Origins of a Bastard
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this idea for a plot and alternate storyline, the characters and places mentioned, except for a few created by me, belong to the creators of either Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter, and any resemblances to people, living or dead, are purely the figment of my, or your imaginations. Also, I do not own the "mission" thing from "Mission Impossible", oh, and don't sue me; I don't have money, I even have to go to a community college. ^_^
Okay, so a few people may recognize this as the prologue for my other story, What are You Withholding, and it is for the most part. I've changed the original story, and I've decided to create a new series of Origins as separate biographies for my new characters. It's a little dull, but now you don't have to read it to get the story, which should take less time to write since I can get straight into the story and finish up each of these side stories later. As in this story will be finished after (or when I don't want to work on) the main story.
Prologue
A young man of 17 sits at his computer desk working on his first English essay. He scratches his western, '80's styled orange hair with a pencil as he tries to turn his thoughts from Japanese into English, having a hard time coming up with a title to begin with. Sighing, he bangs his rough, beaten up face against the desk for a few minutes. "I don't have a clue about this Christianity thing." He manages to mutter in English before he hears a tapping on his bedroom window. Seeing a familiar bouncy girl with blue hair and a pink kimono riding an oar in midair, he smiles, and then he opens the window for her to fly through. "Hey Botan-chan, long time no see!" He exclaims in his native tongue upon seeing her.
"Ohayo! It sure has been Kuwahara-kun," the 'Grim Reaper' starts, "and I would like to say this was just a friendly little visit, but Koenma-Daioh has some serious business to discuss with you." Kuwabara Kazuma groans inwardly, for the last time he had anything to do with the Reikai Prince was when Kurama came back from Makai. "Here, I'll just let you watch the tape, it's still encoded," she pauses for a short chuckle and tosses the tape to him, "but it's not like THAT matters much here, ne?"
He joins in with the little joke, for the encoding is meant to prevent non-spiritually sensitive people from seeing, or hearing, the message, but the only other person in the house, his sister Shizuru, is also spiritually sensitive. "That's for sure, why'd he even bother?"
"Oh, just formalities I guess," Botan sighs, "Well, I have to get going, and dead souls don't just collect themselves these days. Tell Yukina-chan and Kurama-kun I said hi? Okay?" With that the bubbly girl flies out the window with a little spin outside and disappears from view.
'Odd,' Kuwabara thinks, 'why would Koenma-Daioh contact me? We aren't tantei anymore. And I wasn't really one to begin with." He puts aside his glum thoughts as he pops the tape into his VCR and presses play. Immediately, a toddler dressed in blue, old style clothing appears, "Not much like his first production," Kuwabara notes idly as the image begins to speak.
"Hello Kuwahara-kun, it's been a while hasn't it? You probably are aware that you are no longer employed by Reikai," the toddler's voice begins.
"It's not as though you paid us anyway." Kuwabara interjects, still not in English.
"And you are not required to help in any missions now or in the future, but I have a personal request to make. As always, keep this information secret, for if normal humans found out about the existence of the Spirit World, or the Demon World, or just about anything else in here, it would cause complete and total mayhem." The screen changes to a peaceful setting of what appears to Kuwabara to be a castle. It is similar to the ones he had seen in English class, only functional by the state of the giant building and the amount of people on the grounds. The people, mostly children his age and younger are all dressed in strange uniforms, robe style. "As we currently are working without spirit detectives, we are searching for people in their prime with spiritual capabilities to replace the former detectives in trouble zones where demons don't follow Enki's Law, namely in countries other than Japan. As Botan-chan informed me that you are in your second year of English, I request that you visit this school shown here and demonstrate your spiritual abilities in an attempt to find others like you to help the Spirit World. Now, this school doesn't look very ordinary at any glance, and it isn't. This school is far from ordinary for it is a wizard school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wizardry is the ability to perform magic using props such as wands, spells, and potions, but the key ingredient in any magic is the spirit energy that comes from within the human, and well, so demons have the ability for wizardry too, but they use demon energy of course. Since I know how dense you can be I'll repeat various key points here as I tell you in detail what I want in a familiar format, you have seen 'Mission Impossible', right? Okay, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to join Kurama-kun and Yukina-chan, who have already agreed to this," the picture of a beautiful young Koorime with pale blue to green hair and blood red eyes pops up causing Kuwabara to fall into a hypnotized state in which he will agree to almost anything, "on the first day of your winter vacation in Genkai-shihan's temple so that you may travel to Hogwarts and demonstrate your spiritual abilities for the week and observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING," this repeats for about five minutes as the picture of Yukina rapidly switches with a screen displaying subliminal messaging before turning back into Koenma to finish, "and tell me all that you see and hear. Now, have fun with Yukina-chan, pack for a week's stay, and please listen to the Headmaster of the school. See you later at your debriefing!" The screen fades to black as the words "first day of winter vacation, Genkai's temple, Yukina" are repeated until the sound fades with the screen.
"Creepy." Kuwabara says in English before he sighs happily at the thought of a week with Yukina and turns back to his English paper.
"Are you sure he's coming?" A soft, high, feminine voice asks in English shyly. The owner is a young girl with hair the shade of pale blue or sometimes green ice; her eyes are crimson as newly shed blood. Yukina is short, and not exactly young or human, for she is much older than she looks and a demon of the Koorime tribe. Behind her is a faded old woman, Genkai-Shihan, with pale hair that appears to have been bubblegum pink once. She is a human, and fairly old, with lines of fate etched into her skin and a tired, worn expression as she glances at a wristwatch.
"He will be here; I contacted him before I came over myself." A deeply feminine voice answers her. A red haired young man of 18 is the creator of the voice, with feminine beauty to match his voice and silky, long locks. Piercing green orbs peer out a window in the temple, searching not just for a figure, but also the ki of the one who is late. Kurama stiffens feeling the familiar energy signature, the others follow suit quickly as the old woman's wards are felt shifting around the guy and a low wail is heard getting closer.
"Yukina! Yukina, Yukina, Yukina!" Oddly, the orange haired Kuwabara prances to the temple on tiptoes, heading straight for the trio. "MY LOVE! IT IS THE MIGHTY KUWAHARA KAZUMA," the door flies open as he enters, hearts filling his eyes. He ignores the chuckles of the old lady and Kurama, "and I...."
He is cut off sharply by Yukina's soft voice, "Oh, Kazuma-kun, I thought we were supposed to be practicing English, but you've been talking in Japanese as usual."
He stutters, scrambling for the right words, "Yukina-chan, I... I'm sorry, um... uh... please forgive me.... I don't speak English very well." They all have slightly British accents, the style used mostly by people who have never been there, but by those who try and imitate the language after a teacher. Her kind smile stops his heart and makes him grin.
"It's alright Kazuma-kun, Kurama-kun and I can help you." She giggles at how silly he acts and wonders how many humans are like that.
"Our transportation should be arriving in this room at any moment." Kurama interrupts, and points to the lit fireplace. "I do not understand why we are supposed to light a fire, but I expect it has something to do with our travel guide appearing." Kuwabara doesn't understand any of this, but he obediently waits and wonders if Yukina would be angry if he held her hand.
Suddenly, the fire flares bright neon green, and a figure appears from inside it. The person walks, unharmed by the flames, into the room. He wore robes, very similar to the students' in the video but with stars, and he appears to be an elderly bespectacled man with white hair, a beard, and a moustache, although not as old as Genkai. If she could have heard Kuwabara's mental comparison, Genkai would have smacked him.
As the flames draw back to their normal shade, the man began to talk in a perfect northern Britain accent. "Hello, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore," he adds a formal bow, "and I am here to take you there per the request of Lord Koenma. We shall be going through the floo systems. We shall each take a pinch of this green powder, throw it into the fire, say, 'Hogwarts: Headmaster's Office', and then walk into the green fire. Just remember to keep your elbows in."
