The Shotgun Approach

by SuperNova90

In my mind I saw all the tiny chess pieces and tried to predict all their movements, from start to finish, but Yusuke was always the wild card—that one unknown factor that could ruin the entire game. Etternia is a rare demonic species called Elementa. She works as a paramedic in Sarayashiki and finds herself quite tangled up with Yusuke Urameshi, current king of demon world.

13. Fire and the Flood

The Shotgun Approach

Chapter 13: Fire and the Flood

A/N: Back to Ettie's POV my friends.

. . .

Two days later and I found myself sitting across from Hiei, a steaming cup of herbal tea and a single cup of black coffee between us. The length of the table felt far too short. His unrelenting stare didn't help matters.

"Why did you call me here?"

His eyes never strayed, even as he lifted the coffee to his lips and took a sip. Only when he set it back down did he speak. "I think you know why."

I fished the pill bottle from my pocket and knocked out two tablets. I swallowed them with a gulp full of hot tea and averted my eyes from Hiei's disapproving gaze. Though the glare he normally saved for these moments seemed to be the barest amounts less harsh.

"I do not wish to speak of...that. Please respect my wishes."

"That? Why can't you say it? You have a child."

The tea cup, handle clutched just a little too tight, trembled in my hold. Tiny bubbles roiled across the tea's surface and I was quick to set it down. It wouldn't do to sip something that was now past the point of boiling hot. Any further and the cup would shatter.

Hiei's gaze was infinitely more curious and all the more nerve wracking.

"It is long in the past and I would like it to remain there. It has nothing to do with you."

He frowned, but after a moment conceded. "True. But I can't deny that I'm irritated at the secrecy."

"I am sure you will get over it."

I was certain the questioning wasn't over, but was thankful when the shop's bell tingled with the opening of the front door. It drew both our attentions and I took it as my cue to make an exit. Who just entered wasn't someone I felt like speaking to, not now, not when things were still so raw.

I collected my belongings and thought to make a hasty retreat before either of them could stop me. Except Hiei was prepared for that.

He grabbed the back of my denim jacket, having appeared behind me with the barest of movements, and tugged me back down into my chair.

I slammed back into it with an audible grunt and shot Hiei a withering look once he was settled back in his own chair. Yusuke took up the last available seat at the tiny table and smiled at me, almost smug.

"Did you plan this?" I bit out and Hiei just smirked.

Of course he had.

"Well it seems like Hiei's the only one of us you feel like associating with lately, so I had to do something."

"That isn't true!" I said. "I've seen Kuwabara recently."

"For a few minutes...and it wasn't like you actively sought him out. You just happened to see each other on the street."

"It was the grocery store..." I mumbled.

"Doesn't matter where," he grumbled. "I've needed to speak with you for awhile now."

I expected him to bring up Christmas. We'd only spoken a handful of times since that night, at first because he avoided me, and then when he came round I chose to start avoiding him instead. I understood that my gift had made him uncomfortable and that I preached about him keeping up boundaries between us. But there I was, crossing so many of them.

Toeing the line was bad enough, but letting him stay over whenever he pleased destroyed the line completely.

I'd become too comfortable with his presence.

Not wanting to discuss such private matters in front of Hiei of all people, I said, "If you mean to bring up the other night than I do not see what else there is to discuss."

Something in his eyes changed, but he shook his head. "No, this is about a lead and I need your help. You speak ancient Norse, don't you?"

I knocked the tea cup over, spilling the remaining contents across the table.

It shouldn't have been a shock. Kurama would have recognized it. I did not doubt that Hiei repeated those words I'd carelessly spat months ago. Even if he hadn't recognized it, he was smart enough to figure out how to translate it anyway.

I used a gust of wind to dry the tea to the table. I would ask for a cloth to wipe it up after.

I kept my face carefully blank and cleared my throat in a poor attempt at righting my composure. "How can I be of service?"

Yusuke gave me an odd look, his eyes flicking to Hiei who just stared back with a face as equally blank as my own.

"Well...I think I've found a clue. But I can't read it and neither can Kurama."

So he recognized the language but wasn't fluent in it. That was only a slight relief.

