Sorry for the long delay. I have been dealing with family health issues that take up much of my time and depression has me very lethargic when it comes to writing. Still, I hope you enjoy the chapter. So here we go…
Chapter 14-Revelation
Makai-
Kurama and Botan appeared high above the massive expanse of the Great Makai forest. A strong gust of wind slammed into the pair but the deity tightened her grip upon the oar, instinctively changing direction to ride the air current as she had been taught long ago. Lightning flashed violently, the bolts of white clashing with the swirling dark clouds, the red sky pulsating as it were alive.
The fox spirit caught the scent of the air and the storm, his features troubled as he kept his hold around Botan's waist. "Something is wrong here."
The ferry girl caught the tone of her lover's voice and risked a look over her shoulder. "What do you mean, Kurama?"
The red head, kept his gaze towards the storm, voice soft as he answered. "There is a foul smell upon the wind. It reeks of death and destruction."
"Do you wish to go investigate?"
Kurama's eyes blinked slowly, his mind working out possible trails to explore and tactics to employ, calculating the risks and dangers each decision would involve, before shaking his head. "No.. there is no help to give, nor answers to find in that direction. We must find Hiei and then track down the remnants of Yukio's army before they complete their plan." He paused, closing his eyes to concentrate, seeking out Hiei's energy signature, locating it as he spoke. "Change your heading due East, Botan, if you would please."
Botan nodded, years of experience traversing the skies of the three realms allowing for her to pinpoint all directions or flight patterns. Turning her oar East, she asked softly, "Do you have any idea what Yukio's true plans are?"
"I cannot say with any certainty, Botan." The kitsune replied. "Their actions indicate a desire to maim and destroy any and all with power in Reikai and Makai. This would allow them to do as they please."
The deity heard the pause in Kurama's voice. "And yet.. you think you're missing some clue as to why exactly they are doing what they do?"
The fox spirit was a bit surprised by the deity's insight and a prideful smile tugged at his lips. "You are correct, Botan. Something is missing. Some clue I've missed or been misled on. After all.. Cosmic Dissonance is all about chaos, confusion, destruction, rebirth.." His voice trailed off, a sudden thought coming to him.
"Kurama?" Botan asked, troubled by the silence that now met her ears. She could sense his turbulent emotions in that moment and she felt a sense of fear rising in her throat. Not of her lover, but of what they might be heading towards.
The kitsune shut down his emotions, sensing his mate's fear and spoke softly. "Do not worry, love. Whatever happens, we will face it together. I will not let any harm come to you, I promise."
Botan blushed, relaxing a bit. "I know you won't, Kurama. You are the great Youko after all."
Kurama managed a small smile. "That I am." As the pair headed closer to their destination.
XXXXXX
Mukuro ran at a brutal pace along the trail that led far away from the ruined Gandara and into the thick forest of Makai. Hiei, despite his short stature, was able to keep up with his leader. Red eyes focused straight ahead, the fire youkai was itching for a fight, his fingers twitching, at the ready to take the hilt of his sword and cut down his enemy. That they had failed to capture the foul creatures before the destruction of Yomi's city was one thing. Having to lag behind their foe like a wounded dog was unacceptable. I will find you, Kuromoto. And when I do, there won't be enough of you left over for the crows to eat.
A sudden and familiar energy caused Hiei to stop and lift his gaze.
Mukuro noticed her subordinate's absence at her side and she slowed, turning around and coming back to the small man, her men slowing to a stop behind the pair. "What is it?" She asked, her gaze focused in concern at the fire demon.
Hiei pointed skyward, his features slightly surprised and relieved. "Up there."
The Youkai queen tilted her head up, following the direction of Hiei's gesture, quirking an eyebrow as she spied the incoming forms of Botan and Kurama. "Ah.. Reinforcements.. Interesting."
Botan glided down with a grace befitting her station, hovering a few feet above ground as she came to a stop before the youkai pair. Kurama jumped off, allowing his lover to land, the oar dematerializing with a pop as she came to stand beside the kitsune.
Hiei watched the pair approach, a slight smirk on his face. He could smell the scent of the deity all over his friend and knew what the pair had been doing prior to their arrival. "So I take it the curse is lifted then?"
Botan blushed at the way Hiei studied her then the kitsune, deferring to Kurama who answered.
"Something like that.. yes.." He began, his smile falling as he asked. "But there are more pressing matters to discuss. Namely what has happened to Reikai and here in Makai."
"What happened to Spirit World?" Hiei asked.
