A/N This was going to be one bad-ass fight secen, but then I got drunk and lazy, so Yusukes first fight of the story is going to be a short one. I want to get better at the fights, and this was my first mulit-opponent secen, so I hope it works out, Let me know what you think! Happy reading! :) -L.
...
The Games Begin
"Stop poking him!"
"You stop poking him!"
"I would have to be poking him in the first place for me to stop. Are you an idiot, or something?"
"Call me an idiot one more time and I'll scream!" Nekyo slid on the bed and straddled a very deep-sleeping Kurama and began gently poking his forehead.
"Just wake him up already!" Yusuke grumbled. It was five in the morning, and a deep grumpiness was settling over him as he watched The Hunter prod at his sleeping friend.
After a long argument about where the two boys had been for most of the day yesterday, Shiori had given in and let her son stay for dinner and allowed him to spend his last night as part of his family in his own bed. Despite the tension in the household, the evening had been a pleasant one. Kurama didn't say much to anyone, but Yusuke watched him as he watched his family drift through their evening routine, a rare calm over his features. If Yusuke had to guess, he would say that the solemn red-head was feeling a bit of remorse for the trouble that he insisted on causing.
They had both retired early, the stress of the day wearing on the two boys heavily. Yet, it had seemed to Yusuke that it only been a matter of moments that he had been asleep before he had felt a gentle poking at his forehead. He had woken up in shock, finding himself straddled by the dark demon, the same way she was straddling Kurama now.
"Do you do this to everyone, or just people you want to annoy?" He asked her through a yawn.
"I like watching people sleep." She said in a dazzy voice. "it's funny," she continued, "He looks so different."
"Yeah, well, not having a tail or ears popping out of his head might do that. . ."
She poked him one more time, a harder jab then previously. His eyes fluttered for a moment before they reluctantly opened. He bolted up in surprise as he realized he wasn't alone, sending her tumbling to the floor. He took a moment to compose himself, ignoring the sprawled and prone cat, he turned an evil eye to Yusuke.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" His voice was soft, but his tone was dangerous.
"Ask the psycho over their. She woke me up too, and said she'd wake everybody up if I didn't cooperate."
"I'll scream if you do anything stupid, Fox, so I'd shut up and listen if you don't want me to wake up your precious little mommy." She said popping up with a cheerfulness that belied the threat in her words.
"Fine." He said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, his face twisted grotesquely in rage as he sized her up. "What, then, brings you to my home at this ungodly hour?"
"I had this great idea!" She said with happy enthusiasm as she pounced onto the bed, kneeling on the ruffled blankets to be eye level with the fuming fox, "The first thing I was supposed to do once I got here was find this guy who's wanted for crimes against Demon Kind."
"And you want me to help you find him." Kurama hung his shoulders, obviously not at all interested in her proposal.
"No. I already know where he is." She reared back, clearly exited with were this was going, "I have the authority to make a deal with him. My idea is this," She paused for effect, the disinterest of the two groggy boys doing nothing to detour her own mood, "Instead of taking him back to Demon World to be executed, he could take YOUR place in Spirit World as a way to pay back his debt!"
Kurama gaped at her for a second, "That is the stupidest idea I've ever herd."
"I'm going back to bed." Yusuke grumbled as he turned to leave. He made it half way to the door when a strange pinching feeling pricked at his neck. Suddenly, he felt like his entire body was pulled clean through the Spot on his neck. For a second, it was like falling in no particular direction, a force pressing so hard on his body that he felt like he would implode. And then it was over. He fell to his knees, uncontrollable shutters running through his body. He was only vaguely aware that he was back beside the bed.
"That's a clever trick." Kurama said to her, examining Yusuke closely and then helping him up to his feet.
"What the hell was that?" Yusuke gasped, breathing hard. A murderous glint appeared in his eyes as his hand moved up to rub at the Spot again.
"Nik may be called the 'Shadow Hunter'," Kurama mussed, "But her true power lies in the art of teleportation. Shadows are just the catalyst for her powers."
