Haruka: Wow...haven't updated in a long time –cough- almost three years. Sorry everyone! Author's note will be continued at the end of the chapter; let's cut to the chase. If the writing style seems to shift throughout the course of the chapter, it's because I've been working on it on and off for the last few years.


Chapter 9: Ice Sword

Recap (In case you forgot what happened...I know I did...):

Yukina set out on her own in order to find her twin brother. She left Ningenkai, only saying that she was visiting her mother's grave. The Tantei was brought together once more and sent on another mission: to take down the victor of the most recent tournament, now Makai's new ruler, Manako. Attacked by some of his followers, Yukina came into contact with Touya and in turn, united with their other companions. The following day, they split up in search of allies. Touya and Yukina found Kiikuro, a blonde and rather annoying archer. Hiei and Jin met up with the water master, Mizuiro, while Kurama found himself in the company of the whiny butterfly child Choko. Rinku and Suzuki joined up with Sasuga and her rabbit youkai companion, Usagi. Yusuke and Chuu found Raizen's old group and were waiting for Hokushin and the others. Impatient and tired of complaints, Yusuke set out to find Souketsu who had been sent to find Hokushin. Kuwabara and Shishi came across Botan and managed to round up a large group of supporters. Having met up with Hiei's group, Touya left Kiikuro with them and is currently heading back with Yukina, unable to stand the blonde.

So nothing was going well. At all. Touya knew that much, even without having met up with the others yet. In addition to that, his arms were getting rather tired; it had been hours and he was still carrying Yukina. He began to grow tired, but, as usual, remained silent, keeping his weariness from the girl. His expressionless eyes scanned the surrounding terrain, searching for a well hidden place to rest. He frowned slightly at the clearing that they had landed in, and, as unnoticeable as the gesture was, it didn't get past Yukina. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It's too open here. We'll be seen easily by foes," he told her.

The shinobi had sought for light and they had gotten it. Thinking back on it now, Touya found that he preferred the dark instead. It was much easier to move without being noticed whereas the light exposed everything. Either way, he would continue to fight.

"Um...Touya-san? I think there's a forest up ahead..." Yukina mumbled, knocking him out of his thoughts. He merely nodded to acknowledge this; concentrating on getting up the rather steep hill was more important at the moment. It was difficult without his hands and he didn't have enough energy to form ice or leap to the top. He found this strange, though; he shouldn't have been that tired. All he'd done that day was walk and he had dealt with more than just that before. His fight with Manako barely counted as a fight.

Managing to reach the top without any mishaps, Touya saw the "forest" that Yukina had mentioned. Of course, it wasn't exactly a forest, nor a wood, but actually only a handful of trees. They would suffice for the moment.

The ice master made his way toward the towering forms of plant life. It was dark enough to stay hidden, but light enough to be able to see a good distance. Satisfied, he let Yukina down and proceeded to sit against one of the trees.

She watched him carefully, noticing how tired he was, "I'm sorry. You're exhausted."

"It's not your fault," he mumbled, eyes closed, "I don't quite understand why I'm so tired anyway. Just give me a moment and I'll be fine. We'll stay here for the night and meet up with everyone tomorrow as planned."

--

Kurama looked up at the darkening sky, lost in thought. Yomi had gone away with Shura to train. If he were Yomi, where would he go? Considering the situation and the fact that Yomi had not shown up yet, he would have to be isolated from the rest of the world. Seeing his old position disgraced was probably something Yomi would detest. Kurama sighed; this was taking much too long.

--

"Touya, the ice master…he became the strongest of all those demons on Reikai's side in that short amount of time before the first tournament…with the exception of Raizen's heir, the Jagan user, and the thieving fox. I'm looking forward to our battle, really, I am. He has potential to be the best, better than me even…which is exactly why he needs to be killed. And I will be the one to kill him…but not yet. He needs to be a lot stronger. I don't want to waste my time. Oh, dear…I'm afraid I'm talking to myself again…not good at all…it will ruin my reputation as the ruler of Makai…"

(A/N: Yes, Manako's crazy.)

--

Touya sneezed. "Are you okay, Touya-san?" Yukina asked, sitting beside him. He nodded. "You're sure?" He nodded once more. "Do you want to eat? You need to regain your energy quickly. To be honest, I'm not skilled enough to defend us if we were to be attacked…"

"I'm going to train you in the morning," he cut her off. "W-what?" she responded, surprised.

"You have the potential and determination necessary to be strong, Yukina. At times like these…I think I…we would all feel better knowing that every one of us is capable of defending his or her self. However, there are many factors that are limiting you. For example, inexperience. This cannot be helped and will only come with time. Another is your sword."

"My sword?"

"Rei Ki is useless when it is already freezing. Without your sword, you have no other weapon. This is why the first thing you will learn to do is to make your own weapon." He formed his ice sword to demonstrate, any previous signs of fatigue gone.

