E.H.

Update! And it's not almost a month later! Woot! This is NOT going the way I originally planned. However, I like this direction. It's definitely far more flattering for Shizuru with the direction. You'll see what I mean in a while. But yeah. I have to say, I am severely attached to the song Try by Pink and keep listening to it on repeat. Along with a few others.

Thank you to my lovelies for your reviews. I promise, I'm not trying to torture you guys! :D It just so happens that my mind has issues that work themselves out over time through writing!

Lining the Coffin

Drip…drip…drop.

Shizuru could handle being tied up.

Drip…drop…plop.

Hell, she could even handle being blindfolded. After all, she'd dated some guys into some pretty kinky shit before.

Plop…

But goddamnit, if she had to listen to that incessant dripping, dropping water in the background for another moment…she swore she'd go nuts. She just couldn't be held responsible for what she'd do! She growled in frustration and tried the ties again before letting her anger just rise up and take over for a few minutes. She flailed uselessly while screaming into her gag in pure rage and indignation. When her muscles began to answer her screams, she settled back down, heaving long breaths of air through her nose.

'I need a smoke.'

"Looks like someone's a little testy in the morning."

There she was again. Taunting. Always taunting. Shizuru always prided herself on her mostly patient demeanor. This woman…man…whatever the hell it was made her rethink her entire outlook on life. Maybe she should become a homicidal maniac for a day just to see and think what they do. Maybe then she'd have at least some damned idea as to what the fuck was so messed up with these people! Seriously? Kidnapping a twenty-seven year old woman wasn't exactly something to be proud of. At that point it was 'grabbing a very angry, pissed off, ready to kick ass, bitchy woman'. She snorted at that and sat back, letting her usual bored expression fall over her face.

'Good thing for you, princess, that I'm not only blindfolded but strung up like a damn turkey too.'

"I see some of his reasons." Came the half-feminine sounding, half-graveled voice. "You only display anger when it seems necessary."

'Wanna see anger, bitch? Untie me. Then you'll see what a Kuwabara can really do.'

A rattling sigh that made Shizuru stomach clench in slight nausea came from her 'napper. She actually felt really pathetic. If this sickly creature could overcome her in a mere few seconds, what the hell was she doing thinking she could live up to the Kuwabara name. She leaned her head back against the rocky surface behind her. Damn…she really needed a smoke now.

"I can't tell if I should just kill you now or leave you alive for him to find."

'Fuckin' choose already! I'm sick of hearin' you talk!' She couldn't miss how much that sounded like Yusuke. A smirk and a small, short chuckle came from that.

"You find this amusing? Your life is being put on the line and you laugh?"

'Why the hell not, princess? Why the hell talk to me anyways? You know I can't answer you bitch.'

Shizuru glared into the blindfold angrily. A few moments passed by before she heard a slight rustling of fabric. Icy fingers gripped the gag roughly and yanked. Shizuru grunted as it tore free from her mouth. She coughed and took a long deep breath from her parched lips. The next thing she knew, water was being forced down her throat. She choked on it and coughed it up. A harsh slap hard enough to make her see stars slammed into her face. The same frigid finger gripped her jaw harshly to pour more water down her throat. She managed to swallow a decent amount before yanking back. She failed to break free but the water did stop flowing.

"Pathetic little humans."

"Fuck…off…"

A sick laugh with putrid breath blew into her face. She forced herself to keep the water down. She wanted to look into the face of her captor, just once. She wanted to memorize the fucker's face so that she would have fond memories of what they used to look like before she broke their face in.

"Save such energy. You'll need it later." They pulled away, much to her relief. However, it was short lived as the pungent smell of the person came back. She fought to keep her face straight. "However, for your obvious lack of respect toward me…I have a little gift for you."

