Saria: FLORIDA!
Tori: WARM WEATHER!
Zas: T-SHIRT!
SA: And I have one snowball left... (considers all three as they jump into around in the sand)
zzzzzzzzzz
Toguro stared at his wife in mild shock while his mind caught up with what had happened here. Behind her, Kuwabara was grumbling as he removed his uniform from Yana's inert form.
If he remembered correctly, after waking the unconscious boy aka: Yana, they had been shown to some stairs and had to climb those. The stairs were strange though, a warped space in of themselves. His set had turned orange and as he climbed he could have sworn he heard screams that reminded him of Yusuke. Kurama had actually opened the door at the top of his staircase and his call of wanting to know if he was alright had broken the spell.
Hiei and who he thought was Kuwabara were already at the top of their stairs. His eyes though focused on the last psychic who was standing before Botan. It had taken him a minute to realize that she didn't look scared, oddly calm in fact.
A challenge was issued to them to discover the imposter in their group. The demand had thrown them all slightly off but it was Hiei who had pulled through for them this time.
As Kurama and Kuwabara had started firing questions to try to find an imposter, Hiei pointed at Kuwabara.
"You took a moment longer to react than the rest of us!"
"What?! Now you're just being weird shorty!"
Hiei's eyes narrowed. "Ordinarily I would say that it just took the idiot longer to register what was said, but this time was different. It almost seemed like he was thinking."
"Aah!" 'Kuwabara' had yelled in aggravation before pointing back at Hiei. "How do we know you're not the fake?! Maybe we should just knock you out!"
"Try me," was the response.
"What is your sister's name?" Kurama interjected to break up the fight.
"Shizuru," Kuwabara replied but was waved away by Kurama who was focused on Hiei.
Hiei glared at the fox before snapping, "You know her name well enough."
Toguro glanced between the bickering pair before focusing on Kuwabara, more importantly his unbruised knuckles. With all the training they had been doing Kuwabara's knuckles were always a bit bruised at least.
Reaching over, he had given the imposter a quick knock to the head, knocking him out and breaking his technique.
The news of what was happening in Mushiyori City had caught them all by surprise and Toguro could already see the gears in Hiei's head turning. He knew the demon was still looking for Yusuke's murderer but with no clues turning up in Ningenkai it was just a matter of time before he would try to return to Makai. It was no surprise he left but the rest of the group had remained.
They had headed downstairs then and Genkai had returned Kaito's soul to his body.
Finally feeling as though the world had regained its sense, Toguro leaned heavily against the wall behind him and slid down into a sitting position as the various human children and one demon settled around the room. Genkai joined him a moment later.
"What was with those stairs?" Toguro managed to force out after a few minutes.
Genkai blinked at him in confusion. "It should have just been disorienting and distracting," she replied.
"It was." Toguro swallowed the lump in his throat. "I could have sworn I heard her screaming again."
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Elder Toguro stared at the utterly destroyed training room before him. He had not used his powers at all, just kicked and punched for the first time in over twenty years, letting his aggression out completely and totally. He had lost track of time completely.
Yusuke was dead.
The emptiness was terrible and ached horribly and despite there was no punching bag left, he continued to kick at whatever was still standing.
Yusuke was dead.
His body was covered in bruises now due to him no longer being hardened the way he had been as a human. It was startling, his body was flexible and so capable as a demon yet it was his human body he missed now.
Yusuke was dead. And there was a portal to Makai forming in Mushiyori City.
It occurred to him that Genkai might not have initially intended to tell him this but he was certain it was a clue of some sort. Perhaps she felt he could support his brother in this?
Kicking a broken piece of wood away, the demon finally moved towards the door. He was going to Mushiyori City.
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Yusuke grinned as she followed Yakan up the "bridge" to the next basement. He had struck her as alright back in training on Mukuro's ship, away from that she was seeing a rather funny guy.
Unlike Shigure who was a bit commanding but who she found to be a calming presence, Yakan was more friendly.
He proved quite talkative once they were away from the mobile fortress and had revealed that he had had a hanyou for a half-brother who had died about a century before due to Yomi's rules and views. The drive for revenge had led to him joining Mukuro's army. He had decided on Mukuro simply because there was a murmur going around that Raizen wouldn't last much longer. Had his brother survived though, they probably would have both gone to Raizen's territory.
The end result was he saw nothing wrong with hanyous and was one of the few that could respect them as people without them having to gain huge levels of power.
