Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Contracts ❯ Message ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: I know I really shouldn't be starting a new fanfiction with the number I have needing updates, but I couldn't resist, and the plot bunnies were about to revolt. I have a fair idea of where this one is going, and I'll warn you, dear readers, and Kurama is not going to be paired up with anyone. Yep, no Kurama pairings at all, past, present, or future of the fic. Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'll welcome you all to my newest fanfiction and say, as required, that I don't own either Petshop of Horrors or Yu Yu Hakusho. Just keep in mind that Christmas is coming and if you have a couple million dollars, either would make a wonderful present for me. I now dedicate this chapter to my math homework and hope you enjoy.

Broken Contracts

Chapter One

 

Count D sighed as his shop gate slammed open. No doubt one of his customers had broken their contract and the detective would be accusing him of murder or drug trafficking in three, two, one…

“I've got you now, count!”

“Right on time,” he muttered, pouring two cups of tea and adding a little bit of sugar to the first, leaving the other quite bitter. “Good afternoon, detective. You're just in time for tea.”

“I'm always `just in time' for the freaking tea,” Leon grumbled, flopping down on the ornate couch without any manner of grace. The only thing that kept him from sticking his feet upon the coffee table was the thick layer of sweets covering it.

“Would it be rude to ask what you've `got' me with this time?” D asked, sitting in the chair across from Leon, his chin resting on his folded hands.

“That bird you sold to Mrs. Blank ate her,” the detective said frankly, glancing darkly over his cup of tea at the Chinese man. “We had to identify her by her dental records.”

“Was there anyone else in the house?” D inquired, offering a plate of cookies.

“One of the other guys found a couple of feathers from a different bird, a larger on from the looks of it,” Leon said. He pulled out a couple of photos of the crime scene and of said feathers. “So, where's this lady's contract?”

“In the back with the rest, I would think,” the Asian kami said, motioning to the door when one hand.

Leon felt like banging his head against the well-polished table in front of him once he'd gotten a chance to read Mrs. Blank's contract. He had nothing on the count.

 

1. Do not show it to anyone.

2. Do not let it taste blood.

3. Do not expose it to any other birds.

 

“I trust that everything is in order,” D said, an underlying hint of smugness in his voice. “As you know, if a customer fails to follow the three points of the contract, they shop-”

“-Cannot be held responsible for the consequences,” Leon finished off dryly. “Yeah, I know. So, what can you tell me about the this bird thing anyway?”

“It's a rare breed of snow bird from Russia,” the count explained, closing multi-colored eyes as he forced himself to remember the details that had been in the letter accompanying the creature when it'd arrived. “They originally come from the mountains below the floating isle of the koorime, but were rare even there, so heave become extremely hostile to intruders into their territory. If another bird does so, it attacks and goes berserk at the first taste of blood.”

“Which explains what happened to Mrs. Blank,” the American grumbled with a disgruntled sigh. “Where do you get all of these things?”

“Various places,” D said evasively, gesturing with one pale hand. “My grandfather sent me Q-chan, Pon-chan was born in England, Ten-chan in Japan, I found Tetsu here in San Francisco.”

The phone rang, pulling D away from their `conversation' to answer. Suspicious as always, Leon strained to listen in. “Count D's Petshop.” Pause. “Ah, good evening, Inari-san, how have you been fairing?” There was a longer pause, and the detective could almost hear what `Inari,' whoever that was, was saying. The smile on D's face faltered and his lips thinned. “I see. Yes, I'll come as quickly as I can. Try to manage until I arrive.” He hung up, his expression clearly upset as he started to mutter to himself, something Leon hadn't thought he was capable of. “I warned him not to break it. Cannot even they be counted upon to keep three simple clauses?”

“Another broken contract, count?” Leon asked, leaning back against the back of the couch. “Who died this tine?”

“No one, yet,” D said, distracted as he began to walk around the room, picking up the various sweets and pieces of the tea set. “But if he remains in that child's possession, someone may. I apologize for my rudeness, but I'm afraid that you must leave, now. There are preparations to be made before I leave. We did we not learn about this breach until now?”

“Hey, hold on a minute,” Leon demanded, jumping to his feet and grabbing the count's arm. “What do you mean, before you leave? Where the hell are you going?”

D's mismatched eyes turned cold. “I do not believe that that is any of your business, detective. I am not a prisoner. I may leave whenever I please, with or without your blessing.”

“If people might die, then it is,” he insisted, standing straighter in order to increase his ability to tower over the shorter man. “It's my job to save lives, remember?”

“It would be some time before any of those lives lost occurred on American soil, detective, as the contract and participants in question are in Japan, with the exception of myself, a detail I plan to remedy as quickly as I can.”

Releasing the Chinese count, Leon stepped back, staring at him in challenge. “You've never gone to deal with a broken contract before I dragged you there because someone died before. What makes this case so special that you're willing to travel to the other side of the globe for it?”

“The position of the events and their ability to do more damage than I would like to allow,” D said, his hands braced firmly on his hips as he glared back. “Now go. I have too much to do for you to be underfoot any longer.”

Defeated, Leon started for the door, pausing before his hand could reach the iron gate. “Are you coming back? You know, so Chris can come and say hi whenever he visits me.”

“Perhaps, detective, perhaps.” D kept his gaze fixed away from the blonde in his doorway. “Though we have been here for far too long already, so perhaps it is time for us to move on instead. Goodnight, detective.”

