DMG: I have had the WORST days EVER. I lied to my mom, told her I wasn't sick so I could go to the mall and buy manga, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING I WANTED! And now I feel REALLY sick, I shouldn't have gone out AND people are criticizing me! Now, I know I'm probably REALLY spoiled from all the nice reviews people have been giving me (and it's not like I mind constructive criticism or anything for all you steady reviewers- you still manage to say something nice, too) but I have NEVER been accused of writing mary-sue before, and so I am REALLY PISSED OFF! Underdeveloped, immature, and, what was it? Needs more creativity? GRRRR! This is F@#$ing FANFICTION, for heaven's Sa-ke! Anyway, how can this story be judged on the FIRST chapter? Huh? I wrote it about a year ago dand I am still practicing!
Saelbu: Thanks a lot for the kind words! You managed to cheer me up!
asian princess 61: Arigato! Arigato! Glad you liked it!
Rei Akita: heehee! I had one where this guy tried to rob my house, and I somehow… uh… let's not go into details on that one. Suffice to say he died.
Toxic Tears1: Wow! Thanks for your really sweet review! Hee hee! I really do need a psychiatrist, but I'm afraid they'd be scarred for life. Don't worry, this chapter is almost entirely Hiei's POV! Arigato!
Kirsa: Uhh…. Heh. I think so. One more mission, that's it. (And no, it's not going to be like the last one)
Miss Anime Luver: Yeah… I know. But if you think about it, Hiei showing any emotion whatsoever is OOC, so you knew it'd have to be sometime.
Midnightdream51: I really like getting reviews from you. Hee hee! I know (about the house thing) That was shamelessly ignoring his character. Gomen! Well, I know he was OOC, but since people's characters are so multi-faceted, they can sometimes do things they normally wouldn't. Anime people included. But… I know he was OOC all the same. I'll try to be more careful! Thank you!
FREAK: Oh ho ho. Don't get me started on you. Everyone's favorite? Riiight… Oh wait. I do have something to say. (not that you're reading this or anything) Why don't you improve your spelling before insulting me again?
YaJiRuShi: thank you!!
Reading all of your reviews over again, I can see I got a lot more nice ones than criticizing ones! ^^ I guess I just have to look on the bright side of things! Now I feel all warm and fuzzy! (Uh – oh. Mood swings. That's never a good sign)
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A few weeks passed with no contact from Koenma. It was now early December (I don't know what the climate is like in Japan, so I'm just using it from where I live), and the first snowflakes were falling in the city.
Hiei was sitting up in the branches of a tree, although, since the leaves had all fallen, the privacy was lacking. A minor annoyance. Kai was in the kitchen; learning to make some ningen thing called 'cookies' and other such foods. He knew this because he could see her quite clearly through the window from where he sat.
She was laughing at something Keiko, Yusuke's ningen 'girlfriend' (whatever that was), said. Boton was there, (curse that annoying ferrygirl and her cheerful bubblyness), as was Shizuru, (Kuwabara's older sister – thank whatever gods there are that she's not as stupid as he is) … and Yukina… Hiei's thoughts stopped here. He couldn't think about her right now. His life was confusing enough.
Kai had stopped laughing now. Her back was turned, but Hiei could almost see the expression of wistful sadness behind her eyes. He'd seen it more and more often since they'd all been staying at the Kuwabara household. Just a brief flash of emotion; fast enough that he might have been imagining it, if he didn't know better. And then… she would be insecure, if only for a moment. And then she was grinning again, like no dark thought had ever crossed her mind.
He could feel her watching him sometimes, when she thought he wouldn't notice. Possibly she felt him watching her too. He hadn't been able to look her in the eye, much less touch her or even talk to her, since that last night they were at her den. Sometimes he felt himself think about it at odd moments, and he would allow himself to smile… just a little.
He was so engrossed in his musings that he didn't notice the girls leaving the kitchen, or the snowball that came flying through the air, hitting him in the back of the head and startling him so much he almost fell out of the tree. Then Kai's grinning face popped up in front of them, and that nearly gave him a heart attack, in addition to causing him to lose his balance and come crashing down to the ground.
He spat out snow and glared at the still-grinning Cheshire… I mean Kai.
"What?"
He gaped at her question.
"It's called a snowball fight. See?" And she lobbed another one at his face.
Boton edged nervously behind a tree as she heard Hiei's fangs, er, teeth grinding together. All of his previous death threats floated to the top of her rather empty mind. (She has good intentions though; I'll give her that.)
