My neighbor is a demon! (Hiei x OC)

22 Family ties (Yuko)

"Come on! We're late!" I yell, wanting Botan and Shizuru to hurry up. Both are pretty hung over and cringe at my loud voice before snoring away again. "Keiko?!" I call. Even she is still sprawled across the couch after having stayed up so long.

"Really, these girls..." I sigh, glancing to Yukina who is looking at the television, watching the report on the match that is about to start. "At least you got up early."

Yukina smiles gently. "I'm an apparition, I don't really need as much sleep."

"Mmh? Lucky~. All the things I could do if I could do with six hours of sleep instead of eight..." I muse.

"But Yuko-chan was up early too. Though... you look a bit tired." she points out apologetically.

I sigh. I haven't really slept much after last night's encounter. That was very disturbing to say the least and it took a long time to get the tension I felt out of my body.

I glance towards the TV before pouting. "Ah damn! I'm missing out on Hiei's match. I'm not going to forgive them for this!" I state determinately, stomping my foot.

Yukina chuckles in her kimono sleeve before smiling up at me. "You and Hiei... you're good friends?" she wonders curiously.

I hum in thought. "Yeah, I guess so. At least I'd like to think we are, who knows what Hiei thinks though..."

"I'm sure he cares about you." she assures me, making me stammer.

"W-well, I don't know about that... Anyway, let's pour some coffee into these girls. I don't want to miss out on more than I have to." I suggest, making her nod in agreement.

Finally after having managed to woken them and waiting for them to fix themselves up we are setting off towards the stadium, only to have Shizuru stop for a drink and Keiko run back for Puu. Whaaa!

But finally we really get going. It's still a long way and Botan's directions aren't great when it comes to her shortcuts. Also, Puu is delaying us. Though I don't blame the poor thing. It looks to be suffering from something, it's horrible to see. Keiko thinks that if Puu is suffering, Yusuke is too. I wonder if that's true.

Suddenly it starts to struggle before it manages to pull away from Keiko's arms, flying off and worrying Keiko. She motions to go after it. "Don't worry, I'll catch up to it!" I call, running off after it. I don't want to her to get lost in the brush. I'm pretty confident I can make my way back to them, so despite their protests, I keep running after the blue creature.

I stop running after a few minutes, slowing to a walk. For something so tiny and using his ears to flap about, Puu is quicker than expected. I hope it's okay.

I reach a clearing but to my surprise, it's not empty. I waver... Slowly I step up, closing in on the person sitting under a lone tree and my eyes widen in recognition.

"G-grandma Genkai? Is that you?" I ask unsurely, watching her eyes turn to me. It really is her. I haven't seen her in years! What is she doing here of all places?

She's wearing the same clothes as Mask... Wait... "W-was it you all along?" I manage to breathe out. I don't know how she has done it, but...

She blinks slowly before raising to her feet. "Yuko."

"B-but how? If you were Mask all along, t-then..." I grip the side of my head with one hand feeling a headache coming on. "What's going on?"

She sighs, her eyes softening. "I don't think I have to explain it all to you. You can connect most of the dots. You're a bright girl, like your mother..."

"Mother... does she...?"

"She knows you're here."

"Whaaaat?! How?! She's going to kill me!" I shriek in fear.

"I called her." grandma states dryly, making me balk again.

"You ratted me out to mom?! How am I going to-... I don't have to explain do I?" I cut myself off, realization setting in. "She knew about all 'this' all along didn't she? She hid it from me." I realize, feeling sadness settle in.

"Don't feel upset with your mother... she only wanted to protect you. Perhaps for good reasons; Look where you ended up in." grandma defends her. "She chose long ago to follow a different path than I have, A path where she thought she could keep her children safe and in the dark for as long as possible."

This is such all a bit hard to swallow. I feel my throat tighten. "And what are those path's exactly? It's not like she has been keeping away from everything supernatural, she must have known Hiei was a demon all along, am I right?"

Grandma nods at this. "Aya has always been stubborn, always going her own way no matter what I said. While I teach fighting techniques and control over ones Spiritual power, she's a pacifist inside. She acts more like a shelter and makes sure that when a demon is to stay in the human world, they are eased into this world."

"That is why Koenma gave Hiei an apartment next to ours." I muse.

"That's right." grandma confirm. "He did the same with your previous neighbor."

"Huh?! She was a demon too?!" I exclaim, shocked.

She nods once more. "I have always been more critical, not so trusting to let any demon into my life, but she told me she could sense when one had true heart and didn't hesitate to drop her walls and expose you and Reiji to them. That is why we had a falling out. She believes everything can be sunshine and rainbows if you try hard enough. Maybe she has better judgement then I, but then again, she never was faced with the kind of cruelty I was."

Silence covers the clearing for a moment after that revealing and I try to take it all in. I had never dared imagine that behind the façade my mother kept up, all this would lie behind it...

"What now?" I wonder. Where does this leave me? I feel like I don't quite know myself anymore now that the fundament of my existence has been pulled out from under me. There are tears in my identity.

"Mh. I suppose that's up to you. Though you're in pretty deep already kid." she tells me. "Are you willing to pop the lid completely or will you keep a relatively safe distance like your mother did?"

"I-I don't know." I answer shakily.

"You don't have to decide now, but take it in consideration. Whatever you decide on will determine the path your future will take." she explains making me chuckle humorlessly.

"No pressure right?"

I look to the sky, feeling all kinds of emotions running through me, but most of all I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm still so new to all this.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts by a deep sighs coming from my grandmother. "Looks like the kid is finished..."

I follow her gaze to see Yusuke slowly walk up to us, Puu in his arms. They both look like they've gone through hell and back. "Yusuke..." He looks somewhat confused to see me here. I don't blame him.

"Get this guy taken care of for me." he says, handing the exhausted little Puu to me before turning to grandma.

"It looks like you've made the Spirit Wave Orb your own, haven't you?" she muses, a hint of pride in her voice. He can only let a small smile slip before he collapses.

"Sleep well. The real battle begins when you wake up again." grandma tells the unconscious boy.

I blink in surprise. "You've been trying hard to get him ready for this... But grandma... this isn't right, is it? It's not fair. They shouldn't ever have to fight for their lives, none of them." I mutter sadly, looking down at Puu.

"It isn't fair kid. But it's necessary." she sighs, stepping up to me and hovering her hands over Puu, releasing a little energy causing Puu's face to relax as he slips into a peaceful sleep.

She then whips out her mask. "Come on kid, we have work to do. Yusuke will be fine, but I'm not letting you wander around on your own. I promised your mother to keep an eye on you."

I nod, laying Puu next to Yusuke before following grandma to the stadium.