Ashes IV Chapter 10 : On Our Way " …and so, I was reborn as a human," Kurama concluded the tale of his previous life as a youko. The elder youko sister walked beside him as they hiked through the relatively peaceful surroundings of the Makai forest. In front of them, Yuusuke and Kuwabara were laughing at something Rian had just said, probably rude. Hiei scouted ahead, appearing as nothing more than a black blur as he leapt from tree to tree. " What is it like being ningen? Don’t you ever get tired of being weaker?" " There are a lot of things about humans I have come to admire - their lives may span less than a century but they manage fill it with so many memories and experiences. The strength of their emotions, their complex ties to others of their kind…It is difficult to describe to someone who has never been there." Seeing the look of amazement in Lian’s eyes, Kurama laughed. " It’s not *that* bad." " You have changed a lot." It was a statement - with more truth in it than Kurama cared to admit. The half-youko shrugged, falling back slightly from the others. Lowering his voice, he said, " Now, would you like to tell me the truth about yourself? From one thief to another, I don’t believe anyone who could rival my reputation could possibly screw up a kidnapping that badly." Surprise flickered in Lian’s brown eyes, her ears flattened defensively. " What do you mean?" she asked him, edgily. " You’ve manipulated us from the beginning, Lian-chan. But you made too many mistakes - things a third-rate thief wouldn’t be caught dead doing." " Ahhh…" She looked uncomfortable. " Would you like the whole truth or would you prefer give me a few minutes to fabricate another story?" " I’m sure your stories are very entertaining, but I would like the truth." For a moment, he was not sure she was going to concede to his request. Finally, with a tiny sigh, she replied, " I have three other sisters, Kurama-san, excluding Rian. They are all younger than myself, but bold and daring - full of life. I’ve watched over them ever since our parents died almost ten years ago. They mean everything to me." Taking a deep breath, she continued, " When Shurei came to us that day, I realised two things - the first and foremost was that I had failed to protect one of my own, Jian. The second was that I could not protect the others from Hitoare should we fail." " It wasn’t your fault. You could have never seen this coming." " Perhaps." Her eyes were cloudy as if thinking of some past memory. " I knew that Hitoare would not allow us to leave alive even if we had succeeded in bringing the Kokuryuha to him - he’s that kind of youkai. I was trapped - I needed allies, someone strong enough to take Hitoare on." " Us." He wondered if he should be outraged or flattered. " You’re not the only one with something to lose. I’m gambling everything I have, my life and my family’s, on this last gambit." " Lian-chan, I think you’re a better person than you let on." A flash of a smile. Pure youko. " Don’t tell anyone. You’ll ruin my reputation." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rian liked Kuwabara and Yuusuke, they were pretty cool - for humans. The cross-breed, half-human youko, third-rate thief Kurama she could not stand - he was cheating, lying, no-good kitsune. But she was honest enough with herself to privately admit that her hostility was rooted in the fact that he had out-witted her. Great Inari, just the thought of it ruffled her fur! Her feelings for Hiei were less clear cut. He was very attractive in a physical sense, and the only male youkai she knew who did not tower over her. Dark, dangerous and - she glared back at Kurama - very much involved. " I’ve sighted Hitoare’s fortress," the fire demon stated curtly, dropping lightly onto the ground in front of them. " About five leagues away, built in the shadow of a volcano." " Are we in his territory yet?" " There’s a stream just beyond those trees, it marks the boundary of his territory." Kuwabara scratched his head, frowning. " Do you think he knows we’re coming?" " There’re three months left before our deadline. He must still think we’re in the Ningenkai." Lian tapped the corner of her mouth thoughtfully. " I suggest we proceed very carefully. I’d hate to lose our advantage of surprise." Half-listening to the conversation, something occurred to Rian. " Does anyone know how we’re getting into that heavily guarded place of his?" Gesturing to the others, Lian knelt down on the ground and picked up a twig. As they bent over her, she drew a circle in the soft dirt. " This is Hitoare’s fortress. The volcano," represented by a triangular shape, " used to be a holy place for the fire demons that