Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Inheritance ❯ Reinforcements ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 19
Reinforcements
The river is cold enough that within a few moments, it didn't feel cold at all. Not because it wasn't but rather because they couldn't feel it. The only ones that would perhaps not be affected by this are Hiei and Yukina. Admittedly, Shizuru feels a slight twinge of jealousy. The current is swift and it only takes the most minimal of effort to stay down and keep moving quickly. She was the last of the humans in so she can see the rest of them being carried down in the freezing clear water. Unfortunately the river itself would not be providing any cover for them. She knows it's going to be hell when they manage to climb out, and the sooner they climb out the better. Her lungs are starting to burn but they still haven't cleared the rock overhang. Brilliant really, no one could really survive long enough to swim into the cave. After all she might not survive swimming out, even with the help of the current. But she sees light before she starts to black out. The others have done better than her it seems, after all, she is a smoker. Belatedly she realizes that they might not all climb out on the same side. Damn their lack of time to plan.

Climbing onto the river bank is a most unpleasant experience. The numbing of the river is reversed and the bite of the air outside feels like a thousand knives digging into her skin. Vaguely she realizes that she should be moving, trying to keep her body heat up. She only manages to climb to her feet with extreme force of will. Shizuru spies Keiko about ten feet down the bank. The girl isn't moving and that is more than enough to get the older girl over to her. After a bit of shaking Keiko opens her eyes, albeit reluctantly. "Come on Keiko I know your tougher than this."

"Shizuru what…? Oh right, do you see Kurama's family?" She sits up and slowly gets to her feet. A quick scan of the area visually produces no results, though Shizuru's spiritual instincts are tingling. There are a lot of demons in the area looking for them.

"We need to find the other as quickly and quietly as possible." Keiko nods and follows Shizuru through the brush. Several large hulking forms moved past them as every now and again Shizuru would pull Keiko behind a tree or bush or just shove her to the ground. Keiko tries her best not to squeak at the sudden actions and it seems that after all these years of being in one dangerous situation after another she is finally learning to control those automatic impulses. Shizuru actually smiles at her for it, she always knew the girl had spunk. Now if only Keiko's fiancé and her own dimwit brother would show up they might actually be able to get out of here alive. Yes, if her brother did show up she'd have to snag his jacket before her gave it to Yukina; after all, the ice maiden certainly wouldn't be affected by the cold. Not that her brother would realize that or even care really... her was just far to smitten with a woman that would probably never realize what her meant when he told her he loved her.

Locating familiar energy signals is not hard, neither is avoiding unfamiliar ones. However doing both at the same time while ignoring the stabbing pain of freezing to death is proving quite the task for Shizuru. Lucky for her the first person they run into is someone who can help with that. Neither of them had ever been quite so happy to see the spunky spiky haired fire demon at that moment.

***
Hiei on the other hand scowled when he realized that the two humans he had located were regrettably not the ones he had been looking for. Kurama had trusted him to take care of his family and now he could not even find them. Some partner he made.

Although Hiei is not naturally inclined to respond to temperatures too strongly, years of being around Kurama in his human body has forced him to take note of such things. If he needed to raise his body temperature, then the humans must be near death. The detective would not appreciate his woman dying, and he had to grudgingly admit that even with her relation to the oaf, Shizuru was a human he could respect. Before they bothered to pester him with their human pleasantries he grabbed a hold of them both and dried them. The contact wasn't necessary but it would cover the flare in his energy better so that they might go undetected. Hiei didn't wish to draw attention until after he'd located Kurama's family.

"Oh! Hello Hiei. Thank you for drying us off. Have you seen the others?" Hiei just glares at the woman, really not understanding how the detective can put up with her. True, she has been a steadfast ally, but sometimes he must wonder at her intelligence. Sure the fox said she was good at book work but her common sense often came up short.

"If I had, would they not be here? Let's keep moving." The urge to find Kurama's family has intensified. After all if these humans were cold and wet then Kurama's family must be as well. Human bodies are fragile at best and Hiei isn't sure how long they could survive if left to both the harsh temperature and the demons lurking about. Things are starting to look worse and worse. Missing humans, a horde of enemies about, his partner fighting alone, and now add on environmental issues? Hiei suppresses the urge to growl.

"They probably came up on the other side." At least there was one useful human; Shizuru would have been able to pick up their energy signature by now if they were on this side which means they must find a way to cross. While Hiei would simply have been inclined to jump across, the humans could perform no such feat. Swimming too was out of the question as he doubted the humans would be able to fight the current. They would have to find some sort of bridge or narrow part. Any manmade bridges would be out of the question and the river was far too swift to have any good crossing point without a bridge nearby. But perhaps a natural bridge? One made by the animals in the area? Yes that is likely to be there best bet.

