Sunshine – Chapter Five: Demons
OOOOO
Virtually out of sight, Hiei allowed himself an almost invisible smile as he turned over in bed, figuring the small rising of his mouth's edges would not slight his fearsome image if no one were there to see it happen. Though it was a habit of his to rise with the sun, it had been quite some time since he had felt so good about greeting the day. On the inside, anyway—he still had three long scratches across the soft flesh of his abdomen, and although Mukuro had offered to have him healed with her machines, Hiei considered it an insult to allow her to take such drastic measures over a wound the rugrat had given him days prior. He lingered in bed a little longer, pulling the blankets he had kicked off over the course of the night back over his body. Getting comfortable, he allowed his mind to wander to last night.
It was the night before that his lady had told him that Shura had been successfully moved to the Ningenkai and, despite the fact that Kurama had unfortunately been landed with the job of keeping the little hellion out of trouble, Hiei could not have been happier. Ever since Prince Shura had learned that he would be met with resistance upon crossing the border, he seemed to have made a game out of how many times he could land a hit on Hiei. At first, the fire demon had been more than happy to give the boy a beating—he found it amusing how brash the prince was, attacking so sloppily, like a wild animal. Later though, he found that Shura had started study him as they were fighting, and sometimes he went so far as to preempt Hiei's attacks. Before Hiei knew it, their duels quickly evolved from one-sided skirmishes to all out war.
Hiei had been shocked to see all of the raw power Shura possessed, and he sometimes wondered whether or not the prince could even control such force. On occasion, Hiei would catch Shura's eyes widen with alarm upon unleashing a wave of energy, as if he had not meant for it to happen. Upon further experimentation, Hiei concluded that Shura had some semblance of control, but could not seem to regulate how much force he used. Hiei found that strange, as he remembered the boy had appeared in control at the Makai Tournament. After recalling that, he passed off Shura's mistakes as nothing more than flukes.
However, flukes or not, it was dangerous for Hiei to allow such destructive power to be used so frequently, thus he limited himself to short-range combat, hoping Shura would stick to using his fists. This led to considerably more injuries, but Hiei found that he preferred it that way, as it seemed to take Shura much longer to recover from cuts received from the fire demon's katana.
After Shura's first few adventures into Mukuro's territory, Hiei became the unofficial captain of the so-called 'Shura Patrol', which eventually dwindled down to just him, the normal guardsmen dropping like flies. After the first month, the joy of sparring with someone on his level wore off for Hiei. 'Shura Patrol' became a chore for him, and he often found himself regretting just not killing the boy when he had the chance. Yomi could clone himself another kid for all Hiei cared. He had more important jobs to do than baby-sit some powerhouse of a boy who could not keep himself occupied elsewhere. Though she showed no sign of it, Hiei could also tell Mukuro hated to have him deal with Shura so often, but she knew that other than herself they were the only ones in the kingdom who could hope to subdue the prince.
But, that was over and done with. At least, temporarily.
Feeling as if he would dose off he did not get up, Hiei rolled out of bed and onto his feet, padding over to where his day clothes were. Slipping them on with little event, he strolled out of his room, katana at his side.
As usual, he was the second to the private dining area in Mukuro's fortress, the lady of the castle already up and mulling over papers while sipping at her drink. Hiei took the seat across from her.
"Good morning, Hiei," she greeted, not needing to look up. "I trust you slept quite well."
He smiled at her, and only her. "Quite well," he echoed.
A servant approached Hiei with a plate of food, placing it in front of him, followed by a glass.
"I truly hate to do this to you," Mukuro began, "but it appears Koenma requires your services." She indicated by waving the letter that had informed her of Shura's whereabouts last night. "I would have given it to you yesterday, but I wanted you to rest easy."
"I appreciate that. What could possibly be bothering him now?" Hiei questioned, exasperated, mumbling something along the lines of 'having a ridiculously long debt for a bloodstain'.
"How about you tell me?" Mukuro asked gently, handing him the letter.
Hiei made a disapproving sound, but accepted the letter anyway. The path to literacy was a long and arduous one. Though Koenma used many big words to make himself sound important, Hiei did not have a lot of difficulty piecing together the gist of the letter.
"He wants me to go investigate some demons suspected of tampering with the barrier," Hiei summarized. "He also uses 'would' too much."
