Begin Part c
========
Kitsuryuu wore a shimmering multi tone
turquoise dress made of some kind of floating
gauzy material that Hiei couldn't identify. The
whole dress seemed to be made up of many scarves
laid together and over each other with darker
turquoise ones underneath and lighter ones on top.
The long flowing scarves of material were gathered
just under Kitsuryuu's breasts and then flowed
straight down to the floor giving the elution that
she was floating just above the carpet. The
neckline was high enough to just barely show the
tops of Kitsuryuu's collar bones, but low enough
that a silver necklace that looked exactly like
the one Botan had placed on her earlier but with a
turquoise blue stone instead of a ruby one could
be seen. The sleeves of the dress were nothing
more than two scarves of the lightest color blue
tied once at her shoulder, again at her elbow and
then a third time at her wrist. When she held her
arms up and away from her body the scarves parted
to show the bare skin of her arm.
Kitsuryuu looked very uncomfortable, but Hiei
could tell that it wasn't the dress that made her
feel this way. Kitsuryuu kept pulling on her
hair, sweeping it over the tops of her cropped
ears, but the perfectly straight, silky locks
would slide back down and reveal what she was so
desperately trying to hide.
"Isn't there something we can do with my
hair?" Kitsuryuu asked sounding desperate and
alarmed, making Hiei's heart bleed for her.
"I do not think that will be a problem once
you put on the cloak," Lady Jingo said as she
shook out the silver wrap on her arm and showed it
to Kitsuryuu, "This was meant to wear with the
dress and you can pull the hood over the top of
your head if you like."
Kitsuryuu looked unconvinced, "Why do I have
to dress up in this form anyway. It's not like
I'm going to be like this at the coronation."
"Kitsuryuu, the purpose of this coronation is
to show you off. All those people are going to
want to see you in each of your forms and
therefore you must be prepared. Besides you don't
have to show them for long. Just a quick look and
you can change back into something more
comfortable for you."
"I think I have something that could help,"
Yukina said timidly.
Kitsuryuu seemed more relieved that there was
another option and waited impatiently for Yukina
to help her. Yukina reached into her kimono
sleeve and pulled out what looked like a string of
light blue pearls along a thin silver chain, but
Hiei knew exactly what it was, though he hadn't
seen it in many years. When Yukina and Hiei had
finally told each other the truth about each
other, his sister had tried to give it to him, as
a gift from his mother.
The ornament in Yukina's hand was an heirloom
of Hiei's family going back farther than recorded
history. It was a special head dress that was
passed down from mother to first born daughter.
Hiei's mother had wanted him to have it since he
was technically first born, but he had refused and
told Yukina to have it instead, after all *he*
wasn't going to have any children... or so he had
thought.
Yukina stretched out the headpiece of tear
gems strung together with delicate silver links
and indicated to Kitsuryuu to sit on the bed
facing her. Kitsuryuu complied but looked
doubtful that this would change anything.
"That is exquisite, Yukina. Wherever did you
find it?" Lady Jingo asked as Yukina began the
painstakingly long process of weaving it into
Kitsuryuu's hair.
"It has been in my family for longer than can
be remembered. Each stone in it was a tear from
mother, to daughter, to granddaughter and each
time a child was born a new stone was placed in it
buy the one that shed it. My mother's tear was
the last to be added," she said as she reached for
her necklace that was no longer there, "Her first
born is not able to carry it on to the next and I
cannot accept it myself to give to my first born,
but I think that my mother would be pleased if you
would have it, Kitsuryuu."
"Yukina, I can't accept this. It should stay
with your family. If Hiei-san can not give it to
his first born then maybe it could go to Kyuukai's
first born," Kitsuryuu tried to protest as Yukina
continued to weave it into her hair.
"My mother also told me if I could never find
my brother that I would know who to give it to,
and I believe that person is you. So please
accept this in my mother's memory," Yukina said as
she finished and stepped away.
The front of the hair ornament was meant to
be worn across the forehead and that part of it
resembled the wide mesh of a net. At each place
where the line of tear gems crossed a small stone
of crystal clear, ice blue was faceted. The two
ends of the mesh met together at a point at the
very side edge of Kitsuryuu's hair line. From
there one set of tear gems, staggered along the
thin silver chains, where worked into a braid that
was woven from the hair on the top of Kitsuryuu's
head. This was what concealed the young lady's
shortened ears from view.
