The Forgotten Child
Chapter 9
written by Kat Aubuchon
lovingly edited by Windlily
Yuusuke continued to rub his wife's lower
back long after he was sure she was asleep. He
shifted a little to get away from one of the steel
springs that had started to press into his side in
the couch he was laying on. Keiko had been true
to her word and had made him sleep on the couch,
but he had the last laugh when he had dragged the
couch into their bedroom and calmly told her that
she didn't say *where* the couch had to be.
It had been midnight before Keiko had come to
bed after her talk with their son. He had wanted
to ask her what had happened after he left, but he
had seen how tired she had looked and left it
alone. With that thought in mind Yuusuke closed
his eyes and reached around her extended belly to
place his hand below her heart.
He concentrated on the solid beat there and
then pulled his senses tighter so that he was
aware of nothing but her heart beat. He shifted
his hand lower and listened for the tiny
fluttering of his new child's heart. It was
there, fast and strong just as it had been last
night and the nights before that.
The gentle, single rhythm indicated that
there was only one child, but Yuusuke had been
fooled last time also. He had only detected one
heart beat with the twins. Suddenly the baby
stirred and Keiko responded by arching her back
slightly to accommodate the baby's new stretched
out position. Yuusuke wondered if all mothers
were able to respond to the children they carried
like Keiko did. He had no reference for a normal
human gestation, so he was left to wonder if Keiko
was going to develop the same problems she had
before.
So far she had shown all the same symptoms.
She ate far more than anyone else in the house and
she just seemed to have this invisible aura that
filled everyone around her with nervous energy.
The most unsettling symptom was the unnaturally
fast distention of her stomach. Her doctors had
been amazed at the rapid growth of the babies
during her first pregnancy and had performed
countless test.
Both of them had known that the baby was
probably developing faster because it wasn't
completely human, but they couldn't tell the
doctors that. The thing that had the physicians
puzzled the most was that no matter how hard they
tried, or how many different machines they used,
they could never get an ultrasound to work on
Keiko. Kurama thought that the child probably had
been what was causing the device to malfunction.
He explained that Ningenkai technology didn't
always work with Makai physiology. Yuusuke hadn't
thought that there was going to be any real
problem with the mix of human and Makai physiology
until he had come home from the Makai to find
Keiko on the living room floor.
His first thought had been to call for an
ambulance, but then he decided that it would take
too long so he had carried her through the city
himself. He had reluctantly given her over to the
doctors and then slumped against the wall. He had
just sat there with his hands trembling. He
hadn't been able to handle the thought of losing
her, he still wasn't. He knew that he would
eventually out live her but had never imaged that
she could be taken from him so soon.
He couldn't remember how long he sat there
before he realized that Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara
were with him and making the most ridiculous
guesses about the baby. He remembered one of the
suggestions being a boy with long, spiky white
hair that was going to like to be pushed around by
humans girls. Another guess was for a girl that
had the insane need to slap S-class youkai across
the face for not taking out the trash on time.
Yuusuke had been surprised that Hiei was even
there, let alone that he had been actively
participating in the guessing game. In a strange
way it had comforted him to know that he was
there, more so than the others. In between the
guesses that were getting more and more
outrageous, Hiei told him that Yukina had sneaked
her way in to see Keiko and that she was doing
everything she could to make sure that both the
baby and his wife were OK.
Hours later Yukina had come back glowing with
a huge smile on her face and offered news that
Keiko was going to be fine and he was the father
of twins. He was pretty sure Kuwabara was the one
that caught him when he had passed out. He found
out later from Yukina that the reason Keiko had so
much trouble was because the babies had bonded to
her and in the natural process of being born they
had tried to draw power from their mother. Since
she didn't have much to give they completely
sapped her dry.
Yukina said that the only reason Keiko had
survived until she was able to get help was the
fact that he had carried her to the hospital. The
twins had fed off of him and because of the sheer
volume of power at his disposal he hadn't even
felt it. Yukina had laughed and said that she
wouldn't be surprised if they turned out just like
he was and just as powerful.
She had been right about the power but only
half right about them being just like himself. It
amazed him sometimes how alike he and Mechiko
were. He had to agree with Keiko that his little
girl was his clone in every thing but appearance.
