Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Crow: Spirit Bullet ❯ Hell Alive ( Chapter 4 )

"The Crow: Spirit Bullet"

Chapter 4: "Hell Alive"

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and The Crow don't belong to me. YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi and The Crow belongs to James O'Barr.

Author's note: Yusuke and Keiko are reunited, but how long is that going to last? Toguro and Sakyo still want his head on a silver platter and they'll do anything to get it. Also, there will be a startling twist in this chapter that you may or may not have been able to predict. On with the story.

Previously in "The Crow: Spirit Bullet": Yusuke continued his rampage of vengeance and Mizuko was his next victim. Still unsatisfied, he went after a demon who sold drugs from the demon world to unsuspecting humans. After using his powers to purge the demon's human customer of the drugs in his system, Yusuke was confronted by Jin and Touya, who convinced him to come to the resistance's headquarters with them. Once there, Yusuke met some teenage human psychics that were being trained by the resistance. He also reunited with Keiko, who awoke from her catatonia after hearing his voice.

"Yusuke?" Keiko wondered. "You're cold."

"I'm dead," Yusuke replied softly. "Of course I'm cold."

Keiko just leaned in closer to him as he held her. "It doesn't matter to me. I love you, Yusuke."

"Say that again," Yusuke murmured.

"I love you, Yusuke," Keiko repeated.

"I love you too, Keiko," Yusuke replied, his blackened lips curving upward in a gentle smile.

"How did you come back?" Keiko asked.

"See that crow?" Yusuke asked, pointing to the crow. "That used to be Puu. Fitting, isn't it? He was my guide through life when I was alive and now he's my guide through vengeance."

"Vengeance?" Keiko echoed.

"Yeah, Keiko," Yusuke replied, his tone growing serious. "Vengeance. Not just for me, but for Genkai, Kuwabara, my mother, and everyone else Toguro murdered or ruined in his rise to power."

"Where am I?" Keiko asked.

"Is it safe to come in now, Yusuke?" Kurama asked outside the curtain that separated Keiko's small room from the rest of the resistance's headquarters.

"Yeah," Yusuke replied. "We aren't getting all smoochy and touchy-feely and shit, so come on in."

Kurama entered the room. "Hello, Keiko."

"Kurama?" Keiko wondered. "Why are you in your demon form?"

"I no longer have a reason to hold on to my human identity," Kurama replied, his curt tone belying the pain in his eyes when he spoke. His tone softening, he continued. "Keiko, you're in a room we set aside just for you, to keep you safe while you were catatonic."

"Catatonic?" Keiko echoed. "How long have I been catatonic?"

"For two years," Kurama replied. "Much has changed and for the worse. In summary, Sakyo succeeded in his plans to open a permanent tunnel to the demon world. The demons that escaped were too strong for us or the human military to handle and they overran Japan under the leadership of Sakyo and Toguro. They're currently spreading through mainland Asia and we've discovered that they have designs on the United States of America."

"Who's 'we'?" Keiko asked.

"The Spirit World resistance," Kurama replied. "I will take you to meet the key members."

Keiko rose out of Yusuke's arms and off the cot, only to wobble once she stood. Yusuke placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"It's ok, I got you," he said.

"Thanks, Yusuke," Keiko replied. "You're really acting like a gentleman."

"Hey, sometimes it takes dying twice to make you see that a brief thrill from some perverted act isn't worth the trouble you get from it," Yusuke replied.

"Not that it'll stop you from doing one if the opportunity strikes," Keiko contested.

"Keiko, that hurts," Yusuke said, clutching his heart in a melodramatic demonstration of faked offense.

Kurama just smiled. It had been a long time since he'd smiled and he found that he liked it. However, he had to show Keiko around, so he coughed to get the couple's attention.

"If that's over with . . ." he started to say.

"Yeah, we're done fucking around," Yusuke replied. Then he whispered in Keiko's ear, "But I wouldn't mind doing some of that with you later tonight."

