The tiny kitsune cowered under a fern-covered outcropping of rock, shivering in fear. She whined, watching wide-eyed the battle playing out before her.
Sumi's eyes snapped open as she shot upright in bed. The sheets lay crumpled on the floor where she had kicked them. It had all been a dream...sighing, Sumi lay back, staring at the ceiling. In her mind's eye, she replayed the sequence; a woman of fire locked in combat with a handsome warrior possessing the shadow of an eight-eyed pig. It had been a deadlock; the man had countered the woman's fire with rain and concealed himself with mists and clouds. Opposites. The youko vixen spent the remainder of the night in her own thoughts.
* * *
Kuwabara stretched, running a hand through his orange hair. This was *not* how he had planned to spend his time in Hawaii. The youth looked over at his tall sister and the delicate figure topped with sea-green hair standing next to her and felt his face heat. The young psychic *knew* that what he felt for the ice maiden was more than a schoolboy's crush; this was *true love*. He scowled; now all he had to do was find a way to tell the object of his affections - and avoid getting skewered in the process by her - understandably - irate and over-protective brother.
Kuwabara allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk. Granted, he could be dense at times (not very often, but even the Great Kuwabara Kazuma was only human), but not THAT dense. It had taken him awhile to put two and two together, but he'd eventually come up with four; it was hard to miss when they stood next to each other. He *was* psychic, after all. Still, it was safer to play dumb; youkai tended to underestimate him, giving him the slight edge needed for his awesome skill to overcome them. It paid off; Kurama knew he knew more than he let on, and so did Sumi and a few others. Kuwabara didn't understand what drew the youko to his bad-tempered partner, but he couldn't fault his choice of the women in his life.
Speaking of the youko...Kuwabara glanced impatiently at his watch. Kurama was never late unless something urgent had come up; Minamino Shuuichi was punctual to the dot. Or he had been, until he'd gotten involved with Hiei - not that Kuwabara *really* wanted to know. He noticed Yuusuke drumming his fingers impatiently as he sat with Keiko on a lobby couch. It was late, and Kuwabara was getting worried. He was about to speak up, but Yuusuke beat him to it.
"K'so!" The Tantei stood, beginning to pace. "What's taking those two so long?!" The glares of the girls quieted his outburst. "Uh, nevermind."
"Iya, Yuusuke-kun is right," Sumi cut in, a hint of anxiety coloring her voice. "It's not like Kurama-kun to be so late for something this important." Not if it concerned his lover, was the unspoken ending.
"Hiei-san too," Yukina chimed in, her ruby eyes wide. The Koorime seemed ill at ease, darting glances at the entranceways as if expecting someone to walk in on their group.
"I think I'll go check on them," Sumireina announced, rising.
Shizuru smirked. "Be discreet, ne? You don't want to catch them...occupied." Yuusuke made a small noise, quickly smothered as Keiko drove her elbow into his stomach. "Why don't you take Yuusuke along? I'm sure the change of scenery will do him good."
The youko nodded, adjusting the flower over her right ear as she strode to the door of the two missing Tantei. Briskly, she removed a lock pick from her a pocket of her jeans and jimmied open the lock.
She and Yuusuke staggered back, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of heat that flowed from the open door. Gasping for air, Sumi and Yuusuke dashed into the room, struggling to overcome the incredible temperature that was turning the hallway into an oven. "Kurama," she cried, spying the kitsune.
The redhead was unconscious, unable to withstand the heat emanating from the tiny form on the bed. Hiei was curled into a ball, whimpers escaping his throat, obviously in the throes of a nightmare. While Yuusuke checked on his teammates, Sumi rushed to open the windows and lanai door. The airing helped somewhat; going into the bathroom, she turned on the shower. A quick burst of youki, and a bubble of icy water took shape. Guiding it carefully, the blond youko moved it out over the unconscious pair and released.
Hiei bolted awake, his crimson eyes wide, reflecting emotions still in turmoil from his dream. Just as quickly they were gone, hidden behind his customary mask of cold indifference. His intense gaze came to rest on the redhead just beginning to stir in the cradle of Yuusuke's arms; in a whisper of displaced air, he was at Kurama's side. Wordlessly, Yuusuke handed to youko to him, maintaining a respectful silence for once.
Kurama's eyelids fluttered open, dazed emerald orbs looking up at Hiei in confusion. "Hiei?" he murmured, puzzled. "What happened?"
"We found you unconscious, and Hiei here trying to turn into a living furnace," Yuusuke answered for the Koorime. "It looked like a pretty intense nightmare."
"Hiei?" Kurama looked up at his lover in askance.
"I dreamt of Pele." The admission was grudging.
Kurama sat up, the dark youkai making no move to stop him. "She wants you, ne?" At Hiei's nod, the youko continued fiercely, "Well, she can't have you." A slender hand moved to clasp one of Hiei's, deep green eyes flashing possessively.
Yuusuke coughed diffidently, dispelling the sudden tension in the air. "I take it there's gonna be a delay in plans?"
Sumi gave him a repressive look. "Why don't you go tell the others about the change in plans?" she suggested. "Botan-chan and I can make a report to Koenma."
The young Tantei shrugged and went off on his errand. Sumi turned her attention to the lovers. "You still look a bit pale, Kurama-kun," she observed. "Hiei, take him down to the beach to cool off," she ordered.
Surprisingly, the dark youkai gave in without a word of protest, pulling his fox to his feet and heading out the lanai door, and arm snaked around the taller boy's slender waist. Sumi watched them go, her thoughts racing. In the moments before she had doused them with water, she had noticed something disturbing; Hiei had been sweating.
