Fate: Tee hee. We may draw a picture of Aven Vincent, because he's pretty nifty-looking. We'll get back to you on that one.
Disclaimer: We have dibs on Aven Vincent, because we want him. But everyone else belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.
"Now listen well, Aven Vincent. You may not harm this human." Botan rolled her eyes to the ceiling as Koenma continued. "In case we are wrong, we have to return this human in one piece."
"And if we're right?" It was a purring, persuasive voice that Aven Vincent had. It suited their interrogator's dark looks. Blue-black skin, dark purple hair, empty white eyes, and a lime green tongue behind rows of sharp teeth. "Then what, sir?"
"Then continue as usual," Koenma answered. "Botan!"
"Yes?" The blue-haired girl jumped to attention.
"You will attend the interrogation, as we discussed," Koenma began.
"Wait a minute!" Aven Vincent looked speculatively at Botan. "I've got an audience?"
Botan glowered at him.
"You're kidding, right?" Aven Vincent asked Koenma. "Seriously. She's wearing pink."
"I was wearing black before I got here," Botan retorted.
"Her hair is blue." Aven Vincent threw his clawed hands into the air. "How am I supposed to look threatening with her in the room?"
"I think you'll manage," Koenma replied. "Being as it's a human and all. Now go."
"But – "
"Just go already!"
"Fine, fine, fine." Aven Vincent stomped from the room, elbowing the oni aside. Botan shot one last look at Koenma, then ran after him.
"Now look. Don't talk, don't move, don't do anything, and above all, don't interrupt if I'm getting somewhere," Aven Vincent snapped.
Botan clutched her oar tighter. "Rightyoh."
"'Rightyoh'?!"
"Uh huh."
"Ye gods and little fishes!" Aven Vincent smacked himself on the forehead, then stopped by a locked and guarded door. "Now absolutely do not talk." He glanced at her, noted her affirmative nod, and glared at the guards. "Open up."
Botan took a deep breath and fished her notepad out from inside her kimono as the door swung open.
She'd seen the man before, but certainly not strung up by his wrists from a set of manacles. She slunk into the room after Aven Vincent and slipped into the farthest corner, trying not to step in pools of unidentified ickyness.
"So what's your name, ningen?" Aven Vincent sneered.
The man stared blankly at the shadowy demon, then looked at her. Botan looked back expressionlessly. You murdered an innocent woman. She stuffed her anger down, storing it for later use, and waited for Aven Vincent to get annoyed.
It didn't take long.
"All right, ningen. We're going to get something straight right now," Aven Vincent purred. He grabbed the man's face in both clawed hands and pulled it forward so that they were almost nose to nose. "You're going to answer my questions, or you're going to be in little pieces on the floor." He licked his lips. "Don't look at the girl in the corner, dammit!" He slammed the human back against the wall. "You're looking at her for help, aren't you? Do you know what that girl is?"
"De...mon," the man whispered.
Aven Vincent laughed. "Heh. You're wrong, human. She's the angel of death. She's here to take your soul away if I should accidentally do away with you in the course of interrogation. So play nice for me, ningen. What's your name?"
[-]
Hiei was woken from his almost-sleep state by a small vine twirling up his arm and around his neck. "Kitsune."
"Mmm?"
"Are you trying to kill me?"
Kurama turned and blinked at him. "Oh. Oh dear. I think she likes you."
"She?" Hiei looked even more confused.
Kurama rectified this perplexity by holding out a small rose plant for Hiei's examination. "She calms me."
"Hn." Hiei glanced around to see tendrils extending all around the area. "So I see. Did all the humans go away?"
"No," Kurama replied. "But most of them have gone, I think."
"I don't suppose you could get this plant to stop strangling me, could you?" Hiei inquired.
Kurama looked intently at the rosebush in his hands. "Hmm. I'm trying. She really does like you."
The door slid open. "I can't imagine why."
Kurama and Hiei both whipped around to behold Botan. The ferry girl was back in her pink kimono, but it was so smeared with grime, blood, and other noxious substances that it was nearly brown. She looked somewhere between exhausted and horrified.
"What happened?" Kurama asked.
"I'm taking notes for Aven Vincent," Botan replied, raking a hand through her bangs and rubbing at her eyes. "He started getting really pissed off, so Koenma made us take a break before he tore the human limb from limb. We're supposed to practice some restraint until we get confirmation that he's involved with demons."
"How nice," Hiei muttered.
"Anyway, one of the things I was supposed to do on my break was, um," Botan broke off and stared at the floor. "Collect Shiori."
Kurama's head snapped up. "What?"
"Your mother is ready to go on," Botan said gently. "It wouldn't be fair to keep her here." She held out one hand. "Come with me. We'll go together."
