Anemone: yay! chapter 20!
Hiei: *sarcasm* woo...
Kurama: congratulations, Anemone!
Anemone: I feel so proud o' myself...
Hiei: get to the blasted story, human...
Kurama: Hiei...calmly allow Anemone a little pride.
Hiei: no.
Anemone: screw you I'm gonna bask in my glory anyway!
Kurama: uh...Anemone...
Anemone: *party favors in hand* what?
Kurama: you still must WRITE the chapter...
Anemone: huh? OH YA! teehee sorry bout that...*thrust party favors aside* I'll get right on that...
Hiei: oh God...
Kurama: chapter 20-*Anemone sticks a cazoo in his mouth, she's still trying to celebrate...Kurama looks confused...speaks through cazoo, voice muffled* enjoy...
Chapter 20: A Moment's Rest
"Oh Yusuke," Keiko threaded her fingers into the Detective's slicked mane, combing it smooth...he, Kuwabara, and Yukina were all still unconscious, leaving only Kurama, Keiko, and Hiei awake. Keiko tried to ease the three awake, speaking softly to each. Kurama pried nimble hands to the branch in hand, busily concocting cures for the poison afflicted boys. Hiei stood guard, hand coiled loosely to the hilt of his Katana.
"He shall be fine, Keiko," Kurama smiled calmly to the frazzled brunette, resuming his work to the death-plant in hand. "As will Kuwabara and Yukina."
"Hn..." Hiei grunted faintly, his back to the group as he watched for demons. "We can't stay here forever, Kitsune...are you working on the antedote?"
"I've been doing so since you brought them here, Hiei..." Kurama breathed calmly, focusing his deeply faceted emerald eyes for the branch in his grasp. He cracked it this way and that, kneeding the seeds from its bowels. With a jerk of the hand, he retracted the needed seeds, a smiled a relieved smile. The fox slowly pressed the seed to Kuwabara's tainted wounds, the plant immediately taking root against one of the youth's half-exposed veins. With a sharp spark of Spirit Energy, Kurama having managed to build some up, the plant sprouted slightly. Roots dug forcefully to Kuwabara's wound, the plant slurping every trace of lethal poison from the teenager's system. Almost the instant the death plant began to wither under the influence of poison, Kuwabara jerked awake, a scream escaping him.
"Kuwabara, calm down," Kurama snickered faintly, tearing the death plant from Kuwabara's gash. The teen breathed hard, the wound deep to his lungs.
"Ah man..." Kuwabara weezed. "Where the hell am I...?" he scanned the room slowly, and caught sight of Yukina, unconscious and nestled against Kurama's side. The fox motioned for silence, and gently tucked his arms beneath her fragile little form, calmly lifting the mint-haired aperition and nestling her in Kuwabara's hold. The teenager stared down at his girlfriend in shock. "She's still unconscious?"
"Obviously, you fool," Hiei seethed over his shoulder, hardly moving to face the boy. "Now all we need is to wake up the Detective and we can move onward."
"Indeed," Kurama began work to another branch, setting it gently against the stone floor, quickly bashing his sharp knuckles against it, crushing the branch as needed.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
~Botan skipped spryly ahead, giggling insanely. Her hands reached outward, and laced into those of Kurama. The fox smiled happily at the bluette, locking his brilliant emerald eyes to her bobbing candy ones. Botan tipped her head to the side perkily, leading the fox onward. Kurama chuckled faintly, to tune with Botan's giggles. Together they jogged through the meadow grasses towards the center, happiness looming about them. A deep rut suddenly caved downward in the field, though, and Botan slipped in, giggling hard. Her hand still strung to Kurama's, and she dragged a laughing fox down with her, both rolling in mad ways for the slope's end in the rut's bowl-like center.
As the two eased to a stop, they flopped to their backs, and stared straight upwards into the endless void of crystal blue sky. Hours passed of jokes, cloud watching, and hearty laughter, until the crystal shade faded into a deep navy velvet. A brisk breeze swarmed by, and Kurama took this as a chance to nestle closer against the ferry girl. His warm, half-exposed arms brushed against hers, and the moment froze. Both their faces dusted crimson for an instant, each casting their eyes for the opposite direction. Kurama was the first to gather his nerves, though the slope of his nose burned red in a hard blush. The fox slowly breathed against her ear, and cooed a soft whisper, "May I kiss you, Botan?"
