Story Legend: 'present thoughts' *emphasis, dreams, memories, letters,
etc.*
Apology in advance to any Texans! Gomen nasai (or however you spell that)!
Standard disclaimers apply
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
"Well that's a change," an aged voice announced.
Koenma crossed his arms defensively. "It was Yusuke's idea."
"Hey, don't say it doesn't look better than his old outfit. No offense Koenma, but tunics and cloaks went out of fashion a long time ago."
The godling hunched his shoulders in despair. "You could have at least let me pick out that JR shirt, instead of this... thing." He picked at the off-white tee shirt with obvious distaste.
"I couldn't let you wear that! That was Keiko's shirt! You looked gay!"
"Did not, it looked fine. And what was Keiko's shirt doing at your house?"
"Enough about shirts, where's my tea?" Genkai demanded, stopping any further details from coming to light.
"Right here," Yusuke handed her the brown grocery bags containing the precious pre-packaged herbs. The old woman grabbed at them, then sat down and began rummaging through. "Let's see now. Slippery Elm, Special, what's this? Coffee? Oh, no, just Coffee Tea, all right. Hey, where's my Redneck Tea?" she demanded, glaring at Yusuke from under the piles in front of her.
"I couldn't find it."
"Where did you look?"
"The tea isle, where all the other tea's were. Jeez, you'd think one kind would be enough."
"No, what store did you look in?"
Just then Kuwabara appeared, panting, at the door. "He looked in my store... and didn't pay!" he added.
"You own a store?" Genkai asked.
"I work now," Kuwabara explained triumphantly.
"I looked in the store by my house, where else?" Yusuke looked dubiously at his sensei.
"Your house! Redneck Tea is a special Texan blend! You can't find it just any old place!"
"Texas? That's in America! I'm not going all the way to America for your tea!"
"You will and you'll like it."
"Well how am I supposed to get there?"
"I don't care, ask Botan for a ride. It's about time that ferry girl did something useful around here..."
"Hey, don't insult Botan..." Koenma began, but it was clear the crone was already distracted and glaring fixedly out the window.
"Hiei! If you don't tell me why you've been in my Ginkou tree so much lately I will ward it to death!" she pointed a finger at the figure past the glass. "Don't think I won't young man!" The youkai glanced at her and blurred into the room, hands behind his head. He began to walk toward Yukina's room.
"I have my own reasons," he stated bluntly.
"Hey, shrimp! What are you doing, spying on my Yukina! You'd better not have your beety little eyes on her or I, the great Kazuma Kuwabara, will have to vanquish you!" The large carrot-topped man struck a valiant pose, ready to summon his Rei Kan at any moment.
Rather than accept the invitation to spar, the small youkai merely laughed. "You are naive," he said with his usual dismissive tone and continued walking.
"Why has Hiei been here lately?" Yusuke asked Genkai.
"I don't know, but it has something to do with Yukina, I'd bet anything on that."
"I bet he's taken a fancy to her!" Kuwabara cried out. "Well, I'll just have to teach him a lesson!"
"Not so fast, come and help me sort out these tea's, Kuwabara! Whoever gave you a job was an idiot, but I guess it was *you* who packaged them so untidily?"
"Well yes, but..." he hesitated, then looked a Yusuke for help.
"I think you'd better do it, Kuwabara," his friend put in. The carrot-topped giant sighed and sat down beside his sensei while Yusuke and Koenma took the time to sneak off to Yukina's room.
* * *
When they entered the neat little room Hiei was standing by the open side door, watching Yukina play in the courtyard with some temple birds. Yusuke sidled up to him quietly.
"So, what have you been doing around here lately?"
"Watching Yukina," he replied nonchalantly.
"Why?"
The smaller demon looked up at Yusuke, "Are you always so nosy? No, don't answer that. If you must know I'm making sure she's alright."
This put Yusuke on guard. "From what? Is something going on in the Makai?" If there was then why hadn't Koenma sent them on a mission already? He looked over to the obviously puzzled demi-god.
