-1They returned ten minutes later, arms full of stones and water in a pot. Hiei had already arrived with a heap of firewood, and was sitting, seemingly perplexed, watching Ruki order Yusuke and Kuwabara around bossily. The fire demon was nearly smiling. Nearly.
"No, Yusuke. The goal is to have more fruit than peel when you're done, not the other way around!" she chastised.
The two boys were cowering, nodding, and for the most part, following instructions without complaint.
"Man, if she weren't so pretty, I wouldn't put up with this crap," Kuwabara whispered to Yusuke, who was in absolute agreement.
"What was that?" Ruki snapped, pointing her spatula at them. Ne'er before had the pair considered a spatula a weapon, but suddenly, the utensil seemed terrifying, and they ducked their heads obediently to get back to work. "That's what I thought," she nodded, satisfied.
Hiei grinned evilly at Kuwabara, who all but strangled the fire demon. Or he would if Ruki wouldn't kill him.
"Well, since you're so bored, Hiei, why don't you help them peel mangoes? You sliced that demon in half pretty well," Ruki suggested.
For reasons inexplicable to the rest of the party, he nodded and took up a plump mango, peeling it in one go with his katana and depositing the curled skin in a large pile of clumsy ones from the two boys.
"See? Do it like that, guys," Ruki nodded encouragingly, turning to her water and stones.
There was a great deal of grumbling after that from the peanut gallery, and a lot of chest-puffing from a certain fire-demon.
Ruki set to work boiling the water and brewing tea, then adding rice to the large pot and mixing in bananas and mango slices (courtesy of Hiei, who had finished the rest of the fruit-chopping before Yusuke and Kuwabara had completed their first).
Breakfast was served, and they all ate the delicious meal like a pack of hungry wolves. Yusuke and Kuwabara in particular, but that was nothing new.
"Thanks for breakfast," Mae whispered to her sister as she packed her newly-cleaned dishes in her knapsack.
"It was fun," Ruki laughed, enjoying the bossing around bit. Their mother used to tease Ruki about being a dictator in another life, and strangely enough, no one doubted her.
"I imagine," Mae nodded before casting a wary glance about the camp site and finding it satisfactorily empty. Then she plunged into the tale about earlier at the creek.
When she had finished recounting the morning's events, Ruki looked lost for words. "This is so sad…" she shook her head mournfully.
"Maybe it's better this way. He never knew Kuri, so it won't be so hard for him to kill him. Me, on the other hand; I'm a different story," Mae said morosely.
"I know," Ruki sighed sympathetically.
"I still remember the three a.m. feedings, and his first steps, and his first word-"
"What was it?"
"What do you think?" Mae asked wryly.
"Mama?" Ruki guessed with an 'awwwwww'.
Mae nodded somberly.
"Maybe there's another way?"
"No…when he left home, he told me this would happen. He said that one day people would listen to him, and he would be the one to know better. He said he was going to make a statement."
"Why did he leave so young?" Ruki asked, her voice a mere whisper.
"We had an argument about what he wanted to do in his life," Mae said with a sigh.
"Which was…?"
Mae chuckled bitterly. "The kid wanted to become a thief like his daddy."
Both sisters chuckled for a moment, but it was empty humor.
The troupe set out as soon as their camp area was traceless.
For some reason, an electric sense of foreboding hung in the air as they continued on, and they huddled close. The very trees seemed to whisper to one another, catcalling at them through creaks and groans of their dying branches. Leaves fell spitefully upon their heads, and no flowers bloomed.
Kurama in particular was on edge. He sensed something in the plants, something dangerous. "I think haste would only do us good at the moment," he hinted anxiously to the group, who actively agreed.
Their pace quickened to a trot, then to a lope, and finally, to an all-out sprint. Still, it felt as if the trees were squeezing the path smaller and smaller. Claustrophobia was not something to be found wanting in this part of the forest.
"What sort of place is this?" Ruki demanded shrilly as a tree root crawled out onto the trail to trip her. She cried out softly, but was caught mid-fall by Hiei.
He glared up at her. "Be more careful, idiot," he warned mildly.
Mae couldn't swear it, but that 'idiot' sounded almost affectionate. Like a term of endearment.
Ruki seemed to think so, too, because she blushed and nodded. "Y-yeah. I will…" she stammered.
He nodded and turned back to escaping the wood.
A ferocious gust of flame seared down the path, and they were abruptly halted by a thick-bodied dragon with red, gleaming scales.
It slithered forward on the small path, it's massive bulk overbearing. "You cannot pass, usurpers," it said, it's voice rich and ancient.
"Why not?" Kuwabara asked defiantly.
The dragon's eyes bulged, and it lunged forward until it was mere inches from the boy's nose. "Because you are not welcome!" it bellowed, it's voice deepening into that of sci-fi dreams.
"Please, we must pass," Kurama said calmly.
"What business do you have in these parts?" the dragon asked suspiciously, turning to regard the fox demon.
"We have come to find the demon, Kuri," Kurama replied, unruffled at the ominous presence.
"Why?" it asked quizzically.
"To kill him," Kurama said, his eyes growing slightly cold. Mae felt winded for an instant, and unconsciously drew nearer.
The dragon withdrew his enormous head and looked approvingly down at them. "I, too, have a score to settle with the whelp. Come," he led them forward, his tail slithering like a thousand streamers behind him.
They hesitantly followed him to a clearing, away from the crowding shrubs, to sit around a flickering fire he lit with his breath.