The three take a pinch of the proffered powder; Kurama deftly pockets some for future use, and nobody notices. Then they each enter the fire as ordered. Yukina and Kurama wonder how the whole magic thing worked while they go through, but Kuwabara cries because unknown assailants were hitting his elbows.
Once there, Kurama finds himself in a nice office with odd doohickeys and thingamajigs. As Yukina enters behind him, he moves over and notices that the paintings of sleeping people are moving. "Odd." He states before turning to the carrot top and the Headmaster.
Kuwabara whimpers a little in pain. Noticing, Yukina goes to heal him as the Headmaster gives them final instructions. "Well, there aren't as many students here as normal, so you will be staying in the dormitories with them. We have a special ceremony to pick which house you will be staying in. It's about suppertime already, and we will perform it there in front of the remaining students. Please behave and follow the instructions of the teachers and the rules of the school; they are there for your safety." Dumbledore hands them each a copy of the rules, only a page long, grabs a beat up old hat, and starts out the door. "Now just follow me, it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn your way around the castle, just stay with a student." He continues as he leads them to the main hall, "You will be exhibiting your skills once a day, right after lunch, and I do look forward to seeing a real fox demon. However, the day after tomorrow and Sunday are Hogsmeade weekend days, so you won't be performing although you are welcome to accompany the students into town then."
The three nod their heads graciously as they are led into a large room with four rows of tables, half filled with students. The table on the far left holds the fewest students. Four banners mark each table as distinct houses, and Kurama ponders a moment on what they could stand for. 'A snake, a raven, and a griffin, I only really recognize three, but I do not quite understand what they represent.' He thought as the trio is led up to a platform where the teachers eat.
"When your name is called, sit on the chair and put the sorting hat on." A tired looking male teacher in blue robes says before placing the same worn hat Dumbledore had on the stool. Picking up a very short scroll, he calls, "Kurama".
Kurama obediently sits on the stool, but reluctantly puts the shabby hat on his head. Almost immediately, he hears an odd, cranky voice in his head. 'Darn it, I'm only supposed to do this once a year! Do you hear that, once a year! Not twice, once! Stupid new program, why did you have to come here?' The voice stops whining and starts sifting through his mind.
'You are very shabby at this, are you not? I can feel you and even tell what you are looking at.'
'I'm not paid to be quiet, let's see, you are very intelligent, that would make a good Ravenclaw, but you are shrewd and cunning. Hm? You were a demon, and a thief as well? You were mean to your "ningen" mother just because she wasn't a demon? Well, well, these certainly qualify you for Slytherin, even if you are very intelligent.'
Suddenly, the same voice that was in his head erupts with a cry, "Slytherin it is!" Deciding that this is the signal that his mind probe is over, he stands up and replaces the odd hat and heads toward the 'table of few people' that are waving to him. He sits down next to a brunette boy and a blonde girl, but before introductions can be made the teacher calls another name.
"Kuwabara, Kazuma"
As he walks past the teacher, he says in perfect English, "You pronounce it wrong. I am the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma! They spell it with a 'b' but pronounce it like an 'h'." He grins before sitting down and placing the hat on his head.
'Another one?' A voice starts in his head as he feels odd prickling feelings in his head.
"Ah! The tickle feeling!" He looks around for ghosts but only sees one near the students at the table to his left, which isn't the same one Kurama is at because he is facing towards the doors now. Everyone is either laughing at him or giving him odd glances.
'No, I'm not a ghost; I'm just searching your brain to find out where to put you. Well, Ravenclaw is out.'
'Why?' Kuwabara thinks, realizing it's telepathic and he will only embarrass himself further by speaking aloud.
'Okay, so you aren't THAT dumb. Hm, and you aren't like the last guy at all, but you are brave, and you have done everything you could for your friends. You've died or something for one friend, stolen for your cat, allowed people to possess you, killed demons, studied all night long for your friend, been beaten up all week for your friend, and you've nearly died or something! You're easy to place.' That hat speaks aloud again, "Gryffindor!"
The half-filled table to the left with the ghost erupts in clapping and cheers, so Kuwabara goes down to join them, but stops when everyone starts laughing again. "Um, I did something wrong?"
"You forgot to take me off, you dolt!" The hat wails before Kuwabara grabs it off of his head, runs over to Yukina, and hands it to her.
"Oops, sorry, but, that is the right table, ne?" The teacher nods as Yukina stares at the hat, still waiting for her turn. As Kuwabara sits down next to some still laughing kids his age, the teacher speaks for the last time ever.
"Yukina."
By this time, both Yukina and Kurama realize that while the sorting hat talks telepathically, it's lips still move, so Yukina, after seeing two people go up, has a clue as to what will happen. She sits down and places the hat on her head. 'Hi!' She greets the hat mentally.
'Ack! Are you the last one? Please be the last one.' She gives an affirmative and it continues to probe her mind. 'Hm, you are a demon as well; however, you defied your elders and searched for this "forbidden child", you are very nice, and not selfish at all. You aren't too intelligent, so Ravenclaw is out, so is Slytherin. You aren't exactly brave, but very determined, so, yes, I have the answer.'
"Hufflepuff!" Yukina frowns slightly at not being in the same house as one of her friends, but she brightens at seeing all of the welcoming faces at the table she is sent to, and she gets to sit across the aisle from Kurama.
As Yukina sits down, the Headmaster stands up to finish their introduction to the school, "These three are going to be here for the next week, so be nice and try not to break too many of the rules around them, we want to make a good impression. Now it is true that Yukina and Kurama don't have last names because they aren't actually human, but please treat them as you would your friends, be courteous. Tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday they will give demonstrations on the use of an alternate source of magic, 'reiki' and 'youki'. Feel free to discuss this and ask questions, but give them room if they request it. And be especially understanding with Kazuma, he's still learning English and he may have trouble understanding what you say. For those of you who know Spanish, you may want to talk to him because he took six years of it when he was younger and may understand that better after a little practice. Now, let's eat!"
"Hi there, you all know my name, so why don't you tell me yours'," Kurama starts as he fills his plate full of food that has magically appeared. He isn't too fazed by this, considering Yomi had had most of his meals delivered this way, saving the cute servants for delivering dessert.
"Why should we? After all, we don't really know anything about you, except you aren't a wizard, and that makes you a muggle." The brunette 17-year-old guy beside him sneers. Kurama changes his tactics, following what the hat had found.
"Because you are just a lowly, stupid, low-class human, and I am offering to grace your life with my presence and not kill you like I should, or eat you as many of my friends would if put into this situation." He states calmly with a mild glare. Behind him, he feels Yukina stiffen.
"Eh, wait, I was joking, see, I um, wanted to make sure you were one of the cool non-human ones." The boy lies, being just a little scared since Kurama's eyes changed color for a second from the usual emerald green to a hard gold.
The group of ten Slytherins quickly introduce themselves.
"Hi, my name's Yukina." She starts shyly as the others start dishing out their food. The girl next to her introduces herself and the other five seventh years and the three sixth years. There are fourteen other Hufflepuffs at the table.
"Try the mashed potatoes, they're delicious." The seventh year girl advises with a smile. As she starts putting food on her own plate, Yukina stiffens, hearing him insult the other students and feeling his ki change slightly. It passed and she relaxes hoping that he wasn't really being mean to them.
"Hi, I'm the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent at Sarayashiki Junior High, I'm the only normal human in my group!" Kuwabara introduces himself to the forty or so Gryffindors. With that he helps himself to food as the other students his age introduce themselves and any close relatives they have at the table.
"So, what are the other people?" A dark haired girl asks leaving Kuwabara to try and explain all of their adventures in English, only using present tense, and with a small Japanese-English dictionary that really didn't have enough terms for the topic.
"Hey, I speak Spanish, maybe you can try it in that language?" The same dark haired girl asks politely as her friend, a brunette from Wales, giggles at his discomfort. And so he continues his tale using a Spanish translator for help when it gets rough.