"It's diplomatic. He doesn't want to sound too bossy," Mukuro informed him, amused at his frankness. "Pretty soon I'll make you write instead of talk," she told him nonchalantly.
Hiei frowned at her. "That almost makes me want to reconsider my stay here. Also, bossy and Koenma are synonymous."
"Do you think you can handle it?" Mukuro asked him, changing the topic. "Perhaps you should rest in one of the rehibilit—"
Hiei cut her off. "I'll be fine," he told her, inwardly touched by her concern. "They're just low-levels with an appetite for human flesh."
Mukuro concurred. "I suppose these lowlifes aren't capable of causing half the damage that rapscallion did." She brought her fingers to her temples at the memory. "Let us all hope your fox friend whips him into shape."
"I doubt he won't be too frazzled," Hiei commented, getting up from the table. "If you have no need for me here, I'll be off," he said, stuffing the letter into his pocket.
"You are free to leave," she told him. "Do watch yourself."
He nodded at her and departed the room, leaving a gust of air in his wake.
OOOOO
Meanwhile, on the other side of the barrier, Kurama woke up to the smell of cooking. Sparing a glance at his clock—6:50 AM—he slipped out of bed and switched off his alarm, figuring he did not need that extra forty minutes, anyway. Changing out of his pajamas, he left his room quietly, taking extra care not rouse Shura.
He strode into the kitchen and was met by Botan, confirming his initial suspicions. Chances were it was not a burglar kind enough to make him breakfast.
"Good morning," Kurama said quietly, sitting down where he had the night before.
"Oh!" Botan jumped before turning around. "Good morning to you, too. Did I wake you up?"
"Yeah," he said, seeing her open her mouth to apologize. "But I don't mind. Smells nice. I don't recall buying any pancake batter though."
"I brought some stuff from my place like I did yesterday," she said. "You've got awfully boring food. I plan to enjoy having taste buds while I'm here."
Kurama laughed at her, "I'll keep that in mind next time I'm at the store."
"You'd better," she threatened, going back to flipping the pancakes. "Or else you may find yourself over the stove again."
Kurama got up and poured himself some orange juice. "Did Koenma say anything concerning Shuuichi?" he asked Botan, taking a sip from his glass. "Shuuichi called me last night. A lot sooner than I predicted he would. He told me everything he thought about Shura."
"Well, I know this is going to sound stupid, but…" Shuuichi started into the phone, hesitating.
"But what?" Kurama prompted him.
"I think there's a demon at my school," he said as seriously as he could, not knowing if his brother would believe him.
Kurama made himself sound surprised. "What makes you think that?" he queried.
"He has pointy ears and a horn. His eyes are different, too. They're pink," Shuuichi said. "And apparently I'm the only one who's noticed."
"Has he done anything bad?"
Shuuichi paused to think. "Well, no. Not yet, anyway. It would be rather silly for a demon bent on destroying humanity to enroll in school… I just want to know what he's doing here." Another pause. "I'd ask, but what if he wigs out and blows something up?"
Kurama laughed aloud at this.
"That's not funny!" Shuuichi yelled into his receiver.
"Sorry, sorry," Kurama apologized, taking a moment to listen for any movement from Shura.
"Listen, Shuuichi. I can't predict the intentions of this demon, but I'll call you back tomorrow after I've contacted the proper authorities," Kurama lied, referencing Koenma.
"Okay," Shuuichi said. "Thanks for believing me," he added sheepishly, "Everyone I've questioned about this new Minamino has looked at me like I was crazy."
"Oh!" Shuuichi exclaimed after realizing what he just said. "I forgot about that. This demon said his surname was Minamino. That is yours and Mom's last name, right? You aren't really related, are you?"
Kurama feigned ignorance. "No, I'm pretty sure I've never heard of him."
"Oh. Well, I guess that's all then. I'm sorry for calling so late."
"It's alright. You can call me whenever you need to. Good night, Shuuichi."
"G'night, Sh—Kurama."
"Koenma said it would be fine," Botan said, setting a plate of pancakes in front of Kurama. She giggled. "George even suggested that they should be playmates. Like as if they were five-year-olds! Well, one of them is, but still…"
"From the way they seem to feel about each other, I doubt that would be very productive," Kurama commented.
