The Dark Circus

By: Twilightspire

Shishi sucked in mouthfuls of burning air in a desperate attempt to alleviate the strain on his body. His clothes hung like castoff souls on his equally decimated frame. His vision swam with white bulbs of light and he couldn't seem to stop swaying like a tree in a storm. He tried to tighten his grip on the Banshee Shriek but the sword fell uselessly from his fingers. He glared up at the man that had ravaged his body and soul so mercilessly and saw nothing on the goliath's face. Shishi dropped to his knees. He knew he was beaten; he couldn't take anymore punishment. A deep howl began resonating deep within the samurai's chest and tore upwards out of his mouth.

"Do it you BASTARD!" Tears of shame and pain burned Shishi's eyes like acid. The tears slipped from his eyes and created two small dry rivers through the dirt on his face. The giant laughed; a horrible earth-shaking rumble.

"Poor Shishi. Poor pitiful, beautiful samurai. Where are your fans now? Where are those devilish looks and that aloof arrogance?" Shishi scowled at the man, for it was all he could do. He willed his body to move; willed his energy to flare to life in the face of this behemoth's mocking but only pain and emptiness responded. Shishi closed his eyes preparing himself mentally for what was about to happen. The laughter grew louder, until it was all that Shishi could hear.

Shishi's eyes fluttered open. At first all he could see was a blur. He tried to sit up but realized that he had no energy. His body was alight with pain. This was worse than the beating Genkai had given him at the Dark Tournament. He let a groan sweep through his body and lay back against the wall.

"Stop your whining Shishi it's unbecoming of one so…whatever you are." Shishi's eyes sprang open. He recognized that arrogant stage voice. Suzuka lay slumped against the opposite wall.

"Suzuka!" Shishi was on his feet and half way across the room before he realized his legs couldn't carry him. He crashed to the floor in front of Suzuka; all the breath left his lungs in a great whoosh. He heard Suzuka sigh; his typical irritated, condescending, long-suffering sigh. Shishi had never before heard such a beautiful thing in his life. He looked up at Suzuka and recoiled in horror.

"What the hell happened to you?!?!?" Suzuka looked down at Shishi. He was hideous! His skin was waxen with dark blue circles under his eyes; the beautiful Suzuka actually had bags under his eyes! His hair (Suzuka's pride and joy) hung limply in a frizzed mess. His clothes were nothing more than castoffs and dirty!

"You don't look all that splendid either you band boy reject," retorted Suzuka. It was wrong. The fire had gone out of his eyes; even his normally witty repartee…it was wrong all of the strength was taken out of it.

"My God Shishi, it's been a nightmare!" Suzuka looked like he had seen Hell first hand and it left hideous scars in his eyes.

"No shampoo, no conditioner, no moisturizers, hell, not even hair gel." Suzuka let his head slump into his hands.

"They wouldn't even let me shower or change my clothes. OH Shishi" Suzuka let a drama school moan slip through his clenched teeth. Shishi stared up at Suzuka. Anger burned in Shishi's chest. This was horrible! This amounted to torture in Suzuka's mind. Whoever did this to Suzuka would pay! Together they would leave this place a burning husk; the dead would be like a fine carpet strewn out before the two warriors.

"You are still beautiful to me," Shishi whispered. Suzuka looked down at Shishi liked he just realized he was there. He tentatively reached out and smoothed Shishi's hair away from his face.

"My fingers are so dirty," Suzuka said absently as he expertly ran strands of Shishi's blue hair through his fingers. Shishi smiled to himself, loosing himself to the caress.

"My hair is filthy and a mess as well," Shishi responded. Suzuka stopped his idle stroking.

"It is isn't it?" Suzuka playfully pulled his hand away.

"Always the showman aren't you? You arrogant…" Suzuka went back to his gentle caressing which calmed Shishi down. Shishi moved closer to Suzuka and placed his head in his lap. Suzuka smiled to himself. He was filthy and unkempt but he was still Shishi. For the moment both teens forgot where they were and allowed their companionship to ease away their fear.

