Cora groaned, her vision coming back to her in patches as she tried to ward off the irritating, sandpaper like material that moved back and forth across her skin. "Stop your squirming demon scum!" She gasped and sputtered as a bucket of ice cold water fell over her, forcing her mind to reel as she fell to the ground from the wooden table she had been laying on. The stone floor, though offering a harsh landing, gave soothing relief to her bare skin which was rubbed raw from the crusty rag that landed next to her. "Oi! Stop your complaining before I knock you out for good!" She looked up, letting out a small yelp of surprise as a large, scantily clad man with the face of a pig reached down and yanked her to her feet by her arm, his grip so tight she was sure she would bruise. Cora tried to cover herself and looked around the room, noting the lack of windows and the one small wooden door to the side. The only furniture was the wooden table where she had been laying and there were many empty buckets where strewn about the sopping wet floor. Letting out a feral growl, Cora pushed the mans hands from her arm and tried to escape around the table, making it only a few feet before she was grabbed up by her hair and tugged towards the door.
Cora shouted and twisted in the pig mans hold. He didn't drag her far before he tugged what looked and felt like a long, scratchy wool shirt over her head. It didn't cover much skin, as it only fell to the very top of her mid thigh. She tried to tug it down further in the front but the action only caused it to ride up in the back. Before she had time to think up another attempt at escape the man grabbed her by the back of her neck, moving her out of the room. "Get going you demon whore; I don't have all damn day!" Cora growled, swiping her hand around to her back, slapping him across the face. His hold falters on her allowing Cora to escape briefly and flee down the empty stone hall, the sound of her bare feet on the floor echoing behind her. She didn't make it far before she was snatched up off the floor by the back of her shirt by the angry demon.
"Let me go!" Cora shouted, kicking and swinging her arms in the hopes of getting in another cheap shot. The pig man growled at her as they entered another long hall with walls of stone and multiple doors of rod-iron bars. Coming to a stop at the third cell door, he wrenched it open and threw her in, forcing her to land harshly on her knees. She recovered as the cell door slammed shut. "Hey!" She shouted as she jumped up, shaking the the cell door with a dim hope that he would come back and let her out. "HEY! Let me out of here!" He didn't even react, disappearing down the hall. Cora growled, slamming her hands against the bars. "Hey! Let me the fuck out! You can't keep me in here forever!"...god why do you hate me? Of all the scenario's you have put me in, why is this always your choice...
"Hey, looky here boys! Fresh meat!"Cora stiffened, turning to look over her shoulder. There were at least twenty other demons, standing in random places, and each one staring at her with mixed looks of surprise and blatant, sudden arousal...oh, I hate that look... how can they think that's disarming?!... they were all hideous, each one sporting some kind of horn or extra appendage. Some looked like they had at one time had fur, but were suffering from some kind of mange as they had patches missing, while others were purely reptilian. A single demon, with brown, scaly skin and sickening yellow eyes stalked towards her. She gulped, fully aware of her lack of defense as she turned to face them head on, the iron bar cutting into her back through her crude shirt. "You look good enough to eat!"
"Well that makes one of us." Cora said sarcastically, earning an irritated glare from the brown lizard demon. "Honestly, you should really try and rethink your beauty regimen-HEY!" She pushed her shirt down, cursing the fact that she was forced to wear such a small covering; short garments and demons did not mix well! "Back off!" She shouted as she slammed her palm into the offending demons face (a short one with patchy brown fur and small black eyes) sending him reeling back into the crowed, falling over as he lost his footing in the end. The other demons laughed at his failed attempt.
"Looks like we got us a fighter boys!" The brown demon shouted over his shoulder. Cora sighed; why does this always happen to her? She quickly side stepped the demon, who was smiling impishly as she inched away from him. God she wished she had her gun right now; she could end these pathetic demons lives so easily if she had her damn gun!
"Come on guys, is this really how you want to spend your time? I only want to serve my time and get out, just like everyone else-GAH! DO YOU MIND?!" She slapped away another two demons who had snuck up behind her and pulled on the hem of her shirt. She hurried away from them, her back facing the far left corner. Cora needed to come up with a plan, though it seemed the only option she had was to keep playing ring around the rosy-
Cora let out a girly scream as a hand reached up behind her grasping at the waist of her short shirt, pulling her back onto the floor. She landed on her bottom, her back flush against what felt like a bare chest, and her shirt hiking up dangerously high from the fall. "AAAAAHHH-!" A rough, callused hand covered her mouth.
