Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Demon Familiars ❯ Ch20 ( Chapter 20 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: melanthamoree 
The enemy reveals themselves.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Hentai / Fantasy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.03.2003 | Updated On: 07.03.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 181 | Status: Completed
The enemy reveals themselves.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Hentai / Fantasy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.03.2003 | Updated On: 07.03.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 181 | Status: Completed
YuYu Hakusho:
The Demon Familiars
(Author's note: I had to suffer through a writer's block when I started this, so be very happy I managed to finish it. :p )
*chapter warning: violence, obscene language*
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Ch.20
Later that afternoon Yusuke and Kuwabara had convinced the fox spirit to let them watch Hiei so he could get some fresh air. He'd been reluctant to leave the two detectives alone with him but also relieved to take a brake from it. He sat under a tree for a while, watching a line of ants scurry through the grass by the wide trunk. Deciding a nature walk would be nice the fox spirit stood up and headed down the edge of the forest, making sure to keep Genkai's temple in sight. After a while the familiar's room came into view. It wasn't connected to the main building, that would have ruined the purpose of keeping her as far from Hiei as possible with out leaving the temple grounds themselves. Kurama halted in mid-step when he picked up a unusual amount of residual energy in the air. That only occurred after a considerably large fight was over or it was the aftermath of a strange ritual.
'How did this get here?'
He frowned and walked closer to the building as he followed the trail. The largest concentration was gathered just behind the door.
'I wonder...'
He slid open the heavy screen to find the familiar lying on the floor underneath a thick blanket. Besides her Jin was the only other person in the room. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air as if the fox had just waltzed in on a very inappropriate conversation. There was no spilt blood, the room was undamaged, so what could have caused it?
"Where is Touya?," He asked.
The wind master motioned to the screen into the adjoining room. He nodded and then as if on cue the door to the next room slid open and Touya walked in.
"Is something wrong?," He asked the blue haired demon.
"No, nothing."
He glanced down at the familiar before he came to a stop in front of Kurama," How is Hiei?"
"Aggravated, as to be expected. Though I'm not sure how he is doing now, Yusuke and Kuwabara are watching him."
Kurama frowned, he still couldn't think of an explanation of why he sensed the energy. Unless he was imagining it Jin and Touya would have noticed it as well, either they were ignoring it because they knew what it was and it was nothing to worry about or they were pretending it wasn't there. But why would they? Kurama silently scolded himself for not trusting them.
"Do you feel that?"
"Feel what?," Jin asked nonchalantly scratching his ear.
"This-, He said waving his hand through the air," Energy. I felt it by the ground's edge, I followed the trail and it led me here. Don't you notice it?"
"Well sure we noticed," The other red head shrugged," Didn't think it was a big deal is all."
"I see..." He said, raising an eyebrow. The wind master was acting a little *too* uninvolved, he glanced to the other demon whose face was expressionless but his eyes were wary. He almost seemed anxious, what was going on? He then turned to the familiar who was laying on the floor gazing up at him. Her face was pale and it appeared that she was shivering under the heavy blanket.
"Are you sick, you're not hurt are you?"
He knelt in front of her and placed a hand across her forehead," She's cold, what happened?"
Both of the demons were silent, and were avoiding meeting his gaze. What was going on?
"She was sick, nothin' to worry about though," Jin answered monotonely.
"Again?"
Touya nodded quietly while keeping his eyes on the familiar's blanket.
"Perhaps seperating her from Hiei was not such a good idea."
Jin made a noise from deep in his throat and Kurama arched his brows at it but stayed silent.
He pieced together everything that was going on. Unexplained residual energy surrounding the small building that all three had admitted to noticing, but it didn't consern them at all, the familiar, who once again was hurt and neither of them would explain why, and all three were being very cautious. They were hiding something, but why?
"What is going on?," He asked quietly," Touya?"
The ice master closed his eyes, and shrugged," Nothing to consern yourself with."
"I don't believe that. Please tell me what you're hiding."
The ice master looked at him but said nothing.
"Touya don't do this."
He stared at him blankly then a light pink blush crept up his cheeks. Touya made the mistake of glancing at the familiar and Kurama's eyes widened in realization of why they were avoiding him.
"Touya, what have you done...?," He whispered.
The ice master opened his mouth to answer, but the door was nearly ripped out of the wall and all three spun around to see what had happened. The late afternoon sun outlined his black clothing causing a fire like glow around him.
