Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of Darkness ❯ Disclosure ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Author's Notes: Lots of dialogue - lots. And thanks to the people who left feedback. ^.~ I was afraid I'd be the only one interested in this story.
Category: Anime, GW fusion with SM, GW/IY/YYH crossover, Yaoi, AU/TWT
Warnings: slight shonen ai, bits of humor
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, KuramaxHiei, Inuyasha/Miroku
Author: Arigatomina
Email: arigatoumina@hotmail.com
Website/Complete Archive: http://www.geocities.com/arigatomina

Heart of Darkness

Part 3: Disclosure

Somewhere along the way to Wufei's temple, Duo remembered his headpiece. He hadn't thought about it when he'd transformed back to his normal aspect. But articles of clothing always disappeared when he did that, whether he was holding them or not. A glance found that it was definitely gone, a loose bloodstained scarf having taken its place. The white cloth was in tatters, and it made him wonder if Hiei had really been wearing that cloak all along. If so, why hadn't he felt it when he tied the impromptu bandage into place? And why did the cuts seem older now? Hiei was walking silently beside Kurama, both with their gazes lowered. The dark-haired boy didn't seem to be suffering from any injuries at all. But there was still blood on his hands, his arms hidden by his long cloak. Duo frowned back at him, his glances getting longer as they moved along. He was just working up the impatience to ask about the injuries when the boy looked up to meet his gaze. Hiei glared at him. And Duo turned back around with a scowl of his own. The boy was as rude as Kurama was polite, and he glared even more than Heero did. He hadn't thought that possible.

A glance around found that he wasn't the only one sneaking furtive looks at the two behind them. Heero and Trowa were the only ones who didn't seem in a hurry to check them out. But then, that was typical of them. Hilde was walking to his right, and she blushed when she realized Duo had seen the looks she was casting back at Kurama. She couldn't seem to help looking at him, and even knowing he was a demon didn't stop the urge. It might have had to do with the fact that she'd never seen a demon who looked just like a person. It was a little hard to believe the boy was the same animal like white figure they'd seen earlier. And she wasn't horrified the way Relena had been by the news. After all, Duo had said Wing and Shinigami were demons as well. She looked down at the two cats dozing in her arms and smiled lightly. If they were any example of demons, then there wasn't much to worry about. Shi-chan tended to put up a little fuss when she held him, but they were both very sweet. And Wing had a downright playful streak to him. There was nothing about the pair that fit what she had heard about demons.

A hand entered Hilde's line of vision, and she smiled when Duo petted Shi-chan's neck. The black cat had passed out the moment she picked him up, Wing following soon after. They were obviously exhausted from whatever had happened earlier. Wing had explained that Duo was with Kurama and Hiei. Then he'd all but collapsed on the ground next to Shinigami. Hilde had been the first to reach them, and she'd been carrying them ever since. It made her glad she hadn't had to fight. They looked like they could use the rest.

And rest they did. The two cats barely twitched when they reached the temple, only Wing actually opening his eyes. He closed them again almost immediately. Hilde made herself comfortable on the floor across from the couch, content to hold them till they wanted free. Catherine and Dorothy dropped down to either side of her, and Relena made her place on the couch. Her eyes were glued to Heero, as if willing him to sit down in the spot she'd left next to her. That mental order went unheard. Trowa had gone to sit on the edge of the couch with Quatre taking that free spot. The blonde boy looked as if he felt bad for it, but a glance at Heero kept him quiet. They didn't need an argument to break out right now. Wufei, as usual, took the solitary seat to the side of the small table and waved Kurama and Hiei at the half empty couch. If anyone else was going to sit next to Relena, it would have to be one of them. Even Duo wouldn't volunteer for that position. Kurama took it with a polite smile, though he did leave plenty of room between him and the now-skittish girl. Hiei remained near the door, leaning against the wall with a look that clearly stated he'd found his place and would not be moved.

Duo frowned at the room on the couch, then at Heero. The Japanese boy seemed to be mimicking Hiei, only he was leaning against the wall to the side of the couch instead of all the way across the room. With a forlorn mental sigh, Duo sank to the floor near the edge of the couch, leaving Heero at his back. He wasn't about to stand for an hour or two. Besides, it was rude. Relena was already leaning close enough to Quatre to make the blonde boy look distinctly uncomfortable. Her fear of Kurama made Duo want to smack her, or maybe just laugh at her. Sure, Kurama was a little strange looking earlier, but he was still nice. At least, Duo thought he was. He was certainly much nicer than Hiei. Along with his thoughts, Duo turned his gaze over toward the door. Red eyes glared at him and he jerked his head back around. He had to bite his lip not to say something he'd regret. The treatment was way too similar to Heero. But while Heero's glares made him depressed, he wanted to yell at Hiei. He put up with Heero because he liked him. The other boy didn't get the same leniency.

"Well?" Wufei frowned when Duo turned a confused gaze on him. "You invited them here," he reminded him. That made it Duo's move to start the questioning. The boy blinked and then smiled. The expression gave Wufei a sinking feeling.

"Right," Duo said. Turning to Kurama, he gave the redhead a quick smile. "So...what are you?"

"A demon spirit reborn into a human body," Kurama said brightly. He smiled pleasantly. "I nearly died once, but I managed to escape to this world where I was reborn. Now I can use either form, making me a shapeshifter much like your familiars."

Hilde blinked when she realized Kurama had nodded to the cats in her arms. "Familiars? You mean like western witches have?"

"Not exactly," Kurama said. "Western witches had cats, just animals. They believed black cats enabled them to work their magic better. But they were still just felines. Those two are youkai, demons. We call them familiars because they are rarely found in the Makai - the demon world. They cross into this world as babies, and most spend their entire lives here. Once they were powerful shapeshifters, but the species killed itself off over time. Most familiars that remain are very weak, having mated either with humans in their humanoid form, or with animals in their animal forms. I've only seen one myself, and it was little more than what it looked like, a cat. His owner still has no idea that he's a crossbred demon."

The redhead smirked at that, sharing a look with Hiei. Duo frowned at the two of them. "How could he not know? Didn't it talk to him?"

"Oh, no," Kurama said. His eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. "He can't talk. He simply doesn't have that sort of blood in him, far too weak a strain. I would never have guessed what he was if I hadn't heard about them. His owner found him as a kitten, and he's never once seen him as anything else."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Good thing, or the Baka would have been terrified of it."