There was another set of three strands of
gems on each side, where the mesh in the front
came together. One strand of each set fell to the
edge of Kitsuryuu's jaw, the next fell to her
shoulders and the last ended at the beginning of
her dress's neckline.
"There is one more thing," Yukina said and
reached back into her kimono, "But this you can
only borrow."
Yukina gave Kitsuryuu a wide bracelet of
silver. From Hiei's perch he could barely make
out the snowflakes and flowers etched onto the
surface of the metal. Kitsuryuu turned the
bracelet in her hands examining it and a puzzled
expression appeared on her elegantly decorated
brow.
"Who is Hana no Kokoro?" she asked.
The name shot a bolt of pure electricity
through Hiei's body. The fire fox that he had
encountered when he had been searching for
Kitsuryuu had mentioned that name. 'Tell Yukina
that Hana no Kokoro says not to worry so much,
she's happy now' the fox had said. Hiei had
almost forgotten about the fox made solely of fire
energy that had been at Kitsuryuu's side during
her ordeal in the city. Remembering that brought
back other memories of the promise he had made,
the one that he hadn't kept.
/So does this mean that you won't give up on her, no
matter what?
That you'll do what ever it takes to keep Kitsuryuu safe?/
the kitsune had asked
with a hidden twinkle in his blue eyes.
/Whatever it takes,/ he had responded, but
had he? Had he tried his best? Hadn't he done
everything in his power to keep Kitsuryuu safe?
He'd sacrificed his heart to allow Koenma to take
her away from him to keep her safe. Wasn't that
enough? Then he remembered something else the
fire fox had said.
/Good, I was hoping you would finally stop feeling
sorry for
yourself, get up off your ass and be strong enough
to be Kitsuryuu's father,/ but he wasn't being her
father. He was being a friend that cared from a
distance.
/Things have already been set into motion that even My
Lord is
powerless to stop. You're going to have to be strong and
remember your
oath, Hiei. It might be your only chance to save
her./
What had he meant by that? Did he have to be
Kitsuryuu's father in order to save her? Save her
from what? What was this 'Lord' that the kitsune
spoke of, and who was that damn fox anyway?! Too
many questions crowded together in Hiei's mind and
only Yukina's sad voice brought his attention back
to the room.
Yukina smiled with distant emotion, "Hana no
Kokoro was what my father called my mother. This
was the only thing that she had of him once he
left."
The once joyful mood was shadowed by Yukina's
answer and all three ladies seemed to draw within
their own thoughts for a moment. Yukina's
admission had an equally stunning effect on Hiei.
The fire demon sat so still that a statue would
have been jealous. It was Kitsuryuu that finally
broke the spell.
"Thank you, for letting me borrow it, Yukina.
It is lovely," spoke as she rose from the bed.
Kitsuryuu towered over the other two women
easily with her youko height and had to look down
to see their faces. The young lady straightened
her back, set her shoulders and reached for the
cloak Lady Jingo still held. Kitsuryuu, with an
undue amount of flamboyance, swept the covering
over her head and around her shoulder, then
fastened the clasp in the front.
"Well ladies. Shall we adjourn to the
receiving room to allow my father a moment of
reprieve from the questions about his wild
daughter that no one has ever seen. I fear that
my dear father will be at a lost as to how to
avoid their curiosity."
Both Yukina and Lady Jingo stood there
stunned as Kitsuryuu whirled from the room without
a backward glance and more grace than a queen at
her court.
"I think you have created a monster, Lady
Jingo."
"Indeed I have, and she will be better for
it," Lady Jingo said as she left to follow her
student behind Yukina.
Hiei waited until the last of Lady Jingo's
skirt disappeared around the doorway and jumped
down from his hiding place. His feet never made a
sound when they touched the carpet, but the bed
made a soft sigh when he sat on its edge. Today
was a day that Hiei would probably never be able
to forget, even if he wanted to and the worse
hadn't happened yet. Maybe it was the meaning of
the day in general, or maybe it was the things
Hiei had heard in this room just moments ago that
distracted him so badly that he didn't see Mukuro
until she was siting on the bed beside him.