"Hiei..."
"Move Kurama," Touya said camly.
"You..." The fire demon hissed in a low voice.
A blur shot past him and slammed the ice master into the far wall. The woman gasped and Kurama ran to stop Hiei and Touya from fighting. The fire demon's sword was out, Touya had a large blade of ice holding it away from his face. They both grunted from the strain.
"Enough!" Kurama yelled at them, he ran to pull them apart but Jordan was there first.
"Nock it off you two!" She snapped.
"Leave us," Touya told her," Let him fight me."
"What? No!"
The fox spirit hurried to them.
"Keep your distance fox!," Hiei growled. The fire demon continued to push the blade of his sword down until Touya's own blade was nearly scraping against his skin.
He heard Jin sigh," I knew this would happen, I tried to warn him. He never listens to me..."
Kurama watched the wind master exit the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jordan stood quietly in her t-shirt and underwear watching the demons fight. There was no point in them fighting, or at least no point in Hiei fighting.
'I know you can hear me', She thought,'Gremlin!'
'Be quiet', came the sharp reply.
'No, I will not. You need to listen. I don't know what Touya and you said to each other, but quit it there's no reason for you to fight him.'
She saw his lip curl unpleasantly.
'Hn.'
'Look you pain in the ass, I don't know who the hell you think you are but you are not my owner, neither of you. I don't appreciate you assuming you can fight him for me and that I'll just waltz happily away with who ever wins.'
'Who said anything about being happy? It has nothing to do with emotion, *you* need to stop assuming things.'
'Forget it sparky, I'm not going back to you, get bent and die.'
He smirked,' Amusing how you believe you can get away from me. Do you actually think I'll care if you say no?'
"What?," She said out loud. Jordan balled her fists, did he just say that he would rape her? She shook with anger.
'You little bastard...' She hissed,'You...'
All of a sudden she no longer cared that he could rip her apart if he wanted to, she wanted him to hurt. She knew something that would hurt him worse than any punch he could throw because the pain of this comment would never subside.
She felt satisfied when she watched his eyes go wide with shock. Touya took the chance to shove him away, Hiei never tried to stop him. His sword dropped from his hand and landed on the wood with a loud clang. He stared at her in disbelief," How?"
'How could you have known?'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Peace and quiet was a nice alternative to the uproar back in the temple. Touya and the familiar had a serious problem now that everyone knew what they had done. Although Jin was on the ice master's side there was nothing useful he could have thought of to help. Touya was smarter than he was anyway, strategy was never his strong point.
He perked his ears in the general direction of the temple and listened for any large explosions.
'Nothin's being blown up so I guess they're not fightin' anymore.'
He sighed," Too much commotion for me."
Putting his arms behind his head Jin closed his eyes. Then a movement some thirty feet away caught his attention. It was a person no more than four feet tall and dressed in powder blue. He squinted at it, the person was a child, a little girl. Jin had no idea if anyone else lived out there in those woods. Possibly there was a family nearby but they wouldn't be dense enough to allow the child to run around alone. There was no one else he could see, in which case it meant she had very irresponsible parents. But what was she doing here?
Jin climbed to his feet and crept off in the direction the girl had walked. Around a yard back he took to the air and flew over her head landing directly in front of her. The child stopped but remained silent. She never looked up.
"And where might you be runnin' off to, hm?," He asked blocking her path.
The girl's plain shoulder length brown hair fell into her face hiding her eyes. An innocent smile appeared on her lips and she giggled softly. Jin arched an eyebrow and bent his knees to see under her hair.
"You're a strange one," He exclaimed.
Her dull chocolate colored eyes stared back at him, lifeless, she never even blinked.
"And your creepy...," He added shaking his head.
He stood upright," Guess I can't stop you from runnin' around here. Oh well, have fun kiddo."
Jin turned around and began to walk away but halted when he felt a hand take his wrist. He looked down, the child was now grinning.
Her voice was a raspy whisper," Tell them to come and play with me."
He stared at her," What was that?"
"Tell them I brought her to come and play with me, will you tell them?"
"I- err," He stuttered. Who the hell was this child?
"Tell who?"
"The spirit detectives, will you tell them for me?"
His eyes went wide, suddenly he didn't want the girl touching any part of him.
He frowned," Wait a second, how do you know about them, who are you?"
"Don't you remember me?" The strange child's grin grew wider," I played games with you."
"What?," His eyes narrowed.
