Yu Yu Hakusho and all its characters are property of Yoshihiro Togashi
AN: Hello hello hello again and welcome to another exciting installment of A Mind On Destiny curtsey of me! It's 4 in the morning here in Texas and I've got class at 9 a.m. yay me! Which means I'm overtired which also means I'm hyper even though I shouldn't be yaaaay! Don't do this guys who aren't in college yet trust me it'll wreck you sooo bad, but anyways I know this chapter came a little sooner and that's because I finished the chapter I was working on the last time I posted and I think it might be my longest one yet so I decided to celebrate and bring Christmas early this year...y'know to all...what three fans that I have? Or at least the three that I know of haha its cool though I love you guys.
Which speaking of you guys, thanks for the reviews and keeping me smiling! My Inbox is always open for suggestions and ideas so take advantage, and also I know this is such a terrible plug but if you or anyone you know is working on a Yu Yu Hakusho story and needs help developing your story, oc, or whatever else I've started a forum for that so check that out I'm always interested in meeting new people and becoming more involved in the community on this site so yeah. Anyways please review, tell me what you think, keep in touch and enjoy!
Big Demons Don't Cry, but Reapers Do
By the time they had reached the portal the sun was up and shining bright and beyond the portal was no exception. The rift between the worlds was located in a deserted back ally just around the corner of a busy market place. After exciting Terryal noticed that the boys had sucked in their energy like a vacuum so they all felt like humans, so she followed their lead and did the same.
"Now Terryal, remember what I told you. Because you look slightly less human then the rest of us you need to conceal your pointed years. Hiding the tattoos would be advantageous as well. What I need to know is; are you sure you can psychically deceive a crowded street full of people? If you can't then we can just hide the ears under your hair and go from there, full body tattoos are not that uncommon among humans." Kurama said turning to look the girl in the eye; she could sense the seriousness in his tone.
"I was bestowed the honor of being named the next oracle for our village. With this honor brings great responsibility and because of this training my psychic techniques was of the utmost importance. I have the strength enough to mislead my entire village should I had desired to do so." She explained to him, her voice calm and unwavering. She was completely serious.
Her statement caused Hiei to scoff; he found it hard to believe that one who had such a weak stomach would be capable of such strength. However low and behold he was wrong. Even though she avoided from tapping into their minds, having learned her lesson already, she proved her abilities when they stepped out of the ally. No one looked at her for an extended period of time, and she passed by them all completely unnoticed.
"How are they able to withstand this world?" Terryal thought, still following the boys but now she had her hands tightly clamped around her ears. "It is as though humans have no restraint. So noisy,"
"You'll get used to it," Kurama chuckled noticing her reaction to the crowded street.
"FINALLY! I'm going to sleep no one wake me up." Yusuke sighed wasting no time in walking past the blue haired female and wandering straight into his room and shutting the door before she could even begin to protest.
It was moments like these that he was quite happy that the baby upstairs had quite an influential hand. Thanks to Koenma they had gotten a large suite that gave everyone in the party a separate bed in separate rooms so he could go to bed mostly undisturbed.
"Yusuke!" The girl scolded, she sighed and shook her head turning her attention to the other three boys. "I'm glad you're all safe how did it go?"
"Easy! No one stands a chance against the great demon slayer Kazuma Kuwabara!" Exclaimed the boy with no attempt to sound humble; he flexed his arms while clenching his fists, striking a heroic pose.
"Hn, the only thing you killed was mosquitoes." Hiei insulted.
"Hey that's still more then you dwarf!" Kuwabara retorted.
The shorter of the two left the room heading for his leaving the rest of Kuwabara's insults to fade into a loud groan. Terryal was confused by their relationship, they worked together yet they seemed to share nothing but hatred for one another. She didn't understand the concept of hatred, it was a given that there were people back home that she didn't always get along with, but she was always very polite to them as they were to her. These men lived a life so much different from hers; she was starting to feel a bit of culture shock.
"And you must be Terryal!" Squeaked a very bubbly and, for Terryal at least, very loud voice.
Terryal clapped her hands over her ears once more, was there any reason for someone to speak so loud? She thought as the blue haired beauty trotted forward extending her hand good-naturedly.
"My name is Botan I work for Koenma as well and it is such a pleasure to meet you." The girl named Botan prattled.
