Author's Note: Names are written in Japanese order, surnames first, given names last.
Chapter 5: Kazoku
Three hours later, everything was packed and ready to go. Hiei and Yusuke didn't have much (other then Yusuke's new packages), and Kurama just needed his clothes and plants. The apartment Yusuke had found was fully furnished so they only needed personal things.
Smiling grandly, Yusuke used his power to drop all of the packages (minus Kurama's plants) into the living room of the new apartment and then led his friends out the front door to walk to the building.
As they walked through the emptying streets of Tokyo, Yusuke surreptitiously watched the people who remained on the streets around them, feeling out their power, their danger. He watched from the shadows of tall buildings as prostitutes found their clients under streetlights, as two men with glittering black eyes conducted a deal under a black briefcase. A woman passed by with her friend, arguing over politics, all the while keeping a firm hand on a can of mace. None of them had a remarkable amount of power in them, nobody in near proximity did, but Yusuke watched them all the same.
(a/n ooh, that was waxing on poetic…)
As the sun was setting beneath the horizon, Yusuke stepped into the gates of a wealthy looking apartment complex.
Is this the place you've found for us? Kurama's mental voice was calm and curious, wanting to know how Yusuke had managed to find them this place.
"Yes." Yusuke didn't elaborate as he serenely looked up at the buildings. The outside walls were made of a type of white plaster and smooth rocks. The highest floor was only five stories up, and climbing roses reached halfway that height. Each apartment had a balcony and wide windows. There was a huge garden in the middle of the complex, though it couldn't be seen from where they were standing, as well as a pool and a gym. There were few people living here, as it was rather expensive, and the people who did insisted on their privacy being kept. It was the prefect place for them, as nobody would be able to confirm or deny the fact that they had been living there for a year.
Yusuke led them to the top floor of the complex and then past the faceless repetition of doors, to the last door in the hall. The apartment was a corner apartment, and one of the biggest in the complex. Nobody would be able to try to spy on them from two sides, and there wasn't the possibility of entrance from the windows, but the three demons would be able to escape with ease.
Pulling out the key to the door, Yusuke inserted it into the lock and pulled the door open. Kurama and Hiei stared intently into the apartment, gauging it as they walked in. The floors were covered in white shag carpet, aside form the kitchen white had tiles and gray counter tops.
There was a television and navy blue couch in the living room, as well as a cherry wood coffee table and side tables of the same color. Three doors led into identical rooms, each with a black metal twin bed covered in a gray blanket, a black side table, a desk and computer. Each room had closets of medium size, and while two shared a bathroom, one had it's own that also opened near the entrance of the apartment.
Hiei immediately grabbed the room nearest to the door, consequently the room with it's own bathroom. Yusuke shrugged and took the middle room, leaving Kurama with the end room, which had the best view of the garden.
After he had gotten settled into his room, Yusuke carefully began laying Rekai traps. If anyone with a with any amount of spirit energy that he did not know tried to walk through the door, they would instantly be attacked and…uncomfortably…detained until he found them.
Smiling grimly in satisfaction, Yusuke walked out of the room and into the living room, where he found Kurama waiting for him.
"I'm going out for a while, I'll be back before long."
Kurama nodded his understanding and flipped on the television, not bothering to respond telepathically, but Yusuke knew that the boy wanted him to be careful by the long look that Kurama had sent toward him before turning his attention away.
Nodding to himself as he stepped back out into the night, Yusuke passed along the humans, not one of them noticing that he was something unlike what they themselves were. Not one noticed that he was something other then human.
With a nearly feral smile, Yusuke trekked among the crowed streets of Tokyo, fighting with the human citizens of the city for space of the sidewalks, being careful not to bruise their sensitive flesh. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to return to the streets of the city, he needed to feel the element of danger that the dark side of the city offered, he needed to pretend, if only for a little while, that none of this had ever happened, that he was still human.
How long he wandered among the streets he didn't know, but suddenly, he caught a smell that did not belong. Frowning, Yusuke turned down a small alleyway that was just big enough to house a dumpster, and grimaced when he caught sight of the fresh body of what had once been a young, beautiful human woman.
Sniffing around intently, Yusuke found evidence of a struggle. The smell of sex did not linger in the alleyway, which over-ruled the thought of a possible rape, and the body was not robbed, her credit cards and identification were still on the body.
Suddenly, a cry shot through the quiet of the alleyway. Yusuke spun around and saw a C class yokai dangling a human baby from his fingertips. Without pausing to think, Yusuke fired off a low level spirit gun. The yokai was fried instantly and Yusuke managed to catch the baby before it hit the ground. Cradling the baby, Yusuke at once came to a decision on what to do with it.
Kurama and Hiei were waiting for him when he walked into the house, some five hours after he had left it.
"Where have you been, detective?" Hiei lashed out at him.
"Just walking. I found the last part of our disguise. Meet Kana Kaida Urameshi, my daughter."
(a/n: I soooo wanted to leave off here, but I refrained.)
