Chapter seven is here! Thanks to everyone who has read so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter and what's to come!
As usual, Yu Yu Hakusho rightfully belongs to the wonderful Yoshihiro Togashi, who, sadly, I am not. All I own are the ideas in my head and my OCs.
With the New Year came the knowledge that Ashton and Kurama's wedding was one month closer. It was all the princess was able to think about, even as the group made plans to celebrate and ring in the New Year that night.
"Ashton, are you even paying attention?" The kitsune jolted slightly when she heard her name. She blinked several times and looked at Yusuke, the one who'd addressed her.
"I'm sorry," she sheepishly apologized. "My mind's been wandering so much lately… What were you saying?" Seeming slightly annoyed at having to repeat what he'd said, Yusuke told her that they were all planning on hiking up to one of the cliffs on Silverloch Mountain to watch the fireworks that they were going to have set off.
"That sounds like a good idea," she replied with a slight nod of her head. "The cliffs will be a good place for us to watch the fireworks."
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Late in the afternoon, Ashton was out on her balcony. She was leaning against the railing, looking out on the town of Winterhaven. Few people were out and about that day; most were inside preparing for their celebrations that night.
Ashton was just about to return inside when movements on the northern outskirts of the town caught her eyes. They were wearing long grey coats, the bottoms, sleeves, and hoods lined with fur. Though the hoods were pulled up, Ashton could still make out their faces. Her eyes widened, and she staggered backwards away from the railing.
"Oh… Oh kami," the princess whispered as she ran back inside. It didn't take her long to find her friends; they were all in the dining room sitting around the table and talking to Koenma. The room fell silent when she burst into the room, nearly in tears.
"Ash, what's wrong?" Kurama was on his feet before the doors had even closed behind Ashton. He walked over to her and gently gripped her hands. She hugged him tightly and cried into his shoulder.
"Merihk and Kilala!" she sobbed. "They're on the northern outskirts of town!"
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The group of eleven made their way out of the castle. Yukina, Botan, and Koenma had been instructed to stay inside with Tefy since neither of them were fighters of any sort. They had been told to take the girl into the basement to show her the maze of tunnels underneath the castle to keep her busy and occupied for some time.
The eleven fighters stood silently in the fields east of the castle. A brisk southerly wind whipped their hair, but none of them seemed to mind. Their eyes were set ahead, waiting to see Kilala and Merihk. It did not take them long to.
"My, my, we even have a group here to welcome us, Kilala." Three yards separated Merihk and Kilala from Ashton and her friends. Merihk's voice sent shivers down Ashton's spine. Kurama tightened his grip on his fiancée's hand.
"Yes…" Kilala drew the word out, hissing the s and ending with a slight purr. She lowered her hood and studied the group; her eyes lingered on Ashton for a moment before she moved on.
"It's too bad that we will be the last people that they ever get to see," the neko added. As she spoke, she drew her weapon, a sword whose guard was styled to resemble a butterfly, its wings inlaid with an orange-colored material and turquoise. Its grip was of a gray metal with pentagrams engraved on it. Merihk, likewise, drew his sword. The sword's guard was styled to resemble a mouth with jade pieces for teeth, the blade extending from it like a tongue. Its pommel bore a single onyx.
Yusuke laughed cockily.
"You two will never be able to defeat us on your own!" he arrogantly told them. A devilish twinkle appeared in Merihk's eyes.
"Who said we were alone?" The man brought one hand up, and from the snow around them appeared a small army of snow demons. Yusuke took a slight step back in surprise. He clenched his teeth for a moment.
"You still won't beat us!" the boy replied.
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The fight that ensued was not one that would soon be forgotten. Ashton had insisted that Kilala be left for her to deal with; the two were off to the side fighting their differences out. Kurama and Yusuke were dealing with Merihk, and though the army of snow demons was not large, it took the other eight members of the group to tackle them and take them down.
Neither group seemed to be making any real progress as the fight wore on. Kilala had been killed by Ashton, but the princess was struggling to hold her own now that she was surrounded by demons on all sides. She was quickly growing tired, as were the others.
The blast seemed to come from nowhere. One moment, Ashton was fighting against one of the fiercer snow demons. The next, her body had been thrown into the air by the large, bright green ball of energy that had been shot her way. Yusuke's spirit gun attack, which he'd used early to no avail, had been copied by Merihk and used against them. A pained scream tore from Ashton's throat.