"So, ran from Yomi's territory when a recruiter was trying to kill you?" he clarified after she told him how she had met Shigure. "That bastard can't seem to respect life. Did you lose anyone?"
"My two traveling companions," Yusuke admitted. "But they were pure youkai."
"How'd you get away?" Yakan looked a bit bothered right then.
"Bui threw me."
Yakan stared at her for a moment then broke down into laughter. "THREW YOU?" he chortled.
"It wasn't fun! I wasn't expecting him to and Bui is really strong! I could barely see the smoke from Karasu's bombs when I gained control!"
Yakan continued to chuckle though.
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With Hokushin gone Raizen found himself dealing with a lot more of the reports that revolved around the intelligence program for his kingdom. It wasn't something he particularly liked to do but someone needed to do it right now.
'Soon as that little bastard is back she can learn to deal with this,' he promised himself as he glanced over yet another idiotic report, this one about a group of D-class bandits that seemed to think they'd be able to take control of a town. It wasn't even worth sending someone to deal with this since he knew that town had at least three B-class demons that ran a primary level fighting school.
'While we're at it, she can take over citizen complaints, preparations for hard times, and dealing with emissaries from Spirit World,' he decided as he thought of what had to be the most mindnumbingly boring and tedious activities that he could. If that brat was going to run off and cause him to have to suffer through idiotic paperwork then she was going to get a taste of it as well.
A crash got his attention and he glanced up to see the doors to his throne room get pushed open to allow in his friend and sometimes rival Souketsu.
The blonde demon was wearing his usual cocky grin as he took in the pile of reports before Raizen.
"Hey, heard from Enki that you finally brought your brat here." Souketsu grinned even more broadly. "And that she gave you the slip!"
Raizen barely resisted rolling his eyes as he grabbed the next report on his pile then really did roll his eyes. This particular report was about the same group of D-classes the previous one had been about except it was reporting that they had been annihilated by a tornado. What a waste of paper.
"So, you even get to fight her or was the sight of your ugly mug enough to send her running for the hills?"
Seeing no reason to keep the report, the king folded it into what humans called a 'paper plane' and tossed it at Souketsu. The other laughed as he slapped the toy out of the air.
The next report offered something interesting, namely a distortion that had grown to unusual proportions over the Forest of Fools. It had been forming since shortly after Yusuke's arrival in fact.
The timing was too perfect, it had to be the Spirit World and/or Yusuke's friends trying to invade and find her. If Yusuke was going to be anywhere he was willing to bet she would be there.
Unfortunately Hokushin was already deployed elsewhere and there wasn't a guarantee that he would get there. He also couldn't go himself and Enki was already out as well, searching the uncontrolled areas.
"So are we gonna have another fight or are you chicken?"
Raizen glanced at his friend, prepared for another argument about conserving his remaining strength until a thought struck him. Yusuke was strong enough now to finish her transformation with his help, it should also make her destiny easier to accept. And Souketsu wanted a good fight.
A vicious grin of excitement spread over the king's face as he focused on his old friend.
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Demon insects were everywhere. Crawling over people, attached to signs, floating through the air. Botan was squirming and had gooseflesh all over her arms and the three non-fighter psychics were a bit uncomfortable.
They separated into two groups and moved independently, Yana and Kido (a shadow user) joining him and Genkai as they moved through the town. It was little more than a blind search for them since they were only looking for other psychics in hopes of getting information while Kurama's group headed for the center of the distortion. Kuwabara and Botan were in that group due to it being the least likely to see combat and because Kaito's territory was best able to protect them.
It was either a strange accident or a coincident of fate that their group stumbled over a territory in front of a basement cafe/bar. Seeing nothing else to do about it, all four descended the stairs.
Kido seemed to immediately weigh the situation, noting all the people in the room, his eyes tracing each form in order to evaluate every possible threat. Yana seemed oddly relaxed and if he scanned the room then he did it surreptitiously.
A chuckle was what gained their attention as a man wearing a pink turtleneck called from a table in the back, "If you guys want something from me then just ask."
A slight shuffle and the man, rose to his feet in front of them. He looked to be the slightly aggressive but sensible type at first glance but Toguro knew better than to judge based solely upon that.
"Well, you must be some more power freaks," the boy continued which caused the owner of the shop to realize that something was about to happen.
"Listen, I want no trouble here!" the man pleaded to the two parties. "I've got mouths to feed."
