Chapter 9
--------------------
Hiei watched them; Myth wearing red robes, a woman with blue eyes and white vapor like hair covered white clothing, and another with steely gray eyes and light ashen locks concealed under black atire stood in a circle. Each of them strangely beautiful. Mysterious. Wise. Powerful. Each of them a strange reflection of what the others were missing or hid. He knew them all some how, as though he hated and trusted each of them at one point.
But they could never be together. It seemed to spell 'chaos' all over it. How he knew this, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was a side effect of the dream.
The white room around them seemed to go on forever and had no deffinition between floor and ceiling. They formed a triangle, each letting their finger tips barely miss the ones next to them. Red, white and black auras clashed. The nonexsistant floor beneath them rippled like water. From it rose a small creature between them, dripping white nothingness. The only skin able to be seen was the frail hand that steadied its crounching body.
Wings formed under three sets of robes and raised at the same time. Blood colors made of feathers for Myth; Crystalised light for the woman with blue eyes; Black bat appendages for the cold natured one. Slowly, an pair of gray wings -scattered feathers and bones held together by light- forced their way though the rags of robes of the stooping form.
Slowly it stood, face hidden between dark hair and cloth, and raised its hands cerimonously abover her head. The three woman around it shifted into orbs of distinct color. They glided to hover above the creature's head. Slowly they began to spin, faster and faster until it was a blur of black, red, and white. In a flash of light, they formed an object, but he never bothered to look. He was to enthralled with the face that had been lit up. Surprised by the hollow features revealed. Familiar features.
Mia's features.
The fire demon bolted upward from his dream, Jagan burning once more at the thought of Myth. This dream was far more vivid than the one from his previous night of sleep. Even though no one spoke in the dream, it's inpact on his mind was horrifying. Then there was Myth again. Was she doing this to him, to weaken him. If not, the why on earth was he dreaming of her. He had more attraction for the runt of a hanyou sleeping beneath him than the lilac haired creature. The ellegant woman was driving him insane! That calm voice kept him from sleeping, haunting his steps, causing him to look over his shoulder at every turn. It's getting ridiculous! he decided, closing his eyes once more.
It was the same room, only this one was strangley forboding. With a glance around, Hiei took a step forward only to feel liquid flow into his boot. For some reason he didn't care. Instead he watched the white ripples of the floor roll and weaken at the base of a set of robest that flowed into the ground itself. With a steady, calming movement, blue eyes from before met Hiei's red ones and his mind overflowed with contentment.
Michelle. It was Michelle.
He shook his head ever so slightly from side to side, ridding him of the dreams that were coming to him more and more. Who the heck was Michelle? The fire koorime was sure he had never even heard of the woman before. So why did her eyes make him relax?
Hiei looked around the clearing. They had run all through the previous day -except for Mia who remained asleep much to the dislike of the team- and stopped at the first sign of a setting sun. Kerr and Kurama quickly scouted the area and came back with roots, berries, and leaves that were light enough to keep down despite exhaustion but filling enough to let the group sleep peacefully. Well, most of them at least.
Mia was up now, standing in a slightly less covering clearing, staring at the sky. The fire koorime remembered the questions that had flown lazily at Edeth while the food was being gathered.
"You mean, we won't have to use them to keep up their effects?" questioned Yuskue.
"Mia claims that the more we use them, the more of thier abilities we absorb until we won't need them at all," replied the changeling.
"Just out of curiousity, why was King Enma up her ass like that?"
"Because she killed."
"She killed that snake thing a while back. He didn't knock her out for that!"
"A basalisk, especially a younger one, have little thought to them, much like a wild animal. Killing one of them wouldn't give Mia's mind the pleasure of knowing she tore apart a soul."
"...oh...She enjoys it?" the detective's voice shook.
"It allows her to... think more logically, you could say."
The strange man had sunk into the woods a bit later to keep watch through the night. He had yet to return.
Hiei stared at the blank woman. Her eyes were calculating, little less. The emotion was gone once more. He sighed silently, knowing it would be a while before she acted mortal again. The loathing crept back in, but he kept himself from revolting against her.
A wind picked up and Hiei saw a pair of transparent wings on her shoulders sway in the breeze. The fire demon blinked and they were gone. But now she was staring at him.
Blank. Calculating. Hollow. He sighed. Whatever King Enma had done to her was now gone, lost behind her reflective eyes. Or was he thinking of the dream again, just like with the wings.
Hiei didn't like the way he obsessed over her actions. It was quite annoying. Forcing the thoughts from his head, he leaned once more against the tree and waited for the others to awaken. He was rewarded about an hour an a half after dawn.
Kurama's eyes flickered open. He took a look around the clearing before moving. Edeth was still at his post somewhere in the woods. Hiei was sitting in a tree, eyes closed, but breath to quick to be sleeping. Mia was walking back into the clearing, pulling her hood down farther. The rest had yet to awaken.
Mia walked up to Kurama. "Would you keep the others in the clearing until I'm back?" she spoke so only he could hear.
