InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Blue Anshan ❯ The Rescue 2 - 'Time Off' Just Doesn't Mean Time Off Anymore ( Chapter 24 )

The Blue Anshan

By Alesyira

Summary: Sometimes, we all need a little RR...

Chapter Rating: PG. Bad language!

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, and Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro. OCs are my own. I make no profit from this piece of fiction.

Arc 4 - The Rescue 2 - 'Time Off' Just Doesn't Mean Time Off Anymore

the present

"Let go of the damned robe, you fool!" a woman's voice screeched. The Reikai Tantei looked on in a mix of horror and thinly veiled amusement as the twin Naga sisters clawed, screamed, and tore at a glowing robe pulled taught between them.

Insults, threats and poor reasoning flew back and forth between the two thieves as the boys looked on. Kurama seemed to be the first to tire of the display as he spoke. "We've already killed or incapacitated their allies in this theft, so why don't we just..."

"Shh, shhhh... I wanna see who wins. This is so unbelievably hot," Yusuke muttered.

Kurama massaged his temples with fingertips and sighed in annoyance. "And Youko wholeheartedly agrees, but this is getting to be ridiculous."

"Plus, we can't attack the pretty ladies since they haven't attacked us first. Maybe we could distract them with jewelry," Kuwabara added. Hiei rolled his eyes and turned away from the catfight to get some distance.

Kurama hid an amused smile behind his hand. "He's right, you know.'" The other three turned to look at him, incredulous at the idea that Kurama would agree with one of Kuwabara's silly ideas. "Considering they are two beautiful youkai fighting over a robe of wisdom, and obviously neither will agree to share, they might be more tempted with..."

"Okay, okay, stop humoring him. You're interrupting their fight," Yusuke whined, trying to catch everything the twins growled.

"Maybe one of us should at least tell them about the robe's aging side effect..." Kurama suggested.

"The what?" Yusuke asked, barely paying attention.

"The only reason Youko never attempted to steal that robe from the previous owners is because anyone who wears the robe is cursed with the age that normally accompanies wisdom."

"So, you wear it to get smarter, but instead you just get really old?" Kuwabara asked.

Kurama nodded once. "The wearer would certainly gain great wisdom, but the aging effect is not worth the wisdom it brings. It is especially detrimental to humans, for their lifespan is already so very short."

"What would it do to someone that has a very long lifespan?" Yusuke asked, with his attention now focused more on the information Kurama had to share.

"I never had the-" He was cut off by the unexpected sound of fabric tearing.

"No fucking way," Yusuke said, turning to stare in horror at the Naga twins, their prize torn in half and still dangling from their fingers.

One sister reacted first, dropping her half and flying toward her sibling with glowing knives. "You bloody, stupid, insane excuse for a-" Her sibling met the attack with her own weapons drawn, and the two allowed their fight to escalate into bloodshed as they continued to completely ignore the four onlookers.

Kuwabara grinned at the other three. "I guess it only makes you smarter if you're wearing 'em." Yusuke rolled his eyes and punched him in the arm. The amused interest Yusuke had in watching the girls fight had been squelched under the dismay of seeing the destruction of the artifact they'd been charged with recovering.

"Might as well head back," he grumbled, stepping forward to pick up the two halves of the robe.

*This is what happens when we allow the fools to interrupt the process of disemboweling.* Hiei scoffed.

~Don't be sad, Hiei,~ Youko teased. ~There's still plenty of daylight left for slaying.~

"Great work, boys." Koenma watched on as a few ogres closed the great vault door. "Next time, though... try not to let the artifact get torn in half between squabbling girls. At least I have one less thing to worry about, now."

"You sure you don't want to sew 'em back together and give it a try yourself?" Yusuke asked

The teenaged demigod frowned in annoyance. "I have no time to ogle girls figh..." He trailed off in exasperation as he realized Yusuke was poking fun at his intelligence. He ignored Yusuke's snicker and walked down the hall to his office as he fought off the obvious flush of embarrassment.

