A/N Chapter 4! Let us see how Kurama is doing!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters, except for the Acire.
Chapter 4: The burning Water
Kurama was woken by a screaming voice. Without opening his eyes he could tell that it was the boy, who kidnapped him. His head hurted and his limbs felt weak. He decided to keep quiet for a little longer, to hear what the fight was about.
"Why are you on his side? He is the cause of our pain! The death of our people! We should kill him!" the boy shouted.
"Indirectly, yes, he's responsible, but that doesn't mean he has to die. If we kill everyone who's indirectly guilty to the death of our family and friends and all the others, we'll be rooming the world until the end of time, trying to find everyone. There are just to many," Ira answered, sounding eerily calm, but a small vibe in her voice told the redhead that she was very angry and trying her hardest to control herself.
"So tell me? Why did we even bother to get this pitiful creature here if we're not going to do anything with him?"
"I've told you more than once and I'm not telling it again."
"You little... You're so stubborn! You'll be the death of all of us one day!"
"Keep your tone down, Sarchi. What must our guest think of us?" The girl now spoke directly to Kurama. "You can open your eyes, now. I know you're awake."
'How did she...' The redhead obeyed and opened his emerald eyes and pushed himself into a sitting position.
He first looked at the girl, who, in her turn, looked him straight in the eyes. Her long aqua hair, reaching the middle of her upper leg, was gently moving in the water. She had a delicate face, a small smile on her lips, a slim body and long limbs, her skin bluish gray. Kurama noticed that she didn't had nails on both toes and fingers. She was dressed in white fabric, that seemed to have a blue shine to it. A top with one short sleeve on the right side and a skirt, right side reaching her knee, left side just a bit below her hair length. But one thing intrigued the kitsune the most... Her eyes.
Ira's eyes were aqua, just as her hair, but at the same time grayish blue and normal blue as well. When he looked a bit closer, he saw that the colors in her eyes were swirling around, like when a child mixes up different colors of paint, only didn't the colors mix up. They remained separated. This flowing made her eyes seem soft and gentle.
"Glad to see that you're OK. After that blow, I thought that you might be unconscious for a few days."
"And that's a bad thing? It would've been even better if he didn't wake up at all!" Sarchi answered.
Ira gave Sarchi a glare, her eyes hard for a moment. To Kurama's opinion, her's wasn't as good as Hiei's, but the Acire boy seemed to be startled by it for a moment, surprised by the anger on her face, but it didn't took him long to pull himself together again.
Just like Ira, he had blue grayish skin and no nails. His short hair was a shade lighter than his dark gray eyes, that, just like the girl, had multiple colors. Only his eyes weren't soft. The greater amount of gray made them seem cold and distant.
"Please forgive my companion. There've happened some things not to long ago that bother him and make him lose his patience." Another angry glare.
This time the boy answered her glare and looked right back. After 32 seconds he let a low growl escape his mouth. "You're just as pathetic as him." He turned around and swum towards an opening in the clay, stone and weed combined walls.
"This is bad news, very bad news."
"Now what do we do?" Yusuke wondered.
"For starters, hope they let him live, although that chance is quite high, considering they took the trouble of taking him with them. They could have just killed him in his own house, but that they didn't shows they're up to something bigger. Still it's no guaranty that Kurama is unhurt. I'll analyze the portal the Acire used to get away. Underwater portals are only in water and it is possible that they ended up in a lake, with no way out." Koenma looked at the two members of the Tantei. "You're both sure he isn't in Ningenkai anymore?"
"I couldn't sense him at home or near the lake, or anywhere in between," Hiei answered.
"Excuse me, but why aren't we taking the same portal as the Acire did when they kidnapped Kurama? Then we'll be there in no time."
"Baka! That's suicide!"
"Come on! It can never be that bad!" Yusuke looked at Hiei.
"I'm afraid Hiei is right," Koenma said. "Going to that portal will bring you too close to the Acire. They'll immediately notice you. Therefore, it's not an option."