"Easy old man, I don't want trouble either. And yes, I do know that you don't have insurance on this place."
The cocky attitude the man possessed assured Toguro that the kid's ability was likely useful and probably easily utilized though that did not mean it would be less dangerous.
"We're looking for some particular people. It would likely be to your benefit to let us know where you stand and help us," Genkai explained vaguely.
"Stand? Why not just say what you're thinking? You're looking for the ones responsible for the tunnel to Makai."
Kido was the one caught the most off guard by the comment. "Wha?! How'd you know?"
The guy's cockiness seemed to escalate even further. "Don't sound so accusing, you're the one who told me. It's been running through your mind."
"Must be his power, a mind-reader," Yana observed quietly.
"Or he is playing a not-so-innocent game where he's alluding to reading our minds and already knows," Genkai pointed out.
"I'll check," Kido stated as he stepped forward.
The boy stood before the other for a moment and didn't move, probably broadcasting whatever his plan for attack was before his territory snapped into existence.
"You wanna get beaten up? Just come on over!"
Toguro felt his own muscles tense as he saw the pink wearing punk shift into a fighting stance right before Kido jumped forward.
The reaction of his opponent despite the stance that indicated he was ready to attack was to step back, out of range of Kido's shadow stomp before rushing forward, his fists posed for an assault.
Only one blow managed to connect with Kido before Toguro was there, his own enormous fist smacking the other down, pinning the strange psychic.
"Wh-wha?!" the man stuttered in amazement.
"Mind-reader, definitely," Kido stated as he nursed his stomach.
"Yana," Genkai called and the boy jumped forward, pressing two fingers against the trapped man's head.
Three boys near the door chose to leave before they saw anything more but the owner and the waitress both got front row seats to the transformation of Yana. They both looked ready to have a seizure when the psychic turned into the trapped man's twin.
"He doesn't know anything, just a guy like us."
Genkai nodded. "He could still be of use to us."
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Koenma sat back in his chair with an exasperated sigh. Ogre was a huge deal over the facct that Koenma had remembered his name for once, completely forgetting that it had been used as a label of incompetency. If he continued on like this much longer then Toguro was going to find himself assigned an ogre meat shield/cannon fodder.
Glancing at his desk, he wondered if perhaps he should have taken greater steps to protect the Spirit Detectives of the past. Kuroko was still dealing with idiot demons trying to get some sort of revenge, he had no idea what had happened to Shinobu, and Yusuke was beyond dead now; she no longer existed. From now on he should probably look into providing some sort of payment and housing to keep them safe as well as false identities. And counseling.
He'd look into it after this crisis.
"Koenma."
It was the voice of a red haired angel come to save him from the ramblings of Ogre.
"Kurama, report."
"The center is buried, we think it might be possible that it is underground."
He probably should have seen that coming. "Hmm... Very clever."
"That's not all, it seems as though we are being followed."
"What?"
"I'm not sure but I'm rejoining the teams just to be safe."
"Understood." The screen clicked off automatically. "Yo, Ayame."
The darkly dressed ferry girl appeared in a blue mist of spirit energy. "Yes sir?"
"Have a depth analysis performed on that center. Sewers, caverns, caves; everything Ayame."
"Of course sir," the kimono clad ferry girl replied before disappearing again with a bow.
Ogre stared at him in shock for a moment before the rambling started again but that was unimportant now as the thoughts of his previous detectives caught up with him. They hadn't really had any indication of who was responsible for all of this but that should have been an indicator. Very few knew how to elude detection of Spirit World in Ningenkai, most notably only those who could have possibly become familiar with their defenses. Since this lacked a demonic tinge that left just human who dealt with Spirit World, namely the Detectives.
Kuroko had nothing to hide and didn't even bother trying to evade surveillance. Yusuke was dead and had not seemed interested in learning such things and Toguro was too new and was being constantly watched now.
By elimination that left him with Shinobu.
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The sky over Mushiyori City bothered Toguro continuously. No matter how many times he looked up it always looked blood red and black yet all the regular humans milling about didn't notice it at all.
The mind-reading psychic's name was Murota and currently they had him stationed on a ledge in a busy park. Genkai's plan was for him to scan as many of the passersby as he could. Any other psychics would feel that they were in his territory and would most likely react in thought. The hope was that someone would stumble upon them with more information.
"So, how far out can you pick up the thoughts?" Genkai asked from her station next to the boy.
