^^ I feel so loved...SolusLupaKouken, you have excellent intuition...of course, you got the whole Youko Kurama bit getting sick too, but...^^;; Ah, well. Let me see...last chapter, Kia and Kelsey got into a whole mess of trouble with a gang governed by a youkai with superiority problems! And after putting up a good fight, someone just cut down a youkai! But...who is it? Heh heh heh...the answer is about to be revealed!
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A tanned hand reached down, catching hold of Kia's shirt collar and effortlessly lifting her to her feet. The Mirror Holder seemed to be at a loss for words--her mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out.
Kelsey spoke instead. "Chuu?!"
"At your service, love." He grinned down at her, then turned to Shugo, who was staring at him rather oddly. "Hand over the keys to their chains, or you're next."
"That's right!" A small voice piped up. A small boy stood beside the taller man, idly playing with a yo-yo. "Let 'em go." Rinku had shown up too.
"Not likely!" Shugo retorted angrily. "I'll gladly give them up once I barbecue their bodies!"
Kia sighed, finally recovering her voice. "Once again, you CAN'T barbecue somebody with water, Smart One."
"And they're starting to annoy me." The leader was definitely starting to look pissed. "No one insults me and gets away with it! Now, my men--kill them ALL!"
Judging from the looks on their faces, most of the youkai didn't want to-but they were too afraid and too attached to their heads to disobey. They attacked, and Rinku and Chuu leapt into the fray, the latter letting out some strange version of a war cry.
"Diversion," Kia whispered to Kelsey. "I have an idea."
The blonde girl nodded, and the ground began to rumble and shake. She'd come a long way, considering that she once had only been able to do this when she was furious-and then, she usually couldn't control it. Some of the youkai fell with startled yells. Shugo himself was having trouble keeping his footing. And then Kia glimpsed something bright and shiny at his waist. The keys!
"Okay..." The girl muttered, concentrating. At her silent urging, a small breeze swooped down and discreetly slipped through the metal loop of the key ring. With a small jerk, it came free and Shugo looked up-just to see the key ring soar into the air. It hovered close to Kia, just above her head.
"May I?" Kyattsuai inquired politely.
"Go right ahead," Kia replied, and the keys floated lower. The neko youkai carefully caught hold of the key ring, then set to work unlocking the girls' chains. Meanwhile, Shugo, realizing that his men were getting their behinds (tailed or not) belabored, decided to make a run for it before Chuu and Rinku went after him. Unfortunately, he didn't account for two certain Mirror Holders.
"Oh, NO you don't!" Kelsey glared at the fleeing Shugo, flames racing away from her to set his pants on fire. The sprint turned into a sort of hop-skip-limp, accompanied by cries of pain. "Kia, a little help?"
"I'll be glad to." The next instant, the leader of the Niji gang was caught up in a carefully-controlled tornado and blown away, still yelling. "That's ONE-WAY ONLY, SIN ESCALA!" (No layover) Kia yelled back. When Kelsey raised pale eyebrows at her, the girl shrugged. "¿Qué? Él lo mereció." (What? He deserved it.)
"Tu eres una hoja extraña de la galleta." (You are one strange cookie sheet.)
"Tu eres uno a hablar." (You're one to talk.)
"Now that THAT'S settled," Chuu said, menacingly approaching Kyattsuai, "you're the only one left."
"No!" Kia cried, running out in front of Kyattsuai. "Don't! He's not bad!"
"He helped us," Kelsey added.
The tall youkai hesitated. "...Sure?"
"HAI," they said in firm unison.
"Okay, then! If he's alright with you, then he's alright with me!" Chuu, in an abrupt change of mood, slapped Kyattsuai jovially on the back. The neko youkai staggered slightly. "Or thanks for watching the girls for us."
"Yeah!" Rinku agreed, running into Kia's arms and hugging her tightly.
Kelsey looked around. Seven youkai were dead, and the rest were littered about, unconscious. "How'd you two find us?" She asked. "For that matter, how'd you even know we were IN Makai?"
Chuu fingered the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, love, we'd heard that two ningen girls and a redheaded boy were headed our way. We figured it was you, so we decided to meet you halfway, but we must've missed you. Then we heard a very familiar voice yellin' about seagulls and ocean monkeys (Kia coughed, and Kelsey nudged her in the ribs, whispering "Ssh!") or something."
Rinku picked up the story. "We tried to follow the sound, but when we got there, we only found Youko Kurama, a few heads, and footprints leading away. So we followed the trail...and we found you!" He beamed proudly.
