The Sea Prince
Chapter 14
...I'm sorry, for taking so long. In October... a dear friend and family member of mine passed away. He was my cat Thomas, and he and I had been together since I was 3-4 years old. It was like we were siblings... ans I miss him dearly still, but I'll be alright. I always am...
On a happier note, merry Christmas, or happy Hanuka. I hope you enjoy my gift to you all.
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It was 20 minutes before dinner time and the three royal members waited for Kurama to join them. It was a custom in there palace to show up thirty minutes before the actual meal so they all could talk. Unfortunately, they all forgot to inform their guest about this, and waited for the servant they sent to retrieve him.
Mukuro of course blamed Yusuke and Hiei (mostly Hiei) for not informing the redhead, and had 'scowled' them already. So now, Yusuke and Hiei had bandages right above their left eyebrows, both from Mukuro's rage. Yusuke cursed himself for forgetting, and Hiei cursed Yusuke for distracting him all day, therefore making him forget as well..
'This would not have happened if the detective hadn't disturbed me while I was doing my paperwork earlier.' He thought, thinking back on his and the detectives conversation earlier.
FLASH BACK
Hiei looked over the piece of paper in front of him before deciding that it was good enough before stamping it. He was half way done his tax report for the blueprints of an entirely different tax system for the country and, could be done by the end of the week…if he didn't have any other distractions like the one he was having right now. Yusuke kept pacing in front of his desk, mumbling about who knows what.
Hiei had to listen to the idiot's mumbling, while sometimes yelling words like 'I GOT IT' and "YES' randomly. Now Hiei had had enough, so he glared at the pacing idiot.
"Detective, in case you haven't noticed, I'm busy and want to be left alone. So get out!" Hiei said angrily as he got another piece of paper out.
"Come on Hiei, I know you must be curious about the little red head that's washed upon your shores. It might be the man who sends you notes, who you dream about who you lo-"
"If you say 'love' one more time I'm going to kill you!" Hiei said while unsheathing his katana. Yusuke felt sweat pour down the back of his head.
"I meant um… admire! Admire is what I meant." The teenager said while holding his hands up. "But seriously Hiei, there has to be a connection. They both have red hair and green eyes, and judging by when he hit me, he's pretty strong; maybe enough so that he could swim from where we were to this island. Think about it Hiei, even if he isn't the guy you remember, he could be one of the clues to the person your looking for." Yusuke said this seriously. Hiei had already re-sheathed his sword and was looking over a new document. However, once Yusuke's speech was over, he sighed and put it down.
"He could be, or he could be an assassin out to kill me, you, or both of us. Yusuke, why on earth should I jump to the conclusion that he's Kurama? The Kurama I know had a voice, and moved with grace. This person can't find proper footing or speak. How can you be so certain about someone who you have not even met, and just heard about in some strange paper?" Hiei stated and Yusuke stared down at him.
"…I don't know" He answered and sat down, straddling a chair to look at Hiei. "I don't know why but I feel that there is a connection between the 2. I may have never seen the guy, heck, I don't know the first thing about the swimmer in the ocean; but I feel a strange sense of déjà vu. It's like I do know him, but don't. I think it's from Puu." Yusuke explained and Hiei looked at him, completely void of any emotion in his eyes and face, but Yusuke sensed that the tiny demon was interested, he could almost see the midget's ear twitch.
"You didn't think of him, did'ja? Well we both know Pu doesn't like just anyone, and seems really good at telling the good guys from the bad. So let's do an experiment, and see if we can introduce him to Pu. Depending on the little guy's response, we'll instantly find out if this guy wants us dead or not." Yusuke said with a smirk, making Hiei's eyes narrow.
"Detective, if we just randomly introduce the bird, he could just pretend that they never met. Also, what if he's just some random bird lover? Then he would like the bird no mater what, your plan has too many holes in it." He told the other prince and Yusuke smirked.
"But Pu already recognizes him, remember?" Hiei glared, but knew what the prince was talking about. When they first saw the red head on the beach, he flew right up to him and while the others were away, put his ear on the man's chest and listened to his heart to make sure he was alive. He also tried to get water for him when he was asleep in the hospital room. Pu never showed that much compassion unless he knew the person and liked them.
"See Hiei, this guy may have a better chance at being your lover boy then you thought." He said with a laugh. However, he stopped instantly when he heard the sliding of a katana against its sheath, then his eyes bulged out as he stared at Hiei.
"I thought I mentioned," Hiei said slowly, finally taking the katana fully out of his sheath. "Too not mention 'love' again. I guess I have to carry on with my original threat and kill you." Hiei said and he flickered off and appeared in front of Yusuke not even a second later. He then started attacking the prince, making the detective dodge and run around his room. Hiei kept trying until Yusuke made it out the door and closed it on Hiei, just as he made a lunge. The sword then got stuck between the crack in the door and the wall where it closed. Glaring, Hiei removed his sword and went back to his desk to slump in his chair.
