Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ If Roses Are Dark ❯ And Will You (Let Me Be Free) ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I own nothing Yuu Yuu Hakusho related except for about seven tapes of English dubs, seven DVDs, and one wall scroll.

Note: Long chapter ahead!

WARNING: some light spoilers in this chapter for the last episodes of the Ankoku Bujutsukai hen and the Makai no Tobira hen ~ territory.

Part II of the Silver Obsidian series

* * * * *

And Will You (Let Me Be Free)

* * * * *

~Kurama~

Landing cleanly on the other side of the portal, Kurama crouched in the highest branches of a tree and waited for Yuusuke and Kuwabara to gain their bearings. He himself was familiar with the area, having spent some time in it as Youko, sixteen years ago.

"Oi, Kurama! Let's go!"

Jumping down, Kurama landed beside Kuwabara and smiled. "Of course. Let's be on our way."

They walked for hours, or at least it seemed that way, before even picking up on the enemy's youki signal. Yuusuke noticed it first, Kuwabara soon after, and Kurama, who was distracted, soon after that.

I wonder if Hiei will have heard about this youkai… I wonder if he'll be there…

Probably not; don't get your hopes up.

I doubt it…

Once they had all locked on to the youki, the three broke into a run, all headed in the same direction and running as fast as they could manage.

They arrived quickly enough, but none of them really expected what they saw.

A tall, slim, very good looking, and very male youkai was sitting in the middle of the field, amidst dozens of dead bodies, presumably of the youkai who had come looking to kill…it. It looked over as they burst into the clearing, smiling good-naturedly and standing.

"Irasshai," it said warmly, bending over in a deep bow. "To my…territory."

"Territory? Like Sensui's crew?" Kuwabara hissed to Yuusuke.

The youkai laughed. "No, I'm afraid not. This is nothing like the psychic friends of Sensui. Only my home."

Kurama studied the enemy warily through slit emerald eyes. The creature turned to look back at him, and its smiled widened.

"Yoko Kurama," it greeted. Kurama opened his mouth to speak, possibly to deny it, but the youkai held up a hand and laughed again. "No, no, don't tell me it isn't you. I know all about what you did to that ningen woman and her child. A great accomplishment, I must say."

Kurama seethed invisibly, restraining himself from darting over and killing the beast himself. Kuwabara was whispering to Yuusuke.

"How is this guy…what's-it-called, android?"

"Androgynous," Kurama corrected softly.

"Right, that. It looks pretty male to me."

"I assure you, my friend, I am quite asexual," the youkai interrupted. "I am a shape-shifter, you see, one with no real physical form. You might call me the very definition of an apparition."

That's enough.

"Perhaps we may," Kurama replied coolly. "But perhaps we may also say that definition won't apply to you long. Unless, of course," he amended, correcting himself, "you truly consider a ghost to be an apparition."

"Ah, now, it appears Youko would like to come out and play, does it not?" the youkai said, looking over.

"And if he does?" Kurama asked, removing a seed from his hair.

"He's gonna have some company," said Yuusuke, setting into a fighting stance, Kuwabara taking a matching one beside him.

"Shineh!"

Kuwabara rushed first, Reiken at the ready, with Yuusuke not far behind. Kurama fell into the familiar line pattern, summoning his Rose Whip and snapping it beside him. At the last second, the three darted off in different directions, Kuwabara charging directly behind the creature, Yuusuke to the left, and Kurama to the right. Yuusuke doubled back around and shot up from behind, boosting Kuwabara, just before impact.

The youkai took a solid hit from the Reiken, but easily dodged both the Rose Whip and Yuusuke's punch. A gaping hole revealed in its back, it reared back and apparently howled to the sky, closing its eyes tightly as the wound healed itself.

"That's not fair!" Kuwabara complained. "None of us can do that!"

"It can't use a Reiken, Rei Gan, or Rose Whip," Kurama reminded him. "We should have the advantage. It hasn't revealed an ability to attack yet."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't have one!" Yuusuke yelled back, narrowly dodging as the creature shot down for an attack.

