• 1-Fate's Recompense
• 2-Chapter 2
• 3-Chapter 3
• 4-Chapter 4
• 5-Chapter 5

OOO

OOO

The dust and debris from the warehouse’s explosion began to settle thickly, revealing he twisted remains and rubble of what was, truthfully, not a really pretty sight, even before the explosion. In fact, if anything, leveling the structure had been an improvement to the scenery. The same could not be said for the three men who had been in the warehouse moments ago… Certainly they must have been completely wasted or severely burned or buried in bricks or…

…Entirely unharmed, squatting beneath a glowing barrier, looking just about as bewildered as a Trekkie at a Harry Potter fest?

The four boys looked around and yelped as they saw Boton standing behind them, her oar, now glowing blue, held above her head. The glowing stopped and she lowered her oar beside her like a staff.

“Heh, nice timing Boton! When’d you get here?” Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his head.

“I’ve been here the whole time, Yusuke!” Boton huffed, clearly annoyed that she had been forgotten again.

“Oh, of all the—you’re so—I just saved your life! The least you could do is be grateful!” Boton shouted incredulously, brandishing her oar so wildly that it almost took off Kuwabara’s head… Almost…

“Hey, I didn’t do anything! Hit him , not me!” Kuwabara exclaimed.

“It was lucky that you got to us in time, Boton. I wouldn’t want to think about what the outcome would have been otherwise,” Kurama said quietly.

“That was a pretty cool trick you picked up,” Yusuke added.

“I’ve always been able to do that,” the ferry girl said.

Yusuke almost fell over with shock.

“What?” Yusuke exclaimed. “You could have mentioned it before now, Boton! What about all the other times that I’ve been nearly blown into smithereens?”

Boton was about to retort, but Kurama cut her off.

“We don’t have time for this,” the red head told them firmly. “Whoever is behind these attacks is directly targeting us, and we need some sort of a plan.”

The rest of the team nodded in agreement, and looked to Kurama for more suggestions… because Kurama knows everything.

“I think that it would be best to first combine any information that we gathered,” Kurama said.

Yusuke was the first to speak.

“I didn’t get anything out of that guy,” he grumbled. “He was just a useless minion. All he did was laugh and fight like crap the whole time. I would’ve gotten a better fight out of a rock.”

“It is the same for me,” Kurama said. “My opponent was, like the others, sent to die in order to trap us in the explosion. He seemed to think very highly of his rank though. What do you have to say, Kuwabara?”

“I didn’t get much out of it except that this ‘Master’ guy is watching everything we do,” Kuwabara replied, folding his arms across his chest.

“Yes, that did bother me,” Kurama agreed.

“What’re you goin’ on about?” Yusuke muttered.

“Well, you may have noticed, Yusuke, that there were only three demons when there are four Tantei,” Kurama said.

“Huh? Since when is Boton a fighter?” Yusuke asked.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Boton exclaimed.

Kurama sighed. Yusuke had his moments…

“No, he means there are four Tantei including Hiei,” Kuwabara supplied.

“But short-stuff ain’t here, stupid,” Yusuke said.

“And the enemy knew that,” Kurama interrupted before Kuwabara came up with an angry retort at being called stupid. “He knew that Hiei is not here, so he would only need to send three decoys for us to attack. Had he not known, he would have sent four demons to the warehouse. Then he would have at the very least seriously injured us in the following explosion. Fortunately, he did not count on Boton being able to save us.”

“Because she normally isn’t of any help,” Yusuke said under his breath.

Unfortunately, Boton was able to hear. “Oh, really? How about the time—”

“Stop,” Kurama said firmly, with a glint of gold flashing across green irises. “Kuwabara, what else did your opponent tell you?”

“Nothing really,” he said thoughtfully before he suddenly remembered something. “Well, he did say that he wanted to fight Hiei, but that he was assigned to fight me.”

“Just as I thought,” Kurama murmured. “It is not the city that is being targeted as we first suspected. We are the ones that he is after, and I don’t think that I am mistaken in assuming that Hiei is being attacked in similar ways as well.”

“That’s weird,” Yusuke said thoughtfully. “All of the other times, we’ve had to track down demons who were targeting someone or something else. It’s never really just been about us.”

Kurama nodded. Their strength had always come from their desperation to save others. Now that they were the ones in harm’s way, who knew how this would end.

Yusuke developed a dark look. “Where is Hiei, anyway? You never did tell us, Kurama.”

