Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Thief in One Life, A Thief in the Next ❯ Uninvited Guest ( Chapter 8 )

A/N: Meh. Unless their creators have decided to give me a really early birthday present, neither Gundam Wing nor Yu Yu Hakusho belong to me.

“A Thief in One Life, A Thief in the Next

Chapter Eight

Uninvited Guest

Several blue flowers flared into bloom near the door with a sound like bells chiming. Kuronue snickered quietly when Wufei jumped at the sound but quickly shut up under the dark-eyed glare. The Chinese pilot still had his gun after all.

“What was that?” Quatre asked, staring at the flowers with wide eyes.

“Merely my alarm system,” Kurama said. With feline grace, he unfolded himself from his seat and moved toward the entrance. “It would seem that we have a guest.”

“By guest you mean would-be intruder, now captive,” Kuronue with a smirk, resting his chin on his folded hands. “Since I’m really not in the mood to defend myself if your plants happen to not remember me, I think I’ll let you take care of it, old friend.”

They could hear the kitsune’s laughter long before he reentered the room, leading a red-faced girl with blue hair wearing a pink kimono. Kurama was grinning as he fought to breath between new bursts of mirth. Catching sight of the girl, Yusuke joined his friend while even Hiei smirked.

“You could be a little nicer, you know boys,” she said, doing her best to glare through her embarrassment.

“Flew too close again, didn’t you, Botan?” Yusuke asked, recovering enough to speak. “That’s what, the seventh time that Kurama’s had to rescue you this year? Though it is nice of you to ‘drop by.’”

“Oh ha, ha, ha, very funny,” Botan fumed. “It just so happens that I’m here on official business. Koenma received reports that four humans were just brought through the barrier, and-” She blinked, apparently just noticing the presence of Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa. “Oh, you already found three of them. Any luck on the fourth?”

“Heero’s asleep in the guest room,” Kuronue said, gesturing with a foot. “And it just so happens that we’re the ones who brought them through. So, you’re one of Koenma’s spirit guides?”

“Yeah, that’s Botan, the not-so grim reaper,” Yusuke replied for her. “We used to work together.”

“The humans are under our care, Botan, so you may tell Koenma that,” Kurama said. “If he wishes to speak to us, we’ll be in Konchuu by tomorrow.”

“It’s too bad Duo isn’t here,” Quatre whispered to Wufei. “I would love to see his expression if he knew the grim reaper was a blue-haired girl who wore pink.” Kuronue hid a smile behind his hand, exchanging amused glances with Kurama.

“You know, I could swear that I’ve taken you over the river Styx before,” Botan said, peering closely at the chimera’s face. She pulled a small book out of the front of her kimono. “What’s your name?”

“Youko Kuronue,” he said, his face smug as she paled.

“Youko Kuronue?” she squeaked, book falling forgotten from her hands. “As in…”

“As in my old partner and adopted brother,” Kurama said. “Apparently self-resurrection runs in the family. Sit down and have some tea before you leave.”

“N-no, I’d better hurry back,” Botan stuttered, backing up. “Lots of work to do, and Koenma will want that report in. You know how cranky he can get when things aren’t done quickly. Um, bye.”

Summoning her oar, she flew out as quickly as she could, which, as anyone who’d flown with her before, was pretty fast.

A sleepy yawn was issued from Hiei, signaling Kurama to suggest that they retire for the night.

“Stay with Hiei and I tonight,” Kurama suggested to Kuronue, latching onto his arm. “There’s plenty of room on the bed. One of the others can stay with Heero in case he awakes. He doesn’t know your face yet.”

“I’ll be there in a bit,” Kuronue said, clapping the fox on his shoulder. “I just want to stay in here a bit longer, to sort of absorb the feeling of home again you know?” He winked. “Just don’t start something that you wouldn’t want me interrupting.”

“Baka,” Hiei said, but his tone was almost affectionate. Kuronue was loud, but the chimera was likable. He switched to the Makai language. “-The empath wants to talk to you. He knows.-”

“I’ll watch Heero,” Quatre said, giving his boyfriend a gentle shove in the direction of the bedrooms. “You go and get some rest.”

At long last, Quatre was the last human up. He was exhausted, yes, but he just had to talk to Duo, Kuronue, before he missed this chance. Glancing at the blond, Hiei stood, motioning to his mate to follow. Chimera and empath were left along in the firelight.

“So…” Kuronue said, training off. “You figured it out.”

“I think I’m the only one,” Quatre said, relaxing. His friend didn’t look angry at the fact that he knew. “If Heero were awake, he might have noticed the similarities too, but that’s Heero Yuy for you.”

Listening for a moment in the direction of the sleepers’ rooms, Kuronue settled down into the cushions and transformed back into the pilot Quatre had known and fought beside during the war, leaving only his wings and ears as reminders of his true race. Grinning, he snatched the topless hat from head and tossed it onto the Arabian’s, making him laugh.

“I’d say ‘act your age,’ but somehow I don’t think that you’re really in your twenties anymore, Duo,” he said, tipping the brim of the hat up so he could see. “Just how old are you?”

Duo thought for a bit. “Not exactly sure. Over a thousand, I know that. If you want to get more exact, ask Kurama. He raised me. Not the most patient of guardians, I’ll tell you that. He seems to have mellowed out a lot since we were separated.”

“Now I know why you have such unusual eyes,” Quatre mused, leaning foreword over his fists. “At first I thought it was just an L2 peculiarity.”

“Na, Solo thought they were odd too, and Sister Helen freaked the first time she saw,” Duo said. “One of the reasons I was given the nickname ‘Maxwell’s Demon.’ Get some sleep, Cat. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Kurama was already half-asleep when Kuronue entered the room, but rolled closer to Hiei to give his brother room. For the time being, Kuronue was content.

*****

A/N: I know Quatre seems to accept things a bit too quickly here, but, my dear readers, you have to remember that our beloved billionaire is a really open-minded person, not to mention an empath, so he's been sensing that Duo's a bit odd since they've met.