Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Barriers ❯ Logic ( Chapter 10 )

Shiki clung to Kurama's back, trying not to let the speed at which they moved dizzy her too much. She had insisted on this change of positioning; it made absolutely no sense to her for Kurama to carry her in his arms while trying to navigate tree branches, even if he didn't seem to have too much difficulty.

 

“How far do we have to go?” she asked. Shiki wasn't entirely certain whether or not her voice was audible, or if the wind created by their passage was carrying her voice off too quickly to be heard.

 

“Far enough that they will not be likely to find us by randomly teleporting to areas near where we were.”

 

“Oh.” Shiki wasn't exactly sure how far that was, but she supposed it would be a while, yet.

 

“You can put me down, you know. I'm not quite this fast, but the immediate danger has passed, hasn't it?” Truth be told, she wasn't really looking forward to the prospect of running all those miles, but this kind of proximity to Kurama was… disconcerting, made worse by the fact that she was almost certain she didn't mind it in the slightest.

 

Kurama stopped dead, crouching on a thick tree limb, but did not respond. Shiki was about to repeat herself, but closed her mouth again when she felt him tense. She strained her senses to try and pick up on what had caused him to stop, but she could not detect anything unusual. Other than the wind through the trees, not a sound could be heard. Wait. She wasn't sure if the forests in Makai had animals or not, but if they did, then this kind of silence was actually a problem.

 

She felt Kurama shift uncomfortably beneath her, and quickly loosened her grip, realizing that she was nearly choking him. Shiki almost muttered an apology, but then decided it could wait. She was conscious of the hammering of her heart in her chest, and deliberately slowed her breathing, trying to match the pattern of Kurama's controlled breaths.

 

At length, the sounds of the forest seemed to return to their normal volume, and Kurama turned his head to speak.

 

“I think we will be safe enough for the moment. If you wish me to set you down, I will do so and we can travel by ground.” He was careful to keep his tone neutral; though caution was in his nature, he knew that it was unlikely they would be found at this point. Still, he would have been more comfortable if she just stayed where she was, knowing that she would be easier to look after that way.

 

“Okay. Let's do that then.”

 

With a resigned inward sigh, Kurama leapt gracefully from the tree to that ground, landing relatively lightly despite his extra burden. Setting Shiki down on the ground, he turned to face her. As he had expected, she appeared fearful. There was a nervousness to her demeanor that was usually not present, evident in her shaking hands and forced breathing. Her eyes, however, betrayed her not. A steely glint had crept into the cobalt-blue, evidence of self-mastery beyond what he had believed she possessed. That was the thing about humans. They were always surprising him.

 

Where did that thought come from? Kurama shook his head slightly. Technically, he wasn't human, but he had never really considered them a separate species before. That sounded oddly like something Youko would think.

 

Indeed, mused the fox demon, the barrier disintegrates.

 

What do you mean? Shuichi asked.

 

But Youko responded no further.

 

“Are you all right?” This was Shiki. Her voice snapped him out of his reverie. Apparently he had let some of his internal conversation show; she appeared worried, the flinty look replaced with one that was all softness and concern.

 

“Yes, I am quite well, all things considered.” He smiled, but it was contrived, and they both knew it. Still, she did not enquire further, merely bit her lower lip and nodded. She understood the need to keep certain things unsaid, much unlike Yusuke or Kuwabara.

 

“Well, I suppose we ought to go then.” She managed to inject some relatively genuine cheeriness into her voice. They were, after all, free from immediate danger. As the two walked, they allowed a comfortable silence to settle between them, each thoroughly absorbed in their own thoughts. Shiki wondered how the others were faring, and spent a great deal of time trying to reassure herself that they were all likely very capable of taking care of themselves. She thought about asking Kurama what he thought, but took one look at him and decided to leave him be. He was clearly wrestling with something weighty, best just to leave him to it.

 

Kurama, for his part, was stewing over several things. First and foremost, he was concocting a plan. He seemed to remember something about this place, something that was almost certainly going to be helpful. Of course, sorting through hundreds of years of memory for something he had likely not considered important was a task in and of itself.

 

Making this difficult process all the more laborious were the nagging feelings of apprehension in the back of his mind. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to set aside Youko's cryptic remark. The barrier disintegrates? What barrier? Kurama had an unfortunate feeling that he knew exactly what Youko had been referring to. The problem was, should that indeed turn out to be the case he could see no way to stop it.