"A dolgen for your thoughts?"
Hiei didn't answer at first so that he could
hide how startled he was. He pretended to ignore
her knowing that Mukuro would see though his act,
hoping that she would just give up and leave,
knowing that she wouldn't. Hiei hadn't seen his
'boss' for all of the three months since Kyuukai's
birth. He had been to the Makai and slept in her
city and even ran a few of her arraigns, but he
had avoided her presence for this very reason.
Right now he didn't need Mukuro trying to pick his
mind apart with her uncanny ability to make people
reveal what they wish to be hidden. When Mukuro
didn't leave or speak again, Hiei stood and walked
to the window intending to leave himself.
"Well, since you don't seem that inclined to
speak to me maybe you could tell be where
Kitsuryuu is?"
"Why would you want to speak to her?" Hiei
asked trying not to show any of the fear in his
voice that was in his eyes reflected in the
window.
"Kitsuryuu is a charming and novel young
lady. As far as I know she seems unable to lie
and further more she has nothing to lie about. It
is refreshing to talk to someone that isn't
trying to lie, or impress you... or fears you.
Besides she will one day be a very powerful force
in the Makai and the Reikai. It is always wise to
know your peers and your potential enemies."
Hiei's heart missed a beat, but he tried to
hide it, "And you consider Kitsuryuu a threat."
In the reflection of the glass Hiei saw
Mukuro turn toward him. She looked at him sadly
before shaking her head, "Right now she is not a
threat, but the longer you deny her the truth the
more dangerous she becomes."
Hiei whirled around, his face open with
shock.
"Do not bother to deny it Hiei. I have seen
her, talked with her. I don't know how you did
it, and I really don't care to know, but you and
Kurama have a child...," for a moment she smiled,
"...children. Right now only Kitsuryuu is my
concern."
Mukuro stood from the bed and went to stand
beside Hiei by the window. Without looking at him
she continued, "The longer it takes for Kitsuryuu
to find out the truth, and she will, the angrier
she will become. She is youkai, Hiei, and anger
fuels hate and resentment. Kitsuryuu is a fine
young woman, but I will not hesitate to defend
what is mine and neither will Yomi. If Kitsuryuu
tries to strike at you through the power she will
gain as being Koenma's daughter, and if she uses
that power to effect me or my realm, I *will* put
a stop to it."
"Is that why you came? To threaten my
daughter," Hiei asked not knowing if fear or anger
fired his words.
She didn't answer immediately and instead
walked to the door of the room. Mukuro stood in
the open entryway and gave him a small, sad smirk,
"Maybe... or maybe I came to give you the excuse
you have been so desperately looking for to tell
Kitsuryuu the truth. Everyone has been telling
you and Kurama why not to tell her. Now I'm
giving you the best reason *to* tell her, but do
not think, even for a moment, that I will not do
as I said. I have worked hard for what I have and
I will not let *anyone* jeopardize it." With that
she was gone.
Hiei stood at the window and grimaced at his
reflection. His first thought was that he wasn't
yet strong enough to defeat Mukuro. He had been
working towards it ever since she first offered
him to be her heir, but she still out classed him.
He had a few quite deadly tricks up his sleeve
that no one, not even Kurama, knew about, but they
would only serve as a momentary distraction for
Mukuro. So why not do as she said, his heart
asked timidly.
The glass in front of Hiei cracked under the
pressure of his palm on its surface. The thin
part in the once uniform plane ran though Hiei's
reflection splitting the image into two halves,
much like his soul. To tell or not to tell that
is the question. An evil grin twitched at the
surface of his lips at how much that sounded like
Kuwabara to him. A true sign of insanity. This
wasn't the first time Hiei had come to a split
path in his life, with each way looking as
hopeless as the other, but this time it wasn't
just himself that he was deciding for, but
Kitsuryuu as well.
"You can stop taxing yourself over what to
do, Hiei. It's already too late. It was too late
the day you let her come here with Koenma-sama."
