Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Obscured ❯ Obscured ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

OBSCURED



"Stay there!"

"But, Orion, where are you go--?"

"Shut up! Stay quiet! Do as your big brother tells you, okay?"

"...Okay."

"Whatever happens to me, you've got to promise not to scream, alright?"

"Alright."

"You're a good boy. Goodbye, Touya."

*~*

Touya's eyes slowly opened, thick eyelashes slinking upwards to allow the harsh, dry touch of winter air to kiss the incandescent blue of his pupiless irises. The world reemerged around him in a coalescence of sights, sounds, and sensations. Cold wind caressed his pale cheeks with frigid fingers, rousing him further from his meditative state. Snow swathed every exposed surface like a chilling blanket of clouds. The ground. The trees. The rocks. Nothing escaped the grasp of winter, even here at the very base of the mountain on which Touya had spent centuries learning the art of ice.

He vaguely wondered if it was winter in the rest of the Makai. After all, he was an inhabitant of the Ice Lands, where the only the cold season reigned supreme. All Touya had known his entire life was the immortal winter of his homeland, and the perpetually dark landscape of his thoughts.

It seemed the closer he progressed to the base of the mountain, the more shadows sought to obscure his ruminations. Now, phantoms of memory haunted him during his meditations. Faces from countless years ago swam freely in his dreams. Voices whispered to him from the darkness.

And he was also hunted.

He could feel them like needles prickling across his back. They were behind the boulder on which he now sat. Ten of them. Large, clumsy, unable to muffle their footsteps in the snow. Youki signatures open wide for everyone to sense. Pitiful.

Touya rose lithely to his feet, movements nearly hidden by the layers of cloaks wrapped about his slender figure. He didn't seek to derive warmth from the garments; the harshest winter could not even so much as chill an ice demon's blood, much less be a daunting force against a Master of such an element. But if there was one thing his Master had taught him, it was that Shinobi always moved in secret, immersed themselves in shadows so that their actions could repel the darkness.

And if there was ever darkness in need of elimination, it was the vermin he sensed behind him. It seemed another slaughter was in order, for one could hardly call a fight with such low-class demons a true battle. Besides, after the training he had endured at the hands of his late Master, it would take a fighter of considerable strength to pose even a slight threat to him.

He turned and saw his stalkers standing in the snow below him, their scaly countenances an accurate reflection of the hideousness he perceived in the core of their beings. It really must be a sin to be so hideous, both inside and out.

The one closest to him, a behemoth of a demon with lips that didn't quite close over his protruding fangs, jeered up at the diminutive ice demon. "Aw, you spotted us! Wanted to catch you unawares and knife you in the back!"

Touya didn't reply, but such blatant admission of dishonorable intentions disgusted him.

"We heard in the village that the new Ice Master was finally coming down from the summit of the mountain. You gots to be him!" the demon declared in a harsh, gravelly voice reminiscent of the sound of hundreds of pebbles hitting the side of a log cabin at once.

Touya's lack of response seemed to irritate the demon, for he narrowed his slitted, yellow eyes and drew his lips tight, exposing more stained fangs. "Don't you talk, little one?"

The other demons began to move across the pristine ground, clawed and awkward feet unsettling the snow's peaceful siesta. It was time. Touya's power swelled from deep within his body, filling him with its wintry touch. The head demon's banal threats trailed off into nothing, gravelly vocals devoured by a sweet silence unbroken save for the light sounds of Touya's breath fanning against the cloth covering his mouth.

The head demon was yelling now, apparently enraged that Touya no longer found their conversation very enlightening. He sensed one of the demons on his right spring into motion, a thick, spiked club gripped expertly in its clawed fingers. Touya's youki lashed out from his body like an invisible spear, and the snow answered its cry, frigid crystals accreting into icicles that shot up from the ground, stabbing, impaling, and slaughtering, cutting down the twisted souls that schemed to knife their seemingly helpless target in the back. Such trash did not deserve to live, not even in the Makai.

The leader trembled with horror, words dying on his misshapen lips as he watched his fellow vermin slain. For a second, those terror-stricken eyes flicked to Touya, their owner at last realizing his impudence, his unworthiness. A second too late. Too bad.

He turned and tried to run, but icy manifestations of Touya's fury stopped him dead in his tracks. They never learned.

No longer was the snow pristine and untainted. Blood in shades of green, purple, and red lay on the cold whiteness, tendrils of steam rising into the air where the overheated liquid met wintry snow. The winds whistled a death song for the slain as it blew over the horrific aftermath, scattering patches of snow over the lifeless bodies. Touya wouldn't bother to bury his would-be assailants. The winter would devour them.

Turning in a swirl of snow-laden cloaks, he leapt nimbly off the boulder, his bare toes piercing the snow and striking the brown earth hidden underneath. Immediately, a shock of power traveled up his legs, and he tottered for a second before regaining his footing. What in the world...?

"Foolish of those miserable demons to challenge an Ice Master in his own element," someone laughed, none too nicely.

Touya's eyes narrowed as he saw a figure stride out from behind a nearby copse of winter-thin trees. Had he been there the entire time? Why had Touya been unable to sense him?

