Yay! Another chapter up...the Point-of-View switches alot...sorry about that...XD But hey, I like it! Please review!
Chapter Four
Possible Recruit
"We've got reason to believe that Nibori and his group headed up towards the Western Mountains, but we're not for certain." A woman's bubbly voice woke Kazuki up slowly and his heart began to race as he realized five presences were in the room; Kurama and Hiei from last night, two ningen males, and this woman... The instinct in him told him to run, to escape from this trap, but his mind was working faster than his body could move. With an inward command, he forced himself to remain lying down, to lower what ki he had, so it felt to them as if he was still asleep. Then, trying to calm his pounding head, he began to take in what the group was saying.
"Why can't you just lock onto his ki and track him?" a youth with a some-what nasally tone asked.
"Idiot, as I said before," Hiei said, his uncaring voice sending chills down Kaz's spine. "Kitsune aren't a race to be messed with. They're tricky, blood lusting beasts who know nothing more than to kill...and enjoy it."
"But Kurama is–"
"Was." Kurama's tone was almost lonesome. "Was."
"Whatever. Surely you can track his ki, Kurama...you are the same species–"
"Kuwabara, that isn't possible," the woman spoke again. "You know that Kurama is no longer a youkai, at least in the physical part of it. He was reborn as a human..."
"She's right...I can't 'track' him, as you say. Kistunes are highly intelligent tricksters who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Nibori is probably several miles away by now. If Katsu knew about us, Nibori no doubt was the first to find out and is probably keeping guard, knowing we're on his tail," Kurama said.
Katsu...the fire-wielding guard of Nibori's, Kaz recalled with a feeling of slight hate. The man had been arrogant, completely cock-sure of himself, that he would kill a group he called the 'Spirit Detectives' and prove himself a worthy guard for their lord. But did that mean that this strange assembly who had saved him were, infact, the so-called Spirit Detectives?
"Besides, his ki energy's almost completely diminished," another voice, cocky and loud, spoke up with a yawn. "He's hiding it. He's gonna try to hold us off until the next Blood Moon comes around."
"Bingo," said the woman. "And it's crucial that we destroy him and whatever followers he has before that night...or the three worlds will surely fall..."
There was silence in the room for several minutes. "One question then," said the first ningen. "How do you know that the Kitsune is going up to the Western Mountains if you can't track his ki?"
"Well...you see..."
"Spit it out, Botan!"
Hiei, however, gave the woman no time to respond. "They've followed the bodies. Obviously the beasts are killing ningen along the way as they go...either for food or for pleasure. Or both. The idiots don't even bother to clean up after themselves."
"Yes. It's almost as if they're...daring us to follow..." Kurama murmured.
"Well then, let's get going!" Hiei snapped. "Before some idiot ningen finds the bodies and disposes of them before we can pick up a track."
"Uremeshi and the fox-boy still aren't well enough for us to travel."
"Hey, I'm just fine, thank you very much!" the second boy snorted.
"But Fox isn't," Kurama said.
"Do we care?" Hiei asked, once again taking up the icy tone Kazuki remembered from the night before. "Kurama, I don't see why you care so much about the enemy's whelp. You should've let me destroy him when we had the chance. You've grown too soft. Each and every little demon whelp in the world can't be saved by presumably loving arms. Instead they're left to suffer in the world, dying slowly or turning sides like weaklings. I'd kill him right here if given the chance."
"Which you won't be given," Kurama said briskly.
"Whatever. Just leave him here for that little onna to care for and let's go. We've got no time to waste."
"Hiei, we can spare a week for his recovery. Then we'll be back on track."
Another pause. "Okay then...boys...let's all go outside and get some fresh air, shall we?" Botan asked perkily. All four boys mumbled under their breaths, but Kazuki heard them get to their feet and go outside, the door shutting with a soft click. With that he sat up, opening the shutters to the window so that the room was bathed in light before sitting up in his bed. His whole chest was bandaged, the scent of his own blood stinging his nose, but it wasn't nearly as strong as it had been. Carefully he undid his wrappings to inspect the damage Nibori had done to him. He let out a soft gasp of surprise as he noticed that the wound had scabbed over and was already beginning to close on its own. He had never healed this fast before and immediately began to wonder how many days he had been out of it, under his strange saviors' care.
