Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Strange and Unexpected Beginnings ❯ Wanting ( Chapter 8 )

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

Hey people! Chapter 8 at last! I'm sorry I didn't get this up sooner but I've been having problems with my chapter screwing up every time I tried to post it. I'm hoping to God it works right this time. Please, come in and kick back and enjoy the next chapter, my friends. ^__^

Random” dialogue

` Random' thoughts Random emphasis

() () (): 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:

“ Are you giving me orders…?” He inquired in a dangerously calm voice. Something about his eyes told her she'd better shut up.

“ No…. It's just, we were...”

“ We were done, I think.”

The others started to interject but he gave them `the look' as well.

“ I think you're making a big mistake…”

“ You're the only one.”

All of the women stormed out, furious that they were cheated out of their night of entertainment, and wishing Natsumi a violent death. Natsumi however, couldn't care less as she immediately climbed into his bed. The war was over; now she could finally get some rest.

Chapter 8: Wanting

Youko watched as Natsumi took care to stake out a place in his bed. He'd raised such a dominant and possessive young kit.

“ I do hope you've made yourself at home.”

“ Yup.” She turned to look at him.

“…”

“Something on your mind?”

“When I'm older, can I play too?”

After that incident, Natsumi didn't seem to get along with too many of the demonesses that entered the camp. When it came to Kurama anyway. A lot of the time they ended up abandoning a night with the legend because of her antagonistic methods of purging the area. At least a month went by that the poor kitsune could never `play', to Kuronue's great amusement.

“ Four weeks, God forbid.” He commented in a mocking tone.

“A whole month though!” Youko cried in consternation, an action normally uncharacteristic of him.

“ *sigh * You're nothing but a big baby…Maybe you should find some other interests to pass the time. Besides plundering twenty-four seven, of course…”

His partner stared at him as if he'd just recently had a gender change.

“I'm going to ignore that.” He left the campgrounds.

“Where are you off to?”

“ If you must ask, to get wasted.”

“ God, he's just like one of those whores. All looks and no brain.”

Natsumi drop-kicked the bandit at least a good fifty feet through the air, dodging an assault from a second, dark blue skinned apparition in the process. He drew his claws, intending to slash his attacker to bits. He successfully removed a few hair strands with admirable skill. His partner had never returned after his `trip', probably a wise decision. The current fighter scanned the area for his opponent, who stood smirking behind him. This was not one of the upper bandits. He at least had the sense to draw his sword in time to keep from being slaughtered by her own piercing weapon. A fine sword indeed; the blade was near unbendable, and could cut through any enemy within seconds. No doubt Youko took the kit seriously. A very impressive weapon for someone as young as herself to be wielding. They stood frozen in sword-to sword combat for several moments, when the bandit had seemingly had enough and swung the weapon around in attempt to catch her off guard. This effort proved to be futile. Natsumi swung with full strength this time, actually forcing his wrist back and resulting in the sword to take a short trip across the landscape. She landed a fury storm of blows to the demon's head, and the blood flew.

“Damn…you…” he managed to get out through a terribly broken jaw. “Brat!”

Foolishly, he swung his claws again, meaning to extract revenge. A grinding, crackling noise indicated at least two broken fingers. Of course there were screams. But Natsumi still held her position, more than prepared for some more action.

“ Whassa matter, baby?” She taunted cruelly. “ You can't be thatweak.”

She kneed him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, perhaps along with a tooth. She had no desire to kill helpless demons for no real reason. The bandit was gone in moments, most likely seeking sanctuary from this monster of a demon. It wasn't fair. There didn't really seem to be anyone to fight, save for Youko, and he always made excuses not to. Sure, they sparred now and then, but it didn't seem often enough, especially when there wasn't much entertainment around the god-forsaken camp. No entertainment that he seemed to think she was old enough for, anyway. This time she'd drag him back from wherever the hell it was he'd gone to this time. They would fight today.

“ You again? It's not like you to drink so much booze. Hell, you've never even been in here this often.”

“ I never knew you worried about me so much.”