"So, what exactly are you?" A blonde Slytherin girl asks Kurama shyly. He finishes his mouthful of stew and begins to weave his tale of being a fox demon spirit merged with a human, a former thief forced to help fight demons and crazy humans that employed demons for a special government organization as parole for stealing three magic artifacts. They assume he means the Japanese Ministry of Magic and liken his job to that of an auror.
Halfway through dinner, Kurama hears the Hufflepuffs asking Yukina the wrong question. A red haired boy asks shyly, "So, um, do you have a boyfriend or anything?"
"Boy friend? Well, there's Yuusuke-kun, Kurama-kun, Kazuma-kun, Hiei-kun, Koenma-sama, Kazuma's little friends." She almost continues but they start laughing at her for some odd reason, so Kurama turns around to help her.
"She is confused because you used a word that does not mean what she thinks it means," Kurama states bluntly before telling Yukina in Japanese, "They meant one male who you would have special feelings for, and go out on dates with, such as a lover." She blushes slightly. "They did not mean to offend you, Yukina-chan."
"My mother had a boyfriend, and then she died." Yukina whispers so that only a few around her can hear it, her eyes start to glisten with tears. She quickly finds herself in a warm, brotherly embrace.
"Do not cry, not here, not when they did not mean to hurt you." Kurama whispers in her ear before releasing her, "I will tell them your story, if you allow it."
The Koorime nods and Kurama begins to weave another story. "Yukina-chan is a very rare demon; in English her race is known as the Ice Maidens. There are no males; therefore, her kind reproduces asexually, without males. However, they are all female and can reproduce with a male of another demonic species, but it is rare, taboo, and leads to disastrous consequences. Her mother fell in love with a fire demon, and then she gave birth to twins, but one was a male child, so under Ice Maiden law, they had to kill it. Her mother died from grief after he was thrown over a cliff." He gives Yukina another small hug and smiles at her, "But he managed to survive, so she is looking for him, you will find him Yukina-chan." She smiles back and nods.
"Hiei-kun will find him, someday."
Kurama turns back to the students, "Please refrain from discussing such topics as 'boyfriends' and sex around her, for it makes her uncomfortable and sad." Some of the students on the other side of the table are turned around to ask the Ravenclaws for clarification on what he said.
"What's a 'taboo'?"
"What does 'asexual' mean again?"
At this point Kurama looks over to the far table to see how Kuwabara is doing, and notices that he is surrounded by questioning students. 'He has resorted to Spanish and two dictionaries. I hope he is having a good time over there.' Kurama finishes his thought just as he is distracted by a flash of lustrous red hair at the Ravenclaw table. He quickly memorizes the girl's face, hair, and body before turning back around.
"Wow, so perfect: shiny, long, good body, and I bet she doesn't even get split ends." He looks up suddenly, realizing that he just spoke aloud.
The blonde Slytherin girl beside him asks, "Who's got a good body?" and all eyes turn to him.
"Oh, that red haired Ravenclaw over there," Kurama points to her cautiously, "Although I was talking about her hair, not her body. However, that is nicely done as well."
"Humph," the Slytherin boy on his right starts his rant, "She's sexy, yeah, but I tried to get her, just for a little tumble and all, and she turned me down so fast. Ravenclaws just aren't interested in sex; they think that they are too smart for us. And since she's friends with a mudblood that's about all she's good for."
"She seems to be worth the challenge though." Kurama forces himself not to stare at her. "What is her name?"
"Michelle something or other, something Irish."
The boy adds to the blonde's information, "She's best friends with Annabelle, a mudblood in Gryffindor. If you're serious, you will have to ask her for help. That is, if you really want to lower yourself to speaking with such trash."
Kurama thinks for a moment, trying to form a plan, "I will think about it. I have not had a woman in the past 19 years because of my rebirth and my mother. It would be nice to let loose for once."
A voice whispers in Japanese behind him, "Kurama-kun, you can't mean that. You can't just sleep with a girl; it would be cruel to her."
"Do not worry about my actions." Kurama replies in Japanese, "Besides, I will tell her before hand that I do not plan on a serious relationship with her."
Soon after that, dessert is finished and everyone leaves for his or her common rooms. Kurama finds himself in a damp dungeon filled with furniture and dusty tapestries. It reminds him of his life as a thief, living in caves scattered around Makai. "Cozy, and just like home." He smirks as the others wonder at his words.
Kuwabara, on the other hand, is in a tower room with a warm fire and leather armchairs. The boys show him to his room, but he returns downstairs with them to talk and marvel at their magical abilities. "Hey, I want a wand thingy." The Gryffindors laugh, feeling at ease with his juvenile, friendly ways.
Yukina is led into a nice little third floor common room filled with nice paintings that wave hello and tapestries of flocks of sheep and beautiful meadows. Here the girls ask her for more details on Yuusuke and Keiko's relationship, Kuwabara and his kitten Eikichi, and the boys ask about Hiei and the demons they have fought. "Oh, Eikichi-chan is the cutest little kitten, sometimes Kazuma-kun brings it over for me. Kuwahara is his family's name. I think it is so odd how you have your family names last." Yukina and the girls gossiped long into the night.
Elsewhere, in a deserted classroom, five of Hogwarts's ghosts are deep in discussion. The Bloody Baron yells at the four in front of him, "He's brought bloody demons here!"
"Oh push off," Nearly Headless Nick interrupts, "They came with that nice human chap, so they can't be evil, and I'm certain that Dumbledore would never let soul eaters in Hogwarts."
"I agree with Nicholas here," says the Hufflepuff ghost, "That female demon seemed nice enough, just shy. And she mentioned that she didn't like eating meat because the animals were her friends. She only ate it because she didn't know what sheep were." The ghost pauses, "Oh no, what will she do when she finds out what the animals on the tapestries are!" The ghost quickly disappears.
Growling the Bloody Baron resumes his rant, "Well, I still don't trust that Kurama, he used his demonic reputation to get the students under his thumb. Peeves!"
"Yes sir!" The mischievous ghost responds quickly.
"Keep tabs on that demon, and report to me if he does anything fishy." With that Slytherin's ghost disappears and hides in an empty part of the dungeon. The others quickly leave as well.
After breakfast the next morning Yukina, Kuwabara, and Kurama try to find each other in the hall so that they can decide where to discuss their demonstration. Kuwabara walks up with a few of his new Gryffindor friends. One just happens to be Annabelle. Kurama sees his opportunity to ask some questions while Kuwabara starts grinning and tripping over his feet and tongue for Yukina's attention.
"You are friends with Michelle from Ravenclaw, are you not? I am Kurama." He asks politely.
"Well yes, I'm Annie." She smiles a little confused, "How would you know that?"
"Oh, I asked around," he smiles, flashing one of those polite little things that made the girls in his school swoon, "but what I would really like to know is the name of her favorite flower."
"Oh, I see." She giggles, "You think she's pretty. Well, even though you ARE in Slytherin, Kazuma here says that you are really nice except in a fight, so I MIGHT tell you."
"Well, I am not ALL nice, I do occasionally crack jokes at Kuwahara-kun's and Yuusuke-kun's expenses."
Yukina pipes in after being introduced to the other Gryffindors, "And didn't Hiei-kun threaten to pull out your voice box when you teased him? Don't worry Annie, he's just mischievous like all fox demons."
Kurama smirks, "I'm supposed to set a good example for the younger ones."
"The only fox demon you've seen since becoming a human was Koto." Yukina replies with smile.
Annie decides that Kurama can't be too bad and decides to tell him Michelle's favorite flower. "She likes Bluewart Thistles because of the leaves and how they flower only once in their long lifetimes."
Kurama doesn't know what that plant is, but he does know which teacher to ask. One of the professors gave off the smell of fresh soil and growth, so he decides to go visit him before lunch. He thanks the seventh year girl before going to the library with his friends to discuss their plans.