I made to stand again, setting my cup to rights and once again gathering my bag. "I am happy to translate it for you. Drop it by the station when you have some time."

As I went to leave, forgetting the mess I'd left on the table entirely, Yusuke caught my wrist. "Don't think I'm stupid enough not to realize how much of a coincidence this is."

The way he said it made me think he didn't believe it was a coincidence at all. It sent a spike of irrational anguish through my chest. A pain that was almost physical. I found myself clutching the strap to my leather satchel and staring down at Yusuke with what I was certain was a rather heartbroken expression.

Hiei only quirked his lips up into a smug smile and my eyes were quick to dart away.

I wriggled my wrist and Yusuke let me go without much fuss. "I'll see you later," he said.

I nodded, careful to keep my eyes on my feet and not on his face. I knew Hiei would be feeding him with doubts, between what he'd witnessed a few nights ago and the pieces he was slowly picking up and putting together, like I was some living puzzle.

I left them both in the cafe, stepping out into a light rain that made my youki sing, and walked with a single minded intent. I did not stop until I rounded a corner where I could slump against a building and just breathe.

I needed to fix this.

"Plans gone awry?"

I did not react to his presence like he hoped. Instead, I spewed out what had been on the forefront of my mind for days. "My son was taken from me."

He sucked in a sharp breath and I took some pleasure in still being able to shock him.

I didn't want to think about this, but seeing the babe a few days ago drug up some old...but not yet forgotten memories. No amount of drugs would make me forget...not entirely.

"A son?" It wasn't exactly a question, spoken as if he were talking to himself.

I'd never told anyone this. Not a single soul in all the worlds. Not even Lord Yomi, who all those years ago found some deeply buried kindness and given me a home.

"Elementa children are rare. Gifts straight from the Gods. A boy is an even more precious thing, as the women outnumber the men two to one. It is common for miscarriages and stillbirths even when taking every single precaution."

"And you birthed a coveted male?" he said with a sneer, as if the thought displeased him.

My eyes dipped closed and I slipped down the rough stone side of the building until I could sprawl my legs out in front of me, rain be damned. This was...

Awful. Gut wrenching. Disgraceful. Earth shattering.

It was so many things. But it was also honest. Far more honest then I'd been in a long time, even with myself.

Why to this man? Because he was brusque and cold? Because he wouldn't offer me sympathy or pity or pretty words that were meant to comfort but only tore the wounds open wider?

Yes, I supposed, all those things and more.

"He was beautiful," I breathed. "But I was not allowed to even touch him, not even for the briefest of moments."

"Why?" Inquisitive. But still rough.

"Because...he was a half-breed."

I was greeted with dead silence and it prompted me to open my eyes, to stop imagining that brief second I'd caught a glimpse of the babe I'd carried for those nine long months. I could still hear his screams...as my family stole him and sent him away to die.

Hiei's eyes were much wider than I'd ever seen them. He was trying to think of a response, swallowing repeatedly, his gaze unable to meet my own.

I would have thought he was trying to be tactful instead of cruel. But that wasn't within his nature.

"It is not such a shameful thing," I said, struggling to stand. "There are worse things than bedding a human."

"You should have known what would happen," he said.

"I did. But love...it makes you irrational and stupid."

"Love?" he sneered. "You really are a fool."

"Yes," I agreed, "I suppose I am."

. . .

Yusuke didn't drop the papers off at the station. I found him waiting for me outside my apartment building instead.

I parked my motorcycle and took my time going to meet him. This...wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. I could feel Hiei in the distance, his energy like a beacon, but far enough away to afford us some semblance of privacy. He was there in case things went south. Because no matter how close I grew to him, he still didn't trust me.

"Hey," Yusuke said, with a little wave when I finally rounded the building.

He was putting on a good show of being casual, leaned up against the stone exterior of my apartment complex and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. A pack of cigarettes was rolled up in one of his sleeves, showing the punk he was at heart. The sight made me smile.

"Hi," I replied, with a wave of my own. "Would you like to come up? Have some coffee?"

"You're gonna let me in?"

"If you can keep things professional, then yes."

"And if I can't?"