The bluette pricked in surprise, and, flopping over on her side, locked her shocked raspberry eyes into Kurama's hopeful emerald ones. The duo froze, the slow, matched beating of their hearts growing steadily louder as the fox eased his way towards her face. Kurama slowly pressed his lips to hers, and breathed faintly into her lungs. Warmth threaded the kiss tighter. Botan was lost of words and expressions, but simply allowed the fox to continue.~
Botan jerked awake, a throbbing pain stinging at her forehead. The gruesomely large bruise still painted across one side of her head, and still struck a hard pain to her, still causing a sharp wince to knarl her features. She scanned the area...she was still locked in a rusted pair of shackles, 'It was a dream...' she thought softly to herself, pricking slightly at the thought. Redness stained her cheeks as she thought back to the plot of the dream...
'Ever since the fire-escape incident, I've been having trouble concentrating on anything besides...Kurama...' again, a blush swarmed to her face. 'I mean, I did sorta have a little bit of a crush on him...a little one...but, now...' the bluette tucked a sapphire lock behind her ear, contemplating on the situation. 'am I...no...no I can't be...I can't be, in love...can...can I?'
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Kurama shifted in a heavy sigh, his thoughts hazing from his current work with Yusuke's recovery...to his mother back on earth, and how she doesn't know where he is...to his demon father, the wolf without an official name...to Botan.
Kurama pricked, scarlet hazing the slope of his nose. Without thinking, he began to wander aimlessly into his thoughts...of Botan...and him...alone...in a field...and the fox saw himself pressing his lips to hers under the spanning night sky...
Kurama slowly began to wish solely for that, for...her. Until of course, Hiei gruffly scoffed at him, jerking his senses back to reality, and back to treating Yusuke.
"Hiei," the fox side-glanced for the fire demon. Hiei blinked narrow crimson eyes for Kurama in response. "could you blast a fire attack to these crushed roots?" Kurama half-smirked tiredly. Without hesitation Hiei calmly shot a green flame for Kurama's concoction, the fox slowly blowing the flicker to nothingness after a moment and pressing nimble fingers against the ashes. The fox slowly scooped the black soot into his grasp and poured it loosely into the Detective's gaped mouth.
"What will this do?" Keiko blinked to her side to glance for Kurama. The fox kneeded his hands together when every fragment of ash possible had swarmed into Yusuke's system.
"Uh, yeah that doesn't look all that healthy..." Kuwabara blinked at Kurama's methods. The teen still cradled the unconscious Yukina in his grasp, rocking her slightly to wake her up.
"That will absorb every possible fleck of poison in his system, and block it from affecting him...it works in seconds...he should wake up...now."
Yusuke hacked hard in the core of his throat, a stinging pain dry and sharp in his esophogas. "Damn..." he seethed lowly, his tone parched from the ash logged in his throat.
"Yusuke!" Keiko chirped. Kurama smiled faintly and stood to leave the two to a corner, the fox stalking heavily towards the opposite wall and sliding to a lazy sit. Blood still seeped from the wound in his front.
"Kitsune..." Hiei grunted with a side-glance for Kurama.
"I'm fine," the fox forced a pained smile. Hiei, though not convinced in the slightest, shifted in a heavy sigh and focused again on keeping guard.
"Hey Keiko!" Yusuke chuckled as the girl locked arms about his neck. Yusuke slowly threaded his left arm--the right still being limp--about her back, and dragged her into his lap, cradling his chin into her collarbone. And there they sat for a few minutes, hugging. Kurama smiled faintly at the two for a moment, slowly casting his gaze for the unconscious mint-haired aperition.
"Hmm..." Kurama examined the limp Yukina in Kuwabara's arms. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he breathed a soft "Ah...I know..." through a tired smile. The fox slowly combed his sprawled palm through his bushy mane, retracting a single, full-bloom crimson rose. "Kuwabara," he called softly towards the teen nestled on the opposite side of the hall-like cavern. Kuwabara pricked up to the sound of his name, Kurama, face plastered with a tired smile, tossing the boy his rose. Kuwabara caught it awkwardly, unsure of how to react.
"Uh...thanks, Kurama...?" Kuwabara studied the flower with a confused glare about his face. "What is it, uh, for...?"
"You idiot..." Hiei side-glanced the boy over his shoulder. "It's to wake up Yukina."
"Oh!" Kuwabara chuckled awkwardly, waving the flower just an inch from the demonness's nose. After a moment, her nose began to wrinkle slightly, and her blood eyes pealed open slowly.
"Ka...Kazuma?" she whispered slowly, until the scent of the beautiful rose swelled in her lungs. "Oh!" she pricked awake, a light smile about her little face. "A rose!"
"Heh, actually," Kuwabara grinned broadly. "It's, uh, it's Kurama's rose...and he uh, kinda needs it for his Rose Whip..."
"Oh..." Yukina's smile dimmed slightly, but it didn't disappear.
