Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu. I do own Ria.
A/N: Welcome to the ELEVENTH chapter of A Most Unusual Vocation where our team will enter Maze Castle to be tested by the Gates of Betrayal before moving on to Kurama's fight with Genbu. So without further ado, I'll turn it over to Ria. Enjoy!
"This place looks homey," noted Jackass sarcastically as we stood before the sort of gigantic castle you would expect as the backdrop of an old horror movie.
"So I guess we're just gonna walk right in," muttered Meathead who looked like he was ready to run home to his big sister.
"Well, yeah, what else would you have us do?" I replied. "They already know we're here making sneaking around kind of pointless."
"Any prize that's worth having usually requires a risk," added Kurama sagely.
"I say we make them come out here and fight us out front," Kuwabara declared. "If they're not a bunch of sissies, that is."
"Your sense of strategy is amazing," jeered Three Eyes.
"Are you talking to me, runt boy?" demanded Meathead heatedly.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Hiei's right," I said causing the two idiots to stop glaring at each other and glance quizzically at me. I sighed. "Look, the guys were about to go up against aren't your average street thugs who make stupid mistakes if you insult them. They're extremely powerful demons living in a fortress who basically have us over a barrel because they know we want the flute. That's why they came up with this plan in the first place which actually works out better for us considering the sooner we beat those freaks, the sooner we can save the city. Now, are you two going to stop behaving like children so we can get this show on the road already or will I have to tie you up together until you learn to play nice?"
Hiei flushed. "I am not a child."
"Neither am I!" declared Kuwabara.
"Then prove it," I shot back. "Get off your high horses and enter the castle."
"Nice work," Yusuke whispered to me as the five of us headed inside the castle.
"Yes, most impressive," agreed Kurama, walking along my other side. "You even got Hiei to obey you."
"Thanks," I murmured. "So is your mom still doing okay?"
"She is very well," he assured me. "In fact, she inquires after you quite often. Evidently she remains under the impression that you are my girlfriend."
I groaned internally while Yusuke burst out laughing. I elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"Ow," Jackass complained, hunching over in pain. "What was that for?!"
"Like you don't know," I muttered causing him to smirk. I would have hit him again if an eyeball with bat wings had not appeared before us. Yeah, you read that right.
"Welcome to Maze Castle," the eyeball greeted us as he stopped us from reaching the end of the hallway. "Those who enter must be tried by the Gate of Betrayal."
"What do you mean 'tried'?" demanded Yusuke.
The eyeball did not respond instead he flew away to a wall and pulled a hidden lever with one of his tentacles causing the corridor to shake violently.
I shook my head and stared sideways at my partner. "You just had to ask, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah. Not everyone's as smart as you, Ri," Jackass shot back as the ceiling suddenly started to lower. "That's not good."
We braced ourselves and managed to halt the ceiling from crushing us.
"Heavy, isn't it?" remarked the eyeball as it watched us struggle. "Sensors in the corridor are most intelligent and a complex assembly of gears adapts the ceiling's weight precisely to the strength of its victims'. Of course, there is a catch. Just enough lead way remains for one person to escape leaving their friends to be crushed by the weight."
"Hence the name Gate of Betrayal," I noted, gritting my teeth.
"Yes. Now the decision must be made quickly," the flying eyeball continued. "Not even the five of you combined can hold the ceiling for long. Trust on teamwork and everyone will be crushed. Only by turning against your friends will one of you be able to escape. Only the traitor among you deserves to enter Maze Castle."
The freaky bat then laughed and flew away.
"Boy, I'd like to get my hands on that bat thing!" announced Meathead, his momentary lack of concentration causing the ceiling to slide further down.
"Stay focus on the weight or you'll kill us all!" ordered Three Eyes.
"Oh sure, blame me," griped Kuwabara. "I bet I'm holding up a lot more weight than you are!"
"Shut up, both of you!" I yelled. "This isn't the time."
"Well I'm not about to die for the sake of you worthless humans!" Hiei fired back at me.
"Don't you even consider it, Hiei!" warned Kurama.
"Perfect team, huh?" I muttered to Yusuke.