"Quite right!" the shape-shifter shouted. "Reiken!"

"What?!" howled Kuwabara. "That's mine!"

"No it's not!" Kurama yelled over. "He must have an ability similar to Yanagisawa's Copy!"

"Crap!"

That sums it up rather nicely, I think.

The battle passed in a flurry of reiki and youki blasts, everything moving so quickly that at times, a member of the trio would get confused and nearly attack his teammates. "Rei Gan" was shouted left and right, and Kurama was sure he saw at least five Reiken being slashed about at once. His own Rose Whip appeared to be a solitary original, though, which, while confusing, was a nice break.

Kuwabara tripped, flying face-first into the ground and thus dodging one of the youkai's attacks. Yuusuke leapt over him and fired a second Rei Gan at the creature, nailing it in the chest and causing it to rear back to heal itself again.

Kurama snatched the opportunity to lash out with his whip, catching the creature around the torso and dragging it to the ground before it had a chance to properly recover. Yuusuke took the chance to fire another Rei Gan at its already heavily bleeding body, and Kuwabara followed up with a well-aimed Rei Shuriken blast.

"Stand back," Kurama advised, moving to stand just at the head of the wailing creature. "This will hurt you too if you don't watch yourselves."

Raising one arm at an angle and lowering the other, forming a straight line, Kurama glared down at the youkai.

* * * * *

~Hiei~

He perched in a nearby tree, carefully masking his youki, watching Kurama. Yuusuke and the fool were inconsequential; they could take care of themselves. Well…perhaps not Kuwabara, but Yuusuke would save him if need be. Truthfully, Kurama could care for himself well, but Hiei enjoyed watching him dance.

Spin, half turn, sharp right, gliding jump, full twirl, whiplash, graceful leap, sideline… The whip became a ribbon for Kurama, an essential tool, but stunning and elegant in its deadliness. He leapt and flew with such effortless beauty, Hiei wondered why Yuusuke and Kuwabara were even necessary.

They were doing their parts, to be sure - Yuusuke excelled in the surprise attack, and Kuwabara excelled in brute force. Both damaged the target considerably, but took their share of blows and more. Kurama had his own as well, of course. He rarely emerged from a battle so intense with no injury, unless he was toying with his opponent and nothing more. A gash bled freely across his arm and scratches adorned his body, but he could still move fluidly, and his beauty still mesmerized Hiei.

He could barely restrain himself from leaping in to his teammates' aid, but a pair of thoughts restrained him. Would Kurama ever properly respect him if he interrupted the battle, and would Kurama think Hiei didn't trust him to take care of himself? Neither option could afford to be taken, and so Hiei watched and waited.

But what if he didn't go? Would Kurama hate him for seeing their suffering and not stepping in? Would Kurama hate him for not coming in the first place, but seeing them as weak and stepping in to save them?

* * * * *

~Kurama~

"Fuuka Enbujin!"

Petals surrounded him in a crimson flurry, slicing through the youkai lying below him, cutting its skin and nearly amputating its hands and one of its legs. Yuusuke tilted his head, nodding in recognition, as Kuwabara made a face and turned away.

Kurama stepped away, still glaring at the creature as it writhed in misery. The petals continued their work for all of a minute without his youki to help them, fluttered gracefully to the ground, as if caught up in their own private wind swirl. As they fell, the creature laughed.

"You think a creature so weak as to be defeated by mere flower petals could have survived all these youkai, out hunting for its very lifeblood?"

"Iie…"

Yuusuke's face abruptly drained of most of its blood, and Kuwabara teetered slightly in place, as if about to fall over. Kurama only gaped slightly.

A deep, cackling laughter erupted from the depths of the youkai's throat, and it sat up, blood still pouring from its wounds.

