Arranged Love

Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.


Arranged Love

Chapter 4
First Impressions Are Bad for Assassins


Hiei had his redheaded burden deposited temporarily in his quarters. He would report to his master and return to his patrol of their territory. The fire demon had no appetite for dealing with the human at this point. The two of them would become unhappily acquainted soon enough in any case.

Hiei wound his way around the fortress with haste. If Mukuro allowed, he would be out on patrol by nightfall, and far from this place for a week at least. As he approached the cursed door to her office, the sound of angry arguing could be heard.

The fire demon was not accustomed to feelings of dread, having survived as an assassin for so long. None the less, a black hole opened up in the pit of his stomach and sucked all of his confidence into oblivion. He thought of leaving, just as Mukuro sensed him and the door to her office swung wide open.

Mukuro was not one to get worked up emotionally in a conflict, but as Hiei looked at her expression he could tell she was as close to rage as she could be. He hurried though the door, trying not to become the target of her anger. He had to push past two strangers, to stand next to Shigure, who by now was obviously seething. The other voice in the argument had been coming from Shigure rather than Mukuro. Which was natural, because Murkuro’s voice became softer as she grew angrier.

Hiei looked from his master and Shigure to the intruders and apparent source of the argument. It was a male and female in human form, but from their dress and aura, they were apparent denizens of the spirit world. The male was incredibly nervous, which to his credit, this situation called for. His female companion was staring down Mukuro with an arrogant and condescending smile.

The female turned her head toward him, and the smile disappeared leaving only an arrogant and slightly more condescending look. The situation was too surreal for the dark assassin to become offended by her contempt. If the spirit energy radiating from Mukuro was any indication, the demon lord had finally crossed the line between almost rage, and rage. Mukuro was never, ever someone to be condescending toward.

“Contract.” Mukuro grated softly between clenched teeth. Hiei presented it and it disappeared from his hands without Mukuro so much as looking at him. His lord glanced at it, before offering it to the spirit denizens. The male reached out, but the female stopped his hand with hers, pushing his hand away before folding her arms.

“The signature was forced,” the female stated aloofly, “this contract has no meaning.” Hiei studied the audacious being with wide eyes. She was tall, perhaps as tall as the human he had procured. Her eyes were narrow and black as midnight and she had a noble face with angular cheekbones. Her hair was black and straight, slicked back into a short ponytail. She was beautiful, for all that her manners were ugly. The demon also got the distinct impression she was not a member of the spirit world, though she emanated such aura.

The male quickly reached out to accept the contract before Mukuro could withdraw it. He bowed slightly in respect, his face sweating from apparent stress. The male had short brown hair, and honey colored eyes filled with worry. His mouth was obscured by a pacifier of all things, making him appear even stranger. The dark assassin could sense that this man, was definitely from the spirit world.

“We of course know that in such cases as these,” the man said quickly, giving the woman next to him a sharp look, “a contract signed is good whether the signature was forced or not.” He looked at the sheet of paper, his face becoming dismal. “Which it appears to be,” he added with some dislike.

“If the contract is indeed good,” Mukuro said softly in a restrained voice, “I fail to see any need for you to stay further.” The male denizen nodded, and returned the paper, turning to his companion, with an almost deadly expression. Oblivious to his glare, the tall woman rushed forward, slamming her fists on the desk in rage.

Mukuro drew back a little in surprise, while Hiei and Shigure both jumped out of their trance, and drew their swords. The spirit world male grabbed the woman and threw her back just in time for the assassins to fill the space before their lord, swords at ready.

“Ayame, you FOOL!” The brunette male cried furiously at his companion, making her take a step back. “I told you I would not have a war over this boy!” Hiei was a little surprised at the last remark.

“You have exhausted your family’s influence in the spirit world,” with an authoritative presence the assassin would not previously have given the man credit for, he forced the woman to back down, “the issue is resolved. Mukuro has full rights to the boy.”

“Lord Mukuro,” The man bowed deeply in respect to the female demon lord. “I apologize for Ayame’s unpleasant outburst, and I thank you for clearing up this misunderstanding.”

“Prince Koenma,” Mukuro replied with a curt nod as acknowledgment. “I’m glad this could be resolved without damaging the carefully cultivated trust between the demon and spirit world.”

