A/N: It's really awesome when you read something you wrote two or three years ago and laugh out loud at humorous lines you had forgotten you even came up with. Well…it's either really awesome or really pathetic, take your pick.

O/C25: After receiving the vision from Eldred the Oracle, the gang leaves the cave, heading back around the island to the sea. The golden dragon makes an appearance again and they manage to escape into the earth, beginning their journey to see Him.

Misaki's sight left for a moment as she went from the bright outside world to the darkness within the hole. She fell to the ground and rolled away from the hole as it closed up behind her, the loud roaring of the injured dragon being shut out.

Grunting, Misaki found her footing and stood up, painfully aware that whoever grabbed her had, of course, chosen the wrong arm upon which to latch. Her new shoulder was throbbing as painfully as ever, but she noted with pleased presence of mind that she was neither hungry, nor thirsty, nor any of the other 'mortal-like' things she had very nearly gotten used to.

A hand rested on her back and she sharply took a breath as she winced.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see those." Kurama removed his hand, inspecting the torn hitatare top where the dragon's claws ripped the cloth.

"There's no blood. The shirt took most of the damage. It's just...a little sore."

"Understandably."

"Thank you." She said gratefully. "If I hadn't been pulled through the hole…well, I would currently be having a wonderful conversation with an angry dragon."

"Don't mention it." A dry voice brushed her mind.

It wasn't completely dark. The walls were glowing faintly and everyone's eyes eventually adjusted to the dim lighting.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were nearby, leaning comfortably against the wall to catch their breath. Yukina came to Misaki's side.

"Sit down."

The order was so compelling, though ever quiet, that Misaki sat first without realizing what happened. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder to see the girl inspecting her back.

"You're lucky this protected you," Yukina didn't know the hitatare was a gift from Coahtu but she did know that it acted as armor against the dragon's attack, "There will only be bruises. This needs to come off though."

Tenderly, Misaki shucked off the hitatare, revealing a dark sleeveless shirt underneath.

"You'll be fine." Yukina smiled, "Not a hint of torn skin." She still placed her hands gently on Misaki's back, healing the deep bruises hidden there.

Kuwabara was smiling at the girl as he watched, Hiei glowering at him in turn from where he stood.

The combined efforts of Yukina and the dragon's blood that now coursed through Misaki's veins easily took care of some simple bruises.

Brushing off Yukina's attempt to help her rise, Misaki got up, still a little stiff.

The hitatare burst into flames as if to draw attention to itself, burning away into nothing.

"Apparently, you were done with that." Kurama's lips turned upward a little.

"Apparently." Misaki responded. Inwardly, she laughed, "Oh, Coahtu. I can't wait to see your face when you find this particular bit of news out."

They were in the middle of a dark room, only one path leading into a dark hallway available.

"So, where exactly are we now?" Yusuke craned his neck down the hallway, examining the faintly glowing walls.

Misaki sighed, "The beginning of another journey,"

"A cave." Hiei said at the same time.

"Could either of you be any vaguer?" Yusuke shook his head, "Wait, don't answer that. I bet you could."

Misaki grinned in spite of herself, "Now there's a bet I wouldn't go in opposition of. Down that hall, down the stairs at the end of that hall, and then down more stairs than you would ever want to count, is the dimensional center of the earth."

"Yeah, because that just made it all oh-so-clear to me now. Can I take back my second question?"

"We should get moving. Wouldn't want you two to be held back a year in school because you missed too many days." Misaki led the way into the hall.

"No…they wouldn't really do that would they?" Kuwabara looked concerned.

"Well, not for Kurama. He could probably skip secondary school entirely." Yusuke jabbed a finger at the red-haired guy. " 'Yep, here I am, first day of work and I'm already the CEO.' " Yusuke, being Kurama, pretended to be quietly pleased with himself as Kurama did all the time. And pulled it off quite nicely.

"Wouldn't time pass differently in a different dimension?" Kurama swiftly changed the subject.

The group had already reached the end of the hallway and started down the stairs.