Shizuru frowned. She didn't get a chance to ask before her mouth was pried open and something was shoved inside her mouth. She froze as sharp shards of something dug into her tongue. She bit back tears of pain that swelled in her eyes. She didn't dare move as the ball of metallic thorns settled into her mouth. The gag was then forced back on none-too-gently causing several of the thorns to stab her mouth painfully. She swallowed and knew that she ingested her own blood. She felt completely violated and even a bit scared then. Whoever this person was…they were truly twisted in a way that she never wanted to deal with. She recognized what was in her mouth from one of her study classes in high school before she dropped out. It was a unique torture device used to make the victim completely submissive. A barbed-ball. Usually it was attached with a leather strap around the head that would be tightened gradually, making the ball rip and tear into the tender, sensitive flesh of the mouth. It had nothing to do with gaining information but rather with tearing your enemy apart. It was a sick thing. She could only thank her lucky stars that this particular one was half the size of the original device and lacked the tightening straps. Whoever this asshole was, they weren't as efficient as they could be. A slight tremble started in her limbs as she wracked her brain for any and all she'd effectively pissed off. Too long a list. And none fit. This person kept going on and on about someone, a guy, who seemed to have chosen her. She could only come to one name that made sense. Kouta. But he hadn't chosen her. They weren't even in a damned real relationship! The only other guy she could think of who'd have sick fuckers like this around him would be Sakyo. She felt bile rise a bit at that thought. In that instance, it'd make some more sense.

Shizuru clamped her eyes shut and did something she hadn't done since she was a little girl. She prayed.

…..

"Any sign?" Yusuke rushed into the temple. Keiko looked rather rattled as she followed her husband inside.

Kuwabara looked up from where he had his hands covering his face. "None yet, Urameshi…"

"Where the hell'd you see her last?"

"I didn't. Yukina did."

Keiko caught Yusuke look and nodded. She left the room and headed for the Ice Maiden's chambers.

"What the hell coulda happened to Shizuru of all fuckin' people?" Yusuke moved to sit across from his best friend. "Where are Kurama, Hiei, and, what's his face…Kouta?"

"Searchin'…Nabi too. Shiyu's in with Yukina. Urameshi, I-I…I don't know what to do!" He shook his head and stared at the table. "Shizuru ain't stupid! She's strong too! I dunno…it just don't sit right with me!"

"Fuck…yeah. I know whatcha mean. Did they tell ya to stay here for a reason?"

Kuwabara snorted. "Yeah. 'parently I'd just get in the way with my 'hollering buffoonery'."

Yusuke didn't need to ask. He knew where that came from. "How's Yukina holdin' up?"

"She ain't."

"We're gonna find her, Kuwabara."

"Yeah…" Yusuke rose from the table to head out to help the others. Kuwabara stopped him. "Urameshi…?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you didn't wanna come back early from your honeymoon for somethin' like this. But thanks…"

"Shut up." Yusuke smirked. "B'sides, without me…you'd never find your own ass!" Kuwabara didn't fight or rise to the bait. Yusuke frowned and headed out to join the rag-tag team of searchers. He caught up with them after a bit. "What's the deal?"

Kurama looked over, already knowing he'd arrived. "Signs of a scuffle."

Yusuke's eyes narrowed at those words. He approached the spot the four were standing in. "What kinda scuffle we talkin'?"

"The kind where Shizuru was obviously too overpowered." Nabi answered and motioned to Hiei in the tree. "Hiei is using his jagan to attempt finding her. It will take time. She is not nearby. That much is clear."

Kouta was leaning on a tree with a scowl. "She went for a walk on her own. She never came back. Hiei said she spoke with him briefly for a moment before he left her be."

Yusuke didn't miss the slight accusation in Kouta's tone. Neither did Kurama from the way the redhead's shouldered stiffened a bit. Hiei shifted. Without looking, Yusuke knew the fire demon was glaring at Kouta. Kouta blatantly disregarded the short apparition. Damnit, he didn't need this shit right now. "All right. Then we just gotta keep our cools and our heads about us." He blinked and shook his head. When the hell did he sound so damned…level headed?

