Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Strange and Unexpected Beginnings ❯ Wandering ( Chapter 2 )

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

Hi! Well, looks like I've made it to chapter 2! I always have the tendency to leave things up in the air… especially when it comes to writing. But I'll finish this, I swear! It's easier since it's not going to be too long; it's really just an experiment to see if I want to keep writing.
 
Anyway, same disclaimer as before: don't own YYH, just any OCs that appear. This disclaimer carries through the rest of the fic, of course!
“ Random” - Dialogue
Random- Emphasis
`Random'-Thoughts
() () (): Denotes scene and/or time change
Vocabulary Corner: (Pay attention, children!)
Kitsune: Fox
Youkai: Just demon pretty much in this case
Sweatdrop: (Yes, there are some readers that are unfamiliar with this!) A large tear-shaped drop that appears on the back of characters heads; denotes embarrassment.
Suffix “Chan”: Used at the end of one's name; a term of affection for girls or crushes
Suffix “ Kun”: Same as Chan except for Males
 
 
Previously:
Hn. You're lucky today, little one. But you should take care or the next time you might not be so lucky.”
“Don't call me that, jerk.”
“... You have a lot of spirit, what do they call you?”
“Not telling.” And the kit stuck her tongue out once again. Their gazes met from a few moments, before an irritated yell pierced the air.
“Youko! Move your fat ass, you prick!”
“I'm coming, damn it...”
Here's Ch. 2:
Wandering
 
The days in the Makai grew ever colder, not that you could say there were actual seasons. The days grew colder because you moved to different parts of the Demon Realm, especially the northern parts. This was what the kit usually did if hunters came too close, and did it more often since her encounter with Youko Kurama. They had no idea how hard it was to get the materials she stole, and they just wanted to take it from her. She may have been a small fry, but she had plenty of bite to back up her bark. Up until this moment, she'd been able to pick fights with lower class demons and emerge successful ( although admittedly they were pretty low-class). This was a trait she had no doubt picked up from the bandits who had taken her in. They had all been useless compared to her, she had been trained (although somewhat lousily) and made to run errands for them and what did they do? They left her where she was. She had left one day and returned to find nothing there but a few weapons. Bewildered and alone, the fox-girl had taken a dagger for herself and fled, with nothing but a name; Natsumi.
() () ()
“Say did you hear about that little fox-brat that's been running around here?” A drunken voice slurred enthusiastically.
“Oh yeah...” Responded another inebriated voice.
“But the weird thing is, she only steals food. She must be a real idiot.”
 
