A/N: Well, I'm back with my yearly update XD Jk, now that this semester's over I hope to have more time to devote to fanfics. So you might see more of me ^^ Happy reading!
Chapter 10: With You
"That's some entrance," Kuwabara said as the group stood before the tunnel leading into the castle. The eyes and fanged mouth carved into the rock served as an appropriate welcome. Erev shivered.
"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Yusuke commented. "Let's go, guys."
Erev smiled at her brother's willingness to ambush blindly. He sure was an idiot, but at least he was a brave one. She fell into step behind Kurama as they ventured into the brick tunnel, casually flicking the stone at her ear. Serith was waiting patiently in the background. Erev had told him everything about the mission and that he would eventually be required to fight, but for now she wanted time with her brother. And the power boost his spirit provided her body would be a great sneak attack.
A flapping noise brought Erev's attention back to the tunnel as a bat with an eye for a body flew into view.
"Welcome to Labyrinth Castle. Those who dare to enter will be tried at the Gate of Betrayal."
"Tried?" Kuwabara and Yusuke asked simultaneously. The creature moved over to the wall in front of them and pulled down a lever with one of its tentacles. Erev looked up as she heard a large creaking noise. At first it didn't register in her brain, but the ceiling quickly collapsed on all of them. Reflexively, she lifted her arms over her head to protect herself and found that it indeed stopped. She huffed, straining against the weight. It didn't look like the guys were faring much better.
"The gate is keenly, sensitive, quite smart, and very wicked," the bat creature informed. "It analyzes the strength of each person and applies the exact amount of pressure that he can tolerate. If even one of you relaxes in the slightest – splat!!"
"I've heard of buildings having character, but this is ridiculous," Erev ground out. Yusuke cursed. The others only grunted as the demon continued.
"If one of you strives to save himself by escaping, the others will be flattened. If none of you attempts a betrayal, you'll all exhaust yourselves in this futile effort and die together. As you can see, only craven traitors may enter this castle. The choice is yours."
"What a load of crap!" Kuwabara shouted.
Erev clenched her eyes shut. Her arms were beginning to shake under the pressure. She turned to the only person she thought could find a way out.
"Hey Kurama, got any ideas?"
He huffed and sent her a small smile. "One, and I don't think you'd like it. It looks like Yusuke is working on one of his own anyway."
Erev finally noticed her brother talking to Hiei.
"Run out and try to raise that lever by the eye guy!"
"Yusuke! Stop being stupid," she grit out. "He already said he wants us dead. Don't give him an easy way to do it."
"You go, Urameshi. You don't wanna trust that little creep!" Kuwabara said, backing Erev up.
Hiei smirked. "Your friends are right. Do you really want to trust me?"
"I can support your share of the weight for a second or two if I give it all I've got. Go, Hiei. Just don't take too long, 'kay?"
Hiei hesitated for a second before he ran out from under the falling ceiling. Erev's knees buckled as it suddenly got a lot heavier. She mentally snarled at her brother for making things worse. Yusuke's energy spiked. He was trying to hold up the extra weight by himself.
Seeing that Hiei was taking more time than necessary in deciding whether to help them or not, Erev added her own reserve to her brother's. She wasn't going to let him die again without a fight.
"Gefa ut!" Erev receded to the back of her own mind. It was always an odd feeling and she didn't think she would ever really get used to it. She continued to watch, though, in case she was needed later to keep Serith in check.
"Dammit woman! What the hell is this?" were the first words out of Erev's mouth once the spirit took over. He only had to hold up the ceiling for a few seconds before they were released.
"It stopped," Yusuke said, relieved. The four looked up in time to see Hiei slash through the demon's eye.
"Tell your masters I'll spare their lives if they'll submit to my will. They get one chance to beg for their lives. That's it!" he shouted after the retreating bat.
Serith stood by Yusuke as they made their way over to Hiei.
"Good work, Hiei. Thanks!" Yusuke clapped the short demon on the shoulder. "You sure made us sweat with that imperious act of yours. You're one supremely twisted guy."
Hiei grunted and pulled away from the detective. "I didn't do it for your sake. This will go faster with backup."
He resumed walking toward the castle. Kurama took his place a moment later.
"In his own way, he's trying to say 'You're welcome'," the fox encouraged.
Serith scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that."
The other three turned, surprised. They obviously weren't expecting that kind of response from Erev.
"You again!" Yusuke said after a moment, pointing an accusing finger at Serith. The spirit smirked.
"Is there a problem?" he taunted.
"Where's my sister? Give her back!" Yusuke grabbed the collar of Erev's uniform. Serith seemed to contemplate it as he looked up and to the right.
'Well?' Serith asked Erev.
'It's probably a better idea if you stay. We don't know what's up ahead and you'll end up fighting eventually anyway,' she responded. 'But tell Yusuke I'll keep cheering him on from the sidelines.'
Serith grunted. He looked back to Yusuke. "It seems she doesn't want to come out. You're stuck with me, boy."
"I'm watching you," Yusuke glowered. He let Serith go and followed after Hiei.
'That's not exactly what I said,' Erev commented. She was promptly ignored. It wasn't new. She was beginning to expect it from Serith.
