The office was furnished in deep colors and rich fabrics, accented by the dark oak desk that sat flat in the middle of the room. A tall figure of a man sat in the plush chair, dressed in deep purples with long black hair flowing down his back until it disappeared from sight. His eyes were closed, though he looked right up when the stranger stepped in and seemed to be staring right at him. The stranger shifted in his own steps, then stopped, freezing up completely.
Were those... horns?
"Yomi." The boy said, gesturing to the tall man behind the desk. The stranger took it as a name and decided to ignore the horns, for the moment. Well, as much as 7 horns of varying sizes around his head could really be ignored. He simply walked up to the desk and opened his mouth for a greeting.
"Umm... hi." The stranger could have slapped himself. He sounded like an idiot and by his voice it was obvious that he was staring at the unseeing man. "I came in from the rain and well, was wondering if I could spend the night..." he trailed off as the man's lips peeked in just a small reflection of a smirk of amusement. His words dropped off and he just stood there, shifting and feeling uncomfortable.
"You may stay, if you can accept what you see."
The stranger blinked. "Accept what I see, what do you... oh." His voice dropped off again as his eyes fixed on the horns, and he swallowed a bit nervously. His mind flipped back to the strange creature he'd seen in the room behind with silver hair and golden eyes. Perhaps he wasn't imagining when he'd thought he'd seen a tail, but no. That couldn't be right. Real people didn't have horns and tails, things like that only existed in fantasy novels. Still, the building in which he stood now looked like it was right out of a fantasy novel. Half his mind wasn't having that much trouble accepting the apparent reality of the situation, while the other -- more reasonable half -- was screaming at the impossibility of it all.
"You are welcome to stay if you can accept the reality that you see before you. If you have a problem with what you see, then I'm sure the rain outside will be much more... comfortable for you and your peace of mind." The sightless man folded his hands together at that and only an idiot would have missed the veiled threat in those words. The stranger certainly caught it.
"Damn, Yomi, I forgot how blunt you are."
The stranger blinked and turned, suddenly noticing another figure in the room. This one was very thin and small as compared to the large bulk of a blind man sitting at the desk. And this one seemed to be his exact oppisite in other ways as well. His body was lounged over a large plush chair, looking quite comfortable but serving to make him look even small in comparison. Firery red hair sprouted wildly from his head and was short enough to show some semblance of control, but not much. His eyes were a orangish red, mirroring his hair, and his mouth tilted in an impish smile as he started to sit up.
"You got a name, kid?" He asked, focusing his eyes on the stranger.
"Kid? I'm the same age as you, from the looks of it." The stranger shot back, not pleased with being called a kid. He's come to this area to escape that, he wasn't about to stand for someone who didn't know him calling him kid.
The fire haired man chuckled and stood up, offering the stranger his hand. "My name's Taski, how about we start with that?"
"Yuusuke," the stranger responded, his own lips tugging into a smirk. He smirked even more when Taski nodded and skipped back to the large desk, pulling himself up to sit on the edge.
"So, first off, just ignore Yomi. I forgot how blunt he really was with introducing newbies to everything, so just relax. It simply goes like this, you're welcome to stay as long as you like, if you can deal with what's here. If you can't, well then, I'm sure you can find a much more suitable and normal place to stay down the street, called a hotel." Taski ended that by sticking out his tounge, showing his disdane for the hotel down the street which he mentioned.
"Deal with what's here... wait, you mean like him? His..." Yuusuke paused, then gave up trying to be nice and just spat it out. "His horns?"
Yomi emitted a soft chuckle at that.
"Yep, his horns. Can you deal with things like that? With horns? With wings? With talents? With all types of things that aren't accepted by the world out there? See, this place here is a type of sanctuary. We won't turn people away, but I'll honestly tell ya that if you can't deal with the reality inside this building then you are better off going somewhere else."
Yuusuke blinked at him and then turned back to glance at the boy behind him. To his eyes the boy seemed completely normal, but then there was the way he walked and moved, as if he were made of water, and his eyes. And then there was that creature they'd passed in the hall with the tail -- and he was sure it was a tail now. And now this Taski, with his firey eyes that looked akin to flames. Somewhere along the line he'd crossed over the line of reality and stumbled into a world that shouldn't exist, but apparently it did.
"Is everyone here...?"
Taski simply nodded, still waiting with a childlike pacitence for his answer.
"I can deal." Yuusuke finally said. "It'll take a little getting used to, and I might stare a bit, but I can deal."
Taski laughed at that and slapped the desk a bit. "Don't sweat it kid, even we stare at each other from time to time. Just be nice and stuff and don't tick anyone off. You are perfectly welcome to stay the night. Haku'll show you to a room you can stay in."