"We need to find an animal bridge."

Keiko cocks her head to the side. "You mean like a beaver dam?" Hiei glares at her and she realizes that Hiei probably doesn't know what a beaver is, indeed, the animals of Makai seemed to be quite a bit different in looks than in the Ningenkai. Still the basic principals required for beavers to build damns would be just about the same as needed for any other similar animal. So she has a good idea where to look. "Never mind Hiei, lets try to find a spot where the tree line blends into the water, that would be the most likely place for an animal to build a um... bridge."

Hiei stares at the human for a moment before giving her a 'hn' and heading down the river a bit further. Shizuru represses a grin and follows keeping her attention on the unfamiliar ki signatures in the area.

It doesn't take Hiei very long to locate such a spot; the vegetation at the back of the mountain is much lusher than at the cave's entrance. Sure enough, to his surprise, the human was right. Not that he'd ever admit it. But there, hidden behind a comb of thick brush is a crossing. Perhaps she is not so useless after all. Hiei thinks it over a bit and realizes he will have to carry them across. It would take the girls far too long to cross on their own and the longer they were out in the open, the higher the likelihood of them being caught. But would the bridge be sturdy enough to support the weight of two of them at a time? Hiei runs across once and back to check, it seems well made enough. He turns to Shizuru who he knows has already come to the same conclusion by the look in her eyes.

"Good thing you aren't such a shrimp anymore huh? Otherwise this might be a bit awkward." Hiei just scowls at her and kneels down so she can get on his back. Keiko looks surprised for a minute but doesn't say anything. It only takes Hiei a few seconds to get them both across and scans the area to find that they hadn't been spotted. They find cover in the brush not a moment too soon however as two hulking lugs come out on the other side to get a drink. While Hiei's hand itches to slay them, he knows doing so would blow their cover.
As they leave Hiei straightens up, he is about to ask Shizuru if she can feel Kurama's family when he feels something defiantly apt to blow their cover. He resists the urge to curse as the portal opens with all the subtly of a rampaging bull in a china shop. But then again what could one really expect from a Mazaku?


Hiei sets a course toward Yusuke and Kuwabara, hoping that the rest of their missing group would see fit to do the same.

***
Botan's first realization on coming out of the portal is that her friends were not where she had left them, what's more, it appears that a massive number of demons are combing the area. Damn that Shizuru! I should have known better! Kuwabara struggled to hop of the oar before she had even reached the ground. Yusuke quickly grabbed him until they were a safe enough distance from the ground.

"Urameshi! Let go! My Yukina is out there I know it! The red string of love around my pinky will lead me to her!" So saying he then continued his struggle.

"Wait until we get on the ground stupid!" Yusuke manages to hold onto Kuwabara long enough so that the distance to the ground is not fatal to the human. And people say I'm impulsive! Kuwabara manages to land on his face while Yusuke drops into a kneel next to him. Botan stays on her oar, hovering, just in case there's danger. Kuwabara is only down for a moment though and in the next second he is running off in a seemingly random direction. But then again, no one really thinks to question him as they hurry to follow. Kuwabara has the strongest sixth sense of their little group and really never gets lost. It only stands to good reason to follow him through the unfamiliar territory.

Now if only they could get him to shut up.

"Yukina my darling I'm coming!" This, they are reminded, is an unrealistic dream. Kuwabara tears through the underbrush and it isn't long before he runs into a hulking beast, this beast in particular is not such a problem but the roar of battle he let out before he was slain sent strange whistles blowing about in all directions. Great, now every demon in the area would be headed their way.
"Way to go Kuwa!" Yusuke was hoping to find Keiko and the others before getting into a fight. So he and Kuwabara pick up the pace. With any luck they would be able to dodge the majority of the demons until they could find their loved ones. As for the ones they couldn't dodge... it is unfortunate for them theya Mazaku. However, Kuwabara's sense of direction is rarely if ever wrong. After a few mishaps with lower demons, most of which were just knocked unconscious, they come upon a most interesting scene.

Through the course of climbing out of the river, it seems that Kazuya had somehow landed butt-first in a sinkhole. As of current, his son and wife are trying to pull him free while Yukina is busy erecting a wall of ice to keep the other demons at bay.

Yusuke could not help but laugh, the scene before him was just too good. Kazuya is red faced and breathing hard whileshrimpy little kid Suu-chan and fairly thin wife huffed and puffed pulling on his legs and arms to try to free his huge butt from the pit. Kuwabara couldn't quite hold his humor in check either. The two of them spent a moment rolling on the ground holding their sides at the comic book scene come to life before them. Of course their laughing caught the attention of the others, who seemed quite relieved to see them.

