InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Death Maiden: The fallen Seraph ❯ Origins unknown ( Chapter 3 )

Death Maiden: The Fallen Seraph

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

 

By Anime-Goddess-Sakura

 

Thanks to my beta dog-demon-emiko

 

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Chapter 3: Origins unknown.

 

The doors to Koenma's office were unceremoniously thrown open, making the demigod almost jump out of his seat. He scowled and was ready to give whoever had so rudely barged in an earful, when he caught sight of who it was.

 

The protest died in his throat when his amber eyes landed on a very familiar face and a recognizable voice reached his ears. The owner of the face and voice had annoyed him to no end a few years back, making him wonder why he had ever put up with him in the first place.

 

“Oi toddler, what kind of shit have you gotten yourself into now?” Yusuke bellowed as he stepped into the spirit world ruler's office looking as comfortable and at home as ever, almost as if he had never really left.

 

A cocky smirk adorned his lips, while his auburn eyes gleamed in amusement and excitement at Koenma who was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Even though the toushin looked more mature and older, he was still the same old brash and rude Yusuke he had come to known and consider a friend.

 

He wasn't certain when he had started considering Yusuke his friend, but the truth was that the mazoku was the only spirit detective after Sensui which he trusted completely. Yusuke was reckless and rash, but he had a big heart and a pure soul.

 

The demigod reluctantly admitted that he was happy to see the spirit detective once again, even if he still called him a toddler.

 

“Yusuke.” Koenma said in a calm voice.

 

That one word was enough for both of them. The greeting was sufficient, causing both the toushin and the demi-god to grin. It's been a long time since they've seen each other and many things might have changed, but they also shared a past together, one that was hard to forget or ignore.

 

Koenma momentarily diverted his amber gaze to the open doors where Kurama and Hiei appeared, closely followed by Botan who looked slightly infuriated. The spirit ruler raised an eyebrow at the fairy girl, but quickly gazed away when she shot him a sharp look that clearly challenged him to say something.

 

“Kurama…Hiei.” He decided to greet the fox and hybrid instead of provoking the fairy girl any further.

 

Both of them nodded their heads in acknowledgement to his greeting. Once everyone was in the room an awkward silence settled between them. The demigod was not sure how to begin. There was so much he wanted to tell them and yet words escaped him. His conscious protested against what he was about to do. He would be putting all of them in grave danger if they accepted. Was it really worth it though?

 

They had all done their fair share. They risked their lives more than enough times to save a world that didn't even know if their existence, well the humans at least. So did he have any right to ask such a big favor of them again? The possibility of them getting killed was so big…

 

“Koenma, cut the crap out and tell us what is going on. We all know that you must be in some big trouble to call us out here. So fucking spill it already!” Yusuke growled, making the spirit ruler gaze at him with a look of surprise and annoyance at being so uncouthly cut short.

 

Truth be told…Koenma wasn't so surprised by the toushin's outburst, Yusuke wasn't known for his patience after all. Still he was hoping to stall the inevitable a little longer, even if truthfully he knew it was useless.

 

“Botan please close the doors.” Koenma commanded in a cold even voice as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, while he leaned further in his chair.

 

He needed to calm himself otherwise he was going to explode on Yusuke and the others. He was strung tight like a bow and was ready to snap at any given moment. Miroku's visit has left him on edge. It was hard to forget the monk's warning.

 

The blue haired woman hesitated for a moment, but noting the seriousness in Koenma's tone quickly did as she was told. Kurama shot Hiei a curious look, both noticing the sudden change in the demigod and the sudden tension in the room as the doors finally closed behind them, sealing them and whatever Koenma was about to tell them inside that small room.

 

“First of all, I will start that what I say in this room, will stay in this room. Under no circumstances must the information leave this room.” His voice was serious and clearly held no room for arguments as he settled his amber eyes on the three youkai and the fairy girl.

 

Seeming satisfied that no one objected he continued his voice a bit lower and clearly showing hesitance this time.

 

“Secondly, I'm not forcing any of you to take this job. I'm not jesting when I say that you could all die.”

