Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Demon's Kin ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Demon's Kin

By: calikocat/LemonKitty

Word count: 4,491

 

Disclaimer: All things Buffy are Joss things, all things YuYu are Togashi things. I own neither, and can only lay claim to my ideas. I'm merely a fan with far out and strange ideas who likes to mess with things and cross worlds over.

 

XXX

 

“I must say Buffy that I cannot condone your falling asleep in class.” Giles said before muttering something about idiotic children not being able to shelve things properly. If children were going to go poking around his library they could at least put things back in their proper place.

 

“But it wasn't my fault! One minute I'm taking notes in history, the next it's Slayer Dream Drama complete with surround sound…all it needed was subtitles…or at least a plot line, because mystery and weirdness will only get you so far before the story is shot.” Buffy gave him a pout.

 

Giles paused in his shelving duties, successfully ignoring the pout. “You were actually taking notes? Why do I find that rather hard to believe?”

 

Buffy did her best to look innocent. “Well…I was listening really, really hard. That's sort of like taking notes, isn't it?” Her tone was innocent with a touch of hopeful `please don't go there'.

 

A tired sigh was followed by, “In what way?” Giles looked at her pointedly, not buying the innocent act at all.

 

So of course Buffy did her Slayerly duty and redirected her Watcher's attention to her dream. “That's not the point! Here I'm trying to do the destiny thing and you're upset because school got in the way. Giles I had a Slayer Dream that was like a freaky foreign film! Doesn't that seem a little more important than my note taking?”

 

Just about that time Xander and Willow entered the library. “Buffy! My favorite Slayer! You wound my heart!” Xander shook his finger at her. “Have you been watching wacky and confusing Indian films without us?”

 

Willow crinkled her nose with a small grin. “Bad Buffy, bad.”

 

Giles moved further away from the stacks and proceeded down the steps with Buffy trailing behind. “Classes over already?”

 

A chorus of “Uh, yeah”; was the response.

 

“Very good, you can help me depict the meaning of Buffy's newest Slayer dream.”

 

Willow in her ever readiness to help her friends practically bounced over to the table already going into research mode. Xander on the other hand walked slower and dragged his feet. Helping the Buffster with patrolling was one thing, helping to depict her dreams sounded like something better saved for a girly-girls slumber party. However he was never one to refuse a pretty girl so he prepared himself for the conversation ahead. Once everyone was settled Giles gave Buffy his attention.

 

“Now, start from the beginning.”

 

Buffy nodded. “Okay, so I was in History class, sort of taking notes, when all of a sudden I'm flying on the back of this huge blue bird. And I've never seen a bird that big before. It was bigger than car big, it was like tank big. And there was this guy with dark hair, I think he was Chinese or something, he wasn't speaking English. He was really nice though, and kinda cute, not really my type though. But the weirdest part was that he had a picture of Xander with him.” She stopped and looked at Giles.

 

“And?” Giles asked.

 

“And what?”

 

“Was there anything else?”

 

“Nope…except I woke up with drool on my chin…not one of my better moments.”

 

Giles sent her a somewhat frustrated look. “Buffy.”

 

“What? That was it, general weirdness and confusion with a side affect of drool face.” Buffy tried to pout again, neither noticed how unusually silent Xander was being.

 

“So why does Mr. Foreign guy have a picture of Xander?” Willow asked, her voice was a little high and on the verge of becoming a squeak. She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to her Xander-shaped friend.

 

“No idea, I'm just the receiver.” Buffy finally noticed Xander's pale face and was suddenly worried. “It wasn't a bad dream Xan. The guy was nice; I don't think he's a bad guy, kinda weird but hey we're getting used to the weird. Right?”

 

Willow put her hand on Xander's arm. “Xander?”

 

Xander shook his head and tried to get a grip on his emotions, not easy for a teenage boy who was fast becoming an expert at denial and repression. “I'm okay Willow. Really.” He gave her a small smile and took a deep breath.

 

“Xander? Are you alright? Do you have something you need to tell us?” Giles asked, his voice was gentle, reassuring to the troubled boy.

 

Xander nodded and took another calming breath. “My Dad. Sometimes when he's drunk he likes to talk…well it's more like bragging.”

 

Willow squeezed his arm and Buffy scooted closer to him. Willow had seen first hand what Tony Harris was like when he was drunk, and had shared one such story with Buffy..not that Xander need ever know that. But Willow thought it necessary that Buffy be aware of such things so she could understand some of the things Xander did or said. Both girls shared a looked as Xander gathered his thoughts and continued.