"Most likely," Kurama agreed.

"Was this a friend of yours?" Catherine asked. She sent a look at the two sleeping cats and shook her head. "If they are so rare, what are the chances of someone you know having one?"

"Very good, actually." Kurama smiled. "Kuwabara was rather strong for a human. His spiritual energy must have called to the kitten, since his was the strongest reiki where he lived. And unless they find a suitable partner, familiars die out or become just more strays disappearing into the Ningenkai - the human world, as we call it."

"Then Shi-chan picked me because of my energy?" Duo raised an eyebrow at that. "How could he know about everything if he just picked me because of my powers? He knew all about the girls, and that our powers came from the planets."

"Planets?" Hiei's voice made Duo frown, but his gaze was sharp. "Your power comes from the planets? What idiocy is that?"

Kurama winced and placed a hand over his brow. "Hiei..."

Dorothy rounded quicker than Duo could and sent a look that rivaled Hiei's derogatory stare. "For a demon, you certainly don't know much, now do you. Each of us has a distinct power that comes from a planet in this solar system. And together, we can combine those to create a new power, stronger than any one of us."

"I've never heard of such a thing," Kurama said. He lifted a hand when Dorothy glared at him, and shook his head. "I'm not doubting you. What we saw earlier is something that doesn't make sense according to any of the laws. But the reiki was undeniable. Duo alone is easily stronger than I am in my human form." This made the longhaired boy drop his eyes, and Kurama frowned a bit before looking to Dorothy again. "And when you were together, that energy masked itself completely. It goes against everything I know."

"But planets?" Hiei sniffed, giving Kurama a doubtful look. "How could a person - especially a human - have the power of an entire planet?"

"We just do." Hilde flushed a little when Kurama turned to her, but she managed a firm nod. "We focus on our planet and draw from that energy till it consumes us. At first we had to say the name aloud, but now it's just a matter of focus. That's how we transform."

"I transform by closing off my thoughts," Kurama said lightly. He gave the girl a slight smile. "The first time it was drug induced and felt as if my life were being stripped away from me, one piece at a time. Now, I just drop everything, close it off so my true nature is the only part of me left."

"But...wouldn't that make you two people?" Relena paled a bit when the boy turned to her, and she eased closer to Quatre, not quite sitting in his lap.

Kurama sighed. She was obviously going to be wary for a while, so he didn't bother to appease her fear. "Once I shift, I have access to my memories. It's only the change that takes focus, and I couldn't focus if I had two lives vying for dominance in my mind. My spirit is unchanging, only my form and mentality shift - and even that I can control if I choose to. There are times when I prefer to be as I was before, pure demon. Now, I am a mix of both, just as I was when we met this morning." If anything, the reminder seemed to annoy the girl. But her frown was better than that unreasonable fear.

"So," Duo said, "you shift forms when you want to. And you said Shi-chan and Wing could do the same?"

"I don't actually know," Kurama admitted. "With their strength, they should be able to. But if they were born here, they could be diluted to the point where shifting is impossible. It would depend on their parents, and what they were before they chose you as partners. If they escaped to this world as kittens, then those memories could be masked by necessity. They'd have to break those barriers first to remember what their true forms are."

"But they'd be human?" Duo prodded.

"Humanoid at the very least," Kurama said. "Very few demons are completely human in appearance. Hiei for instance, was born with an entirely human appearance. Only his eye color distinguished him. Most demons are more easily recognized. Usually only the very powerful ones can mix with humans without being noticed. Ice races are among these few. I was and am a youko, a type of fox demon. My humanoid aspect was as you saw earlier, and my animal form would stand out amid ningen creatures." He gave a light smile when Hiei smirked at him. "Too many tails."

"I thought you said familiars mated with humans and animals," Duo frowned. "How could they mate with humans if they didn't look human?" A snort caught his ear, and he turned to Hiei. He was ready for another of those mocking burns, so he blinked in surprise when he saw that Hiei wasn't looking at him. The black-haired youth was smirking down at his folded arms and appeared to be smothering laughter. Duo's eyes widened.

Kurama grinned for a moment before doing his best to sober the expression. "Demons have been mating with humans for centuries," he said. "Appearance only matters if it takes place in the human world. Most demons who choose to mate with humans take them back to their own world with them. It's rarely a voluntary matter on the human's part."

Relena blanched, and Dorothy burst into laughter at the girl's expression. "Don't worry," she laughed. "I'm sure you're safe, Relena."

"Yes," Kurama nodded. "Most demons find it repulsive to sire children of part human blood. They might couple with them, but they'd never mate if there were the possibility of mixed offspring. Only in very rare cases do hanyou's survive, the halfbreeds with both human and demon blood. They either sneak to the human world and spend their lives in hiding, or are killed by their demon kin. That sort of thing hasn't been done in over a century."

"Wait," Duo said, "that's an insult, isn't it." His eyebrow twitched when Wufei snorted at him this time.

"Of course it is," Wufei said. "But it doesn't matter. No human would want half demon children either."

"True," Kurama nodded. "But as I said, it was rarely the human's choice. Now it is no longer an issue since humans have been cleared from the demon world. Those demons strong enough to not care if their children are weakened by crossbreeding can't find human mates anyway. So hanyou's with human blood have died out. Only the very strained few remain, and most of them are so weak you'd never know them from another human."

"So demons take humans to mate with, then kill the babies?" Catherine's tone was very cold, and it made Kurama lean back away from her, his hands raised again.

"In the past," Kurama said quickly. "And the parents didn't do it, the kin did. Full blooded demons would attack the mixed offspring so long as they were too weak to defend themselves. If the parent demon was capable, the child survived. If not, the child died. And if the hanyou survived the guarding parent, he'd most likely be killed at a later point. It was not so widespread when there were still humans mixing with the demons. Only after the two were separated did the problem escalate."

"Once they ran out of food," Hiei spat. The humans turned to stare at him, most looking quite horrified at that statement. And he smirked at the lot of them, at Duo in particular. "Ningen is a delicacy in the Makai."