Appraising brown eyes looked the diminutive ice demon up and down before settling on his eyes, the only part of his body left bare by the layers of cloaks. Touya assessed the newcomer in turn, taking in the lanky limbs, the graceful way he moved across the snow, as if the very Earth rose to meet him rather than vice versa. The demon wore a thick gray cloak that covered most of his body but left his pale face exposed to the mountain air. Wisps of black hair clung to his cheeks like a multitude of spindly, questing fingers interested in catching a glimpse of their owner's quarry.

"Are you male or female underneath all those cloaks?" the stranger asked with a slight frown, coming to a halt a few feet from Touya, booted feet comfortably ensconced in the snow as if it were a mist of fluffy clouds rather than a dangerous force of nature that could numb even the toughest of hides.

Behind the covering of his cloth mask, Touya frowned, remembering the jolt of energy that nearly unsettled his balance when his bare foot struck the earth...

"Reisho, the Earth Master," he suddenly stated, a bit startled by the sound of his own voice, rusty and hoarse from disuse. How long had it been since he last spoke? Surely not since he had murmured his final prayers over his Master's grave...

Even, white teeth flashed in a pleased expression. "Ah, I see Curran educated you well." Reisho glanced at the carnage that flanked them on all sides. "And it seems as if your training was quite thorough as well, though I won't know the full extent of your abilities until I've seen you fight a real battle, against real opponents. These ruffians were hardly worth your time."

//He's being too casual about this.//

"You sent them after me," Touya deadpanned.

"But of course," came the affirmative reply.

"And all the other bands of demons that have tried to kill me as I made my way down the mountain?"

Reisho smiled shamelessly. "My doing, of course. I was testing your strength. I wasn't about to allow a half-trained delinquent into my Shinobi sect."

"I am not half-trained," Touya announced icily.

"Well, I see that now," Reisho retorted. "But I'm sure a smart guy like you can understand my caution. There has not been a fully-trained Ice Master since Curran left the Shinobi and retired to the top of this godforsaken mountain. And then that idiot Seiryu abandoned his training and went rogue. What a disgrace."

Touya agreed whole-heartedly, but he didn't say anything. He had known Reisho for all of five minutes, and already he wasn't overly fond of the demon, or his way of making every word sound like a subtle insult. However, the sole purpose of Touya's descent from the shrouded summit of the mountain was because he had achieved mastery over the enchanted ice, and thus was now worthy of being a member of a Shinobi sect.

"So, Ice Master, do you have a name?" Reisho asked.

The ice demon dipped his head slightly in a bow. "I am Touya."

Reisho merely angled his chin downwards in return, the smirk on his face clearly a result of the misinterpretation of Touya's polite bow for a gesture of submission. "Well, Touya, you should feel honored to be a part of my Shinobi sect."

"Do not assume I have joined you."

The smirk fled so quickly that Touya thought Reisho's mouth might get dragged along with it. "What?"

"I have not joined you yet. I was not aware you had even offered me admission into your sect."

Outraged, indignant laughter spilled from Reisho's mouth. "You think I fraternized with these idiotic demons because I wanted to?"

"You lost nothing by striking deals with them," Touya countered calmly. "You knew that they would never return to collect their bounty for killing me. You sent them to their deaths when you could have come and tested me yourself. I sense that your power is greater than mine, Reisho. You might not even have broken a sweat when you battled me, and yet you disrespect me by sending low-class demons to do what it would have been honorable for you to do yourself. If you think that I consider that a respectable offer, then you are mistaken."

The Earth Master's lips twisted in an unkind smile. "My, my, you certainly can talk a lot."

As if to prove him wrong, Touya stayed quiet. He himself hadn't known how much Reisho's "test" had insulted him until his latent feelings had manifested in the form of words. He couldn't let his emotions take the reins like that again. Too much time in the darkness had left him with poor control over himself.

Reisho suddenly bowed slightly from the waist, face contorting as if in pain, though Touya knew the only thing hurting was his pride. "Touya, Master of the Enchanted Ice, apprentice of Curran, it would be my great honor," Reisho practically spat the word at him, "if you would join my Shinobi sect."

Touya mirrored Reisho, not bowing an inch lower. "I accept your offer, Earth Master."

The taller demon straightened immediately, annoyance flashing in his eyes at how quickly Touya had accepted after putting up so much of a fight. "Fine," he snapped, turning so that his cloak swirled meekly after him. "Follow me, little Touya, and I'll introduce you to the rest of your new sect members."

Touya bristled at the derogatory descriptive that had preceded his name, but he opted not to say anything. He was little. No use denying it. Besides, if Reisho wanted to start a childish – what had Orion always called it? – pissing contest, then Touya had every intention of letting him know that he was above such trivial bickering, and Reisho's pissing would be one-sided.

*~*

Reisho's sect was a mixed pair. There was Gama, Master of the Enchanted Paint, whose face resembled gray putty that had been manhandled far too often. Hairless brows threatened to dwarf a pair of piercing black eyes, and he smelled strongly of blood and herbal oils. However, Touya could tell immediately that Gama was a demon of considerable strength, and well versed in the ways of the Shinobi. When Reisho introduced Touya as the Ice Master, Gama bowed his head in respect.

