Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Worthless Humans ❯ Crumbling ( Chapter 27 )

Author's Notes: HOLY CRAP, BATMAN! I am so sorry for flooding up anyone's inbox with nothing but chapter edits. X_X;; That was retarded—Media Miner needs to find a way to fix it where if you update an old chapter, it doesn't send to everybody.

 

Okay, so what good would it have been if I updated all those chapters and didn't add another one right on? Well, I went back and revamped some but not in a complete 180 way—just added a little here and there and took off this and that—kinda like a haircut.

 

I also want to remind people who have my old AOL addy that I changed it recently due to a stalker who won't leave me alone and loves to pop up every now and then. So, check my profile and update that if you didn't get transferred over and you want to stay in contact.

 

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The chirps of the birds that morning echoed about the south of Makai in the wooded area that surrounded the demonic city nearby. What looked like a quaint little hut sat in the middle of the towering Makai trees with a bit of smoke coming out of the chimney. It held a homey feeling about it from the outside as the window blew gently in the breeze that morning whilst the birds sung their morning song to add to the serene feeling. Amongst the wild birds native to the demon world, the male pearl cockatiel made its way through the trees and towards the opened window with the message in his beak.

 

The talons of the bird perched upon the windowsill, his toes dancing upon the woodwork of the window to make himself known since his beak was full before placing the rolled up letter down to tweet and sing a peaceful song to the head of blond hair he recognized as the demon was lying face down in his paperwork.

 

“What!” Suzuka suddenly snapped throwing his head upright with a piece of paper stuck to his forehead from obviously sleeping upon it for too long. “What is it? Who is there?”

 

The pearl cockatiel couldn't help but jump from the booming, demanding voice of the weapons expert. His crazy, screeching echoed about the room as the bird went nuts flying within the little hut to flutter about in confusion.

 

Suzuka grabbed onto the paper covering up his face to crumble it with frustration covering up his face before realizing he had fallen asleep there and was dreaming. He had wasted the night away once again doodling upon paper what he planned on his next weapon designs to be and now some of it was printed upon his face no thanks to lying there upon the ink all night. “Dammit,” he swore to himself as he threw the piece of paper into the trashcan not too far from his desk near the window. Sighing at the block he was having in making better weapons for demons, Suzuka rested his cheek upon the back of his right hand while closing his eyes in thought as he tapped the pen in his hand upon the empty sheets before him. “Now I am back to square one.”

 

The male cockatiel that was still causing a commotion eventually drifted before the narcissist, flapping his wings wildly in his face as if to get the demon's attention.

 

The blond haired demon opened his eyes with a slight hum to see that the rare bird from Human World was there trying to get his attention. “What?” Suzuka asked with a cock of his thin, blond brow. “What do you want, Coo-coo?” Coo-coo was a name Suzuka just pulled out of thin air seeing as the bird continued to come back to his house now and again and he was just fooling around with the bird one day when the name came to him.

 

The bird landed back on the piles of paper he had upon his desk before pecking for the note he brought with him. Grabbing onto the edge of the paper, he turned around to show it to the demon before flapping off over Suzuka's shoulder to land elsewhere in the small house.

 

Grabbing onto the note that the bird had dropped for him, Suzuka looked it over and read it to himself before the door opened in the front to hint someone was coming inside. Swirling around on his chair that creaked with his movements, the demon noticed it was merely a teammate of his he had been training with for a few months now. The swordsman, with tied back lavender hair, blinked a few times at the bird lose within the house before turning to the workaholic not too far away from the front door.

 

“That bird made its way back inside the house,” he couldn't help but complain a bit as he watched the bird perch upon the bed that belonged to Suzuka.

 

“Oh, stop complaining, Shishiwakamaru,” Suzuka demanded as he continued to eye the note before him in thought. “Coo-coo is allowed in here whether you like that or not.”

 

Shishi merely turned his nose up at the bird as he waved it away from the covers it had roosted upon so he could sit down. “What are you reading? Have you created those weapons yet you were babbling about forever ago?”

 

Suzuka ignored Shishi for a moment as he flipped the paper back and forth with a slight chortle, “Well, apparently I have a student here I need to teach or a secret admirer.” His eyes gazing over at the cockatiel that was only know to those in Human World, Suzuka used his index finger to gently pet the bird on his topknot. “Where did you pick this up, Coo-coo?”

 

The pearl cockatiel merely chirped and barked a few tones to the demon as he flapped his pure white feathers about.

 

“Well, I got lost in thought during the night,” Suzuka responded to Shishi's question, “but then I fell asleep and the plans got all over my face.” Sighing a bit at his own behavior he found to be unlike him, he put the letter that the bird gave to him under a statue he had on his desk nearby that was of a griffon posed in attack to keep it from blowing out the window. “So now I have to start all over again thanks to lack of beauty sleep.”