The boys grimaced at the mountain of folders stacked neatly behind the desk as they walked through the large office doors. Koenma plucked a file from one of the stacks and cleared his throat loudly as he circled his desk to sit in the large chair.

Yusuke paled as he glanced at his watch. "Look, Koenma, I don't have the time right now to go on another-"

"I've run out of vital errands for you to do. Consider yourselves dismissed."

"Eh?" Yusuke asked. The others didn't need to hear it twice, though, and he was quick to follow. Keiko was going to throttle him all the way to the theater.

-o-

Hiei landed soundlessly on the branch of a tree, taking a quick survey of the shrine grounds. Yukina stood nearby, sweeping the sidewalk. A moment passed before she noticed his arrival, and she briefly smiled up at him before sprinkling some seeds for a few twittering birds nearby. The two remained silent for some time; Yukina watched the birds peck at the ground, and Hiei watched Yukina enjoy her afternoon.

After the last bird flew away, Yukina turned to smile up at Hiei again. "Did you have a good-" He had already left. She had but a moment to feel sad at his abrupt departure before the sound of approaching footsteps met her ears.

She rushed toward her newest guest and took the bouquet from his fingers. "Flowers!" He caught her hand with his and pressed a kiss to her knuckle with a smile.

"Genkai and I are about to have tea. Would you like to join us?" she offered. Kuwabara smiled and nodded before following her inside.

In the park several blocks away, Hiei relaxed in a new branch and scowled at the thought of the numbskull taking up his sister's attentions.

Yusuke tried to ignore the roiling wad of fear festering in the pit of his stomach. "She's gonna kill me," he muttered as he ran down the sidewalk. He had gotten so caught up in that fight that he'd forgotten about their movie plans. "...gonna kill me twice..."

It wasn't surprising that he'd managed to forget (and run late for) another scheduled evening out, but he was trying to get on track. He'd made serious efforts to please her with flowers, whisk her away to frilly girl-resort places at least every other month or so... and he made a valiant, conscious effort to arrive at least ten minutes early to their last movie night...

The noodle shop door jingled loudly, and he winced as all eyes turned to his dirty, sweaty appearance and sheepish expression. "Stupid bells..." he grumbled, carefully making eye contact with his very angry girlfriend. The flames dancing in her eyes briefly promised pain and agony (especially for his poor ears) before she turned her smile back toward the girl she'd been serving. It looked like the young lady was getting a quick bite to eat before a hiking trip.

Keiko wiped her hands on her apron and stalked over to his side. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago. Doesn't the word matinee mean anything to you? They don't show this movie after this week and we were supposed to..." She yelled and fumed and waved her hands around, completely oblivious to the customers witnessing her rant. He winced and tucked his hands into his pockets as he let her go on about "respect for the relationship" and the "attention needed for work schedules" and so on...

He noticed with a grimace that an older man tossed his napkin down, paid for his half-eaten meal, and then left the shop, followed soon after by the hiking girl, who had her meal packed into a to-go box before she left as well.

"Ooh!" she growled, stomping her foot in agitation. "Two, Yusuke! Two of my customers left and I didn't even get to say goodbye or invite them to come back or anything! …And that girl was so nice, too..." she trailed off.

"Was she about to go on a trip or something?" Yusuke asked, desperately trying to take his girlfriend's mind off of her anger.

"I think she's just an archery- Hey! You shouldn't have had any time-" she smacked him on the arm, "-to notice her if you'd been listening to me!"

"But Keiko, I wasn't-" he tried again. Somehow an empty noodle pot ended up in her hand and she reared back to swing it at his head.

-o-

"I'm home," Kurama called from the entryway of his mother's house. He knew his short time off before returning to the university would be best spent running an errand or two for his mother. One without fear for his life might try to make fun of his preferred use of free time, but the centuries-old kitsune had developed a particular fondness for the woman that had given birth to and raised his avatar form. Her care and devotion deserved the same in return, and it brought him great pleasure to see her smile.

