Outside Wants In
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Cupid Drew Back His Bow
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Our fight had ended so quickly, I stood there frowning. As Youko he could have easily beaten me. Why hadn't he ended the fight sooner? If he truly was the legendary demon Youko why would he toy with me like that? Anyone else would have finished me off by now. Before I could move to respond to his question, a wrinkled old crone appeared from nowhere. I realize that even on my best day I am not the greatest at tracking energy signatures, but I couldn't sense anything from her body. What did she know about my mother and why was she there?
Yusuke, the Dark Tournament snorted at her presence, but he did look grateful to see her. I remember hearing the whispers during the tournament that she had been murdered by Toguro. I guess she was more powerful than originally thought. I shook those thoughts from my head. I should be more concerned by the fact that she knew my mother had been raped by Youko. My father, no that didn't sound right—Youko twisted angrily to face her, upset that she had dare to imply such a thing. He flicked his long hair back, crossing his arms bitterly.
"Suiichi is not in control at the moment old woman. You'd do well to remember that I have no qualms whatsoever about killing you. How dare you speak such blasphemy in my presence, in front of my kit no less!"
Genkai, as I would later learn her name matched his look of anger with a dry look of her own. She absently fumbled with her lighter and lit a cigarette blowing carelessly into the wind. With all of these new revelations, I was tempting to ask her for a drag. My tail curled around my thigh lazily. I caught her attention and she regarded me with a brief smile.
"You look beautiful, like Na'Barrae your mother. Minus the fox ears and tail of course."
I scoffed at that. I have no memories of my mother except that because of me she would still be alive. She had died giving life to me, and I owed it to her to live the best life I possibly could. Yet what life could there be for a mixed half-breed? I could live alone in the wilds of the Congo for the rest of my life, or go out into the world and be shunned for what I was. The only sanctity that I had was with my tribe, and now that I was grown up, there would be no shelter for me now.
My mother's tribe took pity on me because she was the village priestess and she had been defiled by a demon. From what I was told, they had begun to hate her for what had happened. Still, she loved her people and protected them as best she could from the demons that threatened her people's land. Though my mother was strong, still she hadn't been able to fend off Youko. I frowned then. It was because of him that I was looked upon as an abomination. Why couldn't my father have been a human man? Why couldn't he have been a village lord? It didn't matter to me as long as he was human.
"Me, I'm a freak, an evil demon. Fox ears, and a bushy tail? What person would want to look like me?"
Before I knew what had happened Youko had me by the scruff of my neck, his eyes glaring at me. Damn it, he was fast! There wasn't hatred in his golden orbs, but there was shame, disappointment, and anger. He shook me like the lions on television shook the cubs that they carried in their mouths. Once again, I felt that quivering fear. I thought that he would kill me right then. His friends stood back uneasily, though the carrot top and Yusuke even made to free me from Youko's grasp. Genkai's frown held them at bay.
"Never, ever be ashamed of you are. You are my daughter you have demon blood. You are beautiful just like your mother. Your ears and tail are apart of your heritage and if I ever hear you speak ill of yourself again you will regret it. Are we clear?"
I wanted to speak out then, to scratch and scream at him. How dare he try to chastise me? Whether or not he was my father remained to be seen, but I would not be cowed by anyone, least of all him! Yet why was I hesitant? Why was reluctant to put this strange demon in his place? The resolve in his eyes told me to agree or that pain would soon follow. Swallowing my pride, I nodded.
"Crystal."
I cursed myself at how pathetic I sounded. He released me then, eyeballing me oddly. He turned suddenly, his attention once more on Genkai. Everyone watched the three of us, unsure what to do. Resigned, I sat down on the soft grass Indian style. My tail began to curl on its own, and my ears twitched. I was eager to hear her explanation as well.
Genkai followed my example and motioned for us all to sit. As she began her tale, I drew a cigarette from my jacket and lit it. Before I could even inhale, Youko had snatched the stick from my hand, and stolen all of my others as well. I glared hatefully at him, but his faced remained stony. Who the hell did he think he was! Sensing another fight could erupt, the brown haired girl, Keiko I believe her name was asked Genkai to begin the story.
"I first met Na'Barrae Abeni Chidubem when she was nineteen years old. She was three months pregnant and deathly afraid that the child she carried was in danger. She couldn't understand what was happening to her body spiritually and enlisted my help. Needless to say, it's not everyday that a pregnant foreign girl with rudimentary knowledge of Japanese lands on your doorstep begging for help."
I rolled my mother's name full name around my tongue silently. Her name in its literal translation meant: Na'Barrae: "We asked for her and behold we got her, guided by God." Somehow I knew that fit her beautifully. In my tribe, it was tradition to give the babies in our village a first name, and then provide the meaning for that name in the middle and surname. For instance, my full name is Maya Farai Ekundayo: "Rejoice, sorrow becomes joy." My mother gave me that name as she lay dying. It was a reminder, a mnemonic that helped me to remember that though she was gone, I should be happy because she loved me enough to die for me. That my mother would share her full name with this stranger must have meant something.
