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Have another chapter for being awesome!

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Enjoy!


"Once more into the fray. Into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day."

Unknown

Into The Fray


"They're… everywhere," I murmured as I balked just outside of the revolving doors, staring at the scene in front of me with horrified fascination.

It was a swarm of demonic insects—everywhere I looked, I could count at least ten of them flying around in a dense cloud. Several large ones buzzed a little closer to the ground, heavy with small wings, and deftly avoided pedestrians and cars alike as the oblivious innocents traveled through the shopping district of Mushiyori city. As I watched, a long, spindly-looking insect alighted onto one woman's shoulder as she stood a few feet off to my right talking on a pay phone. Grimacing, I yanked off a glove and my pendant and strode towards her, stretching out my hand. She didn't even notice when the insect evaporated as my aura brushed it.

Frowning, I pocketed the Barrier Stone and my gloves and walked back to the group.

We had split up right before our train arrived in the city. I was with Genkai, Yusuke, Yana and Kido. Kurama was the leader of the other group—they were traveling to the heart of the psychic distortion that was behind the creation of the tunnel, which they guesstimated was on the other side of town. Botan, Kaito, and Kuwabara were with him.

"How come they can't see these bugs?" Yana asked, looking disgusted as he flapped at an insect that had flown a little too close. "Everyone's acting normal…"

He looked very stressed—there were bags under his eyes; he obviously hadn't gotten much sleep. He sounded more aggravated than grossed out at this point, so I did him a favor and incinerated the insect that was flying too close for comfort.

"Because they don't have spiritual awareness," Genkai answered gruffly. Her ancient eyes were hard and calculating. She glanced over at Yana. "Enough chitchat. As you can see, we don't have any time to waste. Let's go."

We set out at a brisk pace which matched the gait of the shoppers in the walking district. It was a Saturday, so it was very busy—there were people everywhere. We were hoping to find more psychics that had been created from the proximity of the tunnel, and possibly find and confront some of the conspirators behind the construction of the tunnel. If Genkai deemed that to be a wise decision, of course. If their energy was too strong, then we would simply follow them and find out what we could via observation.

"Glad you're here, Sparky," Yusuke uttered after about ten minutes of walking. Yana and Kido were sticking to me like glue, because my aura created a five-foot radius that the insects either shied away from or were obliterated by. Yusuke wasn't too bothered by the insects, but he had edged a bit closer too. He frowned and slapped an insect as it attempted to land on his shoulder. "You're keeping most of these things from landing on us…"

"Here, have one of these," I said, and pulled my backpack over my shoulder, reaching to grab one of the five paper wards Genkai had given to me. "I'll need it back by the end of the day, but it should keep the insects off of you and grandma—"

I bit off the end of my sentence and froze as something washed over me—a pressure, like the sound coming off of an explosion. Something you couldn't see but was just as tangible as the blast behind it.

The others had come to a stop as well; Genkai looked grim.

"Did you sense that?" she asked unnecessarily.

Yusuke nodded, and glanced about him—Yana, Kido, and I did the same, looking for the source of the psychic disturbance. "Yeah…" he said slowly, quietly. He pulled his hands out of his pockets; they formed loose fists at his sides. "We just walked into a psychic's territory, didn't we?"

"It's the same feeling I got from the house last night," I murmured, a few unlucky insects being reduced to ash as my aura flared up slightly from nervousness and anticipation. "It must be another psychic."

"The question is… are they nice?" Yana asked as Yusuke took the paper ward from me and shoved it in his blazer's pocket.

I heaved a sigh as I figured out what was coming, and re-shouldered my backpack. "Only one way to find out…"

We followed Genkai as she took a few steps toward a building on our left. There was an open door there, and stairs leading underground. They were dimly lit, and I grimaced as I remembered Genkai's test. I had nightmares about that last night…

"Well, these stairs look happy enough," Yusuke grumbled, sounding immensely displeased with this turn of events. Genkai shot him a sidelong look.

"You remember your lesson, Yusuke." It was an order.

Yusuke nodded, and shoved his hands back into his pockets. The ward crinkled slightly from the abuse. "Don't worry, I won't screw up."

