Dane Soar
This is a sort of spin off of Maze Castle, where everything is different. I tried to use as much of the original lines from the anime as I could. The point of views will keep changing through out the story but it's labeled each time, so don't fear. Probably a knowledge of the Maze Castle events would help with understanding this story.
For what is hopefully the last time I'm reediting this. If my editor doesn't kill me for this I plan to do the entire story. The story will be pretty much the same thing, the wordage will just get more streamlined and the chapters longer.
Chapter 1 Greetings, Beginnings, And Regrets
(Kurama's POV)
"It seems you could use some help," I said, from my place on the tree branch next to Hiei. But that wasn't actually the beginning of the tale, in reality it started a few hours before, though few people knew that.
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I suppose it really begins as I was walking down a fairly street after visiting my mother in the hospital. On that fact, I will have to thank Yusuke for his help in healing her, she is recovering well considering how bad her condition had once been.
But of course, things never seem to stay normal or simple for long because that is the way the world works. No rest for the wicked, or something like that.
It began as a portal opened on my left and an ogre peered out at me.
"Are you the demon Kurama?" It asked me, blinking its yellow eyes in the sunlight.
"Why is it that you ask?" I replied warily. Even though I have been retired for sixteen years, I was, and am, a thief at heart. Thus, I have to be very careful about anything concerning Spirit World, after all, they might have found out who stole that magical artifact five years ago. Or last year when I…well…actually never mind about that.
"Well Lord Koenma wants to see Kurama and I'm sure you're him."
'Uh oh, looks as if I'm in trouble,' went through my mind almost at once.
"Yes, I am Kurama." I admitted readily, because at the moment I would gain nothing from saying anything else.
Now I'm not much for seeing the future, but then, I had a distinct feeling that that I would regret identifying myself. Now that I look back on it, yes, that was a mistake. A rather large one.
At the time I just sighed inwardly. I had just recovered from the injury from Hiei's sword. So much for all that healing.
"I don't have all day; come on, come on, into the portal. Lord Koenma wants to see you immediately, and I still have to fetch someone else." The ogre was nervously glancing around; he wasn't about to hold the portal open much longer. Not when some human could walk by and see it.
I had relaxed slightly. Whatever it was it couldn't be about something I had stolen I was sure now.
If it had been, Koenma would have sent a troop of armed ogres to arrest me and drag me through the portal (if they could catch me). Instead this was one ogre asking me almost politely to talk to Koenma, most likely, it was something else. And so I found myself walking through the gateway to the Spirit World.
I had some more vaguely ominous feelings.
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Not long after that, I was walking through the jails of Spirit World.
Unfortunately I thought I recognized about a quarter of the occupants of the cells, but the one in the cell the ogre came to a halt to in front of, I was sure I knew.
He was wrapped in a black cloak, laying on the floor facing away from us. He was so still only the rise and fall of his breathing proved that he was still alive. But I doubt he was really asleep.
"Criminal Hiei," The ogre snapped, as he unlocked the cell's door by swiping the keycard. "Wake up, Lord Koenma wishes to talk to you."
Hiei didn't move.
Now, before, when I had found out that Hiei was in jail after his defeat, I had briefly considered trying to some how get him out though legal or less legal methods. Luckily for my criminal record, Hiei and I aren't on the best of terms. I left him there. I figured he'd live through it.
"Come on, wake up!" The ogre rapped impatiently one the bars. There was still no movement. "You, wake up!" He took a step into the cell. That was a mistake on the ogre's part. Not the best idea, opening the door, and stepping toward the criminal. Not the cleverest. Why couldn't I ever have had a jailer like this? It would have made my thieving career much more successful.
And longer, now that I think of it.
When Hiei does decide to move, I have to admit, he does move fast. One second he's laying on the ground faking sleep, the next, he's on his feet going at the ogre.
Now I'm faced with a difficult choice. Ether I can let him knock out the ogre and escape as a wanted criminal (for the second time), or I can intersect Hiei's attack and to take this chance to maybe clear both our records. Or that's what I'm fairly sure Koenma wants us both here for. Pros vs. cons. Choices, choices. 'I'm going to regret this.'
Stepping in front of the ogre just in time, I ended up having Hiei sink a right hook into my stomach. And oh that hurt…. a lot.
Hiei's eyes widened with shock, and he stopped the left punch that he had been meaning to connect with the ogre's head. I was glad of that. I don't need a headache on my list of injuries acquired in the last twenty-four hours.
"Damn you." Hiei growled at me. "How do always manage to get in the way of every attack I throw!"
I can't understand why he reacts so strongly to it. If I hadn't blocked that last sword thrust toward Yusuke in that one battle, Spirit World would be looking for a new Spirit Detective and Hiei would be in jail for murder. Instead, I get stabbed through the stomach for my trouble. No thanks at all. But it enabled Yusuke to defeat Hiei and so my teammate is serving time for thievery, a much lighter charge. One would think Hiei would be grateful for the favor.
