Ride like the Wind
Chapter 15
May 26, 1849. Kyoto, Japan.
"That hole... No… Don't open it… Stop! Stop! They're coming! No! Get away from there! The demons are coming... They… They are going to kill us all! Why are you doing this!"
"To cleanse the world of man's sins… Die."
"No!" The empress began to thrash around. Her lady-in-waiting ran in.
"Your highness!" she gasped. "Wake up!"
The woman sat up, gasping for breath. "…We're… We're going to die…"
Her daughter stumbled in. "Mother…?"
"What do you suggest we do?" the lady-in-waiting asked. These dreams the empress were having were quite troubling. The lady-in-waiting was willing to do anything to help her find peace.
"Find Koenma. He must stop this man. He is toying with a force that shouldn't be touched at all… Koenma will know what to do."
"I will send my cousin in the morning. Please try to find peace, your highness. Come, Sayaka." The lady-in-waiting took the princess by the hand and walked out. She knows.
---
June 17, 1849. Guerroro, Mexico.
"Come on, Hiei! Wake up! It's way passed sunset!" Kurama shook Hiei. "Hiei I-forgot-your-last-name, get up or I'll kick your butt when you wake up!"
Silence. "Wake up or I'll eat you." He bit Hiei's ear.
"Nn… Nuu, uh cnnt eat aneemoor…" Hiei rolled over. "Why is 'ere soo munny peanuts…?"
What in God's name is he dreaming about…? Do I even wanna know…? "I swear if you don't wake up, I'll rape you!"
Still nothing. Wait, didn't he say he was bi? So I guess he would enjoy that… "On second thought, I'd rather not…."
"Wake up darn you!" He kicked Hiei out of bed.
"No… Don't cut it off… Gib me fiv… More mi… nnns…" Hiei mumbled.
Yeah… I don't wanna know… Kurama walked out, feeling mildly disturbed.
Hiei got up ten minutes later, waking himself up by crashing into a wall while he was yawning. Then he stumbled toward the next room until he tripped over a chair. He started cussing himself out over the fact that he tripped over a chair and the fact that he put the damned thing there in the first place. What a way to start the morning. Er, afternoon.
"It's noon, Hiei. You should be up by now," Kurama said to him.
"Shut up. Gimme a break. I just crashed into a wall and tripped over those goddamn chairs," Hiei growled.
"Well, maybe it wouldn't be a problem if you arranged them differently."
"Hey, it's in a damn good arrangement!"
"Not if you trip over them in the morning."
"Shut it, fox." He crossed his arms. "…Hey. What day is it?"
"Thursday."
"I know that."
"June seventeenth."
"June… Oh, shit!" Hiei ran out. Long silence.
"'Okay, I have to go now, Kurama! Bye!'
"'Okay! I'll see you later, Hiei!' …I swear. Doesn't anybody say goodbye anymore?"
And Youko thought, Shuichi, you're such a girl.
---
Hiei sat in his dark corner (underneath the porch) where he does… whatever he does when he goes to his dark corner. He just sat there in a fetal position, his eyes wide, face pale, and in a cold sweat. He started chewing on his fingernails until he realized he already bit them as far down as he could. He grabbed the next closest thing and started chewing on that, whatever it was. (It could've been a rat's tail for all he cared. He preferred to think about that later.)
"No… It can't be June seventeenth. No… Weird stuff always happens on my birthday… Like the time I accidentally called Ruka a guy even though I know damn well she's a woman. And the time I tripped over a rock and fell in the well. And when Karasu started hitting on me… And when I stabbed myself with that pen and needed a doctor to take it out of my knee… And when I crashed into a tree and all these unripe fruit fell on me. And when I saw the mutant corn… And…:" He felt something go by his legs. "NOOO! IT'S A GIANT SPIDER!"
The "giant spider" was actually Paco, who walked away. ("Fine. I'll find someone better to hang out with.")