The brunette prince, nodded again, and disappeared through the office door, forcibly dragging the other woman. Ayame had composed herself enough to protests wildly, and in the end futilely as they retreated.

The office door clicked shut, leaving the three demons in awkward silence. The two assassins still stood with their backs to their master. Even if the girl was no real threat, they should not have been taken by surprise, and she should not have come so close to Mukuro in one piece.

They turned and dropped to one knee, bowing slightly to show they would accept their punishment. When the punishment was not met out immediately in anger, nor their inaction mentioned verbally, Hiei glanced at the demon lord.

Mukuro, her wave of rage dispersed, contemplated the door through which the arrogant girl had been heaved so informally. She remained that way for several minutes before turning her gaze to her heir. Hiei made no move as she stared into him, her face unreadable as she weighed her thoughts. Finally she spoke, in a very business like tone.

“I assume you procured the human and contract at the same time?” The demon lord’s question was straightforward, but her tone was well guarded. Hiei worried he might have gone about this abduction in the wrong way. The fire demon nodded slowly, not trusting his voice just yet.

“The human was in his home?”

Nod.

“His sister as well?”

Nod.

“Did they appear poor to you?”

“As in his file,” Hiei let his guard down a little, seeing the line of questioning was not centered on his actions. He had snapped out of the surreal spell caused by the spirit girl’s impudence. The fire demon was less concerned over the woman’s strange behavior, and more concerned about what had been said before his arrival.

“As in the file…” The demoness echoed his words, leaning back in her chair. When in her thoughtful mode, Mukuro was almost friendly. This allowed Hiei to ask a nagging question.

“Who was that woman?”

Mukuro did not answer the question right away, nor did she pause to look at her heir. This puzzled the shorter demon, making him more curious about what was said in this office prior to his arrival.

“An arrogant, self-righteous human bitch,” Shigure finally snapped, his anger lingering. Hiei was surprised by the older assassin’s outburst, but more so when Mukuro lifted her hand to belay any further comments.

“In truth, Hiei” She said, leaning back in her chair with a thoughtful expression, “I am not entirely sure.” It was a trait of the elder demon lord, not to comment on things she did not have full information on. That being said, there were few things Mukuro did not know, and fewer she could not decode on her own. The assassin prince waited for her to continue.

“She has,” the demoness paused, a slight smirk playing at her lips, “or rather she had some influence in the Spirit Realm.” She looked directly at her heir as she spoke, “As you might have noticed, she was human, yet radiated a very strong spiritual aura.” Hiei nodded, not yet sure where this was leading.

“Even if she is a Spirit World lackey, she has no—“ Shigure began again, only to be cut off by his master once more. The demon lord added a sharp glance as a warning against further outbursts.

“There is much about her,” Mukuro said carefully, “that causes concern.” Hiei exchanged a glance with Shigure, who gave a slight shrug. The assassin thought of the boy now unconscious in his chambers. For all appearances, a scruffy young delinquent, and nothing more. Poor, with no connections, especially not connections so powerful as to influence the Spirit Realm. Obviously, the woman could not be connected to the boy. Yet something tugged at the back of Hiei’s mind. Something in her facial features.

“You think she might be a relation of the human?” Hiei inquired of his master. She turned to him with a look of approval, but guarded her answer.

“He is your betrothed,” Mukuro pointed out, “What do you feel?” Hiei thought carefully though quickly before answering.

“There are some similarities in the face,” Hiei admitted, “But I see no token of true resemblance between them.” His master thought for a moment, before nodding in acceptance. “If they are related,” the demon added, “their blood is far removed.”

This statement seemed to spark some interest in the demon lord. She thought for several minutes, before signaling to Shigure.

“Shigure,” she began in a careful tone, “I need you to track this woman. Find out who she is, and where she lives.” Shigure bowed quickly, and turned to leave, but was stopped.

“Do not attack her,” Mukuro warned, much to Shigure’s apparent disappointment. “Also,” she added, “If she is dead…” Her sentence trailed off for a moment, before she gave Shigure a meaningful look, “cease your investigation and return to me at once. That is all.”

