AN:
Hiei: It's amazing...Youko-chan actually decided to write another chapter...
Me: Shut up! I needed inspiration!
Kurama: Now, now, no need for you two to fight again.
Me: Kurama's right...I'm sorry Hiei.
Hiei: You? Sorry? Ha!
Me: -_-
Hiei: You're a little early with your April Fool's joke. But I guess idiots can do stupid things any day they want.
Kurama: Hiei...
Me: Okay. I can play this game. Let's see, chapter six. Hiei has a misfortunate accident involving a boulder and many broken bones...
Hiei: ::is silent::
Kurama: You're wasting time...
Disclaimer: Kurama: Well, why those two verbally assault each other, I'll say the disclaimer. Youko-chan does not own YuYu Hakusho. ::looks back:: Wow, they're really going to kill each other this time...::pulls out popcorn:: Please enjoy the fic!::watches Hiei and Youko-chan beat each other half to death::
~~~A Glimpse of What's to Come~~~
~~~Hiei's Pov~~~
Every where I turned I saw hordes and hordes of smelly demons. I looked up only to see their annoyed faces. I desperately searched for Kurama, only to find a vast sea of fat stomachs belonging to oversized youkai. Damn I hated being short.
"Kurama!" I cupped my hands around my mouth and tried again. "Kurama!" It was no use. Yet another fat youkai came into view, knocking me along the river of people. I was tempted to start fighting each and everyone of them, but knowing that brat Shiri, he would send his troops out to slaughter me. I weighed the trouble of it and decided just to keep looking.
~~~Yusuke's Pov~~~
"So, say it again."
"It's called Paupuan fruit. I swear it's the sweetest thing you'll ever sink your teeth into." I looked up at the smiling demon. Well, he must not be lying, I thought as I saw the numerous rotting and missing teeth in his mouth. I dug into my pocket and pulled out about a 1000 yen.
"What the hell..." I handed him some money. He eyed the money carefully, turning it over again and again.
"And what exactly is this?" It dawned on me at that moment that he wouldn't know what I gave him. Think Yusuke! You don't want to go back to that restaurant!
"You mean you don't know?" I said convincingly. He looked surprised at my remark. I sat back on my heels and laughed. "Wow, buddy. How do you make any business! I mean, anyone could walk up and offer you something like that and you'd just turn 'em down without a second thought!" I gave him my trademark grin. "You're looking at one of the most prized articles of the ningenkai..."my voice turned serious. "Humans kill for this stuff..." At this he looked worried. "This is pretty valuable stuff, if ya know what I mean..." He looked at it again and then began piling fruit into a basket. The next thing I knew the guy was shoving it in my face.
"Thank you very much for your business sir!" He said releasing it. I nearly dropped the load.
"Yeah...anytime."
~~~Kuwabara's Pov~~~
"Urameshi! Urameshi, where'd you go?" I looked up and down the street. All I could see were these stupid demons. "Urameshi, where the heck did you go?!?" It was no use. "Kurama! Kurama, you out there? Somewhere? Hello?" I leaned against the wall. This stupid market place was starting to annoy me. I decided to walk with the crowd to find them.
"Urameshi!"
"Damn it's heavy...." I heard a familiar voice say.
"Urameshi! I found you!" I ran over to him. He was sitting on the ground, a big basket sitting in front of him. "Hey there punk! Where've you been all this time?"
"What? You can't tell?" I looked down at the basket.
"What's that?"
"What the hell does it look like!"
"I dunno..."
"Dumbass! IT'S FOOD!"
"Oh..."
~~~Kurama's Pov~~~
The little girl held a firm grasp on my arm. She led me through the streets at a quick pace, and, surprisingly, we ran into no one. It was obvious the girl had grown up in the streets; the way she moved and weaved between so many demons took skill. We finally stopped when we came to a small stand that was far away from all the commotion. She looked up at me expectantly. I cleared my throat and spoke.
"Excuse me?" No one stood at the stand. "Excuse me?" I said a little louder. But still no one came. I noticed an alleyway and turned to the girl. "Shall we take a look?" She nodded vigorously and I led her away from the stand.
I looked around the edge of the building. Two demons stood talking so I listened carefully.
"Did you hear about the new arrivals?" The one said in a soft, pleasant voice. He was a greenish hued demon. Rather typical looking.
"Of course I did." A gruff voice replied. This demon was of considerable size, even when compared to the robust citizens that flooded the city. "I'm bet'n that they're body guards for that-that impudent brat of a leader! He probably found out about the faction and decided to hire them. Curse the traitorous bastard that snitched on them! His soul should rot in the darkest depths of Mekai!"
"Faction?" The demons reeled around to face me. I had already disappeared behind the wall of the building. I had to find Yusuke.
~~~Hiei's Pov~~~
I was about to give up hope when I saw a flash of red hair in the crowd. "Kurama?" I made a mad dash toward that crimson sign, not caring what demon got in my way. I reached him faster than expected.
"Hiei?" He said as I gently collided with him. He stared at my hand on his waist. I pulled it off and quickly took a step back.
"Damn idiots." I huffed as I turned and looked down. "I got lost in the crowd." I added shamefully. I watched Kurama put some change into a girls hand who then slipped away. "Who was that? A prostitute?" Kurama looked at me a bit angry.
