Disclaimer – "Yu Yu Hakusho" and all known related characters do not belong to me. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"What Goes Around . . . "
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 21 - Teamwork

Gods but this water is fast! Hiei supported his left arm under his right across his chest, knees pulled in tight with his free foot braced on the rim of the pot trapping his other, as he was swept along a tight underground waterway, just barely able to keep his nose and mouth free of fluid enough not to drown. The stone walling this close tunnel was surprisingly rough, painfully scraping the moss clean from his back and aggravating the unhealed whiplashes. Between the nausea from the concussion and the flaring agony of his other wounds, he fought to stay conscious long enough to see himself out of this present predicament. There had to be an outlet somewhere or the current would not be flowing so swiftly. He could only pray they reached that outlet soon.

He had not long to worry as he heard Kuwabara's violent shriek before the tunnel ended abruptly and he was flung out far over a lake dozens of feet below him. He managed to pull a deep breath before plunging under the scum-skinned surface after Kurama and Kuwabara, hearing and feeling the splash just inches from him as Yusuke followed. Forcing his eyes open in the murky water, he tried to follow his companions back to the surface but the pot was heavy and he had been reduced to two useful limbs - opposing limbs at that. He discovered that he was surprisingly fatigued as well and, for every inch he tried to swim up, he felt himself sink two more.

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Gods but this water is cold! Kurama was the first to break the slimy surface, turning immediately to locate his friends. Yusuke and Kuwabara came up coughing and sputtering - Kuwabara reactivating his sword - but after several heartbeats Hiei still had not surfaced. No words were spoken as the two humans realized it as well and all three dove back down. Normally, Kurama was a strong swimmer but the exhaustion was taking an ever steeper toll on his beaten body and the water was severely cold. He feared the effects of hypothermia might be setting in on top of his other problems as violent shivering further hampered him. He was forced to surface for air before he could locate his partner, shuddering with chill. Opening his mental senses, he reached out to locate the energy signatures of his friends. Too long, he worried. They're taking too long. -Hiei!- he called.

The response was slow but it was there. -I'm . . . fine . . . fox . . . -

Kurama frowned. He knew that Hiei was immune to the cold but perhaps his injuries were catching up with him, too. He had sustained a head wound, after all.

Yusuke and Kuwabara soon resurfaced with Hiei between them. From his movements, Kurama could see that Kuwabara was only kicking with one leg, the other too weighted down by the pot. Both humans were also shivering. Hiei was still conscious but not by much, it seemed. -Hiei, stay with us!-

-Stupid fox,- Hiei murmured back, his thoughts slurred. -Not going . . . anywhere . . . -

Yusuke pulled the small youkai from Kuwabara. "Go on, K-kuwabara. I'll get Hiei t-to shore," Yusuke managed to comment through chattering teeth. Kuwabara nodded, his lips turning blue, and started swimming awkwardly, hampered by the pot and the blood beetle wound in his shoulder while also maintaining his Spirit Sword so that they could all see. Yusuke shook Hiei enough to get him to respond, to grip the back of his shirt as he kicked and pulled one-armed. "Ugh. W-we're all g-gonna be a b-bunch of one-armed-bandit p-popsicles before this is o-over."

Kurama turned to pace the two humans as they headed for the lake's edge, trying unsuccessfully to block the deep whipfire burning across his back and shoulders with every movement, the muscle tension and shivering intensifying, but paused as he felt something brush his leg. Suddenly, Kuwabara gasped. "AH! Urame - !" He disappeared below the surface, the light of his sword sinking at an alarming rate.

"Dammit!" Yusuke shoved Hiei into Kurama's arms, then dove after Kuwabara. The jolt helped to revive the smaller youkai as he realized that there was danger.

"Hiei, c-can you make it to sh-shore?" Kurama asked through clenched teeth, trying to keep from stuttering.

They were within a few dozen feet, close enough that even Kurama could see it in the pitch blackness. Hiei nodded carefully, then asked, "What's . . . going on?"

"Something's g-grabbed Kuwa-b-bara."

"Bokuma?" An apparent rush of adrenalin at the thought helped to further revitalize Hiei.

