Disclaimer: -Kuwabara walks onstage- Hey! Where'd every one go?
-Enters Me- hm? Oh didn't everyone tell you? THEY'RE AVOIDING ME!
K: Why?
Me: Because I make them do disclaimers.
K: Geez, why would they be afraid of that?
Me: …If they don't do as I ask I threaten them.
K: ….oh. –Backs away-
Me: Hey! Where are you going? Oh! You can do the disclaimer!
K: Uhh….I don't know…You wouldn't hurt me, right?
Me: WHY DO YOU GUYS THINK I WILL HURT YOU ALL THE TIME! GOSH!
K: eep. Ok! You're not makin' money from this or anythin'…happy?
Me: -smiles- yup! When you see everybody, even Yumi and Aya, tell them I'd like them to join me here.
K: Y…yes maim. –Runs away screaming-
Me: Mwuahahahhahahhahaha!
Yes people, I am bored…Anywho, thanks to for reviewing! Iloveyouguyssoverymuch!
mokonagirl: waves glad your so happy; that makes me feel so special that I cuased it! lol. Anyways, here's the other chapter! Enjoy!
firerose13: Ha ha! I updated...uh, I think it was soon. Anyways, I updated which means you have to review now! Thanks for the comments and your welcome for putting up two chapters. I was feeling good that day.
WhiteStarburst: YaY! Peoples like long chapters! Well, thanks for the review and everything, but I'm sorry to say that this chapter isn't as long. Oh well, here it is anyways, enjoy!
lightmaidenAya08: AYA! Why do you write confusing reviews? thank you for reviewing though, and I AM writing more thank you very much.
Nordic-Nymph: Why thank you. Here it is.
KindAnimal: Here it is! Don't hurt me...lol
bluesilver-soul: Two words: THANK YOU! lol. I'm happy that you like my story! Thanks for the review and comments; they keep up my enthusiasm for writing the fic. And don't worry, I can't spell that well either. you should se how many times I've got to use spell check!
animegirl 12961: Short but sweet, eh? lol. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it.
Araxiel: Hey! Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure that I fix it. I need people like you! If you guys don't review and tell me what I do wrong then it'd never get changed! So, thanks again and I'm glad you like it!
Lil miss Komugi: Wow! You flatter me! Thanks for your review and for the fact that you like Hiei that way. lol. I do too!
Chapter XII
Kurama and Hiei's walk back to the house was made in silence. Neither talked; only wind could be heard rustling through the trees. They had made it out of the makai world and were now in the human world. Hiei had teleported them close enough to their home, but not that close. It took a lot out of him to transport four people across great distances in one try, so he teleported them somewhere in a forest close to Genkai's temple. From there, if they didn't stop to rest, it'd take about the rest of the night to make it back—and Aya desperately needed some medical attention.
Kurama's brow furrowed as he worried about her. Hiei could tell something was wrong with his best friend—Kurama had transferred back into his Kitsune form and kept looking in worried glances at Aya.
"What's wrong fox?" he said as they jumped across a stream. Kurama seemed startled, but continued to walk as if he didn't hear him. This only shortened the fuse to Hiei's, already short, temper. It was unusual for Hiei to actually care, and Kurama didn't even appreciate it!
Hiei jumped in front of Kurama making him stop. "Move Hiei," Kurama growled. Hiei didn't budge, instead he glared at Kurama. Kurama was too concerned and agitated to notice Hiei slip past his mind's defenses to extract the information needed. His eyes widened as he stared down at Aya. He didn't notice it before since he was too busy contemplating over what had just happened, but now he could feel it clearly; Aya had a fever of...about 200 Hiei judged.
"Hn, so she let herself get a fever?" Hiei asked casually as he walked over to a soft patch of moss. He carefully laid Yumi down then walked back over to Kurama.
"It wasn't HER fault!" Kurama yelled as he defended his girlfriend. "SHE had been tortured for who knows how long!"