…..

Shizuru was overly careful to not move her mouth. She took to carefully breathing in and out through her nose. She couldn't say how long had passed. She was pretty damned sure at least a day had passed. The air had chilled exponentially; to her, she figured that meant nightfall wherever the hell she was being held. She shifted her feet out from under her and ignored the angry throb of her wrists as she used them to hold her up briefly to straighten her legs out. They stopped short of a full stretch. She made a loud grunt of annoyance only to regret it as her tongue and inner cheeks were pricked savagely. She let out a slow breath from her nose.

'Kami…or any other entity out there…if you're listening…I swear to you I'll stop smoking if you get me out of this situation long enough to pound this asshole's face into the ground.'

A roll of thunder made her pause. She could hear the beginnings of rain pound a good…twenty feet…from her. That explained only a portion of the chill. The fresh scent of newly dampened soil met her. She shifted so that one leg was mostly stretched and the other foot propped her up enough to take some weight off her wrists. Foot falls echoed off the walls around her.

"You look positively uncomfortable."

'Really? I couldn't tell.'

"I can't fathom why such a frail species survived for so long. For all intents and purposes, you should have died out millennia ago."

'Gee, I can't fathom why the fuck you bother talking to me.' Shizuru felt her skin prickle with awareness. She froze. She'd felt this before once or twice during the dark tournament. Of course, she'd been in a stadium of demons. This time, it was stronger…there was more malice to it. It made her body tremble and shiver. 'What…is that? It's so dark…'

"…you can feel it?"

She didn't bother hiding it and carefully nodded once.

"Fascinating."

She wanted to snort or make some derisive comment but couldn't. Even if she didn't have her particularly spiky friend impaling her tongue, she wouldn't have been able to. The energy she felt was massive and entirely evil. Not even Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame compared to this. Then it came. A long, eerily low bellow that rumbled from the earth itself. The ground shook in reply and Shizuru found herself suddenly all too happy to have her blindfold. She knew this was something she didn't want to see.

"His name is Chikyu no Kanashimi."

Shizuru couldn't suppress the next tremors of both fear and nausea from the strength of the energy coming from such a creature.

"If Kouta is wise, he'll find the clues I've left him and know to come here." A sickly cackle filled the cavern. The person moved over to Shizuru. "Listen to Chikyu's mournful cries…"

The creature continued to bellow long into the early morning. When it finally died down with another earth-rattling rumble, Shizuru finally relaxed. Her muscles screamed from the tension it'd caused her. She focused on breathing deeply and evenly without moving her mouth. Shizuru felt such a heavy exhaustion poured over her. Right as she settled to rest, she cursed her luck. She really had to pee. She squirmed a bit. Her captor approached her and yanked her to her feet. Shizuru felt the restraints drop away before she was hauled to the outside and shoved against the rocky surface.

"Do it quickly."