"Actually, I was wondering if I could stay for more... then a night. I don't really have a place to go at the moment and I promise I won't be any trouble, and I'll even work to earn a meal and stuff. I just don't... well..." Yuusuke trailed off, glancing at the wall beside him. He was just offering to work in a brothel to earn his keep, how exactly was he going to explain that he didn't mean THAT kind of work?
Taski, however, took it in stride. In fact, he must have found Yuusuke's expression quite amusing because he started laughing and rocking back and forth. After a moment, and after Yuusuke's cheeks were significantly redder, Taski calmed down enough to smirk and speak again. "How much of a monster do you think I am? Lemme guess, you passed the 'guest' rooms on the way here and you saw one of our clients. This may look like some strip joint from the front, but I assure you that not everyone here does that kind of job. Do you really think I'd let someone like Haku strip? He's not even 15, I'm not about to let him do anything like that. Like I said, this place is a safe house for our kind, but no one can survive without money, and if just so happens that a handful of us are comfortable with turning other people's fantasies into reality." Taski leaned forward a bit. "Don't tell me you've never wondered what it would be like to lay with someone who isn't quite human. Some people are quite turned on by things such as wings and the like."
Yuusuke was sure his cheeks turned another shade of red from that and, at Taski's words, he remembered those beautiful golden eyes he'd seen. A second later he shook himself out of that vision and coughed a bit to regain his dignity. He wasn't used to blushing so much, but then the world he'd come from had focused more on fists then sex. Fists Yuusuke knew about, sex on the other hand... well, everyone had at least one area where they were innocent, even the town punk.
"Umm, yeah," came his long and thought out answer. Taski just laughed a bit more and jumped down from the desk. The firey haired man clamped a hand over Yuusuke's shoulder in a friendly gesture.
"Relax, you'll get used to it. It's just a job like any other, and eventually you won't even blink about it."
Yuusuke nodded a bit numbly. He was quite sure that Taski was right, but at the moment it was all he could do to manage just lightly blushing. To his relief the boy at the door, Haku, motioned for him to follow. Yuusuke waved goodbye to Taski and left the room, unable to avoid a smile as he overheard Taski speaking.
"Now Yomi, we need to talk about your 'friendly' attitude..."
The two walked in silence down the same hallway for a long moment, heading to a different area of the building. For a while Yuusuke's eyes wandered around him at the ornate decorations and odd rooms that were open here and there, but finally his eyes settled back on Haku in curiosity.
"Are you... like them?" He asked after a moment, almost immediatly regretting the stupid question. Nice going Yuusuke, the best way to get people to like you is to offend them with every word that comes out of your mouth. He could almost taste his ankels in his mouth now from swallowing his foot so much.
Haku stopped walking them turned to look at Yuusuke, a small amused look on his face. "Yes."
"Well, umm... what exactly- Nevermind, it's not my business."
Haku's smile became more friendly. "You're perfectly welcome to ask any questions you might have of anyone here. Just as long as you respect that we are perfectly welcome to not answer. Nothing can be harmed with being curious, if you know when to step back." He paused for a bit as Yuusuke gave a small nod, then the boy lifted up his hand.
Yuusuke noticed, at that moment, that the boy before him actually wore a light blue nail polish, which caused the skin of his fingers to look quite pale, almost as if he were suffering from the beginnings of frost bite. But that wasn't the amazing thing when Haku raised his hand to eye level. As Yuusuke watched, the boy's hand actually began to frost over just a bit, small ice crystals growing over the grooves on his palm. Then the ice slid together and formed into an icicle, no larger then a pencil, which came to a razor sharp end on one side. Yuusuke's eyes widened.
"That's why you answered the door instead of... the horned guy."
Haku responded with a simple nod and the icicle melted out of existance so quickly there wasn't even a drop of water to hit the floor. Then he returned to his friendly smile. "I can create objects out of ice and, to an extent, control water." He said, as he began walking again. This time Yuusuke easily fell in step behind him.
"So what about that other guy I saw? The one with the golden eyes? Does he really... have a tail?"
Haku kept walking but glanced over his shoulder at Yuusuke. "That's Triton, and he's a youko. You won't see him around here that often."
"Why not?"
"He only likes certain people and you... aren't quite his type."
**
Morning shone in through the window and danced over the room, covering it with a strange multicolored light. The figure in the thick blankets rolled over on his bed and turned his back to the sun, not at all eager to climb out of bed. Rolling over farther to escape the sun, suddenly there wasn't a bed under him. Yuusuke gave a small cry as he crashed to the floor, tangled in blankets like a cocoon. He landed on the hard, cold floor, only to hear soft laughter fill the room. Groaning and dazily sat up, rubbing the back of his head.
"Good morning," Haku was standing above him, tying his hair back with a simple string, which would probably fall out by the end of the day, if not in the hour. Even Yuusuke knew that hair like that never stayed tied back. "You're not a morning person, are you?"