My lips turned down into a frown. I was afraid of this. Things were getting awkward already, perhaps I should just take whatever evidence he needed me to translate and be done with it. This was never what I wanted—to be close yes—but not to the point it was not comfortable between us. A relationship beyond friendship was out of the question, no matter how much either of us might want it to be otherwise.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, tempted to keep my gaze trained on the concrete sidewalk, but knew my words would not hold the impact they needed to if I did. I needed to look him in the eye, to tell him as much truth as I was able.

"I care for you Yusuke, and what I did at Christmas was an unquestionable overstepping of boundaries. But you can't deny that you've been doing that all along."

His face contorted into a grimace and he pushed off from the building, folding his arms across his chest. Defensive. He pulled the pack of cigarettes from his sleeve, knocked one out and lit it with a match. He waved it in the air to put it out and then flicked it at my feet.

"No shit, but don't act like you didn't invite it. Letting me sleep over, spending mornings with me, showing me your drawings. I took care of you at one of your lowest points, no questions asked!" He took a long drag off his cigarette, allowing the look on his face to be shrouded by smoke.

"I never asked you to do any of that, you took it upon yourself. I am not denying my guilt or my involvement. But I do not wish for things to become...strained between us."

"Strained?" he said on an incredulous laugh, smoke rolling out from between his teeth. "What did you think was going to happen?"

He stalked towards me and every instinct within me told me to back away. Yusuke did an admirable job of concealing exactly who and what he was—the ancestor of Raizen, the heir to the old psychic Genkai's immeasurable power, and the reigning king of demon world. But now, with his anger so clearly painted across his face, I saw one of the pieces of him that struck fear into so many demons' hearts.

However, I did not believe he would hurt me for such a petty reason. So I stood my ground and allowed him to get close enough that I could feel his breath ghost across my face, smell the nicotine that coated his tongue.

"You led me on, Ettie," he said, matter of fact. "I never once denied what I felt for you and you spat on it like it was nothing."

"You are...misunderstanding," I said. And although he wasn't, not entirely, there was still an extent of truth in what I was saying. "I come from a tribe, a close knit one that did not take much stock in sharing a home or a bed with the opposite sex, even if they were not lovers. It is just natural."

"What the fuck about us is natural? I don't think that way and I know you're just trying to fool yourself at this point."

This was about to escalate out of my control, out of my scope of expertise. I could handle Yusuke any other way than this—emotional, all his anger directed at me for one simple reason. Because I couldn't give him what he wanted.

I stepped away and then walked around him, towards the entryway of my building, shutting this down before it could go any further. If I continued to try and reason with him, to try and explain myself, it would get me nowhere. He would refute all my claims, all my excuses.

Because that's exactly what they were—excuses.

"So that's it?" he called. "You're just gonna walk away?"

That was my plan, yes. Except an inkling of my spirit awareness caused me pause—I waited with bated breath.

Something was coming.

Too soon, I thought. The message said he wouldn't be here for another week at least. He was about to blow a massive hole in all my carefully laid plans. Even more massive than the one Yusuke had so easily torn into them.

Yusuke sensed it too, a bare moment later then I had. "Who the hell...?"

I dodged just in time, as a giant pillar of pure ice rained down from above me. It shattered on impact, shards separating and flying in random directions. One struck me in the cheek, cutting me across my face. When I reached up to feel the wound my fingers came back stained in blood.

My feet skidded along the sidewalk, landing just in time to dodge again, this time to avoid the near impact of a stone javelin.

It had been awhile since my last true fight, but my body remembered, pure instinct taking over. I pressed my hands to the ground and built an earthen cage around me, even knowing he would smash through it, but I was prepared for that.

When his fist came through the wall I grabbed his arm, tugging until my grip was firm. From there I allowed ice to spread from his hand up to his elbow. I would freeze his entire body in place. I wouldn't use violence against him, but I wouldn't let him defeat me either. Least of all in front of Yusuke. My pride wouldn't allow it.

I let the rock walls crumbled, leaving him within my clutches. A poor miscalculation on my part.