Kurama grimaced at the way Hiei was riling them, and stood. The others turned to him, and he shook his head violently. "Not all demons. There are many, yes, and many of the ones who intend to invade the Ningenkai are that sort. But there are others who find that tradition abhorrent. Hiei and I are among the latter." Hiei gave him an irritated glare, and Kurama sent him a pleading look. "Please stop? They don't understand that you're teasing them." His friend snorted and turned his head to the side so he was staring away from the room, in the direction of the door.

Kurama took his seat again, his gaze moving to Duo. The boy was still looking at Hiei, and Kurama leaned forward to catch his attention. "One of the reasons we are here is to keep the demons from entering this world. There is a war going on in the Makai right now, and the stronger of the two factions is using the Ningenkai as prize. Their goal is to storm the barrier separating the two worlds and take both as their own. We intend to stop that from happening."

"How do you plan to do that?"

This came from the dark-haired boy who was leaning against the wall near them. Heero's tone was as neutral as any Kurama had ever heard, and his expression gave nothing away. Kurama almost smiled at that display of control. "We won't actually be the ones to stop it. As we are, the best Hiei and I could do would be to fight the invading army. That won't get us anywhere. The real solution is to fix the barrier so even the largest army can't break through. It's a force field, you see, formed entirely of reiki - spirit energy. No demons over a certain power-level can get through, and it is impervious to any demon attack. I've only known one person to ever be able to sever the barrier, and he was entirely human. If we can get the barrier repaired, the battle would be over without any casualties."

"This barrier separates the two worlds?" Quatre had leaned forward to ask that question, so it was the first really good look he had of Kurama. The redhead nodded. "And it's made of human energy so the demons can't break through it. Then shouldn't the people who made it be able to repair it using the same energy they made it with?"

"Unfortunately, the energy the barrier was made with has already been used." Kurama's eyes dimmed a bit, and he dropped his gaze. "We're to blame for that. Four years ago, a human decided he would open the barrier and let the demon world in. It was a death wish that would have meant the end of the human world. During the battle to stop him, Koenma - the leader of the Reikai - used what energy he had stored. That energy would have been enough to fix the barrier if it were ever severed. But he used it against our enemy, and because of our friend's interference, the energy was not enough. It still wouldn't have mattered because the barrier was intact at the time. And only a human with a specific talent had the ability to sever the barrier."

"So what happened?" Duo asked.

"We did."

Duo turned at Hiei's cold words, but it was Kurama who explained in that same quiet tone.

"A friend of ours was killed and we followed our enemy into the demon world. In order to do that, we had to pass through the barrier. Hiei and I were too powerful to pass it, so Kuwabara cut the field. He didn't realize that once it was cut there was no power left to restore it. If he'd known, he would have gone alone for revenge, leaving us behind. We knew that, and we said nothing." Kurama looked up after a moment of silence, his expression calm despite the way his eyes sparked. "That means if this army succeeds in crossing to the human world, we are responsible. That's why we're here."

Quatre's voice was soft, his sympathy showing in his eyes. "But if it takes human energy to repair the barrier, what can you do?"

"The Reikai has a squadron of people who are currently guarding the rift. They have the power to keep it closed against demons of A class or lower. So long as the S class demons don't try to pass, they can hold it indefinitely. But it's just a matter of time before the war is over and the leaders force a confrontation. Against S class demons, those guards are useless. What we have to do is find a replacement power source the Reikai can use to seal the barrier. There were two items powerful enough to do this. One was used during the fight against Sensui, before we cut the barrier. The other..." Kurama looked over at Hiei and nodded when his friend lifted the teargem and shard so the others could see it. "Is the black orb, also known as the shikon no tama."

"The shards you got from that demon," Duo said. His eyes widened and he shook his head. "But they were just pieces."

"Yes," Kurama said. "That stone existed long ago, before the human and demon worlds were separated. During that time it was buried along with the Miko who had guarded it. But soon after her death, the stone disappeared from her grave and was discovered in the hands of a demon, Naraku. Legend has it that the Miko's reincarnation had somehow come back in time and brought the stone with her. There were some accounts that the stone was shattered and pieces sought out by many demons. Other accounts say the stone was stolen by Naraku, the strongest demon alive at the time and probably one of the first S class demons on record. That stone was used by Naraku, and then taken into custody by the Reikai. That was when the barrier was put into place, and the two worlds separated. After seeing the damage a single demon had done to the human population, the Reiaki began to protect the humans.

"They'd been saving energy for centuries to create the barrier, so they planned to use the stone if they ever needed to repair the barrier in the future. As it turns out, there was no need for this. By the time the stone was used, they had already gathered enough energy to repair the barrier. You see, the stone was stolen a few years ago by a group of demons, and in order to keep them from using it, our friend destroyed the stone. It was a loss of enormous power, but since they had energy stored, it didn't seem to matter. Now that we've wasted that energy, there is nothing to repair the barrier."

Kurama covered his eyes, rubbing at his temple with a dark glare. "Yusuke destroyed the stone, then he prevented Koenma from using the energy they'd stored against Sensui. And when Yusuke was killed, we let Kuwabara cut the barrier, knowing full well that there was nothing left to repair it. We're to blame on every account."

"Wait," Duo said, frowning at the troubled youth. "If this Yusuke destroyed the stone, doesn't that make him at least partly responsible?"

Quatre winced, shaking his head at Duo. "He was killed," he said softly. "That's why they had to go through the barrier."

"Oh. The way he talked it sounded like he was still alive so..." Duo dropped his eyes, shame flushing his face. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be," Hiei sniffed. He was still looking at the door, but he shook his head, just a bit. "Yusuke is part demon, a rare case that skips a dozen generations before showing up again. He was revived almost immediately after we left. Our attempt at revenge was completely pointless."

Kurama sighed. "Yes, Yusuke is very much alive. That's what makes our actions unforgivable. He is keeping watch with the guards over the rift in the barrier, so if the army does approach, he'll hold them off for as long as he can. And if we can retrieve the stone, our crimes will be pardoned."

"Crimes?" Quatre's eyes widened and he sent a sharp look from Kurama to Hiei. "Because your friend cut the barrier?"

Hiei snorted softly and glared harder at the door. "Because we're demons."

"Someone has to serve for what happened," Kurama explained. "And Kuwabara is a human, so he cannot be placed in Reikai prison while he's still alive. Yusuke is innocent of the crime since he was dead when we went through the barrier. As demons, the crime of killing a human is life imprisonment, no matter what the circumstances. And humans will certainly die if that army crosses the barrier. Regardless, we must either die fighting the army or serve the time. The only other option is to seal the barrier, meaning to find a power source that won't take centuries to build."

