Be sure to check out my new YYH oneshot, Immortality. It's my first attempt
at angst, so I'd like some feedback, onegai. ^_^
- : - : - : - : - : - This chapter is dedicated to KYRA RIVERS. She drew a fantastic piece of fanart from Mission X based on the chapter Youko Moon. Feel free to visit it at [http : / / w w w . geocities . com / cheerful _ otaku / youko . htm]. It's really great, and her site is pretty cool, too.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, Yu Yu Hakusho, or anything of Edgar Allen Poe's.
The kitsune information in this story (aside from direct references to Kurama or his past) is from http : // w w w . comnet . ca / ~ foxtrot / kitsune / kitsune 1 . htm . I used some snippets of info from there to flesh out my kitsune explanation, but some of it is tweaked slightly.
- : - : - Chapter Nineteen: Overload, Part Two of Two - : - : -
Rahne never thought that she would be glad to hear screeching tires -- riding with Scott tended to make one a bit leery of that particular sound-- but her heart leapt within her chest when she caught sight of Logan's motorcycle skidding around the corner of the garage ramp that led up from the level below. She could also see someone perched behind him, and a flicker of silver hair hanging from under the passenger's helmet gave away Storm's identity.
Rahne moved forward to join Jean, Kitty and Jubilee in front of the van, all three of them watching the approaching motorcycle with definite feelings of relief.
As soon as the motorcycle had come to a stop beside the black Institute van, Storm slid off and pulled the helmet from her head, looking anything but pleased. As soon as Logan had similarly removed his helmet, Storm slapped him lightly on the back of his skull.
"Don't you EVER do that to me again!"
Logan frowned at the slender woman, rubbing the back of his head. "Not now, 'Roro." His gaze turned immediately toward Jean. "Where are they?"
Kitty glared at the claw-bearing mutant, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like, if we knew THAT, why would we be standing around here doing nothing?"
Rahne marveled --not for the first time-- that Kitty was one of the two students (Rogue was the other) at the Institute that could talk to Wolverine in such a manner without fearing for their lives.
Logan settled for a semi-scowl. "Point taken." He turned back to Jean. "Chuck said you couldn't track them. Not at all?"
Jean lowered her eyes, shaking her head silently.
The burly mutant growled and slid off the motorcycle, hanging his helmet on the handlebars. "Guess we're stuck doing this the old-fashioned way."
- : - : - : - : - : -
Hiei had recovered his katana from where it had fallen after the 'episode' with Rogue, and he had listened with half an ear as Kurama had started in on pressing Kurt for information about the girl's abilities --he himself was more focused upon watching their surroundings, alert for any unwanted watchers.
However, something the young mutant said brought Hiei's head around with a jerk and sent a shiver running down his spine. He strode over to flank Kurama, his eyes intent upon Kurt.
"WHAT did you just say?" he demanded.
Kurt flinched violently at Hiei's harsh question, and his golden eyes were wide with apprehension as he looked up at the small demon from where he knelt on the ground, cradling Rogue's head in his lap. "Vhat?"
"Did I hear you correctly?"
"I--- I said that she drains mutant's powers vhen she t-touches them," stammered the young mutant.
"Not that." Hiei ignored Kurama's questioning gaze. "You said she sees memories?"
"Uh . . . ja." Kurt fidgeted uncomfortably. "Ja. She does. If she touches you, then she gets your powers and your memories . . . vell, SOME memories anyvay."
Kurama drew in a long, hissing breath as he realized the implications.
Hiei's eyes narrowed. "Shimatta."
Kurt blinked at their odd reactions, but he seemed to decide that remaining silent was the safest choice at the moment.
Hiei and Kurama exchanged a glance.
="The shields?"= inquired the kitsune softly.
="Collapsed,"= spat Hiei in disgust. ="I'll have them fixed momentarily, but this girl is going to be a problem."=
Gold flickered around Kurama's irises. ="I'll deal with Kurt. You worry about the shields."=
Hiei snarled softly but nodded his understanding.
He turned his back on Kurama and the mutant boy and walked a short distance away. With quick, efficient movements, he loosened his bandana slightly, lifting it away from his forehead, and allowed his Jagan to open.
It irked him to no end to know that the girl had been rooting freely through his thoughts. Yet another complication, as if things weren't tangled enough as they were.
How much had she seen? Very few of his memories could be considered 'normal' by human standards. Had she seen images of Makai or of Reikai? Or of his time with the mercenaries? Kami forbid that she had seen memories of the Dark Tournament or the Reikai Tantei's more 'interesting' missions . . .
WHO had she seen?
Mukuro? Youko? Koenma, maybe? Botan or George?
Or the Toushin . . . ?
There were any number of beings that he knew whose special 'quirks' would not be explained away as 'mutant powers.' With the way his luck had been going lately, those memories that were most 'incriminating' were the exact ones she would have stumbled across.
Ch. Absolutely PERFECT.
And now all of the Tantei AND the girl would need shields . . . shields that he would have to construct --or in the case of Yuusuke, Kurama and himself, REconstruct-- quickly and then maintain. Damn it to Reikai.
A conversation from days ago echoed through his mind mockingly.
. . . . . . . . . .