After lunch, the dining tables are cleared and rows of chairs are added facing an empty platform. Students sit in the chairs as Dumbledore helps Yukina adjust the voice projectors she and Kurama will be using. Kuwabara is too loud to use one. Soon they are ready to start and Yukina walks up to the front center of the platform.
"Hi," shyly, "I'm Yukina-chan, and the first thing we are going to do today is an introduction of 'reiki' and 'youki'." She waits for everyone to quiet down before resuming. "In English, reiki means spirit energy, and all humans have a little bit of it. Some humans like my friend Kazuma-kun have a lot of spirit energy, which allows them to do amazing things. In theory, all of you have an unusual amount of reiki, allowing you to tap into the magical energies of your wands. Youki on the other hand means demonic energy, which all demons have, again in varying degrees. I have a little youki while my friend Kurama-kun over there has an enormous amount. Demonic energy acts in different ways. Some demon's ki manifests itself along the lines of the elements. As an Ice Maiden, I am strong in ice powers, I can use it to freeze a room or create a barrier. I can also heal. Kurama-kun has earth powers that manifest themselves in the area of plant manipulation. He can control his powers so well that he can make just about any plant do as he wishes. Spirit energy though is centered mainly in spirit, but it can also take on elements that the users are familiar with. This is what allows Kurama-kun to control certain plants even in his human form. Humans tend to specialize in certain techniques of use, such as healing, ki blasts, telekinesis and other mind powers, and materialization. Kazuma-kun is very good with materialization; he creates a sword of pure spirit energy, and he can manipulate it at will. Now I'll stop boring you so that we can give you a visual and tactile demonstration."
With this, Yukina begins to send out her youki forming ice on the ground around her and bringing the room temperature down by forty degrees. Some people reacted quickly, their bodies noticing the increased output by Yukina. Others close to the platform reacted upon seeing the ice form at the Koorime's feet. By the time Yukina is finished, everyone is sure of her power because they are freezing cold. She quickly stops and signals for the charms teacher to bring the temperature back to normal.
"Well everyone, that was one of the things I can do with my powers, now I'll let Kurama-kun show off his plant manipulation abilities." She waits for Kurama to step up and take her place, but when she doesn't hear him moving she looks back at him. "Oops! I'm so sorry!" Kurama's feet are stuck in place, and he is trying to cut through the ice with the stem of a rose.
"It is alright, I will just be a minute." Yukina attempts to bring the ice back in to her, and it melts more quickly than before.
Kurama smiles, and laughter hides behind his eyes as he steps forward. Before him is a group of seventh year Ravenclaws, the house that has filled the chairs closest to the platform. He begins by reaching into his mane, disguising it as a flip of his hair.
"Yukina has already introduced my powers and I; therefore, I present to you a seed that I knew as the Frostbitting Thornbush. It is a demonic plant that lives for centuries feasting on the frozen bodies of travelers that get stuck nearby the roads that cross the tundra wastelands in Makai. However, it seems as though a subspecies of this plant has evolved in this world. It looks the same, only more juvenile. It dies before it can flower a second time, most likely from a lack of a specific nutrient that is available in Makai soil. In the Ningenkai, there are only trace amounts of this nutrient, thus stunting the growth and life span of this plant. Most of you know it as the Bluewart Thistle. I thank your herbology professor for the specimen." With this he ends and brandishes the seed he pulled out of his hair.
He holds the seed before him, allowing all a good view as tendrils of roots and stems slowly emerge from the seed. The multiple stems twist, thorns grow, buds form into leaves and after a minute the few remaining buds blossom into a deep, though cold, blue flower. Several students and professors gasp in amazement. "This is the first blooming stage of the Bluewart Thistle. In the human world version, the plant would shortly die for lack of that one nutrient, but with my energy, I can spur it into its second stage, where it will become the demonic thornbush."
He inserts more energy into the plant. The blossoms mature, the petals fall to the floor. Seedpods grow. Then slits form in the pods, which then open up like triangular mouths; the ends form pincers. Kurama holds the plant by the roots, watching the small open-mouthed pods move around searching for food. "Generally, this plant is harmless, but it does have its powers. It will only attack and feed upon frozen creatures: beasts, demons, unfortunate humans that wander into their areas. Once each pod eats roughly, two human sized portions of animal matter; the seeds mature and grow from the energy the pods gain from digesting the bodies. After this, the pods spread open completely, and ten seeds per pod fly out into the air like dandelion fluff. The seeds are fairly heavy, so this procedure is timed with a blizzard that the plants can sense based on wind speed and temperature." He graces the room with a small, thoughtful smile here. "In the demon world, these plants flower again, and THEN they become dangerous. During the second eating phase, the plant's seed pods can actually fire blasts of ice at potential food sources, freezing them when they get close to the plant." Suddenly the plant fires a blast into the crowd of humans, freezing an unlucky Ravenclaw fifth year. Kurama stares in shock at the boy, and then glances as the plant orients itself on its prey. "Um, then again, when one messes with plants such as these, giving them extra energy, they usually, well, not usually but sometimes turn more dangerous than before. Or it might be because I'm so used to turning plants into weapons." His face still looks a little comical because he wasn't expecting it.
"I'm just going to return this to a safer version and tie off the energy so it shouldn't be able to do that anymore." He composes himself and turns toward Yukina, "Could you go and help that poor student, he should just be very, very cold."
He pulls back enough energy so that it is just at the point were it will bloom for the first time and ties off the energy, keeping it in that form until it finds its own nutrients. He leans over to a certain red-haired Ravenclaw girl. "If you pot it today, it should bloom over the weekend." She tries to hide her blush with a nervous smile as she accepts the gift. He grins back at her as he gets up and waits for Yukina to thaw the student and introduce Kuwabara.
"Hey! Kurama, just how many dangerous plants are there in this demon world?" A very bold Gryffindor boy shouted.
Kurama grins mischievously in his direction. "Actually, the correct question would be, 'Are there any plants that ARE NOT dangerous in the demon world?' The answer to that question is one, common grass, but there are roughly 539 species that are merely poisonous to eat. Do any of you know what the Venus Fly Trap is? It used to be a demonic plant by the name of the Venus Man Trap, until some human dragged a seed pod into the human world and it started growing there, after awhile no humans were stupid enough to fall into it, so it started feeding on smaller animals and its name changed."
He fields a few more questions about demonic plants before Yukina gets back up on the platform.
"Okay, um, well, that was very unexpected. Anthony-kun, please accept our apologies. If you wish, Monday you can assist us in the instruction and act as a guinea pig." She smiles hesitantly, "Now, for something that shouldn't hurt you, Kazuma-kun and his materialization techniques!"
"Hey everyone! It is I the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent of Sarayashiki Junior High! And this is my cool sword thingy!" He summons his spirit sword, "Reiken!"
He smiles broadly and starts posing so the students can see how cool he looks with it. "See, I create it one day while I is fighting this guy with a boken, that's a, Kurama-kun?"
"Wooden sword."
"Yeah that's it, but he uses his reiki to make his sword really tough. I, Kurama-kun?"
"Managed."
"Okay, um, managed to break off the tip of the wooden sword, and then I use it as a, um, Kurama-kun?"
"Medium."
"As a medium for my reiki, making this cool sword. And look, I can do fun things with it: reiken get long!" The spirit sword elongates and hits the stone roof above them. "My reiken is really powerful, and it looks way cool."
