Rain and Fire

Chapter 12: Yakumo

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As soon as Izumi stepped into the circle, Rydia and Kikyo started chanting something in a strange language that none of them recognized. For a second, it seemed as though nothing would happen, but then, the entire circle started to pulse with silvery-white light.

Hiei was astonished at this, as he had never seen real magic before, and wondered how they were doing it. He looked over at Izumi, and saw that she was staring at the sky, mumbling the same as what the two girls were, her eyes strangely out of focus.

He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but as soon as he did, the silvery-white light turned into a beam that engulfed all of them.

Hiei shielded his eyes to protect them from the brightness, and when the light died down, he opened them once more.

He blinked, and realized that they were in the courtyard of Yakumo's castle.

Youko spun around, obviously in disbelief that they were there.

"But-" he started.

Izumi turned and started walking towards the extensive castle. "Come on, baka kitsune. We need to find Rain before he gets to her."

"'He'?" Youko repeated.

"Youko-chan, let's just go!" Aura said, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the castle itself. The others followed.

Hiei snapped out of his daze almost instantly, and Izumi shuddered suddenly, rubbing her arms. He gave her an odd look, and she seemed to notice that he was looking at her. She quickly grinned, and said, "Oh, just a little cold."

He nodded, though he didn't quite believe her, and started walking after Aura and Youko, who were already at the front door, talking to the guards there.

"I'm sorry, but what the hell makes you think we'll let you in?" one guard said, chuckling.

Youko frowned. "I have business with Yakumo."

"Ha! I've heard that one before." The other guard said, laughing.

Youko growled, and Aura could tell he was about ready to slice them to pieces with his rose whip. But just then, Izumi approached the door, and both guards stared at her before snapping back to full attention.

"Izumi-sama!" the first guard said, still locked in his salute. "It's good to see you back, my lady!"

"Please, come right in!" the other guard said, scrambling to open the doors for her.

Izumi smirked, and didn't seem to notice that Hiei, Youko and Aura were gaping at her. She just put her hands on her hips, and grinned.

"Thank you, boys!"

They nodded, and she stepped inside, stopping to look back at the others. "You coming or what?"

Hiei shook his head, and followed her inside, and the two kitsunes did the same.

"How did you do that? How did they know you?" Aura asked.

Izumi grinned. "Aw, but that would give away the secret!"

Hiei growled. "But this is more important than 'giving away the secret'. For all we know, you could be leading us into a trap."

She turned on her heel, and strode up to him. "Do you honestly think that I'd be capable of doing something like that?"

He narrowed his eyes, and said, "Yes, actually."

Izumi blinked, but then grinned. "Well, you have good reason to suspect me. But I believe you don't have a choice, because Rain's life is on the line."

"Her life?" Hiei repeated, the surprise very evident on his face. "But I thought she was just-"

"Don't assume, Hiei. I have a bad feeling that you'll learn quite a bit more, just by the end of today."

"Um, don't mean to break anything up, but we really should try to find Rain." Youko said.

Hiei nodded. "Right."

"We should start looking in the Back Quarters." Izumi said, heading toward a corridor on the left side of the main hall. "Yakumo most likely took her there, because that's where the Hunters are kept…hm…which means Jiro would have to be here to control them and get them to attack us…"

"What are you babbling about over there? Start making some damn sense!" Hiei snapped.

She shook her head. "Never mind. Just follow me."

He glared at her, but Aura followed her. Hiei sighed, and he and Youko did the same.

Izumi led them down several halls, stopping only when Aura needed to break down a barrier, which happened more and more frequently as they traveled further inside.

Hiei had a bad feeling about this whole thing, and he kept waiting for one of the Hunters to burst through a wall and kill them all in one blow. Izumi led the way with confidence, but that wasn't making him feel better. She had obviously been to the castle before, and that concerned him as well. Was she on Yakumo's side? Was she just leading them straight into a trap?

Izumi stopped in front of a door, and blinked. "Eh?"

"What?" Youko asked.

"She's…in here. But…that was way too easy." Izumi said, slowly turning to the large, intricate double doors.