lived there about a millennium ago. They built tunnels - a labyrinth of sorts, from the base of the volcano to the other side." Drawing a zigzag line through the triangle, she tapped it lightly with the end of the twig. " This tunnel leads straight into Hitoare’s backyard." " Why hasn’t he done anything to it yet? Surely he wouldn’t leave himself so exposed." " His youkai refuse to step foot into the volcano…they believe it’s cursed. Small earthquakes have also sealed off the majority of the tunnels. But luckily, I managed to ‘borrow’ one of the ancient sacred texts detailing the labyrinth layout and the traps the fire demons left behind." Groaning, Yuusuke buried his face in his hands. " Do we have to worry about fire demons chasing after us too?" " Nope, I blamed the crime on one of my old rivals…not you, Kurama," she added, seeing the chagrined look in his eyes. " Well, it’s better than going for the full frontal assault. The last we did that, we almost got frozen into icicles by Ryu-Nuryko. In a worst case scenario, how many youkai will we be facing? " " Slightly under four hundred, not counting Hitoare’s allies from neighbouring territories." Kurama let out a sharp whistle. " At least the odds are even," Yuusuke boasted. Rian gave her sister an are-they-insane? look. She returned it with a you-are-probably-right expression. The half-youko hid a knowing smile, his team mates did take some getting use to. " Well," Rian grumbled, " it could be worse." Immediately, it begun to rain. Chapter 11 : Resolutions Closing his eyes, Hiei curled up in the tree branch and pretended to be asleep. It was easier to fake it than to face Kurama’s infuriating ‘patience and understanding’. It had been three days since they found out that the Kokuryuha was slowly consuming him - three frustrating days of enduring his fox tip-toeing around him as if he were made of fragile crystal. Shifting to a more comfortable position, he let his hand drift to the warding bandages he wore underneath his shirt. So far, Genkai’s method for restraining the Kokuryuha was working - the dreams had lessened and he could control the dragon’s powers of fire. " Hiei?" he heard Kurama’s voice cut through the silence of the night. Ignoring it, he turned away and refused to answer - he had just about enough coddling he could take for one day. With that reason in mind, Hiei had chosen a tree that was quite a distance away from the campsite. The half-youko appeared in his line of sight, barely visible in the dark. Even in his human body, Kurama possessed an almost inhuman grace, each movement he made perfectly in synch with the next. " Hiei?" Apparently, he was not going to give up so easily. The fire demon relented and stirred enough to attract his attention. Walking up to his tree, Kurama stared up at his still form, the hurt clearly visible in his emerald eyes. " Why didn’t you stay?" he asked. Hiei felt like destroying something…a rock, a tree…a small city - the last thing he ever wanted from the fox was pity. Because he was who he was, the fire demon responded in his typical manner - badly. " I have better things to do than to baby-sit a pair of youko sisters and listen to the ningen jabber about their lives." " Did it ever occur to you that *I* might enjoy your company?" he responded, stung by Hiei’s coldness. " No." He turned away, effectively ending his half of the conversation. Eyes narrowing, Kurama made a swift gesture - there was a surge of youki. Suddenly, Hiei found himself sitting in the dirt, glaring up at the tree branch which had dumped him. " What the hell is wrong with you, Hiei? Ever since we started this journey, you have been nothing but an obnoxious, pissy little bastard!" With a start, Kurama realised he was shouting. " Well, it’s better than being pitied!" the fire demon snarled back. " Pity?" he sounded incredulous. " You think I’ve been *pitying* you? Baka, that’s the last time I try to be considerate of your feelings!" " Do you think I like being treated like I’m going to fall apart at any moment? I’m a warrior, a survivor. Your *consideration* ," he snapped the word out like it was a curse, " is an insult!" Kurama opened his mouth to yell something equally scornful but it never quite made it passed his lips. Before the universe had spent another second, he was holding a struggling, spitting-mad fire demon in his arms without a single idea of what he was doing. " Shut up," he told Hiei…and risked death by kissing him. " Damned fox," Hiei muttered and returned the kiss. " You are a manipulative, possessive…" he lost track of what he was saying. " That’s what I like best about you Hiei - you have a way with words," Kurama chuckled, pulling