Warnings: erm… bad stuff, some swearing thanks to our ill-tempered herion O.o

The Welder of BlackFire:

The Legend Lives Part II-Rose's Renaissance

Chapter Six: Ensnaring a Rose

Rose sighed angrily, letting the air slide through her teeth in a hiss, as she kicked a small stone along the pavement. She walked quickly down the street, hoping that if she kept up a vivid step she could make it home in fifteen minutes, before her mother arrived. Not that it effected her mother. The girl's mother was a bit of a psycho since her father and uncle had died and didn't really care when the girl got home. Actually, to put it more accurately, she was constantly surprised when the girl returned from school, even after more than a year after her 'sickness', when, it seemed, she had hardly ever came home. Not that coming up the stairs from her bedroom would surprise her, if she even noticed that she hadn't arrived back at the house. It almost seemed as if she had been brainwashed into thinking she didn't come home in the afternoon. Or even at all. Oh well, at least she didn't have to make up a lame excuse for walking home. She liked walking to school, since she did not live far from the building, but walking home was different. She preferred the bus at this time of year, when her bag was weighted down with an extra ten pounds of books and binders. She scowled at the white line she walked long. Stupid boys, holding her up like that.

Rose felt something twitch within her mind and stopped abruptly and looked around, her gestures cautious. The old road behind her was empty, a small wind herding a few moldy winter leaves across the path she had just tread upon. She narrowed her eyes and turned back around, passing off the feeling of unease.

She jumped when she nearly ran into Hiei, who stood before her like a ghost born of the road.

"What the hell-?" She snarled out before noticing just who it was. Her mouth turned downward into a frown as she gave him her usual greeting. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Something I can help you with?" she asked, bite in her voice. What the hell was WITH these boys?! It was as though she was under constant surveillance, and she hardly liked it.

"Yes. Don't struggle. It will make everything much easier," he said, glancing past her shoulder. Rose was confused a moment, her expression told him that much. She looked at him oddly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and hoisting her bag more firmly on her shoulders.

Suddenly, strong arms grabbed her from behind. She gave out a yelp as she twisted around to see her new foe. A tall boy, about 5'8" or 5'9" with slicked-back black hair stood behind her, binding her arms to her sides. She turned back to Hiei with a glare that sent chills through him. She leaned forward as far as her captor allowed, her face less than a foot from his own.

"You bastard!" she snarled, her voice dripping with venomous spite. She pulled back and jerked about as she fought to free her arms. But her captor was strong, and she was held firmly in place. "Let me go, dammit!" she cried, writhing and trying to wrench her hands from his grip.

"I'm terribly sorry, Rose," came a familiar voice. The girl jerked her head around to face the approaching Kurama. She growled at him with a glare that was rimmed with the tint of icy-blue, making him freeze in his tracks; although, with his grace, one could have sworn that he had done it of his own accord.

"I should have known. You're taking advantage of my lack of memory. You were never my allies, and I never yours, you were all my enemies!" she yelled. Inside Kurama and, Hiei especially, cringed in hurt at the fury of her words.

"Hey! All we wanted was to get back the sword you stole!" the boy holding her said, sneering down at her.

"That's not true! I've never stolen anything in my life!" she growled, struggling against his strong hold with more vigor.

"Oh yeah, that's right, you wouldn't remember, huh?" he asked, thinking to himself aloud. He had forgotten at the sight of her that this was no longer Thorn, but her counterpart, Rose. He shook away the thought of their complete alikeness, and concentrated on what was being said to him.

"Yusuke, don't make things any worse. We'll explain everything, Rose. Please, just come with us," the red-head said. She glared at him, the looked around her. Hiei stood in front of her, blocking her if she were to run forward, Kurama to her right, blocking there as well, not to mention the boy they called Yusuke at her back, binding her arms.

"Fine," she growled. "Explain. But I'm not going anywhere with you." Yusuke chuckled.