="How long can we count on this shield of yours, Hiei?"=
="No human 'mutation' could possibly break my shields."=
="But if you were injured? You can't maintain the focus needed if you're unconscious."=
="True. In sleep I can maintain it subconsciously, but forcibly knocked out . . . no."=
="In essence, that means that SOMEHOW our bad luck will kick in, and Hiei'll trip in the shower or some shit like that, and THEN where will we be?"=
. . . . . . . . . .
- : - : - : - : - : -
Professor Charles Xavier was presently tapping into Cerebro's psychic- enhancing abilities, sending his mind out across the city toward Bayville Mall. The jumbled, disjointed thoughts of the city's collective populous brushed against his mind in an indistinct, all-encompassing mumble. Years of training his talents enabled him to tune out such distractions, however, and soon he was homing in on Jean's mind, using it as a starting place for his search.
Ah, good. There were Logan and Ororo. So the two groups HAD managed to meet. One less worry for him to concern himself over.
Now . . . In his experience, whenever something was wrong with one of his students and it was necessary to search for them, the best thing to look for would be an abnormality in the nearby area.
He stretched his senses out, probing for anything that would qualify as an 'abnormality.'
He felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he felt three very familiar auras clustered tightly together within the mall area: the green and gold vines, the blue and white lightning, and the red and violet fire.
If that didn't count as 'abnormal,' he didn't know what would.
He focused upon the three auras, avoiding touching them as best he could. He now understood what Jean had meant before when she had mentioned 'mist': at their centers, the auras were remarkably condensed, the light at their cores so bright as to be white, but as one drew further away, the light thinned, becoming almost vaporous, hanging over their surroundings like a veil.
But . . . there! He could feel Rogue right there, in the midst of the three strange lights.
He pressed closer, hoping to pinpoint their location to pass on to Jean or Logan. ~Rogue? Rogue, are you---?:~
The sense of déjà vu multiplied tenfold as an all-too familiar wall of violet energy flashed into existence, blocking his way to the three strange auras . . . and now it encompassed Rogue as well.
A surge of dread flooded through him as he sought the source of the impediment. ~:Who are you!? What is the meaning of this?:~
He had a short vision of a wide, glowing eye, its iris an unnatural shade of violet. A hissing laugh echoed through his mind, accompanied by a deep, mocking voice that sounded mildly familiar . . .
~:Away, insect. You have no business here.:~
With that, the violet wall pulsed brightly, and something slammed painfully into his mind, sending his consciousness whirling through the myriad of colors and emotions and thoughts that was the astral plane of the earth.
When he next opened his eyes, it was to find himself slumped in his wheelchair before Cerebro's console, a fierce headache pounding in his temples.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kurt watched the three new students closely, questions running from one side of his mind to the other in a dizzying stampede. He vowed silently that he WOULD get to the bottom of . . . whatever the heck had just happened, and if that meant keeping an eagle-eye on them from now until whenever the others showed up to help, then so be it.
Truth be told, Kurt just wanted to get back to the Institute. Sitting in an abandoned corner of a mall parking garage with two --possibly three, if he counted Hiei-- injured people on his hands was NOT what he wanted to spend his Friday afternoon doing. Rogue was still pale, and her breathing shallow. Yuusuke still sat over to one side, his forehead resting against his knees; Kurt had the feeling that the spirited teenager was NOT one to sit around while others looked after affairs for him, and that meant that the other boy was either greatly tired or in pain . . . or both.
Hiei . . . Kurt didn't know quite what to make of HIM. Kurt had seen him get touched by Rogue, and yet the boy seemed to be as healthy as ever.
Kurt's thoughts were interrupted when Hiei rejoined the group with a definite 'cat-ate-the-canary' smirk on his face.
Shuichi sent the dark-haired boy a questioning look, and Hiei's smirk grew. "I . . . dealt with it."
"Ah."
Kurt shuddered as Hiei's parted lips gave him an unrestricted view of the boy's sharp canines, something that the blue-furred mutant had never really given much thought to despite the fact that all three new students sported them. Now the image of the gleaming fangs mingled with his memories of Hiei with skin darkening to green and something unknown glowing on his forehead.
His fur fluffed as a sign of his discomfort, and almost against his will, he whispered, "Vhat ARE you three?"
He immediately regretted his question when Hiei, Shuichi, and even Yuusuke --who hadn't seemed to be paying much attention to anything at all up to this point-- all turned toward him with uncomfortably keen gazes.
. . . and was he imagining it, or were Yuusuke's eyes tinted with red?
- : - : - : - : - : -
~:I could wipe his memory.:~
Kurama restrained himself from flinching . . . barely. ~:NO, Hiei. Xavier has powers of the mind. For all we know, he could detect if we tampered with his students' minds.:~
~:I've already created a shield around the girl's mind.:~
~:Taking more risks than necessary is NOT a wise way to attempt to keep a secret.:~
"Kurt," Kurama began, effectively ending the mental exchange with Hiei, "You'll have to trust us."
Kurt frowned at the taller boy. "You're not going to tell me vhat's going on, are you?"
Kurama closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath to compose himself. "Kurt . . ." He opened his eyes again to look beseechingly at the young mutant. "I'm asking you to trust us. Please. It IS true; we are not like the others at the Institute. However, we do not want to cause any trouble. Just please, don't tell anyone what you saw."