Hiei looked over as well; "You should be able to answer that." He went back to watching Yukina, a small smile etched into his expressionless features.
"I have no idea," Koenma said, which made Hiei turn his head back to the conversation.
"So you're not even looking at the files of the youkai I kill? I'd have thought you would be mad with me, wasting your time." It was a well known fact that because Hiei was a 'Special Case' Koenma had to look at exactly why he had killed each and every one of his victims.
"I didn't know you had killed anyone recently."
The youkai thought about this for a while, then shrugged. "Then something's wrong with your system." He once again turned away to Yukina, who was feeding her friends.
"I'll have to look into that, thank you Hiei..."
"But why," Yusuke cut in, "did you have to kill so many youkai?"
"Rebellion in Mukuro's borders."
"Rebellion?"
"Mass migration that no-body wants. I'm done here." He flitted up into the trees to follow Yukina as she said hello to a few ground squirrels.
Yusuke looked over to Koenma, who had a serious expression on his face, then groaned. "Don't tell me this means another mission!"
"Not yet. But I do have to get back to Reikai and see about the unknown rebellion. I'll use the temple's portal, it's fastest."
"Don't you even have time for a movie or something?" Yusuke asked hopefully, but Koenma shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Goodbye Yusuke, I'll remember to wear these... clothes next time I come down." The godling walked out into the courtyard, then turned into the inner sanctum of the temple, where the portal was kept. Yusuke stomped his foot in frustration, then lifted his head again. He would ask Kurama to help with interrogating the hotheaded fire demon, leaving him with a free day to hang out at the Ramen shop. It sounded perfect, no body could get through to Hiei like Kurama could, except maybe Yukina, but she never asked the right questions.
With this thought in his head Yusuke silently gave himself a pat on the back, then marched proudly out into the main room where Kuwabara was still helping Genkai with her teas. He gave a thumbs-up to his harried friend, then an idea came to mind and he turned to Genkai.
"Hey, Genkai, when you were talking to me on the phone..." Kuwabara guffawed at the notion of Genkai having a phone, but a look from her made him refrain from commenting. "Why did you say '...I'll train you but I fear there may not be much time for that now'? Do you know something about the rebellions in the Makai?"
"No, I just train you every time that Hiei starts coming by because usually you go on a mission soon after."
"You mean he comes here every time there's a disturbance in the Makai? But why?"
"To protect Yukina."
"Wait a minute," Kuwabara interrupted. "Why is he protecting Yukina? I'm the one protecting her!"
"Shut up Kuwabara, and finish sorting my teas," Genkai scolded. She turned back to Yusuke. "I don't know anything about 'Rebellions', but maybe Kurama does. In any case, it's too late to train you now that Koenma's been informed."
Both Yusuke and Kuwabara grew sullen at the thought that another mission was close at hand. Yusuke sighed and shook his head, then straightened up again. "All right, I'll go ask Kurama what he knows."
"What I know about what?" a voice intoned. The boys and Genkai looked up to the figure at the door.
"Do you know anything about the rebellions that Hiei has been talking about?"
"No, but I'll ask him if you'd like." At a nod from Yusuke, Kurama began to walk knowingly toward Yukina's room, stopping to shove a pile of books and papers into Yusuke's arms. "Good luck on your exams," he added cheerily before leaving them in the room.
"Oh yah! That's what I was supposed to remember! Kurama was gonna tutor us today! Oops," he said sheepishly, then snapped his fingers in glee as a thought came into his head. "I'll go ask Keiko for help."
Kuwabara leaped at the suggestion. "Yah! I'll go too, anything to get out of this place." He looked over at Genkai, "Sorry I can't help you with your teas." And he ran out the door after Yusuke, leaving a very annoyed Genkai behind.
"Humph," she muttered, then turned back to sorting.
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Kurama skirted the edges of the trees slowly feeling for Hiei's ki. At last he found it, waiting beneath a nearby tree. He silently crept up beside him as he watched Yukina and beckoned for him to follow as the youko went deeper into the forest. Once they were deep enough not to be heard, Kurama stopped in a neat little thicket beside his favorite pool. The half korime had come quietly and now leaned against the trunk of a large maple, observing his companion.