"So you're collecting the pieces of the stone your friend destroyed?" Duo frowned in confusion. "What good would it do if it's broken? And why did that demon have them?"

"No," Kurama said. "The stone Yusuke destroyed was obliterated by his energy. What we need is the original stone - the one the Reikai took before the barrier was erected. In the past. If we take that stone and use it in our own time to seal the barrier, we can return it without changing the timelines. The Reikai never used the stone after they took it - not until it was stolen and Yusuke destroyed it. They won't know that anything changed if we use it here and get it back in time for them to take it into custody."

"Wait a second," Duo said, a grin flashing over his lips. "You plan to go back in time and grab that stone? What, can demons time travel?"

"It seems some can," Kurama smiled. "We first thought of this idea from looking at the legends regarding the stone. It was strange that the records reported the stone being buried with the Miko, but that it showed up again some fifty years later. Even more interesting where the conflicting records of a girl, supposedly the reincarnation of the original Miko, having broken the stone into pieces. It takes centuries for a human to be reincarnated, and the Miko's soul had not yet been processed when this girl appeared. The Reikai's records were clear on that much. With a little searching of the hall, we found that the girl did in fact exist. But her soul originated from this time - fifteen years ago. If that girl was the one who shattered the original stone, then she had to have somehow traveled to the past. And if she could travel, there was good reason to believe anyone could so long as they followed the same route she did. That's our intention.

"Kagome is the reincarnation of the Miko who died with the stone. And so far the legend seems to be true. She's gone to the past and shattered the stone. Now, I believe she is trying to collect the shards before they can be used by demons in that time. What we have to do is help her get the pieces. I'm sure she has the power to make the stone complete again if she had all the pieces. According to the records, she did in fact collect them all - that's when the Reikai discovered the stone and took it from Naraku."

"Who's Naraku?" Duo asked. "You mentioned that name earlier, too."

"He's the demon who killed the original Miko, and he's the demon who used the stone in the past. It was his abuse of the stone that make the Reikai separate the two realms and take the stone into their own protection." Kurama nodded at Duo. "He's also almost certainly the one who sent the demon you saw earlier. I'm sure he's trying to take the pieces from Kagome."

"That's why you wanted to meet her!" Relena's mouth fell open and she stared at Kurama in disbelief. "Are you saying the reason she's been absent so much this year is because she's going to the past? Wouldn't she cause a paradox if she changed the past?"

"No," Kurama said. "Because the past has already been changed. We already know she changed the past when she first went there - otherwise the stone would not have shown up after the Miko's death, and there would be no reports of an unidentified girl in the records. And since we know she will not create a parodox, it makes sense that we won't either. Even if we did, it's better than letting the human world be destroyed."

"The human world isn't going to be destroyed," Heero said flatly. He was wearing a rather bored expression, his voice matching it perfectly. "If what you say is true, then humans and demons were existing together from the start. It would just go back to that."

"With humans as prey," Hiei said. Heero turned to stare at him, but he didn't see it since he was still facing the door. "If you knew what the past was like, you'd realize this human world is nothing like it once was. There's no comparison. As weak as humans are now, they'd be wiped out or enslaved within a week."

Kurama nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid it's true. In the past, the humans were stronger. They lived with the constant threat of attack from their demon neighbors. And the demons lived the same, because at the time, the demons were not as strong as they are now. It wasn't until the two were separated, and demons turned against each other, that they began to get stronger. And while the demons got stronger through constant conflict, the humans have lived in relative peace. Spiritual energy has all but been forgotten in the human world, while youki is the key to life or death in the demon world. If that army invades, your bombs and technology will be completely useless. Only those few humans who are working for the Reikai will have the strength to survive, and even they won't be able to stand up against the hordes of demons who want to come through."

"Explain this spiritual energy," Catherine said. Her gaze was very direct, and sober.

"Reiki is what we call the energy humans have," Kurama said. "Every human is born with reiki, but some have it in large amounts and can use it, harness it, as a form of power. Demons have a similar energy, youki. And the distribution is the same - some have huge amounts while others have as little as the average human does reiki. The demons with small amounts die as infants, so most demons have considerably more youki than even the rare humans. I've met very few humans who could stand up to the average demon, and only two who were comparable to an S class demon. One of them is dead now, the other is Yusuke, who is only that strong because he has demon blood as well, making his an unusual mix of reiki and youki. As I said, half human hanyou's are as good as extinct now. He is the exception since in his case, his ancestors were the ones to breed and then survive. And since his human ancestor was alive when the worlds separated, her child and descendants survived. Humans have never been as quick to kill a child with demon blood as the demons have to their own half-human kin." He nodded to Catherine and gave her a sad but honest smile. "For as many hateful humans as this world holds, the love remains for one's child."

"You're part human," Catherine said. "Do you consider yourself a hanyou, then?"

"No, but I love my human mother more than any demon parent I might have had." Kurama could see that the girl softened to him at that moment, and while he was glad for it, he knew he'd do better to shift the subject. He didn't like discussing parents around Hiei. "The problem remains that we need to get the stone and seal the barrier. If we can do that, there won't be any reason to worry about humans matching the demon army."

"Wait," Duo said. He raised an eyebrow at Kurama, his gaze suspicious. "What about us? We don't have any ties with this Reikai group, but we have plenty of power."

"I know." The boy seemed to be waiting for something, but Kurama didn't know what. "Once we settle the problem, we'll have to report your existence to the Reikai. But I doubt they'll have any issue with you since you're not using that power against other humans. They rarely interfere with humans unless they're protecting them from demons. At most, Koenma would send someone to document the nine of you. The only problem you might have would be your familiars." Here, Kurama frowned at the two cats, who still seemed to be dead asleep. "If they are capable of transforming, then I doubt they'll be allowed to remain in the human world unattended. They'll have to become tantei if they want to stay."

"Tantei?" Duo didn't know the word, but there was no way anyone was going to take Shi-chan away from him. Even if his cat wanted to leave, this demon world didn't sound like the place for anyone as sweet as Shinigami or Wing.