And he kept running until he crashed into Suzaku who was walking with Shishi to go fishing. He screamed and pointed at Suzaku and ran away.
"I told you that shirt was hideous," Shishi said to Suzaku.
Hiei crashed into a wall. Again. He got up and walked away. I bet this is Shuichi's fault today... Yeah… Weird stuff started happening when we met, too…Maybe I should go back to America… I'll just go to Chicago and…
"Hey," a Chinese accented voice called Hiei.
Hiei was too absorbed in his thoughts to answer. No, that idiot would follow me there… Why won't he just leave me alone!
"Hey."
Or I could push him into the Pacific Ocean. There's an idea. Now, where is it anyway…?
"Hey!" The speaker kicked the back of Hiei's head.
"What the hell, ass..." Hiei's eyes widened. "T… Touya?"
Touya nodded. He had light blue hair that was almost a white or gray. (Hiei was still trying to figure out how that worked out.) He also had a few mint green hairs that stuck out a little, but only so it barely missed touching his forehead. He had the narrow eyes the Chinese had only his were a light blue like his hair… (Someone once mistakened for being blind because of their lightness.) His pale face was emotionless but also catlike at the same time. He looked sixteen but he was really thirty-three.
"You look surprised to see me. I did say I was going to be in China for a year," Touya said. "I forgot to tell you what I did after I came back. Things got pretty tied up back where I was at."
"Yeah, but…" Hiei almost started stuttering.
"Why would I miss your birthday? It's more fun to see my friends become sagging old men…"
"Yeah, well, they say your birthdays stop being happy after twenty-three. Even though mine is always the opposite."
"It's all in your head."
"No it's not! The unripe fruit, Touya! The unripe fruit!"
The sound of a door being swung open was heard. An Irish accented voice was heard. "Good morning starshine! The earth says hello!" Jin.
Jin noticed Touya. "OHMYGOD, IT'S TOUYA! HE'S BACK!" He tackled him. "It's been years!"
"As of today it's been nine years and a half," Touya replied with a smile.
"And I became a wind master just like I said!" He flew around in circles.
"I guess you weren't kidding when you said that."
Jin stared at him. He scratched his head the way he did when he was trying to remember something. "I just remembered! It's Hiei's birthday today!" He turned to the older man. "Okay! I get to hit you twenty six times! One, two, three, fish, banana, button, green, blue applesauce, six, fifty-two, O' Riley, Jaganshi, Fong, I-forgot-Suzaku's-last-name-I-think-it-was-Rodriguez, Minamino, Urameshi, the gorilla's name, seventy, eleventy, eleventy-six, ten, uh… Twenty-six!"
"…Okay… I'll just pretend that didn't just happen," Hiei sighed. He turned to Touya again. "What've you been up to?"
"I'm kind of became an outlaw after sneaking to China sop many times. I figured I might as well hang around other outlaws. So I'm basically with this group of bandits now. They have no leader now after their first one was killed. I think his name was Yoshiki Kawashima or some junk like that."
Hiei's eyes widened. His blood froze. Yoshiki Kawashima? I remember that bastard. He was the asshole who wanted me dead after killing that guy on accident. He was that same bastard who sent those guys after John and before that…
Kuwabara's voce shattered Hiei's thoughts. "What're ya demons plotting? If you wanna destroy this town, you gotta go through me- Kazuma Kuwabara, the best exorcist in Houston!"
"You retard! Go mind your own damn business! And if you're the best exorcist in Houston, then I fear for the safety of your home town!" Hiei growled and walked away.
"Yeah! Well, I hope a whole bunch of unripe fruit falls on ya'll!" Kuwabara pointed at the small demon.
Hiei flipped him off and with that being done, a whole bunch of unripe fruit fell on Hiei just after Hiei walked under the tree. "GODDAMMIT! WHY THE HELL DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE GODAMN UNRIPE FRUIT! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!"
"I…" Kuwabara stared at his index finger, his face going pale and beads of sweat forming. "I… I must use this power for good!"
