"Talking"
"Thinking"
-Telepathisis-
Flashback

-x-x-x-x-
Chapter Ten
Let's Stick to Written (1)

I swear I am going to hurt Koenma. He's not just sending me to America-he's making me go there on. A. Plane. Those things are flying metal death traps!

...I don't need to worry about being locked in spirit world prison; Koenma will do me in before they bother to secure a warrant.

0x0x0x0

Kurama enters and freezes; Sora is only able to stare at him with wide, blank eyes. Both are further frozen when the demoness sits up.

"There were things in front of the door for a reason." She states perfectly clearly. Sora, dead white, crumples to the floor. Kurama is only able to stare.

She bristles. "Will you two knock-crap, I still have the stuff on." The girl rubs the back of her sleeve on the gashes; they vanish. "It was just anti-balm."

The redhead is the first to regain his voice. "What?"

"When it's applied, instead of healing one, it makes them look injured." Kimi explains while kneeling beside Sora. "Are you-"

"Idiot."

The bluette pulls him into a hug. "Chill. I'm fine."

A muffled, "you're still an idiot," issues from her shoulder.

0x0x0x0

"Weren't you attacked?" Yusuke questions as the three enter.

"Not exactly..." Kimi mumbles as Kurama and Sora give her flat looks.

"Idiot." Sora adds, but Kurama remains silent.

"Any-" Kuwabara begins but is cut off by a huge gust of wind throwing open the door and slamming the team into a wall (the other girls, save Kimi, are ducking behind the furniture). Jin enters, floating on a cushion of air.

"Jin, man, what gives?" Yusuke grumbles as they stumble to their feet; Kimi is motionless, as when she struck the wall, she was stunned.

"He is not the only one who had chosen to serve the Mistress." A cold voice states; Touya enters from another door, smirking.

"Who's-" Kuwabara is cut off a second time when the wind slams him into a wall again.

"A lowly creature like you has no right to know her name." The ice master snaps.

"That's-what the-?" Yusuke gapes. All are now encased in ice, save Hiei; he is held in place by a cage of wind.

"The Mistress wishes you to know that she looks forward to you joining her...or killing you." His eyes linger on Kurama. "To ensure that you spineless creatures have the gall to come after us, we will be taking a hostage."

Kimi is lifted from the floor by the wind and thrown to Jin; he catches her and floats out, followed by Touya. The ice and wind lock them in place until their wielder's energy signatures vanish.

0x0x0x0

"Don't expect to see your friends alive again, girl." The ice demon comments casually.

Kimi glares and discreetly tests her motor skills; she is slow but it's an improvement over being immobile. Ahead of them is a portal; she decides that if she wants to get free, now is the time to do so. A buffet of wind jostles them; Jin's concentration wavers.

"My apologies." She murmurs mentally before loosing her sai from it's sheathe in her sleeve and plunging it deep into Jin's arm muscle. His grip on her weakens as a hiss of pain escapes him; his concentration faulters. She uses this distraction to wriggle free and drop; the wind demon doesn't manage to recollect his control over his powers until after she has dropped below the tree line. The next thing both hear is a horrendous crash, like the sound of hundreds of bones breaking.

The two demons stare at the spot she was last seen; they linger for a moment, then move on.

0x0x0x0

Kimi bites back a scream as she hits freefall. "Brilliant. Ruddy brilliant. I'm free, yah, but now I'm gonna die when I hit the ground. Excellent thinking!"

The first branch she strikes breaks and tumbles with her; the second snaps as well; the third cracks, but holds. She scrambles down the tree but is still struck by a piece of the third branch as it, too, falls. The trembling and battered girl darts into the bushes and freezes, hoping they won't investigate. When their auras move on, she relaxes slightly but holds her position in case it's a ruse. When a half an hour passes, she crawls out of the bushes and assesses the damage.

Tiny lascerations decorate her body; bruises she can feel rather than see form a delicate pattern across her torso, arms and legs; said legs are also trembling, though she dismisses that because of her fear of heights; so far, nothing seems broken, though her chest is sore. Satisfied that she can make it back without injuring herself further, she heads for the dojo.

Partway there, she trips; the hand she uses to catch herself blazes white hot with pain before she blacks out. When she stirs, she stifles a groan before stumbling to her feet.

"Okay...I broke my wrist. Lovely. ...well, it's better than a broken leg." She assesses before banging her leg on an outstretched tree branch. Several oaths escape her as she glowers at the offending plant before continuing on.