"You're worse than Thorn. At least she had a sense of humor, even if it was kinda creepy," the boy said.

"She is dead," the girl said in an exasperated tone. The spite in her voice made them all cringe inwardly. She glared more fiercely at Kurama. "My mother will be home soon. If I don't come home she'll know something's up," she said defiantly, raising her chin. She had stopped her struggling and began with another tactic. Fear. Yusuke chuckled from behind her once again.

"Don't worry about that. Hiei had a great ability to make people see things his way," he said, laughing at his own, however corny, pun. Hiei grunted and fftted (that sound he makes when he runs away at super demon speed! ) away. The girl stared at where he had once stood, utter confusion on her face. She looked around in wonder and the boy behind her laughed. How very annoying.

"Don't bother looking for Hiei, he's probably already at your house," he said. "You get used to it." She replaced the expression with a mask of anger.

"I can tell already I hate you," she hissed.

"Perhaps we should get going. Hiei will be back soon," the kitsune said, turning and walking back into the woods off to the side of the road, trusting them to follow him. Yusuke walked forward as well, forcing his captive to walk as well as she growled under her breath.

They came to a certain point in the woods, about half a mile from the road, Rose guessed, and stopped. A bubbly, bright pink-eyed girl walked up to them, her high blue pony-tail bobbing with her steps.

'I've never seen blue hair look so natural, or such realistic pink contacts,' Rose thought off-handedly, although she was instantly on her guard.

"Great, another one," she mumbled. Yusuke heard.

"Hey, just chill out. We're not going to hurt you. We just need your help," he said.

"Botan, this is Rose," Kurama said, interrupting as he spoke to the blue-haired girl. "Rose, this is Botan."

"A.K.A: The Grim Reaper," Yusuke said with a gentle smile. Rose snorted and glared at the ferry, jerking her head in a signal of respect.

'She might be the enemy, but she's still a girl, and I respect that,' Rose thought.

"Hello," Botan said, walking forward cheerily. "Sorry about the rudeness. Sometimes Koenma just gets a little carried away." She smiled. Rose glared at her as the pilot of the River Styx offered her hand.

"You shouldn't be so nice to the enemy. As soon as I'm free I'll turn. I won't be stopped. I guarantee it," she said softly, her voice dark. Botan withdrew a bit.

"Who says we're being nice to the enemy? We're only trying to be nice to you," came a voice from behind her and Yusuke. They all turned to see Hiei, a green duffle bag on his shoulder. Rose took a quick breath of confused recognition, although it was passed as surprise. She could feel her head beginning to spin slightly, the trees blurring and the figures before her smudging slightly.

"Hn," he grunted at the gazes. Rose shook her head, clearing both her vision and swirling mind and glared as he approached. "Your mother said to take this. She doesn't seem to expect you to come back any time soon," he said. She grunted and didn't answer.

"Well, then we should get going," Kurama said. Botan nodded. She turned and waved her hand over the ground. She ran her hands over the earth before finding some latch and opened up the earth. Rose stared in shock as the portal opened and light poured through the shadows of the woods.

"Okay!" Botan said cheerily. "Let's go!" Rose looked over at her stupidly.

"Like hell!" she said suddenly. Yusuke felt her turn ridged under his grip. "There is no way I'm going into that pit!" Yusuke sighed. This was going to be difficult.

"C'mon," he said. "Don't be difficult." She growled and he tried to make her walk forward. She braced her legs like a mule, digging her heels into the ground stubbornly.

"No way!" she said. Kurama sighed and stepped forward.

"Rose, its fine," the kitsune said.

-Sometimes you need to have a little faith, Hiei. Not everyone is out to kill you as soon as you let your guard down an inch- The words bolted fleetingly through Hiei's mind. The words Thorn had told him. A chord in his neck pulled taunt as he clenched his jaw against the invading thought.

"Please, Rose, trust us," Botan said.

