Colorblind
by Mayushii
All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.
A/N: Here is the next chapter! Sorry for the wait, but I've been having trouble getting time on the computer. I didn't get to polish this nearly as much as I would like… Oh well. I think there have been more than enough delays for this chapter already, so it gets posted as-is.
-Before we get to it, I should give fair warning that the fight scenes aren't based on the anime and manga. It always bothered me that the Four Beasts didn't actually line up with their origin lore, so I rebuilt the fights from the ground up. I ended up redesigning the Beasts a little bit, too, because their physical appearances were too connected with the powers the manga gave them.
"Dance of Rose and Lotus"
Yusuke stared down into the hall, eyes flicking from door to door.
"So what are we supposed to do now? There have gotta be twenty doors here," he frowned. His eyes wandered from the sixth floor to the fifth. Catching sight of Kuwabara, Yusuke suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Ghost Whisperer! You got that whole spirit awareness thing going for you. Which way do you think we should go?"
"I dunno. My awareness is acting really weird," Kuwabara answered, throwing a nice fat wrench into Yusuke's genius plan. "I'm trying, but I'm not getting anything." In his mind's eye, the enormous hall was shrouded by dark mist. Just looking at it made him feel cold.
"Great. Your powers sure picked a good time to crap out," Yusuke grumbled. Kurama, however, did not look at all surprised.
"Kuwabara, can you describe exactly what's wrong? Have you lost the ability to sense anything at all? Or do you feel that your spiritual awareness is clouded—that you are sensing so much that you can't distinguish the correct path?"
Kuwabara scratched his cheek. "Uh, cloudy, I guess…"
Kurama's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to the large, pitch-black archway across from him. He swept a hand through his hair and came back with his fist clenched.
"Is it me, or does Kurama look a little tense?" Yusuke commented, trying not to sound too worried.
"What do you think? Something nearby is giving off enough energy to interfere with spirit awareness," Hiei said flatly.
"You don't mean…?"
A strange sound made Yusuke freeze. It was like the long, low moan of a whale, echoing on the stone and rattling dust from the walls around them. Yusuke felt the sound travel right up his spine, ending at the base of his brain and making him shudder. It felt like an ice cube had just slid down his back.
"What the hell was that?" Yusuke asked, surprised by the way his breath caught in his throat.
"It sounded like a dinosaur!" Kuwabara shouted.
"Don't be stupid, Kuwabara, dinosaurs are extinct!" Yusuke paused and turned to Hiei intently. "Right? They are extinct here, too, right? Tell me that's not a dinosaur."
Hiei gnashed his teeth irritably. "It is not—"
But he was drowned out by Kuwabara's squeal of fright. An enormous head had emerged from the entryway below. Dark blue and reminiscent of a snake, the head was encrusted by orange eyes with slitted pupils. For a split second Yusuke's brain screeched to a halt and all he could think was: Holy crap it's a freaking dinosaur. A long neck appeared next, pushing out of the archway and rising—up, up, up, stretching all the way to the third floor balcony. Yusuke was so busy staring at the head and neck that it took him a moment to notice that they led down to a huge, slick black shell and flipper-like appendages. It wasn't a dinosaur at all.
"That's a turtle," Yusuke said. He promptly gave himself a mental kick for sounding so stupid.
"Genbu, Black Beast of the Water," Hiei explained, making Yusuke feel even dumber. "Kurama lucked out."
Yusuke was just about to ask how being faced with a tyrannosaurus turtle was lucky when the room was filled with loud, hissing laughter. Yusuke looked back down at Genbu and gulped. Those beady orange eyes were focused on him, round and unblinking.
"THREE PATHS, FOUR TRESPASSERS. ONE OF YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN CRUSHED TO DEATH. THAT ALL FOUR OF YOU MANAGED TO ESCAPE IS MOST IMPRESSIVE," Genbu boomed, amusement in the Beast's slithering voice. "BUT FOR ONE OF YOU, THE JOURNEY ENDS HERE." Genbu's head swiveled away from Yusuke, turning instead to the only member of the team within reach. Kurama bent at the knees, poised to defend with his clenched fist raised in front of him. "YOU CHOSE THE WRONG PATH, LITTLE ONE."
