Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Theives' Guild ❯ Chapter 11

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters. Everyone else, however, belongs to me.

Chapter Eleven

Ayume woke abruptly, shooting into a sitting position, startled. Hiei, sitting at her bedside, jumped and fell backwards. “What is that for?” He demanded.

Instead of answering, her hands went up to cover her ears. “Why is everything so loud?” She complained.

Kuronue's dark laugh sounded from the corner of the tent where he and Youko stood. “You're a demon now. It really isn't any louder than usual; your hearing is just better than before.”

Ayume frowned at him before getting to her feet. Youko caught her when she wobbled. “What in the…?” She trailed off.

“It'll take getting used to. You're body is much better than before. You're stronger. You probably used a bit too much strength to get up, so you lost your balance.”

“So I have to relearn everything is basically what you're telling me.” She retorted.

Hiei tugged on her sleeve, “It isn't that bad, Onee-chan. You're good at everything.” He stated simply. “You'll be good at being a demon too.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Ayume mumbled as she exited the tent.

“So, the lass is awa'e now i' she?” Kiev asked from beside her.

“No, I'm sleepwalking.” Ayume replied, completely straight faced. Kiev, Youko, Kuronue, and Hiei all laughed.

“So now our little princess has officially joined our ranks.” A voice sneered.

Ayume whirled. Icahn stood there, looking rather full of himself. Though she hardly cared what this jerk thought of her, she growled at him, surprising herself. Since when could she actually growl?

Youko stepped forward, knowing full well Ayume was in no way in control of her body yet. “Do you have a complaint, Icahn?” He asked in a dangerous voice.

“Yes, I do. We are supposed to be looking for Madain Sarai. We've spent a week here already, and we'll have to spend at least four more for her to find her legs again. Why not just leave her behind and get back to what we were doing before she decided to slow us down?”

Kuronue stepped forward, grabbing Icahn by the collar and lifting him off the ground so they were face-to-face. “The reason we can't just leave her behind is we require her help. Not only that, but since she joined us, she has been quite an asset, even you can't deny that. This is your second warning. Do not question your leaders' decisions again, or you know the consequences.” He hissed before dropping the demon unceremoniously back onto the hard ground. Growling, he slowly got to his feet.

Icahn lunged at Ayume, claws drawn. In a move she'd practiced a thousand times, she dropped to the ground and twirled, kicking out with her leg. Although the attack was, to her, the same as it had always been, the effect was viciously amplified. Rather than being forced back a few feet clutching his side where she'd struck, he flew away from her, landing a good thirty yards away.

Ayume stared after him in open-mouthed surprise from her crouched position.

Hiei was just as amazed. “Will I be able to do that one day, Onee-chan?” He asked excitedly. “Someday, will I be as strong as you?”

She gave him a hesitant smile. “Of course. One day you'll be knocking people straight into oblivion.” At his too large smile, she added, “But you still won't be able to beat me Hiei-chan.”

Hiei deflated a bit. Kuronue barked a laugh. “Looks like you'll have to pull your punches even more than usual, Ayume.” Still chucking, he addressed Hiei, “You are the one who gave her the extra power that allowed her to do that, you know.”

Ayume watched Hiei in amusement as he clammed up. It seemed that although he felt no need to hold his tongue when addressing her, he still had reservations with other people.

Ayume rose to her feet for the second time that day, this time much more stable, as Youko hauled Icahn to his feet. “Imagine that, Icahn. You just got beaten by a newborn demon.” He stated emotionlessly.

“And, if you were counting, this is your third screw-up in the past week.” Kuronue added merrily.

Ayume covered Hiei's eyes as the demon began to thrash about in Youko's hold. “One day, everyone here will turn on you, Youko-sama.” He spat. “One day, you'll wish you were dead for the payback they'll give-.”

Youko's man eating tree interrupted his sentence.

Ayume had only seen the plant once before, used on an enemy of the band. She knew Youko and Kuronue favored her more than they should have, but to see such an attack turned against a once-ally made her reconsider her meaning to him. She was a strong member of his band, she did represent the only way into Madain Sarai, and she had helped them to accomplish their goals, but that alone did not warrant this level of favoritism.

So why was their reaction so severe? Did they feel protective of her because she was a girl? Which led her to another thought entirely: did they…love her?

It would explain the reaction, but that couldn't be it. Not a person like her. It had to be something else.

Then, at that precise moment, something put her on guard. She wasn't sure what it was, but something was off. Nothing smelled different. She looked around, seeing nothing, when the answer hit her like a brick.

It was quiet. She could not hear the too-loud chatter of her band-mates. Her eyes were drawn to them as they looked at Youko solemnly. Was this normal? She knew they only gave three chances, but was the execution usually like this?

