Chapter 2- Secrets Revealed
"Tell me, what do you know about the Flame of Glory?" Koenma sat upright in his big chair behind his desk. Kiara sat on a simple wood stool (as was her preference) facing him.
She had not told Kurama anything about the Flame on their way back to see Koenma; no matter how he pestered her. Even now, sitting here in front of one of the most powerful beings in the spirit world, she was not ready to tell. This could mean terrible things for her Order if she told anything she was not allowed to.
But, recalling some words of courage from her father, Kiara began in a strong voice, "The Flame of Glory is one of the Four Sacred Spirit Tools: Flame of Glory, Winds of Peace, Staff of Happiness, and Elixir of Courage. Each is housed in a Sacred Temple and protected by the Nine Sacred Warriors of that Tool. There is also a Keeper, a guardian if you will, whom the Nine also protects and is also the only one allowed to use the Sacred Tool in any kind of ceremony.
"These Tools were made of the same element, gold, at the same time. Sacred spells and enchantments now long forgotten were cast and engraved on them, and they were all placed on one of the Four Corners: the Flame went to the south, the Winds (which are kept in a gold vase with a diamond stopper) went to the east, the Staff went north, and the Elixir (also in a gold vase, but with a sapphire stopper) went west. They were placed on the farthest four corners to ensure balance in the spirit world and to harmonize the link between the spirit world and the human world. And so, for five hundred thousand years, the Order of the Flame, the Order of the Winds, the Order of the Staff, and the Order of the Elixir have functioned properly and peacefully. However," at this Kiara looked at Koenma with contempt, "certain 'officials' have done well to forget about the Orders, and the rest of the spirit world along with them. Now, choosing warriors is done in secret, as is the protection and maintenance of the Temples."
"What guards the Temples?" Koenma asked, leaning forward.
"Demons of course," Kiara tossed a tress of hair behind her shoulder. "Fire demons guard the Flame, air demons guard the Winds, earth demons guard the Staff, and ice demons guard the Elixir. And each Keeper is always one of the best demons of their element. Now, Koenma, you tell me something. Why do you what to know about the Flame?"
"I have received reports from the south; rumors more like, telling of a powerful force of nature that can grant power, glory, and fame to anyone who manages to get their hands on it. That this force is hard to get because it is guarded by powerful devils, and no one seems to know from who or where it comes from. Now I see the rumors are true, and that it's not just one spirit force, it's four!"
"Kiara," Kurama came around and placed his hand on Kiara's shoulder, "how do you know all this?"
Kiara looked up at his loving, yet troubled gaze. "Isn't it obvious by now? I'm one of the Nine Sacred Warriors of the Flame."
Kurama took away his hand, and backed away. He had expected her to tell him that all fire demons knew about the Temple of the Flame, and Hiei had kept this knowledge inside, like he usually did when the information contained important facts. Or that her father or mother had been one of the Nine, and that they had told her everything. Now, he realized that these assumptions were folly. No one knew about the Orders, so Hiei couldn't have told him anything. "I thought you had worked for Koenma, but quit soon after that Dark Tournament four years ago."
"She did, but she left to fulfill, and I quote, 'obligations to her fighting training, and to scope out hot demons'. Needless to say, I was not thrilled when one of my best Spirit Detectives quit, and disappeared into thin air like smoke," Koenma glared at Kiara through squinting eyes. "But, go on Kiara, who are the Nine Sacred Warriors of the Flame? What can they do?"
Kiara shifted on her stool. "I can tell you their names, but not their powers. I'm forbidden to give away Temple secrets like that. Let's see, there's me. Then there's my best friend in the whole world, Amitare. He's so adorable, and the youngest Warrior at the age of 254. He looks like he's about twelve years old, and is so energetic. He has the cutest brown hair and blue eyes. His big brother, Amitomo, is also a Warrior. He's older, 463, and looks about twenty-four. Like his baby brother, he has brown hair, but only he has deep brown, liquid pools for eyes. My worst enemy, the cocky shit, is Nanaku. She's really pretty with her curly black hair, and purple eyes, but her soul is dark, and she spends more time looking after herself than the Keeper. But Bonai is better. He's really quiet, but after a few rounds of sake, he's ready to talk to anyone. Kamma, the last female, is truly weird. She wears the colors of the Temple, gold and red, but she also dyed her hair that way, and she has way more metal sticking into her than a pincushion. But, she's nice, and a good Warrior. Donya is an excellent cook. The Keeper jokes that if we didn't have him, we'd all starve. But, his culinary talents are nothing compared to his fighting and protecting skills. He puts me to shame. Yongei is a bit on the eccentric side, like Kamma. Like her, he has managed to pierce nearly everything on his body, including the 'land down under' (don't ask me how I know), and he's addicted to human rock music. But he has a good heart, and is the best of all of us at psychic awareness. The last Warrior is Kongono. He's a bit aloof. He's good at his talents and skills, and doesn't show them off. But, when he's not guarding the Keeper, or the temple, he stays in his quarters, doing what, we don't know and we don't ask. And our beloved Keeper, Mameha, is one of the gentlest souls. She has long dark brown hair, and blue eyes the color of the sky. She Keeps the Flame safe, and does her best to order us around without contempt so we don't grow resentful of her. She's like a mother to all of us, especially little Amitare." Kiara stopped there, gazing off into space. Amitare, you little rascal, I hope you're staying out of trouble.
