Blue Shine

Chapter 04:

"Schooled on Ghouls"

I had taken the train home alone. It was late when I finally stepped foot into my apartment. The group of new acquaintances were left behind at the temple. Keiko had begged me to let her and Yusuke accompany me, saying that it was no trouble to them in the slightest. I knew leaving her behind was for the best though, I didn't trust the curious look in Yusuke's caramel colored eyes. My leave had been fairly peculiar, and I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache start behind my left eye.

I felt a tickle in my spinal column. My guitar playing abruptly stopped as my head snapped to the right. My eyes wide before my narrowing and my brow furrowed. I saw nothing as I stared into the murky darkness at the forest's edge. Kurama – against my silent prayers that no one had seen – appeared at my side with something that I thought was worry showing on his handsome face.

I looked up at him, my composure back in place. He stared down at me and I, in turn, smiled up at him. I knew he was going to ask questions. I could feel the tension in the cool night air. I was drifting off when he brought me back to reality.

"Is something troubling you, Saki-san?" he asked politely.

Standing, I grasped the neck of my guitar a little harder than necessary. "I thought I heard an owl. My hearing must have played a trick on me." I rubbed the back of my neck and chuckled, my eyes closing as I gave him what I hoped to be a sincere smile.

Kurama nodded and I glanced down at my watch. The simple circle face glowed a soft Crayola crayon green, and I blinked back up to the red head. "I didn't notice how late it had become. I really should be heading home," I fibbed.

I noticed Keiko come over, her racket no longer in her grasp as she stood at Kurama's side."We were all going to stay here at the temple tonight, Saki. I must have forgotten to mention it, I'm sorry. Me and Yusuke don't need to stay, we can take you home."

"No, no it's alright. I'll be fine. You don't have to do that." I said, holding my hands up as if to block her, palms up.

"Are you sure? There's all sorts of creeps out at this time. Please, it's really no problem." Keiko insisted, her chocolate eyes reflecting soft orange light from the lanterns.

"I'll be fine, Keiko. I can take care of myself." I hid a grimace when my voice had a defensive tone that I hadn't really meant to use. "You don't have to worry about me, alright? I'll be fine." I added, my voice calmer this time.

Keiko was about to say something else when Yusuke came behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Aw, come on Keiko, stop buggin' her. If she has any problems she can knock someone out with that guitar of hers." I silently thanked Yusuke with my eyes and he grinned at me.

I turned from them and waved goodbye over my shoulder. I stopped and packed away my guitar. Slinging it across my back, I trotted around the porch to the front of the temple. When rounding the corner of the second turn I bumped into someone's chest. I caught myself before I could fall over and apologized. There stood Hiei, a scowl in place, his eyes a-light with irritation. I bowed slightly and continued past him. As I left, a familiar shiver ran up my spine.

"Tomoe..." A hissing whisper rushed at my back and across my neck with the wind. My eyes widened and I hurried the hell outof there.

My recollection of the night had continued until I was showered and curled up in bed. It was here, curled up under my sheets, where I finally found solace. Sighing I stared into the darkness above me. Closing my eyes I said a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening for a dreamless sleep. I needed some rest.

I cursed the sun and reached up to press the heels of my hands into my eyes. My back arched off the bed as I moved to stretch, my arms winding above my head. I felt a good many of my joints crack and pop before I was laying prone on my bed. The sheets crumpled around my waist and my arm rested over my eyes.

I must have not pulled the curtains completely shut, I winced and rolled over before throwing the sheet off. Standing and sighing, I marched off to the bathroom to take care of my morning business and get ready for the day.

I noticed in the mirror as I was just tying off a high ponytail that my watch wasn't in it's usual place. I looked away from the dresser's reflection to the actual object. I checked the top, my brow furrowing. It was definitely not there. Checking around on the floor, my bedside table, and I continued my search in the bathroom then kitchen. Neither of the aforementioned places had my watch.

Realization hit me like lightening and I groaned. It must have slipped off my wrist at the temple or on the train. My cheeks puffed in aggravation. I had really liked that watch, too.

We had all just finished lunch. Yukina and I had fixed a light meal and we dined inside. With food out of the way, they were discussing Saki. Her watch sat in the middle of the cleared table, it's face no longer glowing like it did in the night.

"I didn't really feel anything when I met her. She seemed normal enough," Yusuke added to the ongoing conversation.

"She's far from normal, Detective." Hiei snapped from his spot at the end of the table.

"I agree. The spike in energy and her flight afterward does point to her being aware of her peculiarity." Kurama added, a calculating look in his deep leaf-green eyes.

"Hey! I wasn't done," Yusuke growled. "I was going to say that when I met her I didn't feel much of anything from her. When she got here I definitely felt something. It was like the temple pulled more of her aura out." Yusuke fumbled trying to describe what he felt.

