A Bigger Issue
Chapter 6: Peculiar Patrol
Disclaimer: ShinythiefXblast does not own anything relating to Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. Nuff said.
Shiny-chan: Hiya everyone did you miss me? I'm sorry I took so long.
Hiei: I don't have all day onna get on with it.
Shiny-chan: You don't want to talk to me, then leave.
Hiei: I would stupid woman but you hid my katana and I want it back.
Shiny-chan: Yes I should have done this long ago, incentives to talk to me! *does really creepy happy dance*
Hiei: . . . . . .
Shiny-chan: OUCH!!!!!! , Wait come back with that katana!!! Oh darn, now that my toy is gone, whatever shall I do? –ducks flying object from the direction of the fans- Okay! I'll give you what you want, another chapter lol.
PS: I have not gotten much of a response from my poll………please vote!
To Makurayami Ookami- I like that penname, Yu-gi- oh fan? Anyway thank you for reviewing every chapter it really flatters me! Most people who read don't bother to review so I feel really special :3
To sakurademonalchemist- hey what can I say the crazies must stick together lol after all white padded walls are so good as décor!
To soupcan- I thought the E-class dementors really would explain why the wizards find them hard to get rid of…..after all they're not freakishly strong like Yusuke and co
To the others….thanks so much for reviewing!
Several hours later, the new day dawned brighter than the day before and Kurama yawned quietly and woke as the sunlight hit his face. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and left the bed as it was, heading for the bathroom to get in a shower before the rest of the rabble awoke. Kurama sighed as the steam filled the bathroom and he undid the braid that kept his hair tidy as he slept. He stepped under the steaming rain of water and ran his fingers through the wet locks, disentangling strands as he went. He washed his hair with regular soap and the rest of his body as well as he thought about the day to come. He knew it would be prudent to begin the search right away but the difficulty was in getting Yusuke's lazy behind out of bed long enough to get him out the door. He shut off the water and slowly got out to prevent the warm steam from escaping. He toweled off the rivulets of water and combed rose oil into his still wet hair before using a newly-learned drying charm to finish up his style. He walked out of the bathroom, sleep pants on and his damp towel over his arm to be hung to dry in his room. He walked down the hallway and was shocked to see a doorway open right before him.
"Granger-san, what are you doing awake so early? It is barely 7:30 in the morning." Hermione had opened the door and stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind her. The poor girl looked as if she had not slept a wink during the night. Great black circles rested below her eyes and her bushy hair looked as if it had been attacked by a wild animal. Her nightgown, blue with green and yellow clouds, hung just past her knees and looked rumpled. Hermione looked up at Kurama's statement and her eyes widened. The mysterious man was wearing nothing but sleep pants and she could see various scars littered across his torso. A low blush came to her cheeks.
"I couldn't sleep at all last night for some reason. I was just going to the kitchen to get a cup of tea. I was hoping it would help me sleep some. Why are you awake so early?" Kurama sighed and shifted the towel in his arms until the material no longer irritated his skin.
"This morning we are going to patrol the area as far as we can go and try and get our mission finished as soon as we possibly can so we can return home." Hermione nodded.
"Be careful, I hope you find what you're looking for." She walked past him and down the haphazard set of stairs. Kurama continued on to the bedroom he shared with Yusuke and the red head almost sweatdropped as Yusuke let out a deafening snore just as he opened the door. Kurama tossed the damp towel in his face and laughed as Yusuke jerked awake. He sat up abruptly, towel falling from his face as he glared hatefully at the mischievous vulpine.
"What the hell was that for Kurama?!" He growled balefully. Kurama snickered a few more seconds.
"Sorry Yusuke but I thought it would have taken more effort to awaken you considering you slept through the entire first round of the Dark tournament." Yusuke tightened his glare and then looked away.
"Yeah, laugh it up Kurama, we'll see how funny it is later when I pound you into the ground!" Yusuke flopped face-first into the pillow and Kurama smiled as he wondered whether the innuendo was intentional. Kurama removed the sleep pants and picked up the pair of fighting pants and the tunic he had placed out for the day. He didn't even notice the eyes ogling his backside. Yusuke got up and threw the covers to the side and promptly fell out of the bed. Kurama spun around and helped Yusuke off the floor.
"Dammit! I'm not used to anything but a futon and those are not so high up! Owwwww !" Yusuke groaned. Yusuke rubbed his head on the egg-shaped lump where he hit it on the floor. He then threw on a red tank top and his black fighting pants. He skipped out the door while Kurama was still lacing his waistband of his pants.
