Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson Eyes, Sapphire Tears ❯ Encountering a Problem ( Chapter 6 )

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

Kazumi quickly took over the conversation, her eyes flickering in barely concealed amusement. Her voice wasn't the high voice of most girls her age, but rather a pleasant midnight sound, feminine but commanding. "Not that my people necessarily need your help in this, but we figured it would be polite to ask permission to trespass and warn you of the breach. If we weren't concerned about negotiations, we would have simply sent out a unit ourselves."
Koenma sighed, smiling as well, "And for that I am grateful, but I also see this as an opportunity to not only rid Spirit World of one more danger, but to strengthen our relationship with the inhabitants of this new realm."
Kazumi merely shrugged at this, indicating to those who saw it that she did not really care either way. If he wanted to turn this into a peace negotiation, she would let him. Her job was to stop Yagami from interfering in the other realms, and most importantly, to stop him before he betrayed too many of their secrets to their enemies. Knowledge even falling into Spirit World's hands from his lips was dangerous, and he knew this. They could not afford to have yet another weakness at this crucial point in time for them. The majority of the Kyoshirans may not have realized it, but their very existence balanced on the edge of a knife. They could notmake mistakes, not now. The results would be disasterous. Every time she held the gaze of one of her fellow fighters, she saw this knowledge reflected in their eyes. It permeated the air theybreathed, writhed like some living aura around them, night and day, infecting their thoughts, their hopes, their dreams. Every waking moment was filled with dread of what the future would bring, and the conviction that they had to stop it. The Malikaian, blood-sworn protectors of the Kyoshiran clan, knew with every heartbeat, every pulse of blood in their veins, that the only reason for their existence was to live and die for their people.
In the beginning, it was like a curse, an unwanted burden shoved upon them unwillingly. They were branded on the backs and foreheads with potent power that would never fade, would forever bind them to their sworn task. It traveled down the bloodlines and through the centuries of every mailikaian kyoshiran. They were children born to protect. Theirs was a set destiny. Some say it was a punishment for a Malikaian Kyoshiran's betrayal of their people, doomed forever to try to make up for the fault. The cause was not what mattered. They were marked for life. Though the original hatred of the act had faded over the centuries, many still felt a small flame of reproach in their hearts for those they protected. Though things had changed, and they were now not treated as slaves, this remained. But that small portion of darkness was not enough to dim the love they now felt as a whole for their domestic and peace loving people. This younger generation would gladly die than see the souls of their people, their loved ones, stained. They would do anything to prevent it.
Kazumi let a half smile touch her lips at the thought, knowing in her heart that it was true. No matter how dark the deed, she would do it. Even if it meant slaughtering one of her own students.
Hiei glanced from Koenma's face to hers, and he caught the look, and read in it more than the others could. Her smile did not reach her eyes, and they held within them something he had come to recognize in Demon World. For all her harmless and feminine appearance, this girl was a killer. Though his respect for her grew in the space it took to look at her, he stored away that last bit of knowledge. It was something he would not soon forget.
Yusuke sighed and stretched, "Sooo . . . the gist is that we go out, catch this runaway from your world, help you return him, and we're done?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"If he gives us too much trouble, then don't take the risk of catching him. We just need him stopped." Kazumi stated in reply.
Two shocked and four calculating gazes focused on her.
"It would not be good to have a member of your realm killed on our soil. As it stands, we don't have a quarrel with him." Koenma said softly.
Without a trace of discomfort, Kazumi shrugged. "Just putting the situation in proportion. I wouldn't want your charges getting killed because of a misunderstanding." The 'charges' obviously referred to Yusuke and the others.
Hiei was immediately agitated, "Don't count me in with them. I'm only doing this to cancel a debt. I wouldn't be fool enough to get myself killed for the likes of you."
She was undeterred by the scathing remark, "I'd be disappointed if you did. I've heard rumor of you little team here, Koenma. I came because I heard they were good. I hope they can live up to it."
"You heard . . .?" Koenma said, nonplussed, "But your race hasn't been seen until now."
"True. Not many have crossed over. In fact, I'm the first in the last century." She smiled in amusement, "A little reconnaissance on my part." It must have been an inside joke, because they could not see the humor in it.
The news seemed to have shocked Koenma. His mind was buzzing with thoughts about what had happened in Spirit World in the last year or so. If she had been spying on them without their knowledge, then it would have been quite easy for her to have seen many events that they would not wish others knowing about. Hush hush happenings that had been dealt with promptly. Judging by the glint in her eye, she knew his silent fears, and wasn't going to give him a hint either way. Let him wonder.
