Well, about time they actually got to the case, don't you think? Eh, maybe, maybe not. Don't worry; they do start it in this chapter. But as a little heads up, the case will not last very long. And no, Skava will not end up getting together with Kurama. Or Hiei. Or Yusuke, for that matter. In this story, anyway. There will be no romance in my stories except one which was written expressly for that purpose. Leave me alone about it.
Disclaimer: Basic stuff here
AAAAA – Change of time/place and whatnot.
"Talking", 'Thinking', .:Telepathic communication:.
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SkavaChapter three: The Case begins
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Kurama surveyed the group in front of him. Yusuke looked excited, and Hiei, well…Hiei looked like Hiei. All of them were in their own little world as they prepared to travel to the ice world.
"Well… It's now or never. You ready to do this?" inquired Yusuke.
"Indeed. I think I am as ready as I will ever be."
"Hn."
"Thanks Hiei." The Jaganshi raised an eyebrow.
"You're welcome."
"All right, well, let's start this."
"Agreed." So saying, the trio positioned themselves into a triangle and put they're hands up, palms facing in. Concentrating on their spirit energy, their combined power began to inch open a portal that would lead them to their destination. Finally, it was wide enough for them to pass, and they all stepped through the portal, and into the ice world.
AAAAA
Yusuke gasped as he hit the snow with a soft thud. It was cold! He quickly stood up and brushed himself off, instantly glad that he'd worn a think jacket over his white shirt, and long jeans. However, he could tell his sneakers would soon be soaked through, and wished he had boots. However, he used his spirit energy to warm himself from the inside and soon put the cold out of his mind. He looked around to check on his companions and found them on their feet, looking around at their surroundings.
"So, is this the mountain? Where's the temple?" Yusuke asked. Kurama began to laugh.
"What, you thought it would be that easy? The artifact is located at the top of that mountain," he replied, pointing up.
Yusuke stared at the rising slope for a while, then responded with the only thing that sounded appropriate.
"….Oh shit."
AAAAA
"Oh Kami, how much longer are we going to be climbing for again?" asked the desperate teenager as he gripped rocks and tree trunks in his constant struggle NOT to land on his ass in the snow, in his ever upward climb.
"Hmm… well, depending on the distance left and our recent pace… about ten or twelve hours. Give or take a few. Most likely give." Kurama also was not having the best of times. In fact, as he said this, his feet slipped from under him and he slid down a few feet.
"Ah, and it is ever so. Gain 5 feet and lose 3. This will be awhile. Perhaps we should stop."
"Hiei isn't having much trouble." Indeed, the small fire demon was simply "disappearing" and reappearing every few feet, perched neatly on outcropping rocks.
"True. Hiei!" The demon stopped, and turned around.
"Can you come back here? We are discussing resting for awhile."
"Fox, I don't need to rest. We need to catch this damned thief and I'm not stopping until we do." Kurama raised an eyebrow.
"Well, this is rare. Hiei showing initiative. All right, we will continue. But we are stopping for the night in an hour or so, or else we will all be exhausted and in no shape to fight this Skava."
"Skava? Is that her name? Hey, how did you know that?" As Kurama filled in the boy on Hiei's sighting, the demon waited impatiently.
"And so that's what we know. Shall we continue for now?" Yusuke groaned.
"I was hoping you wouldn't mention that. All right, let's move while we still have daylight." So saying, they all began to, once again, climb upwards.
AAAAA
"Oh man, didn't the toddler check the damned weather channel?! Why'd he send us out here in a blizzard?!"
"Yusuke, Koenma would have no way of knowing that a storm was coming, and even if he did, I find it unlikely that he would waste time having us wait it out. At least we got a head start. And I also find it unlikely that Skava will be able to climb in this weather as well, so we're not losing any time."
"Yes, but we also have no way of knowing how long ago she started climbing, she could be almost at the top by now."
"I find that unlikely. Koenma sent us as soon as possible, and she would have to be careful. There are unfriendly demons around, and she has a massive bounty, unlike us."
"Oh yeah, there's just that little fact that every demon in both the Ningenkai and the Makai wants our heads." Kurama shrugged.
"Be that as it may, they have been wary of taking us since the Dark Tournament, and we don't have a bounty. Skava does, and it's large enough to make most demons forget about us." Yusuke really had no reply. He looked around their shoddily-made shelter. Composed of mostly dead branches, they'd managed to build a rough lean-to that kept out most of the wind. They'd even managed to get a small fire started, mostly using spirit energy and some twigs. All three of them were sitting in the ground that had been cleared of snow, knees draw up to their chest.
AAAAA
Meanwhile, the demon being pursued was not having a much better time of things. She too had been forced to take shelter beneath the trees, although 'beneath the trees' meant only 'below the canopy of leaves and above the ground'. Perched on a thick branch, Skava thought about the three that were climbing the slope behind here. She did not know who they were, she had detected the signal of three powerful demons behind her and had run immediately, but she thought she knew why they were here. They did not have the cool iciness of the Koorime, and that meant they were probably bounty hunters. She shuddered, and not entirely because of the cold. She was using her energy to warm herself, but she couldn't waste too much of it. She had a long night ahead of her, and she had no way of knowing how long the storm would last. Then, she spotted something that looked like a blessing. Could it be? Yes! It was! She jumped down onto the snow covered ground and scurried over to the burrow, the opening of which was barely poking out of the snow. She sniffed it and, after discerning that it was indeed abandoned, climbed in.
The temperature change was what she noticed the most, along with the lack of wind. It was a little small, so she used a limited amount of energy to scrape some dirt out, then decided to live with it, and curled up on the ground. Once comfortable, she once again allowed herself to think of her possible pursuers. They were strong, unusually so. These were not the normal bounty hunters, and she knew she would have to be a lot more cautious if she didn't want these next few days to be her last. Probably she would have to be a lot faster too, she was amazed at the rate they could climb. If she slowed down too much, they would catch her before she could even get to the temple. It was not a pleasant thought, but it was the last she had before she drifted into an uneasy sleep.
A/N: Nothing really to put here. It's the end of a chapter. Oo
Review Responses:
Ookami Aya: O.o Wow, three years is a long time. I've been a member for a little over a year and a half. I figured that the only way to avoid being completely flamed about having a Mary Sue was to just come out and say that it was. For all that it is a Mary Sue, I still like the story.
Naoko Asakura 009: Funny that you would ask that, the author's note that explains that has been at the beginning of this chapter since it was written…No. No there will not.