Chapter 16: Complication
"It's a little bland isn't it?"
"I wouldn't worry about it too terribly much, Suzaku. Remember, the point of this is to avoid attention."
"Easy for you to say, Hiei, as you're not the one dressed in an army tent."
"I agree, it may not be as brightly colored as your normal clothes, but I'd hardly call it a tent." Kurama put in, taking a step backward to admire his handiwork. Finding colors that didn't clash with the Yokai's orange hair had been a bit of a difficulty, but a short search had revealed a pair of tan pants with a matching dress shirt. Surprisingly, given the slender and tall physique most demons favored, both items fit, and the overall effect gave the former Saint Beast the air of a relaxed, but serious, college student.
"Maybe that was an overstatement." Suzaku agreed, glancing into the mirror and pushing the two strands of armored hair out of his eyes as he took in his image, "I suppose I can't complain too terribly much about it."
"No, I would definitely not recommend it." Kurama chuckled, "Or else I might be obliged to take it personally. Anyway, I'm going to grab us something to drink, we've been running low, and I'll be back shortly." Inclining his head in a miniature bow, Kurama stuck his hands in his pockets and strode out into the courtyard. There was a small shop across from Genkai's temple, and it had some of the better prices in his opinion. Throwing a glance at the darkened sky, he reflected sourly that it always started raining whenever he wanted to go for a walk.
As he hurried across the slick courtyard in the rainy night, something began to beep in his pocket. Slowing only marginally, he fished the pocket communicator, one of the few items able to reach between the Spirit World and the human plane, and flipped it open. After a moment of static, Yusuke's face resolved itself in the window.
"Well, Yusuke, Did you need something?" Kurama asked genially, and then took a closer look at the face on the screen. Yusuke was breathing hard, and the scenery behind him was rushing past, "Is something wrong?"
"Kurama, you've got to get set up! You're going to have company soon!"
"Company? Wait, what are you talki-."
"Behind you!"
Kurama turned instantly, dropping into a form of combat crouch, but he barely had time to react. A dark shape loomed up from the shadows of the wall, and came at him with a blur of motion..
***
"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted into the static, and then shoved the communicator back into his pocket, "We need to get back there!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Botan complained tensely, leaning onto the front of the broom as if to coax a little more speed out of it, "It isn't easy to carry two people on this thing, you realize."
"You did it before without any problems.." Yusuke grumbled half- heartedly.
"That was when you were a ghost!" Botan flared, as the two streaked through the sky like a comet. It had been agreed that weighing down the broom with anymore of the group would slow it down too much, so Genkai and Kuwabara had agreed to stay behind in Spirit World until they could be picked up later.
"Hey, easy!" Yusuke nodded, "You just keep focused on flying, and we'll get there soon enough."
"Hopefully there's something left when we get there.."
***
"Will you stop staring?" Hiei exclaimed sourly, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. Suzaku looked abashed for a moment, and spread his hands apologetically,
"Sorry." He said honestly, "Just thinking.."
"About what?"
"You and the Fox Spirit." Hiei looked at him sharply for a moment, and Suzaku held up one hand to forestall argument, "Don't bother denying it, it's written all over both of you, if you know what to look for."
"Hnh." Hiei grunted noncommittally, "And exactly why is that any of your business?"
"I was just curious, is all." Suzaku explained openly, "Yoko..Kurama..has been through a lot since he became human. In that time, he's seemed to have picked up a need for friendship and warmth..and.."
"You don't know why he would pick someone who seems to supply neither?" Hiei asked, just a hint of a smile on the edge of his mouth, "Perhaps you simply misjudge people." Suzaku blinked for a moment, surprised by the congeniality in the other demon's voice. Simultaneously, both newly minted humans turned their eyes to the door as it slid open, then blinked as Kurama entered. The former demon did not look good. His red hair was plastered to his face by the rain, and crimson blood was running down from his nose. His pink uniform was torn in places, and he walked with a slight limp.
"My god, what happened to you?" Suzaku demanded in surprise, rising to his feet. Kurama half turned, shutting the door fully and backing away from it until he was behind the other two.
