Eyes in the back of her head, Chapter 3
Welcome to another exciting installment! Please feel free to leave reviews!
Shiori led the boys along the trail as the sun set behind the trees, the light a warm golden glow. As they moved farther into the trees, Hiei and Kurama both began to notice warding strips hung on ropes along the trail they were following. When they came to a staircase, the gate above them was weathered, it's wood exposed, but still in good shape. There was also a sense of being watched, as though they were being judged. Shiori paused and turned to look at the boys, and smiled softly at the apprehension on their faces.
"It is all right dears. I wouldn't have brought you here if it wasn't safe. While this shrine is warded, Shuiichi and I are known here by blood. Hiei, this is for you." Shiori held out a charm on a chain, then she reached for his right arm. "May I? It won't interfere with your own wards." Hiei held out his arm, and Shiori sighed over how ragged the bandages looked.
"What does it do?" Hiei asked as she wrapped the chain
"It's a guest charm. It tells the wards that you are here on invitation, not just wandering in. The wards are very advanced. Anyone can be here; however, if they had violent intentions, the wards would eject them from the premises, forcefully." Shiori glanced up at Hiei with a smirk. "But, if you are a guest… I suppose the best way to explain it would be that this charm will soften the ward. If you start to feel the urge to be violent, it places a compulsion on you to leave, which gets stronger until you either leave the property, or calm down. I need to warn you though," Here her smirk disappeared, her face deadly serious. Hiei noticed she looked more than a little bit like Kurama, when Yoko took over. Kurama was paying complete attention as well. "If either of you actually attempt to cause harm, neither blood nor charm will protect you. The wards in this place are very powerful, and utterly unforgiving."
"Mother, what is going on?" Kurama's voice was very controlled, but the fear was still present. Shiori's face softened, with what looked like regret. She ran a loving hand down his cheek before answering.
"It's something I should have shown you years ago, son. If I had, you wouldn't have had to worry so much when you went to the tournament. But come. As I said, this is a safe place. There's nothing to worry about as long as you behave yourselves." With that, Shiori turned and started to climb the staircase. Hiei and Kurama exchanged a long glance, and Shiori paused to look down at them from a few steps up. Then Kurama shrugged and started to follow her, and Hiei fell into step with him. When they passed through the gate, the very air seemed to change, and they could feel not only spirit energy, but also demon energy making up the protections that surrounded them. The sense of being watched also seemed to sharpen for a few moments, as if assessing the threat they posed, and then settled into a wariness that didn't leave them as they climbed higher.
"This is the Fokkusu* Shrine. It has been in my family for generations beyond counting, though it is fairly obscure. Not very many people come here, but since it is a safe haven, that's actually a good thing. Your Aunt Rozu is the current Priestess in charge Shuiichi." Kurama smiled, recognizing the name of his mother's younger, slightly ditzy, cousin. Though they weren't actually sisters, they had grown up very close friends. She and her daughters hadn't visited very often, but the times they had were fond memories.
"Will Metsuke and Mika be there?"
"Most likely. From what Rozu has said, they are serving as shrine maidens for now." Shiori smiled dreamily. "Following family tradition." As they reached the top of the stairs, they saw a young woman with short brown hair sweeping the stones outside the temple. She looked up as the group walked towards her, and her dark eyes sparkled with recognition.
"Auntie Shiori! Shuiichi! How are you?"
"I'm well Metsuke. How are you doing today?" Kurama waved slightly before coming to a stop beside his mother. Metsuke bowed to them, her white shirt fluttering in the slight wind. The last of the light glowed in the sky, casting her skin in a warm orange tone as twilight descended.
"Oh, I'm doing well. Are you here to see Mother?" Metsuke looked curiously at Hiei, and then back to Shiori when she noticed the charm on his arm. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Hiei, a close friend of Shuiichi. He's the one that has been following me for the past week." Shiori's smile was filled with satisfaction at the looks of surprise on the boy's faces. "He's worse than a cat when something piques his interest, and just as dismissive once his curiosity is satisfied. Actually dear, we're here to see Grandmother Choro." Metsuke giggled, and bowed low.
"Of course Auntie. We'll get Mika to take you, since she needs to practice talking in front of people and explaining the history of the shrine. She hides in the gift shop's inventory room as much as possible, and even Mother has a hard time getting her to greet people. Hopefully with only one person she doesn't know well, she won't be so shy! I swear, I think she's adopted sometimes." Metsuke leaned her broom against the low fence that surrounded the shrine, and strode towards a medium sized building to the right of the walkway. As she opened the door, she called out loudly "Mika! We have visitors! Auntie Shiori and Shuiichi are here, along with a friend. They need you to take them to Grandmother!"
"Why me?! You're better at talking to strangers, you do it!" Came a muffled voice from the back room. Metsuke walked to the back room with a smug smile, and before long a crash sounded through the building. Hiei found himself more and more uncomfortable as the two girls started to yell and bicker with eachother.
"Sound a bit like Yusuke and Kuwabara, don't they?" Stated Kurama, sweat drops forming on his forehead. Hiei simply nodded and tried not to become irritated, as the charm around his arm was faintly rattling. After a few more moments, Metsuke came back to the front room, dragging a younger girl behind her. She looked to be about 17, and her long black hair and pale skin looked better suited to the white shirt and red pants she was wearing than her sister's darker tones. Her green eyes were almost as vivid as Kurama's when she finally raised her face to greet them. However, what shocked Hiei the most were her black cat ears and tail twitching in agitation.
*Please note, I'm using google translate for certain place names, as I'm trying to make this fanfic awesome and don't speak Japanese, much to my sorrow. Also, I'm taking some liberty with the hierarchy of the shrine. From what I understand, priests and priestesses could marry and continue to serve a shrine, but shrine maidens can only serve until a certain age and then either move on to another job, or become priestesses. Thank goodness for artistic license!
Fokkusu = Fox Den
Rozu = Rose