Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Fornever Tantei ❯ Defiance ( Chapter 17 )

Author's Note: This is the sequel to Between Death and Reality. While it isn't required that you read that first, some things referenced here may not make a whole lot of sense.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. I am not making any money from writing this. I do, however, own my plotline.

 

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Chapter 17

 

Defiance

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

“How?” Botan asked faintly.

 

“Of all people,” Kuwabara muttered.

 

Maya and Mitari exchanged confused glances before turning back to the group.

 

“Do you know that guy?” Maya asked.

 

Yusuke's eyes narrowed to angry slits.

 

“Dr. Ichigaki,” he hissed as if it were a curse.

 

“How do you know him?” Mitari asked.

 

“'e was in th' Dark Tournament,” Jin replied solemnly. “Mah team never faced `is, but Urameshi's did.”

 

“He fought…?” Mitari asked in surprise.

 

Genkai snorted in laughter.

 

“Oh no. He was the manager, so to speak, of a team.”

 

“A team he controlled with those nasty things on their backs,” Kuwabara added with a shudder, obviously remembering the beating he had taken trying to reach out to the captive fighters.

 

“And he ambushed me and Kurama in the woods,” Hiei added, “a couple of his goons and his robot hoping to keep us out of the ring.”

 

“After we defeated his team, he took some kind of drug and grew and got all stretchy, but I sent him packing,” Yusuke finished. “Though I guess I didn't do enough damage if troll-man is still around.” A pity.

 

“He has reason to hold a grudge against us,” Kuwabara began.

 

“But why other demons?” Chuu asked.

 

“Last time he wanted to use us as lab rats,” Yusuke put in. “Maybe he's gotten even more ambitious since.”

 

“He'd have to have some good friends in high places to accomplish what he has thus far,” Maya said with a thoughtful frown.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, but isn't what's first priority here rescuing Kurama?” Rinku cut in a bit hesitantly. “I mean, we've seen that they really do have him.”

 

“But we still don't know where they are,” Hiei replied curtly.

 

“They'll want us to move,” Genkai said simply. “They'll contact us somehow.”

 

Yusuke rubbed his face through his hands. “I wish Kurama was here. He'd no doubt make sense of it all.”

 

“Wishing won't change our situation,” Genkai snapped.

 

Yusuke sighed helplessly. “I know.”

 

“So what now?” Botan asked.

 

“We wait a little longer,” Hiei stated.

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

A sharp pain across his face was the first thing Kurama felt. He groaned and tried to shut his eyes more tightly against the jack-hammering that was starting in his skull once more as the darkness receded slowly. He felt the sting of another slap across the face before he opened his eyes. It took a few moments for his surroundings to come into focus with his system still groggy.

 

“He finally awakens,” a familiar voice said from out of Kurama's line of vision.

 

Kurama couldn't quite place the voice and the pounding in his head protesting looking up to see who it was.

 

Instead, the fox felt a hand cup under his chin and jerk his head up. His vision swam a moment before he saw the man - well, demon - and obvious mastermind of the plan in front of him.

 

“You!” Kurama exhaled in surprise. First Risho, now this?

 

“Me, gyuk gyuk gyuk,” Dr. Ichigaki cackled. “It's been a long time, Kurama.”

 

“Not long enough,” Kurama hissed. He could remember very clearly what this demon had done to those poor humans during the Dark Tournament and what it had done in turn to his teammates. Bastard.

 

“Gyuk gyuk gyuk. Fair enough,” the demon doctor conceded. “But still, in these last few years it seems your strength has gone up greatly, as well as your influence in Demon World.”

 

“You seem well informed,” Kurama stated through his teeth, against the throbbing in his head.

 

“Of course. My plans would never have worked so well if I did not have my information.”

 

“Your plans?”

 

“Oh you know, the same: absolute power, money, world domination.”

 

Kurama blinked. “You never struck me as the type who sought world domination. Isn't that a little trite for you?”

 

Ichigaki laughed appreciatively at this. “Perhaps. But the idea has grown on me; especially when three worlds are involved.”

 

“That's a bit lofty.”

 

“Not with my plan.”

 

Kurama blinked once more. “Oh?”

 

“It's worked to perfection thus far.”

 

“So what is my part in your plan?” Kurama demanded.

 

Ichigaki's eyes gleamed slightly. “There are many uses for one such as yourself, fox. Never fear.”

 

“Such as?”

 

“Bait, for one.”

