Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Elementals ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Title: Elementals
Part: Water 2/2

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Chapter 4 - "Beg all you want"

A girl ran down a street, gasping for breath with legs burning as she used every bit of speed she had to get away from the horrifying apparition behind her. Her head turned back only to have her body slam into something in front of her. Timidly she turned her head back to the front, only to see the one thing she had feared would be there.

"How foolish of these humans. So ignorant of the threats that aren't from their own species. They never even tried to find ones like you. All the better. I really hate the burns the active members of your kind leave behind on me." The face was perfectly expressionless but the blue eyes were smoldering with manic glee.

"What do you want?" She didn't understand anything he was saying. She just wanted to get home. She wanted to get away from this odd man with blue tinged skin and hair that was much too pale. There was simply something wrong with him.

"I apologize. I should have informed you immediately. I want your death." There wasn't time for a reaction to that. The water elemental tightened his hands into fists and then there was a swirl of water in the alley he had chased her into. It rose quickly to cover the girl, pouring down the throat that had opened to scream.

"You could just break her neck. Much less time consuming." He didn't bother looking toward the new voice, knowing it would be his newly appointed assistant. After his set back with the jewel, they had sent this annoying female to speed up the jewel's process of fixing itself. More importantly, her other implied duty was to watch him and make sure he didn't mess up. Again.

"I like it better this way. I can feel them wriggle against the water and watch them thrash about like the mindless animals they resemble." His eyes were fixed on the girl as he let the water drop the girl and released the bonds he had put onto her, only continuing to pour water down her throat. "This is what I should have done to the other miko. It would have been much more entertaining."

"Yes, you should have. She would not have damaged the jewel if you had," The girl snapped. In surprise his head snapped up. She had seemed like such a a useless bubbly being until then that he could not believe the anger in this female's eyes was from the same cheerful but sadistic elemental from the past two days.

"Leave your prey. She's well and dead and you're wasting far too much energy. The Focus is almost completed once more. Fortunately the contact was not very long, otherwise there would be no hope except to beg the Council for another. I doubt they would have given you another. You almost ruined it for all of us water elementals." She smiled at the defensive glare he gave, her visible emotional state changing in an instant. "Come on. I have moved the jewel. Let's go create some havoc."

She turned and walked away, perfectly calm as she came out of the alleyway. He followed along, reassessing the girl as he did. "Why are you here?"

"Because it was assigned to me. And because it is an opportunity. There is power waiting to be seized here. Power enough to be shared." The two, despite there pale blue skin, managed to only receive a few odd looks. She stuck to the darker streets as they headed toward the outskirts of the city.

"I don't like sharing." Now his gaze changed into stubborn pride. This was still his assignment, and still his power to claim. If he was lucky, there was another jewel, not a Focus, that could grant him more power than even this creature could dream of.

"I could make it worth it." The sudden husky tone in her voice stopped him in his tracks. It was perfectly plain what she was suggesting.

He did some unexpected and bruising to the ego of the female. He let out a hearty laugh. "You fool. That's really why they sent you here, isn't it? I recognize you now. You're the daughter of one of the Council members. So, I have been assigned a keeper who I also have to keep. Sorry little girl, but I'm not interested in the ways you attempt to gain power. If I wanted a whore, I would go and buy one. The price would be cheaper that what you want me to pay. I have no doubt she would also be a better lay than a pampered droplet like you."

"You'll wish you hadn't said that," She said dangerously.

"I'm shaking in my boots. Wait, I'm not wearing any! Be useful and stop trying to use your dubious charms on the unwary. Just the image of you naked is enough to make we want to retch." He let himself chuckle a bit at her enraged expression and went on, his spirits lifting. If she was this easy to manipulate into anger, it shouldn't be too hard to use her as a tool. Certainly she could be used to get that toushin off his trail if he showed up again looking for revenge for the Guardian's death. If she became too bothersome, it would be a simple thing to simply kill her.

Yes, it looked like the sky would be cloudy again very soon.

-

The reformation of the clouds above the city after only four days of respite was worrisome to those who knew what was going on, and only mildly annoying to the average person on the street. Once again, the meeting place eventually turned out to be Kagome's shrine when it became evident their opponent and the water jewel had moved.