Yuusuke saw that Kurama had the situation in hand, and he lowered his head back to his knees, a low growl --beneath human hearing-- vibrating in his chest.
Kurt's golden eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Kurama could see a small glimmer of fear in their depths.
The kitsune tried a different tactic: haggling. "Wait at least until Rogue wakes. Ask her what she learned about us. She saw into Yuusuke's and Hiei's thoughts. Surely you can trust what she knows? Just don't . . . don't betray us . . . not until you know our reasons for this secrecy."
Ah, a hit. Kurt's eyes widened at the word 'betray' and the slightest bit of guilt tinged his expression.
Mutant or not, a human was a human, and the word 'betray' always left a sour taste in their mouths.
Kurt fidgeted, gnawing on his lip. "I . . . all right. But just until Rogue vakes up. Then I go to the Professor."
"If you still want to." Kurama allowed his lips to bend into a relieved smile. "Thank you, Kurt."
"Hm." Kurt's tail was still twitching in agitation. "Do you think the others are looking for us?"
"Doubtlessly," was Hiei's dry response. "But in a place this big? If we wait for them, we'll be here until the apocalypse comes."
Kurama turned curiously when he heard Yuusuke let out a low, irritated growl, muffled by his curled-up position. ="G'dammit, K'rama, y'r s'pposed t' be th' smart one here."= Then he raised his voice somewhat to carry to Kurt's ears. "Kurt, how hard would't be t' *bamph* around an' find the others?"
Kurt jumped at suddenly being addressed. "Ah . . . vell, not very hard."
"Would you?"
"I . . . I guess so, but Rogue---"
Yuusuke growled again, and Kurama wisely stepped in to prevent Kurt's untimely exposure to the wrath of an irritated Toushin. "We'll keep an eye on her. I swear."
"But---"
Hiei sneered. "The sooner you go find the others, the sooner we get back to the Institute."
Kurt mulled over that for a moment, but in the end he eased Rogue's head out of his lap and rose to his feet. "All right."
Kurama suppressed a smile. "Will you have any trouble finding the others?"
"No." Kurt shook his head. "I'll just *bamph* to the van and have a look around. If they are not there, I vill scout around in the mall."
"Very well. We'll go ahead to the van and wait for you." Kurama smile transformed into an amused grin. "Yuusuke isn't looking too happy, and Rogue will do better lying in the van than on this cement."
Kurt nodded in understanding, flicked his inducer back on, and disappeared in a cloud of sulfurous smoke.
As soon as Kurt had vanished from sight, Hiei turned to glare at Kurama. ="Explain, fox. The girl knows more than HE does at the moment, and you advised him to ask her about us? What are you DOING?"=
Kurama quirked a small half-smile. ="I'm taking a chance."=
="We can't AFFORD that now!"=
The kitsune sighed softly, the smile disappearing. ="We don't have any other choice."=
With that, the red-haired demon turned and began to gather Rogue's limp form into his arms, taking special care to avoid touching what little bit of her skin was still exposed. Hiei 'hn'ed before disappearing from sight, doubtlessly preferring to travel via the shadowy perches high overhead rather than on the ground.
Kurama turned to face Yuusuke even as the Toushin was laboriously pushing himself to his feet.
="Can you walk?"=
="Shut up and start sniffing out the damn van."=
- : - : - : - : - : -
In Yuusuke's opinion, they couldn't reach the van fast enough. He wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere nice and dark and go to sleep . . . well, that or transform to his demon form and find an oni or two to kick around. The second option wasn't very feasible, though, so he was prepared to settle for the first.
Had he not been so focused on . . . other matters . . . he might have found some humor in the sight of the infamous Kurama carrying a human girl 'bridal style' through a mall parking garage.
He could feel the weight of Kurama's eyes on him.
="Yuusuke---?"=
Yuusuke bit back an annoyed snarl, his jaw and his fists clenched, his narrowed gaze intent upon the section of asphalt directly before his feet. ="Kurama . . . not now. Just . . . don't talk . . . I'm a hair away from transforming, and NO ONE wants THAT."=
Kurama was silent.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Logan stood at the end of the hallway that connected the parking garage with the mall itself. He glared at the thick crowds milling aimlessly around, and he couldn't help but think of the phrase 'needle in a haystack.' That was what they were stuck looking for, after all. A handful of teenagers inside a huge place that was swarming with people.
He turned to face the group of tense mutants standing behind him: Ororo, Jean, Kitty, Jubilee, and Rahne.
"All right," he said at last. "Here's the deal. We split up into two groups and go left and right. If you find Chibi, Rogue, or the others, head back to the van. We'll meet back there in thirty minutes. Clear?"
Nods --both hesitant and confident-- were his only answers.
That, and a very loud *BAMPH*.
"Oh, vow! I can't believe it! And only my third try!"
- : - : - : - : - : -
Yuusuke waited with barely restrained impatience as Kurama fiddled with the locks on the van doors. Damn it, the fox was supposed to be the greatest thief ever to come from Makai; surely he could unlock a simple car door?
He shook his head to clear it of the oddly violent and impatient thoughts. This was getting ridiculous.
