Author's Note: Yay faster updates!! I had a burst of creativity and look at what happened!! But I don't want to get your hopes up too much. I DO have the next chapter started. I do NOT have it even close to finished. It might be a while for this one, folks. But when it comes, I promise it'll be a doozie! Once again in response to Irene Sharda, I know about Kuronue simply through other people. I read about his character in a fanfic a long time ago and was fascinated by him, so I did a little research and found him to be a very useable character! As for his personality and such, much of it is based off of educated guesses (I would like to think Kurama's partners were all somewhat similar to himself). I suppose I should have watched the movie if I wanted to use him, but I can't justify wasting my life like that just to get a better idea of a character I already feel that I know fairly well. Ok, enough of my rambling. This chapter jumps a lot, but I think it turned out pretty well! Enjoy...
Warnings: None to speak of.
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The trip through the portal was painful, to say the very least. As soon as Kurama reached the glowing orb, he was sucked in, feeling as though every bone in his body was crushed along the way. When he finally emerged on the other side, he found himself once again in his silver-haired kitsune form. A smile crept across his lips as he flexed his fingers, pleased to feel his old power running through them once more. Purely for the joy of it, he fished a rose out of his hair and commanded it to form his trademark whip. The messenger demon looked back and gave a little gasp as he saw the deadly weapon curled about the youko's feet.
"What you do?!" he hissed breathlessly, his eyes riveted on the razor-sharp spikes that protruded every few inches on the whip. Kurama shrugged, flicking his wrist idly and allowing the whip to dance about him elegantly.
"Nothing yet… Just know that if you've been lying to me…" The whip settled in a nearly perfect circle around the snake demon's quivering body, never once touching him. "The consequences will be dire."
"I no lie!" assured the snake demon, hastily. "You come now. See Kuronue." Kurama gave a muttered command to his whip and it shrank back to a bud, which he once again placed in his hair.
"Lead on…" The messenger obeyed, slithering along at a good pace as he muttered to himself; casting wary glances back at Kurama every so often. The silver-haired demon simply strode along behind him, his usual haughty look fixed on his face to cover his insecurities. Hold on, Kuronue, he thought, I'm coming…
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Behind the pair, a certain three-eyed demon followed at a significant distance, tracking them with his Jagan. It would not do to get too close and alert them of his presence, but he simply didn't trust Kurama when he was in such an emotional state as he was now. Perhaps his façade was enough to fool those who did not know him, but Hiei knew that the little stunt Kurama had pulled with the whip was a true sign of his insecurity. Youko Kurama did not threaten people; he did not have to! And if he did threaten someone, it would be a subtle threat masked in eloquence, not the blunt words Kurama had delivered. Despite his outer haughtiness, Hiei knew that, inside, the fox was frazzled.
Deciding finally that the pair of demons was moving too slowly for his taste, Hiei veered off the path they seemed to be following and headed for a nearby forest. He was hungry, and there were bound to be some Makian animals in that forest for him to hunt. He would simply track Kurama with his Jagan and catch up to them in an hour or so. Certainly it would take them that long to reach wherever their destination was. No one, not even some cocky mob boss, as he assumed this 'Master Sakyo' was, was foolish enough to open a portal within more than 30 miles of his base; too many possibilities for unwarned attack.
Spotting a rather large, deer-like creature that was common in Makai and tasted excellent when fresh, Hiei melted into the shadows of the foliage and began to stalk.
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After about an hour or so of brisk walking, Kurama began to grow agitated with his puny demon guide.
"Where is this place? You haven't gotten us lost, have you?" It wasn't that he was tired, more that he was so keyed up from the stress he'd been under for the last week that he simply wanted to arrive and be done with this damned messenger for good. He already had several plans to reclaim the Mirror and escape with Kuronue, and he was ready to use any of them depending on Kuronue's state of health.
"Not lost!" The snake demon cast a frightened look back at Kurama and picked up his pace a little. "We arrive soon. Master Sakyo open portal far from home. He say he want no surprises from infamous Youko Kurama." The ugly little creature gave some sort of odd grimace that Kurama eventually figured out was supposed to be a smile. He seemed to hold some sort of reverence for Kurama's youko form that he had not held for his human form. It probably had to do with appearance; Shuuichi's delicate beauty was far less intimidating that Youko's fierce magnificence, but Kurama was sure the old wives tales that were circulating about him didn't hinder his reputation either.
So… Sakyo didn't want any surprises from Kurama… That was a foolish dream. Kurama's life was secrets and surprises; he wasn't about to pull any punches for the man who had been torturing his best friend for the past many years.
"I hope your master knows who he's dealing with," he murmured, half to himself. The snake demon twisted, giving that odd, grimacing smile again.
"Master Sakyo know…"
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Hiei allowed himself a satisfied belch as he rose from the remains of the deer-like creature. He had probably eaten more than he actually needed, but the meat had been so tender that he hadn't been able to stop himself until nearly every last ounce of flesh had been stripped from the animal's bones. But, he reflected, glancing down at his blood-stained hands, he had been rather messy about the kill. Nothing a quick wash in the river couldn't fix.