"And I thought I was the only one that got smashed by unripe fruit…" Jin laughed. He turned back to Touya. "So you'd come back for Hiei's birthday but not mine? You're mean!"
"Actually, Jin, I came for another reason," Touya replied. "I'm looking for some kid from California that goes by the name Shuichi Minamino."
---
"Hey, Juanito!" Kurama patted the dog on the head.
Juanito growled. ("It's Juan, dammit! Just because my dad's name was Juan… Then again, that Hiei guy named me that. The bastard.")
"You can just sit on the porch. I don't think Hiei would want you in the house. And I don't want you tripping over those chairs like he did this morning." Kurama walked in the house feeling the same way a mother felt when she gave her child some chores to do. (Whatever, Juanito thought.) Man, I barely did any work and I feel like I got beat up… Of course Hiei can do it! He has all the muscles!
He plopped face flat on the floor. I thinking I'm dying… I… I'm dead.
There was a knock at the door. Ten seconds later, the door was kicked open. Kurama rolled onto his back to see who the visitor was. Touya.
"So I take it you're Shuichi Minamino?" Touya asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"The only one I know. But if you're a bounty hunter, I'm Henry Clay," Kurama sat up.
"I'll need you to come with me. And no, I'm not a bounty hunter. They're the ones after me."
"Why…? Coming with you, I mean." So this must be Touya. I heard from Jin that's he's an Ice Master…
"Just come." Touya half dragged the redhead to the river Suzaku found him in.
"Okay. I think I got your story down. You've been accused to be the murderer of Shinobu Sensui and you came here to avoid the death of your mother because you can't confess for a crime you didn't commit, am I right?"
"Yeah, pretty much. What importance does it have?"
"They'll come after you here. And they'll send some exorcists."
"Why?" He tried to act clueless. Of course they would. If Hiei could sense Youko's soul, then surely…
"If your proven guilty, won't you get the death penalty? It's the same punishment. Exorcists are required to have a good sixth sense. They can't pick some random punk off the street. I know they're pretty dedicated to their job so they'll probably exorcise you on the spot."
"And what should I do then?"
"Depends on your strength and how fast you can run. Even if you're in a human body, it doesn't mean you can't escape those exorcists, Youko Kurama."
"Well, you've got me. But I repeat, what should I do then?"
"No idea. But I can help you out of this mess a bit. You see, Shinobu Sensui isn't dead like everybody seems to think. He's alive and in Japan."
"Alive? I've been set up!"
"Apparently so. I would tell the demon slayer first, but your case is more important. I'll tell you why it concerns Urameshi. Human World and all how inhabit it are in danger."
"What's he doing?"
"It seems the bastard's creating a tunnel to Demon World. If he succeeds, all hell will break loose."
"But such an action would require several psychics…" That means he has some people doing his dirty work…
"Don't ask me about the process. I dunno. My question to you now is this: What's your next move?"
Kurama looked at his reflection in the river. "Depends. Do you know any ways to Japan from here?"
---
"Hey, Hiei!" Kurama walked into the kitchen to find Hiei dunking his head into a bucket of water. "What're you…?"
Hiei took his head out and gasped for air. "My head hurts… It was pelted… By unripe fruit…"
"Oh, you poor soul." Sarcasm.
"Shut up! You'd be hurting to if you were hit by unripe fruit like I was! It was like fruit bombardment!" Dunk. Long silence. Gasps for air. "Okay you're looking at me funny. Either you're gonna do something weird to me or say something weird."
"Oh yeah. That reminded me." Kurama kicked Hiei in the rear. "That was for this morning. And… To be quick, I was gonna say… You remember about Shinobu Sensui right?"
"Yeah." He sat in the bucket even though he knew walking around with wet pants would be uncomfortable later on.
"Touya told me that Sensui's alive. In Japan."
"Can't doubt him. He's never lied to anyone like that." Then he frowned. "Lemme guess, you want my permission to go. Go ahead. I'm not your old man or mom. …Or husband."
