Author's Notes: Greetings and Salutations Yu Yu Hakusho lovers! Last of the Star Makers here, bringing to you the roleplay my dear friend CrisicMelody and I have been working on for a little under a year now!
A special hello to anyone from Quizilla, of course. For those that don't know, the site went down Oct. 1st, 2014 and I know for a lot of us oldies here at FF that's where we got our start.
To anyone who is following me (and subsequently reading this) for the sake of previous fanfics of mine, I, uh, obviously haven't been working on them. Eheh. My most recent endeavor, the Tobuscus fanfic, started to dwindle out when CM and I began writing on this story because most of my time was spent writing and thinking about the RP rather than our beloved -Buscus. Also, I had a giant portion of a story I was working on in the Doc Manager here on FF and I lost everything because I left the document untouched over the ninety days FF allows and it made me extremely upset so I "left" FF for a while because I was so ticked off with the site/myself.
THINGS TO KNOW:
1. THIS STORY CONTAINS ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.
Lots and lots of them in fact.
Most "importantly" are the two female characters CM and I have inserted:
Sensui starts out with an extra bad guy, CM's character, Akari.
Kurama's classmate, Toriko, my/Star's character, gets caught up into the battle with Sensui.
2. THIS STORY CONTAINS ORIGINAL STORY/STORY ARCS (though it takes until chapter four to get there).
We basically maintain that the story arcs (and characters) up to this point are pretty much the same as before, and if we want to be specific things only go from behind the scenes to actually influencing the direction of the anime about Episode 73 "The Doctor's Disease" (The Stalking, Demonic Hand of the Doctor) where the gang first encounters Kamiya, which is coincidentally where we pick up here on this first chapter. For a while some of the dialogue, as well as the story, will follow right along with the original, and some of it may even be lifted directly from the anime itself. We, of course, do not lay claim to such 'liftings' as they are copyrighted to the original story anyway. Until we launch away from the original story line, there may be some (often large) moments of jumping forward in time, where nothing needs inserted in the original as nothing deviates from it, but by the third chapter, we reach the Alternate Universe and where our story really starts to take off.
3. THIS STORY IS A ROLE-PLAY AND IS IN ITS ORIGINAL FORMAT (but if I didn't think it worked as a story, trust me when I say I wouldn't have posted it).
There has been absolutely no adjustments made to the format of our role-play! What you see here is exactly how we handle it in our back and forth, and I think it lends itself rather well to being a cohesive story that any outsider can easily understand. Granted, we each use a different font in GoogleDocs, but that doesn't translate to FF. The symbols we use, however, do. Mostly. See the "Symbols Guide" below for specifics.
4. THIS STORY IS ON-GOING.
CM and I are still writing on this story/role-play even as you're reading this. In fact, we have over thirty-two hundred pages (yes, that's 3, 200) in GoogleDocs and counting. I hope you'll join us for the long haul as we explore more thoroughly the world(s) of YYH and the denizens within!
...
Symbols Guide:
* : Written by CM; She writes for Akari and Hiei
3 : Written by Star (supposed to be the 'heart' symbol, but FF doesn't like the 'less-than' sign, so it's a 3 instead); She writes for Toriko and Kurama
~!**!~ : A universal transition between scenes or characters, sometimes used to indicate a passage of time, but most often used to transition between major scenes that are happening. As the story progresses, this will evolve into mainly separating the (usually two) scenes happening between authors/characters.
As a general rule, anything in italics is thoughts.
Unless it's used in a sentence like this, which merely indicates emphasis.
"Quotations are usually reserved specifically for telepathic dialogue being transmitted from one being to another, but sometimes this can also mean a character isn't being careful about what they're thinking and anyone with telepathy in the nearby vicinity can listen in without taking any effort."
...
Both CM and I would like to thank you for taking the time to check our story out. We are very excited to finally be sharing a story we have both come to love and adore and we hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as we are enjoying writing it.
And now, without further ado, I present to you for that YYH itch you've been needing to scratch: An Alternate Reality.
Orange, almost coppery curls bounced on the girl's shoulders as she padded silently around the waiting area. Hazel-brown eyes searched the white-tiled room in an aggressive manner, searching for the man she needed to speak to, yet he was nowhere in sight. It was almost time for his phase of the this grand plan, and as soon as it started, there would be hell in this hospital.
She moved for a chair on the far side of the room, watching the humans calmly go about their business without a clue in the world to the upcoming events.
Such naivety. How could the human race overlook the entire demon populace, as if such a species didn't exist? Surely they weren't all so blind as to not notice? Perhaps it was denial.
Akari again glanced at her watch. Mentally, she consulted the schedule.
As if on cue, the front doors to the hospital slid open, and in walked a small group of five. She sneered to herself and watched the small group, noticing that one of the males was shaken up, sweating profusely, whining under his breath to the others around him. It didn't take more than a few minutes for one of the group, the older woman, to glance around, even looking in Akari's direction for a mere moment before turning back to the injured person who clutched at the sides of his head.
The hazel-eyed girl stood and silently moved towards the corridors.
