Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Theives' Guild ❯ Chapter 7

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters. I do, however, own everyone else.

Chapter Seven

Kiev was surprised to be called out by Ayume to talk, though not nearly as surprised as he was about the content of the conversation. “So ye mean t' tell me yer not only a lass, but are going to tell e'ryone else. Then ye plan to ask them what you just confused the hell ou' of to wi'ness a cer'mony they hold to be such a high `onor it's nearly forbidden.” Ayume nodded, confirming he'd heard everything right.

“That sounds about right.” She replied.

Livoso had no doubt been halfway between furious and indignant. He'd argued heatedly against the idea with Ayume when Hiei wasn't around. That was precisely why she had decided to tell Kiev without Hiei being nearby. However, calm-headed Kiev tilted his head back and let out a roar of laughter.

“Ye sure got guts A'ume. Some will dou'less be upset that yer a lass. I doubt, once told, an'one will think yer lyin' though. Nows I know, I can see it clear as day. The bond, though. That'll cause trouble. Philo or Icahn or one o' them hotheads'll no doubt start sommat.”

“I've no doubt in my mind Kiev. But… it's something I need to do.”

“Fer Hiei? Or fer yerself?”

“For both of us. As for telling the others I'm a girl, that's for everyone's sakes.”

“And what of yer own family?”

Ayume was silent for a moment. “Dad will approve, since it's something I want. Mother will hate me for it. The others? I'm not sure they'll know for quite awhile. So, will you do it?”

“Aye, I'll speak fer Hiei along with Livoso, seein' as the tyke's got no right living family to do it as they should.” Kiev answered without hesitation. Ayume hugged him instantaneously.

“Thank you!”

Youko stood in front of his men. “Ayume has both something to tell you and a favor to ask of you all. I am already aware of both things, so I expect no disrespect or,” his eyes flashed, “outbursts.” He looked every single one in the eye, making sure they got the message. Each of the twenty-odd men in the group nodded their assent.

Ayume took her place. She could see they were all expecting something bad from Youko's prompting them to behave. “About three months ago, I joined your number here.” She began. “From that first day I had a secret I kept from all but Youko-sama and Kuronue-sama.” This was the part she hadn't told anyone she was going to announce. She took a deep breath. “I am the daughter of the ones Youko-sama and Kuronue-sama sought to steal from the night I came to you.”

It took less than an instant for many of them to be on their feet. Not simply because she was a girl, but also because it was common knowledge that the artifact their leaders had sought had been under the protection of a Miko. Those with cooler heads held their comrades back, wary of Youko's warning.

The shouts were impossible for her to talk over. Thankfully, Livoso intervened. “Hey!” He roared. “What are you lot shouting about? Who is the kid standing in front of us?”

Yuno piped up, one of the cooler heads thankfully, “Our brother Ayume.” Though in this context, brother was more a term of endearment. Yuno turned red. “Our sister, I mean.” He corrected himself.

The crowd calmed as Youko seethed, hating not being informed beforehand that she intended to tell them that as well.

“You deceived us!” Philo called out, still steamed.

“I did not.” Ayume stated, straightening to her full height. “Did I ever once tell you I was a boy? Did I ever once say I was not born of a Miko? I may not have told you, but that simply means it was information deemed unnecessary. After all, Youko-sama and Kuronue-sama knew and didn't hold me to be any different from you for it.”

Philo was not a close friend, but nobody in the band was too distant from anyone else. He'd sat at the fire many a dawn before bed and joked with Ayume about his -her- never drinking. He'd insulted him -her- by saying he -she- acted like a girl. She'd never protested.

“This band is more than just a bunch of thieves. What are we, truly?” She asked. “We're a family. A slightly dysfunctional family, true, but what else would you call it? Look next to you. That man is your brother or cousin. At first I didn't want to be part of it, but now? You tell me. What am I? Your sister, or a Miko's daughter?”

There was a long pause. “Our sister.” Philo admitted.

Ayume was silent, even after the men had finished agreeing that she was, indeed, as much a part of the family as Youko or Kuronue. Hiei stood from the audience, as did Livoso and Kiev, and went to stand with her.

“My request of you, I think will cause you to be even more angry with me. Hiei asked me to be his sister, by blood. I said yes.” Roars came from them. Her voice rose, sharp yet smooth. “I ask you to be our witnesses.”

This silenced them. A blood bond was a high honor for anyone. It was unthinkable to them to have one performed amidst them. However, to be asked to witness was just as high of an honor. Such an event was a closed, family thing. Witnesses were necessary for legal reasons, especially in the higher families, but very few were asked; only those who were intimately close with the bondees.

“As Ayume said, this is a family.” Hiei spoke up. “Is it so bad for me to want that to be real?” He asked, and those who were clearly expressing their dislike of the idea of him bonding a human relaxed a bit.

Ayume ruffled his hair.

Jinko stood. “I'll not witness.” He declared.

Everyone was startled. Refusing once asked to be a witness was the same as stopping the affair altogether. No one asked refused because simply the words of asking to witness were binding. Unless all witnesses were present, the ceremony couldn't continue.

Icahn also stood. Youko went to stop them, but Kuronue held him back.

Ayume knew the procedure from here. Refusing such a position was a challenge to she who issued the request. Unless they were dead or agreed to witness, she and Hiei couldn't go through with the bond.

She stepped forward to the edge of the seated men. “If you'll not willingly witness, I've no choice but to make you.” She challenged.

“Can you take us both?” Icahn sneered. Hiei moved forward, but was stopped by Kiev. What could he do? He was too young to stand a chance. This was something that would be Ayume's responsibility alone.

“If you will?” She sighed, addressing the rest of the band, who had through silence agreed to witness. They stood and moved out, creating a circle around the three fighters. “I ask you to reconsider.” She said emotionlessly, already sinking into her battle-trance.

