Delicate Petals

(This is where you put the standard disclaimer)

Chapter 26

XxXxX

"I have a pimple." A portion of Kuronue's tongue was stuck outside the corner of his mouth and he held his leg up close to his face. I twitched. The light was bright and the fire itself looked like a signal fire. We really didn't care if we got noticed or not. We were strong enough to handle lower-class demons.

"Thank you for that important information. I am certain that those on Ningenkai are upset for missing it." I stated dryly. He peered up at me before nodded, an upset look tingeing his face.

"They are missing my news. How very sad for them. I bet they would cry if they knew this."

"Do demons even get pimples?" Yuusuke asked, leaning forward slightly. "Kurama never got a single one."

"'Tis because he is a feminine demon, with the long silky hair and the gorgeous eyes that any female would die for!" I glared at him. "And he uses feminine care products."

"I do not!" I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes.

"Maybe it's that stuff that you use to help you look younger." He scratched his chin and I growled. "My, my, my. No need to get so touchy."

"What are you on?" I asked, giving him an incredulous look.

"That is none of your business!" He shouted. "It's mine, you cannot have any!"

"You're so cruel." I muttered sarcastically.

"I know but it is the brakes of the game. You have to live with it."

"Not fair." I stated, resting my chin in my hand. Yuusuke snickered. You could say that it was quite boring. That was probably why Kuronue was inspecting a pimple on his leg.

"Please tell me that we are almost there." Hiei sent me a look. I just shrugged.

"The only one who knows where we're going is Yuusuke. Koenma gave him the directions."

"I say about two or three days before we're there." I sighed.

"Just kill me now." I muttered. Kuronue grinned cheerfully.

"Aww, it isn't that bad, crybaby." I gave him a look. He blinked before looking around nervously. "What are we going to do, then? I mean, it can't possibly take more than a week to deliver that thing. If it does, I'm gonna kick that little toddler in the-"

"Don't worry. We've only been gone two days so far. It will be a week but I can imagine that we can have some fun with this." Yuusuke said, trying to lighten the tension. "Anyway, we don't have too much to worry about. We can just think of this as a vacation. We can have some fun kicking some opposing demons' asses."

"Yuusuke, we cannot upset this guy. Koenma made it clear that he is important. We cannot risk getting on his bad side. If we get arrested by his demon guards then we will have to present them with our mission." I stated. There was no point in pissing anyone off. The faster we got this done, the better. I just wanted to go home.

"The kitsune is right. The faster the better." Hiei looked up. "You should all go to sleep. It is my watch tonight."

"All right." We agreed in unison.

XxXxX

We got up early and set out at a good pace. Hiei was leading us through the territory, since he apparently knew which way we were going. The rain started around noon and left us all soaking wet and slogging through marshes. I had been around these parts before. Rare plants graced my sight every once in a while. Yuusuke was the source of most of the attention, after falling into the green pools more than three times. It rained a lot more here than anywhere else in Makai.

"Are we almost out of this place?" Yuusuke asked, sniffling. He then sneezed about three times and sighed.

"We have a few more miles to go. This land does not stretch too far." Hiei answered. I shivered. The chill wind was blowing every so often. I looked around. It was like any old marsh with deformed trees and only one thin muddy trail leading through it that twisted and wound like a snake. Vines hung down everywhere and leaves, if there were any, drooped down. Barely any animal dared come into our view. Kuronue sneezed behind me.

"This sucks..." He said softly. I looked to the side to see the green waters. Then I looked up at the sky. There seemed to be no end to the gray clouds... I could tell Yuusuke was getting tired after another hour ticked by. Slogging in the mud and falling in the marsh was making him tired. I sighed. We couldn't stop now. Hiei wouldn't allow it. And there wasn't any shelter to be seen. It was best to keep going.

XxXxX

The marshes clear, we stopped and built a fire. Kuronue and Yuusuke were sneezing up a storm. I didn't have any plants on me to cure a cold or whatever it was they had.

"Come on, Yuusuke. You're covered in green muck. Let's go get you cleaned up." I dragged him away and followed the sound of running water. It was a small, clear stream that was probably ice cold. But it would have to do. I dragged Yuusuke over to it and helped him wash up. He was shivering as bad as he had been before.

"Geez, I hate this place." His teeth were chattering and he was hugging himself.

