Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Season of the Crystal Feather ❯ The Quest for a Corner ( Chapter 12 )

The Quest for a Corner:

"I'm hungry! Where's breakfast?" Kuwabara whined after waking up. He had been the last one to wake up. Everyone else was sitting around the area where the fire had been the night before.

"We don't have breakfast..." Thorn pointed out.

"WHAT?!" Hinote, Dariken, Yusuke, and Kuwabara yelled at the same time.

Thorn rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously, "I didn't pack anything to eat...We don't have lunch or dinner either..."

"We're all going to starve to death!" Kuwabara yelled.

Autumn rolled her eyes as she started combing Freckles' fur, "It takes about seven days for someone to starve to death. I'm sure we'll find food before then."

"Autumn, this is not the time to be optimistic! We don't have any food!!!" Hinote yelled in horror.

Yusuke shrugged and pointed at Freckles, "Well, if worse comes to worse, we can always cook the rabbit."

"You bastard!" Autumn yelled and hit him over the head with Thorn's portable TV.

"Actually...that's not a bad idea..." Dariken mused.

"What?!" Autumn turned to glare menacingly at Dariken.

Dariken laughed nervously and hit Yusuke over the head, "What is wrong with you?! How could you even suggest cooking a rabbit that's that cute, sweet, fluffy, tender...I mean tasty...I mean...delicious...I mean...please don't kill me!"

Autumn glared at the kitsune that was groveling at her feet. Hiei scoffed, "You're a disgrace to all demons, groveling at the feet of a pathetic human."

"Hey! Watch what you say about my...!" Dariken turned to yell, but was interrupted by Autumn kicking the back of his head. He fell onto the ground face first.

"Dari, go sit in a corner and be quiet!" Autumn yelled at him.

"But..." Dari began to protest.

"No buts! Corner now!" Autumn glared at the kitsune.

"But..." Dari began again.

Autumn growled at him. He whimpered and stood up. He looked around, "Um..."

"Why aren't you in a corner yet, Dari?" Autumn asked menacingly.

Dari whined, "There are no corners!"

"You have until the count of 10 to get in a corner, Dari. 1...2...3...4..." Autumn began counting.

Dari whimpered and looked around frantically. He then took off running into the forest, "DON'T HURT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Autumn sat back down happily. Kurama sighed and shook his head, "Autumn, we needed him. He was the only one that knew how to get to Genki's..."

"Oh, he'll be back. As soon as he finds a corner and sits in it until he realizes I'm not chasing him, he'll come back." Autumn nodded.

Hiei narrowed his eyes, "You sure seem to know a lot about that kitsune, ningen."

"Eh...well I...have a relative that acts just like that! I was assuming that Dari would do the same thing that Da....Derek would do!" Autumn nodded to emphasize her statement.

Hiei was still giving her a skeptic look. She pointed at Hinote, "Why are you suspicious of me, anyway? Be suspicious of him! You don't know anything about him!"

Hinote looked up from the piece of paper he was eating, "Hmm?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara gasped. Kuwabara pointed, "You were holding out on us! Traitor!"

"Wha...?" Hinote blinked.

"Let's get him!" Yusuke yelled. He and Kuwabara tackled Hinote and started trying to get the paper so that they could eat it.

Everyone else sweat dropped as they watched. Hiei turned to Autumn, "I know he's too much of an idiot to pose a threat to me, and that's good enough."

Autumn whispered to Flash, "Help me get him off my case."

Flash nodded and spoke to Hiei, "Well, Autumn's too much of an idiot to pose a threat to you, as well."

Autumn fell over anime style before getting up and glaring at Flash, "Gee, thanks a lot!"

"Always happy to help!" Flash grinned.

Autumn sat cross legged while glaring at Flash. Thorn looked around, "So, what should we do until Dariken comes back?"

"Um...We could..." Autumn scratched her head as she tried to think of an idea.

"Go hunting in order to find food!" Yusuke suggested.

Autumn turned to Flash, "Didn't you say that if we ran out of food, the bakas would be the first we kill?"

"Yeah, but I'm not that desperate for food." Flash nodded her head at Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Autumn nodded in understanding. Kurama stood up, "I for one believe that we should begin walking in the direction that Dariken was leading us."

"Ok, all in favor of Kurama's plan of walking in the heat with empty stomachs and ultimately getting hopelessly lost in the dark forest, raise your hands." Flash said and looked around.