"Come on Chu, really, I'm bored now. Can't we find something else to do…anything?" Rinku laced his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes. The child-like demon sat teetering precariously on two legs of his chair. Chu sat at the other side of the small table, currently drowning another large pitcher of Wyrmfury.

"This is the...(Burp)best brew in at least a hunnert miles you little blodger…(hiccup)let me enjoy it will ya," Chu moved from side to side like only the truly drunk can do and seemed to focus on the mysterious, invisible Rinku just off to the child's left.

"Yeeeah but still, it's boring watching you toss down pitcher after pitcher of alcohol…"

"ALCOHOL!!! This ain't just alcohol Rinku me boy! This is…what the hell is this?" Chu picked up the pitcher and examined it closely as if trying to divine some hidden meaning in the liquid. He then laughed, loudly and boisterously. The noise made several patrons of the Deadman's Head jump up, the sudden clamor acting like a bomb going off in the relative quiet of the bar.

"Oooohh maaaann," Rinku put his head on the table in grim anticipation; the effect to Chu's cause. He gave a little jump when the echoes of his laughter disappeared he gave an even louder belch that shook the rafters.

"What's the matter Rinku me boy? You act like this wasn't what we were plannin'for." The patrons of the bar had apparently gotten tired of Chu's drunken tirades and decided to do something about it. Rinku put his head down again and imagined the thoughts going through their heads.

"I know I know, but really Chu, there had to be a less time consuming way to do this," Rinku muttered into the tabletop. They had been sitting in the bar for the last six hours antagonizing the demons in the bar. The locals had gotten tired of the obscene bunch that hung out at the Deadman's Head; they couldn't even go in to enjoy a pint anymore without fear for their lives or safety. That was until Chu and Rinku showed up. They begged and pleaded with the two well known fighters to help them clean up the place. Even the owner had thrown in free booze (The selling point for Chu) and plenty of money if the two could make sure the rowdier element disappeared. So, the two teammates planted themselves in the bar and began to pick a fight. It seemed to have worked. A large group, at least ten by the sound of their footfalls made their way over to Chu and Rinku's table. Two of the men made to grab Chu out of his seat. Chu picked that time to throw his head back in a gigantic yawn, hitting both men with closed fists right in the face. The demons tumbled backward knocking over several tables and chairs. Rinku took advantage of the crowd's distraction. He leapt onto the table then jumped straight to the ceiling. Just as gravity starting pulling on his small frame, he shoved off the ceiling with both feet and came down amidst the group of demons like a kid-sized bouncing ball. Before he hit the floor he extended his feet and hands in punches and kicks; the surprised group of demons went scattering like dry leaves on a windy autumn day. The rest of the bars patrons shouted their outrage and charged the duo intent on doing all sorts of nasty things to them. Chu staggered from his seat, a huge drunken grin on his face and Rinku merely sat on Indian-style on the floor.

"You ready kid?" Rinku looked up at Chu, annoyed with his "kid" comment.

"Really Chu, it looks like you're the one that's about to fall over," Rinku stated giving Chu a huge grin. The demons all screamed a battle cry as they charged the former members of the Rokukai team. Chu charged them right back, head down. He bowled right through a large group of them and began swinging wildly left to right, connecting fist to face or fist to stomach, or even in some cases fist to nothing but wide air.

Rinku shot forward seconds after Chu bouncing off the ground like a rabbit on steroids. He floated through the group letting his momentum carry him. Whenever he encountered a demon, his fists and feet would shoot out in precision attacks, doing the most likely amount of damage. By the time the duo had reached the far side of the bar, all the opposition littered the floor like a group of abandoned children's toys. Rinku beamed a smile up at Chu who looked like he didn't even remember getting up from his table. Three of the demon mob stumbled slowly to their feet.

"You…you'll die for this," said one.

"I tink yo brode my node," said the second. The third said nothing but did get sick on the floor.

