B.J. here! I decided to post this chapter ahead of time, I had it done when I posted the first chapter.
These first few chapters, naturally, will start off a little slow, but I promise they'll pick up!
Hope you enjoy the second installment of "Lone Wolf"!
-B.J.
(Updated: 11/13/15)
Chapter 2: Found at Last.
Kirazuki sighed irritably from her spot in the tall tree: this collar-like gadget may just work to well. It had been 3 weeks since she began following the mundane lives of the Spirit Detective and his friends.
She had to admit, at first it was terrifying being in the Ningenkai. The first few days were incredibly disorienting and confusing; she had lived out her days up until this point locked away below the Reikai, her only knowledge of the outside world found in books and Simulations; to experience so many different smells, sights, so many foreign sounds, which her ears were still particularly sensitive too, had been incredibly overwhelming. But she had adjusted to it, the sounds of cars and buses no longer made her anxious, and the feeling of the blowing wind on her face no longer had her on high alert.
Although she had learned much about normal day to day interactions, how they all carried on their quotidian lives, she highly doubted these humans were capable of even protecting themselves, let alone the entire Ningenkai..
Yusuke, to her, was powerful, but lacked any kind of discipline. It fascinated her that this was the best Reikai could do, what with his blatant recklessness and wild, untamed temper. He wasted out his days with petty human emotions, arguing with what Kira assumed was his mate and fellow comrades. She scoffed to herself, she would never put up with that type of disobedience and disrespect from those who were supposed to be below her.
Currently, Yusuke, his mate, Kazuma, Kurama and the ferry girl were preparing to go out to dinner. Hiei had been difficult to keep tabs on, he was constantly in and out of range, although she was positive it didn't matter. The grim reaper would leave most evenings to travel back to the Reikai, while the human girl only came to visit every so often. Kurama, like Hiei, often wandered off during the night; but for the most part Yusuke and Kazuma, who she learned quite quickly they called by his surname, spent most of their time together outside of school. Regardless, Yusuke was still her main target, so she followed him more than anyone else.
As they began to exit, Kira prepared to descend from her tree; cracking her neck and outstretching her stiffened arms. She had considered more than a few times just revealing herself to them, it was taking far too long for them to notice her on their own; surely this mission would expire by the time they finally realized she was there.
When they were far enough away, she hopped down effortlessly, trailing a fair amount behind the group as they walked the busy streets. When they finally reached their destination, she took up occupants at a small cafe down the road, sitting at one of their small metal outdoor tables. She waited idly as they all chatted, laughed together and ate; pondering how they could be satisfied with such seemingly boring human lifestyles, especially Kurama. She recalled reading in his file that he was like them. Sort of.
After much waiting they finally departed, Kira waiting a few short minutes before silently following them as they trailed to Yusuke's mates to drop her off before proceeding back to Kazuma's; once they had all managed to make it inside, she resumed her position in 'her' tree, preparing for another night of uncomfortable sleep and closing her tired eyes. This was proving to be quite bothersome, she'd much rather just go throw pebbles at their window.
She was suddenly stirred by a very faint whizzing sound, instinctively darting her hand out in front of her, snatching whatever it was out of the air with ease.
Kira opened her golden eyes carefully, revealing in her hand a single… Flower?
"You've been following us for a few days. I cannot detect any spirit energy, but I have been picking up your scent as of late," Kira peeked around her hand; at the base of her tree stood Kurama.
Finally.
"3 weeks to be exact," Vaulting down from the dangerous height, Kurama couldn't conceal his obvious surprise, his emerald eyes widening considerably. He had only noticed her consistently as of 3 days ago, how had she managed to fly under his radar for 3 entire weeks? "I was starting to wonder how long I would be playing this game."
"Who has sent you?" He spoke with caution, taking a tender step backwards, as if to brace himself in case she were to attack suddenly.