The group of detectives continued on through the castle. They decided to head upwards, assuming the strongest demons would be on the top levels. The corridor was eerily silent save the echoing patter of footsteps. At one point Botan called to give Yusuke an update of the happenings in the human world.
Yusuke apparently didn't like the silence that followed and turned to Kurama. "What do you know about these four beasts, Kurama? I mean, I have no idea what we're about to face."
"Well, as you may have gathered from the special measures the underworld took to restrict them, they're very dangerous. And they don't look at all human, so brace yourself for that."
"Such high praise," a voice from behind the door beside them spoke. The five turned, surprised. "I blush."
"This one of them?" Yusuke asked as he threw the door open. Serith rolled his eyes.
"I hope that's a rhetorical question." His comment earned a glare from the detective.
"Welcome. I, Genbu, will take good care of you," the creature before them said. "Behind me is the one staircase in the castle that leads up. Defeat me and gain the stairs . . . or die."
Serith stood at the back of the group. He clenched Erev's fists in frustration. He couldn't fight a demon made of stone. Since Erev had begun her training with Takeo, her body had become stronger, enabling it to handle more of his spirit. Now he could access more of his own energy. The only problem was that it manifested in a way that was completely useless against stones.
He didn't have to worry, though. Kurama stepped forward to fight Genbu one on one. The fight was a short one, even though it turned out to be longer than expected. Kurama had sustained a few injuries by the end of it and they all rushed to his side as soon as the fight was over.
"Genbu was a formidable opponent," Hiei said. "Kurama won't be able to go on."
"No problem! Leave the rest to us." Yusuke gave the fox a thumbs-up.
"Yeah, I'll work the next creepoid over!" Kuwabara put in. Serith laughed.
"You don't even know what's ahead of you. This will be fun to watch," he smirked. The spirit moved forward ahead of the others.
"I still don't like him," Yusuke growled. Kuwabara nodded his agreement.
"It will take time," Kurama put in as he rose to his feet again. "For now, neither party trusts the other."
"Let's keep moving." Hiei followed Serith and the rest soon joined them.
'You don't have to be so mean to them,' Erev said to Serith as they traveled down another long corridor. 'You're going to be stuck with us for a while, so you might as well make friends.'
'How trite,' Serith responded.
'I'm serious! Yusuke's just worried about me, okay? I'm sure he wouldn't be as temperamental around you if it weren't for the situation. Just . . . give him a chance.'
Serith grunted to show he heard, but said nothing. Erev sighed to herself. It was so difficult to get him to respond. The time at Takeo's had helped a little. He would actually talk to her again. He would even be civil about it for the most part. They got along okay, but every time Serith and Yusuke were with each other the two just butted heads. It was annoying for Erev, having the two people closest to her (quite literally) fighting at every chance they got. She knew she couldn't force them to be friends. She just hoped they would eventually warm up to each other enough to hold a real conversation.
A rumbling roar that shook the very walls of the castle interrupted Erev's thoughts.
"What? What was that?" Kuwabara was the first to ask. "It sounds otherworldly."
"Byakko. That's his roar. Sounds like he's in a pretty foul mood," Kurama responded.
"Let's go!" Yusuke took off running. The group of detectives soon found the stairs that led up and came out at the edge of a circular area. It resembled an arena. On the other side, on a raised platform, their opponent stood waiting.
"I can't believe I had to get off my butt to deal with pesky little fleas like you," the tiger announced.
'Ooh,' Erev thought. 'Maybe that means he's out of shape. This could be an easier fight.'
'Don't count on it. Demons don't weaken over time like humans. If a demon gets weaker it's for better reasons than sitting around doing nothing. Byakko's at the same strength he was at when the barrier was set up, if not stronger,' Serith said.
'That's . . . good to know.'
Kuwabara, after some banter with Hiei and Yusuke, stepped forward to fight.
'Go Kuwabara! You're the man,' Erev cheered. She had always held a certain respect for the tall delinquent. It had only gotten stronger since she saw him jump into the spirit detective case without thought to himself or the dangers. It was sweet of him to help, if not a bit stupid.
Erev watched, on edge, as Kuwabara went up against the four doppelganger beasts Byakko summoned. He eventually won through an interesting tactical move, but not without injury. After that he took on the saint beast and though his aura sword seemed to be the worst weapon against Byakko, Kuwabara used it to his advantage to win in the end.
"Scratch another monster." Yusuke grinned, excited. He turned to his friend. "You ok, Kuwabara?"
"More or less."
"A pity." Serith smirked. "I didn't think a human could be saved by stupidity alone."
"Shut it! If you weren't in a girl's body, I'd smash your face in," Kuwabara said. "But I wouldn't hurt Urameshi's sister like that."
'Umm, thanks?'
Serith laughed. "I would've liked to see you try it. It's unfortunate I'm barred from killing humans."
A tense silence settled between Serith and the two human boys.
"Look!" Kurama drew their attention to the destroyed portion of the castle, where Byakko was rising to his feet.
'So is there some rule about being a saint beast that you have to be killed twice to really be dead?' Erev sighed.
"I'll admit I'm impressed. Your tactics were effective," Byakko said. "To show my respect, I'll lead you to my chamber. To the room from hell!"