After regaining control of himself; Yusuke spoke up. "Yukina, freeze the sand pit while Kuwa pulls him out. I'll take care of those idiots." Yukina scurried over to help, abandoningwall. It didn't take the demons long to tear through it without her re-enforcement.

It took even less time for Yusuke to destroy them.

"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you my dear friends." Kazuya kissed Yukina's hand and shook Kuwabara's after being freed. Shiori hurried down to the river and scooped him up some water. Her drank it quite greedily and patted his balding head with his still-damp handkerchief.

Yusuke eyes the lot of them critically. "What did you guys do? Go for a swim?" Shiori smiles sheepishly at him, pulling her wet clothes a bit tighter around herself and trying to cover up how cold she truly is.

"We didn't have much a choice in the matter. The battle had us locked in the cave with my Suuichi. He put up a shield and took us to the back before practically shoving us in. He needed to get us out of the cave to safety. Unfortunately Makatashi's men were expecting us. Not to mention we got separated from the others. I think they came up on the other side of the river." Yusuke frowns at that. He had been counting on Keiko being with Yukina, and of course Kuwabara could always locate Yukina. This would make finding her that much harder.

Yusuke realizes they have stayed still too long as the demons in the area close in around them. Fine, let the bastards come. Killing them all leaves fewer of them to try and kill Keiko. Not to mention providing a welcome relief to his frustration. Yusuke turns to face them and for a moment is nigh overwhelmed by the sheer number of them all. How could such a creep have so many followers?

Botan provides the answer to his unvoiced question. "These are the last of the kitsune hunters. Just as the hunters once nearly drove kitsune to extinction, so did Yoko Kurama nearly drive them into extinction. But Kurama has been gone for a while now, they have has time to replenish their numbers. They must have sided with Makatashi for revenge." Yusuke didn't doubt that Kurama could and would have taken out his rage on the hunters. After all, Makatashi, the one that killed his family proclaimed himself such. Yusuke could defiantly see a youngerterrorizing the countryside and freeing his 'brethren', all secretly in revenge.Kurama grown tired of the constant circle of revenge. It would make sense as to why he hadn't sought to destroy more hunters since his return.

The hunters killed the kitsune, the seven killed the hunters, Makatashi killed the seven and their children, Kurama killed the hunters, and now the hunters are back with Makatashi to kill Kurama. How utterly... pointless all this bloodshed is. Perhaps today it would end.

Yusuke unleashes a shotgun blast as the crowdtoward them and the battle is on in full. Claws, talons, tentacles, and more than a few things that Yusuke can't identify go flying through the air. He hasn't seen so much blood since the last Makai tournament. At least the fights at the tournament were skilled, truly awesome to watch. This is just a bloodbath. Kuwabara and he manage to keep the beasts at bay although there is no way of telling whether they are gaining any ground or not. Just as Yusuke is starting to think the beasts are endless a wall of fire surrounds and envelops them searing away any demon foolish enough to try to step through it.

Out of the flames emerges a tall dark figure wielding a truly hellish looking blade that wraps the flames around it like a blanket. Yusuke actually feels a chill of fear run down his spine for a moment as he turns to face off; only to realize with a start that the figure is none other than Hiei. Keiko runs out from behind Hiei and wraps her arms firmly around Yusuke's middle; Yusuke feels himself sigh in relief.

"Always have to make an entrance, eh, Hiei?" Yusuke feels his lips curl into a smirk in response to Hiei's downright feral grin. The fire demon is overly pleased with himself about something. Where had that sword come from?

"Hn. I was simply dispatching the enemy. You two idiots can't be trusted to guard Kurama's family. You can have your woman back detective."

"Yeah thanks man. Where..."

"Your not so hot shrim- ur... um... uh... oh hell! You’re still a shrimp compared to me! Where'd you get that sword anyway? Swipe it from some helpless baby or somthin'?" Hiei's mood cannot even be dampened by Kuwabara at the moment though. His glare at Kuwabara is far more amused than heated.

"You should learn to be grateful oaf I could have let your sister fend for herself. As to the blade, why would and infant even have a sword? Not that it is any ofbusiness anyway. However I am feeling rather pleased so I will tell you. This was a gift from the fox. A most valuable treasure indeed." Hiei runs his fingers down the blade delightedly and Kuwabara's face becomes even more confused than before. Hiei? Happy about anything and actually admitting it? What's so special about that sword anyway?

"Sword doesn't so great, looks kinda sissy with all those rubies and gold on it." Hiei actually laughs at Kuwabara, a cold kind of laugh that freaks Kuwabara out even more.