Bakken, on the other hand, was big, loud, smelly, and a Master of nothing. Though the ragged scars marring his thick, dark flesh clearly proclaimed him the survivor of many battles, Touya perceived a weak, cowardly soul hunkering in that bulky body. Reisho called Bakken the "wielder of the White Mist." Touya was unfamiliar with the attack and thus, did not grace the title with a bow, but according to proper etiquette, Bakken was required to show deference to Touya's Master status. Bakken did not bow.

"Damn, Reisho, he sure is tiny," the behemoth of a demon grumped as he looked down at the diminutive Ice Master. "My hand is bigger than his whole head." To demonstrate, Bakken extended a clawed hand towards Touya, but the smaller demon easily sidestepped the potentially offensive fingers.

Bakken seemed to find this amusing, for he gave a booming chuckle. "Why don't you take off those cloaks, little man? Are you deformed or something?"

Touya didn't respond to the insipid jests. He felt an arm slide across his back to grip his shoulder, and he cast a mildly surprised glance at Reisho as the Earth Master pulled Touya against his side.

"Better watch it, Bakken," the sect leader warned with a nasty smile. "You haven't been amongst the Shinobi long enough to witness the power Curran possessed. We can only hope that his apprentice," his hand squeezed Touya's narrow shoulder, "will do his Master justice."

Touya stood shock still, fighting not to allow the discomfort curling in his spine to worm its way into his muscles. He didn't like Reisho touching him, but moving away would put him within petting reach of Bakken, which he needed about as much as a hole in the head. Reisho was the lesser of the two evils in this situation...but there was nothing "lesser" about the energy Reisho emitted now that they were away from the snow, Touya's element. In this noisy bar filled with village riffraff and the smell of the earthen floor, Reisho's youki pulsed along Touya's side like a disembodied heart. All the other sect members – including Touya – were greatly overshadowed by such a power. It was no wonder Reisho could claim the title of leader. It seemed there was no other powerful enough to contend his self-proclaimed rank.

"Where the hell is Jin?" Reisho demanded, raking his eyes over the raucous crowd in a sudden bout of annoyance. "I told that idiot to be here waiting with the rest of us."

"He got bored and flew off somewhere," Gama explained patiently, clearly not sharing his leader's aggravation.

"And why didn't you two stop him?" Reisho insisted.

A wry smile spread across Gama's face. "Jin is the wind. You can't catch the wind."

"Well, did he say when he was going to be back?"

Gama took a drink from the mug in front of him before answering. "No. He'll be off doing Jin-things for hours. You know him."

"He probably fell asleep on top of someone's chimney again," Bakken said with a devious laugh.

"Shut up," Reisho snapped, interrupting the demon's expression of glee. "He was supposed to be here in the likely case that Touya did us the honor," another shoulder squeeze, harder this time, "of joining our sect. Touya was supposed to meet all of us at once, but since that damn Wind Master has not seen fit to grace us with his obnoxious presence, I'll just let Touya bunk with him tonight."

It was settled. Just like that. No one asked Touya whether or not he wanted to share a room with someone rude enough not show up to greet their newest sect member. Touya had zero tolerance for such discourtesy, and from what he had gleaned from his sect members' conversation thus far, Jin was belligerent and obnoxious as well. Just great. Touya most definitely did not want to share a room with such a demon.

But once again, who had asked him?

*~*

Orion's skin. So cold, even for an ice demon. Why? Touya was crying for him, and his brother wouldn't answer! Why? Why? Touya didn't understand! Boots crunched over snow. A great presence loomed over him.

"What's wrong, little one? Why are you crying?"

Touya shuddered and burrowed against his brother's cold, cold body. The Cold Man had come. The one with the empty blue eyes and the frozen soul. Stay away from Orion! He's cold enough!

"Why...you're Touya, aren't you? The one I vowed to train?"

Nodding. Crying. Nose is running, too. Orion, wake up, please! Want to go home now! What if Mother was hurt?

"Do you remember me, Touya? I am Curran, the Ice Master."

Ice Master? "Master Curran, please wake my brother up!"

Sad eyes. The Cold Man had such sad eyes. "I cannot. Your brother is dead, Touya. Bandits raided your village, and I'm assuming they caught your brother as he tried to bring you to me."

Dead? No. Not dead. Just asleep. The Cold Man's eyes were very bright now, like ice floes floating in a dark lake, a lake that seemed to have a sprung a pair of twin, crystalline leaks that blazed a shimmering path down skin the color of porcelain. Tears? Touya didn't understand what would make the Cold Man cry.

"Your brother's noble sacrifice will not be in vain, little Touya. I chose you out of all the village children because you were special. You will rise to great heights and honor your family's grand memory. You will be my successor. You will become an Ice Master."

That low, deep voice whispered to him so fondly, almost like that of the father Touya had never known. Curran's eyes stretched in front of him like gashes of the softest blue, tears falling from them like clear blood. The world around him was as dark and cold as his brother's lifeless body, but the look in those eyes was warm, offering him a safe place to huddle away from the darkness, away from everything.

