::12::Too Hard to Handle::
"...dismissed."
There was a loud bang of books, scraping of chairs and zipping open of backpacks and bags as the students stuffed their belongings together as quickly as possible, eager to escape their last class until Christmas break was over.
"Yusuke," Kurama's voice, usually soft, but full of wisdom and confidence, seemed weak today, as if his mind was on something else during the entire class.
Yusuke left his books where they were and went to his friend's desk, his eyebrows slanted with worry. He wasn't stupid - something was wrong, and it had to be something big to affect Kurama like this.
"Bring Harry, Ron and Hermione to my office in fourty-five minutes," he said shortly, "Koenma has decided it is time for us both to reveal our secrets...and we will not get Harry without his friends."
Yusuke nodded silently. He wasn't as protective of his identity as Kurama was, and really didn't care who knew that he was a hanyou. But there was something different about this time...he could feel it, though he couldn't indentify the emotion.
Kurama grabbed his wand and left the room without another word, without glancing back at Yusuke...he didn't want his friend to see the coldness his eyes showed right now, the pure emotionless, icy gaze, his trademark stare years ago, usually the last thing anyone ever saw of him.
Yusuke felt a shiver run up his spine as the last black fold of the kitsune's robes disappeared around the doorway. Shaking his head, he quickly gathered up his books and ran up several flights of stairs to the Gryffindor Tower, where he knew Harry and his friends would be.
000000
"Snape."
The greasy-haired Professor glanced back to the source of the voice, and his cold black eyes locked with stoic emeralds, belonging to the 16-yr-old teacher standing in the dungeon's doorway with his arms folded over his chest. His stance made Snape's eyes narrow suspiciously - it was commanding, superior and confident, perfectly matching the dangerous flicker that flashed through the boy's wise green orbs.
"Snape."
His name was repeated again, with more force this time, jerking the potions master out of his suspicion-induced daze.
"What?" he snapped back, swiveling around in his chair so he didn't have to crane his neck over his shoulder to see the redhead.
"How long would it take you to brew an age-regressing potion?" Kurama asked tonelessly, being careful to hide his emotions and not let onto anything. He himself had some experience with potions, but simple medicinal herbal mixes were his speciality, not complicated potions that re-arranged the body's very building blocks.
Snape blinked, caught off-guard, but quickly regained his cold composure. "Half an hour," he said.
Kurama nodded, though he was slightly surprised at the short amount of time. He'd suspect such a complicated potion would take weeks or months, but it really all depended on the ingredients.
"Bring it up to my office when it is ready."
"Why?" Snape asked defiantly, not happy at all at being bossed around by someone who wouldn't even be considered a full-fledged wizard in this country, let alone a DADA professor.
"I need it. Please do not make me explain, Snape," Kurama said. Then he turned and left the room, his pitch black robes billowing out behind him, further accenuating the ominous air hanging around him.
000000
Outside, Shizuru was still a bloody mess, with her wild pearl-white aura flowing around her like a thin blanket and Hiei looming over her threateningly, looking ready to strike her again at any second.
So, it's quite simple, she had to strike first.
She couldn't physically take control of her ki, so mentally was the way to go!
Concentrating her energy into her right fist, she balled up her fingers and watched wth amazement as her energy started to flow to her hand, gathering around it like a glowing white orb.
Immediately Hiei zoomed backwards, but Shizuru was now on the offensive. She rushed at him with ki-induced speed, ignoring the stabbing pains that now shot through her entire body.
She swung her fist at his head, but Hiei was way too fast and easily dodged it. But he was smirking now, as if in satisfaction.
"Hn. Better, now actually try to hit me," he snapped, raising the sword-stick like he was about to deal a heavy blow.
Shizuru scowled and muttered something that sounded like "bastard" under her breath.
Hiei swung the stick to her side again, but this time Shizuru was ready. Her ki rushed through her body as if a dam had broken loose, and flared up at the would-be contact point, flashing a barrier that a mere stick could never break through. The sword-stick splintered in Hiei's hand, sending several long, slender wood pieces flying through his flesh.
Hiei barely felt it. He slowly raised his hand as blood started seeping out of the wounds, the thick crimson liquid slowly flowing along the thick callouses like a morbid spider's web.
Shizuru could feel something was coming even before a small amount of Hiei's you-ki was concentrated on his hand. The splinters were surrounded by an icy blue and purple light before shooting out of his hand like arrows shot by a master archer. Shizuru's instincts made her duck at just the right time, so the splinters zoomed right over her head, disturbing several light brown strands of hair, and lodging themselves in the tree several feet behind her. They stuck inches into the trunk, and no longer looked quite as feeble as they used to.