"Miss, can I help you with something?" a passing nurse asked when Akari didn't seem to notice her presence. She paused only briefly.
"No, I'm just visiting a friend is all. Thank you," Akari reassured, putting on her kindest facade before turning and walking down the corridor. It didn't take long to find the office of Kamiya, otherwise known to her as Doctor, and she didn't even knock, simply pushing the door open and traipsing inside. "They're here," she announced in an even tone, glancing at the nurse that was standing to the side only briefly before turning to look at the man who stood across the room,, "and they're ready to see you now, Doctor."
The man smiled and adjusted his glasses, turning to look at the girl. "Good, let's get started." And in a matter of moments, she felt his territory open up and take over the hospital, the chill down her spine hard to miss as his energy enveloped her as well. "Make sure to stay out of my way, Akari. The boy is mine."
"Yes, yes. You've staked your claim. I'm only a distraction." she replied tartly as she turned and walked out the door, ignoring the insects that began to form and fly in pairs through the halls. In no time at all, this hospital would be filled with them, and she would be having the time of her life, and the rag-tag detective team wouldn't even know what hit them.. *
~!**!~
Toriko gingerly pressed her fingertips to her forehead, squinting a bit as she brushed the bump underneath several swathes of bandages near the top of her head and caused a spike of pain to shoot across her face.
The door to her hospital room opened and Toriko fumbled for the thick glasses she had laid down on the table next to the bed, shoving them on her face so that her green eyes might be blurred and hidden behind them.
"Inyoku, Toriko? How is everything, Miss?" The intruder walked up to the girl who sat propped up with pillows, the sheets of the bed pulled up to her waist.
When Toriko looked up through the lenses of her glasses, she saw the nurse in white sashay into the room, one hand around a clipboard and the other holding a pen.
"E-everything's fine." Toriko stammered, just as quickly lowering her gaze once she saw who had entered the room.
The nurse gently put a hand across Toriko's forehead to check for a fever, brushing her hand underneath a portion of the girl's dark hair, and then wrote something down on her clipboard.
"I'm sure it is, sweetie. The school just wanted to make sure you didn't have a concussion, so they sent you in."
"Y-yes, ma'am."
"You don't need anything?"
"No, ma'am. Th-thank you, ma'am." Toriko pushed her glasses farther up her nose, but still stared down at her hands that she rested on the sheets over her lap.
"We'll just be keeping you here for the next hour or so and then you can check out, alright?"
Toriko nodded and the nurse continued scratching a few more notes onto her clipboard as she left the room.
Heaving a large sigh, Toriko slipped her glasses off her face and put them down in her lap, rubbing her eyes with both hands before reaching up to make sure her hair was still mostly in the tight bun at the back of her head.
Being non-human, the hospital visit had been nerve-wracking enough. Her teacher drove her all the way over here and stayed long enough to make sure the damage was nothing serious, so there wasn't anything Toriko could have done in the matter, but had they attempted to check her heart or blood-pressure...
Toriko shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of thoughts of things that could have been, though the action caused her to grunt uncomfortably.
It was just like her to not be watching where she went. The football fields were along her route home, but the book she had been reading kept her head down and she wandered into one of the iron bars that held up the goal's net. Unfortunately, her teacher saw the whole thing and rushed her to the hospital without so much as a by-your-leave. Her non-human state would have allowed for quick healing, but for fear of revealing her true nature, Toriko felt obliged to do as her teacher-
Toriko sat up straight in bed, yanked harshly from her introspective thoughts, as a wave of energy passed through her room and caused her to freeze in place for a moment. The entire room felt different, but as she scanned it carefully, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary other than...the feeling.
Slipping out from under the sheets, Toriko carefully climbed out of bed and worked her feet into her shoes, knowing that the energy she felt was not normal and not wishing to stay any longer than necessary in an atmosphere such as this one.
She opened the door to her room just wide enough to peek an eye through the crack, and found her floor to be deserted, lacking any sound or movement other than her own. She wondered briefly how long she had been sitting there that no one else was around. She stepped out into the extremely empty hallway, not feeling particularly brave, but looking for the fastest way out of the building, and remembering that an elevator brought her to this floor so surely it could take her back out again...3
~!**!~
Akari stood in the middle of the third floor's hallway, watching groups of insects buzz about frantically. darting from place to place while awaiting orders from Kamiya. She even reached out and grasped one, holding it in her palm and using her opposite index finger to stroke the small insect down its center. It quivered with anticipation and then, along with the rest, it shot away from her, buzzing at a loud volume as it flew away from her, and down every flight of stairs in the building.
Moments passed by where the only sound on this floor was the distant hum of insects and the occasional nurse leaving a room, at first seeming like nothing was out of the norm. She waited semi-patiently, until she saw the insects fly by her again and into every room, through every crack in the walls and under the doors, infecting anyone they could.
That meant phase one was complete, and Doctor was beginning to separate the team for his own sick little game. She cracked her knuckles and waited, reveling in the sound of the buzzing. In the sound of the plan really getting into action.
