Facing Your Inner Demons
Ch 29: Onto Demon World
The next week went by much too fast for Kelly's liking. The others were wary around her, but she gave them no reason to be. She was as cheerful as ever.
It was only at night did any amount of fear begin to creep up on her. Her dreams of Inoji were more frequent and vivid. Three times that week Hiei had entered her room to wake her up and stop her screaming. He never stayed, like he had before, but he would always be sure that she was calm before he left.
The day the five were to leave, Kelly barely said anything. Only when she was spoken to directly did she open her mouth to let words come out.
They all stood at the edge of the forest, saying their good-byes. Koenma walked over to Kelly and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm afraid that if you wish to visit home, you're going to have to find a way back to the Human World first. I can't send a portal to you in the Makai," he told her apologetically.
Kelly gave a weak smile and said, "Don't worry about it Koenma. Thank you for all that you've done."
Koenma nodded. "Don't be so nervous. You'll be fine."
Kelly gave another weak smile then nodded. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth again she would get sick. She had understood Koenma's reasoning behind sending her to Demon World. Lon and his men would believe that she was still in the Human World. They would never expect her to be right under their noses. Not only that, but Kelly was most likely safer in Demon World than in Human World. Mukuro and her men would protect her along with all of Yusuke's old subordinates.
And yet, she was still sick to her stomach.
Kelly focused on the soft music playing in her ears. It was Come Sail Away, the same song she had sung when she had first met Hiei. The others had quickly found that this song soothed her more than any other song. She had explained that when she was a baby, her father had sung it to her as a lullaby. She had laughed when she told them this. Only her father would sing a rock and roll song as a lullaby.
Calmer now, she looked over to see Yusuke and Keiko talking quietly together. Kelly smiled. It made her happy to see them together. They were so cute and she could see how much they loved each other. She smiled again slightly as she remembered how only two days before she had gone with Yusuke to look for an engagement ring that would be presented to Keiko when they all returned from Demon World.
She shifted a bit on the large rock that she was perched on so that she was able to see Yukina and Kuwabara saying their own good-byes. She smiled once more, but her eyes were filled with sadness.
-You will not be alone forever. You will get your chance eventually.- Hiei's voice rang clear in her head.
Kelly looked to her right where he stood only a foot away from her. She mentally sighed and said nothing in return. He just didn't want her to mope. She was a pain when she did.
She turned back to see everyone approaching her and Hiei. Botan bounded over and gave her a huge hug. As usual, it took Kelly a moment to recover from the shock of being hugged. She soon relaxed and gave Botan a hug in return.
"I really am going to miss you," Botan told her, "You be careful."
"I will, and I'll miss you too," Kelly said quietly.
It was Keiko's turn next to give Kelly a hug.
"We'll have a huge party when you all get back," the brunette said, "You'll be the DJ."
Kelly smiled brightly at the thought. "I look forward to it."
Yukina came next. She didn't hug Kelly. She knew the hesitant girl too well for that. Instead, she held out a small vial with a blue liquid in it.
"It's medicine," she explained, "It can counteract most poisons and helps heal injuries faster."
"Thank you, Yukina," Kelly said, appreciation laced throughout her voice.
Genkai came forward after Yukina had moved back. She placed a hand on Kelly's shoulder and said, "Don't die out there, brat. I still owe you for the last game we played."
"I'll still wipe the floor with you," Kelly said with a smirk.
"Harsh, kid," Shizuru said from Kelly's other side. "Be safe. Look after my brother for me, will ya?"
"I will. God knows what he would do without a woman's help. Most likely forget to shower and change his clothes," Kelly said with a smile.
"Hey!" Kuwabara yelled.
"You know I'm just kiddin'."
Kelly stood and grabbed her bag filled with clothes. The four boys flanked her sides as they began to walk into the forest. She turned and gave one last wave then disappeared into the darkness along with the other four.
It wasn't very far away. They walked instead of running and still made it to the mountain cave where the tear was in only a half hour.
The five slowly walked into the cave looking around for the tear that Koenma had assured them was there.
"There!" Yusuke exclaimed.
Sure enough, about ten feet to their left was what appeared to be a red gash that ran from the bottom of the cave up to the highest point of the cavern.
"So… whatta we do? Just walk through?" Kelly asked as she walked over to observe the rip.
"Yes actually," Kurama said as he walked to stand beside her. "However, there's not telling where the rip will take us. The last time we recklessly went through an opening to the Makai, we ended up free falling from in the sky.
"Ah, yeah, that's a problem," Kelly said with a frown. "Well, what didju do when that happened?"
"I used a plant that gave me wings and carried Kuwabara and Hiei on vines. Yusuke rode on Puu."
She nodded. She had run into Puu on more than one occasion and had even become very fond of the large bird (type… thing…).
"I doubt that you can carry us all," she said, her frown deepening.
"No, I cannot."
Kelly stood in silence for a moment or two before saying, "Well, with my wind manipulation I can decrease my speed as I fall and then use it to soften my land. I can't fly, but I can at least prevent death and harm."
"Yeah, but can you carry someone?" Yusuke asked.
"Carry? I don' need to carry 'em. I just need to manipulate the air around 'em as well. I can only do it for one person though. My control is too limited."
Hiei stepped forward and said, "We'll be going first then."
Kelly wasn't surprised. She nodded then stepped into the rip, Hiei right beside her.
She grabbed Hiei's hand and said, "If we do fall, whatever you do, don' let go. If you're too far from me, I won't be able to reach you with my wind."
Hiei nodded and clasped his hand around hers. He looked to see that Kelly's face was filled with worry. He squeezed her hand, assuring her without words that she needn't worry. She would do fine. She took a deep breath as she stepped out of the other side of the rip.
The two were instantly tugged in opposite directions as they began to fall at top speeds to the desert below them. They held each other's hand tighter as they went spread eagle. They shifted so that their foreheads were touching and both hands were now clasped together.
Kelly looked at Hiei who gazed back at her. He nodded in encouragement. He watched as she changed right before his eyes. The markings of almost every demon type alive appeared on her skin as her canines grew longer and more pointed. Her hazel eyes glowed greener than normal as she called upon all the wind power she could.
She never broke eye contact with Hiei as the two began to slow. The wind became softer around them as Kelly bent it to her will. It pillowed their undersides and then rose above them, slowing them down.
The eye contact was finally broken as Kelly looked down to see the ground just below them. She shifted them with her wind so that they landed softly on their feet. She sighed with relief when she realized that she had succeeded.
Hiei watched as triumph donned her face. He chuckled but then grew wide eyed as the girl's eyes rolled back in her head.
"Onna!" he shouted in concern. He caught her before she hit the ground.
"Whew, that was harsh. I think I went way beyond the whole elemental manipulation thingy," she said breathlessly. She looked up and pointed. "Looky there, they made it."
Hiei looked up and saw Kurama and his plant wings, Kuwabara and Yusuke dangling on vines. Kelly stood up slowly, but clung to Hiei's arm for support.
The other three landed softly in front of them. They barely had time to greet the other two before Kuwabara whispered, "Demons. Six of them. Approaching fast."
Kelly heaved a sigh of frustration. "They better be friendly. I will be so pissed if they attacked."
Yusuke smirked and said, "You're in the Makai, Kelz. I highly doubt that they're here to invite us for tea."
"Yeah, I figured as much," she responded as her energy flared and she prepared to fight.