The male cockatiel that was so affectionately named Coo-coo flew quickly over towards Suzuka's shoulder to perch there for a moment to nibble on the demon's ear. He was hungry and he wanted to be fed for his delivery.

 

Feeling the nibble to his earlobe, Suzuka yawned with a slight stretch before eyeing the hungry bird on his shoulder. “What is it, Coo-coo? Are you hungry, is that it?” Pulling back the sleeve on his right arm, he looked at his watch to catch the time. “Well, I guess it would be considered time to feed you. Then I can wash this crap off my face and get back to those weapons, eh?”

 

Shishi said nothing as he remained there upon the bed as Suzuka disappeared into his favorite place in his entire hut, his bathroom. Pushing himself up off of the bed, he grabbed onto the note to read it himself seeing as curiosity gripped a hold of him. The note smelled of bird mainly so he couldn't pick up a trace of demon or human. “I wonder who Nari is.”

 

 

 

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The stable that the water demons had used before hand for their livestock had been situated for the demon's liking. After six months of torture and hell with their masters, each slave was dragged out to the stall they had chosen. Nari was pulled around by Yomi seeing as Yoko Kurama stayed secluded lately in thought. The young woman merely hissed a bit at the harsh pulling but said not one word to her master that was obviously not in the mood at that moment.

 

“Come on, you bitch!” Yomi grumbled, tugging on her chain harshly to get her to the stall he felt would fit her most.

 

Nari's bare, bruised and dirty feet made their way after the hurried demon as he finally stopped her right at her new stall door. It was much larger in space than the previous stall she dwelled within and that made her a bit relieved for the sake of her child who wished to wander about. She could also see a blanket that was there upon the straw but to keep it where it was resting, Nari made not a single smile towards it when Yomi's anger filled eyes caught her obedient expression.

 

Unhooking the chain from her neck shackle, Yomi kept the door open before kicking her on inside. “Get in there, you worthless piece of crap!”

 

She managed to catch herself and not drop her son she held tightly in her arms as the demon forced her inside of her new home. Landing upon her right hip, Nari kept her sight hidden from Yomi through her long, broken hair so he wouldn't see the venomous look she kept upon her face at that moment. She hated him every time he tossed her around. She was eager for revenge and now more than ever she wanted that response to her letter.

 

The demons left one by one allowing the slaves to get used to their new housing for the night that was coming seeing as a few were going off to raid under Yoko Kurama's whim—at least that was what they believed was going on. It was hard to believe that demon wanted to do anything lately concerning the condition he was placing himself within.

 

Sighing out her anger, Nari pulled back her hair in a bit of rope she managed to scramble up in the mansion on the floor, keeping her hair out of her way as she erected herself to look about the stalls nearby. Now, she wondered to herself, who are my new neighbors? Nari looked over to the right of her stall to see that her neighbor there was not somebody she was accustomed with. It was a young, female teen from Germany and she didn't speak an ounce of English, making it difficult for Nari to converse with her. Her hands embracing the bars before her that enclosed her within her stall, she sighed yet again looking for someone in the crowd that was a familiar face before finally pinpointing one right in front of her.

 

The male from the Philippines was her neighbor right across from her. She could clearly see him now as he was curling up upon his blanket he was granted to pick at the hay in his stall and look up at the ceiling until exhaustion was to overtake him. She still did not know his name and obviously he never gave it or couldn't remember it as Nari tried her hardest to get his attention.

 

“Psst,” Nari hissed from where she was, trying to make him look her way. “Psst, hey!” Realizing that this was getting her nowhere, she quickly hunted for something she could throw in his direction to get him to look over towards her. Eventually her bruised and battered fingers came upon a small pebble that she used to throw at his stall.

 

The pebble bounced off of the iron bars, forcing the male to quickly come to his senses at the clang that awoke his senses. “Oh, hey, it's you again. Did that demon ever write you back?”

 

“No,” Nari sighed sorrowfully, leaning against the bars of her door with her back facing the finely polished wood of her enclosure. “It's been six months and I haven't gotten a thing back.”

 

The Asian male could merely shrug slightly in attempts to thinking up excuses for the demon not responding so quickly. “Well, he is a busy demon.”

 

“You mean when he's not caught up in his looks?” A familiar Aussie accented female asked from not too far away.

 

The male couldn't help but scoff at Nari's new neighbor to the left who was obviously the Australian woman that spoke to her and Candy about the letter months ago. Looking at the wood that blocked the two, Nari rapped her knuckles upon it to catch the woman's attention.

 

“Hey,” she whispered slightly, “is that you from months ago? It's me, Nari.”