"They're coming!" He explained shortly, and Hiei's sword was instantly out of its sheath and pointing at the door. They waited for a moment, and as the door slid open, they all drew a breath.
Even though he usually attempted to avoid assuming anything about his enemy, Suzaku was still vaguely surprised. The first man through the door was not a blur of motion, nor a bastion of energy, nor any other hostile action. Quite the contrary, the man smiled briefly and even removed his shoes at the door. His uniform was finely pressed, and a small collection of insignia adorned his shoulders and breast pocket. The next through the door was slightly less welcoming, but still not a burst of hostility. Blond hair was tied into a ponytail, and his fingers nervously traced the hilt of the rapier at his waist. The last through the door wore the same black uniform that their late predecessors had tried. One brown eye twitched occasionally with a nervous tick, and the two men spread out behind their boss, facing the three demons.
"Ah, Hiei. I have heard a good deal about you." The first man said smilingly, pushing his blue-black hair backward to carry the wet strands to the side, "I'm very pleased to meet you."
"The feeling is wholly yours, I assure you." The short swordsman replied, his katana still leveled unswervingly at the newcomers, "Who the hell are you?"
"Your pardons. Captain Vincent Blaze of the JSDF experimental unit, Guinness Squadron." Blaze shrugged equably, and then gestured to his partners, "The one with the sword is Lieutenant Conner Boone, perhaps you've heard of him? Made a great reputation for himself in the dueling federation, or perhaps you know of the work his father does at Boone Military Technologies? No? Well, this one is Private Carlos Joaquin. Now then, we don't wish to hurt anyone, so if you can surrender peacefully, we can do this with minimal trouble."
"That's not even worth a response."
"Come now, you don't honestly think that the two of you can stand up to the four of us?"
"Heh, your math is as bad as your aim." Hiei chuckled, "From where I'm standing, it's three on thr-Herk!" The short former demon's sentence ended in a half spoken grunt as pain flared through his lower back. Methodically, the knife probed deeper and twisted. Cold emerald eyes met his own as he stumbled forward, nearly falling to the ground before Blaze caught him in a surprisingly firm grip. For a long moment, his mouth worked without sound, and then..
"Kurama?" He asked, his voice disbelieving. The sharp dagger in the Kitsune's hand was soaked with blood, and the arm of the pink jumpsuit was dripping with it. Hiei tried to stand, but a blade through the spine has a way of making even the hardest cases stay down.
"Not quite." Blaze answered him, "Did I forget to mention my last associate, Specialist Fortune. He's a very successful mimic..much more so lately." As Hiei watched, Kurama's face ran together like wax from a candle, reforming into an unfamiliar man with an unruly mop of brown hair. As Hiei's vision faded to black, he saw Suzaku raise his arms in abject surrender.
***
"Good work, Vincent." Matthews nodded smilingly, patting the Captain on the back and looking over the room. Suzaku was standing in one corner, his hands held together with the army's special brand of handcuffs. Boone was leaning against the door frame, still fingering the edge his rapier, as if disappointed he hadn't had the chance to use it. Blaze knelt near the fallen Hiei, snapping a pair of cuffs onto the limp arms. Placing his hands over the bloody wound, Blaze closed his eyes tightly.
Suzaku blinked amazedly as the hole closed itself under the officer's fingers, leaving the skin bloody, but unbroken.
"How did you do that?" The Saint Beast Leader asked, blinking to be certain he was still seeing correctly. Without the use of spirit energy, he could not tell whether it was a use of energy he had never thought of, or a simple optical illusion.
"You'd be amazed what we can do." Blaze replied, standing straight and brushing off his bloody hands. Dipping those hands into his pocket, he came up with a gold colored lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Catching one of the cancer sticks in his teeth, Blaze folded his hands around the lighter, lit the brief flame, and then puffed thoughtfully.
"We found her, Sir, she was in one of the back rooms!" Joaquin announced, his accent so thick that Suzaku could hardly understand him. With that, he and the Mimic entered with Yukina held between their arms. At the sight of the blood around Hiei, Yukina gave a short cry and ran to the fallen form.
"You're monsters!" She shouted, water running down her cheeks and converting to priceless pearls in the air and falling unnoticed onto the bloody ground, "You're all monsters!"