Yuusuke shook his head, and for a moment, debated rolling tighter in the blankets and hiding under the bed to grab a bit more sleep, but quickly abondoned that idea. That was how he'd been kicked out of the last place he'd asked to stay for the night. Sighing in defeat he began the slow work of untangling himself from the blankets. "I hate mornings."
Haku smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed, his feet swinging just a bit because he wasn't quite tall enough for them to reach the floor. "You'll start to like mornings soon, I'm sure of it."
"Absolutly nothing could make me like mornings. Sunlight and mornings are evil."
Haku just chuckled as Yuusuke finally managed to pull himself out of the blankets and stands up. He managed to make it to his feet and stretched out, then pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, which had been washed at some point during the night. Grabbing a comb he tugged it through his short hair a few times, then figured it wasn't worth bothering with and abondoned the thought. Shrugging he turned to face Haku.
"I never really asked Taski what exactly I was supposed to do to earn a place to sleep and such."
"I'll show you around first. I think today you just get to get used to your surroundings. You don't need to worry. In any case, it's breakfast time."
"I don't eat breakfast this early."
Haku didn't seem to care too much about that comment, because he still beckoned Yuusuke to follow him as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. "Well, I'm supposed to show you around, so since I'm hungry I might as well show you where the kitchen and food is."
"Oh... good point. Well then, lead the way."
With sunlight attempting to sneak in through the windows scattered through the building, Yuusuke found the place not much different then it was at night. All windows he encountered were stained glass, allowing only a small amount of light to get in, filled with colors of every shade. This multicolored light wasn't much different from the flicking candle bulbs that lit the hallways at night, making the entire place still seem quite unreal. Cloths were drapped across the walls in long sweeping rows, creating a kind of soft railing that flowed up and down the wall as they walked, each with a deep solid cover and golden finges on the edge. All Yuusuke could think about was how everything in this place must have cost a fortune. Either that, or someone had bought out every thrift store in the city, purchasing furniture that looked both used and yet still elegant. Knowing Taski's personality, he was guessing the latter.
A ways down the hallway and Yuusuke's nose was soon assaulted by the sweet smells of cinnamon and sugar. He picked up his step and followed Haku a little faster, quite curious as to where the wonderful smell was coming from. The hallways opened up into a kitchen area where walls were covered with cupboards, easily full of food. The smell drifted from a pan of fresh and very sticky looking cinnamon buns that were larger then Yuusuke's fist. And standing at the stove, putting in another pan, was a taller man who was quite thin and dressed in tight fitting black pants, with a top that looked more like a backless vest. His hair was long with an unkept look in spite of the long pony tail which almost met his knees.
Yuusuke started to follow Haku into the kitchen when he noticed one more thing about the person standing at the stove, and that made him freeze. The person at the stove had a backless vest for a reason, it was about the only piece of clothing one could wear, if they had wings.
Yes, wings.
Large black wings, that looked about the width of the room when they were stretched out completely, though now they were folded against his back to avoid becoming combersome. The strange leathery skin almost exactly matched the color of his hair and his naturally colored nails, which stood out against his almost pale skin. Black eyes also glanced up at Yuusuke as he stood frozen in the doorway and the creature flashed a welcoming smile, which held a slight tilt of mischeif.
"Well, hello, you're new."
Yuusuke, for the life of him, suddenly couldn't remember how to speak.
"Kuronue! Don't scare the newbie."
Yuusuke's eyes shifted across the room to see a girl sitting at the table, her hair a bright blue in color. She wore a pink kimono that was far too bright for Yuusuke's comfort and she seemed completely normal. At least, she did, until Yuusuke noticed the fact that she wasn't sitting in a chair, she was floating on what looked like an oar for a canoe.
"It's far too early in the morning to be scolded. Can't I even have some fun?" The winged creature at the stove gave the girl a pout, then glanced back at Yuusuke. "You there kid? Hey, Botan, he's still in his body right? I didn't scare him to death, did I?"
The woman rolled her eyes and stood up, standing her oar up and leaning it against the table. "Honestly, Kuronue, he's alive. I told you you should put your wings around your shoulders like a cape, it scares them less."
"But that makes them stiff. Besides, you can't really talk with your floating thing."
Botan, the girl, shrugged. "The table blocks it."
Kuronue responded by rolling his own eyes. "The table blocks it," he mocked in a high pitched voice under his breath, then gave a sigh of defeat. Either that or it was a sigh of annoyance, Yuusuke couldn't tell which one. The winged man turned back to Yuusuke and Haku and handed Haku a plate, which he happily took and sat down at the table, eating it as if everything were perfectly normal. But then, to him, it probably was.
"Would you like one?" Kuronue asked, still waiting on Yuusuke to step out of his shocked state.
"Umm... yeah, sure."
