"Sir, we have arrived as you requested." Ootake, captain of the Spirit Defense Force, said as he walked into the temple. There were seven more SDF members waiting outside.
"Thank you Ootake." Koenma sighed, having relaxed a little.
"Koenma, what the hell is going on?" Yusuke shouted angrily.
"You called the SDF?" Kurama said with a shocked look on his face. "They only mobilize for emergencies... Why did you call them here?"
"You don't understand," Koenma said. "This IS an emergency. That man is a dangerous criminal, and we need to get rid of him."
"I don't know what you jerks in Spirit World are thinking, but Koray doesn't seem like a criminal to me!" Yusuke responded, while motioning with his hands.
"Yeah! He helped us on our mission! He's done nothing wrong!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"Koenma, what was his crime?" Kurama inquired.
"Mass murder... Not to mention multiple trespasses." Koenma said grimly.
"That doesn't seem so bad that you need him dead." Kurama replied.
"You don't understand, he's-"
"Koenma," Koray interrupted. "You should know that I've left my criminal life behind me. In fact, I've kept a clean slate for several years now."
"People like you don't change." Koenma said with spite.
"Well, generally speaking, you're right. People who live the way I used to usually don't change." Koray said with a slight smile. "But I did."
"You're wasting your breath. I refuse to believe that." Koenma said.
"Koenma," Hiei said suddenly. "If you don't believe in reforming criminals, then why are me and Kurama still alive? Surely, considering our crimes and the power we've obtained, we're both threats to Spirit World."
"The situation is completely different..." Koenma started.
"Bullshit." Hiei said to the young ruler of Spirit World. "I've seen you guys do this before. I don't know what personal grudge you have against him, but I can tell that you're twisting the law for your own convenience."
"Hiei, that's not the case!" Koenma yelled, trying to get Hiei to listen.
"You know, Koenma, I'm tired of this." Yusuke said with a stern face. "I may be an idiot, but even I can see that Hiei's assumptions hold some truth. C'mon guys, let's get outta here."
Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara and Koray turned to leave, but they found themselves surrounded by the SDF.
"I'm afraid we can't allow you to leave." Ootake said. "If you continue to take this criminal's side, then we will put you under arrest for assisting him. Resist and we will use force."
"This is a load of crap!" Yusuke screamed at the SDF.
"You're not really gonna arrest us, are you Koenma?" Kuwabara asked nervously.
"If you continue like this, I'm afraid I might just have to." Koenma responded with no remorse whatsoever.
"This is troublesome..." Kurama said.
"I can't believe this is happening! I'm a good person, I can't be arrested! I've still gotta live my life, marry my love, and have a big family!" Kuwabara whined.
"What are you talking about, Koenma?" Koray said, spreading confusion around the room. "These kids aren't assisting me. In fact, I'm gonna beat the shit out of all your SDF members and the kids won't do a thing."
"What did you say?" Koenma and Ootake screamed in unison.
"Sure," Koray replied. "And I estimate that it won't take longer than three minutes. Oh, by the way. Genkai, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to escort the young ladies out of here. We wouldn't want them to get hurt."
"Yeah..." Genkai said as she, Yukina, Botan and Keiko left the room.
"Hmph! If you want to die that badly, I don't mind complying with your challenge. ATTACK!" Ootake yelled, and at that moment four SDF members raised their hands and began firing balls of energy from their hands in Koray's direction. The other three began moving around the room, waiting for an opening. Koray dodged all the long range attacks with ease, but then one of the others appeared behind him. The SDF member went to attack, but Koray ducked down, causing the assault to miss him. Then Koray quickly shifted his weight to his left foot, and kicked up with his right, making contact between his opponent's chin and neck. The attack sent the SDF member shooting up through the roof and far into the air. He landed on the front lawn, unconscious.
"One down," Koray said confidently in order to provoke the others.
Two more attackers came forward, one attacking from the left, the other from the right. Koray stepped over to the left side attacker, grabbed him, and threw him at the right side attacker. The two went flying, and fell to the floor hard beside each other with a grunt. But before they could get up, Koray had jumped above them. In a spit second, he brought all his weight down through his feet as he stomped on them, one foot into each abdomen. A little blood came out of their mouths before the two fell unconscious.
"Three down."
This time, Koray did the attacking. He disappeared from sight for a moment and reappeared in front of a brown-haired, insecure looking female SDF member. His fist was already suspended behind him, and he brought it forward into her face with great force. The girl flew fast through the wall of the room and outside through the stone wall which surrounded the temple. Using incredible speed, Koray did the same to the other three members.
When it came to Ootake, Koray slowed down, and begun a head-on assault. He placed his hand on his sword, and in what seemed like one swift movement, his sword was drawn and Ootake was covered with deep cuts all over his body. He crashed to the ground in a bloody mess.
"There's no need to worry, Koenma. They're just flesh wounds. He won't die if you give him quick treatment." Koray said, while sheathing his sword. "So Kurama, how's my time?"