"I know. It would be funny though," Botan added, sitting down to enjoy her breakfast.
Shura stomped into the kitchen around 7:30, sitting down as far away from Kurama as he possibly could. Alfador followed shortly after.
"Good morning, Sunshine!" Botan welcomed him, getting up to fix his breakfast.
Shura frowned at the name. "Morning," he muttered to Botan, not feeling anything good about it. He watched the two of them cut apart their pancakes before mimicking.
Shortly afterward Botan and Shura left for school, leaving Kurama to his own devices. He thought about calling his brother, but then reminded himself that Shuuichi was probably already on his way to school. Kurama checked his planner, noting that he had to go a class at ten. Until then though, he was free. Not having anything better to do, he flipped the TV on to the local news station.
"For those of you just joining us, our topic for this morning is yet two more kidnappings in a recent chain of abductions. Last night a young man walking home from work was reportedly "yanked out of nowhere". Eyewitnesses claim that he screamed while some invisible force tugged him into the alley on Fifteenth Street. In the same area, a woman was reported missing by her roommate just this morning, the details of her disappearance unknown. This brings the abduction count to seven over the last three days…"
Kurama made a face. Seven? Someone was awfully busy.
"Though there has been no found connection between the victims themselves," the newscaster continued, "It is safe to say that the kidnapper or kidnappers have only been striking in the Fifteenth Street Park area. Police have searched the premises, but their examination has yielded no leads."
The camera changed from the newsroom view to a live shot of the alley where the sixth victim disappeared, the people passing by going along at a quicker pace than they normally would have. Kurama was about to change the station when he saw something that definitely should not have been there. A flash of green darted into the alley, disappearing with a spark of light.
Feeling that his immaculate grades could afford to suffer, Kurama left to investigate.
OOOOO
Hiei flew through the forests north of Mukuro's fortress with unparalleled speed. He had hoped to reach the place Koenma specified by noon, and judging by the sun he was making incredible time. The area of interest seemed to have popped up over night, demons from the area consolidating to form a sort of village.
Koenma had written that his spies had reported suspicious activity just a few days ago, but only recently did a spy return with evidence to suggest something more than just a simple gathering of demons. One of his scouts had come across the body of a human girl. The letter did not go into excruciating detail, but Koenma wrote that she appeared to have been brutalized and half eaten upon discovery.
From the desk of Koenma, Hall of Judgment, Reikai:
Lady Mukuro,
I would like to inform you that Prince Shura has been removed from the Makai indefinitely. I would also like to apologize to you and your heir for the trouble he has caused. Consequently, I would ask you not to bring this series of events up with Yomi in the near future, as his son's sudden change in disposition has him rather distraught, though he has hidden it well. In regards to the prince's whereabouts, I would like to inform Hiei that he has been sent to Youko Kurama's human residence, where he will reside until otherwise moved. If Hiei should ever want to visit his friend, I would advise that you inform him of that beforehand.
My second reason for writing today is that I have a request for Hiei. You may also read it, for it is your decision to show him this letter in the end.
Hiei,
I do realize that both you and Kurama were acquitted of all charges against you for your outstanding service as one-half of our detective team. However, I would like to ask your assistance in the following matter.
It has come to the Reikai's attention that there have been several suspicious instances in which demons were spotted arguing amongst themselves. Though this would normally not be a reason to worry, I sent two of my spies down to further investigate the matter. Though they did not enter the inner circle of this group of demons, they made a few startling discoveries. The first one of which they only overheard. They reported to me that the majority of the demons gathered were hired, but there was one thing that really struck us as odd—most of these hired swords barely broke the E ranking. Later they discovered the carcass of a human girl. She had been killed only recently, and she appeared to be partially eaten. Of course, I did not rule out the fact that she could have slipped into the Makai by accident. There are points in the barrier that weak beings can creep through, but the chances of finding one are very slim. However, that theory was proved invalid, as additional scattered remains were also found shortly thereafter.
I will spare you in explaining how we came to our current conclusion, as I am sure you have already figured it out. On the off chance you have not, here is a long story short: a weak spot was found and E-class or weaker demons are getting free meals because of it. We are not sure whether this whole orchestration has a stronger ringleader, but I advise you to be careful. The scouts say that there are at least thirty demons there, but more may join them between now and the present. The place where they are gathered is about fifty miles north of Mukuro's territory. Your mission is to simply put an immediate stop to their operation. Kill if you must. As much as it pains me to say this, I will work out the details later.