Before he could say anything though, Kurama spoke up, curious, "But if this runaway is such a threat, then why did they only send one of you? Are any of your comrades joining us later?"
She gave him a level gaze, "No."
"Might I ask why?"
"Let's just say that we all thought one was enough." As in, I can handle it.
"And we can't handle it?" Yusuke retorted defiantly.
"We'll see."

Despite Kuwabara's futile protests, Kazumi insisted they set off immediately.
"We leave now. That is, unless the humans need to go pack their little knapsacks for the expedition." She grinned at Kuwabara.
Whopping Kuwabara to cut off his latest quip, Yusuke walked past her. "We're fine."
Hiei couldn't help but begin to grudgingly accept her, expecially since she had the good tast to tease the human. He followed a bit behind them with Kurama, keeping silent witness to the events.
They first traveled into one of the deepest parts of Spirit World, and as they headed towards the first trees of a rather ominous looking forest, Kuwabara finally spoke up again. "'Scuse me, but do we even know where this guy is?"
She glanced at him, "Scared? I know because I can sense him, at this moment at least, and he is somewhere in here." She gestured to the trees. "We Kyoshirans have unique energy signatures, and I would always recognize one of my own."
"Maybe, but this forest is quite large, and is infamous for its dangers." Kurama intoned in a soft voice, "I would not rely on merely your senses from here on out."
Kazumi nodded absently, but in truth she recognized in the fair demon ancient wisdom, a wisdom that belied his outward appearance, and she knew that his advice was worth taking. "I never thought this would be easy." She sighed, then stepped across the unmarked boundary between the empty plains and the forbidding trees. As she passed beneath the shadow of the first tree, she felt an unknown presence brush her, something far older than she, something alien, and the slight contact caused her to shudder from head to foot. At a gasp from behind her she knew she was not alone in the sensation. They all felt it, to varying degrees.
Attention not fully leaving the forest, she glanced at the group, noting that the human, Kuwabara, was openly shivering in the humid air of midday. Ah, he's especially sensitive to it, she surmised, feeling a twinge of sympathy for him, seeing as he was apparently the weakest of the four sent to help her. That must be his strong point, then, and she would remember it, because it could be useful to her in the near future.
She stopped dead then, and contemplated. She had not anticipated such a force to be in the forest, but that wasn't the real problem. No, the real problem was that Yagami would not have headed for this place without a reason, and they had just stumbled upon it. Whatever the unknown force was, Yagami must have been sent to find it, maybe seek its aid. And that was a possibility she could not allow. Whatever it was, it was enough that she could almost taste its power on the air, like an acrid perfume pervading the very heart of the forest, and leaking out in large quantities to the edges of it. It was almost a physical manifestation, a muggy fog hovering over the dead leaves and vegetation of the forest.
"What the hell is that?" Yusuke gave blunt voice to all of their thoughts.
"That," Kazumi replied calmly, "Seems to be our newest problem."
"There is no record of such a thing inhabiting this forest," Kurama related unwaveringly.
Hiei snorted in disgust, "Thats says volumes. Spirit World's half-assed intelligence barely has any records on this section of their realm at all."
She glanced at him. He was so cynical for a demon of his age. From what she could gather, he and the others (Aside from the puzzling Kurama) seemed to be at around sixteen years of age. For this reason alone she was surprised. From her earlier inspections, she had been rather unimpressed by the three neighboring realms. They boasted average beings of average power, nothing special at all. The strong ones were powerful in old age. When she'd met her new comrades she had been secretly quite pleased. They were incredibly young, not even nearing the apex of their strength, and yet they were the most powerful band of otherworlders she had come across. Even by Kyoshiran standards they were amazing, and that was saying something. True, she was their age and powerful, but then again she lived in a world at war, where being the best the fastest was necessary to survive. She could not say the same for them, and it made her wonder about their separate pasts. The two humans she knew of, for Yusuke was currently the buzz of Spirit and Demon World, the new Spirit Detective, a kick-ass youth with an attitude. It wasn't hard to find out just about everything about him, and through that, to find out about Kuwabara, Yusuke's best friend.