'With you watching? You've got to be kidding me.' Shizuru shifted, finally feeling her patience snap. She moved to squat and then was hit with an idea. She shifted to that she had her back to where she figured her captor was. Screw her modesty; since when did she give a damn anyways? She tucked her head down and lifted her blind-fold enough to see the rocky slope down from her. She cursed mentally. It'd be risky, but what the hell? She acted quickly so that she didn't give herself away. She stood, yanking her pants up at the same time she jumped. A loud shriek filled the air. She hit the ground with a jarring motion that made the spikes seriously dig into her mouth's flesh. She, however, rolled with her fall like she'd seen the boys do too many times to count. She struggled to her feet and yanked the blindfold off. If she was caught again, she'd never see the light of day again. She took off without a thought, ignoring the blinding flash that split the sky. She was running downhill and having difficulty. She could barely hear the sounds of her assailant following behind. As she ran, she frantically untied the gag around her face and very painfully removed the spike ball, piercing her hand at several places before throwing it. As an afterthought, she realized just how stupid that was. She could have used it as a weapon. But, there was no way in hell she was looping back for it. Her feet lost grip and she dropped. Her body slammed into the side of the tiny slope and with the impact, it gave under her. She literally was at the top of a rock-slide she created. With a cry, she turned to try and grapple something, anything only to come up with nothing but breaking nails. She saw the sheer edge coming up. Her eyes widened as she threw a last prayer up to kami to protect everyone she loved and keep Kazu from mourning her too much. The edge came up on her in nearly slow-motion before her body was flung out over a large open space. She was falling. That's all she was aware of. She didn't have much time to think before her feet crashed into something that felt like concrete at first but gave way after her right foot and fibula snapped. She was sucked into a vortex of motion. She couldn't breathe or see. Her body was like a rag-doll being thrown around until she was throw out against a large boulder. She smashed into it roughly with such a force she saw stars. Clinging to it, she finally realized she was in water. Looking around, there was a huge cavernous opening all around her. She moved to swim to the side, looking like a drowning dog before she dragged herself up onto an embankment. She coughed repeatedly, dislodging all sorts of things from her lungs that she just didn't want to think about. Yanking her wet, tangled mop of hair back from her face, she looked around desperately. There were no openings in or out of here. Well, except for the way she'd come in.

"Fuck…" She croaked, pained from the many lacerations over her tongue. She tested her broken leg and spat out a curse, holding in the tears that dared to fall. She tugged her good leg up and hugged it tightly to her chest. "How do I always get myself into such messes?"

She scanned over her surroundings to see about a makeshift splint. She spotted a long jagged rock and pulled herself carefully over to it. She dragged the rock to her and stared at it. It beat nothing. She aligned it with her broken leg and looked around again. After a few long minutes, she spotted another jagged rock, this one just a tiny bit shorter. She was at least lucky in how near it was to the other. She only had to lay back flat and drag it to her. She aligned it with the inside of her broken leg. Taking her vest off, she ripped her stained white blouse off. She then shifted it under her leg. Once she managed that, she began to wrap the sleeves around twice as painfully tight as she dared. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she remembered idly about some CPR and first aid classes she took a long ass time ago saying don't tie it too tightly. Shrugging it off, she figured the worst that could happen would be loss of circulation. Once her leg was mostly secured, she tugged her vest on over her bra, ignoring the fact that her belly was somewhat exposed. There wasn't anyone around to impress, so honestly…she didn't give a damn. She leaned back against the nearest rock and focused on just breathing. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander. She'd survived an impossible fall into what she figured was a river. If her luck held out, her captor would believe her dead and move on. At this point, that left her to…survive for two weeks until her leg healed. She laughed drily at that.

"Survive two weeks and then try to swim my ass out. That's my best option. Great." She'd reached the point where she didn't give much of a rat's ass about the pain in her mouth. That would heal faster than her leg, she figured. At least she didn't pierce her tongue completely on the barbed ball. The rest were minor cuts and scrapes around the inside. She had water, but food was the problem. As is it was, she was devastatingly hungry. She searched the cavern and spotted a patch of mushrooms. She hesitated for a few long minutes. "Oh what the hell. If they kill me, they kill me." It'd be a sorry, half-assed way to die, sure…but at least it wouldn't be at some psycho's hand. Just her own stupid one. She dragged her body over to the mushroom and picked a few, stopping herself after she had five. There were quite a few of them, but she wasn't about to risk picking them all and not having another food source for a while. At least she'd have something in her stomach, however small. Out of simple habit, she reached over and rinsed them in the water. She then popped them into her mouth and made a face. They were bitter and strong flavored. She seriously hoped that wasn't the poisonous side of them. After she downed them, she cupped water in her hand and drank until she wasn't thirsty. She then laid still and stared up into the dark cavern above. Faintly, slowly, little blue-green glows began to light up. They flickered before they went dark again and another lit up. She watched in fascination, wondering slightly if it was the mushroom's giving her hallucinations or if she was really seeing it. In either case, she watched the beautiful display until her own fatigue wiped her out cold.

