Yusuke yawned hugely. They have been travelling for hours, and all he could see outside were miles and miles of snow covered fields. He leaned his head on his palm and gazed outside at what seems to be the hundredth time. When he finally got tired of the same view, he decided to check on his companions instead.

He saw Kuwabara first, since he was sitting right in front of him on the train. He was dozing off with his huge mouth wide open, making annoying sounds that would give children nightmares. Beside Kuwabara sat Genkai oba-san, her arms across her chest, her pale pink hair fell on her wrinkled face. Her eyes were closed in meditation. Yusuke wondered what she might be thinking, but decided not to disturb her. He turned his attention to the red-haired lad sitting right beside him instead.

Kurama held a thick book which he picked from the pack he have brought with him. His green eyes paced back and fort as he read the book with interest. He finally noticed Yusuke's gaze and looked up from the book he was reading, giving Yusuke a friendly nod.

"Got bored from sight seeing?" he asked Yusuke as he placed his book aside.

"What's there to see? There's nothing but snow out there anyway!" replied Yusuke with a snort. "By the way," he asked the red head. "Where's Hiei?"

Kurama gave him a knowing smile and pointed his finger up.

"He flatly refused to stay in the same cart with Kuwabara." said Kurama with a laugh. "He said he'd rather stay in the roof."

Just then, a pug looking Hiei face appeared outside the window. He was hanging upside down, making Yusuke jump back.

"You talkin' 'bout me, kitsune?" he asked Kurama.

"Hiei!" complained Yusuke, clutching his chest. "Would you stop doing that?! You're gonna give me a heart attack!"

"Hmph!" replied Hiei as he entered the small cart they were staying in. He looked disgustingly at the snoring Kuwabara and turned his back against him.

"Yusuke was just wondering where you were." Kurama told him.

"Hmph!" said Hiei as he brushed off icicles from his black cloak.

"Isn't it freezing out there?" Yusuke asked as he watched Hiei shake more snow off his clothes.

"Hmph. I was born cold." Hiei growled, his red eyes staring coldly at Yusuke.

"Well excuse me for asking!" Yusuke growled back.

Just then, the train came to a stop as they pulled into a station.

"Good. We're finally here." said Oba-san, waking up from her meditation. "Go wake Kuwabara up." She said, looking at Hiei.

An evil grin spread in Hiei's face. He pulled the bags off the baggage compartment on top of Kuwabara, making the baggage fall all over the sleeping bulge.

"Wha-!" cried Kuwabara with a start as he was interrupted from his beauty (?) sleep.

"Hmph! Baka!" grunted Hiei as he head towards the door after Yusuke and the others.

"Hiei! You little shrimp! I'll get you for that!" Yelled Kuwabara at the top of his voice, making the other passengers look at him. He stumbled at his things and fell on the floor, making the passengers laugh.

Hiei ignored him completely as he followed the others off the train.

"Matte! Minna! Wait for me!!" cried Kuwabara as he stumbled with his baggage, trying to keep up with the others.

"Would you hurry up, Kuwabara? We're suppose to meet Mr. Miyama an hour ago!" replied Yusuke impatiently.

"Well, we would have been on time if it wasn't for that delay..." said Oba-san

"Hai, no one wanted that hail storm anyway." agreed Kurama. "At least we've arrived safe and sound."

The five of them came into the main lobby of the small train station and saw a young man waving at them. He looked like he was in his early teens with wavy brown hair and smiling dark brown eyes. He was about as tall as Yusuke and wore a pair of jeans and a thick blue checkered jacket. He gave a big grin and started at their direction. Genkai waved back at him and turned at the others.

"This way." she said simply.

"You must be Genkai Oba-san," said the lad with a warm smile "my name is Shio Hiyama, I'm Yoshiro's great grand son. Yoroshiku, minna san." He looked at the others and gave them a friendly nod.

"Yoroshiku, Shio kun. Your grand father have told me a lot about you." said Genkai. "By the way, these are Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei..." Genkai pointed her thumb at her back where Kuwabara was still struggling with his baggage. "and Kuwabara"

"Hajimemashite, minna san." Shio replied happily.

"Hajimemashite." replied Kurama and Yusuke together. Hiei simply eyed the lad.

"Oy! Minna!" Called Kuwabara from behind them. His companions looked at his direction, including Shio. "Look at this," he said, pointing at a newspaper on a magazine rack. "it's the head line, listen to this; "Two more hikers missing after scaling the dreaded Shinoko mountain ranges." isn't that a weird name for a mountain?" he asked the rest with a smirk in his face.