"Monsters." Matthews repeated slowly, his face curling up into a sneer, "You inhuman freaks have no right to be calling US monsters!" Faster then Suzaku would have imagined possible, his left hand struck out in a fast cross to the side of the ice apparition's face. Suzaku could clearly hear the jaw shatter at the force of the blow as Yukina reeled sideways. Matthews hand reached back for another strike, and Suzaku averted his eyes from the next hit. After a moment of silence, he dared to glance back at the center of the room. Blaze stood to Matthews's left, his hand wrapped around Matthews' wrist tightly as smoke rose from the burning cigarette.
"That's enough! You're going to kill her."
"I'll decide what's right, if that's all right with you, Captain!" Matthews snarled, putting special emphasis on the rank. Blaze shrugged, and knelt near the sobbing apparition. His hands on the bloody mess of a mouth, and his eyes closed as he eased the pain and performed his trick again.
"You've already got us, you don't need to do any of that!" Suzaku put in, and immediately regretted it as Matthews turned his way, "You can beat on us all you want, we're used to it, but we won't help you!"
"Oh? Won't help us?" Matthews chuckled softly, and a shiver ran up Suzaku's spine, "She'll be helping us, but I'm afraid you aren't any use to us. After your little stunt, you don't even know how to use your powers, so I doubt we'll be able to extract the information."
"My stunt..? How..do you know..about that?" Suzaku exclaimed in surprise, and the elegantly suited aide just smiled at him. His hand blurring forward, Matthews took hold of Suzaku's shirt and lifted him several inches into the air by one hand.
"We'll see how 'used to it' you are!" He snarled, and then struck. Suzaku had been knocked around before, but it had never been like this. The blows came from both sides, without any time to react. At times, he was almost certain he was being hit in unison from the left and the right, but with the other hand holding him up, he knew it wasn't so. After a flurry of blows, the aide apparently became bored of throwing punches to the face, and moved down to the stomach.
"Stop it, Sir!" Blaze barked instinctively, and the hail of fists halted. Suzaku slumped weakly, trying to see through the curtain of blood over his eyes. Matthews let go of the Saint Beast's shirt contemptuously, and as Suzaku's feet struck the ground, he found in surprise that they would not hold him up. Falling sideways, the only thing that came between him and the ground was, once again, Blaze, who easily managed to catch and hold the demon up.
"He's no use to us, Captain; I suggest you deal with him appropriately." The blue-eyed aggressor ordered, spinning on his heels and disappearing out the door.
"Yes, sir!" For a moment, Suzaku was sure he felt something heavy press onto his chest, and then he was propelled backward into the wall. As his back touched the wall, the blinding blood cleared, and he saw the barrel of Blaze's pistol pointed as his chest.
A sharp crash and everything went black.
***
Yusuke hit the door at a flat run, throwing it open and nearly slipping on a puddle of blood. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the scene. The floor was stained red near the center of the room, and one of the walls was sprinkled with dots and lines of crimson. The table was smashed, and the wood splinters were spread in a small area around it.
"I'm too late." He whispered, only to himself. A soft moan stole his attention, and he stepped over the blood puddle and looked behind the crimson spotted couch.
"Urameshi.." Suzaku said, coughing harshly with a tearing sound that Yusuke knew was not good. From the looks of his face, someone had beat him for something, "They've..taken..the others..Yus..kay.."
"Shh, don't talk." Yusuke cautioned, noticing for the first time the blackened front of Suzaku's shirt. Powder burns, he thought, and he knew what that meant. Grimly, he opened the front of Suzaku's shirt, knowing what he would find, and then blinked. An ugly bruise was forming just over the other's heart, but the skin was unbroken. Blinking at the shirt in his hands, Yusuke felt a weight still remaining in the breast pocket. Removing it, he held up a gold lighter to the light, bent into a curve around the bullet lodged within its side. Etched into that side, a small inscription said 'To the Blaze of my heart, Love always- Sarah.'
Suzaku laughed for a long moment, and his eyes closed slowly as the youth blinked at the crumpled lighter. It had been a long day, and he needed to sleep.
