Inner Needs

CHAPTER THREE: DEMONS COLLIDE

Hiei glowered at the toddler as he puttered around the room, pulling open drawers and flipping through folders. His normally large brown eyes seemed even wider as he muttered, words muffled by his pacifier. Short pudgy fingers flicked through report after report, seemingly always coming up empty handed.

"Are you sure it was a thin pink jewel?" Koenma asked him after coming up with another dead end.

"I don't know!" Hiei growled. "Kurama was too protective to let me see for extended periods of time."

Koenma grunted again and returned to his searching. He had many full reports on every jewel ever hunted or desired by demons now or in any other time. But he found nothing about a think pink shard bringing out the worst in a demon, especially a gentled one such as Kurama.

He suddenly stopped, a light bulb going off in his head. Hiei noticed this and stood a bit straighter. He raised a thin brow and regarded the toddler with a confused humor.

"Remember something?" He asked in a slow drawl.

"The jewel," Koenma asked, turning on the fire demon. "Was it whole, or was it a fragment?"

Hiei thought back to the brief glimpses of the gem he had seen. Now that Koenma had mentioned it, the jewel did have sharp edges and odd scratches. Which meant that it had broken off something bigger, the original whole. He frowned and nodded slowly.

"It was a piece." He answered. "Just a small piece, but it had a power flowing from it. Enough to drive the Youko inside Kurama insane with a need to protect it."

Koenma nodded and dived back into one of his files. He pulled out a folder and handed it to Hiei. The fire demon took it and opened it without question. Inside was a picture of large circular jewel made of an odd pink/purple looking glass. Next to it was a small jar full of shards that looked exactly like what Kurama now held. He raised his crimson eyes to toddler.

"This is it." He nodded, still confused. "But what is it?"

"Shikon no Tama." Koenma sat down in his large chair behind his desk. "It's a jewel from feudal Japan. It has the ability to give demons powers that most only dream of. A girl named Kagome was reborn with the power to watch over the gem, but after a fateful run in with a demon crow the jewel was shattered and the shards disappeared through out their land. She was teamed up with a half demon named Inu Yasha to collect them."

"Hn." Hiei grunted, shutting the folder and placing it on the toddler's desk. "If this all took place in feudal Japan then how did Kurama find a shard in modern Tokyo?"

"That's just it!" Koenma was growing frustrated with the indifferent fire demon. "Kagome is from the modern era. She was a reincarnation of the ancient shrine maiden who died protecting the jewel. She can use a well to transport her to the time of Inu Yasha, which means she can bring the shards back with her. She must have gotten careless with one."

Hiei glanced at the stern and angry face that Koenma wore. Fear shot through him for a split second, and his gaze softened only momentarily.

"Is Kurama in trouble?" He asked softly.

Koenma pouted around his pacifier and seemed to go deeply into thought. Hiei stood frozen for a second, fearing the news that the young ruler could bring.

"No." Koenma finally answered. "He stole nothing, but found it. But you must make sure the jewel gets back to its original owner or else the results could be drastic for Kurama."

Hiei nodded and quickly dashed off. He had to find Kurama and get rid of that jewel shard. But how was he supposed to find that girl Kagome if she was time hopping? Finding that damn halfling would be easier but he was in another time as well. With an angry growl, Hiei picked up on Kurama's ki and darted in that direction. He had to save that stupid fox.

~*~

Kurama sighed as he eased his relaxed body to the soft ground. Hiei had been right, a walk had helped him to clear his mind. With the power of the jewel so far away Youko had eased into a peaceful rest, waiting for the time he would call upon the kitsune's power.

            Settling into the serene surroundings of the park garden, Kurama released some of his ki and coaxed the rose to rise and dance about him. Their sweet scent invaded his sense and let him put all and any troubles behind him. Their bright red petals opened up at him in a floral smile. He grinned back at them, relaxing completely.

            While the flowers distracted him an unusual energy flittered up around him. He saw quick flashes of movement and looked up in time to see a young boy in a baseball cap and bright red kimono launch himself into the air. He grinned, revealing fang like teeth before screaming.

            "Claw of Exorcism!!"

            Kurama's eyes widened when he realized the boy meant to attack him. He quickly tucked his legs beneath him and scooted backwards. But the boy kept coming, golden eyes glittering manically beneath the bill of his baseball cap. He faintly heard the cry of 'sit boy' before the bead necklace around the boy's neck begin glowing. The boy yelped and slammed down face first into the ground with a short cry of pain. A young girl with jet black hair and large brown eyes suddenly ran up to them and kneeled beside the boy.

            "Inu Yasha," She whispered. "I tried to tell you to stop."

            Inu Yasha pulled his face up off the ground and grabbed at the beads. He began tugging at the beads. Each time he yanked on the necklace the beads glowed. He let a frustrated growl and turned sharp eyes on the girl.

            "One day I'll get this damn thing off." He snapped. "And then this is so over!"

            "Really?" The girl cocked a brow at the odd boy. "So I guess once that happens you'll be leaving me?"

            Inu Yasha sighed and scratched at the baseball cap again. He wiped some dirt off his face and turned back to the girl.

            "No Kagome." He grumped, scratching at the cap again. "Aw hell! Can I take this damn thing off now?!"

            Kagome turned her brown eyes on Kurama, finally showing that she knew of his presence. She looked him up and down, sizing him up. Kurama felt a blush rise in his cheeks as he made sure that his powers lay just beneath the surface if he needed them.