'Kurama… are you really him? Why would you lie to me? You said 3 guesses before you showed yourself, I want to have those guesses… to figure you out and to find out what you are. Is this a clue? Where's your voice? Most importantly, who is that voice that talked to me in my mind?'Hiei questioned himself. He was worried about that man who entered his head, even when he was using the jagan. What's worse was he couldn't find him when he searched, even though he used the said third eye. Whoever talked to him must've had extreme telepathic abilities.
'Whoever it was, he was an idiot. Who would use such powerful abilities, to make me admit that someone was beautiful…not that he was!'
Hiei thought determined. However, try as he might, he couldn't help but think about what Yusuke had said, and about the voice which haunted him…it also didn't help that he kept thinking about the red head without his shirt on. With all these distractions, he couldn't do anymore work, before he headed down to supper.
END FLASHBACK
Hiei scratched his head in frustration, right the ward which covered his jagan eye.
"Is something wrong Hiei?" Mukuro asked calmly and Hiei glared at her.
"Hn!" was all he said and Mukuro smiled.
"Alright then I won't pry; but I am curious about how our new guest will look, now that he has had the time to properly groom himself." Mukuro said with a smirk as she entwined her hands together and put them under her chin. "I bet he's really handsome under all that ruffed up hair and sweat. What do you boys think?" She asked and Yusuke stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"Ew, gross Mukuro. I can't believe you checked him out and want us do the same. In case you haven't noticed neither Hiei nor I are gay." The young prince pointed out and Mukuro's glass eye flashed white in the light as she turned towards them.
"Those terms are not used in Makai Urameshi-san; I thought I told you that already. Besides Hiei never said he didn't want a male lover; he just insists that he doesn't want anyone. There's a difference Yusuke." She told him and Hiei glared at them both.
"I don't need either of you to speak for me, so do not mention any 'preferences' I may have. I am not attracted to anyone; neither do I care about the differences in sex. So shut up!" That was his last remark before he turned his head away from them.
Mukuro smiled as she looked at him, and relaxed as he looked away. 'You may not like anyone right now, but I'm sure that will change in time. Someone is sure to get you out of those icy chambers which you surround your soul in…someday.' She thought before she heard footsteps approaching. She turned to face the extremely long table, which the 4 would be dining at.
Hiei also glanced over and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
It was the same redhead he saw earlier, but at the same time, he was much more beautiful then before. When he first saw him, he was wearing tattered rags and had dried sand, sweat and other filth attached to his skin, and his hair was a mess with tangles and grime. The second time he saw the mysterious man, his hair was still a mess and he still had that over whelming scent. He also was not wearing much then as well, and the shirt he did wear made it so he couldn't see his slim form like before. However, this time, it was like seeing him for the first time all over again.
This redhead had hair that shined like the setting sun, which was neatly tied back in a low ponytail with a dark black ribbon, which wasn't tied properly so the stings just mixed with the red locks. He also had finally cleaned up, and his new scent was rather calming to Hiei. The red head carried the scent of the ocean with him, but not the over powering one like before, but a light, sweet but somewhat salty smell, that made him smell rather alluring. Too pull it all off, those old and pathetic outfits he wore were discarded, and in return were a lovely pair of black pants that fit him perfectly, and a dark purple button up shirt, with another black ribbon around the shirt collar.
Hiei stared as his heart skipped a beat for the first time in his life. However, after the shock came anger. Forcing him self to look away, he silently cursed himself for showing such weakness. He turned back to the redhead to glare at the boy.
'Okay fine! I will admit that he does look nice, but that is all.'Hiei thought to himself. He turned to Yusuke, who was looking at him with a wide grin plastered on his face. If Hiei was not sitting down at the dinner table, he would have punched the detective until he could never smile again.
Kurama looked confused at the three people at the table. When he first walked in, everyone seemed shocked, as if he did something to insult them. However, now Lord Mukuro seemed to be eying, and smirking at the same time, while Hiei glared at him. Yusuke however, seemed to be holding in laughter.
'Maybe this isn't a formal outfit like Youko and I first thought. However it looked nicer then the rest of the outfits that were in the closet, so we thought it'd be formal enough. I guess we were wrong.'
Seeing that the boy had become confused, Mukuro stood up and the other two princes mimicked her.
"Welcome honored guest, I hope you don't mind but the seating has been changed a little, so that you sit across from Hiei instead of beside him. I trust that is alright with you?" Though it was a question, Kurama knew he'd never be aloud to argue, so he just smiled and nodded, not really minding the seat change. So long that he was close to Hiei it was okay… That is, if the fire demon wasn't glaring death at him. Kurama couldn't help but think he really did choose the wrong outfit.
Mukuro saw his predicament, but decided to watch how he would act in this situation rather then help him. 'Besides, this is a good way to entertain myself while studying his character.' She thought.
Kurama stared at Hiei for a while, before narrowing his brows and sighing, only to grab a pen and a small note pad he had found in his room. He then held it up to Hiei, who stopped glaring to read. Yusuke also looked over and started laughing.
