A/N: Went back and made an edit: since chapter 15 we've been in the Oracle Arc, not Communal Arc. My bad.

O/C17: Coahtu rescues the group from the attacking forest, burning them a path to a cave entrance whereupon she leaves them. The group enters the cave, the forest slowly creeping along behind them…

The cave remained dark for only the first twenty feet or so, the group heading for the lights that lined the wall on either side.

Their way lit, they continued walking, each of them grave and ready for any surprise attack after the incident in the forest.

They stopped when the path was blocked completely by a large door.

"How do you open a door with no handle?" Yusuke went up and pushed on the door, having no success with opening it.

Kuwabara looked thoughtful, then used the door knocker, sharply rapping twice, "Uh. Hello?"

"Yes?" A voice answered from somewhere behind the door.

"I never would have thought that would actually work." Misaki snorted.

"Can you let us pass?" The burly guy wanted to know.

"Do you have tickets?"

"Do we have tickets?" Kuwabara turned to the rest of them.

"No, Kuwabara. No, we don't." Kurama told him.

"I'm afraid you can't get inside without tickets. Come back when you have them."

"Where do we get these so-called 'tickets'?" Yusuke piped up.

"Inside." The voice said.

Yusuke's mouth hung open for a second, "…then how do we get tickets?"

"Inside." Misaki provided.

"That was so helpful." Yusuke's voice dripped of sarcasm.

"We don't have tickets." Misaki said slower, "The tickets are inside. But we have to get a ticket to get inside. We need to get inside to get a ticket that we don't have to get inside with." She summed up.

Kuwabara rubbed his head. "Ow. My brain."

"We get inside with a ticket…" Kurama began.

"Yes." She nodded.

"And we get a ticket inside…"

"Correct."

"So, we're stuck."

"Basically." She nodded again.

"Open the door or I'll cut it down and kill you when I'm done." Hiei walked over, katana in hand, and stood in front of the impeding doorway.

There was no response.

Hiei moved so fast that none of them saw it, they only saw the big chunks of door he sliced away fall to the floor. The chunks disappeared and the door remained as before.

"That worked well." Kurama raised an eyebrow dryly.

"We need to be inside to get…" Yusuke trailed off, walking forward until he stood in front of the door and considering it. "Wait, why can't you give us the tickets?" He asked.

Misaki and the others gaped as a small door within the door opened and a small youkai sheepishly came out, handing Yusuke the right amount of tickets.

Yusuke's mouth dropped and closed as he took them, the door opening as soon as they were in his grasp.

"I guess that works." Yusuke put a hand behind his head, grinning. "I actually meant that as a question. I didn't expect him to actually hand me the tickets."

That was sort of a let-down for the rest of them.

"Once again Yusuke, you've succeeded by not quite succeeding." Kurama shook his head, smiling.

"When it comes to disappointing…you never disappoint." Misaki agreed.

"Lucky fool." Hiei said as they all entered into the room beyond.

"Those who wish to pass by here must each answer a question." The room reverberated with a different voice this time, a louder more powerful one. "You have two minutes to answer the question. Each question must be given an answer in the time limit or you will die. The first person who speaks after a question has been asked must answer the question. Once you answer a question you may not answer another or you will die. Any time between a question, you may turn back and keep your life. If the question is answered incorrectly-"

"Lemme guess…you die." Yusuke finished.

"Sounds cheery." Kuwabara commented.

There was a second of silence before the voice spoke again, words very clear and articulate.

"Two boxers are in a boxing match. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds but ends in the first five, after on boxer knocks out the other, yet no man throws a punch. How is this possible?"

"Oh! So you're asking riddles! Okay!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Misaki slapped her forehead in exasperation.

"You who have spoken, answer the question."

"Uh…alright. What was the riddle again?"

The voice repeated its words.

"Boxing match huh? …That's an easy one! The boxers were girls! You said no man threw a punch but the fighters can be two girls, right?"

"That is correct."

"Woo!" Kuwabara pumped a fist into the air.

"Depressing. The idiot still lives." Hiei said.

"Watch it, hamster legs! I can so kick your scrawny butt!"

"You can't even get close enough to try."

"The questions are actually riddles." Kurama mused. "This should prove interesting."

"It's just standard routine." Misaki told him, "I'd forgotten about it."

"Standard routine?" Yukina asked from Misaki's side.

Misaki jumped a little, having also forgotten that the Ice Maiden was with them. "Everyone has to go through this sort of thing to see the Oracle. Kuwabara, please keep your mouth shut from now on."

"No problem."

"We'll see." She said lightly.

"Your next question…"

Everyone grew silent.

"A dozen royals gathered round, entertained by two who clowned. Each King there had servants ten, though none of them were truly men. The lowest servant sometimes might, defeat the King in a fair fight. A weapon stout, a priceless jewel, the beat of life, a farmer's tool."

Kuwabara reclined against the wall of the cave, glad he didn't have to answer this one. He still wondered what the riddle was about and he tried to guess which person would answer first. He bet it would be Kurama.

