Whew! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out! To make it up to you, this chapter is my longest yet! 8 pages, woot! ... Yes, I know I'm pathetic.
The review responses for the last chapter are on my bio page, and the responses for this chapter are right here.
TPM-girl - Glad you like him! But ah, don't get too attached.
la la la- Thank you! I was so worried I wouldn't get his character right, and I'm still worried that I won't make his character development believable! Let me know how I'm doing, m'kay?
Princess Kandra- Here ya go! Hope you enjoy the chappie, and thanks for the review!
Alihorn- Thank you for the reviews!
Arekisu- Thanks for R&Ring my story! And now that I've updated, will you update your story? Please?
Discaimer: I don't own YYH, but not for lack of trying.
Evvy was still happily munching away on cheese, confident that Koenma would be mounting a rescue any time soon, when a long, low horn blast sounded. Startled, she looked up to find that the demons were leaving the mess tent. 'Wonder what's up?' She thought, stuffing one last bit of cheese in her mouth before following them outside.
Looking around, she quickly spotted the towering bulk of Brom as he followed a crowd of about 15 other demons that were heading up the hill towards the castle. Jogging lightly to catch up with Brom, Evvy looked up the hill and saw a figure dressed in a white tunic and pants, with gray-tipped fox ears and a tail. He appeared to be waiting for the crowd to reach him, his pose casual and completely at ease.
When Evvy caught up with Brom, she asked him who the figure was. The great bear demon suppressed a shudder as he answered. "That is none other than Youko Kurama himself."
Evvy felt herself go numb. That was the demon that had taken her from her brother? He looked so... harmless. At least from here he did.
"What's going on?" She asked her companion.
"We're being summoned to a meeting, that's all I know. It's at these meetings that he decides who's going on his newest hunt."
"Where is everyone else then? There's only a few demons here, not six hundred."
"Youko doesn't restrict his followers to the camp. He knows what a bunch of restless demons will do to each other if not kept occupied. You see, every month he requires a sort of tax from each demon. If a demon fails to pay the tax, the seed in his neck slowly applies pain until he does."
"I take it you know from experience." Evvy said softly.
Brom's only answer was a muted growl. They had arrived at the outer edges of the crowd that had gathered around Youko.
Dead silence reigned as the kitsune slowly meandered through the gathering. He'd stop in front of a demon, either nod or shake his head, and then move on. The demons that were dismissed went back down the hill a lot more quickly than they had come up. By the time he reached Evvy and Brom, only two demons had met with his approval. Briefly meeting Brom's eyes, he slowly nodded. Evvy was struck by how strange the scene was. Seven-foot-tall Brom was unconsciously shrinking away from Youko, who was a full foot shorter than him.
Then it was Evvy's turn. "Ah, it seems you're finally awake. I trust you had a good rest?" The silver fox said, almost conversationally.
Evvy's only reply was to glare up at him, meeting his gold eyes with her own turquoise ones.
"Relax girl, I will not be requiring much of you. Simply take us to where we need to go, then follow and keep silent."
Unable to meet that overpowering golden gaze for long, Evvy's eyes fell off to the side, observing that Brom seemed to be holding his breath. Although she was no longer meeting Youko's eyes, her entire being reeked of dissent. Suddenly, two claw tipped fingers where underneath her chin, forcing her face upward.
"Take us here." Youko said, his gaze locking with hers, and as it did a detailed picture of a place with stone canyons and black earth filled her mind. Evvy gasped and stumbled back, utterly confused. The normal way of getting to a world you've never been to was to either have it described to you, or to search for a strand in the Ether that felt unfamiliar. It was a hit and miss operation, usually taking several tries before finding the correct world. But this way, there was no mistaking where Youko wanted to go.
"How did you do that?" She asked, confused and more than a little creeped.
Youko only smiled. "Take us there, now."
Evvy glared at him, resisting the urge to give him a very inappropriate hand gesture. Instead, she broke off their staring contest and tried to do as he said. Tried, because for some reason her hands would not go into the Ether. Evvy frowned and tried again, straining this time. The only reaction was for her hands to glow a brief blue, and then go back to normal. Startled, Evvy looked up at Brom, her expression scared.
