Lydia examined her shawl and shorts. Her skin was white and pretty cold.
Her feet padded inaudibly down the stairs and into her room. The blue light from the moon lit everything a serene mystery. The dark drapes billowed about the open window, the chilly wind brushing through her hair and hugging her.
She opened the closet door and picked out a long dark mass of cloth and her traveling black looking brown under corset. Tossing the wooden hangers over her arm, a white something was caught in the door when she tried to shut it.
She stared at the long, white dress that intimidated her people back home.
'Home' she thought, catching her breath and glancing away. She extra quietly and slowly shut the door, staring through its white wood.
"Hmmm," she traced the bandages over her collar bone. Corset on, but not laced, and the long, forest green cloak hiding her, and a bulk putting a hump in her back, she left the sleeping temple.
None of the birds sang, not even the crickets played or owls hooted in the woods. A hooded figure walked deep into nature's midst. Black clouds hide part of the moon and a lightening disco danced in the bleak sky.
Lydia calmly removed her hood. Her eyes shined, glinted dangerously up at the coming storm. She reached in her cloak and with her good arm produced the guitar that had rested lightly against her back. The draw strings on the cloak loosened and revealed her snug corset, smooth doll white skin, long black pants, and flat black jazz shoes that were untied.
She lethargically paced aimlessly while gently plucking the tuned strings of her musical instrument. The sad acoustic sound was interesting and alluring. She hummed eerily, eyes scanning the trees deep in reverie. After a time, the young woman wept. Her crystalline tears splashed atop her guitar, decorating it with countless diamonds.
"You take the breath right out of me. You left a hole where my heart should be," the whisper was broken and heartbreaking.
She let herself sink to the wet ground against one of the trees. A loud rustle in the trees above startled her. She sang, trying to bring down her racing heart beat.
"You light me up and then I'll fall for you… stumbling on reasons that are far and few," without meaning to she skipped parts of the lyric.
"Have a little patience," cold arms pulled her back away from the tree.
"I'll be alright and I'll sleep sound, as long as you keep coming round," she told Touya, burying her face in his chest.
He held her tight, minding her casualty but not the skin.
"So, you're not afraid of me now," her voice flat and void of any emotion.
"You need a real friend, Lydia. None of this special treatment has done you any good."
She sighed, thinking of the kindness shown by the spirit detective and his friends. Touya told her she'd be accepted, she hadn't believed him. Every where she went she was shunned and resented. How was it they, 'of all people' she smirked, were different?
"What are you saying?"
"Nothing to say at all."
"I'll say," Hiei appeared in front of the wide eyed couple in the moonlit darkness.
"Jesus, Hiei! Watch the ninja moves," Lydia carelessly tried to hit him.
"We don't have a healer anymore," he stated bitterly, the moon shadowed most of his face.
"What?" the latter exclaimed.
"Yukina's far too weak to continue. They'll arrive before she can recover."
Lydia shook her head. "We need Giligan. He may be able to assist," she offered.
"Don't look at me Hiei," Touya raised his hands, "all I can do is freeze the blood. If we're better off dead, I can help."
"Kurama's potions aren't enough."
"Have I missed something?"
"Don't you have any healing abilities?"
"The Jagan Eye provides me some of that skill but I've never used them."
"What are we going to do?" the exasperated ice apparition's cool collect had left him.
"Well, you know you need me," she stated.
"Of course Yusuke and that idiot wouldn't let him."
"Just because of the yo-yo incident- we have to use our options!"
"I know that, Touya," Hiei retorted harshly, his red eyes took on a new light in the blue black night.
"Now we're talking about a kid? Will you guys listen to me?" Lydia was trying.
"Genkai should be fighting, not playing nurse."
"Then you need to try, Hiei."
"That is hardly in my area of-"
"Did either of two just see a purple cow dance in a Ramen shop to stripper music last week?"
"What?" the men finally responding.
"THANK YOU!" she huffed and clasped her hands together. "Giligan can probably help us."
