"We should leave right away." Reuel said. "If we stay much longer, Lady Katana will have our heads."
"Yeah, you're right..." Koray replied nervously.
"Who's this 'Lady Katana'?" Hiei asked.
"She's the ruler of the Island of Wind." Reuel responded with pride.
"The Island of Wind?"
"Don't worry; when we get there we'll explain all the details." Koray said to his son.
Koray then turned away from Hiei and held out his hand out in front of him. Demonic aura began to gather around his hand. It swirled and became larger and larger. The energy then became black, as it was now big enough for someone the size of Reuel to walk through.
"Let's go." The fire demon said as he stepped into the portal, followed by Reuel.
Hiei stepped in after them. Everything became pitch black. His head was spinning, and felt almost drowsy. Hiei thought he felt something tug at his sleeve, but he was too out of it to pay any mind. Suddenly a white light appeared in front of him. Hiei could see his father and Reuel exit the portal with ease. Hiei saw where the ground was and tried to do the same, but somehow wound up on the ground.
"Haha, don't worry Hiei. It happens to everyone on their first time through a portal." Koray said with a little amusement in his voice.
"Whatever." Hiei groaned. Strangely enough, he heard more groaning from behind him. Hiei turned around to see lots of red hair and a familiar face. "Kurama! How did you..."
"Who is that kid?" Reuel whispered to Koray.
"A friend of Hiei's." Koray replied.
"Well, you see..." Kurama began, as they both stood up. "We were getting a little worried about you, and I left ahead of the others to find you. When I was finally able to track you down, you were walking into that portal. Out of impulse, I ran up and grabbed you sleeve. I never expected to be brought along..."
"Hmph! You sound like one of the fools." Hiei said to his friend, who just laughed off the comment.
"So, where are we?" Kurama asked. He and Hiei looked around. In front of them was a large medieval-looking stronghold. There was a large wall that surrounded them, and many guards moved around patrolling the grounds.
"We're on the Island of Wind." Koray explained. "This is the stronghold of our ruler, Katana."
"The Island of Wind... I don't believe I've heard of such a place..." Kurama said.
"Of course you haven't." Koray replied with a grin. "That's because we're in a completely different world."
"What?" Hiei and Kurama exclaimed with surprise.
"You heard me. See, the universe is actually made up of many small worlds. In most cases, common folk aren't aware of the other worlds' existence, but the supreme rulers such as Koenma and his father do. For that reason, I couldn't tell you and your friends where I come from. And naturally, very few people have the ability to travel between worlds."
"What's so special about this place?" Hiei asked.
"Nothing, really." Koray replied. "Certain events in history led us to be better informed."
"So I take it this isn't the place where you were arrested..." Hiei said questioningly and cautiously.
"No... That happened on my homeland, the Island of Fire. I took refuge here right after breaking out of prison." Koray explained.
"What are you two...?" Kurama began, but wasn't able to finish.
"You see, demons in this world tend to be close minded. Since ancient times they prefer to live only with demons of their own kind. In fact, when demons first came to the islands they refused to have any contact with each other, and the islands were named after the type of demons that lived there. Hence: the Island of Wind, the Island of Fire, the Island of Earth, and the Island of Water." Koray explained. "Most demons have remained true to their ancestors wishes, but some do allow other demons and humans to live with them. And this Island has been turned into something of a refugee camp. Humans and demons that were forced to leave their homeland for whatever reason can stay here, so long as they abide by the laws set up."
"Hey, Koray. I hate to interrupt, but she's here." Reuel said.
"Oh, great." Koray muttered sarcastically.
Hiei and Kurama looked over and saw a woman, followed by two men, approaching them. The woman had thick, dark brown hair that was tied up, except for her bangs which hung in her face. Her aura indicated that she was human. The man on her right looked just a bit older than Koray. His hair was the same color as Reuel's, and he also had the same black eyes. The man on her left was human and looked older, even though he probably hasn't lived as long as the demons. His hair was black, though there were some parts that were going grey, and his eyes were a light brown. Both men wore fancy, flattering armour just like Reuel.
"Finally, I see you two are back. Good work, Reuel." The woman said.
"Thank you, Lady Katana." Reuel said with a slight bow of his head.
"As for you, Koray..." Katana began with a tone of displeasure. "I ought to have you arrested! I've told you more than enough times that wandering around other worlds without my permission is illegal, and yet you still do it! It's your kind of irresponsible behaviour that starts wars!"
"Don't worry, I completely understand what you're saying and I assure you it won't happen again." Koray said, holding his hands up in front of him as a defensive gesture.
"I have absolutely no reason to believe you now." Katana said firmly. "And so-"
"Lady Katana, look there..." The man with long blond hair said with wide eyes. Katana looked where he was pointing which was in Koray's direction, but down a little more. At first she thought she was seeing things. Katana blinked a few times, but she soon realized that this kid was actually there; a little boy who looked almost exactly like Koray.
"What's the meaning of this, Koray?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Sorry, I guess with your lecturing I forgot to introduce him." Koray said with a chuckle. "This is Hiei. He's my son." As soon as Koray said that, Katana and the two men nearly jumped with surprise.
"Since when have you had a kid? Last I checked you weren't married!" Katana screamed at him.
"Judging from his age, he would have been born before you came here." The human man said, looking closely at Hiei, who was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"It would make sense for you to have had a wife before you were exiled." The long-haired demon said.
"Will you guys shut up and let me explain?" Koray said impatiently. "I've never been married. Hiei's one of the kids I had with a woman from another world."
"Oh..." They said, piecing together the situation in their heads.
"I see..." Katana said. "So that's the reason you continue to go to other worlds despite the fact that it's illegal."
"Pretty much. Sorry for not telling you about it." Koray said with a grin.
"So this is your son, Koray..." The one with long hair said. "Hiei, was it? Well, welcome to the Island of Wind. My name is Archelaus. It's nice to meet you." He said as he patted Hiei on the head. Yet again, Hiei swatted away the unwanted gesture.
"What is it with you people? I'm not a kid, so keep your hands off me!" Hiei yelled out.
Everyone stared speechless at the words that came out of Hiei's mouth. Somehow they had all expected something different...
"Don't worry; he did the same to me." Reuel explained.
"Hmph! Little boys such as yourselves should learn to keep their sharp tongues to themselves when addressing their superiors." The human man said.
"Oh? And who do you think you are?" Hiei said challengingly.
"I am Cleitenes, one of the four Generals."
"What are the four Generals?" Hiei asked.
"The four Generals," Katana answered. "Are the most powerful warriors on the Island of Wind. In fact, they're all here right now: Cleitenes, Archelaus, Reuel and Koray, your father, are the four Generals."
"I see... That would explain his power..." Kurama mumbled to himself. The others, however, heard and looked over at him.
"Who's this kid, Koray?" Archelaus asked.
"Ah, this is Kurama. One of Hiei's friends." Koray said.
"Koray..." Katana started. "He can't stay here. It's alright for Hiei because you're his father, but the red-head has to go."
"Don't worry; I'm well aware of the law." Koray said. "And there's nothing to stress about. Hiei's going back to his home in a few days. It would be easier to just let Kurama stay until then, and send them both back together. I'll take responsibility for him while he's here."
Katana hesitated, trying to find a way to make things go the way she wanted. But she knew that there would be no arguing with Koray. Finally, she said: "Fine. Just don't let anything happen to him, or we'll be liable."