"As a priestess she knew that the chi that was inherent to her life force would mix with the demon energy of her child's father. She was afraid that because of this her baby would not survive. You have to understand that priests and priestess are born with a unique signal of energy. They are responsible for protecting and defending themselves and their denizens against evil. Demons can be good, but essentially their energy is tainted with malevolence. When you mix the two one of two things can happen."
Everyone had scooted closer to hear her explanation, even Youko although he remained the furthest from her. I found this fascinating, but it still wanted to know more. What had my mother done, what precautions did she take? Had she known that she would die in order for me to live?
"The child can be born normally like Maya here."
She motioned to me casually. Normal? Surely she was joking. I was far from normal, and I never would be.
"Or the child could die because of the fact he or she would not survive the merge of DNA. Spiritual and demon energy are polar opposites and for the two to coincide enough to create a child is definitely an anomaly. These two energies battle even at the molecular level. It's amazing really. There is only one way that this could have happened. It is very, very rare in both demon and human worlds."
Youko looked ready to kill if Genkai continued on. I too was curious about my origins. How was I able to have been created if my mother and Youko were so mismatched? Spiritual energy was meant to battle demon energy, yet here I was alive and a perfect example of the union of the two. I truly was a freak.
"What is rare, Master Genkai?"
Yukina, the pretty petite blue haired girl finally asked in the silence. I mulled over the news, but I too was waiting for her to continue. What was so rare that something like this occurred? Now along with Youko, the three eyed demon Hiei was beginning to get uncomfortable as well. What did Genkai know that we didn't? Yusuke snorted at the old woman, as if he were used to her cryptic messages. Still, even the look in his eyes was evidence that he too was curious. The only people that remained calm were the Kuwabara siblings. Perhaps they had an inkling of an idea. That older sister gazed at me queerly and I found myself nervous under the human woman's stare.
"Rarely, demons and humans with high spiritual and demonic power find their life mate. I am not talking about people that are married for life—it goes deeper than that. A life mate is someone with whom you are balanced. You could call this person your destined mate if you please. Basically this person is someone that is born with a high concentration of power that is opposite to your power specifically. Youko is Na'Barrae's life mate, and he is hers although she never knew this."
"It's uncommon to see a demons and humans life-mated, but it's been known to seldom happen. Human beings, when they are unknowingly in the presence of their life mate feel a fluttering in their bodies, a stirring in their soul or so I'm told."
I stole a glance at Youko, and though his eyes were closed he didn't seem to be at peace at all. Genkai's words had cut him to the quick, and I knew by his reaction that every word she'd said was true. Finally he stood, staring off into the distance as if he were stuck in a memory long ago. I made to face him, but was stayed by his Hiei once more. I was growing to dislike him by the minute. The wind blew again, but with the gentle breeze I was not comforted.
"I knew that she was my destined life mate the moment I entered her village. I sensed her presence, and her spiritual energy which I normally would have stayed away from had glued me in place. She was very close, and I couldn't track her by scent, but I could sense her chi rolling around the village in waves. Her spiritual power was great and it covered the village like a thick layer of smoke. I found her, in the garden on the edge of the town plucking collards from the ground. She sensed me immediately and recognized my demon signature."
"Before I knew it I was hit with a wave of blinding pain, as she unleashed her spiritual energy at me. I couldn't believe that the one with who my energy was balanced with was a human. A mere girl who couldn't have been that long off of her mother's apron strings. That she could wield spirit energy made things even worse. When I first learned of this, I was very upset. How could I, the great thief Youko be life mated to a human girl, a strange girl that I could barely understand? She would die, and I would live for hundreds of years, while she only had a few decades. It wasn't fair!"
I was getting tired of hearing him speak, and getting tired of the story. It wasn't fair that this spirit fox held all the memories of my mother while I had none. It wasn't fair that she was dead, and it wasn't fair that no one had yet to tell me why he raped her! I stood up suddenly, knocking down Hiei in the process. Despite the momentary pleasure I had at seeing the arrogant demon fall on his ass, I was still upset.
"Damn you! How dare you speak so fondly of her when it's your fault that she is dead! If you would have never come to Earth, or Human world, or Ningenkai, or whatever the hell you Japanese call this place she would still be alive! You raped her, you asshole. You're just trying to use this life mate bullshit as an excuse. I don't care if you did care about her, that doesn't give you the right to force yourself on her! Enough talk, you die now!"
I screamed, charging at him with careful steps. I would not fight him in a blind rage this time. We would have our battle, and we would have it now. I needed to avenge my mother from this, this demon bastard. All are accountable even the great Youko. I would spill his blood, and see him dead if it was the last thing that I did. He would pay for what he done to my mother, and what he had done indirectly to me.
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Footnotes: Thanks everyone for reading. Now that the had a reply to reviews thingy, I will send you all more detailed replies via the message system. Thank you all so much for reading thus far. I hope you'll stick around for the next chapter. Please review!
-Shanni