Disclaimers: I do not own Ronin Warriors or Yu Yu Hakusho.
Chapter Thirteen"Yusuke…"
"Yeah?" He replied for the first time since they had started walking. The path hey had chosen was a long walk to the beach that would then turn back in land. It went the whole circumference of Hanging Neck Island.
Keiko stopped walking, tightening her arms around Puu with almost motherly concern. "Do you think it's so wrong to forfeit?" She asked.
Yusuke turned back, sighing a little. "I don't know Keiko. The Ronins don't want to be here, and if they win, they have to come back next year. Maybe not in so much trouble like they are in now…but…"
"Are you bothered by loosing or concerned about their lives?" Keiko asked, putting the questions into better light.
Yusuke stood in silence. Blank. He couldn't think.
"I…don't know…anymore…" He whispered.
Keiko sighed a little, sad for the situation the spirit detective found himself in now. Yusuke hated loosing as much as loosing the lives of innocent people. They all feared that a human death on his conscious would drive him over the deep end…possibly into the next Sensei. She tried hard not to wonder if the effects of being the Spirit World's detective had already started to take it's toll on his psyche. It had already turned the once thug like punk into a rather decent young man…with a concealed bloodlust in the form of a demon.
Keiko was scared that Yusuke would some day loose control of that demon side.
"Keiko." Yusuke called quietly.
Keiko looked up to see him standing right in front of her now. He looked tired and worn. With a gentle hand, he reached up and brushed away a tear that was starting to brim her eye.
"I'm going to have Hiei taken off the team, so he doesn't have to forfeit to the Ronins." He said. "We'll talk to the Committee and see if this can be blown over without a fight first though."
Keiko blinked at Yusuke in surprise. "You'd really do that?" She asked.
He smiled a little. "Either way we all go home alive."
"Oh Yusuke!" the young woman smiled and flung her arms around his neck, sending Puu into the air with an angry chirp.
Urameshi smiled a little as he hugged her back. It was enough of a distraction that he failed to noticed the trap that had been erected around him was set and suddenly unleashed—
Four chains shoot out of the woods from different directions, lashing themselves around Yusuke and Keiko without a moment of hesitation. Yusuke winced as he realized the situation all to late and tried to take the brunt of the blows before they could hit Keiko.
They stumbled to the ground, bounded tightly to each other.
Keiko winced as she was pressed harder against Yusuke's chest. Yusuke tried in vein to get his hands free. He heard the auburn haired girl yelp as he tried to pull one free…only causing the chains to tighten and the grip around her to worsen.
Time for plan B.
"HEY!" Yusuke yelled at the top of his lungs. "STOP IT!"
A figure appeared with a flash just with in the detective's sight. He was a tall, lanky armed man with gray skin and covered in tribal tattoos. He had small pointed ears and eyes that were pitch black on a golden colored gaze. His gi was black paints with a bronze collared tunic embellished with the team logo.
Yotokazin.
Tonairo, if Yusuke remembered.
He smirked a little. "How cute." He said in a cool voice.
Yusuke growled a little. "Yeah. Real cute! If you want a fight, let her go!" He snapped, as Keiko seemed to cringe at the sudden arrival of an enemy. The word 'fight' was not a good omen.
Tonairo laughed. "And here I thought the captain of the Urameshi Team was going to be a lot harder to kill than this. You didn't even sense the trap!" He said, reaching over his shoulder for a weapon that was a cross between a scythe and a grappling hook.
"I've seen these tactics used before by Dynasty Soldiers. They work well on mortals." Tonairo said as he came forward.
Yusuke winced as the chains tighten. "Yeah…" He said through gritted teeth. "Now…Let me go so I'll pound your face in!"
Tonairo chuckled as he finally came to stand over Yusuke and Keiko. "I'm afraid I'm being paid way to much to do that. It's extremely unfortunate that the young lady was involved." He used the tip of his scythe to brush a lock of red hair from Keiko's cheek.
"LET HER GO!" Yusuke barked. "I'll let you kill me if you let her go!"
Tonairo smirked. "Since when was that a your digression?" He asked, looked at his scythe. "I like to take these things slow. I hope you have a tolerance for pain. Screaming makes the process longer."
Yusuke started to snapped back when the tip of the scythe caught his arm and bit into the skin, slicing through the detective's flesh like a hot knife through butter. He clenched his teeth against the pain, holding Keiko tighter.
"I'll promise you though, since you care so much about the girl, I'll kill her with one blow when I'm almost done with you." Tonairo mused as he came about, his time cutting into Yusuke's leg.
