"Raizen saved you?" asked Yusuke wide-eyed.

"You deaf, boy?" the old man snaped at him. "Didn't you hear me the first time?" Yusuke looked away and was silent as the old man filled his cup with sake for the nth time.

"So, where was I?" asked the old man as he drank his wine.

"How the youki saved you, jii-san." answered his grand son with a smile.

"Ah, yes..." said the old man. "There I was, helpless in the clutches of that beautiful demon, when a bright light suddenly appeared behind us..."

"Beautiful?" asked Kuwabara. "So, the Me...what 'ya call it was a woman?" he said with a little concern.

"Actually, Kuwabara kun, "Menears have no gender..." replied Kurama.

"Wait a minute, who's tellin' the story here, me, or you?" complained jii-san at Kurama.

"Sorry, jii-san. Please go on with your story." apologized Kurama.

"As I was saying, there was suddenly this bright light..."

"Rei-gun..." whispered Yusuke.

"But that Menear as you call it moved too fast, he was able to get out of the way...Then he saw this other youki who looked real pissed off and called him Raizen. Raizen told him to let me go, and when he refused to do so, hit him again with that blinding light."

"And then what happened?" asked Kuwabara.

"That Menear him created a cyclone, but Raizen's bright light was much stronger. It went past his cyclone and hit him straight on!" The old man smacked his fist on is palm.

"He defeated him, just like that?" Kurama asked in a whisper.

"Yup. He was even dragged to the top of Shinoko yama."

"That's the Mountain on the newspapers." said Kuwabara, proud of himself for knowing about it.

"True. And the youki's body is there still. Burried under the ice. Where it will stay forever."

"You mean, the youki's body is still preserved in the ice all these years?" asked Kurama with interrest.

"Exactly. Before Raizen left, he told me to make sure that no one disturbs the youki in his grave. He gave me power to protect it from anyone who might want to wake it up."

"Jii-san, you're already drunk." said Shio "I hope you forgive my grandfather, he's always like this when he gets drunk..." he told their visitors.

"I am not drunk! Yelled the old man. "This is the truth, and you know it! Why, if you weren't so stuck on your coptumers and aumodills, you would realize that you have it too!"

"Computers and automobiles, jii-san..." corrected his grandson.

"Whatever!" snaped Yoshiro Jii-san. "Any way, as I was saying, Raizen gave me power. He also told me that I will not die as long as the youki is safely imprisoned under the ice...and look at me now!"

The old man stood up and gave a turn. He wobbled a little due to drunkenness. His grandson tried to support him, but he just pushed him away.

"See? I told you it's all true!" said the old man as he poured himself more sake regardless of the complains from Shio.

"Of course, Yoshiro." replied Genkai oba-san with a smile. "We never doubted you for a second."

"But tell us, jii-san." asked Kurama. "What is it that you want us to help you in?"

"Yeah," said Yusuke after what seemed to be an hour of silence, "You said that...Raizen...have given you power to keep the youki in that mountain..." Yusuke looked straight at the old man, his eyes very serious. "What do you need us here for?"

"Well," replied the old man, a little hesitantly. "Raizen said I would live as long as he's trapped in ice." he answered, "He didn't say I would be young forever..."

"He finally admits it." said Shio with a smile. "Then I guess you're gonna have to stop drinking this poison?" Shio started putting the sake aside.

"Don't you touch that!" snapped his grandfather. Shio pulled away at an instant.

"So what is it exactly that you have in plan?" asked Genkai with her arms across her chest.

"Someone has been spreading rumors about treasures hidden in Shinoko yama." Yoshiro replied seriously, "That's why those blasted treasure hunters keep scaling the accursed mountain. They just never learn." Jii-san shook his head as he went on.

"Anyone who gets near the hunting grounds never come back alive." said the old man as he held the sake cup tightly in his hands.

"What do you mean by hunting ground?" asked Yusuke with a frown in his face. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Ryoo Tsuchi." answered Hiei. The others looked at his direction. Hiei simply snobed them.

"Ryoo Tsuchi, or 'hunting Grounds'...It's where youki hunt for their prey." explained Kurama. "As I said earlier, this village used to be a favourite hunting ground of many-a-youki."

"True, true..." said jii-san, "and the top of the mountain used to be the altar for the Child Sacrifices...the 'Kodomo Teekyoo' where they believe that offering the first born to the gods would grant them with many more."

"That's stupid!" Kuwabara said frowning. "Who could ever do such a thing?"

Yusuke noticed Hiei wince from the corner of his eye. He've been through worst.