The winged creature turned and placed one on a plate for him with a warm smile. "Don't worry kid, you'll get used to us, we're not that strange." Then he had his own plate and he was moving toward the table to sit down, elbowing Botan out of the way as she jokingly floated over his seat pretending it was hers, leaving Yuusuke to stands alone by the stove. A moment later Yuusuke shook off his shock, or at least enough of it to move, and he walked over to the table, taking a seat at the end next to Haku. Still, he didn't eat at his roll, he just looked around the table at everyone. He didn't care if it was rude to stare, he couldn't help it.
As he sat at the table he glanced around at everyone else who surrounded him and chatted happily. There was the winged Kuronue, and Botan, both of whom seemed to be good friends. Either that or they were each other's favorite victims. Yuusuke was voting on the latter, because they never seemed to stop picking on each other.
Sitting next to Botan was a young man, also dressed in a kimono type outfit, yet this one was the male style. His wasn't bright pink, but rather a red and blue, with a small matching red scarf or cloth wrapped around his neck. His eyes were the same bright blue color as hers and he had many of the same facial features. Both of them had to be related and Yuusuke took a shot in the dark and assumed they were twins, thanks to the fact that they looked so simular in age. He, however, didn't seem nearly as cheerful as his sister, as his eyes seemed to be focusing on the air beside him as he ate, almost as if he were listening to someone talking, but there was no one there.
Across the table from him sat a shorter boy, nearly half Yuusuke's height, but perhaps a bit taller then that. He had a sour expression on his face and was eating his own roll, his eyes tilted in a perminent glare at nothing in particular. A headband covered his forehead and aside from his spiky hair he looked fairly normal. At least, he did, until Yuusuke noticed that around his arm was a long and ornate tattoo of a dragon, that moved. The dragon on his arm actually twisted around his arm, moving slowly over him as if it were alive, Yuusuke half expected it to lift it's head and look at him, but thankfully it didn't.
"Well well, look who's finally up."
Yuusuke blinked and glanced back at the door, at Kuronue's comment -- which earned him a swift swat from Botan -- to spot another person entering the room. He expected another strange person to be stepping in, but instead this was someone very different. Yuusuke found himself holding his breath as he saw this person enter.
Nothing about him was especially odd, like the others. But rather he looked quite like any other human one might run into, with short auburn hair and deep green eyes. And yet, when Yuusuke met his eyes, both boys stopped and looked at each other for a split second and Yuusuke could have sworn he saw those eyes flash golden for a split second.
Golden. Like that strange silver creature he'd seen the night before.
A second later the gold was gone, if it had ever been there, and the silent boy simply walked over to the stove, took a roll and left the kitchen, not saying a single word. Yuusuke found himself blinking and he glanced across the room at Kuronue and Botan.
"You idiot," Botan hissed, swatting him again.
Kuronue responded with a wince. "Well excuse me for being friendly. I know damn well he isn't a morning person, but it doesn't hurt to say good morning, and he won't kill me like squirt over there." Kuronue pointed with his thumb to the pissy shorter boy at the end of the table. That boy looked up and shot a glare in Kuronue's direction.
"Call me that again, and I will kill you." He responded in a low voice, his red eyes locking on Kuronue.
The winged man seemed to take it all in stride and just shrugged, sliding back in his chair. "Another exciting morning. Hey, you got a name, newbie?"
Yuusuke blinked, suddenly realizing that he was being spoken to. "Yuusuke Urameshi."
The blue haired girl turned her attention to him. "So, what do you do?"
"Do?"
Haku chuckled very softly next to Yuusuke. "He's a normal."
Yuusuke sunk a bit in his chair for that, expecting some severe sort of reaction from the others. How strange was it to be the so-called 'freak' around the those people would usually consider freaks. Not the best choice of words for his mental thoughts, but it about covered the situation. He expected them to burst out or kick him out, or something... and yet he recieved smiles and welcomes. Yuusuke blinked at Kuronue.
"What?"
Kuronue chuckled. "I said 'Welcome'. Relax, kid, you look like you expected us to hit you or something."
Yuusuke chuckled a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, umm, yeah, I guess that was a bit silly of me."
"Don't worry about it, we don't bite. Well, we don't, he might." She nodded toward the short one who responded with a death glare, then smiled sweetly at him. "We're all friends here."
"Who was... that?" Yuusuke couldn't help himself, he had to ask. He'd never been one known for his brains so it didn't bother him that he was being nosey, least not too much. That and his curiosity just couldn't handle it when he was left in the dark about things.
"His name's Triton," Oddily enough it wasn't Botan or Kuronue who answered this time. Instead it was the boy sitting next to Botan who Yuusuke still pegged as Botan's twin brother. His eyes were now focused on Yuusuke, seeming to have forgotten whoever - or whatever - he'd been speaking with before. "He's not the most talkative and he likes to keep to himself."
Yuusuke's eyes glanced over to meet his.
"You're better off not worrying about him."