When she could hear footsteps coming up the nearby stairways, she slowly began to meander forward with eyes following the walls, as if she were merely looking for a specific room number. As expected, around the corner came two individuals: The spirit detective and the little old, withered woman who had been by him in the waiting room.
"Excuse me," she called, getting their attention with ease. "Do you happen to know which floor is the two-hundred rooms? I'm looking for two-hundred and fourteen."
As anticipated, both pulled to a halt a few feet in front of her, eyeing her up and down. "Go, I'll handle this," the old woman said to Yusuke, and the Spirit Detective nodded and turned away, continuing by her without pause. The old woman- Genkai, she knew the woman's name to be- met Akari's even gaze with a heavy stare. "I suggest you find a better place to be other than the hallways. It's getting dangerous in here; didn't you know there is a madman on the loose?"
Akari found copious amounts of amusement from her warning. The woman was clearly too caught up in the territory to recognize a demon's energy right in front of her. None of this reached her eyes as she responded, however. "No I hadn't," she said slowly, raising a confused brow, "but you aren't a doctor, so how would you know?"
"Look, I don't care-"
Akari grinned as the woman paused, her eyes widening to saucers and glazing over, appearing distant as if lost in thought.
"Heh, I should have known." The woman paused, as if calculating something, and Akari took the moment to step around the woman. To her surprise, the woman followed her movement, cutting off her path and even readying for an attack.
Intuitive. Wise. Akari noted those two details carefully. Her power wasn't being used to its full extent, but she didn't want to truly fight the woman who would surely win in a battle of strength and wits. So Akari did as she normally would: She amped up the intensity of her illusion, the image that the woman was seeing before her eyes a false one, and then backed away a few steps.
"That won't get you too far, child." The woman easily adjusted, eyes closing and feet preparing for a strike.
Akari heard an explosion upstairs, breaking glass, and saw a flash of light through the nearby windows.
That's my cue.
The girl sneered and turned her eyes to the old woman again, who had yet to move. "I don't have time to play anymore. Perhaps I'll see you again." With that, Akari turned and dashed down the corridor and past the nearest elevator, only releasing her energy from the old woman when her feet touched the next floor down.
Now, she would have to be sure Yusuke Urameshi killed Kamiya, and quite honestly, she didn't care. She hated the man and would not dare interfere with the fight in any way. *
~!**!~
Toriko's growing sense of dread was not comforted by the fact that she ran into no one in the hallways. Out of nowhere, she heard glass shatter from somewhere below her and she jumped in fright, throwing her arm up to cover her eyes as brilliant blue light blinded her. When it dissipated, she watched a gigantic bullet of spirit energy shoot off into the distance.
"Well, that's certainly not something you see every day." She returned to her wanderings, even more keen to escape. She eventually turned the correct corner and spotted the elevators, making her way over and pushing the 'down' button, wondering why on earth she got put all the way on the eighth floor at the top of the hospital.
"Toriko?"
At the sound of her name, she turned to see Kurama running towards her from the other end of the hall. He stopped just as he reached her.
"Are you okay?" He nodded his head towards her bandages.
Toriko scooted her glasses farther up her nose with a finger, "Mostly."
"Why are you-" Kurama cut himself off and they both whipped around to stare at the elevator door. When Kurama saw Keiko and Shizuru diving out of the elevator with Puu, he grabbed Toriko around her waist and pulled her to the side out of the way of their fall, lashing out with his rose whip at the bugs apparently chasing the other two out of their elevator.
When the coast was clear, Kurama released his hold of Toriko's waist and she readjusted her glasses.
"What are earth are you two doing here?" Kurama asked of the new pair.3
~!**!~
Akari ran the last two flights to the last floor, slowing down as her feet touched the white tiles of the platform of the stairs. For now, it seemed Yusuke and Kamiya were not on this floor.
She glanced around, looking for any sign of the fight and finding none. She was about to turn around and go back up the steps when she heard yelling, accompanied by cackling. Insects buzzed all around, but above that it was much too easy to identify Yusuke Urameshi's battle shout and Doctor's maniacal laughter. She turned and slowly made her way down the hallway to the East Wing, taking to the shadows of a corner to observe the fight without being noticed.
She laid eyes on the detective, whose eyes were dark and angry and no longer patient with the man he so obviously would have to kill in order to save his friends.
She watched as Kamiya tried to bribe the detective, actually appearing scared for his life despite his 'immortality'. Akari eyed the vials of liquid he was producing, displaying for Yusuke to see, and she understood. Sure enough, it looked like an antidote to almost anything, but from here she could smell the sugar that was mixed with the water.
What are you doing, fool? No one would buy that trick, she thought to herself with a scowl on her lips. She was especially surprised when the detective stepped forward a little, disbelief bubbling to the surface and pulling her copper eyebrows upward.
There was no way he was that stupid.
For a moment, she believed Doctor would get away with killing the detective and began preparing herself for figuring a way to dump the body, to fend off the others in the building that she had seen earlier and very likely more who had arrived. After all, no spiritual being could have missed the blast from the detective.