“Of course,” Shigure bowed, and exited quickly toward his mission. This left lord and heir to discuss matters alone. Hiei, with some dread, could guess what his assignment would be concerning this case.

“You must keep a close eye on your human,” she said matter-of-factly. Hiei nodded with some reluctance, which Mukuro ignored. “Mention the woman to him,” she ordered, “and gauge his reaction, but do not push him.”

“What do you think?” In this more casual situation, the shorter demon was not afraid to ask his Master of her opinion. On the contrary, she was a well of knowledge, and often shared it freely with him.

“I believe you may have kidnapped a far more valuable human,” Mukuro replied with some amusement, “than the Spirit Realm would like to lead on.” Her face became serious for a moment. “How much did the Spirit World appraise him for?” Hiei rolled his eyes.

“Almost two-hundred kilograms of gold,” he drawled, “if you can believe it.” Mukuro frowned at the exorbitant price. She then gave him a steely look, taking the younger demon off guard.

“Don’t let him out of your sight!”

~~~--~~~--~~~

Kuwabara struggled through the darkness. His lids felt as though sealed shut, but he managed finally to lift them a little. There was a little light around him, encouragement to open his eyes further. The light came from dim candles scattered throughout the room.

The human lifted his head a little to get a better look. Yes, it was indeed a large room. He estimated there was more floor space here than in his entire house. Kuwabara managed to prop himself up on his elbows, as his curiosity got the best of him. He was lying on a large bed, with black silk sheets.

The young male, swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His body protested, each limb feeling weighted down and reluctant to respond to command. The boy pressed on, something moving caught his attention.

Stumbling at first, Kuwabara intrepidly made his way across the room. It was rather spartan, he noticed, no furniture or decoration for being so large and expensive. Even the tile was black and unimaginative, its sheer surface giving the illusion that it wasn't floor at all, but pure darkness. Even the light from the candles seemed to be sucked down into it, their reflections glowed like far off stars. The young human felt a shiver run up his spine. Though it was exceptionally hot in the room, a cold unwelcoming aura seeped though his bones.

finally, he reached the source of movement. He stood at the edge of a large, black pool of water. I wonder what this guy's favorite color is? The redhead tired to laugh at his own observation, but the creepiness of the whole situation was getting to him. Despite the fact, he leaned down to get a closer look at the water. Strong ripples suggested movement beneath a calm surface, though he could not see the source. The urge to touch the strange pool was unbearable.

The redhead slipped down on his knees, not wanting to fall in by accident. With one hand firmly braced on the floor, his other hand cautiously reached down toward the dark surface. A thought stopped him from going further. What if it's a pool of acid? he thought suddenly. That's stupid, why would a guy have a pool of acid in his room? Maybe, since he's a demon he baths in acid, the boy reasoned to himself. Acid stinks though, and this pool doesn't stink. He sniffed the air tentatively. It smelled like water, he affirmed, cool river water.

As the human was lost in thought, he didn't notice the door swing silently open, then closed. Nor did he notice the dark figure enter equally silently. While Kuwabara battled his commonsense, which was discouraging him from touching the foreign substance, a short dark figure approached from behind.

~~~-~~~-~~~

Hiei was at first shocked to see his bed empty of his would-be mate. The boy should not have woken for another few hours at least. He hurried forward, only to see a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Indeed, the human was awake and moving, for the boy had found the bath.

Hiei blinked at the strange sight before him. The redhead crouched on hands and knees, one arm extended over the water, barely above the surface. The comparison that came to mind was not of a monkey, but a cat; a paw reaching toward an unfamiliar object, batting at it carefully. It surprised the demon somewhat, that the boy did not recognize a bath. Though he be poor and scruffy, Hiei was relieved the redhead didn't stink.

His fiancé's hand skimmed the water gently. Then, apparently deeming the liquid safe, dipped his fingers in, swirling the calm surface. Hiei watched in a sort of fascination as the boy rolled up his sleeve and dipped his pale arm further into the dark liquid, only to pull his arm sharply out.

"The water is redirected from a river not far from here," Hiei informed the young human. Said human nearly jumped out of his skin at the remark, turning quickly to face the intruder. The demon was unaffected, and waited for the boy to speak next. When the human did speak, it was not concerning the water.

