Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or ideas from the original Yu Yu Yakusho, I do not own any songs that appear here either. However I do lay claim to all insert characters. Ideas, ect.

Temple Grounds

Chapter 18: Sleep and Muetre

:: Telepathy:: "speech" //thoughts// /lyrics/

Maru sat in the tree, disarming another of the arrow traps. Everyone else should have been alseep by now. But she hadn't been able to so decided to look for more of the stupid arrows.. And had found about 10 more so far. They weren't very old, and quite sensetive. The wires that triggered then were as thin as a spider's thread.. Making them pretty much invisible and hard to notice. Plus the fact that when a wire was tripped, a branch of something moved that caught the victims attention, so that they looked at the branch.. And got shot from behind..
They weren't hard to disarm but Maru had a small plan to leave a surprise should the owners happen to come along to check them.. She smiled and set back, leaning against the tree and letting her eyes close for a few moments. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Maru jumped, bolting up and blinking.. Her eyes searched along the branches then relaxed. "Hiei, I swear you'll be the death of me." Maru laughed brushing her crimson bangs out from in front of her face. "Hn." //Boy, that hasn't changed..// She rolled her eyes with a soft smile on her face. "And you're one to talk about being up. At least I've been constructive." She said rather proudly. "Doing what?" "Setting lovely little surprise for the next people that check this thing." Maru said patting the crossbow that was tied to the limb she was on. "They'll get a nice scare.. Nothing to serious though."
"Considerate." "Yeah it is isn't it."
Silence.. //Well that conversation lasted longer then the normal..// But she didn't mind. It was comforting just knowing that he was there. Her eyes looked at him. His own ruby colored orbs were closed and a good look later she knew he was dozing. Though he'd deny it at the drop of a coin. She smiled. Oh well, not like she wouldn't. Which got her thinking.. They were alike in an odd number of ways.. First being both had REALY BIG tempers.. Of course with him it was a given. He WAS a fire youkai.. Her exuse? Uh.... Good question.. Just her it seemed. They both were as she had noted, verticly challenged..
Maru giggled a little. //Yeah, but I'm shorter then he is.// She rolled her eyes and looked at him again.. He looked a far shot different then when he was awake.. Almost innocent.. Her eyes locked on his katana.. Uh huh. ALMOST innocent. But he was.. Perfect in his own way...
That brought on a blush.. Heck she turned a faint cherry color but swallowed and looked away. Crap... Since when in the seven hells did she blush?! Holy... He moved and her heart did a tail turn and skipped a beat.. But he just twitched.. //Okay Maru.. DOWN. NOW.// She chided herself for being so.. So... What was she being?
Soft? Trusting? Too girly? Acting like a human? "No.. I don't think so.." She sighed, then looked at Hiei again.. //Jeeze. Looks like I'm confused again..//
/I took my love,
and I took it down.
Climbed a mountain,
and I turned around./ It was strange.. And it wasn't until later that she even knew what feeling was bothering her so much was about.. But that night she was content just to sit there, drifting in between sleep and thoughts and just pretending that everything was easier then it was right now. That she didn't have a father to worry about. That she didn't have to worry about ever leaving.. That she didn't have to worry about the two bloods seeping through her viens.. That everything was like this. Deep and perfect.. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````
/And I saw my reflection,
In the snow covered hills.
Well the landslide brought,
Me down.
Oh mirror,
In the sky,
What is love?/ Maru awoke with a start.. Trying to shove the dream away.. God almighty.. //I hope.. That that was just horomones.. God almighty..// Who new her sleeping mind was so.. Bad... She shuddered and blinked a few times, trying to push away the images from last night.. At least.. She told herself that that was the LAST thing on earth she should be dreaming about.. Though she had enjoyed that... //Shit... No I didn't! I DID NOT ENJOY THAT!!// She yelled at her mental self..
She blinked again.. Where was she..? Tree... Ground.. Crossbow.. Oh yeah from last night.. "But where's H.." She froze then looked up, behind her right shoulder to where another limb came from the main trunk.. He was there.. Still breathing evenly and still looking as cute as... Er... //Nothing.. Crap that dream..// Maru scoffed. "Okay Maru, get it in gear here. Time to get ready before we start walking again." She grumbled punching his leg to wake him.. He jolted up, eyes wide and ready.. Then he saw it was just her. "What?"
"Easy, time to go. Jeeze. What's up with you? I woke up a full five minutes before you did." Maru said smirking at the cross look he now wore.
"Hn." "I swear you have your own language made up of grunts and huffs." She said it jokingly and laughed a small laugh before jumping out of the tree. "Watch you step. Look form any twigs on the ground. If you see them don't touch them or you'll set off the traps."
He grunted and got ready to get to the clearing by tree.. But Maru seemed to read his mind. "There are wires running all along the branches. You touch them and I'll hurt you myself if you make it through them." She said walking along, eyes darting over the ground at a rapid pace.. He followed her, paying attention to the ground as well.
Then it came. "Maru! Hiei!"