A pair of large sapphire eyes blinked curiously down at Touya, their color vividly enhanced by frames of thick eyelashes. Close! Dangerously close! An enemy had snuck up on him while he slept! The thought spurred him into motion, his youki spilling down his right arm in a rush a sweet, icy wind. His left hand was underneath him, pushing at the soft springy surface on which he lie, shoving his weight backwards to get within striking distance. His right arm emerged from the folds of his cloak already encased in a thick sheet of blisteringly cold ice, the point of the ice sword wickedly sharp as it arced through the air.

The stranger gave a loud, startled cry and reeled backwards, falling off the edge of the bunk bed. Touya kept his body close to the mattress, right arm in front of him to ward off any retaliatory blows. He would wait for the sound of a body striking the hardwood floor, and then he would move in to question the hapless idiot who had dared disturb his rest.

He listened...but heard nothing. Seconds passed. Still nothing. Confusion set in. No one could fall for *that* long. Besides, the intruder had only fallen from the top bunk of a rickety bunk bed. They should have struck the floor by now...

Touya slunk towards the edge of the bunk and cautiously swiped the air with his ice sword a couple of times before peering warily over the edge.

His bothersome intruder turned out to be a demon with the reddest hair Touya had ever seen, a pair of pointed ears and a small horn near his forehead almost lost amongst the thick wealth of scarlet strands. The demon didn't seem particularly large, but it was hard to ascertain his bulk with his legs folded neatly beneath him and his arms crossed sulkily over his chest, making the neatly-shorn rip in his long-sleeved, white tunic gape like an indignant mouth, exposing a set of well-developed abdominal muscles. Crystalline blue eyes lovely enough to shame an ice sprite glared up at Touya from underneath a mop of crimson bangs.

The stranger hovered in midair, frozen in a perpetual sulk halfway towards the floor. He hadn't even bothered to right himself, but instead opted to stare up at his assailant with his back parallel to the floor.

"Jumpy little bugger, aren't ya?" the demon demanded grumpily. "You ripped a hole in my shirt with that blasted sword of yours!"

Touya frowned deeply, movement of his mouth nearly imperceptible underneath the cloth mask he had yet to remove. How was he hovering like that? Only A or S-class demons could fly with such casual ease. Unless...unless this was...

"You got a tongue in that itty bitty mouth of yours?"

Jin, the Wind Master. Yes, Touya could feel it now, the barest of disturbances in the air, originating from Jin's body. Such masterful manipulation, using only the scantest bits of youki. He was good. Very good.

"Hello!" Jin yelled indignantly, the winds faithfully carrying him upwards until he was level with Touya's bunk, floating carelessly in the air. "You aren't listening to me or what? Because that's downright rude if ya ain't!"

The ice sword around Touya's arm dissipated, the power sucked back into his pores to settle inside him like a soothing second skin. "Forgive me, Wind Master. You startled me." He bowed as best he could from his crouching position.

"Eh, not a problem!" the redhead exclaimed, surly countenance instantly vanishing in favor of a more cheery disposition. He floated closer, peering intently into Touya's eyes. "Don't you get hot sleeping in all those cloaks? 'Cause I'm sure it must be pretty stuffy for you even though it's DAMN COLD up in this little village! I was taking a fly earlier this morning and nearly froze my balls off! Pretty gruesome, I tell ya! But I guess you don't really care about the weather, seeing that you're an ice demon AND an Ice Master to top it all off! You could probably go skinny-dipping in a frozen lake and not feel a thing! Well, enough about that! Why don't you come down so I can take a good look at you?"

Touya's mouth hung slightly agape behind his cloth mask. That incessant tumble of words, and Jin hadn't taken a single breath.

He was still staring perplexedly when the Wind Master reached out and snagged a handful of Touya's cloak, squeezing experimentally before releasing the cloth and grabbing another handful.

"What are you doing?" Touya asked, boggled by this sheer strangeness of this demon.

"Where the hell is that arm of yours?" Jin demanded, still fondling the cloth. "I saw it a few moments ago when you tried to skewer me with that ice sword. Where are you hiding it?" He groped deeper into the folds, and Touya balked.

"Here," he said hastily, pushing his arm through the small opening that served as his sleeve.

Jin grinned, flashing a pair of small fangs that Touya hadn't noticed before, which perplexed him since Jin's mouth was always in motion. The left fang was crooked and hung slightly over his full lower lip. "Ah, there it is! Sorry, I was just wonderin' since Biggie seems to think you're deformed or something. But he's a smelly oaf so you shouldn't listen to what he says!"

It took Touya a few moments to realize that "Biggie" was apparently the Jin-equivalent of "Bakken," and during that period of delayed comprehension, the redheaded demon dropped out of his vision and descended to the floor, looking up at Touya expectantly. "Well? Come on down here! You don't plan on staying up there all mornin' now, do ya?"

Touya hesitated, gazing down into wide cerulean eyes that seemed far too earnest for one who lived the shadow-filled and secret life of the Shinobi. "Well...no, I guess not."

He hopped easily down from the bunk, bare feet striking the floor with only the barest of sounds. Jin smiled at him and lowered his feet to the floor as well. Now that they were both standing on level ground, the top of Touya's head barely reached to the middle of the demon's chest. The Wind Master walked two fast circles around the smaller demon, the second one taking him close enough that the sleeve of his white tunic brushed Touya's shoulder. Touya jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, but Jin didn't appear to notice.