"Shut up, stupid girl. Your making a scene." Cora froze, before sighing in relief.
"Cheea!"
"Hey! Whats the big idea?" It was Mr. Brown who spoke, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Cora didn't have to look to know that Hiei was giving them the death glare to end all death glares; their faces were a testament to that as some of the smaller demons took weary steps back. She also hadn't missed that Hiei had kept his hand firmly against her mouth, making it a little difficult for Cora to breath. She reached up, tearing his hand from her face with a small gasp for air. She glared mildly at Hiei over her shoulder, though his attention was set rather heatedly at the other demons in the room.
"Hn." He glanced down at Cora, his nose scrunching up in distaste. "Pull your damn shirt down." He hissed out making Cora's cheeks heat up as she tried to tug the horrible covering down over her business; it was much harder while on the ground, but she managed to cover the most important bits.
"Why you little punk-" Mr. Brown reached towards them, his claws poised to tear the flesh from their bones. Cora flinched back out of reflex, curling in on herself and slamming her eyes shut in preparation for the impact her brain was expecting. The sound of crushing bones and the warm, wet sensation of blood splattering on her cheek made her eyes snap open; Mr. Browns hand was only a foot away from her, crushed in Hiei's vice-like grip. The demon let out a blood curdling scream, pulling his destroyed hand away in a blur of blood and torn flesh. He stumbled away from them, cradling his mangled appendage and spewing all known curses towards Hiei's unmoved visage.
"Damn, that short shit is serious!"
"Just leave him;soon that girl will be torn to pieces, and then we can take our share..."
Cora gulped; did those demons know that Hiei and herself could hear them? Thankfully they had moved quite a bit away but continued to glare at Hiei over their shoulders. Hiei shifted behind her, his knees bending up on either side of her and his arms resting gently atop them, encompassing her and hiding most of her from the hate filled glares of the other demons. His left hand, the one he used to crush Mr. Brown's hand, hung limply between his knees the demons fresh blood still dripping from his fingertips; clearly a warning to any who dared venture to close.
"Did you have to crush his hand?" She asked in exasperation, shifting around a little to get a little more comfortable on the hard stone floor.
"Would you have rather I let him drag you away and take what he wants by force." Hiei asked in annoyance. In all honesty, he hadn't intended to literally crush the demon's hand; like any other scenario involving this stupid girl, his body acted on it's own. Not that he would ever tell her that. Cora grumbled something about having had it under control, making him snort. "Obviously; what the hell are you doing here anyways? Didn't I pound it into your head enough to run if I ever got caught? Stupid girl."
Cora huffed, poking her finger into his chest in irritation. "I didn't have any better a chance of getting away then you did! I had planned to grab you and run but the oh so charming Fox decided to play hero for Yusuke and knocked me unconscious before I had time to counter attack." Hiei growled, his bloody hand clutching into a fist, imagining that Kurama's pretty little head was being smashed between his fingers. This was the third time in the last two weeks Kurama had betrayed him. First with the mirror, then saving that detective from the bite of his demonic blade and soon after striking Cora with enough force to knock her unconscious, allowing her to be arrested and shoved into this cell with a horde of deprived demons. That last detail was just the icing on top that convinced Hiei that Kurama was next on his kill list. It was only by luck that they had been put into the same cell. He wasn't expecting their luck to hold out for much longer.
Cora sighed, turning so she was sitting with her right side facing Hiei and resting her head on his left shoulder, pressing her eyes and forehead against the side of his neck. Hiei stiffened slightly as she settled against him. He wanted to push her away, but at the same time...what? He didn't know, but he felt himself relaxing a little as the silence between them went on and on. The others in the cell had moved to the other end of the cell, having seemingly forgotten about them for the time being as one of them had produced a deck of cards and dealt out a hand of poker. The demons bet with what ever they had on them, though it was mostly buttons from their shirts and a few claw clippings. Cora shifted her head to free up her eyes so she could watch them.
They laughed and jeered at each other, poking fun when ever someone got bested by a good poker face. Cora let a small smile come to her face; sure, these demons had shown their true nature in trying to 'seduce' her (gag), but it was nice to see demons acting so human from time to time. In reality, humans and demons weren't that different from each other. The only true differences were their physical strength, and the fact that humans had many more moral standards that had to be met in order to be accepted by society. Demons were more ruthless and held hardly any regard for the opinions of others, but unlike the humans who's greatest worry was weather or not they would get written up for being late to work, a demon had to worry about weather or not they were going to die that day weather it be from starvation or being picked off by another demon who is also looking to survive. Seeing them being so carefree (even the demon who's hand was crushed by Hiei didn't seem to be in to bad of a mood) made her feel a little bit better about Hiei and her's situation.