A loud shout suddenly echoed down the hall from a nearby source and the she-demon turned her eyes to the floor before her. A man, the same man who had come in with the group. who had been injured, was crawling on the floor not ten feet from her with a hand extended to the detective. "Don't do it! It's glucose, sugar water! He's going to kill you if you get close enough!"
Akari moved to hide around the corner again and pulled her demonic energy tighter to her core, avoiding the attention of the detective if he decided to turn and look at the mind reader. Needless to say, she was relieved when the conversation picked up in the middle of the hall, telling her she had gone unnoticed by any but the man crawling nearby.
"Y-Yusuke," the man called out in a weak voice, obviously trying to get the detective's attention again. Akari acted, knowing he would reveal her position if he spoke another word, and she reached around the corner she'd been hiding behind to grab at his ankle and pull him around the corner with her, stuffing a hand in his mouth to silence any sound he made and then wrapping her fingers around his trachea, proceeding killing him the quietest way possible so that she would not be killed too.
He gargled, trying to talk around her fist as her other hand closed around his throat roughly, and she merely sneered at him. "Sweet dreams bub," she whispered as his eyes rolled back into the back of his head.
By the time she stood again and rubbed the saliva from her hand onto the wall, Doctor was receiving a beating from Yusuke, one of his eyes swollen and red. She glanced at the lifeless person slumped against the wall, and sneered. If she could just-
Breaking glass caught her attention and her head popped around the corner so hazel eyes could see Doctor, who was flying through the windows and crashing to the dirt outside. She watched him convulse, choke, and then ultimately go still.
And that's my cue to get out of here. *
~!**!~
"The hole will be open in only three weeks?" Toriko pursed her lips thoughtfully.
Kurama nodded.
The red-haired classmate had insisted on walking Toriko home himself after the events at the hospital, worried about her injury despite her reassurances. This led to questions she posed about the events she'd been privy to, which Kurama answered as best he could.
"I wondered about all the bugs flying around." She admitted. "So, what's being done about it?"
"Spirit World is attempting to locate exactly where the hole is being opened, but the real question that has everyone stumped is who the mastermind of the operation is."
Toriko eyed Kurama as they walked, "And you have no guesses? Uncharacteristic of you, Kurama."
He simply smiled at her, but couldn't resist the bait, "I most certainly have my own feelings on the matter, but it will have to wait until tomorrow before I can truly pursue the answer I seek."
They arrived at her doorstep and the both of them paused, Toriko staring at the ground intensely.
"Kurama..." She hesitated, and Kurama patiently waited for her to continue, "I-I want to help. I don't know what I can do, but promise me something." She finally met his eyes through her thick lenses, her fists tight at her sides and her expression full of determination, "Promise me that when the time comes, I'll be there with you to stop the end of the world."
This desperate energy that Kurama felt coming off of her softened his gaze. The girl in front of him that he knew, the one that would have just as soon ran from a fight then started it, suddenly had a sense of purpose coursing through her every fiber, and he did not think it was his place to dissuade it.
"I will come for you, Toriko. When the time is right, I promise I will come for you."3
~!**!~
Akari turned on her heel and glanced around herself, finding her eyes going to the ceiling and the cameras that were in periodic intervals along the walls, small red lights blinking to indicate that they were working and recording each event. She growled to herself and moved as quickly as possible, almost not catching the sound of others in the same hallway as herself and thus speeding up her silent pace.
She stepped into a darkened room and slid the door so it was merely ajar to watch the trio walk by.
Kazuma Kuwabara, the orange-haired boy whose energy was grabbing her attention, was accompanied by a blue-haired woman with a wooden oar in her hand and a dark-haired boy she hadn't seen with the gang often enough to know his name. She assessed the situation, watching the trio as they passed by the dead body of their mind-reading acquaintance.
They must have thought he was only unconscious, or perhaps he hadn't even been seen. Either way, it made it much easier for her to sneak out of the room and through the hospital, slipping into the front office inconspicuously. With a sneer, she eyed the many small screens, taking particular interest in the one that showed Doctor laying outside with the small woman she had seen earlier hovering over him. It seemed Kamiya would live after all.
Oh well.
Without further ado, she stepped away from the entire security system and held her hand out to it, palm facing the mechanics and her energy fluctuating to coat the room in darkness. The shadows in the corners moved and engulfed the electrical equipment, seeping through the keyboards and speakers and the database, and destroyed every bit of video from the day's events.
She didn't need the human police searching for her as well. It would simply be too bothersome.
Once she was satisfied with her handiwork, her ears picked up the sound of the exploding cameras all throughout the hallways and people screaming from the commotion in fear of another attack.
Akari merely sauntered her way out the doors, leaving the hospital behind as she searched the nearby rooftops for Sensui. *
~!**!~
Kurama did not appear at school the next day, though his absence did not come as a surprise to Toriko, especially after the words they exchanged on her doorstep.
She found herself distracted throughout her classes by thoughts of the promise she asked Kurama to hold. Would he really come for her? The question was always followed closely by, and what on earth would she do when he did? And what had possessed her to say such a thing in the first place? If it came down to a fight, she would be next to useless, though she supposed she could figure out how to put one punch after the other. For all the good it would do.