Jackass sighed. "Man, I knew we should have played some trust games."
~ A Most Unusual Vocation ~
"This has always been my favorite part of the trial, watching the way you squirm as your muscles begin to pop and tear at the ceiling's weight," the eyeball confessed, returning after a moment. "But of course, the best is your eyes. Seeing the gears of thought turn in desperation. Thinking? Questioning yourself? How long can I hold this? Will I die this way? Will one friend betray us and escape while we're flattened or should I be the one?"
"Just ignore that punk!" shouted Kuwabara. "Stick together! And if anybody even tries to run, I swear I'll drag him back myself!"
"Ha," snorted Hiei. "I suppose you would think it would be noble if we all died as a team?"
"That's right!" Meathead affirmed.
"Here's a thought. Let's shut up and find a way out of this," muttered Yusuke as the ceiling slid down even further. My partner glanced at Shorty. "Hiei! You're a lot faster than any of us. Ria and I will hold the ceiling up while you go flip the switch."
"Are you serious?!" I demanded, staring at him incredulously. "You're going to put our lives and the fate of the people back home in his hands after all he did and what he just said?"
"The weak woman has a point, detective," agreed Hiei with his usual smirk. "Are you sure you wanna trust me? I've already vowed my revenge on you. Maybe I'll handle that now."
"Yeah but I don't think quick deaths are your style," Yusuke replied before looking at me meaningfully. He grinned like the fool he was after I nodded to signal I would go along with his insane plan. After all, what other choice did we have? "We'll let out all the spirit energy we have left to buy us a little time while you run to the switch. Just don't trip. I trust you. Now go!"
"I swear to God, Shorty, if you get us killed, I'll come back to haunt you for the rest of your life," I promised as Jackass and I gave off all of our power and raised the ceiling enough for Hiei to flash to the switch. The demon paused and glanced back at us. "Come on! Flip it, damn it!"
"There is no need to make snap judgments, my friend," advised the eyeball as Hiei's hand hovered above the lever. "What have they ever done for you? Leave them and you can come with me to the castle. With the invasion of Earth, the Four Saint Beasts will control the future. Be smart. Join us. Perhaps you can be the general of our demon army."
"Don't you dare, you creep!" threatened Meathead. "If it hadn't been for our help, you'd still be screaming with the rest of us."
Hiei laughed causing Kuwabara to inquire what was so funny. "Take a guess, you fool."
"Damn you," Meathead growled.
"Yes, you find amusement in their pain," noted the eyeball approvingly. "Now imagine the satisfaction that will come from their final screams."
"Hiei, stop messing around and flip the switch!" I yelled as the ceiling lowered once more but the demon still refused to budge.
"A wise choice," said the eyeball. "The boulder would have crushed you anyway."
"Thanks for the clue!" Hiei shouted, slicing the eyeball with his sword before finally lifting the lever and dodging the boulder. Three Eyes then smirked at the eyeball flying away in terror. "Tell your masters, this is their chance to beg for mercy."
Yusuke and I sighed in relief as the ceiling returned to normal.
"You guys alright?" inquired Kuwabara.
"Oh yeah, just peachy," I muttered. "We just can't feel our arms right now."
"I knew you'd save us, you punk," declared Yusuke as we made our way over to the former thief. "But you did have me worried for a second there. Hell of an actor. You know not everyone can pretend to laugh at their dying friends."
"Friends are just a crutch for the weak," Hiei replied, walking away. "That wasn't acting. Don't confuse it. The only reason I saved you was because I might need your help."
Kurama chuckled. "That's his way of saying you're welcome. You will learn."
"Uh huh. Right," I murmured as the communication mirror started to go off.
"What is that thing?" asked Meathead after Yusuke had retrieved the device. "Is it safe?"
"It's just the communication mirror that we got from Botan," Yusuke assured him, opening it.
"Hello, Yusuke and Ria? It's Botan here in the living world," greeted our assistance as her face appeared. "You copy?"
"Yeah, we…" Yusuke began but was interrupted by Kuwabara.