"Baka." said Hiei, suddenly beside him and took the newspaper from his hands. He began leafing through it aside from Kuwabara's evil stare.

"The village by the foot of that mountain is where I live." Shio said suddenly. "Many hikers have vanished in there for as long as I could remember." he looked at the others and gave them another innocent smile.

"Shinoko..." repeated Yusuke "Death's Child...can't they think of any other name?" (the author couldn't)

"Legend says that a demon lies buried in that mountain." said Kurama as he read the article behind Hiei's back. "There also used to be a gate way there back when the gates to Makai were still open." he continued, as he turned to Yusuke and looked at him seriously. "The village by the foot of that mountain used to be the favorite hunting ground of many a youki."

"Hai, hai..." interrupted Shio, cutting in the discussion. "You sound just like my grandfather." he went to the counter and took some money out of his pocket. "Come, you must be tired from your travel," he paid for the newspaper Hiei was holding and helped Kuwabara with the baggage. "I've got a pick-up truck waiting for us outside. We better go before Grandfather starts to worry about us."

Hiei was the first to get off the old pick-up truck. He gave a disapproving look at the vehicle and started towards a narrow path that led to a small hut. They have finally arrived in a small village where they were asked to investigate a demon sighting reported by one of the village residents.

"Hmph." thought Hiei to himself as he watched Kuwabara get off the pick-up truck, happily chatting with Shio about life in the city. "This is supposed to be an assignment, yet these fools treat it as a fucking field trip!"

"Hiei-kun," Shion suddenly called to him with a smile. "You don't seem to have any baggage."

Hiei simply glared at him and turned away.

"Ah, he didn't know we were leaving today, so he forgot to pack anything up." Kurama explained.

"Oh, is that so?" Shion said, turning to Kurama. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find some clothes that will suit you just fine!" he replied cheerfully.

Hiei stared at Shio with disbelief as the latter led the way towards the hut.

"Stupid human. He crazy or somethin'?" he asked Kurama who was walking beside him.

"Whatever makes you think that?" asked the red head.

"He's too jolly. He makes me sick." he replied with a snort.

"Hiei, he's just being nice." replied Kurama.

"Hmph. Then he better be nice to someone else." Hiei gave another growl and went on ahead.

The hut looked small from outside, but as they entered it, they found out that it was warm and comfortable, with enough space to house a huge family. There was a huge fire place at the middle of the room which warmed the whole living room. Three couches were placed around the fire and thick rugs on the floor, while animal trophies hung on he walls. Yusuke and the others waited patiently for their host as he went to look for his grandfather.

"Wow..." Kuwabara said as he admired the numerous animal heads which hang on the walls.

"This Miyama san must surely be some hunter!"

"You can say that again..." replied Kurama weakly as his eyes stared at a fox skin with three tails, pined on one corner of the room. Hiei looked at it suspiciously, then at Kurama.

"One of your friends?" he asked with a smirk. Before Kurama can comment, Shio and his grandfather suddenly entered the room.

His grandfather looked ancient. His white hair flowed down his waist in turrets and his wrinkled face was almost beyond recognition. He entered the room with Shio holding his arm to support him, but as he saw Genkai and the others in the den, he suddenly pushed him aside and stood at full length.

"Ah, Genkai! How good it is to see you again." He said straight out, as he walked to her side with amazing ease. "These must be your young friends." He looked at Yusuke and the rest of his guests.

"Yoshiro-kun, it's always a pleasure to see you as well," replied oba-san. "By the way, these are Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei." she said, as she introduced her companions to her old friend. "So, why don't we go on with business?"

"Ah, yes..." said the old man as he sat beside his grandson. "The youki in Shinoko yama..." he suddenly faced his grandson and scowled at him "Well? What are you doing there, just sitting like some fancy princess? Go get us some sake!"

"Grandfather, Dr. Yamato said..."

"To hell with what Dr. Yamato says!" bellowed the old man "Go get me some sake before I blow my top!" Shio just shrug and shook his head.

"Okay, grandfather, but just one bottle this time, okay?" he smiled at his grandfather as he left the room.

"Ha! See that? He's a good kid, but he knows nothing about life!" said the old man as his young grandson left the room. "He's too caught up with those 'kaputers' and 'vidogems' and 'aps' to think about what really maters in life!"

Yusuke smiled at the old man. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like him.