0x0x0x0

Sora scrambles to his feet after the ice thaws; he snatches up his weapons and makes for the door.

Kurama bars his path. "It's a trap."

"Well then let's save her before they reach wherever the trap is set!"

"They're already beyond the defensive barrier." Genkai comments. "They could be through a portal and halfway to their base by now."

"So we're just gonna sit here?" He snaps.

"We're not going after her." Kurama's green eyes are firmly locked with the other boy's blue. Yusuke and Kuwabara glance at one another; Hiei is silent.

"Yeah-you aren't." Sora seethes, glaring at them. "I am."

"You-"

"Get out of my way."

The decorative metal weapon hanging on the wall starts to writhe.

0x0x0x0

A sudden jolt causes Kimi to trip and tumble down a hill; pain flares up her ankle as she glares at the metal chain around her neck. When she stands, she finds herself biting her lip to stop herself from crying out.

"So much for that..." She thinks bitterly. "Wasn't my hitting my leg on that tree branch considered knocking on wood?" She whines mentally.

0x0x0x0

"Let him go." Hiei's voice cuts through the intense silence like a knife. "If he wants to get himself killed, that's his problem."

"It's better than sitting here doing nothing!"

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind doing that." Comments a voice; all spin to see a brunette with green eyes approaching. "Unfortunately, my best friend has an annoying habit of getting herself into trouble..." The girl blinks before frowning. "I thought she was captured."

"She was."

"Then why is she over there?"

After several moments, the bushes shift and a roughed up Kimi limps into view.

She scowls at her audience. "Like you people never got injured from a fall."

Kat rolls her eyes and assists her; Sora soon joins the effort.

Yukina checks her for injuries. "You got off easy. Your ankle is sprained, but not too badly; your wrist is broken; a few ribs are broken as well."

"I thought so..." The other healer grumbles before crafting a splint for herself and attatching it to her wrist.

"How did you..." Kurama stops, not entirely sure he wants to know.

"I stabbed Jin in the arm and probably damaged his muscle..."

Kat blows a strand of brown hair out of her eyes. "Jin?"

"Yep. He'n'Touya were muttering about some 'mistress'."

"How d'you know them?" Kuwabara interrupts.

"I trained at the ninja school briefly as a medic and a fighter. Touya was in a lot of my classes; Jin was in most of Kat's."

The green eyed female frowns. "I'll see you later." She then departs.

"She dislikes fighting." Kimi explains with a shrug, then a wince. Yukina scolds her emphatically; she sighs, but agrees to lay off training-at least until her leg heals.

0x0x0x0

A few days later finds Sora approaching Kimi's room and peeking in. Sighing, he closes the door and retreats to the kitchen.

"Anything?" Kurama questions as he stirs a cup of green tea.

"Nope, still out." The boy replies before accepting a cup with a quick "thanks". "Good thing we're off." He adds absently.

"At least your training is going well..." The redhead murmurs; his companion nods before lapsing into silence.

Kuwabara and Yusuke, zombie like, enter and manage to eat some cereal without choking. Yukina enters next, greets everyone and consumes her breakfast.

Hiei slips in and shakes his head at their questioning looks.

"They were only here to deliver a message..." Kurama frowns.

"They had us, could have killed us..." Sora murmurs.

"So why didn't they?" Yukina questions.

"Because no spell is absolute." Kat comments as she enters the kitchen, flanked by an overly cheery Botan. "It could control them, but only to an extent. They had no real desire to harm you, so they held you in place in a manner that wouldn't allow you to be harmed." She explains with a shrug.

"Is there any way to break it?" Botan asks the question on everyone's mind.

"It depends." The brunette replies after a few moments' silence.

"On?" Yusuke prods.

"The strength of the spell, the strength of the caster...how long the spell's been on them, how much they've struggled...my power level in comparison to the one that cast it..." A frustrated sigh escapes her. "There's really too many variables to accurately gauge which way it would go."

"You need Kims?" The deity of death sums up.

"Pretty much. She can't cast like I can, but we've learned to...'work off one another' is the way it would be put today."

"How?" An intrigued Kurama inquires.

"She can convert her energy into the type I use and vice versa." The distracted girl mumbles.

"So we need her to wake up?" Yusuke starts for the kitchen.