Youko had felt like hitting the nearest pub, not that he actually had to pay for his drinks. Why should he waste his precious gold and silver, when all he had to do was throw out a name? Many times no words were required before the area was cleared. This place had particularly good alcohol, the heavy stuff, too, guaranteed to give you some kind of buzz. Although it took him quite a while to get even a little tipsy, and he had never really been `intoxicated'. You'd have to be a pretty weak criminal to have a low alcohol tolerance, anyway. He'd already taken in 7 or 8 rather large mugs of some sort of mixture of vodka and gin, and he wasn't feeling particularly inspired to move too much. Though he could, if he felt like it. The world seemed to tilt ever so slightly when he stood. Nothing he couldn't handle. The feeling was dissipating already.

“ I think you're drunk.”

The speaker, a demoness who looked neither young or old observed. She was relatively tall, though probably not more than six feet or so, with straight raven hair let loose down her backside. Her eyes were every bit as dark. Her black ears resembled those of some sort of lizard creature, or water apparition, he couldn't tell. Her tail might have been of a lizard of some kind as well. He'd never bothered to ask about her race.

“ Worry? You're a laugh a minute.” She continued, grinning at her `customer.' “ You can go out and get butchered into little pieces for all I care. I just don't want any drunk, raving bandits causing shit in my bar and ruining my business.”

“ Oh, Haruka, you know you don't mean that. Where would you be without me?”

“ Heaven.”

He leaned slightly over the counter, closing some of the distance between them.

“ You say that, but I'll bet deep down you pine for me.” He moved back, offering her a `view of the goods.'

“ Ugh, please. Don't make me vomit. Do you honestly believe me to be one of those floozies?”

“ You're a terrible liar, sweetheart. You and I both know what you feel.”

“ You damn narcissist.”

It was at this point that the doors to the seedy establishment opened, drawing little attention from the occupants. The visitor was a rather agitated looking Natsumi, to Kurama's horror.

Natsumi looked around the place with curious eyes, taking in the sights, sounds and odors. Clearly she'd never entered a place such as this before. Youko had made sure of that up until now. Everywhere she looked their were demons drinking, gambling, fornicating, or looking for a partner (be it male or female) for the occasion. Though she didn't understand some of these things. What was it they were drinking? Did it taste good? She'd try and steal a swig later. Right now there were more important matters at hand. Spotting her target, she shoved her way through the crowds. A heavy grip on her arm halted the journey, however. A rather unattractive demon with a face only too reminiscent of a smashed ogre's grinned at her, baring rotted, yellow teeth.

“ Hey,” He began, an unpleasant gleam in his eye.

“ You're a pretty little thing, you know that?”

“…? “ What was this weirdo's problem? Natsumi didn't care at all for the way he was staring at her, like a predator about to pounce. Luckily for her Youko had seen the ogre-faced demon grab her and was pushing through the crowd of drunkards to get to her.

The demon ran a hand down her smooth face, fingers tracing over her features.

“ You'll prob'ly grow up to be quite a looker, you know.” His hand moved down south.

“ Do you…want to play with me?” A horrible grin presented itself.

“ N-no, I don't have time for this. Lookin' for someone…” Natsumi pushed him off only to have him grab both her arms in a much tighter hold.

“ Find `em later. I promise this will be a lot more fun…”

“ No!” She struggled as he half-dragged her toward the doors. What was going on?! Why did this fool insist on harassing her so? What did he mean by play? She'd heard Youko use similar terms but she still wasn't clear on the meaning.

Just as the demon was about to strike her for her disobedience, something flew at him, resulting in the loss of both of his arms. Blood flew everywhere, accompanied by the blood-curdling screams of Natsumi's pursuer, of course.

“ I suggest you take what's left of you and leave.” An icy voice stated. Youko did not look pleased. “ Though it's more than what you deserve.” He spat at the demon bleeding to death.

The horrified demon stumbled out the door, oceans of blood still leaving his body. Despite being spared, he would not survive the night.

“ What are you doing here?” Now that the perpetrator was vanquished, his attention shifted to the child.