Maryoku was another story.
Yuusuke quickly got off the couch and made
his way to the window. He knew that he was too
agitated to sleep and he didn't want to disturb
Keiko's rest so he leapt out and jogged to the
dojo. He slid open the doors and walked to the
center of the room and sat down.
"Why does my son hate me?" he asked the
walls.
He glared at the silent room and then turned
the question on himself. When had his son started
hating him? Maryoku hadn't always been this way.
There used to be a time when his son called him
Papa, a time when he would come to him to just
talk. Granted Maryoku always seemed to be a much
more intellectual boy than he ever was, but they
used to find things to talk about.
Mechiko on the other hand was entirely too
easy to please. A ruffle of her hair and a story
about the trouble he used to get into in his youth
and she was happy. Maryoku always wanted more,
needed more, and it had never been a problem until
Yuusuke had been called back to the Makai to quiet
a take over attempt.
It hadn't been the first time he had left for
the Makai to take care of business, but it was
definitely the longest. He had left when the
twins were eight and had to stay for three years.
He had tried to call as much as he could, but
finding a telephone booth in the middle of a
battle field was hard to do.
When he had gotten home he had been all but
smothered by Keiko and Mechiko, while Maryoku had
hung back. Keiko had told him to give their son
time to adjust to him being home again, but it
just got worse instead of better. Maryoku only
addressed him formally as Father and never
willingly talked to him first. There just wasn't
anything for them to talk about anymore. Maryoku
never had bad grades or skipped school or got into
any trouble at all. He never fought, he always
did as he was told, doted on Keiko even worse than
Kurama doted on Shiori, and never talked back,
except for tonight. Tonight was the first time
Maryoku had openly disobeyed him, and for the life
of him he couldn't figure out why. What kind of
secret could the kids be hiding so stubbornly?
Yuusuke didn't realize so much time had
passed until the rays of early morning sunlight
shone though the still opened door and stuck his
face. He blearily looked at the bright sunshine
that played false against his mood and rose to go
back to the house.
As always, Yukina was already up and had half
of breakfast done when he walked into the kitchen.
She blinked several times at his unusual early
morning showing, but did not comment. Yuusuke
watched her work busily in the kitchen that her
husband had designed for her. Everything was
placed so that she could easily reach whatever she
needed without assistance. In fact, Kuwabara had
made sure that everything in the house was made to
accommodate Yukina's shorter height. It took a
little getting use to everything being down low,
and more than once he had been hit for saying they
were living with the seven dwarves and just hadn't
seen them yet.
Yukina placed the last of her bowls on the
table and as it was as if an unheard magic bell
had been rung. Kuwabara, the Kuwabara horde, his
kids and Keiko came into the room. He politely
declined when Yukina asked if he wanted anything
and just sat back to watch the rest of the people
at the table.
Kuwabara sat in his usual spot and did not
start eating until Yukina was satisfied that
everybody was severed and sat down to eat. The
Kuwabara twins sat side by side and every once in
a while Fuyu would elbow her brother and make him
eat slower, or neater, or quieter. Kiseki picked
at his breakfast and kept glancing at Mechiko as
she steadily shoved food into her mouth. Koori
sat at her place beside her 'father' and chatted
constantly about giving a present to Uncle Hiei
and getting to see the baby as soon as she was
done eating. His wife was quickly polishing off
her breakfast, unaware that Maryoku was taking his
food and placing it on her plate each time she
fussed at Mechiko to behave.
Yuusuke watched the children for any signs of
nervousness about the interrogation they were in
for later, but they were acting like they always
did. For an instant Maryoku looked him in the eye
and Yuusuke swore he saw a silver glimmer there
before his son looked away. He wanted to persue
that, but a very bedraggled Kurama wandered into
the room and all eyes fell on him.
Kurama was wearing Keiko's pink robe with the
green satin lining that she could no longer wear
because of her increased size. He looked like the
walking dead as he made his way around the table
to the kitchen beyond. There were dark circles
under his less than lively green eyes and his
bright red hair was doing a very good impression
of a porcupine. The lifting of his hand was his
only greeting before he stumbled into the kitchen.