"Soldiers, investigators, servants," Kurama supplied. "Those working for the Reikai are known as the reikai tantei. They're usually humans who defend other humans from demons, but since Yusuke, they've opened it to include others. Hiei and I were the first demons to be included in the group. If you appeal to Koenma, he might be persuaded to use your familiars rather than sending them away."

"Why should we appeal to this guy?" Duo glared. "It's none of his business if they're here - they don't hurt anything, and they've been a great help to us. We protect people the same as these tantei."

"They're demons," Hiei stated, in that flat tone of his. "Demons are not permitted entrance to the Ningenkai. And any found to have snuck in are sent back or imprisoned. You don't want them imprisoned. They'd be wishing for death if they were."

Duo stared, shaken by the cold warning. He really wished Hiei would look at him so he could see the youth's eyes. Now he almost missed having him glare every time he glanced over at him. "But if demons aren't allowed here, how did you get here? And Kurama said he was born as a human." He turned to frown at Kurama. "How did you get here?"

"I stole in as a spirit," Kurama said, "without a physical form. The barrier can't block a spirit. Hiei came through when he was weaker. It keeps out the dangerous demons, but some do slip through who are just beneath D level. If the Reikai had discovered us, we would have been charged immediately. As it is, we've already done our parole for that offense when we joined the tantei. When it comes to getting favors, Koenma is more than willing to bend the rules."

The redhead gave a wry smile, and Duo felt a bit of hope come into him. "Then if Shi-chan and Wing help this Reikai, they'd let them stay? We already protect humans, so that should be simple enough."

"Maybe," Kurama said. He didn't want the boy to get his hopes up, and from the way those violet eyes were shining, he had an idea Duo was pretty hopeful. "But once we get the stone, there won't be much need for new tantei. Only those they owe a debt to, or plan to use get past the laws."

"We're useful," Duo scowled. "I helped you earlier, didn't I? And Heero told you where that shard was - you'd have had to pick the thing apart to find it if he hadn't told you."

"Yes, you were helpful," Kurama said quickly. "But your help isn't what is in question here. I'll definitely tell Koenma that you helped us, after this is over. Your familiars, on the other hand, are demons. They'd have to prove themselves. And once the threat is gone, there won't be much opportunity for them to do that."

"So we help you now." Heero's expression didn't change when the redhead turned to him. "That's why you explained, isn't it."

"No." Hiei rounded on the group, facing them for the first time since Kurama's rebuke. "If I'm sentenced because of the barrier, then so be it. But I refuse to serve because one of you died trying to 'help.'"

His friend's tone was biting, but Kurama had to agree. "If anything happened to one of you, we would be held entirely responsible. We don't have Koenma's support to request assistance from uninvolved humans."

"Uninvolved?" Dorothy threw her head back with a sharp laugh. "Oh, that is great! The entire human race is in danger of being wiped out, and you think we aren't involved in it."

"The attack on Kagome made us involved."

Kurama blinked, looking around to identify the new voice that had spoken. And he found himself staring into sober green eyes. The tall boy had been quiet since he'd first seen him at lunch that day, but his gaze was direct and calm, not the least bit shy. "As to that..."

"We have taken the duty of protecting this town, or any town from enemies," Trowa continued. "Duo came here from across the globe in order to defend unknown civilians. It doesn't matter if the new enemy is demon in nature. One of our fellow students was attacked. That makes it our fight."

Duo was nodding adamantly, but he paused after a moment. "Then it *was* that girl the monster attacked?" His eyes widened as that hit him. "But she lived, right? I mean, if the fate of the world is on her finding the rest of that stone, and she died in an attack-"

"She lived," Quatre said. His voice was reassuring, and he gave a gentle smile to his worried friend. "The report I caught was that she'd been thrown across her room, but I don't think she sustained any serious injury."

"She didn't," Kurama said. "One thing we can be sure of is that Kagome will live until all of the pieces have been found." He reached into his vest and showed them the little jar he'd taken from the demon. "This stone is cursed. In the hands of a demon, it is charged with negative energy. When the Reikai took the stone, it had been used by Naraku, but it was pure and untainted. That means someone had to have purified the stone *after* Naraku used it. And only Kagome could have done that. So we know she will live long enough to purify the stone after Naraku uses it."

"Unless someone else purified it," Duo said. Kurama shook his head at him, and he frowned. "Why would it have to be her who did it?"

"It took a very powerful Miko to keep the stone pure. And after that Miko died, there were no others aside from Kagome - her reincarnation. I don't believe any normal human would be able to purify even a small shard once it's been tainted."

Duo scowled. "So...once a demon touches a piece of this stone it's bad? Then now that you have it, wouldn't you taint it?"

"It's the use that taints the stone," Kurama explained. "I would have to use these to taint them. Merely holding them won't change anything so long as I don't use their power. And the energy reading of pure shards isn't nearly as strong as that of tainted shards, so having this many together is only possible if they're purified. If these were all tainted, every demon in the ningenkai would center on them. Kagome would have been dead the first time she brought the shards here. A tainted shard can be felt at a much greater distance than a purified one. There's also the fact that a tainted shard is much harder to resist. I would have great difficulty holding a tainted shard and not using it. Consider it a drug, tainted shards give off an essence that entices demons to use them."

"Sounds like a strange stone," Duo said. "So what about those pieces you got from that demon earlier? They were tainted, right?"

"Hiei has them," Kurama nodded.

Duo raised an eyebrow and gave Hiei an uncertain look. "And that's safe?"

"Hiei has more self control than I do." Kurama smiled, following Duo's gaze to where Hiei was pointedly ignoring them both. "And his jagan lets him block the shards' power so it has little effect on him. Think of it as mind control - the shards draw a demon to use them whether he wants to or not, making him think that he wishes to give in. Mind control is difficult to enforce on someone with a jagan."

"Jagan?"

"A third eye, surgically implanted," Kurama explained. "That's why you didn't see his real appearance at school, and why none of the teachers noticed our presence. Hiei exerted a little push so the humans would see only what he wanted them to see, and so the teachers would get distracted any time someone referred to one of us. It rather backfired, since it ended up drawing more attention to us." Hiei sniffed, and Kurama shrugged lightly. "But it was my idea for him to influence the way he was seen. I should have been more exact on what I wanted him to do." He turned back to Duo and smiled at the boy. "The only way I could convince him to enter the school was to promise that no one would notice him. And there was no way I could get him to dress like a human."

