Author's Note: Sadly I didn't get a lot of reviews from the last chapter...barely two or one. But I thank those who did. You really brighten up my day. And now, without further ado, here's the next chapter.
Wait. Before you do, PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE R&R me! I'm begging youuuuu all! (is desperate)
Chapter 3 - Wild Goose Chase
Kurama was walking alone on the sidewalk, thinking deeply to himself while letting his legs lead him to where his instincts tell him to go. He had been through most of the stores which sold necklaces and found nothing that would lead him to the one he was looking for. He found himself nearing his home and decided to resume his search tomorrow when it was bright and when he was refreshed and energized. Before he could arrive at the gates to his home though, he saw a raven haired woman running towards him. He stopped and blinked in confusion, wondering why the woman was running and who she was running from. His first question was answered when he caught sight of a silver glint on the girl's hand. He took a closer inspection and saw that it was a necklace with a purple gem hanging on it. He recalled the description Tenerie had told him of the necklace, realizing that it fitted perfectly with the one the woman was holding. Kurama also saw a group of demons running after her from behind and this just confirmed his suspicions.
I have to take that necklace before those youkais do.
Kurama began running towards the woman as well, trying as much as he could to get ahead of the youkais. Unfortunately for him the woman saw what he intended to do and sharply turned around a corner into a narrow space in between two houses. Kurama reacted quickly as he began to sprint and turned the same corner, the group of youkais slowly catching up to him from behind. He followed the woman though the narrow path and out into another street. He looked from left to right, and saw the woman running into a department store. Kurama followed, trying to keep sight of her as much as he could. Once he entered the building, he couldn't find the woman in the sea of clothes and miscellaneous things. Kurama slowly walked around, looking as hard as he could to no avail. He turned around and saw the group of youkais enter and search as well.
"Over there! She's at the fourth floor!" One of them cried while pointing up in the air. Kurama followed the youkai's finger and widened his eyes as he saw the raven woman running across on the upper floor.
How did she get there so fast? Kurama had to cut his thoughts short as the youkais began to run towards the stairs. He figured the stairs was not an option anymore and looked around for any other means of going up. He saw his opportunity through the escalator that was slowly bringing people up to the second floor. He ran to the machine and began to hurriedly climb up, jumping up from one escalator to another from time to time to speed up his climbing process. He arrived at the fourth floor just in time as he caught sight of the woman running away from him. He quickly got up and ran after her as fast as he could.
At this time Yusuke and Kuwabara had just entered the store and were looking around for the demons and for the female thief.
"Darn it! Where could they have gone off to?" Yusuke cursed as his head violently turned left and right. Kuwabara tugged at his sleeve and pointed up at the fourth floor.
"There! I see the youkais over there." Yusuke looked up as well and saw the last of the youkais running off. He ran to the stairs and climbed them up three steps at a time while Kuwabara struggled behind him. They stopped at the fourth floor, panting with exhaustion, but went on and ran after the last of the youkais towards the make-up section of the department store. "This is getting us nowhere. We have to go past all these youkais so we can catch that woman." Kuwabara told the detective. Yusuke agreed silently and stopped, scanning his surroundings while thinking of a plan in his head. His eyes roamed around until they stopped at a raven haired girl who was running towards a new section of the store.
"Follow me!" Yusuke shouted before running off away from the youkais. Kuwabara saw the woman and quickly understood the detective's intention as he began to run after him. Yusuke and his ningen friend ran as fast as they could in the other side of the new section to shorten the gap between them and the thief. Then, when they were close enough to catch her, they jumped at her from behind a counter, catching her by surprise. The woman managed to evade all the hands except for one of Kuwabara's, which took a hold on her right foot. She lost her balance and fell down to the ground, accidentally dropping the necklace as well. Three pairs of eyes watched the silver chain fly in the air and fall down into a pile of items. Yusuke got up and groaned when he saw what the pile was made up of.