Only two people would make THAT much noise..
Only two people would be dense enough to shout here..
Only two people had that perfect of a timing..
Yep, Yusuke and Kuwabara.. Maru frowned and opened her mouth to yell back.. But a single sound caught both her's and Hiei's ears.. SNAP! Her foot had found a twig.. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````
THAT is a cliffhanger if there ever was one! WHAHAHA Actually.. It isn't.. You see I'd have to end the chapter RIGHT now for it to be a cliffhanger.. And you see.. I'M NOT!! ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````
SNAP! Maru with drew a breath in a gasp, and Hiei's eyes instantly moved toward the moving branch. He moved before even thinking.. And went to grab Maru from behind..
The Guardian knew the trick to it.. But she felt hands grab her shoulders.. Startled she turned around.. Then the hands tensed as the trap's 'missile' made contact.. Right in his right shoulder..
Maru looked Hiei in the eye and said in one smooth motion. "Don't. Move." He however seemed to start to reprimand the words.. But fell down.. Out cold.
"What happened?" Yusuke asked running into the tree line.. Kuwabara and Kurama close by.. "DON'T MOVE. I swear I'll slit your throats if you move one inch, got that? Just back up, and DON'T walk on any sticks. I'll get mister hero here into the clearing in ONE moment, okay?" Maru's voice was commanding, not urgent, not paniced, and somewhat calm.. Though she now had Hiei slumped over her..
The three nodded and walked carefully back into clearing.. Where Maru soon appeared in gold sparks, sitting... "What happened to the shrimp?" Kuwabara even seemed worried...
"Easy. I set off one of those traps and he tried to play hero." Maru said with slight humor to her voice.. She was laughing.. Actually laughing?!
"This isn't funny!!??" Kuwabara and Yusuke yelled in union. But Maru sighed, rolling her gold-crimson orbs and reaching into a pouch connected to the white sash on her outfit. "Actually, it is. He got hit with a needle. Containing, need I add, a small dose of a sleeping draught."
"You mean he's.. Asleep?" Kurama asked looking at Hiei who had his head in Maru's lap.. "Yes. If he'd let the stupid thing hit me I'd just have swallowed the antidote. But he had to go try and 'rescue me'. I swear you guys are too soft when it comes to girls."
Yusuke tactifly added to Kurama with a whisper, "Or in Hiei's case, ONE girl." Kurama blinked but did agree.
Maru blushed but pulled out a small green jar.. She opened the lid and out came a small blue berry of sorts.. "I swear I should let him sleep.. But he'll get in a good two hours before this wears off." She had a soft and worried look about her.. But he did look peaceful...
/Can the child within my heart,
Rise above?
Can I sail through changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?/ ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````
/Oh oh...
Oh oh ohhhoo.
Well I've been 'fraid,
Of changin'.
'Cause I built my life,
Around you./ Hiei was dimly aware of movement... And of voices... One was closer than the others but hard to thinc k on very long... A numb feeling was slowly lifting... Leaving him trying to wake up and batting his eyes against light.. Brown... He blinked. Brown hair... Who the... He moved his head slightly, eyes now somewhat focused as he now saw red... Kurama? No... Maru... That alone made him try to move.. But she was carrying him piggy back and moving wouldn't do much good...
Golden red eyes met his as he looked at her rather harshly, as if ashamed to be in that particular position... Maru got the message. "Guys wait there, he's waking up." She called to the other three as she dropped to the ground and sat Hiei down... "You alright?"
He ignorred her question easily enough... "What. Happened."
She swallowed. "Easy... You played hero when you didn't need to. If you had just let the stupid needle hit me, I'd have taken the antidote and you would have four hours of memories to cover that up." Her explanation was easy in coming... But the resonse wasn't too plesant..
Kurama looked at Hiei, the fire demon did not look very happy. And that was putting it mildly... "I wasn't 'playing 'hero' I was trying to make sure you didn't get yourself killed, baka lobo." Hiei grumbled standing up shakily... But he shrugged off Maru when she tried to help him... And he started walking...
/Well time makes you older,
Children get older.
And I'm getting older too.
Well.../ Maru looked at him, furry building up in her eyes. She'd worried over that.. Punk! And all he'd done was shrugg her off and ignore her. Well so much for the rest of anitdote to take away that head ache and weak feeling! He'd probably push her away! //I swear, well. let's see if he gets himself nearly killed again... I'll give him a good four hours to remember...// "The LEAST you could've done is ACT half-way considerate. Not like it'd change that LOVELY attitude you have though, ne?" Maru vanished in a flurry of gold sparks and appeared in front of them several feet ahead, eyes straight foreward and not even botheing to look at any of them... Much less speak... And was like that for six hours straight... ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````
/Well, I've been,
'Fraid of changin'.
'Cause I built my life,
Around you.
But time makes you older,
Children get older.
And I'm getting older too..
Well I'm getting older too./ "Hiei, you should talk to her." Yusuke hinted, trying to get him to listen. "She was worried sick when you didn't wake up when she thought you would..." Hiei ignored him... (Is it just me, or is he getting good at that?)
