"So...fluffy..." said Jinn.
While he was a bit unhappy about losing, he had a really good fight with Yusuke plus he got to see the baby kitsune using his advice to defeat that smart ass Gama.
The second he came up to congratulate the other team, he found himself with an armful of kitsune. It took all of five seconds for him to fall in love with her fur.
"It can't be that fluffy," said Touya, stubbornly. Jinn carefully relocated Alyssa into his arms, and a faint blush formed.
Kurama snorted.
"It looks like she has yet another pair of converts for her own personal guard," said Kurama.
"Say what now?" said Jinn, still playing with her fur.
"Her brothers made a joke bet on how long a higher class demon would resist her charms without being previously exposed to them. She won you over with a simple conversation, and now you've fallen under her spell completely," said Kurama amused.
"I'm not..." started Touya. Alyssa suddenly stares at him with big, wide eyes that seemed to stare into his very soul. He choked, just a bit as the charm hit and hit hard.
Jinn was already grinning widely. Touya was so caught it wasn't even funny anymore.
"Welcome to the Alyssa-hime fan club," said Che'nya. Jinn nearly jumped from the sudden appearance. "Cater can get you guys free access to her server for better pictures."
"Server?" said Touya.
"Pictures?" said Jinn.
Che'nya took out his phone, and after a few moments of scrolling pulled up several pictures. It took a few seconds before Jinn was hooked.
"What did you say this was again?" he said.
Kurama quietly laughed, as his baby converted two potentially powerful demons into her fan club.
She had good taste in protectors.
It was then that Alyssa spotted a familiar face.
"Aunt Yukina!" she said with delight.
Yusuke sputtered.
"Aunt?" Yusuke said in shock. "Wait, wouldn't that make Hiei your dad?"
Hiei's glare doubled at Yusuke's slip up.
Alyssa looked utterly confused at that, but the damage was done.
In the hotel room
Cater was gleefully sharing his popcorn with Che'nya, Jinn and Floyd. This was an unexpected train wreck he didn't want to miss one bit of.
"So Hiei is her dad?" asked Cater, popping a few more kernels in his mouth.
"As I've said before, I was very drunk at the time and I was more surprised Hiei didn't recognize me from before," said Kurama. "She definitely inherited his fiery personality though."
Alyssa was a near perfect blend of her parents. She had Kurama's intelligence, powers, and skill with plants, not to mention his love of roses. However she had Hiei's fiery personality that was tempered by a rough childhood, and her flames had only gotten more potent after training with Malleus.
Hiei was currently being chastised by not only Yukina, but Alyssa as well for not telling them sooner.
"I'm not the one who kept silent on Alyssa until after that mess with Yukina," said Hiei grumpily.
Cater did his best not to coo, as he could totally see the resemblance between Alyssa and Hiei now. This was too cute.
"You know what this means right? We totally need to do matching costumes between the three of you!" chirped Cater. Kurama's grin suddenly turned mischievous.
"I agree, it would be good to have a proper family portrait."
Hiei looked so much like a deer caught in the headlights that it was hilarious. He looked to Yukina, but found no quarter from that end.
Floyd snickered...the sneaky sea dragon had well and truly cornered the puffer fish now.
Yusuke...was too busy laughing at the face Hiei was making upon being cornered.
In Night Raven College
Trey nearly spat out his tea seeing the photo Cater had sent him.
"What did Cater send this time?" asked Vil.
Trey had been nice enough to supply snacks to an otherwise boring housewarden meeting, so they were all quite curious as to why he reacted like that.
Rather than say a word, Trey slid his phone to Vil. Vil was rather glad to not have been drinking anything.
His eyes widened in shock.
"What is it?" asked Azul, now thoroughly curious.
His eyes went wide in disbelief at the family photo. Alyssa was standing to the right of a grumpy looking male with crimson red eyes and pale skin. Beside him was Yukina-sensei, with almost identical red eyes and pale skin. Behind the grumpy looking male was Kurama, Alyssa's mother. It was clearly a family photo, and all four of them were in matching outfits.
"I guess we know where Alyssa got her personality from," said Azul after a moment. Because if that male wasn't her father, he'd eat his hat.
Azul texted Jade, who was very quick in replying. He smirked, just a bit.
~*~*~*~*
Hiei was very confused and wondering how the hell Kurama convinced him into this. He had no idea what a 'daddy-daughter' date was.
Alyssa was dressed up in a very pretty dress that had a rather strong rose theme.
The two of them were enjoying a quiet snack of strawberry ice cream with plenty of chocolate.
There was a comfortable silence between them.
"So how did you do that trick with the black dragon flame?" asked Alyssa, attempting to ease him into a conversation.
Hiei perked up slightly, as he explained a little about the training he had done to create the flames in the human world. Alyssa knew she had the perfect way to broach a conversation with him, so she opened up about the special training she had done before the tournament.
Alyssa had realized that sword training was unlikely to be enough to help her survive this mess, and had thus asked Lilia to introduce her formally to his charge. Malleus Draconia was rather bemused at her request to learn how to use her fire more effectively.
If anyone knew how to breath flames so hot that it could be used as a proper attack, it was a dragon.
In return, Alyssa had been given permission to 'mark' Malleus with one of her seeds so that she could track him down more efficiently so that he could finally attend housewarden meetings.
