InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Cruel Hands Of Fate ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

Yusuke had been pissed off continuously for the last two days. Koenma had called, waking him up as usual, to go on yet another mission and this time his only partner was Kuwabara. Koenma had said that it wasn't anything dire and that the demons wouldn't be needed. Of course, he had been right and once he and Kuwabara had reached their destination, they had dispatched of the low-level youkai with practiced ease.

 

However, despite the simplicity of the mission, the young detective was still in a very foul mood. He absolutely hated wasting his time and skills on things as trivial as stupid demons who somehow managed to wander into the Ningenkai. He didn't have to worry about breaking dates with Keiko anymore, since she had dumped him a year earlier for a more `stable' boyfriend, but always being on call for the junior ruler was still severely inhibiting. Yusuke liked sleeping in late now that school was long since over and it never failed that Botan would wake him up entirely too early.

 

They had been done with this Kami forsaken mission for over two hours and had just now gotten a portal opened to the Reikai. Botan had been off running `personal errands' or some such thing, which just translated to fucking off to Yusuke. He was beyond pissed off and right now wanted nothing more than to lay into the boy wonder that was his boss.

 

Not even bothering to knock, the detective firmly planted his foot on the door that led to Koenma's office, knocking it inward with a resounding crash, “Oi toddler! What in the hell kind of a mission was that?!”

 

Upon his intrusion he had been expecting the natural flow of curses and choice words of the toddler accompanied with said deity either sitting at his desk pouring over paperwork or pacing rapidly across the expanse of his desktop, all while sucking furiously on his pacifier.

 

Once Yusuke was just inside the doorway, however he noticed that Koenma wasn't at his desk in anyway…or even near it really. In fact, he was sitting on the floor of his office, in his teenage form. To top it all off, he was perched next to an attractive young woman who was sitting between him and…Hiei? What's more, the girl appeared to have been crying and it looked as though Koenma was trying to console her. Hell, even the hybrid almost looked upset by something.

 

Yusuke blinked…

 

…and blinked once more. He was literally tongue tied! The poor detective was completely at a loss for words and the fact that the room had suddenly become eerily quiet wasn't helping him at all. Just as he was about to force something resembling a sentence out of his throat, Kuwabara spoke up and he jumped. He had even forgotten that the big dolt was standing behind him!

 

“Hey Urameshi! Move outta the way! What are you just standing there for anyway?” Kuwabara said loudly, shouldering his partner out of the way roughly, only to be greeted by the same site and rendered just as immobile as Yusuke.

 

Kagome had been nearly scared out of her very skin when the door to the quiet office was thrown inward almost violently and a young man stepped through, cursing about a mission. She remembered the mentioning of missions from Koenma and could only assume that the man standing in the doorway with an extremely befuddled look on his face was one of the detectives he had mentioned. As she sat staring at the gaping boy, she briefly wondered how it was possible that he could solve missions of any kind when he seemed shocked still at seeing the three of them on the floor.

 

Sure, Kagome knew it was most likely an odd thing to see, if the amusement she felt in Hiei's aura was any indication, but still…this guy was supposed to be a protector for the human realm?

 

Following the initial scare of such an outburst was an almost tangible sense of tension that was beginning to make Kagome feel uneasy. She had been feeling the presence of another, as of yet unknown, being just outside the door and since the young man with the slicked back hair was still looming in the doorway, she wasn't able to make anything out.

 

She looked once more to the male only to find that he was still doing a rather impressive job of a landed fish. Just as it looked like he was going to say something, he was shoved the rest of the way into the room by a rather large man with bright orange hair and after another outburst, a shoving match was soon underway, forcing Kagome, Hiei and Koenma to standing positions to avoid being caught in the fray.

 

The Prince of Reikai was now thoroughly upset. He had been having a nice, albeit confusing, afternoon and the one person that could inevitably ruin it had indeed done so. He had just been lost in those midnight eyes that he was slowly coming to love looking into when Yusuke burst through the door and started cursing. Then, he had stopped short and ogled the three of them, opening and closing his mouth with a look on his face that spoke clearly of his disbelief.

 

Had the detective interrupted any other time and reacted as such, the young lord would have been hard pressed to tamp down his laughter. Once again looking to the face of the confused detective, he almost felt a chuckle threaten to break free until he watched Kuwabara shove Yusuke aside and throw a few words his way, which inevitably started a ruckus.

