Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Symbols of Haven ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Soh 4

 

SoH04

Sorry this took so long to put up, but I really hate typing and this is by far the longest chapter yet!

Language, implied het and implied yaoi. References to alcohol and drugs.

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Jodi froze, her blue eyes warily regarding the redheaded stranger.

“Who are you?”

The red head responded, smiling beatifically, “I assume you are Jodi Miyoshi. I'm Youko Kurama.”

Jodi heard a snort coming from behind her.

Kiona taunted, “Who do you think you're kidding? You're no youko, you're human!”

“In this form, yes, I am. I am Youko Kurama, and I am here to discuss Rekai Tantei business with Jodi Miyoshi.”

“Who needs to discuss anything? Miyoshi-san, you and your…whatever you call these guys…are coming with us.”

Jodi's attention shifted from Kurama to the new speaker, a black-haired man who looked to be the same age as the self-proclaimed fox.

“And you are?”

“Urameshi Yuusuke.”

All of the thieves, even the usually ignorant Eve, took a step back in alarm.

“And this guy,” Yuusuke jerked a thumb in the direction of a brown haired human who stood several paces behind Yuusuke and Kurama, “is J. And the three of us are here to take you back to the Rekai.”

Jodi's blue eyes flashed, but Kiona beat her outburst with a snarling retort of his own.

“Why the hell should we go with you fuckers? Do you really think we're going to let you throw us in jail?”

Yuusuke snapped back, “You're not going to jail, dumbass!”

“Please Yuusuke, let me handle this. You rather lack tact,” Kurama interrupted, “Miyoshi-san,” Jodi cringed, “My co-workers and I are here to recruit you and your teammates for the Rekai Tantei.”

The kitsune's announcement was met with a pause of incredulous silence before Kiona burst into laughter.

Jodi grinned uncertainly, “You can't be serious. Us? Fighting for the tantei? Why should we?”

It was Kurama's turn to grin.

“Because if you do not, you will be sent to Spirit Jail to serve time for your crimes. And, it is my understanding that the sentence you will serve in prison will be quite a bit longer than the time you could spend as a detective, considering that there are twelve cases of grand theft booked against you.”

Kiona's laughter died and Jodi's smile vanished.

The blonde koumori glanced over her shoulder at her grim band mates.

“So, we're not playing around anymore?”

“I wasn't aware that we ever were,” he retorted pleasantly.

Jodi signed, and smiled wanly, “Damn. If we fight?”

“We beat the crap outta you and throw you in prison,” Yuusuke volunteered.

“And if we run?”

J sneered, “We catch you, beat the crap outta you, and throw you in prison.”

“Then I guess we have no choice,” she put her hands in the air to show her surrender, “I will serve the punishment for my crimes in the Rekai Tantei.”

Behind her, Sam copied Jodi's gesture and prodded Eve to do the same. Kiona exploded with rage.

“Jodi! How in the fucking hell can you help these bastards?! They're the ones that forced you into this sort of life! You're a thief because of these sons of bitches!” he rounded on the tantei, “And who the hell do you three think you are, coming here and demanding that we work for you? I don't remember signing any goddamned contract with the likes of you!”

J walked around Yuusuke and Kurama and planted his feet just outside of Kiona's reach.

“That's because you haven't signed it yet. You're the one called Kiona, right?”

The kitsune glared at the human warily, making J's smirk widen.

“Koenma said you might cause trouble. He also said that you might be surprisingly loyal to you're leader.

`It's rather unusual, really, for a kitsune to be so devoted to anyone but himself. Maybe it has something to do with losing your tail,” behind him, Kurama's breath hissed warningly, “Or maybe you've lost something else as well.”

Kiona lunged at J with a snarl and knocked the taller human to the ground. Jodi leapt to her second's aid, but was swept up into a headlock by Yuusuke, her leathery wings pinned painfully against his chest. Eve and Sam shied away from the fighting pairs but were cut off by an unyielding Kurama.

J threw Kiona off of him and bounced to his feet, his eyes glittering darkly and his fists raised.

The kitsune lunged at him again, but J was ready for the attack. The human fired a short reiki blast directly into Kiona's chest at point blank range with enough force to throw the fox into, and through, a nearby grove of trees.

 

~*~SUB-CHAPTER~*~

 

Hiei seated himself atop a tall stool at the end of the bar closest to the cash register.

