A Feral Beast
In the Reikai, the bureaucratic headquarters of King Yama stood austerely amongst the spiked mountains and deep valleys. All that could be heard from inside the palace were the pitter-patter of ogre feet as the metaphorical worker bees bustled from office to office. Each carried a tower of paperwork, with heights ranging from 9 to 12 feet, which would have surely fallen down if one ogre were to bump into the other by accident. Fortunately for them all, after many years of experience in knocking ogres out of the carefully coordinated formation, one blue haired ferry girl had finally learned to keep herself neatly tucked into a corner of the main office, rarely trafficked by ogres. She stood humming a nonsensical tune and brushed her hair, taking the last part of her lunch break to groom herself after a long day of flying through the blustery winds of both Reikai and Ningenkai.
Botan preferred to be a pedestrian amongst the frantically working ogres, rather than sit and listen to Hinageshi jabber on, or watch the other ferry girls restrain themselves from thrashing the afore mentioned overly talkative, red haired ferry girl. Today there was an unusually large amount of ogres running busily about the main office, which meant hundreds more were crowded in the smaller ones. Botan figured that all of this diligent work indicated that King Yama himself would soon return to the palace for a rigorous inspection of his heir's progress.
'Well even if Koenma is a little teensy bit behind in the paperwork at least King Yama will see all of the busy ogres…and so orderly too! They must have been practicing their office shuffling!' A grin snuck onto Botan's face as her voice chirped in her own thoughts. However, that grin was not to last as a powerful yell met her ears.
"DAMNIT! BOTAN!" The ferry girl squealed and jumped at the shock, accidentally catching her hair both in the comb and the front knot of her obi, bending her body into a very uncomfortable angle. Botan was bent sideways at the waist and tried to catch her balance as she pulled at her hair to get the snag out.
"OH FLIP!" she mock cursed as her foot caught in her kimono. Botan would have had a few more choice words if she had known that her thrashing about would bring her right into the body of an ogre…sending him and his stack of orderly papers flying!
No real picture need be drawn to figure out what would happen to a well-coordinated system of precariously walking ogres if one of them were to fall out of place and go hurdling into the next row. Soon the room was showered not only in indignant screams from the ogres but also with many sheets of stamped and unstamped forms. Groans emitted from the fallen worker bees as Botan rubbed her head and looked mournfully at the clump of blue hair now removed from her scalp, but still attached to her comb. Without even a moment to realize what had happened another yell rocked the palace.
"BOTAN! NOW!" The ferry girl sighed and snapped her figures producing her personal transportation. She hopped upon her oar mumbling apologies at every ogre she flew over. After many maneuvers that would put most pilots to shame, Botan managed to make her way to the other side of the palace as she fixed her tussled mane. She opened the set of towering doors of Koenma's office to find an impatient prince rapping his fingers upon his desk…though not hard at work. He was instead waiting for his brand new George Foreman Grill to finish making his lunch. Botan sweat dropped and wished she had never let Jorge, Koenma's personal ogre, buy the ridiculous thing…especially since Koenma never shared anything he made!
"Botan! Where are those two demons?! Have they arrived yet?!" Koenma yelled in his shrill, underdeveloped voice.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure Sir…I had been on lunch break when…um you called me," Botan said, grateful that the prince had not yet found out about the mess in the main office.
"Geez! You'd think with their very souls in the palms of my hands those two would be itching to obey my every beckon call!" Koenma took a first satisfying bite of his meal and Botan cringed at seeing the prince chomp like a cow on its cud. 'Blech…no. I would, however, think that someone from a royal upbringing would have learned some table manners!' However, Botan spoke something quite different from what was actually on her mind.
"Perhaps, Sir, Kurama took longer than he had hoped to find Hiei or even to convince him to join in on this mission. You and I both know how Hiei doesn't trust any excursion you assign! And the fact that you did not tell Kurama any information may have made Hiei even more suspicious than usual!" Koenma swallowed finally and pondered the ferry girl's words. "Incidentally Koenma Sir, why did you not tell Kurama what this mission entailed?" The prince sighed and leaned back in his tall office chair, the seat of which was stacked with books to make his stature greater.
"Because Botan, if Kurama knew whom the two of them would be dealing with, then he would surely tell Hiei and Hiei would in turn not go at all despite my orders…in fact he may even become more…to put it mildly, pissed off than he already is on a daily basis. For now, they must be kept in the dark until in can convince them BOTH to go," Koenma finished with grave seriousness unbecoming of his toddler status.
"Hmm, well would you like me to go out and search for them? Then at least we would know if Hiei said yes or not."