And plot his revenge.
"It's a little bland isn't it?"
"I wouldn't worry about it too terribly much, Suzaku. Remember, the point of this is to avoid attention."
"Easy for you to say, Hiei, as you're not the one dressed in an army tent."
"I agree, it may not be as brightly colored as your normal clothes, but I'd hardly call it a tent." Kurama put in, taking a step backward to admire his handiwork. Finding colors that didn't clash with the Yokai's orange hair had been a bit of a difficulty, but a short search had revealed a pair of tan pants with a matching dress shirt. Surprisingly, given the slender and tall physique most demons favored, both items fit, and the overall effect gave the former Saint Beast the air of a relaxed, but serious, college student.
"Maybe that was an overstatement." Suzaku agreed, glancing into the mirror and pushing the two strands of armored hair out of his eyes as he took in his image, "I suppose I can't complain too terribly much about it."
"No, I would definitely not recommend it." Kurama chuckled, "Or else I might be obliged to take it personally. Anyway, I'm going to grab us something to drink, we've been running low, and I'll be back shortly." Inclining his head in a miniature bow, Kurama stuck his hands in his pockets and strode out into the courtyard. There was a small shop across from Genkai's temple, and it had some of the better prices in his opinion. Throwing a glance at the darkened sky, he reflected sourly that it always started raining whenever he wanted to go for a walk.
As he hurried across the slick courtyard in the rainy night, something began to beep in his pocket. Slowing only marginally, he fished the pocket communicator, one of the few items able to reach between the Spirit World and the human plane, and flipped it open. After a moment of static, Yusuke's face resolved itself in the window.
"Well, Yusuke, Did you need something?" Kurama asked genially, and then took a closer look at the face on the screen. Yusuke was breathing hard, and the scenery behind him was rushing past, "Is something wrong?"
"Kurama, you've got to get set up! You're going to have company soon!"
"Company? Wait, what are you talki-."
"Behind you!"
Kurama turned instantly, dropping into a form of combat crouch, but he barely had time to react. A dark shape loomed up from the shadows of the wall, and came at him with a blur of motion..
***
"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted into the static, and then shoved the communicator back into his pocket, "We need to get back there!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Botan complained tensely, leaning onto the front of the broom as if to coax a little more speed out of it, "It isn't easy to carry two people on this thing, you realize."
"You did it before without any problems.." Yusuke grumbled half- heartedly.
"That was when you were a ghost!" Botan flared, as the two streaked through the sky like a comet. It had been agreed that weighing down the broom with anymore of the group would slow it down too much, so Genkai and Kuwabara had agreed to stay behind in Spirit World until they could be picked up later.
"Hey, easy!" Yusuke nodded, "You just keep focused on flying, and we'll get there soon enough."
"Hopefully there's something left when we get there.."
***
"Will you stop staring?" Hiei exclaimed sourly, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. Suzaku looked abashed for a moment, and spread his hands apologetically,
"Sorry." He said honestly, "Just thinking.."
"About what?"
"You and the Fox Spirit." Hiei looked at him sharply for a moment, and Suzaku held up one hand to forestall argument, "Don't bother denying it, it's written all over both of you, if you know what to look for."
"Hnh." Hiei grunted noncommittally, "And exactly why is that any of your business?"
"I was just curious, is all." Suzaku explained openly, "Yoko..Kurama..has been through a lot since he became human. In that time, he's seemed to have picked up a need for friendship and warmth..and.."
"You don't know why he would pick someone who seems to supply neither?" Hiei asked, just a hint of a smile on the edge of his mouth, "Perhaps you simply misjudge people." Suzaku blinked for a moment, surprised by the congeniality in the other demon's voice. Simultaneously, both newly minted humans turned their eyes to the door as it slid open, then blinked as Kurama entered. The former demon did not look good. His red hair was plastered to his face by the rain, and crimson blood was running down from his nose. His pink uniform was torn in places, and he walked with a slight limp.
"My god, what happened to you?" Suzaku demanded in surprise, rising to his feet. Kurama half turned, shutting the door fully and backing away from it until he was behind the other two.