Yuusuke blinked at that, but no one else agreed or disagreed with it. Turning slightly in his chair he looked back toward the door where Triton had been. Something about that one caught his attention and he couldn't quite shake it. But everyone else seemed to have dropped the subject, so he did as well. At least, for the moment.
Were those... horns?
"Yomi." The boy said, gesturing to the tall man behind the desk. The stranger took it as a name and decided to ignore the horns, for the moment. Well, as much as 7 horns of varying sizes around his head could really be ignored. He simply walked up to the desk and opened his mouth for a greeting.
"Umm... hi." The stranger could have slapped himself. He sounded like an idiot and by his voice it was obvious that he was staring at the unseeing man. "I came in from the rain and well, was wondering if I could spend the night..." he trailed off as the man's lips peeked in just a small reflection of a smirk of amusement. His words dropped off and he just stood there, shifting and feeling uncomfortable.
"You may stay, if you can accept what you see."
The stranger blinked. "Accept what I see, what do you... oh." His voice dropped off again as his eyes fixed on the horns, and he swallowed a bit nervously. His mind flipped back to the strange creature he'd seen in the room behind with silver hair and golden eyes. Perhaps he wasn't imagining when he'd thought he'd seen a tail, but no. That couldn't be right. Real people didn't have horns and tails, things like that only existed in fantasy novels. Still, the building in which he stood now looked like it was right out of a fantasy novel. Half his mind wasn't having that much trouble accepting the apparent reality of the situation, while the other -- more reasonable half -- was screaming at the impossibility of it all.
"You are welcome to stay if you can accept the reality that you see before you. If you have a problem with what you see, then I'm sure the rain outside will be much more... comfortable for you and your peace of mind." The sightless man folded his hands together at that and only an idiot would have missed the veiled threat in those words. The stranger certainly caught it.
"Damn, Yomi, I forgot how blunt you are."
The stranger blinked and turned, suddenly noticing another figure in the room. This one was very thin and small as compared to the large bulk of a blind man sitting at the desk. And this one seemed to be his exact oppisite in other ways as well. His body was lounged over a large plush chair, looking quite comfortable but serving to make him look even small in comparison. Firery red hair sprouted wildly from his head and was short enough to show some semblance of control, but not much. His eyes were a orangish red, mirroring his hair, and his mouth tilted in an impish smile as he started to sit up.
"You got a name, kid?" He asked, focusing his eyes on the stranger.
"Kid? I'm the same age as you, from the looks of it." The stranger shot back, not pleased with being called a kid. He's come to this area to escape that, he wasn't about to stand for someone who didn't know him calling him kid.
The fire haired man chuckled and stood up, offering the stranger his hand. "My name's Taski, how about we start with that?"
"Yuusuke," the stranger responded, his own lips tugging into a smirk. He smirked even more when Taski nodded and skipped back to the large desk, pulling himself up to sit on the edge.
"So, first off, just ignore Yomi. I forgot how blunt he really was with introducing newbies to everything, so just relax. It simply goes like this, you're welcome to stay as long as you like, if you can deal with what's here. If you can't, well then, I'm sure you can find a much more suitable and normal place to stay down the street, called a hotel." Taski ended that by sticking out his tounge, showing his disdane for the hotel down the street which he mentioned.
"Deal with what's here... wait, you mean like him? His..." Yuusuke paused, then gave up trying to be nice and just spat it out. "His horns?"
Yomi emitted a soft chuckle at that.
"Yep, his horns. Can you deal with things like that? With horns? With wings? With talents? With all types of things that aren't accepted by the world out there? See, this place here is a type of sanctuary. We won't turn people away, but I'll honestly tell ya that if you can't deal with the reality inside this building then you are better off going somewhere else."
Yuusuke blinked at him and then turned back to glance at the boy behind him. To his eyes the boy seemed completely normal, but then there was the way he walked and moved, as if he were made of water, and his eyes. And then there was that creature they'd passed in the hall with the tail -- and he was sure it was a tail now. And now this Taski, with his firey eyes that looked akin to flames. Somewhere along the line he'd crossed over the line of reality and stumbled into a world that shouldn't exist, but apparently it did.
"Is everyone here...?"
Taski simply nodded, still waiting with a childlike pacitence for his answer.
"I can deal." Yuusuke finally said. "It'll take a little getting used to, and I might stare a bit, but I can deal."
Taski laughed at that and slapped the desk a bit. "Don't sweat it kid, even we stare at each other from time to time. Just be nice and stuff and don't tick anyone off. You are perfectly welcome to stay the night. Haku'll show you to a room you can stay in."
"Actually, I was wondering if I could stay for more... then a night. I don't really have a place to go at the moment and I promise I won't be any trouble, and I'll even work to earn a meal and stuff. I just don't... well..." Yuusuke trailed off, glancing at the wall beside him. He was just offering to work in a brothel to earn his keep, how exactly was he going to explain that he didn't mean THAT kind of work?
