Millefiori

Chapter 6

"We met her in Makai."

-(Flashback)-

"Hey! Come look at this!" Calls and hoots were heard from a crowd of low-class demons as the pair of Shinobi walked. They had stopped at a small town on demand of Risho, he wanted to get drunk. Jin had taken part in a couple of rounds, but not enough to get even a bit tipsy; Touya, none at all. Sober as could be, they joined the gathering demons to see what was going on. They listened to the talk that went around, perhaps trying to catch a sense of the situation.

"Never seen a ningen that stubborn," one said to another.

"A female at that, too!"

"Yeah!"

"They usually go down like a rock!"

"And that's usually because they faint at the sight of us!"

"Ha! He's right!"

Touya's attention was caught, and he headed towards the crowd as well. Jin followed, hovering behind him.

"Look at her!"

"She got up again!"

"Bet you that she's going to drop dead at the next one!"

"Nah, her head's harder than it looks! Next after!"

"You're on!"

"Stupid- she should know not to mess with us demons."

"Go back to your own world!"

Touya and Jin pushed through the crowd, enough to catch sight of the demons' amusement. A girl stood, facing one large demon. He had a dark-toned skin, blackish almost. Multiple horns stuck out of his head like a ring, and he laughed.

"Just stay down ningen. Make it easier for you and me."

A girl stumbled up. "Now way in hell you bast---. Leave me alone."

Another general laugh. "You just made your death more painful ningen."

"SHUT UP!" She threw a punch at the demon. He easily blocked it, and gave her a hit with such force that she flew across the other end of the street, breaking the crowd up.

"Now, this isn't nice." Jin hovered above the crowd.

"Leave the girl alone. She has done to nobody any offense." Touya joined his teammate underneath, managing to strike some fear in nearby demons with his eyes. Their reputation as Shinobi helped as well as they shrunk away.

"She offends us by being here! The stinking ningen should learn her place below us!" roared the larger demon. Other members of the crowd hooted and jeered in agreement.

"Me, below you?" Everyone's heads turned to look at the female as she stumbled up. "Yeah right. I'll go to hell before that happens."

The demon roared. "Stay down!" He hit her hard in the head. She crashed to the ground. Laughter and calls of 'nice hit, Ryoto.' The so-said demon grinned.

"Am I getting to be annoying?" A cracked voice winded through the air. Everyone stared.

"Do you always keep popping up!" Ryoto asked, frustrated. She crouched, two fingers touching the ground, unable to support herself on two feet standing up.

"Maybe. Is the fact that my head is to hard for your fist bothering you?" she replied, panting. 'D---, I'm dizzy.'

He growled. "That's it. You die now." He summoned his strength and brought his fist down again. She closed her eyes, lips curled in a snarl.

Whump

"HUH!" All the demons were surprised- even Touya and Jin were a little open-mouthed.

Another ningen, a large man, stood protecting the girl. His arms were crossed, and had blocked the attack. He was clothed in dark colors, and a zatoichi (1) adorned his body, attached to his waist.

"Do you have a death wish?" the man rumbled. He gave Ryoto a kick in the gut that sent him down.

"Let me help you understand this." A hand grabbed the demon's neck. "If you touch those I have chosen to protect, you will die by my hand."

Ryoto snarled. "I don't bow down to ningen scum!"

The grip tightened. "You might have to, otherwise you will die."

Glaring, he spat out a response. "Understood- now get your filthy hands off me."

He was dropped in a disheveled heap. "And I don't take insults well." The point of a shoe was driven into the flesh; the demon howled and clutched his now-bloody hand.

"Come Yumi." He hoisted her onto his back, making for a safer haven than this Makai town. Glares and mutters, muted compared to the yells, were directed at the humans' backs. No one subjected to open mutiny in the form of an attack though.

Touya and Jin glanced at each other. "More trouble would come."

"Of course there is. But we won't be involved with it."

-(End Flashback)-

"MAKAI!" the two boys chorused. Shuichi said nothing though, deep in thought. Jin nodded his assent happily whereas Touya did not respond at all to the outburst.

"What was she doing in Makai! She could have been killed!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Demon World isn't a safe place," Yusuke grumbled to himself.

"Of course it's not! It's not a place for girls at all!"

"It is quite surprising that she survived," Shuichi admitted. "Does she have any powers, now or then?"

"No," Touya replied. "But her Guardian takes care of her."

"Guardian?"

"Her cousin, or some sort of relation, T-"

Crash

"Ow! That hurt, d--- it!"

"Yumiko," the Shinobi chorused. They went over to the stairs.

"Oh, uh, Hey everyone!" Yumiko grinned sheepishly. She was lying on the floor of the level, legs sprawled in such a way that indicated a fall.

"What happened?"

"Uh…" 'D---, don't want them to know I was listening to part of their conversation…' "…Skipping…?"

"You were skipping?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I was skipping… I had a little… uh, misstep and fell!"

"You were skipping on the stairs at night…?"

"Um…yeah? Maybe…" 'Eh, pretty lame excuse.'

Jin poked her. "That was pretty dumb."

"For a normal person at least." Yusuke snickered.

"Do you think of yourself as so?"

"Hey, I don't go walking around with long ears or multicolored hair."

"You just have mental problems."

"Isn't green hair just as bad as multicolored?" asked Kuwabara.

"Yeah, you could say that." She leaned against the walls, gingerly stepping on her right foot to test it.

"You sprain it?"

"Nah." She added more weight to it. "It's fine." She brandished the book in their faces. "I got Keiko's textbook though!"

Everyone looked up; the stairwell began to echo with another's steps.

"I think the principle has finally come to kick us out."

"YUSUKE URAMESHI!"

"Wrong- it's Iwamoto. Run!" Everyone followed Yusuke's cue and took a dash down the hall, heading for the doors. Yumiko began laughing hysterically when they reached the doors, and collapsed on the stairs, clutching her sides. Everyone stared at her.

"Oh come on, it was funny!" Stares. "Well, maybe not. So let's go home! We'll order in again, ne?" The Shinobi nodded in agreement. "Do you guys want to come over to my house too?"

"Sure!" Yusuke and Kuwabara automatically accepted. Free food to them- why not? A glance at Shuichi.

"I'm very sorry- I promised my mother I would be home soon, so I must decline."

"'S all right. Oyasumi!"

"Good Night." The group separated, just in time to leave the teacher standing at the doorstep alone.

: End Chapter

14thShrineMaiden: I have officially changed my name! (Once was Insaneningen14, New Years thing) So that was your sixth newly edited chapter! More to come, but you'll have to wait some more.