Frowning at his own inarticulation, Kurama switched to telepathy. -I do not sense him but we both know that he can mask himself.- He felt as well as saw and heard as, with a growl, Hiei shook off the numbing sleepiness that clouded his pounding head to dive after Kurama.

Sensing more than seeing their way, they soon caught sight of a flickering light source in the murky depths - Kuwabara's Spirit Sword. It illuminated a leviathan straight out of sailors' nightmares - huge luminous eyes set into a bulbous, scale-armored head and a multitude of long, thick, armored tentacles surrounding a maw of countless, spear-length teeth. One of the tentacles was wrapped around Kuwabara's leg until a swing of his sword severed it. Another had Yusuke around the chest as he punched at it one-armed with a Reiki-glowing fist. The creature spotted them and Kurama could almost swear he saw cruel laughter dancing in those pale eyes. Without warning, it turned and swam off, dragging Yusuke. Kuwabara could hold his breath no longer and kicked desperately for the surface. Running out of options as fast as they were air, the two youkai followed.

Kuwabara broke the surface, swearing incoherently. "It g-got Uram-meshi," he finally gasped.

Kurama shook his head, scowling. "No, n-not 'it'."

"Bokuma," Hiei snarled. "It has to be."

"N-now w-what?" Kuwabara stuttered as they made their way for shore, his sword lighting their way. He gasped at a sudden thought. "Boku-kuma won't k-k-kill 'im, will he? I m-mean, Urameshi's h-human. H-he can't!"

Hiei's eyes were as hard as Kurama had ever seen them. "Don't count on it."

The three gained the lake's edge, Kuwabara and Kurama shivering violently as they dragged themselves out of the icy, slimy water. "N-n-now what?" the human repeated sullenly, teeth chattering uncontrollably. He looked at Hiei and Kurama could see the question in his eyes - Why doesn't he seem cold? - but the human was too numb to bother voicing it.

Kurama recognized that his mind had slowed, another effect of the settling hypothermia. "B-bokuma can m-mask himself but Y-yusuke can-not," he reasoned after a long moment. "Kuwa-b-bara, can you s-sense Yusuke?"

That perked up the big guy. Kuwabara closed his eyes, quieting his mind.

Hiei partially pulled his sword and scowled as Kuwabara concentrated. "He's going to owe me a new one after this."

Kurama ignored him as he, too, reached out with his senses, even knowing that Kuwabara's range was greater than his. After a moment, he asked quietly, "Anyth-thing?"

Kuwabara frowned slightly, his eyes still closed. "Naw, n-nothin' y-yet."

Kurama thought for a moment, fighting off the mental sluggishness. "K-kuwa-b-bara, B-botan told me that you f-followed a - " He hesitated only an instant, resisting the reflex to glance at Hiei "- a mental th-thread of sorts to f-find Yukina yesterday. Y-you and Y-yusuke have known each oth-ther for a v-very long time. Surely, there is s-some tangible con-nection from that. C-can you find or f-form a similar thread to Y-yusuke?" Hiei gave Kurama an odd look but thankfully, in Kurama's mind, chose not to comment.

Kuwabara thought about that for a long moment, his own thinking severely hampered by the chill. He held up his fist as though about to punch something, then gasped in delight as something seemed to appear to him. "Hey, y-yeah, I got someth-thin'! Huh - w-well, that's w-weird . . . this one's r-red, too. Heh heh, g-guess that's cuz'a all the s-scrapes me an' U-urameshi've been through."

"Do I even want to know?" Hiei muttered.

"Ah, n-no, you d-don't," Kurama quickly assured him before the human could retort, then asked, "W-where does the s-string lead?"

Kuwabara glared at Hiei for a heartbeat before turning to Kurama. "Uh, well, th-that's the b-bad news. It l-leads out th-there. M-must be a u-underwater t-tunnel or somethin'." He pointed out far over the water, back in the direction of the rock face from which the waterfall flowed.

If we don't drown or freeze to death along the way . . . Kurama paused as another particularly fierce shudder wracked him and he briefly caught himself wishing for Hiei's koorime immunity. He sighed. "I c-can see no other . . . ch-choice. We'll follow the sh-shore around to the w-wall, then . . . climb until w-we're over the . . . tunnel. N-no point in . . . getting back into the w-water . . . before we have to."