"Whatever." Hiei said. "The challenge will come, I'm sure, but the most important thing is getting Rain out of here."

Izumi nodded, and threw open the doors after Aura took down the complex barrier surrounding it. The room was enormous, but the only thing in it was a large pillar in the center of the room. This was where Rain was - a rope bound her tightly to the pillar, and her head was bowed, as though she were asleep.

"Oi, Rain! Wake up, sleepy head!!" Izumi said, walking over to the girl. Hiei, Youko and Aura followed, the latter two standing back a bit.

Rain lifted her head, and seemed to be in a daze for a second. Her eyes settled on Hiei, and widened.

"Eeay!" she exclaimed, his name sounding muffled through the binding around her mouth.

"Oh, you just going to ignore me, Rain-chan?" Izumi said, ripping the cloth off of the other girl's face.

Rain's eyes widened even more. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

A slow smirk crawled across the blue-haired girl's face. "Oh, just spending time with my sweetie."

Aura finished undoing the many ropes that bound Rain to the pillar, and the ebony-haired girl stumbled forward.

"Wh-what? Sweetie?" she repeated.

Izumi grabbed Hiei and pulled him to her. "He's my sweetie!"

Hiei struggled to get out of her grasp, but was surprised when he couldn't even get her to budge. So maybe she hadn't been lying about being powerful enough to make Youko Kurama - and himself, for that matter - seem like a child.

Rain gaped. "Wh-wh-what?!"

"Oh, yes, Rain. We've gone all the way." Izumi said, holding Hiei closer.

"Damn it, woman!! Let me go!!" he exclaimed.

She did, and he jumped away from her. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Izumi, you slept with Hiei?!" Rain shrieked.

"I didn't sleep with her, damn it!" Hiei exclaimed. "Now come on, we need to get you out of here!"

"That's right, don't be jealous, Rain. I can't help it if I'm the one who got the better looks." Izumi said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She pretended to look thoughtful. "Oh, wait. I'm sorry. I'd forgotten that you don't have any good looks."

Rain bristled. "What?! I got good looks too, Izumi!!"

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Izumi, Rain! Stop fighting! We need to-"

"Hiei, which one of us is prettier?!" Rain exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "Me, or that slut over there?" She jerked a thumb in Izumi's direction.

Hiei opened his mouth to speak, but Izumi cut him off. "A slut, am I? Well, that's better than being a little human whore, I suppose."

Rain gaped at her. "What did you call me?!"

"A little human whore." Izumi said, smirking.

"I have not slept with nearly as many people as you have, Izumi!" the ebony-haired girl exclaimed.

"KNOCK IT OFF!!" Youko shouted.

Both girls stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. Hiei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Look you two, you can fight when we get back to the village. Right now, our priority is getting out of here before Yakumo-" Hiei started.

"Before I what?"

Hiei spun around to face the man standing in the doorway. "Yakumo!"

The man smirked, and stepped forward. "Ah, and you must be Hiei."

Hiei growled and narrowed his eyes. Yakumo looked just the way he had remembered him, though it had been at least twenty years or so since their last encounter.

He still wore that same cocky grin, with those cold, hateful red eyes of his. He was around six feet tall, with black hair that was a bit on the lengthy side, thus hanging in his face a bit. He also wore pretty much the same clothes - a long red trench coat over a deep red shirt, and matching baggy pants. The only thing different, that Hiei could notice, was that his prized sword wasn't strapped to his back.

"So, Izumi, have you finally decided to come back? To realize your destiny?" Yakumo asked, stepping forward. Both girls flinched, and stepped back.

Izumi leaned her head towards Rain, and Rain nodded.

"Gotcha." Rain said, grinning.

Izumi suddenly closed her eyes, and crossed her arms in front of herself. Her blue aura pulsed, and suddenly there were three of her standing there.

The one in the middle smirked, and each dashed off in a different direction.

"My turn!" Rain exclaimed, running forward.

Yakumo frowned, and formed a ball of crackling purple electricity in his hand. "You're a fool, Rain."