Instead of slapping him as she usually would have done, Keiko simply blushed. The tone Yusuke had used to say that to her wasn't his usual perverted tone. It was something darker, more dangerous and more sensual, and it sent pleasurable chills down her spine.

Alas, they had more important things to do, so Yusuke and Keiko followed Kurama to the main hall of the resistance's headquarters.

"So she's finally awake," Hiei stated.

"You already recognize the demons here as survivors of the Dark Tournament, but you haven't been formally introduced," Kurama said. "Chu and Rinku, from Team Rokuyukai. Jin and Touya from Team Masho, a.k.a. Shinobi of the Spirit World. Shishi and Suzuka ---"

"That's Beautiful Suzuka to you," Suzuka interrupted.

"--- from Team Urautogi," Kurama continued, undaunted, "and Bui from Toguro's old team."

"From Toguro's old team?" Keiko wondered.

"Yes," Kurama confirmed, "but Toguro gained his old team by forcing its members to join him after he defeated them. Bui was only too eager to join us, and he has a genuine sense of honor."

"Thanks for the praise," Bui remarked.

"Good to see you again, mate," Chu said, slapping Yusuke on the back. "Good job you've been doing up there, ripping up all those bastard demons."

"Thanks," Yusuke said. Then he noticed a boy with dirty blond hair lurking about. "Who's the kid?"

"That's Kiyoshi Mitarai," Bui replied, "another one of our trainees. He's a psychic with power over water. Specifically, he can create demons out of water with a drop of his blood. His Territory is a dimension of water."

"Sounds interesting," Yusuke remarked.

"You understand the situation we are facing, don't you?" Touya asked. "We're fighting as hard as we can, but it's a losing battle. The new lieutenants Toguro has recruited are much stronger than his former team."

"But wasn't Yusuke able to kill two of them?" Jin wondered.

"Yes, and he is the one who can turn things around for us," Hiei replied. "Yusuke, we are all strong fighters, but you are invincible. The demons Toguro recruited couldn't even touch you with the powers you hold now."

"So you expect me to sign on with you guys?" Yusuke asked in his usual defiant tone.

"Your assistance would be most appreciated," Kurama replied.

"Fine, as long as you get this through your heads," Yusuke conceded. "I'm through working for Spirit World. The only reason I'm joining is revenge on Toguro for murdering me, my mother, my friend, and the one person who bothered teaching me anything useful. For now, our goals seem to be similar, so I'm sticking with you guys."

"All right, then," Kurama said. "On another note, our spies in Toguro and Sakyo's empire have relayed to us their latest plot. They've built boats to take their strongest soldiers to America with Hikari and Kagero as their generals. The boats are actually highly advanced seafaring assault vehicles. The Americans have been working hard to create weapons to counter the demons, but their technology won't be sufficient for the task at hand."

"And you want me to stop them," Yusuke replied. "Good. I've been looking forward to tangling with those two since I killed Akuhi's punk ass."

"Come back to me, Yusuke," Keiko said.

"Don't worry about me, Keiko," Yusuke replied. "I'm invincible." With that said, he went off, the crow flying ahead of him.

Meanwhile, Hikari and Kagero were at the docks loading the demon soldiers into the assault boats. However, they were interrupted by the crow landing on one of the boats. It flew off just as a black energy bullet punctured that boat's engines, causing it to explode. The force of the explosion knocked several other boats back and some upside down.

"Who did that?" Hikari asked.

"Who do you think?" Kagero asked. "It was that undead asshole human Urameshi."

"Nice to see you know who I am, motherfucker," Yusuke sneered from atop a warehouse that stood on the docks. He jumped off the warehouse roof and landed nimbly on his feet. "Ready to die?"

"Are you?" Kagero retorted.

Yusuke looked at Hikari and couldn't stop himself from gasping. She looked so much like Genkai's younger self but much taller and curvier.

"You must be Hikari and Kagero," Yusuke said after regaining his composure.

Hikari created a whip out of light energy and lashed at Yusuke with it, but the undead Spirit Detective dodged with unnatural agility. Kagero fired a blast of shadow energy at Yusuke but that attack was evaded as well.