him to the ground. " That - and the fact you look *so* kawaii when you’re angry." For now, at least, they forgot about the rest of the world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hiei awoke from his sleep with a start - he had been dreaming of the Kokuryuha, a blurred, nonsensical nightmare where he had seen the dark dragon take his form and try to kill him for possession of his body. It frightened him more than he cared to admit…what if the Kokuryuha took control of him and drove him to murder those closest to him - would he be able to resist…would ‘Hiei’ even still exist? And Kurama - the fox would probably do something stupid like try to stop the Kokuryuha by himself. Just imagining the dragon claws ripping into his vulnerable human flesh or the dark flames consuming his slender form made him shudder in the darkness of the night. How do you stop an enemy that you cannot fight - one that you do not realise you’re fighting until it has already defeated you? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A light tap on his shoulder woke him up from his sleep. Springing to his feet, Yuusuke swung his fist at the dark figure bending over him. Instead of connecting, the figure blurred out of the way at the last moment faster than humanly possible. " Hiei…what’s wrong?" He blinked and rubbed at his tired eyes. " Is it my shift?" " I need to speak to you." Taken aback by that mysterious statement, Yuusuke sighed and followed the fire demon until they had reached the edge of the camp, out of the earshot of Kuwabara who was keeping watch by the dying campfire. " What is it, Hiei?" Yuusuke yawned and decided he was not really up to these secret midnight conferences. " Do you remember Nuryko?" " She was an unforgettable female," he answered, thinking of the twisted, mad creature that had almost killed them all. " She was a child…it was the dragon spirit corrupted her soul into that *thing* we fought." Uh, oh…Yuusuke had a pretty good idea where this conversation was going. In truth, he had half-expected this, knowing Hiei as he did. " That’s not going to happen to me. I would ask Kurama, but he’s too soft-hearted and Kuwabara’s an idiot." He lifted his crimson eyes to stare at Yuusuke until the human turned away, unable to accept the painful truth in the fire demon’s eyes. " Dammit, Hiei…" " If the Kokuryuha ever takes over my body, I want you to kill me." Shocked speechless, Yuusuke could only stare at the fire demon. " Promise me," Hiei’s voice was low and urgent. " Hhh…hai." What else could he say? " Thank you," he replied simply. As Hiei blurred away into the night, Yuusuke slowly sank to the ground. He had killed youkai before but that had been in battle, and he had never considered any of them to be a… friend. Running restless fingers through his untidy black hair, Yuusuke got to his feet, feeling like the weight of the world pressed down on his shoulders. Turning back, he took a single step before he stumbled to a halt at the sight of the tall, slender human standing in front of him. " Ku…Kurama…" he stammered, desperately hoping that the half-youko had just arrived. No such luck. Choking back a sob, Kurama whirled around and ran back to their camp. " Hell," Yuusuke swore. [ Hiei’s dream in this chapter is the story’s prologue ] Chapter 12 : Into the Heart of Fire " Hmm…there should be an entrance somewhere here." Balancing the tome in one hand, Lian probed around the rocky crevice face of the mountain with the other. " I’m sure it’s here." " Let me try," Yuusuke offered. Sliding his hand into the narrow crack, he searched for… " Found it!" …an unnatural depression in the flat rock surface. Pushing down on it with all his strength, he felt in slip backwards with a low rumble. " Open sesame," he commented as the entire crevice begun push apart with agonising slowness. The hairline crack in the rock expended until a portal, tall enough even for Kuwabara, was formed. Stepping inside, Yuusuke wrinkled his nose at the smell of stale, musty air. The fading light from outside allowed him to make out curving walls, an uneven floor and a faint reddish glow in the far distant. Lian handed him the book as she dug into her pouch for the globe light she had brought along. As the steady blue light filled the cavern entrance, he saw other details that he had missed before. A marker made out of some poor unidentified youkai’s bones was embedded in the rock just by his foot. The warning was clear - those who trespassed this sacred place were doomed to the same fate as the youkai. " Now I know why Hitoare’s men think this place is cursed." " Why are you whispering?" Kuwabara asked, curiously. " I have no idea." Shuffling