As much as I love your eyes focused on me, I must ask that you don't stare so intently. I'm not that beautiful after all.
Hiei looked away almost immediately and Yusuke laughed loudly while Kurama smiled innocently and Mukuro smirked.
'That was good, I have hardly seen any one bold enough as to pick on Hiei, and get away with it. That innocent expression on his face helps, it's almost like he doesn't quite know what he said.'
She had no idea how accurate she was in thinking that, and that Kurama had just heard Jin say it to Chu one time in a similar situation, and wanted to try it out. 'I wonder why saying that makes people embarrassed? Staring can't be that bad can it?' He thought, innocently.
"Baka…" was all Hiei muttered, looking like a pouting child. The expression made Kurama smile.
'He really is cute, despite his tough guy attitude. But I guess that's how he is, and I like him that way.'Kurama thought.
'You really are love struck, aren't you Shu-chan?'Youko interrupted. Kurama closed his eyes in annoyance and patted his pocket where Youko Kurama was hiding. They knew that carrying the crab in the open would look rather strange, so it would be best if Youko stayed hidden. While Youko wanted to sit in the boy's pants pocket, Kurama whole heartedly declined and placed him in his chest pocket instead.
'Stupid pervert,' Kurama thought. He didn't care if the old fox heard him or not.Looking up, Kurama saw that Hiei was still looking away and he jotted down a quick note. He held it out to the fire demon who glared at it, when his eyes glanced suspiciously at him for a moment Kurama held another note up:
Would you rather I get Yusuke to read it out loud?
In an instant Hiei snatched the note from the redhead, and then he read it inside his head.
I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. It was meant to be only a joke, please do not take it too seriously.
The fire demon suspiciously looked up again and saw Kurama smiling back at him, with his head tilted to the side. Hiei merely grunted and looked away, refusing to look at the beauty in front of him. '…Fine, I give in… he's…he's-' Hiei stopped, not able to even think it.
'Gorgeous! Beautiful? Aphrodite's heir or rival? The greatest thing you've ever seen? Think of one of them at least, you're pathetic immature, virgin mind is kind of ruining the mood!' Hiei's eye twitched as he heard the voice in his head again.
'Once I find out where that voice is coming from, I will destroy it.' Hiei thought darkly.
'Yes, I'm sure kit, but I don't care to be honest. Still, why can you not admit anything to yourself?'
Hiei kept his eyes closed and held no expression as he answered. 'Attractions through looks means nothing, it's only lust. That I can deny myself due to the fact that it's pointless to go after him, and I can do other things in that time.'
'…Lust hmm? An interesting yet somewhat honoring view; however I'll give you my 2 cents of advice now: get to know him and you'll start feeling even more attracted. He has a contagious charm that draws people in. Try running away, if you can.'
With that, Youko's withdrew from Hiei's mind and smirked, content with the information he had gathered. 'He knows he can't hide anything while I am in his head so he answers me without to much fight. Smart little demon.' He thought.
Meanwhile, Mukuro thought it was a good idea to ask some questions to the new person who was nodding or shaking his head to Yusuke depending on the questions.
"So do you like sea food? Almost all the island eats it, since we live in the middle of nowhere." Yusuke said and Kurama nodded his head with a smile.
'I live in the ocean, how can I not like sea food?' He thought to himself as he forced a smile. It was then that he heard Mukuro clear her throat and he turned to her.
"Excuse me, but I must ask you something quite important; who exactly are you, and what is your name?" She said and Kurama's eyes widened in surprise. "I ask this because I have already ordered a search on you, and nothing has been found. One of my assistants has done everything to look for you, but I can find no actual background; at least, nothing from my territory. Could you explain yourself?" Mukuro asked her one eye narrowing. She observed everything, from his surprised look, to the small drop of sweat slide down his face, to him lowering his head while looking to the side. She also noticed his hand make its way to his left arm and slightly rub there before he got the pen from his pocket. He wrote something on one of the many pieces of paper he brought with him.
My name is Shuichi Minamino, and I am a foreigner from a distant country.
Mukuro raised a brow at the answer. "Is the country part of my territory?" Kurama shook his head calmly as he put the note down.
"A different country hmm," Yusuke said thinking out loud. "Sweet, I bet you can speak lots of different languages huh?" Yusuke smiled until he felt an ankle connect with his shin and he twitched in pain and slowly turned to glare at Hiei who was drinking some water innocently (ya right).
"You little-"
"Just shut up Yusuke." Hiei said, already knowing what Yusuke was trying to get at. He was trying to see if Shuichi had any links to Kurama, starting with the language hint from one of his clues.
Kurama merely smiled, but inside he was frustrated. 'Yes I know hundreds of languages, all based around fish!' He thought sarcastically. 'But the 2 main ones that you and I could possibly communicate with each other though, are the ones youare speaking and the language of sig-…n…'Kurama's eyes started to widen as he realized what he had just thought, and little hints that Karasu had given him.