Never had she wanted to be a source on disquiet amongst her new family. And yet, everywhere she went only chaos seemed to follow. It was a terrible thing for her to inflict it on these men, those who she'd grown to love so much. But they needed her. She couldn't just leave.

And what of Hiei? What did he think of this?

Thoughts of her newest little brother drew her eyes to him, and he returned her gaze without wavering. His small smile was…sad, but comforting. His eyes held only love for her.

He could sense her confused emotions.

What in the world? She was usually much more in control of her emotions than this. Hiei never should have sensed it through the bond. Heck, she should have been able to stop them in their tracks.

Perhaps this was one of those things that made demons have such short fuses.

Her sisters and brothers had never known how she felt. Her sisters, Likora, Miri, and Miyu had never bothered trying to understand her, much more concerned with their duties as miko-in-training. Her brothers Katoko, Avon, and Haru had been much the same way. Far younger than she was, they didn't understand how she felt, or why in the world she would ever feel that way.

Only Hiei had tried, and he'd been her brother for less than a day. He would never look at her with the disdain they were sure to show her now.

She would strive to be the best sister he could ask for.

Hiei's small hand found hers, and he squeezed it a little for comfort. She felt herself calming down. Ayume squeezed his hand in return, grateful.

Youko hadn't had to kill one of his men for disobedience in a long while. The execution had been quicker than most he remembered. But, then again, he usually used a different method for it.

His band members looked on solemnly, as they always did. Save for Ayume, they'd all seen at least one of their own be stupid enough to warrant his punishment.

Not one questioned it. He'd not only questioned his leaders twice, but he'd attacked another member of the band. Although they may look past the first offence, to all present the second was unforgivable.

Nobody questioned it, except him. He was rarely so quick to kill his own, even if they had broken such a rule. Only this time, Ayume was involved. Was she why? Was he so taken by her?

He was. With a sigh, he realized that he would probably be just as ruthless to any threat to her.

He once was sure that Kuronue had felt the same way, but that wasn't true anymore. Kuronue regarded her as a sister, as most of the band did. So he had realized how Youko felt before Youko did and stopped his feeling for her from evolving any further.

Damn, but how could he be so clueless? “Get back to whatever nonsense you were doing.” He ordered his men. “We leave tomorrow night.”

“Nice kick Kid.” Livoso told Ayume, walking up to her. “I believe you've grown quite a bit in power overnight. I'll need to avoid sparring with you for awhile.” He told her with a wink.

Youko probably would have strangled him out of jealousy when he saw her bright smile in return, had Kuronue not set his hand on his shoulder. “You and I need to have a chat.”

Despite Livoso's teasing, he and Kiev were happy to test her new strength, as well as help her get a handle on it herself. It felt as if everything she did now required no energy at all for the desired effect. So, she began to make the habit of using half the strength she thought it should take to do something, and it was effective, though sometimes it was still a bit overboard.

She still had her spirit power, but she also had demonic energy. The spirit energy she had, at least, had not changed, but she wasn't entirely sure what to do with the demon energy.

“Ye'll ha'e to use it. I' won' jus' sit tight whi'e yer spiri' ener'y ge's used up. Be'er te learn how now.” Kiev told her when she'd cut off the energy flow as the demon power mixed with her spirit power.

So she allowed them to mix. Livoso was quick to tell her it added quite the fiery element to her attacks. “Not surprising, seeing as Hiei is a fire demon.” Ayume noted. “Y'know, we've been at this for hours and hours, but I don't really feel tired at all.”

She sat back and stretched her legs out in front of her as Livoso and Kiev both lay back in the grass. “You're a lot stronger now, and not just because you're a demon. You were powerful as a human, and your new demon blood reacted to that strength. You're probably on equal footing with Youko-sama and Kuronue-sama now, or you will be once you can control your powers again.”

She went to bend a stick she found laying on the ground, accidently snapping it in half. “I don't really like the sudden boost though. It throws everything off. At least when you build your power and strength slowly, it never takes you by surprise. This…it feels strange. As if it's not even me.” She looked at the stick in her hands. “It's scary. It feels like I'm going to break everything I touch.”

“Can' really rela'e te tha' one. I' ne'er had such a su'en boos'. Nor ha'e many o'er demons fer tha' ma'er.” Kiev stated. “Bu' yer more worthy of i' since it bo'ers ye. Too many demons woul' wan' such a thing in the wors' of ways.”

She shot him a quick smile. “I wonder where Hiei wandered off to. He usually sticks pretty close.”

“While you and Kiev were sparring he said he was gonna go train some himself.” Livoso replied.

Much easier than that morning, and much more gracefully, Ayume rose to her feet. Both of her friends gave her confused looks. “Let's go see how he's doing.” She said with a wink.