunk on a high branch and his sword resting against his shoulder. Shampoo curled up comfortably in his lap.
Several hours later Hiei unconsciously settled a hand protectively over Shampoo's small cursed form. When he noticed what he'd done he snorted at his own sentimentality.
Hiei watched her sleep. It was odd, this having another person care about him. He had to admit he'd been drifting after the Dark Tournament. He'd found Yukina and had seen her to a safe place, but he couldn't tell her he was her missing brother and didn't even want to. She was better off without him. He owed nothing to Spirit World and only a little to those who'd been his comrades. The ambitious that had driven him before were accomplished or largely meaningless now.
He smoothed Shampoo's fur. Then she'd shown up. A strange, silly girl. Someone who accepted him without reservation. Someone who sought his company. Someone who determinedly made him a place in her life. Hiei sighed and smiled a little to himself. He'd rather Shampoo was back in the relative safety of Living World, but having her here reminded him of what he was fighting for.
During Kurama's absence Ranma arranged for his nightly demon patrol to center around the Minaminoo residence. Keeping Shiori safe was his primary responsibility, he couldn't be wandering off looking for trouble when trouble might come looking for his new mother.
Meanwhile Genkai shook her head, hid her smiles and muttered about foxes who were too impressed with their own cleverness. By giving Ranma the responsibility of keeping Shiori safe Kurama had not only healed some of the hurt Nodoka had inflicted when she rushed to the conclusion that Ranma wasn't worthy of her name, he had also curtailed Ranma's reckless impulses to prove his worth. Genkai could see Ranma wouldn't be tempted to experiment with his Youkai now that he had something to do that made him feel valued.
Genkai and Kurama would have both been happier if Ranma had been willing to deal with his fear of cats head-on. However, without his willingness to try, to trust that they could help there was little they could do. The Nekoken training had scarred Ranma's psyche and his ki, without his trust forcing him to confront his fears would only compound the damage. So they had to be satisfied with Ranma's promise to not experiment with his new abilities unless supervised.
As Ranma patrolled one night, he noticed a familiar figure and jumped down from the roofs. "Ryoga, ain't you supposed to be patrolling near the Temple?" he asked.
"Don't tell me where I am!" Ryoga shouted. He walked to the end of the block, looked up at the street signs, then dug out a map. He poured over the map for several minutes, checked the compass that hung on a chain around his neck and turned the map ninety degrees. Then he set out determinedly, in the right direction.
Ranma opened his mouth to comment then stopped and said nothing. He followed along to make sure Ryoga ended up where he was supposed to be and not in Kyoto or Osaka. At several other points Ranma stopped himself on the verge of saying something. Finally, once Ryoga was back on his proscribed patrol, Ranma settled on "You're getting a lot better at directions."
Ryoga glanced up, to his surprise he saw Ranma was waiting almost nervously to see how he'd respond. It occurred to him that, for Ranma, not sticking his foot in his mouth was as challenging as not getting lost was for Ryoga. "Thanks. You too." he replied.
Ranma smiled. He started to head back to his own patrol then stopped. "I ended the engagement with Akane," he said. "Shiori, as my mom, is backing me up. It's over for real."
Ryoga stared in drop-jawed shock.
"You ever hurt her and I'll kill you," Ranma stated seriously. He took a deep breathe, the words seemed to stick in his throat. "But if you want to ask her out on a date..." Ranma hesitated again then finally spat out, "It's no business of mine."
Before Ryoga could gather his thoughts to respond Ranma was gone. Very, very carefully, because his thoughts were spinning off in a million different directions and his body was prone to follow them, Ryoga made his way to a bus stop and sat down. He knew better than to think he could navigate while he was this distracted.
Had Ranma really just given his word that he wouldn't get in the way of his love for Akane?
Just over a month after Kurama had left for Demon World Ranma was surprised to notice an unusual amount of activity as he jogged up the long stair leading to Genkai's Temple. He could sense at least three different spars, normally it was just Ryoga and Kuwabara trading tips on power and technique. He picked up his pace. At the top of the hill he spotted Genkai talking to a familiar red-head.
"Kurama!" Ranma shouted. "You're back! Wow, I didn't expect you so soon! I mean I know you told Mom you wouldn't mess up school and you promised Kasumi you'd start college with her. But still! Yusuke's planning on being gone three years, I thought you'd be gone for at least the whole break."
Kurama smiled warmly and grasped his adopted brother's shoulder in welcome. "I didn't go to learn to control new powers and appetites," he said. He nodded in the direction of the sparring pairs. "I brought several individuals to Genkai for training. I believe they'll prove- useful in the coming power struggle."
"New sparring partners?" Ranma's eye sparkled brightly. "Oh, you should know; I found two demons snooping around outside the yard." He nodded toward Genkai's warded forest. "They're nursing wounds and thinking long and hard about not going where they ain't welcome."