"What did you do while you where gone? Did you find anything?" Cora suddenly asked pulling Hiei from his staring contest with the floor. He glanced down at her.
"Nothing that was remotely useful; even with the Jagan I have found it hard to track her down." He said, his mouth folding into a small frown. Cora sighed, nodding slightly in understanding. That has been their goal sense their first encounter; find Yukina. And they had yet to do so.
"What now?" Cora said.
He shrugged; he didn't really know. He was sure to be put in jail for a long time. While he hadn't mentioned it to Cora, he had done more then just look for Yukina during his time away. He was sure he would get a life sentence if not even be put on death row. As for Cora, he didn't know what they would do with her. Would she even receive a sentencing? She had been affiliated with him before, but her years in the human world might gain her some leniency in the eyes of Enma. He could only hope; he didn't want to think of what would become of her if she where left in this place with out his protection. "Kurama trained you."
Cora nodded, tugging at the hem of her shirt which had ridden up a bit. "He helped me gain a better grasp on my hand to hand and also helped me learn how to shoot my gun." Hiei quirked a brow at her. She chuckled a bit, holding her hand up and pointing her finger at him like a gun. "I can't use my energy for anything other then transforming, so I asked Kurama to train me in another form of protection. A gun is easy to carry, and can be hidden to avoid suspicion from the humans. And, while the bullets cant kill a demon as strong as you, it will still injure you enough to allow me to escape." Hiei scoffed, using his clean hand to push her fingers out of his face. Cora snickered, wrapping her hand around his and pulling it palm first against her cheek.
Hiei felt his face heat up, making him mentally curse her to oblivion and back."What are you doing stupid girl?" He asked in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
She chuckled, though the sound was a little hollow. "I don't know how long we'll have together in here, and you seem to be in an affectionate mood," he scoffed, turning his head to the side to hide his reddening cheeks. Cora bit back a laugh as she snuggled closer to him, hiding her face against his neck once again. Hiei sat very still, unsure of what to do; it had been so long sense she had come to him for comfort, not that he had been around to offer it. He had grown used to not having anyone touching him, depending on him for any kind of support. He glanced down at her letting out a small sigh of relief when he saw her deep breathing though that feeling quickly turned to mild irritation; how could she just fall asleep in a room filled with demons that only an hour ago wanted to ravish her and peel the flesh from her bones?
He knew better; sleep was to big a risk to take when locked in a small cage with twenty other demons. But she snoozed on, oblivious to the blood thirsty demons who's energy lapped violently against the small cocoon of protection his stiff limbs provided. He glanced down at her, sneering as he felt the heat return to his cheeks. He didn't understand what it was, this feeling that swelled up in his chest. It felt tight and heavy, but unimaginably light at the same time. He was on edge and completely relaxed, the contradicting sensations causing an internal war within himself, and he didn't like it one bit.
He wanted nothing more then to throw her away; to let them tear her apart. To watch as they bathed in her blood; to listen as they sucked the marrow from her bones. But at the same time, the very idea of such harm coming upon the incredibly useless female made him nearly homicidal in his rage; he had no doubt that should he hear so much as a whisper of thought that held a threat, he would kill everyone in this cell. That's why he kept his Jagan to himself right now; why he didn't pry into the depths of the pathetic minds that surrounded him as he normally would to pass the time.
He wants to kill her; he should have killed her. She is a liability. She is the epitome of physical weakness. She could be used to disarm him, to make his Jagan, the source of his most formidable attacks, useless. He has tried to kill her; on many occasions, he has left her to die. To wander on her own until she is picked off by some wayward demon. That's what Yastude had been.
He had purposely allowed himself to be attacked; to keep him from going back on his own plan. It was to be the end of her; Yastude was the perfect pawn. He had taken her, just as Hiei had hopped; 'good riddance' he had thought. But as time wore on, he became antsy. Even with his wound, he began searching, cursing himself with every step he took; telling himself that it was useless. Yastude should have already devoured that stupid girl.
But his Jagan didn't care; it forced his body into action, searching for the energy that he had never truly been able to decipher. He could remember his own mental battle, fighting against the Jagan as it tried in earnest to pinpoint her location. And then he found Kurama, and attacked him irrationally, while still injured; it was only the time that the fox had spent with the humans that had kept him from taking Hiei's life. Worst. Mistake. Ever. After losing to that irritating and overly talkative fox, Kurama had healed him completely. While he was glad in some retrospect to be alive, he also knew that it was useless to fight off his Jagan's weird desire to rescue the stupid girl.
