Disclaimer: Will I ever own them? `coz I still don't… ; - ;
By the way, these thank-you's have been long overdue. Thanks to those who have reviewed and will still review.
To Shayneko, silrayn silverwolf, Mizu ni Johin, celestial, suic, AoiHyou, Chibiko and that anonymous person: if you're still reading, thanks n hope I won't dissapoint you!ü
To Sano: I feel the same way… ü
To Kyo: Yeah, I was confused by "I Don't Need Your Promises" too. The end chapter WAS kind of hurried, but if you're referring to the epilogue, the first chappie of 'Fire from Heaven' explains it.
To Kitten: I do that too. And yeah, I get frustrated with Kurama too.. ^_^; Don't worry, I'll try to fit in what you're imagining… ü
For those I was unable to mention (coz I'm blind n stupid! ~_~;) thanks and sorry!
I'll try to finish this soon, so please hang on… ü
Part 7 Veil
Yuusuke couldn't help but feel a bit nervous from what they were planning. He gave a sidelong glance at his companion, but the latter was of no help at all. Hiei, all the more serious, was still too quiet: his manner always business-like, all the time cold and impassive.
As they neared the door he knew so well, he could practically hear his heart pounding. What's wrong with me? It isn't as if this is not for Kurama. But the mere fact that we will try and deceive him…
His thoughts wandered as they made their way through the long halls of Reikai.
Feb 14
10 p.m.
Yuusuke nodded as Hiei entered the room sternly. He merely garnered a 'hn' so he turned to look at Asa, who had presently seated himself on the extra chair. Hiei merely sat on the windowsill and Yuusuke couldn't resist thinking if that was a habit or if it was because there were no other chairs in his room.
Asa cleared his throat and Yuusuke began, "So, does Kurama need anything? I mean why call us? Even Hi-" He stopped. Okay, that was a boo-boo. But Hiei took no heed and just stared outside the window.
"Actually, Lord Kurama wasn't the one who sent me."
This caused Hiei to turn around in attention, and it seemed that boredom crossed his face. Yuusuke kind of felt turned off, then felt wary as he thought of Yomi sending Asa for… for what?
"It is not Lord Yomi either."
Okay, *sigh of relief*…
But Hiei wasn't as patient. Well, not when it didn't count his – that fox. Before things worsened, Asa talked, "The six sent me: Chuu, Jin, Rinku, Shiwa, Suzuki and Touya. They – "
"I don't care what they f***ing have to say!" They're at fault too. They helped in fulfilling Kurama's plan, even if they haven't intended to… "This is a waste of my time – "
" – sent me to talk about their plan of breaking Kurama out from Gandara."
This calmed down Hiei a bit. Yuusuke prodded Asa to continue. After a while of discussing, the messenger nodded, "We need Koenma's help too. But they advised that Kuwabara should not be told. And especially not Lord Kurama. He seems too… attached to Lord Yomi to actually understand that what we're doing is for him."
Both Yuusuke and Hiei seemed satisfied. But as the messenger turned to leave, he met with the fire demon's blade, "Why are you doing this? Why are the six doing this? Don't you all work for that bastard Yomi?"
"Yes, we may follow wherever he is. But we only work for Lord Kurama. Lord Yomi may be his master, but not ours."
"But you address him as your lord."
"Force of habit. When I'm around Lord Kurama, I have to show him that I 'respect' Lo – Yomi."
Finally, Hiei released him. When Asa disappeared into the darkness, Yuusuke began thinking of their plan. As Hiei exited, he caught sight of the date – Feb. 14. Kurama…
*end of Feb 14*
"You look bored as usual, Koenma."
"Hiei!" Don't you ever knock?"
"Your door was open."
"Oh." Koenma turned around to see Yuusuke entering. "Yuusuke, to what – "
"Give the four of us a mission."
"Aaa…?" Koenma almost fell off his chair. Am I dreaming? But… Yuusuke looks so serious. "I'm sorry, but there's no problem right now – "
Yuusuke slammed his hands on the baby's desk, which caused the latter to squeal, "Then create one, dammit! You're good at that kind of thing!"
