Insaneningen14: ha-ha, well, there's a hint in this chapter Sei. Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 17:
-(Makai)-
Yusuke growled in annoyance. "Where the hell are we! Kuwabara, did you get us lost!"
"Calm down Yusuke. We're actually quite close." The foursome stood in a burnt clearing of the forest. Multiple trees had been cut down to use for a large bonfire, from the traces left behind. The redhead stepped closer, toeing an ashy object. It appeared to be a limb of a demon.
"Sacrifice?" Hiei stood next to him.
"No." He crouched examining some more bodies. "Just to get rid of some extra bodies. Eliminate the disease." Sniffing delicately, and wrinkling in distaste, he rose. "A few weeks old perhaps. Bone structure indicates regular low class demons from the more mountainous region."
(AN: I love CSI. Here I show my obsession.)
"Why did the demons burn the bodies? Not many do that," input Yusuke curiously.
"A demon with an honor code," responded Kurama. "Although his followers did a poor job of effectively burning the bodies. And a poor job making sure that all the bodies stayed there." He pointed to a trail of blood and tracks.
"Hn. It's of no significance."
"Contrary, it could be important." The kitsune sighed. "But it is leading us away from our target. We'll check up on it later." He continued to lead them, Hiei and Yusuke trailing to the back.
"What?"
"Have you asked about Kurama's behavior yet?"
"How do you know-?"
"Answer."
"No." He sighed. "I'm going to keep my promise to Yuki though if that's what you're thinking."
"You're going to have to break it. Don't mention anything about that onna to Kurama." Abruptly cutting him off, Hiei strode to the front, quickly getting himself into a small spat with Kuwabara.
'Whatever…' He also caught up next to Kurama. "Who burned the bodies?" Yusuke asked him telepathically.
"Osamu. He is a demon with honor. One of the few."
"But he experimented on his daughter-"
"I would assume he would not have done so without good reason. A reason we will have to find out." Pausing, the kitsune blocked the path, snuffling slightly.
"Kurama?" Kuwabara asked confusedly. "What's wrong?"
"Hn. I smell it too kitsune."
"Let's go." The two demons sped ahead, the human and hanyou following them.
"What the hell…"
The castle they had visited only months before to retrieve Yuki was now demolished. Stones had been felled and burned, the intensity of the heat had also partially melted the rock. What was left of the metal remains was now hardened liquid, melted and then cooled. No body remains were left, unlike the clearing.
"No ordinary fire could have done this," murmured the fox.
"A fire demon?" asked Kuwabara.
"One of them," concluded Yusuke. "Look."
Twisted among the remains were vines, some burnt to a crisp, but new ones layered it. Thick and green, they were constantly weaving themselves into a shield to prevent outsiders from intruding.
"A fire and a plant demon."
"And another survivor." Everyone turned to Hiei as he pointed to the far off forest. "Osamu made his mark as well." Trees had been struck by lightning, burnt and shriveled, a marvel that none had started a forest fire.
"It rained here recently," said Yusuke.
"I know, I feel it in the air," said Kuwabara. "And it must have been pretty hard too."
"He controls water as well. It makes sense," murmured Kurama. "Hiei, can you find him?"
Unraveling his bandana and facing away from them, a glow was emitted from his forehead. He stood there for several minutes, but then turned. "He's too far away. But I can tell you that there are demons heading towards us now."
"Isn't it a bit late for them to be attracted to the power the arsonist used?" queried the redhead.
Hiei snorted. "Either that or they were sent." The foursome was soon surrounded by a thin circle of demons. It was clear that they weren't the normal ragtag attracted group of demons; they were organized, dressed in a similar pure white garb consisting of a hakama and a cloak with tabi and thin but durable slippers.
"It is him. He is the one exposed to the disease." A female lowered her hood, revealing white-shocked hair tied back in a small bun at the nape of her neck, with her bangs of a jet shade. Black eyes without pupils glared impetuously Hiei, who glared in return. Her small build, around 4'11" was slight and slender, although muscles were clearly evident. A sai was gripped in each hand, which twitched occasionally.