Then Ranma's expression darkened and hardened. "Found one in the garden trying to break down the back door, he ain't capable of regrets."
"Thank you," Kurama said quietly. "For looking out for Mother when I couldn't. And I'm sorry for putting you in that situation, I know you are opposed to killing."
"You didn't," Ranma replied shortly. "They did. They didn't have to go involving someone who ain't a fighter."
"You've gotten older," Kurama remarked.
"Genma-sensei taught me a new technique," Ranma said, "the Umisenken. There's not much fun in fighting people who can't even sense me." He shrugged. "But it's fast and the ones that come here kill if we don't stop them."
Ranma nodded toward Genkai. "We've been working on it so I can use my demon sense and hunting instincts without me transforming and risking going nuts."
"How bad has the situation in Living World gotten?" Kurama asked Genkai.
"It's not good," she stated. "But we have it under control for the moment. Don't worry about holding the fort, settle the issue."
Kurama's lips thinned. "At the least we'll ensure that it gets no worse than this," he promised.
Ukyo blinked in surprise when she went to open her restaurant and found a dejected looking Martial Artist sitting on the curb.
"Ryu-kun, what brings you here?" Ukyo asked uncertainly.
"Ukyo-san, is this your place?" Kumon Ryu asked.
"Sure is sugar. Why don't you come in and let me fix you some breakfast. You look like you had a bad night." Even if Ryu had been wrong about Saotome Genma ruining his family, he'd believed it was the panda's fault his dad had died and their home was destroyed. Like her, Ryu had grown-up dedicating his life to revenge. Ukyo felt a wave of bitterness well up in her heart. Like her, Ryu had been slapped in the face with the fact that he'd been chasing a delusion his whole life. If anyone deserved her empathy it was him.
"Thanks," Ryu said gruffly. He glanced away, awkward in the face of unexpected kindness.
He followed Ukyo inside and took a seat at the counter. While he watched Ukyo started making up a 'Ranchan Special' without thinking about what she was doing. "Wanna tell me about it Sugar?" she asked. "From the looks of you, you've been in some fight. The demons?"
"Yeah," Ryu replied. "But that wasn't the problem. More like stress relief. I got fired yesterday."
"You had a job?" Ukyo asked. None of the other members of the Nerimian Wrecking Crew understood the stress of having to fend for one's self.
"It was nothing much," Ryu replied. "Loading and unloading crap down at the railway yard. It was only part-time, but it kept me fed." He signed. "Then yesterday this damned truant officer shows up and starts complaining about how I ought to be in school. The boss says I'm not worth the headache and tells me not to come back. I needed that job."
Ukyo nodded understandingly. "I had to go to the school board and the city council, practically had to get down on my knees and beg before they let me open up for business. And I still go to school for all but two periods."
"It's not as if we chose to be on our own," Ryu said. "I'd like to have parents to worry about what I'm gonna eat and where I sleep, but I don't."
Ukyo flipped the okonomiyaki onto a plate then started her own breakfast.
"This is really good!" Ryu exclaimed around a mouthful of food.
Ukyo grinned. "It's what I do."
"You know," she said after a few moments. "A bunch of us have been patrolling for demons too. I know you're a top level Martial Artist and probably don't need the help, but if you were with us you'd know where we needed more coverage. We've also been carrying flares so if any of us run into something big we can back each other."
"Yeah, I think I've over-lapped with your patrols a couple of times," Ryu said. "Makes for a damned quiet night."
"We've been recruiting everyone we can," Ukyo said. "Even using Nabiki's contacts to spread word to fighters in other schools. Although, I heard there's a student council member at Jindai High who's taken over that aspect. His contacts are more wide spread and more respected than Nabiki's."
"Guess this demon mess is too big for one person," Ryu said.
Ukyo nodded. "Too big for any one group. We've got most of Tokyo covered. I hear they've spread the word down to Kyoto and a few other cities too."
"Pretty impressive," Ryu said. "Your group has some sort of meetings I'd guess?"
"Tuesdays after school," Ukyo said. "We meet here so I can get prepped for the dinner rush while we talk."
"I'll be there," Ryu said. He grinned. "Or I'll be here, I suppose."
A thunderous rumble shook the land. Yusuke and his sparring partners paused in their fight to ride out the earthquake.
Yusuke turned to stare up at the Raizon's tower. That would be him in not so many years. Stomach glued to his spine, isolating himself to avoid temptation, slowly starving, waiting to die. If he went back to Living World and Keiko in ten years he's have to leave her forever because he'd be too hungry to see her as anything other than food, or he'd have to come home to her with the smell of human flesh on his breath. Neither option held any appeal. Even if the human in question were scum. Even if Yusuke had decided that he wasn't bothered by the knowledge that some demons had to eat humans to survive. Even so, the idea of eating a human being was repulsive, and he was going to keep telling himself that until he believed it again.