And just as he had known then, he knows now that he would not be able to sit back and allow them to maul her, no matter how much he wanted to. So instead, he was stuck playing the physical shield, protecting her useless hide from those in this cell that would like nothing more then to make his wish come true- The sound of rusted hinges pushed Hiei from the depths of his mind and back into the here and now. Cora jumped but did not awaken, instead opting to burrow herself further into the heat that surrounded her. Hiei scowled down at her as she pushed herself closer to him. The demons around him started to shout and snarl as the sound of slow, heavy foot falls echoed off the rough stone walls.
"Get back all of ya!" A rough voice shouted, the sound of a gun being cocked accompanying it. "Tha's right you low life's! Back up! You'll all get your turn with Lord Koenma, don't you worry about that!" As the demons slunk against the walls, each trying to avoid being in the direct line of fire of what looked to be a sawed off shot gun, Hiei got his first look at the new comer.
The demon was ugly, with a face like a pig, and a fat body to match. His ears were stubby like a pigs as well; Hiei wouldn't be surprised if the beast had a small curled tail peeking out from the folds of his over sized ass. His beady black eyes glanced around the room a few times, a grotesque sneer plastered over his face as he dared any of the demons that surrounded him to make a single move towards the wide open cell door behind him.
There was a small flicker of movement to the left making the pig jump into action. He merely turned, pushing the barrel of his gun against the chest of the idiotic rat demon who thought to make a break through the still open cell door. With a single twitch of pigs pudgy fingers, an unnatural and eerie blue light erupted from the gun with a deafening blast, blowing out a gaping whole in the pathetic rat demon's chest. Blood, bone and remnants of soft tissue organs splattered against the stone wall and onto the arms and legs of the demons who were standing to close to avoid it.
Cora jumped, her mouth opening in a scream that was cut short as Hiei pressed her face into his chest, catching both of them by surprise; Cora because she had just been scared awake, and Hiei for the subconscious movement of his own body. "Shut up and don't move..." Hiei hissed into her ear. Cora gulped as she nodded before trying to re-position her head; it was kind of hard to breath with her face smashed into Hiei's peck.
The pig demon laughed heartily as he kicked the body of the rat demon a couple of times. "Let this serve as an example for you all! Now, as you all can imagine, I came here for a reason!" He turned surveying the room with his gleaming black eyes, pinning each demon with a piercing stare. "That is if you boys haven't already-" A flash of shimmering white caught his eye, hidden within the tensely folded arms of a rather small demon near the back of the cell.
Hiei glared over the top of his knees at the pig demon who's beady black eyes stared him down; no. He wasn't staring at Hiei. He was staring at the small bundles of white hair that fell between his fingers. Hiei mentally cursed; he hadn't expected Koenma to get to them this quickly-
"Well now, what have we here?" The pig said as he motioned over his shoulder. In seconds he was flanked at either side by two more, smaller pig demons. "Retrieve the objective boys; Lord Koenma has waited long enough to issue a sentencin' for this girl." The two weaker demons took a few steps forward, stopping as a low growl rumbled from deep in Hiei's chest, his upper lip curling back revealing a set of sharp canines. Hiei mentally cursed himself; his body was acting to the whim of his Jagan, which pulsed in warning as the lead pig started chuckling darkly.
"Isn't this quite the pickle," the pig demon said, scratching at his three chins. "Koenma didn't mention anythin' about her havin' a mate; sure don' smell like she's quite old enough." He turned around, shutting the cell door with a loud bang, making sure to lock it behind him before he too made his way towards the defensive fire demon. Piggy kept the barrel of his gun pointed directly at Hiei's face, a smug grin spreading over his chunky face. "Don't make this any more difficult for me then it already is." The demon stopped, leaving the barrel resting only inches from Hiei's forehead. Cora glanced up, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of the loaded gun. Hiei didn't budge, his dark eyes still staring up at the pigs that surrounded him, daring them to make the first move. "I'll give you to the count of three boy...one," the sound of the gun cocking echoed through the room. "Two..." The pigs stubby finger slid smoothly against the trigger, the barrel of the shot gun gleaming in the dim light that came through the cell bars. "Thre-"
"I suggest you rethink your tactics, sir." A smooth voice said from the hall, the sound of jingling keys and a rusty door opening accompanying it. The Pig demon glanced over his shoulder and scoffed, moving the barrel of his gun away from Hiei's face making Cora sigh in relief. How ever, her relief soon turned to anger as the Pig demon stepped to the side revealing Hiei's savior to be none other then the sneaky fox himself, Kurama. "Killing Hiei wont get you anywhere."
