The Sea Prince
Chapter 17
Chaseha: Yo, long time no see ^^ *dodges another shoe* I seem to be getting good at dodging those *SWAT*...ow...ok so I could use some work.
Any way, its good to be done. u have no idea of the horrors my editor put me through as I wrote this. She made sure to black mail, threaten, and push me until the job was done. Without her I may have just been even more lazy...as usual *dodges another shoe* WHO KEEPS THROWING THOSE!
Night Tsuki: Me you slacker!
Chaseha: EEK! THE EVIL EDITOR! making her first appearance in this side commentary.
Night Tsuki:Starting from now on I will be trying to set due dates (YAY!). They may not always be done on time because of interfering daily life, but none the less you will have due dates now!
Chaseha: boo, do I have to?
Night: Do I really have to answer that question, when you already know what I'm going to say.
Chaseha:... no... no u don't TT_TT.
Well, that's all for our corner right now. Without further ado (PLEASE REVIEW!) let the fic begin!
The sounds of elegant music, the swishing gowns and beautiful suits of nobles, and the lovely young gossip of a happy crowd; to many this would be a peaceful and elegant theme to any story. To Hiei, this was a scene that made him feel like going on a killing spree.
Hiei hated parties. He never gave a reason why, but he made it clear to anyone who bothered to ask. Maybe it was because the music was always something classical which he heard over a hundred times before, or possibly it was the flamboyant and colorful outfits he was forced to be around, maybe it was the large crowds that he was forced to join and just possibly, it was the girls who kept staring at a distance. However this last part was better then them actually talking to him. But truly, Hiei would rather wear pink, than host a party.
The young prince's mood dampened even further when he felt an arm sling around his shoulders. "Hey Hiei, hell of a party isn't it?" asked the cheerful young voice of Yusuke Urameshi.
Hiei gave him a death glare and roughly pushed the offending arm off him.
"So you're sulking right now, huh?"
"I am not 'sulking.' I'm merely wishing that this hall explodes into flames, or some other loathsome deed happens so I can kill something and end this foolish get together." Hiei said angrily. Yusuke laughed nervously before offering Hiei a glass of alcohol. The angry prince took the cup and took a large gulp before finally noticing what Yusuke was wearing.
Yusuke's outfit was more of a traditional man's suit, including a white blouse, a jacket and matching pants. The only real difference was that the coat and pants were a deep lovely emerald green, with black trimming on the sleeves. If Yusuke was a grown up, he would be considered handsome, especially with the emerald green mask on. Unfortunately, he was not a grown up, and so the outfit did not only not suit him, it made him look ridiculous.
"Excellent monkey suit Urameshi - sama, might I say that you're looking even more ridiculous by the day."
"Bite me ass wipe! Shizuru didn't have time to make me anything (she didn't bother) so Keiko and I went shopping for it (she forced him into it). Besides she said I looked handsome." Yusuke defended.
"Maybe to another ningen buffoon," Hiei muttered darkly, finally finishing his glass. Seeing a waiter he was about to place the glass on his tray, when he noticed the crimson locks on the man. If Hiei were still drinking, he would have spit the liquor out.
"Ku-Shuichi!" He gasped out and Kurama turned to look at them and wave innocently, as if it were perfectly natural for him to be there.
"Yo, Shuichi, what are you doing here?" Yusuke asked much more relaxed then the hot headed demon. Kurama actually had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, as he held out his arms, showing off his waiters outfit. "N-no, I mean why aren't you in the kitchen. I thought you were the dishwasher." Yusuke explained, and Kurama's eyes lit up in comprehension. He looked around to see if there was a place to put down his tray, before just shrugging and giving it (pushed it into by force) to Yusuke, who accepted it without question. He then started using sign language to tell a brief explanation of why he was there.
My boss offered me the night off in exchange for me doing this instead. So I could either do another mountain of dishes, or hang out in at a party, with glorious music and lovely outfits, without a huge strain on my body. Which one would you do?
"Well that makes sense." Yusuke said calmly (Hiei had to translate for him).
"I'd choose the dishes." Hiei muttered darkly and Shuichi just smiled, shrugging his shoulders. You can have my morning shift then. He stated with a smile, making the shortest of the three glare at him. Kurama kept smiling as he took back his tray and looked the two up and down. You look good, he 'told' Hiei before walking off, making Hiei's eyes widen slightly. Yusuke looked down at him, snickering behind his hand.
"What is it now detective?" Hiei asked annoyed.
"I was just wondering if the blush is from the booze, or the flamin' hot red head." Hiei covered his face and then turned his death glare to the prince.
"It's a hallucination from your retarded brain." Hiei replied with some resentment. Yusuke just laughed it off.
"Well whatever, just remember to get rid of that cup you're holding next time." He said and Hiei looked down at his empty glass, before silently fuming.
Meanwhile, Mukuro was also having a dull time as she flirted with other nobles. She usually did this as a formality, as she hated most of them. She never wore dresses as they showed off her metallic limbs too much and it often freaked people out, but it seemed that her suit was not enough for these royal bastards.