"Don't worry, Yuusuke. Kuronue should have a big fire going and Hiei should be hunting." He nodded and we walked back to where we were staying. His clothes were soaked and his hair was dripping water down his face. I sighed. The fire was just as large as the last one and nightfall was upon us before we knew it. Hiei came back empty-handed so we had to find what we could in the packs we were carrying. I heated up water from the stream that I made Hiei fetch and made some tea for us. I had forgotten that I packed most of my plants. "This should help you, Yuusuke. And you, too, Kuronue."

"Thanks." They said in unison. Hiei sat by the fire and watched for anything in the darkness. I looked up at him. He looked worn out. I could see weariness beginning to appear in his eyes.

"Tonight is my watch." I told him. "You need to rest, too." He just nodded without a fight. I was going to be honest to myself. Kuronue and Yuusuke were getting sick, Hiei was tired, and I was the only one suitable for it. I just had to fend off my weariness. An entire day of traveling marshes would wear anyone out. Less than a half-hour later, they were asleep. I kept the fire going at a normal size just to keep warmth around us. The end of the marshes looked like the marshes itself. Of course, there were a few exceptions. The road was dry and there wasn't any rain. Coldness crept into my body, causing me to shiver and move closer to the fire. I sat there for a while, thinking of the past events, of Botan. I could remember that night in vivid detail. Then my mind wandered down the path a little further to come upon the time I ran here, to Makai. When I ran into Kuronue. I blinked when I heard the fire pop. I looked up at the sky. A light rain had begun to fall and the fire was threatening to go out. I put more wood on it and watched as it flared up again. How long would we really be here? Would we really be unchallenged through his lands? I doubted it.

"Kurama?" I looked over to see Kuronue peering at me with tired eyes.

"Go back to sleep, Kuronue. Everything's fine." He nodded and yawned, lying back down. I pulled my blanket around my shoulders and stared into the dark woods. The firelight provided enough to see around the clearing we were currently in but it did nothing to penetrate the darkness surrounding us.

XxXxX

"I would say that he's tired." I heard Yuusuke state. "He stayed up all night, didn't he?"

"I woke up once and he was wide awake, looking alert. He was deep in thought about something." I glanced over at them. Sure, I was a bit drowsy but they didn't have to act like I was completely out of it.

"Can we get moving?" I asked Hiei. The koorime glanced at me.

"Yes, kitsune. I found a path that leads to the main road into the city. We should be at the main road by noon tomorrow. The main road stretches for a while so that will take us more than a day." I nodded. It sounded logical. If I could remember right, this was the path I had taken before.

"If we keep this pace, you mean?"

"Well, we will be going faster, since we're not in the marshes anymore."

"True." I nodded. So, we set out a few minutes later. The rain had stopped a couple of hours ago. It wasn't anything special but it was still enough to make the route wet and muddy.

"Okay, I spy... something brown!"

"Kuronue, everything is brown." Yuusuke stated dryly.

"Not everything." Kuronue frowned, pointing to the bushes. "Now, guess. It's brown." I sighed and shook my head.

"Mud." I replied. He gasped and stopped.

"Stop reading my mind!"

"You've been choosing mud for the past hour!" I growled.

"Have not. I chose the bark two times. And that was Yuusuke's question!"

"What does it matter? We have been seeing the exact same things for the past two hours!" I retorted. "And this game is irritating me to no end. Can we try being quiet?"

"Fine, be that way." He gave me a glare and I gave him one back.

"Fine, I will." I turned back around and quickened my pace. Then I froze.

"Someone is cranky."

"Someone needs to learn how to be quiet." I muttered, continuing on. "Or I have other methods that are better for me than for you." He stayed silent and I rubbed my temples. Hiei was ahead of us by four feet. I knew he could hear us. I knew he felt frustrated. So did I. This was very aggravating. I had to remember to choke the life from a certain toddler when I get back to Reikai.

XxXxX

Hey all of you who are still reading... I am so very sorry for the long wait. School sucks. It's mostly Chemistry labs, History reports, English essays, Spanish homework, and Sociology projects taking up my time. But I promised myself that I would update this a.s.a.p. Please be patient with me. I've been trying as hard as I can. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. The next one will be up a little sooner, I hope. But, hey, I've got Christmas vacation to try hard and make it up to all of you!

Please review!

Thanks!