Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Fornever Tantei ❯ In Which the Pieces Move ( Chapter 23 )

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 23

 

In Which the Pieces Move

 

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It took a full week for them to formulate their plan of attack, get the needed supplies and information and coordinate with the other groups. There was more that could have been done in preparation but they didn't want to risk the chance that the withdrawal could kill Kurama in the next week. Instead, they would go as they were and hope they had done enough to rescue their friends.

 

The group stood in a circle in the main room of the hideout. Yusuke looked around the room at his comrades, trying to feel out if they were ready. Maya looked determined. Mitari looked sick. Genkai looked lost in thought. Hiei appeared stoic as ever. Botan appeared on the verge of collapse but it was as if her determination was holding her upright. Jin had his lips pursed. Rinku had his yoyos out and was absently running simple tricks with them. Kuwabara looked back at him and nodded. It was time.

 

“Remember, the goal is to get Kurama, Touya, and Chuu out as quickly as possible. We don't want to get into any conflicts. Once we've got our team reassembled we can decide how best to take down Ichigaki. Understood?” Genkai looked around the circle, eyes finally coming to rest on Yusuke. The ex-detective nodded and his sensei returned the gesture.

 

“Everyone remember your jobs?” Maya asked one final time, though it was more of a formality than an actual question as everyone knew their jobs thoroughly by this point. Everyone in the circle nodded once more and Yusuke smiled grimly.

 

“Let's do it.”

 

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Kurama was slumped wearily in his shackles. He ached all over and was sluggish from the increased dose of sedatives he had been administered in the last week. Every day Risho had come into his cell and offered Kurama the chance the be free of his imprisonment by joining the ranks of the Organization—in a very high position of course—and every day the fox had refused as the earth master undoubtedly knew he would. As a result, he had taken some pretty bad damage which, when compounded on all the injuries he had received since his capture, put the plant master in a pitiful physical shape.

 

The physical damage, however, was trivial in comparison to the true threat to the fox's life: withdrawal from his plants. He estimated he had about a week left before it would finally kill him, but that week or so would culminate in the most painful experience imaginable to an elemental spirit. The final stage of withdrawal was not pretty and the fact that the number and duration—but not the intensity; that was increasing—of the headaches were decreasing was a tell-tale sign that the final stage was looming on the horizon for him. It was like the calm before the storm.

 

Kurama had witnessed a fair number of elemental spirits fall to withdrawal—some he had sentenced to die in said manner for some crime or another against his band of thieves, earning his infamous reputation—and it never ceased to shock even him, one of the most hardened demons in history.

 

Some of the elementals he had sentenced to die were so weak that the final stage had taken over a month to kill them after having gone upwards of a year away from their element. Many, if not all, of those spirits had gone mad before the end. A creature would have to have done something truly heinous to offend the fox for him to take such extreme measures to make sure they suffered the maximum amount possible before they died. Most demon leaders wouldn't take the effort to keep another suffering for over a year before they died no matter how severe their crimes had been; quick executions took priority in the demon realm. But Kurama had been a different breed of demon.

 

The only thing Kurama could think to be grateful for at the moment was the fact that it should only take a day or two at most for the final stage to kill him since his connection to his plants was so strong. But once it hit, it could last weeks or only hours and still feel like an eternity of torture to the unlucky spirit.

 

Kurama closed his eyes. He knew better than to give up on Yusuke and the others, but they did not have much time left and they would be at a distinct disadvantage if they tried a head-on attack, which was Yusuke's specialty. The fox didn't know how many demons Ichigaki had exploited in the time the Organization had been active or what exactly they had achieved from their experiments, so challenging them would be a completely blind move on the side of the Tantei while Ichigaki would know exactly what to expect from them.

 

The fox sighed and allowed his thoughts to wander and as they came to rest on a certain blue-haired ferry girl, a loud commotion brought him out of his reverie. He looked up in surprise as his cell door opened and four blue-coated men entered, carrying a load that looked suspiciously human between them. As they approached, Kurama peeked around the guards and caught a glimpse of black hair. He blinked.

 

The guards made their way to the wall opposite Kurama and between them shackled a limp form to it. They backed away silently and without sparing a glance for Kurama, left the room. Kurama, however, paid the humans little mind as he got a clear look at his new companion. His breath caught in his throat.