"A-anything within thirty yards," the boy admitted as a faint blush painted his cheeks before he turned pale, like he was remembering something painful. "It all comes at once, like one big conversation."
Murota's eyes roved over the crowd for a moment and Toguro tried to think of everything the boy could be hearing, all the private thoughts that most would never voice.
"The more intense the thought, the louder it sounds to me, like it's screamed over a crowded room. It's painful sometimes."
"Just scan everyone's thoughts. If you hear something strange then say something but do not show it on your face and do not make eye contact with them."
The slight smile and return of the blush to Murota's face caused Toguro to shift slightly.
"A-alright, I'll try," he offered.
Shifting back, Toguro began a scan himself but found his eyes drawn right back to the mind-reader when the man's eyes widened spectacularly.
Kido saw as well. "You found one?!" The word 'already' was definitely implied and Toguro wondered if they had been found and followed first.
Murota focused straight away on what looked to be a high school student, completely ignoring the warnings Genkai had given him on not showing anything on his face and not taking care to ensure he wasn't seen staring.
"That girl." Murota's voice was so serious and Toguro tensed as he prepared to head towards the indicated girl. "She's going to make-out with her teacher! We've got to stop her or what?!" A bright blush and goofy expression was painted over the man's face.
Toguro never thought he would swat someone for stupidity ever again but he joined Genkai right then in giving the man a knock on the head. He should know by now that they were saving the world first and foremost!
"DIMWIT!" Genkai snarled angrily. "We're trying to save humanity! There is no time for that sort of nonsense!"
Murota took a moment to focus on her before a nervous look crossed his face. "Hey, you really are thinking of killing me!"
"If you aren't going to help then you'll be a nuisance. I have killed for lesser reasons."
Any attraction Murota might have had at the get-go seemed to have escalated as a fullblown blush spread over his features.
"This could take a while," Toguro pointed out as Genkai settled back on the ledge. "Could I get you something Genkai?"
His wife glanced at him for a moment then nodded towards a drink stand. "I'd like a green tea actually. Chilled, with a touch of lemon and mustard."
Toguro's eyebrows shot to the sky while Murota, Kido, and Yana all turned visibly green. Genkai showed no sign of changing her mind so he turned towards the stand.
"Y-you can't be seriously planning on getting that can you?" Kido asked.
"Whatever my wife wants, she gets."
It still gave him a shot of pleasure to finally call Genkai his wife and it was made all the sweeter at Murota's look of horror and disappointment.
The vendor didn't have any mustard on hand so he hunted some out before returning to the group. Murota was still scanning as he handed Genkai the cup of tea that already had lemon in it and the packets of mustard he had found. Everyone looked away when she squeezed some of the condiment into the cup then swirled the concoction a bit before taking a sip.
Time slowly crept by and nothing happened. Murota scanned the people, Genkai finished her tea, and they all were on the look out for anything out of the ordinary. Yana shifted every so often and checked his watch while Kido gave suspicious looks to anyone who came too close or gave them a second glance which was quite a few considering Toguro's considerable size and Genkai's beauty.
It was Yana who noticed that something was wrong first when he glanced at Murota after checking his watch yet again.
"Hey, you ok?" he whispered which still drew everyone's attention.
The mind-reader was beginning to shake, his hands slowly rising to his head like he was fighting a headache. His breathing became rapid and after several moments he let out a yell of misery and fear.
"Quiet," Toguro ordered as he grabbed the other's shoulders and tried to make him hold still.
"They'll find you if you don't keep quiet," Genkai pointed out and though Murota didn't scream again his shaking remained.
"I-I'm sorry but the voice is too loud! But it's quiet too, savage and dark. Please let me go!"
"Stop it," Genkai ordered. "They already know about you now, your screaming brought that on. But tell us what they look like and you might stand a chance."
"Alright. It's a man coming from the right," Murota began to lift his head in that direction.
Toguro stepped into his line of sight. "Don't look or point."
"Tall, and in black," Murota described and Toguro half turned in an attempt to look natural and slowly ran his eyes over the crowd.
The man described was easy to find, he didn't even attempt to hide. In fact, he turned to face them after a moment, a disappointed yet arrogant look on his face.
A choked cry drew his attention back to Murota and he found that the mind-reader was slumped forward, blood dribbling down his face.
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Disappointment. It was what Shinobu Sensui the whole being felt at that moment. He had heard rumors of Yusuke Urameshi and the power possessed by the new detective. It had felt like the right time to start.