"You look tired."
"I haven't been sleeping well lately. And Yusuke left me alone with his mother," he chuckled at the thought and, surprisingly, Hiei did too.
"Hiei, Yusuke said something about rebellions in the Makai. What was he talking about?"
"So, he sent you to ask me?" And the youko's nod he turned his head but continued. "All occupants of the Farlands are trying to move into territories, and no-body wants them. That's all."
The youko studied him for a moment; "Do you know why?"
"Common rumor is plague." He looked up at Kurama before continuing. "Another is that ferry girls aren't being allowed in. The fact that Koenma doesn't know about the death toll is proof." Kurama gave a little gasp; it was ruled by Enma himself that all souls left alone after the traditional Week of Mourning disappeared.
"And you feel you have to protect Yukina?"
"I've created a name for myself among the immigrants. Yukina and I, it's not the best kept secret anymore if you know who to ask."
Kurama nodded, then stepped up and placed his hand on the fire- demon's shoulder and looked at him straight on. "Hiei, why is it that you only talk to me and Yukina? Don't you trust Yusuke at least?"
Hiei averted his eyes to the waterfall at the back of the pool. "Hn. Would you rather I didn't talk at all?"
Kurama looked down and smiled to himself. "Fine, you're right. It's good you talk at all." He squeezed the smaller youkai's shoulder, muttered a 'thank you', and walked back to the temple. It sounded serious, Koenma would be calling on them soon, he knew it. It sounded like, for the first time, Yusuke and Kuwabara would encounter a real Makai city or two. It would be... interesting to say the least.
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Sorry it's so rough, I didn't have time to edit much because I'm going on a trip for a week. I wanted to actually get the plot going in this chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed.
Also, for Hiei fans: I love Hiei, but cannot write well from his perspective because of his puzzling persona and complex thought pattern. Sorry, I'd love to be able to tell you some of his thoughts farther along in the story but it would be really OOC (out of character).
Keep R+R-ing!
Apology in advance to any Texans! Gomen nasai (or however you spell that)!
Standard disclaimers apply
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
"Well that's a change," an aged voice announced.
Koenma crossed his arms defensively. "It was Yusuke's idea."
"Hey, don't say it doesn't look better than his old outfit. No offense Koenma, but tunics and cloaks went out of fashion a long time ago."
The godling hunched his shoulders in despair. "You could have at least let me pick out that JR shirt, instead of this... thing." He picked at the off-white tee shirt with obvious distaste.
"I couldn't let you wear that! That was Keiko's shirt! You looked gay!"
"Did not, it looked fine. And what was Keiko's shirt doing at your house?"
"Enough about shirts, where's my tea?" Genkai demanded, stopping any further details from coming to light.
"Right here," Yusuke handed her the brown grocery bags containing the precious pre-packaged herbs. The old woman grabbed at them, then sat down and began rummaging through. "Let's see now. Slippery Elm, Special, what's this? Coffee? Oh, no, just Coffee Tea, all right. Hey, where's my Redneck Tea?" she demanded, glaring at Yusuke from under the piles in front of her.
"I couldn't find it."
"Where did you look?"
"The tea isle, where all the other tea's were. Jeez, you'd think one kind would be enough."
"No, what store did you look in?"
Just then Kuwabara appeared, panting, at the door. "He looked in my store... and didn't pay!" he added.
"You own a store?" Genkai asked.
"I work now," Kuwabara explained triumphantly.
"I looked in the store by my house, where else?" Yusuke looked dubiously at his sensei.
"Your house! Redneck Tea is a special Texan blend! You can't find it just any old place!"
"Texas? That's in America! I'm not going all the way to America for your tea!"
"You will and you'll like it."
"Well how am I supposed to get there?"
"I don't care, ask Botan for a ride. It's about time that ferry girl did something useful around here..."
"Hey, don't insult Botan..." Koenma began, but it was clear the crone was already distracted and glaring fixedly out the window.