"Lydia-"
"That pathetic-" apparently Hiei shared the dead wizard's view of the young man in question.
She covered their mouths with her dainty, cold hands.
"He is a wizard… right?"
"Thank you very much, I know magic!" a flustered Giligan defended himself against the two opposing.
"You look like you could beat the crap out of a fly and still not kill the buzzing bastard," Yusuke teased with complaint.
"I am a first class wizard of the Third order," the defendant pleaded.
"So you can assist us?" Kurama questioned.
"Please!" Hiei scoffed in his evenly smirking tone, "I don't sense any energy in him."
"Our energy is different, Hiei," Lydia kindly reminded him, raising her eyes at the large bellied statue sitting beside her.
"You and you're fire demon attitude are being so mean!"
"Be glad I'm not talking to you."
"Shut up, shrimp!" Kuwabara argued on Giligan's behalf.
"You're an alright guy, Mr. Giligan Wizard Sir," he complimented seriously.
"Losers unite," the mumbled received a death glare.
"Thank you, but… I can't use magic."
"Then how are you to help us?"
"I can relay information, be a messenger if you like."
"You can't use magic?" Lydia spoke disbelieving.
"No. The Third rule wizards read books and learn all there is to know so we can teach classes of young wizards in magical usage and history. Though, the real teaching is up to the First rule wizard in charge of the supernatural education."
"I told you."
Gilgian frowned at Hiei.
"You will tell us of any new information involving Thrynes and the enemies?" Genkai more than demanded.
"Yes ma'am."
The old woman nodded at Lydia. The two spoke silently.
"Yes, and you will be a traveling messenger," she grimly repeated the words.
"I pledge my life to you, Mother Confessor," he kneeled for a brief moment.
She obliged.
"Boton, what's wrong?" Every one turned their attention to Keiko and the catatonic ferry girl.
"I didn't sense them… I couldn't feel their energy… and now…" her words deadpanned and just barely coming out. She never blinked.
Genkai subtly began placing a shield around the house.
"Hey! What's going on?" Yusuke shouted in worry. The others took in fighting stances.
"Can't ye feel tha?" Jin studied the wall intently like it was a deadly creature waking up to find intruders and crush their bones into millions of fragments.
"Holy shit," the spirit detective muttered profoundly.
"They're coming," Shizuru (recently filled in on the bad news, which surprised Lydia) raised her voice.
"I have a plan," Lydia said aloud.
"Explain quickly?"
"We need to send Keiko and Shizuru back home first .Then Yusuke and Kuwabara need to fight the lower spirit levels while Genkai and Hiei set up a perimeter. Yukina and Kurama, you two come with me."
"Hey, now we fought in the Dark Tournament, we'll take out all of them!" the two humans ran off.
"Boton, you need to make a portal for us to get to the Confessors."
"You knew?" Giligan asked, bewildered. A great breeze turned the room into a tornado while Hiei and Genkai disappeared to do their job while Jin and Touya took it upon themselves to help with whatever came available.
"Yes," Lydia pushed Boton into the corner to make the portal.
"Yes, Lydia?" Kurama's alert eyes stared directly into hers.
"Tell Hiei that he and Genkai have three portals to their use to get them all out of there and to a house in the middle of no where. I have more instructions, but there isn't time and they are to stay at that house until a message is sent," she pointed to Giligan. "The word is 'Nurta', one word, and all three will open. No more questions."
A bright glow grew as the sound of trees falling, screams, and shots reached their ears.
"Hiei's concerned that you haven't thought this through," Kurama informed her.
"Ha," she said, pushing Giligan into the portal after Boton, "Of course not, I just made it up but it's better than nothing. We have to move, Kurama."
"He's says, 'Do you expect us to-'" Lydia caught Kurama's chin. In his surprise, she searched for Hiei in Kurama's eyes.
"I expect you, to trust me."
I did use a few songs in here I do not own.
Said It All- Take That
Patience- Take That
Pretty Baby- Vanessa Carlton
Breath- Breaking Benjamin