I stepped into the dimly lit lounge of Mr. Daichi's store and strung the rainwater from my hair.
"Oh, good! You're here!" Mr. Daichi called from his back "office". I slowly emerged in his doorway to see laboratory equipment spread across his work desks. He was studying a slide in a telescope when he waved me over.
I tiptoed up behind him studying the various flasks and beakers, "What are you doing?"
"Oh!" He jumped up as if he hadn't noticed me until just then and gave a nervous chuckle, "Nothing! Nothing at all!" He waved me over to the couch and took off his goggles. "What've we got today?"
"That's rather fickle of you," I monotoned as I pulled out a sack of white powder from my pocket. "Pre-scaled Eight balls."
"Excellent!" Mr. Daichi cheered as I handed him his stash. "Wait, why am I fickle?" his face went flat and kind of sad.
I couldn't fight the smirk caused by my drug-addicted, pirate mentor and ignored the question. I went towards the mini lab again, "What is that god awful smell?"
"Oh, yes!" Mr. Daichi scurried back over to his concoctions. "Your lovely little mafia boss offered me a good wad of money for an array of explosives! It's been so long since I've built a bomb worthy or terrorism! I'm having so much fun…" You could hear the giggle in his tone as he checked a few of the jars.
I stared at him for a second, "Seriously?"
"Ah, yes!" I wasn't sure if he was replying to me or himself. He jumped a little and picked up a few of the bottles and brought them to another table then brought a box to the table as well. He maneuvered the tiny space like he worked with each piece of equipment every day with grace and speed. I stepped closer to watch curiously. "I'm testing the gunpowder to see which 'boom' effect Tatsuhiro would enjoy the most."
"At least you aim to please," I grumbled.
"Always!" he cheered excitedly as he made a miniature explosion in his hands.
I spent the rest of the evening in Explosives 101.
The spider made an interesting growl.
"Pardon me if I make this quick," Yusuke grinned as his hand started to glow. The demon spider leapt up and came at Yusuke. He punched a hole through the spider's abdomen. The spider fell back and squirmed a bit then stopped moving.
"Nice hook!" Botan complimented.
"Thanks. If this detective thing doesn't work, maybe I can try exterminating," Yusuke joked. I couldn't help but laugh. We continued down the path for another hour or so.
"Hey guys," I said after a while of silence. They stopped and looked back to me. I laughed a little. "No need to stop," I waved off, "I just wanted to let you guys know that it's getting dark."
"Oh, goodness! You're right!" Botan replied. "Should we stop and get some rest, boys?"
"That sounds great!" the lazy Yusuke accepted.
"Do we get to build a fire and roast marshmallows?" Kuwabara asked.
"A fire's a good idea, but I didn't bring any marshmallows," Botan sweatdropped. We found a nice clearing and the boys tried to build a fire but it kept going out.
I sighed and went over to them, "Mind if I try?"
"Good luck," Yusuke replied sarcastically and backed away.
I rearranged the logs and added more pine straw. I found my lighter (yes I still carried a lighter even though I had quit several months before) and lit the pine straw. Within half a minute the fire had erupted three feet into the air and I sat back satisfied.
"How in the hell did you do that?!" Yusuke retorted.
"It's a gift, not a skill," I replied coolly with a grin.
"A.K.A. pyromaniac," Yusuke whispered towards Kuwabara.
I shook my head and lied down, looking at the sky. There were so many stars! You were lucky to point out ten in the city, but out here they were countless. The boys chatted for a while then went to sleep. As they were chatting I noticed Hiei's presence was almost directly above us. He had caught up. I looked around for a bit but gave up and tried to get some sleep.
In the morning, Botan and I woke up to the sun rising and eventually shook the boys awake.
"Yukina!" I thought I heard and snapped my head in the direction it came from.
"Did you hear something?" Botan asked us. Hiei and I made eye contact.
"No," Yusuke barked grumpily, "Would you get up Kuwabara?!"
Kuwabara finally sat up and I adverted my gaze from Hiei as to keep his location secret from the others. He obviously didn't want us to know he was there. Kuwabara yawned and stretched then looked towards Hiei who vanished at that moment. I could still sense him near by however.
We eventually headed out. It wasn't long before we ran into a bump. Six demons jumped out at us. Kuwabara made his sword and Yusuke and I took to fists. We each knocked out two in less than a minute. I was proud to say I could keep up with them even with me lack of spirit power.
Kuwabara took out the last few, "Piece of cake!"
"Why are they even bothering with the wimps?" Yusuke asked rhetorically.
"They're desperate," Botan offered, "We're very close to Yukina."
"Yeah," Kuwabara strapped a white ribbon around his forehead, "Let's go!"
We sweatdropped. "What in the world are you tying to your head?" Botan asked.
Kuwabara looked off determinedly, "The Great Fighting Headband of Love!"
"Right…" Yusuke replied. I laughed.
Six more demons charged at us, "And all those guys there hate love! They want to try and keep me from my Yukina!" Kuwabara took out his spirit sword again and started slicing them, "Step aside, evil-doers!"