Yukina walks up to the front of the stage and begins to speak again, "Thank you Kazuma-kun! Well that's all for today, but on Monday, we will explore the psychic aspects of spirit energy, and on Tuesday, these two brave men will duel, and then I'll heal their injuries." She smiles and starts waving goodbye. A few students stay behind, mostly Ravenclaws, and ask more questions which they happily answer.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this idea for a plot and alternate storyline, the characters and places mentioned, except for a few created by me, belong to the creators of either Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter, and any resemblances to people, living or dead, are purely the figment of my, or your imaginations. Also, I do not own the "mission" thing from "Mission Impossible", oh, and don't sue me; I don't have money, I even have to go to a community college. ^_^
Okay, so a few people may recognize this as the prologue for my other story, What are You Withholding, and it is for the most part. I've changed the original story, and I've decided to create a new series of Origins as separate biographies for my new characters. It's a little dull, but now you don't have to read it to get the story, which should take less time to write since I can get straight into the story and finish up each of these side stories later. As in this story will be finished after (or when I don't want to work on) the main story.
Prologue
A young man of 17 sits at his computer desk working on his first English essay. He scratches his western, '80's styled orange hair with a pencil as he tries to turn his thoughts from Japanese into English, having a hard time coming up with a title to begin with. Sighing, he bangs his rough, beaten up face against the desk for a few minutes. "I don't have a clue about this Christianity thing." He manages to mutter in English before he hears a tapping on his bedroom window. Seeing a familiar bouncy girl with blue hair and a pink kimono riding an oar in midair, he smiles, and then he opens the window for her to fly through. "Hey Botan-chan, long time no see!" He exclaims in his native tongue upon seeing her.
"Ohayo! It sure has been Kuwahara-kun," the 'Grim Reaper' starts, "and I would like to say this was just a friendly little visit, but Koenma-Daioh has some serious business to discuss with you." Kuwabara Kazuma groans inwardly, for the last time he had anything to do with the Reikai Prince was when Kurama came back from Makai. "Here, I'll just let you watch the tape, it's still encoded," she pauses for a short chuckle and tosses the tape to him, "but it's not like THAT matters much here, ne?"
He joins in with the little joke, for the encoding is meant to prevent non-spiritually sensitive people from seeing, or hearing, the message, but the only other person in the house, his sister Shizuru, is also spiritually sensitive. "That's for sure, why'd he even bother?"
"Oh, just formalities I guess," Botan sighs, "Well, I have to get going, and dead souls don't just collect themselves these days. Tell Yukina-chan and Kurama-kun I said hi? Okay?" With that the bubbly girl flies out the window with a little spin outside and disappears from view.
'Odd,' Kuwabara thinks, 'why would Koenma-Daioh contact me? We aren't tantei anymore. And I wasn't really one to begin with." He puts aside his glum thoughts as he pops the tape into his VCR and presses play. Immediately, a toddler dressed in blue, old style clothing appears, "Not much like his first production," Kuwabara notes idly as the image begins to speak.
"Hello Kuwahara-kun, it's been a while hasn't it? You probably are aware that you are no longer employed by Reikai," the toddler's voice begins.
"It's not as though you paid us anyway." Kuwabara interjects, still not in English.
"And you are not required to help in any missions now or in the future, but I have a personal request to make. As always, keep this information secret, for if normal humans found out about the existence of the Spirit World, or the Demon World, or just about anything else in here, it would cause complete and total mayhem." The screen changes to a peaceful setting of what appears to Kuwabara to be a castle. It is similar to the ones he had seen in English class, only functional by the state of the giant building and the amount of people on the grounds. The people, mostly children his age and younger are all dressed in strange uniforms, robe style. "As we currently are working without spirit detectives, we are searching for people in their prime with spiritual capabilities to replace the former detectives in trouble zones where demons don't follow Enki's Law, namely in countries other than Japan. As Botan-chan informed me that you are in your second year of English, I request that you visit this school shown here and demonstrate your spiritual abilities in an attempt to find others like you to help the Spirit World. Now, this school doesn't look very ordinary at any glance, and it isn't. This school is far from ordinary for it is a wizard school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wizardry is the ability to perform magic using props such as wands, spells, and potions, but the key ingredient in any magic is the spirit energy that comes from within the human, and well, so demons have the ability for wizardry too, but they use demon energy of course. Since I know how dense you can be I'll repeat various key points here as I tell you in detail what I want in a familiar format, you have seen 'Mission Impossible', right? Okay, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to join Kurama-kun and Yukina-chan, who have already agreed to this," the picture of a beautiful young Koorime with pale blue to green hair and blood red eyes pops up causing Kuwabara to fall into a hypnotized state in which he will agree to almost anything, "on the first day of your winter vacation in Genkai-shihan's temple so that you may travel to Hogwarts and demonstrate your spiritual abilities for the week and observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING observe EVERYTHING," this repeats for about five minutes as the picture of Yukina rapidly switches with a screen displaying subliminal messaging before turning back into Koenma to finish, "and tell me all that you see and hear. Now, have fun with Yukina-chan, pack for a week's stay, and please listen to the Headmaster of the school. See you later at your debriefing!" The screen fades to black as the words "first day of winter vacation, Genkai's temple, Yukina" are repeated until the sound fades with the screen.
"Creepy." Kuwabara says in English before he sighs happily at the thought of a week with Yukina and turns back to his English paper.
"Are you sure he's coming?" A soft, high, feminine voice asks in English shyly. The owner is a young girl with hair the shade of pale blue or sometimes green ice; her eyes are crimson as newly shed blood. Yukina is short, and not exactly young or human, for she is much older than she looks and a demon of the Koorime tribe. Behind her is a faded old woman, Genkai-Shihan, with pale hair that appears to have been bubblegum pink once. She is a human, and fairly old, with lines of fate etched into her skin and a tired, worn expression as she glances at a wristwatch.
"He will be here; I contacted him before I came over myself." A deeply feminine voice answers her. A red haired young man of 18 is the creator of the voice, with feminine beauty to match his voice and silky, long locks. Piercing green orbs peer out a window in the temple, searching not just for a figure, but also the ki of the one who is late. Kurama stiffens feeling the familiar energy signature, the others follow suit quickly as the old woman's wards are felt shifting around the guy and a low wail is heard getting closer.
"Yukina! Yukina, Yukina, Yukina!" Oddly, the orange haired Kuwabara prances to the temple on tiptoes, heading straight for the trio. "MY LOVE! IT IS THE MIGHTY KUWAHARA KAZUMA," the door flies open as he enters, hearts filling his eyes. He ignores the chuckles of the old lady and Kurama, "and I...."
He is cut off sharply by Yukina's soft voice, "Oh, Kazuma-kun, I thought we were supposed to be practicing English, but you've been talking in Japanese as usual."
He stutters, scrambling for the right words, "Yukina-chan, I... I'm sorry, um... uh... please forgive me.... I don't speak English very well." They all have slightly British accents, the style used mostly by people who have never been there, but by those who try and imitate the language after a teacher. Her kind smile stops his heart and makes him grin.
"It's alright Kazuma-kun, Kurama-kun and I can help you." She giggles at how silly he acts and wonders how many humans are like that.
"Our transportation should be arriving in this room at any moment." Kurama interrupts, and points to the lit fireplace. "I do not understand why we are supposed to light a fire, but I expect it has something to do with our travel guide appearing." Kuwabara doesn't understand any of this, but he obediently waits and wonders if Yukina would be angry if he held her hand.
Suddenly, the fire flares bright neon green, and a figure appears from inside it. The person walks, unharmed by the flames, into the room. He wore robes, very similar to the students' in the video but with stars, and he appears to be an elderly bespectacled man with white hair, a beard, and a moustache, although not as old as Genkai. If she could have heard Kuwabara's mental comparison, Genkai would have smacked him.
As the flames draw back to their normal shade, the man began to talk in a perfect northern Britain accent. "Hello, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore," he adds a formal bow, "and I am here to take you there per the request of Lord Koenma. We shall be going through the floo systems. We shall each take a pinch of this green powder, throw it into the fire, say, 'Hogwarts: Headmaster's Office', and then walk into the green fire. Just remember to keep your elbows in."
