Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Chains of time ❯ Illusions and Fox Magic ( Chapter 5 )

Phoenix: This is the ACTUAL chapter four!! **Ducks as various items are thrown at her.**

Sorry this took so long. I was having a hard time figuring out what to do for this chapter, since I was planning out the following one. That and trying not to spill stuff to Isashi and yet explain her part. Well, Happy New Years!! 2004!! Five months until I graduate!!! Woot!!

~…~ is for thoughts

"…" is spoken (Japanese usually)

*…* is for random Spanish phrases. Used later when Kaen cusses….as she cusses in whatever language I decide she should cuss in.

**…** is for Phoenix's random author notes or location specifications. In case you didn't catch that. Gomen.

: Blah stuff: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, or much of anything else I mention in here. Except for my Shippô plushie that shows up every now and then….

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Chapter 4: Illusions and Fox Magic

**Alleyway behind warehouses, 10pm**

"This certainly looks like the place," Kurama said, stepping under one of the few streetlights.

The alley was nearly pitch black, just as the video had shown, due mainly to the warehouses blocking out any additional light. The Reiki Tantei had arrived only a few moments before, yet the scene before their eyes was not what they had been shown in Koenma's office. In fact, this alley looked completely untouched, leaving the four boys and one girl completely confused.

"Figures. We get sent to the wrong place! How's this gonna help?" Yusuke said, dropping into his typical attitude stance and scratching his head. His comment was met with nothing less than a death glare from Botan.

"Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye," Kurama said glancing at Hiei. "Do you see anything?"

Hiei grunted in response. "The only thing I see is…" the fire demon took a step forward, before smirking to himself. It had only been a tiny flicker, but it had been there all the same. Quickly, Hiei untied his bandana, the purple-iris of the Jagan eye flashing open. Putting the bandana somewhere within the folds of his cloak, the Jaganshi walked towards the center of the alleyway, disappearing from sight.

"W-What?!" Kuwabara and Botan both said as the remaining four all stared at the space that had previously been occupied by the little demon.

The four exchanged looks of confusion, before Yusuke stepped forward. Cautiously, he stuck his hand out where Hiei had disappeared and yelped in surprise as his own hand vanished. The Spirit Detective pulled his arm back, and once realizing his hand still existed, he looked back at the others.

"An illusion…"Kurama said as he approached Yusuke. "A very good one at that…" the kitsune said as he stepped through the illusion. Immediately, his body was wrapped in warmth unlike any other. One second, it was unbearably scorching; the next, the soft warmth of a summer day. As soon as he exited the boundary, Kurama looked at the demon standing a few feet away. "This…is not a regular illusion."

"Indeed," Hiei agreed, as Yusuke, Botan, and finally Kuwabara stepped through the illusion.

"That was weird," Kuwabara stated, then looked past where Hiei stood. "The bodies!" He shrieked, pointing at the ground ten feet in front of him.

Certainly enough, just past where Hiei stood laid the two horribly mangled, burned and otherwise unpleasant looking bodies they had spent the last two hours traveling to find. Thankfully, the bodies hadn't started to decay, but that gave very little reassurance.

"How can anyone just leave the bodies?" Botan whispered, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve.

"Because whoever did this, wanted us to know," Yusuke said, walking around the bodies to where Kurama was kneeling. The redhead's face was hidden by a curtain of hair, but he was shaking somewhat. "Hey, Kurama, what's wrong?"

Kurama shook his head, and looked up at his friend. "Nothing. I thought I recognized something, but I was mistaken," he said, faking a smile. When Yusuke nodded and went to look at the second body, Kurama glanced down at his hand, which was he had closed into a fist when Yusuke walked to him.

As soon as he had seen the video, Kurama was interested in the chains that had been used against the two demons. Through his existence, he had only known one demon who could manipulate metal and who favored chains. Kurama could only know if he could hold a part of the chains himself. Using a shortened Rose Whip, Kurama had managed to cut an un-bloodied link off one of the chains. And now, as he looked at the link, he was certain he did recognize the chains.