Kurama dazedly rose to his feet, putting the plant in his hands on the tatami. "All right," he finally said. "I'll go."
Botan nodded. "Very well." She produced her oar and plopped herself on the handle, then pushed Kurama down next to her. "Hold on." She wheeled and then sent the oar soaring out through one of the walls.
Hiei sulked briefly at being abandoned in a foreign human house. He then stood up, disentangled himself from the rosebush, grabbed his sword, and stormed out of the room.
"Hiei!" Yusuke waved at him. "Where's Kurama?"
"Went with the ferry girl," Hiei supplied.
"We're going," Yusuke announced, gesturing at Keiko and then to himself. "You wanna crash in Kurama's room? It's raining and all."
Hiei raised his eyebrows. "Hn."
"All right," Yusuke answered cheerfully. "Let's get out of here." He looped arms with Keiko and towed her down the street. Hiei glanced at them, then stuck his katana through his belt loop again and hopped into a tree.
Why should he walk around on the ground like a ningen anyway?
[-]
"Here we are," Botan said, touching down on Kurama's porch. The redhead slid off the oar and wobbled a bit before regaining his balance.
"Well, well," a soft voice spoke up. "So many things you never notice while you're alive come to light when you've died."
Kurama spun, the blood draining from his face. "Okaasan."
"Shuuichi," Shiori said. "So many things you never told me."
"I..." Kurama bit his lip hard, trying to come up with a coherent reply. "I didn't know how."
"It's all right, my Shuuichi," Shiori stepped closer and laid a hand on Kurama's shoulder, her insubstantial touch like air. "It didn't change you at all, little demon."
Kurama stiffened. "I...I'm sorry. For taking your child..."
"I don't regret it," Shiori said gently. "I would not trade you for any human child in the world." She looked over at Botan, then back at Kurama. "Believe me."
Kurama nodded jerkily. "I...I believe you."
Shiori smiled and kissed Kurama's forehead. "Take care, my lovely, wonderful son. I will miss you...very much."
"Mummy..." Kurama blinked rapidly, then returned the smile. "I'll miss you. I'll visit."
"Can you do that?" Shiori asked.
"He can," Botan spoke up. "With the permission of someone in power to open the gates."
"Then make sure you visit," Shiori ordered, tapping Kurama's nose as best she could. "I love you, my own little demon."
"And I...love you." Kurama blurted.
"Goodbye," Shiori said, stepping back and sitting on the oar proffered by Botan.
"Bye," Kurama breathed as Botan lifted off and soared away with her passenger.
The redhead stood there for a long minute, then ducked under the crime tape and strode off down the street, the rain slicking his hair to his shoulders.
[-]
"You want coffee?" Yusuke asked when Hiei strolled in the door a few hours later, exuding nonchalance and dripping water all over the floor.
"Meh."
"Here." Hiei took the proffered mug, examined it, downed it quickly, and stalked into the back room without a word.
"God, he's creepy," Keiko announced.
"He's a lot of fun in the Makai," Yusuke replied. "Killing demons left and right, doing his weird little thing, beating up on Kuwabara from time to time, yelling at people, throwing things, being treacherous and violent, you know. It's all good."
Keiko glared at him. "You keep the strangest company."
The door at the end of the hall slammed open. "I heard that." Slam.
Yusuke snatched a cigarette from Atsoko's pack. "See what I mean?"
Atsoko woke up and blinked. "Huh?"
"Hiei, Kurama, and Keiko are all staying over again," Yusuke announced. "Hey, maybe I should invite Kuwabara!"
Slam. Yusuke could feel the demonic glare from down the hallway and through a couple walls. "Or maybe I won't. Jeez, Hiei, you really do have the Evil Eye."
"Hn." Slam.
"Well," Keiko said in the silence that followed. "And since when am I staying over?"
"Since you don't trust me or Mum to take care of Kurama," Yusuke retorted. "Don't bother!" he yelled to Hiei.
Keiko facepalmed.
Someone rapped lightly on the door.
Yusuke hastened over, lighting his cigarette at last as he did so, and glanced out the window. He nearly bit his cigarette in half in shock. "Kurama!"
"What?" Keiko demanded, sitting up straight on the couch.
"He looks like hell," Yusuke said, sounding awed.
"Dolt! Let him in!" Keiko yelled.
"Oh. Right." Yusuke flung the door open to behold a drenched and dead-white Kurama. "Hey," he added ineffectually.
"Hello," Kurama whispered.
"You want coffee?" Yusuke asked, pulling the redhead into the front room.
"Sure," Kurama replied numbly.
Slam. Yusuke again could feel the force of Hiei's eyes. Or eye. He wasn't really sure which. "Kurama's back!" he yelled for Hiei's benefit.
