InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Death Maiden: The fallen Seraph ❯ Touch ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Kagome sighed as she finally made it back. She had spent most of the day out, opting to explore the city a little more. It’s been too long since she had last been here and she needed to once again get acquainted with the city.

One thing she had learned was that in her line of profession it was of utter most importance to know your surroundings, you never knew when you needed to make a quick exit.

“Rough day?” Miroku asked softly as she entered the kitchen.

She raised an eyebrow at him, watching as he was practically at home in a kitchen. It was fairly disturbing to say the least. The same hands which could kill a man or youkai very easily seemed at the same time made to be in a kitchen. The apron proclaiming ‘kiss the cook’ didn’t help matters either. Shaking her head, she pulled out a chair from the wooden table and sat down.

“Not really. Where’s...”

Cutting her off, Miroku explained that Sesshoumaru had gone out, a few hours ago, all the while making sure that the eggs didn’t burn. He assured her though that by the looks of it Sesshoumaru wasn’t quite happy. The dark haired woman almost snorted at the thought, Sesshoumaru was never happy.

“I don’t think he appreciated you leaving so early without telling him. Must be hard on him to wake up and find his bed empty.” The monk commented absentmindedly as he turned off the stove and reached for the hot kettle.

As expected she felt her right eye twitch in irritation.

“I would appreciate it if you kept your opinions to yourself monk.” she growled lowly as she reached for the steaming cup that he had set in front of her.

“Monk? What happened to cousin dearest? Am I not your favorite cousin anymore?” He asked with mock hurt placing a hand on his heart.

She rolled her eyes at the display and opted at ignoring him. He didn’t seem affected though and just offered her his customary taunting smirk, before turning back to the stove.

Bringing the blue ceramic cup to her lips, she took a small sip from the warm liquid. Closing her eyes, she savored the unique and delicious taste of her favorite drink. She really hated Miroku sometimes, but she had to admit that he knew how to make a cup of tea.

She opened her eyes when she felt the dark haired man take a seat next to her. The fresh scent of scrambled eggs reached her nose and she resisted the urge to wince. She really disliked eggs for some reason. The scent alone was enough to make her stomach turn.

Miroku must have noticed her distress for he made a show of shoving a whole fork of the stuff in his mouth. She visibly winced, causing him to chuckle.

“You’re disgusting you know that.” She muttered, distaste clearly heard in her voice as she reached for her cup once again.

“You still love me.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

“Keep dreaming.” She calmly took a sip from her tea, the scolding hot liquid felt delicious as it traveled down her throat and for a moment she just forgot about Miroku.

They sat there in a relatively silence for a few minutes. Both of them in their own world, before Miroku once again broke the silence.

“Koenma will not listen.”

Putting down the cup, she let out another sigh.

“I’m not surprised. He’s always been stubborn.” The demi goddess muttered softly, her eyes darkening.

She wished that he would though. Kagome knew very well that if it did come down, none of the members of the crimson curse would hesitate to kill if necessary. It was simple really, it was either kill or be killed.

And yet...there was something gauging at her as she thought about killing the spirit detectives. They did not deserve such a fate...

She carefully picked up the cup of tea and took another sip.

“If they attack us, we will counter. We cannot allow them to interfere.”

She averted her gaze from Miroku’s violet ones, knowing very well that he would see something in her eyes that she wished to hide. Nevertheless she could still feel his eyes on her, but she refused to acknowledge it. Instead she unconsciously tightened her hand around the cup.

“Kagome-sama...with all due respect, but are you certain that you’d be able to face Koenma if the time comes. I mean...he and you are...”

The monk quieted down as she turned to glare at him with furious sapphire blue eyes. If he was anyone else he would have been afraid, but instead he just stared at her with patience, knowing what was coming.

“We’re nothing. He chose a path, I chose mine. He’s no one to me!” She snapped, the cup shattering in her hand, tea spilling on the table and shards of porcelain embedding in the soft flesh of her hand. Blood started flowing instantly, drops of the life liquid falling on the otherwise clean table.

Yet neither one of them said anything. Instead Kagome softly uncurled her hand, revealing the pieces of porcelain embedded in her skin with blood flowing from the gashes.

Neither of them were surprised as they as the pieces of porcelain were slowly pushed out of her hand as the wounds closed instantly in front of their eyes.

“Cursed.” she whispered softly, whatever anger she had felt earlier abandoning, leaving only the feeling of hollowness in her.

She tensed as a gloved hand took hold of her bloodied one. Raising her face, she watched as Miroku slowly wiped away the blood from her healed hand. His calloused fingers feeling rough against her soft and tender flesh.