Hiei whipped his head around to see
Kitsuryuu's fire fox standing behind him, crimson
flames licked around and in its fur without
touching or scorching the carpet. Hiei reached
for his sword at his hip in a unconscious gesture
of defence and then realized how ridiculous it
was. This fox had already shown how easily he
could win a battle of pure strength against him.
A tiny knot of worry formed in the bottom of
Hiei's stomach.
"What do you want here, kitsune?!" Hiei
demanded with more bravo than he felt.
The fox heaved a great sigh of defeat. Hiei
watched, with what he refused to acknowledge as
nervousness, as the fire in the animal's eyes
seemed to dim and its shoulders slump as if the
life was slowly draining out of him. Any thought
that the fire fox would attack vanished.
"What am I going to tell her, Hiei? All she
ever wanted was your happiness. How I am going to
be able to tell her that the worse has happened?
How can I see her heart broken again?"
The words were so soul wrenching that even
Hiei felt his stomach sicken. With a silent
trigger the fox fell to the floor and rolled to
its side as if his invisible strings had been cut.
The feeling of udder sadness and remorse was so
thick in the room it seemed to color the air
black. Hiei knew what a dying animal looked like.
"Who are you?" Hiei asked, fearing he already
knew the answer.
The dying fire fox's whole body shook as he
laid there on the floor. For a moment Hiei
thought that the fox was in its death throws until
he heard the mocking laughter.
"We were so close. We could have broken the
cycle, but because of our foolish mistakes, our
damned pride, it begins again. Maybe Kyuukai will
be the one to stop this curse that runs in our
veins. Maybe he will be strong where we were
weak." Hiei didn't know what to say as he watched
the fox cry hot molten tears onto the carpet where
he laid.
"I could have stopped it if I had only taken
your mother with me. If I had believed in her and
her love for me, I could have prevented all of
this, but I didn't. I left thinking that I had to
prove myself, that I had to be better than I was.
Do you know that she died crying my name, hoping
that I would come for her in her last hour? Of
course you wouldn't. Yukina would have never
darkened your thoughts against me with the truth"
"Why didn't you come?" The fox lifted it's
head and for a fraction of second Hiei saw his own
face looking back at him.
"I was already dead. I died the day I left
her. I went to Yukionna thinking to plead my
heart to her, hoping that she would let your
mother free. How foolish I was to think that
Yukionna's heart of ice could be warmed. She
killed me on the spot before I could even speak,
and now that ice witch has her anger turned
towards Kitsuryuu.
"If I had left with your mother, Yukionna
would have not known of your birth. If I had not
of confronted her, you would have grown to be who
you already are, but without the bitterness and
strife. If I had done what my heart had pleaded,
Kitsuryuu's existence would have been unknown
until she was strong enough to handle her fate.
Now Yukionna will make certain that Kitsuryuu
suffers for being born."
"Is Kitsuryuu is some kind of danger?" Hiei
demanded.
"She has been in danger since the moment of
her birth, Hiei. She is destined for things that
mortals could never understand, but it was our
duty to guide her. Her future belongs to the
gods, but her present belonged to us. Every
choice *we* make has drastic effects on the course
of Kitsuryuu's final end. She can either be our
greatest hope, or our worst fears, and I dread to
think what our folly had done to her. She is too
young to do what they will ask of her. Her heart
will be too hurt to control the things they will
do to her. Anger is a deadly emotion when given
to a child of infinite power."
"What do you mean? What will happen to her?
Who will do this to her? Damn it! Answer me!"
Hiei growled as he bent to the fox's fading form.
There was no answer as the fox's fire began
to dim to cold, black dust. The creature's
shallow breathing was slowing to a stop, rattling
in its chest. The once magnificent power that had
once flowed from the creature was barely a trickle
as the flames slowly died.
"Now it is up to you, my master. My borrowed
time is gone and I have failed a second time as
you said I would. I pray Enma-sama that you know
what you are doing."
The fox turned to ash and crumbled into a
pile of unanswered questions. Hiei didn't know
what was going on, or what this being that he knew
was his dead father's soul meant by the words that
he had said, but one way or another he was going
to find the answers.