Nobody raised their hand. Kurama sighed and sat back down. Autumn pat him on the back, "Don't worry, Kurama. It's not that you had a bad idea, it's that we're all lazy bums that don't want to move if we don't have to."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Kurama rolled his eyes and decided to try something different, "There will probably be food once we get to Genki's."

Before anyone could say the word 'bronco-buster', all of Kurama's companions were on their feet with all their stuff packed up and ready to go. Kurama grinned and stood up. Everyone was immediately ushered out of the clearing by Hinote, Yusuke, and Kuwabara.

"Come on, come on, we don't have all day. They're called legs, use them." Yusuke said to the others.

"Food, food, food, food!" Hinote was chanting.

Flash sighed, "Well, I guess now we have to try and figure out where this Genki person lives without Dariken's help. Who knows how long he'll be gone?"

"Probably a few hours." Autumn nodded.

Kurama pointed at the path they were walking on, "This path looks well traveled. If we stay on it, chances are we'll find Genki or at least someone that can point us in the right direction."

"Then let's walk faster!" Hinote urged.

Autumn pointed ahead of them and said in a fake British accent, "Yes, let us venture forth into the dark bowels of the forest that no humans have ventured into and survived to tell the tale! Let us go forth into the very jaws of death itself and then give it indigestion! Let us...!"

Flash hit Autumn over the head with her trusty metal pipe of doom, "That is the last time I let you invade my house to watch a 24-hour medieval movie marathon."

"Alas, 'tis a cruel, cruel world we live in." Autumn said in her accent as she looked at the ground.

Meanwhile, in mini-world, which is not really mini and is the same exact place the story was in, just now closer to the ground:

"Hey, dog, can't you pick up that fox's scent? I don't like the idea of being lost." Terminator said to Tundra.

Tundra sniffed the air, "Yeah, I smell his trail."

"Then go find him." Freckles pushed the dog's leg to try and get him to move.

"We'll go with you!" Terminator announced.

Tundra and Freckles stared blankly at him and said at the same time, "You/We will?!"

"Yeah, being around that too long is making me lose my will to live." Terminator pointed at Kuwabara.

Tundra and Freckles nodded in agreement. Terminator then hopped up onto Tundra's back, "Onward, dog!"

"Who said you could ride on my back?" Tundra growled.

"I did. You got a problem with that?" Terminator hissed and showed his claws.

Tundra whimpered and laughed nervously, "No, of course not!"

"Onward, noble companions, for there are foxes to find and fair maidens to rescue!" Freckles announced and pointed into the forest while sitting on his hind legs.

Tundra and Terminator stared at him. Freckles laughed nervously, "Autumn made me watch the 24-hour medieval movie marathon with her..."

The cat and dog nodded in understanding. Terminator then kicked his back foot into Tundra's side with the claws out like he had once seen a cowboy do, "Giddy up!!"

Tundra yelped and started running in the direction he smelled Dariken's scent. Freckles took off running after him and quickly caught up. Terminator was laughing insanely as he balanced on the running dog's back.

The gang stopped walking and stared at the animals running away. The animals were then gone from sight. Everyone kept staring silently. Flash then spontaneously screamed, "FUCKER-DOODLE-SHIT!!!!!!!!"

Everyone turned to stare at Flash. Flash hissed and bared her teeth at them. They promptly turned around to stare at the forest again. Thorn poked Autumn, "You realize your rabbit just ran into the forest where he could get eaten, don't you?"

"Shh! I'm hoping that if I don't acknowledge it, it won't be true! Ok...enough not believing...FRECKLES YOU STUPID BALL OF FLUFF!!!!! YOU BETTER NOT GET EATEN BY SOMETHING BEFORE I CAN KILL YOU!!!!" Autumn yelled before taking off into the forest after the animals.

Hinote shrugged before running after Autumn. The others looked at Flash. She was standing there with her arms crossed, whistling in a bored way. She noticed everyone staring at her and glared, "What?"

"Your two friends just ran off into the forest..." Kurama pointed out.

"How is that my problem?" Flash asked.

"They're your friends..." Kurama explained.

"I don't follow..." Flash blinked.

"They could get killed out there..." the redhead continued.

"What does this have to do with me making money?" Flash asked.