“ Trying to find you, so we can fight,” She replied calmly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. After four years, perhaps it should have been. But this was not the place a young one like herself should be looking. If he hadn't noticed… he didn't want to think about it. Sooner or later, he'd have to educate her on this sort of thing, before something did happen.

“ How did you even find this place? I did not intend for you to be in an…environment such as this.”

“ Kitanaru told me. He said your whole life revolves around stealing, drinking, and `fucking'.”

Youko held his temper back. He would deal with that idiot at a later time.

“ In the future, you are not to come here. Not until you're older, or with a guard. I'd rather you not be here at all. Understand?”

What the heck was the big deal about it? She couldn't help remembering the incident with the whores. He'd been uptight after that as well.

“I'm not a baby.” She pouted.

“Compared to me you are.” He mussed her hair, a habit that annoyed her a little bit.

“I mean it. I don't want you in here. I don't believe you realize how badly you could've been hurt.”

“How?”

“ I won't discuss that with you now…”

Urgh! Did he have to do that every time she asked a stupid question!

“Well, I'm fine now. We're going, `k?” She made a valiant effort at dragging him out of the establishment, but the size difference made it a vain use of energy.

“…Shit!” It was becoming more tempting to fight the bastard here and now.

“C'moooon!” She sent a flurry of punches at the unrelenting kitsune, who simply blocked them, or when he didn't bother with that simply stood there unharmed by the blows. She seized one of his legs, meaning to bring him out by brutal force. Although after that previous episode, you could hardly call this method `brutal.'

Youko continued his observations, highly amused by the girl's resilience.

“Argh!” She threw herself on the floor, until it was he who dragged her out of the pub.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“ Traaain me, god damn it!” Her fangs embedded themselves into Kurama's arm. He wouldn't be able to throw the kit off if he wanted to, so he let her hang there. Evidently nothing fazed this demon.

“ Ok, ok, I'll see what I can do. But you don't really need too much anymore, you know.”

If that was true, then why couldn't she go on a freaking theft?!

They walked for quite a while, as the bar was a little bit out of the way of the camp. Someone approached them as they approached the all-too familiar rocks and ledges. Natsumi took flight, looking to kill an enemy. This reaction clearly annoyed the other demon.

“ Damn it! Must you do that every time?!” An angry Kuronue wrestled with Natsumi, trying to gain the offensive advantage. Natsumi continued her assault with more ferocity than ever.

“Argh! Make her stop!” She bit down on him with as much animosity as possible. Kuronue mustered all the strength within him to hurl her across the forest. It was fortunate that Youko caught her.

Kuronue stood defiantly, brushing the clumps of dirt off and taking a personal vow of vengeance against Natsumi.

“What brings you here? Worried that something might happen to this gorgeous creature?”

“In your dreams. Thought you might be interested in this raid. I know how you love locks and safes and that sort of crap.”

“Heh. I just like to see their meager excuses for challenges. Unlike the rest of you useless fools.”

“Snob.”

“ Because I'm the best.”

Still being held up by Youko, Natsumi was seething. He was about to ditch her yet again! What was so important that it couldn't wait a few hours?!

“He's not going.” It wasn't a request, it was a statement, and it was final. No more would she be left behind. “We're training.”

“Didn't know you became my guardian.” Youko grinned. Such an amusing child.

She nodded seriously. “Yup. And I say you're not abandoning me again.”

“We just fought yesterday, didn't we? You should learn to relax a little. Or is it you want me all to yourself ?” He laughed.

Natsumi wouldn't dignify that bit of mockery with a response.

“But I wanna get stronger! You're the only one who's worth fighting in all of Makai!” She ignored Kuronue's mumbled threats.

“ How would you know ?You've never even seen that much of the world. “ Youko laughed. “Although you are correct.”

“Oh brother.”

“I know some stuff though.”

“ Have I ever truly neglected you?”

She thought about it for a moment. He'd always gotten around to their sparring sessions eventually, every time. He'd always been there when she'd embarrassingly fled to his tent after the dreams.