Hiei growled low in his chest, barring his fangs angrily at Kurama as said demon knelt down to be eye level with the two of them. "What the hell do you want fox?"
"I've come to escort Cora to Koenma; he's requested an audience with her to discuss her sentencing." Kurama said gently, his face showing mild remorse as he reached his hand out towards Cora. "Please come with me-"
"Why should I trust you again? Its because of you that I'm in here." Cora spat out making Kurama wince.
"I promise you, I did not want either of you to be subject to this but Koenma insisted." Kurama said apologetically. "If you come with me, I will explain everything on the way to Koenma." Kurama extended his hand a bit further stopping short when Hiei growled at him in warning, flexing the fingers of his still bloody hand. "Please Cora." Cora glanced wearily at the offered hand, unsure weather or not she wanted to trust him just yet. She glanced at the pig demon and shuddered; it was either Kurama or the pig man. She had had enough of disgusting pigs for one day. Cora hesitantly reached out and placed her hand into Kurama's, pulling away from Hiei as she stood. Hiei kept a firm grip on her hand, releasing it only when Kurama started to lead her towards the door. She stopped mid step before exiting the room, glancing over her shoulder at Hiei with a frown. Hiei stood, moving to follow her out only to be stopped by the Pig demon's beefy hand on his shoulder.
"The girl goes alone." The Pig demon growled out. Kurama tugged Cora's hand gently, prodding her into the hall. Cora followed reluctantly, tearing her eyes away from Hiei as they passed the cell. Kurama smiled reassuringly over his shoulder at her which she returned with a frown. She ignored the jeers from the other inmates that shouted from the cells as they passed them, her mind wondering back to Hiei's side, wondering what would become of her partner.
"So, while we have the time, mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Cora asked as they stood outside of an enormous set of wood doors. Ogres ran to and fro, chattering energetically to one another as they tried to keep track of the mountains of paper work that seemed to appear in their hands out of thin air. She and Kurama tried to stay out of their way, standing as close to the wall as they could. Cora felt a little self conscious and tugged ruthlessly at the hem of her long shirt; she knew nobody was looking, and that all the Ogres had on less cloth then she did, but she still felt entirely under-dressed to be seen in public.
"Let me first apologize for having to involve you; neither Hiei nor myself had any intentions of you getting caught up in his plan to take over the human world." Cora snorted, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose up into the air. Kurama bit back a chuckle at her childish behavior. "You must understand Cora; once Yusuke had you in his hands the tables were turned drastically. Hiei would normally have just attacked Yusuke to get the other two artifacts back from him, but Yusuke had you. Hiei nor I where willing to risk your safety to do things the easy, abut the messy way-"
"You seem to have misunderstood my question Fox," Kurama winced at little at the cold edge that had entered her voice. " I am not in the least bit surprised that Koenma would order Yusuke to do something as cowardly as abduction; I want to know what the hell Koenma offered you to make you turn your back to fully on us." Cora turned to glare at him. "I can understand your need to do what ever you could to protect Shiori; I can even understand you taking the hit for Yusuke as repayment for saving your life. But I cant understand why you would knock me unconscious and allow the SDF to arrest Hiei and I when Yusuke already had the three artifacts he was after. We could have gotten away-"
"I was given an ultimatum by Koenma." Kurama said, his voice taking on a bitter edge. "In order to stay out of prison, and stay with mother, I have to work off my debt to society with community service." Cora's eyes narrowed. "My first case was to help Yusuke retrieve the artifacts, and bring Hiei and yourself in alive for questioning and sentencing." Cora huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You have to believe me Cora; I only did what I had to in order to insure my mothers happiness and safety."
"Oh I believe you all right," Cora growled out irritably. "It all sounds very much like something Koenma would offer you, and you being you, you weren't willing to let the chance of probation, as opposed to incarceration, to slip through your fingers." Kurama nodded; it was true. He would have been a fool to let such a good deal pass him by. Cora sighed, the tension leaving her shoulders. "And to tell the truth, I would have taken it should that deal have been offered to me."
"That's why Koenma-"
"Cora?" A familiar bluenet poked her head out of the large doors, smiling brightly at the two who stood waiting. "Koenma will see you now!" Cora sighed, glancing at Kurama before heading for the door, giving Botan a small smile as she stared at her with wide eyes. Or, stared at her clothing. "Oh my goodness! What did they dress you in?!"