"Ashton!" Kurama shouted as his fiancée's limp body began to fall back to the ground. He abandoned the fight with Merihk in favor of going to catch her. He dropped his whip, and it landed on the ground as a blood red rose. The redhead ran to where Ashton was falling to; he caught the princess in his arms and knelt down, cradling her gently. Her breathing was heavy, and she looked to be in great pain. She opened her eyes and looked up at Kurama. She brought one hand up and gently stroked her lover's tear-stained cheek.
"I love you, Kurama," she whispered. She coughed several times, and blood trickled down her cheek from the corner of her mouth. "Take care of everything for me, my love." Kurama bit his bottom lip hard. He gripped Ashton's hand and kissed the back of it.
"Don't speak," he told her. "Everything's going to be okay. You're not going to die. I won't let that happen." Ashton smiled sadly.
"I love you," she repeated. Her eyes slipped shut and her head fell to the side as her body went limp once more. For what seems like ages, Kurama wept the passing of his fiancée even as the sounds of the battle around them filled the air.
"You will pay for this, Merihk!" the redhead cried out. He lightly laid his princess' body on the ground and rose. He turned and began to walk to where Merihk was still fighting with Yusuke. He passed Kilala's body on the way, and he glanced at her with disdain as he passed.
As Kurama slowly walked, parts of him changed to mirror his demon form. His hair grew longer and faded to silver, and his eyes flashed between colors before finally settling on liquid gold. His body changed to that of Youko. His outfit, similar to the one he'd worn during the Dark Tournament, changed to Youko's usual attire. Behind him swished his silver tail and his ears twitched atop his head. When he spoke, his voice had changed as well, becoming deeper than Kurama's voice.
"You bastard," the fox whispered. He glared at Merihk through slitted eyes. His arms were crossed, and smoke began to pour from his opened palms. Yusuke, recognizing the smoke screen from when it had been used against Elder Toguro years before, quickly stepped back as the smoke engulfed the two foxes.
Merihk made not a sound as he closed his eyes, listening for the crunch of snow that would make him aware of Youko's approach. Time crawled by before he heard what he was searching for. Turning to his left, an 'ah-hah' slipped past his lips as he thrust his sword forward. He could make out the form of Youko, and the smoke cleared slightly so that he could see that his sword had impaled the fox. Youko's eyes were wide as he coughed up blood. After a moment, he grinned.
"Weakling," he spat. "That didn't hurt at all." Merihk cried out in frustration as he pulled his sword from Youko's body. He began to slash at the fox, gashes bleeding profusely on Youko Kurama's body. His face showed no pain, though, nor did he cry out. This only served to anger Merihk even more.
"What's going on in there?" Madarao asked as cries filled the air. The snow demons had all been defeated. Everyone was now standing with Yusuke and Hiei, watching the smoke that hung in the air.
"I have a pretty good feeling," Yusuke replied, but he didn't say anything more.
It took time, but the smoke slowly began to clear. The group was soon able to make out two figures. One was that of Youko Kurama. He walked past his friends to where he's left Ashton's body. Kneeling down, he took her into his arms again and began to weep. His friends watched sadly for several moments before returning their attention to the smoke again. The cries from within could still be heard.
"It's that tree thing!" Kuwabara exclaimed when the smoke had fully disappeared. He was referring to the Sinning Tree, which now had Merihk wrapped up in it. The demon struggled as the hallucinations drove him crazy. The tree's tendrils tightened, restraining Merihk further.
"He must have planted the seed when we were fighting that guy earlier," Yusuke commented. Shrugging, he turned and walked over to Kurama, who had changed from his demon to human form again. He placed on hand on the fox's shoulder, but it didn't faze the man.
"Kurama, she's gone," Yusuke said as gently as he could manage. "There's nothing any of us can do for her. She wouldn't want you to be upset like this." Finally registering that he was being addressed, Kurama looked up. Immeasurable pain could be seen in his emerald eyes.
"How would you feel if you were in my shoes and Keiko had just lost her life because you weren't there to protect her like you'd promised her you would?" Kurama asked. Yusuke froze. He couldn't answer the question, unable to fathom the amount of grief that he –or in this case, Kurama– would face.
This chapter has so far been my least favorite to write, but I knew what I had to do to reach where I want to take this story. So don't hate me for what I did, okay?
Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.
Much love,
Pandah