 

It couldn't be, he thought aghast. Could they really have caught him?

 

“Yusuke!”

 

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Koenma paced across the head of the table in Mukuro's meeting hall. The female demon lord herself was sitting at the other end of the table, watching the agitated prince of the dead warily. It wasn't a normal occurrence for someone from Spirit World to make an appearance in Demon World aside from the ferry girls, but for Koenma himself to come and demand the presence of the lords of Demon World… Something was going on and Mukuro had the sinking suspicion that Hiei had gotten wrapped up in it and that was why he had yet to return from Human World.

 

The large double doors that led into the meeting hall opened with a loud creak and a servant bowed in Yomi. His son Shura was only conspicuous in his absence. Mukuro found herself grinding her teeth but remained silent. Despite the tournament, she had never been on especially good terms with the blind demon lord. They had, after all, been rivals for centuries.

 

Yomi made his way to the table and easily settled himself in the chair on the right side of the table, his grace belying his lack of sight. The tall demon intertwined his fingers and turned his sightless eyes in Koenma's direction as if he could actually see him.

 

“What's going on that would bring the prince of the Spirit World all the way to Demon World?” he asked in his deep voice. Despite his calm outward appearance, the timbre of his voice hinted at some hidden anxiety.

 

“That's what I've been wondering,” Mukuro muttered, making no mention of the fact that Yomi had completely ignored her - the hostess of this meeting. That in itself was a measure of Yomi's agitation, since he was normally one to uphold traditions and manners, even in the presence of rivals.

 

“I'll explain when the final party arrives,” Koenma replied without breaking stride in his pacing.

 

“Final party?” Yomi asked curiously.

 

As if to answer his question, the double doors creaked open once more and in came the Demon World Tournament champion, Enki. The large demon took in the atmosphere of the room before nodding and making his way to the table. Yomi and Mukuro both rose in respect to his position and waited until he was seated before seating themselves again.

 

Enki nodded to his compatriots in greeting. “Mukuro.” She inclined her head in return. “Yomi.” Yomi repeated the gesture. “And Koenma.” Koenma nodded. “Now what is this meeting about? Perhaps the fact that the Human World has been completely blocked off from the Demon World?”

 

The Spirit World's prince nodded tiredly. “Exactly.”

 

“The matter must be out of hand for you to be here, Koenma,” Yomi said coolly but not exactly rudely either.

 

“Human World and Demon World have been separated by a barrier that prevents portals from being made between them,” Koenma answered. “I didn't think it possible after the Kekkai was brought down, but the source of our troubles is more well-connected than initially expected.”

 

“`Our' problem?” Mukuro asked as the information digested.

 

“It seems like a problem for the Human World,” Yomi added with a frown.

 

“Normally that would be the case,” Koenma replied, “but since some of the more, how shall we say, influential demons have been unable to return to Demon World, it has become an inter-world problem.”

 

“Hiei,” Mukuro breathed.

 

“And Kurama,” Yomi added, pursing his lips.

 

“Not to mention Urameshi,” Enki said, eyeing Koenma.

 

“Exactly.”

 

“But despite that, I still don't see the reason for this meeting,” Yomi said. “You could have easily sent us each a message about that. Something isn't adding up.”

 

“That's because the group that is causing the problems in the Human World has its sights set on Demon World and Spirit World once they've acquired the required strength to challenge them,” Koenma explained. Mukuro fell back into her chair, mind going over this new information.

 

“So you see them as a potential threat to us?” she asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“But all four of your former `Tantei' are currently in Human World, are they not?” Yomi asked, tone somewhat condescending. Koenma nodded that they were indeed. “Then shouldn't they be able to solve this problem? It seems almost a joke to say they couldn't, considering the team.”

 

The prince of the Spirit World pursed his lips behind his pacifier and Mukuro frowned. Something was definitely not right. “What is it?”

 

“The advantage the Tantei used to work under was the ignorance of the population at large of their existence. But what the Organization—what this group is calling itself—has done is make the humans aware of the existence of demons and other non-human beings and create a mass hysteria against them. The Tantei were painted as villains before we really understood the extent of the threat. So there has been a demon hunt which made operation nearly impossible.”

