Southern Fried Ch8
Another quick update! I'm on a roll right now! Hope you like it!
Thanks to all of my awesome reviewers, favers and followers. You make me want to keep writing. LOVE YALL!
"He's got my baby's soul." Mickey-Jo's face crumbled and she fell back on her rear in a thump.
Yusuke and Kurama's mouths dropped open. Even Kuwabara looked a little more sympathetic. Hiei's frown deepened.
"Your baby?" Yusuke asked. "As in your son?"
"What the hell else would I mean, boy?" Mickey-Jo snapped. She got up and wiped her face with the back of her arm. She paced swiftly back to the bushes and grabbed her pack and violin case. She snagged her rope as she walked back out to the open area.
Kuwabara looked around. "Hey guys, do we even know where that guy went?"
Mickey-Jo ripped open her pack and brought out all the maps. Settling on the detailed version of their current region, she pulled out the finger jar again. The boys stepped a little closer when she shook the finger out onto the map and channeled her energy into it.
"What are you doing?" Yusuke came and looked over her should. He blanched when he saw the finger spinning and spinning. "More fingers? Geez, you are weird."
At Yusuke's statement, Kuwabara and Hiei stepped even closer. Kuwabara went a little green at the sight.
"Come on you summabitch. Where you at?" Mickey-Jo murmured. "Ah-ha! There ya be!" The finger was pointing down a few streets away and was moving across the map.
"Mickey-Jo... what did you just do?" Kurama asked as she rolled her maps up quickly again.
She shot him a loaded glance. "I track. That's my specialty."
"Who's finger is that?"
"Who's do ya think, damnit?" She was losing patience. "I ain't got time to sit here and natter along with you hens. I got a demon to find and kill." She stuck her forefinger and thumb in her mouth and blew a piercing whistle. A horse's whinny was heard off in the distance. A few seconds passed and Mickey-Jo was standing tense with her violin case and pack on her back. A sudden flash of purple energy and Dazzle was trotting towards her, tossing his head. He was bareback, his sandy colored coat had leaves and twigs stuck in it. After brushing the worst of the leaf litter off with her hand, Mickey-Jo grabbed a handful of his mane and swung up bareback. She jabbed her heels into his sides. "HIYEAH! Come on Ol'Boy!" Dazzle took off, Ol'Boy galloping along beside him.
"W-Wait! Mickey-Jo where are you going?" Yusuke called.
"To find me a damn demon, dumbass!" She called back. They turned down the next street, out of sight.
After a few moments of a "what-just-happened" kind of silence, Hiei blew out a breath in exasperation. "So are we going to go or just stand here like idiots?"
Kurama smiled softly. "It seems we do have a firm way of tracking this demon now."
Yusuke grinned. "The chase is on!"
It didn't take long for them to catch up with Mickey-Jo. The sounds of the pony's hooves on the pavement were lead enough. Quite a ways ahead of them, they saw the demon skimming over the ground on what looked like a large rock.
Mickey-Jo grabbed her rope off her belt and gripped it tightly. It glowed purple for a few seconds and then became stiff and hard. Perfect for roping cattle, or a demon. She urged Dazzle faster and started working her arm, spinning the lasso above her head in perfect circles. Ol'Boy started baying angrily. His prey, the maker of that hated scent was right there ahead of them. The dog put on a burst of speed and shot forward, snarling like a rabid mutt.
The demon glanced over his shoulder and grinned when he saw Mickey-Jo and Ol'Boy gaining on him. His grin lost it's humor when he caught sight of the Spirit Detective crew behind her. He jumped off the slab of rock he had been levitating and slammed into the ground, facing his pursuers. The ground started shaking and a large crack appeared in the concrete, growing wider and wider.
Dazzle slowed his pace and tossed his head, frightened at the shaking ground. Ol'Boy wasn't perturbed. He dodged rocks jutting out of the ground and jumped over smaller crevices. He had blood in his canine eyes and wasn't going to give up on the chase.