"No need Botan! With Hiei's fate in my hands and the fact that I am the only one who can grant him entrance to the Makai he holds so dear, that stumpy, mean spirited, arrogant, numb nutted little fire demon is putty in my…hey, what's wrong with you?" Koenma stopped his speech to notice the frozen look of terror on Botan's face. The prince then swerved around in his chair to follow her gaze out the window…only to find a smoldering Hiei standing poised on the window's ledge. Koenma screamed and jumped back in his seat knocking the chair over the desk. Hiei smirked and flitted off in a smudge of black.
"How long was he there?!" Koenma yelled facing the still petrified Botan.
"Hm hm…actually he was not present for very long." Botan and Koenma veered toward the door to find Kurama emerge from the hallway with a very amused expression on his face. "However, Koenma, you may want to assure Hiei that you were only joking about him being…erm, 'numb nutted' and so on and so forth. On the way here Hiei said that he felt his ears ringing and sped off to find the source…he can hear through glass you know."
"How did you catch up to him so fast?!" Botan exclaimed.
"Well it was not easy once I entered the palace…there's a rather expansive mess of forms on the floor of the main office. It was difficult to ascertain which piles consisted of paper and which of buried ogres," Kurama chuckled, remembering how Jorge ran off in search of band-aids for his many MANY paper cuts. Botan fiddled her fingers nervously and chuckled with Kurama, trying not to look suspicious. "But do not worry Koenma…it seemed that the ogres were handling the situation quite well for I am sure that this has happened more than once."
"Yes…ten times in the past two years and they've all been caused by the same dimwitted, blue haired FERRY GIRL!!" Botan jumped and scooted behind Kurama in fear.
"Hn. You forgot ditsy and beyond tolerating…or would you prefer to further insult the fire demon you so often depend upon to do your dirty work?" came the baritone voice from the doorway, causing the poor Botan to jump once more to the other side of Kurama and scuttle backward behind Koenma. The prince cringed and was already making plans in his head to have all of his windows reinforced another ten inches thick with sound guards. "While you're at it why not describe Kurama in a few choice words…I'm sure he would still be happy to go on this mission without my help...or perhaps he would leave you in the dust as he should! I never like being disturbed for the whims of some hypocritical prince who has the gall to call ME arrogant. So stop your sniveling and get to it before I change my mind and leave!" Hiei smirked evilly and stepped to Kurama's side. The fox demon chuckled once more before a professional countenance spread onto his face.
"No matter how he says it, Hiei has a way of getting to the matters at hand without delay. What pray tell have you called us here for Koenma?" At this Hiei walked toward his usual perch upon the windowsill. Koenma shifted to make way for the unyielding fire demon and stood himself in atop his desk with Botan taking her place by his side.
"This mission entails escorting two beings into the Makai and then coming back," he stated simply enough, though of course Hiei had something to say about it.
"What?! You called me from my training, through the portals, across the Reikai, and through the numbers of scrambling ogres to tell me that our only task is to act as chauffeurs?!" Hiei yelled from his seated position with fire in his eyes. "Exactly WHO are we escorting?" Koenma swept a finger around his inner collar and gulped slightly.
"…a human and a half breed."
"WHAT?! A ningen?! What kind?!"
"…a woman and her son."
"WHAT?!" Kurama's ears cringed at Hiei's angry voice.
"Umm, Koenma?" the fox demon interjected. At this Hiei humphed and sat back folding his arms harshly. "Hiei does…if not rudely, have a point. I know that two humans, especially a child, would require protection from the dangers of the Makai, but why not have your own guards take them?"
"All of them are duty bound here. I do not have enough guards to even properly cover this palace and all of its confidential information…believe me Kurama, if I could spare even one you would not have been summoned in the first place." Kurama furrowed his eyebrows perplexed.
"If that is so then why us? Why pick Hiei and I to go when there are other agents besides your guards? You surely understand that Hiei is averse to humans in general and children in particular; why not pick someone who would be more…willing to help like one of the ferry girls? Or call in a favor, of which I am sure you have many." At this line of questions Hiei perked his ears and turned his head toward Kurama slightly. Koenma kept silent for the moment, thinking over Kurama's questions.
"The answer to all of those questions it is that I have no one stronger. This is an important mission, despite what its simple description may lead you to believe. I wanted to make sure that the two strongest demons at my disposal were here to handle this situation." Kurama narrowed his eyes at the ruler. 'He tried to quench my inquisitive nature with flattery and appealed to my proud youko side…his attempt to manipulate me is insulting and also suspicious. I have no choice but to prod further.'
