Author's Note: Thanks for those who reviewed. I really feel great for those who do. So to those who have been reading, thanks and please read and review. I don't mind critics and I don't mind flames. But if you're the type who wants me to get mad or answer back then don't bother. I'll just read those and pretend they never existed. Anyways, on with the story!
Chapter 4 - The Next Move
The next day Yusuke and the others arrived at Konema's office with the help of Botan. They reported to the ruler what had happened the other day, ending their report with the failure to recapture the necklace. Konema sighed at this news and then turned to Tenerie. The amateur magician, at the ruler's request, told him everything she told Kurama, ending with the agreement to their deal.
"I see...it surprises me that no one in Rekai or Makkai knew they still lived until now. I shall ask my spies to look further into this and ask them to check any weird activities among the youkais in Makkai. It seems to me that this necklace belongs to your teacher, Miss Tenerie. And so it rightfully belongs to you, since the Sorcerer has asked you to look for it. Do you know what it is capable of?" He asked. Tenerie shook her head.
"No sir. He never mentioned of its existence to me until then. But I was under the impression that it was capable of doing something powerful." She told him. Konema brooded over this, nodding his head slightly.
"Yusuke, Kuwbara, Kurama, I want you three to describe to me the female thief who is assumed to be in possession of the necklace right now." The three tried their very best to describe the mysterious female to the toddler, leaving nothing behind. When Seiki heard the description she widened her eyes and jumped up and down excitedly, glad to be of some help.
"I met her too! I was walking out of the inn we were staying at and saw her steal a burger from a ningen. She saved me from a couple of bad men and brought me back to the inn though. She might go there all the time to get something to eat." Konema nodded as he wrote everything he asked for in a piece of paper and handed it to Botan when he was done.
"Once you bring Yusuke and the others back to Ningenkai, take this to our informants and get them to bring me every single information they can find about the things written on the list. I want to know who this thief is, who her parents are, how old she is, what she does for a living, what her background is, where she lives; anything at all. This will be their top priority do you understand me?" He demanded. Botan nodded, took the paper from him and left the office. Konema turned his attention back to the detectives and crossed his arms.
"As for you, I want you to continue looking for this necklace. If you can, bring the thief to me as well. We'll have to ask her some questions too. I shall send Botan to you for more information on the girl later once my spies have collected some. It will help you in your search." The three nodded and together with Seiki, Tenerie and Botan, left the office. They arrived back at Ningenkai near Yusuke's apartment and as soon as Botan left, began discussing their plans inside the detective's room.
"While Konema's looking for information on this thief, I suggest we head out and check the department store in case the necklace is still there. Tenerie and Seiki will go back to their inn and stay there while we look." Kurama told them. The two females were not happy about the plan but had to agree, knowing that the kistune was doing it for their own sakes. So they went out, deciding to explore the city while the other three ran off to the direction of the department store.
switch scene
While everyone else searched frantically for the necklace, the last member of Urameshi's Team was in the forest near Genkai's Temple, hopping from one tree branch to another to keep himself from becoming too weak and out of shape. He was getting tired of living a boring life in Ningenkai and couldn't wait to return to his homeland where he could do everything he wanted to do without worrying about breaking the deal. But since he wasn't allowed to go back yet, he has to spend his time trying to kill time in the forest.
And so there he was trapped in Ningenkai because of a deal he made with the Spirit Ruler in exchange for the crimes he committed. He would have helped Yusuke and the others if he wanted to. He should have helped Yusuke and the others since he had nothing to do. Only he didn't feel like it and didn't see any point in doing that. So it was a usual, boring day in the life of the fire apparition.
Or so he thought.
Getting tired of hopping around uselessly, Hiei stopped in front of a small lake to drink from it. He crouched down, cupped his hands into the water and lifted it up to his lips. The cold unpolluted water refreshed him as he sipped it slowly. Once he drank enough, he splashed some of the water on his face. He stopped in the middle of it and sharply turned his head around at the sound of a small and faint crunch of a twig. He narrowed his eyes as he watched a young raven haired ningen walk towards him and stop beside a tree trunk to lean on it. Her head turned up at the sky, looking for something that was in the air. When the woman realized that Hiei was still glaring at her, she looked at him and raised her hands in defense.
