Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fires of Sekhmet ❯ First Meetings ( Chapter 4 )

Fires of Sekhmet

by Jaguar Ki

Chapter Four

First Meetings

It had been a long and turbulent flight and Kida was exhausted. She carried only a small backpack and an animal carrying case. She walked out of the airport and took her first look at Japan. Though she had seen New York and London, she still found herself almost speechless at the astronomic size of the modern cities.

Large was not a new concept to someone who had once roamed the cities of Memphis and Thebes. However, so much had changed sense that time. Everything was bigger and faster, machines of every type were in every place you looked. It was so amazing, so vibrant so...

"Intimidating?" Hossam said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yes, intimidating, now stay out of my head."

"Then keep them to yourself, you could trip over the emotional baggage spilling out of your scull."

"If you have any plans to get out of this cage anytime soon, I suggest you keep quite."

The sun was sinking fast, and hues of purple and red painted the sky. Kida (carrying Hossam) walked down and stopped to look at the massive building that seemed to stretch the entire length of the street.

"Is that it?" Kida said placing Hossam's case on the ground.

"Yes, that's the one."

"Thank the Goddess, how many museums dose this city have?"

Kida sat down on the sidewalk and stretched out her legs. She berated herself for wearing jeans, the air had been moderately cool, but the sun was just as harsh here as it was in the dessert.

"Ah . . . Kida?"

"What now?" She said aloud, too tired to care if anyone heard her talking to a cat.

"Could we stop off in that park for a few minutes? ...ah..nature calls."

She picked up his case, none too gently and headed for the park. They walked only a few minutes when Kida spied a small fountain. She sat down with a grown and opened Hossam's case. He dashed out and quickly vanished into the bushes.

The sun blazed over her head and she stared down miserably at her black jeans. She dipped one hand into the fountain and wiped the excess water around her neck. Feeling slightly better, she looked around the park and breathed in the summer air.

This too was a new experience, as unknown fragrances' filler her nostrils. The mix of spicy and sweet smells from the park gave her an almost giddy high. She took one more deep breath and suddenly smelled something vaguely familiar. Her eyes widened as a strange pressure seem to build in her chest before . . .

AH....ACHOO!

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Hossam had finished relieving himself and instantly felt ten times lighter. After being locked in that cage for so long his body tingled with a need for exertion. Stretching his limbs, he bonded off through the underbrush.

As he continued on, he found a tiny stream and only then realized he was thirsty. As he lapped up the water, he perked his ears, listening to his surroundings. The normal sounds of tiny creatures dashing across the grass met his ears and he had to resist the urge to chase after them.

It was one of the few things he disliked about this form, though it gave him several advantages it also came with some rather annoying instincts. He longed to return to his more human form but for now he would have to contend with this one.

Hossam, drinking his fill was about to return to Kida when he picked up the sound of voices. At first he was inclined to ignore them, but something caught his attention. The voices were muffled and he moved closer to hear better.

"The shipment arrived early this morning and arrived at the museum without incident." Said a male voice.

"So when do you think he will come for it?"

"Most likely tonight. Once the exhibit is ready to be viewed by the public, security will be double."

Hossam crept along silently following the direction of the voices. Just past a small red maple tree lay a dirt path that lead to a small clearing. Three small benches were placed in the center of the glade that split into three other paths.

On one of the benches sat two boys talking to a third person who stood. Hossam saw something move from the corner of his eye and he turned his head. Just a few feet away, standing on a low-lying branch was another boy all dressed in black.

Hossam was trying to decide if he should get closer. All of his senses seemed to go haywire the closer he came to them. He tried using his telepathic ability but he couldn't concentrate for some reason.

Against his better judgment he crept through the bushes as quietly as he could. He was hesitant to make himself noticed, he found that people were not as respectful to cats as they once were. This had been painfully obvious in London, when a rather ugly and pimply-faced boy had tried to set his tail on fire.

************

Yusuke yawned and stretched his arms above his head. Switching to a more comfortable position on the park bench, he turned his attention back to the discussion at hand. Kuwabara was steadily asking questions while Hiei gave him the `You are such an idiot.' look.

"So is everyone clear on the plan then?" Kurama said.

"Ah . . . yeah just one more thing." Kuwabara said. "What was that space time continuum thing you were talking about?"