"You!" The boy cried, his voice rising in accusation. Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes, recognizing his fault in their first encounter. The boy crouched again, but leapt forward with all the rage and power of a tiger. Hiei was fairly impressed, the effects of traveling though the portal should have thoroughly debilitated the young man. As he easily stepped aside, allowing the redhead to fly past, he made note of this fact.

Said redhead landed ungracefully, as his target moved rather than breaking his fall. With nothing to tackle, Kuwabara's arms failed to catch him, causing his chin to meet unpleasantly with the hard surface of the floor. The demon heard the boy's teeth click together sharply, and a grunt as the massive body caught up with his head in full force. There was some truth to the saying, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

The dark haired male was amply impressed again, when the boy jumped up to continue his attack. Obviously not trusting another lunge, the redhead charged, his arm swung back behind him, prepared to come forward in a powerful strike. Hiei did not move, as the human charged with the force of a bull. He planned to make something painfully clear to the boy right from the start.

Long, powerful legs brought the youth within striking distance with unusual speed. As his fist flew forward, the air whistled around it. The red eyed demon waited, anticipating the powerful knuckle strike until the boy committed all his weight to it. Then, he moved. He knew it must have been a surprise to the redhead, as his fist flew through empty air. The boy stumbled, caught off balance again. The human's tall body twisted, catching sight of the demon as he fell forward out of control. Hiei moved again.

This time, he caught the boy mid fall. His fiancé, started at the sudden support of the shorter male. Recovering, the redhead snarled, reaching down to get a grip on the demon. Said demon crouched a little, then with some difficulty threw the boy across the room. Kuwabara barely landed on the bed, and Hiei cursed at the size difference. He was at least five times as strong as the human physically, but leverage was just as much an issue in hand to hand combat as strength was. If the human were to know anything about wrestling, this would be very difficult.

These thoughts aside, the throw and impact had seemed to stun the young man momentarily, and Hiei wasn't about to let the opportunity go to waste. He leaped the distance, arcing more gracefully than the human had, and connecting with his prey perfectly. The boy 'oofed' as the demon landed on the redhead's chest, and quickly took up the struggle again.

The human snarled, as Hiei fought to control him. The demon gripped the boy's arms, forcing them upward. He could feel the futile attempt to jerk free of his grasp, but the demon was a well trained assassin. The shorter male noted though, that his finesse could not make up for their size difference entirely. For instance, he could not grip both wrists in one hand as he had intended. This meant he could only control the torso partially, and still the boy's long legs thrashed trying to find purchase on the slippery silk.

"Bastard!" The boy spat in Hiei's face, still struggling for control. The assassin didn't respond, but decided this was taking too long. He let loose of one of the human's wrists, attempting to reach down and incapacitate the youth by pressing on his windpipe.

The boy countered, also tearing at the assassin's face with the newly freed hand. Not wanting to lose an eye over the matter, the demon released his choke hold to deflect the hand. He twisted the boy's wrist, causing the youth to wince in pain. Hiei could see the dark orbs afire with hatred and pain, but the redhead seemed to resist crying out.

Finally, the teen's feet found the floor, allowing them some traction. With an angry cry he bucked his hips upward, throwing Hiei off his center of gravity and allowing him to twist. The shorter male leapt from the boy, setting him free momentarily. The redhead reached out, tearing at the assassin's cloak.

There was a cry of surprise as the garment came away easily, and the youth went tumbling to the floor. The demon couldn't resist a smirk, as the boy had made a fatal error. Kuwabara lie flat on his stomach, and Hiei lunged down, placing his knee squarely in the boy's lower back. The redhead screamed in pain, this time unable to hold back.

Hiei, then placed his free knee between the boy's shoulder blades.

"Sonofabitch!" The redhead ground out the curse through clenched teeth. Trying in vein to move his arms, to lift and throw the demon from his back. But Hiei was positioned so that if the human pushed upward the pain would increase exponentially. Not that the boy didn't try. Tenaciously he fought the pain, managing to get a few inches from the ground. Futilely rocking from one side to the other, unable to shake the demon off.