"Why should I trust you?" she growled. "First, I was stalked and watched, then I was kidnapped! How the hell can you ask me to trust you?!" she demanded. She seemed to regain vigor as she spoke and again tried to free her hands. Using her struggle to his advantage, Yusuke pushed her forward, toward the shinning portal. Realizing what he was doing, the girl braced her legs again, jabbing a shoulder into his stomach. He grunted and his grip loosened. Now it was her turn to use a given advantage. She twisted around, her right heel colliding with the right side of his right knee cap, which, by the way, can be very painful when a tremendous amount of pressure is applied.

With a yelp his leg crumpled beneath him. He buckled, surprised at her strength and cursing his lack of insight for that possible scenario. Rose wrenched her arms from his hands, turning and bolting away from him, her heavy backpack dropping from her shoulders to give her more freedom of movement. Hiei was in front of her in an instant, nearly making her plow into him as she defied gravity in a heel-screeching stop. She tried again, the results not changing as she tried to escape.

"I told you not to struggle," he said quietly, his gaze hard. She glared at him a few moments. She was like a trapped animal, and he knew it. Knowing her own helplessness, she clenched her teeth. Finally, with a vibrant sneer and snarl she turned on her heel, stomping back to the waiting group, Yusuke scowling at her, embarrassed at being outwitted by her. Hiei followed behind her, knowing that they had won. This time. She wasn't one to give up, and they all knew it.

"I understand that I cannot escape. But from now on, I refuse to be bound like a child," she said, glaring meaningfully at both Yusuke and Kurama. Kurama and Botan nodded in agreement as Hiei picked up the duffle bag he had dropped behind her. Botan walked up to her and smiled gently.

"C'mon, let's go," she said. Rose nodded and walked forward, looking at the portal wearily. Yusuke grumbled and hefted her backpack on his shoulders. He groaned as he carried the weight.

"Whatcha got in here, rocks?" he grumbled. Was it normal for kids their age to be carrying so much weight in their bags? Not that he would know. He didn't go to school often enough for his bag to be filled with anything other than cigarettes and, at times, Puu, his Spirit Beast.

"No, just a few bricks," she said sarcastically with a snort. Botan giggled. Rose approached the uprooted earth slowly, curiously, looking down into it.

"No use staring at it all day," Yusuke said impatiently. She said nothing.

"Need help?" Kurama asked as a moment passed and she still hadn't made a move. She didn't look at him as she shook her head.

"No," she said. Yusuke sighed.

"Fine, if you aren't going in them I am. I'm going to be late for a date with Keiko," he said, walking around her. She watched in awe as he jumped into it fearlessly. With a satisfied nod, she jumped in as well. And landed directly on her rear, stumbling from a crouch she had meant to land in. Ouch.

The dark cement was hard and unforgiving as she slowly stood up, Botan and Hiei following, with Kurama last as she dusted off her bottom. She looked up and watched the portal close silently.

"We should be getting going," Botan said. Rose tore her attention away from the newly-closed portal and looked around.

"Where is this place?" she asked, looking out of the dark alley and onto a bright, sun-lit street.

"We're in Japan of course!" the pilot said with a smile.

"Japan?!" she questioned in surprise. "But how-?"

"Don't ask. Even I don't get it," Yusuke said, adjusting her pack on his shoulders as he looked out into the alley. She snorted.

"I could believe that," she said. Kurama and Botan chuckled at that, and even Hiei cracked a smirk. Her humor, it seemed, wasn't just specifically located in Thorn's soul.

"Never mind about the portal," Botan said. "Let's go get you settled in." The blue-haired girl walked out of the alley, Rose hardly a step behind her as the boys circled around her, making it obvious that escape was not an option. Too bad too, if she could just break away, even if they were to start chasing her, she might be able to find help. Well, that was out of the question now. Rose followed Botan, but kept her eyes scanning about, not that she could see much with the boys blocking so much of her view.

Soon they arrived in front of a quaint little house on the street. She studied it a moment, memorizing the way it looked and surrounding landmarks. Just in case she needed to find it again.