“Night, D.” Hands stuffed in his pockets, Leon started down the street. “It's not like you can pack up a whole shop and leave in a night anyway. I'll see him in the morning.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Passing the two guardian fox statues at the entrance of the shrine, Kurama stood straighter. This was his territory, as the temple was dedicated to his god. The kitsune had not been to the shrine since the day he'd made his decision to remain in the human would, nearly twelve ago. The trip had been made to apologize to Inari for his extended absence, and to ask for the god's blessing in his choice.

 

Flashback:

Nine year-old Minamino Shuuichi snuck out through his bedroom window as to avoid his neighbor's watchful eye, the old woman having promised to look after Shiori's son while she was in the hospital. At the station, the ticket seller gave the kitsune turned human an odd look, but didn't stop him from purchases a ticket. Children generally didn't go to shrines when they were running away from home, after all, and something about the oddly colored kid seemed a lot older than he looked. Kurama received the same treatment from his driver and the other passengers, a total of three of them scattered around the nearly empty bus.

“A little late to be going to pray, isn't it?” the man sitting in front of him asked, leaning over the back of his seat.

“Don't you know youkai are often nocturnal?” the child replied lightly, grinning darkly as the man's eyes widened. “Besides, I like the night much better than the day. Fewer people are about.”

The older man quickly moved a few seats further back, unnerved by the strange boy, whose eyes had looked far too old for his body. Leaning back into his own seat, the ancient thief smirked. Humans were still extremely easy to mess with.

When the bus dropped him off at the bottom of the shrine steps, Kurama took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was about to do. He'd almost made it back home before Shiori's actions had held him back from starting the preparations to return to the Makai, and the fox god deserved to know his choice, at the very least.

To his surprise, one of the human priests was still awake in the shrine as he passed under the entrance, and turned to face the youkai immediately. “What business do you have here, kitsune?”

“I've come to pray,” Kurama said honestly. Priests with spiritual power were to be respected unless one had a wish to be killed or at the very least sealed. He bowed to the old human. “I am Youko Kurama.”

“I have heard of you, and of your supposed death,” the priest stated, raising an eyebrow at the kitsune's form. “Though events seem to have changed since the last rumor I heard was begun. Very well, do what you came to and return home.”

Nodding, Kurama proceeded to go through the steps of kitsune prayer, his more complex and elegant than many of his kind preformed, as his station demanded. A familiar force reaching his senses, the kitsune quickly bowed low to the ground, forehead brushing the stone paving the shrine.

“Greetings, Kurama,” came the soul touching sound of the rice god as mist gathered around the shrine, concentrating around a spot roughly five feet from where the thief crouched. Clad in silk finer than that of any emperor had claimed to own, Inari stepped from the mist, gazing down at his favorite.

“Greetings, Inari-sama,” Kurama murmured. A soft touch on his shoulder told him that he could rise and he did so, sitting up with his legs folded neatly beneath him, looking to see the deity before him.

“Have you come to return to me?” Inari asked, tilting his head to the side.

“I have not, my lord,” Kurama said regretfully. “I have come to tell you that I cannot return for some time longer.” He related the events of the past few days along with his realizations about Shiori to the god. Finished, he looked down to his folded hands to await Inari's response.

“You are learning, my child,” he said fondly, startling the kitsune. “I believe that human life will help you learn many things. You have my blessing, Kurama, to live as Minamino Shuuichi as long as you need to learn more. Never fear, young one. When it is time for your return, your position will be waiting for you, as will I. Good fortune to you, my cherished one.”

 

End flashback

Returning to the present, Kurama quickly ducked out of the way of his mother's camera sight before she could take another picture. “Kaa-san please, I like being back to see! If you keep taking so many pictures of me, I'll go blind.”

Shiori laughed, lowering her camera. “Well, that would certainly be a tragedy. I'm not sure if your admirers at school would hate me for damaging your lovely eyes or love me for making it easier for them to sneak up on you.”

With an exaggerated sigh, the kitsune started to push the older woman toward the tori path. “Why don't you go take some pictures of things that don't have eyes for a bit while I go explore the shrine for myself.” He waved to her as she left, only turning to the priest standing nearby once she'd turned toward the path and was no longer looking at him. “It's been a long time, priest-san.”

“Your form has aged past where I thought it ever would before you left it, Youko-san,” the old man noted in a form of greeting.

“And it has yet to finish,” Kurama added, nodding. “Though you appear to be near the end of your life here on Earth. Perhaps I will see you in Reikai before you are judged in front of Enma-sama. I could even put in a good word to his son for you.”

“I would have you leave the affairs of my soul be, as kind as your intentions may or may not be,” the priest said, his lips twisting in a small smile. “I take it that the woman is your host's mother. I am pleased to see that she is not suffering.”

“I would give my life for her happiness, and almost did once,” Kurama said, smiling as well. “Now, if you will excuse me for a moment, I have a pray I'd like to place.” Pulling out a fox-shaped piece of paper from his coat pocket, Kurama glanced toward the tori path to make sure his mother was distracted before quickly walking to place it among the hundreds of others. The only difference between his and the multitude of others was that his was made completely out of his own youki, certain to attract his god's attention quickly. Task done, the kitsune smiled toward the sun before running off to rejoin his mother despite the risk of going blind.