Everyone except Kurama was there. One sniff into the dwelling told him the other kitsune was there and he had retreated out to visit Keiko in her shared tent, where he was then set upon by her curious new friends, all asking him questions at a mile per minute. He wasn't so sure that being in the permanently hostile vicinity of Shippo would have been any worse.

Inside the house, what had begun as calm words and talks of strategies and search patterns escalated to a screaming match which seemed to be almost everyone versus Kagome. Hiei and Kuwabara looked on, Hiei drinking coffee and slowly looking more evil to Kuwabara by the second. The crafty smile on the fire apparitions face didn't help matters.

"I admit that I was overconfident when I first encountered the new enemy, but-"

"No buts! You almost died!" Shippo paused a moment and his face screwed up in a snarl. "Strike that. You did die! How can you still be thinking of going out there? He'll really kill you this time!"

"I'm the only one-" Kagome tried to speak again, still attempting to be calm.

"I can do it, and you know it! I may not be as good a fighter, but everyone else can keep this water guy away from me! All I have to do is destroy the jewel! You don't need to be out there!" Souta was every bit upset as Shippo and only the lack of fangs kept him from joining the kitsune in baring his teeth at her.

"YES I DO!" Kagome finally managed to get the two of them quiet for a moment and quickly took the advantage. "What's to keep him from getting you alone Souta? What if you stumble upon his new hiding place without backup? I know you! You won't wait if you sense him!"

"Yes I will Kagome, because unlike you, I have some COMMON SENSE!" If either realized that in their anger they were radiating energy, neither of them did anything about it.

Yusuke glared at the stubborn girl with a twisted smile before reigning in his own irrational anger at her and doing his best to not shout at the girl. He barely knew her. A clever idea formed in the back of his mind as he glared uselessly at the shouting trio.

"Hey, you said you owe me, right?" The sudden question had every eye turning to the toushin. He looked too pleased with himself for Kagome's comfort.

"Yes, I did. If you remember, this was right before you stomped off much like a child having a temper tantrum." She hid her grin as he lost some of the arrogance and straightened from his position against the wall. It was so easy to push his buttons sometimes, and if she could get away from this discussion of her owing him something while they were having this particular argument, it would be beneficial to all.

"Fine. Then you owe it to me to stay home while we take care of this." The stark cold silence stretched on after his words. Kagome stared at him, her mouth working furiously for a few moments before she suddenly straightened and glared.

"Fine," she said softly. Softly enough that Souta flinched at the hurt in her voice. At the raw pain. But Yusuke staid firm and all of them knew that a little bruised ego was the least of their worries.

Yusuke opened his mouth to say something to soften the blow. She was still weak right now as any fool could see and if there was another elemental after this - as her talk with the water one said there would be - she would certainly be first in line for their help. He never was able to say a word of it. She turned and left, walking up the stairs and disappearing down a hallway.

There was a soft click from up the stairs that echoed in the silent room, indicating she had gone into, and shut the door of, her bedroom. The group stared at each other, except for Hiei, who was trotting off to make more coffee. Kuwabara and Yusuke glanced after him, and then at each other before shuddering.

"Well, that went better than I thought," Souta muttered.

-

They split into teams of two and went out. Hiei went out by himself and was seen zipping all over the city at high speeds, apparently stealing coffee wherever he went. Kagome didn't talk to any of them, even when it began to rain again, and slipped out of her room the second she was sure they were far out of range.

She didn't do what she knew they were expecting her to do. She stayed on the property and took out her bow. She notched an arrow and sighted at the far off target carved into a tree. Both of her eyes were open and the arrow flew from the bow. She was pleased to see it near the center, despite her weakness. She had become much better since the earliest days in the feudal era. She still didn't always hit her exact mark, but she usually at least got very close.

She didn't even notice the two who had crept up on her as the arrows flew from the bow until she cursed slightly at her shaking hands. Despite what she had said, her death had taken a lot out of her. If he had found her any later, her would would be in Reikai. If Yusuke didn't have the powerful youki that he did, she would be dead. If she didn't have a strong connection to the Shikon no Tama. There were a lot of "ifs".

Gentle hands were placed on her shoulders and she whirled to face the kitsune's girl. Gentle brown eyes were studying her in concern. "Are you sure you should be out here?"