Mukuro's mask covered half her face, and spread out like a bird's wings. It was red with orange and gold. Feathers and spiral designs shaped into the mask. Both eye holes had glass in it, one to replace her glass eye, and the other to in large her real eye to make them look even. To replace her usual scarf was a type of cape that went across her body. The rim was out lined in gold, with different types of red diamonds sown into the seams. She wore a blouse, which was covered by a jacket that was very similar to a noble or a commander of an important ship in the seventeenth century. This was also ruby red with sparkles of gold. Finally, the pants were slightly loose- on the edge of puffy, until it got to her ankles. There the cuffs of her pants tightened to fit the lower half of her shins. Along the pant legs, and on the front of her shirt, were golden phoenixes sown right into the outfit. In fact, the outfit itself was designed after a phoenix.
"Mukuro darling, why don't you wear dresses? I know many gowns that would look dazzling on you." A young female president said, and Mukuro laughed with her.
"I just feel more comfortable in these cloths. Besides, I have such an amazing costume designer that I just can't say no when she makes me something. She even made my rally son look like a gentleman." With that the whole group laughed. Mukuro took a sip of her wine, while inside she shared the same views of the party as Hiei. The only reason why she held them was to secretly gain information from other leaders, and to look for potential mates for Hiei. This time however, the room was full of presidents and nobles she already knew and didn't care about, and females (and the occasional male) whom Hiei already rejected.
'Koenma we are going to have a serious chat about inviting more people without informing me.' She thought angrily. She silently looked at a king from a country in Africa whom she really wanted to gain information from. Unfortunately with so many people around, it was impossible to talk to him privately. She secretly cursed the whole room, totally agreeing with Hiei. 'This is a waste of time.'
Hiei glowered as he leaned against the wall. He was considering lighting it on fire in hopes that it would crash the party, but he had a feeling that if he did he'd be thoroughly punished if he did. He sighed and set his sight on the finely decorated ceiling. Breathtaking deities, powerful demons and humans were scattered upon it, as well as many powerful creatures. Each was surrounded by its own type of scenery, and he even saw a mermaid in one sketch were it was surrounded in water. This painting was made during the Middle Ages in Europe, were a man decided to place as many folklore, legends and myths into one painting. The man's name was never known, and the painting never became famous until Mukuro found it in a market one day. A child was selling some objects that she found in her attic, and Mukuro was immediately interested in the old painting. She quickly bought the painting, restored it to its former glory, and made a copy of it on top of her own ballroom ceiling. When Hiei asked her why she liked it so much, she replied she found the irony was hilarious to her.
The painting was meant to represent creatures that didn't exist or classic tales which were later described as fairy tales or myths. And yet over 80 percent of the creatures were real or were very similar. The witches could be psychics, demons now walked among humans as nearly equals, dragons were now a known species, and many of the myths were proven to be true stories after a while. "Plus it's a beautiful picture! You can easily get lost just staring at it as it tells you its tales." Hiei let a small smile touch his face when he remembered Mukuro saying that. It truly was a wonderful masterpiece.
Hiei suddenly looked to his left, started when he felt a presence nearby him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Shuichi standing there, looking up as well, before looking down to him. It's a lovely canvas. Shuichi 'said' to him and Hiei just shrugged.
"It was Mukuro's choice to put it there; I had no opinion in the matter." Hiei said in his neutral way, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Kurama stared at him before raising his hand to cover his mouth, trying to cover up his chuckle. Hiei glared before asking what he was laughing about. Kurama just waved his hand, before looking up again. It's nothing, but for the record, I like it too.
Hiei didn't react on the outside, but on the inside he was a bit surprised. It was like this 'Shuichi' could read him, but he knew that was unlikely. Almost everyone got spooked by his cold indifference. Only Mukuro and a chosen few saw behind his mask. Suddenly a tray appeared in front of him and Kurama smiled and nodded his head in the direction of Hiei's empty glass. Hiei was about to put the empty glass on the tray when suddenly an annoying voice stopped him.
"Oh Hiei-sama, it's been so long." Suddenly Hiei froze and a girl pushed Kurama out of the way to talk to Hiei. The idea of mass murder came back in full force when he noticed who it was: Princess Juri.
"Well not that long, but long enough. A few weeks can be considered long right?" She said cheerfully. She quickly turned to a confused Kurama and glared at him. "What are you still doing here? Go away and start serving drinks or something," Kurama felt a strong stab of annoyance and just barely contained a glare before he walked away.
'What a brat,' he thought bitterly, forgetting once again to take Hiei's glass.
Hiei stared after the redhead, the farther away the boy went, the stronger his grip on the glass got. That was one of the best conversations he'd had in a long time (not that he'd admit it), and it was ruined by a girl he already rejected.
"I hate it when servants step out of line." Juri said. Hiei didn't even look her way but she kept talking anyway. "Give them an inch and before you know it they got a foot; much more then that and you don't have a leg to stand on. It's a quote from one of my favorite English sic cons; I doubt you've heard of it." She explained as Hiei glared at her from the corner of his eye. He then turned his back on her and would have walked away if she hadn't grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute Hiei-sama. This is a party, and yet you have not attended to any of you guests. You should dance with me, especially since you left so early on your last visit. As soon as that storm cleared up, you just got up and left. I was just barely notified of your departure." She said, with anger at the tip of her voice. Hiei merely shook her off.