"I brought *her* to play with me, but one person isn't very fun. Will you tell them for me?," The smile faded from her face," Wind master."
Jin blinked and the girl was gone. He searched the area around him, she wasn't there. Unless she was a telepathic ghost, and he doubted she was, there was no was she could have known who he was and claimed to have 'play' with him.
//I brought her to come and play with me...//
The wind master landed on the ground and cursed silently. Who could she have meant by that?
//I played games with you...//
'That tone of voice, she was mockin' me', He thought,' But where have I heard that before?'
Then a memory flashed through his head.
~
"What's wrong Jin?," The man asked him, face blank," I thought you liked games..."
He squinted as a drop of blood ran down his forehead and into his eye," This is one fucked up game you're playing, you crazy bastard!"
~
His eyes went wide," It can't be...! How? He's dead, Touya killed him..."
//I played games with you...//
He gritted his teeth," That lousy piece of- You'd better pray I never get my hands on you."
Jin turned around and flew away as fast as he could," Illusion master..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kurama wasn't sure how it happened. One second he was trying, along with Yusuke and Kuwabara, to keep Hiei from trying to kill the ice master, then the little girl had appeared. She was at the other end of the room, wearing a long blue dress and smiling happily. An eerie smile, one that said 'I'm very glad I caught you at a bad time...'
Everyone had stopped what they were doing and their attentions were now on the new person in the room.
"Uh, did anyone else see that kid come in here?," Yusuke asked.
"No," Kurama said.
Kuwabara shivered," I don't like the feeling this girl's giving off."
"Hey, who are you kid?," Yusuke asked her.
She giggled," Do you want to come play with me?"
"Oh god, she's even creepier when she talks," Kuwabara said backing up.
"Look kid, we don't have time for this, go back home ok?," Yusuke gestured to the door.
Kurama frowned, he wasn't getting a good reading from this child, she didn't feel human at all.
The girl frowned at Yusuke's comment," But I want more people to play with, one isn't enough. Don't you want to play, Yusuke Urameshi?"
"What?"
Off to the side he heard Hiei growl," Enough of this! Who are you?"
The girl's eyes glowed with cheerful malice," You shouldn't be rude to people Jaganashi, you never know if they could have something important to you."
Hiei's eyes went wide with surprise. Kurama clenched his fists, he did not like where this was going.
She smiled then turned to the familiar who was standing next to Genkai," I want *you* to come and play with me, the other girl isn't fun."
Jordan shook her head very quickly, and stepped back a few inches. She must have gotten a bad feeling from her as well.
"What other girl?," Yusuke growled.
"The Jaganashi's sister, I wanted to play with her but she said no, so I took her with me anyway," She shrugged," But she still wont play with me, she said she doesn't like games."
Her eyes lowered with disappointment then she smiled again," Do you like games?"
"On case by case basis," Yusuke smiled dangerously," But I doubt I'd like the games *you* want to play."
'Be careful Yusuke', Kurama thought,' We don't know what this child is capable of yet.'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He glared at her. The little rat claimed to have his sister, if the girl harmed Yukina in any way he would skin her alive.
The girl frowned at the spirit detective," That wasn't nice."
Then the smile returned," I like playing dodge-ball, I think all of you should play with me."
A cold chill ran up his spine, then the room disappeared and a large high school gymnasium took its place. The girl had teleported them to another place entirely.
He tried to see what was out side that gym but the jagan just gave him an image of Genkai's temple and the room they were previously in. It made no sense, why would it be showing him that?
"Lets play!" She laughed.
Around a hundred and fifty or so medium-sized orange balls appeared and hovered in the air.
"Aw man," Yusuke said nervously," I have a feeling this is gonna hurt."
Hiei drew his sword while keeping his eyes on the child. They could run from toys if they wanted to, the girl was going to tell him the whereabouts of his sister or he would force-feed her the blade of his kitana. The balls jerked back and forth a few times before bombarding them from every direction. Cries of pain came from the others as they were pummeled over and over. Yusuke took one across the head and it sent him sprawling onto the polished floor.
"Shit!," He yelled," These things are hard as rocks!"
Then he leaped up and ran as three more flew at him.
Kurama was slicing them apart with his rose whip, but whenever he destroyed one two would take its place.
The old psychic and Touya were busy keeping the orange nightmares away from Jordan, Kuwabara was far too slow to dodge them successfully and now had numbers of bruises on his neck and arms. The girl seems distracted, she was enjoying their dilemma so much. Hiei took the chance to swipe at her. The girl vanished before the blade touched her and reappeared five feet away.