Hiei grunted. "If she had enough sense to know that Adrian wanted her dead, she could've fought—and killed him—before he got the chance to do anything!" he retorted. It was Kurama's turn to lay Aya down. As soon as he did he was back in Hiei's face arguing with him in seconds.
"Oh ya?" Kurama sputtered. "What about YUMI! She fought them—and got beaten by them—all the same!"
"What! At least Yumi put up a decent fight! It was all Aya's fault that she had gotten beaten!"
"Explain to me exactly HOW it's her fault."
"If SHE HADN'T GOT INGURED IN THE FIRST PLACE YUMI WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT HER, THUS DISTRACTING HER!"
"WHAT!" The argument continued waking Yumi from her deep sleep.
What the heck...Yumi thought to herself as she tried to get up. Her ribs cracked at the attempt of movement. Ouch! Damn he got me better than I thought. Let's see...she muttered the words of water and healing beneath her breath. She could feel the bones set themselves and start to mend back in place. Better. Now, what in heck are those two yelling about?
She was still hurt when she slowly moved herself upright. She felt her wounds. She had a broken wrist on her right hand, countless bruises, some cuts, and what seemed to be a mild concussion. Remember to find and kill them...she gritted her teeth as she slowly got up. She didn't dare use any more of her magic—her sister was far more injured than she. She ignored the two dummies fighting and walked over to Aya. She knelt down and touched her sister's forehead.
"Fever," Yumi muttered. "And it doesn't look like its going to go down any time soon." She rested her hand on Aya's chest as she once again called forth the powers of healing. She screamed as, suddenly, a purple lightening bolt surged through her body.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Kurama and Hiei turned to find Yumi writhing in pain on the ground beside her sister.
"What in the---! That stupid little..." Hiei muttered as he ran by her side. "What the heck do you think you're trying to do? You're in no shape to be up trying to heal people, idiot!" With the pain gone, Yumi turned her head up and glared at him.
"She needs help and fast, but the black magic..." she trailed off, lost in thought. Kurama walked back over to the three.
"What do you suggest we do?" he asked. "I can't get rid of the black magic coursing through her veins; neither can Hiei or you..." He sat down on a rock nearby and held his head in his hands in despair.
"No, I can't heal her while the magic taints her blood, but..." She muttered the words of healing magic and began to heal herself completely. She stood and flexed her newly repaired muscles.
Without a word as to what she was about to attempt, she knelt beside Aya and began to chant a string of forbidden words in her native tongue. Black mist seeped from Aya's wounds and formed in a black, writhing cloud above her mutilated body. Aya's back arched upwards as the last of the black foulness was extracted. Yumi opened her mouth and just as quickly as it had come out, it was inhaled by Yumi. Yumi screamed in agony as the same fever, that had once enveloped Aya, now took her as its prey.
"YUMI!" Hiei yelled as he caught her. "WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU"RE DOING!"
Yumi laughed feebishly as she coughed up blood. "Just...taking...a nice...little fever...ouch," Without her wounds, the fever would not escape from her body and try to take someone else as a victim. Yumi smiled a little before she fainted in Hiei's arms.
"Oh no, ice demons probably won't stand that good of a chance against a fever like that," Kurama said as he got up and hurried beside Yumi. He checked her pulse since Hiei was in a sort of rage/shock. He then checked Aya. "At least it worked." Kurama muttered as he looked over at Hiei. Kurama hit him over the head bringing him back to his senses.
"We've got to get her to Genkai's," Hiei stated as he held Yumi. He stood up as Kurama took Aya in his protective arms.
"Look on the bright side, Hiei. She didn't do it in vain..." Hiei scowled as he turned around and vanished. Kurama followed close behind.
"GENKAI!" Hiei bellowed as he barged through the door. Kurama, who was now back in his human form, followed behind.
"Hiei that wasn't necessary," Kurama said. Hiei growled making Kurama shut up.
"GENKAI!"
Seeing that he couldn't reach Hiei at this point by talking to him Kurama decided to reach out for Genkai's presence himself.