Yusuke remembered Ranma trying to help after he'd killed the Doctor. They'd basically concluded that demon or human, people were people. Good or bad was a case by case judgement. That had been before Yusuke had spent any appreciable time in Demon World. Now he knew better. Now he knew demons weren't humans. Good or bad yes, but never human.
There were some humans who wanted to argue about the morality of eating animal flesh. In the Demon World even the plants would evolve sentience if they lived long enough. Everything native to the Demon World evolved until something else killed it. In Demon World everyone experienced the food chain on a personal level and no one started at the top. Living World operated under the general consensus that killing was a bad thing. Demon World never would reach such a consensus because, there, everyone started out as food and everything that was food had the potential to become sentient life. In the Demon World there was no way to distance oneself from the reality that for entity to eat and live another must die.
Demons had their good people, their bad ones and the majority who fell somewhere between the two extremes just like humans. But they weren't human, the last few months had made that painfully obvious to Yusuke. Among demons there was no veneer of civilization, violence was always close to the surface. In the Demon world might did make right, or at least the mighty held the privilege of defining right for everyone else. Also, for Yusuke it was becoming increasingly clear that he was a demon, not a human. Even in the Living World, long before Spirit Detectives and demons he'd gravitated toward places where civilization wore thin. He'd never felt at home in Keiko's ordered, rule bound world. Now he knew why, but for her he'd been willing to try to adapt to her world.
Yusuke grimaced. He wanted to go home to Keiko, but it was getting harder and harder to see how that could work, given what he was. He was also gaining a new empathy for Ranma and his family issues. Even if Yusuke found path through his personal minefield of needing to eat humans to survive while he loved a human girl, even if he did solve that dilemma there was still the mess his demon ancestor was busily dumping in his lap.
Raizon was dying. It was his hope that Yusuke could use the time he had left and gain enough strength to take his place in the balance of power that kept Demon World from outright warfare. If Raizon died before Yusuke was ready to take his place, well, Raizon would be dead and gone, it would fall to Yusuke to deal with the repercussions. Yusuke scowled darkly, when Raizon died it would all be on his head: Responsibility for the welfare of Raizon's people. Responsibility for a war which could consume the Demon World if he wasn't strong enough to stop it. Responsibility for how the shifting balance of power in Demon World might impact Living World.
It was enough to make Yusuke wish he were stronger than Raizon solely because then he'd have the option of finding some bit of human scum and force feeding the stubborn old bastard. Sure the old man's diet was his own business and he had made pretty much the same choice Yusuke intended to make when it came down to it, but it ticked Yusuke off when he thought about all the problems Raizon's death created for him.
Yusuke would have been even more unhappy about Raizon's choice if he hadn't suspected that Raizon was motivated by a desire to rid himself of an immortality his lover hadn't shared as much as he was motivated by a lack of desire to feed on his lover's kind. Yusuke couldn't really hold that against the old man, he'd already realized that a life without Keiko wasn't worth much to him. Still, Yusuke wished that Raizon had come up with a way to take care of the problems he was creating himself rather than leaving them to him.
It was late in the evening and Ranma had a feeling that he w going to get scolded for cutting into his study-time but ever since Kurama had brought his friends from the Dark Tournament to Genkai's he'd had been spending every available moment there.
The heart and soul of Anything Goes was learning new techniques and adapting them to compliment the skills already possessed by the practitioner. Ranma had six highly skilled Martial Artists with a boat load of new skills and a love of competition equal to his own to play with. They didn't give a damn about girls, engagements or long forgotten grudges, they just wanted to get stronger. They didn't get bitter when they lost, they didn't try to take anything
from him when they won. At the end of a spar winer would just help the looser to his feet, then they'd trade grins and threats about 'next time' before demanding to know who was up for the next bout. Training with them was glorious fun in Ranma's opinion. Genkai had even given him permission to spar in his demon form a bit so that he could become more familiar with it's strengths and weaknesses.
Ranma chewed his lip thoughtfully, he liked fighting in his demon form, it had an inherent strength and grace that exceeded his human form. And as he became more comfortable with the form, with thinking of it as his body the threat of losing himself to the cat became less. Even so, in demon form the cat-mind was closer to the surface, floating just beneath his awareness. He couldn't trust that alien mind set that dwelled within him even if he gloried in the smooth power concealed within the demon's wiry muscles.