Taski, however, took it in stride. In fact, he must have found Yuusuke's expression quite amusing because he started laughing and rocking back and forth. After a moment, and after Yuusuke's cheeks were significantly redder, Taski calmed down enough to smirk and speak again. "How much of a monster do you think I am? Lemme guess, you passed the 'guest' rooms on the way here and you saw one of our clients. This may look like some strip joint from the front, but I assure you that not everyone here does that kind of job. Do you really think I'd let someone like Haku strip? He's not even 15, I'm not about to let him do anything like that. Like I said, this place is a safe house for our kind, but no one can survive without money, and if just so happens that a handful of us are comfortable with turning other people's fantasies into reality." Taski leaned forward a bit. "Don't tell me you've never wondered what it would be like to lay with someone who isn't quite human. Some people are quite turned on by things such as wings and the like."
Yuusuke was sure his cheeks turned another shade of red from that and, at Taski's words, he remembered those beautiful golden eyes he'd seen. A second later he shook himself out of that vision and coughed a bit to regain his dignity. He wasn't used to blushing so much, but then the world he'd come from had focused more on fists then sex. Fists Yuusuke knew about, sex on the other hand... well, everyone had at least one area where they were innocent, even the town punk.
"Umm, yeah," came his long and thought out answer. Taski just laughed a bit more and jumped down from the desk. The firey haired man clamped a hand over Yuusuke's shoulder in a friendly gesture.
"Relax, you'll get used to it. It's just a job like any other, and eventually you won't even blink about it."
Yuusuke nodded a bit numbly. He was quite sure that Taski was right, but at the moment it was all he could do to manage just lightly blushing. To his relief the boy at the door, Haku, motioned for him to follow. Yuusuke waved goodbye to Taski and left the room, unable to avoid a smile as he overheard Taski speaking.
"Now Yomi, we need to talk about your 'friendly' attitude..."
The two walked in silence down the same hallway for a long moment, heading to a different area of the building. For a while Yuusuke's eyes wandered around him at the ornate decorations and odd rooms that were open here and there, but finally his eyes settled back on Haku in curiosity.
"Are you... like them?" He asked after a moment, almost immediatly regretting the stupid question. Nice going Yuusuke, the best way to get people to like you is to offend them with every word that comes out of your mouth. He could almost taste his ankels in his mouth now from swallowing his foot so much.
Haku stopped walking them turned to look at Yuusuke, a small amused look on his face. "Yes."
"Well, umm... what exactly- Nevermind, it's not my business."
Haku's smile became more friendly. "You're perfectly welcome to ask any questions you might have of anyone here. Just as long as you respect that we are perfectly welcome to not answer. Nothing can be harmed with being curious, if you know when to step back." He paused for a bit as Yuusuke gave a small nod, then the boy lifted up his hand.
Yuusuke noticed, at that moment, that the boy before him actually wore a light blue nail polish, which caused the skin of his fingers to look quite pale, almost as if he were suffering from the beginnings of frost bite. But that wasn't the amazing thing when Haku raised his hand to eye level. As Yuusuke watched, the boy's hand actually began to frost over just a bit, small ice crystals growing over the grooves on his palm. Then the ice slid together and formed into an icicle, no larger then a pencil, which came to a razor sharp end on one side. Yuusuke's eyes widened.
"That's why you answered the door instead of... the horned guy."
Haku responded with a simple nod and the icicle melted out of existance so quickly there wasn't even a drop of water to hit the floor. Then he returned to his friendly smile. "I can create objects out of ice and, to an extent, control water." He said, as he began walking again. This time Yuusuke easily fell in step behind him.
"So what about that other guy I saw? The one with the golden eyes? Does he really... have a tail?"
Haku kept walking but glanced over his shoulder at Yuusuke. "That's Triton, and he's a youko. You won't see him around here that often."
"Why not?"
"He only likes certain people and you... aren't quite his type."
**
Morning shone in through the window and danced over the room, covering it with a strange multicolored light. The figure in the thick blankets rolled over on his bed and turned his back to the sun, not at all eager to climb out of bed. Rolling over farther to escape the sun, suddenly there wasn't a bed under him. Yuusuke gave a small cry as he crashed to the floor, tangled in blankets like a cocoon. He landed on the hard, cold floor, only to hear soft laughter fill the room. Groaning and dazily sat up, rubbing the back of his head.
"Good morning," Haku was standing above him, tying his hair back with a simple string, which would probably fall out by the end of the day, if not in the hour. Even Yuusuke knew that hair like that never stayed tied back. "You're not a morning person, are you?"
Yuusuke shook his head, and for a moment, debated rolling tighter in the blankets and hiding under the bed to grab a bit more sleep, but quickly abondoned that idea. That was how he'd been kicked out of the last place he'd asked to stay for the night. Sighing in defeat he began the slow work of untangling himself from the blankets. "I hate mornings."