Yuusuke would be the first to admit that he had a short fuse, but these . . . What could he even call them? Instincts? . . . were reaching a new extreme. He had never been so susceptible to his demon side before, and the part of him that still relied upon his human thoughts was greatly disquieted by the thin margin by which he was avoiding complete loss of control.
He took in Hiei's tense stance, and the rigid set of Kurama's shoulders.
They knew as well; doubtlessly they could feel his youki. They knew how easily he could be pushed to letting his demon instincts take over . . .
At last! Kurama finished his meddling with the lock, and the side door of the van slid aside with a metallic rumble.
The irritation returned as he waited for Kurama to gather Rogue's limp form from where he had been forced to lay her beside the van; it took --what seemed to Yuusuke-- a damnably long time for the kitsune to place the unconscious human on the row of seats furthest back in the vehicle and then for Kurama to climb in himself.
Hiei merely stood to one side of the door, showing no inclination to get inside the vehicle until it was absolutely necessary.
Yuusuke stepped inside and slid into the seat beside Kurama with a silent sigh of relief.
As soon as he had settled himself in as comfortable a position as possible, he folded his arms over his chest and shut his eyes, focusing every ounce of his will on beating back the youki that was pressing insistently against his control.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kurama's face was impassive as always as he quietly kept an eye on the weary Toushin, but even from where he stood outside the van, when he looked into the vehicle's interior, Hiei could easily read the confusion and uneasiness within the kitsune's emerald-green eyes.
="Hiei, what did she do to him? He's never had a reaction like this to anything before."=
Hiei snorted. ="He's never been on the receiving end of a mutant's vampire touch, now, has he?"=
Kurama frowned. ="'Vampire' ?"=
The Jaganshi absently noted that the levels of youki within Yuusuke were still abnormally high, and they didn't look like they would fall any time soon. ="It's the closest comparison I can make. The girl, Rogue . . . her touch pulls energy out of you, like a vampire-apparition drains blood from it's victims. My Jagan protected me somewhat, and it seems as though she isn't as suited to draining youki, but she pulled a large amount of reiki from Yuusuke."=
Kurama arched an eyebrow. ="He's been low on reiki before."=
Hiei remained silent for a short time, attempting to put his observations and conclusions into words. His mind had been gnawing on the puzzle that was Rogue's powers ever since Yuusuke had been touched by the mutant girl.
="It is more of an imbalance,"= he said at last. ="When she touched me, my youki multiplied as a defensive response, but her powers couldn't pull very much of it out of me, leaving me to deal with the excess. As my body is accustomed to dealing with high levels of youki, the largest difficulty I encountered was a headache, and creating the shields helped with that somewhat."=
="So, her power is the ability to drain reiki? But you didn't have any reiki to drain, so . . ."=
="I lost a token amount of youki to her, not enough to fuel even a half- second burst of demon-speed."=
Kurama nodded his understanding even as one hand was reaching back into his hair and withdrawing a seed. ="I can sense for myself that Yuusuke's youki is abnormally high, just as yours is. So that is the problem? A youki-to- reiki imbalance?"=
Hiei's eyes tracked Kurama's hands as the kitsune cradled a small, newly- sprouted Makai plant --mundane in appearance-- in his palms. Kurama calmly pulled two of the tear-shaped leaves from their stems just before the plant shrunk back to it's seed-state and was hidden away in his hair once more.
Hiei frowned but answered. ="Hn. His demon side wants out, but he's suppressing it. As a result, his body is doing it's best to conserve all the energy it can."=
The kitsune held one of the leaves out to him. ="Here. Place it under your tongue. It should last until we get to the mansion"=
The Jaganshi blinked in surprise. ="What?"=
Kurama looked at him calmly. ="You mentioned a headache, did you not?"=
Hiei accepted the leaf.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Keeping his eyes clenched firmly shut against the roaring headache thrumming around within his head, Yuusuke focused most of his willpower upon restraining the huge amounts of youki that raged against his control.
He was aware of Hiei and Kurama murmuring quietly to one another. Their voices echoed around inside his skull painfully, intensifying the discomfort. Every muscle in his body burned and ached, and it felt as though there was something swelling within his head, trying to make his skull explode.
Then someone was touching his shoulder, shaking him lightly, and he cracked open one eye to peer up at the blurry visage of Kurama. ="What?"= he growled, firmly forcing down the part of himself that snarled in fury that another demon would dare stand over HIM, as though he were a low-class that would submit to their will.
Something small and cool was pressed into his hand. ="This is a jimnathe leaf, a mild painkiller. Put it under your tongue; it should ease the headache."=
Yuusuke obeyed, even the small movement of raising his hand to his mouth sending jolts of fire up and down his arm. Thankfully, within a few minutes, the pain lessened from 'torture-for-those-inhabiting-the-seventh- level-of-hell' to merely 'agonizing-but-bearable.' It was a notable improvement, and he was able to slip into a semi-doze. He was barely aware of the sudden arrival of many other voices and the subsequent rumble of the van's engine starting.
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
A/N: I may not do review responses again for a while. I'm generally stuck doing most of my good writing late at night, and by the time I get a chapter done, I'm too sleepy to write coherent review responses. But, hey, you'll survive.
Quick note: Someone requested the URL of the page explaining the Four Realms that I had put in the pre-story chapter. I looked for the page, but when I went to the URL, the page wouldn't load. Sorry. I think that it might have been taken down.