Duo looked over Hiei's dark cloak, raising an eyebrow at how long it was and the very noticeable sword on his back. "I see what you mean."

"Yes," Kurama sighed. "Well, I really should head over to see Kagome now. I need to get the shards back to her, especially the tainted ones. Keeping them would guarantee attacks while we're here, and there's no need to draw even more enemies to us."

"Wait," Duo said quickly. "Where are you going to go? Are you going to the past now?"

"No, we're waiting till Kagome goes back so we can identify the portal. Then we'll follow her."

"And in the meantime you'll be acting like students?" Duo's gaze fell to where Shinigami and Wing were sleeping, and he frowned at them. "What about us? If you're going to be here for a while, couldn't you let us talk to these Reikai people? If we had their permission to help, then you guys wouldn't be held responsible, and we can prove that Shi-chan and Wing are useful."

Kurama winced a bit, standing slowly. "I really don't think we'll need the help. At most, Koenma might use you to guard the city against any demons that try to follow us to the past. They'll certainly come here to try and destroy the portal before we can retrieve the stone. But we already have people coming to prevent that. And the only real way to prove your familiars are trustworthy would be to take them into the Makai and test them after they've transformed. I doubt you'd want to risk them like that."

"I'd be with them," Duo said. "It wouldn't be a risk if we're together. And Heero would come, too." He turned to send a quick look at Heero, expecting an immediate nod. The boy was raising an eyebrow at him. Duo felt as if the floor dropped out from under him. "Wouldn't you...? I won't let anyone take Shi-chan away from me. And if this helps the earth, then of course we'd go, right?"

"Don't be so quick to decide things," Heero said, frowning at the boy.

Duo paled and shifted away, standing so they were eye-level. "Then I'll just go without you. I can fight on my own, I've done it for years. If that's how you-"

"You're not going by yourself." Heero shook his head, not quite wincing at Duo's reaction. "And that's not what I meant. Unless this Reikai decides we'd be useful, then no one will be going anywhere. And no, I wouldn't let anyone take Wing or Shinigami. The first person to try would regret it." His words earned him a bright smile and a warm embrace from Duo. He nearly flushed at the instant urge to hold onto the happy boy. "Calm down," he muttered, looking away.

"Heh, right." Duo turned back to Kurama, who'd been easing his way toward the door. "You can't leave yet," he called. He smirked when the redhead sent him a wary look. "So this Koenma guy is in charge of the Reikai, right? How would I talk to him?"

"He's rather busy right now," Kurama said slowly. "But usually he either comes to you or sends one of his messengers if he has something to tell you. To talk to him, you'd have to go to the Reikai."

"And where's that?"

"It's..." Kurama felt a bead of sweat break out on his brow, and he sent a furtive glance at Hiei. He'd never tried to explain the nature of the Reikai, and didn't know where to start. His friend had a familiar expression on his face, but it wasn't a helpful one. It was a certain sly smirk that told him Hiei was still smarting over the way Kurama had reproached him earlier. The small demon spoke before Kurama could stop him.

"I'll take you."

Duo blinked in surprise at having the offer come from Hiei, but he wasn't about to turn it down. "Thanks."

"I'm coming with you."

Kurama had spoken at the same moment Heero did, and the two looked at each other in surprise and suspicion. Duo and Hiei both raised their eyebrows.

Hiei sniffed. "You can't," he said sharply. "You have to return the shards to that girl."

"We should probably take Wing and Shi-chan with us," Duo said. He was looking at Heero, and he smiled when the boy nodded. With a quick thanks to Hilde, he retrieved the two seemingly dead cats. The fact that they barely twitched at being moved made him frown in concern. "Hey, Kurama. I thought you said they'd be fine. Why are they still sleeping?"

Kurama frowned at the distraction. "Shock, and dreams. Hiei gave them an impulse when he touched them. That combined with the thought of their dormant forms would make their minds turn back to push at the memories they've blocked out. I countered it as well as I could, but they're too vulnerable in their animal forms. They'll have an urge to be stronger, and to get that, they'll have to remember what they are. I told you they could be dreaming for the next few days." He started to turn back, but Duo caught his arm.

"They're going to sleep for days?!"

"No," Hiei said. "Shake them, they'll wake up."

"No," Kurama agreed. "But when they do doze off they're likely to go straight into deep dream states."

Duo handed Wing to Heero and tested Hiei's advice with a not too gentle shake. Shinigami promptly growled in annoyance and gave a wide-mouthed yawn. "You sleep like the dead," Duo sighed. "I was worried about you."

"Mm..." Shinigami shifted out of Duo's hold and curled up on the boy's shoulder. It wasn't until he caught sight of the two behind them that he really woke up. He bristled.

"You missed the entire discussion," Duo frowned. "I guess we can recap it for you on the way."

"Way where?" Shinigami asked. He ducked back off Duo's shoulder so he was in the boy's arms instead, blocking him from sight of both Kurama and Hiei. Heero moved toward them, and he lifted his head to twitch an ear at Wing. The white cat was giving him the strangest look. "What?"

Wing's eyes narrowed and he stared harder at the familiar black cat. "In my dream, you had red eyes."

Kurama gave a sharp look at the cat, his tone cool. "Are you sure it was him you dreamed of?"

The redhead was challenging him with that question, though he'd obviously come to his own conclusion. Wing ignored him, staring at Shinigami as he tried to recall his dream. The green-eyed cat was beginning to look worried when he finally gave up. "I don't know," Wing muttered, shifting in Heero's arms. "The eyes are wrong, but it was definitely him."

"Was it a memory?" Duo asked, his gaze shifting between the two cats. "Do you think you knew each other before?"

"No," Shinigami said sharply. "I don't believe that." The boy holding him looked surprised and he shook his head. "I never knew him."

Duo glanced over at Kurama, but the redhead didn't offer any help. In fact, his eyes were shuttered, his expression almost completely blank. Duo looked back down to the black cat he'd known for so long. "Do you remember what you dreamed of?" Shinigami shifted, ears turning up at him.

"You," Shinigami said, "and other things that I can't remember. But I'm sure I never met Wing before we came here." He frowned over at the white cat, his ears tilting back to show his displeasure.

Wing scowled in return, his own ears mimicking that backward tilt. "I never said it was a memory," he muttered. "Just a strange dream."

