Hiei of the Thousand Eyes
Chapter Nine: Fuel the Fire
It had taken Chihiro a long time to come back to the temple after Hiei showed her his Jaganshi form. She had sat at the edge of the pond, tracking the world around her. Literally. With one eye being lower than the others, and no fourth eye to create a more balanced sense of depth for what was behind her, the fractal images made her dizzy. She threw up twice on the hike back.
Now that she had opened it, Chihiro couldn't get the eye on the back of her neck to close. When she tried to sleep, it stared into the darkness, seeing more clearly than the little strip of starlight through her window should have let her. Eventually Chihiro rummaged through her things to find a scarf and suffered through almost choking herself in her sleep just in order to get some shut eye.
Her hair was up in a top-knot, but loose strands kept slipping out and obstructing her vision. She mused with just chopping it all off. The hair was a hassle. It was hard enough to get used to the 360 degree vision.
"Jesus fucking Christ," she cursed, having walked into yet another table. Who would have thought gaining extra sight would be just as bad as going blind? Her spatial awareness was all fucked up and she would sometimes forget which way was forward.
Having been stuck in the forest the day before, too dizzy to walk, gave her plenty of time to think over what Hiei had said. He couldn't train someone who wasn't willing to break. Perhaps she was only giving excuses at this point. The real question was, in the end, what was it that she wanted.
Chihiro couldn't be cooped up at the temple forever. And, if she was being honest with herself, if she and Hiei had anything in common, it would be their distaste for humanity. Chihiro had grown up around the worst of them, crime lords who didn't care how many people they felled for their own gain. She had spent so much of her life in a drugged haze that the only interests she had ever developed were in keeping safe. Chihiro didn't want to run anymore. She didn't want to need a babysitter. She wanted to figure out what she wanted. She wanted that choice, that luxury, to learn who she was underneath the fear and trauma.
She wanted her freedom.
It didn't take long for Chihiro to find Hiei. The demon was in a clearing down the west side of the mountain, pushing himself in ways that made Chihiro's non-beating heart race. So fast. So strong. Hiei sparred against his own summoned creation, a beast of fire and darkness. The power emanating from the demon was numbing.
Hiei called his own match, the black dragon receding into his palm until an imprint of the beast twisted around his arm. He looked her way, eyes sharp and pointed eye-teeth bared. "You figure it out yet?" Hiei snapped.
Chihiro touched the back of her neck, around the new eye that watched the temple behind her. "I'm not a good person," she told him. "I don't have some altruistic reason to get stronger. The only person I want to protect is myself. And if I'm a target because of these stupid eyes that are going to start sprouting on my body like goddamned pimples, I want to be able to kill everyone that comes after me."
Hiei smirked. "I think I can work with that."
In less time than a second, Hiei raced forward with a fist raced. Training, real training, had begun.
Kaisei burst into his sister's apartment, drenched in rain and tracking his muddy shoes all the way into her living room. He ignored her protest of his "rude behavior" and the demand to clean up after himself.
"You went to the yakuza," he snapped, snagging one of her dish towels to run through his hair. "You went and threatened the local bosses. What the fuck, Fubuki."
"I'm doing my job," she scoffed, crossing her arms indignantly. "And I'm doing it great, thank you very much. I have leads now."
"You beat up humans when it wasn't your job to do so," he pushed. This is why he left. She always took things too far. "And now the White Fang and Blue Fin gangs are joining forces because of you. They're coming together. Do you get what that means? Do you even care."
"I care about the fact spirit world artifacts are falling into greedy human hands," she snapped, pushing him back to the main hall to help contain the mess. "There's a new Black Book Club in Japan and I can't bank on a demon killing them all of at the Dark Tournament like my predecessor was able to." Fubuki stomped off to her bedroom only to come back with a few old towels she threw onto the wet floors.
"You're making things worse," Kaisei hissed. "These were small time compared to the Black Book fucks. Dangerous criminals, but clueless to the other worlds."
"Clueless doesn't lead your friend's boss to an artifact that turns humans into demons," Fubuki protested, using her foot to push around the towels. "Do you even know what I learned?"
"Tell me."
Fubuki stared at her brother, mouth pinched in an untrusting scowl. The rainwater dripped off his hair and jacket. He'd looked like a drowned rat if it weren't for the gleam in his eye. That was the look of a feral animal, ready to attack if pushed too far. She sighed, her shoulders dropping. They always had to fight.