The three take a pinch of the proffered powder; Kurama deftly pockets some for future use, and nobody notices. Then they each enter the fire as ordered. Yukina and Kurama wonder how the whole magic thing worked while they go through, but Kuwabara cries because unknown assailants were hitting his elbows.
Once there, Kurama finds himself in a nice office with odd doohickeys and thingamajigs. As Yukina enters behind him, he moves over and notices that the paintings of sleeping people are moving. "Odd." He states before turning to the carrot top and the Headmaster.
Kuwabara whimpers a little in pain. Noticing, Yukina goes to heal him as the Headmaster gives them final instructions. "Well, there aren't as many students here as normal, so you will be staying in the dormitories with them. We have a special ceremony to pick which house you will be staying in. It's about suppertime already, and we will perform it there in front of the remaining students. Please behave and follow the instructions of the teachers and the rules of the school; they are there for your safety." Dumbledore hands them each a copy of the rules, only a page long, grabs a beat up old hat, and starts out the door. "Now just follow me, it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn your way around the castle, just stay with a student." He continues as he leads them to the main hall, "You will be exhibiting your skills once a day, right after lunch, and I do look forward to seeing a real fox demon. However, the day after tomorrow and Sunday are Hogsmeade weekend days, so you won't be performing although you are welcome to accompany the students into town then."
The three nod their heads graciously as they are led into a large room with four rows of tables, half filled with students. The table on the far left holds the fewest students. Four banners mark each table as distinct houses, and Kurama ponders a moment on what they could stand for. 'A snake, a raven, and a griffin, I only really recognize three, but I do not quite understand what they represent.' He thought as the trio is led up to a platform where the teachers eat.
"When your name is called, sit on the chair and put the sorting hat on." A tired looking male teacher in blue robes says before placing the same worn hat Dumbledore had on the stool. Picking up a very short scroll, he calls, "Kurama".
Kurama obediently sits on the stool, but reluctantly puts the shabby hat on his head. Almost immediately, he hears an odd, cranky voice in his head. 'Darn it, I'm only supposed to do this once a year! Do you hear that, once a year! Not twice, once! Stupid new program, why did you have to come here?' The voice stops whining and starts sifting through his mind.
'You are very shabby at this, are you not? I can feel you and even tell what you are looking at.'
'I'm not paid to be quiet, let's see, you are very intelligent, that would make a good Ravenclaw, but you are shrewd and cunning. Hm? You were a demon, and a thief as well? You were mean to your "ningen" mother just because she wasn't a demon? Well, well, these certainly qualify you for Slytherin, even if you are very intelligent.'
Suddenly, the same voice that was in his head erupts with a cry, "Slytherin it is!" Deciding that this is the signal that his mind probe is over, he stands up and replaces the odd hat and heads toward the 'table of few people' that are waving to him. He sits down next to a brunette boy and a blonde girl, but before introductions can be made the teacher calls another name.
"Kuwabara, Kazuma"
As he walks past the teacher, he says in perfect English, "You pronounce it wrong. I am the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma! They spell it with a 'b' but pronounce it like an 'h'." He grins before sitting down and placing the hat on his head.
'Another one?' A voice starts in his head as he feels odd prickling feelings in his head.
"Ah! The tickle feeling!" He looks around for ghosts but only sees one near the students at the table to his left, which isn't the same one Kurama is at because he is facing towards the doors now. Everyone is either laughing at him or giving him odd glances.
'No, I'm not a ghost; I'm just searching your brain to find out where to put you. Well, Ravenclaw is out.'
'Why?' Kuwabara thinks, realizing it's telepathic and he will only embarrass himself further by speaking aloud.
'Okay, so you aren't THAT dumb. Hm, and you aren't like the last guy at all, but you are brave, and you have done everything you could for your friends. You've died or something for one friend, stolen for your cat, allowed people to possess you, killed demons, studied all night long for your friend, been beaten up all week for your friend, and you've nearly died or something! You're easy to place.' That hat speaks aloud again, "Gryffindor!"
The half-filled table to the left with the ghost erupts in clapping and cheers, so Kuwabara goes down to join them, but stops when everyone starts laughing again. "Um, I did something wrong?"
"You forgot to take me off, you dolt!" The hat wails before Kuwabara grabs it off of his head, runs over to Yukina, and hands it to her.
"Oops, sorry, but, that is the right table, ne?" The teacher nods as Yukina stares at the hat, still waiting for her turn. As Kuwabara sits down next to some still laughing kids his age, the teacher speaks for the last time ever.
"Yukina."
By this time, both Yukina and Kurama realize that while the sorting hat talks telepathically, it's lips still move, so Yukina, after seeing two people go up, has a clue as to what will happen. She sits down and places the hat on her head. 'Hi!' She greets the hat mentally.
'Ack! Are you the last one? Please be the last one.' She gives an affirmative and it continues to probe her mind. 'Hm, you are a demon as well; however, you defied your elders and searched for this "forbidden child", you are very nice, and not selfish at all. You aren't too intelligent, so Ravenclaw is out, so is Slytherin. You aren't exactly brave, but very determined, so, yes, I have the answer.'
"Hufflepuff!" Yukina frowns slightly at not being in the same house as one of her friends, but she brightens at seeing all of the welcoming faces at the table she is sent to, and she gets to sit across the aisle from Kurama.
As Yukina sits down, the Headmaster stands up to finish their introduction to the school, "These three are going to be here for the next week, so be nice and try not to break too many of the rules around them, we want to make a good impression. Now it is true that Yukina and Kurama don't have last names because they aren't actually human, but please treat them as you would your friends, be courteous. Tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday they will give demonstrations on the use of an alternate source of magic, 'reiki' and 'youki'. Feel free to discuss this and ask questions, but give them room if they request it. And be especially understanding with Kazuma, he's still learning English and he may have trouble understanding what you say. For those of you who know Spanish, you may want to talk to him because he took six years of it when he was younger and may understand that better after a little practice. Now, let's eat!"
"Hi there, you all know my name, so why don't you tell me yours'," Kurama starts as he fills his plate full of food that has magically appeared. He isn't too fazed by this, considering Yomi had had most of his meals delivered this way, saving the cute servants for delivering dessert.
"Why should we? After all, we don't really know anything about you, except you aren't a wizard, and that makes you a muggle." The brunette 17-year-old guy beside him sneers. Kurama changes his tactics, following what the hat had found.
"Because you are just a lowly, stupid, low-class human, and I am offering to grace your life with my presence and not kill you like I should, or eat you as many of my friends would if put into this situation." He states calmly with a mild glare. Behind him, he feels Yukina stiffen.
"Eh, wait, I was joking, see, I um, wanted to make sure you were one of the cool non-human ones." The boy lies, being just a little scared since Kurama's eyes changed color for a second from the usual emerald green to a hard gold.
The group of ten Slytherins quickly introduce themselves.
"Hi, my name's Yukina." She starts shyly as the others start dishing out their food. The girl next to her introduces herself and the other five seventh years and the three sixth years. There are fourteen other Hufflepuffs at the table.
"Try the mashed potatoes, they're delicious." The seventh year girl advises with a smile. As she starts putting food on her own plate, Yukina stiffens, hearing him insult the other students and feeling his ki change slightly. It passed and she relaxes hoping that he wasn't really being mean to them.
"Hi, I'm the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent at Sarayashiki Junior High, I'm the only normal human in my group!" Kuwabara introduces himself to the forty or so Gryffindors. With that he helps himself to food as the other students his age introduce themselves and any close relatives they have at the table.
"So, what are the other people?" A dark haired girl asks leaving Kuwabara to try and explain all of their adventures in English, only using present tense, and with a small Japanese-English dictionary that really didn't have enough terms for the topic.
"Hey, I speak Spanish, maybe you can try it in that language?" The same dark haired girl asks politely as her friend, a brunette from Wales, giggles at his discomfort. And so he continues his tale using a Spanish translator for help when it gets rough.