"How can you be such an idiot! You just made her throw the necklace into a large pile of them. How are we going to look for it now?" Yusuke yelled at his friend. Kuwabara glared and was about to answer back when the woman they had tripped scrambled up and ran for the pile. Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged glances and followed as soon as their brains realized what they were supposed to do. Together, the three bombarded the pile and began snatching necklace after necklace, throwing it aside when it wasn't the one they were looking for. Kurama and the group of youkais finally arrived and all they could do at that moment was stare at what was happening before them. The kitsune was blinking in confusion and surprise as he watched two of his friends scrambling in the pile.
"Yusuke? Kuwabara? Don't tell me you're..." This was never completed as the youkais charged at the pile and began taking necklaces as well. Kurama had no choice but to follow and ask for an explanation from Yusuke and Kuwabara later. They rummaged around the pile for a while, throwing necklaces all over the ground, until Kuwabara took one and raised it up in triumph.
"I got it! I got the necklace."
"Pass it over to me then!" Yusuke shouted as he pushed some of the youkais in front of him to the side, trying to move closer to the ningen. Kuwabara didn't hear the detective, too immersed with his so called victory and as a result, was thrown to the ground by more youkais. He struggled with them while trying to keep the necklace in his hand for as long as he could. Kurama saw this as his opportunity and snatched the necklace from Kuwabara before he could react or move.
"What the-what are you doing Kurama! Give that necklace back!" Kuwabara cried. Kurama ignored him and began to run away from the group, towards the escalator, where he jumped and skipped a couple of them to reach the ground floor in no time. Everyone else on the fourth floor ran for the railings and looked down at the kitsune as he went out of the building. The youkais immediately ran back to the stairs and went down while Yusuke and Kuwabara were still debating with themselves whether they should jump as well or go down the stairs. The thief on the other hand made no hesitation as she hoisted herself on the railing and jumped as high as she could towards a large banner that was being hanged by ropes on each end of the wall. Yusuke and Kuwabara watched with awe and shock as they saw her grab the banner, untie the rope holding the banner, and swing towards the ground in a Tarzan-like way. They watched her let go of the rope and land on the ground-not as gracefully as Kurama had-then run after the kistune.
"She's a ningen...isn't she?" Kuwabara asked hesitantly.
"Well she's supposed to be. Neither of us could sense anything weird from her after all. Either she's a youkai who, by some unknown reason, can hide her energy from anyone or she's one strong and brave ningen." Yusuke answered. Then they watched the group of youkais follow after the woman outside the building. The detective turned to Kuwabara and stepped aside to make room between them.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry after them." Kuwabara stared dumbly over the rails, down on the first floor and looked at Yusuke as if he had come from the mental asylum.
"Have you lost your marbles Urameshi! The first floor's at least 50 feet below us! How are we going to get down from here and stay uninjured?"
"Just shut up and jump! We don't have a lot of time to waste." Without warning, Yusuke grabbed Kuwabara's shirt collar and threw him over the railings, sending him flying face first towards the ground floor. Anyone in the building could hear the ningen's loud and ear-piercing screams as he fell into a water fountain that had happened to be there. Yusuke jumped after him and landed on the top of the large statue positioned there before landing on the ground, safe and sound. After a few minutes, Kuwabara stood up and went over the edge of the fountain, spluttering towards Yusuke and taking his collar to bring the detective's face in front of his.
"Damn you Urameshi! I could have died back there. If this fountain wasn't deep enough I would have been as flat as a pancake!" He growled angrily. Yusuke merely shrugged and began to chase the youkais, the thief and Kurama outside the building, leaving a very wet Kuwabara behind.
"Hurry up or I'm leaving you there."
"Hey! Wait up Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted as he began to run after the detective, ignoring the splashing, spluttering sounds of his soaked shoes as he ran after Yusuke.
switch scene
Kurama kept on running to where his feet would lead him to, only to find himself near an abandoned warehouse. He then stopped and turned around to face the youkais, deciding then and there to finish them off while no innocent passer by would get hurt. They arrived a few seconds later, each one standing a few meters away from Kurama, putting their guards up. A moment of stillness passed between Kurama and the youkais and it was at this time when Yuske and Kuwabara caught up with the rest.