“No…I guess…” But still…

“ Tell you what,” He offered. “I'll personally extend your training, and if you can get through that I might let you come on a smaller raid sometime.

“Really?!” It would be nice to be one of the thieves. She knew she'd be better than most of the idiots in the camp.

“Maybe…if I don't hear any complaints…” Why not? She was progressing considerably faster than expected in her training, but she still wasn't ready yet…there were still things to teach her. But he had no doubt she'd master them, no matter how long it took.

“ You're insane. She'll be killed within seconds. Or she'll jynx us” Natsumi stomped on Kuronue's foot, animosity regenerated.

“Owww! Wait 'til I get my hands on you…!

“Look, are we going or not?! If we hang around any longer someone else will beat us to it!” It was all too easy to get Youko revved for an attack.

“ Well, maybe if you weren't so distracted by that…creature!” Kuronue pointed an embittered finger toward Natsumi, who in turn made a face at him.

“ Let's go, children…” He glanced down at Natsumi. “ You go back to camp, away from that bar. Got it?”

A nod.

No use in fighting the inevitable. It was funny how he got her to back off. She wondered what kind of trick he was using that it worked on her every damn time. This time, it was because she'd kill ( literally probably) to go on a theft. Whatever she wanted, she would get. An idea came to mind. She decided it wouldn't hurt to follow them just this once, so long as she took care not to be caught. And so she learned the general the path they took, not that it mattered. She'd just follow their youki later.

“Where is this place?” Youko demanded, anxious for bloodshed. The last several days had been too dull indeed.

“Not much further.” Kuronue pointed. The woods looked to open up somewhere up ahead. They had been too eager to bother gathering more bandits for the mission, not that they had any real use for them. Their victims also had a camp set up, but it wasn't nearly as well hidden as theirs by the trees. Much of the area in the immediate vicinity had little or no plant life. So they discussed their attack amongst the bushes distant from the campsite which still allowed them a glimpse. They were jolted from their fantasies of plundering by footsteps to their immediate right. Apparently, the other bandits didn't need to be informed of an attack. It seemed to be somewhat of a sixth sense among them. Of course Kitanaru had joined them.

“Oh for God sake!” Kuronue snapped. “We could have taken your heads, sneaking up on us like that!”

Kitanaru shrugged. “ Your senses must not be up to snuff then, to act like such a woman. Anyway, you're the intruder, I knew about this long before you did, I bet.”

“ The hell you did.” Kuronue was far too easily antagonized. “ We don't need your help, if you could call it that.”

“Tough shit. I'm not missing out on my profits. Besides, you might need my aid.”

Youko snorted.

“Spoken like a true prick.” A brawl was halted by a hand gesture from their leader.

“ You two will get us caught.”

“ So? It's not like we couldn't take them out. Besides it was this git's fault.”

Kurama didn't give a damn whose fault it was; he was itching to pounce. Their infantile bickering certainly wasn't moving the process along. He simply walked off toward the campsite, everyone in pursuit except of course for Kuronue and Kitanaru who had other issues to deal with for the moment. One of the demons in the camp noticed the strangers.

“Stop! “ He picked up a nearby spear, as if that would frighten them away. He got a good look at the leader of the thieves and almost instantly retreated, probably to inform the rest of the camp. No part of him made it farther than a few feet save for the bone marrow of his arms and torso. A shower of broken body parts. Despite the rose-whip's effectiveness, the rest of the camp heard the gurgled shouts before the lone defender met his end. At this point, the two stranded thieves returned to the realm of the thinking.

“ Those bastards again! Kill `em all! Don't you dare let them take anything!”

They charged, a flurry of fury. The thieves remained unfazed.

“ Feh. The fools kept making the same mistakes. They deserved to die. The counterattack was merciless. The air was thick with bloody heads with dented skulls, severed limbs, and many different organs. A beautiful massacre for he who lusts for it. The group split up, attacking the tents they came across in search of the fruits.

“ You know the drill. Take everything and put everything in your way to death!”