She raised her index finger and moved it slowly back and forth while making a 'tsk-tsk' sound.
Hiei growled," Where is my sister you little brat?!"
"That's not nice, you're not allowed to break my rules. You're not suppose to attack me."
"I don't like your fucking rules!," He said sharply.
He charged the girl again and gasped when four of the orange balls slammed into his side and he went flying into the bleachers.
"Hiei!," Kurama yelled. He yelped when one collided with his shoulder and he was knocked to the floor. The fox quickly tumbled out of the way before he was hit again.
From below the smashed bleachers Hiei groaned and shook his head trying to shake the impact away. He growled in rage and snatched the white cloth from his forehead, his jagan opened.
"This game ends now!"
It began to glow until the light covered everything. Kurama watched as the room dissolved and they were left standing in Genkai's temple once more. Everyone was there and still alive, although Kuwabara was holding his side.
Yusuke glared at the man standing where the girl was before," So you're the mastermind behind this. Who the hell are you!?"
"Anoril," Touya whispered harshly next to him," The master of illusions, I should have realized it was you."
The dark haired man laughed," I'm flattered you remember me."
"Yukina!," Hiei yelled. The small ice apparition was being held by Anoril, her arms behind her back. Her eyes were wide with fear," Let me go."
He continued as if she hadn't spoken at all," Now, I want to make a trade, give me the familiar and I'll give her back to you."
"Forget it asshole!" Yusuke snapped," How about you let her go before we stomp you into the ground."
"Yeah!" Kuwabara echoed, holding his spirit sword threateningly.
He smiled," I think you misunderstood me my good men. I want you to bring us the woman or I will kill her."
"You-!," Hiei hissed.
"You will have three days from the moment I leave to bring her to us. We are located in the spirit world, I hope you like to swim."
He put his free hand behind his back," Oh and just as a reminder of what will happen, I'll give you a little demonstration."
Kurama gasped as the demon pulled a long thin dagger from his back, and raised it to the ice maiden's neck. He stuck the blade in and Yukina made a soft choking noise. Hiei went still as a statue, a look of permanent horror on his face.
"No," The fox whispered weakly.
The dagger was removed and Yukina's blood flowed down her green dress and pooled on the floor. She was slack in his arms, eyes glassed over. She was dead.
"Yukina, no!," Kuwabara yelled hysterically.
He released the body and it fell to the floor, causing everyone to jump when it landed with a small thump.
"You sonofabitch!," Yusuke screamed.
The dark haired man shook his head," Now, now, let's not be so angry. It was only a taste of what will happen. I assure you she is quite alive and breathing. But only for three days time, unless of course you agree to trade. I will leave you now to make your decision, good evening."
"Hold it you," Yusuke snarled," Who says we're letting you leave?"
"Well, I seriously doubt you can keep me here considering I'm *not* here."
"What?," Kurama hissed.
"He's not here, its a projection," Touya answered," He's too much of a coward to show up in person."
The last sentence was cold and bitter, and reflected a bad past experience with illusion master.
"I like to think of it as being well prepared, I knew facing you would be beyond foolish at the moment. Besides I have no wish to fight any of you, I came here to deliver a message. We will see you in three days I hope?"
He smiled, then vanished leaving a faint trail of laughter.
"Dammit, these fuckers fight dirty!," Yusuke growled punching a fist into his palm.
"Anoril has never fought one on one battles, it isn't his style," Yusuke turned to see Jin leaning against the open door frame.
"I take it you and Touya know this person," Kurama said.
"Unfortunately," Touya said quietly," We met him half a century ago, he destroyed half of our original sect."
"How?," Yusuke asked.
"He drove them insane," Jin answered plainly.
"The guy sounds like a real winner," Yusuke snorted. He glanced at Hiei who had not moved an inch since Anoril had shown the killing of his sister, he seemed oblivious to everything.
"Kurama..."
The fox spirit shook his head sadly and put an hand on the fire demon's shoulder. Hiei never even felt it, the vision of his dying sister repeated in his head.
'Yukina...no...why you, why did it have to be you...?'
His eyes were glued to the spot her body fell, the red of her blood stained his vision.
'Why you...?'
