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Ch. 5: What Do You Mean, "You're not ready to go yet!" *checks script and sighs* …TAKE THREE, EVERYBODY!!!
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Hey, did anyone notice i had a few spelling errors? Actually, i just messed up on a few names, but i'll spell them right from now on. Not counting type-os. And i promised action, right? There's also a possibility that this may turn a little (more) depressing, but we'll see.
Sorry i haven't posted here in a bit. i've had some serious writer's block. i'm leaving for college soon, too, so there may not be too frequent updates in anything after this month. i'll post a message and let everyone know in my other two fics, too.
DarkFlame136
#Take I: Divide and Confuse#
By some bizarre act of fate--or maybe just the SandMan, whatever--Yusuke had not even twitched when Sairen had her little tantrum.
"I told you he sleeps like a 'friggen rock," Kuwabara muttered jealously.
"I think we all need to relax," Botan came in the room last. Everyone else, though, remained standing. "We really can't do anything until Yusuke wakes up, anyway."
"Or until Sairen gets it together," Hiei sighed, dropping into his favorite chair (the bubble one, btw). He made a face when he bounced back up. "F--- it." Instead, he sat on the floor in front of it.
Kuwabara laughed out loud, regardless of the amount of noise he made. "If you had bounced any higher, your head would have got stuck in the ceiling!"
"Will you shut the hell up, please? I'm getting a serous headache, and I'd hate to see Sairen rip out your larynx."
Everyone stared at Kurama as if he grew another head. "I am not in the best of humor right now, and I do not think anyone wants to hear any loud, vulgar noises at the moment."
No one said a word while he made an exit to the kitchen. Afterwards: "Well, damn. I didn't think I'd ever hear him curse."
"You have that effect on people, Kuwabara." While the other cursed his name, Hiei followed Kurama. Botan just sank into the other armchair and told Kuwabara to have a seat before she hit him with one.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the other room, Kurama was making the strongest cup of what ever he could find in a hurry.
"The mini bar's behind the island counter."
"I know that, Hiei," Kurama helped himself to the green tea leaves.
"Then toss me a shot glass."
Kurama took one look at him and tossed him a mug instead. "I suggest you fill that with hot water, too."
"Along with the scotch?"
If Hiei's reflexes were any slower, a jar of tea leaves would have crashed into his head.
Grumbling, he made himself a cup of tea.
Sitting at the table, he took a sip. And sniffed. And cast a withering glance towards the person across from him.
Kurama didn't flinch, blowing off his own drink. "You need to wind down; you'll never get any sleep otherwise."
"Kurama: the last time I drank anything you spiked, I slept for two days!"
"This is a lot less potent."
"So I guess I'll be out for one and a third." Happening to catch Kurama's death stare, Hiei rolled his eyes and took another sip. 'At least he used the leaves that taste good.'
"You're not going anywhere until you finish that."
"Yes, mother."
After an extended silence (broken only by Kuwabara's snoring from the other room), Hiei hazarded, "I don't suppose you're going to give Sairen any sleep aids?"
"She doesn't need any."
"After THAT outburst--?"
"She had a vision, Hiei." That shut him up. "And what ever she saw really got to her."
Hiei was quiet. "Are you sure that's all?"
Kurama nodded. "I can think of no other explanation for what happened, and we both know she was asleep before that. Besides, when was the last time she had a reaction like that to anything else?"
Hiei, of course, knew the answer to that, but didn't want to think about it. Something told him that they would not be in this mess to begin with if he had NOT listened to Mitsuno in the first place. 'Then maybe she'd still be alive and Sairen wouldn't be deranged.'
Kurama's face mirrored the sympathy he truly felt. "It's not your fault, Hiei. The only thing that could have been different was who would have died instead. Mitsuno knew that even before she left."
"Then why the hell didn't she tell us?"
"If she DID tell you exactly what was going on, then Sairen would not have let her go alone."
"I couldn't keep her from going, anyway, so it's not like I was any help." Hiei stared into his half empty mug. "I should have went with her from the beginning instead of waiting like she said to."
"And chances are, all three of you wouldn't have made it out in one piece."
Hiei started to argue, but Kurama cut him off. "Pardon the pun, but there's no sense in bringing back old demons."
"That's not even the slightest bit funny." he looked at the fox across from him. "I think I may have caught a bit of what Sairen was seeing."
Kurama leaned forward. "How much and what was it?"
"Just random pictures. But I could have sworn I saw Mitsuno."
"Maybe it was a memory--"
"talking to Cydius."
Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Caught completely off guard, it took Kurama a while to answer. A very long while.
"Are you absolutely certain, Hiei? Are you willing to put everything on what you have just said?"
