Chapter 6

Revelation

RECAP:

The ice master knelt there deliberated, on whenter or not to take this stranger away. She may or may not be Kurama. On the other hand, could he really afford to leave her here alone? Could she survive out here if someone or something attacked her?

As he thought this, the young woman mewled out in agony, too far gone to even scream. That sound pulled something in the ice demon's heart and he made a spontaneous desicion. He grabbed the woman and gently threw her across his back. Then, he took off running as far and as fast as he possibly could. He knew exactly where he was running to, but at the moment his thoughts were on the girl. He didn't know what was really going on, but he was going to find out.

Third Person POV:

Touya ran for miles without staggering at all. At firs he was just running, knowing that this strange woman needed help. Without it, she would definitely die. And that's when common sense struck him. You could not trust anyone in demon world unless you truly knew them. Even if you did know them, sometime you still couldn't trust them. As a Shinobi, he was smart enough to know that he was out of luck.

Shinobi! That was it, he thought as he ran even faster in the same direction. Within a few minutes, he was entering a large cavern. The inside of the cavern was semi-furnished. There were a few chairs and even a soft-looking cot wedged into the corner. One could hear the distant burbling of water, most likely an undergroud spring.

The young ice demon unloaded his burden on the cot, but at this point he was at a loss. What should he do? Kurama was the med expert, not him.

Yes, as a Shinobi he had basic medical training, but he was sure that this went very much past his limited skill. Touya sighed as he tried to come to a descion. After a moment, he just decided to proceed as though this was nothing more than a common fever and possible head injury.

He went to a small, hidden cupboard that was right over the sickbed of the woman. He pulled out a cloth and wet it with cool water. He then proceeded to place it on the girl's brow to cool her down. She shuddered and moaned slightly as it made contact, but made no further movements.

Once again, Touya didn't know what to do. Administering more medicine could worsen her condition. Or doing nothing could also make her worse or even kill her. He didn't want to cause any more harm, but what could he do? After an internal war with himself, he decided to just wait and handle whatever problems arose.

The young ice master sat across from his patient with his back against the wall and his knees up against his chest. Today's events were finally catching up to the petite boy. He felt himself dozing off and could not rouse himself. His eyes were closing and slumber was covering his eyes with her warm and sweet embrace.

MEANWHILE:

The girl on the cot was struggling in a field of blue. There was nothing more important than breaking out, because if she didn't then she was lost. Stuck in limbo forever.

The girl continued to battle against the weight and at last seemed to be making some headway. Now, she could see a bright light in front of her. Despite all warning that anyone with common sense would have told her, she ran forward into the light.

And she made it to the light. Her body melted right through it as if it did not even exist. But then came the awful, frightening, and constricting feelings of being unable to breathe. She was drowning. She was dying. It was going to be the end of her.

That thought managed to activate her fighting senses. She swam, kicked, fought, and clawed until she hit the proverbial surface. Her large green eyes flew wide open and she sucked in a large gulp of air.

BACK TO THE PRESENT:

The girl knew one very important thing from all of her many experiences. Always survey your surroundings, and you could have the upper hand later. So, she lowered her lids so tha it would seem like she was still asleep. Her eyes roved the room, trying to determine where she was located and who had brought her there.

From the rock walls and cot that she was lying on, it was easy to determine that she was inside of a cave. The gurgling of a spring also showed that she was probably underground, but not very far under.

That's when her eeyes landed on the small figure that was curled up in the corner. It was a petite young man with bright blue hair and a green bang that hung in his face.

One would think that a normal woman would be screaming bloody murder. However, this was not the case of this girl. No, she was utterly calm and composed in every single way. What little apprehension that she had had evaporated when the small man called out in his sleep. "Jin!" he sighed.

"He's not here, I'm afraid," the girl responded, her voice a clear alto that seemed to chime like the tinkling of bells.

Touya's eyes flew open as soon as his brain processed the voie. Before he could even think, he was on his feet with an ice sword in his hand. Thankfully, his brain was fully on befroe he could cause any serious harm to anyone. "Ah, you're awake I see," he commented. He may have lowered his sword, but his posture did not relax. He knew too much about demons to trust a pretty face.

"I am," she replied. "I'd like to know: where am I?"

Touya considered it for a moment. It was a fair question, but this could lead to problems for others later. "You're safe and at the moment that's all that really matters," he said a bit more sharply then he had intended to.

"Yes, and I suppose I have you to thank for that," the girl replied just as sharply. She understood that he was somewhat upset, but that did not excuse his tone and she was not going to take it from anyone.

The ice demon calmed down a bit as he realized that he had been overly harsh. It wasn't her fault that she was here. "I saved you if that's what you mean."

"Thank you. Though I suppose you'd like some answers in return for your gracious kindness."

This was what the man had been waiting for. He had questions that needed answering, and maybe just maybe this wouldn't blow up in his face. "Who are you? What have you done with Kurama?"

The girl giggled quietly, and Touya felt left out. Like there was some hidden joke that was really about him. "Your nose is not very sharp, is it little ice master?"

"As sharp as any demon's and sharper than quite a few."