"A snowball fight…" Hiei appeared to consider the words as he turned a pile of snow over in his hands, mashing it into a sphere. (Surprisingly, it did not melt on contact ^_^)
It hit her full in the face, right on target. She sputtered for a few seconds, then retaliated. Soon snowballs were flying thick and fast between the combatants.
Boton temporarily got over her fear of Hiei to join in; Yusuke and Kurama and Kuwabara came back from shopping (the girls had sent them out earlier in the day to buy more baking supplies. Hiei was no where to be found, so he was off the hook.)
They were all laughing hard by the end, and Hiei even cracked an imperceptible smile. Yukina seemed surprised she had joined in a game where the object was hitting people, but Kuwabara assured her no one was hurt.
Keiko showed Kai and Yukina how to make snow angels. They lay in the snow (feeling rather stupid) and waved their arms and legs. Kai tried to get up when she was done, but found she couldn't.
Hiei solved the problem by stepping lightly on either side of the design and lifting her out. Kai, surprised and pleased, grinned widely. (This did not go unnoticed by Kurama and the female members of the group, who snickered to themselves.)
Kai surveyed her handiwork critically, then bent over to draw horns and a tail on it. "Snow 'angel' doesn't really suit me," she explained. "I think snow 'demon' is better!"
The Reiki Tantei sighed and shook their heads, although it was true, they admitted, Kai's not really what you'd call an angel, but she's more full of mischief than anything else.
"Yeah, tell that to the people she killed for money," Kuwabara muttered. (I've always thought Kuwabara's not the type to approve or forgive assassinations. He just seems that way, so full of morals. *retch*)
Kurama, Yusuke, Keiko, Boton and Yukina were preparing to leave for their homes for the night, when Koenma suddenly popped into the room.
Yusuke was on the floor, clutching his chest. "Don't – do – that!" he panted. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Then you'd have to bring me back again!"
"No need, Yusuke," Koenma said through his pacifier. "Ahem. Sorry for the delay. The paperwork got backed up, and I forgot I had you all here, and I got caught up in the Pacifier Junkie Support Group – ahem. Never mind that. What matters is that I'm here now, and I want you to come back to Reikai with me to discuss your next mission."
Koenma settled himself in the large chair behind his desk. The Reiki Tantei were assembled before him, idly lounging against the wall, or looking out the window to the River Styx below. The mood was light and unconcerned – a new mission was not something to be worried about; in fact, it was a good way to relieve the boredom of everyday life.
Koenma himself was not perturbed – the Tantei could handle anything in their way. (But it's always a good precaution to keep that little black funeral suit at hand, ne?)
"George will bring the paperwork," Koenma announced presently.
The Tantei waited patiently. Boton was there, rocking back and forth and chattering about something to Kai, who really wasn't listening. Hiei stared out the window, and Kurama leaned against the wall. Yusuke and Kuwabara were bickering about something or other, and everything was normal.
I have absolutely no idea why I'm describing this to you. Anyway…
George came rushing into the room, bearing a floppy disk and a thick stack of papers.
"Okay!" Koenma squeaked. "Now we can begin. Your next mission involves a village of neko youkai up north in the Ryuu Mountains. It's a strange enough place – more like Ningenkai than anywhere else you'll find. The neko there are Healers; they work with plants."
His projector showed a picture of a dusty summer path leading to a small village with old Japanese-style buildings.
"This is the village. Interesting place, isn't it? Now…"
Hiei glanced over at Kai. She hadn't said anything the entire time. Her eyes had gone strangely flat. Her normally cheerful smile was gone; in its place her mouth was set in an angry line. She looked more like the ruthless assassin she had been when they met her than the smiling little Tantei she was now.
He concluded she'd met the neko of this village before, and the meeting had not ended in friendship.
"… they want us to help them. Apparently, there is a sickness among them, an unfamiliar disease they cannot cure."
Yusuke looked bewildered. "But what can we do? We're fighters, not doctors!"
The rest of the Tantei nodded in agreement. They found this odd as well. Kurama was the only one in their group with any skill at healing at all.
"I think it would be easier if I had one of them explain it to you. Ah, here he is now."
A young man followed an oni into Koenma's office. He was small, barely taller than Hiei or Kai. He had refined features – vaguely catlike – and striking emerald eyes that seemed to glitter when he moved. His hair was messy and light brown, and constantly fell into his eyes. His ears were the same color black as Kai's, barely visible over his hair. Boton must have had a field day when he came.