 

He was brusquely interrupted once again by Yusuke, who apparently didn't know what the meaning patience was.

 

“Yeah, we know, just get on with the mission already.” The dark haired male said, crossing his arms over his chest in an annoyed gesture.

 

Koenma felt his right eye twitch and his anger mount. It was clear to him that Yusuke wasn't taking this too seriously. He was still too cocky for his own good. He might be powerful, but he had never gone against a group like the Crimson Curse before, one little mistake and he would be dead within the blink of an eye and it would be his fault for giving them the mission in the first place.

 

Botan jumped as Koenma slammed his fist on the desk. She raised large amethyst eyes to gaze at her boss who was now standing, his hands fisted and his bangs covering his eyes. The urge to run to his side and see what was wrong was big, but she resisted the desire and stayed where she was standing.

 

“Just listen to me for a minute, will you Yusuke. This isn't an easy mission, not like Sensui or any other foes you might have faced. This is different. So listen for a moment, before making any rash decisions.” Koenma spoke, raising his face so that his amber eyes could pin Yusuke to the spot daring him to say anything, but fortunately enough the toushin accepted and pointedly gazed away.

 

“As I was saying, you're not forced to accept this mission. You're no longer spirit detectives nor are you indebted to the spirit world any longer.” At the last statement he looked at Hiei who glared at him.

 

The fire apparition had long served his sentence and was free to do what he wanted.

 

And as his eyes ran over them, he came to the conclusion that none of them were obligated to accept this new task, even if they might be the only ones capable of it.

 

This time it was Kurama who broke the silence that had settled between them.

 

“Koenma, we all understand what we're getting ourselves into, but it would be easier for us to make a decision if you could tell us exactly what we will be going against.” The fox youkai said evenly.

 

Koenma sighed and sat back down in his chair. He motioned for the others to do the same, but all three ex-spirit detectives declined and preferred to stand. Botan was the only one who took a seat as well.

 

“About twenty five years ago, a human woman caught the attention of a god. The human woman although mortal had power beyond anyone's expectations, even if those powers were dormant and unknown to herself. In a sense the god became obsessed with the anomaly that this one human woman presented. For no mortal should be able to possess such power, not even some of the lower ranked gods and goddesses did.

 

She was an enigma that he wanted to solve. The God wanting to go the human realm took the disguise of a young mortal man, who sought out work at the shrine where this human woman lived. He was given a job, allowing him more time to study the young woman. She surprised him completely though. Humans were normally very selfish and greedy creatures, but she was different. She had such a wonderful and pure soul that beckoned to him.

 

At first what had looked like a simple obsession had turned into true affection and soon they fell in love. The fruit of that love was a little girl, which they called Kagome.” At this Koenma seemed to pause, before resuming his story once again.

 

“Yet as you can expect the union was not meant to be and the God had to leave the human woman behind, something that pained him a lot for he truly loved her. Reluctantly the god made it look like he died or in this case the mortal man died, leaving the woman and the child behind. The child had only been one year old at that time. It was a devastating blow for the human female and she had a hard time coping with it, but she managed for her daughter.” Koenma's voice was grave and held a certain sadness that was hard to miss.

 

“The woman eventually married again, but that's not important right now. What's important is that little girl.” He said his amber eyes settled on a picture on his desk, which the others couldn't see.

 

“She's a demigoddess?” Kurama asked astounded, breaking Koenma's out of his musings.

 

He turned to gaze at the fox youkai, his amber eyes meeting Kurama's emerald ones and for once the fox youkai was taken aback by the emotions he could see in them. He had known Koenma for a long time, but the demigod had rarely showed so much emotion before. Koenma was a very private person, keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself and always keeping everything professional, now on the other hand he was like an open book that could clearly be read by anyone.

 

The demigod must have found the fox's gaze unnerving for he diverted his gaze away from him and instead settled them on Botan who was looking at him with a look of confusion.

