Well, here's the next chapter, please review... It helps the writing process so much more enjoyable to know others are entertained by it... Thanks! XD
Escaping the Heart: Chapter 3
The silver figure did a mock bow as he presented himself to the Prince of the Rekai, "Koenma, you called for my presence?"
The brunet sucked earnestly at his pacifier, "Yes, I did Kurama–"
The doors flew open and the blue ogre known as Jorge flew across the floor, "Koenma, Koenma!"
The infant looking ruler jumped up in his seat, "What have I told you about interrupting my meetings!"
Jorge bowed, "I'm sorry, sir... but this is important, take a look at what just popped up on Botan's list..."
He snatched the pad but before gazing upon it he stared at the other, "What are you doing with her black list?"
"She.. She was too upset to inform you herself..." he whispered with grief.
Quickly he flipped through the pages, "Well, what is it you want me to see–"
The papers fell to the tiled ground as Koenma's eyes fell upon the name, "How did this happen? He was kept safe and...Oh, I see... Well, go collect his soul, we're behind as it is."
"But- But Koenma sir!–"
"Do as I say!"
The ogre left hurriedly as the infant sucked more worriedly at his sucker, "Um... N-Now where was I...?"
"I believe you were going to say that you indeed did call for me. Though you did not reveal why," he replied lightly, pondering who had just passed on,"Care to reveal that and who sent you into shock?"
"Well, I was expecting Yusuke to be here as while but whatever the case, you did make it here... So here's the question, why did you leave?"
The golden eyes gave the other a blank look, "After two years you go looking for this answer? Well, why not ask Hiei, he knew."
The analyzing eyes noticed a small spark of sadness at the mention of the fire demon's name, "Koenma, who died?"
He cleared his tiny throat, "Hiei would not corporate in that matter... As for who died, I'm afraid that is Rekai business though I'm sure you already have figured it out."
The small figure jumped down from the chair and waddled to the giant doors, "Kurama, please follow me, I'd like for you to meet someone."
The tall fox demon leaned back on his right heal, a slight frown making its way to the surface, "Who would that someone be?"
With some difficulty the junior god opened the doors, "Follow and you shall see."
Reluctantly the fox glided behind the toddling toddler, "Still haven't improved on your walking, I see. How old are you now, five hundred?"
Grumpily the prince replied, "Father took away most of my good powers... So kindly refrain from commenting on such trivial matters." With one more huff he pushed open another large door and stood by its frame, gesturing for the other to go forth.
"Won't you be joining me?" he smoothly purred out.
A light dusk of pink scattered on the other's cheeks, "Youko, enter. It's either that or I'll have to take actions that neither of us will be pleased with..."
He slipped a stray silver hair behind his ear with a twist of a finger and stepped through the barrier, "This will send me somewhere else, correct? I suppose this will be our last meeting?"
"Yes, you're correct on the assumption that once you've closed this door you'll go... somewhere... But there is not our last meeting. Whatever the results you will be coming back here," he meekly replied as his eyes found interest in the titles of sparkling marble.
The youkia's own eyes gazed at the brightness ahead of him, "What is it you'll like me to find and return with? How will I return? Why should I go?"
"So many questions... But for the most part you know your answers already... I was so hoping for this to be easier, though with recent events you'll be searching for more then I had originally thought. As for why you should go... Well I'm afraid you have no other choice."
"Again, why?" he questioned, becoming weary of having unanswered enquiries.
The child-like face gazed up at the impassive one, "You honestly don't know?... Well, I'm sorry to say that that is going to have to be solved by you and you alone... Unless..."
"Unless? Koemna, please just get to the point, you're testing my patience," the fox's tail twitched back and forth as evidence of this.
The pacifier was sucked in further at this, "Unless the something your searching for helps find itself."
"What? That makes no sense, it's a riddle in which I don't find to be entertaining..." he growled out, his fangs showing lightly.
Just as he was about to turn and look down at the junior god, the door closed. Light zipped past him, causing his vision to scatter and dots to form in front of them. As quickly as he had found himself surround be strings of blues and pinks, yellows and whites, he discovered that his surrounds were suddenly fading into something new.