"If it is so important and has all of a sudden escalated from an escorting mission to a 'situation', why not bring Yusuke out of his training? Or Kuwabara even? Surely the four of us together can better handle this mission than Hiei and myself alone." Now the fox had Hiei's full attention. 'Hn. If the fox is asking questions…too many, in fact, for a normal mission. He's covering all of the bases to every detail…something's up. Even after becoming human his mental senses are as sharp as ever.'
"Well…" Koenma started, trying to think of how to best answer with out giving too much away. 'If I tell them everything then both will not go or worse…Hiei will set my palace aflame!'
"Koenma, I may be indebted to you but I will not be strung along like a marionette. It would be best for all involved if Hiei and I knew the specifics…how can we even fulfill the mission if we do not have all of the resources available to us?" The fox's question was fair, as was his assessment of Koenma's hesitation…the partners knew something was amiss. The ruler sighed heavily before jumping down to the floor, hands behind his back.
"Alright, alright. The truth is you will not simply be escorting the human and her son but also you will be traveling through the territory of a possible ally. He may not be as strong as the three Makai kings, but even the smallest warlords could prove vital in future battles. I cannot tell you who this ruler is because he has requested anonymity…if it were known that these two charges of yours were more than mere travelers, they would be too exposed and susceptible to attackers. It will be your job to make sure they both get to the lord's palace with in the next week. The two I am placing in your care are not just any human and half-breed…but in fact the lord's ex-lover and son. Tensions have been running high in those parts of the Demon World, and if war breaks out the lord will need his heir in safe keeping."
"But Koenma, how could this boy be any safer than in the Reikai? Putting him in the center of the tension seems far worse a thing to do if his life is at stake," Kurama said, wary of what might really be going on. 'None of this makes any sense…Koenma knows that Hiei hates humans, he knows that such a fragile balance of the powers is volatile enough without throwing an heir into the mix, and he knows that traipsing the lord's son around the Makai will most likely lead trouble to us…what is this about?'
Kurama felt quite uncomfortable with the situation, and was more than half tempted to decline the offer and leave. Hiei, though he had not said one word since Kurama had started speaking, was of the same mindset and felt it would be best to decline the mission. After reading Kurama's thoughts on this subject, which actually did not bother the fox demon in the slightest, Hiei had concluded that the fox knew best on this one. When possibly the fiercest of all legendary thieves turned down an open and shut mission like this, which would deduct from his debt to the son of Yama, there had to be something very troubling about the whole deal.
"That's the thing of it…I was not alone in the choice to have him transported to the Makai…his mother, Satsuki first proposed the idea and I wholeheartedly agree." Kurama's eyes widened at this news of a mother sending herself and her child into harm's way. "Satsuki was the one who came to me and asked me to take her son to his father. I, at first, tried to persuade her to let him stay in the Ningenkai where he would be quite safe or at the least stay in my palace, but she would not hear any of it. I then proposed that if she were truly serious about this mission, she should go with her son and talk to the lord herself…safety in numbers, and to take care of the boy. The reason I needed the both of you for this is…well…she was not entirely, umm cooperative with my idea that she go with him."
As if on cue a loud scream could be heard from the corridor. Kurama jumped and turned to face the door, unsure of what was coming. Hiei already had his hand on his katana, poised to leap from the sill and join his partner. The yells coming from the hallway were inhuman…feral, like a wild beast being dragged into its cage. Koenma sighed and rubbed his temples.
"It's alright Kurama…Hiei. THAT would be Satsuki." Another scream rang out and the doors swung open violently as an enraged woman kicked them harshly with her feet. Two guards securely held her arms in a locked position, but still Satsuki fought them and flailed like a patient from the psych ward. To Kurama's eyes she seemed beyond manic, and her face was wet from her own saliva and sweat. She was nearly as tall as Kurama, with stringy dark brown hair that went down to her waist. Satsuki's irises were small and stark ink black. She might have been pretty if not for the wild ranting and fierce expression. She wore nothing more than a simple one-piece dress and hooded cloak, caked in soot as if she had been running through a dust storm.
"We found her trying to get out again Koenma Sir. We did our best not to harm her but she simply won't stop biting and spitting," said one of the guards in a strained voice. The other guard closed the door with his foot and looked to Koenma for permission to either sedate her or let her go. The pint sized ruler stepped off from his desk and angrily stalked over…both Hiei and Kurama too shocked by the woman's behavior to make any move. Satsuki saw the prince coming and started getting more riled than before. The guards pushed her head down to the cold tiled floor and held her hair tight to keep her from raising her head to bite. Koenma then folded his arms and bent far down to move his face right in front of hers.