Cora grimaced. "I guess they were out of pants." She said with an irritable tone. Botan allowed them into a large room with white marble floors, blue tiled walls, red and gold pillers and a large, red and gold desk. Piles upon piles of paper work sat atop the desk, and behind the piles of paper Cora spied the top of a bobbing blue hat.
"Lord Koenma! Do you see what she's wearing! Those darn guards are at it again-"
"I know very well what she's wearing Botan; I ordered it myself!" A high pitched, child like voice said from behind the desk. Botan's face grew very red while Kurama's face became stony. Cora growled, going to take a step forward but being stopped by Kurama.
"Lord Koenma that is highly inappropriate of you-" The sound of a small fist hitting the table made them all jump.
"Do not insult me Botan, I have a perfectly good reason for doing what I do!" The top of the hat disappeared from behind the paper work, and moments latter a young child with big brown eyes and dark brown hair came from around the desk, his fist's clutched at his sides and sucking furiously on a pacifier. "It's all part of the plan!"
Kurama took a step forward, his eyes narrowed mildly as he stared down the irritated spirit prince. "And what plan do you have in mind for Cora?"
"Hmph, I was getting to that; Cora, do you know why you are here?" Koenma said, pointing a pudgy finger at Cora.
Cora huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because you had me kidnapped, stored in a closet, and then manipulated one of my closest allies against me. I'm a little impressed; you never would have caught Hiei or myself if not for that particularly dirty trick." She said icily making Koenma bristle.
"I did what I had to do; while you may not be much of a threat, I couldn't allow Hiei to get away with threatening the human race!" He said, folding his hands behind his back. "Now, I have requested a private audience with you to discuss not only your sentencing, but Hiei's as well. Kurama, and my head of Security, have informed me that your relationship with Hiei is... oddly deep for two demons who have not mated." Cora's brow twitched as the turned her eyes to glare at Kurama. The fox demon made a point not to make eyes contact with her, opting instead to investigate the marble flooring. " While I normally wouldn't take notice, I have also been informed that you are a Meimu demon, a rare species of demon that can take the very being of a person and make it your own-"
"Are you going to get to a point here soon, or do you plan to tell me more about myself that I already know?" Cora bit out making Koenma stumble over his words.
"Gah, ah, well yes, I suppose you already know about your abilities- as it is, I know that Hiei is your word keeper, and while I had planned to let you go due to your time spent in the human world, it would be dangerous of me to separate you from Hiei-"
Kurama interjected. "Why is that an issue? Not that I am against keeping them together, but Hiei and Cora have spent many years in separation from each other before and had no issues-"
"Hiei was not her Keeper at that time; it is imperative that a Keeper is kept close to their charge." Koenma turned back to Cora. "Should you spend more then a year apart from each other now, Hiei would undoubtedly die. Not because the burden would kill him, but because he would go on a rampage and attempt to escape my prison in order to get back to your side. And to be perfectly honest, I don't really want to deal with the mess." Cora nodded; she knew making Hiei her Keeper came with such risks. But Koenma was mistaken if he thought Hiei would ever be foolish enough to risk his life to escape this place. He'd get out, and in one piece to boot. "And so, I have come up with a solution!"
Koenma waddled back to his desk, shifting through a few pieces of paper before finding what he was looking for and presenting it to Cora. Cora eyed the paper wearily, taking in the clean writing on it's surface. "If you sign this hand written contract, you will essentially be saying that you are willing take on part of Hiei's punishment-"
"And why would I do that?" Cora bit out making Koenma's eyes widen in shock. "While I wish to help Hiei, I will not do it while under lock and key with a bunch of deprived demons-"
"Let me finish! It is true, I had initially planned to sentence Hiei to death- don't give me that look! He threatened the entire human race and almost succeeded in taking over the human world!" Koenma shouted as he waved his hands in defense under Cora's murderous glare. "Now, instead of putting Hiei of death row, or putting an innocent demon behind bars, I am willing to give you an ultimatum. Either you can sign that document, and both Hiei and your self will be placed on an indefinite time line of parole, or I can lock you and Hiei in a cell together, and after fifty years (if your still alive) the two of you will be released into the deserts of the demon world." Cora narrowed her eyes at him. "And, should you chose not to take the parole, you will never see a pair of pants again."
