Chapter 61

Kitty Problems

Kairi awoke to the sounds crashing and yelling coming from the living room. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Wonder what that noise is? She thought as she got out of bed and put on her kimono.

She walked to the living room and an interesting scene greeted her. Nami was chasing Hiei around the house with one of her scimitars raised above her head. She had a look on her face that would make Muraku shake in his boots. Riku, Yukina, Crystal, Kurama, and Kuwabara watched from the kitchen entrance.

"Where'd you put them!!!" Nami yelled as she chased Hiei. "Like I'd tell you!!!" Hiei replied. She roared and picked up the pace.

"What's going on here?" Kairi asked. "Nami's just mad cause Hiei hid the free sweetsnow coupons" Kurama replied. "They may be boyfriend and girlfriend but they'll always fight over sweetsnow" Riku said. "The shrimps are crazy" Kuwabara said.

Nami finally tackled Hiei to the ground and pinned him down. "Now tell me" she said. "And if I don't?" Hiei asked. "I'll torture you till you tell me" she replied. "Give me your worst" Hiei replied. "You ask for it" she said as she raised her scimitar.

She dropped it and started running her fingers over his sides. He burst out laughing. "Na-mi s-st-op" he said between laughs. "Not until you tell me" she said.

"Aw isn't that cute? Hiei's ticklish" Crystal said. Kuwabara was rolling on the floor laughing. "I'd hate to be Hiei right now" Yukina said. When she finished Riku started tickling her from behind. A few minutes later the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Kurama said. He walked to the door expecting to see Yusuke, Keiko, or Botan. Instead he was greeted by Muraku's cold gaze. "What do you want?" Kurama asked trying to hide his fear. "May I come in?" Muraku asked though Kurama knew Muraku meant 'Let me in.' He stepped to the side and allowed Muraku to walked past him.


Everyone froze when he enter the living room, except Kairi. "It's him" Kuwabara whined. Yukina hid behind Riku. "Warm reception" Muraku said sarcastically as he walked toward the group. As he walked past them the gang felt a chill go down their spines. He stopped in front of Kairi.

"I was wondering when you'd show up" she said happily. "Are you ready to go?" he asked. "I have to eat breakfast first silly" she said. "Very well" he said as he turned around and headed for the wall. He leaned against it and closed his eyes. "Would you like to join us?" Kairi asked. "I already ate" he replied. "Oh my I almost forgot about the food. It's probably burned by now" Yukina said as she forgot about Muraku and rushed into the kitchen.

Hiei and Nami were the first ones to finish and went straight for their corner. They watched Muraku cautiously as if he would attack at any second. "You know it's rude to stare" Muraku said. Hiei and Nami only glared back.

Botan and Keiko walked in at that moment. "Hello everyone. Isn't it a…" Botan stopped when she saw Muraku. Keiko also froze. Muraku still had his eyes closed but knew who had arrived from their scents. Botan and Keiko then screamed their lungs out. "Muraku, keep your hands off them" Riku said as he walked in. Botan and Keiko hid behind him. "I've been right here the entire time. They screamed for no reason" Muraku replied coolly.

Kairi walked in cheerfully. "Are you done?" Muraku asked. "Yep we can leave now" she replied. He nodded and headed for the door. "At least he didn't blow anything up" Kuwabara said. "Thanks for reminding me" Muraku said as he raised his hand to the couch. "No, not the couch" Hiei said.

*snap* Muraku kissed the ground. "Don't cause trouble Muraku" Kairi said sternly. "Bitch" Muraku mumbled as he stood up and headed out the door. "Thanks for the hospitality. I hope we met again soon" Kairi said. "Take care" Yukina said as Kairi walked out. The others were still shocked at seeing Muraku slam into the ground.

"Wait why were you so worried about the couch?" Nami asked Hiei suspiciously. She reached it before he could reply and lifted the pillows. "Ah ha, so this is where you hid them" she said holding up the coupons. She headed for the door. "If you want me I'll be at the store" she said before flitting off with the coupons. "Damn you Muraku" Hiei growled.

Outside Muraku smirked. He wasn't really going to blow up the couch. It was all just to get Hiei to spill the beans on the coupons. Kairi climbed onto his back and they were off.

Around lunch time

Muraku stopped in the middle of a clearing in the woods. "We'll eat here" he said as Kairi slid off. He sliced a few branches of the tree and used a spirit blast to start a fire. Kairi sat on a log next to it. "I'll get lunch. Stay here" he said before taking off into the woods.