“I'll reconsider if you can beat me.” Jinko answered. Icahn did not answer.

She had to be careful. She'd fought a lot of lower-level demons, but those in the band weren't pushovers. Kahoka was fresh meat, untried when she'd fought him. Livoso was far better than her in use of power, if he was not physically far superior to her. The first day had been more of an initiation than a duel. This was a no-holds-barred fight in which they had the advantage. They were physically powerful demons with a lot of demonic energy at their disposal, and there were no rules against teaming up on her.

There was also no signal to start. The two demons faced her and she them. For a moment no one moved. They sized each other up, reading each other as only warriors can.

Ayume started the fight. With speed that would put Hiei to shame, she dashed forward. Icahn pulled his sword out, but Jinko didn't move. Ayume jumped on the blade as it swept toward her and slammed her foot into Icahn's head before back flipping to avoid Jinko's attack. He was a whip user. Not as good as Youko, but good enough to send her back a few yards out of range. There was enough time for Icahn to recover before she attacked again.

Unlike her opponents, she didn't carry weapons meant to be used in the heat of battle. She had throwing daggers, used mostly with either stealth or her spirit energy. She was at another disadvantage here because of it. As a result, she tried her hardest to render their weapons unusable.

She slipped in between them, a very bad idea in battle. However after she dodged the first swipe of Icahn's blade, the onlookers understood why she had done it. Icahn was a close combat person. She'd slipped close enough to Jinko to draw him in so that if she dodged, he would hit her other opponent. Jinko now sported a wicked cut down his side. Likewise, Jinko couldn't so attack her with his whip when she dodged away from them because it would hit Icahn.

She jumped back as both attacked her at once, tangling their weapons together. She stood near the edge of the circle away from her opponents as they detangled themselves. “It seems this isn't going to work.” Jinko commented, putting his whip away in his belt. Similarly, Icahn sheathed his sword.

Ayume barely had time to protect herself as two blasts of demonic energy shot at her. Her hands were burned in the quick defense, but the energy was successfully nullified. She jumped up as Icahn attacked, aiming his fist at the ground behind her. She landed on his back harshly, knocking him down. A second blast from Jinko made her move before she could incapacitate him. She got an idea as the two sent more demonic blasts her way.

Hiei shot forward as the attack knocked his would-be-sister through the ring of onlookers. Oddly, the blinding blasts didn't fade where they stopped. Kiev stopped him at the edge of the ring. He stared at the strangely long-lasting demonic energy and saw a few blue threads wrapping around them. The two demonic energies were forced together as the net finished.

Ayume suddenly became visible as she moved the energy to the side, the net visible connecting to her left hand. She became easier and easier to look at, and in a minute Hiei understood why. The bright ball of energy was disappearing. She was absorbing the demonic energy the two had tried to blast her with.

Aided with an enormous boost of foreign power, Ayume was back in the ring and on the attack in less than a second. She knew better than to try to hold the power. One of the first things she'd learned in energy manipulation was that a person could hold her own spirit and no more. Absorbing power for immediate re-use was all that was wise to do. Instead, she weaved all of the power into her attack, kicking Icahn straight out of the clearing.

A couple of onlookers went after him, checking to see if he was dead, unconscious, or coming back to fight. Ayume turned to Jinko. He smirked at her. “Smart, Ayume-kun. I should know by now you really aren't a pushover, but I really didn't expect you to be able to do this so easily. Icahn ain't comin' back. You made damn well sure of that.”

“He certainly isn't dead.” Ayume replied. “He isn't even knocked out. Why would you say he isn't coming back?” She demanded, ever on guard.

“He lost to you, after offering a grave insult you had every right to rebuke him for.”

Her energy suddenly began to swirl around them, whipping up winds that blew most back from where they were standing. Hiei was surprised when, instead of turning it into an attack, Ayume formed and enormous barrier around the area. The large blue bubble shrank bit by bit, until Icahn and his handlers were dragged back into view. Livoso went and dragged him on his knees to watch the battle he'd forfeited.

“Are you sure you wanted to waste that energy on him?”

“If he were to run away, we couldn't do the bond. Now, we have something to finish.”

Jinko just shook his head. “I wanted to see just how seriously you were taking this.” He put his hands up in surrender. “We both know you have no more chance of beating me than you do of beating Youko-sama.” Formally, he announced, “I rescind my refusal to witness.”

Ayume eased out of a fighting position as Icahn swore behind her. “I would have tried.” She protested before turning to the one who had yet to agree to witness. The long string of curses that erupted from his mouth at her approach would have impressed anyone, Ayume included. Secretly she wondered exactly how many languages that had been.

“I ain't gonna witness no damn stupid blood bond between a human and a forbidden child.” He spat out.

Ayume backhanded him hard enough to send him sprawling, and knock Livoso off his balance. Before either could recover, she yanked Icahn up by the collar of his shirt out of Livoso's hold. “You can insult me all you want,” she began in a deadly, ice cold voice, “but one more word against my little brother and I will cut you open and drag your insides out until you're as inside out as the clothes you wear. I'll let you deal with that for a nice while before I kill you. Am I understood?” Icahn remained silent. She shook him roughly. “I asked you a question!”

“Understood.” He croaked.

Livoso had to commend the girl. Demons took nothing short of a show of force as authority, and she well knew it. She'd never needed to bother before, so he wasn't sure if she was fully capable of asserting that authority.

She dropped him. “So, I have two choices. Option one, I kill you. Option two, I let you live. And these choices are based off of two choices you have. Option one, you continue your refusal to witness. Option two, you rescind your refusal to witness. I'll make my choice once you've made yours.”