"You will stop this behavior, NOW…or I will have no choice but to drop you in the Makai…without your escorts. And since you are acting more like a beast from the Demon World than the human you are…I'm sure you'll fit right in," the prince growled in a dangerously low voice uncommon for his nature. At this Satsuki stopped fighting the guards' grips and took many breaths to calm herself, as Koenma looked to his guards and gave a curt nod. Satsuki was released and the guards stepped back to walk out of the room closing the door behind them. Satsuki stood erect over the prince with the wild look in her eyes still present, but she kept herself composed…at least until she found her voice again.
"What the fuck did you bring me back for?! Let me go you little runt! I have no further business with an infant like you…all I want is that he be taken to his father!" Before Koenma had the chance to respond, Kurama stepped in.
"Satsuki, I do not think you grasp the danger of this situation. It would be best if you were with your son on this journey…your presence will not put him in any danger; Hiei and I will make sure of that," Kurama finished but instead of being met with a look of relief from the woman, she instead spit in his face and chuckled cruelly. Hiei felt his arm start to burn and tense up, angry at this affront on his partner. 'If only she weren't human…I'd give her something to spit at and cry over! Stupid Reikai laws!' Kurama looked stunned at the woman's actions and wiped his face of the offensive substance.
"Ha! You think I care what happens?! I will feel cleansed, as if dirt has been scrubbed off my body, once he is no longer in my life!" Satsuki verbally spat back. "I want him where THINGS like him belong…in the Demon World! I asked this pompous royal brat to take him and said that I would be done with it. How dare you keep me here like some prisoner…I won't enter that world of monstrosities no matter what you do!" Kurama did not have the words to respond and his face looked completely disillusioned. Hiei narrowed his eyes and remained standing on the sill, curious as to what the fox would do next.
"How…can you even utter such words…about your own son?! Do you know what will happen to him, left alone in the Makai without his mother?! He will not last one millisecond once a demon catches wind of his scent! Your child would be torn to pieces! You're his mother…don't you even care?!" Kurama almost yelled, his mind unable to contemplate a rationalization for Satsuki's actions.
"Hn. I stopped being his mother the second he left my body and I realized what he was! Once I get back I will return to my home in Kyushu, far away from YOU and far away from IT!" She crossed her arms and looked to the ground, angrily awaiting the time when she could leave this palace. All Hiei could think in his mind was that this was a typical ningen and in a way her behavior proved his earlier point regarding parentage. Kurama did not have any time to respond to the woman's statement, for his ears found a scratching noise at the door causing him to turn his attention. Hiei watched perplexed as Satsuki gritted her teeth and looked visibly uncomfortable.
The door was gently popped open and all present in the room, save for Satsuki, watched silently as two small hands emerged and clasped the edges. A little boy no more than 3 feet tall stepped into view, and in an instant both Kurama and Hiei knew that it was Satsuki's son. He had the same very dark brown hair, which to most would look black if not for the shine from the lights, and it fell over his face with disheveled clumps of bangs much longer than the hair on the back of his head. He donned a very simple bamboo green yukata and small sandals. What first struck Kurama as odd was that the boy's eyes were closed, and he held his hands out as he toddled forward from the doorway.
'He's blind,' echoed Hiei's voice in the fox's mind. The fire demon had a strange look on his face that Kurama was unable to place or categorize.
"…mama?" came a very young voice, with a hint of fright. Satsuki visibly tightened and her knuckles became white as she stared off into nothing. She made no move to comfort her son and instead looked enraged, yet tried to keep herself in check rather than have the guards called back. Kurama was disgusted and wanted to go to the little boy, but felt it more appropriate to let him find his mother. The boy was still feeling around, moving closer to the group and seemed on instinct to know where his mother was. Hiei noticed that the boy's little nose sniffed now and then, as if he had picked up his mother's scent.
"…mama, where are you?" As he was just about to reach out and touch his mother's leg, Satsuki's eyes widened dangerously and she turned swiftly on the little boy.
"GET AWAY!" she screeched in his face. The boy fell backward and covered his ears with his hands as tears poked out from his eyelids. While the men were shocked beyond movement Botan sprung into action and collected the child into her arms, while staring angrily at Satsuki who had become passive once more.
"Satsuki how could you?! He's only three years old! You'll damage one of the only intact senses he has left if you scream like that!" Botan backed away to the door.
"He is not mine anymore! He is YOUR burden now!" Kurama seethed visibly while Hiei simply looked on, taking in what he had witnessed. Koenma wisely took this opportunity to speak up before Botan and Satsuki jumped at each other's throats.