"Yukina," He croaked before dropping to his knees. He didn't hear the voices of the spirit detectives as they called his name. He couldn't feel them trying to shake him out of his shocked state, nothing mattered. They had her, he would never get her back now, they were going to kill her. It wouldn't make a difference if they brought them the familiar or not, he knew how their type operated, take what you need...then kill them all.
The Demon Familiars
(Author's note: I had to suffer through a writer's block when I started this, so be very happy I managed to finish it. :p )
*chapter warning: violence, obscene language*
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Ch.20
Later that afternoon Yusuke and Kuwabara had convinced the fox spirit to let them watch Hiei so he could get some fresh air. He'd been reluctant to leave the two detectives alone with him but also relieved to take a brake from it. He sat under a tree for a while, watching a line of ants scurry through the grass by the wide trunk. Deciding a nature walk would be nice the fox spirit stood up and headed down the edge of the forest, making sure to keep Genkai's temple in sight. After a while the familiar's room came into view. It wasn't connected to the main building, that would have ruined the purpose of keeping her as far from Hiei as possible with out leaving the temple grounds themselves. Kurama halted in mid-step when he picked up a unusual amount of residual energy in the air. That only occurred after a considerably large fight was over or it was the aftermath of a strange ritual.
'How did this get here?'
He frowned and walked closer to the building as he followed the trail. The largest concentration was gathered just behind the door.
'I wonder...'
He slid open the heavy screen to find the familiar lying on the floor underneath a thick blanket. Besides her Jin was the only other person in the room. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air as if the fox had just waltzed in on a very inappropriate conversation. There was no spilt blood, the room was undamaged, so what could have caused it?
"Where is Touya?," He asked.
The wind master motioned to the screen into the adjoining room. He nodded and then as if on cue the door to the next room slid open and Touya walked in.
"Is something wrong?," He asked the blue haired demon.
"No, nothing."
He glanced down at the familiar before he came to a stop in front of Kurama," How is Hiei?"
"Aggravated, as to be expected. Though I'm not sure how he is doing now, Yusuke and Kuwabara are watching him."
Kurama frowned, he still couldn't think of an explanation of why he sensed the energy. Unless he was imagining it Jin and Touya would have noticed it as well, either they were ignoring it because they knew what it was and it was nothing to worry about or they were pretending it wasn't there. But why would they? Kurama silently scolded himself for not trusting them.
"Do you feel that?"
"Feel what?," Jin asked nonchalantly scratching his ear.
"This-, He said waving his hand through the air," Energy. I felt it by the ground's edge, I followed the trail and it led me here. Don't you notice it?"
"Well sure we noticed," The other red head shrugged," Didn't think it was a big deal is all."
"I see..." He said, raising an eyebrow. The wind master was acting a little *too* uninvolved, he glanced to the other demon whose face was expressionless but his eyes were wary. He almost seemed anxious, what was going on? He then turned to the familiar who was laying on the floor gazing up at him. Her face was pale and it appeared that she was shivering under the heavy blanket.
"Are you sick, you're not hurt are you?"
He knelt in front of her and placed a hand across her forehead," She's cold, what happened?"
Both of the demons were silent, and were avoiding meeting his gaze. What was going on?
"She was sick, nothin' to worry about though," Jin answered monotonely.
"Again?"
Touya nodded quietly while keeping his eyes on the familiar's blanket.
"Perhaps seperating her from Hiei was not such a good idea."
Jin made a noise from deep in his throat and Kurama arched his brows at it but stayed silent.
He pieced together everything that was going on. Unexplained residual energy surrounding the small building that all three had admitted to noticing, but it didn't consern them at all, the familiar, who once again was hurt and neither of them would explain why, and all three were being very cautious. They were hiding something, but why?
"What is going on?," He asked quietly," Touya?"
The ice master closed his eyes, and shrugged," Nothing to consern yourself with."
"I don't believe that. Please tell me what you're hiding."
The ice master looked at him but said nothing.
"Touya don't do this."
He stared at him blankly then a light pink blush crept up his cheeks. Touya made the mistake of glancing at the familiar and Kurama's eyes widened in realization of why they were avoiding him.
"Touya, what have you done...?," He whispered.
The ice master opened his mouth to answer, but the door was nearly ripped out of the wall and all three spun around to see what had happened. The late afternoon sun outlined his black clothing causing a fire like glow around him.
"Hiei..."
"Move Kurama," Touya said camly.
"You..." The fire demon hissed in a low voice.