=======
end ch 22
========
Kitsuryuu wore a shimmering multi tone
turquoise dress made of some kind of floating
gauzy material that Hiei couldn't identify. The
whole dress seemed to be made up of many scarves
laid together and over each other with darker
turquoise ones underneath and lighter ones on top.
The long flowing scarves of material were gathered
just under Kitsuryuu's breasts and then flowed
straight down to the floor giving the elution that
she was floating just above the carpet. The
neckline was high enough to just barely show the
tops of Kitsuryuu's collar bones, but low enough
that a silver necklace that looked exactly like
the one Botan had placed on her earlier but with a
turquoise blue stone instead of a ruby one could
be seen. The sleeves of the dress were nothing
more than two scarves of the lightest color blue
tied once at her shoulder, again at her elbow and
then a third time at her wrist. When she held her
arms up and away from her body the scarves parted
to show the bare skin of her arm.
Kitsuryuu looked very uncomfortable, but Hiei
could tell that it wasn't the dress that made her
feel this way. Kitsuryuu kept pulling on her
hair, sweeping it over the tops of her cropped
ears, but the perfectly straight, silky locks
would slide back down and reveal what she was so
desperately trying to hide.
"Isn't there something we can do with my
hair?" Kitsuryuu asked sounding desperate and
alarmed, making Hiei's heart bleed for her.
"I do not think that will be a problem once
you put on the cloak," Lady Jingo said as she
shook out the silver wrap on her arm and showed it
to Kitsuryuu, "This was meant to wear with the
dress and you can pull the hood over the top of
your head if you like."
Kitsuryuu looked unconvinced, "Why do I have
to dress up in this form anyway. It's not like
I'm going to be like this at the coronation."
"Kitsuryuu, the purpose of this coronation is
to show you off. All those people are going to
want to see you in each of your forms and
therefore you must be prepared. Besides you don't
have to show them for long. Just a quick look and
you can change back into something more
comfortable for you."
"I think I have something that could help,"
Yukina said timidly.
Kitsuryuu seemed more relieved that there was
another option and waited impatiently for Yukina
to help her. Yukina reached into her kimono
sleeve and pulled out what looked like a string of
light blue pearls along a thin silver chain, but
Hiei knew exactly what it was, though he hadn't
seen it in many years. When Yukina and Hiei had
finally told each other the truth about each
other, his sister had tried to give it to him, as
a gift from his mother.
The ornament in Yukina's hand was an heirloom
of Hiei's family going back farther than recorded
history. It was a special head dress that was
passed down from mother to first born daughter.
Hiei's mother had wanted him to have it since he
was technically first born, but he had refused and
told Yukina to have it instead, after all *he*
wasn't going to have any children... or so he had
thought.
Yukina stretched out the headpiece of tear
gems strung together with delicate silver links
and indicated to Kitsuryuu to sit on the bed
facing her. Kitsuryuu complied but looked
doubtful that this would change anything.
"That is exquisite, Yukina. Wherever did you
find it?" Lady Jingo asked as Yukina began the
painstakingly long process of weaving it into
Kitsuryuu's hair.
"It has been in my family for longer than can
be remembered. Each stone in it was a tear from
mother, to daughter, to granddaughter and each
time a child was born a new stone was placed in it
buy the one that shed it. My mother's tear was
the last to be added," she said as she reached for
her necklace that was no longer there, "Her first
born is not able to carry it on to the next and I
cannot accept it myself to give to my first born,
but I think that my mother would be pleased if you
would have it, Kitsuryuu."
"Yukina, I can't accept this. It should stay
with your family. If Hiei-san can not give it to
his first born then maybe it could go to Kyuukai's
first born," Kitsuryuu tried to protest as Yukina
continued to weave it into her hair.
"My mother also told me if I could never find
my brother that I would know who to give it to,
and I believe that person is you. So please
accept this in my mother's memory," Yukina said as
she finished and stepped away.
The front of the hair ornament was meant to
be worn across the forehead and that part of it
resembled the wide mesh of a net. At each place
where the line of tear gems crossed a small stone
of crystal clear, ice blue was faceted. The two
ends of the mesh met together at a point at the
very side edge of Kitsuryuu's hair line. From
there one set of tear gems, staggered along the
thin silver chains, where worked into a braid that
was woven from the hair on the top of Kitsuryuu's
head. This was what concealed the young lady's
shortened ears from view.