He lead the way down the stairs.


"Good morning!" two friendly-sounding voices greeted us as our motley crew strode into the small diner. They were two young people, a man and a woman—the woman looked younger than the guy. The man was standing behind the bar, and the woman stood off to the side, holding an empty serving tray.

There were three boys sitting in the back of the diner, at a booth. One man was sitting in a booth, alone, with his back to us. Six people who could be the psychic—I couldn't narrow it down; the aura filled the room like stale cigarette smoke. I couldn't find the source.

I chanced a glance at Yusuke and Genkai; Yusuke was frowning in confusion and Genkai's eyes were scanning the room. They couldn't figure it out either. I heard clanking in a room behind the bar—judging from the size of the diner; it wouldn't require more than five workers. So… eight to ten possibles.

Or… I bit my lip. What if they were all psychics, and they all opened up their territories at the same time? That could be why we couldn't pinpoint that particular psychic…

I just hoped it was because the psychic's aura was unnatural, created by the closeness of the distortion.

I saw Yana looking at me out of the corner of my eye, and glanced up at him briefly before scanning the room again.

"Heh… if you guys want something from me, just ask…"

My eyes snapped to the man with his back towards us as he folded his newspaper and set it down on the table in front of him. He edged out of the booth, rose to his feet, then turned and faced us with a knowing smirk.

His gaze flicked to mine, and his smirk widened. "Just me, Reina."

My name…? I thought, bewildered and worried. Genkai glanced at me, frowning, and I shrugged.

"I've never met him, Genkai," I whispered. She nodded and fixed her gaze on the psychic, who stood between his booth and the bar, his arms loose at his sides. He was tall, with wide shoulders. His hair was jet black, as were his eyes.

His eyes roamed over our group, and he tilted his head slightly, studying us. "You must be some more… power freaks," he observed quietly, maliciously, his eyes taking on a gleam that I didn't like one bit.

"H-hey, I don't want any trouble here, okay?" the man who had greeted us earlier stammered from behind the bar. The woman edged behind the bar as well, her eyes wide. "I've got mouths to feed!" the man pleaded, holding out his hands towards the psychic.

"Don't worry, I don't want trouble either," the psychic said breezily, not even glancing at the man. "And yes… I know you don't have insurance on this place."

The man behind the bar—the manager—recoiled slightly in shock, confirming my suspicions.

"Mind reader," I grunted. I saw Kido nod at me, agreeing.

Yusuke took half a step forward, edging in front of Genkai a ways. "We're looking for the tunnel-digging type," he informed the psychic carefully.

The psychic grinned cockily. "The tunnel to Demon World, right? You five are so worried about it—it's constantly in the background of your thoughts. You aren't going to do a very good job finding the tunnel-digging types if you're so… distracted."

Yusuke withdrew, and turned slightly to glance at us. "Either he's really a mind reader, or he's one of them and already knew about it," he muttered. Genkai nodded once in approval.

Kido set his shoulders and brushed past Yusuke. "I'll check him."

"Careful," I hissed as Kido strode slowly towards the psychic.

There was a lamp behind the psychic that cast the man's shadow across the floor towards our group. Kido stopped short of it by a few feet and watched the psychic carefully.

Kido's territory wasn't as strong as the psychic's from a distance because it was more focused to where he was standing—I felt it dissipate a few feet behind us after spreading throughout the room. I bit the inside of my lip as the psychic's eyebrow quirked upwards in response.

Then, with a shout, Kido lunged for his shadow.

The psychic sighed in almost a bored way as he stepped to the side; Kido's foot missed his shadow by inches.

"Watch out!" Yusuke shouted, but it was too late.

The psychic's fist caught Kido's jaw a split second later, throwing him off balance. Showing no mercy, the psychic brutally landed a few punches on Kido's ribcage, even kicking him in his side before ramming his shoulder against Kido's chest, throwing him backwards onto the floor.

I rushed forward, hesitating for a second before I bent down to tend to Kido because the psychic was still standing over him. He saw me looking, shrugged, and took a few steps back, grinning the entire time. I grabbed Kido and lifted him gingerly into a sitting position, letting his head rest on my shoulder.