"Is money more important to you then your friends?" Kurama asked.

"This conversation obviously has nothing to do with helping me make money or conning someone into giving me their wallet, so I refuse to participate further in it." Flash then turned her head away from Kurama, making it clear she no longer wanted to speak with him.

Kurama sighed and took out his wallet. He handed it to Flash. Flash grinned and hugged it before sticking it in her pocket. She then took off running after Autumn and Hinote. Hiei arched an eyebrow, "You do realize that she just conned you into giving up your wallet?"

"Oh, that wasn't my wallet, it was Kuwabara's." Kurama responded.

Kuwabara reached in his pocket then glared at Kurama, "How could you steal my wallet?!"

"Blame Youko!" Kurama put his hands up palm out in defense.

Thorn grinned, "It's like Youko always used to say, 'You can't con a con artist!'"

"Hey...What if they find food while they're out there?" Yusuke's eyes widened and he took off running after Flash.

Kuwabara quickly followed. Kurama sighed and chased after him. Hiei hopped into a tree and started hopping branches quickly. Thorn just shrugged and kept walking along the path. For Thorn, having lived around that area for a long time, knew that the path made a U-turn up ahead and the others would eventually wind up back on it.

As she was walking, Dariken ran right past her. He stopped and jogged backwards until he was side by side with her, "Where are the others?"

"Looking for the others." Thorn responded.

"That sounds too much like something my sister would say." Dariken narrowed his eyes.

Thorn got starry eyed and a happy pastel background appeared behind her as she clasped her hands together, "Really?! I've always dreamed of being just like her and now I see that my dream is finally coming true! I will work hard and someday I will be better at being Phantom Harmony than Harmony!"

As Thorn was rambling, Dariken was staring in awe at the background. He poked it and a loud snap was heard as the screen fell down to the ground, causing the pastel background to be projected onto the trees that had been behind the screen. Thorn and Dariken stared at the fallen screen. Some random people dressed completely in blue ran out from the trees and picked up the screen. They quickly set about reattaching the screen to the ropes that had been holding it up. Once it was reattached, they bowed and left. Thorn and Dariken blinked.

"Um...that scene is over...you can get rid of the screen now." Thorn pointed at the screen and looked somewhere off camera.

(Director: CUT! Let's redo that last scene and this time, Dariken, don't touch any of the props.

Dariken: ::salutes:: Aye, aye, cap'n!

Director: ::groans::)

Thorn got starry eyed and a happy pastel background appeared behind her as she clasped her hands together, "Really?! I've always dreamed of being just like her and now I see that my dream is finally coming true! I will work hard and someday I will be better at being Phantom Harmony than Harmony!"

Dariken's eyes widened as his sister's name triggered his mind to remember something, "WAH! Can't talk! Have to find a corner!!!!"

Thorn was so absorbed in her starry eyed rambling that she didn't hear Dariken. Dariken looked around, picked up a piece of bark and carved circles (eyes) and a lopsided mouth onto it with his claws. Next, he carved 'I r Dirkan' onto it and put it in front of Thorn. Once that was done, he took off running down the path in the direction Thorn had been walking.

Many moments later, the background disappeared as well as Thorn's starry eyes. She looked down at the piece of bark, "Wow, Dariken, you've been awfully quiet. Are you feeling ok? Maybe I should bring you to Kurama since he's the one that's good with healing magic."

Thorn picked up the bark and continued walking down the path.

Meanwhile:

Tundra and Freckles ran out of the forest and onto a large grassy path. Terminator looked both ways, "Where to?"

"This way!" Tundra barked as he took off running to the left with Freckles following.

Autumn and Hinote burst out of the forest sometime after the animals and started running left. They were soon followed by Flash, who was being followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara. Then Kurama ran out of the forest and Hiei hopped onto the path from a tree. They both started chasing after the others. The animals, following Dariken's scent, turned left. Everyone else turned left also. They made another left turn and continued running.

Some time later they ran past Thorn. The animals stopped, causing Hinote and Autumn to stop, which caused Flash to crash into them as well as Yusuke. They were able to keep their balance and sighed in relief. Then Kuwabara crashed into them. Autumn fell face first onto the ground as the animals ran out of the way. Hinote fell on top of her, Flash fell on top of them, Yusuke fell on top of her, and Kuwabara fell on top of him. Kurama and Hiei skidded to a stop near Thorn.

