Yu Yu Hakusho: The After Years

Episode 50: Puppy-Dog Eyes

"How the hell could this happen, Koenma? Answer me!"

By the time Hiei had entered the main sitting area, Yusuke was already shaking Koenma by his collar and screaming at him while Kuwabara watched from the sidelines in bemused horror.

The stress of the situation was enough for Koenma to revert back into his toddler form. Either that, or he wrongly hoped that having the appearance of a child would garner some sympathy from Yusuke.

"I had nothing to do with it!" Koenma wailed, "You have to believe me!"

There was so much commotion going on that no one had even noticed Hiei enter the room. Heads did turn, however, when the penthouse elevator door chimed, and Kurama stepped out from between the doors.

"What's all this?" Kurama asked, as cool as ever.

Yusuke dropped Koenma rather unceremoniously on the floor and snatched a paper from the coffee table. He shoved the paper in Kurama's face, which Kurama held delicately.

"It's the master roster," said Kurama, scanning the document.

"Yes, except it appears a change has been made to our team. Our fifth member used to be baby-face over there, but now look who it is!"

Kurama blinked in surprise, "It's Rieka."

Hiei's eyes widened in surprise as well, "How is that possible?"

Yusuke turned to Hiei, having just noticed him. He was still holding a the cellophane bag of chocolate Rieka had given him, and Mike was sitting at his heels, his tail wagging proudly, "Did you just come from my room?"

Hiei sighed, "Yes, if you must know. The window was open. Downstairs is all in an uproar over the chairman's son who was just killed. I declined to use the elevator."

Kuwabara pointed at him, blinking, "Are those Valentine's chocolates? Your bag is bigger than mine was! And why is that mutt with you?"

Hiei colored and stuffed the incriminating bag into his sleeve. He scowled at Mike, "I'm not a babysitter, it's not my job to keep track of these--these things." 

Looking down at Mike's loving puppy-dog eyes, Hiei hesitated, "I can't help it if it wants to hang around me." In response, Mike yipped and leaned against one of Hiei's legs, making Hiei visibly uncomfortable, "Besides, don't we have a mission to attend to?" Hiei said, in hopes of distracting the others from the attention he was receiving.

Hiei could always depend on Yusuke's temper to redirect any conversation, "Yeah!" he said, pointing a finger directly in Koenma's face, "You never explained to me how my kid ended up on the roster!"

Koenma raised his hands defensively, "I already told you, I don't know! I mean the fifth spot is only like a substitute spot. You guys didn't think it was possible that I  was actually going to fight, did you? It was just a placeholder!"

"That's true," Kurama said, "The only way the fifth spot would possibly appear is if we somehow had two wins and two losses in the first four matches. It's a tie-breaker spot." 

Yusuke crossed his arms and huffed, "Well, the rest of these guys have been chumps so far. I don't like taking her to the final match, it feels like a trap."

"Oh, it most definitely is a trap," Kurama said, lightly, "We just need to anticipate it and prepare our counter-strategy. Still, I haven't a clue how they could have changed the registry like this. It's an incredibly secure server."

"I have an idea," said Hiei, sheepishly. Everyone turned to look at him, which made him even more uncomfortable, "Gadget was taken during their match. They probably are using her."

Perhaps it was due to the trying day, or due to Mike's presence at Hiei's side, but the group just noticed the absence of the red-headed child from Hiei's company. 

"What!" Kuwabara yelled, pointing at the empty space beside Hiei, "You had one job, pipsqueak!"

Hiei set his jaw and stared off into space, but declined to answer. Seeing the stress on his face, Kurama frowned and interjected, "That's enough. We don't have time to argue. We have to come up with a strategy for tomorrow's match based on what we already know about Izanagi's team members. So far, we only know about Izanagi himself and the one Ayame told us about: Nibel, the poison-user. I suggest we rest up and watch their final match in the morning tomorrow before we decide on our tactics. It's late, and we're all tired and stressed. Yelling isn't going to do anything to solve this."

Everyone grunted and exchanged looks, but they knew Kurama was right. Muttering apologies, each set off to their own room until it was only Hiei and Kurama left. Kurama collapsed on the sofa, and sighed before meeting Hiei's gaze. Hiei was staring at him intently. It was a habit Kurama had learned to interpret as concern, but as exhausted and as irritable as he was, he wasn't in the mood for it.

"What?" Kurama asked, tiredly.

"Something's off," said Hiei, "You're distracted, is it because of that woman?"

Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose; he sensed a headache coming on, "Yes, if you must know, but I'd rather not talk about it."

"You've never bothered with this sort of thing before, I don't know why you're letting a woman mess with your head now."

Kurama narrowed his eyes, "Familiars--like spirit beasts--often mimic the emotions of their masters. From the looks of it, that pup is quite enamored with you. Maybe you shouldn't be the one telling me to spend less time with a woman."

Hiei looked puzzled, "What are you going on about?"

Kurama sighed, "Rieka is a teenage girl. She likely views you as a boy who is about her age. While yokai tend to view each other as their biological ages, humans tend to take chronological age into account. In short--spend too much time with the girl, and she may develop feelings for you. Yusuke might not take too kindly to the idea of someone he views as a peer becoming overly-close to his daughter."

This raised color in Hiei's cheeks, but Kurama shook his head. Sometimes there was no way to go about things with Hiei without being blunt. And yet Hiei's face remained full of confusion. Kurama shook his head sadly, the idea of someone having feelings for him is still too foreign of a concept for him to grasp, it seems.

"I'm also not the one hiding Valentine's chocolates up my sleeve," Kurama added for good measure. With a huff, Hiei stormed out of the room, Mike close at his heels. Kurama smiled wanly, he needed to save face somehow. 

In truth, between worrying about Ana's recovery and the match tomorrow, Kurama knew he wasn't going to be able to get much sleep, if any. There were also Ana's words swimming in his head: ...he was my lover, and a god. He knew he had asked, and she hadn't meant to make him feel miserable, but nonetheless, the feeling remained. Over and over again, the words repeated.

...he was my lover, and a god

...he was my lover...

...lover...

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Whew, was really cutting it close finishing this chapter! I hope you enjoyed the drawing, it was the first one I've entered into this in quite some time. :) Do you think Yusuke will let Rieka fight in the final match? Will Scarlett be able to fully recover this time?

As always, thanks for reading!