Yukina and Keiko were instantly on their feet
and hurrying into the kitchen after him. Yuusuke
could hear Kurama's mumbled replies to the
bombardment of questions he was being asked about
the baby, Hiei, and himself. Kurama's appearance
had a dramatic effect on the children that didn't
go unnoticed by himself or Kuwabara. Each and
every one of them had gone perfectly still and
Kiseki even started to turn pale. They kept
throwing meaningful glances at each other as they
readied their defense.
Yuusuke was about to begin the questioning
when there was a sound that he hadn't heard for a
few years. An infant crying. Kurama was out of
the kitchen, flew over the table with a single
leap and was down the hall before anyone could
blink. Keiko and Yukina quickly followed, but
before Keiko disappeared down the hall she stopped
to address the stunned group.
"Why don't you go into the dojo for this,
Yuusuke. That way if there's any yelling you
won't disturb the baby."
Yuusuke and Kuwabara nodded to each other and
indicated to the children that they were to
follow. They all walked single file with Yuusuke
in the front and Kuwabara bringing up the rear,
like a prison chain gang. Even little Koori
adopted a gloomy expression so that she wouldn't
look out of place in the group. It was ruined
however when she bent down along the way to pick a
few flowers.
Yuusuke was the first into the building so he
had the opportunity to watch each of the
'prisoners' walk in. Mechiko had followed
directly behind him and came to stand next to the
wall to his right. She almost seemed to have a
bored expression on her face as she waited for the
questioning to begin. The Kuwabara twins were
next and they sat close together facing him, Fuyu
with her hands clasped in her lap and Arashi with
his elbow in his knee and his head in his hand.
Koori bounced in behind her siblings and promptly
sat down and started to twist the flowers she had
collected into a braid.
Yuusuke wondered why the little girl was here
at all since she wasn't one of the ones that had
participated in the secret. When Kiseki came in
Yuusuke knew that he was going to be the weakest
link in the chain. The young boy wouldn't look up
from his shoes and had his arms just hanging down
at his sides. Maryoku was the last to enter
before Kuwabara. His son leaned his back against
the wall opposite his sister and crossed his arms
over his chest.
Maryoku's unusual behavior annoyed Yuusuke
and he had the feeling that it was the effect his
son was looking for. He wasn't going to let
Maryoku out do him so he schooled his face to show
no emotion and tried to recall the speech he had
prepared on the way to the dojo. He deliberately
paced the length of the room from his daughter to
his son before he started.
"I'm not going to ask if you guys were up to
something because I already know that you were.
There is plenty enough evidence saying that *all*
of you are in on some kind of secret. I just want
to know what that secret is," Yuusuke said as he
watched for reactions.
None of the kids moved, but Kiseki blushed
crimson and hung his head lower. Koori was
oblivious to his speech because she had never been
lectured to before, and just continued to braid
her flowers. Yuusuke saw that this line of
thought wasn't getting the reaction he needed so
he tried something different.
"Hiei told Kurama that there was a youkai in
the cave with him. Kurama believes that Hiei
wasn't dreaming or delirious, so that means that
there is a youkai running loose out there. This
youkai might not have hurt him, but you can never
tell what a youkai might do to a human. Don't you
realize how dangerous a youkai loose in the
Ningenkai is?" he asked as he stopped his pacing
and faced the children.
Mechiko was twirling a tiny blade that
alternated youki and then reiki in-between her
fingers when she looked up at his question.
"Oh come on, Papa, youkai aren't *that*
dangerous," she replied in a sarcastic tone as she
made the blade disappear.
Yuusuke shook his head at his daughter's
oversimplification of the matter at hand. He
looked to the twins next. Fuyu had created a tiny
snow storm in the palm of her hand which she
quickly stopped when he looked at her. She looked
genuinely started by his question and turned to
her brother. Arashi had his Reiken across his
shoulders and yawned.
"All youkai are trouble and should be killed
on site," he responded with a grin to his sister
just before she delivered one of her well placed
slaps to the back of his head. "What?!" he
demanded in annoyance, but she just glared back.
Koori, still blissfully unaware, was frosting
her flowers with a light dusting of ice crystals
so that they would remain in their braided
position. When she finished she looked up and
offered them to him. He obediently took the
flowers and was just barely able to sense a light
psychic ripple in the air around him.