"Hiei! If you don't tell me why you've been in my Ginkou tree so much lately I will ward it to death!" she pointed a finger at the figure past the glass. "Don't think I won't young man!" The youkai glanced at her and blurred into the room, hands behind his head. He began to walk toward Yukina's room.
"I have my own reasons," he stated bluntly.
"Hey, shrimp! What are you doing, spying on my Yukina! You'd better not have your beety little eyes on her or I, the great Kazuma Kuwabara, will have to vanquish you!" The large carrot-topped man struck a valiant pose, ready to summon his Rei Kan at any moment.
Rather than accept the invitation to spar, the small youkai merely laughed. "You are naive," he said with his usual dismissive tone and continued walking.
"Why has Hiei been here lately?" Yusuke asked Genkai.
"I don't know, but it has something to do with Yukina, I'd bet anything on that."
"I bet he's taken a fancy to her!" Kuwabara cried out. "Well, I'll just have to teach him a lesson!"
"Not so fast, come and help me sort out these tea's, Kuwabara! Whoever gave you a job was an idiot, but I guess it was *you* who packaged them so untidily?"
"Well yes, but..." he hesitated, then looked a Yusuke for help.
"I think you'd better do it, Kuwabara," his friend put in. The carrot-topped giant sighed and sat down beside his sensei while Yusuke and Koenma took the time to sneak off to Yukina's room.
* * *
When they entered the neat little room Hiei was standing by the open side door, watching Yukina play in the courtyard with some temple birds. Yusuke sidled up to him quietly.
"So, what have you been doing around here lately?"
"Watching Yukina," he replied nonchalantly.
"Why?"
The smaller demon looked up at Yusuke, "Are you always so nosy? No, don't answer that. If you must know I'm making sure she's alright."
This put Yusuke on guard. "From what? Is something going on in the Makai?" If there was then why hadn't Koenma sent them on a mission already? He looked over to the obviously puzzled demi-god.
Hiei looked over as well; "You should be able to answer that." He went back to watching Yukina, a small smile etched into his expressionless features.
"I have no idea," Koenma said, which made Hiei turn his head back to the conversation.
"So you're not even looking at the files of the youkai I kill? I'd have thought you would be mad with me, wasting your time." It was a well known fact that because Hiei was a 'Special Case' Koenma had to look at exactly why he had killed each and every one of his victims.
"I didn't know you had killed anyone recently."
The youkai thought about this for a while, then shrugged. "Then something's wrong with your system." He once again turned away to Yukina, who was feeding her friends.
"I'll have to look into that, thank you Hiei..."
"But why," Yusuke cut in, "did you have to kill so many youkai?"
"Rebellion in Mukuro's borders."
"Rebellion?"
"Mass migration that no-body wants. I'm done here." He flitted up into the trees to follow Yukina as she said hello to a few ground squirrels.
Yusuke looked over to Koenma, who had a serious expression on his face, then groaned. "Don't tell me this means another mission!"
"Not yet. But I do have to get back to Reikai and see about the unknown rebellion. I'll use the temple's portal, it's fastest."
"Don't you even have time for a movie or something?" Yusuke asked hopefully, but Koenma shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Goodbye Yusuke, I'll remember to wear these... clothes next time I come down." The godling walked out into the courtyard, then turned into the inner sanctum of the temple, where the portal was kept. Yusuke stomped his foot in frustration, then lifted his head again. He would ask Kurama to help with interrogating the hotheaded fire demon, leaving him with a free day to hang out at the Ramen shop. It sounded perfect, no body could get through to Hiei like Kurama could, except maybe Yukina, but she never asked the right questions.
With this thought in his head Yusuke silently gave himself a pat on the back, then marched proudly out into the main room where Kuwabara was still helping Genkai with her teas. He gave a thumbs-up to his harried friend, then an idea came to mind and he turned to Genkai.
"Hey, Genkai, when you were talking to me on the phone..." Kuwabara guffawed at the notion of Genkai having a phone, but a look from her made him refrain from commenting. "Why did you say '...I'll train you but I fear there may not be much time for that now'? Do you know something about the rebellions in the Makai?"
