Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Retribution ❯ Trouble Starts ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer - It’s not mine. Never was.

Special thanks to Mistress of Hiei Spasms for remaining as a faithful reviewer. Although I do think I'm giving her a bit more questions than answers with this chapter. Don't worry, you start getting some answers in the next chapter. Hang in there! ;)

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Retribution

Chapter 6

Trouble Starts

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Koenma sighed as yet another stack of papers were placed on his desk by Jorge. The blue ogre had been running back and forth all day, shuffling papers from one section of the castle to another.

‘I really need to give him a raise.’ the toddler prince thought dejectedly as he automatically stamped paper after paper without really reading its contents.

It had been almost five days since the explosive confrontation with Meleena in his office, and he still hadn’t gotten over it. She had stormed out of his office, refusing to even acknowledge his presence. And every time he tried to contact her, he either couldn’t find her, or she wouldn’t speak to him, and he was beginning to get frustrated.

He didn’t have too much time to ponder it though, since Botan entered his office with another handful of papers to be signed.

“Koenma?” she said, sitting the documents in question on his desk. Koenma looked up, only to be surprised to see his fiancée’s face flushed, as if she had a fever.

“Yes?” he asked carefully. “Botan, what’s wrong? You look…..sick.”

“I don’t know.” the blue haired ferry girl said, shaking her head slightly. “I don’t feel good.” Koenma, concerned with her well being, reached up and touched her forehead, only to jerk back in shock.

She was burning up with a fever! Something was not right here, he realized quickly. Beings in the Spirit World were not supposed to get sick.

“You’re burning up with a fever.” he said, sitting her down in a chair, and calling for Jorge to bring him a wet towel. “Botan, when did this start?”

“Just yesterday.” she answered faintly. “After I took the last group of spirits across the river and into the castle. What’s wrong with me, Koenma?”

“I’m not sure.” he answered.

“I feel horrible!” she said, shivering as a cold chill passed over her body.

“Let’s get you to bed, and I’ll get Yukina to come take a look at you.” he said, leading her towards her room. Botan, too exhausted to put up an argument, followed him meekly, just trying to keep on her feet.

After the prince got her settled, he immediately called for the other ferry girl who often assisted Botan when things got a little busier than normal.

“Hinageshi?” he called.

“Yes, sir?” the red headed ferry girl said, materializing through the wall behind him. “You need something, Lord Koenma?”

“I need you to get Yukina and bring her here, immediately.” Koenma said.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Botan is sick.” he answered. “She’s burning with a fever, and….well, she’s just sick! Get a move on, Hinageshi!”

“Right, sir.” the red headed girl said, pulling out her oar and taking off towards the entrance to the castle, eager to get her errand completed.

Koenma slumped down into his chair, racking his brain to try and figure out what had made Botan so sick. There was only one thing that he could possibly think of that would make someone like Botan or himself ill, and he fervently hoped that it wasn’t what he suspected it was.

“What is wrong with her?” Koenma asked, the worry evident on his face as Yukina took inventory of Botan‘s symptoms and visible problems. “Spiritual beings like her are not supposed to be able to get sick!”

“I am aware of that, Koenma.” Yukina said softly. “I have never encountered something like this before, though. I am unfamiliar with this, although it seems to be some sort of virus.”

Koenma just sighed and rubbed his head in aggravation. It was way passed when he normally went to sleep, and he was tired beyond all reason. But he had refused to leave Botan’s side for a single moment since Yukina had ordered her to be moved into the sick rooms not far from his office. The very pregnant ice apparition had used her spiritual healing powers to lower the fever down as much as she could, but it kept coming back no matter what she did.

“This is crazy!” Koenma muttered. “Botan’s never been sick!” Yukina just sighed and used her control over ice to lower the temperature of the basin of water in her hands. She took a wet cloth and folded it, placing it on Botan’s forehead.

“Get some sleep, Koenma.” she said. “You’ll be able to think more clearly if you do.”

Even though he wanted to argue with her, and stay at Botan’s side, he saw the reasoning behind her suggestion. “I’ll be back in a few hours to check on her, Yukina.” Koenma said tiredly.