He looked past Koori and locked his gaze with
Kuwabara to see if he was the cause of it. His
friend shook his head to answer his unspoken
question. Yuusuke looked at Kiseki next, but the
boy was looking straight at his younger siblings.
Yuusuke could feel the familiar prickling at the
base of his skull, and in Kiseki's clear voice he
heard the words, 'Arashi, don't make trouble.' in
his head.
He didn't think that the message was for him
to hear, but the other children must have been in
on the transmission from the looks of discomfort
on the other faces.
Yuusuke put a weary hand to his forehead and
tried to rub away the tension headache he knew was
coming. These kids were being impossible and he
had learned nothing from his questioning, so he
asked again.
"Listen, I know that there is a youkai
somewhere close by. Regardless of what you may
say, we need to find it and send it back to the
Makai. It could be dangerous to let it run wild
this close to the city," Yuusuke said as he
squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of
his nose between his fingers.
Yuusuke felt a sharp increase in power in the
room. It startled him to realize that it was
coming from Maryoku. The power that his son had
always kept a tight lid on was now boiling over
the top despite the boy's efforts to keep it in
check. When he looked over to his son, Yuusuke
saw that Maryoku was outlined in a faint yellow
glow as he glared at him from beneath the bangs
that had fallen in front of his eyes. Cold, hard
youkai eyes pierced him with a silver look.
"Yes, *very* dangerous," came his son's
hissing reply.
He looked stupidly at his son and realized
that Kuwabara was just as surprised by Maryoku's
hostility. From behind him Yuusuke heard his
daughter softly growl her brother's name. Still
in a daze he watched her make a cutting motion
across her throat and give Maryoku a quelling
look.
He felt his son struggle harder to control
the emotions that were making his powers roll
dangerously under the surface. With one last
glare in Yuusuke's direction, Maryoku forced his
body to settle and looked away.
Yuusuke was literally stunned, he never
realized how well these kids could control their
powers. He was totally blown away by the fact
Maryoku was using his power at *all*! Then he
came to the sickening realization that *he* had
been their age when he had become a detective for
Koenma. he asked himself.
Kuwabara must have noticed that Yuusuke had
been thrown for a loop, because he took over the
questioning. He knew that Kuwabara should have
been the one to do the interrogation in the first
place. His daytime job was maintaining high
school discipline. Kuwabara had gone to college
to become a gym teacher, but when he got his first
job the principle had seen how easy it was for him
to sniff out delinquents. He had been given free
rein to control the wild children in what ever
manner he saw fit.
Kuwabara stood in front of the children and
looked down at them from his impressive height.
All he did was stare at them and they started to
squirm, then finally they all stood up and/or
straightened before him with their hands clasped
behind their backs, even Maryoku.
"You're all grounded until you tell us what
is going on," Kuwabara stated in a deadly serious
voice.
Maryoku gave a grunt and all of the other
kids let out a huge moan, but none of them
complained louder than Arashi. The boy crossed
his arms tightly in front of him and glared off
into the distance.
"I *knew* that damn fox was nothing but
trouble! We should have turned her in when we
found her!" he grumbled.
Kuwabara's eyes lit up. "So the youkai is a
youko and female."
"ARASHI!" the kids yelled in unison at the
traitor.
"All of you can go to your rooms now and
think about if you want to tell us more," Kuwabara
said with a satisfied smirk on his face.
The kids filed out one by one, each of them
taking a turn at smacking Arashi upside the head.
When Maryoku reached the door he stopped and
looked out toward the woods. Yuusuke could almost
swear that he saw a look of worry and doubt on his
son's face before he followed the others to the
house.
Koori had stayed behind to wait for her
father to pick her up. Kuwabara gently lifted her
to his shoulder and she sat with her ankles
crossed and her elbow on his head.
"Are they in trouble again, Daddy?" she asked
from her high perch.
"When aren't they in trouble?" he asked her
back.
"When they're asleep," she stated maturely.
Kuwabara and Yuusuke looked up at the little
girl and she gave them one of Hiei's smirks.
=========
End chapter 9
I'm on the way out the door to see my soon to be husband so
enjoy reading while I'm gone!