He re-wound the bandage, making sure the knot was secure, before deciding to test his balance. He stood with unease for a moment, tail straight out and ears flat. Fine. He could stand, but could he walk? The gash in his chest pounded with pain as he took a few steps, stumbling slightly but regaining his posture by resting a hand against the wall. By the time he reached the bedside he was exhausted and he flopped down onto his good side with a sigh.
So he wasn't dead. He had been saved by four strange youths; two ningen, two youkai. But why? Surely he wasn't that wanted between them, seeing as Hiei wanted to kill him. But if they were who he suspected they were, the Spirit Detectives Nibori had spoken of, then he had reason to worry. They would no doubt turn him in to King Yama, the lord of the Reikai, and the consequences could turn out rather...fatal.
"Either way I'm stuck," Kazuki murmured to himself, using his voice for the first time since the sacrifice. Besides, who knew. Hiei could kill him in his sleep before Yama could lay a hand on him. Just the thought of it sent another set of shivers down his spine and he winced as he fell back to sleep.
"Get up and fight me like a true warrior!" an unusually scratchy voice prodded into Kazuki's mind as the hybrid boy came around groggily. He let out a sharp yell of surprise to see an old man, his pale skin wrinkled and marred, blue-gray hair falling around his face hauntingly, hovering right above him. The man's beady bird-eyes were shielded by a pair of glasses, making him look almost harmless, but in his hand was a sword... "Did you hear meeee?" the man hissed excitedly, leaning closer.
"G-Get away from me!" Kazuki let out another cry, scrambling backwards away from the crazed old man and almost falling down as he stumbled over his bed sheets. Ears flat against his skull, the boy stole a glance around the room to find a rack of kendo sticks on the opposite wall. He took a deep breath then darted forward, barely passing under the old man's blade as it swung towards him. Kaz ripped one of the sticks from the wall and turned to face the man, his anger rising but fear shocking him. This man...was a ningen! What the hell was he doing attacking him like this like some deranged bat!
The man leaped forward again, blade drawn, but Kazuki jumped to the side, knocking it away with the bamboo rod in his hands. This only seemed the make the elder more aroused as he jumped again, the blade sliding right through the kendo stick, splitting it into two separate pieces. "What is your problem?" Kaz yelled at the man, dodging another blow.
The elder merely smirked and gave another war cry. "Learn lessons demon-whelp! Learn not be weakling!" Kaz dropped the sticks and rushed in for another one, wielding it as well. This one, and the next few he tried, were also sliced into two and as the man stopped to catch his breath, Kazuki's instincts took ahold. With a yelp, he burst through the door, sliding across the slick wooden floor, but not before grabbing another weapon hanging on the wall.
He raced out of the dojo, onto the cobblestone streets. Hearing the man chasing after him, shouting strange curse words and something about being a weakling, only made Kaz run faster, but the man was quickly upon him.
He felt a sharp pain bite into his shoulder and he whipped around to see the man had managed to strike him. "What the hell is your problem?" he snarled, pulling the sheath from his own blade and raising it. The man glowered eerily at him and merely laughed.
—
"Whoa, what's going on over there?" Yusuke wondered, looking over towards the dojo, where a group of people were encircling something.
"Looks like a fight, Uremeshi," said Kuwabara, getting a strange sparkle in his eyes. "Most likely a street brawl between thugs...let's go check it out!"
Kurama's mind was only on Fox and his heart pounded uneasily. Would he've tried to get away, only to be attacked? Or had someone attacked him? He glanced over at Botan, whose lips were pursed worriedly, and his fears were confirmed. Without thinking, he darted forwards, past Yusuke and Kuwabara, pushing himself into the thickly-gathered crowd. Oh no...he thought to himself, seeing the old man who was presumably Naomi's grandfather, head to head with Kazuki in a sword fight.
"You run like child!" the man yelled out, stopping Kazuki's blow and striking with another. Kaz took a step back, trying to regain his balance, and then leaned forward to jab again. The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air and Kurama had no idea his friends were beside him until Yusuke spoke up.
"Wow...the kid seems to know a few techniques for being injured and rather antisocial," he said with a laugh. "In fact..."
