DOWN THE BONE-EATER'S WELL
2: Shattered Jewel

"Spirit Gun!"

"No!"

Kurama's incredulous shout came too late. A bright beam of blue energy streaked out of Yusuke's index finger, shooting directly for the demon standing on the tree branch above them.

The beam squarely struck the egg-sized purple gem the demon held. The demon let out a startled yelp and fell backwards. A cloud of dirt and leaves grew as the loud thump of his landing reached Yusuke's ears.

"Hah!" Yusuke said, turning to give his companion a victorious smile. "I hit him!"

His companion's demeanour couldn't have been more different from his own. Kurama's cute little fox ears were flattened so close to his head that they had vanished into his thick mane of long red hair. His face had a sickly pallor.

Yusuke clapped his shoulder. "Hey, come on," he said reassuringly. "Let's go get your jewel, okay?"

Kurama swayed like a prayer in the wind. He leaned heavily against the tree trunk.

"Yusuke…" he said. His tone was tired and resigned.

An animalistic growl came from behind him. Yusuke spun to face the demon, who had crawled out of the crater his landing had left in the forest floor. Red eyes glared hatefully at him.

"You fucking stupid human," the demon hissed. "You've fucked all of us!"

"Huh?" Yusuke repeated, dumbfounded. An uneasy feeling grew heavy in his gut. He couldn't manage another Spirit Gun blast. Not today. Probably not tomorrow, either. Kurama could hold his own against demons, sure, but he wasn't looking so good right now.

Besides, Yusuke only had Kurama's word to go by about his capabilities. So far, Kurama hadn't demonstrated said capabilities. For all Yusuke knew, Kurama might have been exaggerating, though Yusuke didn't think that he was that sort of person. Demon. Whatever.

"The jewel, you idiot!" the demon snarled. "The fox's jewel! You shattered it!"

"I… what?" Yusuke pulled his eyes away from the demon and quickly scanned his surroundings. The demon's hands were empty. One of them was blistered and smoking. There was no sign of the jewel. Not on the demon and not on the ground.

"I couldn't have," Yusuke protested. There was no way that it was that fragile… right?

"You did."

The confirmation came from behind him. Kurama still leaned against the tree, his hair shadowing his face in an unruly curtain.

Kurama cracked a tiny, bitter smile. "It seems that all your practice has finally paid off," he said. "If you were aiming for our foe, then you were very close. If you were aiming for the jewel, you hit it dead on."

Yusuke searched his unnaturally pretty face for a lie but didn't see it. He turned back to the demon, who stood with arms crossed over his black cloak, his eyes burning with fury.

"Fucking idiot," he repeated, before disappearing. A blast of wind and flutter of disrupted foliage was all he left behind.

Kurama lowered his eyes to the ground, his arm cradling his abdomen. One hand remained pressed to the bark of the tree, as if he needed the support. His eyes slid resignedly closed beneath his bangs.

"Well, shit," Yusuke said.

Several hours later, under the cover of darkness, Yusuke sat down beside Kurama on the low stone wall that marked the village's border. Tall, dark trees loomed meters away. It was hard for Yusuke to believe that, five hundred years in the future, this would be his home. That his family would live here, guardians of the shrine of a timeless tree.

The same tree that had trapped a kitsune's spirit for fifty years.

Yusuke glanced sideways at his new friend. Kurama stared into the trees, his expression like the sun hidden behind clouds. Yusuke couldn't guess at what he was thinking. His fox ears were erect, as if Kurama were listening to the whispers of the trees.

Kurama looked damn good for someone older than fifty. Yusuke had no idea how old he actually was, but it was certainly much older than the sixteen years he appeared to be.

Kurama hadn't been clear about how he ended up in the tree, or how his jewel had gotten inside the body of a human teenager from the future. He also hadn't been clear about why the little black-haired fire-wielding dragon demon with the freaky purple extra eye was hunting him and the jewel. He hadn't been clear on much of anything, except that the jewel was his and that Yusuke had to help him get it back from the demon who had stolen it.

He'd also been quite clear that Yusuke possessed spiritual powers, and then had gone on to help Yusuke unlock them.

But how had he known all of that? Kurama refused to say.

"You okay, buddy?" Yusuke asked him, nudging his shoulder gently with his own.

Kurama turned an earthly green gaze on him.

"I am tired," he said.

"Is that because of the jewel?" Yusuke asked warily. Just how badly had he fucked up today? Had shattering the jewel genuinely harmed Kurama?

"In part," Kurama said evasively. "Being trapped inside a tree for such a long time has done my health no favours either." His eyes narrowed. "But I do need that jewel back, Yusuke. It is a part of me. Without it, I will never regain my full strength."

"Well…" Yusuke poked his finger in his ear, his expression colouring into embarrassment. Truthfully, he'd already made up his mind about what he planned to do, but actually voicing his decision out loud to the kitsune made it irrevocable. "I guess I'll have to help you get it back," he said.

Shock flared in Kurama's eyes. "You will?" he asked.

Yusuke nodded, a pleased smile forming on his lips. "Yeah," he said. "We'll beat that shrimp to it, no problem."

"Yusuke… it may not be that simple," Kurama said. His eyes dropped to his hands, folded atop the fabric of his old-fashioned kimono. "Hiei will not be the only demon seeking my hoshi no tama. Other demons will seize the opportunity to steal a kitsune's power."

Yusuke's hopeful mood dimmed at Kurama's revelation. Dealing with that short fire-freak was one thing, but dealing with other demons? Demons who were perhaps stronger?

Yusuke was only human, despite the fact that he, apparently, had spiritual power. Kurama was weakened, though he insisted that he could still be useful in a fight.

Could they take on an unknown number of demons together?

"I would not blame you for reconsidering," Kurama said quietly.

Yusuke felt sick. Kurama was offering him an escape route. But, damn, he couldn't take it.

"Nah," he said. "I ain't gonna change my mind. I'm not scared of any demon." He lifted his hand, pointing his index finger up into the air. "I'll get so strong that I'll be able to take out a demon army with one blast," he said.

Kurama laughed, the sound reminiscent of the chimes that hung over the porch of Yusuke's home. Then his expression turned melancholy.

"You remind me of… he would have said much the same," Kurama said, his voice as wistful as the last leaves of autumn.

"Who?" Yusuke asked curiously.

Kurama smiled sadly at him. His eyes were far away, as if he were seeing someone else in Yusuke's place. Or seeing into another time altogether.

"Never mind," he said.