Oddly enough, that person seemed to have disappeared completely and even Itsuki wasn't sure what had happened other than a temporary portal had been made.
Now humanitys' protector was absent and he was not impressed with the replacements.
"Hello Sniper," he stated when he sensed that the other psychic was now behind him.
The teen regarded him for a moment. "So, Yusuke did not appear?"
"No, it seems the detective is either truly gone, doesn't care for his companions, or kept his cool."
"Seaman was shadowing Kurama's group but pulled back as ordered. The others will be entering the hospital, Doctor will take care of them."
Sensui was silent for a moment. "One of our enemies may be the one. As you recall, our psychic has a problem with the Kekkai Barrier. Even if he completes the tunnel, the best destroyers won't be able to cross. We need another psychic to break the net. We may have found one in this group."
"Who is it?" Sniper asked, obviously eager to please.
"You leave that business to me. In the meantime let's get rid of the extras." Sensui stared out at the sunset then. Humanity's true protector was out there still he decided, waiting for him to slip up. And he would meet Yusuke Urameshi and beat him. "Let's dig a hole Sniper, all seven of us. Seven graves will be a decent start."
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"So, are we still being followed?" Kuwabara whispered to Kurama as they moved down the street, headed towards where they had agreed for the groups to meet.
"No, they left us several blocks back."
"So everything is good?" Botan asked even as she swatted yet another bug.
"Actually, you don't close one option until you have made a decisive strike," Kaito pointed out.
"Kaito is right. If we've been left alone then Genkai's group is likely in danger."
"But they've got Genkai and Toguro with them! They should be fine!"
An ambulance screeching past them with lights and horns blaring caused the group to turn as one.
Botan stared after the racing vehicle. "Well that was bad timing."
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"They're here, they're going to kill everyone in the hospital!" Murota cried out as he tried to shake off Toguro's grip. "I heard their thoughts!"
The group had safely made it to the hospital where the mind-reader was patched up. He was fine, just a flesh wound actually. The doctor who had checked him believed that he had just been the victim of a kid with an air rifle.
He had told them what he had heard which sounded to be a speech about graves and the names of the psychics. It was right as the name Doctor registered that a territory opened and that was where they currently found themselves.
"Don't let anyone sneak up on us," Toguro ordered as he positioned himself and Murota into formation which Yana, Kido, and Genkai fell into as well.
All eyes were kept peeled for anyone that might approach but unfortunately, they all anticipated attacks from something much bigger than where it came from.
Yelps from Yana and Kido were what signaled the attack and their attention was drawn to bugs that appeared to have syringes attached to their noses. And they all saw the needle end disappear into the skin of the two victims before whatever they carried was injected.
"It put something into me!" Yana declared as he slapped at his hand.
Kido was clutching his hand and looked close to cursing. As his hand turned faintly green Toguro looked to Murota.
"Did you hear anything?"
The mind-reader froze for a moment. "A virus, he's going to use it to kill everyone. It's in the bugs!"
"My whole body is aching," Yana reported as he began to shiver.
Genkai turned towards a hall and a shiver shot through Toguro's frame. "There's more coming! Kill as many as you can!"
Using his fists on such tiny opponents seemed ridiculous but necessary and he had a feeling Genkai probably felt the same. Murota was using his boxing skills to fight but looked so scared that he doubted the man even registered the obsurdity of the situation.
"Is something wrong?" a nurse asked as she approached the group with a faintly nervous look. Given the fact she probably only saw a couple of people flailing and punching at the air around two sick people it seemed appropriate that she would be nervous.
"AUGH! Get them off of you!" Murota screamed as he noticed the swarm of insects that surrounded the woman.
The nurse actually did check around her then and it quickly became obvious that she was no psychic.
"This is doing no good! They keep coming!" Murota cried as he swung furiously at one swarm and almost struck Genkai.
Genkai easily flipped forward, dodging the wild swing from the mind-reader. "We need to find the psychic responsible. It should be that Doctor one!"
"How do we determine which?" Toguro argued.
"Knock them all out. This is life or death. Just don't hit too hard, I hate crippling civilians!"
The three capable of fighting right then lurched forward, chasing the swarm away from the nurse as they headed further into the hospital.
"Murota, do you sense the psychic?"
"Not right now, he's moving!"
Toguro glanced around in an attempt to note the various faces closest to them since they were obviously innocent. Still, if they needed to split up then this could prove difficult.
"If the psychic is a real doctor then he might not work here. Perhaps a nurse could point him out!"
