Chapter Two: ...If I Ever Meet Fate, I'm Gonna Punch...
Her head hurts, badly. Even worse than the time she and Zyril got drunk and decided to spend the night half frozen in the sea. At least that time someone fished both out of the waters before any serious damage. But right now, as the pounding grew worse, Roviel began to wonder just what exactly did she drink last night. Her memory was a blur, and she felt sick. Groaning as sunlight touched her closed lids, she turned aside. Well, at least it was all a dream. Hell if she's going to be warped somewhere by the stupidity of Lailos. It was not until minutes later, when the headache was down to bearable levels and she was snuggled into the sheets did Roviel come to the realization that she was not in her own bed.
The sudden dawning of this thought was like a breath of sea wind blowing away a dawn fog. Recollections of the events taken place came in great jumps, the distorted memories grasping its neighbor so that the remembrance of one thought will drag up another. Half groaning, half yelling, the sheet flew from her body as Roviel sprang up, and immediately regretted the idea as a fresh wave of tiny needles and hammers danced over her skull. She must have made quite a commotion, or else she was under surveillance. Either way, the door soon burst open as a tall, bulky, and loud boy skidded into the room. Seeing his figure, a throat deep growl of hatred escaped her lips as she pointed one accusing finger at him.
"YOU!"
He froze at the sudden burst, and immediately broke out in cold sweat at her burning glare.
"Um... Hi. It's... um... nice to see you awake... Um... Bye!"
And in the blink of an eye he was gone, screaming down the hallway for someone to save his skin. Growling at her continually worsening headache and the escape of her prey, Roviel turned, and stopped, and stared.
Gone, the Emerald Griffin of the West. Gone were the curved lips prone to laughter, the slim arching brows, the faint lines of scars adorning her right arm. Gone was the ripple of rusted bronze falling in waves down her back, the copper flecked strands holding within them the true essence of autumn. In its place short strands of midnight blue resided, the black tinted tresses falling before orbs no longer green like the woodlands, but amber, the color of molten gold dipped in delicate caresses of soft fawn. She was more than two hundred years old, but looked like one who had just entered their early twenties. But even that has changed, for now her body and appearance has taken on the form of someone still in their early teens. A mere child, in her eyes. She continued to stare at the mirror, the trembling hands tightening into fists as pure anger overtook astonishment. How dare they? They will pay...
Storming down the immense hall, shattered remains of doors flew through the air as a snarling figure bursts through, tawny gaze sweeping over the room and its shocked occupants before rushing to out again. Door after door was broken away, her breath soon coming in short gasps. Something stung her side, and looking down she was surprised to discover a patch of darkness spreading through the linen. Her mind complete and utterly blank, Roviel continued to stare down at the seeping blood-stain, a strange befuddled calm settling over her Hum, blood... Wonder where it came from...
Rushing footsteps pounded towards her, shattering the moment of peace. Azure strands whipped across the golden vision as they seek out the source of the racket. Four youth came into view, a group of boys nothing more than youngsters running towards her. Seeing their faces, one corner of her mouth lifted in a fanged grin. Excellent, the preys have all come to her. Her wound long forgotten, her lithe form pounced at the group. They reacted, just enough to escape her attack. Landing in a crouch, she twisted, one leg sweeping out in an arc. She hit something, or rather someone, and as that person fell Roviel was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the boy that had barged into her room just moments earlier. Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, unheeding the fists already bruised from all the door bashing, she heaved his body into the floor and was rewarded with a nice solid crack as the boy's head snapped against the cement. Raising one fist, sunlit orbs narrowed in happy anticipation for revenge...
"Wait! Don't you want to know why we battled you earlier? Don't you want to know why you are here?"
"I don't think that's a good idea Kurama. Does she even understand Japanese?"
Strangely enough, Roviel could. The words were distorted and twisted, the accent crude, but she could still understand them. How could she forget, spending days learning Syra's home language. The persistent girl kept her at it until Roviel knew the language backwards and upside-down. The right fist still poised dangerously over the boy's head, her eyes turned towards the speakers.