Aeri joined her sister, a russet brown neko with sky blue eyes, behind the bar. Both sisters glanced at the shorter demon, then Aeri's sister nodded and left to attend to the customers. Aeri leaned against the bar and smiled cruelly at Hiei.

“So, what can I do for you?”

“I need to find someone.”

“Oh?”

“I hear he's been staying here.”

“You'll need to be a bit more specific. Many guys stay here, and not all of them are paying customers who sign up for rooms. Who do you want?”

“Joseph.”

“The mercenary?”

“That's the guy.”

“Only Joseph? If your hiring mercenaries, I have a list of names of mercs who are looking for work…” a folded paper slipped into Aeri's hand.

Hiei considered the list for a moment.

“I'll take the list, but I want Joseph's room number all the same.”

A handful of gold coins appeared on the bar between them, then vanished again under Aeri's hand.

“Hey, Ambie,” the russet colored neko appeared again, “What room is out Joseph staying in?”

Ambie's icy blue eyes studied Hiei for a moment before she answered.

“I believe he's in room 219 on the third floor. I trust you can find it?”

“Yes, I can find it.”

Aeri handed the slip of paper to Hiei, who pushed off of the barstool and walked to the stairwell, feeling blue and green eyes follow his every move.

Once he had vanished at the top of the stairs, Aeri beckoned to Hollis, the only full time waitress that Head Hunter's employed. The mahogany haired youkai leaned against the bar, her lionian tail flicking impatiently behind her.

“Yes, Aeri?”

“Did you see that black-haired demon that just went up the stairs?”

“The short one with red eyes?”

“Yes. I want you to…”

“What are you two doing now?”

Ambie slipped one arm over her sister's conspiratorially. Aeri smirked.

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Oh, come on, tell me!”

Hollis grinned her long fangs reflecting the pub's dim light, “I think you're sister was about to ask me to spy on a customer.”

“Oh, is that all? Or is there something special about this one?”

“If my sources are right, and you know they always are, out little customer is a member of Koenma-san's Rekai Tantei, as well as the heir to Lord Mukuro's throne,” Aeri's acidic eyes gleamed, “And, he told me himself that he's here looking for mercenaries. Not just any mercenaries, either…he asked specifically for Joseph.”

Ambie focused intently on her sister's acid green eyes.

“Is Mukuro planning an attack on Yomi? Koenma? The Ningenkai is mostly unprotected right now…could she be attempting to take it over?”

“That's what I want Hollis to find out.”

The lioness smiled at her employers again and slipped through the crowd toward the stair well.

 

~*~SUB-CHAPTER~*~

 

“So, do you and Keith patrol the boundaries for the Rekai Tantei?” Kuwabara shouted into Ash's helmet-covered ear, hoping she could hear him over the roar of the motorcycle's engine.

She frowned over her shoulder at him, “Why the hell would be do that? We just move around, helping people at the havens and fighting off demons.”

“You keep mentioning `havens'. What are they?”

“There places where humans go to avoid demon attacks. Tantei will usually establish one in a hospital or a school or a mall or somewhere else that's really big and has all of the facilities that a large group of humans will need. Once it's started up, humans will flock to them and start living there, and people like me and Keith and Runic travel from haven to haven to help people and fight off demons if any are in the area.”

“Runic?”

“She's a healer that I've known since primary school. Of course, we didn't know she was a healer until the barrier crashed. It had a weird effect on some people…they started gaining powers. Runic found out she could heal a few months ago when her little brother, Liam, got sick and she accidentally cured him. She's been improving her skills ever since.”

“Did you get your abilities at the same time?”

“No, I've always had a little bit of a spirit sense. It just didn't become strong enough to be a fighting ability until I met Keith two years ago and he started training me.”

She gazed solemnly at Keith's back as he sailed ahead of them on another bike.

“What's it like, being a spirit detective?” she asked suddenly, “Keith won't talk to me about it.”

“It's the only job I've ever had that I've stayed with. Koenma can be a prick, but I like fighting and I like being around my friends, so I can tolerate him. Actually, now that I think about it, I only met Yukina because I hang around Yuusuke.”

“Who are they?”

“Yuusuke's my best friend. We're sort of like you and Runic…we've known each other forever. And Yukina…” his eyes glazed over slightly and a soft smile touched his lips, “She's my fiancé, and the love of my life.”

“You're such a sap. C'mon, we're here.”

Keith was already parking in front a huge, once grand hotel that now slouched on the earth like a decrepit recluse. The buildings around the old hotel had been demolished, leaving the hotel to look abandoned and alone in a field of dust and broken glass. A small knot of ragged humans huddled on the front steps and glowered at the newcomers.