"I'll find one, you stick with Murota," Toguro ordered.
"Watch out for yourself," Genkai ordered as she led the boxer up a flight of stairs.
Toguro continued down the hall, for only a short distance before he practically ran into a nurse.
"Listen," he ordered and anything the woman was about to say died on her lips. "There is a terrorist in this hospital, possibly posing as a doctor here. He is dangerous and intends to kill a number of people using an unidentified virus."
"A-are you a police officer?" the nurse asked.
"A detective," Toguro corrected though he made sure not to mention for who.
"Oh... Oh god! Wh-what do you want from me?"
"We need to move, tell me if there is a doctor you don't recognize!"
"Of- of course."
As he stepped back into the hall the nurse followed, fully intending to cooperate when a man in a lab coat appeared from a side door to the office she had just been exiting.
"What? Are you harrassing my staff?" the doctor demanded.
The nurse turned, obviously knowing the doctor. "Doctor Kamiya, the detective here says there's a dangerous man posing as a doctor."
Kamiya as the nurse identified the man glanced up at Toguro in surprise. "Is that true detective?"
Toguro merely nodded.
The doctor chose to take command as well at that moment. "Do you have back-up?"
It seemed a strange question. "Not immediately on hand," the fighter replied to keep attention off of his comrades.
"Nurse, call and get some back-up. Detective, I will accompany you. I know every doctor in the hospital, if there's a fake I'll spot him."
A glint in the man's eyes made Toguro uneasy at that moment and trusting his gut was something he had learned to do long ago. So as the man took a step forward he took a step back.
"Of course. But why are you here doctor? Don't you work the nightshift today?"
What probably saved that nurse's life was how quickly Toguro found himself able to grab the doctor's arm as the man slashed at the woman. The skewing of his aim prevented the psychic from being able to slash her across the middle, only cutting a fair sized gash into one of her arms.
The scream issued by the nurse wasn't particularly bloodcurdling or loud but it was what was needed to get attention. As the nurse cried out and grabbed her cut arm, Toguro yanked the doctor from the room and slammed him into the wall across the hall.
Voices began to shout from down the hall but Toguro's focus was riveted to the psychopath before him. He had one hand in his grip but the other was still a loose cannon and might be capable of slashing him as well.
"So, you're Toguro right? Too bad really, Black Angel had higher hopes especially for Yusuke Urameshi's replacement."
Toguro's grip unconsciously tightened but the doctor didn't even groan as his bones creaked. In fact he laughed and a glance around told Toguro why. The nurse that had been attacked had slipped out of the office but she was followed by a flock of the demon insects and they were all heading towards one of the groups of doctors and nurses.
"Run!" he shouted at them. "He's released a virus! Run before you're infected!"
The nurse seemed to have finally gotten how serious the situation was and charged straight past the group, hopefully heading for the exit. Unfortunately the poor sods that had just arrived didn't understand and three were stung in seconds.
Releasing the madman, Toguro rushed towards the remaining portion of the group. "RUN!"
His size and the fact he could look VERY scary when he chose came in handy then as the two nurses and one doctor that were still well turned heel and ran.
With the innocent out of the way at the moment, the fighter turned back to face the doctor.
Doctor had straightened himself up by then and looking quite smug. "This is by far my favorite power. I can infect everyone in my territory with a disease of my own creation. I changed these demon insects to be my carriers. The weaker the victims' spirit energy, the faster the disease can spread. Your team will last thirty minutes and then I'll get to watch them die." Sick amusement danced in the eyes of the psychic which indicated he actually was looking forward to this.
"I've had enough of those close to me DYING!" Toguro roared as he charged at the madman who jumped back to avoid his blow. "Either release these people or I will put you down!"
Doctor responded with a laugh as he took off down the hall. "No time for sleep, I'm working a double shift!"
The man proved to be surprisingly fast, faster than Toguro at that moment as he gave chase.
"Let's see if you can catch me!"
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"He's met Toguro! 1st floor!" Murota shouted after Genkai and the woman nodded as they turned to head for the stairs. "He's fast, Toguro can't keep up!"
"That is where our teamwork comes in," the pink haired psychic assured him as they turned another corner.
A flock of insects were waiting for them and Genkai responded with an energy blast that incinerated them.
"This is probably why I hate doctor visits!"
Murota felt a grin pull at his lips momentarily.
"When we get down head for the entrance, try to find anyone not infected and protect them. Leave this psychic to us."
