Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Dance ❯ Swords and Swindling ( Chapter 11 )

Camber swore forcefully. His subordinates shrank away in fear, knowing his violent temper only too well. Skyre had tried to finish them, but that stupid bitch, the one she always hung around with, SHE had to interfere. She had come out of nowhere and beat his best work yet.

"Send out a squad at once to retrieve her. I want her back here by dawn!" He shouted. Men scattered like leaves on the wind, fleeing from his wrath to complete the tasks assigned to them. He began to pace the room much like the caged wolf that hand been in his command. Why had his project failed? What had he missed? It couldn't have been the formula. He had perfected that over the last four years. It had to be something else. But what? His thoughts continued to simmer, running in circles for that single elusive answer.

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An ice youkai took shelter in an ancient pine, a scythe resting in one hand. A nervous hand ran through blond and red hair, eyes of purest white from edge to edge busily measuring the defenses of the compound below her. The guards, humans all, kept the usual watch; lazy and unobservant. The place had changed very little since her last visit. With a sigh to calm her nerves, she descended like a shadow and infiltrated the base with little trouble.

Her presence was unnoticed, her footsteps unheard. With practiced ease, she arrived at her goal, finding the very things that had driven Skyre mad. She peered closely at each item before stowing it safely in the folds of her clothing. She made sure to take a great deal of that drug. She suspected that there was more to it then met the eye. Peeking around the corner, she exited just as she had entered, the only evidence of her passage was a message carved on the wall.

I have something you want back.

Try to find me if you want her.

Ifurita

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Genkai laid down the wolf's head carefully, a soft groan coming from that unconscious body in her hands. The party had returned to her ruin of a temple, finding a room that was intact and began to care for the girl's injuries there. She had never awakened, had never even moved.

"Yusuke, would you fetch me more blankets?" she requested. The youth nodded and jogged off. He did argue with his mentor. He understood that the wolf youkai was in danger of not making it through the night. Hiei had stayed as well, restoring her body temperature. Kurama and Kuwabara had been keeping guard. They were all nervous and would take turns keep watch tonight for fear of this Camber coming for any of them.

The night passed slowly. The inhabitants of the temple each had a hard time sleeping from the nightmares that plagued them. Dawn could not come soon enough, the cheerful twittering of birds an ironic twist to the night they had each spent. Kurama was the first to rise, as he had been on the last watch. He entered the room of their charge, grateful to see her still sleeping soundly. As he turned to leave, he heard a groan and looked back, seeing a dazed pair of gold eyes open slowly. She sat up with care for her gut wound, turning to stare at him.

"Hello Kurama. You know, she isn't too happy that she lost. I only hope I can keep her at bay long enough for you to get her out of my head." Those eyes flashed to red for a moment. She continued to stare at him, waiting for the words to penetrate his mind before standing up. "Well? Aren't you going to do something about us?" she purred, dragging a clawed hand along one cheek. "If you are, I suggest you do something soon. We both want a piece of Camber now and I'm willing to let her out just so we can feel him die under our hands, regardless of who may be caught in out way."

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It had been a long morning. Kurama sipped at his tea again. It was helping his headache a bit, but not much. Skyre had woken up, but was not the same person. Her mind had fragmented into two pieces. One was her and one was the creature that was made from the drugs and torture. Genkai had compared it to like having a spirit beast, but that the beast was inside of her. The concept was the same, but it didn't fit this. Spirit beasts were supposed to be separate from the person and have a body of their own. He mulled over that thought as he mulled over his tea, hearing the same arguments over and over again. He really didn't care what she was, only how to fix the problem.

Skyre had taken refuge in a corner, glaring at all the world. In her head, her and the other, she had taken up the name of Akahoshi, fought endlessly. Aka wanted control, but Skyre wouldn't allow it, defending her position by saying that she was the elder. But Aka was insistent, saying that only she had the power to defeat Camber. Again, Skyre would protest, saying that while she had power, she could not plan or truly think when her rage was well underway. But Aka would only raise her voice, almost to the point of shouting within their head, saying that Skyre didn't have enough power to kill a fish in a barrel. Thus insults began to fly back and forth, all within the confines of their skull for only them to hear. They knew they were being watched by the others there, but didn't pay any mind to them. They didn't have to share a body with someone else.

{:LOOK! We can't keep going on like this!:} Skyre finally shouted, at her wits end. {:If we work together, we can take out Camber and get this whole mess fixed. I know you don't want to stay like this and neither do I.:}

Aka fell silent to that remark. Skyre could feel her still there, thinking carefully. {:All right then. We both take out Camber. But we need your weapons again.:}

{:I know that. I checked and someone had gathered together the pieces from the fight so if I can find a forge, they can be remade. How they gathered the pieces is beyond me. The magic will be gone but at least they'll still have an edge to work with.:} Now that the mental tempest had subsided, Skyre took control and stood, walking over to the group. Heads turned to greet her, eyes holding a wealth of questions that no one dared to ask.

"I need a forge." That was all she would offer until they began to search for one.

A forge was found and was fired up immediately. Metal shards were brought in and new metals as well to make it stronger then before. The metal was left to liquefy for several days as the hilts were restored to proper from to accept the new blade. They set to work only at night, letting the cool evening breeze keep them from overheating as a forge hammer raised and fell in perfect rhythm.

Humans and youkai watched on almost mesmerized by the movements of the wolf. Gold iris, black pupil, and the rest a blood red blinked away sweat that had leached beyond the headband. Black ears with red triangles on them laid back on the skull they were attached too, avoiding the flying sparks. A tail of the same coloration hung almost down to the ground, swaying in a faint echo of the forger's movements. They paused, wiping at their forehead and leaving a trail of grime in its wake. A sighed escaped from between those fangs and the task was taken up again.

And so it went for four nights, the injuries ignored in favor of recreated a work of art that had been passed down for generations before being stashed away in a vault for centuries to follow. Both minds worked in harmony, and in the end had created something greater.

A blade flashed in the moonlight, its twin following in turn. A pair of scimitars were launched into the air, tumbling end over end to be caught with ease in the waiting hands of their master. The owner turned on one foot, engaging in a practiced dance. Moons and flames were frozen in a dance of their own upon the blades of moonlight that gleamed under the stars. The blade-wielder slowed in time, bring the pair to rest down at her sides, grinning broadly at her work.

"We are ready for the next hunt to begin and would gladly accept any help in bringing Camber down." Those eyes were still the unified color of the red haze, and the normal gold, holding a new light and power on that night.