Stripping off his cloak and shirt, the little fire demon immersed his top half in the water, scrubbing quickly then wrenching himself from the icy shallows with a gasp. He hated water; especially cold water… Shaking himself off like a dog, Hiei flared his energy just enough to evaporate the remaining water, then pulled his shirt and cloak back on and opened his Jagan to find Kurama and his hideous little guide. As it turned out, they had picked up the pace and were further than he had expected them to be. Springing up from his position on the ground, Hiei bolted off in the direction of Kurama's faint energy signal. He hoped the other man was prepared for the worst, because he was surely walking into a trap…
Hiei's suspicions were confirmed (in his mind, at least) when he finally caught up with his partner about five miles outside a massive palace-like structure that reminded him faintly of Yomi's headquarters in Gandara. His stomach lurched as he thought back on what had happened last time Kurama met up with one of his old partners. Of course, circumstances now were vastly different, but still… If this 'Master Sakyo' had managed to incapacitate Kuronue, whom Kurama had spoken very highly of (when he spoke of him at all), what did that say about what he could do to Kurama? The youko seemed to have had a propensity for partners who could play his little mind games. Sakyo must be a skilled player as well to hold up for so long against the man who had taught Kurama nearly all he knew. Tucking his apprehension into a back corner of his mind, Hiei masked his energy and stole a bit closer to the preoccupied pair he was following; beginning to plan his own way into the base.
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A rustle sounded to Kurama's left and he paused, the grass about his feet straightening into needle-like little missiles in anticipation of attack. Suspicious golden eyes roamed the forest surrounding himself and his bothersome escort as silver ears flicked this way and that; listening intently for faint sounds of breathing or movement. Eventually, outwardly satisfied but inwardly still on alert, Kurama signaled for the snake demon to continue moving. Obviously there was something out there watching them, but it was very possibly nothing more than a low-class who had fled at the sight of the legendary thief. Still… Kurama wasn't one to take chances; which was one of the reasons he was still alive. He commanded the foliage in the immediate area to seize anything that came within fifty feet of him.
Almost immediately, a tree shot out a branch and hoisted the messenger demon into the air. He gave a shrieking hiss, his lithe body twisting madly in the tree's tightly closed branches. Kurama allowed himself a cold chuckle as he watched the little demon's struggle, but his attention snapped back to the trees as one of them attempted to apprehend someone behind him, but failed as the creature slipped out of range. Ordering the tree to drop the snake, Kurama spun and began stealing back towards the tree that had attempted to catch whatever was following him. The messenger demon slithered along after him.
"What you do? We need go-!" But he was cut off as Kurama spun, stamping a foot down on his airway and effectively silencing him.
"Silence…" He hissed, eyes flashing angrily. The snake rolled his eyes in agreement and Kurama let him up. Without a backward glance, he continued moving towards the tree that had tried to catch his stalker, commanding more foliage to attempt to catch the creature as well. Nothing else made an attempt and Kurama was finally forced to abandon his search in the interest of time. With one last, sweeping glance around him, he reluctantly turned and ordered the messenger demon to lead him to Sakyo's base. He was on guard now; as soon as the creature attempted attack, he would have it in his grasp for questioning.
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Hiei allowed himself a moment to still his breathing as he sat perched on a large rock somewhere near the heart of the forest. Apparently he'd moved in a bit too close to Kurama and the kitsune hadn't liked it. Hiei'd had hardly a moment to react when a tree branch had shot towards him, its knobby branches catching on his cloak and nearly tearing it from his shoulders! From there he'd begun a frantic, if silent, retreat from the suddenly hostile foliage and taken refuge on the rock to wait out Kurama's search.
Thankfully, the kitsune had contented himself with a fairly short search, but Hiei didn't want to risk disturbing any more greenery for fear that it would report to the plant-master and give away his location. And, while he was sure Kurama would appreciate the intention behind Hiei's unwelcomed tag-along, he was equally sure that the consequences would be unpleasant, to say the least, if his presence ruined a plan already in motion. And Kurama was, undoubtedly, already in the midst of several plans, if Hiei knew him as well as he thought he did. For Kurama, making plans was almost second nature.
Waiting what he deemed a sufficient amount of time, Hiei finally leapt gracefully from the rock and landed lightly on the bare forest floor. Opening his Jagan briefly to pinpoint Kurama, he began picking his way from bare spot to bare spot; a time-consuming, but necessary endeavor if he wanted to avoid detection by the legendary bandit. Luckily, his speed and agility allowed him to make relatively short work of the task and soon he was close enough to follow Kurama's energy signal. Masking his spirit energy again, he fell back slightly and approached the massive compound from the shadows.
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The snake demon glanced up at Kurama eagerly as they exited the forest at last and approached the huge structure he could only assume was Sakyo's base of operations.
"You like Master Sakyo base?" Inwardly, Kurama was somewhat impressed, but he let none of it show on his face. The building reminded him strongly of Yomi's center of operations in Gandara, but it was a much more humanized version. Keeping his face impassive, he flicked his tail slightly, as though somewhat bored.
"I've seen better." The snake's face dropped into a frown and he continued towards the base in silence, apparently offended. Kurama didn't care; his primary concern was getting Kuronue back. It was time to make preparations for one of his plans.
Glancing down surreptitiously, Kurama made sure the messenger demon was busy sulking before reaching into his hair and pulling out a handful of tiny seeds no bigger than large grains of sand. He allowed them to spill from his hand as he walked, spreading them throughout the courtyard of Sakyo's compound. As a last resort, these seeds would cover his escape; for though they were tiny, the plants they grew were anything but. Just as the last tiny seed flew from the kitsune's hand, the snake demon halted before a pair of ornate double doors and pressed his head to them with a flare of his pitiful energy. A loud chime sounded and the doors swung open smoothly to allow them entry. Pushing down the sudden flutter of anxiety that had flared in his chest, Kurama stepped forward. I'm here, Kuronue…
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Hahaha! What will happen next? I promise Kuronue will show up (in the flesh) in the next chapter and we'll also get to meet this mysterious "Master Sakyo". Anyone else curious as to who that might be? I'm writing as fast as my imagination allows! Until the next chapter... review review review!! Love you all!
Princess Seki