There was another set of three strands of
gems on each side, where the mesh in the front
came together. One strand of each set fell to the
edge of Kitsuryuu's jaw, the next fell to her
shoulders and the last ended at the beginning of
her dress's neckline.
"There is one more thing," Yukina said and
reached back into her kimono, "But this you can
only borrow."
Yukina gave Kitsuryuu a wide bracelet of
silver. From Hiei's perch he could barely make
out the snowflakes and flowers etched onto the
surface of the metal. Kitsuryuu turned the
bracelet in her hands examining it and a puzzled
expression appeared on her elegantly decorated
brow.
"Who is Hana no Kokoro?" she asked.
The name shot a bolt of pure electricity
through Hiei's body. The fire fox that he had
encountered when he had been searching for
Kitsuryuu had mentioned that name. 'Tell Yukina
that Hana no Kokoro says not to worry so much,
she's happy now' the fox had said. Hiei had
almost forgotten about the fox made solely of fire
energy that had been at Kitsuryuu's side during
her ordeal in the city. Remembering that brought
back other memories of the promise he had made,
the one that he hadn't kept.
/So does this mean that you won't give up on her, no
matter what?
That you'll do what ever it takes to keep Kitsuryuu safe?/
the kitsune had asked
with a hidden twinkle in his blue eyes.
/Whatever it takes,/ he had responded, but
had he? Had he tried his best? Hadn't he done
everything in his power to keep Kitsuryuu safe?
He'd sacrificed his heart to allow Koenma to take
her away from him to keep her safe. Wasn't that
enough? Then he remembered something else the
fire fox had said.
/Good, I was hoping you would finally stop feeling
sorry for
yourself, get up off your ass and be strong enough
to be Kitsuryuu's father,/ but he wasn't being her
father. He was being a friend that cared from a
distance.
/Things have already been set into motion that even My
Lord is
powerless to stop. You're going to have to be strong and
remember your
oath, Hiei. It might be your only chance to save
her./
What had he meant by that? Did he have to be
Kitsuryuu's father in order to save her? Save her
from what? What was this 'Lord' that the kitsune
spoke of, and who was that damn fox anyway?! Too
many questions crowded together in Hiei's mind and
only Yukina's sad voice brought his attention back
to the room.
Yukina smiled with distant emotion, "Hana no
Kokoro was what my father called my mother. This
was the only thing that she had of him once he
left."
The once joyful mood was shadowed by Yukina's
answer and all three ladies seemed to draw within
their own thoughts for a moment. Yukina's
admission had an equally stunning effect on Hiei.
The fire demon sat so still that a statue would
have been jealous. It was Kitsuryuu that finally
broke the spell.
"Thank you, for letting me borrow it, Yukina.
It is lovely," spoke as she rose from the bed.
Kitsuryuu towered over the other two women
easily with her youko height and had to look down
to see their faces. The young lady straightened
her back, set her shoulders and reached for the
cloak Lady Jingo still held. Kitsuryuu, with an
undue amount of flamboyance, swept the covering
over her head and around her shoulder, then
fastened the clasp in the front.
"Well ladies. Shall we adjourn to the
receiving room to allow my father a moment of
reprieve from the questions about his wild
daughter that no one has ever seen. I fear that
my dear father will be at a lost as to how to
avoid their curiosity."
Both Yukina and Lady Jingo stood there
stunned as Kitsuryuu whirled from the room without
a backward glance and more grace than a queen at
her court.
"I think you have created a monster, Lady
Jingo."
"Indeed I have, and she will be better for
it," Lady Jingo said as she left to follow her
student behind Yukina.
Hiei waited until the last of Lady Jingo's
skirt disappeared around the doorway and jumped
down from his hiding place. His feet never made a
sound when they touched the carpet, but the bed
made a soft sigh when he sat on its edge. Today
was a day that Hiei would probably never be able
to forget, even if he wanted to and the worse
hadn't happened yet. Maybe it was the meaning of
the day in general, or maybe it was the things
Hiei had heard in this room just moments ago that
distracted him so badly that he didn't see Mukuro
until she was siting on the bed beside him.