':Just use that pretty face of yours, and never underestimate body language:'
'…He was right, during my turmoil I forgot the use of the language which does not require speech, but rather the use of hands and symbols.'With this thought he recalled the language and looked at his hand silently. He started using the sign for 'A' and continued up the alphabet, while at the same time, recalling all the words he already knew. Smiling he looked up at Yusuke, and smiled. Quickly he wrote another note down, and gave it Mukuro, who looked at him strangely before taking the note and reading it.
Lord Mukuro, is there anyone here that knows sign language? I use to study it as a hobby and as a result, I know about 400 words, which should be more then enough for a decent conversation.
Smiling Mukuro addressed the redhead. "Sign language, hmm? As far as I know, there should be about four people in this castle that should understand you then." Kurama brightened up and Hiei and Yusuke stopped their glaring session with each other to look at the queen and redhead who were 'talking' (of course only one of them was speaking).
"Hey, what's up guys?" Yusuke asked and Mukuro felt like kicking him for using such informal speech.
'How can he ever gain the respect a lord needs if he keeps acting so stupid and calm. His years being just a commoner must be the reason for it.' She then glanced at Hiei. 'Hiei is also slipping in mannerism tonight, I'll have to assign a lecture for them both soon.' With that resolved she answered the prince.
"The boy is asking about sign language, and who knows it, and I thought it was a good idea to tell him who also knows it. Hiei, would you do the honors?"
"Hn! All Makai heirs are supposed to learn it, but most of the actual lords do not. This is because it is a rather recent law, and the lords feel that they do not need to learn it if their heirs do. Therefore, all heirs will understand you, besides Urameshi because he's an idiot and can't focus on his studies for more the 5 seconds. I understand some, but am no where near fluent. The other people in this castle, who might know, are Kaito, who's in charge of the servants and cooks in this castle, Suzuki, a scientist and Mukuro's assistant, Urashima, who sends her reports on many different aspects in the castle." Hiei said in a bored tone which avoided all emotion (like always).
Kurama nodded flexed his hands before looking at Hiei and starting his new communication.
"I see Hiei that means you are the only one who can understand me right now."
He only got a grunt in return, sighing; Kurama's shoulders slumped as he looked down in disappointment. Hiei watched the man in front of him and brought up his hands in front of him and started moving them into different symbols. When Kurama heard the rustling of clothing, he looked up to see Hiei making hand symbols.
"Of course I can idiot."He watched Kurama smile in front of him, before Hiei shrugged and they both looked away. Kurama was happy about the newly found communication, because now he could talk to Hiei without much difficulty.
Mukuro watched the exchange before clearing her throat and gaining the redhead's attention again. "Sorry to interrupt boys, but I think we should discuss a few more important details before our fabulous dinner arrives. First of all… I don't believe we have a name to call you, what is it?" Mukuro asked, suddenly getting distracted. Kurama however tensed at the statement, and mouthed the words: 'My name?'
"Yup, you heard her." Yusuke said, gaining looks from the others present. "What? So I can read lips, big deal, Granny taught me how." He said, referring to Genkai. "Is it that surprising that I can use my brain to understand that?" He asked sarcastically.
"Actually, it is. I didn't know you could use your brain outside of fighting; learning something like that must have been difficult for someone with your brain capacity." Surprisingly, it was Mukuro who said that, and Yusuke was close to having an anime fall. "But we are going off topic, so young boy; please tell us your name." Her eyes returned to Kurama who looked down and slowly got a pen and pencil out.
'What am I going to do now? I can't possibly give them my real name…" He thought quickly, thinking of a possible solution. 'What would mom do right now… Wait, mom! I got it!'Quickly, the young prince wrote down two words before Mukuro took it away from him.
"…I see; it's nice to meet you, Shuichi Minamino." She said with a smile and Kurama nodded back. He had got the idea of using his mother's last name and his middle after thinking of his mom and what queen Luka had called him sometimes. He was tempted to thank the bitch for once.
'On second thought, I won't. One good deed is not enough to make up for the things she has done.'
"Oi Shuichi, you okay man?" Yusuke asked, noticing the distant look in the redhead's eyes for a moment. The redhead snapped out of his thoughts quickly and turned to Yusuke and nodded. Though he wasn't fully convinced, he did let the behavior slide. "Good then pay attention, Mukuro- I mean queen Mukuro is about to offer you a job."
Mukuro watched as the redhead turned back to her, somewhat embarrassed. Smiling as she finally got to the thing she really wanted to discuss. "Now that we have your attention, Minamino-san, I want to know what schools you have gone too." Kurama turned to Hiei and started using his hand language, but Hiei looked at the symbols confused, and he didn't understand them. Kurama looked disappointed as he got out his pen and notepad again.