"Where the hell did you find that?"
"Don't speak so harshly of your niece. Her mother was killed and I looked into it, she has no living family. I simply changed the records to say that she is my daughter. Her mother was Koto Pallaton Ukezuka, as 25 year old waitress with a high school education who excelled at Kendo."
"You can't keep a baby." "I can and I will. Don't you see? It's the perfect end to our cover. If Koenma sends his assassins after me, what description will he give them? Will they be looking for a Japanese-American exchange student attending Tokyo U who is recently widowed after a marriage of six years who is raising a child of that marriage and living with two old buddies, or is he going to be looking for a dirty vengeful man seeking justice for the wrongs done to him as he seeks to avoid capture by hiding in dank and dark city streets?"
There was silence in the room after Yusuke's impassioned speech, then Kurama's voice shot through their heads.
I think it's a good idea, but Yusuke, can you guarantee the safety of the child in the event that we are indeed captured?
"I will protect her, I won't be captured."
"Fine. Just keep the child under control. Make sure it doesn't wake me up."
"Of course, Kenjiro."
Hiei froze in the motion of leaving the room.
"What did you just call me?"
"Kenjiro. That's your new name. Kuro Jomei Kenjiro."
"I'll kill you."
"You couldn't, I assure you,"
"I don't want a new name."
"You don't think it fits you?"
"No."
Hiei…Kenjiro…it's necessary to have new names, the easiest way for Koenma to find us is to simply track our names, therefore, we need new names that have no connection to our old ones.
Hiei glared at his two roommates, then growled in defeat.
"What do you call yourself then, detective?"
"I am Oyama Ken'ichi Michio," Yusuke shuttered a bit, but continued talking, "and Kurama is Moriwa Rinji Kiyoshi. We should refrain from using our real names, you never know where Koenma's spies are hiding."
Yes…that is a good idea…Michio. We must blend seamlessly into our roles, give no reason for suspicion.
"Yes, of course. We start school next week, have you both found you class list and books?"
"Feh." Hiei left the room.
"I don't think he's too pleased with his class schedule."
No, with Psychology 101, Basic Philosophy, and Child development, I image he isn't.
"I think he'll enjoy them once he gets started. Do you approve of yours?"
Yes, I love history.
"Good, I'm glad." He nodded to himself, and then looked back up, "I'm going to bed, I have a date in…" He looked at his watch, "In like, ten hours, I need to sleep! Night then."
He didn't acknowledge Kurama's answering good night as he walked back into his room, still carrying his little daughter in his arms. When he reached the rooms, he quickly set the wards to recognize her, and then entered. He cursed softly as he realized he had nowhere for the tiny girl to sleep. He eyed the precious bundle in his arm and, shrugging in helplessness, laid her on the bed and set about fashioning a temporary cradle for her out of a drawer. He would go out to buy her the things that a baby needed before his date in the afternoon.
Looking at the clock, he groaned, realizing that it was already one o'clock in the morning. He would have to get up at nine if he was going to have the time to get the things for Kana.
The next morning, Yusuke snapped awake as a result of a nightmare, a dreamscape of shadowy monsters and all too real pain. Looking at his clock, he groaned to see that it was only seven, but knew that after his nightmare, he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. He slowly got out of bed, reluctant to leave the luxury after so long without it.
He looked at his daughter, who was, to his surprise, laying quietly in her "bed". He frowned down at her, it wasn't that he wasn't grateful, but he knew that babies were supposed to cry and generally be a pain in the butt. He shrugged. It didn't really matter, she was, after all, just a part of their disguise.
(a/n: Yeah, sure, just tell yourself that, Yusuke)
Sighing, he lifted her out of the make-shift cradle and began to get ready to leave. Before long, he was in the kitchen and realized that he had no idea of what she would eat.
"You're a baby. You liked mashed things don't you?" He spoke to the baby as if she could understand him. Frowning, he began to pull various vegetables and cereals out of the cupboards and put the hot cereal in one bowl, and mashed the vegetables together in another, then grabbed a piece of fruit and a bowl of hot cereal for himself.
(a/n: Hot cereal is also known as oatmeal, or it's similar anyway)
Three bowls of cereal, one wall, and a clean outfit later, Yusuke was finally ready to face the world with his daughter.
He slowly left the apartment, barely glancing that the glaring Hiei he passed on his way out the door.
"Where are you going, detective?"
"Out. I'll be back before long."
"Very well. I'm going out later. Be back by then."
"I have a date for lunch. I'll be back briefly before that, but then I'm going out again."
"Be back for dinner. Kiyoshi wants to see his mother then."
"Sure." Yusuke shrugged and walked out the door.
Twenty minutes later, Yusuke was walking into a clothing store, and was immediately surrounded by women, young and old, looking at his daughter. Because of this, it took little time to spend several hundred dollars on clothes that would fit her for the next year or so. He decided to have the clothing shipped to his apartment so that he wouldn't have to deal with the load on his date.