“We’re all cursed, Kagome-sama.”

She shifted her gaze to his gloved hand, which was a strong supporter of his statement. The holy beads dugs into her skin and for a moment she felt the familiar emotion of sadness and guilt take hold of her.

“I will rid you of your curse Miroku, I promise. I won’t let you die.” They stared at one another, neither saying a word and yet Miroku couldn’t help but offer her a small sad smile as he gently let go of her hand.

“What about you Kagome-sama?”

Averting her gaze to the blood on the table, she lowered her head, allowing her bangs to cover her eyes.

“Some curses cannot be lifted. And unfortunately mine will be my cross to bear for all eternity.”


---

“Midoriko.” He jerked out of bed.

Closing his eyes and inhaling through his nose, he tried to calm his beating heart. Pictures of the of a dark haired woman flashed through his mind, causing him to sink his fangs into his lips, while hoping to calm the chaotic emotions that warred in him.

He wished to be able to forget, but it was just impossible. He always dreamt of her and the last moment of her life. His fists tightened in the dark sheets, claws cutting through the soft silky material.

He should had protected her. If only he had reacted faster, if only he had known what she was planning...she would have still be alive right now.

‘Why? Why did fate take you away from me?’

A soft knock on the door brought him out of her musings. Pushing his dark thought aside and muttering a soft ‘come in’, he waited patiently for her to come in.

The door was quietly pushed open and she stepped in. The first two words that came to his mind were beautiful and regal.

“Morning.” she greeted softly, her ruby red eyes that were similar to his looking brighter than usual as the sunlight illuminated them.

It still amazed him how she looked like his deceased mother, beautiful, gentle, frail and yet with a hidden strength.

The thought made the familiar ache in his heart flare. How long has it been since he last visited his mother’s tomb? Did he truly forget about her so easily? True it has been a long time ago since she died, but did that give him the right to just forget. Would he forget about Midoriko just as easily?

He quickly pushed the feeling down, not wanting to linger too long in the past, not with her standing in the room.

Shifting his gaze to her, he watched as she stared at some books on his desk. His gaze traveled to her hands, which as expected were both covered by dark gloves.

Her own personal penitence. Her way of making up for what she had done in the past, even if she wasn’t truly guilty. She slowly turned to gaze at him while commenting that he needed to clean his room a bit. He ignored her statement and instead he sought out her eyes.

He held her gaze for a moment and he could see the lingering shadows in those red pools. A soft smile played on her lips and yet it didn’t reach her eyes. Such a perfect mask she wore.

It was strange how someone could change when confronted with a big loss. The pain and the ache could become unbearable and not to mention the guilt would always be there, creeping and tearing at your consciousness like nails on a blackboard.

“What do you want sister?” He asked getting straight to the point, while yawning; he wasn’t being rude or anything, but he just wasn’t a morning person, especially not after the dreams he had been having. He wanted nothing more than to go back to bed, but the thought of having the same dreams again made him change his mind.

To sleep without dreaming would be paradise to him.

“You know it’s customary to greet someone back, when they greet you.” She coyly snapped, but he paid little attention to her as his eyes slowly drifted shut .
He almost smirked, when he felt her aura change a bit and her scent spiked in annoyance.

The calm before the storm, he mused mentally.

True, his sister hadn’t inherited the thunder youkai’s short and explosive temper, but she did occasionally have her lapses of bad temper.

“Father wants to have a word with us, Hiten.”She quipped shortly, her voice coming out strained.

At this the thunder youkai snapped one eye open to gaze at his twin sister. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was gazing too seriously at him. Knowing that she had his attention she continued, but for some reason her voice once again changed in tone. This time it was cold and sharp like ice.

“It seems that...Death Maiden might be back.”

The change was instantly when he heard her words. Ruby red eyes glowed eerily and lightning crackled in his palms, shooting around the room in a wild frenzy. She seemed completely unaffected by the display though. She stood calmly there, her hawk like eyes observing him quietly.

“She’s alive after all.” His voice was deep and full of anger, the lightning in his hands increasing, while his eyes were nothing more than two burning embers.

He had never believed her dead to begin with. No...she was too strong, to clever and powerful to be taken down that easily. Still a part of him hoped that she was...if only to close off that part of his life.

“Hiten...” her voice was a soft wake up call, bringing him out of his thoughts.
She was standing now in front of him. He hadn’t even sensed or heard her move, too lost in his thoughts. However now that she was close he could he could see the worry and hesitation in her eyes. She was tense and the indecisiveness was hard to miss in her stance.