            "If you're sure you're right about him go ahead." She finally turned her brown eyes back on Inu Yasha. "But if not, no, leave it on."

            Inu Yasha turned to Kurama and leaned close to him. The kitsune pulled back with a shocked gasp. The golden eyed boy sniffed him, drawing in his scent. Kurama yelped and scooted back a bit further. Inu Yasha grunted and smiled, baring his fangs.

            "I was right." He scoffed.

            With a clawed hand he reached up and pulled the cap off, revealing two dog like ears. Kurama's eyes widened as he realized that he was starting at a demon. No, with his own quick sniff in the air he noted that he was only half demon.

            "A half dog demon?" Kurama asked in a slow voice. How had something like this slipped past Koenma's radars?

            "Shut up!" Inu Yasha growled. "My half is stronger then your whole demon!"

            Kurama would have normally been shocked but seeing as he could smell the half demon blood on this boy it didn't surprise him that Inu Yasha could smell it on him. He chuckled deeply and allowed the flowers he had trained to line up in front of him and bloom as a welcoming to the new comers. Kagome smiled brightly and lightly fingered the petals of the beautiful blossoms.

            "What kind of demon are you?" She asked, still smiling.

            "A kitsune." Kurama shrugged lightly. "Or a fox spirit."

            "You're a fox spirit?" Inu Yasha got to his feet and knocked on Kurama's head with a closed fist. "Where are your ears and tail?"

            Kurama batted away the dog demons hand. He sighed as he knew he would have to go back and explain his entire past to these new people. He hated telling about his other life. The memories hurt. But despite what his feelings were telling him, he dove head first into his past. By the time his story was done, both Kagome and Inu Yasha were stunned into silence.

            "So you were a master thief?" Kagome asked slowly.

            "I was." He assured her. "But I haven't stolen a thing in years."

            Inu Yasha grunted. Here was this demon trapped in a human body and he was expected to believe that he had once been the greatest of thieves? Humans were half wits, good for nothing but an occasional friend. No demon in their right mind would give up their true form to reside in the frail body of a human.

            "I'm excepted to believe that some grand kitsune thief chose to live his life as a human?" He grunted, his silver ears flicking back and forth. "Humans are frail, easily broken."

            Kurama laughed and closed his eyes. After a few seconds silver strands streaked through his blood red hair. His ears grew points and slowly rose up to settle on the top of his head. The regular street clothes he was wearing shifted and turned into a loose white tunic. His skin paled a slight bit more and a soft silver tail grew from the base of his spine. When he opened his eyes they had changed from a deep shade of green to an alluring shade of gold.

            Kagome gasped, her eyes flitting between the two canine-like demons. It was like one of them was sitting next to a mirror. Both had long silver hair and golden eyes. Large silver ears twitched atop their heads, picking up on all the most acute sounds. The only obvious differences were Kurama's clothes and tail.

            "My full name is Youko Kurama." He answered leaning back on his arms. "And you, Inu Yasha, would get along great with my friend Hiei."

            The half demon faulted. He was still trying to get over the shock of coming face to face with a demon that looked so much like himself. And now he was telling him about another demon. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and growled lightly.

            "I'm not here to make friends!" He snapped, rising to his feet.

            "That's a pity." Youko answered in his smooth voice. "I figured since you hate humans and all you'd like to meet a demon who shared the same alluring insight."

            Youko closed his eyes and slowly allowed his body to shift back into its human form. When Kurama opened his emerald eyes he noticed Kagome glaring up into the branched of an oak tree. At first he feared that Hiei had made a show and things would get ugly. But instead the girl began yelling at the dog demon.

            "Inu Yasha!" She snapped. "Get down here this instant!"

            "No." Came the indignant reply. "Wait till that damn kitsune leaves!"

            "Inu Yasha," Kagome growled in the back of her throat. "Did you forget about-"

            "I'll go."

            Kagome jumped slightly and turned to Kurama who had risen to his feet. He glanced up in the tree and saw the half demon leaning up against the trunk, arms behind his head and legs crossed in a reclining position. A grin tugged at his lips. Yes, this demon was so much like Hiei.

            "I'll go." He repeated to Kagome. "I didn't mean to make your friend uncomfortable and for that I apologize. But I really must getting back home. I pray you'll keep all that just happened a secret."

            Kagome nodded slowly as the kitsune backed away from her and disappeared into the forest. She knew they had confronted him about the jewel shard, but because Inu Yasha was too stubborn, the original plan got blown. She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the dog demon to realize his blunder. Right on cue, there was a rustling of leaves overhead.

            "W-wait!" Inu Yasha yelped, jumping from the tree. "The jewel! We forgot to ask about the jewel!"

            "No." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and stalked off. "You forget to ask about it! But tomorrow's a Saturday so we can hunt him down then. If he has it, it will be in his house. Now let's get going. It'll be dark soon."

            Inu Yasha growled, but slowly followed her out of the park. She was right, tomorrow was another day. He flashed a sinister smile and cracked his knuckles. Tomorrow they would get that gem back.

I hope you enjoy this installment and I thank all who reviewed. And I'm happy with Cartoon Network cause they just played my favorite episodes of Inu Yasha (where we first meet Sesshomaru and starting next Saturday Kurama and Hiei come back to Yu Yu Hakusho, finally.

Any way, I hope to get the next chapter out before Thanksgiving because it will be harder to do during that break because I'm going home, getting together with some old friends not seen since college started and hanging out with my father. But I hope the wait won't be to long.

So thank you and please review!! n.n