Rinku's smile got wider as he dug into his bag. When his hand emerged, three tiny yo-yos sat between his fingers. He concentrated, letting his demon aura swell and swirl around him like a living thing. Then he sent the yo-yos speeding towards the three demons. The demons screamed in fright but still got bowled over by the demon yo-yos. They hit the floor, all three unconscious. The yo-yos sung as they returned to Rinku's hand.

"And that's that," said Rinku as he put the yo-yos back into his sack.

"I tol' you it wouldn' take that long Rinku me boy," Chu said as he staggered to the bar. He leaned over the bar, steadying himself on an elbow.

"I'll 'ave more of that there Wyrmfury, if ya got it," said Chu licking his lips with the memory of it.

"Oh brother, really Chu…" Rinku looked away in embarrassment. Chu in the meantime began sucking down another bottle of Wyrmfury.

Two and a half hours later and under many threats of finding another demon couple to remove the now seriously intoxicated Chu; both demons resumed their travel.

The sun sank lazily into the horizon as the two walked down the worn road that ran through the Midnight forest. Rinku eyed Chu critically. He wanted to ask a question but wanted to make sure the older demon had all of his wits about him. He watched Chu humming tunelessly. For the last half hour he hadn't staggered or belched or even looked cross-eyed at anything. He seemed to be in good spirits and it would be good to ask his question before they reached another bar or town or anyplace that sold anything closely resembling alcohol.

"Chu…" Rinku asked, pausing to see how the man would answer.

"Yeah Rinku," Chu replied without looking at the childlike demon or stopping his stride.

'Okay,' Rinku thought. 'This might actually go good!'

"Just what are you looking for? Ever since the Makai tournament all we ever do is wander. I know you're looking for something and…and…I just want to be in the loop, you know? I look up to you sometimes and I enjoy being around but…I just need to know what's up you know?" Rinku stole a glance at Chu, trying to gauge his reaction.

Chu looked thoughtful for a moment and stopped. He turned to stare at the sinking sun. Rinku was used to Chu looking everything but the way he looked now. The shadows slowly crept across the road as the sun sank lower below the horizon. The darkness began to sweep across Chu's face making him look even more melancholy and grim than before.

"Ya know Rinku me boy. Ever since the Dark Tourney, I 'aven't quite been meself. I thought it was 'cause of that Urameshi bloke. Thought tha' if I trained hard enough, you know, trained to beat 'im, I'd feel better. Then came that mess with th' Makai Tourney. "Chu chuckled to himself and rubbed his eyes.

"I really made a bullocks of tha' one didn' I? I had the win…then…I gave up 'cause me libido got th' better o' me. What th' hell was I thinkin' anyway?" He shook his head and put his balled up fists on his hips. The sunset shown brilliant colors, and filled Chu with a momentary happiness, something he hadn't felt completely in a long time.

"We spent a lotta time fightin' 'aven't we. Goin' from place to place. First it was with them Rokukai boys. They were a riot eh? We kicked ass in every bar and festival this world could imagine. Now it's just the two o' us. For awhile there it was kinda cool hangin' with Kurama and the rest. Aw damn Rinku I just need to find somethin' to believe in again. That sounds so stupid when I say it out loud. Thas why we been wanderin' Rinku me boy. We need to find somethin'…somethin'. Damn it Rinku why in the hell did you ask tha' idiot question anyway?" He uncorked his bottle of Ogre killer and took a huge swig.

"Chu…" Rinku began but couldn't finish. He wanted to know why they had been wandering around the Makai for so long. More to the point, he wanted to know why Chu had been so withdrawn but at the same time so reckless. He had been so not Chu lately. Chu turned so abruptly he almost knocked into Rinku violently. The look on Chu's face made Rinku blanch. Chu's face wasn't made for a look of sadness or regret, so it ended up looking a lot more filtered than it would on anyone else's.