"Healing seed," it cried gleefully, holding up a small brown seed, crushing it and sprinkling it over its wounds. Kurama immediately raised a hand to his hair and felt around.

"Iie… He stole one of my seeds…"

"It wasn't even difficult!" the youkai squealed, nearly all its wounds completely repaired. "All the confusion, plus, I would guess, some other thoughts occupying your mind, completely distracted you! And now I'm ready for Round Two and you are…not."

* * * * *

~Hiei~

Make a decision now, or you could lose him forever.

You could lose them all forever.

But you could lose him.

Make a decision.

Swallow your pride.

"Perhaps," he snapped, having dropped from the tree so quickly he seemed to appear out of thin air. "But I'm not."

"Who are you?" the youkai asked icily. "How do you hope to succeed where three of your…friends could not?"

"I will defeat you. There is no doubt in my mind. You will fall this day, my friend."

The shape-shifter smirked. "Such big talk from such a little child."

Hiei snarled in response. "Such foolish talk from such a fighter. One who does not know size alone cannot win battles does not deserve to have lived so long."

"Rei Gan!"

"Jaou Ensatsu Rengokushou!"

"HIEI!"

The attacks clashed and Kurama valiantly stepped forward, reaching out with one hand as he covered the injury on his arm with the other. "Hiei, NO! Don't do it! You'll never survive the backlash!"

The attacks were not equal, however, and Jaou Ensatsu Rengokushou emerged triumphant, blasting through the Rei Gan to crash into the unsuspecting shape-shifter behind it.

Hiei looked back at Kurama with pleading eyes.

Please, just this once, let me do this without you.

Kurama paused and took a half step backwards, lowering his arm. He even smiled a bit.

But the shape-shifter was not to be forgotten so easily. It hauled itself out of the ground after another self-healing and reared back its flaming fist.

"Jaou Ensatsu Rengokushou!"

"Cute."

* * * * *

~Kurama~

Hiei…

No - he's going to call on the Dragon!

"Hiei…"

Sure enough, Hiei tore off the first binding of his wards and quickly removed the rest. The dragon itself seemed to roar as he held his arm out.

"Jaou…Ensatsu…KOKURYUUHA!"

The shape-shifter balked, obviously not expecting the move, and stood frozen in place. The Dragon emerged, glowing a deep, rich black, and Hiei thrust his fist into it, rippling it with electric blue. Kurama took another step back.

Hiei, what will be the cost of such a move?

What if it doesn't die?

What if it comes after you?

The creature ran from the dragon, carefully dodging with blindingly quick steps. Hiei smirked.

"You think you can outrun the Dragon? You're even more foolish that I'd thought."

"I do!" the creature called back. "And I will succeed where all others have failed!"

Another smirk. "I don't think so."

The Dragon finally hit the creature, nailing it straight in the back. It fell forward, writhing beneath the Dragon's jaws, struggling valiantly to squirm itself free. It glowed faintly and shed its form, reappearing as a large falcon of some sort, trying to fly away.

It nearly succeeded.

"KYUUKETSU SHOKUBUTSU!"

But not nearly enough.

The aftermath was grim. Hiei lay flat on his back on the ground, soundly asleep. Kurama lay on the ground as well, though still partially conscious.

"Is it…dead?"

"…I think so." Yuusuke moved to inspect the spot where the creature had lain. "Yeah - just cinders and…ew…scraps of flesh over here."

"So…now what?"

* * * * *

Rei Gan: Spirit Gun

Reiken: Spirit Sword

Rei Shuriken: the spirit "ninja stars" Kuwabara used in his match against Toguro Ani

Fuuka Enbujin: Petals and Thorns [literally, Wind Petal Waltz Configuration]

Jaou Ensatsu Rengokushou: Fist of the Mortal Flame [literally, Evil King Blaze Killing Inferno technique]

Kyuuketsu Shokubutsu: Bloodsucking Plant

The tale will continue in Part III, the finalé of the Silver Obsidian trilogy: If the Roses Die.