A forest, perhaps a small patch of woods, now surrounded his being and it didn't look familiar in the least.
He turned to his left and his golden eyes set themselves upon an odd kind of waterfall that leaked into a small pond. The waterfall itself was formed by rough looking rocks- that's what caused its oddity, "Why haven't they eroded?"
As he moved closer to inspect he noticed the water to be slowly flowing down the rocks, as if there was a block in the conjoining river, "I wonder..."
Kurama was beginning to investigate the blockage when finally he laughed at himself, "Why do I care? I'm here to look for something, not to ponder why a waterfall has not the water to make it such."
He gazed up, a hand quickly sheltering his eyes from the bright sun, "Now I just have to find what that something is... Does Koenma honestly think I know what he talks about?"
A small, defeated sigh escaped his lips as he knelt to sip at the cool water before moving further into his natural habitat, the foliage.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he cursed as he jumped up and down in a temper tantrum, "I explicitly told Yusuke to deliver Youko here! No where else; no side trips!"
"I'm sure he meant well–" Jorge tried to defend as he handed Botan a hot cup of tea.
"No! No, he knew–"
"Koenma... sir?" came the female's voice, it's usual bubbliness completely lost.
"Uh... Yes, Botan?"
"Perhaps– perhaps this was for the best... I mean... it hurt us to seem him that way... Imagine how much it hurt him? Being fully aware of everything that was going on around him yet not able to help, protect, or in the least speak..."
She sipped lightly at her tea before continuing a little more confidently, "We've never really known what Hiei thought or was feeling up till a few years ago... It's kind of odd... Kurama becomes closed up and cold, Hiei becomes open and depressed. Both feeling sad and- and..."
Botan looked numb as if she were piecing together a long forgotten puzzle that had not all the pieces to fully solve, "It's like when Kurama changed to the opposite of what he actually is- was, Hiei did too... So, could their–"
"Possibly. I did do some research and when Hiei's Jagan was implanted he did go through a few years in which he became more in touch with what was around him and not what he could kill or defeat... This was during the period in which were the last few yearsofKurama's life as Youko Kurama," he murmured, revealing some things he kept to himself.
"What? What are you two talking about?" questioned the blue ogre who was throughly confused.
"Nothing... Now, Botan. I need you to do as I've told you... We haven't much time so don't dawdle, got it?"
"But... what about Yukina? I'm sure–"
"That's just something we'll have to chance. Do whatever you have to, afterwards, if we succeed, I'll tell what I did."
"And if you don't, Koenma sir?"
"I don't want to even think about how sore my tush's going to be..." he pouted, almost comically.
Trees grew as tall as the eye could see, reaching to the skies and beyond. The silver headed being shrugged at all this, "It seems too perfect, all of this. I just wish I could place what was missing here..."
He sighed and plucked a fruit from a nearby tree. The blue-purple object looked safe enough so he took a bite only to spit it back up after a few seconds, "It's unpalatable, almost as if the tree had no life even though it's bearing fruits..."
His golden eyes broadened, "That's it! There's no life here. I hear no birds singing nor any other animal for that matter... What a shame, this could have been quite the paradise..."
It was during this speculation of the fruit bearing tree that his eyes caught a quick movement to the side of them. His figure snapped around, hand in hair and eyes scanning, "I know you're here, step out..."
A gruff looking man materialized before his eyes, "What are you doing here?"
At first the fox was taken back but then a smirk took over his features, "Ah, I see where I am now. No life because you probably killed it all, right, Hiei?"
"Who are you? How is it you know my master?" growled the newcomer as he readied himself for a fight.
"Your master you say? Well than, who are you? You look like a friend–"
"If you're referring to my master as your friend, you're mistaken. He has no friends. Now ready yourself for a fight! You've insulted him!" with that the small being darted off somewhere.
"Insulted him? How so?" Kurama inquired with amusement as he circled in his spot, keeping an eye out for his attacker.
Almost immediately after the comment the servant slashed, or attempted to slash, the other. He easily dodged it and brought his fist forward to make contact with the child-like face.
The body flew backwards, not even attempting to gain control of his flight. He struggled to stand once he made contact with the ground, his breath uneven and eyes hazed.