Both of these men were part of a group of bandits that roamed the darker parts of the forests. It was a group of bandits with a pretty heavy reputation, so no one dared to enter that territory. A group led by the infamous Youko Kurama, of course. Of course, these men were pretty much worthless without their two leaders, but they have a reputation at least, so who cared? Right now, they were located at one of the group's main camps, where a drunken party was currently taking place around several fires. Of course, this occurred practically every night, providing the men an endless supply of booze, food, and women.
“Well, what more can you expect from a whelp? Can you see a kit breaking into a vault or something?
Good point…A spore like that won't last for long out here.”
The conversation ended just as their leaders emerged from the southern section of the forest.
“Finally!”
Kuronue felt like kissing the ground. It was a 3-hour hike back to the campsite and there were no places to stop for food (or anyone to rob for that matter) By now, the sky was veiled by a shade of deep sapphire. Kuronue felt that he really could murder Youko for this pain-in-the-ass delay. It was then that he saw the raging fires.
“Hey, you bums! Did you save some food for me? There'd better be some left or you'll all be meeting my scythes face- to- face!”
The `lackey' bandits came over to shower the chimera with various plates of meat and fruit (but mostly meat).
“Damn, now this is what I'm talking about!” He exclaimed between huge mouthfuls of food.
“Hmrph?” (Hmm?) “Come join us, Youko!”
The fox sweatdropped. First he wanted to kill him, and now he was back to being amiable again? Boy, he certainly picked the strange ones as his partners.
“Um, no thanks. Not hungry at the moment,” Kurama declined, wandering off a little ways from the campsite again, until he came to a small cliff. Gazing over the edge, in contemplation, he felt very much at peace. Of course, that day he had also gained even more riches, so that may play a part in his contentedness as well. However, he was jerked out of his reverie by the sight of something particularly interesting.
“It seems I was correct after all.”
()()()
Natsumi shivered. It was freezing in these areas, but she couldn't go back. There were hunters all over, not to mention she didn't have the strength to endure fight after fight after fight. This was the only way to avoid them all. She wanted to survive and live to become something. She didn't want to be scared or weak anymore. She would not rely on the help of others.
“W-what's that...?”
Shivering, Natsumi saw what seemed to be a cave, identical to her old one, only considerably smaller. The walls came down so far on the entrance, she had to crawl inside. . Once inside, she curled up into a ball for warmth. There was just enough room for her to lie down and still keep a little food. Quite suitable, as the only items she had with her were the few pieces of cloth she could swipe to construct a makeshift bed and some (extremely thin) blankets. Soon sleep overpowered her.
() () ()
Natsumi found her self jolted awake. There were strange sounds coming from the forest. When she gazed outside the cave, she saw that the sun had already set and the moon was gradually ascending. She left the comforts of the cave, staking a place at the top. There appeared to be a fire some ways away. She could also hear a lot of shouting. What was going on over there? Was she about to get caught? Even she couldn't fight the hunters. Edging slightly closer while taking refuge beneath a cliff, her ears picked up several drunken conversations, none of which she could interpret very well however. Natsumi didn't know who they were, but they didn't sound so threatening to her. All the same, she turned and went back to her `hideout', unaware of the gold-hued eyes following her every move. It was then that her nose picked up a certain delicious aroma.
“Meat!”
Food had been harder to get lately; she couldn't find any places to steal from for some reason. It didn't help that demons tried to jump her every where she went to forage either. So she had gone with little or without food for the last few days. She couldn't actually hunt game on her own, because she didn't know how, and they always managed to get away before she could at least try to take them down.
“It smells so yummy.”
Her stomach grumbled, and she sat in her current position, listening to the loud conversation, and savoring the scent of cooked meat. After a while, she went back to her cave and lay down, unwilling to risk stealing from the group; she couldn't fight them all at once after all. Her chocolate eyes watered; she was positively starved. A little while late she was once again disturbed, this time by a soft shuffling noise. She went back to the area under the cliff where she had hidden before. There was no one there. When she looked down however, there were plates of meat, rice, and bread lying there. She sniffed and poked at it, deciding whether or not she should accept it. She followed her stomach and she pounced on the food, gobbling it with admirable vigor. The food disappeared fairly quickly, but by Natsumi was too sleepy to care by the time she was finished. Casting one last tired glance over to the campsite, she scrambled back over to her cave and went to sleep.
()()()
“Where the hell were you?” Kuronue interrogated his partner. “You were gone for the longest time!”
“Since when did you start caring about me so much?” The kitsune replied. “You know, you're starting to sound quite a bit like a woman.” A smirk disturbed his other wise expressionless face.
“Screw you. The way you're going, somebody has to worry about you. But forget it, I was wrong. I don't care if you get jumped. I don't care if you get killed.”
“Hn. You need to relax a little. I was just out for a walk, if that makes you feel any better, `onna'.” Before the furious Kuronue could retaliate, the kitsune walked off again, this time to go to sleep.
() () ()
The sun's golden rays (or as golden as they could get in the Makai) creeped over the ground, eventually spilling into the cave. Natsumi slowly opened her eyes, rubbing at them sleepily as she made to exit her cave. Who knows how long the sun had indeed been up. Looking to the north, she caught a glimpse of a snowy mountain in the distance. She was very curious as to what lay beyond those mountains. Probably a “funner” place.
“...”
Gazing out at the snow- peaked tops, she barely heard the alaremed cried carrying over from the forest. The tone of the voices captured the kit's interest. She slid back inside her cave as the voices came closer.
“They're here! A frantic voice said in a hushed voice. “Only a few miles!”
“Calm down, for God sake.” Another voice ordered. “We've been given the orders to head northeast, so why are we sitting on our asses? Or are you afraid?”
“Shut up!” The first voice protested furiously. “I'm just not gonna have my career as a thief end abruptly because we weren't keeping track of the bloody hunters!!”
The voices then disappeared; Natsumi didn't know where they went and didn't care. It was time to go.
Natsumi immediately grabbed her stuff and fled north as fast as her legs could carry her. Her scent couldn't pick up any trespassers so all seemed to be fine path-wise.
` I ain't ready to go!' She gasped, taking a few moments to catch her breath before setting off again.
She failed to hear the footsteps following her trail.
() () ()
Natsumi decided to take a break for a while, until she got a good glimpse of where she was. Craning her head up, she got her first up-close glimpse of the mountain. She stared in awe. After a few minutes, she pressed on.
()()()
Kitoru scowled. What kind of a job was this, following a bunch of idiot thieves around? And yet, he never caught the fools. No, it wasn't them who outsmarted the bounty hunter. It was him, that so-called legendary bandit. Bastard. One day he'd have his head on a platter…it was only a matter of time. Of course, this renegade didn't realize that if he'd bothered to go back a few miles, he would have found the demon he so desperately wanted dead. But Kitoru would never realize it. All of a sudden, something small and brown caught his gray, vacant eyes.
What's that…?” Upon further scrutinizing he concluded that it was a kit.
“What would a little spore like that be doing up here...? Come to think of it, isn't that the little runt that's been stealing around these parts?”
He'd heard descriptions of the thief from various sources; annoying little pest. He watched as she got smaller and smaller. Well, at least he'd have some fun now. He needed the stress relief..
()()()
“C-Cold....”
Natsumi shivered. As little progress as she had made up the mountain so far, it was still frigid. All she had on was her thin wine-colored fighter's outfit, sleeveless, which she had worn for as long as she could remember.
 
