PART 11
[Rainbow Brite, Color Kids, and Sprites are gathered in the Rainbow Room, Hiei, Kurama, Touya, and Jin enter solemnly]
Rainbow Brite: Any luck?
Kurama: [shakes head] V_V Their cave has been destroyed, there’s no trace of where they went.
Red Butler: But we must find a clue! They have Ice Gem!
Buddy Blue: Yeah, and who knows what they’ll do to her.
Jin: Guessin’ buy de glimmer uv ‘er oiyes, ai’d say dey’d be…oof
Touya: [elbows Jins stomach and whispers] Not now, they don’t know!
Jin: ^^; Roite! Heheh, dey’d prubabley juust ‘old ‘er fo ransume.
Red Butler: Then we should split up and search for her everywhere! We HAVE to get her back!
Kurama: I’m afraid it isn’t safe for you outside the castle at this time. They may have the Dragon-Monster return.
Krys: So what can we do, Great Rose?
Kurama: I would suggest focusing your efforts on restoring color to Rainbow Land, while we search for Ice Gem.
Rainbow Brite: Good idea, we’ll have to all mine the color crystals to get the color back.
Kurama: Even the mine might not be safe at this time, however…
[Hiei turns and walks away]
Shy Violet: Black Night? Where are you going?
Canary Yellow: Wait!
Patty O’Green: Come back!
[Hiei continues without pausing and exits the room
Outside it is dark and desolate, Hiei thinks back as he wanders about.
***Flashback***
Kurama: Well this is where Murky and Lurky’s cave was.
Touya: Nothing much NOW is it?
Kurama: Apparently even though they can summon the Dragon, they were unable to stop it.
Jin: Dey muust ave, uderwoise we’d still be feelin da power frum dat ting!
Touya: And everything here looks as dismal as the pits of Demon World so their trail’s existence is next to none.
Kurama: Perhaps you two can search the rubble while Black Night and I scout around…
Hiei: You can cut it with those useless nick-name Kurama!
Kurama: ^^; Oh sorry.
Jin and Touya move around the rubble looking while Kurama scans the distant area
Kurama: I’m sure your Jagan would be able to find your sister immediately.
Hiei: Don’t you get it? Or are you blind? Did you not see how those two buffoons had COMPLETE control over the dragon? I have trained for countless years and still can only bribe the dragon with my very soul for it to do my will. No one has EVER mastered it. Then these runts pop up ride it like a circus pony! I am just as susceptible to it as you while it is under their control. I-I want to save Yukina, but I can’t, not like this.
Kurama: Hiei…
Hiei: Save your speeches. She’s gone and I only have myself to blame.
***End Flashback***
Hiei walks down the cave where Murky and Lurky showed him the color crystals]
Hiei: It’s all my fault…why? [sits on the ruble of color-less crystals he destroyed earlier] How could they have mastered it so quickly? [stares at his palm that he summons the Dragon with] If I hadn’t been so eager to destroy the color…[closes fingers over into a fist]….they would never have even known about it. [raises fist to chest and takes out Yukina’s tear gem to look at] I couldn’t protect you… [covers gem up] …I’m sorry. [eyes close and a lonely tear escapes and rolls down his cheek, turning into a dark round ruby that falls to the floor unnoticed]
[Hiei sits in silence till he senses someone coming then returns the gem while standing up]
Shy Violet: Oh Black Night! I didn’t expect to find you here.
Hiei: What are you doing outside the castle? It’s not safe for you here.
Shy Violet: I wasn’t planning on being out long, I snuck out to see if there was already a cart of crystals that we could use.
Hiei: For some reason I can’t see you just ‘sneaking out’ then again, none of you here could lie even if you wanted to.
Shy Violet: ^///^ Well, it is for the good of the world.
Hiei: Would it do the world any good if Murky and Lurky were hiding here? They would have captured you just like Yukina.
Shy Violet: Who?
Hiei: Oh what is it that you guys call her? Ice Gem.
Shy Violet: You’re still sad that she’s captured, don’t blame yourself.
Hiei: What do you know?
Shy Violet: [gasps at Hiei’s sharpness] I-I…
Hiei: Just go back to the castle. [turns away]
Shy Violet: v_v She must be very close to you then?
Hiei: Huh? [looks back and then forward] Why would you care?
Shy Violet: It must hurt to keep it to yourself. Have you ever shared your feelings with anyone else?
Hiei: How pointless, I don’t need to.
Shy Violet: [timidly] If you need someone to talk to, I’ll listen.
Hiei: I told you I don’t need to.
Shy Violet: H-have you ever tried?
Hiei: If I were to ‘try’ why should I tell you?
Shy Violet: [shrugs] I don’t know…I suppose because I’m interested…and I care about you.
Hiei: [looks back over shoulder] You don’t even know me.
Shy Violet: Then I would l-like to.
Hiei: You couldn’t handle the truth. [looks forward]
Shy Violet: … [looks down, to the side] …Perhaps… [raises eyes] …but you don’t know unless you try.
