Kamusta! :)

Here's part 9 of my sis' fanfic!
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Nine.

        Kurama!
        Hiei reached the glade of the goblins about to feast.
        He held himself back against the camouflage of the shadows and
watched for a second or two.  He saw from afar a shock of human blood
spilling from a bowed head, yet remaining motionless in mid-air, in the wood
with no wind.  Several demon-children were gathered round the tree Kurama
was bound to as if he were a toy on display, and they were stomping about
and giggling.  They looked youko, but they were not, Hiei could tell.  Even
though they seemed to have the inherent youko command over plant life, they
did not seem to be smart enough to use it.
        Yet they had Kurama.  They may have even killed Kurama, for all he
knew.  The body at the center of the glade was not moving, and it must have
sensed his arrival by then.  It must have known it had come to help – if it
were not too late.
But if it were too late -- ?
        Hiei screamed "Bastards!" and made certain to show himself.
        Before the entire goblin gang could see him, he had killed three of
their kind.  Presently it was Hiei they turned to with dismay.  He proved
that he was too quick for their senile anger, and rapidly finished them off,
until there was only one left: the one sitting directly below Kurama like a
dutiful schoolchild, watching Hiei’s every movement.
        Still radiant with anger and gasping for breath, Hiei pointed his
sword toward it.  "Now, you – "
        Suddenly the tuft of grass by his feet reached out and grabbed him
by the ankle.  Strong as he was, Hiei could not move.  It was no matter, he
quickly thought.  He threw the blade to the placid goblin, whose mad grin
had somehow faded.
The steel shaft struck something, but it was not youkai flesh.  It was wood,
and it enveloped the sword, swallowed it, and then absorbed it within the
collective life form that was a simple tree in the wood. Hiei was not to see
that sword again.
        The last goblin smiled at him.
        "Damn you!"  Hiei’s eyes strayed toward the inert body in the middle
of the glade, and blazed.  "Die!!"
        Fire streamed from Hiei’s outstretched, open hand.
        The goblin dodged his Ensatsu easily.  Light as it was, it only
needed to stand and leap out of the way.
        Meanwhile the grass grew and winded up along Hiei’s knees, until it
reached his waist.  He had to act fast.  Hiei needed only to burn the
verdant restraints off, and then bound off quickly before they could grow back.
        There was a blizzard of leaf-daggers about the meditative goblin.
Hiei confused it by dodging each projectile with incredible ease.  It was so
that the goblin did not notice when Hiei just suddenly appeared to strike a
spirit-dagger straight through its heart.
        Its insides melted away first, and then the goblin burst into
flames.  There was a pile of very fine ashes at Hiei’s feet when the ensatsu
retreated.
Weak with the power loss, Hiei staggered toward the tree at the center of
the glade.  He called Kurama’s name.
        There was no answer.
        With the blade of his hand he cut the vines about the body.  Kurama
tumbled to the ground.  The color of killing roses spilled over his
features, hiding his face.  Hiei fell to his knees beside the still form.
"This isn’t funny, you son-of-a-bitch," Hiei said through his teeth.  "Kurama."
At this, Kurama’s whole body shook, with a regular tremor that can only be
associated with laughter.  Hiei jumped.  Kurama’s sparkling emerald gaze was
soon up there with him.  "Fooled you for a second," he whispered hoarsely,
and then he struggled to his feet.
        He stood unsteadily, and threatened to fall more than once.  At
length Hiei forced his irritation to subside, and offered Kurama his shoulder.
Slowly the two of them hobbled out of the glade.  Kurama was not heavy, but
he was not that light, either.  The loss of breath for a few minutes at
least had drained his human form.
        "How did you know?" Kurama asked softly.
        "I just did," Hiei answered.
        They did not notice the little goblin shadow swaying drunkenly far
behind them.
        "If this doesn’t say we’re friends, I don’t know what does."  Kurama
chuckled.
Hiei inwardly fought himself from beating the breath out of him again.
The shadow stopped swaying.  It seemed only to want to focus its sight on
the pair leaving it behind.
        "This may only say that the Urameshi Team doesn’t deserve to lose a
valuable player yet," Hiei reasoned.
        "True…but the situation…"
        They felt the projectile approaching at the same time.
Nevertheless, Kurama was the first to find the sense enough to act.
        "Watch out!"  He pushed Hiei to the ground.  The leaf-dagger buried
itself in his right shoulder.
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BFN!
:***LYN***:
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|Ma. Aileen Arcega|Surfing from Bulacan, Philippines!|lyn@tridel.com.ph |
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|      	    Akin si Kurama/Minamino Shuichi of Yu Yu Hakusho!           |
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