"Don't even think about it, Yusuke," Hiei snarled, and Yusuke just laughed.
"Nameless one! Fearing my blade? Fight or die!" the old swordsman yowled, chasing after the fox, whose ears were flat, chest heaving. Suddenly he jumped forward, clipping the man's side with his shoulder and bringing the sword up into a blow.
"I'm not," He batted the next blade swing away. "Nameless!"
"Then, Nameless one, reveal name and we shall see!"
"Will you shut up already?" the fox snarled, leaping forward. Then, as if making a second choice, he stopped dead in his tracks. And disappeared. The crowd let out startled gasps and whispers, then another wave of shock went through them as the boy reappeared behind the dojo leader. With his elbow, he jabbed forward into the back of the man's neck, then slipped his arm around so that the cool metal of his blade was digging slightly into the flesh of the swordsman's throat.
"He's gonna kill him!" Kuwabara hissed at Kurama, who shook his head. But infact, he was worried about the same thing. This fox-child was a follower of the Kitsune Nibori... He knew himself, as Youko, never once faltered at killing anything, especially if they were messing with him. All it would take was one more word and the blade could easily lop off that man's head...and in front of all those innocent humans...
"Stop it!" Naomi's voice rang out as she pushed herself into the middle of the 'ring'. Coming upon the scene, she yelped in surprise, seeing the fox-boy with a blade across her grandfather's neck. Her eyes met Kazuki's and the fox's were full of fury. Kurama wanted to reach towards him, to plead with him to let the man go before something deadly occurred, but his legs wouldn't move. He was only aware of his mind spinning, his heart pounding in fear of this youkai's next move.
—
As he stared into this girl's eyes, shining with anger and indignation, Kazuki felt his own furor melt away. With a slight whine he realized what he was doing...he was surrounded by ningen, his blade at a deranged swordsman's neck, threatening his life. They were all watching him, and he caught a glimpse of Kurama, the one who had rescued him...he was looking at him worriedly. Untrustingly. What am I doing? Kazuki wondered, fear stabbing at his heart.
He barely realized he had dropped the sword, which clattered to the ground with a slight "ching". Turning back to the enraged girl, the man's granddaughter, he lowered his ears and tail, fear grasping him completely. Instinct told him to run once again and this time he obeyed. His feet moved faster than they had ever done before as he jerked away and bolted into the crowd.
Shit. Shit. Shit, he kept repeating to himself, ignoring the cries of people as he bumped into them. Why did I do that? What took ahold of me there? But be serious, the other, bolder side of his mind seemed to say. He was coming at you with a blade. You were merely using self defense. But still...shit!
"Fox!"
He tried to ignore Kurama's cries, but the older boy was coming after him. His footsteps were fast, falling lightly and swiftly, and Kazuki knew he couldn't outrun this man. The only way out was to fight...or to submit...
Turning on his heel, he faced Kurama warily, letting out a low growl. His ears were low, tail tucked in fear and pain. His chest was starting to throb again and the feeling of warmth against his shoulder told him that the wound had split open and was bleeding. The red-haired ningen-youkai neared him, his emerald eyes sparkling with worry. There wasn't a trace of anger in them, surprisingly...even after what he had done. "I...I–" Kazuki began, but Kurama walked towards him unfaltering. Kaz closed his eyes, lowering his head as his mind hammered with the thoughts of punishment he was about to receive when he felt warmth around him, arms embracing him.
He dared not to move, eyes still squeezed shut in fear. He noticed he was trembling, shaking in this man's grasp. He couldn't help himself. He tried to pull away but his head swam and he felt his knees buckle, the fear of falling making him stiffen. Kurama didn't let him. He just stood there, embracing him, holding him firmly. Almost...tenderly.
"It's okay...you're alright," his soft voice murmured, calming Kazuki slightly.
"But–I...I–"
"Shhh..."
"I didn't mean to...he...the man..." Kaz was unable to keep the tremor from his voice as he trembled. He felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes and he let them fall, giving into the fear. "I don't want to die..."
A hand tilted Kazuki's chin upwards and he opened his eyes, surprised almost to be staring into Kurama's own gaze. "You're not going to die. I won't let that happen." The man's voice was so caressing, so...self assured. "Just relax, Fox...calm down..."