He threw the ball at her, and Hiei ran forward to pull her out of the way. He didn't know what crazy idea was going through her head, but he was going to put a stop to it.

But then, to his surprise, Rain back-flipped to dodge it, and then thrust her hand at Yakumo, who seemed a bit surprised. "Eat this, Yakumo!!"

A wave of fire hurtled toward the surprised demon, who tried to block it. Hiei stared in shock. Had Rain just...? But…wasn't she a normal human?

She spun to face him, and exclaimed. "It won't hold him for long! We need to get out of here!"

Hiei nodded, and the four of them ran past Yakumo, who was fighting to push the crushing energy away from him.

Rain stopped in the hall, then dashed down the right part of the hall. The others followed, each still in a bit of shock over what had happened. However, when they turned the next corner, to the hall that would lead them to the entrance, Rain stopped dead in her tracks.

Before them, blocking the path, was Jiro. And behind him was Naraku, holding the unconscious Izumi in his arms.

"Rain," Jiro said calmly, his eyes strangely out of focus. "you need to give up now, or I cannot guarantee the safety of your friends."

Rain glanced back at the others, who looked ready to fight. She sighed, and looked back at the leader of the Hunters. "I'm sorry, Jiro, but I can't succumb to that fate. Like I told you, I prefer the life I have now."

Jiro frowned. "Then we'll just have to settle this the hard way."

She nodded, and got into a fighting stance. "I guess we'll have to."

Jiro ran forward, a sword suddenly materialized in his hand. Hiei jumped in front of Rain, and blocked the attack.

"I don't know what this is about, but I'd like to get some fighting in too!" he exclaimed.

Rain blinked, then smirked. "Right!"

While Jiro fought with Hiei, Rain dashed towards Naraku, materializing a whip in her hand, made of pure spirit energy. She slashed at the demon, who back-flipped away.

He chuckled. "Why can't you just accept it? It's what you are."

"I refuse! Can't you people get that through your thick skulls?! Izumi and I want to be Izumi and I, and that's final!"

Jiro smirked, and jumped back. "This is going to take too long. We need to hurry, before the Shikon starts to weaken."

His own aura, a deep dark purple, surrounded him, and he thrust his hand at Youko, Aura and Hiei, paralyzing them.

Rain cursed, and tried to hit Jiro with her whip, but he caught it. "It's time to stop running."

He yanked on the whip, pulling Rain toward him, and then hit her pressure point, knocking her out. He caught her limp form, and then slung her over his shoulder.

"I'll see you guys later." He said, following Naraku down the hall.

Hiei growled, and fought against the invisible restraints until they snapped and let him go. He stumbled forward, and looked back at the two kitsunes, who were still trying to break free. Deciding that it was more important to get Rain and Izumi back at the moment, he turned and dashed after Jiro and Naraku, who had disappeared into a pair of large double doors.

He threw them open, and ran into the dark room, pulling out his katana.

"Ah, have you come to witness the birth of the goddess?"

He growled at the sound of Yakumo's voice, and listened for any movement. A light suddenly came on in the middle of the room, revealing Yakumo, with the unconscious girls on either side of him, floating in the air.

"What the hell are you blabbering about?!" Hiei snapped. "Just fight me!"

"Not yet." Yakumo answered, shaking his head. "I have more important matters to attend to right now."

Hiei dashed forward, but was surprised when another invisible restraint was placed on him. He growled again, and Yakumo chuckled.

"I couldn't have you ruin the ritual. That would be a waste of sixteen years of patience." he said, shaking his head.

"What are you going to do?" Hiei asked. The one thing he could move was his head, but the rest of his body was frozen. He was starting to get annoyed with everyone doing that.

"You'll bear witness to it soon enough." Yakumo said.

He held up the Shikon no Tama, and it started to pulse with black energy. He started to chant in a strange language, and a light shone before him. The girls floated up, and Yakumo smirked.

A blinding light filled the room, and Hiei closed his eyes tightly, still fighting against the spell cast on him.

When the light died down, about a minute later, he slowly opened his eyes.

But the sight that greeted him was very different.