"You idiot, of course it's ornate. The blade is of kitsune origin, they like everything that glitters and shines. But do not mistake its power for the same reason. This is the heated blade, a sword of legend to any being who dares to dance with flame... but of course you, being the idiotic human that you are have never heard of it. So you cannot possibly understand. I will allow you a demonstration then..." With his words the wall of flame he had forged around them drops and the remaining demons in the area come back into view, though their numbers have taken a serious hit from Hiei's flames. It seems that quite a few of them were stupid enough to try and run through.

The smirk on Hiei's face widens considerably as he holds his ground. The blade is tilted backward over his shoulder and they brought down quickly and viciously. The rubies on the blade grow red and a great dragon of flame is released, not the dragon of the darkness flame but rather one purely from Hiei's own power. Using the blade he controls the beast plowing it through the hoard without mercy.

Hiei doesn't stop till every last demon is vanquished.

Yusuke can't seem to get his jaw off the floor for a minute. Next to him, Kuwabara is in a similar predicament. When had Hiei learned how to do something like that? To create a dragon of equal might to the dragon of the darkness flame using his own demonic energy would be a task even greater than conquering the beast had been. Damn that would be hard to beat at the next tournament.

Yusuke finally picks up his jaw as Hiei hits his knees. The fire-demon is breathing harshly, the attack having taken a lot out of him. Hiei struggles to get to his feet and Yusuke realizes that this attack must not have the same draw-back of automatically passing out that his previous attack had. Yes, defiantly something to think about before the next tournament. Yusuke helps pull Hiei to his feet and grins like an idiot. He really can't think of anything to say. Everyone else seems to be having a similar struggle so the only noise for a few moments is Hiei's harsh breathing and the crackling of the trees that are still on fire.

Peaceful moment never last though, and the next noise to be heard is a terrible rumbling sound as half the mountain caves in. The mountain, and cave, that they know Kurama has been fighting Makatashi in. Hiei head snaps up, and, despite his exhaustion, he is the first one to take off running. Yusuke has a bit more of his wits about him.

"Kuwa! Botan! Get everyone back to the temple! We are so gonna need some medical help with this!" Yusuke shoots off after Hiei and everyone else starts to head back. After all, lifting a mountain is a job best left to the super powered demons of their group. Gathering medical supplies is something much more suited to their human bodies. Shiori prays to anyone and everyone she can think of that they get a chance to use the supplies they gather.

After all, dead bodies don't need to be bandaged now do they?

____________________________________________________________ ___ _______________

A/N: Sorry I dropped the story for a while. No I didn’t abandon it; I just had a really exhausting semester. So here’s the next chapter and I’m already typing up number 20. I apologize for the long wait and appreciate those of you that stuck with me.

I think this is my longest chapter yet. Everyone breaks free of the cave and runs around for a little bit. Yusuke and Kuwabara arrive with Botan in tow to join the fight. Everyone is ok even if a little worse for the ware. I put in a little celebration of Shizuru and Keiko here because I have for the most part neglected these two characters in this story. But as they do not have a lot of interaction in the fights or directly with Kurama it wasn’t necessary to develop their characters as much. This is still a story about Kurama primarily, and besides, those two got enough attention in the series. ;p

Hiei shows of his new skills. The dragon he created is made up of his own energy so it gives him greater control over it as well as having the plus of not immediately making him pass out. Eventually, as he grows stronger, he may even be able to perform multiples at once. Pretty cool huh?

Lastly the mountain caved in. Was Kurama still inside? Was Makatashi? IS Kurama dead or merely severely wounded or perfectly fine? What happened in their fight? Guess you’ll have to keep reading to find out!

Woot! So close to the finish line! Please review!!!
-san: Mr. or Mrs.
-sama: Lord
-kun: Young man that is a friend
-chan: Female, young boy, or lover
Baka: idiot
Chimera: Half animal, half human in appearance.
Geta: Wooden sandals
Haha: Mother
Hai: Yes
Hiruseki: tear gem
Inari: Fox goddess
Jagan: Hiei's 3rd eye
Ki: Energy signal, spirit energy
Kitsune: Fox spirit
Kleptomania: Compulsive need to steal
Makai: Demon world
Mazaku: Type of demon that Yusuke is
Ne: Right?
Ningen: Human
Ningenkai: Human world
Nyoi: Mythical staff that can change length and thickness
Oona: Woman
Reikai: Spirit world
Sakura Tree: cherry tree
Shinigami: Spirit of death, Grim reaper
Tantei: Detectives
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor any of its characters. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. The plot and original characters of this fic, are however, mine."