Mickey-Jo's eyes went wide as she saw the small canyon opening up in front of her, her lasso faltered. The demon looked at Ol'Boy. Mickey-Jo saw him. Fear flooded her eyes as the demon raised a fist and slammed it down on the ground.
"Ol'Boy! No!" She jabbed Dazzle's sides again as Ol'Boy was racing towards an ever widening crevice in the ground. It was too wide for him to jump, but the dog wasn't paying any attention.
The boys were dodging rocks and keeping the demon in their sights when they heard Mickey-Jo cry out. They saw the cowgirl racing Dazzle over uneven ground and the hound running right for was looked like certain death. Ol'Boy gave a mighty leap, but even from back where they were they could tell the dog wasn't going to make it. At that same moment, Mickey-Jo let her lasso fly. It soared down into the crevice and they waited with baited breath to see if she actually caught the dog. Mickey-Jo was suddnely jerked off her pony's back and dragged a few feet over the now-jagged ground, but she held on.
The demon roared in laughter. "Mickey-Jo! How nice to see you again!"
"Shut your trap you sidewinder!" Mickey-Jo screeched at him.
"Aww, is that any way to talk to your babysitter?" He brought a palm size mirror out of his pocket and held it up.
The mirror surface was cloudy, but started to clear up. The rounded face of a toddler with blond hair and blue eyes took form.
"Mama!" They heard in a toddler's voice.
"Jack! Oh sweet Jesus, Jack!" Mickey-Jo's voice was heart-wrenching. Her shoulders were shaking in sobs and her hands slacked on the rope. It burned through her loose fingers and she cried out as a terrified yelp came from Ol'Boy before she gripped it tightly again.
"Hmm..." The demon mused. "Now this is most wonderful spot I have you in. I have your precious child, your dog is hanging by a thread -oh excuse me- a rope, and at any moment I can take your life. What shall I do?"
"SPIRIT GUN!" Yusuke yelled from the back.
A surge of blue energy raced towards the demon. He disappeared again with a smile right before the blast would hit him. Hiei drew his sword, Kurama his whip, and Kuwabara his Spirit Sword.
"It's not nice to interrupt the adults when they are talking, boy." A masculine voice rumbled behind them. All four whirled and attacked, but there was nothing there.
Yusuke growled. "Come out, coward!"
"I'm right here!" The demon exploded from the ground in a shower of concrete, knocking them back. Rock flowed like liquid up their legs and trapped them. The ground started shaking again. Dazzled neighed in fear and reared. He flailed his front legs then whirled and took off away from the danger.
"Dazzle! Get back here!" Mickey-Jo yelled from the ground. she maneuvered herself to a sitting position and began hauling on the rope. Ol'Boy whined and barked from down in the crevice. She looked behind her and saw the boys trapped by rock and the demon standing there, gloating. She clenched her teeth.
The demon suddenly cocked his head like he was listening to something far away. He smiled at them. "I would love to stay and play, but I have a meeting to attend." He turned and started walking away.
"Wait, you!" Kuwabara struggled with the rock binds. "Come back here! We aren't finished!"
"Yea I still have to blow your head off!" Yusuke raised his finger again and pointed it at his head.
The demon stopped and looked back. "You're right, we aren't finished. I'm just giving a rain check. We will meet again soon."
A swirling vortex of sickly green and yellow appeared in front of him and he calmly walked through it. Then it was gone. The rocks holding their legs flowed back down to the ground and they stumbled forward. The ground started shaking again and the cracks started fusing back together.
Mickey-Jo gasped in panic. The crevice was closing! "Hold on, Ol'Boy!" She hauled even more on the rope, gritting her teeth at the pain from the rope burns on her palms. Another strong pair of hands seized the rope and she looked up at Yusuke, startled.
"Let's get your mutt up before the ground closes on him!" the Spirit detective said.