I'M ALL ALONE. WITH KIARA , KAMMA , KONGONO, AND BIG BROTHER GONE, I'M ALL ALONE WITH EVIL NANAKU, BONAI, DONYA, AND YONGEI. AND MAMEHA. CAN'T FORGET MY KEEPER NOW, CAN I? OH, WHAT A PRETTY FLOWER! KIARA WOULD LOVE IT!
Kiara received the thought from Amitare so quick; she did not have time to think too much about it before she received the next thought.
WHAT'S THAT IN THE BUSHES, CREEPING UP ON ME? IT'S COLD NOW, AND IT SHOULDN'T BE. IT'S SUNNY OUT, AND HOT. *GASP* WHO IS THAT FIGURE RISING FROM THE BUSH? HE'S TALL, DARK HAIR, HANDSOME. I WANT TO SEE HIS FACE, BUT IT'S SO COLD, IT'S SO COLD IT HURTS. HE'S IGNITING HIS HAND WITH BLACK FLAMES; AN ATTACK! BUT, I'M READY. SEARING SAI ATTACK! I HAVE TO PROTECT MY KEEPER! HYAAH! GOT HIM! HE'S DOWN! BUT WAIT! HE'S STILL STANDING, SMILING. SAYING HOW CUTE THE YOUNG ARE WHEN THEY TRY TO ATTACK. HE'S THROWING THE BALL OF DARK FIRE. AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIHHHHH! IT BURNS! IT'S BURNING INTO MY SOUL, EATING IT ALIVE. MY SAI DROP TO THE GROUND, I FALL. THEN, THE MAN IS CRADELING ME, GENTLY AND ALMOST LOVINGLY. "GO TO YOUR MOTHER," HE SAYS. "A YOUNG BOY LIKE YOU BELONGS WITH HIS MOTHER." BUT, MY MOTHER HAS BEEN DEAD FOR A HUNDRED YEARS. OH, I GET IT. NO! I WON'T DIE. NOT LIKE THIS, YOUNG, LYING IN MY KILLERS ARMS. KIARA, BIG BROTHER, I NEED YOU! PLEASE, HELP ME. THE MAN IS KISSING MY FOREHEAD. "GO TO MOTHER," HE WHISPERS SOFTLY. "TELL HER YOU LOVE HER," NO! NO NO NO! I WILL NOT DIE! I WON'T DIE! I WON'T DIE. I. . . WON'T. . . DIE! IT. . . IT DOESN'T EVEN HURT ANYMORE. I CAN'T FEEL THE FLAMES LICKING AT MY SOUL, I CAN'T EVEN FEEL MY KILLERS ARMS AROUND MY BODY. I. . . . . WON'T. . . . . . DIE.
When Kiara emerged from the vision she was lying on the floor, panting and covered with sweat. Kurama knelt beside her, her torso in his lap, and her head supported by his arm as it had been in the meadow. She was crying, sobbing into Kurama's white jacket.
"Kiara, what's wrong?" he asked urgently. "What did you see?"
"Amitare," Kiara's voice quivered. "He's dead." Then, Kiara remembered a memory from long ago, from when she had first started guarding the Flame. She had fought Amitare's killer, only he had been much weaker then. She remembered.
Kiara sat straight up, and glared. Her eyes seemed to become green circles of stone, and she gritted her teeth as she said the name.
"Karasu!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello all! Just got back from Japan yesterday (I've been gone for two weeks; today's the eighteenth), and I was struck by inspiration many times, so I had to immediately write the next chapter to this fic. That and DAY (who went with me on the same trip) threatened to kill me if I didn't upload soon. Unlike with my Gundam Wing fic (Reincarnation), she doesn't know what's going to happen in the plot of this one.
While I was in Japan, I managed to find, and buy, the Theme Song Collection CD's for both Yu Yu Hakusho, and Rurouni Kenshin. I have listened to Hiei's theme many times (go Jagganshi!), as well as 'Dead or Alive' another good one. I also found the entire series on DVD, but I chose to refrain from buying the 50,000 (yen) collection, and instead bought myself a kimono, 4,000 yen.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. 'Till next time, read with a good heart. (reviews are appreciated)