"Shit…" he murmured, lifting a hand to wipe a trickle of blood that was starting to run out of his nose. He winced and curled an arm over his ribcage.

"Anything broken?" I asked worriedly, and he shook his head.

"Just my pride," he grunted, and glanced up at me blearily. "I'll be fine. He's definitely a mind reader, though—he moved his shadow just enough so that I couldn't step on it. He read my mind…"

He started to stand, and I helped him rise to his feet, steering him to the booth closest to the door.

The boys that had been sitting in the back of the diner left their money on the table and left quietly. I glanced back at Yusuke, and nodded grimly. He set his jaw and turned his attention back to the psychic.

"Don't call the police just yet," the psychic growled, glaring at the manager, who had just picked up the phone behind the bar. The man dropped the receiver as if it were a poisonous spider and threw his hands up in the air, waving them nervously.

"Wouldn't dream of it—!" the manager squeaked. The girl was doing the best she could to hide behind her serving tray.

The psychic turned back to us, and lifted his fists, lowering himself into a defensive stance. "I can sense that you two boys want to come over here and fight me—but I'll give you fair warning." He shifted his weight to each foot, bouncing slightly, light on his feet. "With this little talent I've developed, I plan to be a boxer… I'll be able to know my opponents' moves before they even make it, and I'll rake in the winnings."

"We still need to figure out whose side he's on," I murmured, flicking my gaze to Genkai's. She met my gaze, then looked up at Yusuke, and nodded him forward.

Yusuke rolled his shoulders and advanced slowly, sizing up his opponent. Kido glanced up, paying rapt attention as the two stared at each other.

"Tell you what," Yusuke said casually, raising his right hand and curling it into a fist. "Since you're going to pick my next move from my mind anyway, I'll just tell you right now what I'm going to do." Yusuke smirked at the psychic as his expression slowly turned to confusion. "I'm going to come at you with a right hook—but chances are I'll stop short before I hit you. Got that?"

The psychic slowly stood straight, easing out of his boxer's stance and peering at Yusuke curiously.

"Get ready for it," Yusuke said cheerfully. He lowered himself into a crouch. "'Cause here I come!"

Yusuke launched himself forward, obviously holding himself back because he didn't blur in his speed. The psychic just stood there with his arms relaxed at his side as Yusuke's fist came up—

And stopped short.

Kido and I had barely enough time to shoot each other a confused look before the psychic went flying.

The man flew back and slammed into the wall, breaking off bits of plaster upon impact. He was unconscious before he slid to the ground. Blood trickled out of his nose and mouth as his head lolled forward, chin resting against his chest.

There was a long silence.

"What… what the hell was that?" Yana exclaimed, taking a few steps towards Yusuke.

"Thirty percent of his strength," Genkai said with a sly, barely-there smile. "When you're as strong as Yusuke, you don't need to touch your opponent to knock him off his ass."

"Well done, Yusuke," I said appreciatively, grinning as he turned to look back at us.

"I warned the guy… y'know, except for the whole shockwave thing," he said with a smirk. He waved Yana forward. "Your turn, Yana. Check his memory out for us, will ya?"

Yana shrugged and strode forward, kneeling next to the psychic. He lifted a hand and touched the man's temple briefly. I blinked as his territory opened up around us.

Yana's hair shot backwards into his skull and darkened. His features became flatter, simpler, and his skin tone darkened to match the fallen psychic's. When he turned towards us, the manager and the waitress gasped in shock—he was an exact copy of the man.

"His name's Murota," Yana said in the psychic's gravelly voice. "He isn't one of the bad guys, but he doesn't have any heroic aspirations…"

"Too bad," Genkai said simply. "Wake him up; he can still be of use to us."

As Yusuke and Yana worked on waking up Murota, I walked over there and kneeled next to Yana, whose features were starting to revert back to his own. The manager and the waitress had long since disappeared into the kitchen, and Genkai had followed them, either to make up a cover story or threaten them into forgetting everything they had just witnessed, including Yana's transformation.

Knowing her, it was probably the latter.

"Yana… I have a question," I stated, touching his shoulder briefly to get his attention.