"That Spot will allow me to summon you whenever I want. I figured it would be the best way to keep track of al the demons in living world." A wide grin spread over her face.
"I must say, I would not have expected this kind of level of sophistication in your plans." Kurama couldn't hide the hint of surprise in his voice that belied how much he was impressed, "But I really don't care to discuses you're current tactics in your never-ending quest to be the most irritating person ever. Tell me why you think I'll go along with this idea of your's?"
"Because I'm going to do it anyway, but if you cooperate, it'll make the whole thing easier. Of course the Mazuku has no choice." She indicated to Yusuke, taking on a much more professional demeanor, "It's at least a two man job -someone to take care of the body guards, and someone to get this Fujioka guy. But it would help if I had some one to take care of the hostages."
"I'm not going anywhere!" Yusuke protested, "It's too early."
"That Spot says otherwise." She warned.
"I am going to decline. I've spent the last eighteen years not having to get mixed up in your ridicules schemes, and I've rather enjoyed it." Kuramas voice was calm, yet his eyes flashed with irritation.
She regarded him closely, black eyes meeting green in an intense stare. Yusuke shivered at the energy that seemed to generate from that stare.
"Okay, lets make a game of it." She proposed after some time, a small twitch ran through Kuramas face at her words, "Which ever one of us can make it out of this operation unscathed gets their way -If I win you have to stay in Living World with me, if you win, then you're free to go wherever you want."
He eyed her with an interest that Yusuke had never seen his friend hold before, "And all I have to do is retrieve the hostages?"
"That's it."
"And what will you be doing?"
"Getting Fujioka."
"And what kind of criminal is he?"
"He's a human, but he spent a lot of time in Demon World. He's a Trapper, and he's been selling our kind as slaves."
"And the hostages?"
"Children, Demons. Both of them."
Kurama thought on this for a moment, the wheels in his head turning around all of the odds. "All right, I'll play this game."
"Good." She smiled, and leaned over to the window to jump out. "Follow me, and try to keep up."
With that, she pounced out the window, and was instantly lost in the early morning shadows. Without a word, Kurama climbed out the window as well, hitting the ground running after her. Yusuke sighed and shrugged to no one in particular, and jumped out the window after the two.
…...
By the time the group made it to the little bunker on the side of some secluded hill, the sun was rising prominently over the horizon. The place looked abandoned, but they kept a safe distance to brief, just to be safe. From there vantage, they could see a low wall surrounding the place, and had a good view of two windows flanking a large wooden door. Half the bunker seemed to be underground.
"After I got rid of the Lap-Dog yesterday, I swung by hear to make sure he was still hear." She explained as the two huffing boys gave her a skeptical look after surveying the place. "I didn't see Fujioka or the hostages, but there were four guards lurking around the place. All of them are known to be his men."
"It looks empty now." Yusuke sighed, regretting for a moment that he had followed them, and then remembering that the Cat would have teleported him hear anyway.
"Is that the only door?" Kurama asked her. The look in his eyes spoke volumes about how prepared he thought she was.
"I don't know. I'll go check." She shrugged and began walking off, "And if you go anywhere, I'll count that as a forfeit!"
"What exactly are we doing hear?" Yusuke asked as soon as Nekyo was out of earshot. The solemn fox seemed to be immersed in studying the layout of the bunker.
"We're playing a game." He said in a jovial voice.
"Okay," Yusuke said slowly, "And what exactly does that mean? I mean, I thought you didn't like her? Why would making this a 'game' make you want to help her?"
Kurama straitened up. A penetrating gaze caught Yusuke as the red-head -who still hadn't lost the silver streaks from yesterday- turned to him.
"Now that you're involved, I suppose I owe you more of an explanation besides 'I'm her prey'."
"You got that right! You guys seem more like old chums then arch enemies."
"The truth is, I have no real reason to hate her, except that she irritates me so much. One day, not long after I had left the temple I was raised in, she simply dropped into my life."