"Calm down Suzu. There is no reason to be rash." Another lowered the white hood, revealing dark grey colored hair ending at his chin, its color not due to age. Grey-green eyes only coolly examined the group, but settled on Hiei as well eventually. His large build, around 6'10" was muscular and powerful, although he could be fast when necessary. Two daggers were in the grip of one huge green-gloved hand.
"I am Hotaka." The male nodded in greeting. "We are the Akazuno no Tankyuusha." (1)
"The Forbidden Seekers," murmured Kurama.
"Yes, it is hard to believe that we still exist," Hotaka responded easily. "Many of us are beyond a thousand years of age. While there are some younger and rasher ones that are not quite a century." The last comment seemed to be directed at Suzu, who huffed, and turned her head away.
"Who the hell are the Forbidden Seekers?" asked Yusuke.
"We are Forbidden Children. Hidden, of course, away from most knowledge of the three worlds, we take refuge in the most unreachable places of the Makai."
"So what do you do?" Kuwabara's confusion was understandable enough.
"We seek our siblings, that of opposing elements, in hopes that they will join us away from the clutches of others."
"Just cut the crap Hotaka," snarled Suzu. "Take the Forbidden away."
"Suzu, must I make myself clear once more?" queried the demon. "You are not to speak hastily, especially on the rare occasion of outside company."
"Just diagnose him! Get this over with!"
"Suzu, I must ask you to leave," the male growled. "You disrupt the gentle balance between friend and enemy."
She sneered. "Just take him away and get it over with." Shadows enveloped the girl so that she disappeared, and the others shifted so as the circle was not missing a spot.
"I apologize." He bowed. "This is her first contact with outsiders- non-Forbiddens."
"No offense has been made," responded the kitsune coolly. "Please, continue."
"We understand that Hiei has had contact with a deadly mental disease, a special symptom of the Conflicting Forbiddens. Although he is not a conflicting himself, we know that the disease can cause harm to many Forbiddens if spread. We wish to contain him-"
"I already went through Reikai quarantine," responded Hiei roughly. "I'm immune; my Jagan protects me."
"If that is that, our subject must turn to that of your other Forbidden friend. Yuki Akio."
"What about her?" responded Yusuke with a suspicious eye.
"Moreover, how do you know of her?" added Kurama.
"Our connections with the Koorime were once extremely strong." The four in the center turned to another figure.
She bowed, taking off her hood. "I am Takehiko. Of the sun and ice." She smiled. Light blue hair intertwined with pale yellow strands was braided tightly so that there were few stray bits in the way. Her stature was a bit taller than regular, around 5'7" and her body was shapely with all the right curves. Her eyes were a fiery gold, but also passive in a strange sense. Pale skin with a small character-symbol on her right cheek covered her face, chiseled into a beautiful sight. "I was good friends with Yuki's mother, a Koorime."
"From them we were informed of Hiei Jaganshi's and Akio Yuki's birth," Hotaka concluded.
Takehiko continued. "We understand that Yuki is experiencing pain due to her heritage from her father, Osamu, from a serious case of arrhythmic heart failure."
"She is in the Ningenkai, regaining her strength," responded Kurama automatically. Kuwabara and Yusuke nodded slightly in confirmation.
She laughed dryly. "Don't try to deny it kitsune. She is dying. You know it, Koenma knows it, Hiei knows it- rejecting the truth would not be progressive. Yuki will-"
"Takehiko, break this to them gently," admonished Hotaka slightly. To the others, he said, "The Journey is one all Forbidden Children must take. Forbidden power is deemed a high responsibility and a great honor. The Journey will prove the bearer is worthy of the Touch of Forbidden. Once the test is taken, the conflictions will stop, for the powers will find some mutual understanding between each other. Should Yuki pass-"
"Yuki has to take this Journey?"
"It might be the only chance to save her from death," the male responded gravely. "If she passes, she could rise to the ranks of an S-Class demon."
"S-class!" Kuwabara shouted. The others showed their surprise in various ways, but not nearly as noticeable as the human.
"It's a win-lose situation."
"What could go wrong-?" Yusuke's communicator went off. Groaning, he took it out to meet Koenma's furious face.