"That's right, but that's what they used to believe in. We can't blame them for that." said Kurama. "Besides," he continued, "There are some demons who could take nothing in but human flesh."

"Like what demons?" asked Kuwabara, wide eyed.

"Like Menears." Hiei said before Kurama could answer.

"Well, I see you teach your students well, Genkai." said Yoshiro Jii-san with a laugh. "Though I can't say the same with that one." he pointed at Kuwabara and gave another laugh.

"Menears eat human children?" Kuwabara asked with disgust.

"Those bastards are very choosy indeed." jii-san told him. "They prefer children 'coz they are still young and tender." he grinned at the latter. Kuwabara looked sick.

"So, what is it really that you want us to do?" asked Hiei impatiently.

"One of the villagers said she saw a youki roaming around the forest once. I went to investigate and was able to ward him off. Problem is, I'm not as young as I used to be. I'm afraid I may not be able to stop them next time..." Jii-san gave a deep sigh and looked at his visitors. "I want you to go up there and take the youki," said jii-san "and kill him." He was suddenly silent as he stared at the sake bottle he was holding.

"But grandfather!" Shio suddenly said, "If they take the youki...you would..."

"I thought you said you didn't believe in my stories?" interrupted his grandfather.

"But..." Shio cut off what he was about to say. He looked down with a concerned look in his face.

Their visitors fell silent. They watched as their hosts fell silent. It was Yoshiro jii-san who looked up first.

"Well, look at the time! Shio, our guests must be tired! Go lead them to their rooms, will 'ya?" he said cheerfully.

"Ha-hai, jii-san..." replied Shio.

Yusuke and the Kuwabara were the first to be shown to their rooms. Yusuke had wondered how a small hut was able to hold so many rooms. Shio took Hiei and Kuwabara through a narrow hall and showed them their respective rooms, then he took Genkai to the end of the hall to her own room.

"Well, I hope you have a great time staying with us, Genkai oba-san!" he said cheerfully.

"Thank you. Sure we will." she gave him back a smile as she began to close the door, but Shio was still standing before her. He looked at her hesitantly. "Is there something you want to ask me?"

"Hai...Ba-san" Shio looked down as a frown appeared on his face. "Ba-san, those stories...they aren't true, right?" he asked, "I mean...when that...youki dies or gets out...jii-san won't die, won't he?"

Genkai looked at the worried frown on the child's face and smiled.

"I see you're worried about your grandfather." she replied. "I thought you didn't believe his stories?" Shio looked away.

"I know, but..." he looked at her hesitantly and looked down on his hands which he wringed nerviously. "When I was younger, I used to love to listen to Jii-san's stories..." he told Genkai, "Then, one day, I decided to look at the sleeping youki myself. I didn't tell my Grandfather about it since I knew that he would never let me go. I went there all by myself, early one morning before jii-san woke up. The mountain was steep, but I was used to scaling such heights. I got to the caves soon and saw this beautiful white creature...he was trapped in meters of clear ice...like a beautiful doll..." He looked at Genkai and saw that she was listening attentively to him.

"I was still looking at him when some one suddenly appeared outside the cave. He was telling me to come out. I was afraid for I didn't know who he was. He wore funny clothes and blue beads around his neck and his eyes were like glass. I remembered then that my grandfather told me that the cave keeps youki and other evil spirits out. I knew then what that man must be. I wasn't able to leave that cave, and probably never did, if it wasn't for my grandfather."

"Your grandfather came to look for you?" asked Genkai.

"Yes." said Shio, nodding his head. "The youki heard him calling from afar and disappeared right before my eyes. I was shaking when my grandfather saw me, I got a fever when we came back." Shio smiled to himself and looked at Genkai. "When I look back now, it seems to be just another bad dream...but then I think jii-san only played with me to teach me a lesson. I mean, there are no such things as youki, right?" he looked at Genkai, waiting for her to agree.

"If you say so." said Genkai with a gentle smile. "You shouldn't worry about your grandfather, Shio. He'll be just fine. And if he does go away," genkai placed a hand on the young boy's arm to comfort him. "It would be because his time has come. Not because of some youki."

What Genkai said made Shio brighten up. He gave Genkai a final goodnight before he went to his own room and retire for the night. Genkai went to bed and turned the table lamp light off. She smiled to herself as she thought of Shio and his concern for his grandfather, aside for his claim that he doesn't believe in his stories. She closed her tired eyes and went to sleep.

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END OF CHAPTER III

There! It's finished, now I can eat!