"No problem, Yukina...you may keep it," Kurama smiled faintly. "I can't very well go about depending on only one rose for my defense, now can I? I've one or two others."
"Oh, thank you, Kurama," she grinned happily to the fox and back to Kuwabara. Kurama smiled faintly as the boy tucked the rose into one of her bushy mint spikes of hair.
"You're welcome."
"Kitsune," Hiei, still back faced to the group and staring on ahead for the cavern not yet passed, side-glanced to the fox. "Since all of the party is conscious now, should we not be continuing? I mean, after all, the next fight is most likely yours..."
Silence hazed the group. Yusuke and Keiko, still hugging as they were, blinked to face Kurama, as did Kuwabara and Yukina. Kurama was focused solely to the unexplored cavern of the Kyorgin Caves, a stern glare about his tired face. Without a single word to escape his lips, the fox forced himself to a stand, a little wobbly at first, but still leveled. Kurama slowly began a trudge into the darkness ahead, not a glance to his comrades, but simply a slow stalking deeper into the bowels of Mount Shiverku.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
"Ryooki," the wolf demon approached the last demon on his payroll.
"Yes sir?" Ryooki bowed low, glancing sharp eyes for the demon before him.
"Go, defend the last of the caverns before my lair," the wolf ordered harshly. "And be sure to kill Suichi Minamino."
"Yes sir..." Ryooki tipped his chin downward in a low bow. "...but..."
"...but?"
"but...is he not my brother?" Ryooki raised an eyebrow in question at the wolf.
"No." the wolf answered coldly, not a speck of emotion to stain his tone.
"Very well, Father..." Ryooki bowed yet again, coiling long, clawed fingers about his bow and arrows and stalking slowly from the wolf's lair.
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Anemone: chapter 20, people! woohoo!
Hiei: *slaps face* she's been celebrating since you guys left to read...
Kurama: that was well done, Anemone.
Hiei: hn...the chapter was okay...but your attitude-*hushed by Kurama, glares negatively*
Anemone: whoa...deja vous...anywho, yeah, remember chapter one? the random thing that was waaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of chapter two and onward? we're almost at that point in time! and just to make things more interesting, yes, Ryooki is the Kistune's older brother...but don't let chappie one fool you...I've many more tricks up my sleeve.
Kurama: please review, we appreciate it very much so.
Hiei: *sarcasm* woo...
Kurama: congratulations, Anemone!
Anemone: I feel so proud o' myself...
Hiei: get to the blasted story, human...
Kurama: Hiei...calmly allow Anemone a little pride.
Hiei: no.
Anemone: screw you I'm gonna bask in my glory anyway!
Kurama: uh...Anemone...
Anemone: *party favors in hand* what?
Kurama: you still must WRITE the chapter...
Anemone: huh? OH YA! teehee sorry bout that...*thrust party favors aside* I'll get right on that...
Hiei: oh God...
Kurama: chapter 20-*Anemone sticks a cazoo in his mouth, she's still trying to celebrate...Kurama looks confused...speaks through cazoo, voice muffled* enjoy...
Chapter 20: A Moment's Rest
"Oh Yusuke," Keiko threaded her fingers into the Detective's slicked mane, combing it smooth...he, Kuwabara, and Yukina were all still unconscious, leaving only Kurama, Keiko, and Hiei awake. Keiko tried to ease the three awake, speaking softly to each. Kurama pried nimble hands to the branch in hand, busily concocting cures for the poison afflicted boys. Hiei stood guard, hand coiled loosely to the hilt of his Katana.
"He shall be fine, Keiko," Kurama smiled calmly to the frazzled brunette, resuming his work to the death-plant in hand. "As will Kuwabara and Yukina."
"Hn..." Hiei grunted faintly, his back to the group as he watched for demons. "We can't stay here forever, Kitsune...are you working on the antedote?"
"I've been doing so since you brought them here, Hiei..." Kurama breathed calmly, focusing his deeply faceted emerald eyes for the branch in his grasp. He cracked it this way and that, kneeding the seeds from its bowels. With a jerk of the hand, he retracted the needed seeds, a smiled a relieved smile. The fox slowly pressed the seed to Kuwabara's tainted wounds, the plant immediately taking root against one of the youth's half-exposed veins. With a sharp spark of Spirit Energy, Kurama having managed to build some up, the plant sprouted slightly. Roots dug forcefully to Kuwabara's wound, the plant slurping every trace of lethal poison from the teenager's system. Almost the instant the death plant began to wither under the influence of poison, Kuwabara jerked awake, a scream escaping him.