"What is taking you, human?" Youko asked, impatient.
"Hold on a sec." Evvy said and sucked in a breath. Something else besides her eyes had changed last night, that was obvious. But Jacob had never mentioned this change, and Evvy had seen him open portals, just like everyone else. Was this another side effect of being so near to Youko's overwhelming power? His aura was currently dampened, but she could sense the power roiling beneath the surface.
Evvy let out her breath slowly, counting down from 8. Closing her eyes, Evvy went through the motions of opening a portal. She found the strands in the Ether, wrapped them into a circle, and... Evvy opened her eyes, and in front of her was a glowing blue hoop that showed gray stone walls and an endless expanse of dirt underneath a dark sky with no moon. This wasn't right. You weren't supposed to be able to see what lay on the other side of the portal, just the swirling blue vortex. Even stranger, around the edges of the blue hoop were lines that expanded a little way from the portal before disappearing. It seemed that instead of Evvy having to go into the Ether, the Ether had come to her.
"Girl, explain this." Youko's harsh voice cut into Evvy's thoughts.
"I have a name you know. As for this, there's no use getting angry at me for it. It's your fault."
Brom's harsh exhalation was the only warning Evvy got. Suddenly she was airborne, flying back from her portal before landing none to softly on the sloping hill, ten feet away. The hard crash made her black out for a second, and it was Youko's furious voice that snapped her out of it.
"You will not speak to me in that insolent manner, do you understand me you foolish wench?" He voice was seething.
Evvy moaned and raised herself up on her elbows, tasting blood in her mouth. Being stupid, she replied, "Calm down, it wasn't meant as an insult. It's because of your power that mine's changed so much."
And then the kitsune was towering over her, not a sound had been made to give Evvy a warning of his lightning fast approach. She craned her neck back to look up at him, squinting her eyes against the glare of the sun.
"Explain." Was his ice cold command.
Evvy sighed and painfully climbed to her feet. If it wasn't for the insurance of being Youko's only Gate Keeper, she would have been quaking in fear. As it was she calmly brushed herself off as she said, "I don't think I can. All I know is that the only significant thing that happened between now and the last time I opened a portal is being blinded by your aura. It's the only explanation: your aura somehow messed with mine."
Youko sneered. "Impossible. It is well known that a being's ki is his own, unchanged through any happenstance."
Evvy shrugged. "You have a better idea?"
Youko tensed suddenly and Evvy jumped back, preparing for another blow that never came.
"No." He said, quietly. There was utter silence for a moment before Youko turned to Brom. "You will make sure she does not get in our way. The two of you will go through last, but do not lag behind." And with that he walked back over and strode through the portal, the other two demons right behind him.
Brom came up to Evvy and there was certain awe in his voice. "I don't think I've ever heard Youko admit he didn't know something."
"I don't think anyone's ever tried bleeding for the privilege." Evvy remarked as she led the way to her portal.
An hour later saw them all in the other world. Youko was leading them single-file, lightning fast pace set. Directly behind him was a snake demon. The snake had green hair and eyes, with lightly patterned skin that resembled scales. Behind him was a Doberman demon, the same one from last night although Evvy didn't know it. And lastly came Brom, Evvy riding him piggy-back style.
'How do I get myself into these situations?' She wondered wildly, her face pressed into Brom's broad back. She could feel the wind whipping around her, having no doubt that if it weren't for the tight bun she always wore it in, her hair would be stinging her cheeks something awful. Her arms ached from holding on so tightly to Brom. She was afraid that if she somehow slipped from his back now at this speed, the fall would kill her.
Finally, their frantic pace slowed enough for Brom to let Evvy off his back. She stumbled as she dismounted, her legs having trouble supporting her weight after being in such a cramped position for so long. Youko shot her a look that plainly said 'Be quite or else.' Once again resisting the urge to flick him off, Evvy turned her attention to their surroundings. The black dirt had given way to sand, and they stood in the shadow of a large dune. Youko was climbing it, his footsteps measured, as if he were counting them. The snake and dog demons were following in his footsteps exactly, taking great care to step only on the sand he had already disturbed. Brom followed suit, and Evvy figured that, strange as it looked, there must be a reason for their cautious steps. So, shrugging to herself, she followed Brom, her own feet lost in his huge tracks. They crested the hill, Youko not even stopping before he began his descent. But when it was Evvy's turn, she paused and took a good look around. There were endless dunes and starry skies everywhere, but in the distance was what appeared to be a stone box. 'Some kind of fortress?' Evvy thought, squinting slightly. It was hard to judge distances here. 'Guess I'll find out.' Youko seemed to be headed for right for it, though his gaze was on the ground. Realizing she was lagging behind, Evvy hurried down the hill, still carful to step in Brom's footprints.