"You need a bath," the redhead announced, coming to a stop in front of Touya.

"What?"

"You smell funky," Jin clarified, wrinkling his nose.

Touya frowned. "I've been in the ice lands for almost my entire life. Odors aren't really all that noticeable in the cold weather."

"Well, I notice them, being that I'm the Wind Master an' all," Jin said with another one of those endearing, snaggle-toothed grins.

"Do you have a travel pack hiding underneath all those rags?" the taller demon asked, looking Touya up and down as if the cloaks would magically fly up and expose what was underneath.

"No," Touya replied. "I plan on buying whatever I need here in the village."

"Well, too late!" Jin exclaimed, grabbing a battered knapsack off the floor and roughly yanking it open. "Reisho took the liberty of buying you some clothes, but he expects you to reimburse him because he's a tightwad. He asked for the smallest sizes so if the clothes don’t fit, blame him, not me. Though if you ask me, he should have waited for you to pick out your own stuff, seeing as no one knows what your body looks like, other than the fact that you're short." Jin cocked his head to the side, longish strands of unruly scarlet hair lying on the shoulder of his white tunic.

Touya stared back placidly. Jin was clearly curious about the exact details of their newest member's appearance, but Touya had hidden underneath his cloaks for months, and he suspected that removing them was going to be like cutting off an arm, not something he wanted to do in the company of others. Besides, if he smelled as bad as Jin claimed, he didn't want to torment the Wind Master's olfactory senses by stirring up air currents as he disrobed.

Jin suddenly shrugged and pulled a bundle of clothes out of his pack, dropping the still-open bag unceremoniously onto the floor. "Alright! Bath time, stinky!"

*~*

Fifteen minutes later, Touya was clean, overheated, naked, and cloakless in the thankfully empty bathhouse. Most demons didn't bother being sanitary, and Touya could understand why. If no one else cared about your state of filth, why should you? In his long, lonely descent from the summit of the mountain after Master Curran's death, Touya's only companions were the phantoms in his thoughts, his ratty clothes, and the shrill whistling of the bitter wind through valleys and crevices in the treacherous terrain. The naked trees didn't care that he didn't bathe, nor did the frozen river, nor the cave troll that had tried to make a meal out of Touya.

Frowning, Touya realized that he had grown unaccustomed to dealing with anyone save for the forces of nature. He would have to abandon his reclusive habits and develop better social skills if he wanted to be content with his new existence. The other Shinobi seemed to have found comfortable niches in their nomadic lifestyles. Only the overly cheerful Jin, strangely enough, seemed to be at odds with things. Touya wasn't surprised. Jin had such a strong personality that it was no wonder Reisho had difficulty controlling him.

Touya scratched the back of his neck where wayward strands of pale blue hair were fiendishly tickling the skin. He had cut his hair with a knife only a couple of weeks ago, and the roughly-shorn ends were silently protesting their maltreatment. Sighing, Touya raked his hair back from his face and picked up the clothes Jin had entrusted to him before exiting the bathhouse with a wave and a trademark grin.

The garments were cheap and second hand, but still better than the pile of dirty rags he had discarded on the floor. The steam in the bathhouse thickened the odor clinging to his old clothes, and yes, he found that he did indeed deserve the title "stinky."

The dark blue pants were too long and incredibly loose around the waist, a common problem Touya had to endure when it came to clothes. He cinched the drawstring tight, rolled up the ends of the pants, and hoped for the best. He next donned a strange, mesh-like shirt, expecting the silvery material to feel harsh and grating, but instead cool, sleek fibers caressed his bare skin as he slid the shirt over his head. The garment hugged his body snugly, and the instant the material contacted his flesh, he felt warmer. Insulated. It had to be. A practical garment, but very wasteful since Touya was impervious to cold. A short-sleeved blue tunic that matched the pants was, like its counterpart, too large, but the addition of a belt kept the garment from ballooning around his slender torso. A pair strange cloth-like boots completed the ensemble.

Even fully clothed, he still felt oddly naked. He cast a wistful glance at the mass of gray cloaks that lay morosely on the floor like a scolded pet. He could not hide underneath them any longer. Gathering the thick, ragged garments in his arms, he deposited the remnants of his previous existence in the waste barrel. With the rest of the trash.

He exited the bathhouse and made his way back to the room he shared with Jin, pushing at the rebellious strands of aquamarine that never seemed to want to stay back with the rest of his hair, as if they wished their uniqueness to be exposed for all to see. Touya's hair would have been one uniform color if not for that defiant streak of green.

He found the Wind Master floating in front of the window, exuding a strange sort of quietude that seem almost out of place on someone so energetic and outspoken. Those bright blue eyes were closed as if in meditation, cold winter winds streaking in from the half-open window to send his crimson hair fluttering against his pale face. He had exchanged his torn tunic for one with leather laces up the torso area, which he had lazily left half-undone. The garment sat askew on his shoulders, exposing the planes of a well-muscled chest and a small, pink nipple tightly peaked with cold.