They didn't really need to be told this, many of the inhabitants had lost their lives long before. It was a very merry occasion. Kitanaru smiled like a young boy opening a present as he ripped the intestines from the body of an unwary demon. Even Kuronue's grouchy mood had dissolved as he mutilated a couple more with the greatest of ease. They must have been enjoying themselves so much they didn't acknowledge Natsumi's entrance.

For a while she simply stood there, admiring the carnage. So this is what is was like. Youko had made it out to sound far more life threatening, but this wasn't a big deal. She could beat the hell out of those men. What were all those chests in the middle of the place for…? Anyone would be curious of the contents. If Natsumi could find a way through this mess, she'd treat herself to a look. A body flew barely a foot above. Time to move, or it would be her body that flew. When she went to examine the trunks, she found them to have locks on them. The bandits had spoken of such things. They were supposed to be difficult to open. You had to have a 'key' or be strong enough to crack one open yourself. The problem with that option is that many times they had a barrier, which rendered physical assaults on them useless. As she was examining the small one closest to her, she tried to tug it open. Of course that didn't work. Kicking it and pulling with all her God-given strength didn't help either. Her frustration distracted her from the thin, scaled demon approached her from the rear. His skin was a disgusting shade of brown, his facial features were not unlike those of a saber-toothed tiger. He had large, protruding feet to support his indescribably scaled body.

“ Damn damn damn!” By now the ruckus in the camp was beginning to dull, as more and more victims forfeited their lives. This obviously was a survivor embittered at the assault. With an evil smirk, he raised tusk-like claws in preparation for the kill. Natsumi turned, dodging only just in time. She still took on a surface wound in the process however, although very shallow.

“ Since when did they need a weak child to steal for them?!” The attacker bared hideously chipped ivory fangs.

“ It doesn't matter worth a damn. Meat is meat.” The voice was as hideous as his voice, as if he was constantly swirling water in his larynx. He lunged, but his only reward this time was a swift, piercing kick between the legs.

“ Bitch!” He tried to grab at Natsumi and nurse his wound simultaneously. This little wretch would not make a fool of him and live to brag about it. Gathering speed, he attacked yet again, and managed to get a death-grip on her throat.

“…ngh..” He was faster than she imagined. She needed to get herself out of this fix quickly; it was getting increasingly difficult to take a breath. She mustered up enough concentration to summon the dagger while he sliced her left leg with vindictive pleasure. Before he could make it a far deeper injury he found the dagger impaled in his heart. A look of frustration and surprise crossed his face, but his grip loosened. Natsumi fell to the ground, simply watching as he stumbled around in his last moments. A fatal blow to the skull from behind ended this.

Kitanaru stared at Natsumi with a confused expression on his face.

“ What the hell are you doing here?!” Though there was no anger suggested in the tone of his voice.

“ Youko will kill you. You're not supposed to be here.”

“ Hmph. I'll do what I like. Didn't feel like being left behind again!.” She scowled.

Kitanaru laughed. The girl was a riot.

“ Guess I can't really blame you when you're stuck in that boring camp all day. But still, you should get out of here, before he sees you…Go on. “ He tried to shoo her off, which she flatly ignored, returning to the treasure chests. For the crap she endured she would definitely be taking her share. There had to be some alternate method for opening the thing. She closed her eyes, trying to see of she could force some energy into it. As the raid, ended, more and more of the thieves came over to see what the foolish thing was up to. Kuronue wondered what all the fuss was about, and spotted her.

“ That disobedient little-! What the hell is she doing?!”

“ Hm? What's who doing?” Kurama emerged from a nearby tent, laden with a bloody sack of unknown goods, a twisted alternation on the `Santa Claus' legend, one might imagine.

“You know, for a thief, you sure act dumb after a mission….”

“Eh? Huh?”

“ `Eh?' Wha?' `Huh?'” Kuronue mocked Kurama's naivete.

“ Bitchy much?” That's when he finally saw the crowd gathering around the chests.

“ What's going on?” Took the masochistic son of a bitch long enough.