"Of course, but," he ventured just as carefully, "May I ask what for?"
"I'm going to go wash the blood off of me," she murmured discreetly.
"Oh..." Kurama's face went red out of embarassment.
The strange youth made an odd sound and left.
------------------------------
"I'M GONNA DIE!" Edeth raced into the clearing of groggy teammates, a panic stricken mask consuming his face and movements. He was on the other side of the clearing and into the brush before anyone had time to register he was even there.
A moment later rushed in a black and brown blur passing by without making even the slightest of sounds. Out the other side of camp it flew.
"Changelings," muttered Kerr, grabbing the gord of tea over the small fire and pouring himself his third cup.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!" came Edeth's scream, sending birds flying in all directions.
"So much for stealth," Yuskue grumbled going for his fifth cup, eyes barely open at all. There was another short scream that was cut off. "Remind me not to tick her off."
In stumbled the Changeling that had somehow managed to irk Mia. His one eye was quickly swelling shut and blood was dripping from his nose. His left arm looked broken. Edeth grumbled abcenities under his breath.
Kurama was the only one not surprised by their beaten comrad. Even Hiei stared at him like he was the village idiot. "I take it you walked in on her?"
The beaten man turned bright red. "It wasn't intentional," he muttered in a half whine half mummble.
Yuskue laughed at him. "All women are like that! You actually expected to see her in her birthday suit and get away with it!"
"She was wearing clothes. Some really odd ones at that."
"Do you know what underwear are?" Yuskue said slyly, smirking.
"Of course I know what underpants are! I'm not that nieve!"
Kurama blinked. "Why would she berate you then?"
"I don't KNOW!" he whined. "I was heading back for camp, she came out of the water -she must have been under for over five flippin' minutes- blanched when she saw me, and then threw on her cloak and started glaring at me. I descided I could at least try to run."
The kitsune leaned back thoughtfully. "What was she wearing?"
"Kurama!" cried Kuwabara. Yuskue finished, "I had no idea!" They both had a good laugh at that. The rest of the group chose to ignore the two from Earth.
"She was wearing black, baggy robes that came down real low on her back with a sash that tied in a simple knot at the base of the folds."
"Folds?"
"Yeah, looked like her shirt had been made to hang in folds at the base of her back.
"I take it you saw her from behind."
Edeth nodded. "But I still don't get why that would upset her. I mean, yeah," his blush increased slightly, "The water had made it kinda form fitting, but it's not like I saw anything."
A thought came across the mind of Hiei sitting crosslegged in the tree. "Did you get a good look at her back?"
"Hiei!" Yuskue faked an exasberated mother tone he probably picked up from Keiko before collapsing into another fit of laughter. Once again, they were ignored.
"No, her hair was sticking to it."
"Hn."
"Hiei," Kurama questioned, "Have you noticed something we haven't?"
"Probably a lot, fox."
Shuichi gave an tired sigh, and hid his face in his slender fingers.
"He's probably talking about the scars at the base of her neck." That put all eyes upon the Changeling. "What? When you have to look back to make sure she hasn't fallen off your back every half an hour for a day, you notice odd things.
"I still don't see how this affects her attitude."
"I don't think she wants us to know they're there."
"But why would..." his speech slowly fell silent as the wheels began turning in the back of his head. Much to Hiei's surprise, Edeth's eyes darkened slightly and a serious side fell over him. What was most surprising was a slight aura picked up around him and began healing his wounds.
So he's not a total nimrod, Hiei smirked.
Mia came back into the clearing via the way she originally left. She had just finished hooking on her cloak. Surprisingly, the only sign of her bath was faint smell of wet hair.
Yuskue gave a cat howl which granted him a punch in the face from Edeth. Needless to say, the hanyou took it upon himself to wrestle with the Changeling.
Mia looked around the group and gave the slightest of sighs. "Edeth, what have I told you about drinking tea this early in the morning?"
Said changeling looked up from his position against the ground and under Yuskue's fist, turning bright red though it had nothing to do with the question. "Not to drink over a cup?" Everyone was surprised. They hadn't even seen him in camp, let alone drinking.
"Try not to next time."
"Party pooper," he called before returning to his struggle.
Mia stared at him for a moment, the equivalent of slapping her forehead in frustration, and began hiding the proof of them being there.
Kuwabara gave a mixture between a yelp and a yell when a foot collided sharply with his shin. "What was THAT for!" he screamed and joined the bustle only to be knocked back out five minutes later.
The strange youth continued, ignoring the tangle of bodies rolling around camp behind her back.
Eventually someone broke down. It took fifteen minutes, but Kerr finally got tired of the their comotion. He reached into the struggle and pulled the two apart easliy. Standing over a foot taller allows you to do stuff like that. Holding the two off the ground by the scruff quickly got them to shut up. Or maybe it was his bellowing of, "IT IS TOO EARLY IN THE MORNING!" He groggily dropped the two and returned to his cup of tea, grumbling about it being cold. Edeth and Yuskue stared at him, eyes as wide as saucers.
