Chapter 7
"Wow, straight out blunt and to the point aren't you? Fine. When I was fifteen I was attacked by a centipede demon named Lady Centipede, anyway she attacked me and she cut a hole in me pretty badly see?"
While telling her story she lifted up her shirt and showed the side of her hip where the scar left by the Shikon jewel. Yusuke and Kuwabara winced a bit at the site and Koenma seemed a bit surprised. Botan let loose a loud gasp. She clamped a hand over her mouth then the other over her heart. She looked slightly put off and made a hasty exit out the room.
"Oops, sorry about that. Guess I've just been too used to having very pronounced scars that I forget that other people just don't have the stomach for things I find normal. Well anyways after that I just ran like hell when I got the chance and met some guy who killed the demon."
Yusuke looked at her guiltily and tried to say something but she just gave him a soft smile. Koenma raised an eyebrow at this and Hiei looked at her like he knew what she was trying to do. This topic of choice was delicate and could be twisted either way. She was going to have to watch her back around him.
'Stupid little spit fire. Damn they better change the subject. I just stopped crying. Dammit!
"Who was that man that saved you?"
"Hm? Already breaking our deal Koenma? It's your turn to answer the question. If this continues I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to take me home."
Hiei smirked at her comment and the dumbstruck look it put on Koenma's face.
"Forgive me. I am the son of King Yama who rules the spirit world. These three are part of a team, along with Kurama, that keep the demons in check."
"I'm sorry but what do you mean in check?"
"Aren't you now the one breaking the deal onna?" Hiei glared at her.
"Not at all. I never really asked a question after the deal was made so Koenma gave that information freely." She gave a cheeky smile and nodded her head for him to continue. Koenma gaped but sweat dropped when he realized she was right. He would have to be careful with this one. Everyone else just raised an eyebrow at her.
"Now if you dont mind I would like an answer to my question. What did you mean that this team keeps demons in check?"
"You don't know about the three world's do you?" Hiei asked with a slight glare still angry for being out smarted by a human women.
"Um… am I supposed to? I always thought there was only Ningenkai and Reikai."
"Well that's quite unusual since you know of demons but not the world they come from. Anyway the three worlds are Ningenkai, Makai and Reikai. Ningenkai holds the humans. Makai holds the demons and Reikai holds the afterlife or more precisely the choosing of who dies and gets sent where. So you were only partially right. Yusuke is my spirit detective who has the rest of these guys to help him when I send him out on missions to round up the demons that try to breach the barrier from their world and Ningenkai."
"You mean kill right? As in assasinate. Hmph!"
Yusuke had been staring at Kagome since she answered her part and was still a little shocked that she wasn't all that innocent as he thought. He had put his head down when she had said kill with a forced voice.
She breathed out a heavy sigh after a few seconds and just looked at them through half lidded eyes. Her strength was slowly coming back to her but she would still have to play this game just a little bit longer.
"Alright I understand. Next question?"
"Of course. That power you generated before at the park to save that family, what was it?"
"You must have read my file right?"
"What?"
Kagome pointed to a file the demi-god was holding that had her name in bold print.
"My file that should say something like where I live and my age and stuff right, sort of like they have at school for academic records but with more personal information since this is the spirit world. You should have a file on everyone that is more or less going to die whether it is now or a thousand years from now or ago right?"
Yusuke was shocked. She had never been this observant before and they hadn't even opened it up yet before she woke up. It took Koenma an hour just to find the damn thing. What was with her today first she has a break down, then she runs away, fights off Hiei like a fly, heals a family and then just passes out and all he wanted was a couple of days with the only person who could always count on no matter what he did in the past. Why did his life have to be so fucked up?
"Yes it does do that and I haven't had the chance to read it yet why?"
"I live on a shrine that's why. I'm a priestess and my instinct to protect myself just kicked in is all."
"Then why were you able to heal that family?"
Hiei had started to glare at her and if she wasn't used to them by now from all those demons she's fought before them she was sure she'd be a pile of ash by now.
"That's because I was desperate and I can't stand to see people hurt. So whats that energy Yusuke used?" She heaved a heavy sigh when Hiei glared at her again.
Why couldn't he be as quite as he was before? It would save her a lot of trouble and then she would be able to leave without risking the existence of the bone eaters well. She was in the freaking REIKAI for crying out loud and she just wanted to go home with Yusuke and get some sleep before her mom even realized that she was gone… again.
She then stared pointedly at Koenma until Kuwabara cleared his throat. The only one to realize what Kagome wanted was an answer.
"It's called spirit energy and everyone has it but with different amounts and expend it in different ways. Like Yusuke who uses it in the form of a gun or me in the form of a sword. I can also sense other spirit energy but not as efficient as I would like." He too finished off with a sigh and gave her a gentle smile that reminded her of a big brother looking after a little sibling. Weird…
"Thanks… Kazuma." She returned the smile and then looked to Koenma to ask another question but when she did she noticed that he and Yusuke had the same expression on their faces.