She wasn't there.
"Must be off on some kind of errand," Kurama muttered to himself. "HIEI!" Hiei turned around from his rampage through the temple.
"What is it?" he growled, crimson eyes burning.
"I thought you'd like to know that she isn't here at the moment."
Hiei stopped for a minute and closed his eyes searching for Genkai. "Crap. What do we do then?"
"I suggest we...well, dress their wounds--" Kurama stopped mid-sentence as he took a look at Yumi. "Umm...I mean, I have to dress Aya's wounds and you have to figure out how to get that fever down," he finished pointing at Hiei.
"And exactly how am I supposed to accomplish that?" Hiei asked, obviously agitated. Kurama smiled.
"Don't worry. You're a fire demon; this is your specialty, besides, you care enough about her to figure something out." with that said, Kurama walked into one of the guest rooms to begin the long process of dressing Aya's wounds.
Hiei gaped at Kurama with his mouth slightly open. What in the Heck did he mean...Oh well, more importantly, what am I going to do? That's when it struck him. I AM a fire demon. Which means... He picked Yumi back up from where he laid her on a table and ran into the nearest room, all the while a plan formulating in his head.
"Ugh..." Aya groaned as Kurama tried to hold her down. She was writhing in the bed which made it kind of hard for Kurama to tend to her wounds. From what Kurama could judge, she had two broken arms, one fractured leg, a broken collarbone, cuts and bruises, and burn marks. He cringed as he thought about the pain involved.
Who could do anything like this to...her. He thought as he gently stroked her hair. He stood and took the medical supplies he'd found in one of Genkai's many medical closets.
"Now...exactly how am I going to do this?" he pondered to himself. Her dress didn't really do a good job of covering her anymore and in order to dress her wounds properly...he'd have to well...take off what remained of the dress.
So, with out thinking anything more of the subject—if he did he knew he'd talk himself out of it trying to be a gentleman—he began to tear the rags that used to be her sleeves. That's when he saw, much to his horror, hand prints. That is, burn marks that looked like hand prints. Now that he thought about it, he noticed the same handprints everywhere; on her shoulders, her legs, her back, her stomach, and her...Kurama growled and swore beneath his breath.
Wait a minute. What did Yumi say again when she was being tortured... he was lost in thought as he remembered the event that took place not long ago.
"Heh, like you? YOU two beat us. YOU two raped us.--"
Kurama's eyes widened with realization. "That crazy bastard, I will kill him Aya, for you." He went back to putting ointment on her wounds; then, he wrapped them in cloth as he also braced her arms. Thank goodness for health class...Kurama laughed to himself.
Hiei took Yumi into the room adjoining the one Kurama had chosen. He laid Yumi down on the bed and tucked her in; she shivered and groaned as she became even paler. Hiei cursed as he began pacing around the room talking to himself.
"Think Hiei!" he shouted to himself. "You're a fire demon which means you can extract the heat from her body, but how..." he stopped mid-sentence. "Well, I could do that..." he grinned as he walked over to the side of the bed. Yumi was now on her side facing the bleak, white wall of the room, her back to Hiei. Hiei turned her to him.
"Yumi, YUMI!" he yelled trying to wake her up. She slowly opened her eyes; he could feel the sweat come off her body when he touched her. He frowned—she didn't really notice him, she was delirious from the overwhelming heat. He cursed beneath his breath as he let her roll back over. "So much for asking permission."
He took off his shirt and boots and slipped beneath the covers with Yumi. He gently put his arms around Yumi, pulling her close to his body.
"H...Hiei..." Yumi stuttered.
"Yes...you're going to be okay now," he replied as he began the slow process of extracting the heat from her body to his fire demon one.
By now, Kurama had dressed most of her wounds. All he had to do now was the burn marks on her body that was still covered with the rags that used to be her dress. So, ignoring whatever thoughts came to his head, he ripped off the cloth. Thankfully, her bra and underwear were still in tact. Shutting down any instincts that came to mind he quickly applied the ointment, made from plants, and put on the bandages.