Kairi sat there and waited patiently for him to return. She heard the bushes rustle. "Muraku?" she said looking at the source. A blur shot out of the bushes and slammed into her chest causing her to fall on her but. She looked at what hit her.

Sitting on the ground rubbing his head was a boy who looked to be about six. She could immediately tell he wasn't human. He was your average six-year-old kid's height with golden hair and blue cat-like eyes. On the top of his head were two purple cat ears and sticking out of his behind was a purple tail. He was dressed in a pair of red overalls, a blue t-shirt, and a pair of red tennis shoes.

"My head" he whined as he rubbed the lump on his head. He looked at her and started backing away in fear. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you" she said gently. He stopped backing off and lunged at her. He started pulling on her kimono. "Please help me" he said. "What's wrong?" Kairi asked. "My sister's being chased by a snake demon" he said. Kairi gasped. "Let's hurry" she said as she followed him into the woods. She was having some problems since he was running on all fours.

After a few minutes they still hadn't found anything. "They have to be around here" he said. A scream ripped through the air. "That's her" he said before taking off. Kairi sighed and followed.

When they reached the source Kairi gasped. A little girl around the boy's age was standing at the edge of a river. She had auburn hair that went halfway down her back and over her shoulders. Her cat-like eyes were yellow. She hair two purple cat ears on the top of her head and a purple tail. She was dressed in a purple kimono with an orange sash. In front of her was a human-like demon with green scales and reptilian eyes. His tail thrashed behind him as venom dripped from his fangs.

"Sis!!!" the boy yelled. The snake looked at the two newcomers. "My, my I'm going to have quite a feast today" he said. He lunged at them. Kairi pulled a talisman from her kimono and pressed it onto his forehead. He screamed in pain and stumbled back. Kairi took that moment to pick up the boy with her left arm, run to the girl, and pick her up with her right. She started running away from the snake. The snake ripped the talisman off and took of after them.

She skidded to a halt when she came across a cliff face. There was nowhere to run now. She turned around and saw the snake come out of the forest. She backed to cliff and stopped. "Which one should I eat first?" the snake said. Kairi held the twins closer as he neared.

The snake licked his lips as he pondered who to eat first. He failed to notice a sword raised behind him. The sword came down and sliced him diagonally across the chest. The two halves fell to the ground.

"Muraku" Kairi said as he sheathed his sword. "I told you to stay at the camp" he said. "I couldn't sit and let these two get eaten" she said. Muraku snorted and headed back to camp. She set the two kittens down and followed with the twins at her side.

When they reached camp Muraku turned to them. "The snake's gone. Now go home" he said coldly to the twins. Kairi sighed and looked down at them. "Muraku's right. I'm sure your parents are worried about where you are" she said. Tears started to fall from the two small cat's eyes. "The mean snake ate them" the girl said before crying against Kairi's kimono.

Kairi kneeled down and pulled them into a comforting hug. "Shh it's okay. I'm here" she said. The twins continued to cry. "If you want, you can travel with Muraku and me" she said. Muraku was about to protest but she sent a warning glare at him.

"Really?!" The twins said happily. Kairi smiled and nodded. "Thank you" they both said as they hugged her. "What your name" the girl asked. "My name's Kairi. And he's Muraku" she said motioning to the wolf. "I'm Yugi" the boy said. "And I'm his sister Mimiru" the girl said. They spent the next hour talking. She offered to act as a second mother to them. They accepted.

"How's the food coming Muraku?" Kairi asked. "It's ready" Muraku said as he removed the chicken from the flames. He'd robbed a grocery store.

He ripped the right leg off and started chewing. "Muraku, don't eat like that in front off these two" Kairi said. He growled and slowed down with his eating. She sighed as she divided the food with her and the twins. "Kairi can I ask you something?" Mimiru asked. "Yes?" Kairi asked. "Since you're going to act as our new mama, does that mean Muraku will act like our new papa?" she asked. "Yea aren't you two married or something?" Yugi asked. Kairi's face turned completely red and Muraku glared at the two.

"Muraku and I are just friends" Kairi said. "You mean you don't like him?" Mimiru asked tilting her head. "Well I like him but not in that way" Kairi said. Muraku growled, which scared the two and they hid behind Kairi. "Muraku don't scare them like that" Kairi said. "They aren't coming with us" he said. "They have nowhere else to go" Kairi said. "Not our problem" Muraku said. *snap*Muraku said hello to the ground. "Their coming with us and that's final" Kairi said. "They fight like mom and dad did" Yugi whispered to his sister.