Together they hauled and pulled and Ol'Boy scrambled up the side of the hole as it closed up. He jumped and whined as the ground closed on the last bit of his tail, pulling some hairs out. The hound raced back to Mickey-Jo and slammed into her, whining and licking her face and thumping his tail. The cowgirl held him tightly.
Kurama walked over to them. "I think we have some discussion that needs to take place."
They stood at the foot of the steps leading to Genkai's temple. Mickey-Jo had recovered Dazzle munching on grass that had grown around the streetlamp a few hundred yards down the road. After getting her tack and the rest of her supplies from the outskirts of town, she had met the boys here.
Kuwabara pulled on Yusuke's arm. "Bringing her back here?" He whispered feverishly. "Remember what she did to Yukina? You want that happening again?" He shot a glare at her. Mickey-Jo glared right back.
"If it makes ya feel any better, I promise I won't be up to anythin' while I'm here," she stated.
Hiei turned to face her, glaring daggers. "Words mean nothing, foolish human. I say we send you off by yourself after that demon. Hopefully you will be killed in the process."
She stuck her thumbs in her belt loops and leaned back a bit. "Well then how are y'all gonna find him if ya don't have my maps and his finger? Ya'll need me. Ya found him this last time by followin' the soulless. I can tell ya with a for-sure that he ain't gonna be so careless again."
Kuwabara stuck his jaw forward. "Oh yea? How do you know that?"
She rolled her head to face him, all 'oh-come-on'. "I been trackin' him for two year now. I say that's plenty o'time to get to know his dirty habits."
Yusuke sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
Kurama looked at everyone. "It's the only logical answer."
Both Hiei and Kuwabara gaped at him. "What, Kurama?" Hiei said, "Have you forgetten how much you are responsible for already?"
The redhead gave the fire demon a stony look. "Yes, Hiei, I'm quite aware. However, she has the maps and the tracking ability, we have the strength. I don't think she's quite strong enough to take on this demon by herself."
"Hey, watch yer mouth there, darlin'," Mickey-Jo said, her pride stung. "I ain't needed no help a'fore, and I certainly don't NEED yer help now. I was only offerin' to help y'all."
Hiei turned to her. "Are you that stupid? That demon had you on your stomach and helpless before you even realized it. What makes you think you can take him on again?"
"Well I would'a had him if you dunderheads hadn't turned up! He was two feet from walkin' into my trap! Two feet and my rope would'a trussed him up like a spider's dinner."
"A trap? How cowardly."
"Why you little-!"
Yusuke stepped between them before they actually came to blows. "Geez, it's like toddlers with you two! Just don't talk to one another!" He turned to Mickey-Jo. "You keep your hands to yourself while we're here, understand?"
"Aye, cap'n" She nodded. "I understand these demon spits are yer friends. I won't apply any of my nifty tricks on 'em, no matter how much I want to."
Hiei growled and Yusuke sighed. "That really doesn't help, Mickey-Jo. How about you just keep your mouth shut?"
She huffed but stayed silent.
All of them walked up the stairs without saying a word. Mickey-Jo got Dazzle and Ol'Boy settled outside and they all went to into one of the sitting rooms. Genkai was there was there with a mug of tea. "It's about time you showed up. Koenma should be here any minute." the elderly psychic said.
"Well we have nothing but bad news to tell him," Yusuke grumbled. "He got away."
Genkai took a sip and sighed. She looked at Mickey-Jo. "Am I going to have any problems with you, girl?"
Mickey-Jo shook her head. "No, ma'am. I'll be keepin' my hands to myself."
Yukina and Keiko walked in with a tray of more tea and some finger foods. Mickey-Jo tensed as the ice apparition moved into the room and set the tray on the table. When she sat down, Kuwabara jumped from his position and sat beside her, complimenting her on her excellent tea. Keiko put her tray down and sat beside Yusuke. Small talk overtook the table. Once, Yukina met Mickey-Jo's eyes and she smiled softly at her.