They had been once very close, being twins they had shared everything, but things just changed rapidly due to certain circumstances and he had to admit that a part of him missed the bond they shared. Even though another part of him couldn’t help but blame her. And yet the urge to hold him had to be strong, for he was feeling the same thing; he wanted nothing more than to hold her, but there was an invisible wall separating them now.

Brushing a hand through his dark locks, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. His body relaxing and the power receding back in him as he slumped forward, arms resting on his knees and his back bend.

“I will go pay Koenma a visit, Hikari.” Opening his eyes, he watched her hesitate for an instant, before stepping back from him.

“What about father?” She schooled her features in a calm mask as she leaned against the desk behind her. Her stance was relaxed now, but he noted that there still was a tenseness to it.

Indeed, their father would not be pleased. He wouldn’t be angry, but he definitely would not like this. Just like him, their father wished to end this whole ordeal. Knowing him, the lord would most likely try to ignore this new development for the time being, but he on the other hand couldn’t.

Standing up, he moved towards the closet beside his bed.

“Do not worry about him; he probably expects me to do something like this. You do not need to come with me if you do not wish it. I can handle this on my own.”

“No, I will go with you. You might need backup and...I’m your sister.” He could once again sense the hesitation, this time he could even hear it in her voice.

He wondered if things would ever be the same again between them. Deciding that the best thing would be not to say anything. He searched for something suitable to wear.

“Hiten.” He turned to gaze at her with curious eyes, wondering why she was still there.

She had her face tilted sideways and was staring outside, but he knew that she knew that he was staring at her.

“I miss her too.” Her voice had been barely a whisper, but he had heard her and he couldn’t stop his eyes from widening slightly.

She slowly turned her head to face. Now it was his turn to look away, his bangs covering his eyes.

“Go get ready, we will take Kuro.”

She nodded her head quietly, still the hurt in her aura was hard to miss. Without saying a word, she left just as quickly as she came.

He finally let out a sigh when he heard the soft closing of his door. He hadn’t meant to sound so cold or callous, but he just didn’t want to hear that right now.

A wry smile tugged at his lips; he should have known that he could not fool her. They were twins after all. Even though they weren’t that close anymore, she would still know what he was thinking and or feeling...and he hated it. He just wanted to be left alone at times. Ironic the one person he wanted to be close to and far away from at the same time was his sister.

Pushing the rest of his thoughts aside, he focused on the task at hand. If what his sister said was true and that infernal wench was back, he needed to act fast. This time she wasn’t going to escape, he would make her pay for what she did...with her life.

---

It’s been days since the ex-spirit detectives have come back to ningenkai, but until now they had absolutely no lead to Death Maiden’s whereabouts. True, there were whispers going around on the streets, but no one knew where she was really residing.

And it was annoying the hell out of Yusuke.

“Fuck. How the hell can one fucking woman leave no tracks. It’s almost as if she doesn’t even exits.” The toushin growled, slamming the beer bottle on the table.

Botan let out a sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat. She too was having a hard time. Koenma had assigned her to aid the group in research, but until now she hadn’t been able to find out anything. Letting out another sigh, she leaned back in the chair she was sitting it.

“Yusuke, you should have a little more patience. Someone like her is too smart to be careless.” Kurama murmured softly as he took a sip from his beer.

The kitsune youkai didn’t show it, but he was getting slightly aggravated at the current situation as well. He was one of the smartest creatures in all three worlds and yet he could not find any leads to one simple female. It wasn’t a surprise that his ego was slightly damaged.

Hiei snorted, knowing the kitsune thoughts very well. Truthfully he was getting tired of the situation. He had been hoping for a fight and until now his wish hasn’t been answered.

“Botan, can’t Koenma in some way trace her energy?”
Botan smiled sadly at Kurama. She had to admit it was a good plan, but unfortunately it would not work. They had already tried it.

“I’m afraid not. Her energy is more complex. Her ki seems to blend in with her surroundings, becoming a part with everything around her. So basically her presence disappears completely.”

“How the fuck is that possible? Someone cannot disappear completely.”

“Hn, Yusuke is right, ferry onna.”

Hiei had to agree with Yusuke. There should be at least a small trace or imprint left behind. He was interested as he watched the ferry girl fidget under his intense gaze. Usually he would have enjoyed this, but his curiosity got the best of him this time. He wanted to know how this woman managed to vanish completely.

“I...We don’t know how she does it. ”

“Useless as ever.”

“Hey!” Botan felt fairly insulted by the remark, causing her hackles to rise.

“Hiei.”Kurama reprimanded the fire apparition, but as always he just ignored the fox youkai.