"Come on!" Yusuke snarled. "Try harder."

Hikari suddenly vanished from sight.

"What the fuck?" Yusuke wondered. "Running away, bitch?!"

He was answered by an evil feminine laugh. "No, you foolish boy, I'm still here. You just can't see me anymore."

"You're invisible," Yusuke deduced.

"You win the booby prize," Hikari said. "I can manipulate light in order to do almost anything. That includes bending light so that it passes through me, making me invisible to the naked eye."

With that said the invisible Hikari punched Yusuke in the face and then followed up with a vicious kick. Kagero extended his arm, silently commanding the shadows to grab Yusuke. The former Spirit Detective was bound and helpless in chains of darkness.

"Fucking hell," Yusuke cursed as he struggled in the black chains.

"Struggle all you like, Yusuke Urameshi," Kagero sneered. "It won't do anything."

"Like it matters," Yusuke sneered. "You can't do anything to hurt me."

"Maybe not," Kagero conceded. "But our goal is to bring you to Toguro, and we don't have to hurt you to accomplish that."

Hikari rematerialized and smacked Yusuke across the face. "Filthy undead human."

When her hand touched his skin, Yusuke got a sudden flash of memory. It wasn't much, as all he could see was satin and bodies entwined in the age-old dance that was sex.

Where the hell did that memory come from? he wondered. He didn't have long to ponder that particular question, as Hikari shot him through the chest with a laser beam.

"Will you people quit putting holes in my clothes?" Yusuke asked irritably.

Just then, the crow swooped down and began pecking angrily at Hikari. With a burst of light similar to a solar flare, she managed to shock it off her. However, that miniature solar flare had weakened Kagero's powers, allowing Yusuke the leeway he needed to break free.

"Damn it, Hikari!" Kagero snarled. "You can handle him yourself. I have other plans." With that said he vanished into his own void, using it to teleport himself out. However, he had been in such a rush that he hadn't concentrated as hard as he was supposed to and he had left behind his black trench coat.

"That's just fine," Hikari said. "I don't need tall, dark, and psycho to help me take you down."

"Oh, as if you're any saner than he is," Yusuke sneered.

"Fuck you," Hikari retorted. "Swords of Searing Light!" Instantly, swords made of light rained down on Yusuke from the sky, slicing him like hot knives.

"You think that's gonna hurt me?" Yusuke asked disdainfully. His clothes had been sliced and so had his skin, which was now marked with bloody gashes which had burnt edges. However, those wounds quickly healed. "And now it's time to take out those other boats. No demon invasion of America tonight. Shotgun Double Barrel."

A barrage of black energy bursts came forth from both of Yusuke's fists, perforating the hull and engines of the assault boats as well as any demons unfortunate enough to be inside. The boats couldn't take the devastating attack and exploded along with their demonic cargo, resulting in a shower of parts both mechanical and organic.

"How do you like that?" Yusuke asked.

"You bastard!" Hikari shouted. "Sunburst!" She hurled a ball of exploding golden light at Yusuke, temporarily blinding him. It didn't take very long for his eyes to heal, but in that time, Hikari came after him with blows that he was unable to evade. In actuality, that would have been the case if Yusuke hadn't been able to see through his crow's eyes, which gave him the edge that he needed to avoid Hikari's attacks.

Thanks, Puu, Yusuke thought.

Abandoning the use of her light techniques, Hikari took a hand-to-hand approach. She performed a roundhouse kick aimed at Yusuke's head, but he moved to the side, barely evading the kick. She didn't stop there; she leaped into the air for a jump kick to Yusuke's head. This time, Yusuke raised an arm to block her kick.

"This is getting boring," the pink-haired light-wielder snarled. "Luminous Shuriken!" She materialized shuriken out of her light energy and threw them at Yusuke, who dodged each and every one.

"C'mon, Hikari, you can do better than this," Yusuke sneered.

In response to that, Hikari suddenly vanished from sight.

"Not the invisibility trick again," Yusuke groaned. "That's old."