"You found us," Kia agreed, lifting Rinku up and hugging him. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Kurama!! We left him-"
"Oh, you mean THIS bastard?" The drunkard held up Youko Kurama by his white shirt.
"Kurama! What-how did you-when did-oh, hell, I'm confused." The girl sighed.
"Like Rinku said, we found Ole Foxy Boy back there. Knowin' you two and Chit-"
"YOU know Kurama's girlfriend too??" Kelsey interrupted eagerly.
"Ah..." Chuu sweatdropped. "Anyway, I knew you lot would tan my hide if I left him, so we brought the little bugger with us, see?" He shook Kurama slightly.
"'Little', indeed." The blonde took a closer look at Kurama. "Looks like he shrunk, too."
"Honey, I shrunk the Youko," Kia quipped. Kelsey groaned, trying not to smile.
"Why, so he did!" Chuu seemed surprised. "Thought he was a little lighter, but..."
Kyattsuai was completely baffled. "You've lost me."
The younger Mirror Holder looked at her companion. "Will YOU tell him, or shall I?"
"I will, I guess." Kia took a deep breath, and then launched into an explanation. "There's a disease going around that only affects youkai, making them regress in age until they reach two. At that point, they'll die, which is why Kelsey and I came here to find Chuu and Rinku, because they know about the cure, only they found us first, but we had to go through a hell of a lot to find them, including a youkai mob, Youko Kurama getting sick, hamsters, a storm, the Niji gang, some evil eight-year-old who's trying to stop us, we just left a bunch of kids alone with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and YOU'RE a youkai, which means that you could catch it too, and now I need some water."
Kelsey applauded. Kyattsuai, only looking slightly less confused, silently tossed the girl a canteen. She gave him a grateful smile. He smiled back. "Don't worry about me. Cat demons are immune to most diseases."
"Yes, well..." Kelsey shrugged. "Kurama thought HE was Superman, and now..." She trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence. She didn't need to. "So..." She looked at Chuu. "I'd love to harass you about Kurama's girlfriend, but first things first. Cure info, onegai?"
The youkai shifted, looking somewhat awkward. "Sorry we've been away so long...I feel bad leavin' you two at such a time..."
"Why were you?" Kia asked. "I mean, it can't possibly take tqo months to bring Naien back to Makai!"
"It didn't." Rinku answered for Chuu. "She's settled in now, but we..."
"Had some business to take care of!" The older youkai said quickly. "We stayed with Shishi an' Suzuki an' Jin an' Touya in Suzuki's-"
"NANI?!" Kelsey was starting to look dangerous. "So they were HERE. WITH YOU."
"Kage wouldn't tell us where they'd gone, but they were away for awhile," the brunette added. "I don't even think KURAMA knew where they were! Why didn't you tell us?? We were afraid something had happened to you! Why keep it a secret??"
"I know, love," Chuu said apologetically, leaning down to toy with her ponytail. "But Suzuki told us you and Kurama were in school, and we didn't want to interrupt your studies-"
"That's the biggest load of bull-"
"Be that as it MAY," Kia said, pointedly raising her voice to drown out Kelsey's unfinished expletive, "we're straying from the subject. Cure."
"Ah...well..." The drunkard shuffled his feet, avoiding their eyes.
"Four-one-one, Chuu," Kelsey said exasperatedly.
He scratched his head. "Now, does it REALLY-"
"THE CURE, Chuu!" Both Mirror Holders shouted.
He sighed. "Alright, alright...no need to lose your tempers...it's not gonna be easy to get."
"What else is new?" Kelsey rolled her gray eyes skyward.
"Y'see, only one youkai holds it, and that youkai is one of the most powerful demons in Makai."
"Who?" The girl looked blank.
"Well, she used to...ah..." Chuu heaved another sigh. "It's Mukuro. She has the cure."
"Who??" Kelsey repeated. Her friend seemed just as puzzled, but Kyattsuai looked horrified.
The tall youkai was thunderstruck. "You DON'T KNOW WHO MUKURO IS?!"
"No." The Mirror Holder blinked. "Should I?"
"Wait..." Kia blinked as well. "I think I've about her from Touya. She's one of the three demon lords, isn't she? Raizen, Mukuro, and Yomi."
"Right!" Rinku chimed in. "She's REALLY strong!"
"And she-" The girl suddenly stopped. "Oh, Inari..."
"What?" Kelsey prompted. When her friend didn't reply, she repeated the question, louder this time.