A blur shot past him and slammed the ice master into the far wall. The woman gasped and Kurama ran to stop Hiei and Touya from fighting. The fire demon's sword was out, Touya had a large blade of ice holding it away from his face. They both grunted from the strain.
"Enough!" Kurama yelled at them, he ran to pull them apart but Jordan was there first.
"Nock it off you two!" She snapped.
"Leave us," Touya told her," Let him fight me."
"What? No!"
The fox spirit hurried to them.
"Keep your distance fox!," Hiei growled. The fire demon continued to push the blade of his sword down until Touya's own blade was nearly scraping against his skin.
He heard Jin sigh," I knew this would happen, I tried to warn him. He never listens to me..."
Kurama watched the wind master exit the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jordan stood quietly in her t-shirt and underwear watching the demons fight. There was no point in them fighting, or at least no point in Hiei fighting.
'I know you can hear me', She thought,'Gremlin!'
'Be quiet', came the sharp reply.
'No, I will not. You need to listen. I don't know what Touya and you said to each other, but quit it there's no reason for you to fight him.'
She saw his lip curl unpleasantly.
'Hn.'
'Look you pain in the ass, I don't know who the hell you think you are but you are not my owner, neither of you. I don't appreciate you assuming you can fight him for me and that I'll just waltz happily away with who ever wins.'
'Who said anything about being happy? It has nothing to do with emotion, *you* need to stop assuming things.'
'Forget it sparky, I'm not going back to you, get bent and die.'
He smirked,' Amusing how you believe you can get away from me. Do you actually think I'll care if you say no?'
"What?," She said out loud. Jordan balled her fists, did he just say that he would rape her? She shook with anger.
'You little bastard...' She hissed,'You...'
All of a sudden she no longer cared that he could rip her apart if he wanted to, she wanted him to hurt. She knew something that would hurt him worse than any punch he could throw because the pain of this comment would never subside.
She felt satisfied when she watched his eyes go wide with shock. Touya took the chance to shove him away, Hiei never tried to stop him. His sword dropped from his hand and landed on the wood with a loud clang. He stared at her in disbelief," How?"
'How could you have known?'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Peace and quiet was a nice alternative to the uproar back in the temple. Touya and the familiar had a serious problem now that everyone knew what they had done. Although Jin was on the ice master's side there was nothing useful he could have thought of to help. Touya was smarter than he was anyway, strategy was never his strong point.
He perked his ears in the general direction of the temple and listened for any large explosions.
'Nothin's being blown up so I guess they're not fightin' anymore.'
He sighed," Too much commotion for me."
Putting his arms behind his head Jin closed his eyes. Then a movement some thirty feet away caught his attention. It was a person no more than four feet tall and dressed in powder blue. He squinted at it, the person was a child, a little girl. Jin had no idea if anyone else lived out there in those woods. Possibly there was a family nearby but they wouldn't be dense enough to allow the child to run around alone. There was no one else he could see, in which case it meant she had very irresponsible parents. But what was she doing here?
Jin climbed to his feet and crept off in the direction the girl had walked. Around a yard back he took to the air and flew over her head landing directly in front of her. The child stopped but remained silent. She never looked up.
"And where might you be runnin' off to, hm?," He asked blocking her path.
The girl's plain shoulder length brown hair fell into her face hiding her eyes. An innocent smile appeared on her lips and she giggled softly. Jin arched an eyebrow and bent his knees to see under her hair.
"You're a strange one," He exclaimed.
Her dull chocolate colored eyes stared back at him, lifeless, she never even blinked.
"And your creepy...," He added shaking his head.
He stood upright," Guess I can't stop you from runnin' around here. Oh well, have fun kiddo."
Jin turned around and began to walk away but halted when he felt a hand take his wrist. He looked down, the child was now grinning.
Her voice was a raspy whisper," Tell them to come and play with me."
He stared at her," What was that?"
"Tell them I brought her to come and play with me, will you tell them?"
"I- err," He stuttered. Who the hell was this child?
"Tell who?"
"The spirit detectives, will you tell them for me?"
His eyes went wide, suddenly he didn't want the girl touching any part of him.
He frowned," Wait a second, how do you know about them, who are you?"
"Don't you remember me?" The strange child's grin grew wider," I played games with you."
"What?," His eyes narrowed.
"I brought *her* to play with me, but one person isn't very fun. Will you tell them for me?," The smile faded from her face," Wind master."
Jin blinked and the girl was gone. He searched the area around him, she wasn't there. Unless she was a telepathic ghost, and he doubted she was, there was no was she could have known who he was and claimed to have 'play' with him.