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, fox? Don't tell me you're afraid of THAT one."
"No. But I do have a healthy fear of Mitsuno." Looking Hiei straight in the eye, he added, "And I happened to sense her youki not too long ago."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next day, Sairen took her time getting up. Not that she was embarrassed about her little demonstration; she just didn't feel like being bothered with anyone.
As usual, though, her stomach got her out of bed.
She brushed her teeth and showered. For the moment, she threw on a pair of boxer shorts, socks and a top like the one she was wore yesterday (today, everything was black and the shorts were the ones with the red lips on them).
Interesting how everyone stared at her when she came into the kitchen.
"What? is one of you wearing the same thing?"
"Um...no," a confused Kuwabara said. He had paused midway between putting a forkfull of pancakes in his mouth. "I thought you were going with us, though."
She spied a giant stack of pancakes on the counter next to Kurama, who had his back turned at the moment. Thinking to pull a fast one on him, she started to snatch and run. However, before she even took one step--
"Don't even think about it, Sairen."
'Damn.' "Fine, I'll make my own."
"No need. Yours will be done soon enough."
"Oh. Thanks."
"Just take that stack over to the table when you go."
She did so; surprisingly, without eating any. A grateful Kuwabara grabbed another four and got to work as she took a seat.
"Good God, save some for the rest of us."
"Sorry, shrimp, a man's gotta eat."
Hiei took two more himself before casually asking, "What's that got to do with you?"
At that moment, Yusuke decided to walk in. Which was just as well, since no one was really in the mood for a throw-down at 9 AM on a Saturday (then again, who'd want to even be UP at 9 AM on a Saturday?).
"Hey, guys," he yawned. Then he made a face. "No fair! Why didn't you guys wake me up? I LOVE pancakes!"
"I don't think anyone around here has a cannon, Yusuke," Botan explained.
"Dairen has a cannon," Sairen offered from beneath her arms (her head was down on the table).
"I bet he does," Hiei muttered darkly. He didn't even want to hear that vampire's name, nevermind talk about him.
"Dairen? Who's he?" both Botan and Yusuke asked at the same time.
"Old friend of Sairen's. Let's leave it at that." Hiei finished his breakfast and got up to put his dishes in the sink. Then he headed for the living room. Once again, though--
"I know you're planning on washing those, Hiei."
'Damn.' "Fine. I thought I would be in your way, though."
Yusuke, who was looking for the plates ("Cabinet right in front of you," Sairen directed, not bothering to look up) smirked. "The sink is on the other side of the kitchen."
"Shut up, Urameshi."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
After everyone was finished, Sairen got down to business.
"Since your homework assignment was to read the files, I will simply give today's assignment."
"I'm going o give everyone a choice here, and you'll know why in a second." She stopped for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase things. 'Eh, what the hell; it's too much effort.'
"I need to run a few errands before I can really help out. First, I'll need to go pick up some things I want and others you'll need. And there's no way I can go without talking to my better halves."
Kurama translated, "In short, you need to go raid Sector S and see what Rashim and Shalmar have to say."
"The earth Elementals who don't like humans," Yusuke commented. "Oh, joy."
"Though I'm afraid to ask, where does that leave us?"
"I'm glad you asked, Kuwabara. You guys can either do one or both of the two other things for me, or I'll do it so you five can get a head start on getting a Scroll or two."
Hiei found a flaw in that one. "How will we know where to look and what to look for? We need at least one Elemental with us, Sairen."
"You know, I think you're right," she put on a show of surprise at her own short-sightedness. Or was it? "Well, I guess that means that we have to run my errands first!"
"You sneaky little--!"
"Oh, come on, Hiei," Botan broke in. "I'll admit that her methods of persuasion are a little bit unorthodox and a lotta bit underhanded, but if we ask nicely, we may have two more."
"Either way, we need to move a whole lot faster. Botan, could you, Kuwabara, and Yusuke do my grocery shopping?" Sairen put on her sweetest smile. As an automatic reaction, Hiei ran his tongue along his teeth to check for cavities.
"Oh, Please, no! It's bad enough my mom makes me do HERS!" Yusuke complained. Kuwabara shuddered.
"I'm not even going to mention what Shizuru made me pick up the other day!"
Sairen smiled and shook her head. "The things I'm NOT going to say!"
"Just give us the list, and we'll do the rest!"
"Thanks, Botan." she looked over at the two youki. "Hi, guys!"
"Hello, Sairen."
"You're not serious," Hiei shook his head. "After what happened, I really DON'T think it's a good idea if we meet again--"
"Hiei, chill. For some odd reason, they still trust you."