"Hey Kurama! We need that necklace so give it back to us now!" Kuwabara shouted angrily as he held out his hand towards the kitsune. Yusuke was about to say the same thing when he noticed the people who were standing right beside them. He held Kuwabara's shoulder and turned to the youkais.
"I suggest we save the explanations for later, and kick their butts now."
As soon as Yusuke finished saying this a fight broke out among them, bringing chaos and confusion in the vicinity. Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara could do nothing but fight and kill the youkais who were charging at them non-stop. The kistune with his magically summoned rose whip, the detective with his spirit gun, and the ningen with his spirit sword. Youkai after youkai came after them and the three killed all as they came. While all this occurred, the same woman who had stolen the necklace first jumped in the battle unexpectedly, crept up to Kurama and without warning, took the necklace from his hand. The battle immediately ceased as everyone watched the woman jump over one of the youkais and run inside the warehouse. Kurama was dumbstruck as he stood there, frozen in place in initial shock.
That ningen just took the necklace from me like it was nothing. How could I have overlooked her and let her come up to me unnoticed?
He shook his head, trying to clear the question from his mind and began to run after the thief into the warehouse. His question-all his questions will have to be answered some other day. Everyone went in and looked around, searching for the female thief in the darkness of the building. The warehouse was old and dusty, the smell of dead rats and cats filled Yusuke and Kuwabara's nostrils, making their eyes water with pain. Kurama ignored this and heard the odd sounds of footsteps somewhere above him. He looked up to find, with surprise, the said thief climbing out of the window on the ceiling. He began to run towards one of the old, big, unused machines and jumped on it to reach the second ramp, once again with the help of his rose whip. Yusuke and Kuwabara had no choice but to go out of the warehouse while the other youkais attempted to follow the kistune.
Kurama arrived at the rooftop and stood face to face with the female thief. They stared at each other in silence, checking each other out before making any kind of move. Kurama wondered what this ningen could possibly do but didn't want to stay and find out. He firmly held his whip and gave a small, apologetic look towards the girl.
"I'm sorry for doing this to you. But if you don't give me that necklace, I will have to hurt you." He warned. A look of surprise came to him when the reply he got in return was a smirk that seemed to consider his warning a challenge.
"That's an interesting deal you got there. Unfortunately for you," At this the thief raised her fist in preparation. Kurama could see the muscles tense, her fighting stance firm and confident. "I only agree to deals which benefit me." Kurama sighed and shook his head in disbelief. There was still time to try and persuade her even for a few minutes.
"What do you want then? Food? Shelter? Money? I can give you anything you wish if you just give me that necklace." The thief shook her head and raised the hand that held the necklace. It shined brightly in the reflection of the moon, giving it a soft, luminous glow.
"The only thing I want is this necklace. There is nothing you can give me in exchange for it." She murmured softly. A loud battle cry followed by a large figure of a person suddenly appeared and knocked down the thief by surprise. Kurama blinked in shock as the shadowed figure of Kuwabara stood up from the ground and grinned at the kitsune, the necklace swinging slightly in the ningen's hand.
"It's nothing personal buddy. It's all business." And with that, he jumped down from the roof and landed in a pile of boxes placed there for his benefit. Yusuke appeared and began motioning for Kuwabara to follow. The female thief cursed as she jumped down and landed in the same spot the ningen landed on. She staggered up and was about to run after him when Kuwabara tripped and fell down. She saw, with surprise and shock, Kurama who was standing behind the ningen with a foot stuck out to his side. The kitsune, without letting anyone know, had seen a ladder on the side and used it to get down very quickly. Yusuke stopped in his tracks, turned his head back and muttered colorful words under his breath.
Kurama casually couched down beside Kuwabara's fallen form and took the necklace from his hand. Then he gave a smile to the ningen before standing up and walking away. Kuwabara managed to scramble back up and glared at Kurama's retreating form. "Hey that wasn't fair! You cheated." The kistune turned around to face him and shrugged in reply.
"It's nothing personal Kuwabara. It's all...business as you would call it."
It took Kuwabara a few minutes to realize what Kurama had said and the meaning behind it but when he did, Kurama had already run off. Yusuke walked beside Kuwabara and slapped his head while scolding him angrily about not being careful. The ningen held his head in pain then shouted back at the detective in his own defense. They started arguing with each other and didn't notice the girl running after Kurama or the large group of youkais passing by them and going after the thief as well.