"Ryuoku Mitsuru was sold the Solomon's Eye by one of the prominent members of the Club. He sold it to an idiot on purpose. Whoever Keiji is, they knew what they had. They were expecting Ryuoku to use it on himself, to turn into a demon, otherwise he wouldn't have explained the properties of the item so clearly. I think Keiji is planning something not unlike Sakyo. I mean, the barrier is down between worlds, but they're looking for more influence, more power. What's better than having a demon yakuza boss under your thumb?"
Kaisei stared at his sister in abject horror. "You absolute idiot," he whispered. It was very likely her guess was correct. Fubuki always had a knack of prediction, sensitive to demonic energies in an almost computer analytic way. She could connect dots like no one else. But she couldn't see the forest for the trees, not when she was only interested in one path of it all. "Naya came to my work, Fubuki. My work. You put countless civilians in danger just because he knew we were related. Worse," he continued, when Fubuki looked to argue, "is that if those two gangs are working together, Naya must have put together by now what happened to Chihiro. We're trying to keep her safe and now two gangs and undoubtedly this mysterious benefactor you're chasing are all going to want to claim her as a prize." He took a deep breath. The scare of Naya showing up at the gym where Kaisei taught martial arts had been bad enough. He didn't like that guy, especially knowing everything he'd done to Chihiro over the years. But this. Chihiro would be in more danger than before.
"There's not going to be a single safe place for her. And that's all on you," he said, flipping his hood back up. He'd have to go talk to Koenma himself.
Chihiro crashed into a chair and cursed loud enough that Hiko started wailing in the other room.
"Are you going to stumble around like one of the infants all day or are you going to train?" Hiei asked with the barest hint of a grin on his lips. He was enjoying seeing her suffer.
Chihiro could hear the thunder before it crashed, jumping at the echo of sound. She wasn't really hearing anything, but sometimes it felt like she had. Like déjà vu. Not everything was repeated, either. Thank god. But sometimes things that could give her the slightest bit of warning came through before reality. The crash of thunder, a sliding door, the click of her father's gun out by the shire. Only when whatever was to come next was… unpleasant.
It wasn't until Chihiro had tried to shower after sparring with Hiei that she noticed the eye on her neck wasn't the only one to have opened. They were small, no bigger than a single yen, tucked at the base of her ears. She could see them clearly with her new neck-eye.
Her third eye wasn't like Hiei's. His was a psychic host of multiple powers. All hers could do was see what was happening behind her. Her little ear-eyes didn't see anything, though, despite being eyes. They had been what let her sometimes hear a few seconds into the future, just enough time to react.
"It's raining," Chihiro commented as thunder crashed again. "I was heading to the dojo."
"If you can't handle nature, then you're not taking this seriously," he huffed before zipping out into the overcast forest.
Chihiro cursed under her breath and went to find her rain coat. It didn't take her long to find Hiei despite the downpour. Even with the rain blurring her vision, something pulled her eye towards where the other demon was perched in the tree branches.
"You're too slow," he told her.
"Not all of us are speed demons."
In a flash of lightning, Hiei stepped behind her, blade drawn. "Speed is a learned trait," he told her. "Some are more skilled than others, but most demons of my level can move at my pace. There is no point in your powers of prediction if you cannot act on them. Learn to act on them."
She was able to draw her blade just in time to block his attack, but Hiei did not slow down. Catching him once was a challenge. Catching his entire barrage was impossible. And he was going easy on her.
Hours later, when they returned to the temple, Chihiro felt as if Hiei had made good on his threat to simply cut her open where an eye might be hidden. Kuwabara leapt to his feet when he saw her, blood and rain mixing together to create rivulets of red all down her person and onto the ground.
"Chi-chan!" he shouted, frantically grabbing at the medical supplies they kept near the front door.
"Don't call me that," Chihiro spat. It wasn't the first time Kuwabara had tried to use a nickname and it was getting on her nerves. The only person who had ever gotten away with calling her by simply 'Chi' was Kaisei, and even he used that sparingly as it often pissed her off.
"You're all busted up again," he chided.
"I'll be fine." She had been healing much faster recently. The wounds hurt, but they were temporary. It was unnerving to see how quickly her skin stitched back together now, but it meant survival. Chihiro was learning to be thankful for this shift in personhood. "Just give me the gauze wrap and I'll take care of it myself."
"Hiei, how could you be so cruel to our guest?"
Hiei huffed, barely acknowledging Kuwabara's presence. "She's not a guest, she's a pupil. This is no different than how Genkai trained Yusuke."