Kurama opened the front door and motioned them inside. Rose took it all in. A cozy sitting room, connected to the kitchen, which lay across the room, only partially visible through the doorway. Stairs climbed up the far wall near the doorway to the kitchen to, no doubt, bedrooms. All was new to her, yet strangely familiar. She shook her head as the room began to sway.

'No! Not now! Not in the hands of the enemy!" she thought, putting a hand on her head and steadying herself. Yusuke had passed her and had gone to sit on a sofa, dropping her bag by its side as Botan followed. Kurama had gone into the kitchen and Hiei was beside her, like a personal guard, her green duffle bag over his shoulder.

The fire youkai looked over at her as she blinked, trying to clear her head. His brow furrowed in suspicion. After all, from their encounter in the past, the girl was a superb actor. He watched her as she ground her teeth and moved forward, walking straight although her mind flowed the image like a bouncing ship on a stormy sea. She sat down on the couch across from Yusuke and Botan, Hiei taking a seat on her left. Kurama came out of the kitchen a moment later, tossing everyone sodas as he took a seat on the other side of Rose.

There was silence but for the popping of soda cans and the gulping of the drinks. Rose did not open hers. Neither did Hiei.

"Aren't you gonna drink it?" Yusuke asked, gesturing toward the can she held.

"Depends," she said carelessly, shrugging.

"On what?" Botan asked. She gave another small shrug.

"It depends on whether or not you're prepared to hold me when I have sugar running in my system," she said with an amused smirk. "And I can tell you aren't, so I wont. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone." She struggled to hold back a grin as the boy across form her took the bait. Yusuke growled.

"Yeah? Well you weren't so compassionate when you roughed up me and Kurama pretty good before," he said (he's talking about the final battle with Thorn and the Black Blaze). This made her perk up, sparking interest within her.

"Really? I must have been on a sugar high. Or perhaps you just pissed me off."

"We can take it," Yusuke said with a confidant snort. She shrugged.

"As you wish, but I warned you." She opened her can and took a long swing of the carbonated drink. Yusuke nodded, satisfied.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kurama got up from his seat and moved to open it.

"Hey Kurama!" came a boisterous voice from the doorway.

"Great, an idiot to complicate the complicated," Hiei muttered. Yusuke chuckled.

"Oh, c'mon Hiei, lighten up. He's just curious," Botan scolded slightly. Hiei grunted in answer. The girl beside him looked toward the door as Kurama let a tall red-head into the room. His voice was loud and obnoxious and he was dressed in a blue school uniform.

"Hey! So you got her to come! Wow, it looks weird when she's not wearing black," the boy said, looking over at Rose on the couch. She glared at him and he got a fierce 'tickle feeling' down his spine. He froze.

"Hey, Kuwabara!" Botan said. "Rose, this is Kuwabara."
"Rose? Her name's Thorn, Botan. What's wrong with you?" Kuwabara asked, confused.

"Baka," Hiei snorted.

"Yusuke, you didn't tell him?" Botan asked. The boy beside her looked at her innocently.

"What?" he asked. "I just told him we were going to get her."

"I can tell already that they're both idiots," Rose mumbled.

"What do you expect? They're only human," Hiei said with an amused smirk from beside her. She jerked her head and glared at him.

"Are you mocking the blood of all humans, or just them?" she questioned smoothly.

"They are all useless," he said carelessly, happening to forget at that instant that she too was human in his muse. He let the thought slip, the thought of her not being Thorn, and thus not being entirely unhuman. She growled.

"Take it back!" she snarled at him. The room fell suddenly silent as she seethed, everyone looking at her curiously. She stood up and looked down on him. "I said 'Take it back'!" she yelled, glaring at him.

"What'd ya say this time, Shrimp?" Kuwabara asked with a smirk, coming over to lean over the two, his hands in his pockets.