"Spine...breaking...pain...excruciating...." Autumn said painfully as she struggled to get out from under the rest of the pile.

Kuwabara sat up and looked around, "Hey, where is everyone?"

"Baka..." Hiei said to Kuwabara.

Kuwabara looked down, "How come shorty is shorter than he normally is?"

"Organs...imploding..." Autumn mumbled.

"Kuwabara! Move your fat ass!" Yusuke yelled.

Kuwabara looked down and saw that he was sitting on the pile of people, "Oh..."

"I'm badly in need of a shower now..." Yusuke muttered as Kuwabara got off of him.

"Life...flashing before eyes..." Autumn mumbled.

"You were badly in need of a shower before this." Flash pointed out before pushing Yusuke off.

Hinote got up and poked Autumn with his foot, "I think she's dead."

"No, she's fine. So, Thorn, what are you doing here?" Flash asked, ignoring Autumn.

Kurama kneeled down next to Autumn and shook her gently, "Wake up."

"Oh, well, I knew that this path basically goes in a circle so I decided to keep walking until I met up with you guys again." Thorn said cheerily.

"Why are you carrying a piece of bark?" Hinote asked.

"What are you talking about? This is Dariken!" Thorn pointed at the wood.

"Dariken's not a piece of bark." Autumn, who had suddenly woken up and was being helped to her feet by Kurama, pointed out.

"Where do you see a piece of bark?! This is Dariken! He even has it written on him underneath his mouth which is surprisingly lopsided and hasn't moved at all the entire time I've been carrying him!" Thorn held the wood out and pointed at the writing.

"'I r Dirkan'...? Gods, Dariken's an idiot! I can't believe he can't even spell his own name!! Not to mention the use of horrible grammar!" Autumn shivered.

"Yeah, I knew he was stupid but I didn't think he was that...Wait a minute....since when does Dariken know how to write?!" Flash looked around, wide-eyed, for her answer.

"I have no idea. I didn't think his brain was capable of performing such a complex task." Autumn shook her head.

"I resent that!" Dariken yelled as he ran by.

Thorn pointed at the retreating kitsune, "That guy looks awfully familiar..."

"There he goes! Let's catch him!" Terminator yelled as he spurred Tundra into a run again, followed by Freckles.

"Damn it all to hell!!" Hinote yelled as he and Autumn chased after the animals. Flash groaned and chased after them, followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara. Kurama and Hiei sighed before running after them.

Thorn blinked and said to the bark, "Gosh, Dariken, they must really love to exercise..."

The bark did nothing so Thorn yelled, "Well, that's rude! You could at least respond to me!"

"Hmph!" Thorn said, insulted, and then started walking after the others.

Hours of running aimlessly in circles later:

Everyone was sitting on the path, catching their breath. Dariken was sitting cross-legged and looking at everyone. Tundra walked over and put his paw on Dariken's leg, "I...finally...caught..."

Terminator tumbled onto the ground as Tundra collapsed onto the ground and fell asleep. Autumn was lying on her back on the grass with Freckles stretched out across her stomach. Hinote was lying face down on the ground where he had fallen after tripping over one of his untied shoelaces. Flash was sitting against a tree with her eyes closed. Yusuke and Kuwabara had collapsed long before and were lying in the middle of the path where they had been getting trampled by the others as they ran. Kurama was leaning against a tree, seemingly not bothered by the large amount of running. Hiei was sitting on a tree branch, silently laughing at the weaklings he was traveling with.

Thorn walked up to them, still holding the bark, "Hi everyone!"

"For the last time, Thorn, that is a piece of bark, not Dariken. This is Dariken." Autumn pointed at Dariken while still lying on her back.

"Oh, hello Dariken, meet Dariken." Thorn said as she held up the piece of wood.

"RARR!" Autumn yelled as she sat up, knocking Freckles off of her, and grabbed the bark. She then snapped it in two and threw the pieces into the forest.

"AUTUMN!!! How could you kill Dariken?!" Thorn yelled, "He was cute!!"

Dariken cleared his throat, "Well, I see my decoy worked well."

"It takes an idiot to fool an idiot." Autumn sighed.

"What is it with people and saying things that my sister would say?!" Dariken yelled.

"What is it with you and being an idiot?" Autumn asked.

