Oniisan
chapter 3
by Silrayn Silverwolf
author: silrayn silverwolf
email: [email protected]
category: crossover
website: www.geocities.com/alix_halcyon
Kitsune no baka, that Fox trusts this man too much. Hiei thought as he raced
through the trees after leaving Kurama and his "brother" at the
latter's house. But then the Fox was blinded from hope. He liked his new "oniisan"
too much at the moment to think of anything else. Ch, he's getting soft. It must
be something that Kurama got from hanging around ningen too long he supposed for
no one could have survive for more than a handful of years in the Makai without
suspecting their own grandmothers if need be. Correction, the clan-less and
outcast need to be suspicious even of their own kin not those who had
families… Old pain welled in him.
Be that as it may, he needed to investigate the Schwartz anyway. He might as
well investigate this Ran Fujimiya as well. It wouldn't do to hurt the Fox
unnecessarily but it wouldn't do to compromise the mission or the Fox's safety
either. If that man was planning to betray or harm the Fox in any way…Hiei
gripped his sword tightly, Ran will have to answer to him.
That surprised him, when did he feel such a thing for the flamboyant fox?
Besides Kurama can protect himself very well, thank you. It was probably an
unwarranted suspicion anyhow but Hiei can't shake the dark thoughts out of his
mind. It was way too convenient for him to appear just now when the affair with
Bolshai was coming to head. Coincidence? The way he moved, the steely glint
hidden in eyes bespoke of more than passing acquaintance with battle and death.
Though the man did not register very much above normal, that could have been a
trick to lull the Fox into false security. And that lost sister, was she a true
ningen or something the man made up to get the Fox's sympathy, Hiei wondered.
Knowing the Fox he'd have taken the man at his word and not a thought to
checking. Though the Fox may have his own suspicions.
Though Hiei had no friends or relatives here in the Ningenkai, he had other
resources. Mukuro, like Yomi and Yuusuke's regent, had an intricate web of C-
and D-class youkai here in the Ningenkai. They engaged in a matter of
low-profile trades some criminal but not large enough to attract the attention
of the Reikai. Or if they were noticed, Reikai and the Makai lords had an
unofficial understanding about such things, for as long as the youkai in
question was playing by Ningenkai rules, no official sanction would be taken.
Hiei ranked high in Mukuro's command chain. Further more, he had been in the
Ningenkai before and not caused any trouble, excepting the occasional brawl with
Kuwabara. Therefore he was the logical choice to manage these agents for Mukuro.
***
It was much later and much more confused Hiei retired to the tree in Kurama's
backyard. His contacts had offered much more and much less than he'd expected
but having some facts had given him more questions than answers. There were no
records to access about them in the police files but one of the youkai in
question had seen the "short flame hair ningen" with a katana with
several others at least two whose descriptions matched Omi Tsukiyono and Ken
Hidaka at one time.
The youkai remembered it because he had been robbing a mansion when he sensed
some humans using reiki, naturally the youkai had run. He had a gun with ample
ammunition and with the speed of one of his kind he could handle any mere ningen
or fair number of ningen in a group but he didn't want to chance fighting some
ningen with reiki. He had been so preoccupied with running away that he had
almost run smack into the group of ningen coming down the hallway killing the
guards he had avoided before. He had managed to camouflage himself in time to be
passed over but he got an eyeful of the group. They were armed to the teeth and
determined expressions that were set to kill. Whatever they were doing in that
house surely wasn't legit for they killed the guards with expert precision. Of
course, that was all the youkai could tell Hiei for the latter had made good of
his escape soon after.
Kisama! The little coward hadn't even gotten a look at the reiki users. What
happened to natural curiosity? For the youkai had been adamant that Ran and his
team were in his sights when he sensed reiki usage in another part of the house.
But to be fair, he couldn't be faulted for all he knew he might have stumbled
onto some Reikai business in progress. Hiei had the demon confirmed by visiting
the Koneko to verify that it was Ran and his group of seemingly innocuous
flower-boys that he had been talking about then had let him off to take care of
business as usual.
Were they rivals or enemies? Were they allies? It was no means even certain that
Ran and his group were connected with Schwartz for all Hiei knew their presence
at the scene was a coincidence. He knew some people were stupid or unlucky
enough to attract all the wrong enemies. They tended to get several contracts on
their heads as a result. There was two things that was obvious to him at this
point though, he couldn't tell this yet to Kurama and that he must be wary of
Ran. That ningen bears watching…
***
Kurama looked out of his window to look into the branches of the tree. Looking
for the half-Koorime that usually slept there. Seeing the familiar dark shadow
in the tree, he fell asleep, assured.
***
Ran unease developed into full-blown paranoia and so he decided to check into
the records himself. Though Omi was their computer expert in such things, Ran
had learned somewhat of the hacking business in his time as a freelance
assassin. He didn't want to bother Omi since the morrow was a school day and he
knew Omi needed the energy to be vigilant but was too restless not to try to
find any information on Shuuichi's friend. In any case, what he wanted to do
first was to browse through the criminal records, which was open enough to them,
being as they were Weiß.
Two hours and several files later, he was no closer to finding anything about
the man, "Hiei Jaganashi" simply didn't exist in the records. Nor was
cross-referencing those distinctive gravity-defying hair and red eyes yielding
any results. Which proved nothing either, he had no criminal record yet here he
was a top-fledged assassin and so were the Schwartz and he'd bet that they were
"clean" as well. Blood can be washed off the records with the proper
incentive if not as easily from the hands. He thought wryly as he went to sleep.