“I don’t really know,” the fox admitted. “However, either Koenma or Mukuro may have some clue as to his whereabouts. He likes to wander off, you know.”

“I bet he doesn’t wander off too far from Mukuro, though,” Yusuke said slyly.

Kuwabara sniggered, and Boton said in a giggly tone, “Ooh! I know what you mean!”

“Well, I certainly don’t,” Kurama said, causing the others to pause mid-laugh and stare disbelievingly at him.

“C’mon, Kurama! You can’t tell me there’s nothing between those two!” Yusuke said.

“Actually, I can,” Kurama told him flatly.

Everyone got silent, their attention firmly grabbed by the fox.

“Hiei has made it very clear to Mukuro that he is not attracted to her in any way, shape, or form,” Kurama said seriously.

“He told you that?” Yusuke asked with surprise.

“Yes, as a matter of fact he did,” Kurama said, though they could tell he was leaving most of the best parts of the story out. “And I don’t think that he would appreciate you spreading rumors about him that are not true. He expects that kind of behavior from everyone else. He shouldn’t have to expect it from his friends as well.”

With that, he began to pick his way out of the destroyed building, headed back towards the city.

“Ah, we really should tell Koenma about all of what we overheard!” Boton chirped, trying to change the subject. When the now moody group didn’t reply and continued their journey, she hopped on her oar and said, “You’re right! I should go tell him!” Then, in quiet, fake man voices she added to herself, “’Oh, yes, Boton!’ ‘Great idea, Boton!’ ‘You’re such a big help, Boton!’” and zoomed skyward into Reikai.

As Kurama stalked his way down the sidewalk, Yusuke and Kuwabara caught up with him (after much tripping over rubble on Kuwabara’s part).

“Hey, Kurama, I know you have some sort of idea about what’s going on!” Yusuke said.

Kurama sighed in irritation. It was tiresome being questioned all the time. “If I knew anything about the one behind these attacks—“

“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Yusuke cut him off, a firm punch connecting with the fox’s cheek.

Kuwabara just stood off to the side in shock as Kurama stumbled before standing upright again and facing Yusuke. He brought a hand to his face to touch the already bruising skin.

“Hiei might not have figured out that the attacks in Ningenkai and the attacks in Makai are connected, so it’s up to us to warn him,” Yusuke said.

“He’s not stupid, Yusuke. I’m sure that he can figure that much out if he hasn’t already,” Kurama replied softly.

“We all know that he’s been acting funny lately… well last time we saw him,” Yusuke argued. “I didn’t say anything, but that last case that we had, he nearly got killed, like, six times! He’s distracted, and it’s either because he knows something really important or because there’s something wrong with him.”

“Yeah, I’m going with option number two. His energy was doing some really funny things last time he was here,” Kuwabara said.

“I still say that it is best we leave him alone,” Kurama said quietly. This was a little surprising to the other two men as Kurama was normally, though secretive, willing to comply with their demands if they made sense.

“He always wants to be left alone! But I think he needs help right now, and I also think that you know where he is,” Yusuke said dangerously.

Suddenly, Kurama’s eyes changed from defensive to the clear green they usually were. His gaze fell to the ground with a regretful expression.

“I really don’t know, Yusuke,” Kurama said truthfully. “But I wish that I did.”

…‘Everything’ is a strong word…

OOO

IN THE DEMON WORLD…

Hiei tread softly up the stone stairs leading to an obscenely tall and rotting wooden door which groaned ominously as he slowly pushed it open. Fresh air rushed into the musky darkness within the old temple, causing the little fire demon’s cloak to swish slightly as he stepped inside of the doorway; he could feel the nearly overwhelming stuffiness of dust and paper pervade his senses. The humid air trapped inside formed an uncomfortable steam as it met with the cooler outer air. Temperature didn’t seem to bother him much anymore though, as his powers had finally settled about two weeks ago after his first incident with the failed campfire. Although he didn’t know anything about using ice powers, he didn’t consider it much of a problem since he used his sword more than anything. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of the aging temple.

While the outside of the temple appeared dirty and in disrepair, the interior had rotted away in its own filth, the floors caked over in silt and encrusted with debris. He had to brush more than a few spiders off of his cloak when they had dropped from the doorway, clearly annoyed at being disturbed.