"They're coming!" He explained shortly, and Hiei's sword was instantly out of its sheath and pointing at the door. They waited for a moment, and as the door slid open, they all drew a breath.
Even though he usually attempted to avoid assuming anything about his enemy, Suzaku was still vaguely surprised. The first man through the door was not a blur of motion, nor a bastion of energy, nor any other hostile action. Quite the contrary, the man smiled briefly and even removed his shoes at the door. His uniform was finely pressed, and a small collection of insignia adorned his shoulders and breast pocket. The next through the door was slightly less welcoming, but still not a burst of hostility. Blond hair was tied into a ponytail, and his fingers nervously traced the hilt of the rapier at his waist. The last through the door wore the same black uniform that their late predecessors had tried. One brown eye twitched occasionally with a nervous tick, and the two men spread out behind their boss, facing the three demons.
"Ah, Hiei. I have heard a good deal about you." The first man said smilingly, pushing his blue-black hair backward to carry the wet strands to the side, "I'm very pleased to meet you."
"The feeling is wholly yours, I assure you." The short swordsman replied, his katana still leveled unswervingly at the newcomers, "Who the hell are you?"
"Your pardons. Captain Vincent Blaze of the JSDF experimental unit, Guinness Squadron." Blaze shrugged equably, and then gestured to his partners, "The one with the sword is Lieutenant Conner Boone, perhaps you've heard of him? Made a great reputation for himself in the dueling federation, or perhaps you know of the work his father does at Boone Military Technologies? No? Well, this one is Private Carlos Joaquin. Now then, we don't wish to hurt anyone, so if you can surrender peacefully, we can do this with minimal trouble."
"That's not even worth a response."
"Come now, you don't honestly think that the two of you can stand up to the four of us?"
"Heh, your math is as bad as your aim." Hiei chuckled, "From where I'm standing, it's three on thr-Herk!" The short former demon's sentence ended in a half spoken grunt as pain flared through his lower back. Methodically, the knife probed deeper and twisted. Cold emerald eyes met his own as he stumbled forward, nearly falling to the ground before Blaze caught him in a surprisingly firm grip. For a long moment, his mouth worked without sound, and then..
"Kurama?" He asked, his voice disbelieving. The sharp dagger in the Kitsune's hand was soaked with blood, and the arm of the pink jumpsuit was dripping with it. Hiei tried to stand, but a blade through the spine has a way of making even the hardest cases stay down.
"Not quite." Blaze answered him, "Did I forget to mention my last associate, Specialist Fortune. He's a very successful mimic..much more so lately." As Hiei watched, Kurama's face ran together like wax from a candle, reforming into an unfamiliar man with an unruly mop of brown hair. As Hiei's vision faded to black, he saw Suzaku raise his arms in abject surrender.
***
"Good work, Vincent." Matthews nodded smilingly, patting the Captain on the back and looking over the room. Suzaku was standing in one corner, his hands held together with the army's special brand of handcuffs. Boone was leaning against the door frame, still fingering the edge his rapier, as if disappointed he hadn't had the chance to use it. Blaze knelt near the fallen Hiei, snapping a pair of cuffs onto the limp arms. Placing his hands over the bloody wound, Blaze closed his eyes tightly.
Suzaku blinked amazedly as the hole closed itself under the officer's fingers, leaving the skin bloody, but unbroken.
"How did you do that?" The Saint Beast Leader asked, blinking to be certain he was still seeing correctly. Without the use of spirit energy, he could not tell whether it was a use of energy he had never thought of, or a simple optical illusion.
"You'd be amazed what we can do." Blaze replied, standing straight and brushing off his bloody hands. Dipping those hands into his pocket, he came up with a gold colored lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Catching one of the cancer sticks in his teeth, Blaze folded his hands around the lighter, lit the brief flame, and then puffed thoughtfully.
"We found her, Sir, she was in one of the back rooms!" Joaquin announced, his accent so thick that Suzaku could hardly understand him. With that, he and the Mimic entered with Yukina held between their arms. At the sight of the blood around Hiei, Yukina gave a short cry and ran to the fallen form.
"You're monsters!" She shouted, water running down her cheeks and converting to priceless pearls in the air and falling unnoticed onto the bloody ground, "You're all monsters!"