 

“I know who the bloody hell you are,” the woman joked slightly as she picked at the dirt underneath her nails from where she was sitting within her stall. “What happened to that woman I saw you with? What was her name? Candy?”

 

Nari sighed through her nostrils as she looked about the area she could with a shake of her head. “She must be further up or down because I don't see her. What are your names? I never found the chance to ask you both before.”

 

“Just call me Sally,” the Australian woman insisted. “I don't remember my real name but if a name helps, call me that.”

 

“What about yours?” Nari asked, looking at the Asian male who was still eavesdropping from his stall not too far away from theirs.

 

“Call me whatever you want,” he answered with a slight scoff as he played with something he must have found in his stall out of view. “A name matters little to me down here.”

 

“How about I call you Felix then?” Nari suggested since he was making it difficult. `Felix' didn't object to the name, making Nari believe after a moment or so that it would be okay to call him such though she couldn't help but sigh at his inability to cooperate. Looking up at the window that was within her stall, Nari brought her knees to her chest with a brief, sidewise grin. “I hope that bird makes it here…I really need that letter.”

 

“If you ask me, either way, we might make it out alive,” Felix retorted from where he was lying on his back, throwing something up in the air and then catching it again.

 

“Don't you sound so sure,” Sally retorted with a playful mocking tone. “And why exactly are you so sure?”

 

“If you ask me,” Felix began, continuing to play with whatever it was he had his hands on, “the little guild Yoko Kurama has gathered is falling apart right before him.”

 

Nari could only cock her brow at his words. In a way she felt infuriated that he would continue to try and get her hopes up as she sat in the stall, watching her son closely as he got settled there upon the blanket they were given. She had already laid her life on the line for this `beautiful' Suzuka, and now Felix was going to spout out more fairytales. “You and your crap, Felix,” Nari grumbled irritably. “If anything was crumbling, I would have heard my Master Yoko Kurama going crazy about it.”

 

Felix scoffed in return at the female that wanted to be blind to what was going on before her as he finally situated himself upright on his right side. “You are completely blind, aren't you? Yoko Kurama has done nothing the past few days and that horned, coal black haired master of yours is trying to take over things from behind his back. He is taking members of the thieving guild out on raids Yoko Kurama doesn't approve of and the numbers are decreasing. Did you not notice that? Some slaves are losing masters!”

 

There was cheer in that last line as Nari listened a bit closely to what he had to say. She was so wrapped up in her grief and anger of losing Kuronue that she dared not look at the evidence lined up before her very nose. “So what are you saying?” Nari pried, “Are you saying that I shouldn't rely on this other demon for help?”

 

“Are you fucking crazy?” Felix wondered aloud in a high whisper. “Taking down Yoko Kurama is going to take all the help we can get at this point. Wait for that letter and pray he sends it to you. We need to take down the head master of this sick plan while that other master of yours takes out the rest of the enlisted members.”

 

“Why don't we just wait it out?” Sally asked with a slight shrug, her weary hand gripping upon the bar of her stall door. “From the sound of it, the demons are killing themselves.”

 

“Yoko Kurama is not that stupid, so don't be that stupid either,” the young man insisted through his teeth. “Now if you'll excuse me, story time is over. I am ready to sleep so that I can have all the strength necessary to tend to that stupid bitch of a demon.”

 

Nari could only look over her shoulder at the wood that separated her from Sally once Felix turned his back to her. She could hear Sally deciding the same thing as well before she rested her chin upon her knee. Yoko Kurama and Yomi are battling against one another? Neh…that can't be right…can it? The battered woman didn't want to believe that something so simple to see would be going on right beneath her very nose and she was unable to catch it. But a part of her prayed it was true as she turned to her son to cozy up with him and ready to sleep for the hours granted her.

 

 

 

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For once in her many times spent in Makai, Nari actually slept better there upon the soft, plaid blanket there beneath her with her son not too far away. The thought of her masters not being near her helped Nari not worry about being kicked in the face of in the stomach or the back, though every time the barn doors would creak open, she couldn't deny a ping of anger and annoyance that shrouded her face as she opened her eyes quickly in attentiveness. Ever so often, a slave would leave and allow Nari the pleasure of sleeping once more, but during mid-morning she was not as fortunate as the silver fox was heading for her stall door with his fists at his side.

Yoko Kurama opened the locked door with a miffed look about him. He wasted no time in pulling the chain from the bar doors once he got the padlock off so he could step inside. Grabbing onto her ratted mess that was considered hair, the fox demon snarled angrily with his fox ears flat across his head. “Wake up, you runt! I want you to come with me.”