Yusuke had to bite his own tongue against screaming in agony. He could taste blood now and feeling Keiko shrink ever more into his embrace. She was getting covered his blood…and Tonairo was sure the hell taking his sweet time in slicing him to shreds. Another lashing, to the side, seen Yusuke's mind to the pits of hell and back.
I've got to do something! He thought desperately between bursts of pain. If only I could get my arm…or my hand fee enough and away from Keiko's body, I could try and fire off a shot—
The next slice made Yusuke screamed.
Keiko, tears gushing from feeling Yusuke in so much pain, lashed out. She pulled her head back from under his chin and screamed in returned. "STOP IT!" She yelled. "STOP IT! If you have any mercy, you'll kill us now and stop torturing him!"
Tonairo pulled back, thinking as red scarlet dripped onto the ground. The Spirit detective was concerned about this girl's life. It would be a blow if she were to die right now in his arms.
"Bold words." He said.
"Kei…ko…" Yusuke whispered. "No…"
Tonairo lifted his scythe came up. "She'll meet you in the afterlife, Urameshi."
"NO!" Yusuke yelled, turning with all the strength he could muster to shield Keiko from the killing blow.
"HEY! BACK OFF!"
Keiko looked up at the sound of a new voice, young and full of anger. A young man, dressed in a brown bomber jacket, black shirt, and tan pants flew from the trees into Tonairo. A sack landed on the ground in the wake of a flying sheath, discarded from the young man's hand. By his size and voice, he was a couple years younger than Yusuke.
The Yotokazin member back flipped clear of the katana in the boy's hand.
"Whiteblaze! Protect those people!" the young man ordered as he lunged for Tonairo, taking a swipe just as the demon flickered out of existence.
A massive white tiger walked from the hedge, stilling the screaming building up into Keiko's throat. Yusuke couldn't see it coming as it opened its fanged filled mouth and took a length of the chain on his back and pulled. The animal's warm breath on the detective's shoulders made him want to cringe as the chain suddenly snapped in his teeth.
The minute Keiko could pull free; she rolled Yusuke over and pulled off her coat to stop the bleeding from his arm. The Spirit detective winced as she added pressure, then turned his head a little to see what was going on.
The kid was actually fighting this guy. Swinging, cutting, lashing out with all his might against the scythe-bearing demon. From the aura, he was as mortal as Keiko, yet holding his own against Tonairo. He didn't seem phased by the fact he was fighting some freakish looking dude either.
They collided weapons, causing the kid to come up with his foot and flip off Tonairo…putting some distance between them.
"No damn way!" Tonairo barked. "What mortal has the power to master these arts!?"
The kid lowered down into a familiar stance. "One trained by the Ronin Warriors!" He said before lunging into action again.
Yusuke felt the realization hit him in the side of the head.
That last stance was one of Kento's!
Tonairo started to laugh. "If you were one, You'd have an armor!" He said. "And I don't sense one!"
"Sense this!" The kid answered, reached to his chest and holding up the curving half of a ying yang. The maroon swirl turned brilliant gold, blinding everyone on the battlefield excepted for the kid.
When Tonairo's spotted vision recovered, the young man came flying towards him.
"The Heart of Ancients!? What mortal knows how to use such a weapon!?" Tonairo demanded as he blocked.
"THIS ONE!" the young man answered, bashing the scythe away. His blade went through the chain with a sharp snap, rendering it completely useless.
Yusuke winced as he grabbed Keiko's arm. "Ugh…Run! Get the hell out of here!" He ordered.
Keiko shook her head. "No…you're bleeding! Hold still!"
"Kuwabara is by the beach! It's a half-mile down the trail! If you run, you'll get that kid some help!" Yusuke ordered. "NOW GO!"
Keiko nodded, whipping away her tears and started running as ordered. Yusuke looked to the tiger, sensing the intelligence in his golden eyes as he watched the spirit detective and the young girl.
"Hey, go with her!" Yusuke yelled, pointing the direction Keiko had gone.
The tiger stared at him a moment more before vaulting down the trail in Keiko's wake.
Yusuke tried from his spot on the ground to watch this kid and the fight. The demon had sliced up his good arm, the one he used to shoot with. If he could just get up enough to take aim and fire off a good shot…
No stupid. He thought, watching as the two fighters moved in fluid grace. They are going way to fast! You've lost too much blood to keep up!
Streaks of gold filled the air, chasing Tonairo away from the kid. Each streak hit the ground with a thunk, leaving behind a golden arrow with crisp white feathers.
A man dressed in light blue armor lunged out of the trees and landed by Yusuke. He turned, holding up his trident like weapon to guard as he inspected the damage to the raven-haired spirit detective.