"A dolgen for your thoughts?"
Hiei didn't answer at first so that he could
hide how startled he was. He pretended to ignore
her knowing that Mukuro would see though his act,
hoping that she would just give up and leave,
knowing that she wouldn't. Hiei hadn't seen his
'boss' for all of the three months since Kyuukai's
birth. He had been to the Makai and slept in her
city and even ran a few of her arraigns, but he
had avoided her presence for this very reason.
Right now he didn't need Mukuro trying to pick his
mind apart with her uncanny ability to make people
reveal what they wish to be hidden. When Mukuro
didn't leave or speak again, Hiei stood and walked
to the window intending to leave himself.
"Well, since you don't seem that inclined to
speak to me maybe you could tell be where
Kitsuryuu is?"
"Why would you want to speak to her?" Hiei
asked trying not to show any of the fear in his
voice that was in his eyes reflected in the
window.
"Kitsuryuu is a charming and novel young
lady. As far as I know she seems unable to lie
and further more she has nothing to lie about. It
is refreshing to talk to someone that isn't
trying to lie, or impress you... or fears you.
Besides she will one day be a very powerful force
in the Makai and the Reikai. It is always wise to
know your peers and your potential enemies."
Hiei's heart missed a beat, but he tried to
hide it, "And you consider Kitsuryuu a threat."
In the reflection of the glass Hiei saw
Mukuro turn toward him. She looked at him sadly
before shaking her head, "Right now she is not a
threat, but the longer you deny her the truth the
more dangerous she becomes."
Hiei whirled around, his face open with
shock.
"Do not bother to deny it Hiei. I have seen
her, talked with her. I don't know how you did
it, and I really don't care to know, but you and
Kurama have a child...," for a moment she smiled,
"...children. Right now only Kitsuryuu is my
concern."
Mukuro stood from the bed and went to stand
beside Hiei by the window. Without looking at him
she continued, "The longer it takes for Kitsuryuu
to find out the truth, and she will, the angrier
she will become. She is youkai, Hiei, and anger
fuels hate and resentment. Kitsuryuu is a fine
young woman, but I will not hesitate to defend
what is mine and neither will Yomi. If Kitsuryuu
tries to strike at you through the power she will
gain as being Koenma's daughter, and if she uses
that power to effect me or my realm, I *will* put
a stop to it."
"Is that why you came? To threaten my
daughter," Hiei asked not knowing if fear or anger
fired his words.
She didn't answer immediately and instead
walked to the door of the room. Mukuro stood in
the open entryway and gave him a small, sad smirk,
"Maybe... or maybe I came to give you the excuse
you have been so desperately looking for to tell
Kitsuryuu the truth. Everyone has been telling
you and Kurama why not to tell her. Now I'm
giving you the best reason *to* tell her, but do
not think, even for a moment, that I will not do
as I said. I have worked hard for what I have and
I will not let *anyone* jeopardize it." With that
she was gone.
Hiei stood at the window and grimaced at his
reflection. His first thought was that he wasn't
yet strong enough to defeat Mukuro. He had been
working towards it ever since she first offered
him to be her heir, but she still out classed him.
He had a few quite deadly tricks up his sleeve
that no one, not even Kurama, knew about, but they
would only serve as a momentary distraction for
Mukuro. So why not do as she said, his heart
asked timidly.
The glass in front of Hiei cracked under the
pressure of his palm on its surface. The thin
part in the once uniform plane ran though Hiei's
reflection splitting the image into two halves,
much like his soul. To tell or not to tell that
is the question. An evil grin twitched at the
surface of his lips at how much that sounded like
Kuwabara to him. A true sign of insanity. This
wasn't the first time Hiei had come to a split
path in his life, with each way looking as
hopeless as the other, but this time it wasn't
just himself that he was deciding for, but
Kitsuryuu as well.
"You can stop taxing yourself over what to
do, Hiei. It's already too late. It was too late
the day you let her come here with Koenma-sama."