"No," Kagome replies. "But lying around won't make me better any quicker."

"I beg to differ," Kurama said dryly.

"Beg all you want," Kagome shot back, trying to turn back to the far off target.

Keiko tugged her hands again, this time her gaze part imploring and part scolding. "If you get yourself sick, who will teach us?"

Kagome paused, and then stared at the bow in her hand, a small smile coming to her face. She hadn't thought of that. She needed something to keep her mind off of what they were doing, something that wasn't physically strenuous but that would keep her mind occupied. "Do you think you two can find enough canvas to cover an area big enough for everyone? To keep them from the rain? I think its time I did do some teaching."

"I'll grow some if I have to," Kurama promised. He was already heading through the rain to look. Kagome took a moment to admire the redhead walking away from her. From the slightest flare in the aura besides her, Keiko had noticed.

"Don't worry," Kagome said offhandedly. "I'm not interested in the nice boys. He's just very nice looking. You have some cuties for friends."

"Including Yusuke?" Keiko asked challengingly. She, personally, didn't care if she did. She was trying to rile the presently fragile girl - and get Kagome's eyes off her boyfriend's backside.

"Ah, Yusuke," Kagome said with a dreamy quality in her voice. Keiko looked startled.

"That one," Kagome continued, still in that same voice, "is an asshole."

Keiko blinked in surprise. Her voice was a held a bit of reproach. "Didn't he save your life?"

Kagome sighed and bent her head to stare at some interesting piece of dirt. "I sound ungrateful, don't I?"

"Well... A little bit. I know Yusuke is a bit... headstrong. And he doesn't listen very well..." Keiko trailed off, trying futilely to find her point.

"Oh, he listens. He just doesn't care. Apparently just because I had a bit of problem with the water guy means I still would." Kagome knew she was being unfair. She was just angry with him for pulling that promise out on her.

"You were dead," Keiko pointed out logically.

"I know. And he saved me." Kagome watched the rain as it slowly began to fall faster. She shivered as she remembered looking at her own body. Despite the fact she thought the Shikon no Tama could restart her heart and get the water out of her lungs, she had still been unsure if her soul could have reentered. It had been a horrifying few seconds, no matter how confident she had seemed.

"I think Kurama found something," Keiko said. The two began to walk, side by side toward the canvas that had been put up over a large area. The mikos and soosaaras had begun to converge underneath it and were milling about energetically.

Kagome took her place on the God Tree's roots, feeling somehow that this was the best place to teach from. She gazed out at the hundred or so. Oddly enough, a few more had wandered in during the rains, shivering with a cold that had nothing to do with their soaked state. A few more saved from those trying to kill them. It troubled Kagome. They could see the jewel, but that could not be the only reason they killed her kind.

She shook her thoughts out of her head and smiled at students of all ages. "I think it's time we filled your head with something more than information. The easiest way to channel our energy is through weapons. Unfortunately, I don't have enough for all of you. So, we'll just have to improvise."

Kagome held up a rock with a grin. "I think this will do, don't you?"

-

The miko woman had watched them flail about for a week and become more and more downtrodden and angry. They didn't catch so much as a whiff. Yet, the deaths of miko girls or soosaara boys rippled down the grapevine and Kagome had finally had enough. She put in front of them some hot cocoa while making up an excuse. She was going to pick up some groceries.

They were too exhausted to point out most stores would be closed due to the flooding. Cars couldn't drive, and even her tall boots were barely out of the water. With each splash water poured onto her feet. She knew this was extra dangerous. The water was coming down harder than it had the first time. But what could she do?

It was Kurama who noticed the bow missing first. Keiko had been basking in the God Tree's presence and he had been watching with an uncertain and thoughtful frown. His eyes had wandered over to the house and he had leaned in to peek in the window. He knew where the bow was kept. It wasn't there.

The kitsune considered this for a moment and then turned to watched Keiko throw a glowing pebble into the water. His eyes switched over to the house. Without Kagome, what was to keep the elementals from finding this shrine? If her shields went down...

His mind was made up. He didn't bother unlocking the door. He simple turned the knob until it decided it wasn't locked anymore. He ignored the growl from the other kitsune, and the snarl, and observed them all with a detached air. "Your miko is gone."