Kat
Chapter 9
written by Kat Aubuchon
lovingly edited by Windlily
Yuusuke continued to rub his wife's lower
back long after he was sure she was asleep. He
shifted a little to get away from one of the steel
springs that had started to press into his side in
the couch he was laying on. Keiko had been true
to her word and had made him sleep on the couch,
but he had the last laugh when he had dragged the
couch into their bedroom and calmly told her that
she didn't say *where* the couch had to be.
It had been midnight before Keiko had come to
bed after her talk with their son. He had wanted
to ask her what had happened after he left, but he
had seen how tired she had looked and left it
alone. With that thought in mind Yuusuke closed
his eyes and reached around her extended belly to
place his hand below her heart.
He concentrated on the solid beat there and
then pulled his senses tighter so that he was
aware of nothing but her heart beat. He shifted
his hand lower and listened for the tiny
fluttering of his new child's heart. It was
there, fast and strong just as it had been last
night and the nights before that.
The gentle, single rhythm indicated that
there was only one child, but Yuusuke had been
fooled last time also. He had only detected one
heart beat with the twins. Suddenly the baby
stirred and Keiko responded by arching her back
slightly to accommodate the baby's new stretched
out position. Yuusuke wondered if all mothers
were able to respond to the children they carried
like Keiko did. He had no reference for a normal
human gestation, so he was left to wonder if Keiko
was going to develop the same problems she had
before.
So far she had shown all the same symptoms.
She ate far more than anyone else in the house and
she just seemed to have this invisible aura that
filled everyone around her with nervous energy.
The most unsettling symptom was the unnaturally
fast distention of her stomach. Her doctors had
been amazed at the rapid growth of the babies
during her first pregnancy and had performed
countless test.
Both of them had known that the baby was
probably developing faster because it wasn't
completely human, but they couldn't tell the
doctors that. The thing that had the physicians
puzzled the most was that no matter how hard they
tried, or how many different machines they used,
they could never get an ultrasound to work on
Keiko. Kurama thought that the child probably had
been what was causing the device to malfunction.
He explained that Ningenkai technology didn't
always work with Makai physiology. Yuusuke hadn't
thought that there was going to be any real
problem with the mix of human and Makai physiology
until he had come home from the Makai to find
Keiko on the living room floor.
His first thought had been to call for an
ambulance, but then he decided that it would take
too long so he had carried her through the city
himself. He had reluctantly given her over to the
doctors and then slumped against the wall. He had
just sat there with his hands trembling. He
hadn't been able to handle the thought of losing
her, he still wasn't. He knew that he would
eventually out live her but had never imaged that
she could be taken from him so soon.
He couldn't remember how long he sat there
before he realized that Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara
were with him and making the most ridiculous
guesses about the baby. He remembered one of the
suggestions being a boy with long, spiky white
hair that was going to like to be pushed around by
humans girls. Another guess was for a girl that
had the insane need to slap S-class youkai across
the face for not taking out the trash on time.
Yuusuke had been surprised that Hiei was even
there, let alone that he had been actively
participating in the guessing game. In a strange
way it had comforted him to know that he was
there, more so than the others. In between the
guesses that were getting more and more
outrageous, Hiei told him that Yukina had sneaked
her way in to see Keiko and that she was doing
everything she could to make sure that both the
baby and his wife were OK.
Hours later Yukina had come back glowing with
a huge smile on her face and offered news that
Keiko was going to be fine and he was the father
of twins. He was pretty sure Kuwabara was the one
that caught him when he had passed out. He found
out later from Yukina that the reason Keiko had so
much trouble was because the babies had bonded to
her and in the natural process of being born they
had tried to draw power from their mother. Since
she didn't have much to give they completely
sapped her dry.
Yukina said that the only reason Keiko had
survived until she was able to get help was the
fact that he had carried her to the hospital. The
twins had fed off of him and because of the sheer
volume of power at his disposal he hadn't even
felt it. Yukina had laughed and said that she
wouldn't be surprised if they turned out just like
he was and just as powerful.
She had been right about the power but only
half right about them being just like himself. It
amazed him sometimes how alike he and Mechiko
were. He had to agree with Keiko that his little
girl was his clone in every thing but appearance.