'I guess he really doesn't know as much as I had hoped.'Mukuro and Kurama thought at once. When Kurama handed her the note, she read it to herself, when a look of confusion hit her. 'Home schooled and privet tutors? That hardly ever happens unless someone is rather wealthy or is too sick to go to school. However, he tells me that he started being home schooled when he was five, and now he's 17, and studied politics, math and science, yet he's bad at literature and language arts. He says he's good at music though, use to sing before he lost his voice, but he does know how to play…the organ? Says that a guy called Davey Jones taught him a bit …very funny! However reviewing this information…' She glanced at the waiting redhead for a second, who was rubbing his arm nervously again, 'I don't believe he could possibly be a normal person of the average class.'
"I see; what interesting information Minamino-san. Thank you for all the extra information, but since you're still young by both demon and human standards, there are a limited number of jobs I can give you. However, I was wondering if you would like to be royal dishwasher for my palace."
Hiei who was taking a drink at the time, choked on his water and coughed while Yusuke fell off his chair. "What?" They both asked at once, a look of disbelief on both of their faces.
"It's a simple enough job to understand; you are asked to wash a certain amount of dishes with no time limit, 3 times a day. One at 8 am, the second at 1pm and the last after dinner, this is usually at 7 pm. Sometimes during parties and such, we will ask you to do the dishes either earlier or a bit later, but you will warn you in advance. While you work on the dishes, no one will come in and add extra to your pile, but put them in a separate room. There are three in all. If you do by some chance finish early, you have free time during the day, unless your manager, that'll be Kaito by the way, gives you something else to do. Of course this hardly ever happens unless your being punished for a justified reason, or if there's an event like a ball or some form of party in which case extra help is always wanted."
"So what do you think Mr. Minamino? Does this job catch you interest? If you take this job, we will allow you to live in the castle, and we will supply you with a good pay check, and three good meals a day. However, you can not eat with us anymore; do to the fact that you will be an employee and not a guest like you are now. Are you okay with that?" Mukuro asked with a smile on her face.
"Don't do it Shuichi, it's a trap!" Yusuke called out and Mukuro sent a small blast of chi at the prince who fell off his chair and Hiei just remained silent with his eyes wide open.
'It's true though, the dish washer's job is one of the most difficult jobs in the whole castle. It's one of the top three in fact, so we don't get many people to apply for it. Usually we just get a bunch of the workers in groups and force them to wash the dishes together to help save time, even though it takes away from their own work and slows us down quite a bit. Every time we get a dish washer though, it takes those people over 6 hours just to do one of the rooms, and they don't often last more then 2 or three days. The record time is currently 4 hours to finish one of the rooms, and that person lasted 3 days I think, before we lost him.'Hiei looked over at the redhead.
'Mukuro is probably doing this just so we can get all our maids and butlers to work on our upcoming ball tomorrow, instead of slow things down with the dishes. A good plan since he looks like he'll last long enough to get through that.'However Hiei was surprised when he turned to him again, and used sign language again, but this time he understood.
"What are you hiding Hiei? There is obviously something you must of left out, this sounds like a far to easy job. Besides, if this was all job included, then you would have had many applicants here for that job. Is there a catch?"
Hiei blinked a couple times at Shuichi's perspective, before merely grunting and looking away. Kurama however smirked and asked something else.
'I don't have much choice in the matter do I?'Kurama stated more then asked, making Hiei narrow his eyes at the teen.
'If he goes, he loses his place to stay… So that's Mukuro's plan. Good idea, even if it is low, it's not like we're forcing him. If he leaves, I'm sure he could find another job.'
Kurama turned to Mukuro and smiled, while showing a note so all could see.
"If you work and live here will you be aloud to explore or talk to us?" Yusuke asked, reading the note out loud. "Well… I don't have a problem with that, what about you Mukuro?" Yusuke asked and Mukuro shrugged.
"So long as you don't embarrass or disturb us while we're working, I don't mind. But I am always busy, so if you have to talk to me, make sure it's important."
Hiei just grunted and looked away. 'It's not like he'll have the time.'
Kurama smiled as he looked at Mukuro and nodded his head in acceptance. Mukuro smirked, with an evil gleam in her eye. Happy that she had finally recruited a dishwasher even though it would probably be temporary.
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Hiei and Yusuke sulked as the redhead walked behind them. After the deal was made, the four ate a meal which consisted of sashimi, Teriyaki with extra beef and chick, and a bunch of stir-fry with lots of vegetables, which were a bunch of Mukuro's favorite Japanese dishes. Hiei glared at his sashimi, and ate mostly teriyaki, while Yusuke went all out on everything. Mukuro took her time eating, so she, unlike Yusuke, could actually enjoy the taste of her food. Hiei and Yusuke watched Kurama when he didn't eat, but instead looked at the food and utensils up in a confused matter. When Yusuke explained briefly what was in it, Kurama tentatively bit into his food, and then started to eat normally. Hiei also noticed that Shuichi had copied the way he held the chopsticks, utensils and pretty much every way he ate.
