Disclaimer – "Yu Yu Hakusho" and all known related characters do not belong to me. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.
"What Goes Around . . . "
by DragonDancer5150
Chapter 24 - Reparation
The foursome stepped through the portal into the courtroom they had left hours ago now, though it felt like an eternity. More importantly, it was blessedly warm in here. Everyone from that morning was present - with one addition, Kurama noted with some humor. Lord Batsukuno stood at his podium, his face studiously impassive for the moment. Sitting cross-legged on one forward corner of the rostrum was Lord Koenma himself , his stubby arms crossed with a deeply repugnant look on his face as he watched the Bokuma-ball emerge. Kurama feared he might swallow his pacifier for how hard he was sucking on it. He looked up to spot the cube-shaped scrying smoke turning slowly over their heads, the images on every side showing the cave they had just left. Kurama realized that their entire fight had probably been witnessed by the gathered audience. He wondered, from the expression on Koenma's face and the stiffness of Batsukuno's stance, just how much detail they had heard or seen.
"Youko Kurama," the captain intoned respectfully, "please have your plant move to the posts and release the prisoner to us."
Satisfied at the sight of no fewer than a dozen guards around the plant and the whipping posts, Kurama nodded. The plant obeyed the silent command. It was well sated and had no further use for the drained youkai. It pulled itself over to the posts and unraveled. One almost had the impression of a cat "urping" up a hairball as Bokuma rolled free of the vines in a rather undignified manner, cursing and swearing retaliation. The audience might have laughed at him if they were not already frowning and glaring down on him in various states of revulsion. The plant backed up and the guards descended immediately. Bokuma kicked and protested as he was hauled to his feet and his arms were stretched out to either side, a gag stuffed into his mouth to stop the long string of vile obscenities issuing forth. His wrists were locked into manacles, stringing him between the whipping posts.
The captain removed a coiled whip from his belt and turned to Kurama and Hiei. "The honor of the first strike is yours as a part of his punishment."
The two exchanged looks. Even if either had wanted to, neither possessed the strength nor even the balance left for such an action. Kurama shook his head. "Thank you, captain, but no. As much as he deserves it, we will not demean ourselves to his level."
The captain studied them a long moment, surprised by the reply. At length, he nodded. "As you will." He turned and raised a hand, a signal to someone behind Bokuma that Kurama could not see. Bokuma bucked and thrashed against his chains, screaming muffled curses through the gag, as a whip tore into him from behind. The flogging lasted several minutes before Batsukuno gestured. All eyes turned to the Chief Administrator of Justice.
Batsukuno glared at Bokuma for a long moment before he spoke, the mask having cracked to show a storm of outrage and loathing. "Warden Bokuma, for many decades you have been my right hand in the prison of Spirit Realm. You had my trust to take care of business as you saw fit. I had believed myself to have chosen well, even after monitoring you closely for some time since my decision." For a moment, his voice seemed to fail him and he could only shake his head in disbelief. "The depth and the extent of your betrayal and your . . . depravity are beyond words. What you have done to these two is unforgivable. How many others have you wronged so? How many others have you manipulated into your domain? How many have died to keep your secrets, Bokuma!" Bokuma only glared back in hatred and defiance. Batsukuno met that gaze for the span of many heartbeats without so much as flinching. "Had I but known . . ." He shook his head, then straightened his posture, his turn to glare at his warden in fury and judgment. "Former Warden Bokuma, you are hereby relieved of your position and your duties. Until I can decide on a proper . . . response to your heinous crimes, I return you to your beloved Pit - as a prisoner. Kunogisei, get this vile creature out of my sight!"
Kurama startled as Dog stepped up behind Bokuma. He does have a name, was the only response his stunned mind could formulate for a moment.
The squat, heavily-scarred youkai warden chortled madly as he helped the guards take Bokuma down, locking him into Yoki-dampening shackles. "Oooh, we're going to have so much fun, we are. Ah! Remember some of the things we have discussed, ideas you revealed that you were never able to try? Now we can! Ah, the games, the games!" No hint of mercy showed on a single face as Bokuma shrieked through the gag, struggling violently as Kunogisei dragged him off with ease.
Batsukuno waited until the door closed behind the two before he turned his attention to Kurama and Hiei. To their surprise, he silently descended the steps and crossed to them. Kurama did not mistake the gesture. Batsukuno sought to deal with them on a more intimate level, as equals. He paused his steps well out of arms reach of the two, not because he was wary of them but to alleviate any threat they would feel from him. He gazed at them for a long moment, as though seeking the right words to address the wrong they had suffered. They could see it in his eyes - he recognized and did not try to deny even to himself the grave injustices they had been dealt. No mere words could right this nor even begin to make up for it. However, he would do what he could.
He turned first to Kurama, allowing a small smile to ghost his visage. "Perhaps . . . there is such a thing as redemption . . . Kurama."
Kurama did not miss the chief admin's use of his name rather than to call him "thief" or even "half-breed." He also recognized the reference to their last dialogue. He returned the smile, murmuring, "It is not inconceivable for a mistake to be made."