"You know what I don't think I want to answer anymore of your questions since you look a little out of it" she said as she pointed to their slacked jaws and wide eyes.
"I want Kazuma to ask the questions now since he obviously knows how to answer them in return properly." She glared at the three remaining men as she turned her attention to the tallest person in the room. She sat up straighter and crossed her legs Indian style while she hugged a pillow to her chest comfortably.
"Oh… um sure okay. I know would you mind if you could tell me about that story at your shrine. When I went there to drop off Yusuke your grandfather told us a cool story about it and some jewel but he said his granddaughter would know the whole truth of its history."
"You are truly the smartest person here right now you know that Kazuma? Since you told me of your heightened awareness I guess it's mostly because of the Goshinboku and the well house right?"
"Yeah…it was calming and felt like home but the well freaked me out too."
She laughed a little at Yusuke's pissed face and the fact that Koenma seemed to see Kuwabara in a whole new light. Hiei's face was…impassive as usual. At the corner of her eye she could see the avatar for Youko stand a bit to the side of the doorway not becoming a part of the conversation but listening intently for both their sakes.
"Actually I would prefer if you came to the shrine tomorrow for lunch and I tell you there. The story is pretty long and I don't want to be here any longer than I have too."
She glared pointedly at Kurama then smiled sweetly at Kuwabara. Getting up from the bed she walked over to Yusuke and squeezed his hand while whispering so low in his ear that even the demons present had to strain to listen in.
"If you say anything without me telling you to I should remind you that I once promised you that I would take off your family jewels with a rusty butter knife and put them on display in a pickle jar. Don't make me have to reduce your options of possible offspring to only adoption. Understand me Kei?" (AN: this is my fav line... i say it a lot and it freaks some ppl out.... lol)
With that she squeezed his hand even harder as it turned purple. He nodded his head viciously with a loud gulp. Taking out his communicator he called for Botan who walked into the room seconds later.
"What is it Yusuke… did you need… something?"
Her voice was cut off as she looked at the girl holding hands with him and then to his red face and back to the strange girls' strong grip.
"Oh my… did you get over Keiko so fast already that you're already dating with other people Yusuke?"
It was meant to be a bit of slight teasing to loosen up her own embarrassment to having left earlier.
"I don't believe that is any of your business shinigami. You couldn't even stomach a small scar, I wonder about your credibility as a spirit guide. The soul piper should be ashamed to be even of the same profession as you. If you don't mind I would like a safe trip back home with MY Kei-kun. Now move it or lose it reaper we're still living you know?"
With a furious crimson blush Botan looked in between the two a final time then to Kurama at the last second before she opened a portal back to Ningenkai. She kept her head down as the couple moved leisurely through it.
Once gone and dismissing the portal she gave a hesitant look at her employer.
"Did I miss something? She kind of had this over confident air about her and she knows the guide of children? No normal human so close to death should act like that, especially in REIKAI of all places, ne?"
They could see the slight tremble in her hands and the quiver of her deep breaths.
"Seems the care takers of the deceased have sunken so low as to not even strike fear into the hearts of the simplest of humans anymore. She did not even seem affected to be talking to death in the face. No fear of death. She must have nerves of steel or be extremely simple minded." Kurama was still put off that even as he tried to be polite to her she still glared and ignored him.
"You are wrong fox."
"How so Hiei?" Kuwabara looked between them and answered before Hiei could.
"Because she felt completely in control of the situation like she was used to it. That must have taken a lot of experience to get like that. I mean we work here and all and had years to get used to a lot of dead people filling in through this place but she's just as old as we are and started with her whole demon experience at least three years after us. She must have at least twice as much as experience as us. I'm not even all that comfortable talking to you Botan about the people you come here with. She seemed almost comfortable?"
Kuwabara stared out at the spot at where the portal disappeared. Hiei smirked at the once again shocked faces of the fairy girl, spirit prince, and fox avatar. He always knew that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. The elder Kuwabara was too smart and head strong not pass on some of her smarts to the monkey. Finally.
Finally getting out of his shock once again Koenma looked into the folder in his hands and found her age, birthday, address and home phone number along with other such information.
"You are right Kuwabara. But… she's a year older than both you and Kurama by a year."
"Wait… WHAT!?"
Well I know a lot of my readers that have kept me as a fav or alert are a bit mad at me right now and i should have made it longer but with college auditions and portfolio preps/showings and the freaking regents ( big tests for people in new york only- bitches) this week im just about to scream my head off. Its about 11:30pm and i wrote this really quick for you guys hope you like it and expect the next chapter this weekend the latest is sunday!
ja ne!!! thanks to those who took me as an alert... but you should also leave a review ... one review and ill be happy but if not then no new chapter and ill sick AhUn on you beware the two headed dragon steed!... MWUHAHAHAHAcoughcoughHAHAHAHAHA!