 

“So what is the threat now?” Enki asked.

 

“We're not exactly sure what the Organization does with the demons it captures, but we know they are somehow exploiting their—the demons'—powers to their—the Organization's—advantage. Koenma sighed. “But the Organization has proved impossible to track; even the Jagan can't determine their headquarters.”

 

“Then how could you possibly know their aim?” Yomi asked with a frown.

 

“We caught an Organization spy amongst the demons in Human World that are in hiding. He quickly volunteered everything he knew to Spirit World interrogators,” Koenma supplied with a surprisingly wolfish look on his face. The demon lords took this in stride, each nodding.

 

“So what are you expecting from us, Lord Koenma?” Mukuro asked finally. “You said you foresee this as a potential threat so you obviously expect us to do something.”

 

Koenma looked at each of the three demon lords carefully before speaking. “Prepare for war.”

 

“What?” Yomi gasped, obviously in spite of himself.

 

“You want the entire demon realm to mobilize against some rogue humans?” Mukuro exclaimed, astounded.

 

“What haven't you told us?” Enki asked quietly as the other two lords quieted down.

 

“If the Organization advances into Demon World, it will mean that the Tantei are dead and that, most likely, the Organization will be wielding their power among the others they've exploited, including,” Koenma replied gravely, turning to Yomi, “the six fighters Kurama trained for you.”

 

Mukuro let the words wash over her. She had no idea what to say to such a proclamation. The repercussions of those last words spoken by the prince were almost beyond belief. With the power of those nine demons and one human alone, power could shift dramatically in Demon World and very quickly at that. Suddenly it made sense why Koenma had risked his life to come to Demon World to tell them this.

 

Hiei, she thought worriedly. Are you going to get through this and come back to me?

 

“How likely is it that the Tantei will fail?” Yomi asked quietly. “For you to be here, things must not being going well.” Mukuro watched Koenma closely. The Tantei were his elite fighters and she knew it must be hard for him to speak of the very real possibility of them losing.

 

“They already have Chuu, Touya, and,” Koenma swallowed, “Kurama.”

 

“No…” Yomi whispered, seemingly unable to believe his old friend could have been captured by mere humans. The female demon pursed her lips.

 

“Kurama has been in their hands long enough that he is not likely to last more than a week more before withdrawal kills him.”

 

Mukuro swallowed back a hiss. Withdrawal was the worst way imaginable for an elemental spirit to die. It was a fate most wouldn't even wish on their worst enemies. Yomi had lost another shade of color. Enki closed his eyes thoughtfully.

 

“The others are working on a plan to get them out, but I fear it may be too late. The Organization's reach has grown wide indeed,” Koenma said wearily. “That is why I came today. Do with this information what you will, but please heed my warning. I fear all three worlds could be in danger if the Tantei fall.”

 

The three lords digested this information in a heavy silence.

 

“Now I must return to the Spirit World. I've lingered here longer than I would have liked.” The female lord didn't blame him for being in a hurry to leave. Those of the Spirit World were not a welcome sight in Demon World and the prince of the dead himself would be in the most danger of all.

 

“Very well. We appreciate the warning, my Lord,” Mukuro said, rising. Yomi and Enki followed suit. Mukuro snapped her fingers. The sound echoed throughout the room and the double doors opened to admit a servant. “Escort our guest to the portal. No harm is to come to him or there will be hell to pay from me personally.” The servant nodded and gestured for Koenma to follow him. The prince did as he was bidden and was soon gone from sight.

 

As the doors closed once more, the three demon lords all looked at—or in Yomi's case, sensed—each other. The atmosphere in the room was heavy.

 

“So, what do we do with this?” Yomi asked, crossing his arms across his chest irritably.

 

Enki locked eyes with Mukuro and she immediately understood his intentions.

 

“We prepare for war.”

 

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“Yusuke!” Kurama exclaimed. Had his heart beaten like a normal human's, it would have missed a beat. A moment passed with no response and worry began to mount in the fox's chest when the teen's head popped up.

 

He grinned. Kurama was too taken aback to say anything. That didn't seem like the right reaction for a demon that had just been collared and captured. What was going on?