"What do you want?"
"Get back to Reikai RIGHT NOW!"
"Whoa, we're not done with our mission yet," protested Kuwabara.
"Your mission is unimportant- someone's stealing from our vault! Come back this instant!"
"But how-"
"HAUL YOUR ASSES HERE OR I WILL PERSONALLY SKEWER THEM!" he roared, cutting the line afterwards.
"You heard him. Let's go," he said sighing.
"Our portal is a mile away," protested Kuwabara.
"In that case, let Hitomi open a portal for you." A figure still cloaked nodded. Her fingers started to glow as she lifted her arm, as she etched characters in the air. A rip between the barriers appeared, allowing the four to step into Reikai after thanking the group.
"We will see you again," Hotaka said, bowing slightly before he vanished from sight as they stepped in.
"There you are! Finally!" shouted Koenma. Jorge was standing next to him, worriedly wringing his hands. "He's got past all the oni!"
"Any specific location?"
"He could be anywhere in the vaults!"
"Thanks a lot toddler," Yusuke growled. "Come on guys, let's get this over with." The other three followed the punk, racing down the hallways.
"Don't let him leave Reikai with the artifact!" Koenma called after them.
"Him?" muttered Kurama vaguely, so quiet that only Hiei could hear him on accident.
"Stop brooding kitsune. It will not help your situation."
Startled, he glanced at the fire demon. Relaxing again, he turned his head away to look at the wall. "Please don't bring her up again Hiei. My mentioning of her to you was a slip up-"
"Just like your slip up at school."
Kurama sucked in his breath slightly. "How do you know about that?"
"Yuki has noticed that Yen affects you in some way. She asked Yusuke to inquire into it, and he would have."
"Was I that conspicuous…?"
"Apparently. Take care of yourself fox. At this rate, you wouldn't last in Makai for long." Hiei gathered speed, seemingly disappearing.
Kurama sighed.
'He's right,' put in Youko. 'You've been out of it recently. What's wrong?'
'Nothing…' "…Nobody…" he murmured aloud to reassure himself.
His demonic counterpart didn't pursue the subject further, but it wasn't far from his mind. He would bring it up again, that much the redhead knew.
-(Ningenkai)-
"Why do I have to dress up?" asked Yuki again for the fourth time.
Keiko sighed. "It's fun, and there will be a celebration after school. We're all going on a huge trick-or-treating party. You can wear anything original. That's part of the fun of it."
"What are you going as?"
The brunette blushed. "It's a secret. And you?"
Yuki grinned. "I think I've got something… secret too though. Who do we go with?"
"Me, Botan, you, Yusuke, Kuwabara, maybe Kurama. Shizuru might tag along to see what we dress up as."
"How many days till this 'Halloween'?"
"Three. It's on a Saturday."
She grinned. "Thanks Keiko. I have to go home now."
"Sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"
"No, thank you though. I said that I would try to help Atsuko make onigiri tonight." She smiled, gathering up her books and depositing it into her backpack. "Bye Keiko!"
"Bye Yun-chan, see you tomorrow!" Nodding, Yuki turned the corner. Her home was a little bit farther from Keiko's, being closer to Yusuke's house and Jiro's shop. She decided to walk the distance, the night being clear and breezy. Sighing, she paused, leaning against the cement structure of a building.
"You should not be out so late." Her eyes widened, her balance upset, and she fell to the side slightly. A pair of garnet eyes met her own as Hiei steadied her by grabbing her forearm.
"Hiei! How did you get here?" (2)
"Hn." With a swish of wind, they disappeared, he carrying her in his arms gently. Nestling her head in the crook of his arms, she inhaled his scent, smelling richly of cold pines and smoldering ashes. For the brief time she was carried, she relaxed completely. A fleeting moment of the feeling of flying, and a slight thump, he set her down on her bed. Her backpack lay on the floor at her feet, and he kissed her full on the lips. Caught up in the moment, she deepened it before he broke it, leaping back out her window into the darkness.
