Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Thieves ❯ Forest of Spirits ( Chapter 3 )

I'm sorry that it took me so long to update. I've been on vacation. And I'm sorry to leave ya'll with a cliffhanger. I want to thank everyone for reviewing. Yay! I'm really hyper. Anyway…. Shall we get on with the story? I'm afraid this chapter might be a little confusing… so if it is, I'm sorry….

Disclaimer: why must you torment me?

Chapter 3

Forest of Spirits

Minai fought against the mysterious attacker. She flailed, punching and kicking wildly, but none of her blows landed. She couldn't see anyone in the shadows; she couldn't even see the hand that pulled her. Still, she struggled.

What was going on? How could a force she couldn't see kidnap Minai?

An idea came to the demoness as she remembered the phantom hand covering her mouth. The girl bit down hard. As she expected, the mysterious hand pulled away. Now free, Minai turned to where she expected her captor was. She saw nothing, just trees. Completely spooked, the young demon looked around. She didn't recognize where she was.

"You shouldn't anger the spirits of these woods."

Minai gasped as the whisper sounded in her ear. She turned to find nothing. Spirits? the girl wondered.

A hand grabbed her arm. Minai screamed and pulled away from the icy grip. The hand held tight. Minai felt panic rise inside of her. How could she fight what wasn't there?

"Do you want to know our secret before we kill you?"

The voice was so close to her ear that Minai jumped back. She looked around wildly, hardly forcing down the fear and panic that told her to bolt.

"All of us are wicked souls, drawn here by a sorcerer's spell. We stay alive by devouring the souls of young women like yourself."

Minai jumped back again, this time more from disgust than fear.

"Don't worry, pet, losing your soul isn't that bad," another voice hissed.

"You wish!" Minai gasped, her voiced betrayed her by cracking slightly.

She managed to pull her arm away from the spectral beast. She spun and ran as fast as she could away from the voices.

"It's not that easy," a voice whispered again, right by her ear.

Minai tried to run faster, but her foot slipped out from under her. She landed hard on her stomach. She felt something sting as her hands and stomach were cut. Minai pushed herself up, looking at what had hurt her. There were many razor-sharp leaves with Minai's blood on them.

"See? You cannot get away."

Minai grimaced, trying to block out the whispering, sadistic voices.

"Minai!"

Huh? Is someone there? Minai looked up. All she heard was the hissing, jeering voices. Minai covered her ears with her bleeding hands.

"No. I can't…I won't… die like this," Minai whispered. She held her hands tighter over her ears. Blood dripped from the cuts down her arms and face. It stained her clothes from the wounds on her stomach.

"Minai!"

The girl looked up. Who's there?

"No one can save you."

Minai frowned listening to the voice in her ear. "No… but I won't give up."

The girl stumbled up to her feet. The voices followed her, but that didn't matter to her now. Twice she had heard a familiar voice call her name. Somehow, she knew if she found her friends, she'd be safe. Minai ran on, half stumbling. She closed her eyes, still trying to block out the voices.

She suddenly bumped into something and felt someone grab her shoulders. Minai jumped. She tried to pull away, but she was held tight.

"Hey, relax."

Minai stopped. She knew that voice. The girl looked up, hardly daring to believe that she could finally be safe. She saw Kuronue watching her anxiously.

The winged demon's eyes flashed with worry. "Minai? Your covered in blood! What the hell happened?!"

Minai blinked at him, then looked at her torn hand. The sudden relief caught up with her, and Minai started to giggle. Kuronue looked certain that the girl had lost her mind.

A quick thought sobered the girl, "Where's Saira?"

 "With Kurama, why?"

"There is something in this forest," Minai said, looking to the ground. "They tried to kill me…"

"What did?"

"They said they were spirits, souls staying alive by killing women." Minai answered. The fear from a moment ago and all her running had drained the girl's energy.

"That explains why only you and Saira felt it," Kuronue said.

Minai nodded weakly. Why was she so tired? Running and fear should not have worn her out that much. Was it the spirits trying to get her again?

Kuronue was watching her worriedly once more. The poor girl looked as though she was about to collapse. In truth, she was.

"I'm alright… I'm just tired." Minai said.

Kuronue sighed and picked her up. Minai blinked, startled. The winged demon carried her back toward their camp. Minai relaxed a little.

"Thank you, Kuro."

Kuronue smiled a little, then stopped. "Hey, wait. What did you just -?"

He looked down at the girl. She had fallen asleep. Kuronue shook his head slightly. "Kuro," he muttered.

Aw, that's kinda cute… anyway, I'm sure you can tell where this is leading to. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll update as soon as I can, it may be a little while though… I've had a bit of inspiration about another story… I just noticed that there are like, no stories about Youko Kurama as a child or Kuronue as a child.  I may put it up…. Or I may not. Anyway, review and tell me what you think. Thanks! ^_^