 

“Kurama!” the former head detective greeted cheerfully. “They brought me to you after all. Awesome. I won't have to go looking.” He looked Kurama up and down a few times, his expression growing darker with each passing moment as he took in his friend's physical state. “You look like shit.”

 

Kurama would have rolled his eyes if the effect wouldn't have been painful. “Thanks, Yusuke.”

 

“How long before the withdrawal… well, you know?”

 

Kurama blinked. His friends did know about that and were acting accordingly. “A week.” But if Yusuke had been caught as well, then they were in deep trouble.

 

Yusuke nodded. “That's what we were planning on. Good.”

 

“Planning?”

 

The Toushin grinned once again and Kurama felt that dim ray of hope flare up again. The fox was suddenly sure his friends had a plan, even if he had no idea what good getting Yusuke captured could serve.

 

“Don't worry, Kurama. We never gave up on you. We've all been worried sick about you, especially Botan,” Yusuke said. Kurama felt his heart clench at the mention of the ferry girl.

 

“If I were you, Yusuke, I'd be worried about myself at this point,” a new voice said and both ex-Tantei turned to see Ichigaki enter the cell followed by Risho. Yusuke's eyes narrowed dangerously.

 

“If you were me, Ichigaki, you'd be good looking,” he retorted. Kurama couldn't help but thinking that irritating the doctor was not the best move to make, but this was Yusuke after all.

 

“He won't be so cocky for long,” Risho said, speaking up for the first time since entering the cell. It was only then that Yusuke seemed to register his presence. His eyes widened in recognition and his mouth moved but no sound came out, indicating that Yusuke—much to Kurama's chagrin but not surprise—had forgotten the earth master's name.

 

“Pot calling the kettle black, Risho,” Kurama piped up in an effort to help Yusuke out in the name department. Apparently it worked because his eyes lit up at the name.

 

“How long before the final stage sets in, Kurama?” the earth master retorted smoothly without even sparing a glance for him. The fox fell uncomfortably silent. Yusuke blinked and looked over at his friend questioningly but Kurama shook his head, causing a wave of dizziness. Yusuke frowned in concern at the lack of reply.

 

Ichigaki apparently noticed the look on Yusuke's face and grinned. “Ah, so he doesn't know,” he said, interpreting it correctly. “Won't it be fitting for him to watch his friend die in the worst agony conceivable and there won't be anything he can do.”

 

“Indeed,” Risho said coolly, his tone effectively hiding his obvious joy at the situation.

 

Yusuke looked as thought he had lost some color at the declaration but his defiant smirk returned quickly. “Well, whatever happens, happens. Right?” he said nonchalantly.

 

“Do you realize the situation you're in, Urameshi?” Ichigaki growled. Yusuke grinned wolfishly back.

 

“You'd be surprised.” Kurama would have given one of his tails to be inside Yusuke's head at that very moment to see what he was thinking. If nothing else, the boy sure had a knack for throwing people off-balance, friend or foe.

 

“Was he searched before coming in?” Ichigaki asked. Risho shook his head.

 

“The guards wanted to get him locked up before he came around.”

 

Ichigaki nodded absently. “Smart.”

 

Yusuke peeked around the two to look at Kurama. “You know, it's like we're not even in the room.” And despite the situation they were in, Kurama smiled. This also got the attention of Ichigaki and Risho. It was almost as if Yusuke was trying to provoke them. But that didn't make any sense.

 

“Risho,” the troll doctor said and the earth master nodded before stepping up to the prone Yusuke.

 

Kurama heard a sickening thunk as Risho connected his fist with Yusuke's midsection, but to his credit, Yusuke made no sound. Risho stepped back for a moment and Kurama noticed that Yusuke looked slightly dazed, though. Risho stepped back up to Yusuke and began searching his person.

 

“Whoa, careful now!” Yusuke hissed before laughing. “That tickles!” He bit his lip before growling, “Careful where you put those grimy hands. You might lose something.” If it wasn't such a bad situation for them both, Kurama normally would have laughed. Finally Risho stepped back, holding something. He handed it to Ichigaki, who studied it a moment before laughing.

 

“A tracer, Urameshi?” he asked, almost gleeful. Yusuke, however, didn't appear perturbed that the doctor had discovered the object. “Did you really think we wouldn't find it?” he laughed.