 

Finally, there was the matter of Shiki. Kurama shot a glance at the girl walking next to him. She was navigating the forest with some difficulty. The flowing robes that made up the traditional warrior's gi she wore were easily caught on twigs and pine needles, and her hair already sported a rather impressive collection of wet leaves. Kurama smiled fleetingly to himself at the sight and then grew solemn.

 

In truth, she was likely their only chance to defeat the demons that possessed the Akuma stone, since she still held the other. What was more, if his recent transformation was anything to go by, she was beginning to learn how to use it. It would be a matter of getting her close enough to the holder of the other stone so she could neutralize its power. Of course, if the tale of Kurogami was anything to go by, actually accomplishing that may be harmful to Shiki's person. Logically, Kurama knew it had to be done. If it was done correctly, there was but a small risk; the woman in the tale had been desperate and hasty. Still, the idea of subjecting Shiki to even this minor risk bothered him too much for his comfort. And this, in turn, bothered him even more. Kurama was nothing if not logical and yet here he was, refusing bluntly to make a logical, necessary decision. Why?

 

***

 

Yusuke ran a hand through his hair absently. Kurama had given him explicit instructions on the direction to take when he left, but then Kuwabara had complicated things a bit by playing the hero. Expecting that Botan would naturally fly southward, the direction from which they had come, he had told Yusuke to head Northeast with Hiei. Of course, with the mix-up, Yusuke couldn't tell if Hiei would come this way or not.

 

Not that it mattered too much at this point, he guessed. The idea was to hide “as long as necessary” and then meet back up at a specified coordinate. What exactly was there, Kurama hadn't said, but he'd been awfully specific. In retrospect, Yusuke realized it was better that the groups had ended up like this; in the rush of the fight, he'd forgotten to pass the note with the coordinates to Kuwabara.

 

Botan flew beside him on her oar as he walked along the forest floor. It wouldn't do to get too close to the rendezvous point quite yet. He'd explained everything as they flew away, and she seemed to understand the need to keep her in the dark until then. That hadn't, of course, kept her from lecturing him about it.

 

“And honestly, what good does this whole `splitting up' thing do us anyway?”

 

Yusuke sighed, and responded with a shorter tone than he would normally have used. “If we stay together, we're easier to find.”

 

His abruptness caught her off-guard, and she fell silent. Truly, she understood that her tendency to ask too many questions and offer too much information was frequently irritating, but she could not be otherwise. These tendencies were both her coping mechanism for stress and her way to feel useful. The fact that she was a noncombatant sometimes bothered her, so she always strove to be as helpful as she could in other ways.

 

Yusuke saw the look on her face and sighed again. “Sorry about that. It was just the best shot we had, ya know?”

 

She smiled weakly and nodded. “Of course. I just don't like it.”

 

That elicited a short bark of laughter. “Yeah, me either.”

 

***

 

Hiei rolled his eyes at the crashing sound he heard behind him. The oaf had clearly never had to go anywhere quietly. They were fortunate that nobody had bothered to follow them, as they wouldn't be at all difficult to track.

 

His eyes scanned the surrounding forest, looking for anything out-of-place. It never hurt to be careful in situations like this. Spying nothing worth note, he launched himself out of the branches and into the next tree. He was careful not to get too far ahead of the oaf, though. It would do no good to leave him behind, after all, but this way, he didn't have to make conversation.

 

His eye involuntarily twitched as he contemplated the possibility. Kuwabara's two favorite topics were Yukina and Hiei's height. While the latter was easy to ignore or rip down with a suitably biting retort, discussion of the former just made him uncomfortable, especially since Kuwabara had no idea how thin his ice was on that topic, which was just as well. Hiei was certain he'd never hear the end of it if the oaf found out.

 

Kuwabara tripped over a fallen log and shouted as he fell. Hiei stopped to allow him time to pick himself up. Still, he couldn't resist.

 

“We all know you can't fight; do you mean to tell me you can't walk correctly either?”

 

“Shut it, short-fuse! Not all of us are tiny enough to jump around in trees, okay?”

 

Hiei sighed inwardly, and found himself with the distinct desire to be back on Makai border patrol.

 

***

Kiku's Corner!

 

Hello, again, dearest readers! This chapter is for MorriganFearn, who I suspect is the only reader I know in real life. You should all give her some serious props, as she has agreed to draw art for me! Whee! I'm inordinately excited about this because I love art but cannot draw. MF, on the other hand, is a marvelous artist.

 

Thanks also to Beth for Beta-ing as always, and also to Slyvixen for another encouraging review. I know a couple people have also favorited or alerted, which is also awesome and appreciated.

 

Concrit always welcome, but I'll take whatever you have to say. And I do so love my readers!

 

~Kiku~