"She..." Kia closed her eyes briefly. "She used to eat ningens..."
"Oh, no. No. NO!!" Kelsey glared vehemently at Chuu. "You are NOT sending us on a suicide mission to some demon lady who EATS PEOPLE!!"
"She doesn't eat them anymore," Chuu said uncomfortably. "Raizen made her and Yomi promise not to. It's just her army you'll want to watch out for. They have it in for ningens and those that aren't...fully human, but also not fully youkai."
"You mean hanyous." Kia slowly sank to the ground, head drooping. "...This is entirely hopeless. We have no idea where Mukuro IS! And what makes you think she'll just go 'Why, sure, nice ningen girls! Here, take it, and please join me for dinner, while we watch I Love Lucy and talk about plans for world piece and unity among the races!' and hand the cure over to us?!"
Rinku looked up at her anxiously. "You two are Mirror Holders! (A/N: As if that'll count for anything.) I'm sure you'll come up with something...and Chuu can give you directions, right, Chuu?"
"'Course!" The youkai assured the two doubtful females, pulling Kia up. "An' you'll prove to Mukuro and her army that you're no pushovers, and you'll have the cure in no time!"
"I love the optimism," Kelsey said dryly, checking her watch-only to discover that it had vanished. "What the-hey, has anyone seen my watch?"
Kia silently pointed, setting Rinku down. Youko Kurama was awake...and delicately prodding at the glass surface of Kelsey's wristwatch. "Shiiiiny..." Definitely younger, same attitude.
That decided both girls. "Okay, we're going now!" Kia announced.
"We'll stay behind for a bit...deal with these blokes here." Chuu indicated the youkai members, some of which were starting to stir, moaning in pain. "But we'll catch up later and bring Kurama too. And Cat boy."
The Mirror Holders nodded, and Kia accepted the map Chuu proffered. With a wave, and twin sighs, they set off...to find someone they didn't really want to meet...Lord Mukuro.
*OOC*
My goodness...well, at least they have SOME good news! They found Chuu and Rinku! But now Kurama is being chibified, and the girls have to find Mukuro! I wonder what's next...anyway, please review! Makes authoresses like me very happy! NEXT chapter!
* Well, they're off again...but...Binetsu's out to stop them at all costs! Including a storm...a pit...
* The girls meet a traveler on the road, and gain a new companion! Exactly what kind of person is Sei?
* Things start to get REALLY strange when they reach Mukuro's place...what the hell is going on?!
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A tanned hand reached down, catching hold of Kia's shirt collar and effortlessly lifting her to her feet. The Mirror Holder seemed to be at a loss for words--her mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out.
Kelsey spoke instead. "Chuu?!"
"At your service, love." He grinned down at her, then turned to Shugo, who was staring at him rather oddly. "Hand over the keys to their chains, or you're next."
"That's right!" A small voice piped up. A small boy stood beside the taller man, idly playing with a yo-yo. "Let 'em go." Rinku had shown up too.
"Not likely!" Shugo retorted angrily. "I'll gladly give them up once I barbecue their bodies!"
Kia sighed, finally recovering her voice. "Once again, you CAN'T barbecue somebody with water, Smart One."
"And they're starting to annoy me." The leader was definitely starting to look pissed. "No one insults me and gets away with it! Now, my men--kill them ALL!"
Judging from the looks on their faces, most of the youkai didn't want to-but they were too afraid and too attached to their heads to disobey. They attacked, and Rinku and Chuu leapt into the fray, the latter letting out some strange version of a war cry.
"Diversion," Kia whispered to Kelsey. "I have an idea."
The blonde girl nodded, and the ground began to rumble and shake. She'd come a long way, considering that she once had only been able to do this when she was furious-and then, she usually couldn't control it. Some of the youkai fell with startled yells. Shugo himself was having trouble keeping his footing. And then Kia glimpsed something bright and shiny at his waist. The keys!
"Okay..." The girl muttered, concentrating. At her silent urging, a small breeze swooped down and discreetly slipped through the metal loop of the key ring. With a small jerk, it came free and Shugo looked up-just to see the key ring soar into the air. It hovered close to Kia, just above her head.
"May I?" Kyattsuai inquired politely.
"Go right ahead," Kia replied, and the keys floated lower. The neko youkai carefully caught hold of the key ring, then set to work unlocking the girls' chains. Meanwhile, Shugo, realizing that his men were getting their behinds (tailed or not) belabored, decided to make a run for it before Chuu and Rinku went after him. Unfortunately, he didn't account for two certain Mirror Holders.