"Oh don't let me stop you from doing whatever you're doing. I'm just here to wait on someone." She told him. Hiei gave her one last, threatening glare before he stood up and began to walk away. Before he could jump from a tree branch to escape the woman's company though, she spoke out to him.
"So what's someone like you doing out in a deserted place like this?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder, still glaring at her.
"It's none of your business." He snapped. He was about to leave once more when she spoke again. She was beginning to annoy Hiei and it took him every single ounce of his control to keep himself from slicing her throat. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't kill any ningen as part of the deal with Konema.
"Ah hello there. Do you need something from me?" The girl had asked in a cool and casual tone. Hiei realized a few seconds later that she was talking to someone else and turned around to find a gang of youkais surrounding her. He was confident that they weren't the ones the woman was waiting for and wondered what they needed from a useless ningen like her.
"Hand over the necklace baka ningen. We know you have it." One of them said as he stepped foward and tried to frighten her with his large and powerful body. It didn't seem to work for instead of cowering in fear, the woman looked at him indifferently and pretened to think deeply.
"The necklace?"
"Yeah you stole a necklace that was supposed to be ours. Tell us where it is and tell the truth or else you'll regret messing with us."
"Alright then. I have the necklace right here in my pocket. I even have another one around my neck if you want. I got it from the same place I got the first necklace." She said.
"We told you to tell the truth!" The youkai shouted angrily. The woman looked at him innocently and shrugged.
"I was telling the truth. If you don't believe me then it's your loss."
"What if she really is telling the truth? We should check her out and see if the necklaces are there." The youkai beside the first one asked him. "But what if this is all just a trick to put us in her trap and make us look like fools?" Another asked. The woman crossed her arms and shook her head in disbelief.
"Boys, boys, boys. If you ask for the truth from me, I'll be happy to give it to you. I'm a very honest person and I rarely lie to anyone, even my enemies." This made the youkais happy. They were about to take her when she held up a hand in front of them. "But...what if I'm lying to you about telling the truth? Or what if I'm lying now about lying about telling the truth?" An amused smile came to her lips at the youkais tried to take in what she just told them. And while they thought of this, the girl began to walk away.
"Hey stop right there! I've had enough of your games for one day ningen. Now tell us where the necklace is right now or we're going to kill you." The youkai shouted at her. The woman turned to them and gave a defeated sigh.
"Alright. I give up. You guys are too smart for me. The necklace is with him." Hiei widened his eyes in shock as the woman pointed her finger at him. The youkais seemed to believe her then, as they turned to his direction and narrowed their eyes at him. While they were looking at Hiei, the woman immediately ran away from the scene. Hiei growled and cursed under his breath as the youkais charged at him fiercely.
That baka ningen will pay for this!
switch scene
Tenerie and Seiki spent the rest of the day in relaxation, going to museums, aquariums and other public places. They were having so much fun that they didn't notice the time pass by so quickly. When they decided to stop and get back to the inn, it was dark and it was already late by then. Only a small number of people were walking along the streets at this time. Most were closing their shops or going inside a building.
"We better get back as fast as we can. It's too dangerous to be out here alone." Tenerie told her. Seiki made no move to agrue with her and quickly followed the older woman past houses, buildings and stores. While they continued to walk back to the inn, Tenerie began to sense someone else following them. She turned a corner to see if the stranger will follow and sure enough, she sensed the same person go through the same path. She stopped and pretened to look at the displays behind the window of a store and noticed that the person stopped as well.
"Tenerie? What's going on?" Seiki asked. Tenerie looked down at her and shook her head, putting on a false smile to keep her from knowing.
"Oh it's nothing. Let's just go back as soon as possible." She told her. As much as Tenerie tried to prevent it, Seiki began to feel worried and scared. She nodded meekly as she followed the older woman through the streets, holding her hand tighter than before.