Terryal kept her hands firmly over her ears; though she was grateful to the boys for saving her life she couldn't get over the murderous behavior they had shown, or at least what she considered murderous behavior. The fact that Botan willingly associated herself with these boys made her a little less then comfortable to touch her, so instead she tensed up and away from the woman.
"Well I suppose it'd be silly to ask you to relax around me so immediately." She supposed dropping the hand that she had extended in greeting back to her side,
"I'm sure your really tired from your experience but there's some information Koenma asked me to get from you so if you don't mind taking a seat," She coaxed as she gestured to the red fluffy couch placed in the middle of the room in front of a dark wood coffee table. Seeing that the morning was taking a more serious turn, Kuwabara decided he was going to retire to his room and get some sleep as well. He bid a quick goodbye to everyone in the room and left, shutting his door behind him.
Terryal said nothing to anyone in the room but moved to spot on the couch by the arm, folding her legs up in front of her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she became the picture of innocence as she sat there staring at the random furniture in the room. The room had very strong Indian influence with bright warm colors like reds and golds and dark wood to make up for the amount of eye catching color in the room. She found she quite liked the traditional colors and clothing of India as it closely adhered to the look and feel of her homeland only vastly more sophisticated. However on the way to the hotel she had been in awe at the more modern sights as well, the homes that reached several thousand feet upward, the metal and glass, the people who were of all shapes sizes and colors. Clearly not all who were wondering down that crowded street were from this country which shocked her greatly.
The demon girl had heard stories of other towns in demon world that had technology far advanced beyond theirs and having grown up in a mostly rural village it wasn't hard feat to accomplish but the rumors she heard boggled her mind. What had surprised her more was the vast amount of technology present in the human world, she had always assumed humans to be lesser beings but while thinking about it she had realized that the elders had taught them to consider most creatures besides themselves lesser beings, other demons included. They had believed that "Others", as the elders and dubbed them, were reckless fools who only thought of violence and destroyed the land that the great Creator had bestowed upon them. Though Terryal had agreed with them she felt her mind swaying away from those beliefs, it seemed more to her that they were making the best of the land they were given and the powers that were bestowed upon them.
"Never in all the years of the great life that I was given did I dream to discover a world where so many coexist. Perhaps my people were the real fools…" she thought while vaguely noticing Kurama and Botan take seats with her. Botan sat across from her in a squishy arm chair while Kurama took the opposite end of the couch noticing her desire for space.
"For starters I want to offer my condolences. I know this whole experience must've been hard for you," Botan began politely
"I need neither sympathy nor pity. It is not within my right to determine the desires of the Creator. Though my heart aches for their loss I will not cry for them, they have fulfilled their purpose to the Creator. As much as it pains me I know there would have been no hope for them even if I had made the effort to change their destiny." Terryal replied in a surprisingly careless tone.
She avoided catching the gazes of either person and instead stared at a non-existent spot on the coffee table. The psychic was attempting to hide that under the words she was suffocating and unsure of weather she still agreed with what she was saying to these people.
Botan made no effort to hide her surprise as she continued, "Oh…well ok then. So long as you're ok I suppose. Down to business then…Koenma wanted to be made aware of weather you're people still possessed and added onto the Scroll of Fortune."
Terryal took her eyes off the coffee table and into the pink eyes of the young reaper. Her expression was blank as she thought about weather or not she should answer her. In the end she decided to remain vague about it.
"What can that knowledge do for you? Nothing has been brought to light for me sense I began this path. It is quite apparent that you and your companions posses more knowledge on my situation then I. It seems rude to demand information from me without giving me an explanation of your plans."
"We've explained that we would be re-locating you to the human world in order to protect you Terryal." Kurama repeated
"But you have failed to make clear as to why. Why now would the Reikai prince find interest in my family's work? He has never pursued the Scroll's knowledge before." Retorted the ebony haired female, her voice becoming louder as she spoke, her tone was beginning to sound defensive.
Terryal hadn't intended to appear so cruel towards the two; she had never lost her cool like that before. "I should meditate later…" the demoness thought.
"Whoever attacked your village clearly has other plans then just destruction. Your family had a very valuable item in your possession that's been coveted by many demons for years, myself included." Kurama responded, his voice still calm.