"Kuwabara, calm down," Kurama snickered faintly, tearing the death plant from Kuwabara's gash. The teen breathed hard, the wound deep to his lungs.
"Ah man..." Kuwabara weezed. "Where the hell am I...?" he scanned the room slowly, and caught sight of Yukina, unconscious and nestled against Kurama's side. The fox motioned for silence, and gently tucked his arms beneath her fragile little form, calmly lifting the mint-haired aperition and nestling her in Kuwabara's hold. The teenager stared down at his girlfriend in shock. "She's still unconscious?"
"Obviously, you fool," Hiei seethed over his shoulder, hardly moving to face the boy. "Now all we need is to wake up the Detective and we can move onward."
"Indeed," Kurama began work to another branch, setting it gently against the stone floor, quickly bashing his sharp knuckles against it, crushing the branch as needed.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
~Botan skipped spryly ahead, giggling insanely. Her hands reached outward, and laced into those of Kurama. The fox smiled happily at the bluette, locking his brilliant emerald eyes to her bobbing candy ones. Botan tipped her head to the side perkily, leading the fox onward. Kurama chuckled faintly, to tune with Botan's giggles. Together they jogged through the meadow grasses towards the center, happiness looming about them. A deep rut suddenly caved downward in the field, though, and Botan slipped in, giggling hard. Her hand still strung to Kurama's, and she dragged a laughing fox down with her, both rolling in mad ways for the slope's end in the rut's bowl-like center.
As the two eased to a stop, they flopped to their backs, and stared straight upwards into the endless void of crystal blue sky. Hours passed of jokes, cloud watching, and hearty laughter, until the crystal shade faded into a deep navy velvet. A brisk breeze swarmed by, and Kurama took this as a chance to nestle closer against the ferry girl. His warm, half-exposed arms brushed against hers, and the moment froze. Both their faces dusted crimson for an instant, each casting their eyes for the opposite direction. Kurama was the first to gather his nerves, though the slope of his nose burned red in a hard blush. The fox slowly breathed against her ear, and cooed a soft whisper, "May I kiss you, Botan?"
The bluette pricked in surprise, and, flopping over on her side, locked her shocked raspberry eyes into Kurama's hopeful emerald ones. The duo froze, the slow, matched beating of their hearts growing steadily louder as the fox eased his way towards her face. Kurama slowly pressed his lips to hers, and breathed faintly into her lungs. Warmth threaded the kiss tighter. Botan was lost of words and expressions, but simply allowed the fox to continue.~
Botan jerked awake, a throbbing pain stinging at her forehead. The gruesomely large bruise still painted across one side of her head, and still struck a hard pain to her, still causing a sharp wince to knarl her features. She scanned the area...she was still locked in a rusted pair of shackles, 'It was a dream...' she thought softly to herself, pricking slightly at the thought. Redness stained her cheeks as she thought back to the plot of the dream...
'Ever since the fire-escape incident, I've been having trouble concentrating on anything besides...Kurama...' again, a blush swarmed to her face. 'I mean, I did sorta have a little bit of a crush on him...a little one...but, now...' the bluette tucked a sapphire lock behind her ear, contemplating on the situation. 'am I...no...no I can't be...I can't be, in love...can...can I?'
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
Kurama shifted in a heavy sigh, his thoughts hazing from his current work with Yusuke's recovery...to his mother back on earth, and how she doesn't know where he is...to his demon father, the wolf without an official name...to Botan.
Kurama pricked, scarlet hazing the slope of his nose. Without thinking, he began to wander aimlessly into his thoughts...of Botan...and him...alone...in a field...and the fox saw himself pressing his lips to hers under the spanning night sky...
Kurama slowly began to wish solely for that, for...her. Until of course, Hiei gruffly scoffed at him, jerking his senses back to reality, and back to treating Yusuke.
"Hiei," the fox side-glanced for the fire demon. Hiei blinked narrow crimson eyes for Kurama in response. "could you blast a fire attack to these crushed roots?" Kurama half-smirked tiredly. Without hesitation Hiei calmly shot a green flame for Kurama's concoction, the fox slowly blowing the flicker to nothingness after a moment and pressing nimble fingers against the ashes. The fox slowly scooped the black soot into his grasp and poured it loosely into the Detective's gaped mouth.
"What will this do?" Keiko blinked to her side to glance for Kurama. The fox kneeded his hands together when every fragment of ash possible had swarmed into Yusuke's system.
"Uh, yeah that doesn't look all that healthy..." Kuwabara blinked at Kurama's methods. The teen still cradled the unconscious Yukina in his grasp, rocking her slightly to wake her up.
"That will absorb every possible fleck of poison in his system, and block it from affecting him...it works in seconds...he should wake up...now."