"Kurama–"
"Shhh..."
Kazuki sighed and let his guard down, falling into Kurama's arms. Pressing the side of his face into the other youkai's shoulder, he felt tears burning again, but a strangely serene darkness ebbing away at his thoughts. It's okay, he thought, going limp in the man's grasp as he felt sleep take over his sore body. I hope...
—
Kurama picked up the battered boy in his arms, still holding him protectively. He had this strange feeling towards the fox-boy...a feeling he had never felt before. Like he had to protect the child, to raise him as a father figure. Which was strange, himself only being 24 and never before having these so-called 'fatherly' feelings towards anything. Still...as the boy's head was resting on Kurama's chest, he felt his face flush, heart pounding heavily as he walked back to the dojo.
Naomi was there, arguing rather loudly with her grandfather, who had dropped his sword and was now acting rather...dazed. She spun on her heel to glare at Kurama as he neared, her eyes sparkling with anger and doubt. "Shuichi, that whelp could've killed my grandfather! He's some sort of feral beast. It would be best if you left–"
Kurama shook his head. "Please, Naomi...I'm sure there's an obvious explanation to this! The fox is almost healed and as soon as he can manage, we're gone. Just don't throw us out...please?"
"Last chance, Shuichi," the girl snarled, turning away from him to console her grandfather, who was standing, a peaceful smile on his face as he gave Kurama a little wave. "Good day, isn't it?" It was obvious the man had no idea what had just happened...
Back inside the dojo Kurama washed the boy's wound and re-applied the dressings. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan and Hiei walked in a few minutes later, the boys taking up their usual spots. Botan hovered on her oar.
"What happened?" she asked Kurama, her head tilted to one side curiously.
"Yeah, seems to me that the boy's had some sort of training to be able to hold off that crazed old man!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Yusuke laughed, about to say something as well, but Hiei glared at him.
"Don't even speak it, detective, if you cherish your head!"
"I don't think he's dangerous..." Kurama said, glancing down at him, who was now sleeping peacefully, ears flopped over across his dark hair. "He's scared...He's had a bad past. He attacks out of fear, fear of death most likely because he's dealing with pain rather well..."
"How do you know this?" Yusuke inquired.
"I don't. I just have a feeling," Kurama replied, but said no more. He wondered what the others would think if he tried to explain what had happened back in the alley. The fox had cried...he feared death so much as to trust Kurama himself, a potential enemy, he was sure, in the boy's eyes. And he knew that Yusuke and Kuwabara would laugh if he spoke of his feelings towards this...
"So...we've got a fox-demon who's talented with a sword on our hands. This could work out two ways," Botan chirped. "One...we take him to Koenma and let his father deal with him...which might not be such a good thing...or..." Her voice trailed off, but Yusuke finished for her.
"Or we talk Koenma into letting him join our league."
"Yusuke!" Hiei snarled, ki flaring in anger.
"Well, think about it! He's youkai, or at least part, and a former follower of Nibori. He could easily help us find the Kitsune and his gang before the blood moon, we destroy the group of em, and bang. We win. Back to a peaceful world!"
"You do have a point, Uremeshi," Kuwabara said, scratching his head. "For once."
"But if he's fearful, he might not fight for us," Botan murmured. "He'd need a teacher, someone to take him on full-time–"
Kurama looked up at her, smiling slightly. "I'll do that. He trusted me enough back there to carry him home, even after what he did...I think I could manage to tame him."
"Smells like we got a possible recruit. A new Spirit Detective."
"Then bingo! I'll go off to ask permission from Koenma and I'll be back first thing in the morning!" Botan said and with a slight "poof", disappeared.
"Hiei–" Kurama began, but the Jaganshi turned his back on them with a short "Hn," and took up his residence in the windowsill, looking up into the moon. Kurama smiled. The fire demon would get used to it...he always did. Turning back to Fox, he reached out a hand and brushed a stray strand of hair away from the youth's forehead.
"Hey, who's hungry?" Kuwabara's voice came from the other room as he staggered in with another bag of food. Kurama and Yusuke couldn't help but laugh.