A splash woke her up. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. It sounded again. She sat up quickly and darted her gaze around. If there was something splashing, she wasn't alone. If she wasn't alone, there was a chance it wasn't friendly. Okay, so there was a very high possibility it wasn't friendly. She didn't want to leave anything to chance anymore. Chance was a repeat offender in her world. It loved to royally screw her over whenever it had the chance. She pushed the horrible pun from her head so that she could focus. When it sounded again, she found the source. It was in the water. She frowned and leaned closer to the edge. There it was again. A brightly colored fish swam up, splashed the surface and then swam a little away and then back again. She stared at it blinking several times. A small grin started to form on her face.

"I have to say, Kami…I was beginning to doubt you." She stated, she carefully dipped her hands slowly into the water and held then just far enough apart for it to swim between. She waited, holding still. It came close and darted away again. She continued to wait and when it swam between her hands, she grabbed it. It slithered free with a slick feeling over her fingers. She cursed and tried again and again until she was too damn frustrated to try anymore. She turned and huffed at the fish. "Yeah, screw you too. Damned fish. I wouldn't have anything to make a fire with anyways." She then spotted a few pieces of drift wood resting on the bank farther away. If she pulled them out of the water and let them dry, she could eventually have a fire. Maybe more than one if she was wise about it. She began to weakly make her way to the drift wood. It took her much longer than she would ever admit to reach them. She managed to pry them from the water. Once she had them out, she leaned back and panted heavily. In her weakened, malnourished state, just the motions of moving and pulling them out had her completely drained. She rested for a while, finding herself staring upwards again. As she focused, she could see the unique light show again. She smiled a small grin as she watched it. It was kind of like watching an asteroid shower only with them returning to do the same dance routine again. Shizuru finally regained enough energy to return to the patch of mushrooms. She downed a few more, figuring that she'd lived thus far before she settled to sleep again.

…..

Kouta sat on a boulder overlooking the valley below. He lifted his hand to his eyes for the hundredth time to look at the charred stone. He'd found it at the spot Shizuru had been taken. He hadn't said a word to the others because it was something that didn't concern them. The only one who it could possibly involve was Nabi and even then it was a stretch. She hadn't been there during the village slaughter. He and Miro had. He'd hidden them under one of the older huts farther on the outskirts. She'd trembled beneath his arm, crying softly as they watched their village burning to ash. When the bandits lit the hut over them aflame, he had acted purely on instinct. He'd reached his hand out and used his lightning element to superheat the stone foundation around them. It had melded together like a shelter over them as the rest of the hut crumbled around them. Miro had looked into his eyes with such fear and devastation. His soul had reflected her feelings back.

He closed his eyes as the memories washed over him. He breathed deeply while the waves of regret, pain, and sorrow ebbed and flowed in his soul. He had protected her for so long as they grew closer together over the years. Needless to say, more than years and friendship grew between them. Miro had never been the beauty that Nabi was; but to Kouta…he'd always felt strongly towards her. When she'd been captured by Junta, he'd desperately fought to find her. His scar throbbed with the memory of facing his former best friend in a battle that left him with such a bitter taste. He'd even been captured by the bastard. The torture had been intense, but he'd never broken. Not once. He wished he could say that Miro had fared the same. She hadn't. The torture had left her malformed and insane. He'd tried to bring her back; he'd pleaded with her to come back to him. She'd been so broken that she believed Junta's lies and deceptions. She'd even turned against him screaming that he always loved Nabi more than her. He'd never loved Nabi. She was a friend, a companion. Miro…Miro he would have died for. And when she ran him through with her sword, he'd felt betrayed and completely against love. Love was meant to build people up just so it could carelessly plunge them into darkness and pain. It was a tool people used to manipulate and harm. It wasn't real.