Kurama looked over to Botan, silently asking for permission to answer and the deity responded with a nod, allowing the kitsune to explain. "Yukio arrived with his army and attacked Reikai. I was sent out to meet him and we clashed. I was injured and tossed into the abyss but saved by Botan. Therefore I do not know the exact extent of what occurred after my defeat but given that the barrier to Spirit world in inaccessible on both sides, it would stand to reason that Yukio succeeded in infiltrating the palace and destroying the barrier controls."
Hiei's features darkened. "Yusuke and Kuwabara were supposed to head up there to stop Yukio from invading any further into Spirit world's domain. If the way is shut, that means were are on our own in stopping this menace. If we can even stop them at all."
The kitsune studied his best friend's face, noting the caked blood on the fire demon's forehead, frowning at the strain in the smaller man's voice as he asked, "What happened here, Hiei?"
"We were tracking the invaders the moment they entered Makai territory. The trail led to Gandara but we could no longer sense their presence. It was as if they had vanished. Until at the last instant, I felt an enormous power surge." Hiei paused, looking away, fists clenched as he spat out. "The bastard blew up the whole city, leaving nothing but a massive crater in his wake."
Sadness flittered along the fox spirit's features, his voice very soft. "Then that smell on the wind that reeked of death and destruction. That was the remnants of Gandara and it's people." He turned his gaze west, eyes drawn to the violent flashes of lightning that danced within the encroaching mass of red clouds. Why destroy a whole city? What would the purpose be in that, besides the obvious desire to do harm? What was Yukio's true goal? What are you really planning? Kurama wondered, trying to process all the information and sort out what could be trusted and what was a red herring.
Botan studied her lover, noting the direction of his gaze and the calculating look upon his features and she could not help but ask, "Is there something wrong with that storm, Kurama?"
The kitsune blinked at the deity's question, repeating part of her words. "Something wrong with the storm? Storm…" His voice trailed off, his head snapping up and back towards his mate. "Botan, you're absolutely right.. something is very wrong with the storm.. the clouds.. the lightning.. all of it.." He favored the ferry girl with a loving and pride smile that made her blush.
Hiei studied the exchange between his friend and the blue haired ferry girl and grumbled. "As entertaining as this all is, it would be nice if you two could kindly tell the rest of us just what the hell is so wrong with a storm in Makai.. they usually last for days.. what's so special about this one?"
Kurama turned his attention over to the smaller man, features becoming more somber. "Tell me, Hiei, when Gandara was destroyed, did you inspect the area?"
"Of course I did." The fire demon replied in irritation. "There was nothing left to look at by a giant hole and some.." His voice started then stopped, eyes narrowing. "And a massive swirl of red clouds and lightning."
"But no rain?" Kurama asked, though he knew the answer.
"Get to the point, Kurama." Hiei growled, crossing his arms though he was inwardly relieved that the fox spirit might have the answers they had all been seeking.
"The point, Hiei, is this.." Kurama began, voice and features troubled. "When Gandara was destroyed it released a ton of spiritual energy into the atmosphere, so much so that it's expanding at a rapid rate when it should be dissipating. That's not natural. Not even in Makai. So it stands to reason that this storm was designed to expand and it needed the entirety of a population to initiate the release."
"Are you saying this Yukio person has the ability to control even the atmosphere of a entire realm?" Mukuro asked, studying the redhead with a look of incredulity.
Kurama nodded. "Yes. I don't know how he did it but given his scientific inclinations and experimentation, it is well within the realm of possibility that Yukio has found a way to convert living, physical matter into pure spiritual energy."
"But why? Why go to all this trouble is all he wanted was to test his theories? I thought he wanted to cause chaos and discord." Hiei asked.
Kurama's features turned thoughtful, his mind processing several variables as he worked through the reasons for the enemy's actions. "He is causing chaos. By attacking both Spirit world and Demon world at the same time, he's forcing us to deal with the threats all at once. But it is merely for distraction. His true goal, I suspect, revolves around shutting off access to not only Reikai, which he has succeeded in doing, but Makai as well."
Reality dawned on the fire demon's features, eyes widening as he replied. "So that is what this storm is? Some kind of barrier?"
"Now you understand." Kurama answered with a nod. "This storm is blanketing the sky of Makai, clogging out the access points to Ningenkai. But unlike the kekkai barrier that was destroyed, this energy barrier is not dimensional and cannot be removed by a mere swipe of Kuwabara's blade."
"You're saying there is no way to stop the spread of this storm?" Hiei asked.
Kurama looked back at the raging maelstrom heading their way and murmured. "I am uncertain if we can even stop Kuromoto from completing his goal but that does not mean I won't do my best to stop him from achieving his end game."