This annoyed Hiei to no end, but amused Mukuro greatly. However, she also noticed that he seemed to be a bit awkward when he took a drink of the juice, almost as if he didn't quite understand it. She had also noticed how he sat up strait through it all, and seemed to have perfect manners throughout dinner, even for noble standards. It Intrigued Mukuro to no end, and made her want to know more about the red headed boy who had washed up upon her shores.
After Dinner, Mukuro ordered Hiei and Yusuke to take Kurama to the dish washer's room. They wanted to protest and tell her to just send another servant, however she silenced them with a flare of her energy and a menacing glare; both knew not to disobey her after that.
Now they were walking along the corridors while Kurama dawdled behind, looking at everything and sometimes stopping completely just to admire something (paintings, pictures, statues, wallpaper, trashcans; basically everything.). Many minutes went by before Yusuke started getting really annoyed and he turned to the redhead who was now looking at a statue of Mozart's head, and reading the description under it.
"Okay Shuichi, enough with the stopping. The sooner we get to your damned station, the sooner we can-"
BOOM!
All three of the princes jumped back when the door on the left of them exploded and covered them all in smoke. Hiei glared as a figure started coming out, completely covered in soot, dirt and what looked like oil. He had long blond hair that just stood up strait, but split up at the top, somewhat like a celery stick, and he wore a white tunic of some kind that had stains all over it. As he stepped out of the smoke, Kurama had to admit he was quite handsome with a smooth face and green eyes.
Yusuke relaxed when the person stepped out of the smoke and started to cough. "Oh, Suzuki, it's only you. What the hell are you doing now?" Yusuke asked rudely as he crossed his arms over his chest. The man, Suzuki just glared at him for a moment.
"For your information Urameshi-sama, I was working on modifications for a new weapon I've been working on. In fact, it was you and Hiei who provided the dammed information which has been leading to my constant work and lack of sleep. You should be more respectful to me, the beautiful Suzuki!" He declared while putting his hand on his chest and striking a pose.
"If you have enough energy to do that then you can't be that tired." Yusuke said referring to the crazy pose. Suzuki glared at the prince before a flash of red caught his attention. Looking behind Yusuke, Suzuki smiled when he saw the redhead standing there, with a thoughtful look on his face.
"My, my, what pretty thing is this?" Suzuki said as he walked over to the red head and took his hands in his. "May I ask your name, tempting vixen" he asked with a wink. Kurama glared and pulled his hands away and stepped back and would have yelled at him if he had his voice.
Hiei also glared at the scientist. His main job was creating weapons and potions for Mukuro, but he also did many things on the side, like fixing electrical devices or updating equipment. His newest assignment was to try and duplicate a model similar to the one that 'poison peach boy' used. However, all his intelligence did not stop him from being a total flirt.
Hiei watched Shuichi's response to the scientist's flirting and felt his chest relax; which was surprising because he didn't even realize that it had tightened in the first place.
Shuichi glared at the scientist before side stepping around the man and walking away from him, with poise and that any noble would have trouble holding. Seeing this, Suzuki's eyes widened as the boy used sign language to address Hiei.
My Lord, please lead me towards my work station.
Suzuki quickly grabbed onto the boy's arm and turned him around to look into his eyes in shock before smiling. "I see now, you are the rumored person who washed upon our shores. How interesting, my deepest apologies for stalling you sir, but might I make it up to you?" Smiling at the surprise in the other green eyes, the scientist smiled. "Just wait here for a moment, I'll be right back young sirs."
Quickly he rushed back into his room were the three heard a bunch of crashing sounds and the sound of things being thrown. He then exited while holding a bunch of stuff in a box.
"Here, young sir, a welcome gift." He said as he shoved the stuff into the red head's arms that was forced to catch it. "I hope you enjoy it. After all, I was wondering what I should do with all that junk for a while now, you have really helped me out." The man said with a smile and Shuichi somewhat glared at him before putting the box down on the ground.
You call yourself the beautiful Sasuka, am I correct?Shuichi asked with a smile. Tell me; are you as beautiful as your ego? Because that seems to be the only thing about you that I can see, it even over shadows your looks.
Suzuki's jaw dropped and he paled as he almost turned to stone. Kurama just kept smiling as he picked up his new stuff, and walked around him, once again, and walked up with Yusuke and Hiei. Turning to Yusuke he mouthed the words: 'Shall we go' and walked off calmly.
Hiei smirked as he watched the exchange between his scientist and Shuichi, and he almost laughed when he saw the red heads success in their battle of wits. 'Hn, I've never seen a loudmouth silenced by a mute.'Hiei thought. However he had to admit that he was impressed, the red head was just full of interesting surprises.
Yusuke however stayed forever clueless to what just happened because of his lack of knowledge on sign language. Quickly, he promised himself then and there that he would learn the language so he wouldn't miss such a priceless scene again.
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Hiei and Yusuke led the sea prince towards his new chamber; the dish washers room. Shuichi saw the doors and had to look up to see the top of the door. Suddenly, he felt that Yusuke was right. 'I've been hooked again.'