“...Unh.... I don't wanna die...”
Her hands had frozen nearly to the point of numbness; it hurt all over. She stopped to blow into them, hoping to provide some heat for herself. Snow began to fall, feather-light at first but grew steadily heavier as time passed. No matter, it was harmless snow. Just as she was about to resume her climb, she heard footsteps approach.
“Who`s there?”
No response, but the footsteps came ever closer, resulting in the kit drawing her dagger from a small leather sheath on her waist. The footsteps came closer and closer, and the snowfall began to slow, but only just enough to allow a glimpse at the man approaching her. A tall figure with long black hair tied into a sort of ponytail. Cold, malicious grey eyes held the kit in their sights. He wore all black, including a cloak that swirled about his ankles. Around his waist there appeared to be several different types of blades and chains. Natsumi had a bad feeling about this man, but there was nowhere to run, as she had backed up right into the mountain's wall. She'd have to fight this weird stalker.
“…”
“Well, well, what do we have here?” The threatening man smirked. “ What's a child like you doing up here hmm..?”
The sky darkened, the winds began to howl.
“I can do what I want.” Natsumi snarled. “Go away and leave me alone.” She waved her dagger threateningly in spite her nervousness, which the man picked up on with smug satisfaction.
“I don't think so, small one. You are a wanted criminal. You're the kit who's been stealing from all these idiots. Rumor has it that it was merely food, but I don't care. I think all types of criminals should be incapacitated. And by that of course, I mean executed.”
He moved closer to the kit, drawing out a set of heavy chains.
“Besides, I was having a bad day up until now. Your blood might make me feel better.”
He lunged at the kit.
()()()
They had to move further north. Those hunters were far closer than anticipated. What a pain in the ass. But they'd get away as always, because he knew how to keep his band out of trouble. He was no fool. And there was really nothing to fear. Once they'd made it farther north, they'd head eastward, towards forests far thicker and more dangerous, at least to ordinary demons. Where the territory was almost completely uninhabited, save for a small peaceful village, which he knew wouldn't give them any trouble. Youko smirked. They would have no trouble from those inhabitants. He could see that they had already put quite a bit of distance between themselves and the hunters. His thoughts on the kinds of items he would steal when they reached their new camp were interrupted by a piercing shriek, which echoed across the length of the wooded area.. It's effects made the thieves halt.
“What the hell was that?”
“I dunno, but it's freaky!”
“Think we should turn back?” This suggestion got the demon beaten up.
“Did you hear that, kitsune?” Kuronue asked, a bit startled himself. “ Um, hello earth to Youko... Snap out of it, damn it!”
The kitsune's eyes had glazed over.
` Something's wrong, I can feel it ...'
Kurama had never experienced this kind of feeling before; a heavy feeling at the bottom of his stomach that wouldn't go away. He tuned into Kuronue's badgering.
“Good to see you're still here with us. We're going on, right?”
Of course.”
“Something wrong?”
“It's nothing. Let's go.”
 
And that's the end of Chapter 2! What did you think? I thought it might be more dramatic to leave it at a cliffhanger; hehehe….Also, I'd like to thank my reviewers, you made me so happy! Free chocolate bars for you! I hope you continue to read and review, I love your love! Later days!