Then he took a trip to a furniture store and found a crib, pen, and changing table without much trouble. The diapers and wipes were a bit more worry, there were thousands of brands and finally he just waited for somebody else to grab some and then took that brand as well.
By the time he was finished, Yusuke only had an hour before his date, so he decided to go to a park that he remembered being not too far from the small store where he was to meet his date for lunch.
He lowered himself into the soft grass of the park. Kana laughed as a butterfly landed on a small flower near her, and Yusuke smiled slightly as he watched his daughter play and allowed his thoughts to drift.
The years in prison had left a permanent scare on his soul that he had tried his best to hide from the others. He had not done so well in hiding it from Hiei though. They were more alike now then ever, both with a dark past and secrets they did not want to share with anyone. And now he was a demon. A powerful, S class demon thanks to his grandfather.
With a herculean effort, Yusuke pulled himself out of his morose thinking and returned to observing his new, currently chattering away in a mixture of basic Japanese and nonsense, daughter. She was a gorgeous baby. Her silky black hair lay feathered against her perfect creamy skin. Bottomless brown eyes peered from beneath thick black lashes. The child appeared to be around three years old, not much of a baby as a toddler.
Looking at his watch, Yusuke realized that he had around fifteen minutes until he had to be at the boutique. Sighing, he lifted Kana out of the grass, settled her on his hip, and hurried to the shop to meet his date. He hummed slightly as he shoved carefully through the crowded Tokyo sidewalks and nearly fell through the door in an attempt to escape the crowd. Laughter followed his entrance and he looked up to see his date giggling at him.
"Nice entrance."
"Thank you. I pride myself on my entrances. Ready to go?" He straightened up and watched as she closed the register with a sharp click.
"Yup. Let's go." She turned back to face him and then her eyes widened at the sight of the baby.
"OOh! She's darling! Is she your daughter?"
"Yeah. Sorry I had to bring her along, my roommates refused to watch her and I don't know anyone who could baby-sit."
"It's no problem, but when we get back I'll give you the name of my sitter, she's excellent. My son loves her!"
"That'd be great, thanks. How old is your son?" As they talked, Yusuke's date locked the boutique door and they began to walk toward the subway.
"Kaemon is four. And your daughter?"
"She's three, and her name is Kana." Yusuke smiled but then suddenly stopped for a moment, blinking in surprise.
"What's wrong?" She looked at him in concern. Yusuke shook his head, smiling slightly.
"Hi, my name is Oyama Michio, what's your name?"
She laughed loudly at that.
"I'm Nikko Amaya. It's nice to meet you Oyama-san." the shook hands, grinning at each other.
"Michio, please. I'm not really big on formalities. "
"Very well then Michio-san, call me Amaya." Yusuke nodded sharply and led Amaya into the subway.
The next few minutes was busily spent getting onto the correct subway and finding open seats. When they finally sat, they could talk again.
"So where exactly are we going?"
"A restaurant called Kikugawa. It serves traditional Edo style foods, and it's got excellent food."
(a/n: there is actually a restaurant called Kikugawa near were I live, but I'm only using the name, nothing else. Please don't sue!)
"I can't wait." Amaya looked down at Kana, smiling at the little girl. "She's certainly quiet isn't she? My Kaemon is always gabbering about something or other."
"You should have seen her at the park! I don't know how she was breathing she was talking so much!"
"I know exactly what you mean."
They spent the rest of the ride chattering about their children. Yusuke soon learned many things about child care that he had previously not known, managing to make it seem as though he already knew those things. When they arrived at Kikugawa, they quickly ordered and resumed their conversation, topics ranging from children to movies to schools as Amaya and 'Michio' got to know each other better.
Finally though, it was time to say goodbye.
"May I call you again, Amaya-san?" he asked, looking hopefully into her eyes.
"Yes, please do…here." she grabbed his hand a wrote her phone number on it with a black pen, "And here is the babysitter's name and phone number." She gave him a little slip of paper.
"Thank you very much, Amaya-san."
"I'll see you later Michio-san, and you too Kana-chan."
"Does this mean I get to mean Kaemon-san?"
"Maybe, we'll see." She smiled to let Michio know that she was kidding.
"Goodbye then." Yusuke took her hand and lightly kissed the fingertips before walking away, heading home.
TO BE CONTINUED….
Author's Note: Ok, I'm really really really sorry for the late of updates! I know it's been forever! Thanks to everybody who reviewed and yelled at me to update. I'm sorry the chapter was shorter, but I wanted to get it out. And I STILL haven't gotten to Kurama meeting his mom. Grrr…. I swear it'll be in the next chapter! Maybe Kwabara as well. OK, as far as the new names go, Kurama's name is (first name to last) Kiyoshi Rinji Moriwa, Hiei is Kenjiro Jomei Kuro, and Yusuke is Michio Ken'ichi Oyama. If anybody can guess what the names mean, I'll give them a cookie! Kana Kaida Urameshi/Oyama is Yusuke's adopted daughter! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to have the next up soon!