She pressed her fingertips lightly to her bottom lip, which now bled sluggishly. Slightly dizzy from lack of air provided by the kiss, she laid back on her bed. After a few moments of just being there and thinking empty thoughts, she got up, realizing her shoes were still on. Creeping down stairs, she laid them out in the entrance hall, and entered the kitchen where Atsuko was, watching the rice cooker intently.
"Kaasan, I'm back." Atsuko smiled and hugged Yuki tightly.
"Thank you so much," she whispered.
The elemental only smiled. "For what? All I did was understand." The mother hugged her tighter, rocking back and forth, together.
: End Chapter
(1) That's not a direct translation, but akazuno should mean forbidden, and tankyuusha should mean searcher. I'm not bilingual, so… whatever.
(2) Yes, it doesn't make sense that Hiei's in and out of Reikai, but I'm just saying that this is later after they arrive in Reikai- say, three hours.
Insaneningen14: Okay, I've decided I've got to many original characters. So I made a list of the ones that you need to be familiar with.
Yuki: main character, so of course you do. You should remember who she is: powers over water, ice, and electricity, elemental demon, a Forbidden Child, her powers conflict and give her frequent arrhythmias- yeah, you get the idea. (She's meant for Hiei)
Yen: pretty important. As most of you have figured out by now, Yen is an alias (the meaning which I will not give away yet). She's Sakura, Kurama's old girlfriend, and the one that Youko nearly raped. Yup, and she now has the power over fire and plants because Ichiro had his scientist genetically alter her biological structure. She's meant to meet up with Kurama again (aw, sweet, I know).
Jiro: he's a half demon, descended from Raizen somehow, and is Yusuke's father (yeah I know, not really, but in this story, he is). He died, was brought back on the condition he wouldn't meet up with Atsuko again, and works for Koenma as Reikai Karyuudo. Basically, he's a spy who brings Koenma all his information, because during one of my random ponderings, I wondered how Reikai got its explicit information. He's the twin brother of Ichiro (the younger one) and is more powerful though.
Ichiro: FULL demon. I know, it doesn't make sense that his twin is a half demon, but in this story, it does. So since he's a full-blooded demon and the elder son, he inherited his family fortune. But since he's not the most powerful out of the two, he's the least likely to gain the throne of Raizen. So he wants to kill his older brother to get the power, the greedy guy (he already has the money, now he wants the rule).
Osamu: Full blooded elemental demon, with the powers over electricity and water (he's also a Forbidden Child, and a Conflicting). He's not that rich, because he spent all his money on experiments, which were illegal, so that's why Koenma sent the Tantai after him. He experimented on Yuki and other Forbidden Children. That's all I have to say about now. Rest is secret.
Rin: guess who? Yuki's mom. Don't worry if you don't know her name or whatever, because I haven't put that much in about her. I will later though. But for now, all you know is that she was a Koorime (gave Yuki her ice powers) and she was killed by Osamu (her husband, Yuki's father).
Uko & Oku: scientists of Osamu (Uko) and Ichiro (Oku). Just know that they participated in the illegal experimentation (Uko is dead, Oku might die eventually too). They don't really matter.
Hotaka: Forbidden Child, centuries old, powers over stone and plants (I guess it's Forbidden because plant roots can break up stone and crack it and stuff like that). He's one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the Akazuno no Tankyuusha (because I haven't decided).
Suzu: ah, rash little shrimp. Okay, the kid's got power of Dark and Light (oh wow, Forbidden elements, yin and yang. That's so overrated.) So she can travel through the shadows and stuff. Yeah. I still haven't really decided where she's going to go, but just don't completely blow her off. YET
Takehiko: (d---, I'm up to ten already. Okay, here we go…) She's also a Forbidden Child, powers over Ice (think like a Koorime) and the Sun (kind of like fire, but different- more ethereal I guess). She has a connection with Yuki's mother and the Koorime, that's all you know.
Hitomi doesn't matter. She just happens to be there to open a portal for the Tantai.
So that's it for now. If you want, just tell me if you want me to put this list up on every chapter, and add on if there are any more (most hopefully there won't be) or if there are any more I remember.
SIX REVIEWS PEOPLE! I LIVE OFF THEM!