Dariken hissed and turned away. Kurama sighed, "Can we get going now? We've wasted quite a bit of time already and I'd like to get there before sun down."

"Right! Well, it's really not too far from here. All we have to do is walk in that direction." Dariken pointed off to his right, "Or was it over there..."

Autumn hit Dariken over the head with her shoe. He laughed as he rubbed his head, "Yeah, it's the way I pointed originally. Now, let's get going before I lose more of my brain cells."

"I don't see how it would make a difference; you're already too stupid to spell your own name right." Flash pointed out.

"Ha-ha, very funny. Just walk, Koneko." Dariken glared.

Flash hissed. Dariken whimpered and hid behind Autumn. Kurama sighed, "Flash, please don't kill our guide until after he shows us where to go."

"Sure thing, pansy boy." Flash responded, earning her a death glare from both Kurama and Autumn.

Later, after much walking and occasionally getting lost:

"Alright, everyone, I give you, the merchant Genki's house!" Dariken announced as he stepped aside for everyone to see.

They were at the edge of the forest. The land in front of them had no trees and very few green plants. In fact, it was basically bare rock. In the distance directly in front of them the rock dropped down and an ocean was visible in the background. The sun was starting to make its decent in the west, which was behind them. Everyone looked at Dariken.

"Where's the house, Fido?" Autumn asked.

"Fido?" Yusuke questioned.

"Well, I can't use Spot because I've used that nickname for Hiei before and Sparky's taken by...someone else..." Autumn looked around with shifty eyes.

"Who?" Yusuke questioned further.

Autumn pointed, "Look! A flying hamburger!"

"He's not that stupid, Autumn." Hinote pointed out.

Yusuke was looking around frantically, "WHERE?! WHERE'S THE FLYING HAMBURGER?!"

"Is that the house over there?" Thorn asked as she pointed at a house to their left and quite far away.

"Um...yeah, that's probably it." Dariken nodded and started walking as everyone followed.

Once they were closer to the house they could see that it was a medium sized one story house. It was painted light blue and the roof was white. The side of the house facing the cliff edge had large windows taking up most of the wall. There was a small white porch on the side of the house facing the forest. On the porch were some randomly arranged blue chairs. The door, not surprisingly, was white.

"Well, this place seems...homely..." Yusuke blinked.

"It's to lure the customers into a false sense of security so they can be conned easier." Flash stated emotionlessly.

"How do you know?" Kuwabara asked.

Autumn arched an eyebrow, "Um...hello? You're talking to the girl that has Hinote's and Yusuke's wallets in her possession."

"And Kurama's." Flash added.

"It was Kuwabara's." Kurama pointed out.

Flash's eyes widened, "YOU GAVE ME SOMETHING THAT IT TOUCHED?!"

"Um...yes?" Kurama blinked.

"Damn, I wish it really had been Kurama's wallet." Autumn said.

"Why?" asked Hinote.

Autumn rolled her eyes, "Because once Flash removed the money from it she would've given it to me and it would've gone straight to my shrine!"

"You have a shrine to Kurama?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow.

"Well, not yet, but I do have a rather large collection of assorted Kurama goods. Oh, and an entire folder on my computer dedicated to Kurama pictures. And I have a vast amount of knowledge in the general field of Kurama." Autumn nodded.

"Ok, what's Kurama's human name?" Yusuke asked.

"Minamino Shuichi! Mother: Minamino Shiori. He has a younger step-brother named Shuuichi. He's 16, attends Meiou High School, and gets top grades in his classes." Autumn was counting off on her fingers.

Kurama laughed nervously, "I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or frightened..."

"I'd be frightened if I were you." said Hiei.

Thorn reached out to pull the rope that was hanging from a crystal bell next the door. Autumn hissed and dove for the rope. She pulled it and the bell made a melodic jingle. There were some random shuffling sounds and moments later the door was opened a crack and a face peered out at them.

"State your names, what you're doing...DARIKEN!!!" The figure threw open the door and hugged Dariken.

Now that he was out in the open, everyone could see that the figure was a male kitsune. He was about Yusuke's height. His bangs, along with a cluster of spiky hair above his forehead, were white. Two locks of long white hair went down the sides of his face. The rest of his hair was black and reached down to about mid back. He was wearing a sea green short sleeved shirt and khaki colored pants. He had two black fox ears sprouting from his hair that were tipped with longer black fur. There was a large fluffy black fox tail wagging behind him as he continued to hug Dariken.