Suddenly, Shizuru felt her blood pumping as it rushed to her head, making it throb painfully. She bit back a groan of pain as dizziness made the snow-covered world around her swirl uncontrollably, and she no longer knew which way was up or down. Her coffee eyes rolled, and she fell into the icy snow, as her pearl-white aura absorbed back into her body.
Hiei snorted. She used up too much energy too fast...she didn't know how to control it, nor how much to use at once for different attacks. She'd have to learn to gauge that soon.
With a small grunt, Hiei lifted her somewhat off the ground by her waist, positioning his grip so as to not aggravate her injured rib, and otherwise dragged her back to Hagrid's hut.
000000
Kurama sat in his office, glancing at the clock hanging on his wall. A half hour had passed, Snape should be here with his potion soon...
Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it, as age-regressing with that sort of potion was quite painful, he'd much rather use the Fruit of the Previous Life, which just left an icy sensation as it pumped like adrenaline through the veins but was otherwise painless. Unfortunately, there was no time to contact reikai, so he'd have to make do.
His body stiffened slightly as the office door was pushed open by none other than Snape, who wordlessly set a goblet full of opaque black liquid on his desk, pivoted on his heel and left the room.
Unfazed by the professor's coldness, Kurama gave the potion a wary look and shook his head. Now he really hoped he didn't have to use it...
000000
"Just shut UP and come ON!" Yusuke snapped, his brown eyes slanted in a glare at the three wizards before him.
"I'm not going anywhere NEAR his office!" Hermione replied, hands on her hips, "He probably just wants to get us back or something!"
"Are you kidding?! My f-...uh, UNCLE, isn't that petty!"
The trio obviously didn't notice Yusuke's near messup, because Harry just sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Let's just go..." he said, nodding to Yusuke, who roughly pushed the door to the common room open (with a few squeals of protests from the Fat Lady).
They swiftly walked through the castle, down to the floor where Kurama's office was.
Yusuke didn't even have to knock, Kurama must have smelled them coming because he opened the door just as Yusuke was about to.
He closed the door behind them and sat behind his desk, with Yusuke pulling up a chair beside the desk and twisting it around so he sat with his legs on either side and his chin resting on the back of the chair.
"Why are we here?" Harry asked almost defiantly.
"Please. Let us do the talking, and ask questions afterwards," Kurama said, sounding exhausted, but also like he was trying to hide it.
The trio nodded in agreement, and Yusuke started talking.
"To put it real shortly, a year ago, I was hit by a car and died. But the spirit world wasn't ready for me yet, so I was given another chance, but in exchange I'm the spirit detective of the world-"
"What?!" Ron couldn't help his outburst.
"...Shut up! Basically, my first case was a theft of the reikai's most guarded vault," Yusuke nodded to Kurama.
"It was me and two others that had robbed the reikai," Kurama said, "In truth, this teenager's body you see is but a disguise. I am truly a kitsune - a demon fox - and my true name is Youko Kurama."
The three young wizards' mouths were hanging open, and Harry looked like he was dying to ask questions, but knew better.
"Yeah," Yusuke said, "I took care of the first guy, but then I went to arrest Kurama. He , I guess, so he was put on probation. The next one, Hiei, damn, that was one hell of a fight. The only reason I didn't die again was cause Kurama took the sword that was meant to shishkabob me."
"To make a long story short," Kurama said, smiling slightly at Yusuke, "Hiei and I were both ordered to help Yusuke on his missions in lieu of a reikai prison sentence. That is why we are here - to help Dumbledore protect the school."
There was a very short silence, quickly broken by Harry, who assumed they were allowed to ask questions now.
"So...you died, and you're a demon? Ok...why do you look like a human then?" he asked.
"As I said before, this body is simply a disguise - a shell, if you will - because truly I am completely inhuman. I was a famous thief...but a fatal mistake allowed a bounty hunter to shoot me, and I ripped my soul from my body with my last remaining energy and merged with a souless, unborn child. I intended to leave after ten years, that is when my power would return, but my mother fell ill and I could not leave her."
"What's this got to do with us?" Hermione asked, her voice unusually breathy with shock.
"Voldemort (Ron flinched) is planning to send a wave of dementors and low-class demons from the Makai - the demon world. You and your friends, Hermione, are not powerful enough to fight them. Yusuke and I will be joined in the fight as well," Kurama replied calmly.
"How'd you learn how to use a wand?" Harry asked, his voice hard with disbelief, "And can you prove you're a demon?"
Kurama froze. He was hoping that question would not come up - but if he refused to answer, Harry would most certainly never trust him or Yusuke, and the fight would be that much more difficult.