"Take the hint then," was all he said before walking away from her. Princess Juri stood there, her mouth agape for a moment before she glared after him.
'Just wait Hiei you'll be mine. I'll make sure of it.' She thought.
It took a lot of reassuring from Youko, and some deep self control to keep Kurama from glaring angrily at anything and everything. He couldn't believe he was just called a servant! Sure he knew it would probably happen, but he did have a name: it was in bold letters on his vest. Not to mention the palace he was from was far bigger than any country she could ever have. 'Wasn't there a person executed in 879 AC for calling a sea king a duke? She should be lucky we still don't live in those days.' He thought bitterly.
'Shuichi, take a deep breath and let it go.' Youko stated as he read Kurama's thoughts. 'People like that have always been ignorant. Just don't worry; she won't be here long. As soon as this snore fest of a ball is over, she'll be on her way home in her daddy's yacht.' Youko assured him with a smirk (though no one could see it as he was still in the pocket.). Kurama just sighed and agreed silently, heading over to some other princesses who were gossiping in a corner.
"- I know, any one who gets Hiei's attention will be set for life." One of them said, she had pointed, fuzzy ears on top of her head, and a matching tail.
"I know Koto-sama, that's why we all are after him." Another girl said.
"Yet Mukuro is always stating that she wants someone to love the little rat first. Personally, I think he should be happy to get any attention at all, especially since he's not even a real prince. I say he's the best prize out there." The third princess said. They laughed together, and Kurama did glare at them after hearing this.
"Hey, Mr. Butler, come here for a second." The princess with the ears said and Kurama put on a blank face as he walked over to them. She then grabbed a glass off his tray and nodded her head. "Thanks cutie." She said before going back to gossip with the others. Kurama quickly turned around and left. He got angry just listening to them, but he stopped when he heard something else.
"I hear Juri's father is going to pull some strings to make her stay for a while. So long as she stays here, Hiei will be forced to entertain her; he won't have time for anything else. As long as Hiei's her pray, she won't leave him alone." The girls laughed. Kurama's arms felt week for a second, causing him to almost drop his drinks.
He looked down when two hands grabbed his slim wrists. He turned quickly, seeing the kind, brown eyes of Yusuke Urameshi.
"Better be careful buddy, dropping those glasses means you'll have to pay for them." He said cheerfully. Suddenly, he noticed the dark look in Shuichi's eyes and had a 'brilliant' idea. "Hey bud you seem a bit down. Here try this." He said as he put a plastic cup on Shuichi's tray.
'But I'm working right now.' Kurama thought and he tried to say this in sign language before Yusuke just laughed out.
"No idea what you just said!" He said and Kurama glared at him. "But who cares; I'm a lord aren't I? Don't worry, you won't get into any trouble, I promise. What's one drink gonna do anyway?" He said with a cheerful laugh. Kurama looked at the drink and shrugged, picking it up.
'I am a bit thirsty,' Shuichi thought as he sniffed it. 'Smells a bit weird though.' Kurama shrugged and took a small sip. A unique flavor that Kurama never tasted before filled his mouth. A special blend of fruit mixed into it, so it was a little sweet and at the same time dry. Kurama smiled as warmth filled his body, and clogged his mind. He he lifted the cup higher as he drank it all at once.
"Wow, nice job man." Yusuke said with a laugh. He'd never seen someone chug wine like that before. When Kurama finished he held out the cup to Yusuke who took it along with Kurama's tray. "That was awesome man, I guess this isn't your first time-" he stopped when Kurama looked him dead in the eye. The boy's eyes which were usually clear and full of intelligence seemed clouded and… mischievous? Yusuke felt some sweat drop form on his head as he saw Kurama turn and glare at a girl who was talking to Hiei a little off. Yusuke was sure he saw jealousy in those seaweed green eyes when they turned their gaze to him. Suddenly a note was attached to his face and the red head was walking steadily away. Turning the note around, Yusuke paled as he read.
Tell Botan to cover for me, I'm going to take a break. You did say I wouldn't get in trouble… right?
Suddenly, Yusuke felt as if he let loose something dark and powerful without knowing it. He looked at the empty glass of wine, and went to check on the brand he gave to the redhead. As soon as he got to the bar, he asked to look at the bottle, and read what was in it. Upon seeing the label, only one word came to mind.
"Shit!"
Youko felt himself being thrown to the bed, along with the rest of Kurama's vest. He had tried to talk to the boy, but the kid wasn't in his right mind; it seemed to be clouded and not working properly. He had no doubt that some kind of alcohol had been in the cup Yusuke gave to Shuichi, but he had no idea that it would affect the young prince this badly. He quickly exited from the annoying pocket, and got out from underneath the clothing, but his mouth dropped when he saw:
Shuichi smirked down at the crab as he held a fox mask in front of his face. The mischievous eyes promised action tonight, before they were covered up.