Ch. 5: What Do You Mean, "You're not ready to go yet!" *checks script and sighs* …TAKE THREE, EVERYBODY!!!
##############################################################################
Hey, did anyone notice i had a few spelling errors? Actually, i just messed up on a few names, but i'll spell them right from now on. Not counting type-os. And i promised action, right? There's also a possibility that this may turn a little (more) depressing, but we'll see.
Sorry i haven't posted here in a bit. i've had some serious writer's block. i'm leaving for college soon, too, so there may not be too frequent updates in anything after this month. i'll post a message and let everyone know in my other two fics, too.
DarkFlame136
#Take I: Divide and Confuse#
By some bizarre act of fate--or maybe just the SandMan, whatever--Yusuke had not even twitched when Sairen had her little tantrum.
"I told you he sleeps like a 'friggen rock," Kuwabara muttered jealously.
"I think we all need to relax," Botan came in the room last. Everyone else, though, remained standing. "We really can't do anything until Yusuke wakes up, anyway."
"Or until Sairen gets it together," Hiei sighed, dropping into his favorite chair (the bubble one, btw). He made a face when he bounced back up. "F--- it." Instead, he sat on the floor in front of it.
Kuwabara laughed out loud, regardless of the amount of noise he made. "If you had bounced any higher, your head would have got stuck in the ceiling!"
"Will you shut the hell up, please? I'm getting a serous headache, and I'd hate to see Sairen rip out your larynx."
Everyone stared at Kurama as if he grew another head. "I am not in the best of humor right now, and I do not think anyone wants to hear any loud, vulgar noises at the moment."
No one said a word while he made an exit to the kitchen. Afterwards: "Well, damn. I didn't think I'd ever hear him curse."
"You have that effect on people, Kuwabara." While the other cursed his name, Hiei followed Kurama. Botan just sank into the other armchair and told Kuwabara to have a seat before she hit him with one.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the other room, Kurama was making the strongest cup of what ever he could find in a hurry.
"The mini bar's behind the island counter."
"I know that, Hiei," Kurama helped himself to the green tea leaves.
"Then toss me a shot glass."
Kurama took one look at him and tossed him a mug instead. "I suggest you fill that with hot water, too."
"Along with the scotch?"
If Hiei's reflexes were any slower, a jar of tea leaves would have crashed into his head.
Grumbling, he made himself a cup of tea.
Sitting at the table, he took a sip. And sniffed. And cast a withering glance towards the person across from him.
Kurama didn't flinch, blowing off his own drink. "You need to wind down; you'll never get any sleep otherwise."
"Kurama: the last time I drank anything you spiked, I slept for two days!"
"This is a lot less potent."
"So I guess I'll be out for one and a third." Happening to catch Kurama's death stare, Hiei rolled his eyes and took another sip. 'At least he used the leaves that taste good.'
"You're not going anywhere until you finish that."
"Yes, mother."
After an extended silence (broken only by Kuwabara's snoring from the other room), Hiei hazarded, "I don't suppose you're going to give Sairen any sleep aids?"
"She doesn't need any."
"After THAT outburst--?"
"She had a vision, Hiei." That shut him up. "And what ever she saw really got to her."
Hiei was quiet. "Are you sure that's all?"
Kurama nodded. "I can think of no other explanation for what happened, and we both know she was asleep before that. Besides, when was the last time she had a reaction like that to anything else?"
Hiei, of course, knew the answer to that, but didn't want to think about it. Something told him that they would not be in this mess to begin with if he had NOT listened to Mitsuno in the first place. 'Then maybe she'd still be alive and Sairen wouldn't be deranged.'
Kurama's face mirrored the sympathy he truly felt. "It's not your fault, Hiei. The only thing that could have been different was who would have died instead. Mitsuno knew that even before she left."
"Then why the hell didn't she tell us?"
"If she DID tell you exactly what was going on, then Sairen would not have let her go alone."
"I couldn't keep her from going, anyway, so it's not like I was any help." Hiei stared into his half empty mug. "I should have went with her from the beginning instead of waiting like she said to."
"And chances are, all three of you wouldn't have made it out in one piece."
Hiei started to argue, but Kurama cut him off. "Pardon the pun, but there's no sense in bringing back old demons."
"That's not even the slightest bit funny." he looked at the fox across from him. "I think I may have caught a bit of what Sairen was seeing."
Kurama leaned forward. "How much and what was it?"
"Just random pictures. But I could have sworn I saw Mitsuno."
"Maybe it was a memory--"
"talking to Cydius."
Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Caught completely off guard, it took Kurama a while to answer. A very long while.
"Are you absolutely certain, Hiei? Are you willing to put everything on what you have just said?"