 

Kurama's blood ran cold. The demon doctor would no doubt goad Yusuke into acting foolishly to rescue him. Ichigaki was good at pushing the former Detective's buttons in order to get him to do what he wanted. All the fox could do was hope the others could make him see sense and wait for an opportune moment to strike.

 

“Anything else?”

 

“Your brain. Your power. Your body. All of it. All of you.”

 

“And how do you plan to use those? I'm hardly going to cooperate.”

 

“Gyuk gyuk gyuk. Semantics,” the doctor laughed. “We have plenty of methods for getting what we desire. We have implemented many of them successfully already. True, none of those subjects were superior A-class demons, but it shouldn't matter.”

 

Kurama's emerald eyes narrowed.

 

“But for now, we can hardly let the public think you've been treated so well. They'll want to see the `evil demon' punished. Gyuk gyuk gyuk.”

 

“You're sick,” Kurama growled.

 

“Maybe,” Dr. Ichigaki shrugged. “But I have power. And that is what matters in this world. In all the worlds.”

 

Kurama blinked. Wait, what did he mean `well-treated'?

 

Ichigaki snapped his fingers and the cell door opened once more to admit Risho.

 

“I'll take my leave for now. Until later, Kurama. Let's do this again. I enjoy an intellectual sparring.” With that, the short demon turned, whispered something to Risho that the fox couldn't make out, then left the cell, locking the door behind him.

 

Risho and Kurama watched each other for several moments. Kurama had a good idea of what was coming and, while it wasn't anything he hadn't handled before, he never looked forward to it.

 

“You and your friends cost me much,” Risho said quietly. He pursed his lips. “You lost us the Tournament and three damn good Shinobi.”

 

“No, Risho. You lost it. All of it,” Kurama retorted.

 

Before he could react, the fox felt the wind knocked forcefully out of him with a punch to his unprotected middle. In his current position, there was nothing he could do to defend himself. Kurama wheezed painfully as his vision swam. The drugs had not worn completely off yet either.

 

“Wrong answer,” Risho hissed dangerously. “Now where are your friends?”

 

“Elsewhere,” Kurama replied, knowing full well what his resistance would get him. Not that he knew where his friends had fled to anyway.

 

Kurama saw stars as Risho slapped him hard across the face. He blinked and tried to shake it off, but the pounding in his skull ached in protest. He tasted blood in his mouth and spit it out.

 

“Karasu may have spared your face, but I won't,” Risho said quietly.

 

Kurama tensed at the name of the crow, eyes widening slightly. While he had defeated Karasu twice, the experiences still brought nightmares to the fox. By defeating the crow, he had proven himself stronger than the crow, though, deep down, Kurama realized he would probably always be afraid of the crow.

 

“Ah, I see I've hit a sensitive topic,” Risho cooed.

 

Kurama glowered defiantly at the earth master.

 

“That's not a very nice face, Kurama,” Risho said condescendingly. “We'll just have to teach you some manners.”

 

The former Shinobi leader raised his fist and the fox tensed.

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

Dr. Ichigaki watched the scene from his lab, a wicked grin contorting his face as he watched the fox beaten mercilessly by Risho. The one-time leader of Team Masho had been a lucky find for him. The earth master was intelligent and powerful in his own right. Not only that, he was ambitious and willing to do what it took to reach the ends he desired. It didn't hurt that he too held a grudge against Team Urameshi either. Most demons in the Human Realm were too afraid of the ex-Tantei to act against them, so would have been useless in this endeavor.

 

He had instructed Risho to ask Kurama a variety of questions, knowing very well the fox wouldn't (or couldn't) answer. The ex-Shinobi leader took great pleasure in causing one of his enemies pain for each defiant reply. He wouldn't kill the fox, and Kurama knew it, so the endless circle of defiance and pain continued. The doctor had also hoped to catch a glimpse of any weakness of the fox through Risho; and Risho has already cracked a layer of the fox's normally solid composure by bringing up Karasu. The doctor knew that would be a valuable bit of information for later.

 

The demon doctor smiled to himself. He was pleased with the way things were turning out. His plans were coming together seamlessly.

 

What came next was to use the fox as bait to get the rest of the Tantei and their allies. And then, he would capture them and use them to complete his plan. And gain his revenge on top of it all. He was so close now.

 

But, it might be better to wait a little longer to further goad the ex-Tantei into reckless action. And to begin cracking the fox.

 

Doctor Ichigaki laughed as Kurama took another blow. He just loved everything working so well.

