Well I am typing Chapter seven out of about 23. I apologize for my last chapter being so short. But I'll make it up to you I swear... I am adding a new section to my authors note, just for the heck of it, it is of random quotes from my friends, which I am now realizing, are almost all female. Weird... but any way onto the story!

"Ohhhhhh I love foamy"- Lin (Instant Messaging)

Chapter Seven: The Portal

"You mean there was an actual fool who called himself 'Dracula'?" Hiei asked the cloaked figure. The figure turned in the black dragon's direction, the sun was glinting off their black sunglasses.

"Yes my young demon friend, Dracula was, and still is real, he was banished in the year 1999, last year to be exact. If you wish to travel to the castle where the Belmont Clan's weapons are hidden, you must enter through the shrine of the eclipse, in Japan." Hiei stared at the hooded figure suspiciously.

"Hmmn, how did you know we were demons?" The hooded figure laughed.

"I'm a medium, I know a demon when I see one, and I am also an exorcist, so I have strong spiritual awareness. Well shall we go? I shall take you there myself." Hiei looked to his lover for direction in this decision, not wanting to be rash. The hooded figure walked away quickly as if in a rush.

"Are we going to trust this hooded fool?" Hiei hissed under his breath to Kurama. Hiei turned his attention back to the figure who was now talking to a passerby. Kurama frowned as he looked down at his map.

"I guess we must trust, the stranger. The next ingredient seems to have moved to Japan." Kurama looked puzzled as to why the ingredient's location on the map had changed, "It seems that we must, but for some reason, I still feel like Suzuka is near..."

"Yes I still smell that damn clown too," The kitsune smiled.

"Yes but that person could not be Suzuka, Suzuka has no power, but why do I sense his aura, so near us?" He did not have time to ponder this for long because the hooded figure was back and urging the two demons on.

"Come on, come on. We are gonna miss the plane." The black haired youkai gulped and tried to hold his emotions back.

"Gah, you can't be serious... are you?" The hooded figure just stared at Hiei emotionless behind their dark sunglasses. "Damn it all I hate these human things you call planes..."

!#$&()

On the outskirts of Tokyo, there was a large shrine deep within a forest. The shrine was set high up on a mountain, with a large set of stairs reaching upward toward it. At the base of the stairs was a sign painted with crude kanji characters that said "WELCOME TO THE HAKUBA SHRINE! SHRINE OF THE ECLIPSE!" Hiei looked at the cheaply made sign and scoffed, but he said nothing for he was still reeling from the flight they all took to Japan, (courtesy of the hooded figure). Kurama looked at the stairs and tried to envision the shrine during the daylight hours. Tonight the only light was the stars and the full moon, there were no torches or lighting or anything to help guide them up the stairs, but the moon and stars were efficient lighting.

The trio made their way up the stairs; it took about an hour to climb all the stairs to the top of the shrine. When they had finally reached the top of the stairs a shrine maiden had been waiting for them. "Ahh my Lord, you have returned to our humble shrine." As she said this she got down to her knees and her head had touched the floor in a deep bow. Hiei scoffed again, and Kurama was unmoved by the girl's action toward the hooded figure. The hooded figure smiled widely as they said.

"My dear, I am not a lord. I am just one who works in the name of Buddha." The maiden got to her feet.

"Yes but you rid our shrine of a terrible evil..."

"That does not make me a lord, just an exorcist." The hooded figure looked back to the demon pair who were standing a few feet behind the hooded figure, the hooded figure then turned back to the maiden and continued speaking. "They wish, those two, they wish to travel."

"But, but... That is forbidden." The hooded figure smiled cunningly.

"So is sleeping with the head priest of the temple." The girl flushed and then nodded.

"I understand, My Lord, please, if you will, follow me inside." Hiei looked to Kurama and chuckled.

"It looks like the hooded guy found some dirt to exploit on the girl..." Kurama smiled back.

"Indeed..."

!#$&()

Inside the shrine there were many decorations carved from ivory, jade and gold. The walls were covered in archways; each one had a different picture of a dragon and a girl. Kurama looked around, amazed at the splendor of this seemingly simple looking shrine. "How and why is there a temple that is devoted to the eclipse?" The shrine maiden looked toward Kurama with a small frown.

"You mean to tell me you don't know" Kurama frowned and shook his head. The shrine maiden sighed and told the story of the temple's history. "Well there was a small town here once that was outside the gates of this shrine, but every full moon a dragon would come and take a female sacrifice to spread its seed and feast upon the girls' flesh when he was done. Well one day the girl was supposed to be eaten on the day of the eclipse, and so she hid in the shrine waiting and hoping not to be found, at night she was about to leave when the dragon snatched her and was about to eat her. But being close to the sky the girl prayed to the moon hoping for any kind of aid at all and as the eclipse was coming to be, the dragon turned into a lizard, the eclipse had absorbed the dragon's chaotic powers. So this shrine had become the shrine of the eclipse since that incident." Kurama nodded his understanding.

"So that's why Dracula was banished into the eclipse, I understand now, the eclipse will contain his demonic powers." The hooded figure scoffed.

"Which means you will not have the abilities of the demon in there." Hiei laughed.

"Like we would need them. We are only getting water. So how do we get in there?" The girl went to the archway that held a picture of a very large castle. She kneeled down and said some incantation and the castle in the picture grew bigger and bigger, until you could see the court yard.

"Step through here, but know you will not be able to return until you get the desired item you seek..." Hiei and Kurama looked at each other, and the kitsune was the first to speak.

"Well shall we go?" Hiei sneered.

"Hmmm I've been ready since we got here, instead of listening to that damn fairy tale, we could' a been already there and half way back, lets go." Hiei walked between the archways and disappeared into the painting. The red fox sighed.

"Please excuse my friend's inpatients, he means well though." And then he too disappeared into the painting.

Well that was chapter seven, enjoy anyone who still reads it, and review if you want more. Well that is all for now, and I dedicate this chapter also to my, well my... never mind that. Find out what happens next time on yuyu hakusho... woohoo...