"Hey, what's up, Botan?" said Meathead, shoving his ugly mug into view. "This is the brave Kuwabara reporting at your service. I'm taking very good care of Urameshi and Ria."
"I'm so glad to hear that," responded Botan. "I've got things under control here as well, more or less. The Makai insects only like to rest in depressed people's minds. That narrows down my search a bit. I also found another spy for the Saint Beasts. I just can't figure out how they're getting past the barrier."
"Look out behind you!" We shouted as an infected person stumbled towards Botan. The grim reaper hit it on the head with her bat while never taking her eyes off of us.
"Don't worry. These guys are wimps," Botan reassured us. "The real challenge is finding those Makai insects. I've only caught fifteen of those buggers and I've been searching for nearly an entire day."
"Fifteen?! That's not much help!" complained Yusuke.
"Yusuke, fighting people controlled by the insects takes time," our assistant reminded him patiently as she hit the guy who had been struggling to his feet again. "That's why you have to get that whistle as soon as possible."
"Okay, we're trying," replied Jackass. "But this castle is kind of rough."
"Well, of course it is. No one's survived before," Botan before us hanging up.
"She really knows how to boost one's confidence, doesn't she?" I muttered sarcastically.
"No kidding," Yusuke agreed. He then turned his attention to Kurama. "What do you know about these four saint people? Botan pushed us down that hole like a couple of cows and I didn't have a chance to ask her."
"She wouldn't have told you much, I'm afraid," Kurama admitted. "Ever since that barrier wall was raised around this city, Spirit World intelligence virtually forgot this place existed."
"What do you know?" inquired Meathead.
"Let's just say that when you see their bodies, you may be very surprised," the fox responded.
"Geez, cryptic enough?" I murmured.
"Terrified, isn't that more like it?" mused a new voice but no one was there.
"Who said that?!" demanded Kuwabara.
Instead of answering, the voice merely laughed. "There's a door behind you. Please, take it."
Yusuke and Meathead shouldered it open. Jackass then turned to me. "Ladies first."
I rolled my eyes and made my way into the room where a monster composed of stones awaited us. "Okay, not what I was expecting but I can't say I'm entirely surprised."
"I am Genbu of the Four Saint Beasts," announced the demon. "Do any of you have a request, before you die?"
"Yeah, tell me how a beast is a saint. I'm lost," quipped Jackass.
"This stairwell is the only way to the castle tower," continued Genbu, ignoring him. "You can either defeat me and go or be trapped here when you stop breathing! Why don't you all attack me at once? Then the last one left won't feel lonely."
"He's a rock, Urameshi!" yelped Meathead. "How are we supposed to fight a talking rock?!"
"I will fight him," announced Kurama, stepping forward.
"Are you sure?" asked Yusuke.
Kurama nodded. "It would be ill-advised for all of us to attack without first knowing his power. Besides I can hardly let Hiei get all the credit for the mission, now can I?"
"I don't know about this," my partner murmured.
Hiei snorted. "Obviously you're underestimating Kurama. Do you know why I chose him to be my partner? To avoid fighting him myself. Watch, he's more cutthroat than I am when it comes to battle and unbelievably precise."
"I won't lie, I've been wondering what kind of fighter he is," I admitted. "He was the only one from your little team we did not have to battle so I say let's see what he can do."
"Fine but I still don't like this," grumbled Jackass.
"Sir, the first move is yours," said Kurama politely as Genbu sent his tail under the floor.
"Hey! Stone man's doing something freaky with his tail!" Yusuke warned him as the tail reappeared behind Kurama who tried to dodge but suffered a long scratch across his chest.
"Thanks to my body's structure, I can become one with any type of rock," the saint beast gloated. "With a little rearranging, I can make a stone my tail and since this whole chamber is made of stone, I have you surrounded. There's nowhere to run!"
"Oh man, he's wounded," noted Yusuke unnecessarily as Kurama struggled to his feet.
"We should help," suggested Meathead.
"There is no need," Kurama assured them, laying a hand on his wound. "I've been hurt but he will not take me by surprise again."
"Ha, wait until you see the full extent of my power! Then you won't be so confident," Genbu promised him as he fused all of his body into the floor.