He opened his eyes and stared back at the stone that she'd held onto for so long from when he'd saved them under that hut. A piece of the crumbling walls to always remind her of their home. Miro had Shizuru. He had no doubt of that. He felt a somber, unsettling feeling settle over him.

"I do not believe I have seen you so down trodden before. You were usually the one to try and repair and uplift the others." Nabi sighed, sitting beside him. He glanced at her.

"I've never screwed up so badly before." He admitted.

"How did you…" she frowned at the human term, "screw up?"

"Miro has her, Nabi."

Nabi stiffened. She looked at him sharply. "Impossible. Kurama left her to die in one of the darkest zones of Demon World."

"Don't underestimate her." He sighed and leaned on his knees. "She's come back from the dead so many times that I've lost count."

"I…do not understand. What would she gain by harming Shizuru?"

"She's trying to hit me where it hurts." Kouta groaned angrily. "And she hit the mark."

"You have feelings for Shizuru." Statement, not question. He didn't reply, merely averted his gaze to the long valley descending way from them.

"If you want to blame me, go ahead."

"Why would I blame you, Kouta?"

"I caused this."

"How?"

"It's complicated."

"How do you expect me to understand and help a friend if you do not tell me what is complicated?"

"Because! Miro and I were together! And now…now she's probably torturing Shizuru to try and get to me! Because I didn't listen to you! Because I'm a stupid hormonal bastard who has nothing to gain and everything to lose!"

"Welcome to the club." Kouta turned to see Yusuke standing off to the side, arms crossed. "Look, I know ya screwed up. But you're here now, aren't ya?"

"It is in the now that matters." Nabi agreed, reaching back and clasping Kurama's hand as it settled on her shoulder.

"She'll not go down so easily, Kouta-san. Shizuru is nothing if not extremely stubborn and tough." Kurama smiled in a way that told he was being reminded of something.

The dull, muted thump of Hiei's feet hitting the ground met their ears. He looked highly perturbed as he approached them. "Found her."

"Where?" Yusuke stood up straight, looking at the fire demon.

Hiei's eye twitched. "Chikyu no Kanashimi's lair."

Kurama, Nabi, and Kouta all tensed visibly before paling considerably.

"H-how did she…?" Nabi started.

Kurama sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, staving off a growing headache. "Because…this is Shizuru. If there is a way for her to end up in the worst situation possible…she'll find it."

"Fuck." Kouta growled.

"Uh…news flash, not everybody here knows what the hell you're talkin' 'bout!" Yusuke grumped.

"Chikyu no Kanashimi, translated roughly to the Earth's Sorrow is the oldest known beast of the Demon World. It is not demon in nature, however has the power and temperament of the highest S-Class demon. It is far better known by what it truly is…a blood-thirsty monster. It kills whatever it finds within its self-described territory. It does not kill to eat. It kills for the sake of killing."

"It's a bloody Earth Dragon. The darkest, foulest version of the land when it began to corrupt. For every dragon we bond with, there is a darker soul to counter it. Iwaryuu is countered by Chikyu. Hiryuu is countered by the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. So on and so forth. Shizuru, for all intents and purposes, is in the belly of the damned beast."

Yusuke stared at them before following in Kouta's footsteps with a simple, "fuck."

How's that for Shizuru's luck? Sound about right? I can't imagine her ending up in a simple situation where she doesn't have to deal with some really tough problems. Let me know what you think!

As for Kouta…yes, he's a hottie, isn't he? I've never had an OC that made me want to laugh and blush simultaneously. He's kind of a bad-boy with school boy charm. Can't help it.

In case basic Japanese is not understood by anyone, Kami means God. Unbasic is Chikyu no Kanashimi which was roughly translated in the chapter. It should mean Earth's Sorrow or Sorrow of the Earth. If anyone has any questions on any that I missed or just plain didn't remember writing...let me know!

Catch you in the next chapter which is coming soon, I promise!

Erika Hearken