Tenerie began to jog through the streets, turning around corners from time to time, trying to get to the inn as fast as she could and at the same time, throw off the stranger's track. But he was too fast, too quick to reactions, that no matter how much Tenerie tried, she couldn't shake him off. Slowly, more and more strangers began crowding over her, moving closer to her until they surrounded both her and Seiki in a tight circle. Tenerie slapped herself mentally for allowing herself to get caught in such an obvious trap. At closer inspection, Tenerie saw to her horror that the strangers surrounding her were not ningens but youkais.
"Yes? C-can I help you with something?" She asked as bravely as she could, clenching her hands into fists as she prepared to fight against them if it ever came to that. One of the youkais walked up to her and held out his hand.
"You better come with us. The master wants to see you as soon as possible." He said. Tenerie sensed something weird among the youkais. It was different than the ones she usually encountered in her travels. She wanted to find out more but she had no idea how. Instead of that, Tenerie crouched down, took Seiki in her arms and sent a strong force of energy from her body towards the surrounding youkais to push them away. Unfortunately for her it had no effect whatsoever on the youkais. And to add to her surprise, the youkais sent their own energies towards her, which Tenerie defended against with the barrier she placed around her. A few minutes passed and the energies turned into strong magical attacks. Tenerie was stunned and couldn't do anything else but hold the shield as long as she could.
These youkais...these youkais know how to use magic! How is this possible? What am I going to do now? I can't fight back. Lord Ronel only taught me how to defend myself. He didn't get to teach me how to use any magic attacks.
"Do not resist further or else you will only hurt yourself." The youkai told her. Tenerie was torn between fighting a losing battle and surrendering herself to the enemy. But before she could decide on what to do, one of the youkais was suddenly blasted into nothing by a large fireball. The rest turned around and widened their eyes in surprise as a volley of fireballs came falling down from nowhere. Some were not able to put up a shield that quickly and burned themselves to death but those who did felt the strong force of the attack as they held up their shield.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" The youkai shouted. The others were looking around, trying to find the source of the attacks. Tenerie couldn't help but search for the person who had just saved them as well. Seiki was the first one to notice and tugged at Tenerie's sleeve to get her attention.
"Tenerie. Over there, standing on one of the tree branches." She whispered. Tenerie's head shot up and tensed as the dark figure loomed over them, standing on the only tree on that street. The clouds had blocked the moon then, keeping her from getting a clear view of their savior. The other youkais were still looking around cluelessly and never noticed the mysterious stranger jump down from the branch and cast another magic attack at one of the youkais. This time the youkai was shocked by a strong electrical current that had come out of nowhere. Before the rest could react to this, the stranger stretched out her palm and sent vines at the youkais, wrapping them all together in one, tight bond. They tried to get out of their predicament but the vines were too tight, too strong for them to break.
"Who the hell are you! Stop being a coward and show yourself!" The youkai shouted angrily at the stranger.
"You do not need to know who I am. All you need to know about me is that I do not take lightly those who attack women and children for no reason at all. They, I believe, are the ones who should be called cowards." The stranger answered. The clouds have passed on and the moon was once again, able to shine its light on the nightgoers. Tenerie watched as the moonlight casted its glow on the stranger and gasped at what she saw.
It was as if she was looking at a beautiful goddess silhouetted by the moonlight that night. Silky, silver-blue hair cascaded over her strong and firm shoulders and fell down in a soft and graceful manner. She stood up with such strength and dignity that to Tenerie, she didn't seem like any normal being. The mysterious stranger crossed her arms at the binded youkais and her silver eyes, to Tenerie's surprise, glowed a dark, black-ish color. When it did, the vines began to tighten around the youkais, barely giving them the space to breathe.
"Who taught you how to use magic?" She asked them demandingly. When no one answered, her eyes glowed black and the vines began to tighten even more around the youkais. "Who?" She repeated. It seemed like none of the youkais would speak no matter how tight she made the vines become. After a moment, the woman gave a heavy sigh and shook her head slowly. With a snap of her long and thin fingers, the vines caught fire and burned the rest of the youkais alive.