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

Risho walked into Dr. Ichigaki's office, taking a seat on a couch that lay against the wall. The doctor looked up from the papers on his desk.

 

“Well?” he asked.

 

“He didn't answer anything,” the former Shinobi leader replied with satisfaction.

 

“As we expected,” the doctor said with a nod.

 

Risho nodded. He liked it better this way. This way, he got to take a bit of revenge on the fox. He had, after all, killed one of his sect and turned another away from the Shinobi.

 

“I did get one bit of information, though,” Risho said after a moment, almost as if it were an afterthought. “A weakness, perhaps.”

 

“Karasu.”

 

Risho blinked. “Yes. How did you - Oh, you were watching, weren't you?”

 

Ichigaki laughed. “Of course.”

 

The earth master nodded. “And you plan to use this?”

 

“Naturally.”

“How?”

 

Ichigaki grinned, his face contorting. “That's a secret.”

 

Risho shrugged. “Whatever. As long as I get what I was promised.”

 

“Never fear, Risho. You'll get what you desire.”

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

Yusuke was pacing around the main room of the hideout. It had been two days and nothing new had come up having to do with Kurama. The ex-head Detective was getting antsy. The longer Kurama was being held, the more danger he was in. And the more pissed off Yusuke became as he thought about what could be happening to his friend.

 

Yusuke, however, was not the only one upset about the lack of information. Botan had taken to her room, speaking to no one but Genkai. The psychic had said the deity was convinced that Kurama's capture was her fault and the longer they were without him, the more upset she became, worried about what was happening to him. Yusuke had tried to talk to her, to tell her that the fox's capture was not her fault, but she wouldn't listen to him. He had no idea what it was going to take to snap the ferry girl out of her funk, but he had a feeling that it would have to do with rescuing Kurama.

 

Maya had thrown herself into work on the rebellion; reestablishing contact with all the safe-houses; changing passwords and locks; and just keeping everyone on the same page. She seemed, however, downtrodden and helpless. She was doing all that she could, which, as it turned out, was very little. And that bothered her to no end.

 

Mitari had been helping Maya and seemed just as, if not more, tired that Maya. The teen seemed to have come to like the fox in the short time that they had been on the same side during the Sensui case. Yusuke hadn't been around to see what the red-head had done, but he had no doubt he had been instrumental in “guiding” Mitari to joining their cause after his fight with Kuwabara. The blonde teen was working tirelessly to tap all the rebels sources to see if they knew anything, though he was coming up empty. And that was leaving the boy dejected; it was as if he felt he was failing Kurama.

 

Yusuke felt similar. He was very protective of his friends. He was powerful and would use that power to protect them. They had all done so much for him; Kurama especially. If it hadn't been for Kurama, Hiei would have undoubtedly killed him on his first mission. And that would have sucked. And since, the fox had been like an older brother to the former head Detective, always there when he needed advice and ready to lend an ear or a sparring partner. He was ever dependable and Yusuke cared for him deeply.

 

Kuwabara seemed to feel along the same lines. He shared a unique relationship with the red-head. Perhaps they were more similar than first met the eye; they both lived double lives in the Human World and faced many of the same sorts of challenges. Kuwabara seemed to appeal to Kurama's human side while he could relate it to his demon side with the orange-haired teen. And, like with Yusuke, Kurama was like an older brother, always there with advice with his fifteen hundred years of life experience.

 

And since Kurama's capture, the orange-haired teen had been about as irate as Yusuke felt. He obviously wanted to help the fox and hated the helpless feeling that he was forced to deal with at this point.

 

Most telling, however, was Hiei. The normally unflappable demon was, well, for lack of a better term, flapped. He was practically radiating his concern and irritation. He had been trying for these last two days to find the fox using the Jagan, but was unsuccessful; meaning that the Organization was shielding him from the Evil Eye. What that suggested about their resources, Yusuke did not want to even begin to wonder. Hiei was snapping much more than usual; his lips were pursed into a permanent thin line on his face; and he was even more distant than usual, staring off into space.

 

Genkai was more reserved; obviously concerned. Yusuke was curious what the fox meant to the old hag and vice versa, but thought it too personal a question to ask her, especially at a time like this. But the fact was, she was worried.

 

Jin, Rinku, and Chuu were also worried. Yusuke didn't know the details of the time they spent training with Kurama and Genkai and the time they were with Kurama in Yomi's territory in Demon World, but he got the distinct impression that the group of six demons had come to really like the fox. They had respected him already, but seemed to reach a new height after that. They were definitely loyal to him and it was showing. They wanted to help him just as much as the ex-Tantei did, and that was saying something.