"SAGE! GET OVER HERE!" Cye's voice yelled. The visor pulled back on the man's face, revealing him to be none other than Cye of the Torrent.
As if on cue, the Ronin Warrior, dressed in green armor exploded from the green forest. He darted along the outskirts if the battle field to come to their aid. The Ronin dropped down beside Urameshi.
"Hey! Heal up my arm! I'll shoot that bastard myself!" Yusuke barked.
Sage shook his head. "You've lost too much blood! You could hit Yulie or Rowen!"
Yusuke's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Rowen? I don't see him! And who!?"
"The kid's name is Yulie! Rowen's up in the tree line, taking pock shots at Tonairo." Sage explained. "Let them handle this! Kento saw you're friend Keiko and went to make sure she'd get away." He said, hands turning green and coming against the detective's skin. "You're mortal enough that my powers should work just like Botan's."
"That kid is gonna get himself killed!" Yusuke protested.
Sage shoved him back as he started to get up. "I'm about to dump enough energy into your body to knock you out! Stay down!" He ordered.
"YULIE!" Cye yelled, causing the argument to come to a stop. They looked in time to see Rowen lunge from the trees, running to get into the line of the attack as Tonairo charged for the kid. The kid had just been sent flying into a tree, cornered and slightly dazed.
A black blur darted into the may lay, solidifying into Hiei as he rammed his sword into Tonairo's back. Yulie's strange necklace took on a life of it's own, began to spin and turned gold once more. With another blast of light, the piece shirked and exploded.
Cale appeared behind Hiei and snatched him up as Rowen's arrows pummeled Tonairo's incinerating body.
When the light died away, Cale appeared next to Cye, letting Hiei get back on his own feet.
Rowen's arrows were the only things left where Tonairo once stood.
"Woah…" Yusuke blinked in surprise.
Yulie breathed a sigh of sweet relief and fell on the ground, catching his breath.
"Where is Whiteblaze?" Rowen demanded as he held his bow loaded.
Cale came up to the spot were Tonairo had vanished from. "He went down the trail with Keiko Yukimura." He said, kneeling down on one knee to inspect the evidence. "Clean. Not even ashes. That boy is getting better at using his powers."
"I think the Heart of Ancients did that out of it's own choosing." Cye said.
"URAMESHI!" Kuwabara bellowed as he came charging up the trail from the beach, his red sword in hand and ready for battle. Kento was not far behind him with Yukina and Keiko sitting on Whiteblaze's broad back.
Sage took one look at Keiko, covered in blood. He had healed enough of Yusuke's wounds to stop the bleeding. When he went to get up and check her, Kento shook his head. "There isn't a scratch on her. It's all his blood." Hardrock answered.
Yusuke winced a little as Halo returned to his side, pulling away the last coils of chain around his legs. What was left of his shirt was turned into bandages around his arms and Keiko's coat provided a good cover for the gash in his leg.
Dais and Sekhmet made their appearance, warlord style.
"Some training secession this was." Sekhmet muttered. "The brat beat us to the kill."
"He needed assistance." Hiei muttered. He cast a cold look at Sage. "Will the detective be among the world of the living for much longer?"
"He'll be fine." Sage answered.
Hiei took a good look at Yusuke before turning away. "What a pity." He said.
"Yeah Hiei, glad to see you too!" Yusuke barked. He was instantly shoved back.
The group gathered around Sage and Yusuke, taking a moment to calm everything down before talking. Kento watched Hiei wipe his sword clean and a fistful of arrows vanish in Rowen's hand. The Yotokazin demon was gone.
"We're so totally screwed." He said.
Cye nodded gravely. "Very screwed."
Kuwabara stood there, scratching at his head as Keiko and Yukina came to sit at his feet with the tiger. "Uh…what happened? What's so wrong about killin' that guy?"
"Yotokazin doesn't have a substitute." Cale informed. "It leaves an opening in their ranks to fill."
"Then they'll have to forfeit fight?" Kuwabara asked.
Yusuke could hear the voices getting quieter, more distant. Sage's healing powers was making him heady. This didn't usually happen with Botan or Yukina.
"Our team owner's body guard has been asking around to get on another team." Kento informed.
"This is no coincidence you guys…" Cye said.
And then Yusuke's vision went black.
AN: Hello. Looks like a lot of people could have died today. Lol. And for those who don't know, I've estimated Yusuke's (along with the others in his cast) age for this story to be about 18…making Yulie 16 and the Ronin Warriors all 20 to 21. Anyway, yay for me…two postings in the same week. Lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing. -Star