"So, what exactly are you?" A blonde Slytherin girl asks Kurama shyly. He finishes his mouthful of stew and begins to weave his tale of being a fox demon spirit merged with a human, a former thief forced to help fight demons and crazy humans that employed demons for a special government organization as parole for stealing three magic artifacts. They assume he means the Japanese Ministry of Magic and liken his job to that of an auror.
Halfway through dinner, Kurama hears the Hufflepuffs asking Yukina the wrong question. A red haired boy asks shyly, "So, um, do you have a boyfriend or anything?"
"Boy friend? Well, there's Yuusuke-kun, Kurama-kun, Kazuma-kun, Hiei-kun, Koenma-sama, Kazuma's little friends." She almost continues but they start laughing at her for some odd reason, so Kurama turns around to help her.
"She is confused because you used a word that does not mean what she thinks it means," Kurama states bluntly before telling Yukina in Japanese, "They meant one male who you would have special feelings for, and go out on dates with, such as a lover." She blushes slightly. "They did not mean to offend you, Yukina-chan."
"My mother had a boyfriend, and then she died." Yukina whispers so that only a few around her can hear it, her eyes start to glisten with tears. She quickly finds herself in a warm, brotherly embrace.
"Do not cry, not here, not when they did not mean to hurt you." Kurama whispers in her ear before releasing her, "I will tell them your story, if you allow it."
The Koorime nods and Kurama begins to weave another story. "Yukina-chan is a very rare demon; in English her race is known as the Ice Maidens. There are no males; therefore, her kind reproduces asexually, without males. However, they are all female and can reproduce with a male of another demonic species, but it is rare, taboo, and leads to disastrous consequences. Her mother fell in love with a fire demon, and then she gave birth to twins, but one was a male child, so under Ice Maiden law, they had to kill it. Her mother died from grief after he was thrown over a cliff." He gives Yukina another small hug and smiles at her, "But he managed to survive, so she is looking for him, you will find him Yukina-chan." She smiles back and nods.
"Hiei-kun will find him, someday."
Kurama turns back to the students, "Please refrain from discussing such topics as 'boyfriends' and sex around her, for it makes her uncomfortable and sad." Some of the students on the other side of the table are turned around to ask the Ravenclaws for clarification on what he said.
"What's a 'taboo'?"
"What does 'asexual' mean again?"
At this point Kurama looks over to the far table to see how Kuwabara is doing, and notices that he is surrounded by questioning students. 'He has resorted to Spanish and two dictionaries. I hope he is having a good time over there.' Kurama finishes his thought just as he is distracted by a flash of lustrous red hair at the Ravenclaw table. He quickly memorizes the girl's face, hair, and body before turning back around.
"Wow, so perfect: shiny, long, good body, and I bet she doesn't even get split ends." He looks up suddenly, realizing that he just spoke aloud.
The blonde Slytherin girl beside him asks, "Who's got a good body?" and all eyes turn to him.
"Oh, that red haired Ravenclaw over there," Kurama points to her cautiously, "Although I was talking about her hair, not her body. However, that is nicely done as well."
"Humph," the Slytherin boy on his right starts his rant, "She's sexy, yeah, but I tried to get her, just for a little tumble and all, and she turned me down so fast. Ravenclaws just aren't interested in sex; they think that they are too smart for us. And since she's friends with a mudblood that's about all she's good for."
"She seems to be worth the challenge though." Kurama forces himself not to stare at her. "What is her name?"
"Michelle something or other, something Irish."
The boy adds to the blonde's information, "She's best friends with Annabelle, a mudblood in Gryffindor. If you're serious, you will have to ask her for help. That is, if you really want to lower yourself to speaking with such trash."
Kurama thinks for a moment, trying to form a plan, "I will think about it. I have not had a woman in the past 19 years because of my rebirth and my mother. It would be nice to let loose for once."
A voice whispers in Japanese behind him, "Kurama-kun, you can't mean that. You can't just sleep with a girl; it would be cruel to her."
"Do not worry about my actions." Kurama replies in Japanese, "Besides, I will tell her before hand that I do not plan on a serious relationship with her."
Soon after that, dessert is finished and everyone leaves for his or her common rooms. Kurama finds himself in a damp dungeon filled with furniture and dusty tapestries. It reminds him of his life as a thief, living in caves scattered around Makai. "Cozy, and just like home." He smirks as the others wonder at his words.
Kuwabara, on the other hand, is in a tower room with a warm fire and leather armchairs. The boys show him to his room, but he returns downstairs with them to talk and marvel at their magical abilities. "Hey, I want a wand thingy." The Gryffindors laugh, feeling at ease with his juvenile, friendly ways.
Yukina is led into a nice little third floor common room filled with nice paintings that wave hello and tapestries of flocks of sheep and beautiful meadows. Here the girls ask her for more details on Yuusuke and Keiko's relationship, Kuwabara and his kitten Eikichi, and the boys ask about Hiei and the demons they have fought. "Oh, Eikichi-chan is the cutest little kitten, sometimes Kazuma-kun brings it over for me. Kuwahara is his family's name. I think it is so odd how you have your family names last." Yukina and the girls gossiped long into the night.
Elsewhere, in a deserted classroom, five of Hogwarts's ghosts are deep in discussion. The Bloody Baron yells at the four in front of him, "He's brought bloody demons here!"
"Oh push off," Nearly Headless Nick interrupts, "They came with that nice human chap, so they can't be evil, and I'm certain that Dumbledore would never let soul eaters in Hogwarts."
"I agree with Nicholas here," says the Hufflepuff ghost, "That female demon seemed nice enough, just shy. And she mentioned that she didn't like eating meat because the animals were her friends. She only ate it because she didn't know what sheep were." The ghost pauses, "Oh no, what will she do when she finds out what the animals on the tapestries are!" The ghost quickly disappears.
Growling the Bloody Baron resumes his rant, "Well, I still don't trust that Kurama, he used his demonic reputation to get the students under his thumb. Peeves!"
"Yes sir!" The mischievous ghost responds quickly.
"Keep tabs on that demon, and report to me if he does anything fishy." With that Slytherin's ghost disappears and hides in an empty part of the dungeon. The others quickly leave as well.
After breakfast the next morning Yukina, Kuwabara, and Kurama try to find each other in the hall so that they can decide where to discuss their demonstration. Kuwabara walks up with a few of his new Gryffindor friends. One just happens to be Annabelle. Kurama sees his opportunity to ask some questions while Kuwabara starts grinning and tripping over his feet and tongue for Yukina's attention.
"You are friends with Michelle from Ravenclaw, are you not? I am Kurama." He asks politely.
"Well yes, I'm Annie." She smiles a little confused, "How would you know that?"
"Oh, I asked around," he smiles, flashing one of those polite little things that made the girls in his school swoon, "but what I would really like to know is the name of her favorite flower."
"Oh, I see." She giggles, "You think she's pretty. Well, even though you ARE in Slytherin, Kazuma here says that you are really nice except in a fight, so I MIGHT tell you."
"Well, I am not ALL nice, I do occasionally crack jokes at Kuwahara-kun's and Yuusuke-kun's expenses."
Yukina pipes in after being introduced to the other Gryffindors, "And didn't Hiei-kun threaten to pull out your voice box when you teased him? Don't worry Annie, he's just mischievous like all fox demons."
Kurama smirks, "I'm supposed to set a good example for the younger ones."
"The only fox demon you've seen since becoming a human was Koto." Yukina replies with smile.
Annie decides that Kurama can't be too bad and decides to tell him Michelle's favorite flower. "She likes Bluewart Thistles because of the leaves and how they flower only once in their long lifetimes."
Kurama doesn't know what that plant is, but he does know which teacher to ask. One of the professors gave off the smell of fresh soil and growth, so he decides to go visit him before lunch. He thanks the seventh year girl before going to the library with his friends to discuss their plans.
