Barriers that Shatter
Chapter Five
By: calikocat/LemonKitty
Word Count: 3,215

Disclaimer I own nothing YuYu Related, but Zakura and Soukie are mine. I'm simply amusing myself with things that could happen.

A/N: Oh my God…I apologize for the lack of updates. I'm not sure what's going on with me. Hope I figure it out soon. ::groans:: Guh, I'll be 21 soon, not sure how I feel about that. ::hides::

XXX

The room was quiet and had been for a long while; about the only thing that reached his ears were the muffled sounds of the corridor beyond the doors and their breathing. He was grateful to George who was standing guard on the other side of the double doors, making sure they were not disturbed. They had had much to talk about, well; the spirit guide was the one who did most of the talking. He'd just listened, offering her comfort when it was needed. And needed it had been. Her story, while it came out rather easily was a sad one and she'd been thankful for his kind hands holding hers, and occasionally reaching up to wipe away a stray tear.

Koenma knew that he had to thank Hiei for that, no doubt if she had not already shared her secrets with the fire demon, the words she'd spoken would have been many times more painful. Gone was the brief jealousy that he'd felt when he'd seen the tenderness between them. It had only been a moment as Hiei and Kuwabara were eager to get Soukie to bed, but the closeness between Hiei and Botan had disturbed him. But now he knew better, they were close yes, but as Botan had assured him, they were like siblings. And now he knew why. Both were considered by demon society to be Forbidden Children in one way or another. Society was stupid to forbid the life of another simply because of origin. He didn't really understand it, even though he was only a demi-god himself, his existence was secured.

His gazed at the reaper in his arms in wonder; as a spirit guide she'd started out at the bottom and at times had quite literally fought her way to the top. He vaguely remembered times when George had made some comment or another about an uppity Grim Reaper who didn't take nonsense from anybody. And then they experienced the force of nature that was Botan when she became his personal aide and Head Reaper. It was…quite an experience.

There had been arguments of course, they were both strong willed and felt they had something to prove. Botan for her heritage, then unknown to him and he trying desperately not to be overshadowed by his father. Eventually they reconciled and friendship closely followed their truce. He shook his head in wonder. Why had it taken them so long to get to this level?

Because he was a fool. There were many times he could have thrown away his stubbornness and pride. Many times he could have held her as he did now. But he was immortal, and immortals tended to take their time with things. Mores the pity as he could have spent that much more time with Botan truly by his side. He looked down at her and smiled.

Botan sighed in her sleep and somehow managed to snuggle closer to him, though he wasn't sure how that was possible since he was already holding her as tight as he dared. His smiled slowly turned to a frown as his thoughts continued. It was exceedingly wrong for her true powers to be sealed away. There were so many times she could have helped the others on their missions, and if her demon abilities were unlocked she'd be able to defend herself instead of waiting to be rescued. His memories took a dark turn as he remembered the fight with Yakumo and how badly Botan had been hurt.

With the decision already made in his mind he began to form a plan to convince his father to remove the seal placed on Botan. Even if the Lord of Reikai refused Koenma would not give up. He was Prince of an entire realm damn it! So even if his father would not help he would try to break the seal himself.

This he swore to the woman sleeping in his arms.

xxx

Soukie twitched in her sleep. Something was tickling her nose and it wouldn't stop. She managed to open her eyes and frowned when she saw a strand of her own hair lying across her face. With a glance at the grownups, whose eyes were still closed, she slowly moved her hand to brush the hair from her nose. Then she rubbed it just enough to avoid sneezing. Daddy was jumpy enough, waking him up with a sneeze probably wasn't a good idea. With that thought she glanced at Kuwabara again and her eyes widened in childish surprise. Her Daddy looked happy, he was even smiling in his sleep, and he hadn't done that since…

She managed not to sniff and rubbed at her eyes, stupid tears. Aunt Shizu had told her she had to be a big girl and be brave for her Daddy, and she was going to do her best. No crying…not when Daddy was so close and smiling like that while he was sleeping. Soukie sighed and leaned over her sleeping father and placed a kiss on his forehead, taking her hand to trace over his features with her fingers. It was something she'd seen Mommy do many times and she knew it was something her Daddy liked.

Something moved on her other side and she looked over her shoulder to see the other grownup watching her. His face was blank and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He was kind of like Genkai that way; it was hard to figure out what the old woman was thinking about sometimes. Soukie smiled to herself at the comparison before giving the demon her full attention. She remembered that his name was Hiei; she thought it was a strange name. However she smiled at him, determined to be nice because he was Daddy's friend and if Daddy was smiling in his sleep things must be really good.

"Good morning."

He nodded at her, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Did you sleep well?"

She nodded in return. "Aunt Shizu says I'm like Daddy and can sleep anywhere."

"She's right." He paused before adding, "I've seen him fall asleep right after a fight."

"Really?" Another nod.

A near uncomfortable silence followed. Soukie had no idea what to say next, which didn't really surprise her. She sometimes did this around adults that were unfamiliar to her. But from past experiences she knew that they would get along fine in no time.