A shudder ran through Jin's body, and Touya hastily tore his gaze away from the other demon's body. Sapphire eyes opened and slid over to where Touya hovered in the doorway. Jin's mouth fell open in an expression of comical surprise before morphing into a wide grin, eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "Pretty!"

Touya glanced confusedly down himself. The clothes were nice, but pretty? He thought not.

"I'm not talking about the clothes, silly!" Jin chided, lowering his feet to the floor and crossing the room with only a couple of strides of his long legs. "Why the hell were you wearin' all those damn cloaks when you looked like *this*? I think I'm in love!"

Touya blinked. "You...find me attractive?"

Jin nodded enthusiastically. Completely without shame. His ears twitched slightly.

"Oh," was all Touya could think to say. "You're...quite vocal about it."

//Never in a hundred years would I have openly admitted my attraction to a male I scarcely knew. This Jin...he's really something else. I've never met anyone like him before...//

"Why would I be any other way?" Jin replied easily, reaching out and fingering the aquamarine strands that hung in front of Touya's left eye, his touch too gentle for Touya to protest the action. "Wow, I heard that some ice demons had different-colored hair, but this is the first time I actually see it. It's cool-looking, and boy, you sure are small! Are all ice demons around your size?"

If it had been anyone else, Touya might have felt insulted, but Jin's voice was completely devoid of mockery. "I'm small for a male," Touya admitted. "But ice demons are generally quite short compared to other demons."

"Ah," was all Jin said, surprisingly enough. But though his mouth was not in motion, other things were. Namely his eyes, which roved up and down the length of Touya's body with leisurely slowness, languidly tracing the curve of the narrow shoulders, the slim torso, the tapered waist. Touya felt heat rising in his cheeks, and in that instant, he missed his layers of cloaks. Very much. He was starting to feel vaguely intimated by Jin's sheer presence. This demon had a relentless effusiveness that threatened to overwhelm everything around him. He was an utter, total sensory overload.

Fortunately, just as Touya's discomfort was nearing its threshold, the sound of footsteps in the hallway preceded the appearance of Bakken's considerable bulk in the door. The large demon stooped in order to avoid to hitting his head on the doorframe, eyes narrowing when he caught sight of Touya.

"Who the hell is thi—" he started, before he recognized the pupiless blue eyes staring impassively up at him. "Hey, you're Touya!"

"Good goin', Biggie," Jin taunted, normally cheerful tone twisted by sarcasm. "Way to recognize your sect member on sight!"

"Hey," Bakken protested with a scowl, "he was hiding underneath all those damn cloaks before!"

Two pairs of legs appeared behind Bakken, the rest of the newcomers' bodies hidden behind the demon's odoriferous frame.

"Move it, Bakken!" Touya heard Reisho snap. "You're blocking the way!"

"Sorry, Reisho," Bakken subsided with a grumble, still staring disbelievingly at Touya.

Obstacle removed, Reisho and Gama sauntered into the room, clad in thick winter cloaks. Reisho's dark eyebrows threatened to merge with his hairline as he caught sight of the Ice Master. Gama, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. Touya found that strangely comforting. He didn't like receiving this much attention.

Apparently, Jin didn’t like it either. "Geez, with the way everyone is gawping, you'd think none of you had seen an ice demon before!"

Touya fought the urge to smile. //As if he didn't have a similar reaction...//

"Only females, and ugly males," Reisho said with a smirk, looking Touya up and down. "You're a definite...change of pace."

Touya merely folded his arms across his chest and did his best not to look uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Gama intervened, "Well, now that everyone has established that the Ice Master is easy on the eyes, perhaps it would be best if we get down to business."

"Yes," Reisho declared, as if getting back on track had been his idea to begin with. "The demon lord who presides over this area recently had a group of his colleagues up and bail on him, taking a small piece of his fortune, along with some valuable secrets. Since this is one of the only areas that isn't under the control of Raizen, Yomi, or Mukuro, the lord is desperate to keep his power established here. We're to seek out the renegade demons, kill them all, and return the lord's money."

"More running around in the goddamn snow?" Bakken grumped. "And just how much are we getting paid for this?"

Reisho told him, a satisfied smirk curving his lips.

"That is a higher price than you usually ask," Gama remarked flatly.

Reisho made a noise between a snort and a "hmph." "It isn't like he can't afford to pay it, and we have another mouth to feed now."

//He makes me sound like an unwanted child.//

"My Master left money for me," Touya said. Beside him, Jin cleared his throat loudly. Touya sent him an odd look, seeing the warning in the Wind Master's eyes a second too late.

Reisho's brown eyes lit up. "Money, you say? Well, fork it over. You still owe me for the clothes, and in my sect, we pool all our resources."

Touya frowned. "I don't think it's wise for only one member to carry all of the funds."

The Earth Master's eyebrows snapped together in a dark scowl, his youki flaring menacingly as he stepped almost close enough to touch Touya, glaring down at the smaller demon from his superior height.

"And I know it's not wise for you to challenge my authority," Reisho seethed, voice suddenly so reminiscent of the violent rumbling of an earthquake that Touya half-expected to feel the ground trembling beneath his feet. He wasn't certain if the impression was genuine or if Reisho was simply grandstanding, but he didn't want to take his chances. Very few demons had the power to exact physical damage simply using the sound of their voice; the ability was rare but very, very fearsome. Even if Reisho didn't possess such a destructive power, he had something so similar that it might not matter.