Hiei too approached, with a feral look in his eyes and showed one fang, "Or do you want us to create one?"
"Wha -?" Koenma almost cowered back. Somehow, he found the courage to give a small cough and ask, "I can sense the urgency behind this. May I ask why? Tell me, and I might conjure up some trouble. ^_^;"
The taller if the too sighed and plopped himself on a couch, "Urgent is right. We need it badly. It's about Kurama."
"Kurama eh? How is he doing? At Yomi's, I mean."
The temperature suddenly dropped and Koenma felt not one, but two deathglares going his way. He sweatdropped, Okay, wrong question…
Somehow, Yuusuke got distracted, "By the way, why is the place so quiet? Even George is not here…"
"Oh. The gods and their assistants are having a meeting. Everyone's there except me!" Koenma turned SD and sobbed, "My father said this is my punishment for not finishing my paperwork early!"
Hiei seemed annoyed and Yuusuke said, "Quit whining Koenma, we really need a mission."
"Oh yeah. Well, let's dig in into these papers… Hm…"
"What's the meeting of the gods about?"
"Dunno. Something really big. Everyone was hurrying around for some reason. I guess some world emergency or…"
Koenma had stared off in space. Yuusuke watched the baby's reactions, somewhat interested. Koenma seemed in shock. They never call for a meeting that urgent unless… There was only one time the gods gathered like that, and that was to discuss the –
"The scroll! Koenma-sama!"
Koenma turned to see who had finished his train of thought, "George, what are you doing here?"
The blue oni seemed out of breath as he relayed a message, "The gods said that the Ashkevron scroll should be picked up already from the oracle at Tylandres two days from now. They said that you should immediately form a new Reikai Tantei, and that the former ones shouldn't know – Oopsie…"
The oni nearly fainted when he saw that both Yuusuke and Hiei were there. "We'll take the work, Koenma."
Koenma had almost forgotten about them, "But Yuusuke… the gods specifically ordered that it shouldn't be – "
"Screw them." Yuusuke thought Hiei couldn't have put it in better words.
"But Yuusuke, they're gods! Of course they'll know what you're up to. Do you hear me? Yuusuke!!!"
Yuusuke and Hiei had already begun to go out. It was pure luck that they saw Botan making her way towards Koenma's office. Yuusuke called out, "The oracle at Tylandres, right, Koenma? Botan! Can you contact Kuwabara and Kurama for us? Tell 'em to meet us at the park two days from now, for a mission."
Botan looked confused, then uncertainly at Koenma. The demigod resignedly shrugged and the ferry girl replied, "Sure."
~ÀÀÀÀÀ~
Feb 14
6 pm
"Is that true, Asa?" A nod.
Yomi looked thoughtfully at his glass of wine, "So they're planning to take my Kurama away… We'll see about that. What do you think I should do?"
"Let Lord Kurama go to that mission they're planning, so that they won't know we're into them. We won't tell Lord Kurama our reason for allowing him, of course, but when the part where they try and 'kidnap' Lord Kurama comes, we'll ambush them, send them to prison, and as examples, execute them in the town square."
Yomi loved the idea, "Very well. Then you better go and bait Yuusuke and Hiei."
When Asa disappeared to do his own stuff, Yomi seemed to transform and protested, "No! Asa – "
"Not on you're life, bub." Yomi's voice, different character.
Asa came back, confused, "What is it, Lord Yomi?"
"Hm? I didn't call for you. Leave now."
As the messenger disappeared, lightning struck and Yomi's eyes opened to reveal manic, violet eyes.
Is the timeline so confusing? So sorry… and sorry if the story's dragging. That's why I need your reviews to improve. Ü
What to expect next chapter: The plot picks up! ^_~ What's up with Yomi? Is Asa really a traitor? What happened to the 6? Will Kurama be forever Yomi's? Who was the mysterious and crazy person? Will this end up KXH?(Dunno if everything will really be answered… ^_^; )
Find out from the next chapter: Chapter 8: Fire from Heaven