"It's a shame really. I would have spared their lives if they had answered my question." She muttered to no one in particular. She turned to take note of Tenerie and Seiki and gave a curt nod to the two before walking away from them. The former woman had snapped out of her shock and scrambled up the ground in a hurry to catch up with the mysterious silver-blue haired woman.
"Wait up! I want to..." Before she could finish her sentence, a portal appeared out of nowhere. The woman stood before it and turned to cast one last mysterious smile at Tenerie before walking into the said portal and disappearing into thin air. Seiki stood up and walked beside the other woman, who was still rooted to the spot in awe and shock. The night went on like nothing happened and no one but the two knew of what had happened.
switch scene
The next day, Tenerie and Seiki immediately went to Kurama's house to discuss with him what had happened the night before. Fortunately for them it was a sunday and Kurama was up in his room doing his homework. The kitsune got to them and called Yusuke and Kuwabara to tell them to meet up in his home. They arrived minutes later and listened as Tenerie told them what happened.
"...and then this portal appeared out of nowhere. She went in this portal and disappeared along with it." She ended. Kurama was silent as he stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in his room.
"This doesn't sound good guys. If the ones who attacked the girls are who I think they are, then Tenerie and Seiki are in greater danger than they think. Whether they have the necklace or not wouldn't matter beacuse it's not anymore safe for them to be alone. For some unknown reason, the youkais are going after them."
"Maybe they think we know where it is and so they want us to tell them." Tenerie suggested.
"Well whatever the reason, you're still being tracked down. So my best advice for the two of you would be to seek Konema's protection in Rekai."
"But who was that woman who saved them from those youkais and what was her purpose in saving them? And who is this person teaching youkais how to become magicians?" Yusuke asked. Kurama had no idea what to answer to Yusuke's questions.
"We shall have to ask Konema about the woman. As for her purpose in saving Tenerie and Seiki, well there are a lot of possibilities that can be considered. She might have passed by, by some coincidence and helped Tenerie and Seiki out of goodness. But she could also be someone who had some matters to deal with those youkais. The only way we'll find out the answer to that is if we question this woman in person. And for your last question Yusuke, well...it could be a dark magician, it could be a Sorcerer/Sorceress, or it could be an entirely different person." Kurama said, massaging his temple as a headache began to appear. There were so much questions that needed to be answered all at once.
Just in time, as if to bring them all out of their deep thoughts, Botan came flying towards the window and waited for Kurama to open it. She entered and landed softly on the ground while she held her oar with one hand. Everyone looked at her expectantly, wondering what news from Konema they were going to get.
"Well I got the information Konema had asked the spies to get. Here it is." Botan said as she handed to Yusuke a short folder. The detective took it from her and opened it. A few seconds later he closed the folder and looked at Botan in disbelief.
"Are you making fun of me or something?"
"No. Why would I do that?" Botan asked him, clearly having no idea to what Yusuke meant. Yusuke opened the folder again and held it out for everyone to see.
"Look at this folder and tell me what you see. It's empty! Zil! Nada! Nothing!" Yusuke cried. Kurama had a bewildered look on his face as he took the folder from the detective and tried to search it.
"If it's empty, then it means Konema had no information on the girl whatsoever. If that's the case then why did he make you send an empty folder to Yusuke?" Kurama asked. Botan shrugged.
"I don't know. When I entered his office Konema just told me to send this folder to Yusuke. But I did sense something weird while getting it from him. He had a big goofy smile on his face as if he was hiding something." Botan said as she recalled her meeting with Konema. Yusuke grumbled and crossed his arms in anger.
"Of all the days to get a sense of humor, he picks this particular day. That stupid baby has the worst timing in the world not to mention..." Kurama sighed as Yusuke continued to complain about Konema then turned to Botan.
"Hey Botan, can you take Tenerie and Seiki to Konema? You two better go along with them so you can tell him what has happened here." Kurama said as he turned to Kuwabara and Yusuke, who has stopped muttering things about Konema. "And don't forget to leave through the door. My mother will start to wonder if we suddenly disappear without her knowing." Kuwabara looked at the kitsune curiously as he watched him leave his own room first.