Suddenly, her foot slipped out from under her and she was headed for the ground. A scant few inches short of hitting, she was brought up short by Brom's strong hand on her upper arm. Looking up and about to thank him, Evvy's words were lost as she noticed that Brom was breathing very hard, his eyes terrified. He carefully set her on her feet before motioning to the ground with one hand. He made a fist and suddenly opened it. He repeated the gesture, pointing to the ground. Evvy looked up and mouthed, "Mine field?" Brom nodded tugged his ear. It took Evvy a second to work that one out. Then, "Sound sensitive?" she mouthed again. Brom once again nodded the affirmative before turning back and beginning to walk again.
'Oh...' Now she was scared. Much more cautiously, Evvy walked after him.
They had been walking for about an hour now, and the stone box hadn't seemed to get any closer. They had fallen into a rhythm, each of them no more or less than three steps behind the person in front of him or her. Every so often, Youko would take a 90 degree turn and go in that direction for awhile before turning back towards their destination. Evvy was in a kind of trance, their steady pace putting her in a light meditative state. All she had done for the past hour was step, step, check where Youko was headed, step, step, check, step, step, check.
When they finally arrived at the stone object, Evvy very nearly ran into Brom. Stumbling to a stop, she looked up and tiredly rubbed her eyes. When she looked again, she saw that Youko and the two other demons were examining the stone box. Now that they were right next to it, Evvy could see that it was about three feet high but about twenty feet in length and width. It was made out of the same gray stone as the canyon walls that now seemed a thousand miles away. It was dotted with hieroglyphs at odd intervals on its surface. Youko was running his hands lightly over it, possibly looking for a trigger. When that didn't work, he took a seed out of the pouch at his waist. He closed his hand around it, and Evvy saw a brief flare in his power before vines extending out of his fist, dropping down onto the box and growing across it. Evvy watched in amazement. She could see Youko's energy guiding the plant over the stone, and she could hear the plant grow. It sounded a bit like stretching fabric, only louder.
The tendrils grew until they covered every square inch of the stone. Youko frowned and withdrew them. He tilted his face up and slightly to the side. Evvy realized he was smelling something. He was silent for another moment before saying, "You may speak."
The dog immediately started chattering, "Seems like an easy take Master. No traps other than the mines and no guards to speak of. I suppose Higyou could melt it easily enough, or Brom could smash it open."
Youko shook his head. "We will not risk damaging the prize that way." He looked over at Evvy. "Well human, what do you make of it?"
She jumped slightly. "Me? Um..." She slowly walked over to the large slab, staring down at it. The symbols or hieroglyphs didn't seem to be arranged in any pattern she could see. The marks themselves were raised slightly off the surface, as if the cover had been created in a mold. Thin lines joined certain symbols into small groups. Evvy stared at them for a long moment, feeling stupid. How did he expect her to solve this? She glanced up and saw Youko watching her. That insufferably smug smile was back on his face, plainly saying that he didn't expect her to solve it at all. Evvy felt her rage ignite. So that was his game, was it? Well, she'd show him. She did enjoy a challenge...
Evvy returned her gaze to the stone, determined to find some sort of clue. She walked around it clockwise. Still no ideas. She walked around it the other way, and stopped suddenly. A group of symbols had reminded her of something... what was it? She puzzled over it for a second before sighing and looking upwards, rubbing her neck. She scanned the sky, letting her mind wander. Then, her gaze locked on a section of the sky. 'That's it!' She thought, excited. She looked around the sky again. "Got it." She said happily. Looking back down at the slab, she carefully examined it before walking over and standing next to Youko. Then, she reached forward and started pushing certain symbols in a group. Whatever symbol she touched glowed a faint white light and lowered itself into the stone. Suddenly, with a slight rumble, a section of the slab slid away to reveal a small, dark cubby-hole.