~But why would this? She never liked killing…. ~ Kurama thought to himself. ~Unless, someone is trying to frame her…~ Kurama's eyes went wide as he caught the scent of fresh blood and… ~Metal!!~

"Yusuke!!" Kurama yelled, jumping to his feet and racing off in the direction of the scent.

Much to his credit, Yusuke turned immediately as his name was called and charged off after Kurama, Kuwabara and Botan following. Hiei, he knew, was probably already at their destination.

**Phoenix: And know…we switch!! (Tries to clap, misses and baps herself in the nose) Owwie…**

"If you stayed still, it wouldn't hurt as much," the dark figure growled. One of her prey had already tried to escape, and was burnt because of his efforts. The second was somewhat smarter, but still struggled, bare skin scorching as it touched red-hot metal.

"What do you want from us?" the remaining Oshi whimpered as his captor sauntered over to him.

"First, I want information. If you cooperate, your death with be less…messy…" the figure whispered, face close to the Oshi, who whimpered louder. Close to laughing, the hunter leaned closer and asked, "Why is your master gathering weapons? Holy ones at that? No demon can use them."

"He wouldn't tell us," the Oshi said quickly. "He only told us to steal holy Ningen weapons so he can force…" Suddenly, the Oshi's eyes went large and the color drained from his face. His body spasmed and went limp, charring itself against the chains wrapped around the Oshi.

"Shit. A Silencer Spell…double shit," the figure growled, and pushed off the hood covering silver hair. "I'm not going to learn anything with the bastard killing his own minions. That's three already…" she said running a hand on the back of her neck. "Damn."

Bending down, the kitsune started collecting her chains, silver hair slipping over her shoulder and brushing against the blood still oozing out of the Oshi's burn wounds. "Shit, this'll take forever to get out…" she muttered, pulling her hair back with one hand and the chains with the other. She flicked her right wrist upward and the chains retracted into a silver bracelet on her arm. Satisfied with what clean up she could do, the kitsune pulled her hood back up and muttered a quick concealment spell. Before she could perform any sort of transformation, her ears caught the sound of footsteps. Very fast footsteps.

"Shit!" she hissed and grabbed the bag of weapons she stole from the Oshi. Then she turned and ran down the alley, quickly transforming into a human as she did so. ~How could I be so stupid! The Brat's stupid, but he has that bloody Reiki Tantei Team! How the hell did I NOT remember them?!~, she yelled at herself as she disappeared around the far corner of the alleyway.

**Phoenix: Scene cha…wait, no, never mind. (Sits back down) Continue…**

Yusuke turned the corner, followed closely by the other two boys and Botan riding her oar. He put a hand against the wall and doubled over, breathing hard. "Who knew…running for…four blocks….hurt so damn much!" he gasped out as Kuwabara sat on the ground trying to catch his breath.

"Hn. No matter how fast you ran, you still didn't catch the culprit," Hiei said, nodding down the alley.

"Did you see him, Hiei?" Kurama asked, straightening back up. Regaining breath was somewhat easier for him, due mainly to the fact that his kitsune self had come to the fore on this expedition.

"Yes."

"Well spit it out, Small Fry!" Kuwabara yelled, still sitting on the ground.

"A kitsune," came the answer, and all eyes fell on Kurama.

"What? A…kitsune?" Kurama asked, looking at the others.

"Yes. A female one who can manipulate metal," Hiei said stepping over to the freshly dead Oshi bodies. "These burns have a link shape to them."

The three boys stepped closer to Hiei, as Botan escaped around the corner to call in to Koenma to update him. Everyone flinched as Koenma's high-pitched scream erupted from Botan's Communication Mirror.

"Kurama, doesn't that sound…familiar to you?" Hiei asked, looking straight into Kurama's emerald eyes.

"Yes, but it would be impossible…" Kurama whispered, looking down at the ground. "She would never leave Makai."

"Are you certain?"

"Hiei, I know my own sister as much as you do yours. Kaen would never kill for her own wishes. She isn't like that," Kurama growled at his teammate, silver streaks slowly appearing amid the scarlet strands.

"Whoa! Guys, calm down, particularly you, Kurama," Yusuke said, holding his hands up and glancing skyward. ~Full moon. I thought so. ~ Yusuke looked at Kurama. "You have a sister?"