As she had no after-school club to attend, Toriko rushed home with a sudden idea. While Kurama was not there for her to ask his assistance in honing her powers, she still had another option, one that she found herself using more and more lately when he was not around.
She tossed her bag onto the floor at the entrance of her home and slipped her shoes off as soon as she got in the door.
"Maneshi!" She called pleasantly, "Maneshi, where are you?"
Toriko took off her glasses and let down her hair, placing her glasses carefully on top of her book bag before stepping into the living room.
"Maneeeshi!" She called again, peeking over into the kitchen to her left. Still not finding what she searched for, Toriko moved for the stairs, going up them and stepping into the first door on her left.
On her bed, curled into a neat and tidy ball, a completely black-furred cat stretched as she entered the room, regarding her by opening his blue eye before closing it and settling back in for more sleep.
"There you are." Toriko put her hands on her hips. "Come here."
The cat did not so much as move.
"I said, come here!" Toriko demanded more insistently.
He yawned at her, and stretched again, but did nothing more.
Toriko tapped her foot impatiently, then sighed and sank to her knees on the floor, staring intently at Maneshi.
After a minute his ear flicked, and he opened his brown eye this time, Toriko finally catching his gaze. At first, nothing happened, the two beings locked in the stare down.
It was roughly three years ago while walking home during the winter season that Toriko came across the black cat now in her bedroom. She had stopped in the middle of the walkway to take her glasses off and wipe away the fog when a tiny mew caught her ear and she looked up at the wall, meeting a small kitten's gaze. He hunched over in the cold with one blue eye and one brown eye. She hadn't meant to look at him, but she did, and as they stared at each other, he lifted his little nose and caught a whiff of her hair on the wind. He mewed inquisitively at her again, coiling up and springing for her shoulder, landing precisely and beginning to rub his head into the bun that already threatened to come down while she walked.
Toriko did not move from where she knelt in the doorway of her bedroom. If she had learned one thing over attempting to recreate the conditions of that day three years ago, it was to be extremely patient. Animals were not the same as humans, and where a wrong move with a human could land her in deep trouble, here the worst fear she had was making Maneshi annoyed by her efforts.
Without breaking the gaze, Toriko tossed her hair over her shoulders, feeling the gesture tap into some form of energy without her meaning it to and making her scalp tingle. She felt something different come over her gaze, and her lips moved.
"Come here." She called sweetly, sounding much different than before.
Maneshi opened both eyes and lifted his head, unblinking.
Toriko's eyes should have dried out and forced her to blink, but the same tingling that spread across the skin underneath her hair now trickled over her eyes. Once more without meaning to, she slowly raised a hand and crooked a finger at the cat, accompanying the gesture with, "Come here."
Slowly, Maneshi uncurled his fluid body and rose up, her beckoning becoming too much to resist. Surely she would rub his tummy and give him treats and caress his ears and he loved it when she caressed his ears because it felt so good and-
"Come, Maneshi."
In her voice he heard all of those things, in her eyes he saw them: all of the desires that she could fulfill that he wanted her to fulfill. She probably even had catnip.
"Maneshi."
He stepped forward and leapt down from the bed, prancing towards her with his head high.
The success of her endeavor finally overcame her and when he got close enough, she grabbed for the cat in her glee, breaking the spell as she held him close and cheered at herself in a sing-song voice, "I did it, I did it!"
The cat flicked his ears back at her sudden outburst, but the unspoken promises she made lingered over his ears and he indulged her for that moment.
Toriko stood up and carried the cat to the kitchen where she fed and petted him while he ate.
~!**!~
"Who is this? What is she doing here?" Genkai demanded as Kurama walked in the door with a girl the old woman did not recognize.
"I-I am Inyoku, Toriko, ma'am." Toriko bowed to the crotchety old lady, pushing her glasses back up her nose when she stood back up.
"She's here to help." Kurama vouched. "She knows about what's going on and I promised she could lend her assistance."
"Hm." Genkai narrowed her eyes at the girl, reaching out through her spirit wave to test her might, doubly surprised to find that the rather normal-looking school girl was a demon. And an old one at that.
She exchanged an anxious glance with Kurama, who correctly read the concern in her eyes and only smiled as if to remind her of himself.
"Well. I guess we can take all the help we can get. Come on in, Toriko." Genkai stepped out of the way.
~!**!~
The group around the table looked anxiously at Koenma as the adult-form of the toddler-prince gravely explained the situation.
Introductions had been made between Toriko and the others and she glanced about at those gathered, running their names through her mind again in an attempt to solidify them in her memory. The one she sat across from had called himself 'Yusuke.'
At the exact moment Toriko looked out the window and wondered why a group of people would be staring at them from the building across the way, both Kurama and Yusuke sensed they were being watched maliciously and whipped around in their chairs.