Maryoku was another story.
Yuusuke quickly got off the couch and made
his way to the window. He knew that he was too
agitated to sleep and he didn't want to disturb
Keiko's rest so he leapt out and jogged to the
dojo. He slid open the doors and walked to the
center of the room and sat down.
"Why does my son hate me?" he asked the
walls.
He glared at the silent room and then turned
the question on himself. When had his son started
hating him? Maryoku hadn't always been this way.
There used to be a time when his son called him
Papa, a time when he would come to him to just
talk. Granted Maryoku always seemed to be a much
more intellectual boy than he ever was, but they
used to find things to talk about.
Mechiko on the other hand was entirely too
easy to please. A ruffle of her hair and a story
about the trouble he used to get into in his youth
and she was happy. Maryoku always wanted more,
needed more, and it had never been a problem until
Yuusuke had been called back to the Makai to quiet
a take over attempt.
It hadn't been the first time he had left for
the Makai to take care of business, but it was
definitely the longest. He had left when the
twins were eight and had to stay for three years.
He had tried to call as much as he could, but
finding a telephone booth in the middle of a
battle field was hard to do.
When he had gotten home he had been all but
smothered by Keiko and Mechiko, while Maryoku had
hung back. Keiko had told him to give their son
time to adjust to him being home again, but it
just got worse instead of better. Maryoku only
addressed him formally as Father and never
willingly talked to him first. There just wasn't
anything for them to talk about anymore. Maryoku
never had bad grades or skipped school or got into
any trouble at all. He never fought, he always
did as he was told, doted on Keiko even worse than
Kurama doted on Shiori, and never talked back,
except for tonight. Tonight was the first time
Maryoku had openly disobeyed him, and for the life
of him he couldn't figure out why. What kind of
secret could the kids be hiding so stubbornly?
Yuusuke didn't realize so much time had
passed until the rays of early morning sunlight
shone though the still opened door and stuck his
face. He blearily looked at the bright sunshine
that played false against his mood and rose to go
back to the house.
As always, Yukina was already up and had half
of breakfast done when he walked into the kitchen.
She blinked several times at his unusual early
morning showing, but did not comment. Yuusuke
watched her work busily in the kitchen that her
husband had designed for her. Everything was
placed so that she could easily reach whatever she
needed without assistance. In fact, Kuwabara had
made sure that everything in the house was made to
accommodate Yukina's shorter height. It took a
little getting use to everything being down low,
and more than once he had been hit for saying they
were living with the seven dwarves and just hadn't
seen them yet.
Yukina placed the last of her bowls on the
table and as it was as if an unheard magic bell
had been rung. Kuwabara, the Kuwabara horde, his
kids and Keiko came into the room. He politely
declined when Yukina asked if he wanted anything
and just sat back to watch the rest of the people
at the table.
Kuwabara sat in his usual spot and did not
start eating until Yukina was satisfied that
everybody was severed and sat down to eat. The
Kuwabara twins sat side by side and every once in
a while Fuyu would elbow her brother and make him
eat slower, or neater, or quieter. Kiseki picked
at his breakfast and kept glancing at Mechiko as
she steadily shoved food into her mouth. Koori
sat at her place beside her 'father' and chatted
constantly about giving a present to Uncle Hiei
and getting to see the baby as soon as she was
done eating. His wife was quickly polishing off
her breakfast, unaware that Maryoku was taking his
food and placing it on her plate each time she
fussed at Mechiko to behave.
Yuusuke watched the children for any signs of
nervousness about the interrogation they were in
for later, but they were acting like they always
did. For an instant Maryoku looked him in the eye
and Yuusuke swore he saw a silver glimmer there
before his son looked away. He wanted to persue
that, but a very bedraggled Kurama wandered into
the room and all eyes fell on him.
Kurama was wearing Keiko's pink robe with the
green satin lining that she could no longer wear
because of her increased size. He looked like the
walking dead as he made his way around the table
to the kitchen beyond. There were dark circles
under his less than lively green eyes and his
bright red hair was doing a very good impression
of a porcupine. The lifting of his hand was his
only greeting before he stumbled into the kitchen.