Yusuke hacked hard in the core of his throat, a stinging pain dry and sharp in his esophogas. "Damn..." he seethed lowly, his tone parched from the ash logged in his throat.
"Yusuke!" Keiko chirped. Kurama smiled faintly and stood to leave the two to a corner, the fox stalking heavily towards the opposite wall and sliding to a lazy sit. Blood still seeped from the wound in his front.
"Kitsune..." Hiei grunted with a side-glance for Kurama.
"I'm fine," the fox forced a pained smile. Hiei, though not convinced in the slightest, shifted in a heavy sigh and focused again on keeping guard.
"Hey Keiko!" Yusuke chuckled as the girl locked arms about his neck. Yusuke slowly threaded his left arm--the right still being limp--about her back, and dragged her into his lap, cradling his chin into her collarbone. And there they sat for a few minutes, hugging. Kurama smiled faintly at the two for a moment, slowly casting his gaze for the unconscious mint-haired aperition.
"Hmm..." Kurama examined the limp Yukina in Kuwabara's arms. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he breathed a soft "Ah...I know..." through a tired smile. The fox slowly combed his sprawled palm through his bushy mane, retracting a single, full-bloom crimson rose. "Kuwabara," he called softly towards the teen nestled on the opposite side of the hall-like cavern. Kuwabara pricked up to the sound of his name, Kurama, face plastered with a tired smile, tossing the boy his rose. Kuwabara caught it awkwardly, unsure of how to react.
"Uh...thanks, Kurama...?" Kuwabara studied the flower with a confused glare about his face. "What is it, uh, for...?"
"You idiot..." Hiei side-glanced the boy over his shoulder. "It's to wake up Yukina."
"Oh!" Kuwabara chuckled awkwardly, waving the flower just an inch from the demonness's nose. After a moment, her nose began to wrinkle slightly, and her blood eyes pealed open slowly.
"Ka...Kazuma?" she whispered slowly, until the scent of the beautiful rose swelled in her lungs. "Oh!" she pricked awake, a light smile about her little face. "A rose!"
"Heh, actually," Kuwabara grinned broadly. "It's, uh, it's Kurama's rose...and he uh, kinda needs it for his Rose Whip..."
"Oh..." Yukina's smile dimmed slightly, but it didn't disappear.
"No problem, Yukina...you may keep it," Kurama smiled faintly. "I can't very well go about depending on only one rose for my defense, now can I? I've one or two others."
"Oh, thank you, Kurama," she grinned happily to the fox and back to Kuwabara. Kurama smiled faintly as the boy tucked the rose into one of her bushy mint spikes of hair.
"You're welcome."
"Kitsune," Hiei, still back faced to the group and staring on ahead for the cavern not yet passed, side-glanced to the fox. "Since all of the party is conscious now, should we not be continuing? I mean, after all, the next fight is most likely yours..."
Silence hazed the group. Yusuke and Keiko, still hugging as they were, blinked to face Kurama, as did Kuwabara and Yukina. Kurama was focused solely to the unexplored cavern of the Kyorgin Caves, a stern glare about his tired face. Without a single word to escape his lips, the fox forced himself to a stand, a little wobbly at first, but still leveled. Kurama slowly began a trudge into the darkness ahead, not a glance to his comrades, but simply a slow stalking deeper into the bowels of Mount Shiverku.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
"Ryooki," the wolf demon approached the last demon on his payroll.
"Yes sir?" Ryooki bowed low, glancing sharp eyes for the demon before him.
"Go, defend the last of the caverns before my lair," the wolf ordered harshly. "And be sure to kill Suichi Minamino."
"Yes sir..." Ryooki tipped his chin downward in a low bow. "...but..."
"...but?"
"but...is he not my brother?" Ryooki raised an eyebrow in question at the wolf.
"No." the wolf answered coldly, not a speck of emotion to stain his tone.
"Very well, Father..." Ryooki bowed yet again, coiling long, clawed fingers about his bow and arrows and stalking slowly from the wolf's lair.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
Anemone: chapter 20, people! woohoo!
Hiei: *slaps face* she's been celebrating since you guys left to read...
Kurama: that was well done, Anemone.
Hiei: hn...the chapter was okay...but your attitude-*hushed by Kurama, glares negatively*
Anemone: whoa...deja vous...anywho, yeah, remember chapter one? the random thing that was waaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of chapter two and onward? we're almost at that point in time! and just to make things more interesting, yes, Ryooki is the Kistune's older brother...but don't let chappie one fool you...I've many more tricks up my sleeve.
Kurama: please review, we appreciate it very much so.