"I just needed to tell you. I figured that you'd wanna know anyway."
"Okay. Tell me. What're you gonna do when you find Sensui? Tell him to go back to California so you can get out of trouble?"
"I'll think of that when I get to Japan. What I'm worrying about is him opening up a tunnel to Demon World."
Demon World… Mom... "I guess that's a problem. It'll do me a favor by killing humans off."
"If you hate humans, why do you bother staying here?"
"I was born in Demon World but I came to Chicago a few days after my birth. Supposedly my mom was from a line of Ice Maidens who happened top be in Mexico when they were born. She went back. Came back here again. Went back. Had me and Yukina. I'm going through the same pattern. I was from there. Came here. Went back. Came back. I fit in better here than there."
"That doesn't really answer my question. But that's not important… So you'll stay and watch the pretty colors?"
"Yeah. If that's what you're gonna call it. I can't trust Jin with my crops again. He just doesn't seem like the planter type."
"I guess. I'll leave on Thursday." He walked out.
---
"I figured he wouldn't wanna come. Especially after I mentioned being in Yoshiki Kawashima's group," Touya said after Kurama explained how Hiei didn't want to go. (Meanwhile Yusuke and Kuwabara were having a conversation of their own. Kuwabara boasted, "I'm gonna get promoted so much that you can't laugh at me again!")
"Who?" Kurama asked. ("Whatever!" Yusuke retorted.)
"He was the leader of the bandits who raised him until he was five. It was that same guy who wanted him dead after he accidentally killed that guy in New York."
"I know! It wasn't his fault but they didn't care! The dirty rat bastards," Jin added. "Even his own dad turned on him! That JJ… John-guy was the only one who stood up for him but he couldn't really do anything until he quit."
Suzaku spat out some chewing tobacco. "Yeah. Yoshiki was pissed that JJ left. He was the best one outta alla 'em. But it never really became a big problem. Or I think so. JJ quit and adopted Hiei. So then Yoshiki wanted them dead…"
"So John went to America. He left Hiei alone with some of the guys in the group and well," Touya paused.
End chapter 15
Notes:
1. Kyoto Japan- Don't argue with me here. Tokyo wasn't the capital yet. The capital was still Kyoto. I forget when it was Tokyo.
2. Hiei's birth date- I dunno his real birthday. I heard June 17 (which would make him a Gemini) and November 11 (which would make him a Scorpio) Don't ask. I just got it from some people.
3. Juanito verses Juan- Juanito means little Juan. It's the Spanish for of (name) junior I think…
3. Henry Clay- He was the Senator of South Carolina if I remember right. He came up with the Missouri Compromise that made Missouri a slave state and I think it was Kansas or Nebraska a free state. Don't quite remember right.
Random extra 1! On chapter fourteen…
"You're…" Youko stopped mid-sentence and coughed up a hair. "Sorry. Hair ball."
"Foxes cough up hair balls?" Hiei stared. Oo
Random Extra Two! All in Capital Letters…
Yusuke had a day as an ice cream vendor. "Ice cream! …Just buy it!"
Random Extra Three! Later on… Don't tell it's a secret…
Okay, you've been asking me stuff that kinda gives away what happens later. So in reply, I'll give you preview of later chapters. Someone banging their head on a wall. Yomi punishing himself by shaving but the realizing he has no facial hair… Kaitou gets a nose bleed. Kaitou's hair turning white. More lame jokes that I'm too lazy to put here. And lots and lots of ANGST! Have a nice day!
Next chapter I'll be putting in some speech in Japanese and Spanish. It was at my best abilities. If I got some wrong. Tell me so I can correct it. Don't bite my head off. Some history references might also be wrong. Help me out. Get me a source to look up. That'd be great.
Last thing. Please check out my other fanfic Battle of the Rising Sun if you want. I feel like it hasn't been getting enough review but I've written it weird. Anyway please drop me a review and stuff. Thanks. Bye bye. (Beep)