Yukina and Keiko were instantly on their feet
and hurrying into the kitchen after him. Yuusuke
could hear Kurama's mumbled replies to the
bombardment of questions he was being asked about
the baby, Hiei, and himself. Kurama's appearance
had a dramatic effect on the children that didn't
go unnoticed by himself or Kuwabara. Each and
every one of them had gone perfectly still and
Kiseki even started to turn pale. They kept
throwing meaningful glances at each other as they
readied their defense.
Yuusuke was about to begin the questioning
when there was a sound that he hadn't heard for a
few years. An infant crying. Kurama was out of
the kitchen, flew over the table with a single
leap and was down the hall before anyone could
blink. Keiko and Yukina quickly followed, but
before Keiko disappeared down the hall she stopped
to address the stunned group.
"Why don't you go into the dojo for this,
Yuusuke. That way if there's any yelling you
won't disturb the baby."
Yuusuke and Kuwabara nodded to each other and
indicated to the children that they were to
follow. They all walked single file with Yuusuke
in the front and Kuwabara bringing up the rear,
like a prison chain gang. Even little Koori
adopted a gloomy expression so that she wouldn't
look out of place in the group. It was ruined
however when she bent down along the way to pick a
few flowers.
Yuusuke was the first into the building so he
had the opportunity to watch each of the
'prisoners' walk in. Mechiko had followed
directly behind him and came to stand next to the
wall to his right. She almost seemed to have a
bored expression on her face as she waited for the
questioning to begin. The Kuwabara twins were
next and they sat close together facing him, Fuyu
with her hands clasped in her lap and Arashi with
his elbow in his knee and his head in his hand.
Koori bounced in behind her siblings and promptly
sat down and started to twist the flowers she had
collected into a braid.
Yuusuke wondered why the little girl was here
at all since she wasn't one of the ones that had
participated in the secret. When Kiseki came in
Yuusuke knew that he was going to be the weakest
link in the chain. The young boy wouldn't look up
from his shoes and had his arms just hanging down
at his sides. Maryoku was the last to enter
before Kuwabara. His son leaned his back against
the wall opposite his sister and crossed his arms
over his chest.
Maryoku's unusual behavior annoyed Yuusuke
and he had the feeling that it was the effect his
son was looking for. He wasn't going to let
Maryoku out do him so he schooled his face to show
no emotion and tried to recall the speech he had
prepared on the way to the dojo. He deliberately
paced the length of the room from his daughter to
his son before he started.
"I'm not going to ask if you guys were up to
something because I already know that you were.
There is plenty enough evidence saying that *all*
of you are in on some kind of secret. I just want
to know what that secret is," Yuusuke said as he
watched for reactions.
None of the kids moved, but Kiseki blushed
crimson and hung his head lower. Koori was
oblivious to his speech because she had never been
lectured to before, and just continued to braid
her flowers. Yuusuke saw that this line of
thought wasn't getting the reaction he needed so
he tried something different.
"Hiei told Kurama that there was a youkai in
the cave with him. Kurama believes that Hiei
wasn't dreaming or delirious, so that means that
there is a youkai running loose out there. This
youkai might not have hurt him, but you can never
tell what a youkai might do to a human. Don't you
realize how dangerous a youkai loose in the
Ningenkai is?" he asked as he stopped his pacing
and faced the children.
Mechiko was twirling a tiny blade that
alternated youki and then reiki in-between her
fingers when she looked up at his question.
"Oh come on, Papa, youkai aren't *that*
dangerous," she replied in a sarcastic tone as she
made the blade disappear.
Yuusuke shook his head at his daughter's
oversimplification of the matter at hand. He
looked to the twins next. Fuyu had created a tiny
snow storm in the palm of her hand which she
quickly stopped when he looked at her. She looked
genuinely started by his question and turned to
her brother. Arashi had his Reiken across his
shoulders and yawned.
"All youkai are trouble and should be killed
on site," he responded with a grin to his sister
just before she delivered one of her well placed
slaps to the back of his head. "What?!" he
demanded in annoyance, but she just glared back.
Koori, still blissfully unaware, was frosting
her flowers with a light dusting of ice crystals
so that they would remain in their braided
position. When she finished she looked up and
offered them to him. He obediently took the
flowers and was just barely able to sense a light
psychic ripple in the air around him.