"Right!"
The stairs were clear when they reached them but as they descended more than once they had to jump over the crumpled form of an ill person.
They separated on the first floor and Murota ran hard towards the entrance. He fully intended to get out of here while he could. That plan was derailed when he heard a frantic sounding woman.
"Officer, please! There's something else happening!"
Murota turned a corner and there was a beautiful nurse on the phone and quickly approaching her were three of those insects. All over the floor were nurses that appeared to be passed out.
"Look out!" he shouted and reached out to try to slap away the insects. He caught one but the other two got past him and moments later the nurse was on the ground, shivering.
"Cold," she mumbled.
Finally the sheer gravity of the situation settled on the man as he stared around at the men and women who had been trying to help people, even if it meant risking themselves against something they couldn't see to try to call for help.
"Hello, are you still there?" a voice squawked over the receiver and Murota grabbed it.
"The nurse just passed out," he reported. "You need to send help! A madman is infecting people with a strange virus! We're trying to stop the infection but we might need help."
He hung up before the operator could ask for any more information then looked down at the nurse. Leaving them like this would be wrong.
The nurse seemed to not be as out-of-it as he had thought since she groaned and looked at him as he hauled her up.
"Wha?"
"I'm getting you to a room!" he informed her.
The nurse nodded and allowed him to carry her up the hall where a door was. Opening it he found a storage room and settled the nurse on a gurney as he reached for a blanket for her. He could take blankets to the others until he could move them, hopefully getting them out of the way of the psycho doctor.
Grabbing a stack of the blankets, he turned to head back and ran towards the door when a stumbling figure filled the door.
"Au- Yana!" Murota managed to yell.
zzzzzzzzzz
Scanning for all the energy in the immediate area, Genkai rushed down the hall then noticed the movement of her target and switched paths, running up a window lined corridor.
Loud cackles of a madman told her she had chosen the right direction and she set herself at a corner and awaited her prey.
A maniac turned the corner, head turned to watch someone behind him and never saw her. He definitely felt her kick though and was sent back into the wall behind him.
Any thought that she might have crippled the psychic was tossed out when the doctor fell to his feet and seemed to laugh, an insane smirk planted on his face. That turned to surprise when Toguro caught up and threw a hard punch into the man's side.
Blood was coughed up as the doctor went flying over Genkai's head and skidded down the hall but once again the impossible happened as he rose to his feet, one hand grabbing his side. A flex of energy passed through his hand and then he was grinning again.
"Looks like this is no regular human," Genkai observed.
"Heh," the madman chuckled. "Medical school perk. I can manipulate my body's chemistry to tweak my performance."
"Cheap." Genkai looked less than happy about the explanation. "But that simplifies things for us."
Toguro saw Genkai's finger begin to glow as did the doctor. The bullet was fired moments later and the other tried to dodge but his arm was still caught in the blast before it smashed through a window.
"Well, a bit more dangerous than we thought but I have one more talent to show you." Reaching down, Doctor grasped his own arm and lifted the limb, apparently unbothered by its separation even as it flopped limply in his grasp. "As a doctor, I can stitch anything I cut back into place!"
Even Toguro could admit the technique the human used next seemed very useful.
"Who among your seven is the leader?" Genkai demanded.
Doctor's eyes widened for a moment.
"Well? Is it Gatekeeper, Black Angel, Game Master, or one of the others? I'm certain it's not you."
"You know our number and names?"
"Black Angel." Both Doctor and Genkai turned their attention to Toguro. "Based upon the way you spoke earlier any idiot could guess that Black Angel is the leader."
Genkai nodded. "Very well, what are their powers?" she demanded.
There was no verbal answer as Doctor rushed forward and slashed at Genkai who dodged quite ably and Toguro covered for her with a hard punch which knocked the man back. It was time to end this one way or another.
"Call off your territory and let these people go. We will let you live," Toguro reasoned.
"But you won't let me go free."
Genkai glared at the man. "You should be thankful we would be leniant enough just to offer to spare your life."
Snickering. The doctor began to snicker of all things. "I must refuse then. You see, once my virus has spread I have no say and even if I were to leave here the territory would remain."
"So there's no way to stop this?" Genkai confirmed.
"Not while I'm conscious. And by manipulating my brain's chemistry, I can prevent myself from ever going under," the other goaded.
