Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall...
Part III

By Caithi'on

Standard Disclaimers

Fiery pain lanced through Kurama's side. Instinctively, he put a hand over the wound. Blood seeped through the ripped cloth, wetting his fingers.

Damn!

He stumbled slightly, but still struck a vicious blow with his rose whip. The elephant-like demon hissed and backed away to nurse its wounds. Green eyes swung desperately, but all three of Kurama's companions were similarly engaged — there were plenty of the creatures to go around.

Two more attacked, one from each side, swinging their spiked trunks. Kurama successfully dodged both, but felt himself weakening at an alarming rate. The alley grit crunched beneath his feet as he circled warily.

They're stupid... High youki level, but stupid. Normally wouldn't be a problem... Still not used to this body.

Hiei kept an eye on Kurama throughout the battle. The kitsune's fighting ability seemed to be suffering. The thought gnawed at him, even as he performed a rapid-punch attack on one of the youkai. It seemed to have little affect on the creature's tough gray skin. As he drew his katana, he spared another glance at Kurama.

If he wasn't wounded before, he is now, he thought grimly.

Even with such warning signs, Kurama's fall was a shock. Hiei turned in disbelief as the redhead was caught and flung high into the air by one of the demons. He landed hard, and skidded several meters across the rough-paved ground. He lay unmoving, his face covered by his now-freed hair. The youkai snickered.

"Shit! Kurama's down!" Yuusuke snarled.

Frustrated, Hiei struck down his last opponent with a solid blow.

Time... Wasting time!

Sweat-slicked by the effort, he managed to reach the fallen kitsune in time to deflect the killing blow. Kurama's opponents died with surprised looks on their faces. Without bothering to check on the human boys' progress, Hiei picked up the unconscious youko and departed from the battle-scene.

"Eh?" Kuwabara saw him flicker from view. "Worthless shrimp!" His spirit-sword blazed as he cut through yet another of the youkai. "Hah!"

From the amount of blood oozing from Kurama's side, Hiei gauged the wound as being fairly deep. Certainly not life threatening — if it was tended to in time. A condition that certainly limited his choices. Normally, if he had a wound of this sort, he would go to Kurama. But the boy's room, with his stock of herbs and bandages, was too far. His sister was out for similar reasons. The thought of a human hospital was too absurd to contemplate. His final option was an uncomfortable one...

"What the hell do I owe you?" he enquired fatalistically of the limp form in his arms. "Too much," he decided bitterly.

This ought to even the debt, fox.

Anyone watching would be puzzled to see the child-like figure appear, as if from thin air, cradling in his arms — impossible as it seemed — a tall young woman, who's loose hair nearly touched the ground. The child's whole appearance breathed resignation and worry as he kicked repeatedly at a certain boulder. It finally rolled aside, revealing a medium-sized hole that was filled with a dizzily swirling mist. He stepped out almost absentmindedly, and fell though. The mysterious hole collapsed in on itself, leaving behind unblemished earth.

Hiei landed awkwardly, and although he attempted to cushion the impact, he heard Kurama's moan. He cursed. A quick search produced the required landmarks, and he soon had his bearings.

Not too far.

In a matter of minutes he stood at the bottom of a large, rocky cannon. Unable to carry Kurama with him any further, Hiei swung first his cloak, and then the youko, to the ground. He scrambled on alone, squeezing sideways to pass several rocks, and then bending to worm his way through a claustrophobia-inducing tunnel. A curtain of black fire sprang into startling existence; he extinguished it with a short-tempered snarl. At last he emerged into a small cave. The bandages and pouch of medicines he required lay on a rock-shelf just inside the entrance.

His path back to his companion was hurried; he scratched his elbow and ripped the knee of his pants on the rough rock. Dust swirled up where he dropped the pouch. He waived it away as he studied the still form.

What the hell happened to his hair?

He shrugged and reached for the fastenings on Kurama's uniform.

"What the—?"

All the oddities of the past day clicked into place.

"Found it!" Koenma was so excited by his discovery that he slipped right off the towering library ladder. He floated to the ground. 'How simple! Now, just need to tell Ku—"

"Koenma-sama!" George raced headlong into the godling. "Terrible news! Kurama has been wounded!"

"Blast! How badly?"

"Unknown. We lost sight of him."

"Lost sight?"

"Hai. The fire-demon transported him into the Makai, but before I could locate them he slipped into a warded area."

"Hiei? That's strange..."