Keith walked by them calmly, but Ash hovered behind to speak to Kuwabara, her voice strangely muted by the open air.

“These people are the ones in charge of protecting this particular haven. None of them are officially tantei, but they are all spiritually aware. And they're all human.”

Still trying to understand the significance of that last statement, Kuwabara followed Ash up the front steps to the front door, only to find his path blocked by a ruddy giant of a man with dark eyes and hair.

“Who're you? An' wha's your business here?”

“My name is Kuwabara Kazuma, I'm a Rekai Tantei, and I'm not entirely sure why I'm here.”

“He's here to talk to Keith,” Ash interjected imperiously. The ruddy man ignored her.

“Do you fraternize with demons?”

“What do you mean?”

“He's asking you if you know anyone that's a demon. C'mon, we need to catch up with Keith,” Ash was getting impatient.

Kuwabara stepped around the larger man carefully, and was relieved when the stranger didn't move except to follow Kuwabara with his dark eyes.

Once the door clicked shut behind them, Kuwabara turned to Ash.

“What was that about?”

“These humans have become extremely…resentful about the demon presence in NIngenkai. That's why so many of the tantei refuse to stay one place. Too many of them either have demon blood or demon friends, and the humans who have lost their loved ones or their homes to demons have started to despise anything that has to do with the Makai.”

“But, that doesn't make any sense! The tantei are here to protect the Human World!”

“Fear and hatred need no reason, Kuwabara,” Keith emerged from the shadowed entrance and guided them to a brightly lit lobby.

Much like the hospital in Tokyo, the lobby was lined with low stretchers that extended in rows to either direction of the archway. Wounded humans were sprawled in most of the stretchers, though one group was sitting up and playing cards.

Somewhere, someone had found a working CD player. The strained sounds of the Sex Pistols' “God Save the Queen” warbled faintly through the bloodstained air.

Keith walked swiftly past the sleeping patients and the card players and stopped once he reached a stretcher that was inhabited by a lanky blonde girl.

“Get up, Runic.”

The blonde stirred, but didn't fully awake. Keith kicked the stretcher hard enough to jolt it several inches into the air. Runic yelped and grabbed each side of the stretcher, looking around frantically and still not quite coherent.

“Wha? Wha's happening? Are we being attacked again?”

“Wake up Runic! We've got a visitor from the Reikai,” Ash flopped onto the next stretcher, “His name is Kuwabara Kazuma.”

The healer sat up, her watery blue eyes still a little hazy. Keith took a seat next to her but turned his attention to Kuwabara.

“Koenma sent you after me, didn't he?”

“Yes, he did. He said you would help us rid Ningenkai of the invaders.”

“Don't you think that if I wanted to work for the Rekai that's what I'd be doing at this very moment? I wanted some time away from being ordered around like a common soldier.”

“But you're a tantei…”

“No, I was a tantei. Now I'm a traveling freelance exterminator of any and all youkai that threaten the human race,” his statement had the practiced feel of a company slogan.

“But Keith, you've always said yourself that the Rekai has always been better equipped for war with the Makai than an entire army of freelancers could possibly be,” Ash stared at Keith accusingly, “Why are you changing answers now that there's an agent of the Rekai right in front of you?”

Keith sighed, his exhausted eyes staring through the floor into the depths of the world.

“I think I'm just tired. Tired of taking orders, tired of mission after mission, and tired of being constantly cut off from the rest of humanity. I just wanted to retire and find a nice little apartment somewhere so I could spend the last half of my years making my own life. And then the barrier failed, and I was denied even that much peace.”

His eyes lifted to find Kuwabara's.

“You're still young enough to enjoy the constant movement and danger that a tantei's life brings. I'm not. I left that age a long time ago and got old,” he smiled, but the smile looked more like a grimace of pain, “I'm still young physically…but gods, have I aged!”

Ash's sorrowful voice brought both men's attention to her, “Keith, the Human Realm still needs your help. What does it matter if you're working for the Rekai or not? You still have to fight. It may as well be with a team at your back made up of people like Kuwabara.”

Keith acknowledged her point with a nod, but still looked undecided.

“It can't possibly be that bad, Keith, to work for the Rekai. I think we should go with Kuwabara and see what Koenma-sama's offering,” Runic intoned softly.

Keith sighed again.