 

“So yeah, Dad drinks a lot so I've heard the story a lot. See, he was in the Navy back before he married Mom. And he was stationed in Japan for a while, right before he got a dishonorable discharge.” Xander blinked slowly and met Giles' gaze. The watcher felt a chill go through him and wondered, not for the first time, what the boy's home life was like. “There was a girl, she was sixteen…and he got her pregnant. The bastard left her with a baby to raise.”

 

“That…that…ooh!” Was all Willow could get out; this was the first time she'd heard this story. She was a little hurt that she hadn't heard it before, but she could understand why Xander felt the need to hide things.

 

Buffy nodded. “I agree with Willow, major nasty thing to do to a girl.”

 

Giles gave them all a kind, sad smile; they were all still children, though they went into the dark to protect others they were still shocked at how cruel one human could be toward another. “I as well. However I'd say it's safe to assume, according to Buffy's dream that Xander's older brother is coming to see him.” His smile turned to a frown then. “However it doesn't explain why she had the dream to begin with. A long lost brother is hardly a sign of the end of the world.”

 

Buffy kept a serious face as she said; “Oh, I don't know. Having two Xander's around could be pretty interesting. I mean he seems to attract the weird, look at what happened with the substitute and that whole hyena thing.”

 

Her comment made Giles turn an interesting green shade of green. “Dear lord, perhaps I should consult my books.”

 

“Hey, Xander is sitting right here!” Xander exclaimed with mock outrage.

 

“It's okay; you're still our friend, our special Xander-shaped friend that sometimes attracts wiggy things.” Willow giggled.

 

“Oh yes, I feel the love…in fact it stings a little.” Buffy smacked his arm. “Ow! Watch the slayer strength Buff!” She stuck her tongue out at him and Giles cleaned his glasses to avoid the childish display, though he found it heartwarming.

 

“I suppose it shouldn't be a matter to worry over.” Giles began. “However you all need to stay alert especially you Xander. We don't know whether meeting your brother will necessarily be a good thing.”

 

“Cause Dad is such a spiffy and model member of society, gotcha. Big brother suddenly showing up; very, very suspicious.” Xander grinned and glanced at his watch. “We done?”

 

“I suppose…Buffy needs to stay for training.” He slipped his glasses back on.

 

“Going somewhere?” Willow asked Xander as they stood.

 

“Dad's over at Uncle Rory's, which means Mom is going to cook real food tonight.” Xander grinned.

 

“Yum, real food.” Buffy returned the grin.

 

“Oh yeah, it's the best.” Xander's expression changed to a thoughtful one all of a sudden. “Okay, what I don't get, other than the Buffster dreaming about my Bro to begin with, is the giant bird. Why were you and my brother riding a big blue chicken?”

 

Silence reigned throughout the library as three sets of confused teenaged eyes landed on an equally lost Watcher.

 

“Why would I know that?”

 

They shared a look and grinned before Willow piped up. “Because you're Giles.”

 

xxx

 

Sometimes when Xander was alone and walking the streets of Sunny Dale, he felt like someone was with him... It didn't happen very often, just every now and then. This was one of those times. The first time had been the night Jessie had died. After the accidental deed had been done he could have sworn that someone had held him as he'd cried himself to sleep that night. He had waved it off as a dream or just depression. Tonight he could feel eyes on him, but nothing was there…though every time he stopped to look around him he could have sworn he caught a flash of pink. It was weird.

 

Keeping an ear open for any possible danger he let his mind wander a bit. In addition to the feeling of being watched sometimes he would on occasion, feel like he had some sort of connection. Not to whatever was keeping an eye on him, but to something else, maybe even someone else.

 

Ever since getting possessed by the demonic primal hyena spirit and having his pack ripped away he'd been having strange dreams, some more vivid than others. He was always calling out to someone, but no one ever answered. Maybe he was just lonely. Sure he had Wills and Buffy, and Giles to an extent, but it wasn't the same. When he had a pack it was almost like a blood connection, a family. Something he'd never really had before, except on his Mom's good days. And now that it was gone…well it sucked. Really sucked, the kind of suck that you reserved for rainy days when you were sick with some sort of icky sickness with a dash of someone ran over your puppy. It was that kind of suck.

 

He sighed as he trudged across his front yard and tried to think happy thoughts. His dad wasn't home tonight, which as he'd told the girls earlier meant his mom was going to actually cook tonight. This was cool, granted his mom was no culinary genius but she did okay when she wasn't drunk. He'd learned long ago that anything she fixed while intoxicated was not fit for human consumption. Because eww.