"No. That young girl was mute and starving, Hiei. I was trying to help her." His penetrating glare got to me and I muttered an apology. His expression softened and he seemed to remember something. "Hiei, do you know where Yusuke is?"
"Do you know that I can't even see anything from down here?" I said jokingly. Kurama laughed.
"I'm sorry, Hiei. It's not really funny." He got an amused look on his face. I was surprised when he kneeled down beside me. "Care for a ride?" I blinked and then nodded. "Well then, climb on!" He smiled. I felt oddly embarrassed at his proposition, but walked over to him. My face felt a bit flushed as I wrapped my arms carefully around his neck and he put his arms around my legs. He carefully stood up then and I could see above all the demons in the crowded market place. "So, how's the view up there, Hiei?" He was looking straight forward, but I was looking down at him.
"Great..."
~~~Yusuke's Pov~~~
'Slurp!'
'Slurrrrrrrrp!'
Me and Kuwabara sat down eating the Paupuan fruit that the merchant had sold me. He wasn't kidding; it was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted! "I should take some of this home and sell it." I thought out loud. "I could make some good cash off this stuff..." Kuwabara nodded, taking another bite out of the fruit. I watched as the syrupy juice started to drip and he slurped it up not wanting to waste a drop. Just then I saw something unusual. It was Hiei's hair. And it was above everyone else's.
I stood up shouting, "Hey Hiei!" I could see him look up, his face above everyone else's heads. Then he looked down and his face was lost in the crowd. He finally emerged and I saw that Kurama was carrying him on his back. He quickly jumped down. I was about to make a joke, at least I was. Kurama had a dead serious look on his face. That was reason enough for concern...
"Yusuke, I'm afraid we have something quite serious to discuss..." He lowered his chin slightly. "We need to step out of town for a moment. Immediately."
"O-kay..." There was definitely trouble.
We quickly made our way through alley upon alley with the country side set as our destination. As we drew closer to the edge of the town, we ran into less and less demons. I could swear that their eyes were following us though; watching our every move...
"I've got a bad feeling about this guys..." Everyone was silent. Our feet finally met with grass.
"I suggest we continue onto the forest. Just in case." The fox demon said, serious as ever.
"Kurama, is that really necessary?" The fire apparition returned.
"You know, Hiei's right. That is quite a ways off." I agreed. Not that I really cared, but hell, I was feeling lazy after eating all that fruit... "The fruit!" Everyone turned to stare at me.
"Jeeze Urameshi, don't go and have a heart attack..."I could see a strap over Kuwabara's shoulder.
"Oh..." I said, feeling kind of embarrassed at my little outburst.
"Idiot." For once I let Hiei's comment slip. Especially because that's what I felt like at the moment...
Kurama continued walking. Even when we were well out of reach, he kept on going. He was determined to go into that forest. I don't know what was wrong with him...
~~~Kurama's Pov~~~
I wished that everyone would just follow my lead into the forest. I had a feeling that if I didn't get to that forest, I wouldn't be safe. Maybe it was my Youko instincts, or maybe I was just paranoid. Nonetheless, I had an unnerving feeling and I didn't like it. I was determined to get away from it.
Upon entering the lush forest again, I sighed deeply in relief. Kuwabara set the basket down and Yusuke took a pinkish, orangish fruit from it.
"So," he began, taking a bite and swallowing it quickly, "what's going on?" I recalled the scene in the alley.
"It seems the townsfolk are not so loyal to their leader." I said. Yusuke took another bite, sucking some juice that was about to drip from the fruit.
"How so?" He said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
"A demon spoke of a faction. Their operations had been secret until someone had gotten to Shiri, blowing their cover. I have a feeling that most of the townspeople were siding with this faction. I believe I have an idea of what is going on, finally."
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "So then what is going on?"
"Well, I believe--"
"KURAMA!"
~~~Hiei's Pov~~~
I found myself on top of the fox, looking down into his eyes. For a second I was lost in the depths of forest green, but was brought back by Yusuke's shouting voice.
"What the hell was that?!?" I saw Yusuke staring at the tree Kurama had just been standing in front of. An arrow was lodged in it at eye level. My body suddenly surged with anger and I found myself on my feet, running toward our unknown attacker. Ahead. A demon. Kill. Only the most instinctive thoughts came to my mind.
I unsheathed my new katana. My blood coursed through my body, blazing with a passionate hate of my enemy. I felt the heat of flames dancing upon the sword's edge. Taking it to my side, I tore through the demon in a horizontal strike and watched as his flaming body was eviscerated. The blood hissed and fizzed as it evaporated from my blazing katana. Everyone stared in disbelief at my revelation.
I finally began to walk back and stopped when I saw Kurama still laying on the ground, unmoving. His cheeks were tainted light rose and his eyes were wide and staring. His hand lay across his chest where mine had been only moments ago; across his heart. I had felt his heart beating quickly underneath my palm. I remembered feeling my own heart racing.
Yusuke moved and I quickly pushed my thoughts of Kurama aside. I turned to him and glared. "Are you just going to stand there, or do you want to know who the hell is trying to kill us?"
"We had went through weeks of hell. The cries of soldiers echoed in the night as they were slaughtered mercilessly. I rocked my little girl in my arms. She cried, not because her father was risking her life, not because her brethren were dying all around her, not because war was claiming everything we had come to love. She cried only out of ignorance. It was all she knew. And I cried with her in her ignorance, not being able to understand the meaningless war..."
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