Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Life Through a Dragon's Eyes ❯ Chapter One: What Am I Willing to Give Up ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter One: What Am I Willing to Give Up

My name is Armatage; I am the last of my race, the dragons. You may be thinking that I must be insane, that dragons are myths and do not exist. We do, or at least we did. My people suddenly became sick when I was a child. I also became ill, but miraculously lived, or at least that's what most would think. Sometimes, I'm not sure if I am truly alive anymore. My survival was not a good thing, for there are no more of my people; I am utterly alone in this world.

I have been this way since I was five years old. I have had to live on my own, killing, stealing, and doing anything else I have to do to stay alive. This way of life has been working well for me, until I finally got caught by those idiotic detectives from Spirit World that is.

That's how I ended up here, standing right in front of Koenma, all the detectives looking battered and tense. They didn't trust me to just stay still and take this. That's good, because I won't.

"It's been a long time coming Armatage, but we've finally caught you," the prince of Spirit World says with a look of smug triumph.

"How long do you possibly think you can keep me here? Your little army of humans and demons barely managed to capture me. If I hadn't let my guard down they would all be dead right now."

Koenma glared at me. His eyes look as if he were trying to see straight into my soul. Ha! He could never do that no matter how hard he tried. I wonder what he sees. Does he simply see a black and blue haired girl with pointed ears, gloved hands, tattered black clothes, gold eyes, and sapphire wings? Or does he see more then he dares to let on?

"Nonetheless, you have been caught, and you will be punished for everything that you have done," he replies after a time.

"What will you do, kill me? Go ahead, the rest of my people are dead as well. I have absolutely nothing to lose."

"I will give you a choice."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Surely he doesn't think that I deserve to be given a choice. Most likely, whichever I choose will end in something I am not happy with anyway; I might as well take the chance.

"What are my choices then?"

"We can arrest you and remove your wings so that you will never fly again, or you can help the detectives and become one of them. What will it be Armatage?"

My wings? He couldn't be serious, could he? Can I really take such a chance? A dragon that cannot fly is not a dragon at all. That is what every dragon I had ever known had told me. We belong in the skies. But on the other hand, I'd have to become a dog for Spirit World. I don't want to do that either. I'd get to keep my wings though.....

"I choose.....I choose to," I struggle with the unfamiliar word, "help you."

The brat smirks. He knows he has defeated me, at least for the moment. I'll get him later if I get the chance.

"I thought you'd say that. Yusuke," he turns to a boy in green with slicked back black hair, "you and the others should have a little meeting now, don't you think, so that Armatage can get to know her new partners?"

Yusuke throws a look of utter loathing at one of us. I can't tell it's at me or Koenma. But still, he does what Koenma says, turning around and muttering for the rest of us to follow him.

I look back at Koenma. I can kill him right now. I really want to, that's for sure. But for now, I'll swallow my pride so that I can keep my wings, for now at the very least.

Before leaving, one of them turns to me, the one with long red hair and green eyes.

"You might want to do something about your wings, if you can that is," he says to me in a low tone.

I look at him. His eyes are narrowed in a way that tells me that he is curious to see what I will do. He probably doesn't know that dragons have different forms. I can look human if I want to. How do they think I've managed to escape them for so long? It's because they don't recognize me most of the time.

I breathe a long sigh and stand perfectly still as my wings retract themselves automatically into my back. The marks where my wings come through look like two thin vertical scars near each of my shoulder blades. My claws shrink under my gloves, and my ears become rounded. My eyes stay the same though. I've never been able to change their color. Most dragons I had known could, but that's just one thing I have left to learn.

The two humans, Yusuke and the other one in blue with orange hair, look at me in surprise. They haven't lived long enough, or known about demons long enough to know much about dragons. The other two, the redhead and the short one, don't really seem all that worried about it. They look shrewd enough to know that they'll learn in due time all that I can do.

Once I'm done, we travel to the human world and go to the redhead's house. It's been a long time since I've been inside a human's home, at least not without having to force my way in.

We go into the living room, and sit down, all with the exception of the short one. He sits on the window sill. They're all still glaring at me. They eyes show a very large amount of distrust.

They still look tired from our battle. I'm not that surprised, I'm tired as well, but I don't dare to show it.