I ducked just in time to avoid a blast of water to my face, forced to let him go. I hopped back several paces, quickly building a thick rounded shield of ice in my hands. I expected him to barrage me again with earth, but the sound of a high pitched whirring made us both halt and turn towards the source of the noise.

Yusuke's gaze held pure wrath, a look so cold that I almost did not recognize him. An overpowered Spirit Gun glowed on the tip of his finger and I did not doubt that he planned to use it.

An instant later, Hiei appeared, phasing out of thin air like death incarnate. His sword was already drawn and aimed for my assailant's throat. I thought about getting between them, but figured he should reap what he sowed.

Attacking me in front of the king was pure idiocy on his part, after all.

The man laughed in the face of Hiei's bared teeth and his blade sharp enough to cut a hair in half. Just as I knew the fool would.

He caught Hiei's blade in a bare hand, instantly freezing it, and with a jerk of his wrist he snapped it in half. The fire demon skidded to a halt, staring at the hilt of his sword in disbelief. With a snarl, he tossed it aside and raised his fists to attack the man again.

This was when I chose to get between them.

Hiei's punch hit my ice shield with enough power to break it and it probably would have hit me too, if my attacker hadn't pulled me out of the way at the very last moment.

"Thank you," I said, breathless.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hiei had stopped at least, though with the way he was standing so defensively any wrong move would surely cause him to attack us again.

Yusuke lowered his hand, though he did not dissipate the energy on his finger. "I'd like to know that myself. Who the fuck is this guy?"

How should I explain this...?

There really was no easy way to say it. So the truth was best.

"This is my husband—Ingvar."

Dead silence. Even the energy on Yusuke's finger fizzled out.

"Your...what?" Even Hiei's mouth was hanging open, shocked.

Ingvar laughed again and placed a huge palm against my shoulder, his weight making me totter on my feet. I knew he could not understand them, but his stupidity was about to get him killed.

"Is this some kinda joke?!" Yusuke barked. "You're fucking married?!"

I was hesitant, but nodded, confirming once again who Ingvar was. And while he so happened to be my long forgotten husband, he was also an unwanted guest I would soon need to be rid of.

Ingvar smiled down at me, clearly confused. His attacking me was nothing new, it was meant to keep me on my toes, an old habit that I knew would never die. I'd grown up with Ingvar and how he'd found me was still a mystery. It was no secret that I'd ended up with Yomi after being exiled...but from there, I'd never told a soul in demon world where I planned to go.

I turned to him and asked as much, in my native tongue. He cocked his head, long blonde hair held in a single thick braid falling over his shoulder. The same style as always—shaved hair down both sides of his head, left with only the thick mane in the center of his skull. He'd worn it since he turned of age, so he may show off the tattoos he sported on his skull.

"I've missed you," he said, the sound of my people's tongue bringing back memories I would sooner forget.

"That isn't what I asked," I snapped in return. "How did you find me?"

"Ettie," Hiei's growl went ignored. I didn't care if the fire demon could understand us or not.

Ingvar, you stupid giant lummox. He would be lucky if I did not kill him after this.

He carried a leather sack around his shoulder and when I once again asked why he was there, he fished around inside it, producing a tiny box no larger than the palm of my hand.

"Here," he said, "from your father."

Father...? Surely he was mistaken. My father—well, I wanted nothing to do with him. And I was sure his sentiments were much the same regarding me.

"I do not want it," I said. "Return home, where you belong. I am your wife no longer."

"You must open it, Etternia. It is of great importance."

I sighed, irritated. "Not here, come."

Then I turned to Hiei and Yusuke, jerking my head towards my building. "I will explain everything, if you wish to hear it, but you must come inside. We've drawn a crowd."

Lost within their own personal worlds, none of them noticed the groups of people milling about, cameras out and recording the show. The people of Sarayashiki were not strangers to seeing demonic powers in their streets, but that did not mean it would stop them from gawking every time it happened. We would be on the news tomorrow morning, of that there was no doubt.

Ingvar was all too happy to comply, the promise of a hot meal and a cup of tea enough to placate him. But Yusuke and Hiei were a different story.

"We've been hanging out how long now, Ettie? A year? You think you would have, I don't know, mentioned you were fucking married?!"