Not even looking at Evvy, Youko stuck his hand into the hole and pulled out a glass bottle. Inside the bottle a glowing white liquid sloshed around, even though Youko wasn't jostling it.
"How did you do that?" The snake, Higyou, asked Evvy.
She smiled proudly and explained, "The symbols represent constellations; all we needed to do was put in the right one." She pointed upward. A constellation hung directly over the slab that was the same shape as the group of symbols Evvy had used to open the box.
"Come, we've wasted enough time." Youko said as he tucked the bottle into his pouch. He stalked off in the direction they had come.
Higyou and Ha immediately followed the kitsune, but as Brom came by he thumped Evvy on the back. "Nice job." He said, beaming down at her.
She smiled gratefully up at him before they turned and followed the thieves into the sands.
By the time they returned to Youko's home, night had fallen. The Thief King immediately disappeared up to his castle, Brom and the other demons went to their own tents, leaving Evvy to wander around and explore.
'Brom said Youko doesn't restrict his people to camp... I wonder...' Evvy paused in between rows of tents and tried to open a portal, but before she could weave her hand full of strands into a hoop a searing pain arched up and down her spine. She immediately let go of the Ether and clawed at her back. "Damn." She swore, rubbing the small scar Youko's seed had left on her neck. She stopped and sighed. 'Guess that means I'll have to find something else to do.' Even after the five hour excursion, she wasn't very tired. Evvy didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but it must have been for quite awhile. Looking around, she spotted the edge of the camp and headed for it. Beyond the tents a forest stretched away, the trees gently tossing their leaves in the wind. 'Looks peaceful.' Evvy thought happily and headed toward it.
A path led away from the camp, and Evvy followed it. She wasn't concerned about getting lost; if worse came to worse, she would just use the Ether to find her way back. She walked for a few minutes, pleasantly thinking about nothing. She spotted an open meadow a ways off the path and made for it. It was small as meadows go, but quite and sufficiently isolated. Evvy sat down underneath a towering tree that looked something like an oak. She looked up through the branches at the large moon and, not recognizing this foreign heavenly body, felt a wave of homesickness sweep through her. 'You never think too much about it, but you get used to seeing the same thing in the sky night after night. There's no Apollo up there, no American flag, no lunar landers... just dust, undisturbed by the people of this world.' She suddenly shook her head viciously. 'Stop it! You're making it worse! Koenma will come any day now.' All was silent for a moment. 'At least, I hope so.'
Evvy sighed and leaned back until she was laying down, her head resting on a root that had mistakenly found its way to the surface of the dirt. Staring straight up, she tried not to think about her home, instead focusing on the patterns the leaves made as the wind pushed through them. A particularly strong gust snapped a leaf off its branch, causing it to twirl down through the air to land directly on Evvy's face. Annoyed, she blew it into the air, only to have it twirl straight down again. Amused now, Evvy made a game out of it. She blew and kept the leaf in the air, stopping it before it landed on her face and keeping it over her. She let out a strong breath and watched the leaf shoot into the air. Suddenly, the leaf stopped it's lazy way down. It just hung there in the air. 'Huh?'
Evvy sat up, eyeing the leaf suspiciously. It was eye level and just hanging there, frozen. She reached forward and waved her hand over and under it. No strings. "How's this possible?" She asked no one and nearly jumped out of her skin when she got an answer.
"Because I will it so." A voice she didn't recognize said. Spinning around and quickly jumping to her feet, Evvy faced the new comer. He was taller than her, but shorter than Youko. He had platinum-blond hair with white markings on his face and arms. Amused gray eyes regarded her.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I simply wanted to see Youko's newest recruit myself. I must say, you are not what I expected."
"Is that so?" Evvy asked suspiciously.
The demon nodded. "I didn't expect you to be so young. Or so..." he walked over to her, using slow steps. He didn't finish his sentence, merely continuing to stare at her.
"What?" She asked, nervous.
"Hmmm." He locked eyes with her. "Yes, I can see why he chose you." He gave a slight laugh. "Please, excuse my forwardness. My name is Kaze, I am a Jinn of the Wind. I have worked with Youko for nearly three hundred years."