"Hn."
No slam yet. Yusuke found this encouraging. "You want more coffee?"
The sound of rushing air answered him.
Yusuke handed over two more cups of coffee, then busied himself with pouring out more for the remaining three people in the room. "So. Anything special anyone want to watch on TV?"
"You have homework, Yusuke," Keiko scolded.
"What about it?" Yusuke retorted.
"You should do it."
"I don't see you doing any homework."
"That's because mine is already done!"
"You're crazy!"
Hiei shot a longing glance at his sword, then at the coffeepot.
"Excuse me," Kurama muttered, pushing away from the table and disappearing into the back room, leaving a trail of water after him.
"It must be pouring out there," Keiko said thoughtfully. "How are you so dry?" she inquired of Hiei.
Hiei very deliberately reached out, took a cigarette from the much-abused pack, and blew on the end. He tossed the lit cigarette to Keiko, then went back to glowering at the empty cup in front of him.
"Hmm," Yusuke said thoughtfully. He went over to a closet and retrieved a bundle of clothes. "Catch these. Not with a sword, not with your head, not with fire or anything, but in the normal fashion. You may be dry, but your clothes are wet, and Kurama is definitely soaked." He tossed the bundle at Hiei, who caught them sulkily and disappeared in a blur of black.
[-]
"You're supposed to be drying off, not getting wetter."
Kurama swiped one hand under his eyes and looked up at Hiei from under sopping bangs. "I know."
Hiei dropped one set of clothes on Kurama's head, then unstuck his sword from the jeans. His finesse with fire ran to keeping his hair dry and burning things to ashes instantaneously. Therefore dry clothes, while not a necessity, weren't a bad thing either.
Katana out of the way, Hiei finally wrestled himself out of the scary "SAVES THE DAY!" shirt, only to find that the replacement had "Z0B13Z!" scrawled across the front in bright green. He needed to have a talk with Yusuke, either about recovering his normal clothes or about getting something else to wear.
He was still staring at the black and green...thing...when he heard an ominous muffled sob behind him.
Hiei whirled to behold Kurama toying with a rather nasty-looking thorny vine and wiping at his eyes almost nonstop.
"Fox?" Hiei folded his arms and stared down at Kurama.
"Come here for a minute," Kurama said without looking up.
Hiei crouched next to the other demon and stared at him inquisitively. "Yea – oof!" He glanced sideways at Kurama, who had decided to use him as a squeezy-toy of sorts. "Er."
"Do you mind?" Kurama asked.
Hiei thought about it and figured that if he minded, he'd have stabbed Kurama by now. "Hn."
"Okay." Sniffle.
After a few minutes of sitting thus in relative silence, Kurama glanced over at the door. "Oh." He released Hiei quickly and snatched up the piece of paper that had been slipped in. "The police are done with my house and are under the impression that I'm an emancipated minor and can live in the house on my own as willed to me by my mother, since she died before her marriage, and do I want to go to school tomorrow?" Sigh. "I haven't got my uniform or anything."
Hiei had by then finished swapping clothes. "I'll get it." He picked up his sword, glanced at Kurama, then slid the window open and jumped out.
Kurama half-smiled and flopped back onto the futon, grabbing the nearest towel and draping it over his head. Something tells me I embarrassed him. His half-smile turned into a full-out smirk. Or did I...?
Heh. Now this could certainly distract me from everything else.
He rolled over and started rubbing at his hair, sending water droplets everywhere. But should I? I wonder. My mother knows I'm a demon now, and I have the house to myself, now that she's...she's...anyway, why shouldn't I be a youko? Kurama tossed the towel aside and began finger-combing his hair out. It feels wrong...but right. The red-haired demon sighed impatiently. "Bloody hell," he whispered. "This is going to be complicated."
Fluffy: La. What, you didn't think Kurama would stay a snivelling human the entire time, now, did you?
HieiLovesBotan: That was me poking fun at random incoherent fans. "OMG OMG DID YOU SEE THE EYES?!" flails Fear not, I'll go back to normal someday.
Henrika: We all devoutly either ignore or embroider upon the 'good friends' bit. I personally prefer to embroider rather than ignore. Besides...Kurama's a youko at heart, and we all know just how celibate youko are. Hee. I'm just assuming Kurama's been nabbed on and off for a while. Oh, and Yoshiko? She definitely has a point. Mwaha.
ExtremelyEvilKitty: Mweep! runs screaming to hide behind her 'fluff-filled hikari of DOOM!!' Points to anyone who gets the reference.
Kerei Kitsune: Thanks, and yes! D
SweetMisery: proffers Kurama
Duel: Fwee! REVIEW FOR MEEEEE!