 

Now, he, Kagome and Hiei were forced to remove themselves from their comfortable, and almost intimate, sitting arrangements so as not to be trampled. He could feel the confusion in Kagome and gently placed his arm around her waist. He smiled to himself when she seemed to cuddle closer to his form. It was then that he noticed the anger rolling off of Hiei and the nearly murderous glint to his eyes. `Seems like he was actually enjoying the time we were having as well.'

 

Kagome watched the two men tumble around the office, seemingly forgetting that there were others still present. She could easily feel Hiei's anger escalate and turned a concerned look at him. He seemed to feel her gaze and tilted his head towards her in a nearly imperceptible nod. She sent a small, comforting smile his way as she felt Koenma slide his arm around her. `He makes me feel so safe.' She thought to herself as she pressed closer to him. At that moment, all thoughts of him hating her fled her mind and she smiled.

 

Before either Kagome or Koenma had noticed it, Hiei had jumped between the two humans and had forcefully thrown them apart. “Stop it you fools. I am sure you didn't come all the way here to fight.” Hiei growled, irritated beyond repair that they had interrupted. Of course, part of him was thankful for the slight distraction as it kept him from further delving into his own thoughts and budding feelings for the girl that was now fitted, rather snugly he noted, against the demi-god's side.

 

Taking in the chagrined faces of the two rowdy young men being berated by an extremely upset fire demon caused Kagome to stifle a chuckle. They made the perfect picture of comedy and it was what she needed to lighten the burden on her heart, even if only temporarily. Apparently, she hadn't done as good a job as she thought with containing her mirth because as soon as the slight sound had left her lips, Hiei had turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised in silent question.

 

Seeing such a truly bewildered look on Hiei's face was all it took for Kagome to lose what little control she had on her amusement and she laughed. The whole situation seemed somehow ridiculous and endearing all at once and she couldn't take it anymore. `Yes, Hiei might seem cold and indifferent…so like Sesshoumaru…but he is no more unfeeling than the Taiyoukai was. I think I will like being connected to him.'

 

Koenma had been watching the same scene as Kagome had and although he thought it somewhat amusing, he had no clue as to why she was laughing hard enough to cause tears to course down her cheeks. When her eyes opened once again and her laughter had died down to a soft giggling, he saw something in those midnight pools that he hadn't realized was missing until now…happiness. Oh how her eyes sparkled when she was happy! The young ruler vowed from that point on that he would do everything in his power to make sure that sparkle was never far away.

 

The soft, melodic tune of Kagome's laughter seemed to shake the two newest occupants in the office out of their momentary stupor of being chastised by Hiei, for they both turned confused and questioning looks towards her and Koenma. The young prince returned their look with one of equal uncertainty because he honestly didn't know what had caused the beautiful young woman to laugh…nor did he care really. He watched as they looked at her once more and noticed they seemed to study her this time, looking her up and down thoroughly.

 

Apparently, it was a bit too thorough an inspection because the sound of laughter was soon cut short by a low growl that was issued by none other than Hiei.

 

He had been watching the scene from his position next to Kagome and while he wasn't really confused as to why she was laughing, he wasn't about to share it with the detectives. Had it just been the three of them, he might have done so, but Yusuke and Kuwabara were rapidly becoming a severe irritation that was chasing thoughts of being social quickly away. Now, he was watching the two dolts look at Kagome…and had they settled for merely looking, there would not have been a problem.

 

But, neither seemed to remember that youkai have an extremely good sense of smell…and neither one were abstaining to just looking. Hence, Hiei felt it necessary to issue a warning when he scented the air and saw a rather primal gleam enter Yusuke's eyes. He knew he was going to appear overprotective and that the detective wouldn't let him live it down, but he was forcibly connected to the girl and was there to protect her. At least, that is what he was telling himself.

 

Koenma might not have had a demon's sense of smell, but he easily recognized the look in Yusuke's eyes and had it not been for Hiei beating him to the punch with a warning, he would have outright said something. Now though, he was thinking more along the lines of a way to deflate the situation before it got too hostile. Sure he was upset by the way his two detectives were ogling Kagome and wanted nothing more than to thoroughly beat them both, but he knew that Hiei wouldn't hesitate to simply kill them.

 

Now, it was Kagome's turn to beat him to the punch. He had almost forgotten that she had been around demons a great deal and would most likely know what was happening.

 

“Excuse me, my name is Kagome.” She said, holding her hand out to the dark haired boy. She had indeed been watching what was going on and knew all too well that the situation was escalating at a pace that could prove to be hazardous to the young men's health. As she reached out her hand, she could feel Hiei stare at her in question of her sanity and felt Koenma tighten his hold around her waist. `Is it possible that neither one hate me?'