"Then take in my scent, Touya. You'll see that I have not done anything to Kurama. I am, in fact, Kurama also known as Suichi Minamino."

Touya's blue eyes widened. This couldn't be Kurama. The Kurama that he knew was clearly masculine in every way. No one would ever classify him as anything else.

Perhaps the only way to know the truth was to use his nose. The boy sniffed delicately. Kurama's scent was that of fox with a large overlay of roses and other sweet smelling plants. But this girl's scent... This scent was the same. Except for the fact that there was more of a flowery smell and much less fox in it. The scents matched. That girl... she really was Kurama. "Kurama!" he gasped. "It really is you. How did this happen?"

"Pollution. Its evil is not just inflicted upon humans anymore. Toxins tainted the plant of Dreams and Desires and got to me."

"The Plant of Dreams and Desires? I've never heard of it. What does it do?" the boy asked. He could feel himself being drawn into something. Something important that centered around a certain fox.

"Yes. You've heards of the River of Dreams and Desires, correct?" Kurama paused to allow her friend to nod. "Well, this is very similar though it is a thousand times more potent. This seemingly simple plant can actually bring both your dreams and desires to life."

The ice master's eyes widened. A plant that cna bring your dreams to reality? If anyone else had said it, then he wouldn't have believed a word of it. But this was Kurama. He was one of the two exceptions to almost every rule. "I've never heard of it. You'd think that every demon in Demon World would be after it."

"Correct," she praised. This teaching type of behavior was her element. And luckily, she had a lecture. "It's not well known. This particular plant is nearly impossible to find."

"Why is that?" he wondered. After all, Kurama had found it with ease. And with its distinctive look, it should be almost impossible to confuse with another.

"The plant looks different to each person. And every ttime you see it, it will look different depending on the mood, time of day, thoughts of the person etc." Kurama explained. "To find the plant one must bathe and drink of the rivers and be completely one with nature. The next day when you wake up, it will lead you right to the plant."

"Interesting," the ice demon nodded, while filing all of this away for later. Something was telling him that he would probably need it. "What did the plant look like to you?"

"The petals were bright red, heart-shaped, and seemed to be made of rubies. When angled towards the sun, the whole thing looked like it was on fire," she murmered, her eyes in a place that was very far away from the cave. A place in the forest where she had last been.

"Mmmm," Touya murmered. There was something that he wanted to say. But he didn't want to mention it in case the girl wasn't feeling as good as she seemed to be. Though, he couldn't help but think that this description seemed like a mixture of both Hiei and the fox.

"Now, may I ask: where are we?" the girl demanded. She had asked once and been thrown off, but this time she was determined to get answers.

"We're in an old Shinobi hideout. Jin and I used to stay here a lot after the tournament. It's a rather large cave that leads back to a cool spring," he explained. "Now, may I ask you another question?"

"I'm sure that you would even if I declined." At this point, Kurama was very tired of answering questions. She could feel exhaustion sinking into her worn down bones.

"Can we get you back to normal?" the boy blurted. Sitting there talking to a girl was... different. As a shinobi and even after, they had had little contact with females. In fact, it was somewhat frowned upon. Besides, why would he need feminine company in his line of work?

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" the girl sighed. She didn't want to toell anyone her biggest secret, but it looked like she had to. Or rather she needed to if she ever wanted even the slightest peace of mind. Besides she would need the help of another rather intelligent person who could keep their mouth shut if necessary.

"What haven't I figured out?" Touya demanded angrily. He hated not knowing what was going on. He hated to know that his foxy friend kept secrets from him. It was so... awful in a way.

"This is normal. This is how I'm supposed to be." The fox paused, allowing Touya a moment to comprehend what she was saying.

"So, who is Youko Kurama?" he demanded.

"He's a legedary fox theif. But before him was another theif who never got caught. Our name was Youka Kurama. I was amazing." Youka's eyes were alight with memories of the past. The thrill of the hunt and the theft. Like a constant high that she could never come down off of.

"Why did Youka become Youko?" The ice demon was in shock. The strongest man that he knew was in fact a woman and had always been so.

"That is a secret that I plan to keep close to my ample chest for now."

"I respect that. We all have our secrets." And no one knew that better than the young ice master. It was one of the few principals that truly governed his life and had done so forever.

"Hmm. Now, I'm somewhat curious. What's your secret?" Kurama asked, knowing that she was not going to get an answer. Only a fool would willingly reveal their deepest secret, and Touya was not a fool by any means.

"You don't expect an answer." She didn't.

"No, I didn't," she smirked. "Now I'm going to take a nap." The whole while she was fighting back a yawn. Her body was shutting down to heal itself. In a few seconds, she was going to crash.

"Okay. I'll go find us some dinner," And Touya stood up, stretching out his muscles. He ran out of the cave, his mind full of topsy-turvy thoughts and conflicting ideas. All the while, Kurama was snoring gently on her warm little cot.

A/n:

Whoo-hoo! Chapter 6! I hope that it was good and I hope that you guys really enjoyed it.

I'm going to keep udating as soon as I possibly can which isn't very often because of computer issues, AP classes, and Band. Hopefully I'll get it worked out soon.

Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .

Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!

Yours truly, madly, and deeply,

Einstinette