"It doesn't matter you simpleton." Hiei yelled from his tree. "The barriers that separate our three worlds are being greatly damaged by the power of the sphere. If we do not stop this soon they will fall one by one."

"Well you don't have to get all snotty about it you three eyed shrimp!" Kuwabara yelled back.

"Maybe if you listened once in a while I wouldn't have to."

" Oh shut up, both of you!" Yusuke yelled, yanking Kuwabara back to the bench.

"Yusuke's right, we have more important things to concern ourselves with." Said Kurama calmly.

Kuwabara sat down heavily and tried to look anywhere but in Hiei's direction. At the other end of the clearing a large black cat with wide pointed ears. Sat lounging under the shade of a tree.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty." He called.

The cat stared at him with half-closed eyes, its tail thumping lazily, but didn't seem to have the slightest interest in getting up. He called again, and Kuwabara could have sworn the cat turned his noise up at him.

"Leave the stupid thing alone Kuwabara. How many more cats do you need?"

"Shut up Urameshi, I just wanted to see if he had a collar."

He called for the cat once again and this time the cat jumped up and trotted over. But instead of going to Kuwabara it went up to Yusuke and immediately jumped in his lap.

"Hey, what's with this thing?" Yusuke said as the cat thrust its noise in his face and sniffed.

"Shoo, get away!"

Yusuke shoved the cat to the ground and tried brushing the fur that was now covered him. The cat however, was still very interested in Yusuke and tried jumping back in his lap. He stood up and walked away from the bench, but the cat followed him.

"Ah . . . A little help here guys?"

Smiling, Kurama bent down to pick up the cat. His hand was only inches away when the cat jumped back. It stared up a Kurama, spitting and hissing, one of its paws lifted as if ready to strike.

****************

Kida was still seated on the edge of the fountain, wiping her watering eyes. Her sneezing fit had finally ended and she took a shuttering breath. Several people had passed by, asking if she was ok and offering her tissue.

She stood up carefully, her knees shaking somewhat, and went to look for Hossam. However, before she could take a single step a feeling of warning hit her like an invisible fist. She stepped back in surprise and her legs tripped over the base of the fountain.

*SPLASH*

***************

"What's his problem all of a sudden?" Kuwabara said, carefully walking toward the animal who was still staring at Kurama.

He bent down and ever so gently petted the cat, though still glaring at Kurama it relaxed a little. Taking this as a good sign Kuwabara picked it up.

"Guess he didn't like you Kurama." He said as the cat now sat in his arms as if nothing had happened.

"Guess not."

"HOSSAM!"

They all turned as a girl came running into the clearing. She had dark skin, and long black hair framed her oval face. She was also soaking wet from the waist up. She stopped to catch her breath and then looked up with a bright smile.

"Oh thank goodness. You found Hossam." She said with a slight accent. The cat wiggled out of Kuwabara's arms and raced toward her. She picked him up, walked over to Kuwabara and shook his hand.

"Thanks again for finding him, he has a tendency to wander."

"Ah . . . no problem . . . um . . . are you ok?" Yusuke said staring at the strange girl.

"Oh . . . yeah . . . I just had a little ascendent by the fountain. Well, I guess I should be going." And she turned to leave.

"One moment?" Kurama said walking toward her. "That's a very unusual animal. I've never seen another like him."

"Well, he's from a very rare breed." The girl said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh . . . and what breed is that?" Kurama pressed on.

"He's a. . . . Bestet Abyssinian . . . " The cat hissed at Kurama and the girl seemed to become even more agitated.

"Well, like I said I have to be go- . . . " Her eyes widen and she dropped the cat.

ACHOO!.....ACHOO!.....ACHOO!

They all stood and stared, not sure what to do as the girl went into a huge sneezing fit. She lost her footing in-between sneezes and Kurama quickly caught her. She said several thanks as he helped her back on her feet and then looked at him as if he just sprouted another head.

The cat sprang at Kurama violently as the girl's sneezing became ten times as worse. She staggered to her feet and snatched the cat with one arm before running off, back the way she came.

"Well that was weird." Yusuke said after several moments of shocked silence.

Kurama was still staring in the direction the girl had gone running in. He held his left hand as tiny dots of blood appeared from a small scratch. He turned his head and saw Hiei standing next to him.

"You felt it too, Hiei?"

"Yes."

"Felt what? I didn't feel anything." Kuwabara said, looking at the two demons a bit confused.

"Exactly, it was as if she wasn't even there."