"Oh, NO you don't!" Kelsey glared at the fleeing Shugo, flames racing away from her to set his pants on fire. The sprint turned into a sort of hop-skip-limp, accompanied by cries of pain. "Kia, a little help?"
"I'll be glad to." The next instant, the leader of the Niji gang was caught up in a carefully-controlled tornado and blown away, still yelling. "That's ONE-WAY ONLY, SIN ESCALA!" (No layover) Kia yelled back. When Kelsey raised pale eyebrows at her, the girl shrugged. "¿Qué? Él lo mereció." (What? He deserved it.)
"Tu eres una hoja extraña de la galleta." (You are one strange cookie sheet.)
"Tu eres uno a hablar." (You're one to talk.)
"Now that THAT'S settled," Chuu said, menacingly approaching Kyattsuai, "you're the only one left."
"No!" Kia cried, running out in front of Kyattsuai. "Don't! He's not bad!"
"He helped us," Kelsey added.
The tall youkai hesitated. "...Sure?"
"HAI," they said in firm unison.
"Okay, then! If he's alright with you, then he's alright with me!" Chuu, in an abrupt change of mood, slapped Kyattsuai jovially on the back. The neko youkai staggered slightly. "Or thanks for watching the girls for us."
"Yeah!" Rinku agreed, running into Kia's arms and hugging her tightly.
Kelsey looked around. Seven youkai were dead, and the rest were littered about, unconscious. "How'd you two find us?" She asked. "For that matter, how'd you even know we were IN Makai?"
Chuu fingered the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, love, we'd heard that two ningen girls and a redheaded boy were headed our way. We figured it was you, so we decided to meet you halfway, but we must've missed you. Then we heard a very familiar voice yellin' about seagulls and ocean monkeys (Kia coughed, and Kelsey nudged her in the ribs, whispering "Ssh!") or something."
Rinku picked up the story. "We tried to follow the sound, but when we got there, we only found Youko Kurama, a few heads, and footprints leading away. So we followed the trail...and we found you!" He beamed proudly.
"You found us," Kia agreed, lifting Rinku up and hugging him. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Kurama!! We left him-"
"Oh, you mean THIS bastard?" The drunkard held up Youko Kurama by his white shirt.
"Kurama! What-how did you-when did-oh, hell, I'm confused." The girl sighed.
"Like Rinku said, we found Ole Foxy Boy back there. Knowin' you two and Chit-"
"YOU know Kurama's girlfriend too??" Kelsey interrupted eagerly.
"Ah..." Chuu sweatdropped. "Anyway, I knew you lot would tan my hide if I left him, so we brought the little bugger with us, see?" He shook Kurama slightly.
"'Little', indeed." The blonde took a closer look at Kurama. "Looks like he shrunk, too."
"Honey, I shrunk the Youko," Kia quipped. Kelsey groaned, trying not to smile.
"Why, so he did!" Chuu seemed surprised. "Thought he was a little lighter, but..."
Kyattsuai was completely baffled. "You've lost me."
The younger Mirror Holder looked at her companion. "Will YOU tell him, or shall I?"
"I will, I guess." Kia took a deep breath, and then launched into an explanation. "There's a disease going around that only affects youkai, making them regress in age until they reach two. At that point, they'll die, which is why Kelsey and I came here to find Chuu and Rinku, because they know about the cure, only they found us first, but we had to go through a hell of a lot to find them, including a youkai mob, Youko Kurama getting sick, hamsters, a storm, the Niji gang, some evil eight-year-old who's trying to stop us, we just left a bunch of kids alone with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and YOU'RE a youkai, which means that you could catch it too, and now I need some water."
Kelsey applauded. Kyattsuai, only looking slightly less confused, silently tossed the girl a canteen. She gave him a grateful smile. He smiled back. "Don't worry about me. Cat demons are immune to most diseases."
"Yes, well..." Kelsey shrugged. "Kurama thought HE was Superman, and now..." She trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence. She didn't need to. "So..." She looked at Chuu. "I'd love to harass you about Kurama's girlfriend, but first things first. Cure info, onegai?"
The youkai shifted, looking somewhat awkward. "Sorry we've been away so long...I feel bad leavin' you two at such a time..."
"Why were you?" Kia asked. "I mean, it can't possibly take tqo months to bring Naien back to Makai!"
"It didn't." Rinku answered for Chuu. "She's settled in now, but we..."