So, he gently grasped the goblet on his desk in one slender hand, and drank it down in several gulps.
Standing up, he staggered slightly as he walked to the middle of the room.
Suddenly, an unbearable pain built up in his stomach, coursing through his entire body and bringing him to his knees, forcing him to double over so his forehead touched the floor and his long crimson lengths fell about his shoulders and face, like a fiery curtain.
He bit back the screams of pain that so wanted to escape his throat as his breathing grew shallow and ragged. Slowly, his own light blue, misty aura enveloped his body, preventing anyone from seeing the transformation that took place. As his energy increased, white clouds began swirling wildly in the blue mass, sending off sparks of black lightning and startling the wizards in the room.
Finally, a slender, white fox, adorned with red eyes brighter and more intense than a million rubies matierialized in the swirling mass of energy, letting out a piercing shriek that made Harry and the others cover their ears as they throbbed painfully at the bone-chilling cry. Luckily this office was sound-proof.
The blue energy rolled away, revealing a 7-foot, leanly muscled man, with large fox ears set atop his head, silky silver, waist-length tresses and a matching silver tail swishing slowly behind him.
"Is this enough proof for you?" a deep, sly-sounding voic filled the room like a coming storm, dangerous and tricky, a devious beast whose mind games were un-winnable.
Harry, Hermione and Ron stared in amazement at the fox before them, unable to speak.
They wanted to stare, their awe at this incredible creature overwhelmed them, yet they also wanted to run, as the dangerous aura from Youko Kurama could make almost anyone feel inferior.
Kitsunes are considered the most beautiful creatures in any of the three worlds - especially the pure silver species like Kurama - yet they are also feared for their power and intellect. They are able to outwit almost anyone, and with careful training some can become super S-class youkai.
"You asked how I learned to use a wand," Youko continued, unfazed by the wizards' stares, "I learned from Voldemort."
Harry found his voice. "You...worked with Voldemort?!"
"Yes," Youko said tonelessly, "In exchange for teaching me how to use a wand...I beat the Potters' location out of Peter Pettigrew. An easy task for such a useful skill...he was a coward."
In a split second, Harry had his wand pointed at the fox's heart, his green eyes blazing with such intense fury, his anger was almost tangible.
Youko chuckled darkly, his cold amber eyes holding sadistic amusement at the boy. But that coldness started to fade, and the kitsune slowly closed his eyes. He felt his human shell re-erecting again...
"My time grows short...Shuichi is returning..."
A very fine, translucent blue-white mist now surrounded the fox, and his body almost went limp as his redheaded human form took the place of the 7-foot, silver-haired Youko.
"Harry...three people were involved in the murder of your parents: Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew...and me."
Harry's hand was shaking uncontrollably, his wand wavering in the air as he tried and failed to steady himself. Kurama seemed quite unfazed that a wand was pointed threateningly at his heart...but there was something in those wise green orbs Harry couldn't place. He couldn't bring himself to say a spell (though he had a feeling this fox wouldn't be hurting much even if he could)...but the dangerous aura of the thief remained, confusing Harry. So was this guy evil, or not?
Suddenly, Kurama's breath caught in his throat. He felt his wind pipe collapsing, and fought to breathe. A coughing fit suddenly wracked his entire body, forcing him onto his knees again. His chest burned, and his green eyes rolled as he slipped into blackness, aware of only the shout of "KURAMA!" from Yusuke.
"Dammit, he's having a seizure or something!" Yusuke rushed to his fallen friend, who was indeed shaking violently on the floor, "Did you do anything?!" he turned a penetrating gaze to Harry, who shook his head, apparently lost for words.
"M-maybe it was in t-there..." Hermione weakly pointed to the goblet on Kurama's desk.
"KUSO! Kurama..." Yusuke started rambling in rapid Japanese, shaking Kurama's shoulders, but the kitsune stayed silent.
"Hn. It was poison, detective, but it won't kill him."
Yusuke's brown eyes widened as he slowly turned to see the short hybrid demon calmly sitting on the window sill like he'd been there for hours.
"H-Hiei?" Yusuke sighed with relief, releasing his grip on Kurama's shoulders and shaking his head.
Harry blinked, slowly lowering his hand. When did that guy get in...?
Hermione and Ron were equally stunned. This was just too much to take in one sitting. Not to mention both Hiei and Yusuke were still speaking Japanese, which they couldn't understand.
"A small wave of low-class demons and dementors are on their way here," Hiei switched to English so everyone understood, "I expect them to cross over to the ningenkai to the outskirts of these grounds in approximently 7 hours."
::End Chapter::