"I know what you need." Rinku almost jumped out of his shoes at the unexpected voice. He whirled around half-expecting to see a rather foreboding man but instead saw a dwarf. The dwarf was a little shorter than Rinku himself but he was dressed in an immaculate business suit; the type of suit that mortal men wore to work to look impressive, all black with a crisp white shirt and black tie. The dwarf's hair was styled and cut short emphasizing his slightly circular face.

"A good game of chance is exactly what you two need, although I think you need it more Mr. Chu," said the dwarf smiling.

"My name is Mr. Spalding and I specialize in games of chance. Most any kind of games of chance will suffice but for you two, I have something special in mind." The dwarf folded his hands in front of him and smiled at the two demons like a car salesman that knew he just found the sucker of the day.

Mr. Pain stared wickedly at Paulo Kowalski from across the table. The darkened office they sat in threw an appropriate amount of shadows on both men. Several other men hung in those shadows watching the exchange of power uneasily. No one liked the demon Mr. Pain. He was too cruel and too greedy. Overall the demon was bad for business but he had muscle, demonic muscle. He had worked the streets hard enough and fast enough to earn a bad reputation now he was going to take out a boss and replace him. Mr. Pain had been planning this night for a long time. He was drooling over the idea of taking over and eating Mr. Kowalski. He stood up suddenly allowing the humans to get a look at his near seven foot five hundred pound frame. The demons horns nearly scraped the ceiling. Kowalski's bodyguards all fell to the defensive, hands itching to pull out their guns.

"It's over Kowalski, give up like a good little boy and I might let you die quick," Pain said in his unnaturally gravelly voice. Kowalski's face exploded into fear, he knew it might come down to this but he was still frightened.

"You can't do this Mr. Pain, I'm the boss here and the boys are still loyal to me. Get the hell out of my office and maybe I'll let you live," Kowalski threw Pain's words back at him. The big demon just smiled and stalked towards the overweight Kowalski.

"I smell your fear and I smell all of their fear. It's intoxicating all of this terror. I can do this and I will do this. Your boys are mine. In a fight, they all know that I will be the victor." Pain stopped as he reached the desk; well within reaching distance. Kowalski started shaking uncontrollably. He knew Pain was right; none of his boys would save him now. He might as well give up and pour ketchup all over himself, he was done for. Then the lights went out. A strong wind blew through the large office. For a second all that could be heard was the wind then from the darkness came sounds of pain. The lights flickered back on. Pain looked frantically from side to side, he even pulled his chrome plated .45 from its shoulder holster. All of his demon men lay dead; the humans looked to be unconscious. Pain turned back to Kowalski. Squatting on the desk was a small man dressed all in black; the garb of a Shinobi. The Shinobi's eyes glittered red from his mask. The eyes came to slits like the man was concentrating and the office dropped from comfortable to near freezing in the span of a heartbeat. Ice coated the floor, ceiling, and windows. Pain staggered and went to fire his gun only to realize it was gone! He turned and saw another Shinobi by the exit holding his gun.

"Who the hell are you two, what do you want?" Pain screamed.

"You have been a very bad boy Pain," remarked the Shinobi on the desk. His voice was cold as ice, emotionless, a killer's voice. "You should have known that Spirit World would not allow you to keep doing what you have been doing." The Shinobi stood inclining his head to Kowalski. "Run human and never speak of what you have seen here or face the consequences." Kowalski bobbed his head up and down and rushed for the exit, slipping once or twice on the way. The Shinobi turned his attention back to Pain. He seemed to have gotten over his initial shock and was back to being cocky.

"Touya and Jin, the Spirit World Shinobi's. I lost a lot of money on you guys in the last Dark Tournament," Pain laughed and began accessing his aura letting it play about his skin like an old pet. "You two idiots couldn't fight your way out of a wet paper bag. You really made a horrible showing for being the Demon World's bogeymen for so long."

"Ignorant ass," replied the Shinobi from at the door, his heavy Irish-like accent got on Pain's nerves. "We were told to throw that match we were, just so dumb as post idiots like yerself would underestimate us," The last he said with such menace that Pain shuddered.