"How do you know Palien? Who are you people and why did you fight me back there?"
Seconds lengthened, and all three children stared her Roviel in dumb silence. Well, two stared. A short one, the one who dodged her first attack the fastest, glared at Roviel for some time before turning away in silence.
"Look lady, I don't know what Palien is; I'm speaking Japanese. And what's with your weird accent? It makes the words sound all soft and rolling."
Examining the speaker over carefully, the intense gaze was quick to note all about him, everything from the greased black hair to the trailing shoelaces.
"Since you are the people who brought me here, I am presuming that you will be giving me a very detailed and satisfactory answer?"
The black haired boy backed away, hands pointing to the person next to him.
"Oh no! I wasn't the one who said that, Kurama is. Isn't that right, Kurama?"
The redhead smiled at this comment, and gave a nod of acceptance.
"Yes, it was indeed me who caught your attention before. Sadly we can't tell you anything,"
The grip upon the clothing twisted, and the boy beneath you gave a strangled squeal.
"But we could take you to someone who knows, on the condition..."
One brow rose. Conditions? These whelps talking conditions with her? Preposterous. Seeing the disgust upon her face, Kurama quickly finished his speech.
"On the condition that you promise not to try and harm anyone here. Starting with Kuwabara."
"Kuwabara? Who's that?"
An off keyed chocking cry answered the question, causing Roviel to look down at her captive. The boy was chocking, his face turning brighter than that orange mop on his head. She blinked down at him, before a corner of her mouth lifted upwards.
"So you are Kuwabara, I take it."
She leaned down, the slow movement deliberate, until their nose almost touched.
"Now then, Kuwabara. Have your mother never taught you that coming uninvited into someone's room is rude?"
Her low voice purred with deadly softness, and Kuwabara's pupils dilated in fear.
Suddenly she was up, ripping her hold away from his shirt. Sucking on a blooded knuckle her eyes traveled across the hallway, stopping briefly only to incase the each boy into her amber gaze.
"Well? I've held my half the deal. Where's the person who I need to see?"
They glanced at each other, as if uncertain of the answer and seeking opinions from the others. Finally someone clear his throat, and took a hesitant step towards her.
"Eh, I'm Yusuke. Kurama and Kuwabara I think you already know. Hiei is the silent one in the group, right over there."
He gestured to the one to your right, the one who glared at you before.
"Anyhow, yea... Like we can take you to Koenma, that's the person you need to see. But there is a tinny tiny detail you need to know before going."
Her right eye twitched. Just which world was she in, where all its occupants are mindless idiots who have a tendency to stop in the middle of their sentences!
"And...?"
Perhaps it's her imagination, but Yusuke looked as if he was smiling.
"Well, it's like this..."
The mug steamed before her eyes, the dark liquid inside releasing waves of warm vapor. Eyeing the drink with suspicion, Roviel gave it a tentative sniff. Coffee, Kuwabara had told her. Apparently a drink of some sort here in this dimension. The loud mouthed brat had said that it was harmless and has a good taste, but hell if she was going to believe that imbecile. A loud sigh passed her lips, and Roviel allowed her mind to drift back to the last hour that changed her life.
A corner of her eye was twitching again. A baby. A mere baby. A tiny toddler whose head just reached above the table. The eye twitched again. Closing her eyes, she lifted her head skywards, as if praying for the mercy of some god to rescue her from this nightmare. No matter how many times Yusuke explained to her that this infant seated before her was the current ruler of Reikai, the insane information could just not be processed through her brain. Lacing his finger together, Koenma looked up at her.
"Well then, Roviel is it? Let me just say that it's a great pleasure to have you join us."
He coughed into one hand, the gesture as fake as his welcome.
"I would love to have a long conversation with you, but as you can see"
He waved to the large stack of paper on the table.
"I'm short of time. So let's get to the point, shall we? We've had a report of a dimension disturbance in Nigenkai, and so I send Yusuke and his team to investigate. We found you there, and I must say you have some impressive battling skills. There is yet one female except from you that could have knocked Yusuke out cold."