Still, the fact that training with Kurama's friends was fun and was helping Ranma get the beginnings of a handle on his demon form wasn't an excuse to completely forget his homework. In Shiori's eyes there had to be balance in life. Ranma picked up his pace. Genma might have been satisfied with training Ranma's physical abilities but Shiori placed value on mental strength as well as physical. Ranma knew if Genkai were brought into the debate she'd also weight in on Shiori's side, thickness between the ears was even more a flaw than weak limbs in Genkai's opinion. If he sprinted the rest of the way home he would still have time to make decent inroads on his math assignment, then he'd probably be able to talk Shiori out of calling Genkai and reminding her of his other commitments.
Ranma smiled a little. When the next school year resumed, he wouldn't be attending Furinkan High. Genma had enrolled him at Furinkan because the fiancee Genma favored attended school there and Genma pushed the marriage every chance he got. He didn't care about anything else. Shiori was spending many evenings pouring over brochures from different schools, talking to Ranma about their programs and what he wanted out of life. His new mom cared about what made him happy, about what was good for him. It was a strange and pleasant experience to have someone listen to what he wanted and account for that when they planned his future.
Ranma, distracted by his thoughts and in a rush to get home didn't even see the man who stepped into his path until he was three steps past and the man was off-balance, teetering on the edge of the roof. Ranma spun on his heel and, with a ki-boosted burst of speed, he double back and caught the man's wrist and pulled him back onto the roof.
"Careful there old-timer. I barely saw ya," Ranma said deciding to be friendly. He could sense that the guy was some sort of demon, but he hadn't been acting like he was on a hunt, so he got the benefit of the doubt.
"Well, whippersnapper, I was up here hoping for a word with you," the short stout demon declared with a small frown for the 'old-timer' comment.
Ranma reappraised the demon warily. In his experience people looking for him usually meant trouble of one sort or another. "If my pop promised I'd marry your daughter or something don't get your hopes up. I ain't a Saotome no more. If ya got complaints about being swindled, take it up with Saotome Genma, it ain't no business of mine," Ranma warned.
"You're an odd one," the demon remarked. "Actually, I wanted a word with you in regards to your brother."
Ranma frowned, from what Kurama had mentioned of his involvement in the current situation in Demon World Ranma had a feeling that him getting in the middle of things could be like chasing a bull into a china shop. "If you've got something to say to Kurama, he'd probably rather hear it first hand."
"While what you say is true, I am afraid there are rules," the old demon said regretfully.
Ranma flinched. He knew 'rules'. His whole life the rigidly defined rules of honorable conduct had been drilled into him. They'd been used as blinders keeping him from the larger issues of right and wrong while driving him down the path Genma wanted for him. They had justified, required Nodoka to throw him away when he'd begun balking at the rules that had been wound around him like a noose. Kurama, Genkai and the others had been encouraging him to see past the rules he'd been raised by, to look at the larger issues. But Ranma knew all about 'rules' and fighting within their restrictions, he wasn't so sure that Kurama knew that trick.
"Yomi's people are plotting to take your brother's life," the old demon continued. "I would act directly to help him if it were within my capability..."
"Kurama knows better than to trust Yomi," Ranma said uncertainly. A part of him yearned to rush off to the rescue but he trusted Kurama to know what he was doing and it wasn't his practice to get into other people's fights... Although, if they were being cheats maybe he could even things up a bit.
"Whatever the falling out between them, Yomi has the up-most respect for Kurama's talents," the old demon stated. "For that Yomi's people resent him and would do him harm."
"But you just wanna help?" Ranma questioned.
"I believe Yomi is right to respect Kurama," the old demon insinuated. "I would do him a service, were it within my meager capabilities."
"Well, I'll pass on your warning. I'm guessing he's being watched and that's why ya had to go through me?"
"You misunderstand my purpose, young sir," the demon said. "When Kurama returns to the Demon World, and he is bound by his word to return, there will be a lethal trap waiting for him. Unless..."
"Unless?"
"Unless someone, someone unexpected, unbound by our rules, had gone ahead and was there to disrupt their trap when the time came," the old demon suggested.
"You mean me," Ranma said.
"As you are now, you would be a lamb led to the slaughter," the old demon stated. "But Kurama is not without friends in the Demon World. They are restricted in what they may do for him, but they would train you, prepare you so that you could protect him."
Ranma's eyes flashed at the suggestion that he was too weak to be of use, then lit up at the offer of training. Still he hesitated. "If I go with you, who'll protect our mom? Kurama is counting on me to watch out for her while he's gone."
"If you come with me we leave tonight, in this instant if you would stop wavering. Every moment we linger the chances of discovery increase. My very life could be at stake already," the old demon pushed. "Kurama will know of your leaving, he will make other arrangements for your mother's safety. But if you turn me down, I have no one else to turn to."
"Alright!" Ranma exclaimed. "I'll come. What now."
The demon chuckled and set a small box on the ground. He pushed a button and a door opened in the air way. "'What now' is simplicity itself. Now we go."