Chapter 4- The Hunt is On
"Good thing you told him, and not me. He'd have murdered me if I had told him about his brother," A tall, dark man swept out of the Temple. He had long, sleek black hair, and a Roman nose. Unlike the other Warriors whose skin was tanned dark from the sun, Kongono's skin was pale, and unhealthy looking. A silver, sheathed katana hung from his belt. "I'll take him to Bonai's room. I hardly think he should be in the room he shared with Amitare right now," He raised a hand, and Amitomo's shaking body rose in the air, and readjusted itself into a lain out form, only Amitomo had covered his face with his hands. "See you at dinner," was Kongono's leaving comment as he walked towards one of the small buildings, Amitomo floating in front of him.
"That man was creepy," Yusuke said as he watched Kongono's retreating form.
"Did you feel his spirit energy?" Kuwabara asked. "It was amazing! Absolutely incredible power!"
"If you're done fawning over the man," Hiei followed Kiara behind the shrine. "We'll be leaving,"
"Good luck and be careful," Kurama urged them.
"We will," Kiara assured him.
Kiara and Hiei walked down the short hall behind the shrine, and stood in front of a large piece of carved stone. It showed all of the Sacred Spirit Tools, and where they were in the spirit world. The Elixir, the Staff, and the Winds were all leafed in silver, but the Flame was leafed with gold. There were forests shown, and rivers, lakes, and cities: a giant map painted with colorful colors.
Kiara stood straight up, and outstretched her palms face up. In a strong voice she said a spell in an ancient tongue, "Dai stino, o marei stina!" There was a loud rumble, and the carving of the Flame sunk into the ground, revealing a large door.
"Impressive," Hiei commented as they walked through the doorway into complete darkness. He followed Kiara's shadowed form to prevent getting lost.
Then there was a load rumble, a growl more like, and suddenly fiery sconces on the wall lighted up the entire chamber. A tall (about fifty feet high to be exact), red and gold dragon roared, and reared up on its hind legs. Hiei went into a defensive stance, but Kiara stood and looked at the creature.
"Really, Yongei? Is this necessary? I really need to see Mameha,"
The dragon stopped roaring, and started to metamorphosize into a tall, black and blond haired man. He was about six feet tall, and looked like a human pincushion. He had on a red/gold one-piece outfit, and a gold undershirt. A thick leather belt was around his thin waist, and no noticeable weapons to speak of. "Hello, love," Yongei had an Australian accent. "Back from holiday? Who's this little guy?" Yongei grasped Hiei around the waist with one hand, and hoisted him into the air. "Cripes sake, he's teeny! Don't tell me he's my replacement!"
"I must ask you to please set me down at once," Hiei struggled to get free from Yongei's grip.
"Snappy little bugger, isn't he? Well, it each his own, I say. I never knew you fancied shorter men," Yongei laughed.
"He is not my boyfriend!" Kiara's face flushed.
"Yeah, she's with Kurama . . .PUT ME DOWN!" Hiei was peeved.
"Kurama?" Yongei asked as he put Hiei back into his full and upright position. "Isn't he the man who broke your heart after the Tournament?"
"Yeah. But he's back now, and won't leave me anytime soon," Kiara put her hands on her hips. "Now, we need to go,"
"All right, sheila, don't get your knickers in a twist," Yongei moved out of the way, and revealed a door that led to the Keeping Room.
"Who was that? What did he mean by his replacement?" Hiei was still ticked off by being treated as a child.
"Yongei, an ex boyfriend. You notice his spiky earrings pushed into his lobes?" Kiara walked onward.
"Yeah, I was two inches away from those miniature ball and chains,"
"Well, they get bigger, and Yongei's the devil with them when he gets mad. Resaldiant!" Kiara fell to the floor, and crouched on the ground in a low bow, and whispered for Hiei to do the same, which he did.
"Get up, child, no need to grovel on the ground like a toad," Mameha, Keeper of the Flame, stood before them in a glorious gold robe. Her dark brown hair was long, sleek and shiny, and her blue eyes reflected kindness. She was flanked by two Warriors of the Flame: Kamma, and Donya. But, they were not the only ones in the room.
A tall handsome man with long white blonde hair and gold eyes stood with about nine people behind him. He was dressed completely in white, except for the yellow sash tied around his waist. He was fairly young, but a bit confused-looking. On the long table beside him stood a gold vase with a diamond stopper. This was Kaze, Keeper of the Winds.
Behind him, the nine people were all dressed either in yellow, or white, or both. They all either had red or blond hair, and all of them had sparkling blue eyes. They all stared at the newcomers with curiosity, some with pompous looks on their faces. They were called Akira, Tinamo, Kokai, Tenshin, Krumi, Dotaro, Namanga, Mitsukoi, and one man Hiei and Kiara both recognized, Jin, the Windmaster.
"Fancy meeting you here, Hiei," he smiled at the shocked young man. "Long time no see,"
"Jin!" Hiei breathed. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, that's nice. Don't you know I'm now a Warrior of the Winds? Ha, ha, of course you wouldn't."
"I assume you got my message, Kiara," Mameha strode forward to the girl. "It was, and still is, a great loss for all of us. We only hope that Amitare has found peace,"
"Keeper, what is the Keeper of the Winds doing here?" Kiara asked.
'We were having a discussion on the security and protection of the Temples," Keeper Kaze answered. "That one of the great Warriors of the Flame was murdered was a shock and surprise to all of the Keepers. The Keepers of the Staff and Elixir have just left. It was a shame you missed them,"
"Have you found a replacement for Amitare yet?" Kiara turned back to her Keeper.
"Yes, her name is Chiyo, and she went through the induction ceremony last night,"
"Last night?" Hiei asked. "Kiara only received the vision this morning,"
"That would have been Karasu's doing," Donya said in a deep voice. "He blocked the telepathic connection between the Warriors and the Keeper, so we wouldn't know what had happened until after the fact. He retained this hold on your mind until late last night, after Chiyo's induction,"
"How good is she?" Kiara asked.
"Very," Kamma blew a bubble gum bubble, and popped it. "Her escrima did damage galore on my kamma,"
"Keeper, I request that you let me go and hunt down Karasu with the help of Hiei, and Kurama, and two of Koenma's Spirit Detectives," Kiara said formally.
"You should stay here and protect your Keeper," said a Wind Warrior, Akira, haughtily. "That's what a good Warrior would do,"
"You mean that's what you would do," Kiara countered. "Karasu took the life of a little boy, my best friend, Amitare. He has destroyed innocent life, and brought grief upon this Temple and it's Warriors, especially the boy's older brother, Amitomo. He has attempted to get the Flame, and we have prevented that. You tell me to sit still and watch from the side lines, but I cannot do that,"
"Who do you think you are?" asked the snotty air demon, Tenshin.
Kiara looked at him with conviction, "I am Tanaka Kiara, daughter of the great fire demons Seth and Marina, high champions of the Dark Tournament four hundred fifty years ago. I am a Warrior of the Flame of Glory, and it's life burns inside me. I am the lover of the earth demon Kurama, and friend of the late Miyoko Amitare, who was murdered without mercy by the demon Karasu. And I will have my vengeance. The hunt is on,"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Phew! What an ending! I hope you like it. It was way better then the angst endings I've been writing.
Who thinks Yongei's cool? DAY does! She loves his character. By the way, she'll be at band camp for a week, and she won't be uploading for at least two more weeks. I know, I hate it too. The only reason I even wrote and uploaded this chapter so soon was so she could find out what happens before she leaves. It took two straight hours of two fingered typing to get. How'd you like it?
Review me, see yah!