He let Yusuke take over waking up Murota, and turned to me.

"Why didn't that happen when you shook our hands back at the house?" I asked, waving at him and Murota in one gesture. "I'm assuming you can't decide whether or not to change your appearance when you copy someone…"

He nodded. "You're right, I can't make that decision—it happens automatically. But I only get to change what I look like when I touch someone's head. When I shake someone's hand or whatever, I'm just getting a quick look at their memories and mannerisms."

I nodded, and Murota groaned, coming to. Yana, Yusuke, and I stood as he squinted, blinking blearily up at us.

"Let's try this again," Yusuke said, and offered Murota his hand. "We'd like your help. After you've helped us you can get back to chasing your fighting dreams, okay? But for right now, come with us."

The psychic nodded meekly and took Yusuke's hand, rising unsteadily to his feet. Kido had already risen, wincing a little when he stretched some, but he seemed otherwise okay.

Yusuke led us out of the diner; Murota walking behind him and everyone else filing after them. I reached out and tapped Yana's shoulder again; he hung back and walked next to me as we went up the stairs.

"Why did you change your mind about copying me?" I asked as we slowly ascended the stairs to the street.

Yana sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, then let his arm fall to his side and frowned at me.

"Hurts my pride to say this, but… after seeing just bits and pieces of your memory, I was too freaked out to copy you. I had nightmares last night anyway, but it would've been worse if I had copied all your memories…"

I mirrored his frown as we stepped outside, blinking from the sudden brightness. The two of us hesitated as the others began walking down the sidewalk.

"Nightmares…?" I asked worriedly.

Yana nodded, avoiding eye contact. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… that Karasu guy. I mean—fuck, Reina…"

My blood froze in my veins when I heard how disturbed he was—when I remembered all the reasons he had to be disturbed. He had more than enough reason to balk after witnessing that.

"And I relived the memories through your eyes when I did that semi-copy. Sure, Kuwabara had his share of bloody fights, but the kid wasn't even scared… I mean, you had every reason to be scared, and on top of that, with Ryo—"

"—Don't," I said a little too sharply, cutting him off. He looked concerned, so I wrenched a smile on my face, and shook my head. "I just… don't like talking about it. I'm sorry that you saw some of that—just keep in mind that Karasu's dead now." I nodded quickly. "The nightmares will become less… vivid if you remember that. Trust me."

"Okay, Reina," he said, and let the subject drop, sensing that I absolutely did not want to talk about it. We walked quickly to catch up with the others.


"So… how does it work, Murota? In a crowd like this, who all can you hear?" Yusuke asked, leaning over to glance at him.

We were sitting in the center of the walking district; on a ledge surrounding a large obelisk that had the town's name and date of establishment inscribed on it. Yusuke and Genkai were sitting on either side of Murota; I sat next to Yusuke and Yana stood next to me. Kido was standing next to Genkai, scanning the square along with Yusuke's old mentor.

"Every thought that's within thirty yards of me," Murota grunted, and wiped sweat from his brow with a trembling hand. "It comes to me all at once… like it's one big conversation. The more intense the thought… the louder it seems to me. Like the person is screaming across a crowded room." He fiddled with the tissue stuffed up his nose (placed there to stop the nosebleed that Yusuke had given him).

"It's… painful sometimes," he murmured, wincing and clenching his hands in front of him, elbows resting heavily on his knees.

"That sucks man, but you've got some scouting to do," Yusuke said firmly. "Get to it."

"Check everyone's minds for anything… strange," Genkai added quietly. "If you notice anything like that, let us know. But don't let on that you know, and do not make eye contact with them. They'll have powers too, and will sense when they're in your territory."

"I'll try," Murota said glumly, and stared down at his feet.

Suddenly, he gasped and jerked his head up, staring wide-eyed across the square.

"Eye contact is bad," I hissed frantically.

"T-that girl…" he whispered, horrified. I followed his gaze and saw a girl standing there. She was wearing the same school uniform that Keiko wore to her school, and checking her watch. Must've just gotten out of cram school.

"She's… she's going to make out with her teacher…!" he cried. "We need to stop her!"