"But we have to do something!" Yusuke yelled.
"Tomorrow morning you'll travel to Makai, using the portal closest to the one used. Botan will pick you up," Koenma said. "And about Kurama... Yusuke. Write something down about him staying at your place and leave the note at Kurama's place, so his mother won't get worried."
"Will do."
"Good. And when you've brought Kurama back, you can prepare for another mission. We now know what demon clan is behind the assault on the Acire. We keep an eye on them, so when you're ready, it will only take a few minutes to find them."
"OK. See you in the morning, Hiei."
"Hn."
Even under water, inside the little house, Kurama could notice it was getting dark. It'd been half an hour since Sarchi left and Ira hadn't spoken a word all that time. After the argument she sat down, looking quite sad. From time to time she looked up, making sure the redhead didn't try to escape. The tension in the air was overwhelming. It was clear she didn't feel too comfortable being all alone in one room with a member of the Reikai Tantei.
Ira too noticed it was getting dark. She finally pushed herself off the block of stone, swimming to what seemed to be a small table with drawers. She opened the middle and took a brown fabric bundle out of it. When opening the fabric, Kurama could see light coming from inside.
Ira took four small balls out the bag. She put the fabric on top the table and let the small glowing balls float, one by one, to the corners of the ceiling.
The kitsune recognized the light balls from his mission to the Ithara Sea. They had the same blue color, the same radiation.
"Ira! We're back!"
"About time," she said, breaking the silence, turning to the young girl with bright pink curly hair that reached her shoulders. Kurama saw that the same pink was swirling around in her big eyes. "It was already getting dark."
"But it wasn't totally dark, so we're on time," the girl said, trying to look innocent.
"Meike..."
"You told me to take Jeresa out for a swim. I did and now I'm in trouble for doing what you said?" she responded, now more defensive.
"You're not in trouble at this moment, but you will be if you don't tell me where Jeresa is..."
The pink-eyed girl turned around. "... Oops..."
"Oops?" Ira raised an eyebrow.
Meike made a goofy grin and was clearly nervous. "Be right back." With that, she swum off as fast as she could.
Kurama had to try his hardest not to laugh when Meike came back to the house, dragging with her an even younger girl, who was totally wrapped up in all kinds of sea plants. The little girl had a small hint of fear in her eyes, but that disappeared immediately when Ira started to unwrap the weeds.
"Meike, how many times have I told you..? Don't wrap Jeresa up in all kinds of plants."
"Ummm..." The girl tapped her small chin. "More times than I have fingers?"
Ira sighed. "Yes... More than you have fingers. To be exact, more than all three of us have fingers and toes!"
The pink-eyed girl smiled again, a goofy expression, which reminded Kurama at Yusuke's.
"It's not funny, Meike. Jeresa could get hurt. There are dangerous plants out there."
The last pieces seaweed fell to the ground from Jeresa's orange hair. She first leaded her little hand through a few strands, just to be sure there was nothing more. Next, she turned to Meike, an angry look on her round face. "This wasn't funny! You left me there!"
"Sorry. When I noticed it got dark, I rushed back here... And I think I forgot you at that moment..." Meike's cheeks became bright red.
Ira sighed again. "It's amazing how short your short-term memory is."
But just the same moment the youngest her attention switched. She pushed herself off the ground and with 'deadly' precision she landed on Kurama's lap. With her purple-blue eyes Jeresa stared into his emerald green ones. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kurama," the redhead answered, trying to sound polite even in the situation of kidnapping.
The orange-haired girl turned to the oldest. "Ira... Who is he?"
"He's the Youko in a human body, living in the Ningenkai, with his human family."
"Isn't he the one with the plant-control?" Meike asked.
"Yes, he is."
"Human..." Jeresa let her eyes go over Kurama's face, next his hair, after that she took a look at his upper body. To see his legs, she turned around, but sat back almost right away. She took a little more time for his arms and hands and stared curious at his nails. She sat up straight again, looking the kitsune in the eyes once more. "Humans are pretty."