Kurama smiled wryly.
"Whether the path is right or wrong depends on what you hope to find at the end," he said. It made a corner of Hiei's mouth twitch upward. I thought so…
"YOU WANTED TO FIND THE WAY DEEPER INTO THE CASTLE, DIDN'T YOU?" the Tortoise presumed. "YOUR TWO FRIENDS AT THE TOP HAVE FOUND IT. HOW SAD IT IS, BUT THEY CANNOT HELP YOU NOW. THEIR CHOICES NOW ARE TO WATCH AS I TEAR YOU APART, OR TO LEAVE YOU HERE TO DIE ALONE!"
Kurama's eyes glittered. "Thanks for the clue. We might never have found our way without it." Kurama moved the thumb of his closed fist, revealing a green-black stem topped by a red rosebud. As Yusuke watched, the bud gracefully opened its petals. With a snap of Kurama's arm, the rose lengthened to nearly five meters. He drew it back and expertly caught the thin, dark, thorn-laden Rose Whip in both hands.
"Shall we, then?" Kurama said.
Genbu's head reared back like a snake poised to strike.
"Oh my gosh, I can't look!" Kuwabara yelped, covering his eyes with one hand. He peeked through his fingers not a second later.
To everyone's surprise, Genbu didn't attack with its head. A long tail lashed out instead, and Kurama didn't even blink before leaping over it. Yusuke had no time to voice his admiration as the tail swept back in the opposite direction. Kurama easily performed a backwards handspring over the tail. On the third pass he flipped forward.
"What the hell is he doing?" Yusuke growled through his teeth, watching anxiously as the nimble figure below continued to dodge. "He's gonna get killed! Damn it, why did he have to pick the wrong door?"
"You've missed the point, Detective," Hiei said steadily.
"Oh, there was a point?" Yusuke asked, voice thick with sarcasm.
"Didn't you hear Kurama earlier? The Beasts are a threat that should be dealt with directly. Snatching the Makai Whistle might stop this invasion, but as long as the Beasts survive, they can always regroup." Hiei's eyes darkened. "Kurama knows the only real way to complete this mission is to kill the Beasts. He wanted to fight Genbu…" Hiei glanced at Yusuke nonchalantly. "Not to mention that he probably saved your ugly friend's life by taking the 'wrong' door himself. Be grateful."
"Well, how did he know what door he wanted? Spirit awareness?"
"He probably found it with that nose of his," Hiei mused, "but spirit awareness would have worked just as well."
"Your spirit awareness isn't too bad," Yusuke said accusingly. "You must have sensed Genbu, too. Why didn't we take that door? Two on one would have at least been better odds!"
Hiei stared at Yusuke blankly. "I'm a fire youkai."
"So?"
"Whoa, awesome!" Kuwabara shouted excitedly. Yusuke and Hiei returned their attention to the fight just as Kurama flipped out of Genbu's range. Kurama drew the Rose Whip back and swung it forward, twirling the handle like a gymnast with a ribbon wand. Yusuke might have lost all respect for Kurama for using such a technique, but he quickly forgave the girliness when the spiked weapon tangled together with Genbu's tail. The Beast shrieked deafeningly, injured tail swishing wildly.
"Hahaaa, take that!" Kuwabara cheered, pumping his fist in the air.
Yusuke was impressed despite himself. "Wow. He really got him…!"
Then Genbu's mouth opened wide and a geyser rushed out. It struck Kurama hard, engulfing him, lifting him off his feet and smashing him against the wall. Kuwabara's grin turned into a look of horror and Yusuke's stomach lurched. Hiei remained impassive.
"Kuramaaa!" Yusuke yelled. Genbu's harsh spray kept up for only a couple of seconds before the water pressure dropped. Kurama stayed pinned to the wall for a moment and then slumped down, landing on his backside with a splash. He didn't seem to care that he was sitting on a floor now covered by nearly a foot of water. "Oh man, what do we do? Kurama? Kurama!"
"Will you refrain from yelling?" Hiei scowled. "It's annoying."
"Oh, gee golly frickin' whiz, I'm sorry if I care about whether Kurama lives or dies!" Yusuke snapped.