Hiei frowned at Kurama's changing speech pattern - but there was nothing he could do. "He knows that we'll follow. You saw the look he gave us."

"Y-yes, I d-did," Kurama nodded, himself ignoring his increasing stuttering, "which m-means that it must . . . be ph-physically p-possible . . . to reach him." He paused as a yawn overtook him. "P-perhaps there are . . . air p-pockets along the t-tunnel . . . or that it is not t-terribly l-long."

"Yes, Kurama . . . and perhaps we'll pass under another magma flow before you freeze to death," Hiei rejoined caustically, honest concern in his eyes despite his tone.

Kuwabara had been looking over both of his companions with an unusually serious and quiet expression. He took a moment to collect his own chill-scattered thoughts, then commented quietly, "L-look, you g-guys're hurt p-pretty bad an' I . . . would say th-that you just . . . w-wait here . . . lemme go g-get Urameshi . . ." Yawn. " - and m-me and him'll p-pound Bokum-ma to a p-pulp for ya . . . b-but I know y-you guys gotta . . . g-go, too, or you'll s-still be in t-trouble. How 'b-bout I swim an' p-pull you guys along s-so you can . . . save your s-strength until we g-get there?"

Kurama only gazed at him for a moment in some surprise. He turned to Hiei, equally startled that Hiei did not verbally shoot down the idea right off. Hiei was already looking up at him in consideration. The expression in the smaller youkai's eyes mirrored his own thoughts. They were each nearly spent, both physically and in terms of energy. The blood beetles had taken a steep toll on their Yoki and what was left was bolstering their life energies to keep them both on their feet - not to mention Kurama's deepening hypothermia. Hiei knew as well as Kurama did that their chances of surviving the upcoming fight - let alone winning it - were slim to none. Pride could not stop them from accepting any help they could get at this point.

In spite of that realization, Hiei would not verbally acknowledge the weakness. Once again, Kurama spoke for both of them. "Th-thank you, K-kuwa-b-bara. W-we'll each take a . . . hold of your belt s-so . . ." Big yawn. " - your limbs will s-still be free - or as f-free as they can b-be," he added, glancing down at the pot on Kuwabara's foot.

Hiei reminded them, "Yusuke's been underwater for several minutes now. He may well be unconscious already." The other two nodded, mindful of the urgency of his situation.

With that, the threesome turned and made their way along the waterline to the wall, Kurama and Kuwabara stumbling behind Hiei's lead. As they moved, Kuwabara reached up under his shirt to scratch, muttering at some of the dart wounds where salt from the previous lake clung to his skin. He stopped suddenly, straightening at a thought. "Hey, w-wait a s-sec." He lifted his shirt. "Hey, K-kurama, can you u-use this to b-bind up Hiei's a-arm?"

Kurama considered the bandaging wrapped around the human's waist. He remembered seeing it once before, back in Maze Castle. Kurama had never asked nor figured out why Kuwabara wore it but it had saved the human's life in his second fight against Byakko. Now it might be of life-saving use again. "Yes, th-thank you! Hiei - ?"

"We don't have time for that!" Hiei snapped. "Yusuke - "

"W-will just have t-to . . . wait an-nother half-m-minute."

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Hiei knew Kurama was not thinking clearly. He also knew better than to argue with the fox when he set his mind to something. "Fine - but I'm not going to be the one to kiss him and bring him back!" The youkai did not know the proper term for resusitation, though he had seen it done a few times.

Kuwabara shuddered even more violently than he had been. "Eww! I h-had a d-dream about th-that once! I-it w-was t-t-terrib-ble!"

Hiei wrinkled his nose but did not protest as Kuwabara attempted to hastily unwrap the bandaging from his trunk. His motor skills were slipping and Kurama had to help, his own control visibly lacking. Between the two of them, they managed not to drop the bandage. Kurama double-checked the setting of Hiei's shoulder before tying off one end of the wrapping to his wrist, folding his arm up against his chest and binding it much as Hiei had done for Kurama what felt like days ago now. He paused in empathy as Hiei tensed with a sharp hiss at the first wrap, the smooth cloth laying across several whiplashes. He frowned an apology but continued when Hiei nodded a reassurance.