There were many temples like this one, all abandoned or recycled. Way back when (farther than Hiei could remember) such temples had been built by monks of sorts—demons pursuing knowledge and understanding. Since then, they had all been killed, for the Makai is not kind to those who do not fight. So, the demons had moved to unsettled areas, now the “Urbanized Makai” that had eventually become the territory of the three kings, especially Yomi’s Gandara. The temples were the only things that they left behind when they fled, taking their documents with them, but those who were killed didn’t have the opportunity to complete such a task. If it was history and records someone was searching for, the temples would be the first place to look.

Picking his way past the upset shelves and tables, Hiei eventually made his way to the back where, half-concealed by a moth-eaten curtain, stood a small doorway leading to a narrow staircase. There, Hiei knew he would find the important scrolls and books that had been hidden away below in an attempt to keep them from damage. He had stopped by several of these locations, but so far all of them had been completely empty or currently occupied. If this was a dead end as well, it would be no real surprise.

Fortunately, as he eased open the next wooden door, he was met with the sight of several shelves all crammed with rows of books and scrolls. He suddenly felt the need to jump for joy (which he restrained). Damn hormones.

Carefully, he began gently dusting off the name plates that bore the subject of the documents.

Water Nymphs and Water Purity… Electric Energy and its Potential Uses… Incubi and Succubi… Twelve Uses for Dragon’s Blood… Strange Sex…

Hiei blinked confusedly at the last one then shook his head with a sigh of frustration. There didn’t seem to be much of an order of the name plates, and he was definitely running out of time gauging by how his belly had begun to grow. Recently Hiei had noticed a new urge to find a safe place to settle and gather things that he would need to take care of his child. However, he knew that finding out more about what exactly he was would shed more light on what he was supposed to do. And he hadn’t even gotten to really find anything about this “Collector”… His priorities were more than a little confused.

Finally, after a couple of hours, Hiei had come up with some volumes he might be able to use.

Koorime and Their Life Cycle and Theory of Hermaphrodite Anatomy.

He frowned at the word “theory”, but didn’t complain. He might be the only known case of a true hermaphrodite existing, so a theory would just have to do. He righted a still-intact stool and settled down to read what the monks had found in their studies.

OOO

OUTSIDE…

Ardat lounged against the base of a tree in the shade. This was like what— the tenth temple that Hiei had gone to explore? And each time, the demon had come out empty-handed. Ardat had no idea what the little demon could be up to, but he figured that Hiei must not fully realize that he wasn’t going to stay pregnant forever. Even Ardat knew that it wouldn’t be long before the fire demon needed a place to settle in order to raise his child.

‘ Our child,’ a little voice told him, which he batted away.

‘It’s not our child,’ he told the voice scathingly, ‘It’s just his.’

‘Not if you don’t leave,’ the voice replied. ‘If you stay, it could be yours as well.’

Ardat snorted at the thought before realizing that he was having an argument with a voice in his head. Not a good sign. He had been alone for far too long.

Suddenly Ardat laughed a little bit, remembering earlier that morning when Hiei had gotten his food supplies stolen by a squirrel. Of course, Ardat had watched the squirrel as it had opened the bag of food and eaten all of its contents before Hiei had woken up and chased the animal around the clearing.

Though Hiei was certainly not slow, even burdened with a growing fetus, Makai squirrels were incredibly quick and slippery creatures with razor-sharp teeth and an extra, equally dangerous mouth on their tail. Catching the little beasts was tricky, and Hiei grew tired more easily than usual, not to mention that he didn’t want to get bitten should he not grab it correctly. So, the little demon had sat down seemingly in defeat after chasing the creature for almost fifteen minutes. But then, as the squirrel had snuck back over to the food bag, Hiei lunged and beheaded it with his sword, a proud smirk on his face as he lit a fire to make a meal out of the pest.

Ah, what a sight it had been!

His snickering was suddenly cut off as he sensed multiple opponents closing in. More were coming every day as the scent grew stronger, another one of the many reasons that Ardat wished Hiei would stop his wandering and settle in a nice, secluded area. Not only that, but the farther they wandered into the Wilds, the cleverer and stronger the challengers would become.

He opened his hand and grew three blue-grey feathers before standing to meet the intruders.

OOO

INSIDE…

Hiei stared with wide eyes at one page in particular in his reading material. Numbers and percentages decorated the page. More concerning, though was what was being counted. Some columns were relatively normal, measuring birth weight, eye and hair color, and length. The ones concerning him were the numbers in columns marked ‘Deaths’ and something—faded too much to read—‘Ripping’ (a startling forty percent, by the way). And the numbers underneath ‘Labor’ couldn’t possibly be right. Thirty-six hours? Forty-seven hours? There was just no way anyone could be in labor for that long!