"Ready to give up?" Hiei, who hadn't broken a sweat through the whole ordeal, waited patiently for either the redhead's body or will to give out. Since the human was quite stubborn, there was little doubt in his mind which it would be first. Panting, his fiancé turned to give him a hateful look.

"Death first," he snarled. For the first time, the assassin laughed outright. This of course caused the boy to struggle anew. Hiei didn't particularly care. The harder the boy struggled, the sooner this would be over.

"Perish the thought, human," the demon couldn't help but reply. It would be so easy, to kill the human now. All of this trouble, gone in less than a second. Luckily for both of them, Hiei was not such a fool as to try it. At the very least, Mukuro would be very displeased with him. As much as the thought of an angry Mukuro might deter him, there was also an additional problem. Technically, the human was his mate-to-be. As such, the assassin was technically responsible for whatever happened to him. Easy as it might be, it would be dishonorable to kill the boy under these circumstances.

Deeming the boy thoroughly incapacitated, the assassin finally stood, removing the pressure from the redhead's spine. There was a soft groan of relief, followed by a groan of pain as the human tried to rise. Hiei had slightly put the poor teen's back out, and this was probably a discomfort. Ok, the demon admitted, it was probably damn painful.

"I'll kill you," the prone teen threatened, albeit unconvincingly.

"You and what army, boy?" Hiei walked around the defeated, leisurely out of reach.

"My right army," the teen countered without pause, "and my left army." Both fists clenched to accentuate his statement and he tried unsuccessfully again to rise.

"Not with your fighting skills," Hiei chided, getting some small pleasure out of taunting the human. "Even if you had the strength--which you don't--you lack the most basic knowledge of fighting." The demon couldn't say he was surprised at that. It wasn't likely that a poor boy would get proper instruction. He decided he would enlighten the redhead a little further: "If I was trying to harm you, you would be in several pieces by now."

"Then why ain't I?" The prone teen spat back. Obviously annoyed by Hiei's attitude.

"It would offend my honor," Hiei stated offhandedly, "to kill my bride." The last word had a bit of a sneer to it that did not go unnoticed by Kuwabara.

"Did it offend your honor," the redhead argued caustically, "to knock a girl down?" The boy began to rise from the floor, slowly but surely. "I can't see, how a guy who picks on girls," Hiei raised an eyebrow as the boy managed to get on hands and knees, "can claim he's got some honor." It was obvious the boy had worked himself into a rage.

"I merely showed her," the demon drawled, "her place." The younger glared at him indignantly. "I've done far worse to those who deny me what is mine." Hiei's voice dropped an octave as he returned Kazuma's glare. The boy balked, remembering his mark. "If you are concerned for her health, don't be," the demon stated, "she was not seriously injured."

"What did you do to her mind?" The teen accused, unable to rise further than his knees.

"Nothing lasting," Hiei replied. His soon-to-be-mate looked away, not willing to believe. Struck by the boy's loyalty, he decided to give him some comfort. "She is probably better off without you anyway," the human looked sharply at him. "I paid compensation for twice your weight in gold," he couldn't help but feel vindicated when the boy's eyes widened considerably. "She will no longer live poorly."

"It wasn't that bad," the boy growled, his red face betraying his shame.

"She can live richly now," Hiei dismissed the boy's comment. "You should rejoice for her." There was a pause, as the redhead thought this over. Eventually the teen resigned himself to it, or he couldn't come up with an appropriate comeback.

"About your family," Hiei added, remembering his task. "Is your sister your only blood relation?" The redhead looked up at him sharply, obviously weighing his question for a trick. Finding none, the boy replied.

"No. It was just me an' her." Hiei frowned, not surprised, but disappointed.

"Do you know someone, by the name of Ayame?" The boy looked a little confused, then shook his head. The demon sighed, not really having expected much. The look his master had, intrigued him though. She had something in her mind she wasn't telling him.

"Hn." He looked over the injured boy with distaste. Thinking of his master, she might not like the fact that he had roughed up the young man. "We had better see to those wounds of yours.

~~~
Sorry, for many things. I'm sorry this took so long to get out to you, but things have been crazy. Also sorry that I'm not responding to reviews in this chapter... but it's fucking four in the morning and I've been working on this damn thing all night. Next chapter I'll respond... I promise.