 

He opened the front door, stepped inside and tilted his head to listen. His mom was in the kitchen but she wasn't alone. She was talking to someone, and by the laugh he heard, it was a very male someone. Jessica was laughing back so it wasn't his dad, and Xander let out a sigh of relief. But just as it passed through his lips he wondered who it could be. His mom didn't have any guy friends; his dad would have thrown blunt objects at her if she had.

 

Cautiously he moved through the house until he got close enough to peek into the kitchen. His eyes nearly bugged out and he wondered what the heck his mom was thinking, having a guy that young in the house. The dark haired stranger couldn't have been more than a few years older than him. And he prayed his dad didn't decide to come home early, because the stranger was helping his mom set the table for three. It looked like mister looking for trouble was staying for dinner. Oh goody.

 

As he watched from his vantage point, his face peeking around the doorway he nearly fell back when the guy looked straight at him, as if he'd known all along that Xander had been there. Xander's heart jumped in his throat, he wasn't sure how he could tell, but he could feel something off about the guy. Whatever it was he didn't intend to leave his mom alone with him any longer. So with a deep and calming breath he stepped into the kitchen with a goofy Xander type smile plastered on his face.

 

“Hey Mom, I didn't know we were having company.”

 

xxx

 

Yusuke had been talking with Jessica about normal things…which was kind of nice, the only person he seemed to be able to have a normal conversation with was Keiko. It was great to sometimes just push all the weird shit that was his life to the back of his mind and tell someone how great his friends were. What Keiko was like, and that he was a little nervous about getting married. The best part though was hearing about his little brother, and that the kid was not a brainiac, he'd let out a huge sigh of relief when Jessica had told him that Xander was into comic books rather than school books. The last thing he needed was Kuwabara teasing him because his kid brother was a bookworm.

 

But something was off about the things she said. Mostly what she talked about had happened when the kid was much younger. Then again it was possible that she didn't know much about her son these days. His own mother was the same way…she still had no idea who his friends were, except Keiko of course.

 

He watched in interest as she prepared a simple almost-feast from boxes of mixes, which was more than his mom had ever done. With rapt attention he snickered at the tale she wove of his younger brother's child hood with his best friends Jessie and Willow. When suddenly a blip surfaced on his radar, which was something of a surprise because his senses weren't worth shit, as Kuwabara was always pointing out smugly. Yusuke could barely sense another life force until it was in his face and the owner was trying to kick his ass. And the weird vibes around the whole town weren't making it any easier. So if he could sense something that meant it was way out there and begging for attention.

 

What came as a bigger surprise to him was that it was coming from the doorway of the kitchen. He started to look up indirectly so as not to draw too much attention to himself, but once he met brown eyes the exact shade as his own he paused completely. Those brown eyes saw a lot, and they were nearly cold as they took him in, as if they could see everything that he was and then some.

 

Suddenly the eyes changed and became almost jovial as the kid stepped into the kitchen, a ridiculous smile taking up his innocent face.

 

“Hey Mom, I didn't know we were having company.”

 

The change nearly shook Yusuke to his very being and he shot a glance toward Jessica who looked up from the stove where she was turning the burners off. “Hey sweetie, you're just in time.”

 

When Yusuke looked at the kid again he nearly fell on his ass at the sight of the huge puppy eyes the boy was flashing at Jessica.

 

“Food? Real food?” Xander asked. Yusuke just shook his head making a mental note to be wary of such an attack as he wasn't sure he could refuse such a face.

 

Jessica however seemed to be made of sterner stuff and waved her son off. “Not until you wash your hands young man.”

 

And the kid was gone just like that, running for the bathroom. Yusuke looked at his hostess with a baffled expression.

 

Jessica smiled. “That boy, he'll do just about anything for food.”

 

xxx

 

The meal had been something of a mundane affair. Jessica introduced Yusuke as family, though she gave Xander a very pointed look as she did, mentioning that Tony hadn't met him having left Japan before the young man was born. Xander understood immediately, while not the smartest person around he got what Jessica was trying to say without so many words. Yusuke was the kid Tony left behind so many years ago.

 

Their conversation was relatively normal, with an edge of curiosity and what Xander feared would be a confrontation. He really hoped Yusuke didn't want to meet dear old Dad. That would be a show down Xander could live happily without seeing…ever.

 

All too soon supper was over and Yusuke was praising Jessica's skill, swearing up and down that his Mom didn't even know how to use a microwave.