- : - : - : - : - : - This chapter is dedicated to KYRA RIVERS. She drew a fantastic piece of fanart from Mission X based on the chapter Youko Moon. Feel free to visit it at [http : / / w w w . geocities . com / cheerful _ otaku / youko . htm]. It's really great, and her site is pretty cool, too.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, Yu Yu Hakusho, or anything of Edgar Allen Poe's.
The kitsune information in this story (aside from direct references to Kurama or his past) is from http : // w w w . comnet . ca / ~ foxtrot / kitsune / kitsune 1 . htm . I used some snippets of info from there to flesh out my kitsune explanation, but some of it is tweaked slightly.
- : - : - Chapter Nineteen: Overload, Part Two of Two - : - : -
Rahne never thought that she would be glad to hear screeching tires -- riding with Scott tended to make one a bit leery of that particular sound-- but her heart leapt within her chest when she caught sight of Logan's motorcycle skidding around the corner of the garage ramp that led up from the level below. She could also see someone perched behind him, and a flicker of silver hair hanging from under the passenger's helmet gave away Storm's identity.
Rahne moved forward to join Jean, Kitty and Jubilee in front of the van, all three of them watching the approaching motorcycle with definite feelings of relief.
As soon as the motorcycle had come to a stop beside the black Institute van, Storm slid off and pulled the helmet from her head, looking anything but pleased. As soon as Logan had similarly removed his helmet, Storm slapped him lightly on the back of his skull.
"Don't you EVER do that to me again!"
Logan frowned at the slender woman, rubbing the back of his head. "Not now, 'Roro." His gaze turned immediately toward Jean. "Where are they?"
Kitty glared at the claw-bearing mutant, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like, if we knew THAT, why would we be standing around here doing nothing?"
Rahne marveled --not for the first time-- that Kitty was one of the two students (Rogue was the other) at the Institute that could talk to Wolverine in such a manner without fearing for their lives.
Logan settled for a semi-scowl. "Point taken." He turned back to Jean. "Chuck said you couldn't track them. Not at all?"
Jean lowered her eyes, shaking her head silently.
The burly mutant growled and slid off the motorcycle, hanging his helmet on the handlebars. "Guess we're stuck doing this the old-fashioned way."
- : - : - : - : - : -
Hiei had recovered his katana from where it had fallen after the 'episode' with Rogue, and he had listened with half an ear as Kurama had started in on pressing Kurt for information about the girl's abilities --he himself was more focused upon watching their surroundings, alert for any unwanted watchers.
However, something the young mutant said brought Hiei's head around with a jerk and sent a shiver running down his spine. He strode over to flank Kurama, his eyes intent upon Kurt.
"WHAT did you just say?" he demanded.
Kurt flinched violently at Hiei's harsh question, and his golden eyes were wide with apprehension as he looked up at the small demon from where he knelt on the ground, cradling Rogue's head in his lap. "Vhat?"
"Did I hear you correctly?"
"I--- I said that she drains mutant's powers vhen she t-touches them," stammered the young mutant.
"Not that." Hiei ignored Kurama's questioning gaze. "You said she sees memories?"
"Uh . . . ja." Kurt fidgeted uncomfortably. "Ja. She does. If she touches you, then she gets your powers and your memories . . . vell, SOME memories anyvay."
Kurama drew in a long, hissing breath as he realized the implications.
Hiei's eyes narrowed. "Shimatta."
Kurt blinked at their odd reactions, but he seemed to decide that remaining silent was the safest choice at the moment.
Hiei and Kurama exchanged a glance.
="The shields?"= inquired the kitsune softly.
="Collapsed,"= spat Hiei in disgust. ="I'll have them fixed momentarily, but this girl is going to be a problem."=
Gold flickered around Kurama's irises. ="I'll deal with Kurt. You worry about the shields."=
Hiei snarled softly but nodded his understanding.
He turned his back on Kurama and the mutant boy and walked a short distance away. With quick, efficient movements, he loosened his bandana slightly, lifting it away from his forehead, and allowed his Jagan to open.
It irked him to no end to know that the girl had been rooting freely through his thoughts. Yet another complication, as if things weren't tangled enough as they were.
How much had she seen? Very few of his memories could be considered 'normal' by human standards. Had she seen images of Makai or of Reikai? Or of his time with the mercenaries? Kami forbid that she had seen memories of the Dark Tournament or the Reikai Tantei's more 'interesting' missions . . .
WHO had she seen?
Mukuro? Youko? Koenma, maybe? Botan or George?
Or the Toushin . . . ?
There were any number of beings that he knew whose special 'quirks' would not be explained away as 'mutant powers.' With the way his luck had been going lately, those memories that were most 'incriminating' were the exact ones she would have stumbled across.
Ch. Absolutely PERFECT.
And now all of the Tantei AND the girl would need shields . . . shields that he would have to construct --or in the case of Yuusuke, Kurama and himself, REconstruct-- quickly and then maintain. Damn it to Reikai.
A conversation from days ago echoed through his mind mockingly.
. . . . . . . . . .