"Had some business to take care of!" The older youkai said quickly. "We stayed with Shishi an' Suzuki an' Jin an' Touya in Suzuki's-"
"NANI?!" Kelsey was starting to look dangerous. "So they were HERE. WITH YOU."
"Kage wouldn't tell us where they'd gone, but they were away for awhile," the brunette added. "I don't even think KURAMA knew where they were! Why didn't you tell us?? We were afraid something had happened to you! Why keep it a secret??"
"I know, love," Chuu said apologetically, leaning down to toy with her ponytail. "But Suzuki told us you and Kurama were in school, and we didn't want to interrupt your studies-"
"That's the biggest load of bull-"
"Be that as it MAY," Kia said, pointedly raising her voice to drown out Kelsey's unfinished expletive, "we're straying from the subject. Cure."
"Ah...well..." The drunkard shuffled his feet, avoiding their eyes.
"Four-one-one, Chuu," Kelsey said exasperatedly.
He scratched his head. "Now, does it REALLY-"
"THE CURE, Chuu!" Both Mirror Holders shouted.
He sighed. "Alright, alright...no need to lose your tempers...it's not gonna be easy to get."
"What else is new?" Kelsey rolled her gray eyes skyward.
"Y'see, only one youkai holds it, and that youkai is one of the most powerful demons in Makai."
"Who?" The girl looked blank.
"Well, she used to...ah..." Chuu heaved another sigh. "It's Mukuro. She has the cure."
"Who??" Kelsey repeated. Her friend seemed just as puzzled, but Kyattsuai looked horrified.
The tall youkai was thunderstruck. "You DON'T KNOW WHO MUKURO IS?!"
"No." The Mirror Holder blinked. "Should I?"
"Wait..." Kia blinked as well. "I think I've about her from Touya. She's one of the three demon lords, isn't she? Raizen, Mukuro, and Yomi."
"Right!" Rinku chimed in. "She's REALLY strong!"
"And she-" The girl suddenly stopped. "Oh, Inari..."
"What?" Kelsey prompted. When her friend didn't reply, she repeated the question, louder this time.
"She..." Kia closed her eyes briefly. "She used to eat ningens..."
"Oh, no. No. NO!!" Kelsey glared vehemently at Chuu. "You are NOT sending us on a suicide mission to some demon lady who EATS PEOPLE!!"
"She doesn't eat them anymore," Chuu said uncomfortably. "Raizen made her and Yomi promise not to. It's just her army you'll want to watch out for. They have it in for ningens and those that aren't...fully human, but also not fully youkai."
"You mean hanyous." Kia slowly sank to the ground, head drooping. "...This is entirely hopeless. We have no idea where Mukuro IS! And what makes you think she'll just go 'Why, sure, nice ningen girls! Here, take it, and please join me for dinner, while we watch I Love Lucy and talk about plans for world piece and unity among the races!' and hand the cure over to us?!"
Rinku looked up at her anxiously. "You two are Mirror Holders! (A/N: As if that'll count for anything.) I'm sure you'll come up with something...and Chuu can give you directions, right, Chuu?"
"'Course!" The youkai assured the two doubtful females, pulling Kia up. "An' you'll prove to Mukuro and her army that you're no pushovers, and you'll have the cure in no time!"
"I love the optimism," Kelsey said dryly, checking her watch-only to discover that it had vanished. "What the-hey, has anyone seen my watch?"
Kia silently pointed, setting Rinku down. Youko Kurama was awake...and delicately prodding at the glass surface of Kelsey's wristwatch. "Shiiiiny..." Definitely younger, same attitude.
That decided both girls. "Okay, we're going now!" Kia announced.
"We'll stay behind for a bit...deal with these blokes here." Chuu indicated the youkai members, some of which were starting to stir, moaning in pain. "But we'll catch up later and bring Kurama too. And Cat boy."
The Mirror Holders nodded, and Kia accepted the map Chuu proffered. With a wave, and twin sighs, they set off...to find someone they didn't really want to meet...Lord Mukuro.
*OOC*
My goodness...well, at least they have SOME good news! They found Chuu and Rinku! But now Kurama is being chibified, and the girls have to find Mukuro! I wonder what's next...anyway, please review! Makes authoresses like me very happy! NEXT chapter!
* Well, they're off again...but...Binetsu's out to stop them at all costs! Including a storm...a pit...
* The girls meet a traveler on the road, and gain a new companion! Exactly what kind of person is Sei?
* Things start to get REALLY strange when they reach Mukuro's place...what the hell is going on?!