Suzuki sighed deeply as he exited the party hall for a moment. He had been enjoying himself, but he truly wished that the young waiter had come with him. 'With his beauty, and my wonderful taste in clothing, we would have been the stars of the party.' He thought miserably. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn around.
It was amazing, the outfit he was just picturing and the boy whom they were suppose to be on materialized in front of him. The fox mask covered half of the boy's face, and was shaped in the Venice style. On the top of the mask was silvery hair, which floated down Kurama's elegant back. The boy also wore all white with pants made from famous Arabian silk, and a shirt that had a long sleeved coat covering it. There were hardly any designs on it but the silver thread that outlined the pockets was absolutely divine. This costume was meant to symbolize the most beautiful demon in over a millennium: Youko Kurama. Silently, Kurama held out his hand, and motioned to the dance floor. Suzuki took it immediately.
Kurama smirked through the glass that covered his eyes. It wasn't originally meant to be there, but Kurama used a small amount of water to cover the eye holes to make it cover his eyes in a plain white sheet (think Spiderman). His actual hair was in a tightly knit bun, so only the silver showed. This made him unrecognizable, and thus he needed a partner to enter the ball room to avoid suspicion from the guards. All was going exactly as planned as he fingered a yellow rose in his chest pocket.
As soon as they entered, Kurama let himself be dragged around by Suzuki for a while, before he let a small piece of paper slip into the older demon's hand. The man looked at it in confusion before looking at Kurama who merely waved at him and walked away. Suzuki looked angry before he opened the paper.
I need to take care of some business. Thank you for letting me in, but if I don't do something soon then I'll be in some serious trouble. Don't worry, I'll reward you handsomely later on, I Promise.
Signed: Shuichi Minamino
Suzuki looked up in confusion, before going towards Mukuro. 'It's best she knows about this.'
Hiei was on his last nerve as this girl clung to him. Even though he was a demon who use to enjoy man slaughter and taking over the world (which he failed at), he didn't think he deserved this.
"Hiei-sama just dance with me! It's not like you have any thing better to do." The princess stated angrily. "Besides, if I'm going to be staying here for a while, you might as well start paying attention to me now."
Hiei merely glared in another direction away from her. 'Shut up!' The prince thought angrily as she clawed at his last nerve. He swore that if she didn't leave soon then he might 'accidentally' start a war by killing nobility. Mukuro would seriously punish him then.
Suddenly a tall and handsome stranger appeared before the princess. She turned away from the hot blooded prince whom she was bugging, to look upon a mysterious stranger. For a second she gasped, as white light surrounded the man and she was almost certain that it was the old thief lord, Youko Kurama whom stood in front of them. Then like a romantic soldier, he gently reached out and pushed a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She felt a blush creep its way up her cheeks as he used the same hand to tip her head up, and look deeply into her eyes. She couldn't look away as he smiled gently down at her, and tucked a yellow rose behind her ear (the thorns were removed). He then stepped back, and looked as though examining her. Smirking, he bowed down while raising a hand, his palm faced upwards; this motion could be identified by any person, symbolizing his wish to dance. Hypnotized by his actions, she took his hand as he led her to the dance floor.
Hiei watched with his brows knit in disbelief. 'What the hell just happened here?' He thought. Although he was grateful that Juri was now thoroughly distracted and he could finally make his escape, he was worried about the new stranger. With experience he knew that people who appeared randomly were people who meant to harm or kill the guests. He was about to go warn someone, when the man looked back at him, and waved his hand in front of his mask. Hiei's eyes widened as the glass disappeared, revealing seaweed green eyes. When the man waved the hand back in front of him again, the glass was back in place. Hiei stood there in shock.
'Kurama… or is it Shuichi?' He was snapped out of his musings when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Hiei ol' buddy o'pal, I may have just caused a small problem." A nervous looking Yusuke said. "Um, I kind of gave Shuichi something to drink, to calm his nerves so he might act a bit off for a while. Oh and he's on a break as well, don't worry Kieto knows so- um, it'll be okay." He said nervously. Hiei raised his brow.
"Something to drink?" Hiei muttered. He then shrugged, 'it's not like Yusuke would give the boy something too strong, especially since the boy was under aged'. Little did he know that tightly clenched in Yusuke's fist, was the label of ingredients that were in the wine and the warning that mentioned that ogresbane was contained within it.
Juri laughed as she danced with the stranger. He was such a graceful dancer, who seemed to glide with the music, more then step. She relaxed and did her best to keep up, but he was so experienced that she feared that she may have been falling behind. Yet even though the stranger said nothing, he seemed to reassure her with a smile. However she started getting tired of all the dancing. As if sensing her change in mood, he seemed to slow down, and tilt his head toward the balcony. She quickly got the hint and nodded, allowing him once again to lead her to a more secluded area.