Hiei watched in concern as Kurama fumbled a few times as he worked. The shivering had relented somewhat. He guessed that it was not a good sign. Kurama paused more than once to flex his fingers to make them respond as he expected. Kuwabara was of no help, yawning and muttering absently to himself. This would go faster if I just did it myself, Hiei complained silently but he retained enough respect for his friend to allow him to finish the task, helping only a little.

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Kurama was indeed frustrated with his own lack of coordination, but there was nothing he could do about it. He completed his work, then led the way as the threesome continued around the shore.

They reached the wall and climbed horizontally just above the waterline, pausing periodically for Kuwabara to check their progress by re-sensing for the psionic guidance string. Physically the worst off of the three, Kurama lost his grip and fell before they reached the target, gasping in spite of himself as the frigid water closed around him. He swam below as the other two continued along the wall. Finally, Kuwabara nodded to Hiei and they joined Kurama in the water. Hiei positioned himself to Kuwabara's left and grasped his belt with his good hand. Kurama secured the belt in his left. Kuwabara met both their eyes. "Okay. Y-you guys r-ready?"

"Let's get this over with," Hiei growled. Kurama nodded silently, pulling a deep breath as Kuwabara dove down, limbs pumping with surprisingly powerful strokes despite the human's handicaps.

The tunnel quickly came into view of the light from the Spirit Sword. It was only about fifteen feet below the surface but Kurama saw Kuwabara shaking his head in discomfort. He himself was yet unaffected but he knew that the human was probably unaccustomed to the pressure of even this relatively shallow depth and wondered if he sustained any damage to his eardrums from the first plunge when Bokuma had dragged him under. Kuwabara made a visible decision to ignore the pain and swam into the mouth of the tunnel. They continued for a dozen feet or more before Kurama tapped Kuwabara. -Kuwabara, there!-

Kuwabara paused just long enough to glance back at Kurama, surprised by the telepathic communication. -Hey, you can do this, too?-

Kurama allowed a quick nod. -Never mind that. Air!-

-Oh, right!- He turned and swam for a smooth section in the rock tunnel's ceiling which indicated a possible air pocket. Kurama ignored the roll of eyes when Hiei caught his gaze briefly.

Hiei hesitated just long enough to draw a deep breath of stale air before commenting, "Water's pretty murky but I can see what must be our destination. About forty to forty-five meters ahead, the tunnel turns to the left and down. About there, too, is a wide smooth spot in the . . . the 'ceiling' of this tunnel. My guess is there's a cave up there, a pocket of space above the waterway. Something is floating in the tunnel about halfway there. I'm pretty sure it's Yusuke."

"Let us g-go, then!" Kurama insisted. Kuwabara nodded, pausing just long enough for everyone to pull a deep breath before diving once again.

As soon as they were close enough, Kurama grabbed Yusuke's arm, eliciting a feeble response, and Kuwabara swam for the next air pocket. Yusuke coughed and sputtered, clearing his lungs of brackish water, as soon as his head broke the surface. "D-damn thing l-lemme go in the m-middle of freaking n-nowhere! Of course . . . my ch-chopping off t-two of its t-tentacles might've had s-something to d-do with it," he added with a wicked grin, even more so with his lips an alarming blue against his wax-colored face.

"And Kuwabara managed to cut one off," Hiei commented, looking at Kurama.

"Hey! W-whaddya mean 'm-managed' to - !"

"Th-then he is i-injured," Kurama nodded, ignoring Kuwabara's outburst. "It m-may not be . . .m- much but right now we c-can use all the . . . advantage we can a-attain." Again he shook his head at his inability to articulate and switched to telepathy to explain to Yusuke what Hiei had described. Yusuke had Hiei transfer to himself, taking some of the strain off of Kuwabara. Together, they plunged back under and the two humans swam, drawing their youkai friends along with them. They paused in one more air pocket before reaching their destination.

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!