"Yeah, when we were eating last night I got this weird feeling from her. Like her energy was trying to be a magnet or something." Kuwabara added in.

"She has foresight." I blabbed abruptly, a shocked look on my face from my own admittance. I bowed my head, I'm sorry Saki, I broke my promise. I felt horrible, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Something just screamed to say it.

The table was silent for a few long moments before Genkai spoke in a grave voice, "There's more to it then that." If she had planned to say anything else, I'll never know. At that moment Botan busted into the room, a mask of panic on her face.

I felt my stomach drop into oblivion. Nothing good could come from this visit.

If I were to say that I completely understood what Botan reported next, then I'd be lying, mostly.

"In Makai, as you know, are three territories: Gandara, Alaric, and Tourin. But these territories do not make up all of demon world, such as the Forest of Fools." Botan paused and pulled a map from her kimono sleeve. She laid it out so it was upside down to her, and right-side-up to us.

"This," she started, her index finger pointing to an outlined area in the north, "is what's now known as the 'Cursed Kingdom', though it's real name is Echizen. The one to develop this territory was none other than Minamoto Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka was a powerful demon who wanted to protect his followers. He had a large stone wall built around the perimeter of the area." Her finger traced the faded rim of the land. It's shape was close to an oval with some jagged turns that fanned out on either side.

"As Echizen grew he appointed advisers. These demons each held a position of power within the territory. His second in command was Minamoto Yuritomo, his younger brother. The other member of his select cabinet was a woman named Tomoe Gozen. She was the general of his army." I caught sight of Yusuke's mouth opening, but Botan held her hand up to silence him.

"The province existed peacefully for around three hundred years, proving to be a neutral safe-haven. After seventy-five more years passed, the second in command, Yuritomo, staged a coup d'état. He fled after trying to take his brothers life, but promised to meet him on the battle field." Botan paused and took in the eager faces of the group hanging on her every word.

"Yoshinaka named Tomoe his new second in command and urged her to rally their troops and send out word that they were going to war against Yuritomo. The castle was turned into a fortress and Tomoe's army was a force to be reckoned with, to say the least. Each member of the army was said to be of the upper A-Class to S-Class. Tomoe herself was an S-Class demon, as was their leader Yuritomo.

"The war lasted two hundred years within the walls of Echizen. The main gate was lost after fifty years. The rest of the battle was held within the walls of the kingdom. Tomoe ordered the main gate resealed so that there could be no escape for the rogue army. When it was over both Yoshinaka and his younger brother were dead. In the end the elder brother prevailed, having killed his younger brother before he, himself, died. With both siblings dead, the once-general became the new leader of Echizen, or what was left of it.

"Under Tomoe's leadership, order was restored. The castle was rebuilt and the lands became like they once were, to a point. Tomoe made many changes that Yoshinaka never managed to accomplish. The population doubled and new residents moved to the territory, seeking refuge from the power struggle between Raizen, Mukuro, and Yomi." Botan pulled a new piece of parchment from her robes. She laid it on the table and we all leaned in to get a closer look.

"This is a painting of what Tomoe saw from her balcony." Botan added.

As I stared at the painting, I was awed. It seemed to be broken up into sections. There were farms with carefully plowed rows and pens filled with animals that resembled horses. Careful brushstrokes of colorful Makai plants and a forest that stretched from the castles left wall that widened in a flourish toward the large double doors of the main gate. Rows of huts in the right section were closer to the gate with the farmland behind them, in the front middle close to the gate was a large fountain. To the left of it was a paved street with rows and rows of what looked to be markets that stretched to the forest. There were lampposts and people of all kinds busy about their day. It was so otherworldly, and all the more beautiful because of it.

"Eventually," Botan spoke up, "Tomoe chose to have her own advisers. Though it was long after the war. In that time she had rebuilt her army and had students. This was something she never did while serving under Yoshinaka. She trained them rigorously for years. But to become a student of Tomoe, you had to pass a series of tests. Only two lived through the experience. The first was a lion demon by the name of Benjirou. He eventually became the general of her army. Not much else is known about him, I'm afraid.

"The second student came long after. He was young and came in with a wave of refugees. He held strength that was unmatched and a rare determination that none of the other students ever had. His name was Souji. He was a demon who had power over light and earth. Souji was more like a son to her than a potential partner." Botan was cut off before she could start her next sentence, by none other then Yusuke.

"If I wanted a history lesson, Botan, I would have went to school." Yusuke drawled out.

I felt my eyebrow twitch and I slapped him across the back of his head. "Pay attention!"

"Ow, hey!" Yusuke cried out holding the back of his head.