That was an understatement, when he actually opened the doors. The redhead's eyes widened at first, and then started to bulge as his jaw dropped. For inside the devils room, was the worse fear any employee could ever have.
It was towers upon towers of bowls plates alike, and Shuichi even had to cram his neck as he looked up at the piles. There were so many, that the piles were as large as a 2 storey house, and there were enough piles to fill the length of one as well. A large pile of pots and pans were placed on the side, making its own mini pile beside the plates. As for cups and glasses, they were lined up beside the plates, as they made their own garden around the house of plates. The utensils were everywhere, and it seemed impossible to have that many dishes. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to Yusuke who was giving him a look of pity.
"I'm sorry about this Shuichi; I hope that we see you again some day." He said, his voice filled with regret as he turned around and walked out the doors. Hiei looked at him for a second, and Shuichi could not understand the emotion that was in the fiery red eyes before the owner of them turned and left the room.
Shuichi looked up at the pile again and he paled some more, what could he do about this. How could he do such a difficult task?
'Shuichi…'
There were more dishes in one room then he had ever seen in his life, he didn't even know that such an amount existed.
'Shuichi~"
There was no way that any being could perform this job, oh why hadn't he listened to Yusuke?
'SHUICHI!'Kurama was snapped out of his thoughts by the yell inside his mind and he toppled over in surprise and grabbed the counter to avoid hitting the ground. Snatching the ledge, the felt his body stop falling, and he used the ledge to pull him up from the ground. He then hurriedly reached into his chest pocket, and took out the white crab which was concealed in there.
Once he was out, the fox started breathing heavily, enjoy his first breaths of fresh air in over an hour. He then turned to look at the prince with a small glare on his face, which was hidden under the shell; Youko looked up at the prince.
"Shuichi, what had distracted you so much that you couldn't even here me? I swear; next time I'm going to give you a head ache if you keep me away from my air again." Youko said, making a sweat drop appear behind the younger being's head.
'Sorry Youko, I was distracted by…my new…job.'Though Shuichi hadn't progressed enough with speaking through minds with emotion, his facial expression spoke volumes as he pointed to the pile of dishes behind the crab. Turning around, Youko seemed to pale even more, if possible, and fell on his back, becoming completely motionless. Not really shocked by Youko's reaction, Kurama walked over to one of the sinks, and filled it with cold water, and dipped the unconscious crab in gently. He only had to wait a few moments before the water glowed lightly and soon there was a silver merman in from of him, sitting on the counter.
"You've got to be kidding me; this will take hours to do by hand." Youko complained loudly. "Also…why did you have to use 'Shuichi' as your new identity, which is my name for you?"
Kurama looked up at the Merman in shock when he said that, and he was surprised to see hurt in the golden yellow he knew so well. Looking down sadly, he turned away for a moment before returning his gaze to the merman. 'It was the only thing I could think of. I have only told Hiei my first name, so he would have known it was me if I told him my full name. However, this way I'm not lying completely, but my identity is still a secret.' He saw Youko pout still and he rolled his eyes. 'Youko, There was no other way I could have done this. I couldn't say my real name without Hiei either kicking me out, asking questions or, possibly think that I'd lie about my name and kill me. There is no other option at the moment, and 'Shuichi' was the only thing I could think of.'
Youko sighed in defeat and nodded his head. "Alright Shuichi, I agree you're right. However, now we have to deal with a new and difficult challenge." He said while pointing towards the dishes- "Your first job."
Kurama looked at the dishes and back to the sinks. Sighing loudly, clenching his fists at his side tightly, he looked back up at the piles of dishes. 'Well, standing here staring at it won't do any good, so we might as well get started.'Kurama said as he started to fill the sinks with water. He then picked up a yellow sponge and a bottle of soap and just started at them for a moment before turning back to Youko. "How exactly do you clean dishes?" He asked, making the old merman fall off the sink as his fin twitched in the air for a moment.
'This is going to take a while.' Were the Youko's last thoughts before he started to explain the basic function of cleaning dishes to the clueless prince!
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Deep down, far beneath the waves and in the castle of Atlora, The other 6 sea prince's had been assembled into one room by their father, and were waiting patiently, while wondering about why they were summoned.
"Kura-kun isn' 'ere yet." Jin said silently as he glanced around the room.
"He's probably still outside somewhere, don't worry about it Jin, I'm sure he'll be here soon." Touya said calmly, while placing a hand on his older brother's shoulder.