Soon Kurama escorted her outside, and she laughed and chatted happily as he lead her on. She was so preoccupied with the ocean view in the moonlight that she didn't even notice that the smile he gave her was quickly becoming a smirk. As they passed the doors to the balcony, Juri walked ahead, while the man stopped to close the doors. Kurama's smile dropped as he looked at the door. His intent was that they had to be alone for a certain amount of time. To make sure that no one would open the doors, he took out a small water bottle which he kept hidden, and splashed some onto the keyhole and doorknob. It changed into ice within a second, and he finally turned to face Juri who was still chattering away. "I really have never danced with someone like you. It was really-" She gasped seeing the drastic change in his expression. Before, he had always kept a kind smile on his face (or at least an amused smirk). Now though, his expression turned cold and his smile melted away to reveal a stern scowl. Raising his hand, he revealed a note.
Good evening princess, I was hoping we could have a little chat tonight.
Juri stepped back as he tossed the note, and raised his hands to grab the sides of his mask. With little work he removed the mask from his face and dropped it to his side, revealing his true identity. "You? The loser butler?" She then started laughing but Kurama's grim expression did not change. "You really think that I'd be intimidated by a human? Stupid servant, you're wasting my time." She said and Kurama smirked and took something out of his pocket. He then threw it at her and she easily caught it and instantly recognized it to be another note.
What's the problem with talking to me? I can not talk back, for I have no voice.
"You're a mute," Juri asked shock. Shuichi smirked and nodded his head. "How pointless! Why have servants who can do nothing? Someone like you has no reason to live." She said with a scowl. Then Kurama smirked, his foggy drunk mind encouraging him on. He simply took out a note and wrote something down before throwing it to her."You're the dish washer…" She said before looking at him. "It's a tough job, but it makes sense now. Not even Mukuro would hire something like you unless you had some uses. So what do you want from me?" She asked and Kurama put on his smile he used to lure her. He quickly held up his first note, and she just glared at him and walked to the door. "I never listen to my subjects, or anything below them." She said and she tried to open the door. She stopped when it didn't budge it. She whipped around and looked at Kurama who was smiling while sitting on the balcony, a key in his hand.
Kurama smirked, thinking how funny it was that she couldn't see that it was merely his room's key, and nothing more.
Can we talk now?
She glared at the note and groaned in annoyance.
"You'll let me go if I just answer a few questions?" She asked suspiciously and Kurama nodded with a happy grin on his face. "Fine, but what do I get out of this?" She asked annoyed and Kurama smirked and held up another note.
You can tell the truth, and the full truth. I will know if you're lying, but I can't tell anyone. And if you decide that you said too much, then you can kill me off. Your word will be worth more then a dead servant's anyways. Just let me finish and I'll give you the chance to kill me, just so you know: I will fight back to defend myself.
Juri smirked as the boy patted his vest, as if wiping off some imaginary dust. 'This is just so perfect. Not only will I get Hiei, but I'll win his affection by destroying this puny ningen. I could do so now, but that wouldn't be so much fun. I'm also curious about what he's planning on asking about.'
"Alright human slave, ask away." She said in a bored tone. Kurama was getting more annoyed by the second by the 'slave' and 'servant' comments, but he pushed away his annoyance for the time being and just got out his previously prepared questions.
Question 1: What do you think about Hiei?
"Hiei!? Is this what it's all about?" She then started laughing. "What an idiot you are, of course I hate him! He's a little bug eyed creep, both in size and in intellect, with the conversation skills of a cactus. He only wants power and ignores all those whom he doesn't like. The only person he acknowledges is that prince with stuffing for brains, and that highly masculine queen. God I wished I'd killed him when I had the chance!" Kurama's eyes widened in shock, 'What did she say?'
"Well next question servant boy," She ordered calmly and Kurama grabbed the next note and held it up.
Question 2: Why do you wish to mate with Hiei?
"Again with the Hiei, think of something else already! And its not just me, Koto wants him too. The reason is obvious: he's rich and has a lot of land. Any princess ('and the occasional prince' she thought darkly) would want the power he has. As soon as I acquire it, I'd care less what happens to him, he could rot in a ditch for all I care. Koto thinks the same thing." Even though the answers were the type Kurama was hoping for, he couldn't help but be shocked by her blood lust. 'I know she's a demon, but isn't this going too far?'
Last question: What would you do for Hiei?
"What would I do? I can tell you what I've already done if you wish." She said with an evil smirk forming on her face. "A few weeks ago, I asked two people to make their way on Hiei's ship, to assist him in leaving the country. When they were far enough out, they caused an 'accident,' where the ship caught fire during a fire work display." Images flashed through Kurama's mind as she spoke, including the firework that almost hit him. "After that Hiei, Yusuke and my assistants got into a bit of a scuffle, and both of my assistants got killed. It's so sad that they couldn't do as they were paid to do before the end. They were supposed to get me a very rare item, one that's as rare as the moon." She said as she walked to the balcony and Kurama moved out of way. "They were supposed to bring me back the head of the fire demon and forbidden child, Hiei of the Jaganshi!"
Kurama stared in shock before smirking back at her.
"Now servant boy, it's time to die." She said harshly and whipped around. However instead of seeing a scared human in the corner, she saw an up close smirk as Kurama suddenly appeared right in front of her. Thank you for the interview, the boy said in sign language. He suddenly dug his fingers into the rose he gave her earlier, and took out something small and white, so that the petals hid it from view. Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she instantly recognized it. 'A recorder!' Her horror quickly turned into rage as she screamed to the heavens before punching him into the wall.