Still meeting Reisho's angry eyes, Touya reached down to his belt and removed a small coin-purse, movements carefully slow. He handed the bag over without a word, but he was sure the Earth Master could see by the angry set of his mouth that the gesture was begrudging.

Reisho smiled coldly as he closed his fist around the coin-purse. "Thank you, Ice Master. And you needn't worry about your financial well-being. I'm your sect leader, and I'm going to take care of you."

"Right, take care of him," Jin suddenly said, words heavily laced with derision. "Last time I checked, stealin' from someone wasn't a very good way to take care of them."

Reisho turned his annoyed gaze to Jin. "Don't give me your crap! I've had it with your belligerence!"

Jin made a great show of picking one of his ears, looking at the wall with a bored expression rather than at his fuming sect leader.

//Reisho has almost no control over Jin. Interesting.//

Touya felt marginally better to know that at least one of the other members wasn't fully satisfied with the way Reisho operated, but he also sensed that Jin responded this way to all forms of authority. The Wind Master didn't seem the type who could be reined in by simple displays of dominance.

"Last the demon lord heard, the renegade demons were headed into the woodlands directly south of us," Gama spoke up, deep voice dry and businesslike, a balm to the tension that had been steadily mounting between Reisho and Jin. "It would probably be best to catch up with them before they reach the next town."

"Precisely," Reisho interjected, still glaring at the inattentive Jin. "Everyone gather your things and meet outside the inn."

"There better be some heathen in this bunch worth my fightin'," Jin declared, once again levitating off the floor and folding his bare feet underneath him. He placed his palms on his knees and stared brazenly at Reisho. "'Else I'm gonna sit this one out."

"If you don't participate in this mission, you don't get paid!" Reisho snapped before turning on heel and stalking out of the room.

"Spoken from the thief who just stole from his sect member!" Jin yelled after him.

Bakken smirked and shook a clawed finger at Jin. "Better not piss Reisho off again."

"Get lost, Biggie!" the Wind Master retorted. "Before I dump you on your keister out in the damn snow!"

Bakken laughed uproariously, but Touya noticed that he obeyed Jin's command immediately. Gama lingered for a moment, holding out a dark green cloak to Touya.

"Here is another needlessly warm garment for you, Ice Master," he said.

Touya met the demon's dark eyes. "Thank you."

Gama nodded and turned to Jin, a knowing smile curving his pale mouth. "There is a demon in the bunch who used to be one of the lord's personal guards. Sources say he has great skill with a sword. Never fear, Jin. You will have your heathen."

A wide grin split the redhead's face, blue eyes alight with sublime eagerness as Gama turned and left the room. Touya quickly bundled himself in the folds of the cloak and moved to follow when he felt a warm hand reach out and snag him by the arm.

He looked back to find an uncharacteristic seriousness clouding the cerulean eyes that gleamed with childish glee not five seconds ago. "Don't let Reisho bully ya, okay? He's just puttin' on a show 'cause you're new and all. After a while, he'll just be like an annoyin' fly buzzing around your head."

Touya looked away from Jin's earnest gaze. "Reisho is my sect leader. I have pledged my loyalty to him. Shinobi sects cannot operate properly if there is dissention amongst the members."

Jin made a noise so obviously exasperated that Touya turned back at him. "I can already tell you're gonna be like Gama, always tryin' to keep the peace." He gave Touya an intense look. "That's mighty good of you, but don't let the likes of Reisho take the honor and fight out of you."

Touya finally frowned. "Do not patronize me. No one can take my honor. And why are you still holding onto my arm?" He tried to tug the captive limb back, but Jin's grip was steadfast. He couldn’t even budge the Wind Master's fingers.

Jin cocked his head to the side, giving Touya an honestly perplexed look as the ice demon twisted in his grasp. "Sorry. Didn't mean to offend ya or anything. I just don't want you to leave us. I like you, Touya."

Touya rolled his eyes because if he didn't, he would have to avert his gaze from Jin's. Again. Damn, this Wind Master was really doing a number on him. "That's wonderful. Now release me so we can—-"

Jin tugged sharply on Touya's arm, sending the Ice Master stumbling into the solid warmth of the larger demon's body. Jin's strong arms pinned Touya against his chest, and as Touya lifted righteously indignant eyes to his unexpected captor, he found a pair of silken, heated lips firmly pressed to his own stunned mouth, disheveled locks of soft crimson brushing his cheeks and forehead.

Jin made a fiendishly contented "Mmm" noise, and that single sound impelled Touya into movement. He jerked one of his arms free and sent a closed fist flying towards Jin's stomach. He'd see how well the damn hellion could molest an unsuspecting victim with all the wind knocked out of his lungs!

His angry fist struck nothing but empty air as Jin pulled back, lightning fast, and shot towards the ceiling, out of Touya's painfully limited punching range. The gust of wind that fueled the speed of his ascension nearly blew Touya backwards, but he managed to keep his footing, face on fire and chest heaving with enraged breaths as he glared furiously up at Jin, who was licking his lips and looking maddeningly pleased with himself.