Natsumi didn't move from her post beside the chest, still determined to make it open, to the amusement of her spectators. They all shared a laugh at the girl's foolishness. This kid had no idea what she was doing, but they might as well let her play pretend for a little while.

*Click *

“ What was that?!”

“Dunno, think it came from one of those chests?”

“ Did it unlock?”

“Don't be an idiot! How could it have?!”

Having also heard the strange sound, Natsumi awoke to her surroundings once again. She'd try one last time to open it. She prepared for another pointless physical struggle with the thing, only to have the top whip open, exposing hundreds of coins, gold and silver, with the occasional stone. The thieves were left speechless.

“No way that runt could have unlocked it through sheer mental energy! It was probably a shitty trunk or something!”

“ You think? That's a strange coincidence…”

“ You clod! What kind of kid has that kind of power?!”

The murmuring continued, and arguments arose. Natsumi merely looked at the stuff for a few moments, reaching in from time to time and letting the coins run through her hand. Kitanaru knelt down next to her, gazing with unbelieving eyes at what had just occurred.

“ Nice job, kit,” He complimented, duly impressed.

“ He's been working your ability even harder than I thought, the bum.”

Natsumi returned the widest grin she'd probably ever revealed during the previous four years with the band.

A shadow fell upon them, and Kitanaru immediately stood to attention. The puzzled victor turned to see the reason for this and the sudden silence that fell over the camp. She caught the gaze of an angry- looking Youko Kurama.

“ I thought I told you no to come here. Did I not make that clear?” His voice was dangerously calm, like the calm before a storm in a way. The voice that told one they were in trouble, like a parent about to pass judgment on a misbehaving child.

“ I wanted to watch, just this once. “Natsumi stood her ground. She wasn't the least bit sorry for not submitting herself to another day of boredom, while he got to live it up.

“ You mean you felt you had the right to disobey my orders?”

“ Hey, c'mon, you know how it is in these parts. The girl wanted a little action is all. She's not hurt or anything.”

“ Ohh..really?” Youko replied snidely, looking at the gashes on Natsumi's leg and cheek. His eyes also caught the bruising from when the demon had attempted to strangle her.

“ This is not your concern. I think you've meddled too much as it is.”

“ Right…” Kitanaru rejoined the throng.

“ The rest of you, get out of here. Our work is over.” The bandits happily obliged the command, wanting to put as much space between themselves and the furious fox as possible.

The stare-down continued for some time, before Natsumi spoke up.

“ I dunno why you're so mad, I didn't do nothin' wrong!”

Youko closed the distance between them, such as that Natsumi was very unnerved all of a sudden. She tried to back up, but he would not allow for such avoidance tactics. Kneeling down, he spoke in that same intimidating tone.

“ The point is, you didn't heed my words. I don't accept that kind of action from any of my men, not that they pull stunts like what you just did. Because they know the penalty for insubordination is death.” His voice grew lower still, barely more than an ominous whisper on the humid air.

“ If you expect to be one of them, you must obey like on e of them. Because if you continue down the path you've started…” He nuzzled her cheek with his own

“ I'll be forced to administer the same punishment on you. Neither of us wants that, do we?” His grip loosened. Natsumi slowly shook her head, not admitting to herself that for at least an instant, he had terrified her.

The smallest trace of a smile crossed his face. “ I knew you were intelligent enough to understand.” He gently rubbed the dried blood from her cheek.

“…You seem so tense. I'm not going to murder you now, you know.” He stood up and walked away, leaving Natsumi staring after him.

“Let's head back. I'm sure they all think I did murder you or something….and as for your injuries…those wounds will heal fairly rapidly on their own.”

Natsumi followed hesitantly, careful to stay out of his way.

He turned to face her again.

“ I couldn't be more overjoyed with the way you turned out. You…you're really going to be something. I can hardly wait to see you in another few years…” He left the clearing, leaving a confused and startled Natsumi to follow.

Well, only got one more chapter then the mm.org post is caught up. Hoorah! Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing and even to those who are just reading. I love you all! Please keep it up for me, do an old lady a favor….*lol* Well, see you next chapter!