Kurama coughed as he hit the wall, and gasped for breath. When he looked up he saw Juri looking at him with glowing blue eyes, filled with rage. She raised her arm, and the water from the sea below them started to bubble and raise behind her. It quickly became a type of wave and headed straight for Kurama. 'Uh oh!' Was the boy's last thought before the wave hit him with such force that it knocked him threw the doors and kept going until he hit the ballroom wall. The water didn't stop there; before the prince could even fall to the ground, it went around him and trapped him in a cocoon.
To say the guests were shocked was an understatement. If it wasn't for Yusuke's and Hiei's quick reflexes, three of the guests would have been struck by the blast as well. Mukuro glared as she saw Juri with her hands up, trapping the boy inside. "What is the meaning of this?" The queen yelled and Juri looked back to her.
"Your majesty, that man's an assassin! He tried to lure me into a trap by bringing me outside and away from prying eyes. After that he tricked me into conversation, and all of a sudden jumped at me with a kitchen knife. I was able to avoid it, but then he attacked again and knocked the rose out of my hair. During the fight I knocked off his mask to reveal that servant I met earlier. He must have snapped, or maybe he was here to kill us all since the beginning!" She shrieked, playing the innocent card. The crowd started to mutter in worry and inside Juri smirked. 'What could he possibly have been thinking, saying I could kill him afterwords. He probably just wanted a fancy death from a powerful water demon like myself.' She laughed to herself.
No one noticed the faint glow that started to arise in the middle of the cocoon, or the figure which started swimming inside, until it was too late.
CRACK
The whole room froze when that sickening sound filled the air, and everyone looked towards the cocoon and gasped. Before it was just water, but now it had turned to ice, and a giant crack made its way down the middle. It then split in half from the middle, splashing water onto the floor. Kurama huffed in the middle of it, his hair released from the confines of the bun so the red tresses plastered against his outfit. One of the sleeves was completely ripped off, while the other just had a bunch of tears, just like his pants.
Kurama looked up and around until his eyes rested on Hiei. They stared at each other for a moment, their gazes linking. It was then that Kurama broke into a huge grin and waved happily at him, making Hiei and Yusuke gape, while half of the guests fell over in shock.
Kurama swayed slightly as he tried to stand upright, and looked back to Juri with a smirk plastering his face.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND FOR! SOMEONE GO-" She stopped when Kurama reached into what was left of his shirt, and pulled out a second recorder. The beautiful Sazuki knew what that was instantly and ran over to the queen.
"Lord Mukuro, that recorder is a set of two; I think there's something valuable on that. Please hold you're command to kill him." He said quickly and Mukuro eyed him suspiciously before nodding. She held up her hand to the guards, signaling them to stay until she said otherwise. The guards tensed up, but stayed where they were.
Kurama kept his eyes on Juri and raised his hand from his side; the water on the ground immediately leaped up from the ground and followed his fingertips. He then started writing some words and everyone looked shocked as the water did as he commanded. Such control of water was unheard of, even by the most skilled water demons.
How about another bet Juri-chan!
Every one gasped when the servant addressed her in such terms, but he ignored them and kept writing.
If you can beat me in a simple duel in say… five minutes, then I'll give you this second recorder since you destroyed the last one. Therefore you're little shenanigans will be all hushed up. However if you lose, I'll tell everyone here what you've done.
His smirk suddenly left and a thoughtful look came to his face. He quickly turned to Mukuro and started writing a message for her.
That is if it's okay with you my lord. Can we please fight? Pretty please!
Mukuro had a blank look on her face, and at first all the guests thought she would explode in anger. No one could believe how this supposedly human brat would have such arrogance to say things to a demon lord. However she just laughed and waved her hand. "But of course. After all Juri is a professional water demon. If she can't defeat something like you, then she'll be too weak for Hiei. Also: If there's anything… troubling on that tape, then I won't let you anywhere near here again, if you survive leaving that is. So I better not hear anything." Mukuro said with a dark smile which made everyone in the room freeze in fear, except Kurama, who grinned stupidly. "Well, I'll be the referee. The rules are simple, kill the other in five minutes, or make the other immobile. You can't hurt the guests, and this room better be repairable by the end, or else either your kingdom is paying for it, or its coming out of you're paycheck!" She said pointing at Juri and Kurama.
Kurama gave her a short clumsy bow, and a thumbs up while Juri stood there in shock. 'She's absolutely serious,' she thought in fear.
"Very well, begin!" Mukuro yelled with a smirk. Juri gave out a battle cry and raised her hands, making the water raise over 20 feet in the air. 'Fine then, I'll just have to kill him, and break that recorder, so no proof is ever found!' She thought as she sent the water at him. Kurama looked up at the water and jumped to the side avoiding it completely. Juri screamed and moved her hands to the side, forcing the water to change directions and head right at the sea prince.