Koenma
Hiei, figuring he was nearing his destination, slowed his pace to a jog, keeping his eye out for any sort of guards. Soon enough he spotted one, a big lumbering mountain of a demon. The fire demon approached the behemoth with caution, but he appeared to be asleep. Not wasting anytime, Hiei drew out his katana, planning to kill the slumbering demon before he could become much of a nuisance. Hiei frowned, not normally approving of such easy kills, but he wanted to prolong his discovery as much as he could. With a leap, he sliced at the giant's neck, easily decapitating him. His massive body fell with a languid motion, thumping to the ground rather audibly, acidic blood gushing forth from the open wound and scorching the ground upon contact.
Hiei hid himself behind a tree and waited for any response. Hearing none, he walked along in the shadows of the foliage, taking care to tread lightly.
After a few minutes of walking, the forest began to clear, whittling away at his cover and giving shape to several poorly constructed bungalows that encircled a larger mansion. Taking a moment to plan his next action, Hiei sauntered into the open. He was spotted immediately.
"Hey, you!" a tall and lanky demon called.
Hiei stood impassively as he was approached. "Yes?" he asked, giving the demon a haughty look.
The taller demon narrowed his eyes. "What do you think you're doing here?" he questioned, squatting down so he could be on eye level with the intruder.
"I'm here to offer my services," Hiei answered without hesitation. "I hear there's a good meal to be had."
The other demon whipped his head back and cackled wildly. "There is, if you're willing to wait for it."
"What's going on over there?" another demon shouted, coming to stop by his fellow inquisitor. He was short and bulky, with a blue tint to his skin.
"This guy wants in," the first demon said.
The newcomer walked around Hiei, inspecting him. "Heh. This guy looks like he couldn't hurt a fly. What class are you, kid? Z?"
Hiei scowled at him.
"Aw, don't be that way. We could always use more guys like you. Right now we only have five who are able to work the barrier," the blue demon said. "Take 'im to the main house and let Shiro and Kage know we got another one."
Hiei allowed the taller demon to lead him to the center of the makeshift village where a large and dilapidated manse stood. It had obviously been there before its current occupants took residency. The upper left portion had caved in and all of its windows were broken, ivy twining around its decaying structure.
The inside fared no better, Hiei noticed, the walls bearing claw marks and bloodstains, appearing more frequently as he descended deeper into the house. He could hear voices up ahead, and his hand moved to his katana that rested under his cloak.
"Don't get any funny ideas now," the tall demon said as a warning, noticing Hiei's hand moving under the cloth. "You may be able to kill demons of your level with that thing, but it may not do you any good around some of us."
Hiei said nothing and let his hand drop to the side.
"Hey, Shiro!" the demon called out, swatting a door open and beckoning Hiei to follow. "We've got another 'runner'."
"Do we now?" Shiro asked happily, narrowing his putrid yellow eyes at the small demon that stood before him. "And what would your name be?"
"Yuusuke," Hiei lied.
"Well, Yuusuke," Shiro started, "to fit in here there are three rules: one, never take more than one human at a time. We don't want to bring unwanted attention to ourselves, you see. Two, never stay in the Ningenkai for more than a few minutes. You may leave the area of the portal, but do not stray too far, for there are still active agents of the Reikai living among the humans." He paused and smiled, sharp rows of teeth gleaming in the dim torchlight. "And three, don't even think of taking a bite out of your catch until you are told. It becomes difficult for us when we cannot… Keep inventory."
"And what do I get in exchange for obeying these rules?" Hiei asked.
"Our protection, of course, should anyone from Reikai catch wind of this operation. You help us, we protect you, and we all can enjoy the taste of human meat from time to time…"
Shiro spared a glance around the room, its other occupants laughing with beady eyes, hanging onto his every word.
Without warning Hiei unsheathed his katana and charged at Shiro, slicing a red line across his chest before turning around and stabbing him through the back of the neck. The other demons immediately rose to their feet and rushed at him.