Then he turned and stalked off into the night after her.

"Shit," Yusuke muttered.

-

Kagome was beginning to think this had been a terrible idea. A very bad, extremely stupid, idea. When there had been just one it had been bad enough. But now she had tracked him down, and there were two. Only the luck of being on higher ground then kept them from sensing her. Otherwise the water would have alerted him.

There was what once must have been a large pond where they stood. Now it was turning into a lake. The male was arguing with the female as they stood on the water. Kagome peered out from behind her tree and carefully took out an arrow.

An instant later it was flying toward the unaware male elemental, straight and true. It should have hit him. If not for the female, it would have. It later struck Kagome as very stupid of a being with power over water to instead physically push her compatriot aside and stumble into his spot herself.

The arrow struck her in the chest, glowing bright pink. The female blinked at the arrow and looked at the male beside her as her body began to blur and her fingers turned to water. She managed to gasp out, "Don't let them win!" before her body turned completely to water.

Kagome took a moment to register the stunned look on his face and shoot off another arrow before bolting from her spot to the dubious cover of a half fallen tree, hoping that he was either dead or would not find her. Her hopes for the former were dashed when a tower of water twisted up, holding the pale being above the lake as he stared down through the trees. She pressed herself underneath the tree and into the mud, clenching her teeth to keep herself from even letting out a breath of air that was too loud.

"You're just like a bug, aren't you? You think you've squashed it but it just comes right back to pester you a bit more. Come on little insect. Where are you hiding?" Each word seemed bitten off and Kagome shrunk away as he swept through the trees on a wave of water. She could read the anger in his eyes.

"However did you survive? Really, I'm curious. A tiny nuisance like you shouldn't have been able to survive that much water." He paused so near her that she almost wanted to reach out and just attack him, no matter how foolhardy that was. Fortunately the green whip the forced the water elemental back stopped her from doing anything so drastic.

She followed the whip to its handle and was unsurprised to see a familiar kitsune standing there. She was even more unsurprised at the angry group behind him. Shippo looked torn between being angry at the water being and being angry at Kurama for striking before anyone else. Yusuke and Souta were both keeping one eye out to search the area. Hiei and Kuwabara both had all of their attention on the enemy.

"How interesting. But you're in my element. You really think you can stop me?" As they stared at him stubbornly he let out a sigh. He didn't move from his spot but the water underneath him did, rushing forward to attack them.

As they were thrown back by the water, Kagome watched as the elemental followed. She breathed a sigh of relief. They could handle him. She needed to do what she had begun to do the first time she ended up fighting that creature.

She scrambled down the hill to the water's edge and stared into the water for a long moment. She could sense the jewel, down deep, and she quivered inside. She had drowned the last time she tried to do this, and something inside her rebelled at the thought of trying again.

She tried to ignore it. When that didn't work, she thought about it logically. She had drowned because she had been held beneath the water the first time. Usually she was a good swimmer. With him being preoccupied, she could definitely do this.

She didn't quite convince herself, but she closed her eyes and waded in anyway, wincing as the water reached her shoulders. She took a deep breath and dove beneath the water. Part of her screamed in panic, but her senses were trained on the bright spot in a world of darkness. She knew she would pay for this later, but right now she funneled everything into swimming for that jewel.

It fit into her hand easily, and she saw her hands glow with energy. Cracks appeared in the jewel that was shaped like a faceted oval. It seemed slow to break and Kagome was beginning to panic by the time it did disappear. She swam back up to the surface, gasping for breath as she burst into fresh air.

The looming shadow over half of the lake made her hesitant to turn, but turn she did. Blue eyes stared at her in rage. Even as Kagome raised he hand to attempt to blast him she knew she would never hit him. Neither of them heard the other screams of attack and they stared at each other in stunned surprise as two kinds of blue energy and a large amount of flames passed over Kagome's head and struck him in the chest. The energy encompassed him and Kagome shielded her eyes from the brightness, her legs kicking in the water as she moved back.

When she could see again, hands were hauling her from the water. Her waterlogged clothing had streams of water dropping onto the soaked earth as she was made to stand upright and was turned around to face the many angry faces, all glowing brightly to her eyes. Yusuke's eyes were narrowed. "So much for owing me. What, you decided the first time wasn't enough, you wanted him to kill you again?"