 

Yusuke had been silently weighing the situation at hand. He had realized just how beautiful the girl was when she started to laugh and decided right away that he might make a move on her. He had noticed the way Hiei and Koenma stood close by her, but didn't think on it much. Hiei wasn't fond of any kind of contact at all, let alone something intimate that he knew of and Koenma…shit, he didn't think Koenma had so much as even kissed a girl!

 

When the girl, now known to him as Kagome, introduced herself and waited on a handshake, he found his opportunity…or so he thought. Apparently, Kuwabara was on the same page as he was.

 

“Kagome, would you be my girlfriend?” Kuwabara said as he intercepted the handshake meant for his partner, taking her hand between both of his. Of course, this attempt was short lived for as soon as he saw the bewildered look on her face, he felt something meet the back of his head and was engulfed in darkness.

 

The stunned girl looked from the boy she had been introducing herself to, to the one who was now on the floor unconscious courtesy of meeting the hilt of a katana, then back. The black haired boy just grinned and stepped around his fallen comrade, “I'm Yusuke. What is a pretty, and living, girl like you doing in the Reikai with the hybrid and the toddler?”

 

Hiei growled and Koenma tightened his arms around Kagome. She seemed unfazed by both and answered Yusuke with a question, “What do you mean by toddler? I don't see anyone here that resembles a child.” She was truly confused, she knew he meant Hiei with the hybrid comment and could only assume he said toddler in reference to Koenma, but he looked to be close to the same age as she was.

 

Yusuke smirked “Don't tell me you haven't seen Koenma as we normally see him. This,” he started, gesturing to his boss, “is his teenage form. He doesn't seem to use it very often, though with you here, I can see why he would.” He finished with a wink to the young woman that earned him a blush and another growl.

 

Kagome turned a questioning gaze to Koenma, “What is he talking about?”

 

Koenma cleared his throat “Well, most of the time I have the appearance of a child. The form is easier to maintain than this one is most of the time and if I lose this form, I revert back to the younger version. However,” he started, looking indignantly at Yusuke “I don't plan to lose this body any time soon.” He finished his statement by once again tightening his arm around Kagome, which she easily accepted.

 

“I see. Oh well, it makes no difference. You are who you are, regardless of what body you are in.” The young woman said with sincerity. Kagome really didn't care what he looked like because he was still the same man…even if she was rather fond of how he looked now. She then noticed the smile that crept onto Koenma's face and the look of shock that was on Yusuke's.

 

Koenma was speechless. Did she just say she didn't care? He had to wonder if she really knew what she was saying with that comment, but remembered that she had befriended and fallen in love with a hanyou, which could only mean she was indeed sincere in her statement. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to disappear somewhere away from his detectives with Kagome. But, he knew that Yusuke wouldn't be dismissed so easily.

 

“What is it you want Yusuke that you had to come breaking into my office?” The Prince of Reikai said, his irritation at the two for interrupting his time with Kagome once more surfacing.

 

Yusuke had been staring intently at Kagome until he heard his boss's question, “What? Are you serious? You sent us out on another bullshit mission, that's what! You should get together a team of lower skilled detectives to take care of riff-raff like that. Where in the hell do you get off sending us off to get rid of some stupid youkai that aren't even worth the energy needed to destroy them while you are getting friendly with such a beautiful woman?” The detective huffed, pissed off again.

 

Koenma bristled at the comment. Honestly, it was none of his business…she was none of his business. “That doesn't concern you in the least Yusuke. She is here for a reason and it is something that deals with just her, Hiei and myself for the time being. If there is need for you to know more in the future, I will inform you.”

 

“I suggest that you maintain your distance from her detective.” Hiei added with yet another growl. He was impressed with how Koenma was handling the situation in all honesty. It seemed that he wasn't about to let the detective press his buttons this day.

 

“Whatever. It's not like you can stop me.” Yusuke scoffed, waiving a hand dismissively. He knew Hiei could kill him in the blink of an eye, but Koenma had him by the balls and knew he wouldn't do it if he didn't want time added to his parole.

 

Hiei growled again and made to stalk straight up to the detective and remove his head from his shoulders but stopped in his tracks when he felt a wave of warmth and calm sweep over him. Instead, he turned his attention to Kagome and saw her smile at him. It was then he realized just how dangerous that smile could become to him…because he had the strangest urge to smile back.