Suddenly, Yusuke was struck again and again by an invisible force that darted around him. The blows came so fast that he didn't have time to recover, let alone strike back.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself as the blows kept striking him. Then he remembered something. Light traveled at one hundred eighty-six thousand miles per second. In a fight, a warrior capable of harnessing that kind of speed would be close to invincible, as he or she could move so quickly as to become invisible to the naked eye.

You're not the only one who can move really fast, Yusuke thought. He let a few more blows hit him, since he figured that Hikari was striking him while running circles around him. Then he snapped his arm out in a blindingly fast motion and Hikari smacked straight into it. Fortunately for Yusuke, his resurrection had toughened him up quite a bit; otherwise he might have broken his arm from having someone as fast as Hikari slam into it.

"I think it's time we ended this game, Hikari, don't you?" Yusuke asked.

"You're right. Light Burst of Death!" Hikari shouted, firing a stream of white light at Yusuke, who just stood there and let it hit him. "Ha! I got you, you stupid brat!"

When the light faded, Hikari got a very unpleasant surprise. Namely, Yusuke was still standing and unharmed by the supposedly lethal blast of light.

"Time to die, Hikari," Yusuke sneered.

"I don't think so," Hikari retorted, moving at the speed of light once again.

"That trick again?" Yusuke wondered in a bored tone. "I already know a perfect counter for it. Shotgun." He pushed his fist into the air and bursts of black energy came forth in every direction possible. Even Hikari couldn't dodge and she was viciously perforated by the blasts.

The light manipulator fell to the ground, choking on her blood.

"Any last words?" Yusuke asked.

"Even if you defeat Kagero, you will never beat Toguro," Hikari managed to gasp out before she died.

"Burning Spirit Gun," Yusuke said, firing a blazing blast of black energy at Hikari, incinerating her corpse. He picked up Kagero's trench coat and put it on, noticing that there were laces on the sides and that there were hooks instead of buttons to hold it together. He walked away from the site, not noticing or caring that Hikari's ashes had settled into the image of a crow.

Back in Toguro-Sakyo, Incorporated, Kisuri stared blankly at Toguro and Sakyo. "She is dead as well."

"That means Yusuke must have gotten to her, which means our plan to take America has been set back," Sakyo stated. "It will take considerable time and money to rebuild our assault boats."

"We have a meeting," Toguro said. "We should get there."

The boardroom of the duo's corporate headquarters was occupied by various high-class demons, with the exception of a former Spirit Detective named Shinobu Sensui and his partner Itsuki. The two were humans with incredible spirit powers but neither had any love for humanity. It all had to do with that one mission Koenma had sent Sensui on, a mission that had entailed the forcible cessation of the demon trade. In the process, Sensui had seen the human criminals torturing their demon slaves, a sight that had shattered his belief in the goodness of the human race.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid Hikari will not be able to join us tonight, due to a slight case of death," Toguro said. "Anyway, we are gathered here today to discuss a few things."

"Would one of those things be that Yusuke Urameshi punk?" a black-haired lightning demon named Raiko asked with a scowl on her otherwise beautiful features.

"Yes," Toguro confirmed. "I killed him, but he came back and he's waging a one-man war against our empire. He's already taken down three of my lieutenants."

"Speaking of your last lieutenant, didn't he run when Yusuke came for him and Hikari?" a serpentine demon named Hebi asked.

"Kagero had better things to do," Toguro replied.

"A vengeful revenant of a Spirit Detective," Sensui mused. "Interesting."

"Considering you used to be a Spirit Detective, did you ever think about matching your skills against his?" Toguro asked. "Your abilities are similar in the sense that you can both store your spirit energy and fire it."

"That would be an interesting battle," Sensui admitted.

"Fucking hell!" a bat demon named Koumori shouted. "He's gonna kill us all, dammit! That fucking ghost is going to kill us all! We're dead motherfuckers walking! Dead, damn you all! Dead!"

"Get a grip," Raiko snarled.