 

“That's really sweet of you Yusuke.” She smiled warmly under the older boy's praise. “Now I'm sure you and Xander would like to talk in private now.” She gave her son a reassuring glance. “Xander, why don't you take Yusuke up to your room, I'm sure the two of you will have plenty to talk about.” Xander almost broke out the puppy eyes again when she intercepted him. “When I'm done cleaning up I'll make some hot chocolate.” She held her breath, hoping the bribe would work. While her boy would do just about anything for food, he was always a sucker for chocolate…but there was a first for everything.

 

Xander caved like a house of cards. “Sure thing.” He shot a smile at Yusuke. “Mom makes the best hot chocolate.”

 

Quickly Jessica rebuffed their offers to help clean up and sent them off to Xander's room. As they left the kitchen she sent up a silent prayer to whatever kind being was listening that the two of them found some common ground to bond over. Even if it was only over the lack of humanity Tony Harris was capable of.

 

xxx

 

Xander led Yusuke into his sanctuary, not that it was much of one, just because vampires couldn't come in didn't mean other evil monsters couldn't…like Tony. Unconsciously he took in his messy room; everything looked as it had that morning when he'd left. “Sorry about the mess.” Not that he was, not really, he was just doing the polite thing, which meant he needed to find a place for Yusuke to sit. Again he glanced around and waved his brother…oh god a brother…in the general direction of a bright red bean bag chair.

 

Yusuke eyed the mess which wasn't really all that bad, at least not if you'd grown up with Atsuko Urameshi as a mom. At least the piles of clothes in the kid's room looked clean. He nodded at Xander's motion and sat in the bag chair, which was surprisingly comfy. Xander, he noticed sat on the bed with his back to the wall, his hand disappearing under the pillows for just a second as if searching for something. He raised an eyebrow in question but Xander just smiled.

 

Yusuke cleared his throat. “So…your mom didn't really go into any details about how we're family.” He paused. “Ya see it's like this—“

 

Xander continued to grin. “I know who you are. The question is; why did big brother decide to come looking for me after all this time?”

 

Brown eyes bugged and a jaw dropped open conveying how speechless Yusuke was.

 

“You gonna breathe anytime soon?”

 

Yusuke snapped his jaw shut. “How'd the hell you know who I was?”

 

Xander shrugged. “Mom was doing the cryptic silent message with the eyes thing. We've just about got it mastered into a language all by itself. It comes in handy when the old man's raging around the house, and it makes getting out of the way easier.”

 

“There's no way she could have told you that just by looking at you.”

 

“No. But dear old dad likes to brag when he's drunk. He's drunk a lot so we got to hear about how he left your mom back in the day. So all my Mom had to do was say the right words and do the eye thing.”

 

Yusuke looked at Xander curiously. “Okay, yeah.” He relaxed some. “Jessica did mention the old man bragging. Sorry I freaked.”

 

“Nah, don't worry about it, this town is freak central. Speaking of which…what are you?”

 

Yusuke stiffened; his body rigid once more. “What?”

 

Xander continued. “I've seen a few weird things here on the Hellmouth. And while you don't feel like a vampire you kind of give me the wiggins. No offense.”

 

“Wiggins?” Was all Yusuke could get out.

 

“Yeah, as in freakage, you give off some weird vibes dude.” Xander narrowed his eyes at his older brother. “So?”

 

“It's a long story kid. But well…I'm a demon.” Yusuke glanced at Xander who looked thoughtful. If you could call wide-eyed and what looked like a minor panic attack thoughtful, but he managed to relax a bit as he hadn't been hurt so far.

 

“Since you ate dinner with us I guess you don't eat humans? And you don't bite heads off either?”

 

“Why would I bite your head off?” Yusuke looked confused and Xander waved it away like it was nothing.

 

“There was a thing with a Praying Mantis Lady. She liked to bite guys' heads off after…well that part's not important. But yeah, weirdness abounds here in Sunny Dale. Anyway, what kind of demon are you? And I was serious about the eating people thing.”

 

Yusuke rolled his eyes. “I don't eat people; my fiancée would clobber me for even thinking about it, which I don't…'cause ya know she's human.”

 

“Huh. A human and a demon…who'd have guessed. Congratulations by the way.”

 

“Yeah…anyway I'm a Mazoku. It's this type of demon from the Makai.” Xander gave him a blank stare. “Look there's these three realms right? Human, spirit and demon; they ran really close together with a thin barrier between them for thousands and thousands of years probably even longer. A few years back the barrier came down and it's all one realm now. But the demons of the Makai are forbidden to kill humans and the boundaries are patrolled regularly.”