Her informants had mentioned the two demon companions, and those that were the inhabitants of demon world were not at all friendly about it. It seemed that, because of their apparently helpful attitude towards the two humans, Kurama and Hiei were viewed as the two Spirit World lap dogs, traitors to the demon name. Of course, those self-same informants wouldn't have dared to say the same thing to their faces, and that in itself told her most of what she needed to know. They had both been criminals, caught by Yusuke and now serving out their sentences by helping the detective out. Apparently it was a way to pay Spirit World back (and eventually be redeemed) for their many crimes. When she'd heard the separate stories of their exploits and eventual capture, she'd been very, very interested. It wasn't often that she met individuals as interesting as these, that was for sure. And, in the end, this mission was just another way for her to escape her current circumstances and just have fun. Everyone expected so much of her, her comrades, her people, her friends, when it all came to it, it just plain exhausted her. She could never relax around them, just enjoy life, because it was all about the future, her destiny, her Fate.There it was, that damn word again. She was beginning to despise it. She'd heard it all before, and she understood, probably better than any of them, and tried her best to live up to it. But sometimes, sometimes, it was just nice to escape from all the pain, the death and carnage, the future itself, and be around people who didn't know about her, who would see her for who she was, not for her future or for her past, or her circumstances, just her. That was all she really wanted. The future would come, but until then, she'd live her life the way she wanted. Then, when she'd had her fun, she'd return, to the life and the destiny she never wanted in the first place.
She returned her attention to her two objects of interest, the demons. Kurama she'd already had a chance to assess, but the one mystery still remaining to her was the fire demon, Hiei. Oh, true, she knew the basic facts, that he controlled fire expertly and efficiently, and that hewas deadly withhis third eye, the Jagan. And she'd learned more, and confirmed more, upon meeting him. Yes, he was short, but that hardly mattered when compared with his other traits. She, of all people, knew the danger of underestimating someone because of their stature. He was about her height, with spiky black hair with a touch of white, and the most startling pair of crimson eyes she had ever seen. They were the color of rubies, but her first thought upon meeting them was of blood. Fresh spilled blood. He looked good in the black cloak he wore, dark and menacing. He wore power and dominance the way most people wore clothing, and she could tell that he came with more than a little ego. She knew more of his background than Kurama's, though not much, all considering. She knew he was a half-breed, a forbidden child of an ice and a fire demon that had ben spurned at birth. She even knew he had a sister, a Yukina, because in her earlier days of exploration she had met the girl, and befriended her.
She'd first crossed over the barrier between the worlds when she was eight, and had come across a young ice demon, a sweet girl who'd introduced herself as Yukina. They got along well, and Yukina had helped her get her bearings in the strange world she had come to. After a while, she'd learned Yukina had disappeared, and had been relieved to find that, years later, she'd been rescued by the Spirit Detective and his comrades, but she had yet to see her again. Absently, Kazumi wondered if she would remember her. Probably. But the young girl Yukina had met years ago would be very different to her now, for eight years had managed to change Kazumi considerably. She was hardened, now, and colder, because she needed to be to survive. In her heart, Kazumi hoped that Yukina would still be the same sweet girl she had met, maybe smarter, but no less innocent. It was no wonder Hiei wanted to keep her in the dark about his identity, but Kazumi thought that he was wrong on some points. Yukina would accept him for who he was, because that was the basis of her personality. She was the kindest person Kazumi had ever met.
Their eyes were the same, mirror images. The color shone true in both Yukina's and Hiei's eyes, though the personalities behind them were so different. Hiei had been through so much, compared to his sister, that his eyes were much colder. But Kazumi couldn't help but feel closer to him than the other three, if only for the way his eyes seemed to tell her that if he was the brother of Yukina, then he wasn't all bad too. It was almost . . . endearing.
Kazumi suppressed a slight laugh at that thought. She doubted he would be happy if he knew she'd applied that word to him. It would probably not be viewed as a compliment. She turned away, focusing on the forest once more, leaving her inner debates at a standstill for the time being. There would always be time for contemplation later.
"I think Yagami came here because of this presence." She announced, knowing that some of them would have already come to that conclusion.
"Why would he want to do that?" Yusuke sounded suspicious. Hmm, bonus points for his attentiveness.
Kazumi paused, wondering how much she should tell them. Finally, she turned. "Because, in a way, our realm is in a period of conflict. The Samyrans are . . . split down the middle, into two opposing sides. Yagami was one of us, a Kyoshiran, but recent events have found him to be a traitor. He betrayed us to our enemies, the Finuvians. I believe that he came here to enlist the aid of whatever inhabits this forest, and that is not good. We feared this might happen, but not even I suspected Spirit World harbored such a potent presence. It is not exactly formidable, but I fear Yagami has found a way to up the ante of the mission. He must have realized we were coming."
"Whoop dee doo. He found a friend." Yusuke replied, "We'll just take them both out."
"Nicely put." Kazumi smiled, no matter how easy it sounded, easier said than done.