Hiei was stumped. He'd never been around children, Rinku didn't count, and had no idea how to behave around them, or what would be considered appropriate conversation. He wondered what he had gotten himself into. Luckily Soukie looked at him again like she was going to say something.

"Daddy is smiling in his sleep." Her face was grave and so serious he took it to mean that this was some important phenomenon.

He looked passed her to gaze at Kuwabara, and noticed in passing that their hands were clasped. Kuwabara was indeed smiling, if only slightly, while he slept. Hiei felt his own face soften at the sight the man made, with his near shoulder length hair tousled and tangled on the pillow. He made an appreciative sound in his throat, which of course made Soukie scrunch up her face and look at him strangely.

"You're right. He's smiling…that's good isn't it?"

"Really good, 'cause Daddy hasn't done that in a long time. He's happy again." A look of determination crossed her all too young features and she turned to face him fully. "Thank you Hiei-san."

Children should come with instructions; perhaps Kuwabara could give him some pointers. Instead of voicing such thoughts he simply looked at her with a tilted head. "For what?"

Soukie rolled her eyes. Grown ups could be really stupid sometimes. "For making Daddy happy."

A strangled sound clawed up his throat before he could stop it and he felt his face grow warm. It seemed wrong somehow that this little girl had caught him off guard and made him blush.

"Did you just choke on your spit? Daddy's done that before…happens sometimes when Aunt Shizu talks to him. I don't know why though."

Hiei really wondered what he had gotten himself into. Luckily the third occupant of the bed let out a snicker at his expense…or perhaps that wasn't lucky at all. How long had Kuwabara been awake anyway?

"Care to help me out Kuwabara?" Hiei asked; his head tilted to one side to better take in the sight of a drowsy Kazuma. Hair still disheveled and blue eyes gazing back at him half opened. The hand that held his tightened it's grip while a thumb rough from honest work slid back and forth across his knuckles.

"Sure Hiei, you know me; always playing the hero." A small smile was aimed at him and Hiei was sure his face was a light pink at the thought of Kuwabara coming to his rescue, no matter how small.

Soukie eyed their clasped hands with a solemn expression before looking at Hiei, her eyes flashed briefly with mischief. "Are you going to kiss my Daddy?" Hiei groaned and buried his face in the pillow, Kuwabara was caught between coughing and laughing, Soukie continued as if the adults weren't acting weird at all. "'Cause I can leave the room if you want to kiss. Mommy and Daddy always liked to be alone when they kissed."

"Your daughter is going to be the death of me." Hiei muttered into the pillow.

"I doubt it. If it was possible to die of embarrassment I'd be a ghost by now."

Hiei chanced a glimpse at the two in his bed and decided there were worse things than having child around who spoke her mind.

"So are you going to kiss?"

Hiei snorted and with a smirk brought Kuwabara's hand, which he was still holding, up to his face and placed a soft kiss on the knuckles. Blue eyes met red and the smirk was returned with a look of awe.

Soukie giggled and clapped her hands. "Can we eat now?"

xxx

Deep inside a cave in the Makai where no outside light could penetrate a small group was huddled around a fire. There were seven of them, though there had been more, lost to them now because of the humans in robes.

They came from various walks of life, no two alike in looks or profession. There was only one thing that linked them and put them in such a place. All were of human/demon decent. All of them had been victimized by the humans in robes one way or another.

The group of seven had barely escaped with their lives, their families lost to them when the humans attacked. They attacked them simply because they were half demon, though they had never hurt anyone. Not all demons fed on human flesh. And not all demons were content to live in peace among humans, blending in with ease like they were. The attacks made no sense to them. They were peaceful and had kin among the humans, sharing a heritage. But still they had been targeted because of their less than human ancestry.

It was horrible and terribly ironic that humans who were supposedly not evil could be capable of such cruelty. However they supposed that such a thing would have been only a minor feature compared to some of the atrocities recorded on the legendary 'Chapter Black'. But to them it felt much worse than some old tales for they had experienced the hatred first hand.

Light footfalls caught their attention as the sound of someone approaching echoed throughout the hidden cavern. All seven; hurting and weary as they were tensed in dread and frightened anticipation, wondering if they had been found and would be forced to face an unwanted fate. A collective sigh of relief escaped the group huddled around the fire as the two youkai came into view.

"It's just me." Sad, compassionate red eyes took in the weakened hybrids and she gave them a soft smile. "You don't have to stay in this cave…you'd be safe in the village."

A man in his late forties with graying hair spoke up. "We appreciate the kindness Naeta-sama. But we just don't feel safe out in the open."

Naeta nodded in understanding. "I know…just so long as you understand that my village knows you hide here and are ready to accept you. It doesn't matter that you have human blood, breeding isn't really a concern with my village." A happier smile graced her face. "My own daughter is a mixed breed, her father is a Fire Neko."

A teenage boy with hard brown eyes glared at her in challenge. "Just because you're village is filled with softies doesn't mean the rest of the Makai will let us live."