"See you in a few man, I'm gonna see if I can get us some breakfast." Kurama finished up with his clothes and descended the rickety stairs into the kitchen where Yusuke was eating a slice of toast with lettuce, sunny-side up eggs and cheese on it. Hermione was rinsing a skillet off in the sink, her cup of tea lukewarm and abandoned on the kitchen table. Kurama smiled and took the skillet and placed it on the stove before cooking himself a nice breakfast. Yusuke was just getting up to grab another slice of bread when Mrs. Weasley came into the kitchen, tying her faded apron on as she went. She shooed him away from the toast and began whipping up a five course breakfast for them and the rest of the family. Yusuke gobbled a couple slices of bacon from the drainer as soon as she took them out of the pan and immediately ran to the sink to cool his burnt tongue. Mrs. Weasley looked at him reproachfully and shook her head.
"You should have known better than to do that Yusuke dear." Yusuke was sticking his tongue out as far as it would go in an effort to see the blackened stump he was sure was the rest of his tongue.
"Buh ah wath hungwee!" Kurama shook his head.
"Come on Yusuke. We need to get started." Kurama pushed his chair back and took his empty dish to the sink and dragged Yusuke outside in the young sunshine. Yusuke was still staring at his tongue in dismay but was forced to walk to keep up with Kurama's long stride.
"Hey Kurama how we gonna do this? Bait and Catch or Sweep?" Kurama shook his head at Yusuke slowly.
"We can't bait them because as strong as we are, we have no idea really how many of the enemy there are. We are strong but we can tire. "Yusuke just looked at him.
"So we are going to Sweep." Kurama sighed.
"Yes, Yusuke, we are." Kurama led them down the path outside the Weasley's ramshackle house. The dirt pathway turned into cobblestones as they headed further into the rural town. After walking a few minutes, they came across a small blonde woman watering a bush of rather fascinating purple flowers. She spun around when she sensed their presence and the steady stream of liquid from the watering can spun around to splash on their toes.
"Oh!" the girl said almost dreamily, "I'm very sorry! You just felt similar to these Litotes so I thought to water you! You see, they don't come from this world so if you don't water them exactly thirty minutes after sunrise then they will eat humans." Yusuke was silent for a moment but then laughed at her.
"It's not a big deal! We have to go." The girl looked alarmed and reached out to grab Yusuke's sleeve before he could leave. He paused and turned to face the mysterious girl whose face had grown wooden.
"The Blackbird whose wings were clipped by the Rose has regained his former glory. The Rose must be wary or the Blackbird will pluck its petals one by one. Beware the Blackbird! " Kurama felt a shiver run down his spine at the powerful warning. As he watched, the young girl shook herself off and smiled dreamily at them before turning to water her flowers again. Yusuke just stood there stunned for a moment and watched the girl finish watering her plants before turning to walk away, Kurama quickly following.
"Kurama, what was that?" Kurama shook his head as he continued to walk by Yusuke's side. They quickly left the town limits and headed towards London. Kurama started jogging, trapped in thoughts brought on by the impromptu prophesy. He had of course heard of prophesies but he had never witnessed one being made, let alone had one made about him. After all, who else could possibly be the 'Rose' mentioned?
"Yusuke, the 'blackbird' she mentioned…have you any ideas who that may be?" Yusuke was jogging to catch up with him now his feet creating little puffs of dirt where they made contact with the unpaved road. A lock of his dark hair flew in front of his forehead, and he blew it out of his eyes haphazardly.
"I don't know." He finally said. "Can you think of anyone you've fought before that might be the blackbird?"
"No but then again I have fought many thousands of foes in the past and any one of them could be this blackbird." Yusuke was silent for a moment before laughing merrily.
"Hey cheer up Kurama! We don't even know if this is real or if the rose she talked about was you. Besides, she was pretty weird anyway, maybe she just pulled that out of her head to spook us!" Kurama took a deep breath and continued jogging. The road turned sharply to the left and they stopped for a minute to test the wind. The wind blew harshly from the east and carried a foreboding scent that smelled of blood and something else equally as foul. They turned eastward and sped up, the sun rising to its zenith in the sky as they ran. Yusuke looked up at the wispy cumulus clouds and wondered if it was going to rain. The shadow cast by the cloud enveloped them and the air cooled just a bit before the wind blew the cloud away from the sun and the hot rays beat down on them again. Yusuke fought with himself, trying to keep his hand from swiping the recalcitrant hair lock from his eyes again.
"I'm starting to see why you keep your hair long Kurama, it's less of a hassle that way." Kurama smirked as he looked over at an exasperated Yusuke, who was glaring at his hair as if it would behave just like that. Kurama chuckled.
"If it bothers you that much maybe you should resume using the styling gel." Yusuke shook his head at that.
"It's too expensive and it's not like I've got a job or anything." Kurama looked at him calculatingly and paused for a moment, forcing Yusuke to skid to a halt.
"Why don't you just take it?" Yusuke's jaw dropped unbelievingly for a moment before he almost smacked himself in realization.
"Once a thief, always a thief, eh Kurama?" Kurama ran his finger through his hair fleetingly.
"Naturally. Although I admit I haven't stolen anything of import since you and I first met."