Jin nodded but wasn't totally convinced. It was then that the door opened and Yomi swam in, with Luka following behind him. Calmly, with the air of royalty surrounding him, he swam behind his desk and sat down. Luka did the same but sat a bit more behind him. They didn't even use their hands to push their chairs under them for they used water power to do it. Opening his eyes for the first time since entering the room, Yomi addressed the 6. "My sons, today a grave thing has happened to the family… Kurama has finally crossed the line, and has committed a crime against our oldest laws and traditions. For that I took action, and have judged him for his crimes. I will now ask you to remain quiet as I tell you the details." The 6 princes in the room grew deadly silent, all in shock at the news. Jin's eyes widened, but he closed them as he listened to the tale, Touya needed to sit down, unable to comprehend what his brother could have done. Sazuka and Risho cast their eyes to the ground slightly trembling, as Shura stopped swimming altogether and Luka used her power to keep her youngest up. Even Shishiwakumaru looked aghast at what happened, and even concerned for his brother. Not even he could make a slide comment at that moment.
Yomi kept his posture as he told the whole story, how he had figured something was up with Kurama so he asked his friend, Kuwabara, how he had probed through the carps mind when he heard mentioning of land walkers and then followed the prince there, about silencing Youko and lecturing the youngest son, when he got to the part of Kurama's love confession, Shishiwakumaru paled as Shura actually fainted and the other gasped, except for Jin who stayed deathly quiet. He then told them about the punishment he inflicted, but left out the part when the boy cried and went straight to the part of him leaving.
There was silence for a while as the Princes either stood or sat in shock, a pin could have fallen on the floor, and even though if would have slowed down a lot from all the water and light tide, it would have made a loud echo throughout the room.
Luka hid her smirk behind her hand, her plan had gone perfectly. There was no way any of hersons would ever side with the red head bastard child. Her revenge was almost complete. Those thoughts were instantly stopped when she heard a booming laugh from her oldest, Jin.
Yomi was about to discuss other punishments when his son's laugh cut him off. Jin stopped and calmly swam around the room, looking at old nick-knacks and souvenirs around them. He even pulled out a book and flipped through a few pages before he started talking again.
"Ah was jus' thinkin'. You an' this room 'av been together for a long time, 'avn't you?" He asked his father, as he put the book back. "Do you not think that it's grown on you? Become sacred even; your own lil' ge' away where you can relax, work, and even think 'n peace. It must be a nice 'an comfy room, right?" Jin smiled as swam to Yomi's desk.
"Jin, what are you getting at?" Yomi asked, completely confused about his eldest's behavior. Jin suddenly smirked and a bit of fang showed on the side of his mouth.
"I was just think'n, how will this affect you?" That was all the warning anyone got before Jin used his water power to blast a hole through the desk. Yomi and his wife moved quickly out of the way. Yomi reached for the trident, but was stoped when he saw his son summoning huge power into his arm, and spinning them around to make a growing, dangerous sphere in his hands. Closing his eyes for a moment, he summoned all his power so that his eyes glowed blue once they opened, and suddenly air was created in the bubble of energy. With one last yell, the bubble exploded, sending blasts of air in almost every direction, and destroying everything in the room. As the sand around the room cleared, Luka was bent over and panting, ass she was barely able to react in time to protect herself and her sons. The other 6 looked at Jin in shock before Shura passed out again, and Yomi just swam in place, his back perfectly straight as his tail barely moved.
Jin then looked at Yomi with a look of disgust on his face. "'Ow does it feel? Now why don't you pr'tend that it can't come back! Just like Kura-chan's favorite place, and any respect for you that he might have had… naw, no' respect, love." That was all Jin said before he calmly swam out of the room, his head down casted. He turned back for a moment to whisper to himself: "from you…"
Inside the room, Yomi lowered his eyes as he looked around the room, his eyes landed on a photo frame on the ground. Picking it up, he looked at the picture of Shiori, holding their new born child in his arms, before he looked around the rest of the room. 'What have I done? My god; Jin is right!'
He closed his eyes and collected himself, hiding his sorrow. When he felt he could talk, he turned to the rest of his sons, ignoring his mate. "Touya, Shishiwakumaru, get the guards to form a search party. Suzaku, Risho; get information from Kurama's friends, or acquaintances, see if they have any leads were he could be. The rest of you, spread the news, tell the merpeople, fish and mammals of the ocean that a royal heir is missing, and to keep a look out for him. If anyone sees him, make sure they tell." When the son's looked they would ask questions, Yomi just glared and grunted out "now!"
Luka looked confused at the orders and many times she tried to object, but Yomi Never left her room. When the princes left the room in a hurry, (Shura was dragged out by Risho) she was finally able to speak. "Yomi, what about his punishment, your room, y-what are you thinking!" She yelled frustrated, but was silenced by another glare.
"I'm thinking," Yomi started off, his tone frustrated. "That one of my sons are missing, and need to be found." He then shrugged off her shoulder that was on his arm, and left the room, trident in hand.
Luka stood there agape, unable to comprehend what just happened. When she understood, she turned and glared at the door, growling in anger, her pupils even enlarged a bit as her claws grew out. "Just wait Yomi, I will get rid of that, and get my vengeance on the woman who stole you from me."
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I hope u enjoyed the story. My editor did most of it before she left for vacation, and I did the rest. Tell us if we've been doing good. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!v(^^)v