dont own yyh

more pics done, let me know if you want to see!


Chapt. 26

The Guiding Oak and Our First Victory

A flash of light, steel clashing, and strong arms all come instantaneously. The wind brushes by my face and against my wound. Blood flies past the dark figure carrying me. I'm gently placed on the ground against the cold ice wall. His bareback faces me, stained with dark blood. A deep, black gash ran down from his right shoulder to his lower back.

"Hiei..." I whisper, coughing up more blood.

"Shut up and sit still." He raced off in a flash and the sound of steel on steel sounded again. Sparks flew into the air, and blood followed shortly after. Blades of wind sliced through the air towards me at an alarming speed. My eyes widened. A blur appears before me. Blood sprays everywhere.

"Hiei!" I scream hoarsely.

He backs up into the wall and slides down next to me, cutting his back up even more on the jagged surface.

"Damn, that was amazing," Hiei gasps, smirking at the air.

His body was covered in deep, blood-gushing gashes. No longer a pale peach, Hiei was crimson and shiny. He reeked of blood (wonder why). But there he was, smiling about getting the shit beat outta him. His eyes had a certain gleam to them, like he was proud of Yuushito for beating him. A sense of respect lingered on his dazed and bloody features.

"Hiei, why?" I manage to whisper.

Someone once told me that that was what friends did. She scolded me when I disagreed. And you know something, she was right. I don't have a heart.

I was wrong. You have a heart; you just don't know how to use it.

Hmm.

Why do you smile?

I've never met a swordsman that could best me. I don't think any swordsman could beat him. A true samurai spirit is part of Yuushito's soul.

How could we beat a samurai that could best Hiei? How could I beat a man that knew all the attacks my father had ever known? I knew the attacks by heart, but I'd never been able to do them. But this man, he knew how to use them, when to use them, and who to use them on. What could be used to beat him?

Another memory played in my mind:

My father stood there before me, good katana in hand. The sun had begun setting behind us, turning the clouds pink. The eastern sky was red-orange, and, as you went up and over the western sky, it became a light blue that got darker and darker until it faded into black.

"Watch this now, you will be the only one to see," he had said to me. "Normally this attack would be used with two people, but I will show you as one. Both people work in symmetry side-by-side. Now, watch very closely."

I had done as I was instructed and sat very still. Wind came out of nowhere and flared up around my father. Leaves, rocks, sticks all swirled around him, fast. The wind around him turned black. He held his katana out in front of him, pointing the tip at a large oak.

"Forgive me, dear tree," he had whispered. Then he raced at the tree. The wind became a fierce storm around his body. Six feet from the tree. Three feet. Two feet; slash across left, across right, and across the middle. It was felled with that last stroke, more the pressure really. Three deep cuts were carved into the trunk; it broke near the base.

"Wow!" I gasped, racing over to my father's side. We stood and stared at the majestic creature that lay before us. The mighty oak let out a last gasp and its spirit left it. It swirled about me, making the light green color form a "wall" before my eyes. I stared in awe at the magical sight. The color faded and a soft whisper sounded.

"I will guide you now," is what the spirit spoke. I looked up at my father.

He gave a warm smile. "Now the trees and grasses and flowers of the world will be yours to command. The oak will be your protector, look to it for answers. But in turn, you must treat nature kindly; become one with it." His large hand rested itself on my head.

"Of course, Father. I will always treat the world with love like you've given me," I had said after a moment. The wind danced with our hair and slowly left us again.

We were the only two that knew the attack. I swore to master it one day with my partner. My father held me closely as we counted the stars in the velvet sky.

"Hiei, try something with me," I breathed.

"Like what?" he asked, turning his head to look at me. Yuushito was slowly approaching us now. A smug smile played on his lips.

It's an attack my father showed me years ago, before he died. Yuushito doesn't know it.

How do you know?

Because my father only showed me. We were the only two who knew.

What do I need to do? Decoy?

No, this attack takes two people. We must do it in perfect symmetry. Just follow my lead; keep up with me and don't go any faster.

Ok, but how are we gunna stand?