"Don't you get it?!" Koumori asked, his voice sounding angry and frightened at the same time. "That motherfucker Urameshi can't be killed! Toguro, your dead lieutenants threw their most lethal efforts at him and he didn't die! He's not going to stop until we're all dead, dammit, and he's especially gunning for you!"

Toguro finally lost his patience and punched Koumori in the face, knocking him out of his seat and onto the ground.

"We're all dead," Koumori murmured. "We're all gonna die."

"What's gotten into him?" Hebi asked sarcastically.

"What about the resistance?" a lizard demon named Tokage asked. "Won't they try to get Urameshi to join them?"

"We won't have to worry about the resistance much longer," Sakyo replied. "Kagero's taking care of them right now."

"Once we crush the resistance, we'll be free to move onto other things," Toguro added. "Like the conquest of the Western nations. Once the entire human world is under our control, we'll wipe out the humans."

"Wipe out the humans?" a demonic geomancer named Jimen echoed.

"Yes," Toguro confirmed. "We'll slaughter them all, and then we'll use their bodies as fuel for the biggest bonfire the worlds have ever seen, so big that Spirit World will take notice. How does that sound to you?"

"Sounds like a very good idea," Sensui replied.

"It sounds like I'm a little worm on a big fucking hook," Koumori murmured.

Toguro allowed himself a snicker. "Your mother must be very proud of you."

It was at that moment that the crow landed on the table. "What the fuck is that doing here?" Sensui's right-hand man, codenamed Sniper, asked.

"It's Yusuke Urameshi," Itsuki replied.

"Recognition is so gratifying, isn't it?" Yusuke said as he walked in wearing a black trench coat over his clothes. "Sorry I'm late, ladies and gentlemen. Traffic was murder." He said this with a cruel, ironic smirk on his blackened lips.

"Yusuke," Toguro purred. "So good to see you again."

"Yes, can I call my maid to get you something to drink?" Sakyo asked.

"All I want to drink is your blood," Yusuke coldly replied.

"What do you want here?" Toguro asked.

"Vengeance. Or justice, depending on how you look at my motives for all this killing," Yusuke replied nonchalantly as he jumped onto the table.

"You're not getting either," Toguro declared.

"I see you've made your decision," Yusuke said. "Now let's see you enforce it." He spread his arms out in the crucifix position.

"This is boring me . . . kill him," Toguro ordered.

With the exception of a frightened Koumori, every demon and spirit-powered human in the room fired at Yusuke, knocking him off the table.

"That got him," Toguro remarked.

"Wait," Hebi said. "I don't see anything where he fell." He bent to look under the table and was surprised when a hand reached out and pulled him under, followed by a sick stabbing sound. Mere moments later, Yusuke rolled out from under the table and into a standing fighting position.

"Shotgun," he commanded, firing five beams of black energy out of his fist, each beam striking a demon in the heart.

Sniper took five six-sided dice out of his pocket and fired each one at the speed of a bullet, their target being Yusuke. His aura enabled him to deflect the bullets, making them hit five other targets, one of them being Itsuki. The speed at which the bullets traveled made for almost instantaneous death to their targets upon impact.

Sakyo excused himself, as he had no powers whatsoever with which to mount a defense or an offense.

"You're all going to die," Yusuke declared coldly.

"So you say," Sensui replied nonchalantly, creating a soccer ball-shaped orb of purple energy in his hand. "Raikou-Resshuuken!" As he shouted this, he kicked the orb at Yusuke, who was surprised by the attack. The attack in question detonated against his midsection and knocked him into a wall.

"That hurt," Yusuke said sarcastically. "Not." He glared at Sensui. "So what's your story, huh? I can tell by your spirit energy that you're human like I was, so why side with Toguro?"

"Because humanity deserves extinction," Sensui replied with cold anger in his voice. "If you saw the things I saw twelve years ago, then you would not be so eager to give this world back to the humans."

"What did you see?" Yusuke asked.