Yusuke barked with laughter and had to wipe a tear from his eye. Kurama was standing there in front of him with the tiniest hint of amusement on his face and Yusuke grinned in return. A timely gust of wind blew Kurama's hair to frame his face and Yusuke's smile slowly faded. Sometimes, when Kurama stood like that, he was simply breathtaking. Yusuke stood there for a moment, just admiring the beautiful scene in front of them. They were on a tree-lined dirt road that looked as if it was traveled infrequently and the tall plants had thick green foliage with golden flowers that hung down from the branches in chains. Kurama stood in front of one such tree and the breeze blew through his hair and the swaying blossoms. Suddenly, a sense of uneasiness ran through Yusuke and he fixed his eyes behind Kurama just in time to see the thing behind him. His face twisted in horror.
"KURAMAAAA!!!" The scream tore itself out of his throat harshly, making a few dormant birds fly off in fright. Kurama spun to look behind him just as a scaly clawed paw impaled him from behind. Kurama looked down in disbelief and saw razor sharp claws protruding from his stomach. Blood began to gush from the wound profusely as the creature jerked his claws harshly from him. Kurama fell to his knees clutching his wound painfully.
"Kurama?" Yusuke asked uncertainly, horror at seeing him impaled still running through him.
"I'll be fine Yusuke, it missed vital organs." Kurama said reassuringly even as crimson liquid spurted from between his fingers. Yusuke's eyes narrowed at him.
"But why…?" Kurama coughed and a little blood appeared on his lips.
"The flowers must have covered the scent." Yusuke turned to the creature. It obviously wasn't Gouki, but it was unquestionably from the same species of demon.
"Ah Urameshi, if only you were a little more observant, your little friend would be fine." It said, with a voice that sounded like boulders rubbing together. Yusuke glared death at the dead creature walking.
"You scum!" Yusuke said, voice full of loathing as he advanced on the unlucky demon. Yusuke's anger made him lose grip on his restraint and the blue marks of his lineage began to appear on his skin and his hair lengthened. His eyes crackled with pent up energy and the hapless demon backed away as Yusuke advanced. The demon tried to turn tail and run just as Yusuke grabbed it by the throat and tore its head from the neck. Green blood sprayed from what was left of its neck as Yusuke threw the dead body away in disgust and returned to Kurama, who had grown paler. Yusuke gingerly picked him up and ran at full speed back to the Burrow where Hiei stayed. Yusuke appeared in the backyard with Kurama still in his arms. Hiei appeared next to him.
"What an idiot to get injured like that." Hiei stated passively. Kurama struggled to sit up and leveled a mild glare at Hiei.
"It's hardly more than a scratch; it'll heal in no time."
"OH MERLIN!!!" A screech came from the doorway as Mrs. Weasley caught sight of them. She rushed forward, brandishing her wand, and vanished Kurama's tunic, revealing a nasty-looking gash. Hermione appeared in the doorway and gave a gasp of horror as she too saw the terrible injury. Mrs. Weasley chanted a spell and the wound closed slowly to a shallow abrasion and Mrs. Weasley looked at it with great worry.
"I don't understand! The wound should have closed entirely! It must have been deeper than I thought. What in the world happened to you?!" Kurama exchanged a wary look with Yusuke.
"We found what we were looking for."
Somewhere in Wiltshire, another demon knelt before the one he had sworn to follow. He didn't particularly like the leader, but he was the one that made the plan he needed to follow. There were so many helpless souls for the feasting, but only if he followed the greater demon he bowed to. He could feel his brethren sitting in the shadows beyond him. They weren't any happier than he was following the unhinged master but once the agreement was made, any choice they had in the matter was quickly lost.
"Report?" The silky voice demanded, and a shiver ran down his spine. The one he served crossed around behind him touching his neck in what could almost be called a caress, nails lightly scraping against his jugular vein. The kneeling demon cleared his throat and spoke haltingly.
"Koenma has sent the spirit detectives here and Kurama was injured lightly by Hokenshiin. Urameshi was infuriated and tore him to pieces in retaliation. Now that they know we are here we will have to be much more careful carrying out our mission." The touch on his shoulder paused before tightening.
"My orders were that Kurama would remain unharmed until I get him in my grasp. Hokenshiin is lucky he is already dead." The grip slowly loosened and the lesser demon sighed in relief. The powerful demon moved away and back into the shadows.
"Why did you not stop Hokenshiin from harming him?" The demon jerked and he began to speak nervously.
"M-my Lord, I was not-!"
"Not good enough." The demon exploded, entrails splattering across the floor. The demon hidden in the shadows grinned behind his mask.
"Soon, my beloved Kurama, we shall be reunited! Then you will have no choice but to submit to my demands! You shall soon see that you belong to me, be it in life or death!"
Hey everyone! I need more votes on the poll! There is not enough responses to be able to continue much farther with this story! Please please vote!