 

“Actually, I was planning on it,” Yusuke said simply.

 

Kurama, Risho, and Ichigaki froze. “What?”

 

“I had that baby in plain sight so you'd find it.”

 

“Why,” the demon doctor began with the air of a man approaching a wounded beast, “would you want us to find this?”

 

Yusuke studied the two demons in front of him carefully, as if deciding whether they were worthy of hearing his secret or not. Finally he shrugged. “Might as well tell you since you won't be able to stop it. That tracer changing hands is the signal,” Yusuke replied. “Mitari is really a whiz with electronics; you'd be surprised,” he added to Kurama, who was staring at him like he'd never seen him before in his life.

 

“The signal?” Risho asked, looking somewhat tense all of a sudden.

 

“For the attack,” Yusuke supplemented simply.

 

“Attack?”

 

“Yeah. A bunch of the demons that have been in hiding and our guys just got the signal to attack this place. The tracer told them where to go and now you've got an army bearing down on you,” Yusuke explained smugly.

 

Kurama blinked. Something—or perhaps several somethings—wasn't adding up. But he was still somewhat out of it and couldn't put his finger on exactly what was bothering him.

 

Ichigaki's face suddenly glazed over as if he was daydreaming. “How many demons, Urameshi?”

 

The ex-Tantei shrugged noncommittally. “I have no idea. But we've been recruiting for awhile. We've got psychic humans and stuff too.”

 

The problem suddenly hit Kurama like a stack of bricks. Why was Yusuke giving away their advantage? He tried to glare at his friend but Yusuke was ignoring him.

 

“Risho, alert the guards. I want our top capture agents at the front line backed by all the on duty guards in five minutes. This could be a golden opportunity,” Ichigaki said with a greedy leer. The earth master nodded and swept out of the room. The doctor turned back to Yusuke. “You've brought me a very profitable opportunity, Urameshi.”

 

Yusuke smirked back. “You think your guards can take on the remaining Tantei and the others plus the local demons that are full of anger? We told them not to kill, but you know how we demons can get,” the Toushin said with a grin that bared his canines.

 

Ichigaki looked as though he had been punched in the gut. His eyes bulged in an aesthetically unpleasing manner. He rushed to the door, calling for Risho and any guards that hadn't heeded the earth master's summons as he went. When the sounds of his departure were gone even to both demons' heightened senses, Yusuke looked at Kurama. The fox was glaring.

 

“What?” Yusuke asked innocently.

 

“What was that?” Kurama demanded.

 

“That,” Yusuke replied with a grin, “was stage one.”

 

“Stage one?”

 

“Give us some credit, Kurama!” Yusuke said, feigning injury to his pride.

 

“You were supposed to tell him about an army?” Kurama asked in disbelief. “You were supposed to give up the element of surprise?”

 

“Yup.”

 

Kurama blinked. “Why?”

 

“So the rest of the plan will work, of course. Oh, and that part about the chip changing hands and Mitari being a whiz with electronics and stuff? Totally BS, by the way. The army part was true, though. And they are coming.”

 

Kurama stared blankly, trying to take all this in. “What's the rest of the plan?”

 

Yusuke paused but Kurama shook his head. “Ichigaki is going to be much too concerned about what you just told him to listen in on us.” Yusuke nodded, starting to grin again.

 

“That's the beauty of the plan,” he said. “It keeps Ichigaki's eyes and all the guards' eyes off us.”

 

“So?” Kurama asked. “I don't see us getting out on our own, even if we aren't being watched.”

 

“Good thing you won't be alone then, fox.”

 

Kurama and Yusuke looked up at the new voice that came from the doorway of the cell. Kurama, in spite of himself, gasped.

 

There stood Hiei (who had spoken), Kuwabara, Genkai, and Botan staring back at them.

 

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Author's Note: On the meeting: I know Yomi and Mukuro technically aren't lords anymore, but after the tournament they retained a majority of their followers out of loyalty and kept their lands since they were strong enough to fight for them. Yusuke still controls Raizen's lands but it's the monks taking care of it. So Enki is technically the ruler, but the former lords still hold a great amount of sway.