"What are you going to do while we're at Konema's?" He asked him. Kurama turned back to them with a small smile on his face.
"I'm going to try and get a certain fire youkai to help us out."
switch scene
The mysterious raven haired thief stopped to rest on a branch after running around since yesterday without stopping to take a break. She leaned back on the trunk and gave a weary sigh, her legs aching to relax and stop running.
What a day...
Before she could do anything else, she jumped away from the same branch she was sitting on just in time as a black blur passed and sliced it in half. The first half of the branch fell down to the ground while the other was being stood upon by the black blur, who the thief presently recognized as the same youkai she met the day before.
Hiei growled at her and without a word, lunged at her to strike with his sword. The thief managed to back away and jumped onto another tree branch to avoid the attack. Hiei stopped and looked up at where the thief was. He was glaring so much that the thief would have been dead hours ago if the phrase "looks could kill" was meant to be literal. She wasn't that troubled with it though and tried to converse with the fire apparition in a casual manner.
"Well, well, how nice of us to meet again. So how can I help you this time?" The thief asked. Hiei didn't reply and continued trying to attack the woman with his katana. Unfortunately for him, his approach doesn't seem to work on the thief. He was gritting his teeth and was growling softly in his anger as he furiously lashed at the woman who merely evaded his attacks like it was nothing.
"Hm...my guess is you're angry at what I did to you the other day." She said while continuing to evade Hiei's sword. The fire apparition didn't bother to reply, busy as he was with his intent on killing the thief. "Hey it's not my fault those weirdos were after me. And you looked like the sort who could handle a fight or two. Come on! Give me a break!" She cried. Hiei continued to ignore her, and she began to get tired of evading. So instead of evading the next attack, instinct had her get a hold of a branch and use it like a sword to defend herself. Obviously, the branch snapped in two as it connected with the sword. Hiei stopped and raised an eyebrow at her. The thief on the other hand ignored him and stared long and hard at the branch then slapped herself mentally.
A branch? And of all branches to pick up, I pick a stupid pathetic branch! Guess I'll have to deal with it. This is a forest after all...
A small smirk broke into Hiei's angry face as he stood in front of her while still holding his katana. A few seconds later he sheathed it back and began walking away, leaving the thief standing there perplexed.
This ningen is very amusing. I'll let her live for today.
The thief snapped out of her thoughts as she began chasing after Hiei. She knew it wasn't a good idea to get him to attack her again but she wasn't going to let him go after embarrassing herself like that. "What? That's it? You disturb my peace and try to cut my head off only to leave me here! Hey-come back here! I'm not through with you! HEY!"
Hiei turned his head around and narrowed his eyes. He began to regret letting her go like that and was tempted to come back and finish what he had started. But before he could turn around he sensed a familiar presence arrive somewhere nearby. He gave another heavy sigh as Kurama landed beside the tree near the spot he was standing at.
"What do you want fox? I am not in the mood for your lectures or your company. Tell me whatever it is you need to tell me and leave before I vent my anger on you instead." Hiei said, narrowing his eyes at the kitsune. Despite the threat, Kurama smiled slightly at the fire apparition.
"I need to ask you a favor, my friend. I promise it won't take too much of your time."
"What is it already?" Hiei growled.
"Well you see, Konema has given Yusuke another mission. Before you complain or say no, please hear me out. All you have to do is help us look for this woman who has a certain necklace with her." Hiei's head suddenly snapped towards the kitsune with a curious look. When he didn't say anything else, Kurama continued. "The necklace is also known as the Sorcerer's necklace. The details will be explained to you if you want to find out more but for now, I have more to tell you. The youkais have been after it as well as we have and so we have to get to her before they do. She has raven black hair and..." Kurama had to stop because Hiei suddenly disappeared before him. He looked around, wondering where Hiei had gone to when he heard a soft thump. Hiei returned minutes later holding over his shoulder a very familiar figure. Kurama couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
So itWAS a good idea to come here.