“I will send a messenger to wake you should her condition alter in the slightest.” Yukina said softly. “Go get some rest, and I will do what I can.” Koenma just pushed a lock of Botan’s sweaty hair out of her face while Yukina wiped the perspiration off of her forehead, then left the sick room, not really sure of what to do.

The next day, when Kuwabara headed to Genkai’s temple to see Yukina, he was more than a little surprised to find that the ice maiden was not there. Of course when Hiei dropped out of no where and told him that she was in Spirit World, trying to heal Botan, he headed straight there.

Ever since Yukina’s pregnancy had began, Kuwabara had been by her side. The ice maidens that Yukina hailed from reproduced asexually, and Yukina was no different. It had been six months since Hiei had sensed the little life growing within his sister, and Yukina had told them just a few days before that she would give birth within the next few weeks.

Everyone seemed more than just a little excited about the soon to be arrival, but Kuwabara had been the most pleased. He loved Yukina more than anything, and wanted nothing more than her happiness and protection.

So when he walked into the sick room where Botan was being kept, and found a very pregnant Yukina sprawled out on the floor, fighting feverish demons, and begging them to leave her daughter be, Kuwabara was quite honestly worried to death. He quickly went to her side, bending down to cradle the slight girl in his arms.

“Yukina? Yukina, what’s wrong?” he pleaded, on the verge of panicking. Her fever was raging, and her eyes had glassed over. She was sweating, and her clothes had clung to her where the dampness had soaked in. She was shaking uncontrollably, and panting as if she had just run a marathon. “Yukina! Say something! What’s going on?”

“It’s the….fever, Kuwabara.” she said, turning this way and that. “Devil’s Fever…..”

“You’re sick.” he said plainly. “What do you need? Medicine? What kind? Where can I get it?”

“Get Kamirue….” she moaned in agony, clutching her stomach. “She’ll know what….to do….”

“Who the hell is Kamirue?” Kuwabara asked, trying to keep the ice maiden in the present, and not allow her to drift off in her feverish state. “Yukina!”

“Get Kamirue…Koenma….” she stuttered as another wave of shivers passed over her little body.

“Yeah, Koenma, what?” Kuwabara asked. “What’s the brat know?”

“He knows who….she is.” Yukina answered, slowly slipping into the unconscious. “Hurry, Kuwabara…my baby will…die…”

“Yukina! Yukina, wake up!” the orange headed man pleaded, shaking her slightly when she became deathly still. He shook his head and picked her up easily, heading straight towards Koenma’s office.

But, before he got there, the angry sounds of Yusuke’s voice permeated the entrance. Kuwabara, not knowing what his friend was doing there, but sensing that both Keiko and their two children Mina and Talon were with him, he kicked open the door and walked in, quickly causing the fighting man and teenage-form Spirit World ruler to turn their attention to him.

“What are you doing here, Kuwabara?” Koenma asked briskly. “And why are you carrying Yukina? She’s supposed to be watching over Botan!”

“She’s sick.” Kuwabara answered. “I found her lying on the floor next to Botan’s bed. She’s burning up with a fever, and shaking all over. What are you doing here, Urameshi?”

“My kids are sick.” he said bluntly. “And the doctors we’ve taken them to can’t tell us anything. So I came here, looking for answers.”

“My babies are sick.” Keiko said, hugging both her son and daughter to her chest. “Fever, chills, everything. Nothing we’ve tried has worked.”

“I think they’ve caught whatever it was that was killing off the demons in that last raid.” Yusuke said angrily, turning back to Koenma.

“But how?”

“Cross infection.” Koenma said, rubbing his head in exhaustion. “Whatever it is probably lodged itself in your bodies while you were there, and upon your return, you infected everyone else.”

“How do we stop it? That’s all I want to know.” Yusuke said. “And if you don’t cough up some answers, toddler, I’m about to start cracking skulls!”

“I already told you, Yusuke. The last time something like this happened, it burned itself out in Makai. I didn’t even think it still existed anymore!” Koenma explained.

“Look, Meleena called this stuff Devil’s Fever.” Yusuke said, advancing on the prince of Spirit World. “Now you expect me to believe that there isn’t one person, human, demon, or both, that doesn’t know how to cure this disease in the three worlds? Fucking impossible, toddler!”