Leave that to me. I curl my knees up to my chest. Shakily, I push myself up, supported by the ice wall. Luckily, my sweatshirt was thick and kept my back from being cut up. Once I'm standing sturdily, I reach my hand to Hiei.

"Here, take it," I instruct, barely above a whisper.

He grasps it tightly. Using some telekinesis, I pull him into a standing position next to me.

"How cute, helping each other up," Yuushito mocked, stopping a few feet from us. "Not that it'll do you much good. We'll win."

"Not if I can help it," I cough, baring blood stained teeth. I form a black flamed katana in my shaking fist. Hiei silently slides out his katana. The wind picked up in the enclosed ring. Cement chips, ice shards, and blood spun around me. A second wind kicked up beside me. Hiei was equally surrounded. His wind was a strange red-black combination; mine was a deep blood color. I mustered up my strength to get ready to run. Hiei must've sensed this change, for he, too, was summoning the last of his strength.

"You can't beat me with wind tricks!" Yuushito called over the winds. "And even if you manage to beat me, how will you survive two more?"

I make no reply, and Hiei stays silent too. I push from the wall and race towards Yuushito; Hiei stays right beside me. I hold my flaming katana steadily before me; Hiei follows suit with his. Four meters. Three meters. Two meters; slash across left, across right, and across the middle. The ice wolf cried out in agony as the strikes dig into his flesh. He had tried to protect himself by holding up his arms in an X shape in front of his face and upper torso; the arm guards acting as protectors.

Yuushito falls with a thud to the ground. The winds die down and the shards and blood fall to the ring once again. The ice samurai lays there, deep cuts in his arm guards and slashes over the unprotected flesh.

The attack was much more damaging with two people. Not only had it taken out Yuushito, but Shoda and Yasha, too, lay on the ground, bloody and cut up. Kurama, no longer Yo-Ko, rested against the wall, staining the ground and ice with blood. I fumble to his side.

"You ok, Kurama?" I ask, breathing for air.

"I'm...not sure," he gasped. His face was pale, almost white. And his once bright eyes stared at me through a thick fog. Blood poured from his wounds like a water fall. I think he was hit by Hiei's and my attack.

"Don't talk, just sit." The ice wall was slowly melting away. Once it was gone, I held Kurama from falling over the edge.

"Well, it looks like Team Kano is down and unable to fight. Team Urameshi takes the win!" the referee announces, finally able to see the ring.

Kurama gasps for air that was not coming to him.

"Hold on Kurama," I command, "you can't die. Just hold on for a moment more." A deep red aura surrounds Kurama and me. Sharp stinging covers my body. Blood spurts from new wounds on uncovered skin. Kurama's wounds fade away, while new ones appear on me. The aura fades.

"There you go, Kurama," I gasp.

"Darkfire," he says. Now he holds me. My body shakes violently. I can't breathe.

"You shall not die," an ancient voice booms. A green aura surrounds me again. The smell of oak fills my nose. A new sensation fills my body. I can breathe.

"I will always protect you," it whispers, disappearing into my body again.

"What was that?" Kurama asks after several moments.

"The old oak," I smile. I look into the fox's green emeralds. My reflection stares back at me, but it's...different. A shining jewel flashes and sparkles below my left eye.

"Kurama," I whisper, "what do I look like?"

"We'll get you a mirror later. For now, just rest," he says, brushing foreign hair from my face.

"Where's Hiei?"

"Resting, like you should be doing," Kurama says sternly, laying me down on hard floor outside the ring.

"You ok, Darkfire?" Kuwabara asks, picking me up gently in a bridal style.

"I'm fine, thanks," I smile weakly, resting in his arms. "Just a little tired." I yawn.

"Get some sleep; we'll take care of you." For the first time, I notice that Kuwabara's eyes are a dark brown. Soft when they wanted to be, so kind and caring they matched their owner's personality.

"Take good care of Hiei too. He's hurt real bad," I yawn, concerned about my youkai partner.

"We'll take care of him," Yusuke says softly, coming into my view.

"Thanks guys..." A dreamless slumber washes over me.