"Do something, Kurama!" shouted Kuwabara.
"Why don't you shut up and let him think so he can?" I suggested as Genbu emerged behind Kurama. "This guy's not very original."
Kurama dodged the monster's attack and the beast vanished again.
"You'll never defeat me by just running away," Genbu's voice pointed out needlessly.
"Yes, Genbu, I believe you're right," mused Kurama as he removed a rose from under his hair.
"A flower?" Yusuke murmured confused.
"Now that's weird," said Meathead. "If he's trying to win the beast over, I don't think that's a good idea."
"It's no ordinary flower," Kurama revealed as he made a flourishing motion causing the rose to turn into a whip as petals fell everywhere. "Rose whip!"
"It smells girly," muttered Meathead. I elbowed him.
"You still don't understand your problem," declared Genbu as he remained hidden. "What good will a fancy whip do if you can't tell where I am?"
"Yes, not being able to find you is a problem," Kurama concurred, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again as Genbu reemerged. "Found you."
The demon fox struck out with his whip and slashed the saint beast into chunks.
"It's over," said Hiei smugly as Kurama landed lightly on his feet. "The thorns on Kurama's whip can slice through any substance including solid stone."
Genbu's head stared up at his opponent with wide eyes. "How did you find me?"
"Your smell," Kurama explained. "After filling the room with the roses' sweet aroma, your putrid odor was easy for me to find."
"Well that's not fair," remarked Jackass. "Why is it none of my fights can end that quick?"
"You beat him with one blow," added Meathead. "Now that's what I call a whip."
"Idiots," said Hiei, condescendingly. "It only looked easy because Kurama was the one fighting. If you had fought, you would have died in under a minute."
"That really was impressive," I agreed as Hiei and Kuwabara began to bicker again. "We're so used to focusing on the physicality aspect that I forget how important strategy can be."
"You do not always forget," corrected Kurama. I raised a dark eyebrow. "I heard how you tried to utilize strategy to defeat Rando at Genkai's tournament. With a little more practice, you could become an even better-rounded fighter."
"Don't go giving her any ideas," interjected Yusuke teasingly before I could respond. "I like being the stronger one."
I rolled my eyes while Kurama chuckled. "Whatever, let's just grab the children and go up to the next level."
"It appears my fight is not over," noted Kurama suddenly as Genbu reassembled himself.
"You can disassemble me all you like. I'll come back every time," the saint beast declared. "Actually, it makes for a very nice attack."
To prove his point, Genbu repeatedly disassembled and reassembled himself to attack Kurama who dodged before reaching out and grabbing something.
"You're not even fighting back now. Those blows must have made you insane," deduced Genbu as he put himself back together except this time his head was where his balls should have been causing the idiots to burst out laughing. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Now you're laughing at nothing. Wait, how did you get on the ceiling? What's going on? What did you do to me?!"
"I took this," Kurama replied as he held up a glowing red stone. "I believe this is the equivalent of the hypothalamus portion of the brain. It regulates all the functions of your body including the process of putting yourself back together. It also seems to relay an energy signal when you separate making it very easy to find."
Kurama then bid his opponent farewell as he tossed the stone into the air and cut it in half with his rose whip.
Yep, I was definitely impressed and more than a little glad we did not have to fight him before I concluded to myself as the fox demon knelt in pain.
"Are you okay?" I asked him as we rushed over to his side. "That cut's more serious than you were willing to admit, isn't it?"
"If Kurama is injured, we're going to have some problems," said Hiei unhelpfully.
"I'm sorry, you two," Kurama murmured, glancing at Yusuke and me.
"Don't be," I told him, shaking my head. "You were awesome."
Yusuke nodded. "Ri's right. You've earned yourself a break."
"Yeah, I'll handle the next one," declared Meathead.
A/N: And there you have it. Hope you all enjoyed. I just want to let everyone know I will be working on Abnormal Childhood for quite some time as well as a bunch of one-shots set in the Naruto, Walking Dead, and X-Men worlds for the next couple of months so the next chapter of this may not be until December. Til then, read review and show the love!