Kurama could feel his cheeks get a bit red with this statement.
"Yes, some are, but not all of them," Ira said, smiling. "This one belongs to the pretty part of the population."
"I want to be a human too!" Jeresa squealed.
"You can't be! You have to be born human!"
"But he's a demon in a human body!" Jeresa defended herself from Meike's reply.
"Well... He's strange!"
"Please, girls. No fighting," Ira said.
"So? I want to be a human!"
"You can only be human if your mom is a human and she isn't!" Directly after Meike yelled it, it got to her exactly what she said and she covered her mouth with her hands.
Silence. The pleasant atmosphere of a few seconds ago disappeared like snow in the desert sun. Shining purple became foggy blue, tears starting to form in Jeresa's eyes.
Ira didn't waste a second and took the little girl in her arms, gently hugging her.
"Mommy..." Tears were now flowing over the girl's cheeks. Light blue drops, which gave a bit of light. The tears mixed with the water, falling apart in the flow in hundred small glittery grains of sand.
Ira touched the face of the youngest girl, who was now silently sleeping. Meike turned around from time to time, but she as well had fallen into a deep slumber.
Ira rose to her feet. "You must be hungry. I got some Ningen food for you." From another drawer of the table from which she got the light balls, she took some cans. "I have no idea what it is and what you like... I just took what looked right." She handed Kurama a bottle of soda, canned soup (with he had to put in a microwave after adding water), canned peas and carrots and a jar with sugared peaches.
Kurama couldn't suppress a smile.
"What? Is there something wrong with the food? You don't like it?"
"No, it's just... Humans put things in cans, so they can prepare it later. I can't eat it like this."
The girl blink, clearly confused.
"That's what humans do." He handed her the peas and carrots and the soup. "But this will do. Thank you." He opened the bottle of soda and took a sip. He noticed that near his skin, he felt the metal more clearly than a second before it. Then it struck him. The girl had created a very small air bubble around his body, not much thinker than a coin, just before she'd dragged him down here. The water could provide the oxygen he needed.
He looked how Ira took the cans and put them back in the drawer. Kurama took a peach out the jar and put it in his mouth. It was almost sick making sweet, but it was the only thing eatable and spitting it out would not make the girl happy.
The drawer closed. The redhead knew that if he wanted to get answers to any of his questions, this would be the right time, when she was all alone. Still, he needed to be careful, so it would be best to start with a lighter question. "So, where's the fourth? Shouldn't the boy be back by now?"
"If I were you, I should be happy he's gone. Sarchi goes where he wants, when he wants it. He has always done it that way and it won't change now. He'll show up... Eventually."
"You don't like him?" Kurama knew that if he wasn't careful, she could take him down any second, but he had to ask it now, when she was still working along.
"Like... It has nothing to do with like." She turned around and looked the kitsune in the eyes. "We are forced to work together, if we want or not. We've got no one and nothing left."
"Nothing? So the sacred objects are stolen?"
For a moment Ira seemed startled by the direct question and his knowledge of the objects, but she decided to answer nonetheless. "Yes. Sarchi tried to get them, risking his own life, but they were gone when he got there..."
"And other then the four of you, all the Acire are dead?"
Ira's eyes turned to the ground, her eyes getting more grayish. "I think that's enough questions for one day..." She turned around, but not in time to hide the tear that had already fallen from her eye.
She swum to a corner of the house and picked up what seemed to be and old piece of fabric. It had holes in it and someone had tried to repair it, shown by the many stitches. "You should get some sleep. And don't worry, I won't kill you when you're asleep. If I would've wanted to do that, I would've done it a long time ago." She tossed the blanket towards him.
Kurama looked at the fabric in his hands. He had to say it, now. "I'm sorry we weren't on time to help." He looked at the girl. "I'm really sorry."
She turned her foggy eyes away. "It's too late for that now."
A/N There! Please review!