"Botan…could you please take Moumoku outside to the courtyard gardens," Koenma said flatly, in more of a command rather than request. Botan nodded and carried the silently crying boy out the doorway. Hiei watched the pair leave as Kurama stared at Koenma opened mouthed and eyes widened.
"…What did you call him?" he uttered in disbelief. Hiei looked at the fox as he made his way closer to Koenma's desk. Kurama's face held the look a person might display at the utterance of a racial slur. Koenma opened his eyes and looked at Kurama stoically.
"(Sigh)…that…is the name Satsuki gave him. Though Botan has taken to calling him Ku-kun over these past two days." Kurama flashed his eyes angrily and stared at Satsuki, who in turn stared right back into the fox's eyes…either too naïve to know she should be afraid, or too beyond caring to have any fear. Hiei just looked confused and hated it when they used the ningen language in front of him without explaining.
Before Hiei even had the chance to ask, Kurama bounded forward getting nearly nose to nose with Satsuki, in an attempt to stare her down. She merely stared back almost daring him to strike her and lengthen his sentence to serve the Reikai prince. After a few tense moments Kurama huffed visibly and stalked out into the hall, slamming the doors in his wake. Hiei blinked trying to register what had happened. Noticing his confusion Koenma sighed heavily once more and jumped to sit back on his desk.
"Hiei, I would like to speak to Satsuki alone." Koenma did not even have to finish his sentence before the fire demon gave a curt nod and blurred out of sight, most likely to catch up to his enraged partner. It did not take him long to find the fox stalking down the hallway toward the gardens. Kurama then stopped walking and sighed to himself. With an uncanny adeptness at understanding his partner Kurama turned to the fire demon to answer an unasked question.
The fox spat out, "…it means 'blindness' Hiei. She named her son 'blindness'!"
……………………………………………………………..
An uncomfortable silence reigned in Koenma's office, as he sat atop his desk, chin upon hand and brows furrowed, nearly desperate to find a solution to this predicament. He needed Satsuki to go with the demon pair and her son. Without her presence to confirm Moumoku's status as heir to the warlord's throne not only would the boy receive no protection, but in fact he could be executed for posing as such a vital member of the ruling family. Not to mention Kurama and Hiei would be viewed as accessories to the crime. This was a delicate manner, and Satsuki's brash manner would demolish this mission's chances at success like a sledgehammer beating into thin glass.
Satsuki remained standing, anxious to leave and yet also secretly afraid of what the prince would do to her if she defied his orders…but she would never let him know that. Her face started scrunching up tensely, like she had an intense itch annoying her to the point where she could not endure anymore.
"Well?! You said you wanted to talk to me…spit it out so we can both go on with our lives!" Koenma looked up and scrutinized the human before him.
"Hm. Hell truly hath no fury like a woman's scorn…right Satsuki?" The human sneered and stepped a bit closer to the Reikai prince, as if taunting him to strike her down. "You certainly have a knack for enticing the most ruthless of beings to rip your head off…I think you should know it's not a healthy habit to keep up."
"Hn. Bite me!"
"You should learn to hold your tongue, and believe me you don't want to use that euphemism here…someone may be more than willing to oblige, with you the tongue would be the first thing to go on my list." At that Satsuki stuck her tongue out in defiance, but backed away by only an inch…extremely reluctant to give Koenma any satisfaction in knowing he intimidated her. The prince sighed and moved to stand on his desk. "Satsuki, I will only ask this once and it is your only chance to do the right thing: Will you go compliantly with my detectives and your son into the Makai? That is all I have to talk to you about, because I do not believe any productive conversation can be made with someone like yourself." The human answered in a knee jerk reaction…and looking back on it, she might have wanted to take a little more time to come up with a better response.
"Hn! NO! If you make me go with them I will tell those filthy demons exactly who the father is and why we are going! Fuck you and your ferry bitch! Fuck this palace, fuck this world, fuck your missions, fuck your delicate alliances, and royally FUCK your FATHER up his…" Satsuki's yells were cut short by an earth shaking clap of thunder and an engulfing flash of light. Koenma calmly jumped down from his desk and walked toward the door, to look down at what was once recognizable as a human woman. '…I warned her…'
TBC…hopefully this is up to par and don't worry the journey will begin soon! As for all of the delays in this story and my other story…I am very sorry, but my dog had lung cancer and died recently, so I am not feeling so great about writing. Once my heart is back in it I will write more! Believe me…I am not shut up so easily and I have a long story to tell! HD