Instinctively Hiei let out a burst of fire, sending the first wave of demons to the floor, those unfortunate enough to survive clutching their charred faces with their blistering hands and screaming. Undaunted, the remaining demons converged on Hiei, ripping at his clothes, successfully tearing his cloak and scarf. He swatted them with his free hand and slashed with his other, the sound of fluttering paper meeting his ears as Koenma's letter fell out of his pocket. He let out a cry of pain as one demon clawed at his stomach, the wounds there still not completely healed. Kneeing that particular demon in the face, he regained his balance, jumped over the ring of demons surrounding him, and put himself in a corner. With his back safely covered, he doubled his efforts, swiftly cutting down each demon as they approached him, his attackers only having so much room to strike.
Shortly, he had successfully cleared the room, but he counted only nineteen bodies. Knowing there were more heads to be severed, he proceeded quietly to the next passage. As he walked down the hallway, a banging noise met his ears.
It originated from a door at the end of the hall, a steady pounding that suggested someone was throwing himself or herself against it. Hiei tried the handle, but it was locked.
The noise suddenly stopped. "Is someone there?" a voice asked.
"Yes." Hiei answered. "Stand back. I'm going to knock the door down."
"O-okay…"
When he felt that an ample amount of time to move had passed, Hiei jumped into the air and gave the door a swift kick, the old wood breaking immediately.
As he entered the room, he immediately rushed forward, something falling to the floor behind him. Angry that he had almost been hit, he turned around and snarled. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Umm…" a human boy answered, hiding what appeared to be a piece of wood behind his back. "Nothing?" he ventured, standing up and brushing his clothes off with one hand.
"I suggest you don't try anything like that again if you value your life," Hiei spat out, giving the green-eyed boy a scathing glare.
"You mean you're not with those other guys?" the boy asked.
"Do I look like I want to eat you?" Hiei spat out.
The human did not answer him.
Hiei let out an aggravated sigh. "Listen. Just say close to me. There are still demons around that wish to make a snack out of you."
"Alright," the boy said, bringing the wood to his front like a baseball bat.
They walked side by side through the building, the sounds of their footsteps the only thing to be heard. The human would peak his head into rooms as they passed them, much to Hiei's irritation.
"Are you looking to get yourself killed?" Hiei finally asked him.
"No…" he said quietly. "I'm looking for someone…"
Hiei said nothing as they continued forward. He let his hand wander down to his katana. It had been too long since he had killed his last demon, and he was getting suspicious.
"Azami!" the boy shouted out of nowhere, running ahead into the darkness.
"Dammit, kid! Stop!" Hiei yelled at him, drawing his katana and following.
Moments later Hiei heard the human let out a horrifying scream.
Following the sound, the fire demon found him pinned between the wall and another demon. The human boy struggled against his captor, punching at his sides while the demon bit his shoulder.
"You killed her! You killed her!" he screamed, now hitting with enough force to knock the demon back. Surprised, the demon raised his claws in preparation to strike. The boy grabbed for the bludgeon that had been knocked out of his hand, trying his hardest to ignore the pain in his shoulder.
However, before either of them could strike, Hiei ran his katana through the demon's chest, pushing him off to the side.
"Are you okay?" Hiei asked the human, who was now crying.
Bringing his hands to cover his mouth, the boy did not answer and continued to weep.
"But I just saw her…" Hiei heard him murmur before sobbing again.
Turning around, Hiei noticed why the demon had been in this room in the first place.
It was a woman. She was mostly naked with claw marks marring what could have otherwise been beautiful skin, fragments of clothes hanging off her at places. Her hair was caked with blood and strewn over her face and exposed breasts. There were bites all over her body, most of which had taken a fair amount of flesh with them. One of her arms had been broken and chewed on, now bent at an unnatural angle. There was a hole in her abdomen the size of a fist and her entrails were exposed and mangled. Hiei turned away.
"Come on," he said sternly, grabbing the boy by his uninjured arm and pulling him to his feet. Removing his ruined scarf, Hiei tied it tightly around the human's bleeding shoulder. "We're leaving."
Hiei walked back into the hallway and waited for the human to follow.
The boy looked away from the gruesome sight and wiped his eyes, turning to trail the demon that had saved him.
When they exited the manor, Hiei scouted around for other demons, but it appeared that upon hearing the ruckus, they had all fled. All for the better, Hiei supposed, as he did not want to battle through the rest while trying to protect a wounded human.