"Well," Duo said slowly, "if you guys keep dreaming you'll probably remember eventually. In the meantime, we're going to take you to see someone." The two cats turned to look at him, and he gave a quick smile. "It seems a bunch of demons are going to destroy the world, so we're going to help stop them."

Hiei snorted, a wry smile curving his lips. "Right. Let's go." He took a step toward the door and stopped, raising an eyebrow at the one blocking his way. "No need to protest," he murmured to Kurama. "Return the shards. I'll be back by the time you're finished."

Kurama raised his voice without looking over at the two humans closest to them. "Excuse us for a moment."

The two went outside, and Duo had a strong urge to peak after them. He wouldn't put it past them to just disappear. Besides that, he wanted to know why Kurama was so set against their going to the Reikai when Hiei had been the one who didn't want them to help in the first place. Or was it that he didn't want Hiei going? That didn't make much sense either. A light hand touched his shoulder, and Duo turned to find Hilde standing behind him with a troubled look on her face.

"We're strongest when we work together," Hilde said slowly. "I know you're stronger than the rest of us, but I don't think you should go somewhere so dangerous alone. Even with Heero, the two of you don't have any defense. Your powers center entirely on offense."

"Yeah," Duo shrugged, "but they're our cats. Besides that, I doubt Kurama would appreciate all of us tagging along. And then there's the town. If demons really do come here trying to destroy the gate, then you guys will have your hands full keeping them off."

"Quatre has a defense." Hilde let that hang for a moment, but Duo didn't get what she was aiming at. "And I have a defense. One of us should go with you. Since Quatre is stronger than me, he'd be needed here more, to even out the rest of the team that stays behind." She knew the moment the boy understood what she was pushing. Duo's expression darkened.

"You're not going with us," Duo said. "It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous for me, but not for you." The boy had the gall to smile and nod cheerfully. Hilde scowled, all hesitance blown. "That's crap, Duo, and you know it. I've been practicing my shield for the last two weeks, nothing gets through it now. Dorothy and Catherine both tried with everything they had. Don't tell me it's too dangerous for me but not you, when you don't even have a way to block attacks. You may have more stamina than the rest of us, but your defense sucks!"

For such an intelligent and quiet girl to spit the word 'sucks' at him came as a slight shocker to Duo. That she was insulting him was just as bad. But the fact that he couldn't seem to find his tongue quickly enough to form a response was worse. He glowered at her, not sure what to say to that. And Dorothy laughed at him from her place behind them.

"It's true, you know," Dorothy smirked. "If we were to split into two functioning teams, we'd have Heero head one, and you the other. Since you're both going, it makes things more complicated. In that case, you don't need anything more than someone to act as your defender - you have more than enough offensive power. As for the rest of us, the combined power should be enough to let us hold our ground. And Quatre's pretty good with blocking. Since we'd have more moving targets we won't need a solid defender as much as two people would." Duo was shaking his head at her, and she turned away from him sharply, her gaze snapping to Heero. "Besides that, you won't be going alone whether Hilde goes or not."

Heero frowned at this, something about the girl's glittering gaze making him decidedly wary. "What are you talking about?"

"Cathy is working on a healing tap, between the two of us, we can heal most minor wounds." Dorothy smirked at the look of surprise that flashed over Heero's face. "We didn't try anything serious, but bruises, cuts, burns, all healed with just a little focus and energy. That gives the home team a healer as well as a defender. But that's when Cathy and I both work together. There's only one who can heal all by herself. She'll be going with you, so I think you'll be grateful to have Hilde going as well."

A dark foreboding swept over Heero, the hairs on the back of his neck rising in as he felt movement behind him. He nearly groaned in disbelief. "Not-"

Cathy nodded solemnly. "Relena."

"No," Duo said sharply. The word got out before he realized how loudly he'd said it, but he couldn't help how vigorously he shook his head. "No way. It's too dangerous to have anyone go with us." And he sure as hell didn't want Relena tagging along. Even if they were going to some dangerous demon-filled place, it was still a chance to be alone with Heero. He might have agreed to have Hilde come with them, since she seemed to have accepted that he didn't like her as anything but a friend. But not Relena. Absolutely not.

"Don't be ridiculous," Relena smiled. She'd stood back and hid her smile while Cathy and Dorothy talked about their healing powers, but now she moved forward to where she could beam directly at Heero. Dorothy had been the one to convince her not to mention that new talent, and she was glad she'd agreed. It wasn't like her to keep quiet when she did something that made her stand out, but it was worth the startled look on Heero's usually impassive face. The boy looked younger like that, and very very cute. "Hilde can defend me the same as she would you," she said to Heero. "And I'll be the healer. I'm sure it will make a marvelously functional team."

"No."

Quatre sighed from his place on the couch. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy for Heero to accept, but if the girls really had found some sort of healing talents, then that made them indispensable. Separated into two groups, it really would be best to have the defenders and healers go with each so neither one was lacking in that department. With a wary expression, he told Heero just as much. And he received a sharp glare in return that made him lean further back onto the couch. He was grateful to the warm arm Trowa moved over his shoulders.

"There's no point getting angry about it," Trowa said, his tone unyielding. Unlike Quatre, he wasn't the least bit bothered by Heero's semi-murderous glare. "As you said, we don't know if you'll be going anywhere, so any plans we make now are subject to change. But if you do go, then you have to take every precaution to assure that our team doesn't lose any of its force. That means having as much of each area as possible - offense and defense. And if they've managed it, healing."

"You don't have many options," Wufei commented. He fully understood how disgusted and angry Heero was at the thought of having the girls along. The fact that the females seemed to have gotten all of the defensive abilities made the rest of them reliant. Aside from Quatre's slicing blades, and his own staff, they had nothing that protected themselves. Only Hilde had managed to work a functioning shield. And healing...if they really had mastered some sort of healing power, then it was obvious how the energies were allotted. To make up for their offensive strength, the girls were powered with the aspects of defense. It made it nigh impossible to deny their place in the group.