"Yeah, but she's a woman!" Kuwabara protested.
"Oh, go suck a dick, Kuwabara."
"Aptly put," Hiei agreed. "Meet back in an hour. You still have more to do today." He disappeared deeper into the temple
Kuwabara looked scandalized at both of them.
"Listen," Chihiro pushed, stripping out of her ruined rain coat, "I know you have some code of honor, and that's great for you, but don't apply it to me when I don't want it to, okay? You're not involved in my training, stop complaining that it's not what you'd like to see."
Kuwabara scratched at his cheek bashfully. "It's not that I don't think you're strong or anything. If Hiei respects ya, you gotta be good, right?" Chihiro startled at that. Respect? What about Hiei made Kuwabara think he respected her. "And I know you're tough. I can see it in your eyes. It's just," he shrugged. "I don't like seeing you hurt, ya know?"
Chihiro sighed, deep and mournfully. Kuwabara's earnestness was going to be the death of her. "Yeah, I get it," she said, "but seriously, stop. And stop with the nick names, okay? I hate them."
He looked dejected, but Chihiro was able to wrap up the worst of her cuts and brush past him without further complaint.
She reached her room and changed, cleaning up the smaller cuts in the process.
After a quick meal, Chihiro found Hiei in the dojo. "What's the torture tonight?" she asked. He was coming up with ways to challenge her mental fortitude and hopefully shake out some more eyeballs hiding in her system.
Hiei was quiet for a while, which was surprisingly… surprising. Hiei was a little shit when he wanted to be and talked more often than his leave me alone attitude would have you believe. When Chihiro looked back to her broody tutor, she found him pensively staring through her, as if she weren't even there.
"What?" she demanded, creeped out.
His eyes focused back onto her and he frowned. Hiei was thinking. This couldn't be good.
"Your father. What did he say to you?"
Chihiro instinctively tensed, preparing to run as if she could out pace the other demon. "Why?"
He was unapologetic, like always, with his red eyed stare. Chihiro would never be granted tact or consideration from Hiei. She didn't mind it, though. He never lied, either, or avoided telling her things she might not have wanted to hear.
"You once said all you wanted was to be one step ahead of your father. The eyes that opened first aided you for that. But you knew he was lying. You've had a knack for that, and I'm assuming it came with the change. It could be the power of another eye preparing to open."
Chihiro shrugged. "Possibly. But why do you need to know what he told me?"
"When he whispered to you, that was the only time I had ever seen you truly afraid. Either we crush your fear or use it as fuel. Either way, if I know you'll be easier to train."
Chihiro crossed her arms over her chest. She hated thinking about her father. His crooked grin was full of rotten teeth and rancid breath. And yet he had a silver tongue. It was how he gained his small empire, his loyal followers and pocketed government officials. She hated everything he was and everything he stood for. She hated what she had become because of him. Of all the things she could put behind her, this one would haunt her until her last breath, be that tomorrow or a thousand years from now.
He had been too close to her too often. Those words would be the last time he could close enough to touch her. That lie would be the closest he came to it being a truth.
She swallowed her pride and spoke.
The knock at the door could barely be heard of the thunder. Ittoku was hiding under a blanket on the living room couch, and Shizuru was indulging it. He was still young and storms were still scary.
The visitor's face was obstructed by an obscenely large umbrella, but Shizuru knew her friend instantly.
"Come on in, Botan. Let me get you a towel."
"Oh! Thank you," she cheered, a bounce in her step despite the weather. She shook out her umbrella before collapsing it and stepping out of her rain boots. "Is Kurama home?"
"Not yet," Shizuru said, coming back with a pair of house slippers and a bath towel. "Do you want some tea?"
"Oh, yes please!"
Ittoku joined them at the kitchen table, eating a melon pan before bed while the grown ups had their tea. Shizuru caught Botan up on how her salon was, and Kurama's work, and Ittoku's grades. They were contemplating having him skip a year because of how quickly he learned.
"That's wonderfull, Ittoku!" Botan cheered. "You're a little genius, just like your parents."
"I wouldn't call me a genius," Shizuru laughed softly.
"Oh, nonsense. You're a brilliant business woman!"
Shizuru thanked her friend before sending Ittoku to bed. It was getting late and he wouldn't be able to stay up and see his dad tonight. The storm had quieted to nothing but a soft patter by the time Kurama arrived. His eyes steeled when he spotted Botan.