"Yes, but she would never…" Kurama trailed off. He clenched his fists, the chain link growing hot in his palm. "She would have no reason…"

"We're not saying your sister would have anything to do with this, but she IS the top possibility right now," Yusuke said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Can't we just ask her?" Kuwabara asked, finally standing on his feet.

Kurama shook his head. "I don't know where she is, or if she is even using the name Kaen now."

As Kuwabara started to open his mouth, Botan came back around the corner. "Good news, everyone! Lord Koenma said he knows who is stealing the artifacts!"

Four pairs of eyes stared at the lavender haired girl, all suddenly remembering she was with them.

"Who?" Kurama asked, relieved that he was no longer the center of attention.

"A demon named Heiki-atsumari. According to this, he's apparently a holy weapons collector who will sell Ningen weapons to any demon who pay the most, and then keeps the payment when the holy seals on the weapons kill the buyer. He's said to know form of magic and should be dealt with carefully," Botan read from her `Who's Who' book. "At least this time, you have some information."

"But who did this?" Yusuke demanded, motioning at the bodies behind him. Botan gasped at the sight and dropped her book. "And where do we find Heiki-whatever?"

"Heiki-atsumari, and no one seems to know. He's difficult to find, but these Oshi are wearing his seal," Botan said, picking her book back up and putting it into her kimono sleeve.

"I knew it! There's always a catch!" Yusuke said, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Did Koenma say anything about a portal to Makai somewhere close?" Kurama asked.

"No, why would…." Botan started, but stopped as a light bulb went off in her head. "Of course! If all four bodies were found HERE, then there should be a portal so the Oshi could get back to Makai!"

"And most portals are set near the final destination to make coming and going easier," Kurama finished.

"Bingo! So we should look around here for a portal entrance!" Botan said excitement causing her to grip her oar tighter.

"Fool," Hiei said curtly. "Don't you realize that rushing in without a plan will only get someone killed?"

"He's right," Yusuke said.

"Yeah, and we can look for the killer first," Kuwabara said, nodding. He whipped his head around and looked at Yusuke. "Did I just agree with the Shrimp?"

"Well, it's too late to start anything now. It must be near midnight," Botan said, looking at her watch. The four boys agreed by nodding, or in Hiei's case, grunting.

As the five went their separate ways, Botan flying up to Reikai, Hiei running off to Genkai's probably, and the two boys heading home, Kurama stopped for a moment.

~Kaen…please prove me wrong. I thought you stayed in Makai, but I want to be wrong, my sister…~ Kurama whispered silently. He turned his face towards the full moon, emerald eyes turning gold in the moonlight. ~Please…~

"Hey, Kurama! You coming?" Yusuke yelled back. He and Kuwabara were already half way down the next alleyway, but stopped to wait for their friend.

"Hai," Kurama responded, looking at them. He glanced back up at the moon, nodded, then race towards his friends.

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I'm happy. I got to have cursing….Gods, I keep writing Hiei's parts and thinking, `Gee, he speaks just as much as Heero Yuy…and they look alike.' I wanted to end this chapter with a poem, but I will wait until the next one to have poetry. Chapter five should be easier, since it will be based off my own school experiences. For the most part. I promise that chapter five shall be more light-hearted. Three and Four started getting me depressed…Oh well…moving on…And yes, I have bapped myself in the nose trying to do a scene-switch clapping thing. But that's another story entirely….

A/N (Also known as `Phoenix, what were you thinking?'):

1. Hehehe…poor Botan. She's a Goddess of Death, but the Oshi corpses were too gross. Then again, I probably would be following her lead.

2. I'll get more into the illusions and chain later, but the chain is a fire chain and needs more room for explanation.

3. Hehehe…Kitsune sighting…she was in demon form because of the full moon, but Kurama was only affected when he started getting angry. And later, because he was looking directly at the moon.

4. Okay, I am a bit lame. Heiki-atsumari loosely means `weapons collection.' I was desperate!! Later, he'll be called either Heiki-atsumari or Heiki-sama, especially by his minions. But I need description ideas. Help?

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