Evvy's jaw dropped, prompting a laugh from Kaze. Abashed, Evvy closed her mouth and asked, "Just how long do demons live for?"
Kaze smiled. "A demon will live forever, if not struck down in battle or by disease."
Evvy blinked rapidly. 'Live forever? That's got to get boring...' What she said aloud was, "How old are you?"
A hint of playfulness touched Kaze's face. "It is said a demon's strength can be measured by his years. I am seven hundred, and one of the most powerful Jinns to ever live."
"Uh-huh." Evvy said, skeptical. A thought struck her. "Hey, how old is Youko?"
Kaze blinked. "No one knows. He keeps himself to himself mostly. The only one to ever get him to open up was his old partner, Kuronue."
"Yeah, I heard about him. Who was he, exactly?"
"He was a bat demon, one of many years. He was known for his love of sake, practical jokes, and above all: a curiosity to rival that of the Master Kitsune." "What happened to him? I know he died awhile ago, but how?" Evvy asked, wondering briefly just how Kuronue managed to get that glacier of a youkai to 'open up'.
Kaze's jaunty smile faded. "I was there the night he died. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but please, sit and I will tell you what I know."
The both of them sat cross-legged across from each other. The jinn removed a spear from where it had been clipped at his back and laid it across his knees. Evvy eyed it nervously as Kaze began his tale.
"It was during the escape that Kuronue was caught. We had raided one of the more well-guarded castles and no one, not even Youko, thought that there would be even more defenses laid outside, across our escape rout. But there were, and Kuronue, in an effort to doge a spirit orb that had come at him, stumbled right into one. Youko was the only one nearby at the time, and at the exact distance away that it would take him too long to go to Kuronue's aid. The trap itself had speared the Bat Demon with poisoned bamboo, and the guards were approaching fast." Kaze sighed, his eyes closed. "Youko left Kuronue there, still alive and conscious. I don't know if he called out anything to Youko, for the Master wouldn't tell us anything beyond the bare facts of Kuronue's death."
"Poor guy..." Evvy said, and then was immediately appalled. 'Wait a minute, I'm sad for Kuronue here, right?' Was she really feeling bad for her captor?
Kaze nodded and opened his eyes. "No one to this day is a hundred percent sure of what happened to Kuronue. Most believe he died, either in capture or from the poison. But some say that he was too good of a thief to have been ended that way."
"What do you think?" Evvy asked, leaning forward, face intent.
"I'm not sure. I didn't know Kuronue that well. But if I had to choose a side... I'd say that he's still out there, biding his time and looking for revenge."
Evvy shook her head. "I don't think so. If Kuronue and Youko were as close as everyone says, then he would understand Youko's choice."
Kaze smiled, but this time his smile was as cold as the arctic winds. "Then I'm afraid you do not know our kind very well."
Later on, Evvy was headed back to camp, Kaze walking beside her. Evvy's hands were clasped behind her back, a position Finn had dubbed her 'Deep Thought Pose'.
She spoke up suddenly. "Kaze, one more question."
"Yes?" Kaze said, leveling his cool gaze on her.
Evvy slowly turned to him, her expression grave. "What does Youko think happened to Kuronue?"
Kaze blinked, surprised. "I'm not sure. As I've said, Youko doesn't really make his feelings public."
"But if you had to guess?" Evvy pressed on.
"Then I'd say... he thinks Kuronue is dead. But I also sense that if the bat were still alive, then Youko would accept any punishment Kuronue decided to visit upon him. Including death and dishonor."
Evvy's eyes slid to the side, a frown crossing her face. 'Stupid...'
She suddenly looked back at Kaze, expression light again. "Well, good night. And thanks for the info!"
Kaze smiled and nodded. "I will see you again later, I have no doubt." And he swept off into the night wind, not a blade of grass bending in his passage.
Evvy smiled as well. 'Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about.'
So... does my description of Kuronue remind you of anyone?
A note here: Sorry if I got the story of Kuronue's death wrong, I only saw the movie once and it was awhile ago. And if it is wrong, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to apply poetic lisence and keep it this way. It's important to the story!