"Found him, didn't I?" She questioned wearily. She wanted to just collapse where she stood, but apparently that wasn't going to happen.

"And almost were killed by him. You would have been if we hadn't shown up," Kurama pointed out.

"Leave her alone," Shippo snapped and despite the fear still clawing its way through her body, she frowned at him.

Kurama turned to his fellow kitsune and studied the other with green eyes. "I do not know what I did to you in the past-"

"I don't believe that. I don't see how even you could forget that, thief." Shippo took one step forward, his eyes intent on Kurama's reaction. As the redhead continued to express confusion in his eyes, Shippo snarled and raised his claws. Everyone froze as Kagome's adventure was forgotten in the sudden standoff.

"Shippo," Souta whispered, eyeing the four friends nervously as they all tensed. It didn't help that one of them was holding his sister up. In fact, the toushin was probably the only thing holding her up.

"Maybe you should do this later. When Kagome is... safe." There was no mistaking his meaning and Yusuke jerked his eyes over to the boy who was staring at the miko who was presently beginning to sway dangerously. If he let go, he didn't doubt she would fall. A cold fury swept through him without warning and he let her go, ignoring her soft gasp as he glared at the young teen.

"Is this better?" Yusuke asked harshly. "Is she safe now?"

Souta flinched, especially when Kagome didn't move except to curl her knees up to her chest and shiver in the cold. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Don't delude yourself kid, it was obvious exactly how you meant it," Yusuke snapped.

"All of you, just stop. I was stupid, Shippo's being secretive and probably irrational, and Souta's saying things before he thinks. Just... everyone stop and breath for a second. Can't any of you do that?" Kagome's voice was barely above a whisper but everyone turned toward her and listened anyway.

"We can do that about as well as you can keep promises," Yusuke said shortly.

Kagome didn't rise to the bait. She stared up at him with distant eyes before glancing down. "Sorry."

No one spoke as the apology rippled through the air and Kuwabara was the first to break the silence. "Hey, I think it might be lightening up."

That caused everyone to stare upward except for Souta and Kagome. He stepped carefully over the muddy surface to his sister's side and she took the hand her offered and leaned on the available shoulder. "You're getting taller."

"Had to happen eventually," Souta pointed out.

"You're taller than me," Kagome whined.

"I'm a boy," Souta said, as if that explained everything. Kagome snorted and stumbled along beside him.

"I think I used too much energy," Kagome admitted.

"What was your first clue?" Souta asked wryly as they stepped further toward their home and away from the five people still staring at the sky which had stopped raining buckets and was now simply pouring.

"Well, the vision of an energy you and a normal you side by side was a pretty good one." Kagome tried to grin and found she was too exhausted for that. She had died, come back to life, spent only a few days healing before training as much as she could in the rain, and then went out and used up most of her energy destroying a jewel and swimming in water that she was suddenly afraid of. She was hoping that she could get a vacation. She would even take that damn majin yelling at her the whole time as long as she didn't have to do any of that ever again.

"At least you didn't die this time," Souta said and chuckled at her halfhearted glare.

- -

A swirling portal hovered in the air near a stream. The water in that stream twisted upwards until it formed the shape of a young female. She was sneering as she stepped toward the portal, but it only lasted a moment as she collapsed onto the bank, gasping. Obviously the miko had managed to damage her more than she thought.

The stupefied expression on that fool's face as she dissolved into the water had been magnificent. He should have accepted her offer. She could have taught him a few tricks. Like the fact that one didn't have to be dead to turn into water. There were only a few who knew this, but she was the only one who dared use the technique that they deemed "dangerous".

Her breath came in ragged gasps, but she managed to crawl toward the portal anyway. This time, she would advise them not to start in Japan. The fighters there knew too much about them. Another place would have to do.
Perhaps England. The earth warrior they chose would have a wonderful times with earthquakes there, and somewhere in the northern part of that island there was another spot like the one in Tokyo, that the jewel could funnel the power from.

She was giggling as she pulled herself through. This time they would not be thwarted. Nothing could possibly hinder their plans in England.

----End Part