Cora felt her brow twitch as she stared down the spirit prince. Koenma looked serious; smug, but serious. She glanced down at the document and sighed; a possible life time of servitude but with the added perk of pants, or, a life time of jail time followed by a slow painful death in the Mikai desert and never being able to wear pants again. Cora growled, bringing her thumb up to her lips and biting into the flesh hard enough to draw blood. Botan gasped as she placed the bloody thumb print on the signature line of the contract. Cora thrust it towards Koenma, her eyes narrowed. "There; now give me some damn pants, and let Hiei out of his cage!"
Koenma cheered a little, signing the bottom of the page with a pen he pulled from his sleeve. "He's in processing as we speak; all we need is for him to sign and then its a done deal! Now, Botan will take you to change and get briefed on your training-"
"Training?" Cora asked with a quirked brow. Kurama's brows were furrowed in worry; Cora hadn't even read the contract before signing it in her blood.
"Well of course!" Koenma shouted, giving Cora a rather condescending look. "You cant expect me to send you on missions with out some kind of training! What help could you be to Yusuke if you don't know how to fight?"
Cora gaped at him, her hand shaking a little in barely repressed anger. "You-you bastard! What makes you think I want to help that asshole?!"
Koenma waved the contract in her face, a gleeful smile plastered on his face."This contract you signed with out reading! Your on probation, and I'm your warden! If you would have read this contract, you would have seen that it mentions helping out the spirit detective specifically!" Cora growled, reaching out to snatch the contract but was a smidgen to slow as Koenma pulled it away from her. "Now, Botan, please escort Miss Cora to her trainer and for gods sake put some cloths on her!"
Botan nodded, a small frown on her face as she touched Cora's shoulder, gaining the smaller woman's attention. Cora huffed, turning on her heel and following Botan from the room. Koenma chuckled before calling his right hand Ogre, George, into the office. "Ogre, take this to the processing room that contains Hiei; he isn't allowed to leave that room with out signing this!" George glanced at Kurama, who was giving Koenma a rather irritated glare, before nodding and running off to do as instructed.
Kurama sighed, folding his arms over his chest irritably."You know it isn't a good idea to trick Cora like that, especially if you want Hiei and her to be on your side."
Koenma sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Of course I know that, but it had to be done. She wouldn't have agreed other wise, and her abilities are to precious to allow them to waste away in some jail cell." Koenma hopped into his chair, looking over a couple pieces of paper work. "Once her training is complete, I believe she will thank me. She has no idea how strong she can be on her own." Kurama sighed and nodded, turning to take his leave from the office. "Kurama, before you go, could you try to keep Hiei out of trouble? I'm afraid Cora's training will be intense and last a few months and I will need you to keep him in line while she is gone."
Kurama paused at the door, glancing over his shoulder at the spirit world prince. "Of course Lord Koenma."
"What the hell is this?" Hiei asked as he eyed the cruddy written contract and the two signatures that adorned it, one in perfect calligraphy and the other in a finger print of blood. He sniffed in, stiffening when the scent of the blood came into his mind. Hiei growled, reaching over and grasping the throat of the unsuspecting Ogre. The one other person in the room, a woman with green skin and red hair who was there to process him for a sentencing he hadn't heard anything about, gasped and made a move to restrain him but was cut off by his heated glare. The Ogre in his grasped gasped and sputtered, trying in vein to remove Hiei's hand from his throat. "The blood on this contract; how was it spilled? What did he do to make her sign such a stupid agreement?!"
"I-I don't know! She looked fine w-when Lord Koenma called me in!" The Ogre said between gasps for air.
The door to the processing room opened revealing Kurama who's eyes grew wide as he took in the potentially deadly scene. "Hiei, don't you know it's rude to kill the messenger?" He said casually. Hiei growled, holding the contract up for Kurama's inspection. "Yes, about that, Cora bit her thumb to sign it; being herself, Cora signed it with out reading the fine print." Hiei scoffed, tossing the Ogre away from him as he inspected the contract again.
"So if I don't sign this I'm sentenced to death and she gets incarcerated for life?" Hiei spat out, holding the contract up for Kurama's inspection.
Kurama's eyes got wide. "What?"
Hiei narrowed his eyes at the fox. "That's what it says; don't tell me you didn't read this agreement before taking her to sign it?"
Kurama took the contract, reading over it quickly, a small frown etching onto his face. "It seems Koenma has covered all his bases, including the chance that only one of you would agree to sign..." Kurama mumbled before handing the contract back to Hiei. The fire demon scoffed, biting into his thumb and pressing the bloody print onto the parchment. "You know you wont be able to enter the demon world with out permission now, correct?" Kurama asked as Hiei slammed the contract down on the table, pushing it towards the now cowering processor. She squeaked and picked up the paper, placing it in a manila folder with trembling hands.