“Yukina said to find someone.” Kuwabara said quickly, shifting the ice maiden in his arms. “Someone named Kamirue. Sound familiar?”

“Unfortunately.” Koenma muttered, returning to his desk as Yusuke took his youngest child from Keiko, stroking the little girl’s soft black hair. “She used to work for me as a healer here, but I banished her to Makai a century or so ago.”

“Get her back.” Yusuke said, glaring at the toddler. “Now.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Keiko asked, her voice edged in anger. “If she knows what to do to cure them, why can’t you get her back?”

“Finding one demoness in the middle of Makai would be like searching for a needle in a haystack…without a magnet!” Koenma barked. “It would take days, possibly even weeks! That is, even if she’s still alive!”

“What do you mean, if she’s still alive?” Kuwabara asked.

“Kamirue had a bounty placed on her head, not long after she was banished to Makai. She poisoned some of the ruling demons of Makai after they killed her brother.” Koenma explained. “Last I heard, she was on the run, hiding from anyone who was looking for her.”

“How does Yukina know her, though?” Kuwabara asked, still slightly confused.

“She probably trained under her.” Koenma said, shrugging indifferently. “The ice maidens will harbor any female fugitive, as long as they swear not to bring trouble to the floating island the ice apparitions inhabit. It’s a good place to hide if you’re on the run.”

“So we go find this demoness, and she can cure my kids?” Yusuke asked pointedly, cutting straight to the chase.

“It’s not that simple, Yusuke.” Koenma said dejectedly. “I have no idea….”

“Well let me give you an idea then, toddler.” Yusuke growled, handing Mina back to Keiko, then rounding on Koenma. “My kids are sick, all because you sent us on a mission that had us cleaning up corpses. Now, if you value your immortal life, you’ll tell me what I need to do to get them well again. My kids are not just going to lie there and struggle for their lives while you sit back here, hiding behind all your beaurocratic bullshit and trying to tell me that the person who holds their lives in her hand, can’t be found!” Yusuke slammed his hands on the desk and leaned over, coming face to face with his employer, and causing Koenma to look more than a little scared.

“Yusuke, even if you find Kamirue, she can’t come back into Spirit World!” he said. “She was banished, and that can not be undone!”

“Bullshit!” Yusuke barked. “You can do whatever the hell you want to, toddler. Letting one demoness in here to cure my kids, Yukina, and your future WIFE is not going to make a damned difference!”

“You don’t understand!” Koenma pleaded. “She’s out for blood! She’ll kill me if I let her get near me again!”

“Would you rather me kill you?” Yusuke asked. “Cause I’ll do it, happily.” Koenma sank back into his chair and shut his eyes. The ruler did not really have all that much of a choice, especially if he wanted Botan to live. Koenma knew Devil’s Fever was deadly to anyone in the three worlds, despite whether they were human, demon, or spirit worlders. He looked over at Keiko, who was gently rocking a crying Mina, and patting her son Talon on the back. Mina just cried out for her brother, and when the older boy reached up and laid his head on Keiko’s shoulder, next to Mina’s own, she quieted down instantly. The worry on her Keiko’s was matched only by the fury in Yusuke’s. “Well?”

“Fine, Yusuke.” Koenma said, nodding. The part demon man stepped down and glared at the Spirit World prince. “Hinageshi!”

“Yes, sir?” came the red headed ferry girl’s cheerful voice as she materialized through the wall. “You called?”

“I need you to go collect Hiei, Kurama, Jin, and Touya.” Koenma said briskly. “They’ve got another mission. And if Hiei gives you any problems, tell him Yukina is passed out and on the verge of going into a coma up here.” Hinageshi just looked at the teenage Koenma and frowned, then shrugged, disappearing once again through the wall behind her.

“What are we going to do?” Kuwabara asked.

“Let’s get them to bed, first of all.” Koenma said. “I’m hoping Kurama will have something in that plant arsenal of his to stabilize them until we can cure them.” The prince stood and led them towards the sick rooms where Botan was sleeping fitfully. Keiko placed her two children into one large bed, not wanting to separate them now that they had both quieted down.