"So, let's get this over with I guess. I'm Yusuke Urameshi, that's Kurama," pointing to the redhead, "that's Kazuma Kuwabara," pointing to the orange haired one, "and that guy over there is Hiei," he points lastly to the short one that still sits on the window sill.

"Why is he doing this to you?" I ask Yusuke quietly.

"I think is more your punishment than ours," Hiei says something to me for the first time.

"Yes, but you probably think your being punished in a way too. Being forced to work with someone who nearly killed you can't be very fun."

None of them reply. I know that I am right, and so do they. The silence is awkward even for me. I look down at me wrist and toy with the bracelet they put on me. That's how they beat me. This stupid silver band on my wrist drains me of all my magic; only leaving enough to keep me alive.

"Where am I supposed to stay anyway? It's obvious that I'm not allowed to just wander around as I wish anymore," I ask them.

"You're supposed to stay here with Kurama. You told you're mom about this, right?" Kuwabara asks.

"Yes, I told her that Armatage was an exchange student from another country, and that I volunteered to let her stay with us until she goes home."

"Nobody said that I have to stay with one of you!" I yell in surprise.

"Where else do you have to go?" Hiei asks.

He knows the answer to that question perfectly well: nowhere. Even if I weren't in trouble I'd have no place to go because I no longer have a home. He's only trying to make me feel worse. He couldn't do that no matter how hard he tried. I don't care, at least not anymore.

"Well Kurama," Yusuke says while getting to his feet, "I guess we'll leave you to show Armatage around or whatever."

Kurama's eyes are practically screaming, "Don't leave me alone with her!" It's not like this'll be any fun for me either. I don't want to be here just as much as he doesn't want me here. But there's nothing I can do about it.

The rest of the boys leave quietly. They're probably happy to get out of here. I'd be happy to leave too, but again, that's not my choice.

"I suppose I'll show you to your room now," Kurama says, he seems very confused. I wonder what he could possibly be confused about now. But, I brush the thought away.

Kurama leads me to a guest room in his home. It's nice actually, with a small bed, closet, and desk inside. Personally I'm comfortable just sleeping in a tree, and I have been doing that for a while. But it'd be stupid of me to pass up a chance to sleep in a real bed.

He looks at me, as if noticing that I'm here for the first time. His eyes study my right arm. I look down at it too. I had forgotten that Kurama had hit me with that blasted whip of his during the fight. Now that I do remember it begins to throb again.

"I'll bandage your wounds. Wait here," he doesn't ask; he's commanding me to do so.

I decide to wait in my new room instead. I sit down on the bed. How long has it been since I've slept in an actual bed instead of on the ground or in a tree? Two years, more likely three.

Kurama finally comes back with some bandages and hydrogen peroxide. I remember that stuff. It stings a lot when used to clean an open wound.

He tries to take my hand, but I pull it away. Kurama frowns, and then grabs my arm in a firm grip. I try to make him let go, but he refuses to.

"You don't have to help me. I know you don't want to," I tell him.

"It'll get infected if I don't clean it, so hold still," he commands.

"I can heal it myself if you take off this stupid bracelet."

He chuckles quietly. What the heck is he laughing about?

"You don't think I'm so naive that I'd actually free you? If I unlocked that then you'd be free to kill anyone you see with a few words."

"It was worth a try."

Kurama takes some of the peroxide, puts it on a rag, and cleans the wound on my arm. I wince. It stings just as much as it did the last time. He looks up and me and curiously.

"Have you always been like this?" He asks.

"Have I always been like what?"

"A killer that hides among humans and constantly runs away from Spirit World."

"Oh, well, it's none of your business," I say, surprised that he'd even ask me something like that.

"I thought you'd say as much."

He finishes cleaning the wound and wraps a bandage on it. It feels better now actually. But I don't thank him. It's just stupid to thank someone who captured you.

He gets up and walks to the door, but turns around to face me again.

"You should get some sleep. You're coming to school with me tomorrow. I told my mom you would be."

"School? You can't be serious!"

But it's too late he's already closed the door and all is quiet. I let out a cry of frustration and fall back on the bed. My head hurts and my stomach is churning. It's probably just from all that's happened today. Oh well, there's no pain that I haven't had to deal with before.

I close my eyes and think about all that's happen to me through the years. There was so much pain, so much sadness, and only very short amounts of joy. Without realizing it I finally drift off into a dreamless sleep.