“So basically we’re in deep shit...still that hasn’t stopped us before.” Yusuke cut in a smirk playing on his face, making the others turn to gaze at him.

His youkai blood churned at the prospect of a chase and possibly challenge. Life has been too boring for so long and he needed a little excitement after all. He noticed the others gazing at him and he couldn’t stop himself and grinned even wider.

“Come on, don’t tell me you guys aren’t up for a challenge?” He taunted, auburn eyes brightening up and shining with amusement and excitement.

Hiei smirked, having expected this from Yusuke. He had to admit though that Yusuke had just made him see this whole situation in a new light. He might be finally be able to get that fight he’s been craving for so long and hopefully it would be worth it.

A quick glance at Kurama told him that the fox was just as intrigued as him. A flash of gold in the fox’ eyes told him that he was right in his assumptions.

“We might be biting off more than we can chew Yusuke.”

Although calm, Kurama’s voice still held that amused undertone that both the masuko and the forbidden child could hear.

“And your point is Kurama?” The toushin offered him the same cocky smirk, clearly not perturbed by Kurama’s words.

The kitsune youkai chuckled. His own youkai instincts coming to life with the possibility. True, he had been itching for something like this for a while. Even as a thief he had always gone after the rarest of loots, preferring the hard works to the easy ones. He couldn’t quite explain it, but the satisfaction of surpassing the hardest of odds was more satisfying that anything else.

And something told him that capturing this rare gem, called the Death Maiden was going to prove more than satisfactory.

Koenma didn’t offer too much information about the woman though, not even a photo, but he had a hunch that she would be a gem to behold. He had heard many rumors about her. Normally he didn’t pay too much attention to these kind of things, but his interest had been peaked. All of these rumors coincided in one thing, she was a very beautiful...and deadly. Oh, the thrill of the hunt.

Those that had seen her, swore that she was some kind of a goddess, something that was not so far from the truth. And he would be lying if he said that he didn’t want to see her. As a fox youkai he loved beautiful things after all.

He was momentarily distracted from his thoughts by a soft ringing. He watched in mild interest as Botan reached for her purse and pulled out a small blue cellular.

“Since when does she have one of those?” Yusuke asked pointing to the mobile phone.

Kurama shrugged his shoulders, not paying too much attention to the conversation. Instead he focused his gaze on a young girl sitting at a table across from them. She had her nose buried in a book and looked quite out of the place. Unlike the other people in the restaurant she seemed completely oblivious to the others around her as she immersed herself in whatever she was reading.

She wasn’t that bad to look at, he had to admit...not at his standards, but still passable. Her straight ebony hair was held in a simple ponytail that was tied at the base of her pale neck, with a few strands falling in her eyes which were if he was not mistaken a soft sienna color. She would look better if she lost those thick glasses she was wearing though.

For a moment she raised her eyes to gaze at him, but she quickly looked away, cheeks flushing lightly when their eyes connected. Of course he wasn’t surprised, having had this effect on every woman he met so far.

Having grown bored with the woman, he turned his gaze back to Botan who had just ended the call.

“Done wasting our time onna?” Hiei asked, snorting at the furious blush on Botan’s face.
“Really Hiei, than maybe I shouldn’t tell you that I just got a lead.”

“You’ve got a lead?” Yusuke asked surprised.

“Yeah, but thanks to shorty, I’m considering not telling you guys.” She made sure to point at Hiei, knowing that he hated to be remembered of his short stature. As expected the fire apparition growled lowly in his throat.

“You pretentious...” Kurama quickly cut in, knowing that things could get ugly really fast, especially when he watched Botan lean forward eyes glaring daggers at a furious forbidden child.

“Botan, forgive Hiei...he’s got a too sharp tongue. He often says things he doesn’t mean and I’m certain he’s sorry for upsetting you.”

Hiei shot Kurama a dark look that clearly conveyed that he meant every word he said and that there was no way in seven hells he was sorry, but the fox paid little mind to him as he tried to calm the angry ferry girl down.

“Could you please tell us what you found out Botan?” He added the big emerald eyes for effect and was satisfied as he watched the poor girl crumble under his charm.

“Well, the person that just called might know who Death Maiden is going to assassinate next.”

“That’s really helpful Botan.”

Botan beamed happily at being such help. Hiei snorted at Kurama’s obvious buttkissing, but one cold glare from said fox made him cross his arms over his chest and look away.

“So where should we meet this person?” Yusuke asked.

“How does the police station sound?” Botan grinned mischievously, amethyst eyes shining brightly.


TBC...