Misaki stuck her tongue out childishly at Kurama, "Have you always been a fun-sucker, vessel? I could have had them going for at least three hours and now I have nothing to do."

"I somehow suspect you'll live." Kurama replied loftily.

"Maybe." She frowned playfully and had to concentrate on the stairs as she tripped down a couple. Kuwabara and Yusuke appropriately laughed and she stuck her tongue out at them as well, laughing herself when Kuwabara fell down more than she.

"Are you alright?" Kurama came up beside her and they walked down the steps together. Kuwabara and Hiei were already at it above them.

"Half-pint!"

"Idiot."

"Hamster legs!"

"Idiot."

"You can't use the same one twice!"

"But it was much more true the second time."

Yusuke laughed, Yukina giggling.

Nobody caught the brief glance Hiei made at Yukina, his expression almost pleased. She was looking at Yusuke who made some comment Hiei didn't hear at all.

"Why wouldn't I be alright vessel?" Misaki responded, imitating Kurama's loftiness from earlier.

"You don't seem to be acting yourself is all."

"Really."

"There's something wrong."

"Really. And what makes you think you know me well enough to deduce that?" Her words were light and had laughter in them and he wasn't able to take offense, finding himself smiling. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"Now, I know there's something wrong with you."

Misaki peered over at him curiously.

He laughed, "You have practically said yourself that you can't help but tell me things I ask."

Waggling a finger at him, she tripped down a few more stairs before grumbling something inaudible and turning back to face him, "I have never said any such thing." But the opening and closing her mouth had done before she found words to speak indicated that it was in fact true.

Kurama still couldn't figure out what mood she was in, there was something different about her entirely.

She had a strange urge to tackle Kurama to the ground in a giant hug for being so smart and at the same time she wanted to pummel him now in the hopes that he might learn being so smart was dangerous and would never to do it again.

"Shorty!"

"Half-wit."

"Runt!"

"Flat face."

"Oh, so now we're getting personal are we?"

"Uh, Kuwabara, all your insults have been about his height."

Kuwabara turned to Yusuke, "Yeah, so?"

"So, yours have been personal the whole time."

"Yeah, so?"

"…"

It took Yusuke a second to recover.

"So why did you say that?"

"I dunno. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

There did come a time when neither Kuwabara nor Hiei could think of any more insults, so their argument faded off into silence as everyone continued walking.

It seemed as though time passed slowly and they weren't making any progress at all, though those who wondered about the time had no idea how much time had actually passed.

After a while, the passage widened out and the light got brighter. However, the walls weren't glowing, the light seemed to shine from everywhere.

Yusuke couldn't really stand the quiet, he felt like he was walking in a funeral procession. He could only think of one question to ask that would keep the silence at bay for a while.

"Misaki?"

"Yeah?"

"Who are we going to see again?"

It took longer to step down from one stair to the next as each stair was deeper now.

"Sit. Your legs will thank you." Misaki stopped her downward pace and gestured to the floor.

They all sat, Hiei leaned back against the wall behind him, Yusuke and Kuwabara spread themselves out, stretching their muscles which had just started to protest at the strain. Kurama and Misaki sat down cross-legged and Yukina sunk to her knees gratefully, sitting on her feet.

"Him."

"What?"

"We're going to see Him."

"And who is Him?"

"He is She and It and has no gender, two sides of the same coin, twins in one body, neither good nor bad, He simply exists. Since at this time you reside in a predominately male-dominated society, Him makes it much easier to refer to the Essence."

"If there ever was a contest for obscurity, you should enter." Yusuke muttered.

Misaki sighed, looking grim.

"We're traveling down into the center of this dimension to see the Essence."

"The essence?" Kurama asked. Even he had not heard of a being called such.

"There are no records of the Essence because there are only a handful that know of his existence. And they're all intelligent enough to keep their mouths shut. He knows all of the going ons in the three worlds but only represents and speaks of those in the Ningenkai. You either die on the journey to see him or die upon seeing him."

"I think we can easily dispatch any enemy in our way." Hiei spoke up from his wall.