"Monsters." Matthews repeated slowly, his face curling up into a sneer, "You inhuman freaks have no right to be calling US monsters!" Faster then Suzaku would have imagined possible, his left hand struck out in a fast cross to the side of the ice apparition's face. Suzaku could clearly hear the jaw shatter at the force of the blow as Yukina reeled sideways. Matthews hand reached back for another strike, and Suzaku averted his eyes from the next hit. After a moment of silence, he dared to glance back at the center of the room. Blaze stood to Matthews's left, his hand wrapped around Matthews' wrist tightly as smoke rose from the burning cigarette.
"That's enough! You're going to kill her."
"I'll decide what's right, if that's all right with you, Captain!" Matthews snarled, putting special emphasis on the rank. Blaze shrugged, and knelt near the sobbing apparition. His hands on the bloody mess of a mouth, and his eyes closed as he eased the pain and performed his trick again.
"You've already got us, you don't need to do any of that!" Suzaku put in, and immediately regretted it as Matthews turned his way, "You can beat on us all you want, we're used to it, but we won't help you!"
"Oh? Won't help us?" Matthews chuckled softly, and a shiver ran up Suzaku's spine, "She'll be helping us, but I'm afraid you aren't any use to us. After your little stunt, you don't even know how to use your powers, so I doubt we'll be able to extract the information."
"My stunt..? How..do you know..about that?" Suzaku exclaimed in surprise, and the elegantly suited aide just smiled at him. His hand blurring forward, Matthews took hold of Suzaku's shirt and lifted him several inches into the air by one hand.
"We'll see how 'used to it' you are!" He snarled, and then struck. Suzaku had been knocked around before, but it had never been like this. The blows came from both sides, without any time to react. At times, he was almost certain he was being hit in unison from the left and the right, but with the other hand holding him up, he knew it wasn't so. After a flurry of blows, the aide apparently became bored of throwing punches to the face, and moved down to the stomach.
"Stop it, Sir!" Blaze barked instinctively, and the hail of fists halted. Suzaku slumped weakly, trying to see through the curtain of blood over his eyes. Matthews let go of the Saint Beast's shirt contemptuously, and as Suzaku's feet struck the ground, he found in surprise that they would not hold him up. Falling sideways, the only thing that came between him and the ground was, once again, Blaze, who easily managed to catch and hold the demon up.
"He's no use to us, Captain; I suggest you deal with him appropriately." The blue-eyed aggressor ordered, spinning on his heels and disappearing out the door.
"Yes, sir!" For a moment, Suzaku was sure he felt something heavy press onto his chest, and then he was propelled backward into the wall. As his back touched the wall, the blinding blood cleared, and he saw the barrel of Blaze's pistol pointed as his chest.
A sharp crash and everything went black.
***
Yusuke hit the door at a flat run, throwing it open and nearly slipping on a puddle of blood. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the scene. The floor was stained red near the center of the room, and one of the walls was sprinkled with dots and lines of crimson. The table was smashed, and the wood splinters were spread in a small area around it.
"I'm too late." He whispered, only to himself. A soft moan stole his attention, and he stepped over the blood puddle and looked behind the crimson spotted couch.
"Urameshi.." Suzaku said, coughing harshly with a tearing sound that Yusuke knew was not good. From the looks of his face, someone had beat him for something, "They've..taken..the others..Yus..kay.."
"Shh, don't talk." Yusuke cautioned, noticing for the first time the blackened front of Suzaku's shirt. Powder burns, he thought, and he knew what that meant. Grimly, he opened the front of Suzaku's shirt, knowing what he would find, and then blinked. An ugly bruise was forming just over the other's heart, but the skin was unbroken. Blinking at the shirt in his hands, Yusuke felt a weight still remaining in the breast pocket. Removing it, he held up a gold lighter to the light, bent into a curve around the bullet lodged within its side. Etched into that side, a small inscription said 'To the Blaze of my heart, Love always- Sarah.'
Suzaku laughed for a long moment, and his eyes closed slowly as the youth blinked at the crumpled lighter. It had been a long day, and he needed to sleep.
And plot his revenge.