Naeta rolled her eyes at him. "Did you know that one of the three Kings was born a human, and he's married and mated to a human female. Times in the Makai are changing, for the better I think."

This time a little girl of about eight looked at her with haunted eyes. "My Momma was demon. The men in robes said she was evil, and because I was half demon I was evil too. But Momma loved Papa, did everything she could to save him…"

Naeta moved toward the girl and cupped her cheek. "Being part youkai does not mean you're evil. No one can help being what they are. It's who you are, the decisions you make, and the path you walk that defines you. Not your blood. Remember that little one." She rose her gaze to the others. "That goes for all of you. We of the Eternal Flame village do not care about your bloodline, and are ready to accept you as our own."

Eyes watered with unshed tears all around and the beginnings of hope began to fill the cavern. Naeta smiled softly at them all in return.

xxx

A lone figured huddled in the odd formation of underbrush, desperately trying to calm his harsh breathing. His dark robe was dirty and worn, and creaked with dried blood, his blood, and he shivered at the memory of his foolishness.

He'd been so excited when he'd found the portal. A small insignificant door between the realms and he'd been too impatient to contact his comrades with news of such a discovery. His pride had been his ultimate mistake. If he'd only contacted the higher ups he would be in the situation he now faced.

He was alone in the Makai and being hunted by the very thing their organization had sworn to rid the three realms of. A demon, a youkai; and it was not happy with him. And the others would never now that he had found a way into Makai, they would never know what had become of them. Their leader would never know that one of his 'useless' subordinates had done something right, something that no one else had managed. All because of pride. He'd assumed that because all the youkai they'd come across had been so weak that all of them were pathetic creatures. How wrong he'd been.

This one was unlike anything he'd ever faced. And it was ready to rip him a new one…or simply kill him. He wasn't sure which had pissed the monster off more, insulting his mother or calling him a weakling. Either way he was as good as dead.

Suddenly the shrubs he was hiding underneath were ripped away and he turned his terror stricken gaze toward the rage-filled brown eyes that looked back at him.

"Thought you could get away huh? You must be as stupid as you look…maybe more, because you look pretty damn stupid buddy." A strangled whimper was all the man could manage in the face of such a powerful demon.

"Yusuke-sama!"

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?" Yusuke barely spared a glare at his subordinate.

"But my Lord, a Spirit Guide has arrived with urgent news from Koenma!" The demon looked mildly disgruntled, however he was used to his Lord's odd Human behavior.

Suddenly a short red head peeked around the demon and waved at Yusuke. "Hi Yusuke, long time no see."

Yusuke blinked in awe for a moment, the cowering and dirty human forgotten at the sudden appearance of an old and familiar face. "Ayame! How are you?"

"Oh I'm just great, I've moved up the food chain quite a bit. I'm Botan's second in command now."

"Good for you kid. So what's the toddler want now?"

"Actually it has something to do with him." She pointed at the no longer forgotten trespasser. Ayame leveled a not-so-nice heated gaze at him. "You are a member of the human organization that calls themselves the 'Seekers of a New World'?"

The man gulped audibly and nodded. Yusuke frowned in confusion. Ayame sighed. "Can we take this back to your castle?"

"Sure…I take it we need this piece of shit?" He tilted his head indicating the man who was still huddled in the dirt.

"Yep. He and his buddies have been very bad people. I'll explain once we get back to your base."

Yusuke nodded and hauled the whimpering man to his feet before dragging him along behind him. "Let's go then."

xxx

Shizuru lit up a fresh cigarette, took a draw and blew the smoke in the man's face. "You tell your boss that he can't touch my little brother or his daughter now. They're safe and you guys can't hurt them anymore." He coughed on the smoke and she delivered a swift kick to his stomach to drive her point home.

"He can't—hide—forever." Blood dribbled down his chin and he glared at the woman who had kicked him around like a soccer ball, like he was no challenge at all. And here he'd been told the younger Kuwabara sibling was the strong one. If the sister was this strong and considered the weaker one physically it was no wonder so many of his comrades had fallen in battle against one Kuwabara Kazuma. Idly he wondered if their mission was truly doomed to fail. However a kick to the head sent his thoughts to places unknown as stars and bright colors filled his vision accompanied by a fresh wave of pain. Great…his nose was broken…again. Bitch.

"I heard that." Was swiftly followed by another kick. Oops, looks like he'd said the bitch part out loud was the last thing he thought before passing out.

Shizuru shook her head and left the piece of crap posing as a human in the alley where she'd kicked his ass. Jerk-off had been following her for a while now so she'd ducked into the alley to confront him. Luckily he was a weak wanna-be punk and didn't know shit about throwing or blocking punches. Damn brat had no business hooking up with the insane cult that was after her baby brother.

She sighed and made her way back to her apartment, she had some more packing to do. The sooner she moved in with Genkai the better. That old woman could scare the pants off anybody. Staying with her would be safer and a hell of a lot less troublesome.

XXX