"Oh, right!" Kira swung a small black back-pack off of her shoulder, digging around before pulling the now worn manila envelope out from the depths of the bag, extending it generously to Kurama, "Koenma needs you all. He's sent me with this,"
"Why would he not send you directly to us?" Kurama questioned further, carefully grabbing the small package from her hands. It didn't seem to make sense to him; why the Reikai would choose this method of delivery.
Kira gave a half shrug, walking by him briskly towards the apartment complex, "I am simply following the orders I was given. I would contact Hiei, he's included in this as well, but I can't keep track of him." She snapped off the thorned portion of the rose, tucking it behind her ear, "Thanks for the warm introduction, by the way. I'm Kira,"
Kurama's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he followed her slowly, he mentally called out to Hiei, hoping he was in range, 'Hiei, we need you.' He noted that although she appeared to be human, her ears had a strange point and discoloration to them; he also took notice of the way she moved, her movements were far too meticulous and her shoulders far too straight, something about the way her muscles moved just gave off the hint: she wasn't human, although she didn't currently feel, seem, or act like a threat, he couldn't help his instant mistrust. Koenma never sent outsiders to deliver missions.
Kira knew exactly where she was going, picking perfectly the correct door to enter and waiting for Kurama, "It would be best if you enter first," She gave a kind smile, as it was something that seemed common among this group. She was not very knowledgeable of normal human interaction between one another, formalities and the like, but she did pick up quite a bit of information in the last few weeks.
Kurama nodded in agreement, and almost as soon as he opened the door they were bombarded with the horribly shrill sounds of Yusuke and Kuwabara arguing, "Urameshi! Its my turn!"
"Screw off Kuwabara!"
"It appears we have a guest," Kurama stated loudly as he entered, trying to draw their attention away from their petty argument. He moved to the side to allow Kira entrance, shutting the door swiftly behind her.
Kuwabara and Yusuke both snapped their heads up from where they were currently wrestling over what appeared to be a videogame, Kuwabara was the first to speak, "Is that your girlfriend?" He grinned wide from ear to ear, Yusuke swiftly hit him in the back of the head, muttering something about not being so rude.
Kurama chuckled, shaking his head, "Unfortunately we've just met," Kira glanced wearily towards Botan, who was seated on the couch, wondering if she had any idea who she was. Or if she even knew she existed. "She's been sent from Reikai to deliver us a new mission."
"And why would the toddler not just deliver this himself?" A new voice spoke from the corner, causing several in the room to jump. Hiei must have arrived. Perfect.
Kira shook her head, "I don't know anything, I was told to follow you until you noticed me and then deliver the package," She glanced towards Kurama out of the corner of her eye, "Kurama just found me,"
Kuwabara looked dumbfounded by this, "How long have you been following us?!"
Kurama chuckled nervously, but spoke first, "3 weeks. I picked up her scent only 3 days ago but thought perhaps it was just a coincidence. I suppose it wasn't."
"Hn, I'm surprised you couldn't smell that putrid dog stench before that," Hiei scoffed from his corner, a pointed glare aimed at Kurama, "You should be able to recognize it, after all."
Kira felt her annoyance spike: she absolutely hated being called a mere dog, but she chose to leave it alone for now, she would have plenty of time to deal with it later. "Well I don't think she smells like a dog," Kuwabara chimed in, a blatant attempt to comfort her. She didn't need it.
Yusuke looked towards Botan quizzically, narrowing his eyes in threatening suspicion, "Did you know about this?
Botan raised her hands in front of her face defensively, shaking them back and forth, "I know absolutely nothing this time! Hello dear, welcome!"
"I believe this tape will contain answers to all of our questions," Kurama broke the impending argument, having opened the manila envelope.
"Well put it in then!" Yusuke bellowed.
Kuwabara snatched the small tape from Kurama's hands, practically slamming it into the VHS player, the large TV in front of them flickering to life. Kurama offered Kira a seat in one of the living room chairs, but she respectfully declined, crossing her arms over her chest instead. She was not nearly comfortable enough around these people to let her guard down in such a manner.