 

“Yes, but she was never made aware of it, in a certain sense she was like her mother. Both possessed so much power and neither knew of it. And Kagome grew so did her powers. For a while we decided to approach her and recruit her so that she could learn to control her powers, but…when she was five years old her stepfather died. She was very close to him, not having known her real father he became the father she never had, but when he died she closed up and her powers ceased to exist. We assumed that her powers were linked to her emotions, but we were never able to confirm this assumption. So Kagome became in a sense a normal human. And we…decided not to pursue her any longer. We determined that it would be best if she were not to find out of her true heritage. She had a normal life.”

 

“You were foolish. She had a right to know about her heritage. You basically had a wildcard on your hands.” Hiei said bluntly.

 

He couldn't understand how foolish the spirit world was. To have a demigoddess run free like that in human realm no less was just plain ridiculous. Koenma seemed taken back by Hiei's blunt words and he couldn't help but agree with him. His words cut through him like a knife; the truth of them more hurtful than he wanted to admit. They had indeed been foolish to have left her unprotected like that…it was his fault.

 

“I presume something bad happened to her.” the red haired cut in, but not before shooting Hiei a sharp glare for being so candid.

 

It was clear that this was a touchy subject for the demigod and Hiei wasn't helping by being well Hiei about it.

 

“Yes…” Koenma's voice was soft, yet it held an underlying tone of guilt and sadness that was clearly heard by the others in the room.

 

Kurama's curiosity was certainly peeked by now. He had always been an observer and studying the way Koenma acted, he had concluded that this Kagome was someone that he deeply cared about, maybe a lover.

 

His emerald eyes rested on the spirit world prince. In all his years that he worked for him, he had never seen him look remotely interested in the opposite sex or someone at all. He shifted his gaze to the blue haired fairy girl, who sat there staring at the prince. He knew that Botan held feelings for Koenma, but she was too shy and afraid to tell him.

 

As he stared at her, he noticed that she might have to come to the same conclusion concerning the bond between Koenma and this woman. Her amethyst eyes saddened and she looked away.

 

“We don't exactly know what happened, but she when she was fifteen, she suddenly disappeared. We instantly sought her out, but we didn't find her. We assumed that she was dead. Yet we were wrong. She reappeared after three years completely changed.”

 

“Changed? How?” Yusuke finally butted in, his curiosity getting the best of him. Even he had to admit that the story was intriguing.

 

“Tell me Kurama have you heard about the Crimson Curse?” Koenma asked his amber boring through Kurama's emerald ones.

 

The widening of the fox's eyes was enough as an answer for him. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Hiei and Yusuke tense. So it seemed that all of them had heard of her. That of course made things a little easier; they knew what they would be going against. Straightening up he narrowed his eyes at them.

 

“This woman you will be going against is the head of the Crimson Curse, her name is Death Maiden and I need you to capture her…at any cost.”

 

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The sun was barely up when she had finally made it. Blue sapphire eyes were fixed on the burned down shrine or what was left. She could still detect the scent of fire, blood and burned flesh in the air.

 

This had been her home before she was…

 

She fisted her hands at her side as she quickly pushed away those thoughts. Her gaze swept over the shrine grounds, while she slowly took a step forward. It's been over five years since she had last set foot on the ground. Closing her eyes she could still picture her mother waving at her from the kitchen window, while her grandfather was sweeping the shrine steps. And right next to the God tree she could picture her little brother playing ball.

 

However all of them were taken away from her within the blink of an eye. She gasped and took a small step back as the shrine seemed to once again become engulf in flames.

 

“No!” she managed to choke out, memories flashing in her mind.

 

“Mom, grandfather, Souta!” She coughed as she tried to get in, but was held back while the flames seemed to become bigger.

 

The whole shrine was engulfed in flames, resembling a large inferno. Something told her that he had already been here. Fear for her family's safety made her sober up. She needed to help them. She could hear the sirens in the distance, but knew very well that they would never make it in time. Her family would most likely be dead by then already.

 

Bracing herself she jumped through the flames, landing easily in the room. The smoke was thick, making her eyes water and her lungs sting, but she pushed the uneasiness aside as she went in search of her family. The strong scent of smoke made it hard to detect her family's scent, but she soon managed to detect another scent, one she didn't want to acknowledge.