"Like you, I was once a Spirit Detective," Sensui explained. "Since I was but a child, I had the power to sense and kill demons and other evil entities. When I was about the same age as you, Koenma recruited me as a Spirit Detective. One day, he sent me on a mission to stop the trade of demons as slaves, a trade led by Sakyo. When I broke into his mansion, I saw demons being tortured by their human masters. It was the most sickening thing I ever saw."

"Boo fucking hoo," Yusuke sneered unsympathetically. "So you saw a bunch of demons being tortured by humans. Was that what made you go all 'humans must be destroyed'?"

"That was the least of it," Sensui replied. "What I saw that day shattered my faith in the 'goodness' of humanity. Later on, I found a very interesting video kept by Spirit World, a video known as Chapter Black. Thousands of hours of footage of humanity's sins, and they are many. It confirmed my suspicions about the depravity of humanity."

"There are good people in the world!" Yusuke protested. "They don't deserve what Toguro and Sakyo have done to them!"

"This coming from someone who believed everyone to be nothing more than hypocrites and liars," Sensui remarked. "Well, Yusuke, humanity is far worse than that. They're also murderers, thieves, torturers, and exploiters."

"I've seen shit on the six o'clock news that pissed me off about people," Yusuke admitted. "But there's no reason for writing off the human race."

"Enough talk," Sensui said. "Splinter Resshuuken!" He created a swarm of twenty-five bullet-like orbs and gathered them together, then kicked them at Yusuke, who tried to dodge them. However, the orbs followed him until they detonated all around him. Sensui smirked.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Yusuke asked coldly.

"You're still alive," Sensui replied in an unsurprised tone.

"You can't kill a fucking ghost," Yusuke said, "or whatever the fuck it is I am."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Toguro replied. "You could kill me right now if you wanted, Yusuke, but I thought you'd be more concerned with your friends in the resistance."

"How do you know about that?" Yusuke asked.

"You would be surprised what I know about your resistance friends," Toguro replied with a cold smirk. "And you want to know how I know? There is a mole in your resistance. He has been there since the resistance recruited him and he has been feeding us information ever since. That's why Kagero left Hikari to die during your fight, to lead my demons against the resistance."

Yusuke kept his expression neutral but his auburn eyes were burning with rage.

"Tick-tock, Yusuke," Toguro mocked. "Tick-tock."

Yusuke turned around and ran out of the boardroom, his crow flying ahead of him. As he escaped onto the rooftops, several thoughts went through his mind. The first thought was, Keiko. The second thought was I have to save her. The third thought was, I have to stop Kagero from wiping out the resistance. The fourth and final thought was, when I find that no-account punk-ass who sold us out, I'm gonna rip him a new asshole.

Yusuke found the secret entrance to the resistance's headquarters inside the abandoned subway. He desperately raced into the headquarters only to find it empty and desecrated.

"Find the traitor," he ordered the crow, which obediently flew out of the headquarters and outside where the rain had started. Yusuke followed it into the rain and found Kiyoshi, wearing a slicker over his clothes. "You."

"Yes, me," Kiyoshi replied evenly.

"Why?" Yusuke asked. "The resistance gave you a home! They saved you from being murdered by Toguro's forces! And you did this to them?!"

"They're fools for trying to save the humans," Kiyoshi replied. "We're a damned race that deserves extinction!"

"You're just like that other bastard I met," Yusuke snarled.

Kiyoshi took out a knife and sliced his hand with it. He then squeezed that hand, the blood oozing out of the wound and landing on the soaked ground. From that spot an amorphous monster made from water rose.

"Your water monster doesn't scare me," Yusuke sneered.

"It will," Kiyoshi replied just before the hydro-beast descended upon the undead Spirit Detective.

To be continued . . .

Next: Botan again and my, are we in serious trouble! Yusuke doesn't know what's become of the resistance or of Keiko, but he's determined to find out! In the meantime, he has to fight his way through the double agent Kiyoshi Mitarai, the bitter former Spirit Detective Sensui, and Toguro's final surviving lieutenant Kagero. Having unlimited spirit powers from becoming a revenant should give Yusuke the edge against them, but that doesn't mean they'll make it easy. All this and more next time in "The Crow: Spirit Bullet."