Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Stone of Darkness ❯ Discovery ( Chapter 1 )

[ A - All Readers ]

You can't hide forever. I know who you are.

Kurama stared at the note taped to his bedroom window. He ran a finger over the bold writing and felt the lingering yoki of a powerful youkai. Some demon had cleary discovered his identity somehow.
He snatched the note down and closed his fist around it. Of course he had expected to eventually be discovered but not this soon. He dropped the note into the wastebasket near his desk and sat down feeling weak.
His family was in danger now. He could protect them when he was there but what about when he was away? What then? He dropped his head into his hands and groaned softly.
Something shifted behind him suddenly, and Kurama whirled, instinctively pulling a rose from his hair and calling forth his rose whip. The whip curled around the katana that suddenly blocked his killing blow. Hiei smirked at him, red eyes flashing. Kurama sighed heavily and allowed the rose to shift back to its original form.
"Edgy, fox?" Hiei asked, taking his usual spot at the window.
"You could have warned me that you were here," Kurama said quietly.
"I could have."
Kurama frowned at him. That smirk was back. If Kurama didn't know better he would have thought that Hiei was actually amused. Hiei amused? Ha! What a joke!
"Well?" Hiei prompted, polishing his katana with the edge of his cloak.
"What?"
"What's got you on edge? Not that I care, of course."
"Someone from Makai knows who I am."
Hiei glanced up. Kurama was fidgeting with a sheet of paper on his desk. He raised an eyebrow in wonder at the worry clearly seen on the kitsune's face.
Before Kurama could answer Hiei's questioning gaze a sharp cry from downstairs jerked him around. His eyes widened with horror as he realized where the scream had come from.
"Mother!"
Kurama threw open his bedroom door and ran down the hallway, taking the steps two at a time. He jerked to a halt at the sight of his mother laying motionless on the floor. A tall, darkly clothed man stood over her, sharp claws crossed over his chest. His dark, violet eyes met Kurama's over the distance.
"Youko, I must say that you have changed."
Kurama stared at the strange man. He wasn't human. Kurama's fingers twitched, ready to draw his rose whip, but the stranger shook a finger at him as one claw wrapped around his mother's throat.
"Leave your little plants out of this. Your lovely green eyes give you away."
"Then you know that if you harm my mother you will die a death far worse than any you could imagine?" Kurama said, his voice soft and laced with fury.
"If I did not have her, yes, I believe you would make good on that vow. Unfortunately, I do have her."
"What do you want?" Kurama snapped.
"I want the Jewel of Darkness."
Kurama paled visibly. He hadn't thought of that stone in years, long before he had crossed over into Human World. He had forgotten about it, leaving it locked in the shadows of his mind where it belonged.
"Your mother has been poisoned with a little creation of my own. This poison will eat away at her soul until there is nothing left. In a matter of days she will be dead. Return the stone to me, and I will give you the antidote. Refuse, and she will die a very painful death."
"You monster!"
Kurama lunged forward but the demon was gone. He fell to his knees beside his mother and quickly assessed the poison. It was spreading quickly within her body, already draining away at her life.
"What is the Jewel of Darkness" Hiei asked, moving out of the shadows to stand beside Kurama.
"It's a cursed jewel that has the power to destroy worlds."
"You will give it to him?"
"I have no other choice."