Wufei shook his head, still watching the anger that flickered on Heero's face, making his dark-eyed friend nearly twitch. "Defense - either you take Quatre, or you take Hilde. If you took Quatre, you'd have to take Trowa. I seriously doubt he'd let Quatre go without him." A sidelong look found this confirmed, and his eyebrow twitched when Trowa tightened the arm he had around his blonde friend. Wufei was resigned to the two of them, but he didn't want to watch it. He snapped his gaze back to Heero. "If the two of them went with you, the remaining force would be me and Dorothy - not nearly enough considering you would also have to take either Relena, or Dorothy and Catherine. That leaves either two or three people here. Obviously that won't work."

What was obvious was that the rest of them supported the notion of Relena and Hilde going with them. Heero's eyebrows lowered until his glare was a dark blue sheen of danger, aimed directly at Wufei since the boy continued to speak.

"So you take Hilde and Relena, leaving Quatre here for defense, and the girls for healing. Five of us, four of you."

"Six."

Wufei blinked at the sharp voice that contradicted him, and he found himself staring down into mismatched eyes. Wing had leapt up onto the arm of his chair and was staring up at him with distinct distaste. "You can't count yourself," Wufei sniffed.

"And why not?" Wing challenged. "The whole point in going is because Shi-chan and I are demons, right? Do you really thing we'll be powerless once we recall our dormant forms?"

"You didn't get to hear what Kurama said," Wufei reminded him. "He said you might be able to resume those forms, but that you could have too weak a strand to be able to shift. It depends on your lineage. Regardless, he never said anything about either of you having power in your forms, just that they would be humanoid in appearance."

Duo frowned, holding Shinigami closer to his chest as he took insult on his behalf. "Kurama also said they were powerful for familiars. Earlier when Wing scratched me, he said it was dangerous from such a strong familiar. If a little thing like that is dangerous, I'm sure they'll be great once they remember what they are."

Silence held for a long moment before Wing turned to give a wide-eyed look at Heero. The dark-haired boy was gifting him with a very deadly gaze. "It was an accident," Wing said quickly. "I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking."

"It's nothing," Duo agreed. He waved a hand at his shoulder and parted the cloth of his shirt so the tears were evident, a white bandage visible through the gaps. "Doesn't hurt a bit, and it stopped bleeding almost immediately. Besides, it was Kurama's fault, him and Hiei. They scared them."

Wing winced and ducked his head in embarrassment. Then Wufei let out a snort, and he turned to glare up at the boy. "It wasn't funny," Wing bristled. "He was radiating so much hostility I thought he was going to tear my head off and he hadn't even touched me yet. Plus he was attacking Shi-chan. I couldn't just sit there and wait for them to get to me."

Shinigami had also ducked his head, and Duo frowned down at the black cat. "Just what exactly did they do to you guys, anyway? What scared you so much?"

"They knew what we were from the moment they saw us," Shinigami muttered. "They didn't think we could understand them or talk or anything, so they weren't careful what they said. We knew that if they touched us, they'd realize we were smart enough to be a danger to them."

"So that's why you didn't want Kurama to pet you," Duo said. "I figured something must have happened to make you guys so nervous. But what happened when they did touch you? I've never heard you make sounds like that." His cat burrowed against him, hiding his face. Duo blinked in surprise and glanced over to see Wing hunching his shoulders in the same sort of embarrassed urge to make himself smaller. "Come on."

"They're demons," Wing mumbled, his nose pressed close to his front legs. "You can really feel that when they touch you. Powerful, dangerous. And Kurama is about as possessive as Heero, but scarier." Heero gave him a funny look, and he sniffed. "You just grumbled when you were jealous of me hanging on Duo. You never gave off so much threatening energy that I thought you were going to skin me alive."

Shinigami shivered, nodding in agreement. "Completely uncalled for. We never touched him, he was the one who touched us."

"Canines," Wing growled, bristling as he hunched tighter over his bent legs. "Snappy possessive dog types."

Duo stared for a long moment before letting out a laugh at the two of them. "You're talking about Kurama! How did you know? You guys were out cold when he was in his fox form."

"It's in his energy," Wing muttered. "When someone shoves that much power at you, it's pretty obvious. The same way he knew how strong we were just by touching us, he told us what he was." He wrinkled his face in distaste, growling a little. "Like a dumb dog hoarding his food."

"Now that's uncalled for." Kurama raised an eyebrow when the others turned to stare at him, but his gaze was directed at the white cat. Wing jumped to his feet, the fur on the back of his neck bristling wildly. "A fox is far more intelligent than a dog, especially a youko. And I'll have you know that I'm quite happy to share my food."

"Still canine," Wing muttered. But his voice had dropped some. He couldn't help wanting to move to some place where those eyes couldn't see him. "Marking your territory."

A loud snort sounded behind Kurama, and the redhead twitched, glowering at the cat. "How crude." The teens were staring at him and he cleared his throat, pointedly ignoring Wing, and the amusement radiating from the little demon behind him. "We're going to return the shards now. If you still want to see Koenma, you can come with us. We'll take you to the Reikai afterward."

"Great," Duo said quickly. He wiped the confused look off his face and replaced it with a smile. "We were talking to the girls about this, though. If two of them were to go along with us, would they need to get this Koenma guy's permission as well?"

"The fewer people the better," Kurama frowned. "I can't stress enough how dangerous the past is. But yes, anyone who wants to go with us will need to be cleared with Koenma first. We won't accept anyone he hasn't given permission to. If anything goes wrong, it'll be on his head, and not ours."

"Well you're pessimistic," Dorothy sniffed, "aren't you."

"It's not nice, but I'm afraid it's true." Kurama shook his head at the blonde girl, his expression solemn. "If a human dies during this, and the blame is placed on Hiei or I, then the entire mission will be shot. We'll be imprisoned immediately. Not even Koenma can counter the punishment if a demon kills a human, not unless he can revive the human. And currently the Reikai doesn't have the power to do that."

"No one's going to die anyway." Duo frowned and waved a hand at Dorothy. "Don't be so gloomy."

"Well, then," Kurama said. "If you're coming, I'd like to head out immediately."

Duo turned and smiled when he saw Wing shift out of that hissy pose. The white cat hopped over to him, curling in his arms next to Shinigami. He was curious why they didn't get on his shoulders like usual, but didn't ask. Heero joined him when they started for the door. Then Relena bounded over as well, Hilde a few steps behind. Duo got a sinking feeling in his gut as they followed Kurama and Hiei outside. Hilde would be okay to have around, but Relena? He could just imagine the harping they were in for.

* * *
TBC