"Shut-up!" Rose snapped, turning around and turning her fierce glare toward him, her fist bolting from her side to smash him in the face. They all stared at her in shock as Kuwabara stumbled and she turned back to the fire youkai, who sat impassively, although he too was shocked at her actions. He said nothing in his daze. Suddenly, Yusuke flew from his seat and jumped to her side, Kurama following suit and striding to her other side. They each grabbed one of her arms, holding her.

"Let's take her upstairs," Kurama said to the detective. Yusuke nodded and they began to drag her away. She struggled valiantly against their holds, hissing like an enraged viper.

"I refuse to have my intelligents insulted!" she growled at Hiei, her face twisted with fury. At the bottom of the stairs Yusuke and Kurama lifted her, carrying her up them. Getting no reaction from Hiei only seemed to infuriate her more and she struggled to break away, although she was not nearly as strong as the boys she fought against, she did not hit them, as if she did not register that they were the force pulling her away. Finally, as they reached the top of the stairs and she could no longer see the fire youkai, they opened the door to Kurama's room and flung her inside. She landed with a thud on the carpet, directly on the bruise she had gained not an hour before when she landed on the pavement. The day just kept getting worse. She spat a curse and glared at them. Her dark eyes held a bright spark of rage that lightened their color. Kurama took a surprised breath of recognition as she stood and stalked toward them and the door. Yusuke quickly shut it and sighed, sagging against the wall.

A few seconds later, after the testing of the door knob and finding it locked, an angered fist slammed against the door, making the entire wall and floor shake, scaring the shit out of Yusuke as he leaned against the wall, making him jump away from it. Kurama smiled half-heartedly at his jumpiness.

"Okay, no more sugar for her!" Yusuke said jokingly with a nervous grin. Kurama shook his head and continued to smile.

Authoress' Note: w00t! I'm back. For those of you who didn't read my review, I got a virus on my computer. It threatened to wipe out all my stories, but luckily they were able to be saved, for which I am ecstatic over. so yeah. Here's the new chapter!

Reviews:

SSSRoaB: :P. yes I am still alive. lol. Its alright. You've been forgiven :P. just don't let it happen again. heehee. Lol. Thanks for all the praise. And personally, I like this story almost more than the prequel. Its got a lot more depth, less romance, and tons more action. But I also think that the side story will be even better than this. :P if only because my writing style has improved so drastically. Hehe. Legend huh? Sounds interesting. And yes, I like to torture the Youkai. its more fun that way. Ahh… so you think Jazz is the great evil? Well I see we already have the suspicious! Very nice! Hehe. Yes, I would like Hiei to cut Cassidy up too, but I kinda needed her to show what school was like for Rose. She plays a HUGE role in my side story. :P hehe. Here's yer update! Thanks!

baka-chibi-puffs: I can't tell what's going to happen! I love keeping you guys guessing! Hehe. Yeah, she DID get seriously pissed, didn't she? Hehe. You predicted it just right. hehe. I've bound Kurama with a threat of rabid fan girls if he tells ANYone! so I don't think you'll squeeze it outta him. :P heehee. Go Kurama.

miyako: thank you. Hehe. I agree! Its just too fun not to share it with the world! :P I'd like to see the athletes competing in that sport. Hehe. All insane fan girls. And it IS fun. thanks again!

Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha: Jazz plays a nice part later in the story, so keep pondering over those questions! And yer half-right with yer analogy right there. but I can't say anything about her until way later when she appears for the first time or I'll ruin it. :P and yer suggestion has already been put on paper. its basically what my side-story is about entirely. HEHE! You predicted what would happen too! yes, much Kuwabaka bashing! . I feel very loved. Lovin' the kick-a$$ long revvies!

Yes, well thanks again! Just a note, I actually FINISHED this story in my notebook the other day! So yay! All I need to do is find a week that I can sit at my comp for 60 hours and type it all up! then take another 20 hours to go back and edit it! I'm trying to pump out these chapters with more regularity now, so stay close!

Reviews, they are like yummy food that fuels the imagination!

J