Dariken struggled to pull away, "GAH! Let go!!"

"Um...who are you...?" Autumn asked.

Dariken finally got out of Genki's grasp and straightened his clothes, "Everyone, this is the merchant Genki."

"Really? Where?" Genki turned in a circle looking around for the person Dariken had just introduced.

Dariken pointed at Genki's forehead. Genki stared at Dariken's pointing finger and then poked it with his own finger. He then moved his finger in the direction Dariken was pointing until he was pointing at himself, "Me?"

"Yes." Dariken nodded.

"Oh...oh! That's right! Hello everyone! Welcome to my shop!" Genki smiled and bowed.

Everyone was staring blankly at him. Flash blinked, "I do believe we have found someone almost as stupid as Kuwabara..."

"Hey!!" Kuwabara glared.

Hinote looked thoughtful, "You know, we're too mean to Kuwabara. I mean, sure he's ugly...no, disgusting...no, HIDEOUS, and stupid, no, idiotic...no, he's a moron, but those are a given, at least he sings pretty good..."

Kuwabara nodded, "Thank you, Hinote."

"You're welcome." Hinote smiled.

Genki leaned down to Autumn and started sniffing the air around her, "You smell like a k..."

"SHH!!" Dariken, Flash, and Hinote yelled as all three of them covered Genki's mouth.

Autumn laughed nervously. Hiei narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Like a what?"

"HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! I'M NOT HIDEOUS OR A MORON!!" Kuwabara yelled as he started chasing Hinote around in circles.

"GAHH! Get it away!! HELP!!" Hinote yelled as he ran.

Autumn sighed in relief for the distraction. Kurama sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration, "We've never had such a frustrating mission before..."

"That's because you've never had us on your missions!" Autumn chirped.

Flash nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it's an unwritten rule that the three of us have to cause as much trouble as possible."

"So, why are all of you here and why does that guy have a shredded pant leg?" Genki pointed at Kuwabara.

Kuwabara stopped and looked down at his leg, "What the hell?! When did THAT happen?"

"The cat did it when we were at Koenma's office, Kurama was trying to tell you but we were all covering his mouth." Thorn nodded.

"Well, that's one mystery solved, now all I need to do is figure out where that draft is coming from..." Kuwabara scratched his head.

Everyone sweat dropped. Genki stepped aside and motioned for everyone to enter the house, "Come on in and we'll discuss why you're here."

The room was a basic square room, with light cream colored walls and ceiling. Lining each wall of the room were shelves holding different kinds of trinkets and books. The wall opposite from them held two doorways. One had light blue beads hanging from the top to the floor that blocked the area beyond from view. The other doorway had a plain dark brown door which was currently open, revealing a storage room with many piled boxes and things that was being lit by some hanging lamps. The room that they were in was being lit by hanging green paper lamps in each corner. There was also a medium sized window in the ceiling. The floor was made with light brown wood.

In the center of the room, and directly underneath the window, was a medium sized square area where the floor was lower. There was a plush white rug covering the floor of the lower area. In the center of that area was a low rectangular coffee table that was parallel to the wall where the entrance was. Parallel to each longer side of the coffee table was a midnight blue couch that took up the entire side. It looked like that was where the business was conducted.

Everyone started wandering around the shop looking at different things in awe. It had to have been the largest collection of old, useless things ever. Some statues were missing heads or limbs. Those were labeled 'one of a kind'. Autumn started poking a glass orb that had purple lightning inside it. It was resting on a fancy golden base. Every time she poked it the lightning shocked her finger. She was soon joined by Flash and Hinote as all three began poking the orb.

"Hey, what's that?" Kuwabara asked as he pointed at a sword with half the blade broken off.

"Why, that's a new style of sword! The jagged edge of the blade makes it hurt more!" Genki smiled.

"It looks broken." Yusuke pointed out.

"It is broken." Autumn said.

Genki shook his head, "No, no! The broken look is supposed to lure the opponent into a false sense of security. It's a highly strategic weapon."

"I want one!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Very well, but I cannot be held responsible for any limbs that may be lost as a result of using my products. Oh, and no returns." Genki nodded.

Kuwabara reached into his pocket for his wallet, "Huh? Where's my...oh yeah, Kurama gave it to Flash."

