Here's Chapter 5 of "Snow."  Constructive C & C is welcome.  Have fun reading.

Shuichi Minamino
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SNOW
Chapter 5

	"Why the hell do you want me to escort him?!" I demanded.

	"Hiei, you know Makai better than all of us," Koenma replied.  "besides,
he will probably feel safer with somebody he knows."

	"Why should I give a damn?"

	"Because," Koenma paused. "because you were responsible for his loss of
vision.  I think you remember that, don't you?"

	That comment had hit home.  I knew I was responsible for Auden's
blindness, but I still didn't want to take the responsibility of escorting
a human into Makai.  It had been years since I last worked with Koenma.  I
had sworn after 'his' death that I would never have anything to do with
Reikai...but now...

	"Hn!  Where the fuck is this location?"  I asked gruffly.

	"Where the koorimes live."

	"What?!"  Damn!  That was the place where 'he' died.  I would not want to
go back there again.

	"Hiei, I understand how difficult this is for you but what can bring back
his vision is located there."

	"You don't fucking understand anything you bastard!" I yelled at him,
furious.  If it weren't for that stupid mission last time, 'he' would've
still been alive.  But then I knew that now was not the time to argue over
that.  I would sort things out with Koenma later.  He owed me too many
explanations.

	"How would he survive Makai air?"  I asked quietly.  "The air damaged his
eyes last time."

	"His Reiki should be adequate."

	"What do you mean by his Reiki?" I demanded.

	"You have witnessed the extent of his power, hadn't you?"  Koenma asked.
"His loss of sight has awakened the power he had within.  His reiki is very
high, definitely  higher than that of any other humans I've seen."

	"If you are planning on turning him into another Reikai detective..." I
started.

	"No, I am not." Koenma shook his head slowly and sighed.  I wondered what
the hell was he sighing about now.  

	"He does not know how to control his power, Koenma."

	"I would make sure he brings something with him to aid him," Koenma
replied slowly.  "And now, I think I would like to be left alone."  He then
got up to leave, leaving me standing in the hallway, wondering what and why
was he doing this.

********************

	I could not believe this.  That idiot Koenma told me that he would make
sure Auden bring something that he could protect himself with but who would
have thought that he had Auden brought a  .... a violin?!!!!  How the Hell
was he suppose to protect himself with that?!  Idiots!!  

	"Why are you looking at me like that?" Auden asked suddenly.

	"Looking?"  How did he know that?

	"I could 'see' you doing it, Hiei."

	"What the hell are you talking about?"

	"I can still see things, although not with my eyes directly," he
explained. "it seemed as though I have another eye somewhere, what I see is
a bit surreal but it's good enough.  Good enough so that I don't bump into
anything."

	"I suppose that's one of your 'powers'?" I growled.

	"I prefer real vision better."  He turned his head and smiled.  Damn!
That same smile!  Shit!  He really reminded me too much of 'him.'  That
same green eyes, and that dazzling smile...

	"What's wrong?" He asked.  

	"None of your business!"

	"You are so touchy, Hiei."

	"Just shut the fuck up!" I growled.

	"Fine."  He said tersely.

	I must have hurt his feelings.  Well, too bad, I had always been like this
and I was not just about to change the way I act because of a mere human
being.

	The afternoon was too quiet.  Makai forest was supposed to be loud with
the howling and growling of different Makai creatures.  Something was wrong
in this place.  I could sense no youki yet, but somehow I felt that
something was about to happen.  My hands tighten around the sheath of my
sword in preparation for possible attacks.

	What happened next was so sudden that I didn't even had the time to warn
Auden.  I felt the sudden presence of a youkai, ready to kill.  I pushed
Auden away as the youkai leaped toward us.  I unsheathed my sword and
slashed him in two.  I looked around and found ourselves to be surrounded.
This was a trap, these youkais had been waiting for a chance to attack us!

	"Shit!" I cursed under my breath as I eyed them.  These youkais weren't
strong, I would have had no problem taking care of them except that I had
to watch out for Auden as well.  My eyes glanced at him, he was sitting on
the ground a distance away from me.  I must've pushed him pretty hard.
Shit!  This would be tough.  It had been a long time since I had to look
after anyone.  I had to be careful.

	The youkais charged.  I avoided their attacks and slashed them one by one.
 But there were too many of them.  I looked at Auden's direction again and
found that he had been surrounded.  This was not good at all, I couldn't
help him because I had my hands full with these other youkais.  I diverted
my attention away from Auden in order to fend of another attacker.  Then, I
heard screaming of the youkais as the violin started to play.

	The music was nice, which I had to admit even though I had no taste for
Ningenkai art.  It had to be the violin that was driving the youkais away.
I finished killing off the youkais around me and looked in Auden's
direction.  His eyes were closed, concentrating on the notes he was
playing.  Through my Jagan, I could see his Reiki intertwined with the rei
of the violin.  So the violin was a weapon after all.  I didn't bother
helping him as any youkais who approached him was immediately driven back
as if they were in pain.  I turned around to slashed at another youkai
which I've overlooked previously and then returned my attention to Auden.
I was captivated.

	He opened his eyes suddenly while he continued playing.  He seemed to be
staring off a distance, contemplating things, though I knew that he
couldn't see anything.  Wind started to blow as he continued playing to
fend off the youkais.  Flower petals danced around him as did the leaves as
if he was part of the nature.  It looked so familiar.  Then he looked my
way, his emerald eyes meeting mine.  He smiled at me, a genuine dazzling
smile, full of mischief.  He really reminded me of one person.  He reminded
me of Kurama.  

-----------Snow: Ch 5 End (TO BE CONTINUED)----------

	      --Shuuichi Minamino
	      ~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` 
	    *      Shuuichi Minamino / Silver Fox / Youko Kurama       *
	    * The Proud Maintainer of the Yaoi/Slash Info Mailing List *
	    *  Firm Supporter of the YYH Dynamic Duo: Kurama X Hiei    *
	    *       A Thousand-Year-Old Fox Spirit As Human            *
	    *   Innocent Student At Large in Northwestern University   *     
            *              http://www.kurama.ranma.com                 *  
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