"Maru didn't mean for the dart or what ever to hit you. We startled her..." Yusuke continued.. Hiei seemed to be listening. "And I think she likes you." The raven haired teen finished, not really wanting to use those words to either describe Maru, or to say them to Hiei. Though, Hiei didn't even acknowledge his excistance... Then he flickered out of sight... //At least I got him to listen...// Yusuke thought rolling his eyes.
Maru silently cursed at just about everything in excistance. //That short, ungrateful, fire eyed, little freak..// Her thoughts for the past hours had circled around such insults... Along with a variety of hexes and curses she knew were fake but she said them anyway... Though most of her 'mental conversation' was in multiple languages all at once... Since she threw out LOTS of old things from her mind when she got in a bad mood or particulary pissed as she was today... Her sandals had long since caused a nice blister to form on her left ankle.. But she didn't even so much as a break a stride. She was mad and mad she was going to be for a while.. Klai had usualy cleared a path to the nearest tree when Maru had gotten fired up over anything Suna or Klai herself usualy said. But the Guardian couldn't help but smirk at the memory from when she'd 'knocked' over a tree... It wasn't a particularly large one... Just a tree.
/So,
Take this love,
And take it down. And if you climb a mountain and you turn around, And if you see my reflection in, The snow covered hills. Well the landslide brought me down. And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills.../ Suna had pitched the biggest fit in history... But... //I bet I'm being JUST as unreasonable... I mean, it was my fault and I did sound a bit too perky when he woke up...// Her feet began to get heavier as she stood still for a moment... //I am being a baita..// She thought sadly, her eyes straying to the ground... She sighed, then decided then and there to apoligize... Even though she usualy didn't, she was in the wrong. He was right, in a way at least. She'd set the traps, and had set one off... He tried to 'save her' and she joked about it...
/Well maybeeeeeeeeeeee. Well maybeeeeeee.
Well maybeeeee, (Well maybe) The land slide will bring you down.../
Maru winced, then placed a hand over the cut from the arrow... //Guess I forgot to take care of it yesterday... Figures...// She took a few steps then stood still... One thought suddenly entering her brain and not leaving... Where was everyone else? She hadn't taken a step for like five minutes.. Surely they weren't that far behind...
She shook her head, then ran to the top of the hill she'd just crested... And blinked... Nothing. Just trees... She looked at her feet. //Oh shit... Shit shit shit shit..// There wasn't a path under her feet. She'd been walking away from the path... Crap who knew how long... "Okay, Maruka... Time to get that wonderful brain of yours back on track... Literally..." She said more to herself, then anyone else... But unfortunatly, anyone else was present...
"Well, I was told to keep an eye out for any girls with gold-red eyes and traveling with four guys... You fit part of that don't you?" It was a female voice. Possibly the worst female voice Maru could hear right now... It was velevety... A voice that could probably cuss a guy out and he'd still drool over the owner...
Gold-red eyes looked along the ground then acting on an impulse she looked upward... A 'woman' stood there, several inches taller then Maru. Though with a hieght of 5feet, most people were. Yet the 'woman' would be the perfect size by normal standards. She was slim, nicely built, and made Maru have a sudden surge of jealousy...
A simple short, black kimono that literally stopped no less then an inch below the end of her hips was all that the 'woman' wore aside from a black cord around her throat with a grey stone handing from it, and sandals. She had a dagger on her wiast and was holding... Blank gray cards of sorts...
She had dark, liquid purple eyes and short black hair... Though this only showed off her features a bit better and made Maru all the more determined to slit her throat... Dark lips smiled at the Guardian... "Hello, you would be Maruka, correct?"
Maru only snorted in return and sank into a defensive stance, daggers in each hand... She let her eyes look closely over the terraine... Woods, maybe a stream down hill, most of it too her satifaction. Except the slight mist... Where had that come from?
"I am Muerte. I have orders to kill you, sorry." She said simply and the 'sorry' was like a stone dropped in a bucket... Clattering and meaningless. Maru decided then and there that this was probably her father's new 'mate' by the looks of her. Since she'd known about her name, was 'pretty', and seemed to speak Togasha with a somewhat warm tone...
"Sounds good to me. But please," Maru said with a smirk as she suddenly appeared in front of Muerte in a flash of gold... "Its MARU!" Her daggers were glowing red.. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````
Oh my.... That was longer then usual...*looks in crystal ball* And do I see Maru... Apoligizeing... (can't spell)??!!!! *blinks and tosses ball away* Sorry, been meaning to get a new one.. It's.. Uh.. Wrong.. I THINk.... Or is it...
Personal fact 1-Muerte=death in spanish
fact 2-That song was Dixxie Chics
fact 3-.... I WANT CN TO PUT YYH ON ADULT SWIM!!!
fact 4-CN is canceling Yu Yu Hakusho.. BUT I'VE GOT DNDS SOOOOO BBOOOO YA!