"Like I want the ghost of that annoying girl haunting me for the rest of my life."
Kurama's lips twitched as if to smile but he was able to fight off the urge, nodding his head in agreement. "I see- shall we take our leave then? I think you've had enough of torturing Koenma's staff for one day." Hiei scowled at him, pushing past Kurama and into the hall with a low growl. Kurama sighed, following after him; this was going to be a long couple of months.
Cora growled as she shoved her new training shirt over her head. Botan sighed, handing her a pair of tennis shoes which Cora shoved onto her feet aggressively. "Cora, I'm sorry Lord Koenma tricked you that way-"
"I would have signed it eventually; I wouldn't be able to deal with the guilt of knowing Hiei was on death row while I walked free." Cora hissed out, her voice bouncing off the empty walls of the small locker room. It was rather plain, with black tiled floors white walls and red lockers, and had only one shower and a floor length mirror on the back of the door. Cora huffed as she stormed over to the mirror, taking the pony tail holder that was offered to her by Botan. "I'm sorry Botan, I'm just in a bad mood. I'll be better by tomorrow."
Botan nodded in understanding before folding her arms over her chest. "By the way, Koenma had the Ogres look in on your- what did Hiei call it? Host? Her labor was induced by her doctors-" Cora shrugged, a smug smile tugging at her lips making Botan gasp. "You knew?! How could you let Yusuke think he caused something like that?!"
"How could Yusuke keep a pregnant woman locked in his closet?" Cora snipped back at Botan making the reaper gulp nervously. "Not to mention he was trying to arrest the two most important people in my life; I wanted to make him suffer a little." Botan gaped at her as Cora left the locker room and entered the training area.
She looked around with wide eyes, taking in the array of training equipment. The walls where covered in every variety of weapon she had ever seen, and then a few that she never would have imagined could ever exist. A large stone ring sat in the middle of the room, and in the very far back sat a huge weight area with weights that when stood on end would be taller then her. Closest to her where hundreds of treadmills. "Wow..."
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Cora jumped and turned, her eyes landing wearily on a man with glimmering white hair and blue eyes as he came to a stop beside her. She furrowed her brows in confusion, glancing around the room. "Ummm, excuse me, but wasn't I supposed to meet my trainer here?"
The stranger chuckled, rotating his shoulders casually. "You're looking at him; my names Ayuma, and I'm starting to wonder what Koenma could possibly see in you; females of our specific breed are not meant for fighting." He sent her a smug look. "They are far better for breeding."
Cora scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Well I don't really care what society thinks I'd be better suited for." She bit out through clenched teeth, her arms crossing over her chest defiantly. "I've got to much ridding on the line to just roll over and play the role of fuck toy."
Ayuma stared at her for a moment before bursting out into laughter making Cora quirk a curious brow at him. "Koenma didn't lie to me then; you're nothing like the females from my village." He calmed down his laughter, pinning her with a knowing smirk. "He also said you could do a full transformation." Cora narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "I don't need to see it; Koenma has footage of your transformation while under the Spirit Detectives care." His carefree tone shifted, the humor vanishing form his blue eyes. "There is only one rule for this training; you are not allowed to transform, at all."
Cora gaped at him. "W-what-"
He held a hand up to silence her before she could go on a rant. "Taking on another's features and energy wont help you to become stronger on your own; with out proper training, you won't be able to hold onto a strong host long enough to cause your opponent any damage. Take your fox friend for example; if you would try to take him on as a host right now, you'd probably only be able to hold on to it for about three minutes."
"I thought I could only change back if I had a keeper or if myself or my host dies?" Cora said, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Ayuma nodded, his mouth falling into a grim line. "Exactly; Kurama's energy would be to much for you to handle." He said making Cora go pale. "Unless your own energy level equals half of your hosts, their energy will devour you from the inside out." Ayuma dropped into a fighting stance making Cora's eyes widen. He flickered from her sight, making her gasp as she wasn't able to keep up with him. Before Cora could react, Ayuma slammed the heel of his foot into Cora's lower back, sending her flying through the air and into the training ring face first. She pushed herself up with shaking arms while gasping for breath. Before she could get all the way up Ayuma's bare feet appeared in front of her. "We'll start with the basics." Cora looked up at him with startled eyes while he smirked down at her tauntingly. "Welcome to hell."