The demon hunter sat, stony-faced, and swallowed thickly. Suddenly, she got up and stalked out the door. Keiko looked to Yukina, who shook her head softly. Keiko furrowed her brow and got up.
"Where are you going, Keiko? You just sat down." Yusuke complained.
"I'll be right back," She said. She followed Mickey-Jo and found her sitting on the porch outside, stroking Ol'Boy's head as the dog panted happily.
"Mickey-Jo?" She called softly.
The cowgirl looked up with haunted eyes. "Oh. Hi, miss Keiko."
Keiko smiled. "You don't have to call me, miss. I've told you that."
"It never hurts to be polite to people." Mickey-Jo's smile was rueful.
Keiko sat down next to the cowgirl. "Listen, I know you don't like demons but not-"
"Not all of 'em are evil," Mickey-Jo mumbled. "Yea, y'all been sayin' that."
"But it's true. Listen to this, Yukina is an Ice Maiden. Her tears solidify into gems."
"Really? I didn't think that was possible."
"It is for their race. She came to the Human World looking for her brother. When she got here, she was captured by humans. These humans tortured her, made her cry, to sell her tear gems. Since I've known her, she hasn't harmed even a spider. She scoops it up in a piece of paper and lets it outside."
Mickey-Jo gave her a skeptical look.
"Anyway," Keiko continued, "When Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei got there, Hiei was going to kill the man who held her hostage. But Yukina herself stopped his blade before he could."
"She stopped another demon from killing...a human?" Her gaze unfocused. Here Keiko was telling her a DEMON saved the life of the HUMAN who had tortured her. That went against everything she had experienced. Just a few minutes ago, that demon girl had done nothing but give her a smile, even after she had attacked her, no, almost killed her.
"Yes, she did. And I can't count how many times Hiei has saved our lives, and the world. When someone evil comes and tries to destroy everything we know. He works with Yusuke and the others to save everyone. Hiei has a very strict honor code. He doesn't just go around killing. Yea he's rude and gruff and stays away from everyone, but he's always there when the going gets tough."
"Hmm.."
"And Kurama, he's a half-demon. He is a spirit fox thief, not a very good guy in his time, but got reborn into the human body you see. When his human mother got very sick and was going to die, he used a magic mirror called the Forlorn Hope to try to save her. He was ready to give his own life for a human woman he was set to abondon when he got strong enough."
"Some of this stuff is pretty far-fetched, ya know that right?" Mickey-Jo said softly.
Keiko giggled. "I know how it sounds. I thought the same when Yusuke finally told me everything, but it's all true."
When the cowgirl stayed silent, Keiko got up. She squeezed the older girl's shoulder reassuringly. "Think about it. We're all friends here. We can all be your friends. Just give them a chance."
Still nothing from Mickey-Jo. Keiko sighed and walked inside. She went back to the room and sat down again next to Yusuke. Koenma still hadn't shown up, so the group was just sitting there, waiting.
The door opened again and Mickey-Jo stood there, her face expressionless. The others exchanged glances, wondering what was going on.
She lifted her head and locked eyes with Yukina, guilt flooding her face. She walked slowly over to the ice apparition. Kuwabara and Hiei started to get up but were stopped with Kurama and Yukina herself laid hands on their arm. Both were still tense as Mickey-Jo knelt in front of Yukina.
"I.. I wanted to 'pologize to ya, miss." she said softly. "What I did was wrong. I'm deeply sorry for the things I said, and for threatenin' your life when you was just tryin' to help me. There ain't no excuse for tryin' to hurt another who values life. I know im prejudiced, but I'm workin' on that... That's all I have to say."
She sat there for a moment, when nobody said anything she stood up stiffly and walked out the door.
Yay! Mickey-Jo is coming around! And all will be revealed next chapter. Stay tuned!