"How dare you!" Touya seethed through gritted teeth.

Jin pointed at him, something like triumph flashing in those wholesome blue eyes. "That's it! That's the fight! That's the honor! Don't let anyone take that from you!"

"You did that just to piss me off?" the ice demon demanded, unable to believe the sheer nerve of this overgrown, red-haired imp.

Jin smiled, ears wiggling. "Sure did! Also, because your mouth looked really soft and it was drivin' me crazy! I'm gonna make you smile next. I'll bet you look real nice when you smile!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Touya spat before storming out of the room, his cheeks still burning. He couldn't remember the last time he had blushed this hard, and it was all because of that stupid, redheaded, blue-eyed, crooked-toothed...

He came to a halt at the doors leading outside, securing the folds of his cloak around his body more for the comfort of the habitual gesture rather than need to be warm. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, willing the blood to leave his face and for his much-cherished composure to rebuild itself. He couldn't face his new sect members looking like an indignant maiden who had just been unwillingly groped. Though that wasn't far from the truth, embarrassingly enough. Even more embarrassing was the fact that for an endless moment there, he had nearly been overcome with the desire to melt into Jin's offending arms, the drown in the warmth of that kiss. This newfound desire for physical contact...it was almost painfully intense.

Once he was relatively calm, Touya pushed open the doors to welcome the harsh bite of the winter wind on his cheeks. He let the glacial zephyrs push back the hood of his cloak, relishing the feel of those insubstantial, icy fingers ruffling his hair, blowing his bangs away from his eyes. He stepped into the snow and felt its power thrumming up his legs, a soothing presence that he had never been separated from.

He paused in the middle of the snow-covered street, icy breezes swirling around him, and looked up at the impressive bulk of the mountain that rose high into the gray sky. He had spent centuries up there, training with Curran, becoming hardened by the toils of physical battle while he mentally combated the dark shadows of his past.

The mountain alone had his blood, his sweat, his tears. It had witnessed all his toils, all his heartaches. The trees in its plentiful forests had hidden his small figure while he watched in plaintive horror as bandits brutally murdered his older brother not ten feet away. During his training, Touya had spilled the blood of countless demons on the mountain's endless snowfields. And at the summit, where the air was thin and scarce, where hardly any life had the audacity to dwell, Touya battled Curran and won, the blood of his Master staining the pristine snow as he lay dying in Touya's arms. Curran had passed into the worlds beyond with a smile, satisfied that the title of Ice Master was safe with Touya.

Touya had vowed to hold true to the honor of that title as the blue of his eyes devoured his pupils, and his body greedily welcomed the power that had forsaken the now-lifeless body of his predecessor. He would not abandon the ways of the Shinobi and bring shame to Curran's name. He was an Ice Master now, a Shinobi of high rank. But on that summit with his Master dead at his feet, Touya had looked up at the bleak gray sky and felt nothing but darkness and loneliness eating at him, planting a seed of despair deep in his soul that no amount of acquired power could burn away. And the mountain had offered him no comfort. It watched and it remembered, but it could do nothing else.

Touya wouldn't miss the mountain. He might miss the cold, and the winter, but never the mountain. It could guard his secrets, his burdens, his failures, all it wanted. Touya had no need for such things anymore.

"Now there's a nice smile!" a sanguine voice exclaimed.

Touya turned to find Jin floating a few feet above him, one of his patented grins on his face and his blue eyes shining with mirth, the thick, richly blue cloak he had draped over his shoulders a painfully bland shade when compared to his eyes.

//Was I even smiling? Guess I was.//

"Of course it's a nice smile," Touya said. "It's my 'I-finally-got-away-from-that-damn-Wind-Master' smile."

The redhead laughed as if Touya had just told the funniest joke in the world. "No, I think that's your 'I'd-sure-as-hell-like-that-studly-Jin-to-give-me-another-smooch' smile."

Touya frowned, trying to get angry with Jin and finding he couldn't. "Keep it in your pants, Wind Master."

Jin winked. "I'll try, but it's gonna be hard."

Touya groaned at the obvious double entendre as Jin laughed loudly at his own wittiness, drawing strange looks from those passerbies daring enough to venture outside in such weather.

Jin floated closer, still chuckling. "Hey Touya, let's be friends."

Touya smirked and turned away. "Maybe."

"Maybe? Aw, c'mon, don't be like that!" Jin's melodramatically outraged voice came from behind him.

Touya continued to make his way towards the impatient Reisho and his fellow sect members, ignoring Jin's anxious hovering. "I'm not here to make life easy for you, Jin," Touya teased lightly. "That would be too boring, wouldn’t it?"

"Sure as hell would!" Jin agreed with his characteristic good cheer. Touya felt a surge of wind energy and barely ducked in time to avoid the playful hand that tried to tousle his hair as the demon shot past him and up into the sky, a rampant storm of life, color, and energy.

Touya had never considered himself particularly fortunate, but looking at the way Jin's flame-red hair blazed like an undying fire against the bleak gray skies that had once struck despair in his heart, he couldn't help but feel a just little blessed.

~fin
1 January 2004