I appreciate the reviews! I accept flames and I have since the beginning. I just keep forgetting to mention int.
Still Kurama's POV!
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"Mountain of Four Winds," I murmured repeatedly as I exited the barrier. "How could I find it?" I glanced at Botan's unconscious form in my arms. I was almost positive that she knew, yet what good would that be for me? If she awakened, I would only have her snapping at my heels and possibly at Hiei and everyone else. I sighed and probed the air around me, searching for any sign of humans near or far. No one was close. This was good. I wouldn't be questioned for carrying a still body.
Where the hell are you, fox?
That was Hiei's voice in my mind. I'm on the far east of the main street.
I'll meet you there. Stay there.
B-but Hiei, what's the rush? I then felt as if I were talking to myself. I looked around, wondering why Hiei sounded like he was in trouble. I shifted Botan in my arms. Her head flopped gently to be against my chest. I looked at her, admiring her beauty that was evident, even in slumber.
Stupid human. You don't know if you killed her. You could've miscalculated, Youko replied in my mind matter-of-factly.
I scowled inwardly, continuing to look at Botan. I glanced up, feeling smelling something disturbing in the air. It smelled like pain. It wasn't Botan. Her Reiki was a low pulse, but what I smelled wasn't right. I hoped it wasn't Hiei or anyone else I knew.
"Where've you been? I've been looking for you for nearly an entire day."
I turned to meet Hiei. I nodded briefly at him. "I was in Makai to gather the ingredients for the cure of this disease passing around."
His harsh look softened to a relieved sigh. "So there is a cure. That's good news."
I raised an eyebrow. "What're you implying?"
He ignored my question to stare at Botan's still form. He nodded his head toward her. "Did you run into something in Makai?"
"No, it's the disease."
His lips parted as he raised his questioning stare to meet my eyes. I've known him long enough to note that this was his equivalent of a jaw-drop. "She's got it too, then," he murmured flatly. He sighed, raising a hand to run his fingers through his raven hair. This was a gesture he did only in my presence. It was a sign of helpless frustration—a very rare gesture from him indeed.
"Too?" I repeated. "Who else has it if you really said too?"
"Hn. I'll give you three guesses."
"Yukina?"
"Yeah. It's almost like whatever she's been going through weakened her somehow." He crossed his arms, giving me an insinuating glare.
"Oh, and I suppose everything in my life is entirely my fault?" I said irritably.
"No. Well, yes. Partly. It was mostly my fault for starting this mess in the first place, I suppose."
"You couldn't have started the illness."
He gave me a half-hearted shrug. He looked away and moved the subject to a different angle. "So you say you know the cure?"
"Yes, I just need to grind the things in this bag into a powder. There's only one thing I'm having trouble on." I unrolled the scroll and showed him the inscription on it. "See this place? The Mountain of Four Winds. I have no idea where that is."
"Oh, that place." He nodded.
"You know where it is, then?"
He snorted. "Feh. Me? Hell no. I've heard of it, but it's a stupid legend."
My heart fell. "Then, this cure is also a superstition?"
"Depends. Where'd you get it from?"
"Botan."
He nodded again. "Since she gave it to you, then it must be real. Spirit World doesn't keep worthless shit in their library. The shit they keep usually is worthwhile. Usually. No guarantees of course."
I thought over his words. "Then, I suppose I must go to Reikai and speak with Koenma to help with this."
"I'd go with you, but with Yukina yelling at the lummox for being near her, I wouldn't want to miss it." He smirked. "Honestly, it'll be priceless." He gestured to Botan. "I can watch over her too."
"It's not that easy. Botan tends to get, er, irritable, just to put things lightly. I had to knock her unconscious to keep her from bashing my skull in with her oar."
I saw the amused grin rise onto his lips. "Priceless," he repeated. "Too bad I missed that." His expression hardened. "I'll watch over her. I'll strap her to one of those metal transportation devices the humans have if worse comes to worse."
"Cars," I offered promptly.
He waved the comment away. "Whatever the hell it's called. Just do what you have to. I'll handle this."
"Can you carry her?" I asked, curious. Botan's height stopped at my shoulder, which was possibly a foot higher than Hiei, not counting his hair, of course.
"Fuck off. I can do it." He took her from me and dashed off at his speed. I looked after them, wondering how Botan would react, even with the Living Death.
~~Spirit World H.Q.~~
(A/n: How the heck did he get here? * shrug * ah well. Use your imagination, then!)
"What kind of question is that, Kurama?" Koenma protested, chewing on his pacifier.
"All the humans are falling ill. Some of us aren't even of Ningenkai and still have the illness. Yukina has it. Botan too."
His eyes widened. "Botan? Is she okay? I sent her on this thing to make sure I wouldn't have to work my royal fanny off."
"Yes, well, I need to know where the Mountain of Four Winds are."
"You can't go there! The only way to get there is through Dad's room. Even I'm not allowed to go in there!"
"Then perhaps I could speak to King Yama?" I suggested.
He gasped, his pacifier nearly falling out. "No, how can you even think about talking to Dad?! That's the craziest thing ever! Do you want to die?!"
"No offense meant, Koenma, but everything else that could possibly happen has occurred in the span of three weeks. The only thing I haven't accomplished is dying. This isn't a major issue to me."
He narrowed his eyes, studying me carefully. "Sorry, but if I can't go into Dad's room, there's no way I'm letting you in! End of discussion."
"But if you don't allow me to do this, the entire living world will die," I protested. I paused and held up the bag. "Unless you would like to do this," I added.
"No way! Okay, okay, I'll let you go, but if my precious backside gets even a scratch when my Dad hears this, I'll give you a hundred spankings. No, make that three hundred!"
George, the ogre beside him, gasped. "Three hundred? But Koenma, sir, isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Nope. When my fanny is on the line, nothing is harsh enough!" The prince waved me away. "Go on, hurry up before Dad finds out."
"Finds out what?" A deep, booming voice filled the room. The very walls seemed to vibrate from the low octave. I gazed up to see the large, frightening figure that was King Yama. His eyes were glued to Koenma. "Find out what?" he repeated.
"Well, Dad, it's just . . ." Koenma fiddled with a pen.
"Please, sir, the entire living world is coming down with this disease from Reikai. I have the ingredients here," I began.
"Yes, I know that. Do you know what you have to do?"
"I need to go to the Mountain of Four Winds, but Koenma has said that I'm unable to go to it because I must first go through your room." I smiled weakly at King Yama. "Please, might I go to the mountain to save the human race? I'm sure it'll be less work for you."
King Yama nodded. "I don't have a problem with this. Go on through. Whenever it's less work for me, anything will be fine. Go on, go on! The pathway to the mountain is in inside the wardrobe with gold doors. One word of warning, though, demon. You may not survive through it. Normally, only I am able to go through it, but if your intentions and your heart is true, then you'll survive." He paused and studied me with his large black eyes. "This may not work. The fox demon is half of your soul. Can you control him enough to do this?"
I bowed respectfully. "I'm afraid I have no choice."
He grinned. "I would be honored if my son was more like you—willing to take risks for his job." He shot a look at Koenma who cowered and did his best to refrain from crawling under his desk. "You. I'll deal with you later. You're lucky I'm busy right now!"
He stomped off, leading me to his room. "Here. You do the rest. As for me, I've got work."
"Thank you, sir."
"No, no thanking me. I'll thank you for giving me less people to judge over today. Can you imagine how many people are in Tokyo?! Anyway, good luck."
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