He crossed gracefully to the center of the room and bowed formally. "My name is Shasa Ryuu," he began. "I am the fourteenth son of Keisuke and Michilu Ryuu. I was sent to ask the Reiki Tantei for help regarding the situation of our village. We would not ask if the need were not pertinent."
'Don't I know that,' Kai grumbled to herself, although she didn't say it out loud.
Yusuke interrupted him. "Look, I'm really sorry and all, but we can't help you. We're fighters, not doctors!" he said for the second time that day.
Shasa smiled faintly. "Hear me out, please. Ordinarily we could cure anything brought to our attention. However, this sickness is persistent and deadly. Nothing will stop it. We have thus been led to believe that this is not natural illness."
Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Demon-spawned? I thought even those could be cured by a skillful healer." He said this honestly, no trace of mocking in his tone, but Shasa flushed, betraying his youth.
"I assure you: no greater Healers can be found than those of our village! I won't have you implying that we are inferior!"
"I did not intend to imply that. No offense meant," Kurama said calmly.
Shasa cooled slightly.
Hiei spoke up. "Do you know of a demon with a grudge against your people?"
The neko youth looked away. "None that I know of. I only know what I've been told and can see for myself. I've been trained in herbs and healing since I could walk, and I've never experienced anything like this."
Kai had not said anything this entire time, though her eyes were fixed on Shasa's face. Hiei thought this slightly strange; after all, they were of the same kind, even if she harbored no good feelings to this village. She appeared almost calculating.
"How long ago did this begin?" Kurama asked gently. The others watched; Kurama was undoubtedly the best to take charge for now.
"About a year or two," Shasa replied.
"You let it go this long?!" Yusuke exploded.
Shasa flushed again. "It was not so bad at first. We could even treat it a little. It was not until about six months ago that people started dying!"
"How many have died so far?" Kurama prodded, his tone still gentle.
"Nearly twenty." Shasa's ears dropped ever so slightly at the number.
Kai's twitched almost imperceptibly.
"How many live in your village?"
"Two hundred, maybe less," Shasa answered, though he couldn't see the point.
"And you can think of no one with a grudge?"
"Iie."
"Strange." Kurama thought silently for a minute. "How is the land around you?"
"It began to die about six months ago. It's almost like there's a shadow hanging over our heads…"
The Reiki Tantei stood silent for a while.
"It certainly sounds to be of demon origin," Kurama admitted. "I believe we should investigate this."
"Yeah!" Kuwabara said enthusiastically. "We can find the nasty demon that is causing all this!"
"Right away?" Yusuke asked.
"Why not?" Koenma asked his detective.
"Well, Christmas is coming and I sorta promised Keiko I'd celebrate it with her, seeing as how I haven't been around much…"
"Hm," Kurama said. "That poses a problem for me as well."
Hiei exchanged a perplexed look with Kai, who shrugged. It was obvious her mind was on something else besides the over-commercialized Western holiday.
"Oh, yes!" Koenma sighed. "That's in about a week, right?"
The Tantei nodded.
"Can it wait that long?" he asked the young neko.
"I've waited long enough," he said reluctantly. "I suppose it will not matter to wait another week."
"Great!" Yusuke shouted. "Now Keiko won't shout at me!"
"I still have to buy gifts…" Kuwabara muttered.
"Damn," Yusuke muttered. "I knew I forgot something…"
No one noticed Kai slip quietly out of the room.
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DMG: I just finished reading Vol. 1 of Ceres and I am faced with a certain predicament for the first time: I can't decide which guy I like the best! It's absolutely driving me up the wall! Toya's really cool and mysterious, and there's something about Yuhi that I really like too! Hm…
OMG!!! I JUST SAW THE RETURN OF THE KING!!! Woo-hoo! LOTR fans everywhere, rejoice! For Faramir's character is back the way it should be! (I thought they kind of messed him up in the second…) He's my favorite, BTW… It's just so sad (but I'm not going to ramble on about it and spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet! ^^) Faramir! Faramir! Faramir! All bow to the great Tolkien, the greatest fantasy writer of all time! (Ok, my opinion…) Oh yeah… I like Aragorn too (hot as well…) and Legolas is good looking, but not my fav. (But I really do like Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean…) Am I rambling again? Okay I'll stop. I think I have more Author's Note than story… how bad is that? And FF.net doesn't allow you to post Author's Notes alone anymore, doesn't that suck?