"I suppose you're all wondering by now what this is about," Koenma suddenly appeared on the screen, sitting relaxed at his desk, "Depending on how long it's taken you to notice Kirazuki, this could either be a very good thing, or a very forlorn warning." The screen suddenly changed to what looked like a file paper, "105 years ago, the Reikai began experimenting, learning how to create exceptionally powerful beings, should we ever need to use them."
The screen flickered to a dimly lit room, lined with large liquid filled glass tubes, inside of which were what appeared to be small human forms, "We combined the DNA's of various demons and grew them into infancy, before forcefully infusing them with their own demonic animal spirits."
Again the screen changed, revealing a brightly decorated room with several toddlers, varying in appearance, running around in childlike play. One particular child sending out what looked like a small tornado at another, who countered with a swift bounce of lightening, "We raised them, carefully nurturing each of their individual abilities starting at a very young age."
The next image was one that Kira knew all too well, another dimly lit room with a large coffin-looking machine in the center, computers scattered randomly around the room. "We trained them using a massive amount of simulated battle scenarios starting at early adolescence, building their knowledge of fighting techniques." Again the screen was back on Koenma, "They grew at an alarming rate, more powerful than we could have ever imagined."
Kuwabara lept forward, pausing the tape, "Are you one of these things?" He asked accusingly.
Kira nodded slowly, holding a steady, calm eye contact with him, "I was the first embryo to grow beyond infancy."
"You don't look like a demon," Yusuke proposed suspiciously, Botan swiftly elbowing him in the ribs.
Kurama chuckled now from beside Kira, "Yes, well, neither do Hiei and I,"
Kuwabara leaned forward slowly, pressing play again.
Two pictures suddenly lit up the screen, Kira recognized them instantly and her stomach dropped. On the left was a male with two massive brown wings protruding from his shoulder blades, his eyes were completely black and his beak-like nose sat awkwardly, almost unfitting on his face, his long, sharp talon-like nails glinted dangerously. On the right was a woman, her skin was vibrantly patterned black and brown scales, her eyes completely blackened, she appeared to have a long, snake-like tongue poking out from behind her lips, long slate black hair laid across her back. "These two have escaped into the Makai, and they must be dealt with as soon as possible. The male is Tobikuma, his spirit infused with that of an eagle; his specialty is air-based attacks. The female, Tatsumi. Speciality, water, spirit of the serpent."
Again Koenma was on the screen, "Kirazuki will begin training the 4 of you immediately, you all must know how to deal with these creatures. You have exactly 3 week to train before I send all 5 of you to the Makai. After the first week of training, you'll all be sent to Genkai's for the remainder, she's been informed and studying the creatures with us for the last 15 years and may be able to provide extra insight. Good luck." The screen went dark.
Silence filled the room as they absorbed the information they had just been given; Hiei began to walk silently from the room, "Where do you think your going, Shorty?!" Kuwabara yelled out, startling several in the room.
"I'm not being trained by someone who's only ever seen the basement of Reikai" He spat dangerously, almost as if he took offense to the notion.
Kira tipped her head to the side, casting Kuwabara a small smile, "If he'd like to be killed by those two, that's up to him."
Before anyone could utter another word, Hiei had unsheathed his blade, making an unseen move for Kira in an attempt to prove a point, his pride ever so slightly wounded by the statement.
To everyone's surprise, she had already gracefully extended her hand, catching the blade cleanly between her fingertips, although a small drop of blood traced its way down the glistening metal.
The subtle look of shock that momentarily flickered across Hiei's face did not go unnoticed by Kurama, or Kira. She knew she caught him off guard, and she could tell he wasn't used to that. "You are going to want my training," She boldly held his crimson eyes, almost challengingly as she as she moved the blade with her finger tips to her side, "We are nothing you have ever dealt with before."