Dragon and Flames
--Chapter One: A Forest to Be Reckoned With--
6 months later:
A haunting melody wove its way through the trees of the Living Forest, lonely and forlorn. Many of the forest creatures stopped their morning activities and listened, wondering if whatever was making the noise was edible. The source of the music was at the very edge of the forest, in a tree, on a branch about thirty feet off the ground. The song stopped as the flutist sensed a group of people approaching her tree. Putting away her flute, the girl listened closely to the exchange going on below.
"I can't believe the best guide you could find is a kid my age! Why do we even need a guide anyway?"
Young male. Hotheaded.
"The Living Forest is deadly Yusuke! I realize you've gone up against a lot of things, but this is different. This forest could eat you alive! Even if you did manage to find your way to your destination, you'd be in no shape to fight The Ten's men!"
Young female. Must be Koenma's messenger, Botan.
"Whatever. Where is this guide, anyway?"
Taking her cue, the girl swung herself off her branch, landing easily on her feet before the group. She was about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, wearing worn, baggy jeans, an olive green t-shirt, beat-up fingerless leather gloves, and worn sneakers, as well as a bronze coin with a Medieval European dragon embossed on it on a leather cord around her neck. Her copper hair, streaked with stripes of orange-red went slightly past her shoulders, her grown out bangs several shades lighter than the rest of her hair. She also wore a leather belt that held several pouches and a wicked-looking dagger at her hip.
"Uh, guys, did she just jump from that branch thirty feet in the air?"
The girl turned towards the new male voice. He seemed to be slightly taller than her, and more heavy-set, but that was all she could determine.
"Alright everybody, this is Rahn. She'll be guiding you through the Living Forest!" Botan declared.
"Wait, aren't you coming?" the boy Rahn determined to be Yusuke asked.
"Sorry Yusuke, I've got some things to take care of. I'll have to meet you there."
Yusuke seemed to be about Rahn's height. She turned towards the other two presences she sensed. One was her height as well, but the other was at least a head shorter. He gave off a larger "scent" than the others. His Spirit Energy probably dealt with fire.
"So just how long have you been living in this overgrown park, anyway?" Yusuke grumbled.
"Nearly six months." Rahn replied.
"WHAT? You've only been here six months and we're supposed to trust you with our lives?"
"Yusuke, it's something to brag about if you last a week in this forest! Living here for six months is unheard of!"
"Hey, uh, what's the matter with your eyes?" the boy that was taller than her asked.
"What?" Yusuke broke off his argument with Botan to stare at Rahn's clouded eyes.
The girl rolled them as Yusuke burst into another tirade.
"Gee Botan, that's reassuring. Our guide through one of the most dangerous places in existence is BLIND! Wha-"
Rahn stopped listening to the boy as she sensed something creeping up on them. She drew her dagger, not failing to notice the two behind her tense up.
"Duck."
"Wha?"
Rahn flung her dagger. Yusuke barely managed to duck in time as it struck the tree behind him.
"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!"
Ignoring him, Rahn walked over to the tree and yanked her dagger out, grabbing the creature she had pinned, still in its death throes. It seemed to be one large mouth, full of razor sharp teeth.
"Uh…"
Rahn threw the dead beast into some nearby bushes. Taking a cloth out of one of her pouches, she cleaned her weapon and sheathed it.
"You sure you can't see?"
"Positive." Sensing heat wasn't the same as seeing.
Yusuke sighed. Rahn guessed that Botan was giving him a look that said, "See?"
"Okay. Fine. We'll let you lead us through the forest."
"GREAT! Alright, introductions!" Botan stated. "You've met Yusuke. This is Kuwabara!"
"Nice to meet you," the boy that was taller than her said.
"That's Kurama…" Rahn sensed Botan pointing.
The other boy Rahn's height stepped up. "Hello."
"And this is Hiei!"
"Hn." The short boy said.
"Well, I'll see you guys later! Have fun and try not to get killed!"
That girl is WAY too cheerful, Rahn thought.
"Well, come on." she growled. She felt edgy out in the open.
The four boys followed her into the forest, not a little apprehensively. Rahn started off directly into the heart of it, kicking a red-eyed, rabid-looking weasel away from Yusuke.
"So," Kuwabara said, attempting to start a conversation, "what is it in here that made you blind?"
"I was blind before I came here."
"Oh. So you've always been blind?"
"No."
"How long have you been blind?"
"Six months."
"Where's you're family?"
"Not here."
"Why aren't you with them?"
"Why should I be?" Her clouded eyes shot Kuwabara a look and he nervously stepped back a few feet.
"Why would a blind person come live in a forest like this?" Yusuke grumbled, trying to ignore the hungry looks some birds were giving him.
"Why not?" Rahn replied, swatting them away.
Kurama entered the conversation here.
"You're parents are probably worried for you. You should contact them."
"I don't much hold with séances."
That ended the conversation.
"Hey, Urameshi, you must be pretty tasty!" Kuwabara laughed.
"Huh?" Yusuke looked down to find a caterpillar latched on to his arm. "Wha!" he cried, shaking it off.
The caterpillar hit the ground and growled, baring dagger-like teeth. It started glowing, and metamorphosed into a foot long moth with even bigger teeth. Rahn rolled her eyes and stomped the spot of warmth that was the creature.