"'Dropped in'?"
"Quite literally." Kurama nodded, "She dropped down from a tree right in front of me. She told me that I was to be her Quarry. I laughed at her -I mean REALLY laughed at her. I don't recall ever laughing before that. We fought, but we ended in a stalemate. All of our fights have always ended in stalemates. We are perfectly matched, her and I. Somewhere along the line, our fighting became political, and a problem arose -for Demon world politics to work, there has to be a victor, or you get a stand off such as was with Raizin, Mokuro and Yomi. To protect the people we served, we came up with the games. Who ever won the game won the argument."
"So you stopped fighting each other?"
"No. We agreed to only fight on our own time. It was better for the population of Demon World if we left the violent part of our feud out of our politics."
"Was this agreement before or after you two leveled entire cities?" Yusuke smirked, somewhat proud that he knew something that made the Fox's eyes bulge in surprise.
"Who told you that?"
"Hiei did, yesterday while you two were fighting."
"Well, there was only one city, and that was an unfortunate victim of a personal grievance."
"So right now, this is all political?"
"I assume so, since she's calling it a game." Kurama shrugged, "Considering the pending war, it makes sense." The slightest hint of hurt crossed his face at that thought.
"I thought you thought I never make any sense!" Nekyo practically screamed, causing the boys to jump in surprise.
"I know. It makes me worry about you; thinking that you've suddenly learned how to make sense." Kuramas voice sounded serious, but a cocked brow proved he was speaking nothing but sarcasm. He was again instantly aware again of the matters at hand, "What did you find?"
"It sounds like one guard is in the first room, but judging by noises coming from the parameter, the rest of the group is underground." She smiled proudly at her own prowess, "All we need is a diversion to get all those guards out of there."
"And a second door. . . ?" Kurama asked, exasperated. He crossed his arms to rest his head in one hand.
"As far as I can tell that second floor is cut right into the hill." She mentioned to Yusuke, "Besides, that's why we brought him along. He'll get all the guards out, and we sneak in to catch the baddie!"
"It's a bit rudimentary, but it is a plan. Did someone help you with this?"
"I am perfectly capable of coming up with plans on my own. Now are we going to do this, or what?"
"And you have a plan for when we enter the dwelling? Do you know the layout?"
"It's just a couple of rooms," She grit her teeth and growled, clearly growing impatient.
"-And what do you mean I'm a 'diversion'?"
"-it means you go over there and do that 'I challenge you to a fight, so come and get me' thing that you're so good at!" She thought for a moment, "Try to knock out that wall if you can, too."
"I don't work for you, Lady!" Yusuke yelled at her.
"Yes you do." She said cheerfully, and with a pinch, the Spot pulled at Yusuke again.
The same feeling of falling in do direction hit him again, and made his stomach churn. Somehow, but he wasn't sure how, he was aware that he was moving a farther distance then he did before. As he landed his knees buckled, sending him sprawling on the ground, unable to move because of the uncontrollable spasms running through his body. A sudden bell started ring somewhere in front of him and he instantly knew were he was.
He managed to gain control of his body just in time to lift himself up and see a large wooden door open and two thick green legs walk out before a hammer smashed into the ground were his head was a second before. He sprung to his feet as he dodged, readying a blast at the same time -he didn't need to be introduced, the large demon was swinging wildly at him, and he wasn't taking any chances.
"Spirit Gun!" He shouted, and the demon, along with most of the doorway came tumbling down.
"Well, I guess that starts the diversion." He grumbled to himself as he dusted off his clothes.
In a matter of seconds, three more demons were at the gaping doorway.
"What the hell is the meaning of this? Who the fuck are you?" The most intimidating guard yelled in a boisterous voice, brandishing a large whip at Yusuke.
"You mean you don't recognize me?" Yusuke chuckled sarcastically, the thrill of battle prickling at his skin in the most pleasant way, "Drat, and I thought I was famous now!"
"We don't cater to celebrities," The big demon said darkly and nudged his two companions who began to advance, "And the boss doesn't like his vacations interrupted."