It was only from reading these numbers that he grew anxious about the columns labeled ‘Birth Weight’ and ‘Length’. Perhaps the older units of measurements were different from the modern measurements. They had to be! It would be physically impossible for him to squeeze a screaming baby approximately the size and weight of a watermelon out of… of…

He blushed. Speaking of which, the anatomy lesson had enlightened him of all the… equipment… he had never known he had. From what he could tell (and confirm) he had two sets of functional (though the guide said they wouldn’t be) sexual organs—one male, and one female. Assuming that these organs were functional (well, obviously), it would also mean that he had mammary glands as well, though not pronounced like a female’s because of the interference of testosterone.

He flipped the pages shut, rubbing his forehead. Why was this all making him even more confused? This was supposed to answer his questions, not make more of them. What was it Yusuke always said in situations such as these? Something about FML…

Hiei nodded and thought, ‘Yes, because it stands for “fuck my life”. FML, indeed.’

Speaking of his teammates, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should have fought the urge to travel here, if he should have just told them and stayed with them. Or at least asked someone to accompany him… Kurama would have. Hiei shook his head. He couldn’t have burdened them with this; they all had families and jobs to attend to without him making a mess of things, not to mention that if they left with him, who would protect Ningenkai? And besides, it would have been torture for Kurama, what with his sensitive nose and all.

The scent had already begun to affect the fox before Hiei had left, and he knew that this was the reason Kurama had started distancing himself. There had been an incident just two days before Hiei’s planned disappearing act that had strengthened his resolve to leave.

Kurama had hung back after the group had split up after a mission to pester Hiei about his carelessness. It was something simple, just an accidental brushing of arms as they walked the narrow trail, and then the wind had changed direction to blow past Hiei and towards Kurama. Immediately, the fox had stopped in his tracks.

‘Hiei,’ he had said quietly.

Hiei had no time to prepare as the fox had grabbed him and buried his nose in Hiei’s hair, taking a deep, almost shuttering breath which he let out slowly. Though this had alarmed Hiei, Kurama let go the next moment and stepped back with one of those kind and friendly smiles.

‘I’m sorry,’ he had said. ‘You just smell so nice lately.’

No, Hiei couldn’t make Kurama put up with him for… well, however long he was going to be like this. Eight months was Koorime gestation, but he couldn’t be sure, considering the mixed breeding. So, he had decided that he should be ready for the baby to come at least one month ahead of time, and pay extra attention to what his body told him to do.

…But his body was telling him to find a permanent dwelling, which he did not think he was ready for. He glared at the texts one more time before stowing them under his cloak and rising. He had spotted a cave a ways back that he could take shelter in. It looked like it might rain…

A sudden loud crash was heard from a floor above him.

That was odd. He had sensed some demons following him earlier, but he had assumed that they would kill each other off before they ever arrived. Or at least the sexually confused man would. The man had been following him for the past two weeks slipping into range every now and then, but doing nothing. So long as he wasn’t hurting anything and didn’t come too close to Hiei’s sleeping place, Hiei had no real problem with it; it kept Hiei from having to deal with the low class scum that were pursuing him. Although he was sure he had heard snickering from nearby when he was chasing that damned squirrel like an idiot…

There must have been an entire pack or band of thieves passing through who had caught his scent because they were certainly closing in now, and Hiei could not sense the man anywhere. Oh well, he would just have to do it himself and be extra careful…

OOO

Ardat finished off the last two demons and whirled around. How had he allowed himself to be driven back so far away from the temple? It seemed almost as if the band of thieves had planned this. Ardat snarled angrily as he charged off back in the direction of the temple.

The doors had been broken down, of course, but the room was eerily empty and untouched save for the broken statue near the door. Small openings in the walls with staircases leading up or down showed themselves from torn tapestries and curtains. Which one did he take? He couldn’t try every one of them, but he couldn’t just stand there. He turned as he heard a jingling noise, whipping out his sword as he turned.

Ardat let out a breath of relief. The sound had come from a bell hanging on a necklace around the neck of a bearded monk’s skeleton as a breeze of wind passed through the open doorway.

“If skeletons could talk, would you tell me where he went?” he asked softly.