"We're not alone." Yusuke declared.3
~!**!~
For the most part, Akari had lain low for the past few days, merely running small errands here and there and keeping watch over the dealings of Sensui's men. She bore witness the bout between Kuwabara and Mitarai, even letting everything play out on its own and finding herself rather intrigued by the interaction. The way the boy treated his enemy with care, even so much as dragging Sea Man along with his own injured friends away from their battle scene had left her rather curious.
While she had thought about grabbing Mitarai and making sure he was back with Sensui, she had a feeling that it wasn't how the man would want it to go. So, she merely let Kuwabara take Sea Man, and she reported back to Sensui.
He had been ultimately pleased with what she had revealed to him. "We've found our person, it seems," he had spoken to Itsuki, who had only opened a single eye to acknowledge Sensui's words before he went back to meditating, expanding the tunnel. "Well done, Akari. You reacted just as I hoped you would. Now, we can track down the team without you running after them. Now, we will wait."
That had been a day or two ago.
Now, she was walking to the top of a rather tall building, preparing to meet with Sensui and Sniper. Her hands were in her jean pockets as she meandered, slowly making her way up the stairs until she opened up the door to the roof. She paused to catch the eyes of both men, Sensui and Sniper merely watching her, Sniper appearing as if he didn't think she was necessary to this task.
"Apparently, they've had a new addition to the group today, and Koenma has joined the ranks. It's the perfect day, Akari. You and Sniper will be put to the test, and I expect you to perform well."
A sneer pulled a single corner of her thin lips upwards and she nodded. "You know how much I hate standing around. I look forward to this."
"Then come here." Sensui turned his back to her, to look down at the apartment complexes below. "Tell me, what do you suppose they are saying?"
Akari walked forward to the railing of the roof, finding the uncurtained window of the apartment he gestured to easily. She eyed the group that was sitting around the table, and her eyes focused on their moving lips, her ears listening for any sound she might be able to pick up over the sounds of the busy city.
"The girl's a demon, and it appears only one of them knows her well enough to trust her," Akari grumbled, her sneer disappearing as she concentrated. She didn't get too much more from the conversation before a few members of the group were looking towards her and her team. She raised a brow at the eyes of the spectators. "They can't surely be so surprised to see us?"
"They thought they were safe, but Sea Man lead us right to them." Sensui replied, his voice calm and collected. Akari glanced at the men on both sides of her before turning her eyes back to the people in the apartment window. There hadn't been a word uttered, but she saw from the corner of her eye, Sniper moved. He outstretched his arms, taking aim at first at the main group. Then, he shifted his body just a bit, his gaze turning just a fraction and his hand shifting just the same.
Her eyes followed his, and she saw Sea Man sitting on a bed with two women sitting inside the same room. Yet, she kept a calm composure, even smiling wickedly as she turned back to see the reactions of the others near the sliding glass doors in the first room. "Let the games begin," she whispered, her words accented nicely with the sound of Sniper's ammunition whistling through the air. *
"It's him!" Yusuke exclaimed, he and Kurama jumping out of their seats and rushing to the glass doors. "He's listening!"
They watched as the one in the red jacket lifted his hand and Kuwabara jumped out of his seat to dash towards the other room.
"They're after Matari!" He made a beeline for the other room and threw the door open, running violently down the hallway.
Toriko got up and stood on the other side of Kurama, staring intently through her glasses at the three standing on the roof beyond.
"Who are they?" She wanted to know.
"The tall one is Shinobu Sensui." Koenma provided, coming up with Genkai to stand behind them all.
"I believe the one in red is Sniper. That accounts for five of the seven we've heard about." His brow turned down as he regarded the female with them.
"And the girl?" Toriko asked.
"I dunno." Yusuke answered, "We haven't heard anything about her. Think she's Gourmet or Gamemaster, Kurama?"
"I think she's none of the above."
"What?"
"I think she's their ace in the hole, as it were." Kurama glanced down briefly at Toriko before turning back to watch those on the roof, "I'm glad you decided to join us. If we are surprised by their added number, perhaps your presence will do the same for them."
"M-maybe." She stammered at the unwarranted praise, pushing her glasses farther up her nose in her nervousness. "I just hope I can be of some use when the time comes."
Suddenly, Yusuke ran out of the apartment, yelling something at Kuwabara as he tried to catch up with him.3
The sound of the die pieces shooting through glass and lodging into the wall of the apartment was music to her ears, though she noticed that Sea Man had been pushed out of the way. There was a part of her, though a very small part of her, that was glad. The kid didn't know what was going on, didn't know of Sensui's actual plans in it all.
In fact, no one seemed to have figured out that they would die except herself and Doctor. She didn't even think Sniper had a single clue, but she pushed the thoughts away and turned her eyes to the spectators, raising a brow at the words she barely caught from their lips. Her chin lifted in the air a little at the group, lips keeping that same wicked smile that turned her eyes dark.
I like that.
The Ace.
Suddenly, Sensui was speaking and turning away, drawing her attention and turning her expression into a more muted smirk. She listened carefully, having not heard this explanation of Kuwabara's energy before now, of the energy he was seeking. "It's called the Jigen Tou, also known as a dimensional sword. It cuts through physically created space-time, territories, and that includes the most ambiguous territory of all: the Kekkai Barrier that divides the worlds." Akari's smirk thinned out as she pursed her lips. So he is going to capture the boy for his energy, even though it's so unstable?