 

Blue eyes widened as the coppery scent of blood reached her sensitive nose. It was blood, human blood, a few hours old. Quickly she made her way to where the scent was coming from. She had to avoid being crushed by a falling beam that came tumbling down on her.

 

However what met her made her freeze in her steps. There laying in front of heron the living room floor, were her mother and grandfather. She felt hot tears prick her eyes as she took in their mangled and battered form. Half of her mother's face was missing, while there was a huge hole in her chest, just where her heart was supposed to b, the vital organ removed and missing.

 

Her grandfather on the other hand had been decapitated, his head sitting next to his hip. Blood was everywhere, splattered all over the floor, furniture and walls…their blood, her family's blood. And there on the wall right at her, she could the symbol of a spider painted in blood.

 

He had been here. The thought barely registered at the moment. She just wanted to reach her mother.

 

She slowly took a step forward her body almost shutting down as she finally reached her mother's side. Her mind had a hard time processing what she was seeing. It was too gruesome for words. She had seen dead before. She had killed many after all to gain her freedom, but seeing her mother and grandfather dead was completely different. The feeling was unbearable and suffocating.

 

Her mother's one eye that was unharmed was frozen in her look of pure agony and horror, while her lips were parted in a silent scream. With trembling fingers she reached for her mother, the woman who meant so much to her, the one person she had yearned to see for all those years when she had been a prisoner.

 

“Mother.” She whispered brokenly, gathering her mother's body against her.

 

Her skin was cold to the touch, assuring her that she had been dead a long time already. More tears fell from her eyes as she hugged her mother's body closer to herself; she didn't care or notice all the blood that stained her. All she wanted was to be able to hold her mother…to be able to feel her against herself, to know that she wasn't alone.

 

She lowered her head in shame, her dark bangs covering her now navy blue eyes as her body shook with suppressed agony and rage as she tried to ask herself why this had to happen to her family. Not being able to take it any longer, she raised her face and screamed. The sound both heartbreaking and hurtful as it emanated all of her sorrow, hurt and hatred. She was finally in hell…

 

Finally having no more strength to scream, she slumped forward, her body almost shutting down. She wanted to join her mother and grandfather in dead. She wanted to be with them one way or another. However it was than that she realized that her little brother was still missing.

 

`Souta.'

 

She mentally cursed herself for her stupidity and selfishness. Her brother could still be alive waiting for her and she was ready to just give up. Carefully putting down her mother's body, she stood up and rushed up the stairs. Using her senses she tried to detect her brother's presence, but was unable to. She threw open the doors of various rooms, but was only met with the hot heat of flames and smoke.

 

Blue eyes gazed around quickly, but she knew that Souta wasn't there. A part of her was elated her brother might have survived, but the most realistic part of her assured her that there was no way her brother could have survived if it was he who had killed her parents. He would have not let Souta live.

 

Quickly running back down the stairs, she tried to reach her mother and grandfather's body once again, but it was proven useless as flames engulf them. She hissed as some flames managed to reach her hands and burn her badly, but that didn't stop her from trying. In the end she realized that it was useless. The fire was closing in on her and she had to get out of there.

 

She watched with sorrowful eyes as the flames engulfed the bodies of her mother and grandfather, the scent of burning flesh, making her sick. Throwing one last look at the mortal remains of her family, she jumped through the glass window behind her. Pieces of glass dug into her skin making blood flow freely from her wounds while she landed in a crouch on the ground. Once again she didn't care or detect the blood or the slight pain.

 

Instead she focused on her burning home. She just stood there seeing what was left of her home slowly burn away…her past slowly being erased with it. And as she saw this, she promised herself that she would make him pay. She would not rest not until she killed him.

 

Kagome finally seemed to regain her bearing as she pushed those harsh and bitter memories to the back of her mind. Taking a deep breath, she finally calmed herself and made to take another step forward, but stopped.

 

She couldn't go any further. The guilt wouldn't let her. If she had been stronger, she would have been able to save them. She couldn't even find Souta to begin with. She had searched years and years for her little brother, but she could not find him. It was because of her weakness that they were dead and that her brother was still missing. It was all her fault.