"Let me go see my son, I'll be right back." Ittoku was already asleep, but Kurama still wished to kiss his forhead and check on him first thing when he came home late.
The three of them settled around the kitchen table with Kurama's late dinner and a fresh brew of tea. "What's the news from the reikai?" Kurama asked.
"As requested," Botan hedged, "I've come to update you on the case." The ferry girl nervously twisted her ponytail before pulling a file out of seemingly nowhere. "I've detailed a report for you, but simply put, things are getting… bigger than we anticipated."
Kurama frowned. He didn't like how that sounded. He took the file Botan brought, ignoring his food. Shizuru took the papers out of his hand and pointed to his dish. He submitted to his wife's command to eat with a tired smile as Shizuru prompted Botan to explain the situation further.
"Fubuki has discovered a thread from Chihiro's old yakuza boss to a new group of elites who have created a Black Book Club, not unlike the one Yusuke once helped dismantle. The trouble is, much to Fubuki's anger, we can't go after them."
"Why not?" Shizuru asked, pouring another cup of tea for herself.
"Well, while what they are doing is illegal, it's not reikai jurisdiction. They may have a few artifacts that were created in either the spirit or demon realm, but we have no inventory or proof. Nor are they kidnapping demons for their own gain. Employing and trading with demons, yes, but nothing we can go after."
"So, this new club," Kurama prompted, "is seeking to span their power across barriers and have a hand in the demon markets, not just the human ones."
Botan nodded. "But, you see, there's nothing illegal about trading with demons, so long as they haven't stolen from us."
Shizuru shook her head. "That hot head detective of yours must be pissed."
Botan nodded vigorously. "Yes. I stopped to tell her all this before coming here. It's amazing that she's almost more reckless than Yusuke simply because she wants to go on her assignments."
"What about the girl?" Kurama asked. "Naya Chihiro?"
"Yes, well, she…" Botan trailed off, elongating the last word as she figured out how to phrase her thoughts. "She is a complication. From what I gathered, her transition into a demon has begun manifesting more. But also, her father knows where she is. And as he's tied in with the yakuza and the still missing Eye of Solomon and the people running the Black Book Club…" her hands flailed about as she attempted to tie her rambling together.
"It's possible the Black Book Club will be looking to recruit the kid in some way," Shizuru mused.
Botan nodded. "Word of what she is will get out eventually. Kaisei is most worried about her welfare now that her father's aware of where she is. You and your family are far enough removed from the situation that nothing is likely to fall back on you unless you choose to involve yourself. Keep a low profile, don't use your demon powers, and this will all blow over without much fuss."
"Did you hear that, Kurama," Shizuru said, nudging her husband's arm. "Stay out of it."
Kurama nodded with a wry smile. "I'll try." His expression dropped as he put the matter to deeper thought. He didn't like where this turn in events could lead. He'd have to look over Botan's files more, but he was already considering ways to further protect his family from this shadow organization.
If a human group managed to gain power and access in the makai, then any demon living among the humans risked the peace of their mundane life. It had the potential to be just as bad as demons abducting humans for their own slave trade. Worse, because with the new treaty in place per the Demon World Tournament, the spirit world would have their hands tied to stop things should it get dire.
"Thank you, Botan, for keeping us informed," Kurama said, standing to gay goodbye. "It is most helpful."
When Kurama and Shizuru were finally alone, she asked him what they were going to do.
"We follow your lead, and stay calm and out of trouble," he said before kissing Shizuru's forehead, much like he had their son earlier in the night.
Kaisei sat in his bed, eyes wide open and mind racing. He hadn't gotten in to see Koenma, but was able to pass off his complaints to Botan at least. He just hoped they would be listened to. Chihiro was his best friend, as she was a sitting duck as the pot boiled out here for her.
He pushed out of bed, listening to the silence of the dead of night, the storm over and the earth eerily quiet. Kaisei paced back and forth in his tiny apartment. He couldn't stop thinking about what Fubuki had done. About the Black Book Club and the newly formed Blue Fang group. About the fact that Chihiro's heart didn't beat anymore. About the lengths his sister always took when facing an opponent.
The floorboard under his bed was hard to get at, which made it an excellent hiding place. He checked it one more time, hoping it would settle his nerves. There, under his bed, inside a hole hidden by the cracked wood, was the golden crystal eye Chihiro had dropped at the night club.
A/N: I reposted all the chapters with a FIXED timeline. I knew there was something wrong with what I had done before and I finally figured it out and adjusted the ages accordingly. Sorry for any confusion.