"And what would that be, Youko?" Mukuro asked, using Kurama's Youkai name.
The kitsune said nothing at first, pondering how to answer before he replied. "To have Ningenkai all to himself. With Makai and Reikai shut out from human world, Yukio can do as he wishes without the threat of someone with power stopping him. What he wants, Mukuro, is absolute power over the human domain." He paused, looking at his friends and loved ones. "Scientists love to experiment and Yukio is a scientist gone bad. With an endless supply of human subjects, he can do as he pleases and no one will be able to stop him."
"Great, a demonic Mengele, that's all we need." Hiei growled.
"I didn't realize you were interested in World War II Nazi history, Hiei." Kurama replied, lips quirking a bit when the fire demon replied in mild irritation.
"I can't help it if my ears picked up strange facts of the human race's darker days while waiting for you to finish your work at that building called a school."
Kurama's smile fell at Botan's words. "Kurama.. we have to stop him. We can't Yukio and his brother get away with this."
"You are right, Botan." The fox spirit replied, turning to face the deity. "We will not let him get away with it. We're going to find him and when we do, there won't be anything left of Yukio to bury."
The hardness in her lover's face and tone sent a chill up Botan's spine, the tone of Youko unmistakable in the red head's voice. "Kurama.."
The kitsune relaxed his features a bit, knowing he was scaring his beloved and his voice became softer. "Do not worry, love. No harm will come to you."
It's not me I'm worried about. Botan thought, biting her lip at the thought of the fox spirit getting hurt again once they met up with whatever remained of Yukio's army.
"So what's our next move?" Hiei asked, eager to begin the hunt again.
"We keep moving East, the same direction as the storm, hopefully we can catch Kuromoto before he sets off another energy bomb." Kurama replied as he walked over to Botan. The deity materialized her oar and the red head hopped behind the ferry girl, wrapping his arms around her waist as they floated up into the air. "Botan and I will scout ahead and inform you telepathically once the prey has been spotted."
With that the pair took off, Hiei and Mukuro following behind on the ground, moving as fast as their legs could carry them, wanting to put an end to the madness infecting their realm.
XXXXX
Reikai- Spiritual Palace
Koenma's eyelids fluttered open, unfocused brown eyes greeted by a low lit darkness and he felt a wave of fear wash over him and the Reikai Lord bolted up only to groan at the pain that shot up his neck to his head, fear turning to surprise at the soft voice of Ayame.
"Easy, Lord Koenma, I've just finished healing your wounds and I don't want them to re-open."
"Ayame.." Koenma croaked, clutching his forehead as the dark haired ferry girl gently pushed him to lay back down. "You're.. alive.. then the.. the other girls.. my girls.. they're all safe?"
"Yes, my lord." Ayame replied with a soft smile. "The ferry girls all survived. Some.. of.. the ogres were not so lucky but we are doing our best to clean up the debris and restore the barrier control but it is slow going."
"Yusuke and Kuwabara? Have they been able to…" He started and stopped when Ayame shook her head sadly and looked away.
"I'm afraid with the barrier controls destroyed, no one has been able to enter or leave. We cannot assist the others in Makai or Ningenkai, nor can we know how the battle goes due to the interference within our own barrier."
The air left Koenma then and he closed his eyes, voice distant. "Then all is lost. Without Yusuke, the rest of the group has no hope of succeeding."
"I think you give too little credit to the remaining spirit detectives, my lord." Ayame said softly. "Though Yusuke may be the strongest fighter, strength alone cannot stop this enemy. You need a clever mind and no one is more clever or more intelligent than Kurama."
"But.." Koenma began. "Kurama fell.. I was told.."
"You were told by the enemy himself, were you not?" the ferry girl countered. "Does it not stand to reason that the words spoke were a lie and that the fox spirit yet lives?"
"You think he's alive? Then Botan…"
"Yes.. If Kurama is alive, then Botan is also alive." Ayame answered. "We will continue to do our best to fix the barrier so that Yusuke and Kuwabara can return to the fray and help their comrades. I have faith in them, so should you, my lord."
Koenma studied her surprise but said nothing as Ayame tucked her boss in and murmured. "You need to rest, Lord Koenma, Sir. Do not worry, all will work out in the end." And with that the dark haired ferry girl moved gracefully across the room and out the door, gently shutting it behind her, leaving the toddler lord alone with his thoughts.
One last chapter to go. Thank you for reading my drivel. Is always nice to hear from my readers, of which there are many but few who leave me any response. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, do write a few lines if the mood strikes you.