Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Legal Human Practice ❯ Hayate vs. Maude ( Chapter 29 )

Hayate vs. Maude

calikocat

Word count: 1015

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One by one he removed the wards he'd put on his workroom. His father had been right; the wards on the apartment itself were weak at best. The wards on his workroom, however, were topnotch and as unbreakable as he could make them. The last ward came down and Hayate opened the door, lighting all the lamps and candles with a bit of will and intent. Something so simple didn't require his wand.

The room lit up revealing everything he'd accumulated over the years. To the left were open shelves cluttered with odds and ends. On the right were the locked cabinets with unbreakable glass fronts, it was in these that he kept the rare or dangerous ingredients. It was also where he kept a hair sample of anyone he thought he might need to find again. Including Maude Standish and Naomi Sandburg.

The key he used was the only way to unlock the cabinets and he retrieved it form the hidden panel by the door and opened the cabinet where the samples were. Each sample was in its own envelope and under a stasis spell to stay fresh. Hayate selected the envelope with Maude's name written on it and locked the cabinet back up, Naomi could wait. The key was returned to its hiding place and he got to work.

Blood or flesh made for stronger tracking spells, but they were a bit...icky. They were also harder to collect secretly, and he didn't like hurting people needlessly. Throw in the fact that none of his family was keen on donating blood to his sample collection, though nobody had minded donating hair. Not that locator spells always worked, as evidenced by no one being able to find Jonessa for seventeen, almost eighteen, years…or how Joyce had remained hidden for even longer. Maude, however, didn't have any magic so finding her shouldn't be a problem.

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It was his first time in the Windy City and he didn't even have time to see the sights. Hayate apparated to a designated public apparition point, got some odd looks from a few of his fellow magicals, and proceeded to move out of the magical area into the non-magical. The guard on duty gave him a nod and offered him a map.

“Thank you, no. I know where I'm going.”

The guard seemed taken aback at his perfect English. Honestly. It was ridiculous. If a person looked even a little bit Asian most Americans expected a faltering accent. Strangers expected broken English at best no matter that he'd lived in the United States for most of his adult life.

He left the apparition point and stepped onto the street. Well it was really an alley, but it led to a street and he blended in easily. Not his looks maybe, but his clothes. That was the key to secrecy in the states. Dress like the non-magicals and they never knew you were different.

Hayate made his way to the hotel where Maude was staying, glad he'd lucked out that the apparition point was so close. The doorman let him in with a generic smile and Hayate looked around the crowded lobby.

He'd performed the locator spell twice. Once to find her, then he'd repeated it within the hour to be sure she hadn't left. Maude was the definition of a rolling stone. She was here, no doubt about it, the fact that she was here at lunchtime meant she was at the hotel restaurant. Probably with her current mark or on her way there; his heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of her. She'd barely changed at all since he'd last saw her. Like time hadn't dared make an appearance on her striking face. Oh her hair and clothes were different, Maude was always careful about her appearance. She was still beautiful, and she was still a con-artist.

Hayate stepped directly into her path, forcing her and her gentleman friend to come to a complete stop. The man seemed puzzled, Maude was livid...and then she recognized him and her surprise was nearly comical.

“Hello Maude.”

“My word.”

The mark, man, looked from Hayate to Maude. “Maude...is this a friend of yours?”

Her smile was genteel and calm. “An old acquaintance.”

“Is that all I am?”

Maude feigned a smirk. “Stanley this is Mr. Kuwabara. Mr.-”

“Hayate Kuwabara.” He raised a brow at Maude. “I left you a number to call and an address to write to. You could have told me.”

“Told you what Mr. Kuwabara?”

“That I had a son.”

Stanley wiggled out of Maude's grasp and smiled at them both nervously. “It seems the two of you have a lot to talk about. And then the poor man, or perhaps he was lucky, fled. Hayate didn't blame him; he was tempted to run from the glare Maude had leveled on him. He wasn't expecting her to turn and step away.

“Maude, wait.” He ran after her, catching up to her at the elevator and forcing his way on. The doors closed behind him. “You have nothing to say to me?”

“No I do not.”

“Maude.”

“What?”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“After what I'd seen when you arrested that monster...I wanted to forget the whole thing.”

“Not all magic users are like him.”

“I know, as you showed me, but just as I have no use for monsters… I have no use for heroes, not that it mattered. Even without you to look up to my Ezra turned his back on the trade I taught him, to earn an honest living.”

The elevator dinged, the doors opened and Maude moved to step off. “Where is he?”

“You have magic. Find him yourself. You'll get nothing more from me Hayate, and I never want to see you again.” She stepped off the elevator and Hayate let her go.

There was nothing he could do to make her talk, not that was legal anyway.

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