Part 7: Journey Home
Leilani was getting ready for bed in her cabin on the ship. While applying Japanese cherry blossom scented lotion over her skin, she thought over everything that happened while she was at the Dark Tournament. There had been a few sidetracks to her real mission, but now Koenma and Jin had gone their separate ways and she only had Kurama on her mind now.
“Fine time for you to be going to bed young missy!” Bob harassed.
“Why not? It’s night.” Leilani sniffed.
“You still haven’t confronted Kurama,” Bob reminded.
“What does that matter? We’ll be staying under the same roof for a while,” She rebutted and waved him out the door, “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to change!”
After finally being rid of her little helper, Leilani donned her pajamas. For a while she laid on her bed pondering then jumped up and peeked out the door. She didn’t spy Bob anywhere, so she snuck out and crept up to the main deck. She gazed at the moonlit, star filled sky and deeply inhaled the salty sea air as she glided over to the edge and rested her hands on the rail. The ocean water shimmered so serenely.
It was nice to have a moments peace. In her enjoyment, she closed her eyes and slid her hands along the rail away from her; she felt as if she flying through the night. This tranquility was short lived, however, as she then felt the cool air that surrounded her intercepted by warmth resonating on her left side. She looked down to see a hand clasped to the rail in front of her. The arm attached had slipped under her outstretched arm. She found this arm belonged to Kurama.
“Pleasant night this evening,” Kurama stated staring out to the horizon.
Leilani wearyingly looked back to the sea and replied, “Yes, indeed it is.”
For a while, they stood there in silence so Leilani tried to break the ice, “Before, you wanted to tell me something? During the intermission, before Hiei woke up.”
“Oh, yes,” Kurama remembered, “I was wondering about your angel form…It seems as though you can change into it at will.”
“That is true, I can.”
“I was wondering how. I would like to be able to bring out Yoko as needed.”
“But you did during the tournament.”
“That was the result of a potion I took before hand. I was once a demon feared throughout Demon World, but I was wounded near death. I found refuge in who is now my human mother. Now I am trapped in this human body; unable to bring forth my greater strength and techniques.”
“Well then, you are in a different boat than I am.”
Startled, Kurama turned his head towards her.
She continued, “You see, you ensnared yourself in that body, whereas I have been given mine to take upon as a disguise. For angels, we use bodies of people who have passed on, but their bodies are still in working condition. As for you, you snached the life and so that body has your soul attached in it.”
They turned towards each other as Kurama uttered, “Then my dreams are in vain?”
“Not necessarily, I might be able to train you to overcome the difficulties that you are experiencing.”
“I would appreciate that greatly, thank you.”
“I warn you though, it will be a long, hard, and tedious process.”
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this.”
Leilani concealed her beaming joy with a gentle half smile. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment then Leilani turned to leave.
“Wait, I have another question,” Kuramastopped her and she turned back towards him. He hesitated for a moment, “You did a very impressive job healing me, but I am still having pains. I don’t mean to complain, but would you be able to cure it?”
Slowly, Leilani said, “Perhaps, what is ailing you?”
“I have chronic pains, here,” he notified, bringing his hand up to his left chest.
“That’s interesting,” Leilani mused and drew close to him, “might I run some tests?”
Kurama looked concerned, but nodded in agreement.
“Ok, I want you to tell me if what I do causes the same pains and how they make you feel,” she stated.
Leilani brushed her smooth hand against his and asked, “Does that effect the aching?”
Kurama took a quick breath, “Yes.”
“And how about this?” Leilani asked as she stroked up his arm.
He nodded. She ran her hand up his neck and gently held the side of his head. The sweet scent of her lotion and gentle caresses overpowered his senses. His deep breathing accelerated as he seized her shoulders as if to push her away, but only clasped on to hold her in place. She could see he was starting to sweat. She stretched out her neck as if to lightly touch his lips with hers. As she backed down, he started at her for a second, the moon lit up her face and the breeze rustled her long blouse slightly. He moved suddenly in for a kiss, only to be stopped by a hand.
Only a Test
“That was only a test,” Leilani warned. “Did all of that trigger the same agony you were feeling before?”
“Oh yes!” Kurama gasped, “But now it stings more.”
“I know what ails you, and I’m afraid I cannot cure it,” Leilani muttered as she released herself from his grasp. “You are in a human body now, you're suffering from hormones. It’s all a part of growing up.”