By the time they did, the last of the youkais were disappearing from their sight. They stopped whatever they were doing and began to go after everyone else.
swtich scene
There has to be a way to throw everyone off track. There has to be! Kurama thought as he ran through the busy streets of the night. He found himself making good time as he tried to throw his chasers off track. They haven't lost sight of him, but he was sure they couldn't catch up with him at the moment. While he ran through the busy street, through small stores, past people who were headed home, he looked at the silver chain he held tightly in his hand. He had the item he needed, but he can't possibly go to his home or else his mother might be in danger. He couldn't go to where Tenerie is either because she would be the one facing the danger if he did. He had to think of another way to get away from everyone before he got caught.
With an idea slowly forming in Kurama's intellectual mind, the kitsune began to run through one of the dark alleys of the city, making sure that this time, he was being followed. He ran as much as he could until he arrived at a dead end. Kurama saw to his approval that the wall was as high as the buildings beside it, making it impossible for anyone to go over.
Any weak youkai or ningen, that is.
He took a few deep breaths, taking a short rest from all the running, before heading towards one of the emergency escape ladders that were always built in case of fires. He climbed up this steel ladder and using his rose whip as a rope, climbed up all the way to the rooftop of the building in a matter of seconds. He didn't take a moment to look behind him as he ran through the roofs of the different houses, hoping with hope that he had lost everyone who had been chasing him.
The female thief had arrived in the alley and looked up to find Kurama running away. She grumbled to herself before climbing up the ladder and jumping from one railing up to another. Fortunately for her, no one had seen her go up with such skill, power and agility. If they had, they would have questioned her race as a ningen, which would have given her quite some trouble. By the time the youkais arrived, Kurama and the female thief where nowhere to be seen. They looked all over the alley, trying to open doors and check windows to see if they had entered one of the rooms, to no avail. To the youkais, it was as if both the kitsune and the thief had disappeared into thin air. At this time, both Yusuke and Kuwabara had gone into the alley and saw that the youkais were at a loss.
"Damn it! We lost Kurama and that thief." The detective cursed to himself. He was heard by the youkais nearest to them who then turned to face the two. They began whispering to each other, the message passing all the way to the front of the group. Together, all the youkais turned to them with an angry growl on their faces. Yusuke raised an eyebrow then as what was going on clicked in his mind, crossed his arms smugly, a large smirk curling up his lips.
"I would have preferred to end this night with the necklace in hand but I guess I have no choice but to take it out on all of you." He said excitedly, uncrossing his arms and clenching both hands into firm fists. Kuwabara called out his spirit sword and stepped right beside the detective, just as eager as he was to fight.
"You do know Konema's going to kick our butts for not getting that necklace right?" Kuwabara told him softly. Yusuke ignored his question and began to charge into the sea of youkais.
"Just so you know, Urameshi. I'm putting all the blame on you." Kuwabara shouted to him before charging into the fight as well.
switch scene
Kurama stopped running and jumping a few rooftops later and took a look back to see if his plan had worked. He didn't see the female thief, or his two friends, or the group of youkais following him, to his relief. He turned forward again only to find a clenched fist connecting to his cheek. He fell back a few steps but caught his balance again as the mysterious attacker threw another punch. He dodged the hand and immediately took the attacker's wrist in his strong grip. He moved behind the attacker, still holding the wrist and was about to wrap his other free arm around the neck when his attacker stepped on his foot and threw an uppercut to Kurama's chin while he was recovering from the pain on his foot. Kurama fell to the ground and looked up to take a look at his attacker.
He couldn't see the person in the darkness at first, with no light to brighten up the rooftop. But at that moment the large billboard sign on the building beside them was turned on, filling the rooftop with a dim, neon-colored glow. Kurama's eyes widened as he finally recognized his attacker.
"You...how did you catch up with me?" He managed to ask as he recovered from his initial shock. The female thief stood there, looking down at him, with an expressionless gaze.