 

Nari was already awake and furiously gazing at the wall before her seeing as Yoko Kurama couldn't see her expression, wrinkled in nothing but utter hate and distaste of his presents. Trying her best to look innocent once more and helpless, Nari sighed softly as she turned around for her master once he released her hair. She was not allowed to speak—the same rules applied as always as she kept her mouth shut this round.

 

“Get up and follow me,” he ordered sternly as ever. “And don't you dare bring that abomination with you! He can handle himself just fine in this stall alone!”

 

At that moment, Nari almost broke the rule fearing for her son to be left alone by himself in such a place. She had never been separated from him in such a long time and the thought of doing so now killed the small bit of her that was still alive. She parted her lips to speak, but the glare that the demon gave her made Nari remember that maybe she could afford to be apart from her son just this once to get them free.

 

Seeing that Nari was going to obey, Yoko Kurama grabbed onto her neck shackle and pulled her closer to him harshly so as to latch the chain upon it. “Now come and don't you dare make one false move,” he hissed as he tugged Nari harshly to her feet and then out of the barn.

 

Okuro quickly ran to the barred doors that slammed before his face, leaving him without his mother for the first time in awhile. He whimpered several times, with his ears lowered in what appeared to be submission. He wanted to go with her but even he knew that he was unable to break the bars that contained him, leaving the half breed to stay behind in the stall alone for once in his life.

 

The multiple-roomed mansion was soon standing there before Nari once more as she was hurried towards the building for some odd reason. She could only wonder what he wanted this round. Lately he had beaten her for revenge on Kuronue's death feeling she was still held responsible while she still blamed him in the same way for not helping the demon she loved sooner. Regardless Nari had gotten used to it, and she took it with the same rebellious attitude as always. More scars and bruises were added to her collection, but it mattered little to her. Who would love her now with such a horrific looking form beyond the demon who she held close to her heart?

 

It wasn't before long as the young woman fell upon the carpet there before her that was close to the foot of Yoko Kurama's new bed. Flinching from the impact, she kept her anger hidden behind her hair not wishing for the demon to see her boiling rage.

 

“You are to remain inside of this room, you worthless bitch,” Yoko Kurama remarked sourly. “I have other matters to tend to first before dealing with you once more.”

 

The more Nari focused upon his tone, the more she couldn't help but find something new within it. He was worried. Yoko Kurama actually sounded worried to her as she looked up at him with a confused expression upon her features only to catch the glaring, cold look within his golden eyes. What has him so concerned? Is what Felix said true or is something else bothering him?

 

The demon said not another word as he quickly headed out of his bedroom in a flash, showing how eager he was to get to wherever it was he was heading towards.

 

“Well, that was odd,” Nari remarked to herself as she brought her legs closer to one another. “He sounded almost like he was worried for me…or, I don't know, that damn fox is way too complicated.” Waving off the feelings that embraced her before, Nari gradually got to her feet as she headed towards the windows that arched behind the bed and curved slightly about it.

 

Embracing her form for a moment, she hummed in thought as the raging waterfall kept her attention for awhile. Looking at her body for a moment in boredom, Nari began to count some of the scars on her skin, remembering each one and the story behind it. She wished not to dwell on such things but when you're alone and with nothing to do, the worst of memories tend to get the best of you. As she remained there upon the side of the bed, a tapping sound against the glass was heard as Nari shifted her focus from her wounds to the glass windows.

 

A smile spread across her features as she saw the male cockatiel there with another note in its beak. “Oh, he made it!” She cheered softly before realizing that there was no way for her to retrieve it without going outside. Scratching her forehead in thought, Nari began to concoct a plan before pointing to the right of the building. “Outside—meet me outside.” She wasn't sure if the bird understood her as Nari quickly darted to the bedroom door to open it and peak just beyond the doorway.

 

Being that Yoko Kurama had his privacy far away from the others, Nari knew she had a slim chance of being caught but it never hurt to be cautious for who knows where each demon was. Closing the door silently behind her, Nari dashed as quietly as she could towards the front doors. Peeking beyond the corner to view who was about the main room, she caught nobody before dashing as quickly as possible to the double doors that were made of fine wood to throw them open and make her way out to the right side of the building without being caught so far.

 

The pearl cockatiel remained quiet as he fluttered down towards the woman he recalled seeing with his master that night he took off months ago. His talons embedding gently within her shoulder, he dropped the note within her opened palms for her to read.

 

“Good boy,” she cheered as if he were a puppy dog before unrolling the note to read what it had upon it.

 

Dear Nari,

 

I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, but I am working on my own weapons for the time being to make me stronger. You understand.

 

As far as the Makai plants go when dealing with what you spoke of—there are many out there that do many different things. You'll have to be more specific in the next letter you send me for I can only write down so much, you see, for there are several different species and all those species do many different things when combined.

 

Clarity, my dear, helps.

 

The Beautiful Suzuka