As soon as the riddle was spoken, Kurama knew the answer. He opened his mouth to speak but felt Misaki's hand on his arm.

He looked over at her and she shook her head, silently indicating that he should not speak.

She was right, of course. Logically, he should wait to see if any of the others could figure it out. If they couldn't then he could always come through at the last second. If someone else realized what the answer was, then they could save his mind for later.

Kurama nodded, agreeing with Misaki's suggestion though no words were spoken between them.

"Oh!" Yukina exclaimed, sudden happiness on her face.

Misaki hoped dearly that the girl knew what the answer would be. She had a feeling Hiei would be just a little bit upset if the Koorime died while on the way to the Oracle. In fact, she was pretty sure he would lob her own head off without a second thought.

"The answer is a deck of cards!" She beamed, pleased with herself.

Misaki let go of the breath she had been holding. That was the right answer.

"That is correct."

"How did you know that, Yukina? I didn't think youkai played card games." Yusuke said.

"I know how to play soul-ee-tear and the riddle made me think of all of those pretty queens and kings on the cards."

"I believe she's talking about solitaire." Kurama interpreted for Yusuke and Kuwabara who looked confused.

"Next question."

They waited.

"Why can't a youkai living in the Ningekai be buried in the Makai?"

"Hn." Hiei scoffed. "Because he is still alive. You'd have to kill him first in order to bury him. Technically."

"That is correct."

"That was quick." Yusuke grinned.

"It was a dumb question." Hiei crossed his arms.

"The only kind you're capable of answering?" Misaki wanted to know.

Hiei's eye twitched and his gaze was smoldering, his hand resting menacingly on the hilt of his katana.

"Next question."

Whatever Hiei was going to say to her in return was cut off by the voice.

"If fifteen crows are on a fence and a farmer shoots a third of them, how many are left?"

"Bwahahahahaha!"

Everyone just stared at Yusuke who was doubled over in laughter, hoping that the boy could do math in his head.

"If…if you shot a third of them, the others are gonna fly away," He gasped for breath, "There aren't any left…"

"That is correct."

"I'll take the last question, vessel." Misaki spoke up.

"As you wish." Kurama assented.

Yusuke was barely able to get his laughter under control.

Misaki shook her head. "What is so funny, Yusuke?"

"I just…I can't…I can't believe they'd ask a stupid question like that!"

"I guess you and Hiei are in the same boat then." She shrugged.

"Next question."

Again, Hiei's comment was cut off by the riddle.

Kurama listened carefully.

"A man wished to enter an exclusive club but did not know the password that was required. He waited in the shadows by the door in order to find out the secret to enter. A club member knocked on the door and the doorman said, 'Twelve.' The member replied, 'Six.' and was let in. A second member came to the door and the doorman said, 'Six.' The member replied, 'Three.' and was let in. The man triumphantly walked up to the door. The doorman said, 'Three.' and the man replied, 'One-and-a-half.' But the doorman knew he was a non-member and did not let him in. What should the man have said and why?"

Obviously the man assumed that the password was half the value of the number the doorman said, and obviously the man was wrong. Twelve, six; six, three. These numbers held a second relationship. It was Kurama's task to figure it out.

He wasn't the top-ranked student in his school for nothing.

"The man should have said five as that is the number of letters in the word three."

"That is correct."

"Wow, Kurama." Was all Kuwabara said.

"Next question."

They all knew it was Misaki's turn to answer; she was only one who hadn't answered anything.

Her shoulder was hurting again, feeling raw and tender. Misaki tried to ignore it, concentrating instead on what the voice was saying.

"You might not know at first, but soon you will spot what is wrong with my words. As I talk, it will nag at your mind, informing you of information that you know you know, but you do not know. Not within such a short amount of talking. So I must go on, pulling out vocabulary which at first is nothing odd. Do you catch what I am doing? As it grows, a bright flag should start to swish in front of your brain, signal a flag that will ding an alarm in your skull. But I must ask, will you find out within your limit? It must grow anomalous, gradually unusual, that I am doing what I must. It is uncommon. Almost taboo, you might say. Most cannot know what I am doing for not many can do it..."

"This is no question." Misaki pointed out.

The voice did not heed her, continuing on.

"You plot in your mind. Try to distinguish what quixotic thing I am doing. But it is in vain that you do so. Hardly any can pick out what I am doing against what I am not. With your limits put into position, you might not know though I say you do. Ticking clock is ticking away your costly days in natural sounds of ominous instants. How I do wish it would go on with a rapid rhythm as it annoys us to go on so. You will stop in your tracks and will abscond not at all..."

Kurama had his eyes closed, the words passing through his mind. While he realized what was happening, he also knew Misaki's time was running short.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to keep going."

"And your answer? You have one minute left."

Of course she didn't have an answer. She remained silent.

Kurama's eyes opened and he glanced over at her. Would he give the answer? Could he sacrifice himself for her? This woman that he only met a few days ago? The one who somehow knew Yoko?

"Do I need to repeat it?"

If it decided to repeat it, the rest of her time would fade.

"Four seconds left….

Three…

Two…"

-lotsm