along the narrow cavern, they walked in a single-file towards the reddish glow at the end of the tunnel. Yuusuke had expected a labyrinth - a maze of walls and dead-ends. Apparently the fire demons who once came here had a rather weird sense of humour, they had built the potentially lethal tangle of tunnels and connecting bridges over a network of lava rivers that cut into the black rock like veins of red gold. Staring down, all the way, Kuwabara swayed slightly on his feet. " How far up do you think we are?" Swallowing hard, Rian choked, " Maybe about forty storeys high." " Which way do we take?" Kurama asked, gesturing towards the three bridges that led away from the ledge they were on. " The middle one." Reaching out, Lian gripped the rope support and almost immediately, released it, making a face. " Eeww…" Her hand came away covered with brownish slime. " What is that stuff?" Rubbing the slime between his fingers, Kurama frowned. " It’s made from a type of Makai plant - they smear it on just about anything because it’s resistant to heat and Makai fire." " Wouldn’t that make the bridge planks really slippery?" " Probably not for fire demons." He stared wistfully at Hiei who was already starting on the bridge. Fortunately, contrary to Rian’s observation, the slime only made things disgustingly sticky rather than dangerously slippery. As they plodded along, Lian offered up a prayer to Inari - at least the slime prevented the decay of the wood and rope that made up the swaying bridge. " Damn, it’s hot," Kuwabara panted, staring down at the glowing rivers of liquid fire below them. " There is a tunnel intersection ahead. It should be cooler there." After a few hours of climbing bridges, only Hiei remained unaffected by the heat. Collapsing on the cool floor of the tunnel, Yuusuke wiped his sweaty brow and longed for the delicious coolness of snow cones. " Let me have a look at that map." Following the path they were taking, Yuusuke noted that the fire demons had been one bunch of ingenious youkai - they had hidden some of the oases in the labyrinth and booby-trapped the rest. Some of the branching tunnels had been blocked off, either intentionally or by an earthquake. " Water?" Kurama offered his canteen to Hiei. He had not said anything about the conversation he had heard eavesdropping the night before…the strain was beginning to show. The fire demon shook his head and took up a defensive position at the mouth of the tunnel. Biting his bottom lip, Kurama turned away. Yuusuke wished he could hit the callous idiot. " Let’s move on, shall we? By my estimates, we should be there in another day." Kuwabara groaned painfully. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jian pressed his cheek against the wooden door of his cell, listening for the youkai sentries that patrolled the corridors. Using a piece of wire that he had fashioned into a lock pick, Jian probed the rusty keyhole, hoping for that magical click. He had spent four?…five? months in this prison…after the first few weeks, he lost track of time in this perpetually dark place. He had spent his time shaping the half-rusted piece of wire he had found into something he could use. Jian might not have been as gifted as his sisters in the fine art of breaking and entering, but one did not grow up among thieves of such calibre without at least learning *something* . The sound of footsteps froze him. Immediately, he shoved the makeshift lock pick into a crack and lay down in his cot, assuming a proper defeated, hopeless expression. The footsteps stopped in front of his cell door…the sound of the keys jangling, and the door swung open. It was Shurei. " Jian," her voice was, as always, cool. He kept his head bowed - never show empty defiance. " How are you?" " Fine." Did his voice really sound so rusty? Jian coughed experimentally and repeated his answer. " Good." She walked around his cell, sharp eyes missing nothing. This was one conversation that was rapidly heading nowhere. " Have my sisters come yet?" he added a note of pleading to his voice. It never hurt to pretend to grovel. " No." She did another quick survey of his prison. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, Shurei turned around and left. As soon as the door had swung shut again, Jian let out an unconscious sigh of relief. Dealing with Hitoare’s chief enforcer always made him nervous. There was something about that female that chilled him to the bone. He waited for quite a long time before resuming his efforts to pick the lock. " Ihatethisplace. Ihatethisplace. Ihatethisplace," he repeated to himself over and over again as he twisted the wire in the keyhole. Click! " Gotcha!" Jian crowed.