Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Ghost Fighters ❯ A Loss ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 9 : A Loss

 

:Two Shiryous?: Koenma blinked in disbelief. :But that's impossible.:

 

The twins were as shocked as he was. They stared in disbelief at each other and the rest were just as surprise. Koenma looked at them and took a step forward cautiously.

 

“Shiryou?” he called, breaking the two out of their trance.

 

“Koenma.”

 

The one on the right answered. His face bore the same resemblance to his twin but his eyes… they were softer, kinder. Right away Koenma knew that his old friend has reawakened.

 

“HAHAHAHA!!!”

 

The sudden maniac laughter brought their attention back to the other Shiryou.

 

“Well, well, well. Looks like my goody-two-shoes twin has emerged. No matter. That won't stop me from killing Koenma. In fact, you should be honoured that you get to see the death of the son of Enma,” he spoke to his twin with a sneer.

 

The other gritted his teeth. “No way in hell will I let you get away with it. You've caused enough trouble already, getting me banished and everything.”

 

“Aaww. You want to save your precious buddy, huh? Hah!! Come fight me then for Koenma's safety. If you dare.”

 

The real Shiryou nodded and fell into a fighting stance. No sooner he did that, his evil twin called forth ten Seishin (spirits). The green misty spirits with zombie-like faces rushed towards him, letting out banshee cries.

 

Koenma started to rush forward but was stopped by Kurama. “No,” Kurama shook his head. “This is a battle between his good side and his evil side. He has to fight this on his own in order to redeem himself.”

 

Koenma reluctantly nodded and stood still, watching the fight while praying for his friend's safety.

 

Shiryou was the picture of calmness even though he was outnumbered ten to one. Just as the spirits was a foot away from him, they vanished. His evil twin gasped, shocked to see his creations gone.

 

“You forget that we are one,” Shiryou spoke. “The only difference is that you're corrupted by evil. What you create, I can destroy.”

 

The shock on his twin's face disappeared and was replaced by a smug smile. “True, but fortunately for me, our minds are different so you can't predict my next move.”

 

In a blink of an eye, he was gone but reappeared a split second later a few feet in front of Shiryou. Grinning maniacally, a blazing ball of fire shot out from his hands towards Shiryou while another Bourei appeared directly in front of Koenma, its katana rising to strike.

 

“A choice, Shiryou,” his evil twin shouted. “Koenma's safety or yours. Either way, someone will get seriously injured. You can't control both.”

 

: Koenma!! : Shiryou's mind screamed as he saw the blade swinging down from the corner of his eyes. : NO!!! :

 

He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on the Bourei even as the ball of fire struck him, sending him flying backwards and burning him. Yusuke shoved Koenma aside just as the katana swung down, only able to slice off a few strands of brown hair before it vanished.

 

“Hn,” Yusuke smirked at the God. “Now we're even.”

 

 

Shiryou smiled slightly when he saw that Koenma was safe. The ball of flame sent him crashing into a pile of crates and set the dry wood on fire. As the boxes burnt, a dirty sticker fell near Shiryou with a single bold red word that chilled his blood : DYNAMITE.

 

“Shiryou!!”

 

Shiryou looked up at Koenma's shout and saw another fireball heading towards him. Ignoring his pain, he concentrated on the flame. The fireball turned direction and flew towards his double. He grinned at the oncoming fire and prepared to dodge and unleash more Bourei when he realized that he couldn't move.

 

Three pairs of ghostly hands had emerged from the floor and were holding onto his legs. At the last second, he bent his body backwards and the fireball sailed above him. It landed onto more crates and set the whole pile on fire. With both sides of the warehouse aflame, it was beginning to look like an inferno. Shiryou flitted towards his double and landed him on his back, just as his twin managed to release himself from the hands.

 

“RUN!!” he shouted to the rest as he struggled to pin his twin down. “The place is going to explode. Get as far away as you can.”

 

“But I can't leave you here,” Koenma protested vehemently when Kurama tried to drag him along.

 

“GO!!!”

 

Yusuke and Kuwabara joined in and together they pulled Koenma towards the Ecto-1 where the rest of the Ghostbusters were waiting. As soon as they got in, Ray slammed down the pedal and sped out of the warehouse while Hiei flitted away.

 

“No,” the other Shiryou cried. “NO!! Koenma must die!!”

 

He let out a last resort and summoned forth thirty Youma (ghosts). The almost invisible apparitions clawed around the car and smashed the windows, all trying to get Koenma. Ray was forced to swerve here and there to shake them off but with thirty of them, it was hopeless. Two of them have managed to get into the car and was trying to haul Koenma out of the car while the rest were kept busy handling the rest of the ghosts.

 

Suddenly, Shiryou's evil twin rolled and flipped him onto his back, allowing him a view of the ghost-laden car. When he saw Koenma halfway out of the window with two Youma pulling him, he realized what he must do.

 

Looking up at the sneering face above him, he placed both hands on his twin's head and called upon the powers of Gakidou, a hungry ghost who devoured souls. The sneer immediately changed to fear when he realized what was happening. As sudden as the fear came, it was gone. Instead, he let out a loud laugh.

 

“Foolish idiot. Do you realize what you're doing? By sucking my soul out, you're also taking yours away. You forget. We are one,” he smirked. “If I die, you die with me.”

 

“So be it,” Shiryou muttered back. “Anything to get rid of you and to keep Koenma safe.”

 

He blasted out full power, causing them both to let out agonized screams as they felt their souls being sucked bit by bit. The Youma around the car vanished and Ray wasted no time in speeding them out of there. The fire has already spread to the termite-eaten walls of the warehouse and has burnt through the boxes, lighting the dynamites.

 

The Ecto-1 was still speeding away when a tremendous explosion was heard from the warehouse. The boxes and crates of lighted dynamites blew up the entire warehouse, leaving only traces of burnt wood and ashes. The flames kept on burning, lighting up the dark night.

 

Ray stopped the car and they all got out, mesmerized by the sight. Hiei landed silently beside Kurama, unnoticed by the Ghostbusters. Unshed tears formed in Koenma's eyes as he took a few steps away from the car. Shiryou couldn't possibly have withstood the explosion. Even if he did, he would have died from his soul stealer. Finally, he crumpled to the ground, though his eyes still searched the flames for a figure to miraculously walk out from the ruins. But such did not happen.

 

A hand on his shoulder made him look up to see Kurama's gentle face. Kurama glanced up at the utterly destroyed warehouse and looked down again at Koenma.

 

“It's all my fault,” Koenma sniffed. “I shouldn't have left him there. I should have helped him.”

 

“There was nothing you could do,” Kurama comforted. “He had to do it on his own. He knew the consequences. He cared for you so much that he was willing to do anything, even sacrifice his soul, to save you. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for something he chose to do.”

 

Koenma was silent as he stared down at his clenched fists. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked worriedly at him but they wisely kept quiet while Hiei and the Ghostbusters just watched them from a distance. Kurama looked at the God for a second more then silently held out his hand.

 

“Let's go home.”

 

Koenma nodded and accepted the offer, allowing himself to be pulled up. Walking slowly towards the rest, he stopped and gave one last glance at the burning flames. As a tear trailed down his cheek, a whisper was spoken before he walked away.

 

“Goodbye, Shiryou.”