Hiei watched with Yusuke off on the side. They watched the redhead dodge one blow after the next. Yusuke was feeling especially guilty, knowing that at least part of this was his fault. Kurama wouldn't have started acting so weird if he hadn't gotten him drunk. 'I gave him Ogresbane for Christ sake! I didn't know it was in there until I saw the bottle. Even if it was mixed with things to weaken its affects, it still could put almost any human under the table with less then one gulp. But this guy is just drunk. Man Hiei's gonna kill me when he finds out.' Little did Yusuke know that Hiei's jagan was starting to open, and he just heard the last part of Yusuke's thought.
'Now what on earth did you do detective?' He thought angrily as he watched the red head dodge another blow. He had noticed the boy behind him was being extremely odd even before the fight. He also mentioned giving Shuichi something before, and he was almost positive that it had something to do with the shift in the red head's personality.
Kurama started to get sad as he watched the girl attack. 'The water…is just being thrown around, with no thought or concern for it.' He thought as she attacked once again and he had to jump backwards and did a back flip. He landed in a crouched position as he looked up, his pupils suddenly got a bit bigger and his eyes started to glow. 'This is not how you control water!' He thought angrily before standing straight up. Raising his arms above his head, and he suddenly flared his energy as the water came to attack him again. 'I am a sea prince, will you truly attack me?' he thought as he spread his arms out wide, his energy surrounding him.
'I've never sensed anything like this!' Mukuro thought in shock.
'It's almost like he's apart of the ocean itself!' Shizuru thought, staring at the energy around the boy. "He's not human… or a demon!" She said.
"DIE NOW!" Juri yelled as the water connected with him. She laughed out loud, thinking that she finally won. The recorder couldn't survive a perfect hit like that. However she stopped laughing when the blast suddenly opened up a hole on its own, and went right past him. Kurama stayed still as the water hit the wall behind him. He turned to look at the damage and found a gaping hole in the wall. He then sighed as he ran a hand through his wet hair.
'I believe it's time to end this.' He thought bitterly as he glared back at Juri. He dropped his hand in a puddle right under him and made a grabbing motion. Standing up, the water trailed from his hand to the puddle taking the form of a rope. He looked up at her as he brought down his arm and the whole room heard a cracking sound, as the floor title broke under the snap of a new found whip.
"What is that?" a few guests muttered as they stared in shock.
"It's like he made the water physical enough to do actual damage."
"It's an aqua whip!" One person stated a bit louder making Kurama stop for a second.
'Aqua whip… shard whip. The first sounds so much better." He thought as he lookedat the whip in his hand. It suddenly glowed a bit and he smiled. 'It seems the water likes it more as well.' He was so focused on the name that he didn't notice Juri until she sent another water ball at him. He looked up and sighed. In a flash the ball was split in half before exploding into many droplets. Juri growled and then sent razor sharp ice disks at him.
He did the same thing again with his whip, cutting all of the disks in half before they exploded into droplets of water again. All the time just walking closer to Juri, who panicked and kept throwing hoards of water at him. Finally when he was less than three meters away she screamed and held up her arms.
"AQUA BEAM!" It was a jet stream of water that just kept going, and it was aimed right at Kurama. There wasn't enough time to dodge, and Hiei knew even he would get hurt from such a close range. Everyone stared as the redhead just took a stance no one knew.
Kurama wrapped the whip around his arm and his eyes glowed blue as his energy flared. He forced it all into his left hand. He would have yelled if he had a voice, as he slammed his fist into the water, facing it head on. His attack was so powerful that he made the water go up before exploding upon impact on the roof. A shockwave was then created making the weaker guests fall over, including Juri. The princess trembled as she locked eyes with the redhead who was panting heavily.
Mukuro looked at her watch '30 seconds left.'
Juri trembled as the man glared down at her. 'How is this possible? How can a mere servant have such power, it doesn't make sense!" The red haired man then smiled innocently, and pointed up. She blinked in confusion before looking and gasped in shock. Suspended in the air, was a million droplets of water. 'But how…' She gasped in realization. 'All those times he blocked and destroyed my attacks, the water never hit the ground. Is it possible that he placed his power into my attacks, taking complete control over them?'
5
Kurama smiled and waved his hands in the air making patterns as the water started to fuse into one giant sheet.
4
Juri stood and tried to defend herself, but she fell and gasped as ice crept up her legs from the puddle she was laying in. The same thing happened to her arms and she stared at Kurama, whose foot was in the same puddle.
3
She screamed and thrashed as Kurama sped up his movements and the sheet of water started heading towards her.
2
The water suddenly shot down and started to surround her; trapping her inside a spherical shape.
1
Kurama did one last touch, turning the water into ice. He smirked as she punched from inside it. 'No matter what, you won't escape that. Your powers are so weak that you'll never break out or use water out side of that.'
"Enough!" Mukuro suddenly said and Kurama stopped and turned to her. She looked between the two before looking at Kurama and holding out her hand. "Do you still have that recorder?" She said as she approached him. Kurama looked confused for a second, before nodding and reaching into his shirt again. He then took it out, and handed it to Mukuro who took it calmly and started playing it.