In front of Yakumo was a ball of water, and inside the water, a girl. She was in the fetal position, her extremely long blue hair floating around her like some sort of strange cloud. He blushed furiously at the fact that she was naked, and Yakumo smirked.

"Ah, she is beautiful, is she not, Hiei?" he said, walking forward.

The water bubble suddenly popped, and the girl fell limply to the ground.

Yakumo growled at someone behind Hiei.

"You!"

Huo stepped into view, another dart made of fire in his hand. "Yakumo. Long time no see, eh?"

Yakumo growled. "You can't have her! She's mine, got it?!"

"You took the thing most precious from me, so wouldn' it only be fair for me to do the same to you?" Huo asked, his voice unusually calm and deadly.

He glanced over at Hiei, and put his finger to the koorime's forehead.

"Release him."

Hiei fell to the ground, because he had been in mid-dash, and quickly got back to his feet.

"Hiei." Huo said before the koorime could do anything else. "Get the girl, and get the hell out of here. This fight is between me and Yakumo. You'll have your chance another time."

Hiei narrowed his eyes, but figured that it would probably be better if he just got this strange new girl out of harm's way.

He ran towards her, and Yakumo exclaimed, "No!"

The demon threw another ball of purple electricity at him, but it was knocked away by a ball of fire thrown by Huo. Hiei scooped up the blue-haired girl, and ran back to the door. Huo smirked.

"Thanks, buddy."

Hiei snorted. "I'm not doing it for you."

The horse demon grinned. "Right."

Hiei ran out, and Huo's grin turned to a frown. "You ready to end this?"

"Oh, it's far from the end." Yakumo said, getting into fighting stance. "This is only the beginning, now that the girl is complete."

Huo got into fighting stance as well. "I'll make sure you don't hurt another living being again, Yakumo."

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Hiei dashed down the hall, and saw that the others were all at the entrance already. Sesshoumaru gave him a curt nod, then ran out the front door. Kouga opened his mouth to speak, but Hiei cut him off.

"I don't know who she is. I'll explain later, got it?"

The wolf looked concerned but nodded. "Fine. You've got a lot of explaining to do."

The others dashed outside, Sesshoumaru leading the way. Hiei frowned, and took off after them. There was a lot of explaining that needed to be done, but he wasn't sure he was the one meant to do it.

He was confused enough already.

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Author's Notes: How many of you are confused out of your minds now? LOL. I was, just writing it!!

Well, hope that satisfied everyone……LOL

Oh, and about the Huo story, I think it's just about definite that I'm going to do it. Yay!! I just adore Huo, he's so kawaii!!

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crimson7319: LOL, I know! I reread that, and I realized that that wasn't the way I wanted it to come out....oops. LOL. Well, I've been called Chobit-san, Chobit-sama, and know Chobit-chan. I really don't mind which one you use...though I don't deserve to be called Chobit-sama, LOL.

Coodle: LOL! Yeah, well, this is an extra long chapter, so that makes up for lost time.

miyako14: LOL!! Well, you already know what happens before I even post, so there really isn't muc to say...I'm just glad you're reviewing!

Story Weaver1: You haven't BEGUN to see weird yet, trust me. And there's your jealousy, LOL! I sent you an e-mail about the Kitsune in a Bubble thing...just so ya know.

crazy-lil-nae-nae: Thankies!!

Chibi Lady: How old did you think I was? I'm really excitied abnout writing the Huo story!! It'll explain lots, and I mean LOTS that won't get to be covered in this story...[sigh] Hajime should be explained in either the next chapter, or the one after, should all go to plan... Huo and Izumi? Hm...

TPM-girl: LOL, gotta love Izumi!! Yes, I'm doing a story about Huo. People seem to like him a lot anyways, so I figure he deserves his own story.

slave2anime: LOL, the reason Izumi is all over Hiei is partially in this chapter, and the rest is explained later on. Hopefully, as soon as I can...

DarkVixenNisha: I probably will still be doing the Wolf's Rain fic, though it may be a little while before I can get to it. I have four stories on my plate right now.