“Alright, I'll go see Koenma and I'll consider rejoining the Rekai Tantei.”

“And we'll go, too,” Ash added, adamant, “Because we're not staying here to fight demons alone while you're off chatting with a demi-god.”

 

~*~SUB-CHAPTER~*~

 

Hiei paused outside room 219, his crimson eyes regarding the door suspiciously. However, his suspicions were laid to rest when a panting whore with ludicrously large breasts tumbled out of the door and nearly crashed into the koorime.

“So, you're next for Joseph? Heh, I thought he requested all women tonight. Unless…” her brown eyes studied Hiei and she gave him a lewd smile, “Unless…”

Hiei pushed past her, shoving her indecorously into the wall and slamming the door in her face.

Joseph's room was crowded with boxes and books and odds and ends of armor and weapons, and smelled of booze, recent sex, and drugs that were illegal even in the Makai. Joseph himself was sprawled out on his bed, wearing only a light blue sheet that barely covered the essentials. The wolf opened his eyes to see who had entered his room, and nearly sprang to his feet when he discovered his privacy had been invaded by a black haired male.

“Whoa, man, I told Aeri I only wanted females. If she or Ambie sent you up here they were either setting you up or trying to embarrass me. I don't fuck males.”

“I'm not here to have sex with you. I'm here to hire you for a job.”

Joseph visibly brightened, “Oh, really? Who for, how much is the pay and what's the target? Details, man! I need details!”

The demon swung out of bed, leaving the sheet behind, and began searching for clothing amid the piles of junk. Hiei averted his eyes, and tightened his grip on his temper.

“The Prince of the Dead, Koenma, is hiring. The pay is twice the usual fee, and the target is every demon that has invaded the Ningenkai.”

Joseph paused in the middle of buttoning on a pair of jeans, “Are you serious?”

“Yes. But you won't be fighting alone. You'll be fighting side by side with the strongest humans and demons alive today, including Genkai-sama, Urameshi Yuusuke, Youko Kurama, and myself.”

“And you'd be…” Joseph pulled a shirt over his head, “Hmmm…Jaganshi Hiei, right?”

“Precisely.”

The wolf grinned.

“Damn! This may be my most exciting job yet!”

Are you going to pack anything? Or just hope that Koenma happens to have all the supplies that you need?”

“Oh, right. Give me a minute and I'll get a bag.”

 

~*~SUB-CHAPTER~*~

 

When Hollis reappeared in the stairwell, Ambie tossed the mug she had been wiping compulsively for the last five minutes onto Jacob's tray and made her way to Aeri's side to hear Hollis' report.

“The customer is hiring mercenaries to fight for Koenma-san. Apparently, things have gotten so bad in the Rekai that our beloved,” her sarcastic inflection on the word brought a snort of laughter from both sisters, “Prince of the Dead is in desperate need o soldiers to fight back the demon invasion of Ningenkai. He's so desperate, in fact, that even volunteer fighters would probably be taken in without question,” her red eyes slid to watch Jacob bus tables.

Aeri was grinning so maniacally that she was getting strange looks from nearby demons.

“Hey Jacob! I need to talk to you for a moment!”

 

~*~SUB-CHAPTER~*~

 

Hiei opened the door to Joseph's room and promptly pinned a frightened kitsune against the wall with his katana blade pressed against the fox's throat.

“Please,” Jacob choked, “Please, I just want to leave with you. I'll do anything to get away from those two!”

“Who are `those two'?”

Joseph's voice answered from behind Hiei, “He's probably talking about the sisters who own this place. They treat him horribly here.”

Hiei glanced over his shoulder at the wolf and sheathed his katana, but didn't say anything.

“Will you please let me go with you? Please, I'll do anything you say! I'll fight the demon hordes single handedly! I'll cook every meal of you life! I'll…” he trailed off, his eyes gliding from Hiei's crimson eyes to his belt line and back, “I'll even…”

“There's no need,” Hiei interrupted sharply, “If you want to come with us so badly, you can come, but I'm not responsible for you.”

The koorime turned on his heels and stalked down the corridor. Joseph looped a friendly arm around Jacob's neck.

“So, what was it that you were willing to do to come along with us?”

The wolf's laughter echoed through the hallway when the weak light revealed Jacob's blush.

 

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I promise that the next chapter will wrap all of this recruiting up so we can get on with the action! And has anyone else noticed that people keep literally running into Hiei at Head Hunter's? Poor guy. It must be Aeri and Ambie's doing.