He noticed that she was already starting to heal; the bruises were now completely gone and the broken bones didn't seem as bad as they were. However, he also noticed that she was indeed in desperate need of clothing, so he unbuttoned his white shirt stained with her blood and gently put it on her. It came down to her knees almost looking like a nightgown. He smiled, a soft pleased smile, as he sighed and sat down in a chair beside the bed. His crimson locks fell in waves brushing against his pale face, shadowing his emerald eyes as he slouched, exhausted. He had used a lot of energy to swim after her, fire that energy blast, run all the way back, yell at Hiei, then use his energy to make some plants that'd help her heal.
He once again watched her slender body slowly and futilely try to heal itself. He watched more to make sure that she was still breathing than anything else. He didn't really think she'd just die on him here and now, but with what was going on in the past few days...he wasn't quite sure what would happen next. Koenma wasn't kidding when he asked that they protect the two girls.
Kurama relaxed as he lazily slouched further into the chair remembering the day when, surprisingly not long ago, Yusuke had showed up at his house requesting that he accompany the gang to the spirit world for a new assignment. Of course he didn't mind too much; besides, he knew they'd need his help in convincing Hiei to come along. Kurama chuckled as he thought about it; he had to practically bribe Hiei to come. He promised that he'd do anything that Hiei asked—that he'd do him one favor without question. Hiei still had yet to ask.
When they had arrived Kurama had expected it to be some world-saving mission like usual.
He was wrong.
He was shocked when Koenma had actually asked that they protect, be body guards, for two girls that lived in the makai world. He remembered Yusuke and Kuwabara incessantly asking if that was the actual mission or if Koenma was just pulling they're leg—and he was completely serious. Hiei was, of course, skeptical especially so when Koenma didn't even give them any background info on the girls—he merely displayed two pictures of them and said that they were demons. He didn't even say anything when Yusuke and Kuwabara joked about how one of the girls was probably his ex girlfriend or something.
So, they were teleported to a forest in the makai world without much of an explanation. They walked for hours through Kuwabara and Hiei's constant fighting; however, it did amuse him during most of the trip. He remembered how Kuwabara had enough of Hiei's mockingly calm exterior, even though Kuwabara had thrown every insult in his direction; when Hiei finally had enough and came at him with his own insult of having being called an umpalumpa reject. He remembered that event fondly:
"At least I don't make gay men go straight!" Hiei had hissed between his teeth.
Kurama chuckled and shook his head. After that Kuwabara was charging at Hiei in blind rage that is until they were interrupted by Hiei and himself suddenly getting the wind knocked out of them. He, nor Hiei, had even seen the two girls coming straight towards them. Of course, he and the others immediately recognized them, therefore willing to help defend the two against Jase and Adrian coming after them. Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately jumped head-first into the fight, underestimating their opponents, and had gotten beaten for it. It had taken he and Hiei a long time and a lot of energy to be rid of them...or so they thought at the time.
Imagine their disbelief when they discovered Yumi and Aya to be S class demons—hardly in need of protecting. He had wondered why in the world they would be assigned to help two extremely powerful demons, especially when it was painfully obvious that the two were more powerful than anyone on their team.
His questions were answered when they found out about the girl's past and the painful binding spells cast on them, spells that would make themselves—Jase and Adrian—virtually invincible to either Aya or Yumi. But that only explained the pending question of why the girls would need muscle—not answering the second question as to WHY they had actually been assigned to protect them.
Kurama had his reasons, personal reasons; as did Hiei surprisingly, but why would Koenma seek out protection for specifically these two? Their were plenty of other things that went on, worse even, in the makai world—Kurama knew for sure from past experiences; what was so important about these two?
He hung his head yet again in exasperation. He knew the answers to such questions would elude him for now; it was no use dwelling on such petty concerns…or were they? Kurama quickly shook his head clearing his mind from such thoughts. Relax, just relax, he tried to assure himself.