"You're not going to be the only hero!" Yusuke shouted and charged after him and started knowing out demons as well. Botan and I looked at each other and shrugged. Yusuke knocked out the giant guy. "Giving me the bigger target, aw, thanks!" We shook our heads bemused and continued walking.
Kuwabara ran ahead and stopped at the next clearing, "There's the stronghold."
"It's the same as the video," Botan reminded us, "Yukina must be in that tower."
"Hold on my darling, your brave man is coming," Kuwabara started marching forward.
I rolled my eyes, Well that's starting to get old.
Botan put a hand on Yusuke's shoulder, "Take care of him, the compass is getting interference from three very strong demons. Don't let him rush in blindly," Botan took a few steps away from us and created a wooden oar out of thin air. "I'll go airborne and try to sneak a peek," she hopped on and flew away, "Don't worry about me!"
Yusuke and I caught up to Kuwabara. "What do you think? Botan says it's going to be three nasty demons against little ol' us," Yusuke reiterated.
"It sounds good to me," Kuwabara replied with a small, confident grin that Yusuke mirrored. "This missions' felt different from the very start. It's like I've become invincible."
"Rhea?" Yusuke addressed his question to me.
"Sure," I replied, "Just one thing."
"What's that?" Yusuke asked.
"I smell gunpowder. I'm assuming they have landmines surrounding the property," I informed them.
"How… do you know that?" Yusuke asked confused.
"Let's just say I learned to point those details out long before I met you or Kurama," I replied vaguely.
"Well," Yusuke replied with a confident grin, "Let's go."
We walked a little ways before I saw one of the mines poorly hidden in the dirt, "Stop," I tried to warn the boys.
Yusuke stopped, "What is it? The mines?"
"I don't see any mines," Kuwabara continued to walk.
I ran and grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him hard enough to send him flying back behind me before his foot stomped on it. "We're in my area of expertise now, Kuwabara. If you want to keep your limbs intact, I suggest you listen to me." I took off my hoodie and fanned the dirt and leaves away from the landmine that almost ended Kuwabara.
"Oh, man," Kuwabara gulped. "You weren't kidding."
"No," I replied shortly.
"Well, what do we do?" Yusuke asked.
I looked around, "We can see the wall around the premises of the estate. These landmines probably run along the wall," I theorized. "Judging by this one, and the one you're standing next to, they'll cause a chain reaction because they're so close together."
"Okay… and?" Yusuke pressed.
"We can set something up to cause a reaction here after we find an entrance. That way they'll think we're somewhere else trapped among these mines when we're really strolling up to the building," I offered a plan I made up on the spot. "It'll at least buy us enough time to get inside the estate."
"I like the way you think!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"Yusuke," I replied cynically.
"Yeah?"
"You're standing next to a landmine."
He looked down and jumped back making a funny noise. I rolled my eyes. We walked a few yards away from the landmines then followed the wall at that distance until we found what appeared to be the main entrance.
"Kuwabara," Yusuke nodded to his dimwitted friend.
Kuwabara held out his hand, "Sword, get long!" he cheered and his spirit sword grew until it tapped the landmine he had almost stepped on minutes before. The mine immediately blew up and set off two more, and so on causing the estimated chain reaction. The bombs also blew up in front of the main entrance and we shielded our faces from the initial impact of hot gusts and dirt.
"Well," Yusuke laughed, "Anyone up for walking through a wall of fire?"
"Yeah!" Kuwabara replied excitedly.
"Rhea-"
"I'll stay between you guys," I said bashfully with a worried smile. We walked through the wall of fire; Yusuke and Kuwabara's energies flared out to protect us from the flames. On the other side, we spotted Botan. Yusuke gave her a thumbs up and she flew down to rejoin us.
"What on earth?" She asked worriedly.
"Rhea discovered some landmines so we figured we'd play with them," Yusuke joked. Botan laughed nervously as we walked towards the building.
"Wow, I guess you were right," Kuwabara addressed me, "There's no one coming to stop us."
"They probably have something planned inside," I retorted calmly.
Yusuke pushed open the front door, "Honey! I'm home! Where's my dinner?" Botan and I rolled our eyes and followed behind Kuwabara and Yusuke.
"Purple carpet," I noted aloud, "Nice touch to the gaudy, gold molding." Botan giggled and the boys rolled their eyes. We walked down a hallway until the compass on Botan's wrist started beeping. Yusuke pushed open the doors to reveal another hallway.
A woman in a red, traditional Japanese outfit appeared. She was pale with blue hair and a horn in the middle of her forehead. "Hello there, intruders. My name is Miyuki. How'd you like a fight?" We stared at her.
This bitch…
"Which of you strapping lads will I have the pleasure of fighting first?" She narrowed her seductive eyes.
"No way!" Kuwabara took a step back, "You are a girl! We can't fight girls, it's against my code. Come on, Urameshi, let's just walk past her."
"Thanks, Kuwabara," I deadpanned.
"Oh, a gentleman," Miyuki coed sarcastically. "A pawn of insecure males seeking to own their women."
"Woah, woah!" Kuwabara threw his hands up in defense, "I don't know anything about that, ok? Guys just don't fight girls."
"I'll fight with you," Yusuke stepped forward.