The large demon deferred the whip and Yusuke knew that the pleasantries were over. He backed out of the way of the two smaller demons as the thick whip cracked. Yusuke braced himself, but to his surprise, the lash fell on the demon to his right, who cried out and lunged forward at the pain. He sidestepped the sharp blue talons that came inches from his face and punched the offending demon in the side, causing another squeal of pain from the bird demon.
Another crack from the whip resonated through the surrounding hills and the other demon, who seemed to be some sort of plant, screeched out an awful wail. The dark brown creature rose up before Yusuke, leaving what looked like roots firmly latched into the ground. Yusuke punched at the demon, and it cried out at the impact. The odd plant person fell back from the force, pulling a rather shocked detective along with him. His fist was stuck to the thing.
Yusuke struggled to pull free, panic taking over his reason. The more he thrashed, the more stuck he became. He was only a little surprised that the plant-man didn't seem to try to attack him, but the thought was pushed out of his head at the whip cracked again, and he managed to move his head in time to see the pained look on the bird demons face.
"He's hurting you!" Yusuke said softer then he intended, but the shock of the empathy hit him hard enough lower his voice. He felt like he had a hunch as to why Demon World wanted this Fujioka guy dead.
The blue demon swung at him again, and he managed to roll out of the way -getting out of that moments danger, but further stuck to the plant-man.
"I can help you!" He shouted as the talons came down fro another way-too-close swipe. "Let me take out the big guy, and you can go free!"
Another crack rang through the air, and both demons whined mercilessly at the pain. The bird started hacking wildly, resulting in nothing but getting itself stuck in the sticky plant. The plant-man, however, began constricting at the pain, crushing the birds fingers, and putting pressure on Yusuke's arm. Slimy and sticky dark brown roots started to writhe and seize all over the odd creature, and soon the bird seemed to be completely crushed. The creature slowly wrapped around Yusuke, forming a cocoon of sorts around him.
From somewhere deep in the plant-man, he could hear a gurgling sound. A bone crunching noise made him flinch, and the defiant sound of the bird screeching out one last time hit his ears. With a sinking feeling he realized the poor guy had just been eaten. The cocoon suddenly pressed tighter and more sticky gew flooded the chamber. With an even worse sinking feeling, Yusuke realized that he was about to be the second course of the plant-mans breakfast.
Relying on cell memory, intuition, and dumb luck, Yusuke began concentrating all of his energy in his unseating heart. If there was any time to use the Spirit Wave, it was now. The plant may have been surprising, but it wasn't strong. With only minimal power, Yusuke released the blast.
Instantly the roots began melting away, a wild hissing shriek of terror erupted and then slowly died off as Yusuke broke free from the cocoon.
"That's not demon energy!" the large demon roared, cowering only slightly at the sight of his dead slaves.
"See, it really is a shame you've never herd of me. The you might have know that I was born a human. Spirit Energy does a real number on you low-levels, doesn't it?"
The demon brandished his whip again. His hands shook as he held it. He reared back to lash at Yusuke, but he was slow. In a flash and a crack, the half-demons hand was buried securely in the ribcage belonging to the large demon. A shocked look spread across his face and a small trickle of dark purple blood bubbled and spattered at his lips.
"Just so you know tour mistake, the names Yusuke Urimeshi, Son of Raizen." The large demon's eyes flashed for a second with some recognition, and the it was gone. The beast was dead before he hit the ground.
"Well that was easy!" He mumbled to himself as he watched the guy twitch lifelessly.
"It should have been." Nekyo said from behind him. He spun around to see her leading a bound a gagged man out of the broken doorway. "I mean, you are a Kami."
"That was fast." He gaped at her in shock.
"Like I said, two rooms." She shrugged.
"Where's Kurama?" He asked, craning his neck to look for his friend.
"Fighting with the kids. They may technically be hostages, but they seem a little reluctant to letting us take them away from their father." She shrugged again and chuckled.