"She'll be of no use to anyone if she doesn't regain her aura, so leave her be." The caster commands. "I'll resume my research." She nods a goodbye to them before leaving the dojo.

"How does she get back to spirit world?" Kuwabara questions.

Botan sighs. "Your guess is as good as mine."

All take seats and relax.

"Uhm, no offense..." Sora begins. "But why are you here?"

"Oh, right!" Botan grins sheepishly. "Koenma forgot to tell us last time why he was here...aside from checking up on Kurama."

"I'm fine." The redhead grumbles flatly; everyone else, save Hiei, chuckles.

Koenma appears. "Hey gang. Everyone here?"

"But Kimi." Sora mutters.

"Ah...can I trust someone will fill her in?"

"Yep."

"Anyway, I'm in the process of retracing their path, but they disappear in the middle of nowhere..."

"Where?" Kurama questions, putting his irritation at the near-constant inquiries after his heath aside.

"In the dead lands of demon world."

"Not dead lands." Sora interrupts. "The land dead."

Kurama nods. "I've been near there."

Hiei nods as well.

"So we're going to search for them?" Yusuke questions.

"I'd rather wait and see." Koenma murmurs.

"What?" Yusuke yells.

"I'd prefer not to send you in blind again." He states. "I will keep watch for their auras and let you know if they're approaching." He then vanishes.

There is a vexed silence; Kurama breaks it. "Does anyone know more about this area?"

Sora bites his lip. "Kimi and Kat lived there...I'm not too sure, but from some of the memories I regained, it seems like I lived there too..."

"Any vivid memories?"

"...there's one. But it looks nothing like what I've seen of the place." Sora mentally smacks himself.

"You've been going into demon world?" Kuwabara stares; Hiei takes over the windowsill; Kurama frowns; Genkai remains silent; Yukina looks worried; Yusuke is a combination of annoyed and startled.

"Not by myself." He grumbles. "I always convince Kimi to come along."

Kurama's glare is icy. "Convince?"

"She knows I'll go with or without her." He states. "She prefers to go with and keep an eye on me." Noting their expressions, he frowns. "Seriously. Aside from the one trip where we went for the flower, it's been my idea."

Genkai sighs mentally. "I turned your training over to her, so it's no longer up to me to question or evaluate it."

Everyone else stares.

"Thank you." Sora bows. "Relax. I won't get myself killed."

Kurama stands and leaves. All watch, confused.

"Was it something I said?" The blue eyed boy murmurs.

0x0x0x0

The irritated fox demon meanders towards home, trying to ignore the memories evoked by Sora's statement.

"Welcome home, Shuichi." His mom grins fondly at him; he returns her welcoming smile.

"I'll be heading upstairs, Mother. I want to get cleaned up." He explains.

"Alright." She calls. "I'll bring you up some towels later!"

Kurama shakes his head with a slight smile before he undresses and slips into the shower. Fifteen minutes later, he steps out and wraps a towel around his waist. He picks up another one to begin to dry his hair when his mom enters without knocking.

"I brought you the-" The hair dryer clatters to the floor as Shiori stares, eyes wide with horror.

0x0x0x0

Never again. Never fucking again. Between the perky, happy freak with the fake smile, the obnoxious guy next to me who apparently never figured out what a 'shower' is and the turbulence, it's a fucking miracle I even made it to this godforsaken place.

"Hi." Greets a blonde with a calm, reserved smile.

"...hi." I reply as I fetch my luggage.

"You're Kimi?"

"...yah. And you are?"

"I'm Emilia Xab...but you can just call me Emma." (2)

"Are you-"

"The rest of the team's waiting back at our place."

"I kinda figured." I mutter. "I wanted to know if you were the captain."

She scowls. "Only because everyone else voted for me."

I follow along behind her. "It can't be that bad." I murmur after several moments.

"You have no idea..." She mutters as we head towards a red '96 taurus.

-x-x-x-x-

(1) - messages can be verbal or written (e-mails, texts, etc. count as written). the message they got was verbal, so...thus the title.

(2) - ::points at name:: See that? That's how I got my nickname. My friends, despite not being so gung ho about my writing, coined my nickname from my most oft talked of character-her.

End o' chappie 10.

Wow. I think this is the quickest I have ever written/typed anything.
Emma

PS: Sorry for posting late. I kinda fell asleep while I was supposed to be posting, then had to scramble about catching up on homework.