//I brought her to come and play with me...//
The wind master landed on the ground and cursed silently. Who could she have meant by that?
//I played games with you...//
'That tone of voice, she was mockin' me', He thought,' But where have I heard that before?'
Then a memory flashed through his head.
~
"What's wrong Jin?," The man asked him, face blank," I thought you liked games..."
He squinted as a drop of blood ran down his forehead and into his eye," This is one fucked up game you're playing, you crazy bastard!"
~
His eyes went wide," It can't be...! How? He's dead, Touya killed him..."
//I played games with you...//
He gritted his teeth," That lousy piece of- You'd better pray I never get my hands on you."
Jin turned around and flew away as fast as he could," Illusion master..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kurama wasn't sure how it happened. One second he was trying, along with Yusuke and Kuwabara, to keep Hiei from trying to kill the ice master, then the little girl had appeared. She was at the other end of the room, wearing a long blue dress and smiling happily. An eerie smile, one that said 'I'm very glad I caught you at a bad time...'
Everyone had stopped what they were doing and their attentions were now on the new person in the room.
"Uh, did anyone else see that kid come in here?," Yusuke asked.
"No," Kurama said.
Kuwabara shivered," I don't like the feeling this girl's giving off."
"Hey, who are you kid?," Yusuke asked her.
She giggled," Do you want to come play with me?"
"Oh god, she's even creepier when she talks," Kuwabara said backing up.
"Look kid, we don't have time for this, go back home ok?," Yusuke gestured to the door.
Kurama frowned, he wasn't getting a good reading from this child, she didn't feel human at all.
The girl frowned at Yusuke's comment," But I want more people to play with, one isn't enough. Don't you want to play, Yusuke Urameshi?"
"What?"
Off to the side he heard Hiei growl," Enough of this! Who are you?"
The girl's eyes glowed with cheerful malice," You shouldn't be rude to people Jaganashi, you never know if they could have something important to you."
Hiei's eyes went wide with surprise. Kurama clenched his fists, he did not like where this was going.
She smiled then turned to the familiar who was standing next to Genkai," I want *you* to come and play with me, the other girl isn't fun."
Jordan shook her head very quickly, and stepped back a few inches. She must have gotten a bad feeling from her as well.
"What other girl?," Yusuke growled.
"The Jaganashi's sister, I wanted to play with her but she said no, so I took her with me anyway," She shrugged," But she still wont play with me, she said she doesn't like games."
Her eyes lowered with disappointment then she smiled again," Do you like games?"
"On case by case basis," Yusuke smiled dangerously," But I doubt I'd like the games *you* want to play."
'Be careful Yusuke', Kurama thought,' We don't know what this child is capable of yet.'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He glared at her. The little rat claimed to have his sister, if the girl harmed Yukina in any way he would skin her alive.
The girl frowned at the spirit detective," That wasn't nice."
Then the smile returned," I like playing dodge-ball, I think all of you should play with me."
A cold chill ran up his spine, then the room disappeared and a large high school gymnasium took its place. The girl had teleported them to another place entirely.
He tried to see what was out side that gym but the jagan just gave him an image of Genkai's temple and the room they were previously in. It made no sense, why would it be showing him that?
"Lets play!" She laughed.
Around a hundred and fifty or so medium-sized orange balls appeared and hovered in the air.
"Aw man," Yusuke said nervously," I have a feeling this is gonna hurt."
Hiei drew his sword while keeping his eyes on the child. They could run from toys if they wanted to, the girl was going to tell him the whereabouts of his sister or he would force-feed her the blade of his kitana. The balls jerked back and forth a few times before bombarding them from every direction. Cries of pain came from the others as they were pummeled over and over. Yusuke took one across the head and it sent him sprawling onto the polished floor.
"Shit!," He yelled," These things are hard as rocks!"
Then he leaped up and ran as three more flew at him.
Kurama was slicing them apart with his rose whip, but whenever he destroyed one two would take its place.
The old psychic and Touya were busy keeping the orange nightmares away from Jordan, Kuwabara was far too slow to dodge them successfully and now had numbers of bruises on his neck and arms. The girl seems distracted, she was enjoying their dilemma so much. Hiei took the chance to swipe at her. The girl vanished before the blade touched her and reappeared five feet away.
She raised her index finger and moved it slowly back and forth while making a 'tsk-tsk' sound.