"Come here," Hiei ordered, sheathing his sword and beckoning the human closer. The boy let out a surprised yelp as he was roughly pulled onto the fire demon's back. It was an awkward position for Hiei, as the boy was a few inches taller than he was, the human's legs sticking out comically between Hiei's arms and sides.
"Move and I'll drop you." Hiei said as a final warning, sprinting off into the forest.
OOOOO
Shura idly munched on a cookie as he wandered the hallways of Meiou High School, forgoing the other half of his bento in favor of satisfying his sweet tooth. Botan would probably scold him later, but he did not particularly care.
He did not feel like eating lunch outside today, and instead decided to explore the school. Perhaps he could find an even nicer and more secluded place to eat! Checking his watch, he figured that he had a good twenty minutes left before he would have to return to his classroom. He was currently on the third floor and going up stairs to the next, absentmindedly following his feet wherever they would lead him.
Before he knew what hit him, he was sprawled out on the floor directly above the stairs, the half-eaten cookie and bento flying out of his hands. The prince was flipped over onto his back, his hands pinned above his head. "What in the hells do you think you're doing?" he all but screamed, struggling futilely against his captor. Damn those wards.
"Where is he?" the brunet above him questioned coldly.
"Where is who?" Shura asked, confused.
"You know who I'm talking about!"
"No, I don't," the prince said, feeling uncomfortable about his helplessness.
"Yes you do! You show up, and he disappears! You were at the shop last night! You probably followed him! I KNOW YOU'RE A DEMON!"
Shocked, Shura pushed himself up suddenly, knocking the taller boy off him. Not looking back, he jumped down the first flight of stairs, running to find Botan.
He raced through the halls hoping no one would catch him, stepping as lightly as he could with the tips of his toes, a tactic his father had demonstrated to him many times before. He burst through the doors and out into the courtyard in a panic, stumbling slightly as he jumped the stairs leading onto the grounds.
Spotting Botan's hair easy enough, he ran in her direction.
"What is it, Shura?" she asked him as he approached, sincerely concerned.
"I…" the prince started, catching his breath, "I want to leave."
Botan flinched at the panic in his voice.
Shura looked at her with imploring eyes, too prideful to do much else.
The ferry girl stood up and dusted off her skirt. "I'll see what I can do," she told him, pulling out her phone. Looking around to make sure no one saw her, she dialed Kurama's number. "Just go back to the classroom and wait for me," Botan said, shooing the prince away with a wave of her hand.
Shura nodded slightly and gave her an uneasy smile, heading back inside.
The prince was the first to return to the classroom, his teacher greeting him with a friendly "Minamino."
Shura looked at her in acknowledgement and took his seat.
Botan strode in a few minutes later, giving the teacher a smile and heading back towards Shura. "Kurama will be here shortly," she whispered, giving him a reassuring pat on the head and taking her seat, immediately picking up her pencil and twirling it like a baton.
Students filed into the classroom as lunchtime ran out, Shura's attacker sitting down in his normal seat and giving the prince a contemptuous glare.
Shura shrunk into his desk.
The prince spent the next twenty minutes nervously looking between his notebook and his watch, barely comprehending the lesson and scribbling down illegible notes as he chewed on his lower lip.
An office assistant came into the room and handed their math teacher, Ms. Takahashi, a note.
"Minamino," she said, breaking Shura out of his thoughts, "your cousin is here to pick you up." A few of the girls in the class giggled at the thought of Shuuichi Minamino.
Shura nodded at her and stood up, gathering his things and accidentally locking eyes with the brown-haired human next to him. The older boy gave him another dirty look. Quickly averting his eyes, Shura shuffled out of the room, catching a small wave from Botan out of the corner of his eye.
He found Kurama at the front gate engaged in conversation with one of the staff members. Shura stood there awkwardly until someone noticed him.
"Oh, there he is." Kurama said, pointing at Shura. "It was nice speaking with you again, Ms. Kawashima." He bowed politely as the woman waved and excused herself.
"What happened?" the fox asked immediately, escorting Shura outside to the sidewalk.
Shura said nothing.
"Listen, if you don't tell me, I'll just send you back," Kurama threatened, looking none too pleased to have his time wasted.
"That human," Shura responded simply.
"What human?"
"The one who keeps on staring at me. Botan may have told you about him."
"Oh. Yes, she did tell me. What did he do?"