"So easily defeated? Are you sure you're not insulting him?"
Blood seeped through the imitation's own warded Jagan as he tried to speak only to fall to his knees and cough up more of his life's fluid.
"Come now, I didn't hurt you nearly as much as you're implying."
Hiei's face looked up, leaking streams of the crimson, "Have you no clue to where you are? Why would my master let you here... How could he?..."
The small one's arms gave out, letting himself fall completely to the ground, "This place is dying... I guess it was only a matter of time before I did... Soon, soon every brother will die and when that happens... Master will be in peace, finally..."
The silver kitsune knelt beside the other, "What do you mean? Where am I? Why is it Hiei's your master and that you look like him?"
He chuckled darkly as his last words left him, "If you don't figure out soon, his life won't be the only one taken..."
"Koenma, w-why do I have to go in there?" the ferry girl whined.
"Botan, I have to say, I think this is the first time you've argued over a direct order," Koenma then said sternly.
Botan pouted grimly as she looked upon what was in her arms, "B-but if we do this... Couldn't it destroy the place? I mean how can something be inside its own–"
"Either way it's destroying itself. So... just do it, alright?"
"Koenma, what about what could happen if he doesn't figure it out in time?... I mean..." her voice died off as unpleasant thoughts filled her head.
"I'm afraid either way it would happen... Call it a natural balance that few come to realize. Like a bee to its flower. Without the bee the flower can't spread its seeds and without the flower the bee can't produce its sweet honey... Only its so much more than that... when it comes to people," he stated rather blandly.
"But–" she tried again only to be silenced by his hand.
"There's nothing more to debate... I actually find it quite odd that you revolt now when you didn't before..." he unlocked the door and, with a bowed head, the woman walked in, "I'm afraid you'll have to depart with Kurama... Just make sure he doesn't see you in the meantime and if he doesn't succeed... well, you'll make it back here in either case so just be safe, okay?"
"Yes, sir, I understand..." she whispered as she shifted her load a tad.
"I'm sorry, but it has to be done this way now..." he sighed and closed the door.
He gripped the ground to hold steady after the earth quaked. His eyes looked the area over, trying to see if what had caused it had been another being. Seeing nothing, Kurama again stood, "I wonder what that was about..."
Out of nowhere a swift wind broke through whispering a message of haste though not to him, "Master is here..."
Then, he was knocked back to the ground as gales from all directions followed the first. It felt as though a hurricane was trying to lift him to the sky as they whipped around him before it faded.
"How many imitations are there?" he inquired to himself, still a bit startled.
The girl squeaked and held purchase to the being in her arms as large amounts of wind enveloped her like a hand to a glove.
When all had ceased she gazed up and her eyes filled with amazement, "All of you... You- you look like what he once did..."
Their eyes all settled on their master before one spoke up, "Is this why we're all dying? Because our master has left his world?"
Her pink eyes took in all the different expressions around her completely ignoring what was just asked in favor of speaking of her impressment , "Of all the heads I've been in... Hiei's is by far the most intriguing of them all... So complex, beautiful, and genius. Not many would place an individual character as an emotion so it would interpret things different than the next. You must be courage... right?"
The one who last spoke nodded his head as he knelt next to her, "Give him over then go hide, the fox will be here shortly."
"How did you know...?"
"Empathy understands all. Now go."
She looked over the crowd before her once more, "I see no violence though..."
Another spoke up softly from behind the bunch, "He died by the hand of Kurama... He was weak and so him and Protection joined together- merged into one... but even that wasn't enough... We're all growing weaker and have been for quitesome time. Now I understand why it's at a more rapid pace..."
A few nodded before one leaned up against another looking a tad weaker, "One by one we will fall until we all will die... It would be wise to try looking of a way to escape this place and take the fox with you."
The girl shook her head as she laid Hiei down so she could stand, "Koenma wants it this way... Plus, I'm not really alive either, I'm a Ferry of the River Stix... Another thing, Hiei's soul is trapped in his body... So... in a sense he's... he's dead but..."
"We understand, now hurry off. There's a cave to the west of the waterfall."