 

Yusuke looked over at the muted television and was surprised to see a news break coming up. He hurriedly found the remote and turned the volume up.

 

“Hey! Special news report!” he called to his friends.

 

Almost immediately the room filled.

 

“What is it?” Kuwabara asked.

 

“No idea,” Yusuke replied with a shrug.

 

“Shh!” Rinku hissed with a finger to his lips.

 

“It has been three days since the capture of the demon and member of the Reikai Tantei Kurama,” the reporter began and a collective breath seemed to be inhaled in the room. “No other activity has been reported by the Organization in two days; not since the first footage of the captured demon. Until now. The Organization has a message for the rest of the demons inhabiting the country and their sympathizers, especially the Reikai Tantei. We now turn it over to the head of the Organization.”

 

The image switched from the brunette reporter behind the desk to the ugly mug of Dr. Ichigaki. Yusuke felt his teeth grinding inside his mouth and made no effort to curb it.

 

“Gyuk gyuk gyuk. Indeed I do have a message,” the troll-like man began. “To all you demons out there: stop resisting. If we can catch the fox, then none of you lower class beasts stand a chance. You will be granted better treatment if you surrender peacefully to my guards. On my word.”

 

Genkai snorted.

 

“To all you human sympathizers: don't make this any harder on yourselves. These beasts do not belong on the streets. We want to ride the world of them for your own safety. But if you continue to support them, no mercy will be granted. You will be treated as an equal threat to the demons.”

 

Mitari laughed derisively.

 

“To the rebels: stop protecting them. If you give those we want, you can all go free. But if we are forced into conflict, life will not be pretty for you.”

 

Maya scoffed. “Fool.”

 

“To the Tantei and their allies: the fox is mine. I challenge you to come and rescue him.”

 

The image switched to the shot of a cell. Inside, a lone figure was slumped against the wall, chained to it. The image zoomed in to reveal red hair. The fox looked up and the occupants of the room gasped. His face was bruised and his hair matted. His clothes were ripped in several places and there were blood stains around the rips and other spots as well. The silver collar on his neck was stained with several spots of dried blood. His wrists were bloody and raw, obviously from the fox trying to fight his bondage.

 

But his eyes; those emerald pools were defiant. It was as if Kurama was trying to tell his friends that he was alright; he would endure for as long as he had to. There was pain in those depths. There was also anger and even… fear? But defiance overruled them all.

 

“Kurama,” Yusuke whispered painfully. It hurt him to see his friend in such a condition. But the defiance in his eyes ignited a small flame of hope in Yusuke's chest.

 

“As you can see, the demon thief is being treated to our hospitality. We still have many treats to share with him. Will you sit idly by and let this happen? Or will you rescue your ally?” Ichigaki said over the image.

 

“Bastard,” Hiei growled.

 

Yusuke felt his blood boiling inside. They were going to do worse to his friend? Not if he had anything to say about it.

 

“Your move.”

 

The image cut off and returned back to the brunette reporter after a moment of dead air. Kuwabara grabbed the remote and forcefully turned the television off.

 

“Damnit,” he hissed.

 

“We have to do something!” Rinku exclaimed.

 

“No!”

 

Everyone in the room jumped and turned to the source of the yell.

 

Genkai had the look of someone unhappy about what she was going to say. “We can't do anything. Not yet.”

 

“Why?”

 

“They're trying to goad us into acting. That's been their plan all along and they are playing the card masterfully. We're angry as hell. But if we go out into the streets like this - as we have no idea where Kurama is being held yet - we'll have Organization guards on us within seconds. We'd never make it out. And what kind of help are we going to be if we're all captured? I don't like seeing him in that kind of condition either, but you saw him. You saw his eyes.” She was looking right at Yusuke at that last point.

 

Yusuke sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“Then you know he knows what they're doing and he doesn't want us to act foolishly to save him. He was trying to tell us to be smart. Are you going to listen?” Genkai finished.

 

“I can't just sit here any longer,” Kuwabara growled. “We have to do something.” He sighed and flopped into a chair. “Anything,” he whispered pitifully.

 

“Hey guys,” Maya called from the corner of the room. She was holding her hand over the mouthpiece of her cell phone. “I've got someone on the line who claims he can help. Says his name is Mitamura.”