AN: In case anyone is wondering, I finished rewriting the ending today! I'm going to continue posting two chapters or so a day because it's easier to check for obvious errors that way. Thanks for reading!
Falling asleep was getting harder and harder with each passing night. At first it was because in their sleep, Iwaku, Tarento and Ririshii always wormed closer and closer to her, subconsciously terrified of losing her again. As the days rolled on it became something else. She wasn't warm enough, or the sheets wrinkled beneath and pressed uncomfortably on her skin. And then, it was because she was restless. Why hadn't their father come back for them yet? Why weren't they safe yet?
Sagaku was pacing in the kitchen one day, her fingers brushing along all the different surfaces. Kurama finally stopped her when she began eying his hair speculatively.
"If you'd like to go outside, I can watch you from here." The kind man nodded towards the window. "Your fighting has improved, and you're no longer in heat. I'm sure you could hold off any demon until I got there."
Sagaku snorted, not feeling very kindly herself. Her fighting had not improved. In fact, the only thing that had improved since her brief captivity was the number of moves she had in her repertoire. Even worse, in her opinion, was that they had discovered next to nothing about whatever it was she felt in stones and rock. She could still feel the pulse of serpentine against her, but no amount of focusing could make the rocks outside twitch. But Ririshii had heard Kurama's offer and now demanded fresh air-she wanted to play in the grass and sit in the sun.
Outside, Sagaku was just as mindlessly restless. Nothing was calming her, not even the stone on the cord around her neck. Ririshii didn't notice her sister's angst. The feel of the grass distracted her and she tumbled around in it, her chubby fingers grasping at weeds and flowers alike.
Finally, Sagaku could take it no longer. A large tree loomed behind several others, towering over the yard. Sagaku ran at it, kicking off at an angle and propelling herself higher and higher. The canopy of the tree was dark and shaded. Sagaku climbed until only one last layer of leaves separated her from the sun. There, she stalked the short length of the branch, out of sight of her sister and Kurama. She was sick of being watched, sick of being stressed, sick of feeling so alone. She wanted to go home. She wanted her sisters and Papa again.
Kurama frowned when Sagaku disappeared. No unfamiliar demon signatures were nearby, but that didn't necessarily mean it was safe for her to be out of sight.
"Why are you worried, fox?" Hiei asked, leaping lightly onto the window sill. On the other side of the glass, he could see the younger Hanshoku petting-yes, petting-Kurama's flowers. They had bloomed high since the men had relocated to the safe house, growing fast in the presence of Kurama's gift.
"I don't think Sagaku's happy," Kurama admitted. "The younger girls are doing fine as long as Sagaku acts normally, but how long have we been here now? Nearly two and a half months? I'm surprised she hasn't cracked already."
Hiei didn't answer right away. His eyes roved around the yard from his perch at the window. He was glad it was a wooden sill and not a marble one. The marble ones were ungiving, uncomfortable, and too cold. He could sense the girl near the top of one of the trees. When he focused in at the spot, he could make out the shaking of the leaves as she paced back and forth on the branches. Her balance had improved since she learned to fight.
"Why don't you ask Koenma when their father is taking them back then, stupid fox?" Hiei asked, sounding almost reasonable before the biting interlude at the end.
"I will," Kurama said distractedly. "Maybe he'll have some idea. Keep an eye on the two of them, will you?"
Hiei didn't have a chance to respond before Kurama had left the room. He snorted, disgruntled.
It was simple to get into the older girl's head. She had no guards protecting her mind. Most of the time, she couldn't even feel him in her head-only when he actively used the Jagan eye did she seem remotely aware of him prodding around in there. Even then, she didn't bother trying to control her thoughts.
Kurama was right about Sagaku being unhappy. She was anxious. She wanted to be with her sisters again. It was that she didn't like the men-Hiei was startled to realize that she even liked him despite the distance he kept-but she was starting to get comfortable with this new life and it scared her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force herself to act properly again. It was like she'd outgrown a box and no squishing or twisting could ever make herself fit again. Somehow, these feelings just made her want to be with her sisters again, down in some forsaken hole hidden from the world, so she could escape the new emotions and objects and people that were forming such an important role in her life.
To Hiei, it seemed like a stupid reason to be upset. Except, with a small amount of anger at himself, he realized he had once done the same thing. But he had gotten over it, and when Koenma called he came back. He even stayed in a house with the others now, as the mission called for it. True, he still avoided the majority of people...but he wasn't hiding. Not like he used to.
Yes, Hiei decided, the older Hanshoku was being stupid and overly dramatic. But he could still see where she was coming from.
A week later, Kurama walked into the kitchen to find Sagaku chopping root vegetables and laying them out on a pan.
"Koenma has requested a meeting with you tonight," Kurama told the girl.
"What for?" Sagaku looked up from the pan, meeting the startling green eyes of Kurama.
"It's about you and your sisters going home," Kurama said. His voice was solemn, as if he knew what his words would do to her.
The knife clattered against the cutting board, slipping from Sagaku's hold. Her eyelids fluttered. Kurama watched her throat convulse.
"Tonight?" she asked in a choked voice.