"Very well they can come with us" he said in defeat. "Thank you" the twins said before running to him and hugging him. Yugi hugged him around the arm and Mimiru latched herself to his thigh. He would have thrown them off if Kairi hadn't put her fingers in the snapping position. So he started trying to pry the two off without hurting them, which was a funny scene and Kairi couldn't help but laugh.

He finally pried them off. "So where are we going?" Yugi asked. "We first have to get you two cleaned up" she said. She was right; the two were covered in dirt and leaves. "Are their any hot springs nearby?" Kairi asked Muraku. "Follow me" he said as he walked into the forest. He hadn't gone far when Mimiru jumped up and sat down on his head. He growled and readied his hand to push her off. "Muraku" Kairi said warningly. He growled and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Yugi was perched on Kairi's shoulder.

After ten minutes of walking they came across a small damaged hut. The twins started crying. "What's wrong?" Kairi asked. "This is where we lived" Yugi said. Kairi held them close to stop them from looking at the bones that lay on the ground. Muraku walked forward and fired two blasts into the ground. He placed the remains inside the craters and buried them. "Muraku" Kairi said gently. "I'll be on that tree" he said as he walked to a tree and leaned against it.

Kairi helped the twins place flowers on the graves. After a short service Kairi comforted the twins. I promise I'll take good care of them she said to the graves. After a few more minutes they continued on.

By the time they reached the hot springs Mimiru had used various branches to make a crown for Muraku. Kairi giggled when the cat placed it on his head. "Alright you two in you go" Kairi said. The two threw off their cloths and jumped into the warm water. "Come in the water's great" Yugi said. "I'll be there soon" Kairi said. She turned to Muraku. "Don't peak" she said. "Like there's anything to look at" Muraku said. *snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap* Muraku lay in a hole in the shape of his body. "You jerk!!!" Kairi said angrily. "Kairi's scary when she's angry" Yugi said. By the time Kairi was through Muraku had been snapped twenty times.

Muraku growled and climbed out of the hole. He went behind a tree and leaned against it. He threw the crown off his head and closed his eyes.  Kairi soon joined the twins in the water. "Why doesn't papa join us?" Mimiru asked. "Uh well uh" Kairi said while blushing. "Don't call me papa!!!" Muraku yelled from behind the tree.

Kairi sighed and started to help the two clean up. When that was done she lay against a rock as the twins played. I guess it's time Kairi thought. She started to silently chant something. Muraku didn't notice his subduing bracelet glow.

After fifteen minutes they all climbed out of the water and found some towels hanging on a low branch. Muraku must have gotten them Kairi thought. They dried up and she helped the two dress. She was walking to her cloths when she saw Muraku taking his cloths off next to them. "Muraku what are you doing?" she asked. "I'm going to take a bath" he replied looking at her. It was then she remembered she wasn't wearing any cloths. Steam started to come out of her ears but Muraku didn't notice. "Down!!!" Kairi said. Muraku kissed the ground. "What was that?" he asked. "While I was in the hot spring I used a chant to change how I subdued you. Snapping you was making my fingers hurt so I came up with a more traditional method. Now, instead of snapping all I have to do is say down *crash* and that happens" she said. She grabbed her cloths and quickly put them on. "Come on you two, your papa needs his privacy" Kairi said as she walked off with the twins following close behind.

Muraku got up and took off his remaining cloths before easing himself into the water. 'I see you're relaxed' a voice said in Muraku's head. 'What do you want Koenma?' Muraku asked. 'I have some good news for you' Koenma replied. 'What?' Muraku asked. 'Since you helped the group with those ninjas and saved those twins your restriction has been lifted' Koenma replied. 'You're joking' Muraku said. 'Nope' Koenma replied. Muraku smirked. 'You'd better find a real good hiding place. Cause now there's nothing stopping me from wringing your neck' he said. Koenma gulped and stopped talking.

Muraku thought about it for a moment. He could now kill Riku and not worry about dieing but for some reason he didn't want to. All he wanted to do was fight him again and win. Killing wasn't the top priority. And he had no intensions of harming Kairi or the twins. Well at least life will be a little more interesting now he thought. 

After thirty minutes Muraku found the group. Yugi and Mimiru were listening to Kairi tell them about her adventures with Muraku. They looked at him as he walked onto the scene. "Let's move on" he said. Kairi nodded and let the twins perch on her shoulders. They were pretty light. Muraku started walking off. "Aren't you going to carry me?" Kairi asked. "I'm not carrying all three of you. If you want them to stay then your walking" he said. Kairi sighed and followed.

So now Muraku and Kairi are traveling with two cat demon kittens. This should be interesting. Next chapter, an old enemy of Kurama kidnaps Botan. Review please.