"It is...complicated."

"How goddamn complicated could it be? Either you're married or you're not!"

I was quickly losing what little patience still remained after Ingvar's untimely arrival. I refused to stand here and argue with the two of them in the street. My past was my business and I was, quite frankly, pissed off that they continued to pry into things that had nothing to do with them.

"Come or don't, I do not care either way," I said coldly, turning on my heel to let Ingvar into the building.

"What else have you lied about?" Yusuke said to my back, his voice shook with barely suppressed anger...and maybe even a little hurt.

A surge of sympathy welled in my chest, but I batted it away. It was never my intention to hurt him, but this was not a ploy to break his heart. Feeling sorry for him wouldn't fix anything.

"I've never spoken a lie to you Yusuke, not once," I told him over my shoulder. It was the truth, more or less, as I never have spoken a lie aloud to him before. "I will tell you about Ingvar and you may listen to why he is here, if you so choose, but I will not pressure you into it."

I left them to make the decision on their own, guiding my stupid husband up to my apartment was no easy task. He paused every few seconds to look at something, or admire a human that walked by like some idiotic tourist. I was sure it was unusual for him to see humans milling about without shackles around their ankles, this being his first (and hopefully last) time in the human realm.

We climbed the flights of stairs and as I pulled out my key to unlock my door, Yusuke and Hiei crested the stairwell. The king looked dour, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and gaze studiously trained on anything other than me or Ingvar. And Hiei just looked angry, his face set in a grimace of utter distaste and contempt.

I ushered them all inside, admonishing Ingvar to remove his damned shoes when he traipsed into my home with the dirty things still on.

He toed them off, tossing them to one side of the entry way, and then took a deep lungful of air. A familiar smell he wasn't given the opportunity to indulge in for quite some time. A mix of me and my herbs and poultices, the cast iron pots and pans, the coffee I would soon have set to brew on the stove.

He made himself at home, just as he always he had, his feet propped up on my kitchen table.

I slapped them off, my lips stuck in a thin, irritated line.

Yusuke pulled the spare chair out of the kitchen's corner and took a seat directly across from Ingvar. His glare could have rivaled Hiei's.

But it was the fire demon that snapped, "Explain."

I set the old percolator on the stove and started the kettle for Ingvar's tea. Each second that drew on the boys grew more impatient and when Ingvar began to whistle, that was the end of Yusuke's already short rope.

The king slammed his palm down on my kitchen table and pointed at Ingvar. "This idiot is your husband?"

I closed my eyes and took a breath and prayed to the Gods for strength. "He was, yes."

"Was?" Hiei asked, forgoing the spare seat at the table and leaning up against the counter beside me, to gauge my reactions no doubt.

"Yes, was. It was an arranged marriage I never agreed to, but did for the sake of my father. When I was exiled that marriage automatically became null and void."

"Then what the hell is he doing here?" Yusuke asked, casting a pointed look at Ingvar, who just smiled at him. "Wipe that look off your face before I do it for you, bud."

The idiot didn't know a lick of Japanese, yet here he was. The threat Yusuke issued fell on deaf ears.

"He can't understand you," I told him. "He's never bothered to learn another language."

"You've kept in touch then?" Yusuke said, his tone so sarcastic I had a hard time not rolling my eyes.

"No, this is the first I've seen or heard from him in thirty some odd years."

Thirty years was not a long time for a demon, which was why not much about Ingvar changed in that time. He was still tall and burly, a warrior's body. He still carried an ax on his back and wore his shirt mostly open, his clothing made of leather and cotton, stained with dirt and old blood. He used two elements—water and earth.

Nothing would ever change in my clan. The people included.

He winked at me when he noticed my scrutiny and I turned away with a huff, tending to the equipment on the stove. I poured the bastard his cup of tea, in which he thanked me for, and then offered coffee to Yusuke and Hiei.

The former took a cup but did not drink and the latter just gave me a cold stare and said nothing. Fine then.

When I was settled with my own mug of coffee, their stares eating holes into my face, I cleared my throat, my attention on Ingvar. "Why are you here?" I asked again in that crude tongue, the language of my people.