After lunch, the dining tables are cleared and rows of chairs are added facing an empty platform. Students sit in the chairs as Dumbledore helps Yukina adjust the voice projectors she and Kurama will be using. Kuwabara is too loud to use one. Soon they are ready to start and Yukina walks up to the front center of the platform.
"Hi," shyly, "I'm Yukina-chan, and the first thing we are going to do today is an introduction of 'reiki' and 'youki'." She waits for everyone to quiet down before resuming. "In English, reiki means spirit energy, and all humans have a little bit of it. Some humans like my friend Kazuma-kun have a lot of spirit energy, which allows them to do amazing things. In theory, all of you have an unusual amount of reiki, allowing you to tap into the magical energies of your wands. Youki on the other hand means demonic energy, which all demons have, again in varying degrees. I have a little youki while my friend Kurama-kun over there has an enormous amount. Demonic energy acts in different ways. Some demon's ki manifests itself along the lines of the elements. As an Ice Maiden, I am strong in ice powers, I can use it to freeze a room or create a barrier. I can also heal. Kurama-kun has earth powers that manifest themselves in the area of plant manipulation. He can control his powers so well that he can make just about any plant do as he wishes. Spirit energy though is centered mainly in spirit, but it can also take on elements that the users are familiar with. This is what allows Kurama-kun to control certain plants even in his human form. Humans tend to specialize in certain techniques of use, such as healing, ki blasts, telekinesis and other mind powers, and materialization. Kazuma-kun is very good with materialization; he creates a sword of pure spirit energy, and he can manipulate it at will. Now I'll stop boring you so that we can give you a visual and tactile demonstration."
With this, Yukina begins to send out her youki forming ice on the ground around her and bringing the room temperature down by forty degrees. Some people reacted quickly, their bodies noticing the increased output by Yukina. Others close to the platform reacted upon seeing the ice form at the Koorime's feet. By the time Yukina is finished, everyone is sure of her power because they are freezing cold. She quickly stops and signals for the charms teacher to bring the temperature back to normal.
"Well everyone, that was one of the things I can do with my powers, now I'll let Kurama-kun show off his plant manipulation abilities." She waits for Kurama to step up and take her place, but when she doesn't hear him moving she looks back at him. "Oops! I'm so sorry!" Kurama's feet are stuck in place, and he is trying to cut through the ice with the stem of a rose.
"It is alright, I will just be a minute." Yukina attempts to bring the ice back in to her, and it melts more quickly than before.
Kurama smiles, and laughter hides behind his eyes as he steps forward. Before him is a group of seventh year Ravenclaws, the house that has filled the chairs closest to the platform. He begins by reaching into his mane, disguising it as a flip of his hair.
"Yukina has already introduced my powers and I; therefore, I present to you a seed that I knew as the Frostbitting Thornbush. It is a demonic plant that lives for centuries feasting on the frozen bodies of travelers that get stuck nearby the roads that cross the tundra wastelands in Makai. However, it seems as though a subspecies of this plant has evolved in this world. It looks the same, only more juvenile. It dies before it can flower a second time, most likely from a lack of a specific nutrient that is available in Makai soil. In the Ningenkai, there are only trace amounts of this nutrient, thus stunting the growth and life span of this plant. Most of you know it as the Bluewart Thistle. I thank your herbology professor for the specimen." With this he ends and brandishes the seed he pulled out of his hair.
He holds the seed before him, allowing all a good view as tendrils of roots and stems slowly emerge from the seed. The multiple stems twist, thorns grow, buds form into leaves and after a minute the few remaining buds blossom into a deep, though cold, blue flower. Several students and professors gasp in amazement. "This is the first blooming stage of the Bluewart Thistle. In the human world version, the plant would shortly die for lack of that one nutrient, but with my energy, I can spur it into its second stage, where it will become the demonic thornbush."
He inserts more energy into the plant. The blossoms mature, the petals fall to the floor. Seedpods grow. Then slits form in the pods, which then open up like triangular mouths; the ends form pincers. Kurama holds the plant by the roots, watching the small open-mouthed pods move around searching for food. "Generally, this plant is harmless, but it does have its powers. It will only attack and feed upon frozen creatures: beasts, demons, unfortunate humans that wander into their areas. Once each pod eats roughly, two human sized portions of animal matter; the seeds mature and grow from the energy the pods gain from digesting the bodies. After this, the pods spread open completely, and ten seeds per pod fly out into the air like dandelion fluff. The seeds are fairly heavy, so this procedure is timed with a blizzard that the plants can sense based on wind speed and temperature." He graces the room with a small, thoughtful smile here. "In the demon world, these plants flower again, and THEN they become dangerous. During the second eating phase, the plant's seed pods can actually fire blasts of ice at potential food sources, freezing them when they get close to the plant." Suddenly the plant fires a blast into the crowd of humans, freezing an unlucky Ravenclaw fifth year. Kurama stares in shock at the boy, and then glances as the plant orients itself on its prey. "Um, then again, when one messes with plants such as these, giving them extra energy, they usually, well, not usually but sometimes turn more dangerous than before. Or it might be because I'm so used to turning plants into weapons." His face still looks a little comical because he wasn't expecting it.
"I'm just going to return this to a safer version and tie off the energy so it shouldn't be able to do that anymore." He composes himself and turns toward Yukina, "Could you go and help that poor student, he should just be very, very cold."
He pulls back enough energy so that it is just at the point were it will bloom for the first time and ties off the energy, keeping it in that form until it finds its own nutrients. He leans over to a certain red-haired Ravenclaw girl. "If you pot it today, it should bloom over the weekend." She tries to hide her blush with a nervous smile as she accepts the gift. He grins back at her as he gets up and waits for Yukina to thaw the student and introduce Kuwabara.
"Hey! Kurama, just how many dangerous plants are there in this demon world?" A very bold Gryffindor boy shouted.
Kurama grins mischievously in his direction. "Actually, the correct question would be, 'Are there any plants that ARE NOT dangerous in the demon world?' The answer to that question is one, common grass, but there are roughly 539 species that are merely poisonous to eat. Do any of you know what the Venus Fly Trap is? It used to be a demonic plant by the name of the Venus Man Trap, until some human dragged a seed pod into the human world and it started growing there, after awhile no humans were stupid enough to fall into it, so it started feeding on smaller animals and its name changed."
He fields a few more questions about demonic plants before Yukina gets back up on the platform.
"Okay, um, well, that was very unexpected. Anthony-kun, please accept our apologies. If you wish, Monday you can assist us in the instruction and act as a guinea pig." She smiles hesitantly, "Now, for something that shouldn't hurt you, Kazuma-kun and his materialization techniques!"
"Hey everyone! It is I the Mighty Kuwahara Kazuma, number 1 delinquent of Sarayashiki Junior High! And this is my cool sword thingy!" He summons his spirit sword, "Reiken!"
He smiles broadly and starts posing so the students can see how cool he looks with it. "See, I create it one day while I is fighting this guy with a boken, that's a, Kurama-kun?"
"Wooden sword."
"Yeah that's it, but he uses his reiki to make his sword really tough. I, Kurama-kun?"
"Managed."
"Okay, um, managed to break off the tip of the wooden sword, and then I use it as a, um, Kurama-kun?"
"Medium."
"As a medium for my reiki, making this cool sword. And look, I can do fun things with it: reiken get long!" The spirit sword elongates and hits the stone roof above them. "My reiken is really powerful, and it looks way cool."
Yukina walks up to the front of the stage and begins to speak again, "Thank you Kazuma-kun! Well that's all for today, but on Monday, we will explore the psychic aspects of spirit energy, and on Tuesday, these two brave men will duel, and then I'll heal their injuries." She smiles and starts waving goodbye. A few students stay behind, mostly Ravenclaws, and ask more questions which they happily answer.