Her smile was not one of amusement, "You cannot dispatch something that is merely an essence of something else. This particular one is the essence of human nature, the only Essence currently in existence. You all remember the Chapter Black Tape?"

There were nods. Duh.

"That tape was not meant to be seen by itself, but only as the collection completely. The essence is like the living embodiment of those tapes. Except that you only see whichever one is dominating human reality right now."

"And which one is that?" Kurama somehow knew but felt he had to ask.

"He has had many years to fester." Misaki scowled darkly. "I have only seen him once before and that was towards the beginning. I would not return now if I didn't think it would be worthwhile. And even then I'm reluctant. This is not your average tea-time call."

Yukina seemed curious, "What does he look like?"

"Any question but that, dear Koorime." Misaki grimaced.

Hiei caught only a glimpse of the essence from Misaki's mind. It wasn't a glimpse really in an imagery sort of way, but more of a feeling, and one of dread and horror, however fleeting. And darkness, darkness unending, darkness as a maw that would eat you up and swallow you whole-

Misaki snapped closed her mind, glancing at Hiei anxiously to see him shake his head briefly as if ridding his hair of a spider. She reached a hand behind her ear and was surprised to find that the jewel was no longer there. Thinking back, she realized it must have fallen off when Drake got rid of part of her mortality. Which meant it was still in the cave. She had no desire to get it back. She put up mental barriers, cringing at their weakness. Ruefully, she knew she would most likely drop them again absently, she had been out of practice for so long. Even with the barriers up, Misaki hoped Hiei would leave her be; he could break her with a thought.

"His mouth is sewn shut, as the world is denied speaking the truth. His ears are broken, unable to hear the truth. His eyes are torn out-"

"Unable to see the truth." Kurama finished for her.

"If he can't speak truth, then how can we trust what he's going to say?" Hiei wanted to know.

"Unless by speaking truth, when he knows we can't believe what he says, he deceives us." Kuwabara frowned.

"Ow." Yusuke punched him in the shoulder.

"What?"

"That made my brain hurt."

"Allow me to put it this way, Yukina," Misaki finally looked the girl in the eyes, "Had Shinobi Sensui seen the essence, it would not even have instantly broken him into seven souls, it would have destroyed him completely on the spot and he would have lived out his life a raving lunatic, if he did not kill himself from the sight first."

They all grew quiet.

"Not only is He the physical embodiment, but his very aura is twisted and fear and horror and all of the things that humanity does in the darkness that makes them unable to stand the light. That's what He looks like."

When they stood up again, it was in a quieter mood, though a more rested one, and they started their descent once more.

They walked downward, always down. Time had no meaning for them, neither was anyone able to keep track of the steps they took. Kurama didn't want to know.

Hiei and Kuwabara occasionally bantered back and forth, even Kuwabara and Yusuke did at one point, but it was all half-hearted and they soon fell to silence again.

It began to slowly grow darker, so slowly that they didn't notice it. The width of the cavern never grew and the length of the stairs stayed just deep enough to be uncomfortable.

Misaki felt a small hand slip suddenly into hers as Yukina walked closely beside her. Misaki frowned, shaking her head at the girl even as she smiled over at Misaki. But she allowed the Koorime the small comfort.

Soon the ice maiden grew weary and Misaki hoisted Yukina onto her back, not pausing their downward trail for a moment.

Kuwabara offered to take the girl but Misaki shook her head, smiling a little. The girl was a light weight to carry even relaxed in her restless sleep.

Soon, though in actuality none of them knew if it was really 'soon' or not, the stair began spiraling down in a tight circle. The air slowly grew hotter and heavier in such a way that they did not notice. Until Kuwabara passed out on the floor.

"Can you wake him?" Misaki's voice sounded tired as she looked back up the stairs to Yusuke who had dropped next to the boy. She didn't want to walk up those steps, it meant more she would have to retrace. Misaki felt as though her legs would give out any minute.