"Um... Just one last thing... I know from experience that everything has a reason for being set so what is there a waterfall?"
Courage spoke up again for this, "Master's life. The rocks symbolize his rough struggles and the water symbolizes how he still bore through it, lived and continued. The pond being his inevitable end. When all the water has drained or has dried up it will be his end."
"But it's still flowing..."
"Like anything else in his life, he will put up a struggle and try to move the barrier that's preventing the water from continuing... Sadly there is nothing we can do to remove the stone or log that has blocked its flow. Never have been able to, never will be able to."
She smiled sadly as she stared down at the young demon's Courage, "I never thought you would ever speak to me about something like–"
"Don't get too emotional about this," he growled before going on, "I'm one with Empathy now... that's the only reason. Now hurry off, baka!"
With a small bow she summoned her oar and jumped on, "Thank you... for showing me at least how great Hiei was without anyone's knowledge."
Courage snorted once, "Not true... We're nothing... of no importance to anyone."
He knelt and scooped up his fallen master and walked off, the group falling behind. One in particular lagged behind the rest, he stood impassibly as he stopped one moment to turn and nod at her. His hair looked to be more jagged than the rest and his eyes more telling too.
At first she was captivated by the strange act before she gasped, fulling understanding now, "Hiei...?"
A twitch caused the his lips to smirk lightly before he rose a small finger to his lips.
She blinked widely at him before mouthing, 'why' 'how'.
His red eyes rolled at her before lifting up his bangs and turning to follow the departing clones.
Silver hair whipped around as he sped off in the direction the former Hieis had went. All to soon was his mission over as he caught a large patch of black before him.
"Why are there so many of you?" he questioned, not quite understanding his situation still.
"We were told you were smarter than that, Kurama," one said, apparently the leader as he stood in front of them all.
The fox brushed a silver strand away choosing to ignore the insult, "Well, at one point I did have an idea of where I was though to think that this was Hiei's mind would be quite a contumely to its beauty. Now, however, that cannot be as your master, that is him in your arms, correct, is now here."
The small man knelt, depositing his master onto the ground before withdrawing his sword, "One side of me is telling me to let his collapsing mind kill you, though the other says to run you through with my cold steel like you had killed him with you heartlessness–"
A hand clasped Courage's shoulder, "No."
His head snapped around, before bowing his head as he only now recognized who it was. He held out his sword but the other pushed past Courage, ignoring it.
Kurama chuckled lightly at this, "You plan to kill me? Why, I already killed one of you with ease, I suppose another wont hurt."
His gold eyes watched with little interest as the shorter one took his time strolling forward. It was only when he was directly in front of the other did his rose whip come out.
To his shock, as well as a few of the clones, the one before him then dropped to his knees though his red eyes gazed up showing no care once soever.
"What are you doing? Get to your feet, baka. If this is indeed Hiei's mind then at least try to prove it to me by fighting!"
"The one you killed before, that weak one..." he paused a moment, "That was Violence as well as Protection... So you see, though Courage would fight, he would not win because with one piece missing they all fall apart, like a jigsaw puzzle... you never see the complete picture if you're missing a piece."
The amber eyes glared down into empty red ones, "Hiei would never give up no matter what. Even if he knew he was going to lose he would share his loss with his foe."
"Oh?... Well is it not true that you once said you never wanted to be Youko again?"
A quick snarl answered, "Matters have changed that."
The red eyes didn't let up their blank gaze at the other, "Then can't matters change here too?..."
"Never to this extent! He hated being weak! He would never have allowed it–"
"Who's to say that it was allowed?... The Jagan is controlled by emotions. Seeing power drop as well as health it took control. How else would this mind be so sculpted... in less the master of it was trapped here and had nothing better to do."
"Him? Creator of all this? I still find that hard to believe. He destroyed things– killed them, never created."
"You say that... but your eyes tell a different story. They quiver as they gaze upon–"
His free hand grabbed hold of the others throat as he lifted him from the ground to the air, "Are you saying I'm afraid of you."
Finally a tiny smile grazed the small one's face, "Prove... you're not... Kill... me..."
:smiles slightly: Well, that's all for now... Please Review! Thanks! XD (More's to come in time hehe..,)