She was rather proud to say that her fire was so hot that it could turn bone to ash. It was rather fun to practice with Malleus, though it always left her hot under the collar. Mostly because using her flames for so long heated her up to ridiculous levels.
Hiei perked up and the two had an animated discussion regarding their use of flames.
Nearby, Kurama had a slight smile on his face, watching the two interact. It wasn't perfect, but it was clear that Hiei was warming up to his daughter. Now he just had to worry about them surviving this nonsense, and to see how things would proceed in the future.
"They look adorable, don't they?" said Cater smiling. He was sipping his tea, with Che'nya off creating mischief.
"Indeed. I'm rather happy at how things are turning out, because it's good for both of them. How are things back at Night Raven, by the way?"
"Alyssa made a big splash, so now the entire school knows about her. The server's view count skyrocketed once that got out, and I have security video of her debut."
"Oh? Do share," said Kurama smiling widely. Cater pulled up the video, then sent it straight to Kurama. Kurama's pleased expression widened as he watched it. "Why were there so many spirits present?"
"Some idiot ghost princess got it in her head one of the housewardens was her perfect groom, regardless of his loud protests on the matter. She only intervened after I was taken hostage, because if she hadn't then I'd be breaking one of the dorm rules," said Cater with good humor. "I had no idea one of the rules stated that whoever came in second in the croquet tournament would have to serve her tea the next day."
Kurama chuckled at that. Everyone had their quirks, and while odd her obsession with the Queen of Hearts rules was amusing. If only to see people's faces upon learning that such oddball rules were indeed a thing.
Once they finished their icy treats, Hiei and Alyssa got up to wander around the black market.
Kurama left them to it...Hiei was sufficiently strong enough to deal with any threats.
He was left twitching several hours later when the two came back and Alyssa, who had changed her outfit, looked like something the cat dragged in.
"Did you two have fun?" he asked.
Hiei made a noncommittal reply, but Alyssa chirped with an enthusiastic yes. Hiei had a light blush on his face when Kurama questioned him.
Alyssa had a wide smile on her face as she was cuddling against Hiei in her fox form.
~*~*~~*~*
Jinn winced slightly as Alyssa's claws dug into his shoulder. Alyssa was sitting up with her friends, as well as Jinn and Touya due to the fact she wasn't interested in fighting. If her name came up, which was unlikely, then she would go down to participate.
To be fair, none of them expected the odd smoke to fill the arena, obscuring Kurama's fight.
Alyssa had been humoring Jinn's request to cuddle more with her fox form. To be fair, Jade had a similar obsession with it, and was just as happy for the chance to play with her tail.
That was when they felt it. A surge of power filling the arena, wild and free. Alyssa tumbled from Jinn's shoulder to his lap, her eyes fixed on the arena.
She knew that surge of power.
"Uh...why's Alyssa-hime acting like that?" asked Cater.
"Probably because her mother just unleashed his true form," said Touya.
Alyssa couldn't hear them, as all her focus was reaching her mother.
Jinn had a grin on his face, and cheerfully delivered her to the arena. She jumped down to the floor and scampered up to Hiei, who scooped her up in his arms.
The fog lifted, revealing the stunning figure of Yoko Kurama in his true form. He radiated a dark aura even as he killed the arrogant upstart that had annoyed him so.
Alyssa couldn't help the happy wag of her tail, even in Hiei's arms.
"Mama!" she cried out in delight.
Yoko Kurama turned, and a warm smile filled his features. The moment he stepped out of the arena, Alyssa scrambled up to him. He easily picked her up and allowed her to rest on his tail which seemed to envelope the smaller kitsune with ease. Her head popped out of the fluff and she made a happy yipe.
"Fluff overload," said Kuwabara.
Hiei was inclined to agree. But seeing the two together made it that much more obvious that Alyssa was Kurama's child.
Alyssa was disappointed when the effects of the fog faded, and her mother returned to his human form. However she happily cuddled against his neck.
"Are you having fun, princess?" said Kurama, rubbing her ears.
She nuzzled against him happily, soaking in his scent.
"So that girl is your daughter?" said Shishiwakumaru.
Kurama's smile turned sinister, as his overprotective nature came to full force.
"If you even think of attempting to bed her, you'll have to deal with me first," he said. He didn't trust this pretty boy not to drop her if anything happened.
Jade and Floyd were barely acceptable...they had been besotted with her before bedding her.
The other demon raised his hands, as if to acknowledge that particular warning. Kurama's aura made it clear he wouldn't hesitate to gut anyone who took advantage of his kit.
Seeing the dice come up as Free, the three debated on who to send up first.
Alyssa solved that by speaking up.
"Mama, is it alright if I play with him?" she asked.
"Are you sure? I thought the rules didn't allow for the sub to fight this early."
Alyssa looked smug.
"Actually I cleared that up with Coco during that last fight. I'm allowed to fight so long as one of the members are missing or incapacitated. And if Yusuke isn't here by now, then he's likely not going to arrive in time for the semi-finals."
Well he could hardly argue with that logic.
Alyssa felt absolutely cheated when the pretty boy used his little trinket to send her away. She was going to bite him for that when she got back to the stadium.