="How long can we count on this shield of yours, Hiei?"=
="No human 'mutation' could possibly break my shields."=
="But if you were injured? You can't maintain the focus needed if you're unconscious."=
="True. In sleep I can maintain it subconsciously, but forcibly knocked out . . . no."=
="In essence, that means that SOMEHOW our bad luck will kick in, and Hiei'll trip in the shower or some shit like that, and THEN where will we be?"=
. . . . . . . . . .
- : - : - : - : - : -
Professor Charles Xavier was presently tapping into Cerebro's psychic- enhancing abilities, sending his mind out across the city toward Bayville Mall. The jumbled, disjointed thoughts of the city's collective populous brushed against his mind in an indistinct, all-encompassing mumble. Years of training his talents enabled him to tune out such distractions, however, and soon he was homing in on Jean's mind, using it as a starting place for his search.
Ah, good. There were Logan and Ororo. So the two groups HAD managed to meet. One less worry for him to concern himself over.
Now . . . In his experience, whenever something was wrong with one of his students and it was necessary to search for them, the best thing to look for would be an abnormality in the nearby area.
He stretched his senses out, probing for anything that would qualify as an 'abnormality.'
He felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he felt three very familiar auras clustered tightly together within the mall area: the green and gold vines, the blue and white lightning, and the red and violet fire.
If that didn't count as 'abnormal,' he didn't know what would.
He focused upon the three auras, avoiding touching them as best he could. He now understood what Jean had meant before when she had mentioned 'mist': at their centers, the auras were remarkably condensed, the light at their cores so bright as to be white, but as one drew further away, the light thinned, becoming almost vaporous, hanging over their surroundings like a veil.
But . . . there! He could feel Rogue right there, in the midst of the three strange lights.
He pressed closer, hoping to pinpoint their location to pass on to Jean or Logan. ~Rogue? Rogue, are you---?:~
The sense of déjà vu multiplied tenfold as an all-too familiar wall of violet energy flashed into existence, blocking his way to the three strange auras . . . and now it encompassed Rogue as well.
A surge of dread flooded through him as he sought the source of the impediment. ~:Who are you!? What is the meaning of this?:~
He had a short vision of a wide, glowing eye, its iris an unnatural shade of violet. A hissing laugh echoed through his mind, accompanied by a deep, mocking voice that sounded mildly familiar . . .
~:Away, insect. You have no business here.:~
With that, the violet wall pulsed brightly, and something slammed painfully into his mind, sending his consciousness whirling through the myriad of colors and emotions and thoughts that was the astral plane of the earth.
When he next opened his eyes, it was to find himself slumped in his wheelchair before Cerebro's console, a fierce headache pounding in his temples.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kurt watched the three new students closely, questions running from one side of his mind to the other in a dizzying stampede. He vowed silently that he WOULD get to the bottom of . . . whatever the heck had just happened, and if that meant keeping an eagle-eye on them from now until whenever the others showed up to help, then so be it.
Truth be told, Kurt just wanted to get back to the Institute. Sitting in an abandoned corner of a mall parking garage with two --possibly three, if he counted Hiei-- injured people on his hands was NOT what he wanted to spend his Friday afternoon doing. Rogue was still pale, and her breathing shallow. Yuusuke still sat over to one side, his forehead resting against his knees; Kurt had the feeling that the spirited teenager was NOT one to sit around while others looked after affairs for him, and that meant that the other boy was either greatly tired or in pain . . . or both.
Hiei . . . Kurt didn't know quite what to make of HIM. Kurt had seen him get touched by Rogue, and yet the boy seemed to be as healthy as ever.
Kurt's thoughts were interrupted when Hiei rejoined the group with a definite 'cat-ate-the-canary' smirk on his face.
Shuichi sent the dark-haired boy a questioning look, and Hiei's smirk grew. "I . . . dealt with it."
"Ah."
Kurt shuddered as Hiei's parted lips gave him an unrestricted view of the boy's sharp canines, something that the blue-furred mutant had never really given much thought to despite the fact that all three new students sported them. Now the image of the gleaming fangs mingled with his memories of Hiei with skin darkening to green and something unknown glowing on his forehead.
His fur fluffed as a sign of his discomfort, and almost against his will, he whispered, "Vhat ARE you three?"
He immediately regretted his question when Hiei, Shuichi, and even Yuusuke --who hadn't seemed to be paying much attention to anything at all up to this point-- all turned toward him with uncomfortably keen gazes.
. . . and was he imagining it, or were Yuusuke's eyes tinted with red?
- : - : - : - : - : -
~:I could wipe his memory.:~
Kurama restrained himself from flinching . . . barely. ~:NO, Hiei. Xavier has powers of the mind. For all we know, he could detect if we tampered with his students' minds.:~
~:I've already created a shield around the girl's mind.:~
~:Taking more risks than necessary is NOT a wise way to attempt to keep a secret.:~
"Kurt," Kurama began, effectively ending the mental exchange with Hiei, "You'll have to trust us."
Kurt frowned at the taller boy. "You're not going to tell me vhat's going on, are you?"
Kurama closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath to compose himself. "Kurt . . ." He opened his eyes again to look beseechingly at the young mutant. "I'm asking you to trust us. Please. It IS true; we are not like the others at the Institute. However, we do not want to cause any trouble. Just please, don't tell anyone what you saw."
Yuusuke saw that Kurama had the situation in hand, and he lowered his head back to his knees, a low growl --beneath human hearing-- vibrating in his chest.