Hiei growled," Where is my sister you little brat?!"
"That's not nice, you're not allowed to break my rules. You're not suppose to attack me."
"I don't like your fucking rules!," He said sharply.
He charged the girl again and gasped when four of the orange balls slammed into his side and he went flying into the bleachers.
"Hiei!," Kurama yelled. He yelped when one collided with his shoulder and he was knocked to the floor. The fox quickly tumbled out of the way before he was hit again.
From below the smashed bleachers Hiei groaned and shook his head trying to shake the impact away. He growled in rage and snatched the white cloth from his forehead, his jagan opened.
"This game ends now!"
It began to glow until the light covered everything. Kurama watched as the room dissolved and they were left standing in Genkai's temple once more. Everyone was there and still alive, although Kuwabara was holding his side.
Yusuke glared at the man standing where the girl was before," So you're the mastermind behind this. Who the hell are you!?"
"Anoril," Touya whispered harshly next to him," The master of illusions, I should have realized it was you."
The dark haired man laughed," I'm flattered you remember me."
"Yukina!," Hiei yelled. The small ice apparition was being held by Anoril, her arms behind her back. Her eyes were wide with fear," Let me go."
He continued as if she hadn't spoken at all," Now, I want to make a trade, give me the familiar and I'll give her back to you."
"Forget it asshole!" Yusuke snapped," How about you let her go before we stomp you into the ground."
"Yeah!" Kuwabara echoed, holding his spirit sword threateningly.
He smiled," I think you misunderstood me my good men. I want you to bring us the woman or I will kill her."
"You-!," Hiei hissed.
"You will have three days from the moment I leave to bring her to us. We are located in the spirit world, I hope you like to swim."
He put his free hand behind his back," Oh and just as a reminder of what will happen, I'll give you a little demonstration."
Kurama gasped as the demon pulled a long thin dagger from his back, and raised it to the ice maiden's neck. He stuck the blade in and Yukina made a soft choking noise. Hiei went still as a statue, a look of permanent horror on his face.
"No," The fox whispered weakly.
The dagger was removed and Yukina's blood flowed down her green dress and pooled on the floor. She was slack in his arms, eyes glassed over. She was dead.
"Yukina, no!," Kuwabara yelled hysterically.
He released the body and it fell to the floor, causing everyone to jump when it landed with a small thump.
"You sonofabitch!," Yusuke screamed.
The dark haired man shook his head," Now, now, let's not be so angry. It was only a taste of what will happen. I assure you she is quite alive and breathing. But only for three days time, unless of course you agree to trade. I will leave you now to make your decision, good evening."
"Hold it you," Yusuke snarled," Who says we're letting you leave?"
"Well, I seriously doubt you can keep me here considering I'm *not* here."
"What?," Kurama hissed.
"He's not here, its a projection," Touya answered," He's too much of a coward to show up in person."
The last sentence was cold and bitter, and reflected a bad past experience with illusion master.
"I like to think of it as being well prepared, I knew facing you would be beyond foolish at the moment. Besides I have no wish to fight any of you, I came here to deliver a message. We will see you in three days I hope?"
He smiled, then vanished leaving a faint trail of laughter.
"Dammit, these fuckers fight dirty!," Yusuke growled punching a fist into his palm.
"Anoril has never fought one on one battles, it isn't his style," Yusuke turned to see Jin leaning against the open door frame.
"I take it you and Touya know this person," Kurama said.
"Unfortunately," Touya said quietly," We met him half a century ago, he destroyed half of our original sect."
"How?," Yusuke asked.
"He drove them insane," Jin answered plainly.
"The guy sounds like a real winner," Yusuke snorted. He glanced at Hiei who had not moved an inch since Anoril had shown the killing of his sister, he seemed oblivious to everything.
"Kurama..."
The fox spirit shook his head sadly and put an hand on the fire demon's shoulder. Hiei never even felt it, the vision of his dying sister repeated in his head.
'Yukina...no...why you, why did it have to be you...?'
His eyes were glued to the spot her body fell, the red of her blood stained his vision.
'Why you...?'
"Yukina," He croaked before dropping to his knees. He didn't hear the voices of the spirit detectives as they called his name. He couldn't feel them trying to shake him out of his shocked state, nothing mattered. They had her, he would never get her back now, they were going to kill her. It wouldn't make a difference if they brought them the familiar or not, he knew how their type operated, take what you need...then kill them all.