"No, I just train you every time that Hiei starts coming by because usually you go on a mission soon after."
"You mean he comes here every time there's a disturbance in the Makai? But why?"
"To protect Yukina."
"Wait a minute," Kuwabara interrupted. "Why is he protecting Yukina? I'm the one protecting her!"
"Shut up Kuwabara, and finish sorting my teas," Genkai scolded. She turned back to Yusuke. "I don't know anything about 'Rebellions', but maybe Kurama does. In any case, it's too late to train you now that Koenma's been informed."
Both Yusuke and Kuwabara grew sullen at the thought that another mission was close at hand. Yusuke sighed and shook his head, then straightened up again. "All right, I'll go ask Kurama what he knows."
"What I know about what?" a voice intoned. The boys and Genkai looked up to the figure at the door.
"Do you know anything about the rebellions that Hiei has been talking about?"
"No, but I'll ask him if you'd like." At a nod from Yusuke, Kurama began to walk knowingly toward Yukina's room, stopping to shove a pile of books and papers into Yusuke's arms. "Good luck on your exams," he added cheerily before leaving them in the room.
"Oh yah! That's what I was supposed to remember! Kurama was gonna tutor us today! Oops," he said sheepishly, then snapped his fingers in glee as a thought came into his head. "I'll go ask Keiko for help."
Kuwabara leaped at the suggestion. "Yah! I'll go too, anything to get out of this place." He looked over at Genkai, "Sorry I can't help you with your teas." And he ran out the door after Yusuke, leaving a very annoyed Genkai behind.
"Humph," she muttered, then turned back to sorting.
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Kurama skirted the edges of the trees slowly feeling for Hiei's ki. At last he found it, waiting beneath a nearby tree. He silently crept up beside him as he watched Yukina and beckoned for him to follow as the youko went deeper into the forest. Once they were deep enough not to be heard, Kurama stopped in a neat little thicket beside his favorite pool. The half korime had come quietly and now leaned against the trunk of a large maple, observing his companion.
"You look tired."
"I haven't been sleeping well lately. And Yusuke left me alone with his mother," he chuckled at the thought and, surprisingly, Hiei did too.
"Hiei, Yusuke said something about rebellions in the Makai. What was he talking about?"
"So, he sent you to ask me?" And the youko's nod he turned his head but continued. "All occupants of the Farlands are trying to move into territories, and no-body wants them. That's all."
The youko studied him for a moment; "Do you know why?"
"Common rumor is plague." He looked up at Kurama before continuing. "Another is that ferry girls aren't being allowed in. The fact that Koenma doesn't know about the death toll is proof." Kurama gave a little gasp; it was ruled by Enma himself that all souls left alone after the traditional Week of Mourning disappeared.
"And you feel you have to protect Yukina?"
"I've created a name for myself among the immigrants. Yukina and I, it's not the best kept secret anymore if you know who to ask."
Kurama nodded, then stepped up and placed his hand on the fire- demon's shoulder and looked at him straight on. "Hiei, why is it that you only talk to me and Yukina? Don't you trust Yusuke at least?"
Hiei averted his eyes to the waterfall at the back of the pool. "Hn. Would you rather I didn't talk at all?"
Kurama looked down and smiled to himself. "Fine, you're right. It's good you talk at all." He squeezed the smaller youkai's shoulder, muttered a 'thank you', and walked back to the temple. It sounded serious, Koenma would be calling on them soon, he knew it. It sounded like, for the first time, Yusuke and Kuwabara would encounter a real Makai city or two. It would be... interesting to say the least.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Sorry it's so rough, I didn't have time to edit much because I'm going on a trip for a week. I wanted to actually get the plot going in this chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed.
Also, for Hiei fans: I love Hiei, but cannot write well from his perspective because of his puzzling persona and complex thought pattern. Sorry, I'd love to be able to tell you some of his thoughts farther along in the story but it would be really OOC (out of character).
Keep R+R-ing!