"He was just stunned. Look."
Yusuke did. Much to his relief, Kurama was slowly wiping his soaked bangs from his eyes. He used the same hand to grab hold of the wall behind him and drag himself to his feet.
"YOU CONTINUE TO SURPRISE!" Genbu's mutilated tail flicked, dislodging the Rose Whip. The weapon reverted back to a simple flower, which landed in the water and sank briefly before floating to the surface. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SURVIVE ANOTHER ATTACK?"
Kurama coughed up water, hand scrabbling at the wall. He forced out a weak chuckle.
"We'll just have to find out." Genbu's head reared back, preparing for a second strike, and Kurama lunged—toward nothing.
"What the heck are you doing? Are you blind? The monster's that way!" Kuwabara yelled, pointing with both hands at Genbu as if it were possible to miss the Beast. Kurama ignored him, continuing to run with the water up past his knees.
"This is bad," Hiei noted grimly. "The water is slowing him down…"
Genbu's mouth opened again, emitting another blast of water. Kurama ducked underneath it and emerged on the other side. He staggered the last few steps to a blank, useless wall and slapped his hand against it briefly. Then he turned and started in another direction, forced to wade as the water lapped around his waist. Yusuke clenched his teeth and hands, frustrated by his own uselessness. He watched as Genbu's tail started to swing in circles above the Beast's head.
"Kurama, watch for his tail!" Yusuke shouted, and Kurama didn't hesitate to dive into the water. Genbu's tail slashed through the air where Kurama had just been. Yusuke felt his lungs aching. Air? Who needed air?
Under the surface, Kurama swam gracefully even as the water kept rising. He reached the wall again and touched his hand against it. Finished with his work, Kurama's lips curved in a smile.
"Where is he?" Yusuke panicked. "I can't see him! Is he dead?"
Kurama rose out of the water with a soft splash.
"There he is!" Kuwabara said unnecessarily.
Genbu laughed at the fox youkai, who was dragging himself out of the two-meters-deep pool and onto one of the statues surrounding the arena. Sitting atop the open book of the priestly stone figure, Kurama drew one knee up to his chest and let the other foot dangle down so his toe barely skimmed the water's surface. He was panting for breath and his hair and clothing were weighed down. Head bowed and eyes lost in shadow, he truly looked like he had given in to the mercy of the Beast.
"YOU MUST BE TIRED BY NOW," Genbu guessed. "WHY NOT HOLD STILL AND LET ME END THIS?"
Kurama lifted his head a bit and smirked. "That's very kind, but I'm more than capable of ending this myself."
"HA! IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU HAVE SPENT THIS ENTIRE BATTLE RUNNING AWAY!" Genbu mocked.
"And yet appearances can be so deceiving." Magenta energy abruptly burst into bloom around Kurama. He raised his head, the flowering magenta energy reflecting in the darks of his eyes. Vines suddenly shot out and wrapped themselves tight around Genbu's throat and jaws. Genbu roared with fury, thrashing against the vines—which, if anyone had the presence of mind to look, stemmed from a number of pink lotuses that sprang from the walls wherever Kurama had touched them.
"It's over," Hiei said idly.
"You mean all that time he was running around, he was planting those things?"
"Positioning the plants around the room for more stability," Hiei confirmed. "Restraints from multiple directions are harder to break."
Yusuke blinked. "That's actually pretty clever."
"Of course it is. It's Kurama." Hiei smiled, proud yet somehow bitter at the same time. "His sense of strategy is the only thing about him you can trust."
Kurama watched for a moment as Genbu struggled against the lotus vines.
"You know, you really shouldn't have pulled back on that first attack," Kurama said mildly. His missing rose drifted along on a wave, and Kurama picked it up, twirling it lazily between his fingers before gripping it tight. "It gave away your weak point too easily."
He snapped the rose forward, and the resulting whip joined the lotus vines around Genbu's throat. Blood began to trickle down the Beast's neck where the Rose Whip's thorns dug in. Genbu shrieked more loudly, trying in vain to break the restraints.
"YOU—IMPER'NEN'—WHULP—" the Beast snarled, the vines around its maw making it impossible to form the words properly.