Sumi's eyes snapped open as she shot upright in bed. The sheets lay crumpled on the floor where she had kicked them. It had all been a dream...sighing, Sumi lay back, staring at the ceiling. In her mind's eye, she replayed the sequence; a woman of fire locked in combat with a handsome warrior possessing the shadow of an eight-eyed pig. It had been a deadlock; the man had countered the woman's fire with rain and concealed himself with mists and clouds. Opposites. The youko vixen spent the remainder of the night in her own thoughts.
* * *
Kuwabara stretched, running a hand through his orange hair. This was *not* how he had planned to spend his time in Hawaii. The youth looked over at his tall sister and the delicate figure topped with sea-green hair standing next to her and felt his face heat. The young psychic *knew* that what he felt for the ice maiden was more than a schoolboy's crush; this was *true love*. He scowled; now all he had to do was find a way to tell the object of his affections - and avoid getting skewered in the process by her - understandably - irate and over-protective brother.
Kuwabara allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk. Granted, he could be dense at times (not very often, but even the Great Kuwabara Kazuma was only human), but not THAT dense. It had taken him awhile to put two and two together, but he'd eventually come up with four; it was hard to miss when they stood next to each other. He *was* psychic, after all. Still, it was safer to play dumb; youkai tended to underestimate him, giving him the slight edge needed for his awesome skill to overcome them. It paid off; Kurama knew he knew more than he let on, and so did Sumi and a few others. Kuwabara didn't understand what drew the youko to his bad-tempered partner, but he couldn't fault his choice of the women in his life.
Speaking of the youko...Kuwabara glanced impatiently at his watch. Kurama was never late unless something urgent had come up; Minamino Shuuichi was punctual to the dot. Or he had been, until he'd gotten involved with Hiei - not that Kuwabara *really* wanted to know. He noticed Yuusuke drumming his fingers impatiently as he sat with Keiko on a lobby couch. It was late, and Kuwabara was getting worried. He was about to speak up, but Yuusuke beat him to it.
"K'so!" The Tantei stood, beginning to pace. "What's taking those two so long?!" The glares of the girls quieted his outburst. "Uh, nevermind."
"Iya, Yuusuke-kun is right," Sumi cut in, a hint of anxiety coloring her voice. "It's not like Kurama-kun to be so late for something this important." Not if it concerned his lover, was the unspoken ending.
"Hiei-san too," Yukina chimed in, her ruby eyes wide. The Koorime seemed ill at ease, darting glances at the entranceways as if expecting someone to walk in on their group.
"I think I'll go check on them," Sumireina announced, rising.
Shizuru smirked. "Be discreet, ne? You don't want to catch them...occupied." Yuusuke made a small noise, quickly smothered as Keiko drove her elbow into his stomach. "Why don't you take Yuusuke along? I'm sure the change of scenery will do him good."
The youko nodded, adjusting the flower over her right ear as she strode to the door of the two missing Tantei. Briskly, she removed a lock pick from her a pocket of her jeans and jimmied open the lock.
She and Yuusuke staggered back, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of heat that flowed from the open door. Gasping for air, Sumi and Yuusuke dashed into the room, struggling to overcome the incredible temperature that was turning the hallway into an oven. "Kurama," she cried, spying the kitsune.
The redhead was unconscious, unable to withstand the heat emanating from the tiny form on the bed. Hiei was curled into a ball, whimpers escaping his throat, obviously in the throes of a nightmare. While Yuusuke checked on his teammates, Sumi rushed to open the windows and lanai door. The airing helped somewhat; going into the bathroom, she turned on the shower. A quick burst of youki, and a bubble of icy water took shape. Guiding it carefully, the blond youko moved it out over the unconscious pair and released.
Hiei bolted awake, his crimson eyes wide, reflecting emotions still in turmoil from his dream. Just as quickly they were gone, hidden behind his customary mask of cold indifference. His intense gaze came to rest on the redhead just beginning to stir in the cradle of Yuusuke's arms; in a whisper of displaced air, he was at Kurama's side. Wordlessly, Yuusuke handed to youko to him, maintaining a respectful silence for once.
Kurama's eyelids fluttered open, dazed emerald orbs looking up at Hiei in confusion. "Hiei?" he murmured, puzzled. "What happened?"
"We found you unconscious, and Hiei here trying to turn into a living furnace," Yuusuke answered for the Koorime. "It looked like a pretty intense nightmare."
"Hiei?" Kurama looked up at his lover in askance.
"I dreamt of Pele." The admission was grudging.
Kurama sat up, the dark youkai making no move to stop him. "She wants you, ne?" At Hiei's nod, the youko continued fiercely, "Well, she can't have you." A slender hand moved to clasp one of Hiei's, deep green eyes flashing possessively.
Yuusuke coughed diffidently, dispelling the sudden tension in the air. "I take it there's gonna be a delay in plans?"
Sumi gave him a repressive look. "Why don't you go tell the others about the change in plans?" she suggested. "Botan-chan and I can make a report to Koenma."
The young Tantei shrugged and went off on his errand. Sumi turned her attention to the lovers. "You still look a bit pale, Kurama-kun," she observed. "Hiei, take him down to the beach to cool off," she ordered.
Surprisingly, the dark youkai gave in without a word of protest, pulling his fox to his feet and heading out the lanai door, and arm snaked around the taller boy's slender waist. Sumi watched them go, her thoughts racing. In the moments before she had doused them with water, she had noticed something disturbing; Hiei had been sweating.