"Smaller things always get bigger." she informed Yusuke.
"That's nice to know,"
"Yes," she nodded curtly, "it is."
-- --- -- ---- - --
It was midday and the sun was beating through the forest branches at the group of five, torturing them in scorching heat. The trees trapped the heat below and Yusuke more than once cursed the greenhouse effect.
A few miles further into the forest, the group met another creature, this one much bigger than a moth.
"Humansssss," the humanoid lizard hissed, "I have not tassssssted human for ssssssssome time now!"
"Oh, great!" Yusuke moaned. "Alright, which one of us is gonna fight this guy?"
"I will!" Kuwabara volunteered.
"Think you can handle it?" Hiei sneered.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"Exactly what it sounds like,"
To this, Kuwabara let loose a growl and Rahn sighed as she realized Yusuke wasn't the only loudmouth in their merry little band.
"Can we go now?" she asked, interrupting the heated quarrel.
"Huh?" Kuwabara turned to see the lizard laying on the ground, dead, the wound in its chest still bleeding. Rahn had already retrieved her dagger. "Oh, uh, okay."
-- --- -- ---- - --
Yusuke was in the process of swatting away the newly awakened fireflies who continued to berate him.
"What are these things after anyway? I thought fireflies were scared of humans!"
Rahn turned around and glanced at the insects swarming around the Spirit Detective. "They're after your blood of course." Receiving a questionable look from Yusuke (she couldn't see it, but she knew he was giving it) she added casually, "They're blood-sucking fireflies."
To this, Kuwabara shrieked, he had been holding several fireflies hostage in his palm.
After the firefly crisis, the walk was relatively quiet with only occasional questions transpiring over the expedition. One such from Kuwabara:
"So how exactly are we gonna defeat The Ten by wandering around in a forest, anyway, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked that evening.
"They're hiding out in the middle of this place." Yusuke replied. Then, looking to the sky he directed his voice towards their guide, "Hey Rahn? Speaking of the The Ten…"
"Yeah, what of them?" She glared and growled fiercer then Yusuke had heard her before.
"Except for our mission, Koenma was vague. But he mentioned that you weren't opposed to helping us fight them…" He leaned forward a bit to catch her expression at his words, "any reason for that?"
"For what? Murderers, thieves, liars, and men consumed by money… anything wrong with wanting to rid the world of them?" She growled and then lashed out, "Do I have to have a reason Urameshi? Or can I just help without you delving into matters of mine that don't concern you—"
"Okay, okay! So you'd prefer not to tell us… that's all you had to say." Yusuke held up his hands and Rahn cooled off. Shouldn't have let loose like that Rahn, she critiqued herself, you need to control yourself, these boys don't know what you got yourself into a year and a half ago… no need to make them suspicious.
"Shouldn't we stop for the night?" Kuwabara nervously ventured to ask, aware that Rahn was angered easily.
Rahn snorted, back to her usual self, "Whatever you boys feel the need for. Makes no difference to me."
They had reached a clearing. Rahn seemed weary of the idea of sleeping in the open, but consented when she heard Hiei and Kurama would help her keep an at-night guard. Rahn liked Kurama and Hiei much more than Yusuke and Kuwabara, they at least held some sense of respect for her and recognized the dangers of the forest much better than their human counter-parts.
Once settled, Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately started gathering firewood.
"Watch out." Rahn warned them.
"What? It's just a bunch of woo- OW!!" Yusuke yelled, throwing his wood down. "One of them BIT me!"
"Don't be ridiculous." Hiei told him.
"Oh yeah?" Yusuke retorted, holding up the stick in question, which was growling and baring its teeth. "Look at this!"
"Carnivorous sticks?" Kurama inquired.
Rahn shrugged. "They don't call this the Living Forest for nothing."
"Well that's just great! How are we going to make a fire?" Yusuke complained.
"You can still burn them. But if you do, make sure there isn't a lot of wood lice," Rahn replied.
"Wood lice? Why? What on earth can be wrong with wood lice?" Yusuke then received a harsh glance from Rahn. "I don't wanna know what could be wrong with wood lice,"
Rahn nodded at this comment and began examining the surrounding trees (A/n: We're assuming trees give off some sort of heat). She found one she liked and preceded to climb up about twenty or so feet, until she found a good, sturdy branch large enough to be comfortable.
"By the way, Rahn, how long will it take us to get to where we're headed?" Yusuke inquired from below.
"Four or five days."
"WHAT?! To get through a forest?!"
"If you could keep up, we could be there in three!"
"What the heck are we gonna eat?"
Rahn sighed and flung her dagger at the flesh-eating pigeon she could sense just above Yusuke's head.
"What the?!!! Oh... Uh… thanks?"
"No problem."
Closing her eyes Rahn suddenly cried out, "Duck!" Immediately the four on the ground squatted to the floor as a flying fish swooped in from the sky. Rahn sighed, "Too bad I wasted putting my dagger down on that bird… fish are much tastier."
Yusuke gave a look of disgust before plopping down and roasting the flesh-eating pigeon.
A/N: PLEASE review! PLEASE? We've got some cool ideas! We're already working on the second chapter! But we won't put it up if you don't review! (I don't usually resort to this, but this is the first time I haven't had at least ONE review for a story!)