If Kurama was surprised by the unhappiness in her voice, he didn't show it.
"I don't know that you'll be going home tonight," Kurama told her. "Just that Koenma wants to meet with you."
Sagaku warred with the conflicting emotions inside of her. She longed to be with her sisters, all together once more. But here she was allowed to live a life of questions. Would she be able to give that up?
"Thank you," Sagaku bowed her head to Kurama, keeping her eyes lowered. She should have kept her promise to Usagi. It would be so much harder to change now.
Sagaku left the kitchen, abandoning the chopped vegetables on the counter. Kurama picked up the knife, frowning after her. He would finish preparing dinner, and then he would have to take the upset girl to meet with their leader, of sorts.
Dinner was a sordid affair. Tarento watched her sister with worried eyes. Iwaku spent the dinner smirking, correcting Ririshii's hold on her utensils several times. Smirking about what, Kurama wondered. Had Sagaku told her that she was meeting with Koenma tonight? But it would be odd for her to tell Iwaku and not Tarento who was older by about a year.
"All good?" Yusuke asked Sagaku when they cleared the plates. She offered him a week smile but didn't meet his eyes.
Dread pushed down on Sagaku's chest, forcing air from her lungs like bellows in a fire. How soon would she have to face her Papa, admitting that she'd gone from an unlikely Hanshoku to a very bad one? How improper had she been, these months? Would he think she'd ruined her sisters too?
The lump in her throat was sure to spell out disappointment, but she swallowed it. She was Hanshoku, and she had her place in the world. No passing fancy could make her lose that part of herself. Sure, she wouldn't have friends like she did now. But she'd have a suitor. A breeder without a suitor led a torturous life.
When Botan arrived to collect Kurama, Yusuke and Sagaku, she bent and hugged each of her sisters. "Be good?" she asked them.
"I'll keep an eye on them," Kuwabara saluted Sagaku goofily, momentarily forgetting that she had not been acting herself for several hours. She nodded to him, and then followed Kurama and Yusuke to Botan. Last minute, Hiei decided to join them as well. Let the oaf watch the children.
Koenma's office was quite crowded. Sagaku paused, collecting herself outside the door, before stepping in. Usagi was there, as well as Mazui and Minkan. Several unfamiliar demons lined the far wall...and there was her Papa.
"Sagaku!" the man beamed at her. The men inspected Sagku's father. How could this giant of a man be Sagaku's father? Sagaku would only reach his lower ribs if she stood in front of him. His face was framed with shaggy light brown hair, accenting his tanned skin and eyes that looked hazel in this light. Wrinkles lined his face, though he didn't look old exactly. His arms were nearly as thick as Sagaku's entire body. The smile on the man's face disappeared as he examined the men. Anger crinkled his brow.
"Were all my girls kept by men? Do you understand what could happen to them?" he snapped at Koenma.
Yusuke bristled at the insinuation, but Sagaku pushed past him.
"Papa, they weren't like that at all," she tried to assure him. "They were very polite and not at all forward-"
One large hand knocked Sagaku aside. She hit the ground and rolled up, watching her father advance on Koenma. Koenma stayed seated, but his face promised murder if her father didn't show him respect.
"You said you would keep them away from male demons, and yet I find they've been STAYING WITH MALE DEMONS!" His roar shook the room. Koenma's eyes narrowed.
"Jitsu, I owed you a favor," Koenma's voice was deceptively calm, "you would do well not to complain about the form it was repaid in." His fingers curled into fists, betraying his own anger. Jitsu took another step forward.
Hiei surprised them all, flitting between Koenma and Jitsu to halt the larger man's advance. He scowled, flexing his fingers though he didn't reach for his katana just yet. The demons lining the wall had yet to move.
"As if anyone else could have kept them safe," Yusuke said in disgust.
"You!" Jitsu sneered at the shorter man in front of him. "The forbidden child. It must have been such a treat for you, being near so many young girls who knew nothing of your disgrace."
"Papa," Sagaku was back on her feet, tugging at his elbow, "please! Nothing happened."
Jitsu swung his arm back, sending Sagaku careening into Yusuke and Kurama. Yusuke caught her, stopping her from hitting the floor again.
"Quiet, Sagaku," Usagi hissed at her younger sister. Her blue eyes were pleading, meeting Sagaku's before turning to her clasped hands again.
An odd, coppery taste pooled in Sagaku's mouth. She wiped her lips with the back of the hand, surprised to see blood smeared across her skin. Jitsu turned away from Koenma, his gaze caught on the serpentine around his daughter's neck. In her unexpected flight, it had been flung from the cover of her shirt.
"What," he hissed quietly at his errant daughter, "is that trash around your neck?"
Sagaku's face fell. She tried to tuck the serpentine away, but it was too late. In his fury, Jitsu forgot about Koenma. He even forgot about the two men who stood by his daughter.
"It was necessary," Kurama said quietly. He stepped in front of Sagaku. Yusuke, after making sure Sagaku had her balance once more, stepped beside Kurama. "She went into heat. It was the only thing we could do to mask the scent."