Haku smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed, his feet swinging just a bit because he wasn't quite tall enough for them to reach the floor. "You'll start to like mornings soon, I'm sure of it."
"Absolutly nothing could make me like mornings. Sunlight and mornings are evil."
Haku just chuckled as Yuusuke finally managed to pull himself out of the blankets and stands up. He managed to make it to his feet and stretched out, then pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, which had been washed at some point during the night. Grabbing a comb he tugged it through his short hair a few times, then figured it wasn't worth bothering with and abondoned the thought. Shrugging he turned to face Haku.
"I never really asked Taski what exactly I was supposed to do to earn a place to sleep and such."
"I'll show you around first. I think today you just get to get used to your surroundings. You don't need to worry. In any case, it's breakfast time."
"I don't eat breakfast this early."
Haku didn't seem to care too much about that comment, because he still beckoned Yuusuke to follow him as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. "Well, I'm supposed to show you around, so since I'm hungry I might as well show you where the kitchen and food is."
"Oh... good point. Well then, lead the way."
With sunlight attempting to sneak in through the windows scattered through the building, Yuusuke found the place not much different then it was at night. All windows he encountered were stained glass, allowing only a small amount of light to get in, filled with colors of every shade. This multicolored light wasn't much different from the flicking candle bulbs that lit the hallways at night, making the entire place still seem quite unreal. Cloths were drapped across the walls in long sweeping rows, creating a kind of soft railing that flowed up and down the wall as they walked, each with a deep solid cover and golden finges on the edge. All Yuusuke could think about was how everything in this place must have cost a fortune. Either that, or someone had bought out every thrift store in the city, purchasing furniture that looked both used and yet still elegant. Knowing Taski's personality, he was guessing the latter.
A ways down the hallway and Yuusuke's nose was soon assaulted by the sweet smells of cinnamon and sugar. He picked up his step and followed Haku a little faster, quite curious as to where the wonderful smell was coming from. The hallways opened up into a kitchen area where walls were covered with cupboards, easily full of food. The smell drifted from a pan of fresh and very sticky looking cinnamon buns that were larger then Yuusuke's fist. And standing at the stove, putting in another pan, was a taller man who was quite thin and dressed in tight fitting black pants, with a top that looked more like a backless vest. His hair was long with an unkept look in spite of the long pony tail which almost met his knees.
Yuusuke started to follow Haku into the kitchen when he noticed one more thing about the person standing at the stove, and that made him freeze. The person at the stove had a backless vest for a reason, it was about the only piece of clothing one could wear, if they had wings.
Yes, wings.
Large black wings, that looked about the width of the room when they were stretched out completely, though now they were folded against his back to avoid becoming combersome. The strange leathery skin almost exactly matched the color of his hair and his naturally colored nails, which stood out against his almost pale skin. Black eyes also glanced up at Yuusuke as he stood frozen in the doorway and the creature flashed a welcoming smile, which held a slight tilt of mischeif.
"Well, hello, you're new."
Yuusuke, for the life of him, suddenly couldn't remember how to speak.
"Kuronue! Don't scare the newbie."
Yuusuke's eyes shifted across the room to see a girl sitting at the table, her hair a bright blue in color. She wore a pink kimono that was far too bright for Yuusuke's comfort and she seemed completely normal. At least, she did, until Yuusuke noticed the fact that she wasn't sitting in a chair, she was floating on what looked like an oar for a canoe.
"It's far too early in the morning to be scolded. Can't I even have some fun?" The winged creature at the stove gave the girl a pout, then glanced back at Yuusuke. "You there kid? Hey, Botan, he's still in his body right? I didn't scare him to death, did I?"
The woman rolled her eyes and stood up, standing her oar up and leaning it against the table. "Honestly, Kuronue, he's alive. I told you you should put your wings around your shoulders like a cape, it scares them less."
"But that makes them stiff. Besides, you can't really talk with your floating thing."
Botan, the girl, shrugged. "The table blocks it."
Kuronue responded by rolling his own eyes. "The table blocks it," he mocked in a high pitched voice under his breath, then gave a sigh of defeat. Either that or it was a sigh of annoyance, Yuusuke couldn't tell which one. The winged man turned back to Yuusuke and Haku and handed Haku a plate, which he happily took and sat down at the table, eating it as if everything were perfectly normal. But then, to him, it probably was.
"Would you like one?" Kuronue asked, still waiting on Yuusuke to step out of his shocked state.
"Umm... yeah, sure."
The winged creature turned and placed one on a plate for him with a warm smile. "Don't worry kid, you'll get used to us, we're not that strange." Then he had his own plate and he was moving toward the table to sit down, elbowing Botan out of the way as she jokingly floated over his seat pretending it was hers, leaving Yuusuke to stands alone by the stove. A moment later Yuusuke shook off his shock, or at least enough of it to move, and he walked over to the table, taking a seat at the end next to Haku. Still, he didn't eat at his roll, he just looked around the table at everyone. He didn't care if it was rude to stare, he couldn't help it.