He looked past Koori and locked his gaze with
Kuwabara to see if he was the cause of it. His
friend shook his head to answer his unspoken
question. Yuusuke looked at Kiseki next, but the
boy was looking straight at his younger siblings.
Yuusuke could feel the familiar prickling at the
base of his skull, and in Kiseki's clear voice he
heard the words, 'Arashi, don't make trouble.' in
his head.
He didn't think that the message was for him
to hear, but the other children must have been in
on the transmission from the looks of discomfort
on the other faces.
Yuusuke put a weary hand to his forehead and
tried to rub away the tension headache he knew was
coming. These kids were being impossible and he
had learned nothing from his questioning, so he
asked again.
"Listen, I know that there is a youkai
somewhere close by. Regardless of what you may
say, we need to find it and send it back to the
Makai. It could be dangerous to let it run wild
this close to the city," Yuusuke said as he
squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of
his nose between his fingers.
Yuusuke felt a sharp increase in power in the
room. It startled him to realize that it was
coming from Maryoku. The power that his son had
always kept a tight lid on was now boiling over
the top despite the boy's efforts to keep it in
check. When he looked over to his son, Yuusuke
saw that Maryoku was outlined in a faint yellow
glow as he glared at him from beneath the bangs
that had fallen in front of his eyes. Cold, hard
youkai eyes pierced him with a silver look.
"Yes, *very* dangerous," came his son's
hissing reply.
He looked stupidly at his son and realized
that Kuwabara was just as surprised by Maryoku's
hostility. From behind him Yuusuke heard his
daughter softly growl her brother's name. Still
in a daze he watched her make a cutting motion
across her throat and give Maryoku a quelling
look.
He felt his son struggle harder to control
the emotions that were making his powers roll
dangerously under the surface. With one last
glare in Yuusuke's direction, Maryoku forced his
body to settle and looked away.
Yuusuke was literally stunned, he never
realized how well these kids could control their
powers. He was totally blown away by the fact
Maryoku was using his power at *all*! Then he
came to the sickening realization that *he* had
been their age when he had become a detective for
Koenma. he asked himself.
Kuwabara must have noticed that Yuusuke had
been thrown for a loop, because he took over the
questioning. He knew that Kuwabara should have
been the one to do the interrogation in the first
place. His daytime job was maintaining high
school discipline. Kuwabara had gone to college
to become a gym teacher, but when he got his first
job the principle had seen how easy it was for him
to sniff out delinquents. He had been given free
rein to control the wild children in what ever
manner he saw fit.
Kuwabara stood in front of the children and
looked down at them from his impressive height.
All he did was stare at them and they started to
squirm, then finally they all stood up and/or
straightened before him with their hands clasped
behind their backs, even Maryoku.
"You're all grounded until you tell us what
is going on," Kuwabara stated in a deadly serious
voice.
Maryoku gave a grunt and all of the other
kids let out a huge moan, but none of them
complained louder than Arashi. The boy crossed
his arms tightly in front of him and glared off
into the distance.
"I *knew* that damn fox was nothing but
trouble! We should have turned her in when we
found her!" he grumbled.
Kuwabara's eyes lit up. "So the youkai is a
youko and female."
"ARASHI!" the kids yelled in unison at the
traitor.
"All of you can go to your rooms now and
think about if you want to tell us more," Kuwabara
said with a satisfied smirk on his face.
The kids filed out one by one, each of them
taking a turn at smacking Arashi upside the head.
When Maryoku reached the door he stopped and
looked out toward the woods. Yuusuke could almost
swear that he saw a look of worry and doubt on his
son's face before he followed the others to the
house.
Koori had stayed behind to wait for her
father to pick her up. Kuwabara gently lifted her
to his shoulder and she sat with her ankles
crossed and her elbow on his head.
"Are they in trouble again, Daddy?" she asked
from her high perch.
"When aren't they in trouble?" he asked her
back.
"When they're asleep," she stated maturely.
Kuwabara and Yuusuke looked up at the little
girl and she gave them one of Hiei's smirks.
=========
End chapter 9
I'm on the way out the door to see my soon to be husband so
enjoy reading while I'm gone!
Kat