Standard disclaimers and all that...
Part 4 of my YYH/DB crossover... Previous parts up on my page as
usual...

Rhionae
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3226/fanfics.htm


Kaleidoscope - Part 4


<Damn it! That�s twice!>

Hiei stared in astonishment as a portal opened up directly behind the
pale haired boy, enfolding him in its protective embrace.  Denying
Kokuryuuha it�s feast�

<Shit! Kokuryuuha!>  The Black Dragon was not at all pleased by this
strange turn of events.  It wanted to consume, it wanted to kill - and
it wanted to do so *now*!  <No! I forbid it!>

:The Forbidden Child forbids?  Unacceptable!:  The dragon continued to
writhe around the playground, eyeing the few remaining people
dangerously.

<No!> Hiei commanded once more.  <Return!  There will be blood to spill
later on!>

:*Now!*:

<*Return*!>  Kokuryuu seemed almost to pause in mid-flight; then headed
straight for Hiei with a burst of speed.  <Fuck!>  Black flames
surrounded him, burning him through, until his soul blazed with the
dragon�s in combined fury, hatred and rage.

"Hiei?  You alright?"  The words seemed distant, as though echoed down a
long tunnel.  "I thought that the dragon *had* to claim a life�"

"Ite!"  That was louder.  Hiei smirked at the yelp of pain as a hand
touched his shoulder.  The Fool would never learn.  "Man, you�re hot!"

Yuusuke sniggered.  Hiei snorted.  <Kurama would have smirked, too�
Kurama!>  His head snapped up, red eyes quickly taking stock of the
situation.  Kuwabara had dumped that youkai back on the bench; Botan was
leaning over him�  

"Uh oh�"  Her worried gaze darted between the prone figure and a small
circular device in her hand.

"Nani?"  Botan started in surprise as Hiei appeared by her elbow.

"Uh, there�s a little problem," she stalled.

"What problem?" Yuusuke wanted to know.  "He took Kurama, so  he can
take us straight to him - one way, or another!"  He pounded one fist
into the other for emphasis.

Hiei grinned nastily, reaching for the youkai�

"He�s not youkai!"

Hiei�s hand stopped.  "What the hell are you talking about?"  He
demanded.  "He�s youkai!  I know what I saw!"

"Then maybe you didn�t see *him*," Botan informed him nervously, waving
one hand at the boy.

Hiei turned his jagan on the stranger, certain of seeing in him the long
familiar pattern of youki, and stared.  <Not a trace.  Not a single
trace!>  His third eye closed, while his other eyes blinked in
surprise.  <It was there before!  I *know* it was there!>  He shook his
head, a scowl covering his shock.  "He still took Kurama!"

"Maybe not."  He glared at Botan, who shrunk away a little, but
determinedly pressed on.  "I came back to tell you that we found some
information on that level�"

"Uh, maybe we should talk about this someplace else,"  Yuusuke
suggested.  They glanced around, noticing that more people had started
to turn up at the playground.  They were receiving suspicious looks from
a couple of adults who were minding children�

"Let�s take him over to Genkai�s temple."

"Hn."  Hiei was gone in a breath of wind, leaving the others to blink at
his rapid departure.

"Well, come on!"  Yuusuke started to walk off.

"Eh, I�ll meet you there!"  Botan pulled out her oar, disappearing from
sight.

Kuwabara was left alone to stare at the unconscious stranger.  He sighed
dramatically, shouldering his burden once more.  "Why me?"

<Hn.  Stupid Fool.>

*********

<At last!>  Botan sighed in relief as Kuwabara finally reached the
temple.

"Whatever you�re going to do, you�d better hurry - I think he�s waking
up!"  Kuwabara deposited the boy onto a futon.  He moved a little,
restlessly.

"There�s not much we *can* do, considering that he�s not youkai," 
Genkai told him, bending over their unconscious charge.

"We can always tie him up," Yuusuke suggested with a grin, swinging
several coils of rope from his hands.

"Uhhh�"  The low groan immediately focused their attention on the
stranger, who scrunched up his face, lifting one hand to his head. 
"What hit me?" he queried of the room in general.

In an instant Hiei had unsheathed his sword, resting the tip against the
stranger�s throat.  "This did, kisama,"  he informed him bitingly. 
"You�ll be feeling the sharp end soon enough, if you don�t tell us what
you�ve done with Kurama!"

The boy opened his eyes slowly, his black eyes focusing unerringly on
Hiei.  He snorted, somewhat amused.  "You not only *sound* like Vegeta,
you look like him, too!"  His gaze flicked down to Hiei�s katana, before
scanning the rest of the group.  "I don�t know who you are, but one: my
name is Goten, not �kisama�.  Two: I have no idea what you *think* I�ve
done, but I assure you that I haven�t been around here long enough to
have done whatever it is.  Three: I *really* don�t like being threatened
when I wake up; and four:  where the hell is Trunks?!"

"Ano�"  Botan ducked her head.  "He doesn�t know�"

"He�s lying!"  Hiei snapped, his sword unwavering.  "I don�t
particularly care how you feel about being threatened!"  He sneered at
Goten, red eyes flashing dangerously.  "I�ll cut you into a thousand
pieces if you don�t start talking right now!"