Hiei whipped his head around to see
Kitsuryuu's fire fox standing behind him, crimson
flames licked around and in its fur without
touching or scorching the carpet. Hiei reached
for his sword at his hip in a unconscious gesture
of defence and then realized how ridiculous it
was. This fox had already shown how easily he
could win a battle of pure strength against him.
A tiny knot of worry formed in the bottom of
Hiei's stomach.
"What do you want here, kitsune?!" Hiei
demanded with more bravo than he felt.
The fox heaved a great sigh of defeat. Hiei
watched, with what he refused to acknowledge as
nervousness, as the fire in the animal's eyes
seemed to dim and its shoulders slump as if the
life was slowly draining out of him. Any thought
that the fire fox would attack vanished.
"What am I going to tell her, Hiei? All she
ever wanted was your happiness. How I am going to
be able to tell her that the worse has happened?
How can I see her heart broken again?"
The words were so soul wrenching that even
Hiei felt his stomach sicken. With a silent
trigger the fox fell to the floor and rolled to
its side as if his invisible strings had been cut.
The feeling of udder sadness and remorse was so
thick in the room it seemed to color the air
black. Hiei knew what a dying animal looked like.
"Who are you?" Hiei asked, fearing he already
knew the answer.
The dying fire fox's whole body shook as he
laid there on the floor. For a moment Hiei
thought that the fox was in its death throws until
he heard the mocking laughter.
"We were so close. We could have broken the
cycle, but because of our foolish mistakes, our
damned pride, it begins again. Maybe Kyuukai will
be the one to stop this curse that runs in our
veins. Maybe he will be strong where we were
weak." Hiei didn't know what to say as he watched
the fox cry hot molten tears onto the carpet where
he laid.
"I could have stopped it if I had only taken
your mother with me. If I had believed in her and
her love for me, I could have prevented all of
this, but I didn't. I left thinking that I had to
prove myself, that I had to be better than I was.
Do you know that she died crying my name, hoping
that I would come for her in her last hour? Of
course you wouldn't. Yukina would have never
darkened your thoughts against me with the truth"
"Why didn't you come?" The fox lifted it's
head and for a fraction of second Hiei saw his own
face looking back at him.
"I was already dead. I died the day I left
her. I went to Yukionna thinking to plead my
heart to her, hoping that she would let your
mother free. How foolish I was to think that
Yukionna's heart of ice could be warmed. She
killed me on the spot before I could even speak,
and now that ice witch has her anger turned
towards Kitsuryuu.
"If I had left with your mother, Yukionna
would have not known of your birth. If I had not
of confronted her, you would have grown to be who
you already are, but without the bitterness and
strife. If I had done what my heart had pleaded,
Kitsuryuu's existence would have been unknown
until she was strong enough to handle her fate.
Now Yukionna will make certain that Kitsuryuu
suffers for being born."
"Is Kitsuryuu is some kind of danger?" Hiei
demanded.
"She has been in danger since the moment of
her birth, Hiei. She is destined for things that
mortals could never understand, but it was our
duty to guide her. Her future belongs to the
gods, but her present belonged to us. Every
choice *we* make has drastic effects on the course
of Kitsuryuu's final end. She can either be our
greatest hope, or our worst fears, and I dread to
think what our folly had done to her. She is too
young to do what they will ask of her. Her heart
will be too hurt to control the things they will
do to her. Anger is a deadly emotion when given
to a child of infinite power."
"What do you mean? What will happen to her?
Who will do this to her? Damn it! Answer me!"
Hiei growled as he bent to the fox's fading form.
There was no answer as the fox's fire began
to dim to cold, black dust. The creature's
shallow breathing was slowing to a stop, rattling
in its chest. The once magnificent power that had
once flowed from the creature was barely a trickle
as the flames slowly died.
"Now it is up to you, my master. My borrowed
time is gone and I have failed a second time as
you said I would. I pray Enma-sama that you know
what you are doing."
The fox turned to ash and crumbled into a
pile of unanswered questions. Hiei didn't know
what was going on, or what this being that he knew
was his dead father's soul meant by the words that
he had said, but one way or another he was going
to find the answers.
=======
end ch 22