Ikigai (Hiei x OC)

ORIGINS

When Yukina left to help the children get settled for bed, he let out a long, shaky exhale. He'd spent his entire life yearning for this moment. There was a long road ahead. Getting to know people was not something he did on purpose. Had he not been forced by Kurama to spend time with Airi, there was no telling what would have become of them, though he suspected it would not have been anything close to this. He held her hand beneath the table.

"You did great."

"Hn."

They sat in silence for a while, watching all of the conversations taking place around them. Only themselves, Kurama, Haruki, and the eight teenagers remained. Akira had been sent to stay with a friend of Genkai's, who resided in the mountains and cared for the spiritually unwell. There was no telling when she would be ready to join them, though Genkai assured Airi that her cousin was in good hands. He still did not trust the old bat, after having been burned by her so many times.

"Good night for a fire," Haruki said, pushing himself out of his chair and meandering outside to the firepit just beyond the doors.

Most of the group followed, and Hiei could not deny that the smell of woodsmoke would be a welcome one. There was a circle of large wooden chairs surrounding the pit, low to the ground with backs that reclined deeply. With twelve people and ten chairs, he immediately knew what to expect. He barely had time to sit down before Airi was curled up in his lap, her head nestled against his and her legs hanging through the opening underneath the chair's arm. The girl did not possess even a lick of self-control.

He placed an arm around her, anyway, and let the other fall across her thighs. In the flickering light of the fire, he could not be bothered enough to care what others thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Naomi had done the same to Ryuji. If anyone dared make a comment, Hiei could have their thumbs rolling across the ground in an instant, and he suspected the same of the strong-willed teen.

Kurama occupied the chair opposite them. Hiei had spent enough time with him to know that some sort of lecture was seconds away from commencing. When all were settled and hushed, enjoying the peaceful night and the primal pleasure of a bonfire, he started to speak.

"It is not just to enjoy the evening that I asked Haruki to lead you out here," he said, his flowery way of speaking worse than the screech of nails on a chalkboard. "For those of you who do not know me, my name is Kurama. While I inhabit a human body now, I spent much of my existence in the form of a demon. A kitsune, specifically."

Murmurs sounded around the circle, and it occurred to him that this group was not privy to the existence of a world other than their own. Kurama touched on this briefly, their shocked faces twisting and contorting in the ever-changing light. He moved on quickly.

"Nearly three thousand years ago, I had the pleasure of stumbling across a very special tribe, deep within the northern forests of Demon World. They called themselves the Rokubi, and they were unlike any other yokai I'd met, choosing to sustain themselves only on the energy of the natural world around them. They were deeply attuned to the systems and communities that existed within their woods, and harnessed them for protection.

"I remained there to study with them, and it was their teachings that introduced me to the art of botany. They asked me to become an honorary member of their council, and I accepted gratefully. We lived in peace, and even went as far as helping those who sought us out. They were a kind people, the Rokubi.

"That is why, after word of them spread to the neighboring clans within the mountains beyond, they found themselves a target for persecution. Many believed them an abomination to demon-kind and wished to wipe them from existence. Prior to this, I had spent a small amount of time in Living World, and knew of a safe place for them to flee. Never having truly belonged, they were more than happy to leave their world behind.