By the time Kuwabara had placed a still shivering Yukina in another bed close by, they could hear Kurama’s voice coming down the small hallway, along with Hiei’s occasional growl of affirmation. When the two demons showed their faces in the ward, Hiei immediately went to Yukina’s side, looking her over carefully.

“What is wrong with her, toddler?” the fire demon asked, pointing a deadly glare towards the teenaged Koenma.

“Devil’s Fever.” Koenma said sadly. “They’ve all got it.” He gestured to the patients in bed, each one of them suffering at different degrees from the virus.

“This is not good.” Kurama said, running a hand along Mina’s and Talon’s sweaty foreheads. “The last time this broke out, half of Makai was dead before it burned itself out.”

“Is there a cure?” came Touya’s concerned voice from the doorway. Koenma looked up and found the Ice Master regarding them carefully, although he looked pained greatly. Beside him, Jin was frowning.

“He donna feel no good either. No sir, no how.” Jin pointed out, causing the Ice Master to frown slightly.

“A cure?” Hiei asked again, bringing their attention back to Koenma.

“There someone who Koenma thinks might be able to help out.” Keiko said, turning towards the demons in the room. “But he doesn’t know where she is, or if she’s even still alive.”

“She better be alive.” Yusuke snarled. “Or he won’t be for very long if she ain’t.”

“Kurama, I know you have some medicinal training.” Koenma said, nodding towards the flame haired young man. “See if you can get them stabilized until we track down the healer Yukina told us about.”

“I’ll do what I can.” he said.

“The rest of you, come with me.” Koenma said, heading back towards his office. The group, minus Keiko and Kurama, returned back to his office, and waited for the information they would need to find the demoness.

“So who are we looking for?” Kuwabara asked impatiently.

“Kamirue is a bat demoness.” Koenma said, pulling out his remote and flicking away at the channels until the picture of a woman with pointy ears, silvery-gray eyes, and black hair came into focus. “She used to be a healer of the highest degree. But after she was banished to Makai, there was a bounty placed on her head by the rulers of the demon world. She’s the one we need. I don’t even know if she’s still alive though, nor where to begin looking for her.”

“She’s alive.” Hiei said shortly from his position in the corner of the room. It was the same demoness who had tried to decapitate him with the scythe when he’d went to find Meleena “I saw her at the slave camp. She got out before we leveled the place, though.”

“Well, that gives us some sort of starting place.” Yusuke said. “You find out anything else?”

“The girl we got out of there knows her.” Hiei said. “They were talking to each other when I found her.”

“Meleena?” Koenma asked, going ashen white.

“We only got one girl out of there, toddler.” Yusuke said, the sarcasm thick in his voice. “Where is she, anyhow? She can help us.”

“I don’t know where she is.” Koenma said, shrugging. “When she left, she left.”

“Lotsa help yeh are.” Jin commented dryly, folding his arms across his chest.

“Well, sitting around here isn’t going get anything done.” Kuwabara said. “Since Meleena won’t talk to Koenma, she’s a lost cause. I doubt she’d tell us anything.”

“She might.” Kuwabara said. “It’s worth a try at any rate.”

“Where can we find her, Koenma?” Yusuke asked.

“If you want to try and find Meleena, look in the northern most areas of Makai. That’s where she usually can be found.” Koenma said.

“Fine.” Yusuke said. “We’ll split up. Kuwabara and I will hunt for the healer, while Jin, Hiei and Touya try to find the girl, and find out if she knows where to locate the healer.”

“Fine.” Koenma said. “Hinageshi!”

“Yes, sir?”

“Take them to demon world, right along the northern most territory lines, where Meleena usually is.” Koenma said. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with her since she stormed out the other day. But it is the best place to start looking for her.

“Yes, sir.” she said, opening a portal and ushering the men through. “I’m on it.”

“And hurry, Hinageshi.” Koenma said, shaking his head. “Time is of the essence.” The ferry girl just nodded, realizing without being told that this situation was possibly the most serious one she had yet undertaken.

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A/N - I hope you guys like the story so far. Next chapter, we see some familiar faces, and find out what Youko’s worst fear is. ;) Until then, enjoy.

And remember to review.