"You are accused of upsetting the balance in Mortal World and the punishment is death." Pain turned back to the Shinobi on the desk. He began to back away from the desk. A hand on his arm made him scream. The Shinobi at the door had grabbed his arm. Pain was close enough to see the smile on the Shinobi's face.

"Th' names Jin to be sure, I only tell ye because ye'll be dead in a moment." Pain turned from Jin. Just then the other Shinobi, who must be Touya the ice master, appeared. He brought his ninja-to sword in a slow arc and sliced Pain right in half. Blood exploded from the demon's corpse covering the walls and the ceiling.

"Ah dammit Touya, that one was mine!"

"Too slow old friend," replied Touya. "Now, we have completed the objective as it was stated to us. We should leave now." Touya looked around the dismal office, taking stock in all of his surroundings. "Any suggestions Jin or should we just use the front door?" Touya turned to Jin who was already looking out one of the large windows.

"Aye, I think I have just the way." Jin knocked the window out and pulled Touya through the gaping hole into the nice twenty three story drop. Jin let himself free fall for a moment before calling the wind to take both him and Touya to their prearranged meeting spot.

Three hours, two wardrobe changes and a large fry and burger each later; the two demons found themselves in a cemetery. The person that arranged for Mr. Pain's unfortunate accident should be here momentarily. The moon hung full and bloated in the sky casting a silver glow over everything its light could touch. The cemetery was ancient and overgrown. The atmosphere made Jin a little jumpy; he slowly chewed every fry that came near his mouth as his eyes searched the shadows for their contact. Touya on the other hand was the model of patience and indifference. He finished his cheeseburger and wadded up the wrapper. He shoved the wrapper and his empty fry container into their to-go bag and reclined against an older tombstone.

"Where the blasted hell is this guy, lolly gaggin' and sightseein' all the while the shivers are runnin away with me skin," remarked Jin unhappily.

"You know these Spirit World contacts Jin, they are always running late. Why don't you just eat your food and calm down, I have watch." Jin settled down immediately. If Touya said he had the watch, then by God he had the watch. Jin sat down on a nearby tombstone and began taking large bites of his food. He still couldn't shake all of his nerves but at least the feeling calmed down some.

"Do you suppose this was th' right thing to do, ye know goin' back to th' way things were before the Dark Tourney?" Jin didn't expect an answer from Touya; mostly Touya kept to himself and never said a word about anything.

"What else is there Jin? A lifetime of wandering like Chu and Rinku or maybe a lifetime spent seeking all the pleasures of an aesthetic life, like Suzuka and Shishi? We are Shinobi; there is nothing else for us. We were fooling ourselves to believe that." Touya looked down at the overgrown grass, bittersweet memories floated just below the surface of deep thought but he didn't want to go down that road, not now at least.

"I don't think we were for fooling ourselves an' you don't believe that either. Admit it, if not to me than at least to yerself; we are two lost demons with nothin' left. Ever since the Tourney with th' Makai, I haven't felt right, like somethin's missin' you know?" Jin looked in Touya's direction. Truth of the matter he did know. Everything that Jin said was true. Touya hadn't been happy in a long time. He thought the end of the Makai Tournament would bring some sort of revelation but it just brought disappointment. Both demons needed something to call their own, something other than an endless list of dirty laundry from Spirit World. All those thoughts went through his head without being voiced to his partner. Touya was content to wait for the contact and forget about this particular conversation. He hoped Jin would get the hint and wait patiently as well.

The pair didn't have to wait long. Up the winding cemetery path came a diminutive figure that was moving like he had all the time in the world. Jin's ears pricked up as soon as he heard the soft footfalls. He glanced at Touya and was relieved to see they were both on the same page. This was not the person that sent them to Pain's. Jin stood and readied himself by slowly checking the wind. Touya was also on his feet. A slight whisper of power strode around Touya and the space between the two Shinobi. They both nodded to each other as the dwarf crested the hill.

"Hello boys, have I got a mission for you…" The dwarf stood there smiling. Jin and Touya looked to each other but both knew it was too late.