"How dare you," Jitsu hissed, "how dare you speak about her in that condition?" He ignored the warning flash as Kurama flicked the rose out of his hair. He ignored the thorns and stems that stretched into a whip. His eyes were on Sagaku. She stiffened her legs, hoping desperately that the bile in her throat wouldn't make her throw up.
With a show of confidence she didn't actually feel, Sagaku pushed past her two friends. She rested a hand on Yusuke's arm, pressing lightly until he dropped his threatening fist. He glanced at her, pissed beyond all words at Jitsu's treatment of her, but her eyes were determined and scared.
"I was going to give up my freedom to be back with you," Sagaku whispered to her Papa. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time since she'd hit puberty. He flinched.
To the side of the room, Usagi and Mazui stood in front of Minkan, all of them looking down and shaking. Never before had they seen their father angry. Whenever he visited the warren, he was kind and gentle. But now, his eyes were wild. With a snarl, he smashed his hands together. The resulting boom nearly knocked Sagaku to her feet, but yellowish-green light spilled from the serpentine at her chest. She shifted her feet, not even aware she was sinking into the attack stance Yusuke had drilled in to her. Jitsu stumbled back from the piercing light.
"I'm taking my girls back," he said, trying to force his temper back. If he had hackles, they'd be up. "All of them." He spun to his other daughters. "Go. Get your sisters." The strangers along the wall followed the girls into the hallway, disappearing from sight. Botan, with a furtive look at Koenma, trailed the group.
Sagaku stood, frozen in spot with a surprised "oh" formed on her lips. He was taking them away. At long last, they were going home. Why did that feel like a death sentence? Tears stung her eyes.
"We're not just letting him take them, are we?" Yusuke hissed under his breath to Kurama.
Quiet, baka, Hiei's voice filtered into Yusuke's head, and Kurama's also. Unless you want him to take it out on her later.
Sagaku tried to force her mind to stop spinning. Her chest heaved sporadically, desperately trying to draw air into her lungs. What was happening? Was she dying?
"We're going home," Jitsu's terse voice broke through her panic. Tarento's fingers slipped into her hand, squeezing it.
"Saga?" she whispered.
"Now!" Jitsu thundered. Usagi stepped forward, bundling her sisters towards their father. "Koenma," Jitsu's voice was barely human now, "a portal."
Behind his binky, Koenma may have been sneering, but he still nodded to his workers. A portal began forming, linking to the image in Jitsu's head. Sagaku sobbed, once, but made to follow her sisters as Jitsu pushed them through. His arm barred her way as Tarento slipped in front of her.
"Not you," he snarled. The other demons followed her sisters. Sagaku tried to dodge around her Papa, hoping for one last glimpse of Tarento before she was gone forever-Jitsu blocked her way, stepping back into the portal.
"Not you," he said once more. And then the portal was gone. Her sisters were gone. All of them. Gone.
"It's okay, Sagaku, you can stay with us," Yusuke tried to reassure his friend. Worry clouded his voice.
Kurama stepped forward, trying to put his arms around the girl. She was shaking too hard to let him, weak mewling voices escaping with each attempted breath.
"I...think I'm going to go," one of the last demons in the room said with an Australian accent. He gestured to his friends. "This is too beyond what we were hired for." His friends nodded.
"Sorry, Yusuke," he intoned with an entirely different voice. The men watched them leave.
Sagaku sank to the floor, clenching her fingers into her hair, trying to drown out her father's voice in her head, echoing...not you.
"What an asshole," Yusuke grumbled, referring to Jitsu. No one said anything. Even Hiei was disgusted by the demon's treatment of his daughter.
"You guys," Koenma said softly, "it's still imperative that Sagaku be kept safe. If she's at an age where she can go into heat, than she can bear young. I don't need my enemies making hordes of babies to attack me in the future."
"Babies versus the toddler," Yusuke tried to joke, but his heart just wasn't in it.
Koenma nodded at Sagaku who was trembling on the floor. "Take her home."
Yusuke bent, slipping his arms around Sagaku's shoulder and beneath her knees. He stood, cradling her to his chest. She still couldn't seem to breathe.
"At least with only one girl, we can all go back to our normal lives," Yusuke said softly. It was hardly conciliatory.
Kuwabara waited at the house for his friends, his leg bouncing up and down while he flicked through TV channels aimlessly. When the door opened, he jumped up to greet them.
"Where is everyone?" Kuwabara asked. The hard, stony face of Yusuke should have been an answer, but the facts didn't add up. Sagaku was there, unmoving in the arms of Yusuke, and the other girls were not. "Were you attacked?" Kuwabara's voice grew somewhat shrilly as he jerked forward-but no, none of his friends bore a mark on them.
"They went home, you idiot," Yusuke finally snapped. Then he glanced guiltily down at Sagaku, dropping her onto the couch so he could face the others.
Kuwabara opened his mouth to say something else, but Yusuke lifted his fist threateningly. Across the room, Kurama gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Kuwabara glanced down at the small girl, confusion written clear across his face. After dropping a blanket beside her, lest she get cold, Yusuke jerked his head at Kuwabara-he would explain, but not where the shocked girl could hear.