"Yes, Yusuke! This is important, so listen to Keiko." Botan flushed in agitation at the interruption, her eyes narrowed on the ex-detective.

"As I was saying," she sighed, "Souji and Tomoe were inseparable. After years of progress in his training she decided to take him on a tour of the Makai. The boy was still under her schooling when they left. It has been said that they wandered the land fighting off anyone who threatened them, Souji learning how to fight along side of his master. When they returned ten years later his power was said to have doubled. While back in the kingdom Tomoe taught him their ways of living and got him familiar with the residents of Echizen. He was said to be hardworking but rambunctious. He would often leave the territory, starting fights to prove his power and worth to any rogue demon he could find.

"Eventually he came to her, asking to learn more of the other elements. You see, unlike Souji's light and earth abilities, she had power over wind and water. She was also a sort of psychic. She possessed the power of foresight, and telekinesis. She could create the strongest of barriers and could sense and name every person in her kingdom just by their energy signature.

"Souji on the other hand could control light so precisely that he could wield it like a surgeon with a scalpel. His earth techniques were never really mentioned in the files. Let's see..." She paused, her index finger tapping her chin.

Kurama cleared his throat and smiled politely to the ferry girl, "If I may, I believe I can fill in a bit of your story. I remember hearing rumors of this battle as my days as Yoko."

"Souji came to Tomoe, asking to learn her techniques and she denied him. The subject came up again and again, and each time she refused for unknown reasons. This frustrated him and he left. When he returned, he screamed up to her balcony window from the castle courtyard. He challenged her to battle for the right to learn her techniques, and rule Echizen. Tomoe accepted, under the condition that Souji never challenged her again and to accept this as his final lesson.

"When they fought, it wasn't as well matched as Souji had hoped it would be. They say the province shook ferociously and was covered by a false light for days after the battle. Tomoe used the fight to teach her prodigy one last thing, to accept defeat. Her plan backfired and he left the lands, humiliated.

"About one hundred years passed before anything of importance happened again. Finally she took another leave to wander the vastness that is Demon World. Tomoe was rumored to have even trained with Raizen." Kurama paused to look down the table at my boyfriend and smile a knowing smile.

The blue-nette picked back up with the story telling, feeling that Kurama had told all he knew."When she was traveling back to her home, Souji and an army of rogues ambushed her. It's said that the fight created Devil's Canyon. The battle lasted for days. Tomoe killed a majority of the rogues before fighting Souji herself. Paintings depict him using a modified blade to stab Tomoe through her core. Which is basically the demon organ most relating to the human heart." She specified, noticing my confused expression.

"Legend says that Tomoe removed his left arm just before falling to her student. He finally killed her with one of her own tricks. One that requires the master to take control of the others blood by use of water technique. They take control of the water found in the blood and drain their opponent dry. When she was defeated, he was still badly injured, but not enough to deter him and his now smaller army from attacking Echizen. The kingdom was destroyed from the battle with the army Benjirou was in charge of and vacated. It's been deserted since, no one daring to enter it. That's how it got the name, 'Cursed Kingdom'." Botan paled as she finished her story, her hands folding in her lap, bubblegum colored eyes downcast.

"We have no other information on Souji, except what's happened recently." She continued slowly.

The tension in the room was unbearable and I shifted in my spot at the table. "What do you mean by recently," Yusuke grit his teeth, waiting for the answer he must have known was coming.

Botan looked up from her hands, "Souji has appeared on our radar, he has begun to gather followers and rebuild Echizen. He sent a message to Koenma a few days ago. He demanded Tomoe's sword, the Tamashi no Katana, which was lost in the canyon after her death. He says if he does not have it delivered to him, he will tear apart the worlds until he finds it." She gulped and wrung her hands before speaking again, "His power levels have reached new heights. He's hidden from us in the bowls of Makai for a long time and is very formidable. We're unsure of the extent of what he's capable of at this point, but we do know he's learned some new tricks for sure."

"Well, isn't that fan-freaking-tastic!" Yusuke growled while throwing his hands up in exasperation.

It was obvious everyone felt the same way.

Disclaimer & Author Notes:

The characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho cannon belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

Saki, Benjirou and Souji belong to me. They are my original characters and were produced straight from my over active imagination.

Yoshinaka Minamoto, his younger brother Yuritomo Minamoto and Tomoe Gozen are historical Japanese figures that I have based my characters off of. I do not own these dead samurai.

Oh gosh, a story within a story and info dump.

I actually wanted to add onto this chapter, but I didn't want to pack it with too much information. It's a lot to take in and sort out, I know. Patience young grasshoppers! It's all very important, you'll see.

This chapter also lacked music. I was wondering if having the lyrics in italics made it harder to follow, considering thoughts and dreams/flashbacks are in the same format. If you think so, let me know.