"Your water is clearly your most effective technique," Kurama continued his explanation, "so why change your mind and strike with your tail instead? You no doubt feared that you would expose your throat to attack, and decided instead to use a part of yourself that could stand to take some damage. An understandable, but not excusable, mistake." Kurama pulled the whip like he was playing tug-of-war, tightening its hold around Genbu's neck and making more blood spill out. "You should have had more faith in yourself. Never hesitate—it, above all else, reveals weakness."
Kurama gave the whip one last, vicious tug. Kuwabara and Yusuke both closed their eyes to spare themselves the sight, but Hiei didn't blink.
Navy-blue energy surrounded Genbu, making Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes scrunch tighter to block out the light. When it dimmed, they cracked their eyes open and snuck a look down. The enormous Beast had disappeared.
"Where—what the—?" Yusuke gaped. Standing where Genbu had been was a woman, beautiful and dark-haired and clothed in ancient Chinese robes. She stumbled toward Kurama, one hand reaching out to him and the other clutching at her torn throat. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth moved soundlessly, beginning to drip blood.
Kurama watched, completely pitiless, as the woman finally stopped and fell forward. She floated on the surface, her dark blue robes and long hair fanning out around her. The water around her slowly started to turn red.
"Who is that girl?" Kuwabara wondered.
"Genbu, you fool. Who else would it be?" Hiei replied. Kuwabara's jaw dropped.
"Wait, wait, wait! You're telling me that that ginormous monster was a girl the whole time?"
"Obviously."
The woman's body faded away to nothingness, and Kurama sighed wearily. Releasing his energy from the Rose Whip, he shrank it from whip to flower to a tiny sprig of rosewood. He tucked the dormant rose into the hair at his nape.
"Kurama! Are you okay?" Yusuke called. Kurama blinked sluggishly up at him.
"Fine—" Too quiet, too weak. Kurama tried again. "I'm all right, Yusuke! I'm sorry to have worried you."
Yusuke blushed and scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I wasn't worried…" Hiei scoffed loudly, and Yusuke sent him a dirty look. "I wasn't," he insisted, which only made Hiei smirk. Ugh. And why was Yusuke embarrassed about worrying about Kurama, anyway? Hiei should be embarrassed for not worrying! What a jerk! "Whatever. That was some fight! Good work, Kurama!"
"Thank you." Kurama smiled at the compliment. "I suppose it's time to move forward, then."
"How? You're stuck down there, aren't you?"
"Oh, certainly not."
Yusuke blinked curiously.
Ten minutes later, Yusuke and Hiei were staring down the wall at a long net of climbing plants. Magenta energy glowed at the tips as they crept higher and higher, finally reaching the ninth floor. Kurama climbed the last meter of the makeshift ladder and kneeled on the ninth story balcony. Kuwabara came up the ladder shortly after him, gasping for air, eyes round as saucers and face tinted blue.
"I…am never doing that again," Kuwabara eked out, not quite able to accept that he had just scaled four stories using nothing but energy-enforced vines. "That was way too scary."
"Jeez Kuwabara, it's not like you were the one fighting the monster," Yusuke rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but this was totally different! I could have fallen off these things and died!"
Hiei frowned at Kurama while Yusuke and Kuwabara continued to bicker about the relative safety of climbing plants ("Stop being such a baby, Kuwabara! If Kurama can use these things without pissing himself, you can!" "Have you seen that guy? He's like half my weight!" "So what? He beat a monster ten times his size all by himself!" "Yeah, well, you just watch! I'll take the next one!"). Kurama was still crouched on the floor, panting for breath. Usually he recovered much faster than this. It could only mean one thing…
"You used up the last of your energy, didn't you," Hiei muttered.
Kurama blew a strand of hair out of his face and looked up at Hiei with a wan smile. "I'm afraid so."
"Great… Let's just hope that we don't need any of your plants for the rest of the mission, then," Hiei said, not sounding at all optimistic.
"Oh? If it comes to that, you could always lend me some of your energy," Kurama suggested sweetly. Hiei growled, crossed his arms tightly and quickly turned away to hide his blush.
"Not going to happen," Hiei asserted. "Not in a million years."