Behind a crate, Hiei thought to himself, “He’s not the only one with a hormone problem!”
“What can I do about it?” begged Kurama.
“Learn to control them,” Leilani advised and turned to go once more, “As you grow older, you will be able to better cope with the feelings they cause.”
With that she left him, dumbfounded, to return to her room. She sighed happily as she went in. Bob was soon to follow her.
“HORMONES?! You diagnosed him with HORMONES?” Bob screeched after the door was shut.
“Yeah, so?” Leilani said bluntly, not paying him much heed.
“You’re here to complete a mission, not break his heart!”
“I’ll take care of him. I’ve just given him an incentive to cooperate.”
“Or a distraction,” Bob grumbled.
“You wanted me to come, just deal with how I handle it. I did get him to come asking me instead of my imposing.”
“You women have no idea what kind of power you hold over men,” muttered Bob after turning towards the wall.
“Maybe you should have sent a guy then.”
“That wouldn’t work, he’s seen other guys transform. We did need feminine charm to entice him,” admitted Bob.
Turning back, he saw Leilani smiling over her victory so he snapped, “But for heaven’s sake, tone the charm down!”
Leilani sunk onto her bed while asking, “So how long do I have?”
Bob explained, “The most accurate time frame I can give is months, which is specified while mentioning how long Kuwabara’s powers are asleep from the tournament to the next adventure. Since time runs differently in cartoons, I’ll be able to tell you from here in the control center when the next episode will start. You must go then.”
“You’re not going anywhere!” came the voice of Hiei.
He had slipped into the room and was now standing behind Bob. In a single move, he sent Bob crashing into the wall and pinned Leilani to her bed.
He sneered at her threateningly, “Stay away from Kurama!”
Leilani tried to push him off of her but his hold on her was firm, leaving her little room to struggle.
She moaned, “Oh great, this boat is just littered with eavesdroppers! Ugh. I’ll go away and stay as I want!”
“Just try to go near him and I’ll slit your throat!” Hiei coerced.
“Too bad I’m not partial to having my throat slit,” snarled Leilani.
“Just what exactly are you planning on doing to him?”
“That’s none of your bees-wax!”
“It is now! I didn’t trust you during the tournament and I definitely don’t trust you after your little chat! You better not lay so much as an eye on him if you wish to see another day,” growled Hiei.
“Oh, I’m real scared. You know it’s not wise to be attacking angels,” Leilani said cooly, despite the pain of his grasp.
“Ha! I don’t believe you are a real angel. You work one day then you get over two weeks off? That wasn’t even your real mission, was it? I heard your whole conversation just now.”
“As far as anyone here needs to know I am a real angel!”
With that Leilani's eyes began to glow as she began her transformation. The energy of it pushed Hiei away from her. He hit the closet door and fell to his knee. She went to her dresser and picked up a wallet. As Hiei stood and prepared for another attack, he found her holding a badge in front of his face.
“That doesn’t look as shiny as the one you showed Juri,” Hiei spat and grabbed the badge, “Why would they even give badges to angels? I don’t need a badge to be a demon!”
As he spoke, he noticed the covering was starting to peel at a corner and ripped it off, revealing a metal that was not animated like the rest of the surroundings. He read the imprinting, giving away Sally Sue’s secret identity and informing him of her true role as a Cartoon Cop. Hiei threw the badge aside, stared back at her.
He reproached her saying, “What do the cops have to come here for? Things are going fine without your interference!”
“That doesn’t concern you,” Leilani sniffed then narrowed her eyes at him, “unless perhaps you have something to hide yourself.”
“Not anything more than what you’ve been hiding. Tell me, what if Kurama found out about your little secret?”
“I will not stand for blackmail! I say that you know too much so I will have to erase parts of your memory.
With that, Leilani waved her hand, sending an energy wave filled with grounded poppy seed powder that knocked Hiei unconscious. While he slept, she brainwashed him to remove all angered feelings towards her and replaced his memories of eavesdropping with other activities. He was still out cold when she finished so she dragged him into the hall and left him laying there. Then she inspected the damage done to the communicator and sighed with relief that it was not beyond repair.
For the remainder of the trip, Hiei found himself with an uncanny urge to avoid Leilani, which he was successful in accomplishing.