"The sword's broken, anyway." Autumn said.

Genki ushered everyone to the two couches in the lowered area, "Sit, sit, and relax. Now then, why are all of you here?"

Kurama decided to answer with a question, "Do you know anything about a feather shaped crystal?"

"You mean the Hane no Kisetsu? The crystal that used to be kept in the Mist Mountains which was recently stolen from Reikai?" asked Genki, sitting down on the step with his feet on the carpet.

"How come Koenma didn't know the name?" Yusuke asked.

"Oh, the name of the crystal was only known by the Mist Mountain Kitsune." Genki nodded.

"Then how do you know it?" Flash asked suspiciously.

Genki shrugged, "Well, I spent a few years living in the Mist Mountains and I found out from a friend there."

"Oh, so do you know where the Hane no Kisetsu is right now?" Autumn asked.

Genki thought for a moment, "Hmm...In the mountain range north of the Mist Mountains there's a large valley. At the northern end of the valley is a mountain that looks like all the others except that there are caverns carved inside the mountain. You'll recognize it by the creepy cave opening. The mountain is known as the Mountain of Illusion among thieves and merchants."

Kurama, Thorn, and Hiei nodded, knowing full well what mountain Genki meant. Thorn then blinked, "Hey wait...that's where I was going to bring everyone originally..."

"So why did we come all the way out here instead of going straight there?" Yusuke asked.

"Because we needed a filler chapter to waste time since the original chapter 12 was pointless and didn't fit with the revised story. Thus, we have this pointless chapter to replace it!" Autumn grinned.

(Director: For the last time: STICK TO THE SCRIPT!!

Autumn: Oh, I fed the script to my rabbit.

Director: RARR!!!!)

"Director aggravating humor aside, you should all get going before it gets dark." Genki pointed out.

Yusuke looked around, "You got any food we can have? Somebody forgot to pack food."

Thorn laughed nervously as Yusuke glared at her. She put her hands up in defense, "It slipped my mind!"

"Sure, I've got food, but it's going to cost you." Genki nodded.

Flash hissed. Yusuke, Hinote, and Kuwabara turned to Kurama. Kurama looked at them, "What?"

"Well, Flash has our wallets and I seriously doubt she'd be willing to buy food for all of us. Hiei probably doesn't have money, Autumn doesn't carry money with her, Thorn and Dariken seem too brain-dead to have thought of bringing money, and you're the only one left with a wallet." Hinote nodded.

"Wait!" Flash called which stopped Kurama from taking out his wallet.

Kurama blinked, "Yes?"

"Before you pay for anything I want to inspect the food and the picnic basket you'll be giving us" Flash nodded.

Genki shrugged, "Alright."

"Dot dot dot..." Autumn said as Genki left the room through the blue beads.

Genki came back a moment later with a nice looking light brown picnic basket that had two handles. He was also carrying some bread, fruits, veggies, some meat, and other food stuffs. He put them all down on the coffee table. Flash looked over the foods and inspected them. She then inspected the basket.

"I want to make sure all the food fits properly in the basket." Flash said as she started carefully arranging all the food into the basket as the others watched in puzzlement. She stood up, "Now I have to make sure it's not too heavy and doesn't hurt my hand..."

Flash picked up the basket and ran out the door, "SUCKER!!!"

Everyone sat blinking for a moment. Genki then pointed at the door, "Is she taking it out to test how well she can run with it?"

"Um...yeah...sure..." Hinote said, looking around with shifty eyes.

"We...have to go now! Bye!" Autumn said as she stood up, along with everyone else.

Genki smiled and stood up, "It was nice meeting all of you, even though I never learned your names, which is fine because I would've forgotten them by now anyway. Unless I did learn your names, in which case I've forgotten them. Anyway, do come back again if you ever need any help with anything."

"Yeah, ok." Yusuke nodded.

The group then left Genki's shop and met up with Flash at the edge of the forest. Flash held up the basket, "We've got DINNER!"

"YAY!!!!!!!!" Dariken, Hinote, Kuwabara, Autumn, and Yusuke yelled at the same time.

Kurama, being a goody-goody, frowned, "It wasn't right to steal from him like that."

"Oh, quit complaining, I'm sure you want this food as much as the rest of us." Thorn said.

Kurama shook his head furiously, "I refuse to eat stolen food."