"Well, anyway, the reason I called you up is because of those stupid tourists!" Yoshiro jii-san said. "They keep comin' up here askin' 'bout that youki up in Shinoko yama and spread rumors 'bout hidden treasures and other lies. Next thing we know, they've gone up there and never return again!"

"You mean, the legend about the youki trapped in the icy mountain?" asked Kurama with interest.

"So, it was a lie after all, huh?" asked Kuwabara.

"BAKA!" shouted the old man, his spit flying into Kuwabara's surprised face. "The youki is real! The treasures aren't."

"You mean to say that there really is a youki buried in that mountain?" asked Yusuke.

"Hai." replied the old man, he folded his arms across his chest and took a deep breath as he began to tell his story.

"I was but a child when it happened..." said Yoshiro jii-san. Yusuke couldn't help but wonder how long ago that was. "There was a youki attack, and they killed everyone in sight..."

"Grandfather, here's your sake!" said Shio as he entered the room, carrying a tray with a big grin in his face.

"Baka!" yelled his grandfather. "Don't interrupt while I'm story-telling!" he hit his grandchild on the head as Shio placed the tray on a table beside him. "Hurry up and pour me some of that sake." he ordered.

"Um...Yoshiro jii-san...can we go on with the story now?" asked Kurama.

"Ah, ya, ya...as I was saying..." jii-san took a sip from his sake and went on with the story. "I was still very young back then, and I cried as a youki stabbed my mother to death...she fell on me and hid me from the other youki so as to save my life. I came out of hiding, thinking that the youki attack was over, and was crying by my mother's corpse when a shadow came over me..." Yoshiro jii-san stopped and stared at the fire for a while. "Sake!" he suddenly ordered his grandson.

Kurama and the others were startled by this. They have been listening attentively to the old man's story that they didn't anticipate his sudden change of topic.

"Anyway..." jii-san said as he drank his sake. "I looked up thinking that someone was there to help me and my mother, but as I did, ghostly pale hands grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up in the air!" jii-san raised his hands in the air as he acted out what happened. He gave his cup to Shio for him to re-fill it.

"I tried to scream, but as I did, my eyes were caught by a pair of golden ones...it ate through my soul, enabling me to utter a sound...enabling me to move..."

"Tell them about the sign on his forehead, jii-san!" said Shio excitedly.

"Shut up, Shio, this is my story!" his grand father replied. "He had a sign on his forehead. Like an upside-down triangle...it glowed underneath the huge black pearl he wore. I saw it, oh yes I did...It glowed along with his golden eyes and obscured everything else."

"Menear..." whispered Kurama. Hiei looked at him at the corner of his eye.

"What you say, kid?" asked jii-san.

"Nothing, sir. Just something I heard of..."

"Well go ahead and share it with the rest of the group!" the old man said with a grin, showing his few yellow teeth.

"Well, you see," explained Kurama "I've heard of youki with that kind of ensign on their foreheads..." Kurama took a pen and drew a figure which resembles the spread wings of a bird. "Did it look like this?" he asked the old man.

"Why, yeah..." he answered "You seen one of 'em before?"

"Not really." Kurama answered him with a smile. "I've only heard of them. They say that Menears are the most powerful beings in all of Makai..."

"Hey, wait a minute," interrupted Yusuke, "I thought Mozokus are the most powerful ones?"

"Mozoku is only second to the Menears..."

"Nah, can't be!" jii-san butted in, "'coz that Mozoku kicked the hell out of that fuckin' Menear as you call it!"

Kurama, Hiei and Yusuke looked at jii-san wide eyed.

"What did you say, jii-san?" asked Yusuke.

"That 'Menear' as you call him, he was killed by this other youki..." jii-san looked thoughtfully at the rest as he tried to remember the name of the youki. "Raizen! That's the guy!" he replied suddenly. "The other youki seems to be real scared of him. They called him Mozoku too!"

Yusuke paled. The others were silent as they listened to the old man's story.

"Raizen...that's him alright...that's the youki who saved my life."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

END OF CHAPTER II

notes:

The term Menear, I got from Moto Hagio's "They Were Eleven". He was named Frol and came from a planet where the children were born without gender. They only get gender when they are old enough, that is, it just sort of grows on them.

As for the place, I read once that Prefecture-N has a snowy background...problem is, that's the only thing I know about it. That's why I couldn't say the specific place. If you do, please tell me so.

My story on the other hand, deals with a different Menear. This Menear naturally has no gender. Besides, I have heard once that powerful beings ordinarily do not poses any gender (take angels for example) only I couldn't remember where and why...

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