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, fox? Don't tell me you're afraid of THAT one."
"No. But I do have a healthy fear of Mitsuno." Looking Hiei straight in the eye, he added, "And I happened to sense her youki not too long ago."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next day, Sairen took her time getting up. Not that she was embarrassed about her little demonstration; she just didn't feel like being bothered with anyone.
As usual, though, her stomach got her out of bed.
She brushed her teeth and showered. For the moment, she threw on a pair of boxer shorts, socks and a top like the one she was wore yesterday (today, everything was black and the shorts were the ones with the red lips on them).
Interesting how everyone stared at her when she came into the kitchen.
"What? is one of you wearing the same thing?"
"Um...no," a confused Kuwabara said. He had paused midway between putting a forkfull of pancakes in his mouth. "I thought you were going with us, though."
She spied a giant stack of pancakes on the counter next to Kurama, who had his back turned at the moment. Thinking to pull a fast one on him, she started to snatch and run. However, before she even took one step--
"Don't even think about it, Sairen."
'Damn.' "Fine, I'll make my own."
"No need. Yours will be done soon enough."
"Oh. Thanks."
"Just take that stack over to the table when you go."
She did so; surprisingly, without eating any. A grateful Kuwabara grabbed another four and got to work as she took a seat.
"Good God, save some for the rest of us."
"Sorry, shrimp, a man's gotta eat."
Hiei took two more himself before casually asking, "What's that got to do with you?"
At that moment, Yusuke decided to walk in. Which was just as well, since no one was really in the mood for a throw-down at 9 AM on a Saturday (then again, who'd want to even be UP at 9 AM on a Saturday?).
"Hey, guys," he yawned. Then he made a face. "No fair! Why didn't you guys wake me up? I LOVE pancakes!"
"I don't think anyone around here has a cannon, Yusuke," Botan explained.
"Dairen has a cannon," Sairen offered from beneath her arms (her head was down on the table).
"I bet he does," Hiei muttered darkly. He didn't even want to hear that vampire's name, nevermind talk about him.
"Dairen? Who's he?" both Botan and Yusuke asked at the same time.
"Old friend of Sairen's. Let's leave it at that." Hiei finished his breakfast and got up to put his dishes in the sink. Then he headed for the living room. Once again, though--
"I know you're planning on washing those, Hiei."
'Damn.' "Fine. I thought I would be in your way, though."
Yusuke, who was looking for the plates ("Cabinet right in front of you," Sairen directed, not bothering to look up) smirked. "The sink is on the other side of the kitchen."
"Shut up, Urameshi."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
After everyone was finished, Sairen got down to business.
"Since your homework assignment was to read the files, I will simply give today's assignment."
"I'm going o give everyone a choice here, and you'll know why in a second." She stopped for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase things. 'Eh, what the hell; it's too much effort.'
"I need to run a few errands before I can really help out. First, I'll need to go pick up some things I want and others you'll need. And there's no way I can go without talking to my better halves."
Kurama translated, "In short, you need to go raid Sector S and see what Rashim and Shalmar have to say."
"The earth Elementals who don't like humans," Yusuke commented. "Oh, joy."
"Though I'm afraid to ask, where does that leave us?"
"I'm glad you asked, Kuwabara. You guys can either do one or both of the two other things for me, or I'll do it so you five can get a head start on getting a Scroll or two."
Hiei found a flaw in that one. "How will we know where to look and what to look for? We need at least one Elemental with us, Sairen."
"You know, I think you're right," she put on a show of surprise at her own short-sightedness. Or was it? "Well, I guess that means that we have to run my errands first!"
"You sneaky little--!"
"Oh, come on, Hiei," Botan broke in. "I'll admit that her methods of persuasion are a little bit unorthodox and a lotta bit underhanded, but if we ask nicely, we may have two more."
"Either way, we need to move a whole lot faster. Botan, could you, Kuwabara, and Yusuke do my grocery shopping?" Sairen put on her sweetest smile. As an automatic reaction, Hiei ran his tongue along his teeth to check for cavities.
"Oh, Please, no! It's bad enough my mom makes me do HERS!" Yusuke complained. Kuwabara shuddered.
"I'm not even going to mention what Shizuru made me pick up the other day!"
Sairen smiled and shook her head. "The things I'm NOT going to say!"
"Just give us the list, and we'll do the rest!"
"Thanks, Botan." she looked over at the two youki. "Hi, guys!"
"Hello, Sairen."
"You're not serious," Hiei shook his head. "After what happened, I really DON'T think it's a good idea if we meet again--"
"Hiei, chill. For some odd reason, they still trust you."