"Urameshi, are you serious?!" Kuwabara retorted.
"She's a fighter and she's trying to get in our way! I don't care if she's a girl, or a baby, or somebody's grandmother. I'll still knock her out," Yusuke walked forward.
"Oh, I love your style," Miyuki purred and jumped backward and raised her fists, "It's an equal playing field and anything goes."
"But let me check first to make sure," Yusuke replied and leapt to attack.
"Oh god," I grumbled.
Miyuki landed a few feet in front of us and Yusuke was at the other end of the hall. "You pervert! What was that?" Miyuki yelled back to him.
"Now I know," Yusuke replied with a smirk.
"Hey, uh, I don't get it, what just happened?" Kuwabara blinked.
"Hey!" Yusuke shouted, ""Lady! You've got no chance of winning this fight."
"Oh! Shut it!" She yelled back to him and pulled a piece of her hair out. It turned into a whip. She charged at Yusuke but he jumped out of the way, landing on his ass. "You never would have done that if I were a man!" Miyuki called from the far end of the hall as Yusuke stood up. Miyuki's whip wrapped around Yusuke's neck and dragged him to the ground.
"What does she mean by that?" Botan asked.
"I don't know," Kuwabara replied as we watched Yusuke struggle on the ground. Then it dawned on him. "Oh my gosh, I'm pretty sure he grabbed Miyuki's uh," Kuwabara stumbled. "Well it serves you right to get choked, Urameshi!" he scolded.
Miyuki jumped up and knocked a hole in the ceiling and used it as a perch. She started reeling in the whip causing Yusuke to hang.
"Maybe he should try apologizing to her," Kuwabara teased.
"Oh, be quiet," Botan retorted. "Rhea, can you help him?"
"Me?" I asked innocently, "Well, technically, yes, I can. But spectating is proving to be far more entertaining."
Yusuke groveled a bit, "Well if you wanted to hang out together, you should have just asked." He started swinging and kicked another hole in the ceiling as he got out of the choke-hold. They disappeared into the ceiling. "Hello!... Hey, where are you going?!... Let's hang out!" We heard Yusuke taunting.
Miyuki came smashing through the ceiling and hit the ground as Yusuke landed behind her. Miyuki growled and ran at Yusuke again. Yusuke punched her in the chest and she hit the ground again.
Kuwabara howled, "Urameshi! How can you keep hitting a girl like that? I mean, you even hit her in the ta-tas!"
"Give me a break!" Yusuke retorted, "You want me to stand still while she reams me?"
"I… don't know! All I'm saying is boys aren't allowed to hit girls!"
I shot him a death glare, "I'll give you a reason to hit a girl if you don't shut the fuck up," I threatened.
"We're both fighters! Why the hell does it make a difference?!" Yusuke argued as Miyuki advanced again. Yusuke round kicked her into the wall. Kuwabara ran up to Yusuke. Botan and I followed silently. "You yell way too much," Yusuke greeted.
"Ok, that's it," Kuwabara yelled, "You and me gotta duke it out right now so I don't get nauseous." Kuwabara held his fists up, "Even if she was attacking you, you don't have to knock her head through a wall, you bully!"
"Fine," Yusuke gave in, "I wasn't going to tell you this 'cause I still don't think it matters, but look closely. It turns out our misses is a mister." Kuwabara and Botan made some noises as they studied the fallen Miyuki.
Botan stepped closer, "Oh…!"
"But… how did you… know?" Kuwabara choked.
"Well, I," Yusuke stumbled embarrassed while groping the air, "I really couldn't help but notice."
"Wait a sec…" Kuwabara thought back.
"Ok, I admit it. I was curious," Yusuke spat out. "Things didn't seem right up top and well… you know," he made a circle with his thumb and index finger and deadpanned, "The family jewels have not been stolen."
I hugged the wall laughing at his explanation, "Beautifully put, Yusuke!"
"So, fighting girls actually does bother you, so you gave her a check-up instead of attacking her," Kuwabara put together. "You're kind of a weird person, aren't you?"
Miyuki came to and tried to get up, "You think I'm a freak, don't you? That's why you're attacking so violently."
"Oh my god," I growled, "Get over yourself. The only person in this room who gives a damn what gender you are is the moron, ok? Shut the fuck up. Kuwabara, you shut the fuck up too. Yusuke, if you don't knock this bitch out, I will." Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan shrank back in fear of my wrath.
"What? You're afraid I'll rub off on you?" Miyuki responded to the recoiling of the gang. "Why can't you treat me an equal!?" She got up to attack but I was too annoyed to care who had the honors.
I grabbed her and tossed her over my head into another wall as hard as I could, "Well, I've learned my lesson for the day," I patted my hands.
"What lesson would that be?" Botan asked astounded.
"Don't send a man to do a woman's job," I deadpanned.
Weellllll... I guess I have some explaining to do. It's been a long year. School and work and living situations. and life. But in the end I've realized I should just stick to what I'm good at. Being a fuck up and a total nerd. XD
I know this chapter is nothing exciting. But I had to get back into the groove. I hope you've enjoyed reading and please review, favorite and follow! Here's to a better semester! And a better year!