"Should a villainous figure attain the fortune they so desire it would be indecipherable to them." Terryal answered while allowing her eyes to drift shut as she laid her head on her knees. She was beginning to feel weary.
"Yes, which is why we need to protect you; whoever took down the barrier around your village was not incompetent. They probably knew that they would be unable to read the scroll which means they would begin to look for someone who can." Finished the fox, his legs were crossed and one elbow was resting on the arm of the couch. Said arm was also supporting his head as he stared intently at the psychic looking for a reaction. She had cracked open her yellow globes and was eyeing the thief as well, pondering what she should say next.
"Law states that my lips are to remained sealed when "Fortune" has become the conversational topic," Terral began clearly referring to the scroll, her eyes flicked away from Kurama's and landed on Botan's, "but there is no law now…Yes we continued to paint life. I attempted to retrieve Fortune from its resting place during the attack however luck may have been on my side many times but not in this case. It had already been removed. Law also dictates that we are to destroy Fortune should danger present itself; I had hoped an elder had been able to toss it into the fire before I arrived." She confessed.
Botan nodded writing down the information and continuing to her next question. "Did any of the residence of your village have any enemies?"
"If one did it was not brought upon the whole. Defects, those who leave the village, were forbidden from returning home. Many "Others" wished to enter but were unable; plots to thrash our lives were not uncommon however succeeding in the effort was supposed impossible."
The reaper scribbled more notes down before continuing. "So I guess you didn't see any of the people responsible."
"Being and I'm afraid not." Terryal answered, her face unwavering.
"I'm sorry what?" Botan looked up from her notepad shocked, Kurama's face looked surprised as well.
"Being, only one male entered home that night. The features were disguised in bandages so I was unable to see." She reiterated her face still blank.
"Only one man destroyed an entire village of powerful psychic demons?" Kurama asked, his voice sounded skeptical.
"I only felt one new presence, if there were others they were well hidden." Was the mumbled response that came from the psychic, she had moved her arms to rest crossed over her knees and was now burying her face inside them.
Botan wrapped her questions up and led the tanned girl to the room she would be staying in and after loaning her some shorts and a t-shirt she passed out in the bed. When Botan returned to the room Kurama said he'd be retiring to his room as well, seeing as how the boys, him included, had stayed up all night just to get the would've been oracle here. Botan took the opportunity to board her oar and whisk herself away to spirit world to report to Koenma what she had learned. The infant had been just as shocked as she was when he discovered that only one person had entered the village.
"Do you think they'll be ok? If one person could take down an entire village do you really think that Yusuke and the others will stand a chance?" Botan questioned, her voice was shaky and nervous.
"It's hard to say. Evidence says otherwise but you can't forget what village it was that was taken down. I'm sure you noticed it with Terryal; in the face of destruction these demons are surprisingly willing to give themselves up. Taking down a town full of people like that probably wasn't too difficult; he wouldn't have gotten too many challengers." Koenma explained which caused Botan to feel more hopeful for the boys and more sympathetic towards the lost.
"I understand what you mean sir…Terryal…it was almost scary how calm she was. When I asked about her family, she didn't flinch as though she didn't care that her life was gone." Botan thought aloud while staring at the floor, she felt like crying for the demon child.
"I'm sure she cares Botan. These psychics had an interesting way of morning the death of their lost ones. Instead of crying, parties are usually thrown to celebrate the life of the lost one. To them it is not considered living until you've lived to the last breath. When someone dies they're thought to have fulfilled their purpose to their god who they call the "Creator" and when this great moment happens and they've completed their duty their life is celebrated." Koenma enlightened but he could tell his explanation did nothing to soothe Botan.
"Excuse me if I don't feel that death is something that should be celebrated," The reaper grumbled her eyes tearing up a bit. "That just seems wrong."
Koenma stood on his desk and trotted over to her and laid a comforting yet tiny hand on Botan's head.
"It does, but it is not our job to criticize the life of others. But with any luck she'll start to feel more at home with you, Yusuke and the others so she can learn share her distress regardless of weather she thought she could control it or not." Koenma soothed.
He removed his hand when Botan lifted her head to meet the eyes of her boss, tears glittering in her eyes but none had fallen yet.
"I hope that happens Koenma, I really do."