Kurt's golden eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Kurama could see a small glimmer of fear in their depths.
The kitsune tried a different tactic: haggling. "Wait at least until Rogue wakes. Ask her what she learned about us. She saw into Yuusuke's and Hiei's thoughts. Surely you can trust what she knows? Just don't . . . don't betray us . . . not until you know our reasons for this secrecy."
Ah, a hit. Kurt's eyes widened at the word 'betray' and the slightest bit of guilt tinged his expression.
Mutant or not, a human was a human, and the word 'betray' always left a sour taste in their mouths.
Kurt fidgeted, gnawing on his lip. "I . . . all right. But just until Rogue vakes up. Then I go to the Professor."
"If you still want to." Kurama allowed his lips to bend into a relieved smile. "Thank you, Kurt."
"Hm." Kurt's tail was still twitching in agitation. "Do you think the others are looking for us?"
"Doubtlessly," was Hiei's dry response. "But in a place this big? If we wait for them, we'll be here until the apocalypse comes."
Kurama turned curiously when he heard Yuusuke let out a low, irritated growl, muffled by his curled-up position. ="G'dammit, K'rama, y'r s'pposed t' be th' smart one here."= Then he raised his voice somewhat to carry to Kurt's ears. "Kurt, how hard would't be t' *bamph* around an' find the others?"
Kurt jumped at suddenly being addressed. "Ah . . . vell, not very hard."
"Would you?"
"I . . . I guess so, but Rogue---"
Yuusuke growled again, and Kurama wisely stepped in to prevent Kurt's untimely exposure to the wrath of an irritated Toushin. "We'll keep an eye on her. I swear."
"But---"
Hiei sneered. "The sooner you go find the others, the sooner we get back to the Institute."
Kurt mulled over that for a moment, but in the end he eased Rogue's head out of his lap and rose to his feet. "All right."
Kurama suppressed a smile. "Will you have any trouble finding the others?"
"No." Kurt shook his head. "I'll just *bamph* to the van and have a look around. If they are not there, I vill scout around in the mall."
"Very well. We'll go ahead to the van and wait for you." Kurama smile transformed into an amused grin. "Yuusuke isn't looking too happy, and Rogue will do better lying in the van than on this cement."
Kurt nodded in understanding, flicked his inducer back on, and disappeared in a cloud of sulfurous smoke.
As soon as Kurt had vanished from sight, Hiei turned to glare at Kurama. ="Explain, fox. The girl knows more than HE does at the moment, and you advised him to ask her about us? What are you DOING?"=
Kurama quirked a small half-smile. ="I'm taking a chance."=
="We can't AFFORD that now!"=
The kitsune sighed softly, the smile disappearing. ="We don't have any other choice."=
With that, the red-haired demon turned and began to gather Rogue's limp form into his arms, taking special care to avoid touching what little bit of her skin was still exposed. Hiei 'hn'ed before disappearing from sight, doubtlessly preferring to travel via the shadowy perches high overhead rather than on the ground.
Kurama turned to face Yuusuke even as the Toushin was laboriously pushing himself to his feet.
="Can you walk?"=
="Shut up and start sniffing out the damn van."=
- : - : - : - : - : -
In Yuusuke's opinion, they couldn't reach the van fast enough. He wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere nice and dark and go to sleep . . . well, that or transform to his demon form and find an oni or two to kick around. The second option wasn't very feasible, though, so he was prepared to settle for the first.
Had he not been so focused on . . . other matters . . . he might have found some humor in the sight of the infamous Kurama carrying a human girl 'bridal style' through a mall parking garage.
He could feel the weight of Kurama's eyes on him.
="Yuusuke---?"=
Yuusuke bit back an annoyed snarl, his jaw and his fists clenched, his narrowed gaze intent upon the section of asphalt directly before his feet. ="Kurama . . . not now. Just . . . don't talk . . . I'm a hair away from transforming, and NO ONE wants THAT."=
Kurama was silent.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Logan stood at the end of the hallway that connected the parking garage with the mall itself. He glared at the thick crowds milling aimlessly around, and he couldn't help but think of the phrase 'needle in a haystack.' That was what they were stuck looking for, after all. A handful of teenagers inside a huge place that was swarming with people.
He turned to face the group of tense mutants standing behind him: Ororo, Jean, Kitty, Jubilee, and Rahne.
"All right," he said at last. "Here's the deal. We split up into two groups and go left and right. If you find Chibi, Rogue, or the others, head back to the van. We'll meet back there in thirty minutes. Clear?"
Nods --both hesitant and confident-- were his only answers.
That, and a very loud *BAMPH*.
"Oh, vow! I can't believe it! And only my third try!"
- : - : - : - : - : -
Yuusuke waited with barely restrained impatience as Kurama fiddled with the locks on the van doors. Damn it, the fox was supposed to be the greatest thief ever to come from Makai; surely he could unlock a simple car door?
He shook his head to clear it of the oddly violent and impatient thoughts. This was getting ridiculous.
Yuusuke would be the first to admit that he had a short fuse, but these . . . What could he even call them? Instincts? . . . were reaching a new extreme. He had never been so susceptible to his demon side before, and the part of him that still relied upon his human thoughts was greatly disquieted by the thin margin by which he was avoiding complete loss of control.
