Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight at the Lost and Found ❯ Mock Battle and Capture ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters thus associated with it. The title for this story is from a Meat Loaf song, all right? I know, not original, but it suited my rough plans for this fic.

Author's Note: If anybody's watched the whole series, they know that Yusuke is essentially a Hanyou (a half-youkai) on his father's side, and is one of the three lords of the Makai, so I'm using that information in reference to him sometimes. Just thought a bit of an explanation might be in order.

Chapter Two: Mock-Battle and Capture

Yusuke yawned and stretched as he gazed half-heartedly around the area he was currently overseeing. When Botan had first dropped him off, he had been expecting the demon or whatever to come at them and try to take them out quickly. He was full of adrenaline and itching for a fight.

However, this creature appeared to be more intelligent than that and was biding its time. The only problem with that was that it left Yusuke very bored and less aware of his surroundings. Taking care of the souls was remarkably easy. All a Chosen really had to do was make sure that nothing threatened the souls-including other souls-and that the proper souls were removed for judgment at the appointed time.

It was slow, mindless work. You'd think it would be quicker, what with almost constant deaths happening in the Ningenkai and the Makai. Of course, the Lost and Found was still part of the bureaucracy, which explained a lot.

Sighing heavily, the hanyou lord decided to go and check up on the rest of his team. After all, it wasn't like they were really far away, and he could use the exercise it would give him. First stop was Kuwabara, who was reclining back against a boulder with his eyes hooded as he watched over the souls, his ki sensing for danger.

The tall ningen may not be the most intelligent person in their group, but his awareness came into play a lot, especially when seeking out a hidden danger. If the creature that had been taking souls was nearby, Kuwabara would probably be the first to sense it-or else Hiei would, with his Jagan.

Once he was sure that Kuwabara was doing all right, he moved on. Kurama was next, in his Youko form. He felt it best to be prepared to fight immediately, and already had his rosewhip in this hand. His clever golden eyes were only half open, and he was reclined lazily against a large tree, but Yusuke knew that he was quite aware of his surroundings, as evidenced by his complete lack of surprise when Yusuke came up behind him.

"Hello, Yusuke? Checking up on us?" he greeted, teasing his friend lightly. Yusuke grinned back at him and shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? I've been itching for a fight, and since none are forthcoming, I had to move, to do something with myself, before I started attacking imaginary enemies."

At this, Youko Kurama chuckled, and he offered casually, "Well, if you're really bored, I'm sure we could manage to hold a mock battle and not tire ourselves out too much. Perhaps Hiei could join as well?" he asked tentatively. Yusuke just smiled and slapped the silver kitsune on the shoulder, giving his approval before moving on to find Hiei.

The half-koorime firebaby was sitting up in a tree, as usual. Yusuke craned his neck and had to take a few steps back to see the small youkai. Crimson eyes glinted at him from among the foliage, and he gestured for Hiei to come down. Once Hiei was on the ground, he asked if he'd care for a mock-battle against him and Kurama. Kuwabara could referee, since he didn't stand a chance against two thieves and a Lord of the Makai.

Hiei didn't say a word, just started walking over to where the fox awaited them. Grinning, Yusuke followed him, an anticipatory gleam in his expressive brown eyes. This was going to be fun!

When they arrived, they found Kurama already in a makeshift ring, surrounded by plants to define the boundaries of the playing field. Normally, this wouldn't be allowed in battle, but Yusuke knew that Kurama would not use the boundary plants in an attack. It would give him an unfair advantage.

Kuwabara was at the side, watching silently as the three warriors positioned themselves in a triangle in the middle of the ring, facing each other. This would be a free-for-all battle, with no teaming up between two fighters to go after a third. It was one-on-one with three people. Once they had their stance, Kuwabara raised his hand and abruptly lowered it, and the battle was begun.

Yusuke, always the impatient one, attacked first, sending his Rei Shotgun at Hiei while attacking Kurama. He was hoping that the blasts, although greatly weakened when sent in several dozen smaller attacks, would be enough to at least hit him a few times. He really hoped the fire demon wasn't quick enough to dodge all those shots.

He knew full well that Kurama was clever, and would use plants to keep him occupied while he planned one massive attack to knock him out of commission for the remainder of the battle. He rushed in, getting inside Kurama's first line of defense, preventing him from using his rosewhip to hold Yusuke at bay.

Unfortunately, the thief was quick and agile, as well as knowing several different styles of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. Yusuke had to make every hit count if he wanted the famous Youko out of the fight.

Before he had a chance to connect with Kurama, Yusuke was rammed into from the side by a small body and sent flying. Apparently, Hiei had been fast enough to dodge all but one of the attacks, and it was too weak to so much as slow him down. Now Yusuke was back to having two opponents, but then again, the others had two opponents as well. Dammit!

Growling, he maneuvered himself around so that his main opponent was Hiei. He would have preferred to use Kurama as a shield from the jaganshi, but Hiei was much too fast and would be able to dodge around Kurama easily to attack him.

The battle was progressing rather well. Each of them had to fight off the other two, as they dodged and twisted and connected and fought, dancing around the makeshift ring in a whirl of attacks. Yusuke was busy fighting Hiei, who was attacking him, while he tried to attack Kurama. The fox was currently attacking Hiei, while trying to dodge Yusuke's Rei Gun. And Hiei was fighting Yusuke and avoiding Kurama.

The battle lasted for several hours, all three warriors refusing to give in. It took them several long moments to register Kuwabara's yells, but when they finally assimilated what he was trying to tell them, they all froze, battle forgotten, and turned to look at the souls, which were disappearing at an alarming rate.

Yusuke shot a sharp glance at Kuwabara and opened his mouth to talk, but the ningen beat him to it. "No, I don't sense anything but the souls disappearing. It's almost as if they're just doing this one their own. There is no other ki out there that I can sense."

Hiei quickly pulled off his Jagan and scanned the area, but he could not sense anything either and simply shook his head when Yusuke looked at him. Wasting no more time, Yusuke headed over to where the souls were vanishing, not paying any heed to the fact that he was probably leading himself straight into trouble.

Vaguely, he could sense the others right behind him, but none of that mattered right now. What mattered was the creature that was taking these souls that couldn't be detected even by someone with such a high spiritual awareness as Kuwabara possessed. His vision was narrowed at what appeared to be the focal point of disappearance, but when he reached it he felt nothing. It was as if nothing was there, but the souls were still disappearing at an alarming rate.

Suddenly, a tremor shot up through Yusuke and his eyes widened in surprise. What the hell was that?! Whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad, he mused, since his friends and teammates were staring at him disbelievingly. "Urameshi? Where'd you go?" asked Kuwabara, stunned and uncomprehending.

Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the oaf and snapped, "I'm right here, stupid! What's up with you? And what the hell just happened?" Then he noticed that both Hiei and Kurama were staring at him unseeingly as well. They tentatively pressed forward, hands in front of them, but were stopped by an invisible barrier of some sort. Hiei growled and attacked with his katana, but he could not break through.

Youko Kurama spoke softly. "I can still feel him, and he seems to be confused and royally pissed off, but I can't see him." Yusuke snarled, then turned around to look at his surroundings, seeing if maybe he could find a way out of the space he was in. He saw nothing but souls. Startled, he double-checked and discovered that, yes, there were indeed souls all around him. Well, it appeared that he had finally discovered where all the missing souls went before they were destroyed. Now he just had to figure out how to get himself out of this mess before he became the next Chosen casualty.

Author's Note: Yes, that's it for this chapter. I'd like to know what you all think before I put up the next chapter, all right? If people don't like it, I'm simply going to take it down, so let me know, okay? Thanks!