The smile widened slightly, Batsukuno picking up the word game with appreciation. "We both know how often that happens . . . but it does happen." The smile slid off his face, his expression serious. "Did happen. I keep my promises," he murmured softly. "Will you allow me to touch you?"
Kurama felt Kuwabara tense but a squeeze of his hand on the big guy's supporting arm reassured him. "Yes, Lord Batsukuno, I will allow it." Kurama gently pushed away from Kuwabara to stand on his own before the chief admin.
Batsukuno stepped up, first taking Kurama's left arm in hand where the bracer was still locked around his wrist. At a thought, the cuff dropped away. Batsukuno did not even bother to catch it, allowing it to clatter to the ground. Shifting his other hand to Kurama's dislocated shoulder, he closed his eyes. Kurama felt a very warm - very powerful - healing Yoki spread throughout his beaten body, gently seeking all the injuries and mending them completely, even raising his dangerously-low core temperature by replenishing his flagging life energies and restoring Yoki. After several minutes, Batsukuno opened his eyes, meeting Kurama's, and he nodded. Kurama startled that, even after expending so much Yoki, the chief admin had plenty to spare. He truly is powerful, Kurama realized as Batsukuno turned to Hiei, making the same offer. Hiei hesitated but relented at a nod from Kurama. Batsukuno knelt so that he was eye-level with Hiei - again, creating a space of equality with the smaller youkai. He placed one hand lightly across Hiei's lacerated arm, eyes snapping up to Hiei's in honest concern, horrified to read the extent of the damage. And, Kurama mused, he is not acting. He is truly affected by what has happened and seeks to make right what he did out of ignorance and poor judgment. He truly is a man who seeks justice. Batsukuno close his eyes again in concentration, pouring healing power into Hiei. Kurama saw Hiei brace into Yusuke, then relax to stare almost in disbelief as he realized that Batsukuno truly was doing as he promised - and no more. He knew that Hiei was wary of anyone getting into him with Yoki - he had told Kurama of at least one occasion of someone trying to enslave him with Yoki-powered mind control. Hiei himself did the same when he so employed the Jagan on humans. Batsukuno was trying nothing of the sort. His energies were working in a very straight-forward manner, powerful enough to heal even the most terrible of injuries. Kurama saw Hiei's gaze go to his arm, his hand flexing weakly, and the relief in Hiei's eyes. Yoki slid down to gather over the pot on Hiei's foot, pushing down into the magical goop. Batsukuno placed one hand on the rim, murmuring, "Lift your foot." Hiei did so, visibly surprised and relieved that his foot pulled easily out of the mouth of the pot, the goop sliding down off his boot without a trace. Kurama suppressed a smile at a murmur of something like protest from Kuwabara.
Batsukuno pushed back up to his feet and took a step back, critically eyeing the two youkai. "Are there any injuries that I have missed?"
Hiei shocked them all by growling, "Yes - theirs." He thumbed over his shoulder at Yusuke and Kuwabara.
The two humans braced defensively as the chief admin's attention turned to them. Batsukuno graced them with a small smile. "Youko Kurama, Jaganshi Hiei - I hope you realize what exceptional treasures you have found in these two - and Urameshi Yusuke, Kuwabara Kazuma, you also take care of your friends here. They are rare examples of our kind, individuals such as I have not had the pleasure of seeing for far too long now."
Yusuke frowned at him. "You're awfully quick to change your tone, there, chief."
Batsukuno nodded, acknowledging the human's opinion. "Your skepticism is understandable . . . but that does not change the facts." He paused before offering, "Will you let me touch you, Urameshi Yusuke?"
Yusuke's frown deepened but, like Hiei, he relented at a nod from Kurama. As he did with Hiei and Kurama, Batsukuno fully healed Yusuke, then Kuwabara. Kuwabara pulled his foot from his pot with an audible sigh of relief. That accomplished, Batsukuno stepped back.
He gazed at the two youkai for a long moment, then shook his head in disbelief. "I was not aware of Bokuma's labyrinth playground. Due to the debilitating consequences of navigating that maze, by all rights you two should not have won. Against all odds, you did. The gods indeed were in your favor." He turned fully to Hiei. "Jaganshi Hiei, you are officially recognized as innocent of the murders of the human known as Tarukane Gonzu and people of his household. You and your partner are hereby released of responsibility and penalty for that crime." He shifted his gaze to include Kurama and allowed the shadow of a wry grin. "Mind you, this does not absolve either of you of your original convictions. You are still under parole - back under parole, I should say." He glanced over his shoulder at Koenma, still perched on the podium. Koenma flew up to his side, hovering at shoulder level. "Lord Koenma, I give you back your Spirit Detectives. Be sure to treat them with honor alongside their human counterparts. You have quite a team here."
"Yes," Koenma murmured softly, nodding as he looked them over with a fond eye. "I am quite proud of them." He cocked an eye at Batsukuno then, commenting loudly enough for all to hear. "Well, Lord Batsukuno, we saw what we would, didn't we? As I said before, it is possible for humans and youkai to operate as one."
Batsukuno gazed at Kurama and Hiei, and Kurama thought he read something like justification in his vivid purple eyes. "So it is, Lord Koenma. So it is."
Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!