But no, this was Hiei.
At this point the nameless ogre became rather agitated. "Lord Koenma wants to see you both, right now! In one piece."
Hiei was not about to come quietly, I could just tell by the sort of glare he was directing at the ogre. He was going to cause trouble, and I had a feeling that we didn't have time for it. So, that was what motivated my next act. There was also the fact that being turned into sushi by the sideswipes from Hiei's blows wasn't high on my to-do-list.
He began to blur out of sight just as I made my own move. With a silent apology to him for the underhand trick, I brought up my hand and slammed it sideways into his head, a seed imbedded itself into his skin. The sedative knocked him out as soon as it touched the skin. Hiei crumpled.
"He was going to cause trouble." I said in answer to the ogre's questioning look.
"Not that I would argue with that, but how are we going to get him to Koenma's office, are we … well you, going to drag him all the way?"
"I suppose," I said calmly, "or I could simply carry him."
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Upon arrival at Koenma's office, we were greeted by Koenma himself.
'This must be important or very serious if he's greeting us personally'
"Why is one of the demons I sent you to fetch unconscious?" The ogre twitched nervously.
"He did it sir," The ogre pointed at me. "Hiei was attempting to overpower me and escape, but while I was fighting valiantly he stepped in and helped me, even though I was clearly doing fine."
'Oh really? That's not quite how I remember it, trying to keep on your master's good side are you?' While Hiei was small he was getting a bit heavy from holding him under my arm, carefully I put him down. The sedative should wear off soon.
"I see." Koenma frowned, as if was thinking deeply.
In the meantime, I was inconspicuously looking around the room for clues as to why we had been called there. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except for a file open on the desk. With Koenma lost in his thoughts for the moment, I carefully stepped forward to try to read the file name.
'Oh no. Maze Castle? That bring back some …interesting, no, more like painful, memories.'
"So the reason that I have summoned both of you," Koenma was talking again now, "I need both of you to help out our Spirit Detective. Yusuke and his friend Kuwabara have been sent to defeat the Four Saint Beasts in Maze Castle. The Saint Beasts have sent a large load of Makai Insects into the human world, and, in return for their removal, want me to take down the shield barrier around it, I'm sure you've heard of them. I've already sent those two ahead, but I have a feeling that just the two of them won't be enough. So I will make a deal with you Kurama, Hiei, too, if he wakes up in time. Help in this mission, and get clean slates in Spirit World's criminal files, or be put in jail. Again." I pretended to think about it for a minute. Well the answer was obvious, and though these Saint Beasts were powerful, a team of fighters could probably beat them.
Probably….
…maybe.
…hopefully.
Because I found at this point I was agreeing to all this.
What a bad idea that was, oh yes. Nothing is ever a simple as it looks.
"I think I speak for Hiei also when I agree to your terms. When do we leave?"
"Now," Koenma pushed something under his desk, triggering a portal. "just walk in and you'll be there." then he appeared to remember something. "And I bet Hiei will want his sword back. We took it so he wouldn't start killing the guards with it but I'll give it to you, so you can give it to him once he wakes up… he is going to, right?"
With one hand I grabbed Hiei by the collar and hauled him upright. With the other hand I took the sword from Koenma, saying, "He'll wake up soon, no fears, and be exceedingly grumpy when he does."
So I walked through the portal, summoning some demonic energy too … but then it was all darkness.
(Hiei's POV)
'Damn my head hurts, like a sledgehammer was in it. Why the hell did he have to hit me so hard?' Opening my eyes, all I saw was darkness, the black emptiness of nothing between portals. When did I go into a portal?
"So you have decided to wake up. Good." Kurama was there standing, or floating, it was too dark to really tell, beside me.
"What's this? And how did we get here?" I snapped, not in the best of moods after my involuntary rest.
When he explained, my mood got even darker. "Baby sitting. That's what this is. I'd rather be in jail." I eyed the darkness suspiciously. "And this is the portal leading us there, right?" Glancing down to the ground, I saw a round circle of light there. Daylight, it looked like; but there was a thin film of green-silver light covering it, temporarily sealing us in. Looking at Kurama, I could tell easily he was doing it, holding us here, so I would have time to wake up, I guess. "How much longer can you hold us here?"
"Not much longer," Kurama replied. He was biting the inside of his lip, trying to hold us stationary for as long as he could. Portals were hard to stop in mid-transfer. "Ready?" he asked me.
I nodded, and he closed his eyes and the demonic energy disappeared. With a flash of light we finished our journey through the portal.
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'They were overrun by Gutter Imps? That's pitiful.' The Spirit Detective is even weaker than before. And who was the other human? Well, I'll find out in a moment.
The Imps that had been mobbing the two humans fled after one blast of our combined Demonic energy, terrified out of their puny wits.
And now here I am standing beside the fox on a tree branch, listening to him saying, "It seems you could use some help," wondering why I had to work for Spirit World.
I always hated babysitting.
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TBC1:00 (morning).