"Sparky never thought twice about eating stolen food..." Autumn mumbled.

Kurama, who was standing right next to her, was able to hear that. His eyes widened and his head snapped to look at her. Autumn was staring up at the sky that was starting to change colors. Kurama blinked and looked to the trees around them.

Could she have meant Youko when she said 'Sparky'?

'Of course she did! Who else could she have meant?'

But how did she know your nickname? The only one that ever called you that was Harmony...

'I'm not sure how she knew about it, but I aim to find out. As soon as you're alone with her, we're going to question her and she will tell us, one way or another.'

You're not suggesting that I hurt her, are you?

'Whatever it takes, if this girl knows anything about Harmony...'

Kurama sighed softly and looked at Autumn as she was talking to Dariken and Flash about something. He didn't like what Youko was suggesting. As much as that girl scared him sometimes, he had actually grown quite fond of her over the past few days. It almost felt like he had known her his entire life. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard someone snickering beside him.

"Admit it, you like her." Thorn said with a kitty grin from where she was standing next to him.

Kurama scoffed as he turned to face her, "Of course I like her, if I didn't I wouldn't be able to stand traveling with her."

"Not in that way! You like her as something more...I can tell!" Thorn hid a snicker behind her hand. Kurama could've sworn he saw her hand as a paw and kitty ears were sprouting from her head.

"I don't!" Kurama protested as his face turned slightly pink.

"You're blushing! I knew it! You do like her like that!" Thorn pointed with her 'paw' and hid another snicker behind her other 'paw'.

Kurama glared and frowned, "Even if I do, it doesn't matter. Youko will never let me live peacefully. He's still completely devoted to Harmony."

"Kurama, don't listen to voices in your head, it isn't healthy." Hinote said as he moved to stand next to Thorn.

Kurama sighed and looked away. Thorn, who was no longer in kitty mode, frowned, "Hmph, it's not fair for Youko to keep you from living happily with someone you love!"

"Yeah, but I technically am Youko...I do have feelings for Harmony..." Kurama rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Hinote smiled softly, "You want to know what I think? I think you should follow what your heart says, not what the voice in your head says."

"But..." Kurama began to protest. He was cut off by Hinote hitting him on the head with a conveniently placed tree branch.

"Listen up, Kurama, because I'm only going to say this once. Stop worrying so damn much about what the voice in your head is telling you. You've got a living heart, use it! And stop moping, it's annoying. If you're going to be depressed, be depressed on your own time and leave me out of it." Hinote then hit Kurama with the branch again for emphasis.

"But...you got involved on your own..." Thorn blinked.

Hinote hissed at her. Kurama rubbed his head and said between clenched teeth, "Thanks for the advice..."

"Heh; think nothing of it." Hinote said as he started walking away. He looked over his shoulder at Kurama, "Oh and it might help if you pay more attention to the people around you."

Once Hinote was gone, Kurama blinked, "He reminds me so much of someone I used to know..."

Thorn and Kurama watched as Hinote walked into a tree. Kurama arched an eyebrow, "Ok...maybe not."

"Ow..." Hinote glared at the tree as he started walking in a different direction.

Did you have to hit him with that branch, Vlad? Hinote asked himself.

The voice in his head that was Vladimir, a vampire, answered, 'Yes, it's the best way to teach him a lesson.'

It seems kind of violent...then again, I suppose that's the only way you know how to persuade someone...Maybe Autumn's right...you do need obedience training...

'SHE SAID THAT?! RARR!!! I'm adding that to my list of reasons to kill Autumn...'

Aw...it's mean to kill people...

'Your point...?'

...point...y...POINTY! Hinote grinned and started dancing. Vladimir, if he had had his own body, would have murdered him right then and there.

Flash hit Hinote over the head with her metal pipe, "No more happy for you."

"Aw..." Hinote pouted.

Dariken pointed at the sky, "It's getting dark, let's go find a clearing to eat dinner in and then go to sleep."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Yusuke grinned.

Everyone agreed and started walking into the forest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dream: Sorry for the long update time! I sort of lost inspiration, but I should be working on my fanfics more often since starting next chapter I won't be completely rewriting everything. I apologize to everyone and I hope you find this chapter to be worth the wait...Oh, and more about Hinote's voice will be explained later on as in other stories...Anyway, please review and I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as possible!!