He curled his tail behind him and took a deep, smoky breath through his massive nostrils before delving into his tale. "Several weeks ago, a demon trespassed through my forest. He was young and eager, and there was such determination in his eyes, I decided to let him pass unhindered. His name, he told me, was Kuri, and he was traveling west to follow in the footsteps of his father. I thought this noble, and encouraged him, leading him out of my forest and granting him one gift for his journey,"
"And what was that?" Mae asked, enrapt like a child listening to her first nursery rhyme.
"The golden spyglass. It guides the user to whomever he seeks. Including enemies," the dragon gave them a stern look that only comes with wisdom, "be on your guard, little ones. He will find you first.
They retold the reasons they had for killing the runaway, and the dragon listened, nodding his ancient head thoughtfully.
"You have gained my trust, kin of Kuri. Follow the pathway that always turns left, and you will find the right way out," he boomed, fizzling into thin air like evening mist.
They waited until he had completely gone before finding the path he spoke of and following it into the next dawn.
They rested outside the forest in a large meadow beside a lake.
Ruki and Mae laid out their mats side-by-side and went to undress behind a large oak tree.
"I sense something odd about this place. I don't think we should stay here," Ruki warned.
"I feel it, too. It reminds me of the legend mother told us when we were young; about the woman in the water?" Mae agreed.
"We should tell the guys," Ruki nodded frightfully.
They dressed in their nightclothes quickly and hurried out to the newly-lit fire in bare feet.
"Boys, we have something you might like to hear!" Mae called, beckoning them all nearer.
"What is it?" Kurama asked, concerned.
"We think we recognize this place," Ruki said, flustered.
"From where?" Hiei asked.
"…A childhood story?" she replied, realizing how petty this must sound.
The boys regarded the pair skeptically.
"Just listen. There's an odd energy here, I'm sure you must have felt it?" Mae asked sternly.
Five heads nodded.
"When we were young, our mother used to tell us a story about the woman in the water. She had loved a sailor named Tenji, but he had a wife and children, and could not stay with the water maiden. She mourned him every day until she finally drove herself mad and drowned herself in the village lake. They say she preys on young lovers and passerby every night at sundown. We can't stay here."
"But, it's just dawn. We have hours before sundown. Even if this water maiden exists, we'll leave before she even appears," Hiei argued, tired and grumpy.
"I would rather not take a chance…" Mae bit her lip uncertainly, her hair tangled about her face in the breeze.
Kurama recognized the worry in her amber eyes, and frowned. This could be serious. The question of why he even cared hit him like a brick, all but knocking the wind right out of him. "We should keep moving," he agreed.
"I'm tired," Kuwabara whined.
"Yeah. Me, too. Look, let's just crash here for a few hours, it'll be fine. And if you girls are so worried about it, why don't one of us sleep with you?" Yusuke asked, unaware of what he had just suggested until he was slapped hard. Twice.
"I meant sleep next to you! God!" he corrected quickly, massaging his cheeks.
"Good!" Ruki snapped, red in the face.
"I was gonna volunteer, but I just changed my mind…" Kuwabara muttered, casting a wary glance at Yusuke's two hand-marked cheeks.
"You decide," Hiei challenged, nodding to the girls, both of which blinked and looked around.
"We didn't even decide on this arrangement. Yusuke should pick," Mae said with a wicked smile.
The boy looked pale, and Hiei looked disappointed.
"Fine," Yusuke said evilly after a brief pause, "You seemed pretty comfortable sleeping with-um, sorry, I mean next to-Kurama, Mae, so why doesn't he do it?" he grinned from ear to ear.
The previous sheet-tanglers blushed and glowered at the detective. Together, they were quite a formidable team, and Yusuke knew better than to piss them off any further.
"Or not…whatever…" he laughed weakly.
"Do you mind?" Kurama asked Mae quietly enough that none other would overhear.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
He laughed breathily and nodded as well, thinking this was all ridiculous.
Her sister all but 'awwwwwww-ed'. She just barely contained herself. The vowel seemed determined to burst from her mouth. Or it could have been the breath she was holding in.
The observing fire demon wondered what on earth was wrong with the Ruki's face. It seemed to be purple, and her eyes were dreamy and distant. Her hands seemed to rise unconsciously to her shoulder.
He raised his eyebrows when she sighed happily. How…odd. Then he realized he was staring and quickly averted his gaze, for the first time noticing Kuwabara and Yusuke staring at him and whispering. Their grins were enough to tell him about what.
He glared at them and flitted off to a nearby tree.
And abruptly stopped upon hearing a small voice calling, "Goodnight, Hiei!" He turned disbelievingly to spot Ruki waving at him with a small smile. He gawked at her for a moment, ordering his heart not to do whatever it thought it was doing, before sending her a telepathic smile and darting up the tree.
She gasped slightly, unsuspecting, then grinned. "Wow…" she breathed.
Kurama and Mae blinked up at her, perplexed.
He shook his head slightly. "Try as I might, she is still a mystery to me…"
Mae nodded knowingly. "I've known her all my life, and I've given up trying to figure her out." She grinned despite herself.
"Well that makes me feel slightly better," Kurama returned the secret smile.
Meanwhile, Yusuke and Kuwabara silently observed all of the goings-on between the four demons with a kind of awe that children experience upon entering their first candy shop.
"Something's happenin' here, and it's makin' me queasy…" Kuwabara shuddered.
"I'm with ya', man," Yusuke nodded, casting a shifty glance to the two redheads.