"He's out. Don't think he'll be up for a while." Yusuke prodded him until he lay flat out on his back. The others were sure there was a jab about Kuwabara collapsing on Yusuke's lips, but he was breathless, a sweaty sheen covering his body and the words did not come out.

Forcing one foot forward and then the next, Misaki reluctantly climbed up to them, both her and Kurama drawing strength from one another for those few steps before dropping to the ground in a pile of exhaustion.

Carefully taking the girl from her back, Misaki leaned Yukina against the wall nearby before hunching over her knees, a bead of sweat dripping off her nose to quickly disappear on the ground.

Worn, tired, sweaty were the faces of the loose circle the group formed. Kuwabara and Yukina weren't the only ones with their eyes closed.

Misaki sat very still for a long time, trying to regain some semblance of strength. She realized, once her eyes were shut, that it was much hotter than before. The heat had been growing at such a miniscule pace that none of them had noticed. Like a frog in a frying pan. The essence did not need petty riddles or ridiculous trials to protect Him.

"I do not think we can carry him." Kurama was regarding Kuwabara thoughtfully.

"Leave him here." Was Hiei's short response.

"He'll be cooked alive. Just as we all will if we remain." Misaki forced herself to stand up. She glanced around at the faces. Kuwabara was obviously the most affected by this heat, Yusuke next. She guessed Kurama was only beginning to feel the toll and doubted if Yukina would ever feel the slightest bit of discomfort. Just because Hiei was a fire youkai didn't mean that he couldn't be cooked alive, it just meant it would take longer to cook him than it would the others.

If just one of them would move forward, the others would follow. But none of them could get themselves to move. Misaki put her hands in her pockets.

Kurama glanced up at her as he caught a change in expression come over her face. Eyes shining even through the darkness with wonderment, he could see her pull something out of her pocket, fingers clasped delicately around it.

Misaki allowed herself to crumble back to the floor, knowing that soon she would be able to stand easily.

"Resourceful Coahtu," Misaki thought to herself, half grateful, half disgusted, "I can picture your smug expression as you tell me you've saved me once again. And you aren't even here to say it."

Misaki opened the slender bottle, placing her finger over the hole and quickly tipping it upside-down and back. She reached around to her neck, at the knot of bone between her shoulders, and placed the liquid there. Her eyes shot open as flames of ice felt as though they licked across her back to her hands and feet. Just to be safe, she applied a bit of the bottles contents to the same place on Yukina's neck, the girl's sleep appearing to become more restful.

"Kurama, take your shirt off." She turned back to him, being the closest one to her.

His eyes were questioning.

"You're the closest." Misaki was starting to feel more awake and less cooked alive. "Hiei, you too."

Yusuke and Kuwabara had both already taken off their shirts which were tied about their waists. Hiei was so tired that he couldn't shoot Misaki a deathly glare.

"Well at least you're alright." She almost accompanied the thought with an eye-roll.

He didn't answer.

Knowing without even reading his mind that he was curious, Misaki explained briefly the contents of the bottle to Kurama as she coated the back of his neck and part of his shoulders with the liquid.

"Water in its purest form. Works more efficiently on females; we don't need as much and it works faster." She finished him and moved to Yusuke, the next one in the circle, motioning that Kurama should turn Kuwabara over. Done with Yusuke, she sat next to Kuwabara, hoping that the heat hadn't taken too hard of a toll on him. She felt his neck with the back of her hand to find his skin practically in flames and quickly gave his shoulders a coating.

Kurama shook his head in surprise, looking around him with new eyes. He hadn't realized his perception had been so cloudy before. Things appeared sharper to him as he slipped his shirt back on, nudging Kuwabara onto his back. The boy groaned but slowly sat up. By the time Kurama thought to see how Misaki's encounter with Hiei went, the two were ignoring each other as usual. But Hiei was readjusting his cloak.

In the fourth manga, Hiei calls Kuwabara 'Mr. Flat Face.' and I honestly couldn't think of any more ways of saying 'stupid' at the time so I just had Hiei call him 'flat face.' This has been another completely pointless announcement by your authoress.

Thanks for reading!

-lotsm