With an enraged growl, Yusuke took a hold of Murota's collar and jerked him out of his seat.

"We are trying," he hissed, "to save humanity! Focus!"

"Y-you really do want to kill me," Murota said between gasps—the hold Yusuke had on his collar was cutting off his air supply.

"You don't have to be a mind reader to figure that one out!" Yusuke snarked, and shoved Murota back onto the ledge. "Your ass parks here until you find something," he said sternly, crossing his arms.

"Y-yes sir…"

A while later, I checked my watch. 1:46. I glanced over at Yusuke, and he sighed, jabbing Murota with his elbow.

"Hey, have you found anything yet…?" he murmured. Yusuke frowned, and turned fully towards the psychic, peering at his face. I leaned forward to do the same; Murota was sweating buckets. His eyes were wide; his teeth were clenched. He was shaking.

"Murota…?" Yusuke pressed in undertone.

Murota swallowed, nodded jerkily, and whispered:

"Y-yes. I've definitely found something."

Genkai's head swiveled slightly towards him, but her eyes never stopped roaming the square. Kido turned towards Murota, and Yana leaned over me slightly to listen.

Murota's hands shot up suddenly to cradle his head; he bent over and shook. His lips trembled; he shuddered. Then suddenly, he let out a groan that grew into a low wail—Yusuke clapped his hand on his shoulder and shook him.

"Shut up; they'll hear you," he growled.

"I-I'm sorry," Murota whimpered. "It's just—I can't take it any more! The voice is s-so loud—but it's quiet too… savage and dark—please, let me go!"

I gritted my teeth and my hand automatically curled into fists. Dread knotted in my stomach.

"I'll take care of him," Yusuke promised, scanning the square. "Just tell me who he is…"

Murota had to take a few moments to collect himself, but then he whispered:

"He's coming from the right… he's tall, he's wearing black. His hair's slicked back."

I couldn't help myself—I had to look.

I spotted him instantly.

His gait was long and elegant, like a panther's. He was painfully obvious in these mundane surroundings—his very presence was lethal, majestic and warped beyond repair. There was something very different in the way he held himself—he was like a god, a dark angel who had descended upon the earth.

He turned his head suddenly, and looked at our group with eyes that missed nothing.

He smiled charmingly.

Murota's head snapped back and he fell unconscious into the grass that surrounded the obelisk. I shot to my feet and branched out my aura as far as I could—it ballooned outwards and stretched towards the man in black, killing all the insects in range instantly.

As soon as my aura touched him; his eyes flicked to mine. In them, darkness. A deep, resounding hatred—just under the surface.

I staggered back, and pulled my aura back towards me, my heart leaping into my throat.

He turned, and disappeared into the gathering crowd. I set my teeth and whirled to check on Murota. He was being held up by Yusuke, and the telepath was completely unresponsive. His head rolled back and forth; his arms were limp at his sides.

"Somebody call an ambulance!"

At least the innocent onlookers were good for something…

A few minutes later, I heard the sirens. About thirty seconds after that, the crowd parted and the ambulance drove into the square. Two paramedics jumped out and unfolded a gurney. They loaded him on and allowed all five of us to squeeze into the back of the ambulance—Murota was stable and the hospital was only a few blocks away.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Kido asked quietly as Murota twitched and winced on the gurney. Yana was holding a cloth to the telepath's forehead—it was bleeding. Apparently, he had been shot.

"Not a lot of people survive a bullet to the brain…" Yusuke answered, staring concernedly down at the psychic.

Genkai shook her head as we slowed to a stop to make a turn. "He's been shot yes, but he'll be all right. This," Genkai rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a small, flat, white object, "is the bullet he took." She held it up and everyone leaned in to see.

"An… eraser?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I was seeing it correctly.

"No way!" Yusuke snatched the eraser from Genkai's hand and studied it closely. "He got his head cracked open… by a pencil eraser?"

"Yes," Genkai said grimly. "It's a warning."


Finally got some action! I'm so glad to be done with the filler chapters, guys XD. Finally getting to the good part! The next chapter is going to be filled with action! (And you get to see Kurama again! :P)

Hope you liked it! Leave a review on your way out! :)