How on earth did she know where I was? And even if she knew, it would have taken her quite some time climbing up those escape ladders. Who is this person and what does she want with this necklace? She couldn't possibly know of its origin and its capabilities does she?
"Where's the necklace?" She asked him without answering his own question.
"I'm sorry to say you can't have it." He replied, standing up and throwing a kick to her stomach with quick agility. She held her stomach in pain and doubled over but before Kurama could run away a black wolf emerged and blocked his way out. The wolf growled low, its fangs revealing themselves with a snarl. This gave the thief time to recover and strike back at Kurama with a kick to the chest.
The kitsune wasn't prepared for that and fell to the ground with a loud thud. The sound of a sickening crunch of something glass-like could be heard in the silence. Kurama widened his eyes as he fumbled in his pockets for the necklace. He took it out and saw that the gem had been crushed into pieces when he fell down. He stared long and hard at what used to be a purple gem and blinked in shock.
It was...a fake?
Kurama looked up to open his mouth but no words could come out. For when he did turn to speak to the thief, she and her black wolf had disappeared into the darkness. He stared at where she had been, his brain still trying to gather what information he had about the mysterious woman, and stood up from the ground after a minute. It was getting late. He should go to bed and think it over when he's feeling more refreshed.
He arrived near his home a few minutes later and found Yusuke and Kuwabara waiting for him at the gate. He went up to them and calmly stared while Yusuke took him by the collar in his anger. By the way their clothes looked tattered and torn, he guessed they got into a big fight with the youkais.
"Where's the necklace Kurama! We know you have it." He said. Kurama shook his head as he took out the broken gem and placed it in Yusuke's hand.
"I'm sorry Yusuke. The necklace I got wasn't the necklace everyone was looking for. It might still be at the department store." Yusuke widened his eyes and turned to Kuwabara, who had gotten the necklace in the first place.
"You picked the wrong necklace you dummy!"
"It wasn't my fault they all looked alike!"
"Either that or...or somehow that female thief switched the necklaces while she had it back at the warehouse. That's possible." Kurama mused to himself. Yusuke sighed heavily and massaged his throbbing temples.
"I knew this wasn't going to be easy...so why on earth are you looking for that necklace Kurama?" He asked him.
"Someone asked me to. She's...I don't think she's an enemy and I don't think she intends to do anything wrong with it." Kurama answered. "What about you? Why were you chasing that necklace?" Yusuke began to explain to the kistune what he learned during his meeting with Konema and what had transpired after. Kurama listened to his explanation and gave a tired sigh when he finished.
"It would be better if we ask her to speak with Konema tomorrow and tell him her side of the story. Things might become much clearer and easier that way." Kurama suggested. Yusuke grumbled and gave in.
"Alright. Get the girl and meet us in my apartment. We'll look for Botan once everyone is there." He told both Kurama and Kuwabara. "But as for now, I'm going to bed. Night guys." He gave a small wave to the two as he began walking back to where his apartment was. Kurama waved goodbye to Kuwabara as well before walking into his house and going up to his room.
switch scene
Deep in the heart of the mysterious forest surrounding Genkai's temple, a portal suddenly opened out of nowhere. A dark figure fell out of this portal and landed on the ground lightly followed by the black wolf. The golden brown falcon, who was waiting for the raven haired girl at a branch of the tree, flew up at the sound and rushed to the woman.
"What had taken you so long? I thought something bad had happened to you." He asked worriedly. The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned to the falcon while the black wolf walked away and began searching for food in the forest.
"There had been slight complications. But not to worry. It has been taken care of. Where is it then?" She asked, holding out her hand. The falcon sighed and flew up to a nest, taking something inside it, then throwing it in the air towards her. She caught it in her hand and looked at it. The silver chain glinted in the moon's light, reflecting her smiling face in the darkness.
"Yup. This is it alright. The Sorcerer's necklace. Ronel's necklace by the looks of it. Good work Fal. Good work."
"So now that you have the necklace, what next?" It asked her. The thief closed it in her hand and kept it in her pocket before turning to the falcon.
"We've made our move. Now it's our turn to wait and see what they do next."