 

“And that has what to do with you being one of those demons?” Xander asked; he was very proud of himself for keeping calm, though he had come close to panicking at least once.

 

“Another long story, but it ends with me turning into a demon and meeting our ancestor Raizen, one of the strongest Mazoku ever and inheriting his lands in the Makai, he's dead now, and I'm one of the three Kings of Makai.”

 

“So…let me get this straight…you used to be human?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Xander took a deep breath and tried not to hyperventilate. “So what changed?”

 

“I died, came back to life, trained hard and worked for the Prince of the Spirit realm keeping demons in line and protecting humans from them. After a year or so there was a show down with a crazy man and I died again. Only I came back because our demon heritage gave me a jumpstart.”

 

<i>Screw it, I'm freaking now.</i> Xander thought as he gazed at his brother. “What do you mean <b>our</b> demon heritage?”

 

“It seems Raizen's genes come from old man Harris.” He waited for that to sink in before going on. “So there's a chance that—“

 

“That my own freak-dom could get worse. Geeze, it's not enough that Praying Mantis Lady tried to take a bite out of me…or that Primal had to possess me! Now I find out that I could somehow end up a demon! Uggh! This really sucks! Even for my life!”

 

Yusuke snickered. “I think you're overreacting kid. You're still completely human.”

 

“Yeah…but it's the Hellmouth and with my luck…I'm just gonna stop there, no need to jinx myself.” Xander took several calming breaths. “So…is being a d-demon any different than being human…and aren't you like evil and stuff?”

 

“I'm not evil. I've always been something of a punk, bit of a badass actually. Used to beat kids up for looking at me weird…why are you looking at me weird?”

 

“I'm wondering how the heck we can be related, cause I was the kind of kid that got beat up for being weird.” Xander grumbled.

 

“Trust me we are. Otherwise I wouldn't be here.”

 

“Why exactly are you? Here I mean? Did you just decide to track Tony down all of a sudden?” Xander asked.

 

“Well I've been hearing a voice in my head. Your voice.” Yusuke said.

 

“Huh.”

 

“Yeah, so I went to my friend Koenma, the Prince of the Spirit Realm and asked him what the hell was goin' on.” Yusuke looked pointedly at Xander. “It all goes back to that possession you went through. Koenma said that it brought a little bit of your demon genes through, just enough to sense a blood connection or the presence of anything from the Makai. And since we have that blood connection I've been hearing you.”

 

“Oops.” Xander looked sheepish. “Sorry, it was just hard ya know. Having a pack was nice…except for the part where we ate the school mascot. Don't look at me like that; it was a pig in a razor back costume. I'm just glad I was unconscious and in a cage when the other possessed kids ate Principal Flutey.” Xander shuddered. “But the pack, we were almost one being sometimes, really close and when the spell ended I was alone again. I didn't know how to handle it so…I guess my thoughts were a little loud.”

 

“Kid, I heard you all the way in Japan.”

 

“Like I said…oops.” Xander looked worried for a moment. “So…now what? I'm not sure I should introduce you to my friends…Buffy might try to slay you, if your demon-ness wigs me Buffy will definitely feel it. Willow might freak out if I tell her you're a demon. Buffy's Watcher might have heard of Makai demons so no introductions there either. Any suggestions brother of mine?”

 

“Well…Keiko, my fiancée, wants you to come to our wedding.” Yusuke gave his younger brother a huge grin. “It could be interesting, best friend of the slayer going to a wedding with a bunch of demons.”

 

Xander stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. “I think I see the family resemblance now. Does insanity run in the family? Was that Raizen guy crazy as a loon?”

 

“Come on, it'll be fun.”

 

“I'll think about it.” Xander muttered as he glanced at his alarm clock. “So…you've got like super powers right?”

 

“You could say that.” Yusuke looked puzzled.

 

“Wanna patrol the Hellmouth with me? Buffy's training with her Watcher tonight and won't patrol till later.”

 

“Patrol? What exactly are you looking for?”

 

“Nothing much, just trying to keep the vamp population down. Fewer vamps means fewer people go missing. And I'm all for fewer missing persons.”

 

“You patrol often?”

 

“Only since I learned what was really out there. I only go after the vamps, and leave the big bads to Buffy. So what'dya say? Wanna make sure I don't get killed?” Xander flashed his puppy eyes at Yusuke and the older boy groaned.

 

“I was wondering when you'd use those on me.”

 

XXX