"And how do we plan on utilizing that?" she inquired.
"Easily. We have Gourmet." With that, he turned and to exit the rooftop, pausing briefly and saying only a few more parting words. "Keep Kuwabara alive at all costs. Use your own judgement for killing the others."
Akari smirked and nodded simultaneously with Sniper, and then he and herself followed suit until they were all three standing in the street, Akari a bit behind the two men for observation's sake. And it didn't take long for Yusuke and Kuwabara to make their grand appearance as well.
"Well that was fast," she vaguely heard the detective mumble. "Let's do this." *
The group ran forward when Sensui kicked Yusuke away the second time, Kurama communicating his fears about the two Spirit Detectives being too alike to the rest.
When Sensui kicked the ball of spirit energy off into the distance, Kurama exclaimed, "Isn't that Yusuke's apartment?!"
Sensui blocked Kuwabara's attempt to run to his sister's aide.
"I'm no good here. I know nothing of battles. I'll be of more use helping at Yusuke's apartment." Toriko murmured to Kurama, "I'll head there as soon as I get a chance."
Kurama nodded slightly, to indicate he heard her.
Yusuke went neck and neck with Sensui to allow someone to get past, getting himself kicked into a building in the process and chasing after Sensui when he took off with Kurama and Kuwabara following, Toriko, Koenma, and Genkai dashing off to return to Yusuke's apartment.3
Akari watched the scene from a short distance for a bit, not even noticing Sniper's disappearance to antagonize the defenseless part of the group, the non-fighters that were staying with Sea Man. She felt a bit... bored with simply standing there, watching Sensui be the prime fighter.
Of course, she knew it was necessary, so she watched and waited.
When he kicked his orb towards the apartment, she knew that was Game Master's and Gourmet's cues, and she took it for hers as well. Even as she heard the team of spirit detectives scramble to figure a way to get to the injured or likely dead members of their team, she turned and walked the opposite direction, going over the route mapped out in her mind.
A small laugh escaped her lips as she disappeared into the passing crowd, mingling with the humans who were oblivious to the danger nearby.
For a few minutes, that's all she did. Wander.
She skipped to rooftops- despite her hatred of heights- to get a view of where the plan was at certain points and when she would be needed, eventually running into Sniper, who merely nodded when she said it was close to time for him to get busy. As soon as he sped off, she blended in with the passersby again, silently following the chase that she had crossed paths with and watching Sensui play his little game with Yusuke, who clearly had no chance of winning. Sensui wasn't even trying.
She stood outside the building, watching the silhouettes dash back and forth, listening to the shouts of irritation and challenging of one another.
And then, Sensui was dropping to the ground, glass cascading around him as he made his descent to the sidewalk below before taking off again, the demoness following him all the way to the overpass where Sniper was supposed to show.
Akari took her sweet time joining the crowd that had gathered around Sensui, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Kurama atop the bridge, and when she did join in she waited silently, easily standing behind a tall man to keep herself from view. *
The group and Sensui exchanged words, Sensui biding his time until he could hear the roar of Sniper's engine coming closer."Ah, Sniper, good timing." "Farewell." Sensui sped off with Kuwabara and Yusuke in hot pursuit.
"After him!" The Spirit Detective yelled, giving chase.
As Kurama made a move to follow them, Sniper shot up into the air, ramping into the street with his motorcycle, cutting the red-haired kitsune from his friends.
Seated on his bike, Sniper raised a flattened hand, preparing to flick whatever ammo rested there towards Kurama. Kurama pulled his rose whip up higher towards his face defensively.
"You can't do that with these innocents standing around." His voice wavered, unsure if this 'Sniper' fellow would heed him and positive that he could not save every human that stood gawking at the scenario unfolding before them should Sniper decide to fire.3
Akari glanced around herself, taking in the group of people around her that were watching the scene so intently. Her eyes landed on a woman who stood nearby, cooing her crying child. Akari smiled and stepped forward, her expression deceptively cheerful and kind. "Excuse me, but for this particular stunt that we are filming, I'd like to request your child to be in this scene. I know it's last minute, but it would really help us out," she said calmly, her smile reassuring.
The woman eyed her nervously, then looked at the scene on the other side of the crowd. Her small brain must have taken the story as true, because she nodded and handed her still-crying child to Akari. The demon smiled even wider, "Thank you. She will be handed back as soon as the scene is over," she reassured before turning and wading to the front of the crowd, toddler on her hip.
Sniper was watching the redhead, aiming his ammunition at Kurama. He opened his mouth to speak, but Akari spoke over him. "Sniper, you go on ahead. You have something else to take care of." When the boy's eyes turned on her, eyeing her as if he didn't like her ordering him around, she merely nodded at him, urging him to go. "I have this."