"That's... Two minutes exactly!" Kurama said with a little shock.
"Hm... Guess I over-estimated my opponents."
"You fiend!" Koenma screamed in a fit of rage.
"Well, let's go." Koray said to Hiei. "After all, it's not as though Koenma can stop us by himself."
"Alright." Hiei replied.
"Hiei! Stop! I mean it, don't go with him!" Koenma tried one last time, but to no avail.
"Quiet." Hiei said to Koenma. "You can't control me. I go where I want to go."
And with that, Hiei and his father left.
The two fire demons walked far into the forest surrounding Genkai's temple. The plants and trees became much thicker the further in they went. There were also more demons, but they were all weak and knew better than to challenge those stronger than them. The walk was silent. Neither of them spoke a word to the other, but on the inside there were many thoughts and emotions swimming in the heads of Hiei and Koray. Eventually they came to a stop. They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of them could decide what to say first.
"Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?" Koray asked.
Hiei didn't answer right away. He thought about what he actually cared about, and finally said: "You weren't there..."
"For you?"
"For her... my mother... and all of us." Hiei said softly and with a little hesitation. "Were you afraid? Ashamed?"
"No, it was nothing like that..."
"Well, what? You had to have known what they'd do!" Hiei stated loudly.
"Yes, I knew. And believe me, if I had the choice I would have stayed." Koray said, looking into Hiei's eyes. He paused for a moment to think, and then said: "You probably understand better than anyone else... The place I come from has rules similar to those of the Ice Maidens, but they're much stricter."
Hiei simply stared his father, beginning to understand.
"I was sent to the Ice World by accident… I met you mother, of course." Koray let out a soft smile, while thinking of the woman he loved. "Hina... She looked after me while I was there, and managed to keep it a secret from the other ice maidens. That short time I spent with her, was the happiest I had ever been. When we found out she was pregnant, neither of us were ashamed. We were looking forward to raising a child. But those bastards from my homeland found me… It was all I could do to get them to let Hina live. In exchange they arrested me, and wasted no time administering my punishment."
"What did they do to you?" Hiei asked. Koray said nothing, and Hiei then realized what it meant. The scars on his father's body were proof enough. "It doesn't matter... Clearly they couldn't keep you locked up forever. What happened after that?"
But before his question could be answered they both felt a strange energy, and then a large black portal appeared a few feet away.
"Be careful..." Koray said to Hiei as he stepped in front of his son and placed a hand on his sword.
Out of the portal stepped a large muscular man with dirty blond hair, a stubby beard, and black eyes. He wore fancy armor, which showed that he had high status, and his aura indicated that he was a demon.
"Oh, it's just you, Reuel." Koray said, relieved.
"Koray, I hope you realize how much trouble you're in!" Reuel stated with a hint of anger.
"Come on! It's not that big of a deal." Koray said, trying to brush off the topic.
"You know full well that every time you pull a stunt like this, I'm the one who gets yelled at! And quite frankly, I'm sick of it. So is Lady Katana." Reuel scolded his friend.
"You know Katana just doesn't like me! She's only making up excuses to get me in trouble. And for your information, this time I have an especially good reason for coming here."
"Fine... Let's hear it." Reuel said with a sigh, not expecting there to be any decent excuse.
"Hiei, could you come over here?" Koray said to the small fire demon who had stepped away from the two friends. Hiei hesitated, but then went over to them. "Reuel, this is Hiei. He's my son. And Hiei, this is Reuel. I guess you could say we're best friends."
"Jeez! He looks just like you!" Reuel said with a little surprise. He bent down to get a better look at Hiei. "Ha ha! He's a chip of the old block, eh." As he said that, Reuel placed his hand on Hiei's head and patted it. Hiei, however, furiously swatted away the hand. "Feisty little guy..."
"Let's get one thing straight, you ape!" Hiei said angrily. "The fact that I'm small gives you no right to treat me like a kid! And while you're at it, don't touch me like that either!"
Reuel stared at Hiei, astonished at the words that came out of his mouth. Then he turned to Koray and said: "Not very polite is he?"
Koray just shrugged. Reuel took another look at Hiei, who just glared back. He could tell that Hiei had been through a lot. He was just like his father…
"Koray, I know this is important to you, but we really have to go back."
"Reuel-"
"Don't argue!"
"Please." Koray begged, looking directly into directly into his friend's eyes. Reuel was at a loss. He couldn't deny Koray time with his son, but they'd both be in a lot of trouble if they didn't go back right away. Then he thought of something: "Hiei, why don't you come back with us?"
"What?" Hiei said, taken aback.
"Well, sure. I don't mean forever, just a week or something. It'll give you a chance to get to know your father better."
Hiei looked over at his father, who smiled and said, "Of course, no one's forcing you to do anything... But I'd really like it if you came."
Hiei stopped to think for a moment before he replied. "Sure..." He agreed.