Goten�s eyes narrowed, and Hiei suddenly found himself without his
sword.  He blinked up at Goten, who was now standing, tossing the blade
lightly between his hands.  "Want me to hold this to *your* throat and
demand that you tell me what�s happened to Trunks?"  He smiled grimly
down at the diminutive youkai.  "Or shall we discuss this in a slightly
more civilized manner?"  He lifted one eyebrow sardonically.

"I sense that  he means us no harm," Kuwabara declared, quite happy to
be on the opposite side to Hiei.

Yuusuke shrugged, apparently careless - but his eyes followed Goten�s
every move.

"I believe we could all do with a good dose of civility,"  Genkai nodded
in accordance, directing  a cautionary look at Hiei.

The little youkai growled, folding his arms across his chest, glaring
for all he was worth.  Goten glanced around inquiringly at the others.

"Trunks was the other boy with you, right?"  Botan ventured.  "The one
with long hair?"  <He looked almost as pretty as Kurama!>

Goten nodded in reply.  "Do you know what happened to him?"  

Botan blinked at the obvious concern in his voice.  "Uh�"  <If he�s not
youkai, how are we supposed to tell him�?>

"He�s in the Makai,"  Yuusuke contributed.

<Well, I guess there�s always the direct approach!>

"Makai?"  Goten repeated blankly.

"The demon world,"  Yuusuke elaborated.  "Someone opened up a portal and
pulled him through.  We thought it must have been one of your friends,
helping you out�"

"What are you talking about?  Is this about Kooma or whoever it was that
you wanted to know about?"

"Kurama!"  Hiei interjected furiously.

Everyone turned to stare at him.  His scowl deepened as he turned away
stiffly.  Botan repressed a giggle.  <He�s blushing!>

"That�s right," continued Yuusuke.  "Kurama went missing a short while
ago.  Hiei saw him get taken - by someone who apparently looks a lot
like you�"

"Oh, I was going to tell you!"  Botan flushed.  <How could I have
forgotten!>  "That�s what I came back to the Ningenkai for!  We found
some of the old records on those holding cells - "

"And you�re just going to tell him about it?"  Hiei interrupted,
sweeping  a disdainful look in Goten�s direction.

"If this has got anything to do with why Trunks is in the demon world -
yes she is!"  Goten folded his arms across his chest, raising one
eyebrow in challenge.

The disgruntled fire demon returned to staring at the wall, with a scowl
that could have frightened paint of the walls.

"You were saying?" Goten prompted her gently, eyes that had been hard
softening.

<He�s so sweet�>  Botan blinked, realizing that she was staring. 
<Ooops!>  She considered briefly, before deciding to go with her
instincts and tell him the whole story.

"Um, you see, a demon broke out of hell, but we don�t know who it was! 
Hiei thought it might have been you, but you see he didn�t know that
most of the youkai imprisoned on that level  were capable of fooling
people into believing that they were someone else!"

"Nani?  You mean that a shapeshifter took Kurama?"  Yuusuke queried
sharply.

"Maybe."  Botan chewed her lip anxiously.  "But it could also be an
illusion master, or someone just really good at disguises, or someone
who can make you think you�re seeing one thing when you�re really seeing
something else�"

"Uh� Isn�t that what an illusionist does?"  Kuwabara asked, confused.

"Great, what kind of help is *that* supposed to be!"  Yuusuke
complained.

"We�re still looking for the records!" Botan protested mildly.

"Let me guess -  someone filed them in the wrong place!"

"Ano� How did you know that?!"

Yuusuke smacked his palm against his forehead in exasperation.

"Well, there�s a *lot* of paperwork that gets done!"  

"Fine," Goten broke in.  "You look for those records while *we* go look
for Trunks and Kurama!  How do we get to this Makai, anyway?"

"I can create a portal to take you there," Genkai offered, while Yuusuke
sized Goten up.

"You can fight as well as your friend?"

Goten nodded.  "More or less."

"Good.  The Makai isn�t exactly a friendly place."

"And it�s also a *large* place!"  Genkai added.  "You�d better have at
least some idea of where to look for the two of them, or you�ll be
looking for an awfully long time!"

"I should be able to sense Trunks� ki,"  Goten informed her.

"What if he�s too drained for you to do so?"  she countered.

"How about you start here?"  An exhausted-looking Koenma appeared right
beside Yuusuke, causing him to jump.

"Don�t *do* that to me!"  He peered over Genkai�s shoulder at the file
Koenma had just handed her.  "That�s pretty much on the edge of the
Makai, isn�t it?"

"That�s right."  Koenma sank down with a groan to sit on the futon. 
"Although it wasn�t always that way�"

"Koenma-sama, is there anything else wrong?"  Botan asked, concerned at
her boss�s haggard appearance.

"Koenma?"  Goten inquired softly of Genkai.

"Hai, he�s the son of Lord Enma."

"Ah."

"Not really," Koenma smiled tiredly.  "At least, nothing to do with
*us*!  Otousama was having some problems of his own,"

"Nothing to do with a couple of  half-alien kids skipping dimensions,
was it?"  Goten asked lightly.

Koenma stared at him.  "How did you know?!"

"Uh," Goten ran a hand through his hair nervously.  "Never mind." 

Koenma blinked a couple of times, before burying his head in his hands. 
"Why me?" he groaned.

Botan stifled a giggle behind her kimono sleeve.

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