Sniper nodded, and within seconds, he was speeding away, leaving Akari standing before Kurama with a hiccoughing child resting at her hip. She waited, watching him for a moment before glancing to the child. "They're so small, the humans. Fragile. I don't see how you put up with them," she cooed, running a thumb over the child's cheek and allowing its small hand to encircle her index finger. "Tell me, how do you tolerate this stench and their naivety?" *
Kurama regarded this newcomer with a wary gaze, unsure of her motives, but certain that he could not attack her without damaging the child. He knew without a doubt that she simply represented a distraction, another sidestep from the real plan that Sensui orchestrated carefully. But why? Why are they forcing them apart? Were they after Yusuke?
While he never lowered his stance, Kurama tread carefully, extra cautious at the sight of the babe she held, despite the apparent ease with which she coddled it.
"I have found that their merits lie deeper than just their smell and their intelligence." His voice rang out calmly over the tension of the staring crowd, his every thought following the path of Kuwabara and Yusuke before him.3
Akari raised a brow at his words, her smile twisting to a sneer. The only merits that the humans had that she'd seen in her lifetime was the day Sensui had shown up at the Black Black Club and killed everyone inside, aside from herself. She couldn't decide if Kurama was genuine on his defense or simply trying to reason with her to step aside.
"Interesting point of view you have there," she said, her voice laced with irritation. She opened her mouth to say more, but movement behind Kurama caught her attention. Her eyes darted to a girl who had surfaced from the crowd, calling out. "Kurama!" she yelled, as if she didn't even notice Akari's presence. The demoness acted, though she didn't even have to move a single muscle.
The girl's eyes widened and her entire body stiffened, halting in place. Her body began to tremble, and then she clutched at her head with her hands, dropping the creature she had been holding. A scream ripped from her throat, yelling out the detective's name. Akari's smile widened. "Ah, the person you care for most is the detective. How sweet," she cooed, her own eyes dark with amusement. After all, this particular illusion was her favorite; where the victim got to witness the death of the person closest to them, slowly and painfully.
In the distance, she could hear the squealing of the truck's tires. Soon, she would be taking her leave. *
Kurama's body tensed, but he resisted the urge to break his gaze from the demon before him. Keiko's cry and the girl's response gave him all the information he needed to know.
"Whatever you are doing to her mind, she is not your concern." He stated firmly, "Your fight is with me and it would not bode well for you to involve any others in our exchange."3
Akari's eyes turned to slits at Kurama's threat, but she kept the air around her light, to convey that she was not going to engage in physical strikes against him. It was easy to see that he understood her purpose, her real objective. "It's no fun that way," she murmured, bringing the child to her face as she heard the getaway vehicle round the corner of the nearest intersection.
"Tell me, what will you decide: my death or the child's?" Her smile turned dangerous and she moved, simply moving at a demonic speed to the edge of the bridge and dropping the child. She snickered before she followed suit, leaving enough room between her and the child that he wouldn't be able to strike her and save the child simultaneously. *
Kurama sped down the nearby stairwell to the street, glancing at Keiko heaving for oxygen as he ran past, his decision made before the demon posed it.
He jumped into the air over the cars speeding down the highway even as he heard the desperate scream of the mother on the overpass now above his head. He brandished his whip at a light-pole near where the demon and child left the ground, feeling it wrap firmly about the metal and catch his weight so as to change his trajectory just enough that his arc led him to neatly plucking the wailing infant from its freefall in mid-air, his path continuing up and back over the edge of the overpass where he neatly landed on one knee and recalled his whip to his side.
The inconsolable child now firmly held in one arm, he turned back to the side of the bridge to watch the demon's fate.3
Akari smiled as she dropped through the air, the wind whipping her curls past her face. For a single moment, her heart fluttered at the prospect of the moving vehicles underneath, a moment of fear making her have second-thoughts about this plan. However, her feet landed neatly on the truck that was speeding by, and she smiled with relief as she eyed the tailgate's edge. Her hazel eyes lifted to see Kurama on the bridge, watching.
"Nice speaking with you. Let's do this again sometime," she called with a wave, knowing he would hear her with ease. Her energy snapped back to her core, leaving the human girl on the bridge without the illusion of her friend's death.
She turned back and glanced at Sensui, who nodded in approval and turned to say something to Gourmet. Satisfied, Akari relaxed, lowering herself to simply sitting on the edge of the open tailgate to watch the scenery pass by her. *
End notes are going to be in italics just so that they are usually set apart from the end of the chapter.
I would of course love to hear thoughts about the story via reviews or PMs!
For anyone that uses GoogleDocs for their roleplaying (or fanfic writing!) needs, I have found that copying and pasting from there into a LibreOffice doc (free download) will keep your formatting (like italics) intact, and then from there you can save said doc, THEN upload the LibreOffice doc to the Doc Manager on FF. This will ensure that all of your formatting will be retained so you don't have to go back through to make sure it's all there!
RIP Quizilla (2002-2014), which is where I first published my original YYH fanfics (as quizzes of course!) over a decade ago, and which is also where CM and I first met less than a year ago!
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star, yes-I-know-that's-Toby's-outro-it-became-habit-with-my-previous-Tobuscus-fanfic-deal-with-it