Third last chapter… Just a little more…
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In the Council Chamber, Sukina stood next to Mukuro. The two of them stood side by side, reminding Koko of someone she had seen long ago. Mukuro, of course, she recognized, but not Sukina. Idly she wondered what was missing from the girl, and then it hit her.
A flute. The girl who had stood like that with Mukuro once, so long ago… She had carried a flute. The flute had hung from her belt. She still remembered when the girl had accompanied Mukuro back from Ninjenkai so long ago into Makai. She had seen them fighting… fighting off a band of bandits. One girl would stay with Mukuro, who was still weak from her escape from the slave trader, and the other would go out and fight. That girl bore a starling resemblance to Sukina now, but there was one thing that marked the two of them as different. What was it, she could not place her fingers on it. Not yet.
Koko's thoughts were interrupted as the doors opened admitting Kurama, Naoko and Rinku. While the two youkai went to the Council members, Naoko took her place on the other side of Mukuro, and for Koko, the picture was now complete.
The three Mistresses, they had been called. Makai had feared them, for they were immensely strong, yes, even the one who was wounded. They had disappeared into a district of Makai famed for its advances of robotics, and no one had thought to connect the injured girl to Mukuro.
"You're the Three Mistresses," she stopped short of accusing them. That statement brought silence to the room, where there had been whispered mutterings before.
While Naoko and Sukina had blank looks on their faces, Mukuro looked indignantly at Koko, before bursting into laughter. That made everyone more uneasy, for Mukuro rarely smiled, much less laugh. Hiei found himself strangely pleased by that sound. Comprehension slowly dawned on some of the older youkai.
"They can't be, Koko!" Enki said. "Two of them were Ninjens, and they can't live that long!"
"No, its their descendents," Yomi said, and received a nod from both Koko and Mukuro.
"What's going on?" Naoko asked, as Yusuke said at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise.
"It is possible, minna-san. And everything would make sense," Kurama said in a very calm voice.
"The Three Mistresses," Enki said, noting the look on their faces, particularly Hiei and the other younger youkai, "comprised of two humans and one demon. A very, horribly, disfigured youkai," he looked at Mukuro. "They were a rather peaceful bunch, but Makai being Makai, they were seen upon as prey. Needless to say, they proved to be the predators when hunted. They were around only for a short while, just enough time to get to the Doctor's district. Once there, they disappeared. What made them unusual of course, were that they were Ninjen women," he said.
Comprehension dawned on Sukina and Naoko, who looked at Mukuro. She shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, "It was not important."
"Either way, you still have not answered the question, ladies. What were you doing in Makai? We have an agreement with your people that you would never trespass on Makai unless it was on business, and this is not business," Enki said. Naoko suspected that her sister had not answered the question earlier.
Sukina looked at her sister before answering. It was obvious she thought the time for games was over, no matter what she had said to them before. "This is business. The people whom were abducted by Rumen were vital to our business, and without them we would not be able to finish our contract. You know about that clause," Sukina said.
"Enlighten us, please," Yomi said in a deceptively soft voice.
"Section 5 (a) Subsection ii: the only times when any member of the Rose·Jewel may enter Makai is if they are in danger of not completing their contract without the need to enter to Makai," Sukina recited it like a lawyer.
"But the same section also says that one of the council members must give his/her permission," Yomi said when Mukuro cleared her throat.
"As you can see me standing here, I was the one who gave them permission." (Side note: if you haven't already guessed, Mukuro was also the one who gave them permission to hunt down Naoko in Mercenaries) "It was important to them, and Hiei accompanied them, so…" She did not finish her sentence, but you could see what she was getting at. However, none of them felt that Mukuro did not recognise the change in Hiei.
"Why didn't you tell us in the first place?" Enki asked. "You also," he looked meaningfully at Mukuro, "Illegally *suborned the army." Mukuro shrugged.
They were interrupted at this juncture by Shigure, who came in smiling with the four girls. Hiei was also with them, with his ever-present scowl. Serene went immediately to Naoko and Sukina and gave them both hugs. She then stood with the others.
Enki's mouth was open to say something, but he was stopped short by a bright, incandescent that came from above. The light split into three beings, everyone recognising only the handsome teenager without his pacifier.
"Forgive us, but if you want to court-martial the Rose·Jewels you're going to have to do it after we close the Gates of Hell," Koenma said in his most persuasive voice.
"And those who want to argue that can talk to me." It was a moment before everyone recognised her as Reka, the Goddess of Death. Sukina and Naoko knew her by another name, of course.
"The Fates have also decreed that several other people are to accompany us if we are to succeed," the second Goddess said. "They summoned Urameshi Yusuke, Koorime Hiei, Kitsune Kurama, Kazuma Kuwabara," Alina moaned when she heard this, "Yomi Shuura, and Youkai Mukuro. The six of you will accompany the Heirs to the Keeper's Hall. Farewell," the second Goddess said.
"Come now, we must move quickly," Reka held her hands out to the 'chosen ones' and as though hypnotised, they went to her. Soon, they had disappeared from sight.