"Alright human slave, ask away." A silence was heard from the recorder, before Juri's voice acted up again. "Hiei!? Is this what it's all about? What an idiot you are, of course I hate him! He's a little bug eyed creep, both in size and in intellect, with the conversation skills of a cactus. He only wants power and ignores all those whom he doesn't like. The only person he acknowledges is that prince with stuffing for brains, and that highly masculine queen. God I wished I'd killed him when I had the chance!"
Mukuro turned it off and felt nothing but murderous rage. She knew there was more but she decided that she'd listen to it later. "Guards, will you please roll the young princess to her ship, I no longer wish to see her in my kingdom ever again. Also, inform her father that our trade agreement involving food and medicine is now terminated!" She said to one guard and the whole room started to mumble in shock. That trade agreement was one of the only things keeping Juri's kingdom rich and healthy. Mukuro had made many ties with other countries, so it did nothing to hurt her.
Juri screamed in outrage as the guards rolled her away. Mukuro sighed before turning to the guests. "Well I'm sorry everyone, but it seems that this ball is now closed. I'm sorry about the disturbances you had to see tonight, and I hope that maybe one day we can get together like this again. Until that time, may you all be well. The guards will accompany to your individual ships and yachts." She announced.
As the guest started exiting the castle, Hiei grabbed Yusuke and brought him down to his level. "Tell me detective; what did you give the Minamino to drink earlier." Hiei growled out. Yusuke started to pale before laughing nervously.
'I'm busted!' The prince thought before telling Hiei the truth.
Kurama stumbled through the hall way before twirling around. 'Where on earth is my room again?' He thought tiredly. The drink was finally taking its toll on the boy, making Kurama more clumsy and disoriented. The boy stopped when he saw a balcony and he smiled as stumbled towards it. His smile grew as the wind played with his hair, and dried his face. He was still soaked from his battle with Juri, yet he didn't have the will or energy to dry himself again. He sighed as he leaned forward against the stone railing.
"Figures as soon as we turn our backs you disappear." A deep voice said and Kurama turned around and smiled. Hiei stood only a few feet away and had his usual scowl on his face. "So I happened to over here that the girl was planning to stay for a week, and that's why you got rid of her." Hiei said and Kurama nodded. "So what, now you think I owe you one?"
Kurama seemed to laugh and then gave him a pointed look. Please, you owe me two!
"Two? Why on earth would you say two?" Hiei said angrily and Kurama smiled looking thoughtful for a moment. He then smirked and started 'speaking' again.
Well, one is a secret. But the second is for getting that annoying girl away from you, and out of your kingdom. And I know what I want.
Hiei raised a brow before letting the drunken boy continue. The boy suddenly pointed into the distance, and Hiei looked. It was a small village that lived close by the palace. It was only an hour away by foot, but it was a cheerful little place that even Hiei enjoyed.
I want you to take me there, before the weeks done. Kurama stated and Hiei just looked at him.
"I'm busy. Find someone else to play with you." Hiei said. He would have left but the boy grabbed his shoulder before he could flicker off. Hiei glared at the boy, who smiled kindly in return.
I'll take the second favor right now The boy said. He then used his figure to indicate the prince to move closer. Hiei glared at him before taking a few cautious steps forward. "What do you want?" He asked when they were close enough. Kurama merely smiled as he sat on the stone ledge and indicated for the prince to step just a little closer. Hiei growled as he took one more step closer.
Kurama smiled once the prince was right in front of him. "I'm not asking again, what do you-" Hiei was cut off when Kurama merely leaned down quickly, giving the prince a peck on the lips. Hiei stood in shock as the taller man smiled down at him before closing his eyes and falling backwards. Hiei gasped in shock as the boy fell off the railings. He would have landed strait into the ocean, if Hiei hadn't grabbed his wrist at the last moment and pulled him back up onto the balcony. He let out a sigh as he sat down, allowing the boy to rest on his lap.
"This asshole… stole my first kiss." Hiei muttered before glaring down at the boy. "If Yusuke didn't get you drunk, then I would have killed you by now!" He muttered. He then licked his lips, tasting the alcohol on them, mixing with Kurama's own unique flavor. Hiei sighed as the redhead just slept on, peacefully dreaming in the other's arms. "That's you're last favor by the way, don't expect anything else from me!" Hiei muttered. Completely unaware that he could have just left the boy to sleep alone in the cold, instead of giving him a comfortable embrace.
End Chapter
Stinking line. Its being mean to me. *suddenly notices audiance* WAH! IGNORE THAT LINE!
*ahem* nice to see you all. We'll be back later, when I finally finish the next chapter. I havn't started yet but I will-
Tsuki: Be starting soon!
Chaseha: EEK! My evil editor-san! Well we don't really have much to say today, so I guess I'll just say, thanks for reading and please give a review. Until next time-
Tsuki: I'll make sure she keeps writing. Bwahahaha!
Chaseha_Wing: TT_TT I don't own anything btw. I know it might be obvious, but I havn't said it in a while. Also, who ever gueses the sic con Juri mentioned earlier gets a cookie!
Tsuki: *holds up the bag of cookies* Hee hee!
BYE BYE!