Another breeze blew through the temple, and Ardat flinched as the force of it made the monk’s arm fall off with a crusty pop and clatter to the floor. Odd, though… how the hand looked like it was pointing…

…Pointing directly at a doorway with steps leading downward.

“Thanks!” he gasped with surprise and rushed off. He could have sworn he had seen that pile of bones grin at him…

OOO

Hiei was certainly glad that he had stuffed the important documents into his cloak ahead of time because these demons were certainly making a mess of the place. Shelves were overturned, bodies were on the floor, and so much shredded paper was in the air that the whole room looked to have been caught in a blizzard of confetti.

‘How sloppy they are,’ Hiei thought.

However, for what the demons lacked in skill and power (and intelligence), they made up for in numbers. Despite his unmatchable speed, Hiei found that the room did not allow enough space to maneuver safely to the only exit. Once he left this place, he would look back and remember how stupid it had been to enter a room with no outlet… and for assuming that the sexually confused man would keep the youkai busy.

If Hiei used his fire powers, there would be a chance to break through in the confusion, but seeing as his powers had decided to stay settled in the ice aspect… Well, he didn’t know very much about using ice. That and he dared not use much of his youki until he finished reading about how it might affect the baby.

Even if he could use his fire youki, it might not help him much anyways. Hiei could sense that the leader was standing just outside of the doorway waiting for him. Though (judging by level of youki) the leader might not be any match for Hiei in a fair fight, this was anything but fair, so Hiei could not risk the life of his child by rushing into a trap…

…And at the same time, he could not fight these demons forever. He would eventually tire and slip up, something he also could not afford to do. But the leader was still waiting just beyond the doorway…

‘Damn coward!’ Hiei thought.

Unfortunately, in all of the mess and confusion, not to mention the increase in the numbers and strength of youkai coming through the doorway, Hiei soon found himself backed impossibly farther into the room. By the time he noticed, he was literally fighting from a corner cursing and trying to remember when and how this had happened as well as how to get out of it. And were the youkai coming at him growing stronger…?

…Or was it that Hiei was growing weaker?

True, the child sapped his energy making him tire more easily, but never to the extent that battle made him more than a little out of breath. Unless…

‘It couldn’t be!’ Hiei thought, eyes widening.

The leader, seeming to find this a good time to close in, stepped from the doorway, flashing a yellow-fanged grin that clashed with his greenish skin, his black eyes assessing his favorable situation. Still, Hiei’s greatest concern was not the way the demon appeared to be eyeing him, nor even the manner in which the ugly thing licked its thin lips as it continued to draw nearer. No, what Hiei found much more threatening was that with each step the leader took closer, Hiei felt his power drop, obviously being absorbed by the demon. Already, Hiei could feel weariness setting in as the leader continued to approach.

“Damned parasite!” Hiei muttered along with a string of curses as he felt his movements slow.

How had the demon just targeted him to suck power from without touching him in the first place? Perhaps Hiei could use the jagan to repel the leader’s powers or possibly work his way into the demon’s mind to disable him. Hiei didn’t know what effect using the jagan might have on his child or its mind, given that the jagan naturally affected those weak of mind. Would the jagan recognize the child, and leave it unharmed? It was a big chance to take…

…But if Hiei didn’t try, the child would die for certain.

As Hiei reached for his bandanna, the leader rushed forward, two more pairs of arms sprouting from his chest and the tattoos on his forehead opening into extra eyes, and Hiei hurriedly braced his sword for the impact…

…That never came.

Hiei felt incredibly dizzy, meaning that the parasitic demon had to be very close to him now. If he could open his jagan, perhaps he could stop the assault. He quickly realized that he did not have room to raise his hand to his forehead because of his scrunched position, pressed into a corner.

‘Your eyes! Open your eyes, damn it!’ he yelled inside his own head. His body did not seem to be responding very well, surrounded with the parasitic demon’s energy.

Finally, he was able to force the heavy eyelids open, only to see that the body pressing him into the corner was not attacking him, but shielding him. Everything seemed to be blurry, but when the man in the blue cloak pulled away, the greenish blur was falling while the other blurs were running off towards the doorway. Had it not been so alarming, it would have been comical to see the world in this way where Hiei’s eyes couldn’t stay in focus for more than a second.

Words were reaching his ears, though they were so far away he could not figure out what they were saying. He thought he felt a hand on his shoulder, but he could not be sure… His body felt so numb.

Soon the light, too, slipped away as Hiei was dragged into unconsciousness.

OOO

OOO

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