"So...um, Mia..." Edeth ventured, voice shaking slightly, "What's the, uh, plan... for today?"
"Trainging," she replied as though they were talking about the weather.
Crickets.
"Huh?"
"Training," she stated again.
"Heh," said Yuskue, glowering slightly, "I just thought you said 'tr-'"
"Training. That's right."
The detective blinked a few times. "WHAT!"
She stood. "I'm not saying it again."
"We don't need training from you!" he hollered.
"Do you realise that the changelings' bodies disappeared before the rest of their team mates had died?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
Mia stared at him for a minute. "...you think on that." She went back to hiding their fire.
Kurama's eyes brightened, but his features were grave. "It could mean several things."
The strange youth looked over her shoulder at him, eyes unreadable but the fact that she had looked at all proved she was listening.
"One -and probably the most favorable- is that their boss knew of our presence here and sent his men, registered singely, to come after us so they could attack us in the manner they did without being tracked."
"That's favorable?" grumbled Kerr, finally starting to wake up. "Compared to what?"
"Option two or three."
"Which are?"
"Two -better than three- is that word has gotten around on the island who we are -thanks to the brothers we fought earlier- and the teams are rallying together to burry us alive."
"I almost don't want to know what three is," Kuwabara stated, turning slightly pale.
"Three is that the founder of this tournament has discovered our presence, or Mia's since she's Fourth in Command, and disapproves of our being here and has sent his minions after us."
"Sadly, that sounds most logical," Edeth groaned.
The kitsune gave a dramatic sigh. "I know, depressing isn't it?"
"This is no time to be sarcastic!" growled Yuskue.
"Why not?"
"Um...Mia, where are you going?" questioned Kuwabara.
"Moving on? Half the morning's gone." She kept on walking right out of camp.
The males all stared at each other blankly. There was a great shuffle for their appropriate bags and weapons before they all -and by all here I mean everyone but Hiei- scrambled after Mia, having dificutly catching up without leaving to large of a trail.
"I liked the quiet Mia more," scowled Yuskue.
"She's geeting edgy," stated the Changeling plainly only to receive a blank look. He sighed, "She doesn't like being around the same group of people for long periods of time."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "It's just something I picked up from the way she acts. I haven't firgured out why yet."
"Let me guess, you're the only exception."
"Hardly. The only reason I was able to survive was because Koenma basically glued my to her hip." He chuckled, "It's hard to tell who felt more demeaned."
"Why do you say that?"
"Changelings are very...racial."
"You don't seem that way."
"Why do you think my own kin called me 'traitor'?"
"Because you were working against them?"
He pondered this for a minute, "I suppose that would be logical, but it's incorrect. Even the people who work at Spirit World call me that."
"Why? Is it so bad you befriended the Fourth in Command after a century of being stuck with her?"
"My kind don't have...emotions towards the outside world."
"Wha? You seem perfectly intune with the people around you."
"She told you so bluntly before, I had to pay a price to have her trade trust with me."
"You make it sound like a good," he muttered quietly, earning a small smile. "So what did you pay? Your soul?"
Edeth's smile faltered and he said nothing.
"No way!"
"No, I didn't...only part. The part that kept the emotion away from my thinking. Now I'm not like the rest of the third rank changelings. I don't have the urge to follow an Ellite and I can return friendship. I'm no longer a mindless drone."
"I don't see how that's a 'price'?"
Edeth grimanced. "When you grow up with a one track mind, suddenly having the veil ripped off your eyes can be painfully blinding. I not only had to rethink everything I thought was solid, I had to face being rejected by my own blood. Few changelings, even the ones that work for me, will even look at me."
The detective looked at his companion with a new found respect. "Was it worth it?"
"...more than you could ever imagine."
Yuskue stared at him, slightly shocked. "Could I ever earn it?"
"I don't know, but I hope so. I'm begining to like this group." He gave a dazzeling smile making his appearance very child like. "I suppose I have Mia to thank for that."
Before he could relpy, a cliff -nearly a straight drop- loomed over them. "This is the middle of a FOREST!" the hanyou cried out.
"I suggest we start up," came Mia's voice, slightly scratchy. "We'll begin when we reach the top."
No one liked this idea.
-------------------------
Kuwabara collapsed on the top, gasping for air. "Th-that isn't...right! Noth-ing should EV(gasp)ER be that...tall!"
"It was onlt an equivelent to forty of your human stories," Mia stated blandly, walking over the perfect plataue. There were a few trees on one side, providing shade, cover, and fire wood. The grass was thick and soft and you could easily see anyone attacking you from any side. The only problem was water, but no one but Kurama noticed this. The strange youth walked out into the middle of the flat land and dug a cloth covered heel into the ground, making a small hole. Reaching into her cloak she pulled out one of her gems -which were quickly becoming her trademark- and burried it.
What came of this crystal was obviously what they would be training with. In all honestly, it was both exciting and horrifying.
-------------------------
TBC