The End of the World
by crazykitsune17
A/N: This is another one of my old fics. The chapters are a bit short, so I apologize for that, and since, at the time I wrote this, I was still in my anti-Kuwabara stage, there is some slight Kuwabara-bashing. I'm over that (for the most part) now, so don't judge me there. Please enjoy the story; read and review!
1. Jiusenki's Earthquake of Evil – The Apocalypse Begins
Yusuke, Keiko, Botan, and Yukina were all gathered at Kurama's house, celebrating the long-awaited end to the Dark Tournament. They had invited the whole team and their helpers, but Shizuru was on vacation (and hadn't taken her younger brother) and Genkai had just declined, saying that, "the youngsters wouldn't want an old lady interfering with their party time shenanigans". The team was scattered around the floor in Kurama's spacious bedroom, waiting for the last two members to get here. Kuwabara and Hiei were late.
"What is taking them so long?" Yukina asked, grabbing a pretzel from the snack-filled desk and popping it into her mouth.
"I'll bet Hiei's just blowing us off," Yusuke said, stretching and leaning back against Kurama's bed.
"Don't say that!" said Keiko sharply. "I'm sure there's a good reason he's late, and the same goes for Kuwabara."
"I'm not worried about Kuwabara," Yusuke said offhandedly. "He's probably just gotten lost on his way because he can't read the street signs."
The team all had a good laugh at this. Though they were good friends with the tall boy, they liked to make fun of him.
"I just hope Hiei gets here soon," Kurama said worriedly. "If he's not here in twenty minutes, he's not going to get any Mountain Dew…" He glanced over at Yusuke's pile of at least 5 empty soda cans littering the ground around him. Yusuke just belched loudly in reply.
Hiei was walking along the sidewalk, taking his time to get to Kurama's party. He didn't really want to go; he'd much rather stay in his tree all day and threaten the squirrels who dared to interrupt his solitude with his katana, but he knew that Kurama would be happy if he went. He had his hand shoved into pockets and his katana resting in its sheath by his side – just in case. He glared at the pristine sidewalk and kicked a few pebbles that were in his way.
Kuwabara was hurrying down the sidewalk in the opposite direction as Hiei. He was pumping his arms and legs as fast as they would go and panted like a fat kid running a mile. Hiei saw him coming and groaned. Great, the idiot was invited too… he thought bitterly. He slowed down even more, not wanting to walk in the door with Kuwabara.
Unfortunately, Kuwabara noticed him and called him over. "Hey, Hiei!" he shouted, waving at him. Hiei tried to ignore him, but Kuwabara kept trying to catch his attention. "Hey! Hiei!"
Finally, Hiei gave in. "What, Kuwabara…?" he demanded in the most unenthusiastic voice he could muster.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who's late," Kuwabara began. "I mean, I confused up the numbers in the address and accidentally ended up at this old lady's house…" He rambled on and on, and Hiei was about to give him a taste of his wrathful katana when he felt the ground underneath him shake violently.
"Woah! It's an earthquake!" Kuwabara shouted, waving his arms out to catch his balance.
"Hn…" The two were at Kurama's doorstep when the shaking began again, this time much more violent than before. Kuwabara grabbed the mailbox on the side of Kurama's house and clutched it for dear life as the ground shook and shattered beneath their feet. A large crack appeared in the ground, separating Hiei, who was clutching the opposite wall to stay on his feet, from Kuwabara next to the mailbox. The crack split open wider, revealing the earth below. Pebbles and dirt crumbled into the crack and disappeared into oblivion.
"Wh-whoa! S-some earthquake!" Kuwabara yelled over the earth's loud roaring and groaning.
"We have to get inside!" Hiei shouted back, reaching out for the door handle as the house began to vibrate. He pulled open the door, beckoning for Kuwabara to follow him. They entered into the Minamino living room and looked for something to hide under. Kuwabara saw the futon and tried to squeeze himself under it. Hiei rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen, tripping on a broken chair leg. He slid under the table just in time as a large kitchen cabinet came crashing onto the floor right where he had been standing. Kuwabara was lying, half-covered by the futorn, on the floor, almost nothing protecting his mortal body. Books and decorative items crashed down on his body, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Baka…" Hiei hissed, but Kuwabara didn't hear him.
The earthquake showed almost no sign of stopping, which was odd. Most earthquakes lasted only about a minute or two. But the ground was still cracking, causing the carpet in the living room to rip apart and let the earth show through. The house was falling apart!
Kurama… Hiei thought for a moment. What if he's hurt? He quickly shook the thought out of his mind as he reassured himself, Kurama's the smartest person I know next to myself, I'm sure he can take care of himself and everybody else. He'll be all right.
Then Hiei saw something odd. Down the hallway, where Kurama's room was, there was a blinding flash of white light. It lasted for barely a second, but Hiei and his Jagan-enhanced vision noticed it. What was that…? he wondered. He crawled out from under the table, the ground still shaking and shuddering heavily beneath him as he tried to walk toward the room. The severe trembling nearly knocked him off his feet a few times, but he eventually made it to Kurama's room. As he was about to open the door, a large display case came tumbling off of the wall, hitting Hiei hard on the back of the head, knocking him out.
Though neither Hiei nor Kuwabara knew it, the earthquake had lasted a little over an hour. Both boys were unconscious, having been knocked out by heavy things falling on top of them. Finally though, many hours later, they regained consciousness and found the house completely destroyed.
Kuwabara ran up the hallway and shoved the display case off Hiei's body. Hiei growled and batted him away, grumbling, "I could do that myself, you fool…" Kuwabara ignored him and wrenched open the door to Kurama's room.
There was nobody there. "Kurama?" Kuwabara called. "Yusuke? Keiko? Anyone?" There was no answer. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" Kuwabara yelled into the room. "Come on, answer me!"
"There's nobody there," Hiei said, crossing his arms and leaning against the cracked door.
"I know that!" Kuwabara snapped. "But they might be in there, playing a joke on us… Stupid Yusuke…"
Hiei rolled his eyes again and made an agitated sound. "Don't roll your eyes at me!" Kuwabara shouted, rounding on the small fire demon.
"What are you, my mother?" Hiei retorted. "Don't tell me what to do."
"Yeah, well…" Kuwabara struggled for a witty remark, but just ended up pulling his bottom eyelid down and sticking his tongue out. Hiei just stared and inwardly shook his head at the boy's immaturity. "Let's check the other rooms," he said.
The two boys checked every room in the house they could get to, including the ones that were on fire, where Hiei "accidentally" knocked a flaming chunk of plaster into Kuwabara's face. But each room in the house was completely empty. Even the pet tropical fish were missing.
"Where is everybody?" Kuwabara asked.
A demon dressed in black robes stood in front of a large video screen in the Makai. The screen was showing various parts of the world—they were all destroyed. France was on fire; the Great Wall of China was split into several miniature salls of China; California had broken completely away from the United States and was sinking into the Pacific Ocean.
A woman dressed in a matching black hooded robe that covered her eyes and black leggings entered the room where the demon was standing. "Master Jiusenki?" she asked timidly.
"Yes?"
"The entire world has been eradicated save for the fire demon and his red-haired friend," she said.
"Good… good…" said Jiusenki, the demon in front of the TV. "Their help in the eradication of Spirit World will be very useful…"
NEXT TIME – "FLASHBACK OF THE APPRENTICE – DESPICABLE PROMISE OF THE BLOODLUSTING DRAGON, JIUSENKI!"