"Shuuichi, did you have a good weekend?" She smiled warmly and embraced him as they met in the hall. He nodded and followed her into the kitchen to make tea.

"I stopped by to see if there's anything I can help you with before I go back to the university," he said, taking a seat at the table.

"Oh - why, yes... There's a package of dry-cleaning that I've been meaning to bring home, but I refuse to let you go until you've had tea with me first."

He smiled and sipped the warm liquid as he listened to his mother chatter on about what she had done over the week. A short while later, he slipped on his shoes, kissed his mother goodbye, and stepped outside to head toward the dry-cleaner's shop.

~Wait. Don't move,~ Youko demanded. Kurama froze in the middle of the crosswalk. ~Did you just smell that?~ Youko asked, and Kurama could almost feel the spirit kitsune's ears perk in curiosity.

'Smell what?' he asked, still standing awkwardly in the middle of the street. 'Can I move yet?' he added as a car honked at him to move.

~Oh, for the love of kami, get out of the street. Just don't go far yet. I want to make sure I'm not imagining things...~

'What did you smell?' Kurama asked, his own curiosity building in light of Youko's. Nothing average or mundane would provoke such a fast reaction... Youko guided him forward, and then doubled back to the corner and down the sidewalk to the right, hoping to pick up another trace of whatever had caught his attention.

The whine of disappointment was a good sign that Youko had not caught scent of whatever had grabbed his attention. 'So bored that you've begun to imagine sources of entertainment?' he teased.

~Hush. If you'd have the common sense to find something to play with now and then, we wouldn't have this problem.~

'I'll not allow your libido to take over my studies-'

~You know perfectly well that your studies are a waste of time, and I would not be so callous as to spend every waking moment finding pleasure in life...~

'Yes, you would.'

There was a pause before Youko finally chose to respond. ~True.~ The kitsune spirit fell silent once again. Kurama paid for his mother's dry cleaning and picked out a small bouquet from a small vendor, and (since he was close by) decided to walk the short distance to the noodle shop. ~It wouldn't hurt to indulge me on occasion,~ he whined. ~An hour or two in the Makai with several fem-~ Youko cut himself off mid-fantasy. ~Unbelievable… There it is again!~ he chirped, spurring Kurama into following a faintly sweet scent that trailed down the street.

As Kurama continued along, he decided that the scent made him slightly uncomfortable. It seemed like whatever smelled like that was designed to lure in scavengers.

~That's exactly what it is for,~ Youko grinned, his spiritual tail flicking back and forth in eagerness.

'Then perhaps we shouldn't be approaching it, should we?' The idea that they were suddenly tracking something that wanted to be found was a bit unsettling to the avatar.

~If it is what I think it is, you have nothing to fear.~

'Care to add more information to that?' he asked after Youko fell silent.

~Not yet. It's supposed to be extinct, and I'm trying to not get our hopes up, yet.~

Both Kurama and Youko were surprised to follow the odd scent right to their detoured destination, the Yukimura noodle shop.

-o-

It was a nice, quiet summer afternoon, made easy to enjoy with the total lack of annoyances. Bickering, ignorant, whiny humans had been left far behind at the shopping centers and busy streets, and Hiei indulged in the moment with an audible sigh. He settled back against the trunk of his tree and watched a cloud float across the sky.

There were a few things he could be doing right now, but taking an afternoon off to brood in a tree seemed like the best idea.

The soft crunch of grass a short distance away made him growl in annoyance. *I can't even get ten damned minutes of silence in this whole blasted realm!* He barely spared a glance at the stupid dark-haired female that dared pass within a mile of his tree before he darted away toward his preferred entrance into the Makai. *Maybe something nasty will come by and eat her.* He scowled, whipping out his blade to slice through the thin barrier. He slipped through the entrance quickly before it closed and immediately headed toward Mukuro's. At least he'd be guaranteed a moment's peace within his quarters there.