Ingvar said nothing, just pushed that tiny box towards me again.

My entire body revolted against opening it. I already knew what was inside and I wanted no part of it. Why now? Why during such an important time? My family would never cease to cause me unending agony.

"I've been exiled. What is in that box does not matter to me."

Ingvar gulped down the remainder of his tea, sighing appreciatively. "Your father will rescind it...if you accept."

Rescind it...? As if I cared for such a thing. Their choice to exile me was the best thing to ever happen...and I would have left even if they hadn't. The utter entitlement of my father...of my people...it was abominable. Such vile, heartless creatures.

"No, I do not accept," I said. "Go home and never return here."

"You are still angry over that human? Is it not time for you to grow up?"

My mind went blank. And then everything bled into red as deep as fresh spilled blood.

Next thing I knew I had Ingvar around the throat, flames licking up my arms, burning me just as much as they burnt him. They would quickly burn into an inferno if I did not calm the screaming in my ears, the pure agonizing pain those words had wrought.

"He was not just any human," I snarled through teeth that had grown fangs, snapping at Ingvar. "You insult his memory!"

The flames began to engulf his face, my hand choking him, crushing his windpipe. He did not even think to use his water, the unadulterated fear in his eyes all consuming. The fire grew, up and up it went, burning my clothing and charring Ingvar's neck and face.

"Ettie! Hey, Ettie, stop! You're going to kill him!" Yusuke's words did not even register, the rage and hurt was so strong that I felt nothing other than the need to see Ingvar in as much pain as I was.

In the hairsbreadth of time before Ingvar's face would have been swallowed by my flames, Hiei tore me away, his arms like cords of steal around my middle. My fire did not hurt him, did not even touch him. And even though my rage still festered, I was left to see the horror of what I'd done.

I had not used violence since the day I chose to become a healer...

The fire could not be controlled. It never wavered once called, once my anger was strong enough to even think of using it. My youki reacted purely on my body's instinct.

It took four tries before I was able to switch my core's main element back to water, with the impending possibility of burning down my apartment at the forefront of my mind, and with the help of Hiei who siphoned some of my burning youki straight from my body. Only then did I manage to get the flames to peter down. When it was just my hands still enshrouded with flame, I turned to the sink, allowing Hiei to turn on the faucet, and stuck my hands beneath the running water.

The fire went out in a burst of steam and I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

My arms were charred, blackened. I froze them from the backs of my hands all the way up to my elbows—a temporary salve for a much bigger problem.

And then I turned to see the catastrophe waiting behind me.

Ingvar was having trouble breathing, hunched over my table, his already pale skin even paler. His neck up to his chin was a darkened mess, with bits of bloody burnt flesh appearing in random intervals. The rest of his face was so red it looked as if he'd sat in the sun for an entire day with no sunblock on.

I strode to him and every demon in the room tensed, but I just reached forward and cast his neck and lower face in ice.

But my wrath was not done, nor would it ever be.

I retrieve a poultice from a drawer in my kitchen counter for the burns, threw it at him along with the box he'd brought from my father.

"Leave," I snarled, my voice as cold as the ice encasing my arms, "and never show your face to me again."

He gathered his things, wide eyes taking one last look around the room, and then he fled. I followed, slamming the door behind him, and then sunk down to the floor in front of it.

Through my sobs—the broken, bitter tears—I felt both Yusuke and Hiei come up behind me. One of them placed a hand at the small of my back and before I could regret it, I choked out, "My people are at war..."

And my father was calling me back...so I may fight...and die for him.

Even though my refusal was resolute, this would not be the end of it. I was not prepared for this, was not ready to confront my clansmen again so soon. A thousand years wouldn't have been long enough.

I stared down at my charred hands, at the hands that had not used such violence in over thirty years...

And I hated myself just that much more.

. . .

A/N: Lots of new info about Ettie this chapter! We're finally getting more into her past and her people and where she comes from! What a shock, she had a husband?!

(I honestly planned to reveal that little tidbit in a later chapter, but the ending of this kind of wrote itself and it seemed to work, so I kept it as it was!)

Thank you everyone for your awesome reviews! You guys give me life!