'So it has already returned to this,' Toguro realized. An unavoidable kill not even two months after he had reclaimed his humanity and sworn to defend human-kind. There was one thing eating at him; these people seemed to know something about Yusuke. He would have to ask the next one they found.
zzzzzzzzzz
Murota had dragged Yana into the storage room and closed the door right in time to avoid a loud ruckus that stationed itself outside.
"Kido! He's out there!" Yana declared weakly.
"And you wouldn't help anything like this!" Murota argued. "Can you attack at all?"
"No, but we gotta help him!"
The mind-reader looked around and saw that the room was quite long and there was a second door that should open on the next hall over. Yana couldn't go but he might make it!
"Stay here, I'll get him!" he promised as he rushed toward the door.
"Use that," he heard the nurse whisper and looked back long enough to see her indicate a beaker filled with some sort of liquid but paid it no mind.
Yanking the door open he charged into the hall.
zzzzzzzzzz
Genkai was powering up yet another blast for her spirit gun and Toguro felt his muscles begin to prepare for delivering a blow that would take off the head of the deranged human in front of him.
Doctor in turn seemed to realize that the two before him saw nothing wrong with killing him and took a step back.
"I hope you find peace," Toguro stated plainly as he stepped forward and the doctor's eyes widened in horror.
"No! Wait! If you kill me you'll be put in prison for murder!"
"I've done things that should have landed me there long ago."
Doctor took another step back and finally seemed to regain his sense of self-preservation as he began to turn to run but both Toguro and Genkai were ready this time.
As the doctor turned and attempted to make a run for it, Toguro began what would be his last charge only for a door ahead of the doctor to open and a young nurse stumbled out.
Doctor jumped at his chance and grabbed the young woman, holding her before him like a shield.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Toguro attempted to reason. "Your comrades are trying to open a portal to Makai. If they succeed, every human will die. They will even kill you."
"I hope they do!" Doctor's insanity seemed to dissolve for a moment and there seemed to be hopeless despair there despite the smirk on his face. "Everyone dies, that is what being a doctor has taught me and in so many ugly ways! I lost hope. And then I learned the real reason for disease. Mankind deserves to go! My awful life never had purpose but my death will!"
"Then just die alone!" the nurse in front of him exclaimed as her hand swung up and a container of some liquid was splashed straight into his face.
The gutsy nurse fell away from the madman, a smirk on her face but she couldn't dodge the doctor's retaliatory swipe which cut her lower abdomen.
"Devils!" Doctor screamed as he turned to retreat but found his path blocked by Murota who was armed with a crutch in one hand and Kido in the other. A quick dash by Genkai provided the backup he would need.
"Either go unconscious or die you sad little puppet," she snarled at the man.
Doctor backed away but found himself stuck with Genkai in front and Toguro behind.
"Alright, so I may have lied a little. There is a way to cure the people but you have to promise to let me live," Doctor stated as he pulled a case out of the pocket of his labcoat.
Toguro stared at the man, eyes narrowed.
"It's the antivirus, enough for everyone!"
"LIAR!" Murota shouted. "He was planning to wait for one of you to get close enough so he could kill you! Those are just filled with glucose, sugar water!"
Doctor blinked for a moment before realizing his bluff had been called then screamed his rage as he smashed the case on the ground then raced towards Murota, obviously intending to kill him instead.
He ignored the opening of a new territory as his hand lashed out, ignored the glowing finger of the woman next to his target, but he couldn't ignore it when he suddenly found he couldn't move mere seconds before he could eviscerate the man who had foiled him.
Chuckles came from the floor below him and he managed to turn his eyes enough to see the teenager the man had been helping.
"For someone who claims to want to die so much, you sure seem to want to live," he stated.
Neither the glowing or the pounding steps behind him could be ignored anymore. He couldn't escape but he was not ready to die, not until he knew the destruction had started.
Doctor smirked darkly at the group before finally releasing most of the hold he had over the chemicals in his brain and slipped into unconsciousness.
The effects were instantaneous as the territory disappeared. Yana and Kido both stood after a moment, their skin regular in color and after a quick check were found to be perfectly healthy.
Genkai did one thing before they left and reached down towards Doctor and used his blood to apply a seal. It would only be temporary, but his powers would be restrained for a few days. Hopefully they would have the situation under control by then and could deal with him then.
Toguro on the other hand barely registered the reunion of the groups outside of the hospital, only reacting when Murota tried to leave. They needed to all stick together until this would-be apocalypse had been dealt with and a mind-reader might be necessary.