As he sat at the table he glanced around at everyone else who surrounded him and chatted happily. There was the winged Kuronue, and Botan, both of whom seemed to be good friends. Either that or they were each other's favorite victims. Yuusuke was voting on the latter, because they never seemed to stop picking on each other.
Sitting next to Botan was a young man, also dressed in a kimono type outfit, yet this one was the male style. His wasn't bright pink, but rather a red and blue, with a small matching red scarf or cloth wrapped around his neck. His eyes were the same bright blue color as hers and he had many of the same facial features. Both of them had to be related and Yuusuke took a shot in the dark and assumed they were twins, thanks to the fact that they looked so simular in age. He, however, didn't seem nearly as cheerful as his sister, as his eyes seemed to be focusing on the air beside him as he ate, almost as if he were listening to someone talking, but there was no one there.
Across the table from him sat a shorter boy, nearly half Yuusuke's height, but perhaps a bit taller then that. He had a sour expression on his face and was eating his own roll, his eyes tilted in a perminent glare at nothing in particular. A headband covered his forehead and aside from his spiky hair he looked fairly normal. At least, he did, until Yuusuke noticed that around his arm was a long and ornate tattoo of a dragon, that moved. The dragon on his arm actually twisted around his arm, moving slowly over him as if it were alive, Yuusuke half expected it to lift it's head and look at him, but thankfully it didn't.
"Well well, look who's finally up."
Yuusuke blinked and glanced back at the door, at Kuronue's comment -- which earned him a swift swat from Botan -- to spot another person entering the room. He expected another strange person to be stepping in, but instead this was someone very different. Yuusuke found himself holding his breath as he saw this person enter.
Nothing about him was especially odd, like the others. But rather he looked quite like any other human one might run into, with short auburn hair and deep green eyes. And yet, when Yuusuke met his eyes, both boys stopped and looked at each other for a split second and Yuusuke could have sworn he saw those eyes flash golden for a split second.
Golden. Like that strange silver creature he'd seen the night before.
A second later the gold was gone, if it had ever been there, and the silent boy simply walked over to the stove, took a roll and left the kitchen, not saying a single word. Yuusuke found himself blinking and he glanced across the room at Kuronue and Botan.
"You idiot," Botan hissed, swatting him again.
Kuronue responded with a wince. "Well excuse me for being friendly. I know damn well he isn't a morning person, but it doesn't hurt to say good morning, and he won't kill me like squirt over there." Kuronue pointed with his thumb to the pissy shorter boy at the end of the table. That boy looked up and shot a glare in Kuronue's direction.
"Call me that again, and I will kill you." He responded in a low voice, his red eyes locking on Kuronue.
The winged man seemed to take it all in stride and just shrugged, sliding back in his chair. "Another exciting morning. Hey, you got a name, newbie?"
Yuusuke blinked, suddenly realizing that he was being spoken to. "Yuusuke Urameshi."
The blue haired girl turned her attention to him. "So, what do you do?"
"Do?"
Haku chuckled very softly next to Yuusuke. "He's a normal."
Yuusuke sunk a bit in his chair for that, expecting some severe sort of reaction from the others. How strange was it to be the so-called 'freak' around the those people would usually consider freaks. Not the best choice of words for his mental thoughts, but it about covered the situation. He expected them to burst out or kick him out, or something... and yet he recieved smiles and welcomes. Yuusuke blinked at Kuronue.
"What?"
Kuronue chuckled. "I said 'Welcome'. Relax, kid, you look like you expected us to hit you or something."
Yuusuke chuckled a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, umm, yeah, I guess that was a bit silly of me."
"Don't worry about it, we don't bite. Well, we don't, he might." She nodded toward the short one who responded with a death glare, then smiled sweetly at him. "We're all friends here."
"Who was... that?" Yuusuke couldn't help himself, he had to ask. He'd never been one known for his brains so it didn't bother him that he was being nosey, least not too much. That and his curiosity just couldn't handle it when he was left in the dark about things.
"His name's Triton," Oddily enough it wasn't Botan or Kuronue who answered this time. Instead it was the boy sitting next to Botan who Yuusuke still pegged as Botan's twin brother. His eyes were now focused on Yuusuke, seeming to have forgotten whoever - or whatever - he'd been speaking with before. "He's not the most talkative and he likes to keep to himself."
Yuusuke's eyes glanced over to meet his.
"You're better off not worrying about him."
Yuusuke blinked at that, but no one else agreed or disagreed with it. Turning slightly in his chair he looked back toward the door where Triton had been. Something about that one caught his attention and he couldn't quite shake it. But everyone else seemed to have dropped the subject, so he did as well. At least, for the moment.