He took in Hiei's tense stance, and the rigid set of Kurama's shoulders.
They knew as well; doubtlessly they could feel his youki. They knew how easily he could be pushed to letting his demon instincts take over . . .
At last! Kurama finished his meddling with the lock, and the side door of the van slid aside with a metallic rumble.
The irritation returned as he waited for Kurama to gather Rogue's limp form from where he had been forced to lay her beside the van; it took --what seemed to Yuusuke-- a damnably long time for the kitsune to place the unconscious human on the row of seats furthest back in the vehicle and then for Kurama to climb in himself.
Hiei merely stood to one side of the door, showing no inclination to get inside the vehicle until it was absolutely necessary.
Yuusuke stepped inside and slid into the seat beside Kurama with a silent sigh of relief.
As soon as he had settled himself in as comfortable a position as possible, he folded his arms over his chest and shut his eyes, focusing every ounce of his will on beating back the youki that was pressing insistently against his control.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Kurama's face was impassive as always as he quietly kept an eye on the weary Toushin, but even from where he stood outside the van, when he looked into the vehicle's interior, Hiei could easily read the confusion and uneasiness within the kitsune's emerald-green eyes.
="Hiei, what did she do to him? He's never had a reaction like this to anything before."=
Hiei snorted. ="He's never been on the receiving end of a mutant's vampire touch, now, has he?"=
Kurama frowned. ="'Vampire' ?"=
The Jaganshi absently noted that the levels of youki within Yuusuke were still abnormally high, and they didn't look like they would fall any time soon. ="It's the closest comparison I can make. The girl, Rogue . . . her touch pulls energy out of you, like a vampire-apparition drains blood from it's victims. My Jagan protected me somewhat, and it seems as though she isn't as suited to draining youki, but she pulled a large amount of reiki from Yuusuke."=
Kurama arched an eyebrow. ="He's been low on reiki before."=
Hiei remained silent for a short time, attempting to put his observations and conclusions into words. His mind had been gnawing on the puzzle that was Rogue's powers ever since Yuusuke had been touched by the mutant girl.
="It is more of an imbalance,"= he said at last. ="When she touched me, my youki multiplied as a defensive response, but her powers couldn't pull very much of it out of me, leaving me to deal with the excess. As my body is accustomed to dealing with high levels of youki, the largest difficulty I encountered was a headache, and creating the shields helped with that somewhat."=
="So, her power is the ability to drain reiki? But you didn't have any reiki to drain, so . . ."=
="I lost a token amount of youki to her, not enough to fuel even a half- second burst of demon-speed."=
Kurama nodded his understanding even as one hand was reaching back into his hair and withdrawing a seed. ="I can sense for myself that Yuusuke's youki is abnormally high, just as yours is. So that is the problem? A youki-to- reiki imbalance?"=
Hiei's eyes tracked Kurama's hands as the kitsune cradled a small, newly- sprouted Makai plant --mundane in appearance-- in his palms. Kurama calmly pulled two of the tear-shaped leaves from their stems just before the plant shrunk back to it's seed-state and was hidden away in his hair once more.
Hiei frowned but answered. ="Hn. His demon side wants out, but he's suppressing it. As a result, his body is doing it's best to conserve all the energy it can."=
The kitsune held one of the leaves out to him. ="Here. Place it under your tongue. It should last until we get to the mansion"=
The Jaganshi blinked in surprise. ="What?"=
Kurama looked at him calmly. ="You mentioned a headache, did you not?"=
Hiei accepted the leaf.
- : - : - : - : - : -
Keeping his eyes clenched firmly shut against the roaring headache thrumming around within his head, Yuusuke focused most of his willpower upon restraining the huge amounts of youki that raged against his control.
He was aware of Hiei and Kurama murmuring quietly to one another. Their voices echoed around inside his skull painfully, intensifying the discomfort. Every muscle in his body burned and ached, and it felt as though there was something swelling within his head, trying to make his skull explode.
Then someone was touching his shoulder, shaking him lightly, and he cracked open one eye to peer up at the blurry visage of Kurama. ="What?"= he growled, firmly forcing down the part of himself that snarled in fury that another demon would dare stand over HIM, as though he were a low-class that would submit to their will.
Something small and cool was pressed into his hand. ="This is a jimnathe leaf, a mild painkiller. Put it under your tongue; it should ease the headache."=
Yuusuke obeyed, even the small movement of raising his hand to his mouth sending jolts of fire up and down his arm. Thankfully, within a few minutes, the pain lessened from 'torture-for-those-inhabiting-the-seventh- level-of-hell' to merely 'agonizing-but-bearable.' It was a notable improvement, and he was able to slip into a semi-doze. He was barely aware of the sudden arrival of many other voices and the subsequent rumble of the van's engine starting.
- : - : - To Be Continued . . . - : - : -
A/N: I may not do review responses again for a while. I'm generally stuck doing most of my good writing late at night, and by the time I get a chapter done, I'm too sleepy to write coherent review responses. But, hey, you'll survive.
Quick note: Someone requested the URL of the page explaining the Four Realms that I had put in the pre-story chapter. I looked for the page, but when I went to the URL, the page wouldn't load. Sorry. I think that it might have been taken down.