 

`I'm sorry mother, grandfather…but I'm not worthy.'

 

With a last glance at the shrine, she turned around and went back down the stairs.

 

Unknown to her a pair of deep amber eyes watched her silently.

 

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Itsuki didn't know what had compelled him to seek her out, but as soon as she had entered the human world he had sensed her; her power and aura tickling his senses and making him look for her like a thirsting man in need of water.

 

It had been years since anything had peaked his interest like she had and the yamanate just couldn't stop himself from searching for her.

 

Sensui was gone, taken away by those of the spirit world leaving him all alone. He wasn't certain how many years he had dwelled in limbo all alone after the mortal remains and the soul of his lover were forcefully taken away from him, but nothing had compelled him to leave his self made prison…not until she came along.

 

She had such a strong aura. It reminded him of the one that that Urameshi young man possessed.

 

Her spirit was strong, imposing and wild; the feeling of being exposed to such a strong soul was intense. It almost felt like being doused by cold water and put on fire at the same time. Yet there was also that underlying tingle of pleasure that traveled through your spine as her aura tentatively reached yours.

 

He had been curious to find out who this enigmatic creature that had unknowingly caught his attention was and had reluctantly sought her out leaving his prison. What he had found stunned him.

 

She was probably the most beautiful creature he had laid eyes on besides Sensui. There weren't words to really describe her…except beauty. She strongly reminded him of a wolf, cold, distant, mysterious and strong. And his mind couldn't help but compare him to Shinobu.

 

Just like Sensui she possessed that certain dark beauty that attracted him to her like a moth to fire. True he could get burned, but it would be worth it. He blamed his rather harsh desire for her due that he had lacked contact with others for so long…but deep down inside he knew that there was something else…something hidden.

 

However there was also more, there was that unmistakable pure soul that had lost its way. He secretly wondered what might have happened to her to make an angel like her fall. And yet again he was reminded of Shinobu…his dark angel.

 

He diverted his amber eyes once again to her. Her deep sapphire blue eyes a few shades darker than his deceased lover gazed longingly at the broken and old shrine.

 

Itsuki was instantly curious to know what this place meant to her, but in one instant he got his answers as her beautiful stone façade broke and crystalline tears sprung out from her eyes. He had to resist going to her and instead stood there quietly watching her as her eyes seemed to grow distant.

 

His pet the Uraotoko made sure that he could spy from the shadows on her without being seen, but one wrong movement and she would easily sense him.

 

She finally seemed to calm down after what felt like an eternity to him. Her sapphire blue eyes came back into focus and she looked relatively calm, even if her aura radiated tremendous sorrow, anger and guilt.

 

He lifted a finely sculpted eyebrow as he watched her take a step towards the shrine, only to stop. The teal color haired demon could easily detect and sense her hesitance, making him narrow his amber eyes. What did this old shrine mean to her? Her blue eyes once again seemed to grow distant, while she was probably lost in thought again.

 

Itsuki had to admit that this woman was proving to be interesting to him, almost like Sensui had been. He ached to be able to step out from his hiding place, but he understood that it was too soon and it would be foolish. He needed to study her more before he decided to let his presence known.

 

He was distracted from his thoughts by her sudden movement. With a quiet and effortless movement she whirled around and began walking down the stairs once again. The yamanate had to restrain himself from going after her. The desire to study the woman who had so strongly drawn his attention was compelling, but he would wait. Besides he could easily find her by tracking down her aura.

 

Finally stepping out of the shadows of his pet, he raised his face to gaze at the early morning sky. A breeze passed through his hair, ruffling the teal colored strands making him close his deep amber eyes for an instant.

 

He would find out who this woman was, for he felt for some reason she would come to mean quite a lot to him in the future. Opening his eyes he once again gazed at the now clear blue sky, before once more disappearing into the shadows with the help of his pet the Uraotoko.

 

TBC…………………… 230;…………………………& #8230;………………………… ;…

 

Thanks to all the reviewers. You guys are so great! I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Anyways for more info about my stories, check out my LJ account. You can find the link on my profile page. Feel free to comment.