He peered through his hands to Aya to, yet again, make sure she was still breathing, that's when he noticed her hand move slightly. Her right hand was clutched in a fist; it relaxed letting four rose petals fall. The dark red of the petals stood out against the blank white sheets. He then remembered about the stem of the rose in his pocket.
He gingerly removed it and with the other hand picked up the velvety rose petals. He held them in his hands as he pulled another seed from beneath his hair. He concentrated what remained of his energy on the plants; a sprout emerged from the seed. The sprout quickly turned into a vine that entwined up and around the stem of the rose revitalizing it. Using the petals from the other rose, the new plant grew a bud the size of a newborn's fist. Just as quickly as it emerged the bud bloomed; its velvety petals were now white with a tinge of red to the ends.
He smiled as he gently laid it inside her upturned palm, closing her hand over it. She stirred awake, her vivid blue eyes meeting his emerald.
"K-Kurama?" she whispered. He smiled at his name and gently enclosed his own hands around hers.
"Yes Aya, get some rest you'll need it," he said as he softly kissed her forehead. He made a move to remove his hands off from hers when she grasped out with her other hand. She winced when she realized the wrist was still broken and not yet mended.
"No, don't leave me," she murmured barely above a whisper. Kurama nodded as he sat back down and held her hands in his once again.
"I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. She smiled a faint, tired smile as she drifted back into sleep. Feeling faint himself, Kurama lied the upper half of his body on her bed as he drifted off into a deep sleep. He didn't feel Aya curl herself around him nor did he feel her warm tears slide down his cheek.
"I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble," she whispered seeing his pale, perfect flesh marred by scratches and cuts. Inevitably, she too drifted off into a deep sleep.
By now, Hiei was beginning to feel a bit tired himself. He hadn't expected that he'd have to use this much energy just to dispel this stupid curse. He cursed beneath his breath when he caught his eyes drooping. He didn't want to fall asleep; he still needed to be alert in case Jase and Adrian came after them again.
Yumi was curled against his body, much like a cat would, taking advantage of the warmth it offered—she did have a fever, but it made her body feel as though it was as cold as ice.
Drifting off into sleep, he barely heard Kurama curse to himself in the other room. In his vain attempt to keep himself from falling asleep, and out of his own curiosity, Hiei telekinetically opened the door adjoining the rooms. He saw what he expected—Kurama contemplating over recent events. He sighed; he figured as much. Kurama wasn't one to simply relax and not think about things and worry; Hiei wasn't like that. He didn't really care much about the past. Better to forget and not dwell.
He thought about telling Kurama to suck it up or something along those lines, until he watched longer. He saw Kurama suddenly restore Aya's rose this time making it white with a red tint. Hiei smiled as he remembered what he had Aya do to Yumi's room, then abruptly quit. How uncharacteristic.
He watched as Kurama consoled Aya and how they fell asleep. So mushy, so, so... annoying. He laughed softly; HE thought it was annoying yet, hadn't he had mushy moments with Yumi? He pulled her closer as he remembered what had happened recently, or had it been recently? He couldn't recall anymore; it felt like months, no, years since they had taken the mission and had literally ran into the two.
As he remembered all the not-so-recent recent events, he couldn't help but point out to himself of how different he seemed. Half of himself chided the other for becoming so soft-hearted, but a different half of himself—a part he didn't even know existed—told him it was okay and that something like this was meant to happen.
He shrugged it off. He didn't need to be thinking like this now, not when Yumi needed him to concentrate; however, he simply couldn't help from becoming drowsy. Soon, he didn't even notice his eyes slowly droop then close, allowing his body some much needed rest.
So...this one was basically about Hiei and Kurama's thoughts on things. I know, but I will get the next chapters up soon. All you guys have to do is review a lot and the chapters will come even faster. You know me: if I get bored enough (I have NO patience) then I'll just go and update! Well, R&R please!