Shura frowned. "That idiot attacked me."
Kurama did a double take. "He what?"
"I was just walking along and then he jumped on me. He kept on asking me about someone," Shura said angrily.
A moment of silence passed between them.
"…He also knows I'm a demon."
Kurama did not really know how to respond to that. He would have to have a talk with Shuuichi. As much as he thought Shura deserved a good punch or two, it was wrong of his brother to do that. To the fox's knowledge, Shura had done nothing to warrant that kind of treatment in the Ningenkai.
"Are you hurt?" Kurama asked him.
"I'm fine," Shura insisted, glaring up at his guardian. "You should be worried about what I'm going to do to that human once I get him alone in Gandara."
Kurama just rolled his eyes.
OOOOO
The moment they entered the apartment together, Shura took off toward his room and Kurama went to the television, picking up the remote and pressing the RK button. His call was directed almost immediately, and he was given a nice view of Koenma frantically sealing documents, more than likely trying to meet a deadline. Something beeped on the diminutive prince's side of the line, breaking the steady thumping of his frenetic stamping.
Koenma let out an aggravated sound. "What part of 'emergencies only' doesn't he understand?"
Kurama cleared his throat.
The prince jumped in his seat, dislodging his hat with the sudden movement.
"Oh, Kurama! Heh… What seems to be the problem?" the toddler asked, adjusting his hat.
"I trust you already know this," Kurama started politely, "but I just want to inform you that there are demons here. Demons that I believe are behind a string of recent kidnappings."
"Oh, yes, I was informed," Koenma said lightly, skimming a document before stamping it with his seal. "Of course, I regret that there was not an immediate discovery of this weak point in the barrier, but I have Hiei taking care of the problem on the other side. Hopefully, there will be no more casualties."
Kurama nodded while digesting that information. "I left one of my more… carnivorous plants there, just in case. Human friendly, of course."
Koenma laughed. "As sharp as ever. I bet Yuusuke doesn't even watch the news."
"I just happened upon it, myself," Kurama said in Yuusuke's defense.
"Well if it isn't his highness," Koenma crooned with sarcasm, looking over Kurama's shoulder at Shura, who had just reemerged from his room in more comfortable clothes.
Shura bristled at the toddler's voice, but continued into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a soda.
Again, Kurama cleared his throat.
Koenma looked back at the fox, embarrassed. "If that's all you have to say then, I hope you don't mind if I take my leave." The Reikai prince closed the connection, not waiting for a response.
Kurama sighed as the television went back to its normal programming. Koenma could be so flippant at times.
"Is something wrong?" Shura questioned, coming into the living room and sitting down in the chair furthest from the fox.
"Nothing concerning your stay. Detective things," Kurama answered vaguely, picking up a study book from his coffee table and flipping it open.
"…What am I supposed to do now?" Shura asked after a while. This was truly his first taste of free time since he arrived here—no Botan to drag him around like a rag doll.
"Here," Kurama said, handing him the remote control. "Watch TV." The youko knew he should have offered something more productive to do, but he had to get ahead to make up for missing classes today and did not really want to bother with Shura's obligatory protest. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," the redhead informed the prince, picking up his things and leaving the room.
Shrugging, Shura fiddled around with the remote until he found an appealing channel. Losing interest quickly, he kept on flipping. Boring, but it beat everything else he had done so far.
OOOOO
Later in the afternoon, there was a banging on Kurama's door.
"It's open!" the fox responded from the kitchen, figuring it was only Botan without her key.
"Kurama!" Shuuichi exclaimed, shutting his stepbrother's door behind him. "That demon I was talking to you about—he's—" The human boy halted as he rounded the corner.
"He's here?"
OOOOO
Comments: Wow. Cliffhanger. Sorry about that. I hate them, too.
Hiei doesn't know how to read or write? Sure. He may have a sharp tongue, but as a demon raised by bandits, I doubt he has a whole lot of literary skills. Or something. I'm just making crap up, you know.
I think some of the paragraphs could have been bulkier, but I really just wanted to get this posted. I'll build later if it comes to me.
Same classroom, different teachers? Once again, Google-knowledge of Japanese school systems. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Proofread, but that is not foolproof.
I feel I'm on a roll. Of course, by typing that I have jinxed myself. Oh well.