Lips twitched. Now there was a compliment.
"Anyhow, the reason I had the team bring you back here is because of this."
His voice was now serious, devoid of anything else.
"You see, the warp that brought you here still exists, but now it's different. Rekai had tracked its movements and it would appear that the warp has changed course. So now we are left with two choices."
His dark eyes burned into Roviel, and for a moment she could nearly see him as the ruler of Reikai.
"You can go back, risk the portal. But since it has changed destination, no one knows where it's now connected to. Unless you have any idea?"
Raven blue locks swayed as Roviel shook her head.
"Ok then, this makes it much easier. You see, I'm giving you a second choice. You can stay here, in this dimension, helping Yusuke and his team whenever they find it fit."
He stopped, allowing the information to be mused over by her.
"Of cause, you can't stay here in Reikai, my father don't like guests. So if you agree, you'll have to live in Nigenkai."
Silence adorned the room, the heavy quietness only broken by the sound of a soft growl rising from the depth. Glaring down at Koenma, Roviel felt her right eye start to twitch...
A movement before her shook Roviel's thoughts back to the present. Glancing up, her hooded gaze met the smiling face of Kurama. Seating down before her, the kitsune grinned as he placed a cup before her.
"After what you did to Koenma's office, I think you need to calm down. And coffee won't help."
Thinking back to the area of destruction she had created out of the toddler's room, Roviel's lips curved upwards. But the happiness didn't stay for long, for one spare glance around the semi-empty room gave a stark reminder that she was not home. Picking up the offered mug, she gave an inquiring eye to the mass of leaves. Ah, good, tea. Finally something that reminds her of home. Seeing the blooded hand, the fox frowned.
"You might want to get that healed. And the wound to your side is also in need to attention."
One tawny orb turned to him.
"I'll live. This is nothing to me."
"It's not that bad, living as a human in Nigenkai. Quite the opposite, I find it to be an interesting experience."
Looking over the rim of the cup, Roviel lifted one brow at his comment. The one good thing about Kuwabara's loud-mouth is the fact that she has learned everything about all the members of the party in the short space of ten minutes.
"For you, perhaps."
The tea was nice, a great thing compared to the rest of this pitiful world.
"You have no idea what I was back in my world, what I had."
Images passed through her mind. Her mansion, an artwork of jade and transparent crystals. Syra and Lailos, giggling together like a couple of children. Veasniel stands there, trying hard to look serious while his lips tugged into a smile. Zyril complaining on the food he has to endure, and the women he's missing out on. The sun sets, its soft rays bathing them all in warmth. Her vision blurred suddenly, and it became difficult to breath. Her eyes closed for a moment, the quivering breath soon steadied. Somewhere in front of her a shifting of cloth rustled. Her lips lifted. Kurama was feeling awkward, interesting. Letting out a long breath, the tawny orbs once again came into light, this time clearer and more focused.
"If I decide to stay here, that would mean living on Nigenkai, with humans!"
The last two words were empathized as two bodies crashed into the room. Scrambling up, Kuwabara and Yusuke continued to their shouting contest with one another, heedless of Kurama's confused stare and Roviel's strangled sigh.
"Like I said; humans."
The soft fragrant of the tea lingered in her throat, along with another sweeter flavor.
"And I hate my demon form. It's so different to who I was before."
The sweetness... Was it honey? Lailos loved his tea with a drop or two of honey.
"And since Words doesn't work in your world, I'll have to learn how to use this energy of yours."
No, not honey, something else, something...
"And then I'll have to help you people. Of all the things. You have no idea who you are commanding around. Humans."
Ah, of cause. Why did it take so long to see them? The twin rose buds floating in the cup, the pink flowers infusing the tea with their essence.
"And I'll have to live in Nigenkai. If it's anything like Rekai, the Gods know how I'll survive."
Her speech finished, Kurama grinned happily at Roviel.
"I take it from your complaints that you are staying?"
A long suffering sigh left her, signifying the end of her sanity. Somewhere to her right, the sound of Yusuke cursing floated through the air, followed by the noise of a wall collapsing.