"Koori no Ken, a technique that involves focusing your energy at your arm and manipulating your energy so that it forms a sword. I'll run through the basics for you as we eat; we'll put it to practice tomorrow."

Yukina looked at him, trying to process all that he had just said.

Touya misinterpreted her expression, "That is, I'm not expecting you to fight; a healer needs to be able to defend herself as well."

"No…that's not it…I'm just thankful that you speak so highly of me…but I don't know if I can meet your expectations."

"Don't worry about it; let's just eat for now," he smiled, satisfied when her face lit up, insisting to himself that the only reason he was doing this was so that he would not get on Hiei's bad side.

--

Meanwhile, Hiei was not amused. He, along with Jin, Mizuiro, and Kiikuro, had stopped for the night to rest. His left eye twitched. Twitched. Even after he removed himself from the presence of the other three demons and after he found himself a tree to sleep in a good ten yards away, his eye twitched, then twitched again. It was at this point that he grew envious of Jin who had escaped the horrible noise by shooting straight to the heavens up above the clouds.

A few moments of silence was all he needed; was he really asking for too much? Was he not allowed to have some peace and quiet so that he could fall asleep? He glared up at the sky at nothing in particular and briefly considered sending his sword through Kiikuro's heart.

--

Yukina was the type of person that no one could hate. As she tried to form a sword with her mind, Touya watched her, wondering what it was about her that pulled others in. Her kindness must play a large part, but there had to be something more. After all, Kuwabara was the man known to have a heart of gold yet did not emit the same feeling. Perhaps it was the fact that Yukina was as innocent as a child, or her well-mannered self, but Rinku was actually a kid and Kurama was just as polite.

Yukina frowned, slightly frustrated. After nearly half a day of training, she had only managed to cover the area from her palm to her wrist in ice. Touya continued to encourage her; she was progressing wonderfully, he told her, but he himself knew that for the circumstances that they were living in, it was not enough.

"You just need to triple…" he stopped, realizing that telling her she was only a third of the way there for the "hilt" would not be the best of ideas. "It's fine if you can create enough to reach just below your elbow. There should be enough support that way."

Yukina kept trying for another hour before growing exhausted. Touya told her to rest. Changing the temperature surrounding her was one thing; solidifying the water particles in the air at that lower temperature around her arm was another. The amount of concentration needed to form the sword, for a beginner, was ridiculous. Yukina had never solidified anything by simply focusing on it; her tears turned to jewels on their own.

"Eventually, this will come naturally to you. Most ice users take up to six months to fully master it, but you have the advantage of already being able to change the temperature. Again, no one is expecting you to fight—this is just a precaution. I'll be by your side so…" he was talking too much again.

Feeling a little better, Yukina's earlier frustration subsided and she smiled, "I wish you were my brother. You're so good to me, and so patient."

Touya caught himself frowning, but before he could fix his expression, Yukina had already seen. She looked at him with a questioning expression as her face also fell. He saved himself, "I'm sure your real brother wouldn't be happy to hear that."

"Oh! I didn't mean that I wanted you to be my missing brother. I just thought that if I could have another brother I'd want it to be you."

Touya thought for a moment about how Hiei might react, then replied, "I don't think he would like that either."

Yukina looked at him curiously, "You speak as if you know my brother." Touya's eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly open, realizing his mistake. He turned his head to the side, avoiding her eyes, and reluctantly nodded. "But he won't let you tell me," she stated, knowingly. He let his head drop and rise again.

Touya changed the subject, "Have you regained your energy? You should practice once more before we leave for the rendezvous point." Yukina opened her mouth as if to protest, but knew that she could use some more training. She stood and returned to concentrating her energy.

By the time Touya decided that they had to start moving, Yukina had made little, if any, progress in regards to the amount of ice she could form. However, creating what ice she was able to form started to become much easier and came more naturally. Even if it was only a few centimeters, it had to be enough. At the very least, it could serve as a small shield or guard.

As they walked, Yukina brought up the topic of their earlier discussion, "They told me that my brother is a fire demon." Touya assumed that 'they' referred to the elders; he did not respond. "I wonder what he looks like. He's supposed to be my twin, but not all twins look alike," she thought, trying to come up with an image of her brother. Touya kept walking, not contributing to the conversation. "I have a feeling I know who it is, though," she continued. Still, he did not stop. "It's Hiei-san, isn't it?" He froze.


Haruka: I actually started to continue, but I felt that this was a better place to stop. A lot shorter than the previous chapter, but I hope to update again before the end of the year, seeing as I've already started the next chapter.

I've been so busy the last few years that I didn't get to work on this. Every now and then I'd get some motivation and I would write another paragraph or two and then stop again. I know that I had Writer's Block for the longest time after the Kurama section and Manako section of this chapter. I didn't know how to go about writing it, but I guess I managed? :D;

Huge thanks to the reviewers; you guys definitely helped. I do wonder how many readers/reviewers are still around, though. Please drop me a message if you're still alive (:

I hope this wasn't too disappointing a chapter?