Chapter 54: Living in the Past
Here's the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews. ^_^
The demon frog screamed, she heard the bear demon hit something and grunt. Cautiously, Fay opened her eyes and peeked past her hands.
'The barrier!' She'd completely forgotten she could do that. Grinning, she stood, shaking her right leg to get rid of the severed tongue around it.
"Ha! Serves you right for trying to eat me." Her hand went to her wrist, where her bracelet rested. Maybe she could use that to increase the barrier's power. When she didn't feel it, she brought up her wrist, narrowing her eyes to get a better look at her right wrist, then her left.
'Hold on…where's my bracelet!' She couldn't lose that bracelet, it was too important to her!
The ox demon slammed himself against her barrier. When it wavered, Fay brought all her attention back to it.
'For now, let's concentrate on staying alive until the guys can find me.' Hopefully she hadn't landed to far from them, like another time period.
The pig demon snorted in laughter. "Don't think your little barrier can keep us out forever; we have all night."
The other demons laughed, making Fay shiver. They'd surrounded her and taking turns, they kept slamming themselves against her barrier. Even worse, this soon brought them to the attention of other demons that joined in.
'Why isn't anyone helping me?' She was in the middle of an old dirt street. Small wooden homes were lined up on both sides, and although now and then she could see someone peering out through the windows, no one came to help.
'They could at least throw rocks.'
A large demon slammed himself against her barrier, it wavered again, the cogs stopping their movement for a few seconds before continuing again.
Fay tried to feed it more energy, but she'd never really learned how to do that, and she was getting the feeling that all she was doing was tantamount to waving a large bright red flag above her head and announcing what she was to all the demons.
"I get her leg!" She heard a demon shout.
Fay shook her head and covered her ears. 'I'm not here, I'm not here! Go away, leave me alone!' she fell to her knees, shutting her eyes tightly. 'I'm not here!'
It didn't seem to be working.
Although she'd covered her ears, she still heard the fight that broke out, the shouts of 'Raizen' and 'we found her first!'
Then there was a large blast of spirit energy followed by screaming, many death gargles, and scrambling by the demons around her.
Unable to help it, Fay opened her eyes and stared. The few demons that remained, she could see running away, but her attention soon centered on the tall white hair demon that stopped in front of her, just outside her shrinking barrier.
He stared down at her with cold eyes before he looked away, continuing past her.
"You're making too much noise, human."
Fay stared after him, wondering who he was and why'd he'd helped. A shadow moved to her left.
Fay scrambled to her feet, dropping the barrier and running after the demon.
He walked like he owned the place, as if he knew no one would dare make a move against him. He wasn't particularly fast, intended she was sure, but his legs were much longer and she was almost running to keep up with him.
Fay glanced back, realized some demons were still following and sped up.
"Umm...excuse me…"
He didn't answer.
"Thank you for saving me back there, my name's Fay."
He glanced down at her when she managed to gain his side, but otherwise didn't speak.
Not really knowing what else to say, Fay concentrated on keeping up with him.
He kept moving for over an hour until they were deep within a forest and when she stumbled and fell, he stopped, sitting on the ground while she caught her breath.
'So…this is how marathon runners feel…nice to know.'
"What are you?"
Fay looked up, startled that he'd finally spoken after so long.
"Human." She answered.
He took a deep breath through his nose. On anyone else, she'd find it insulting, but he was a little scary, plus he had saved her life.
"You smell like it, but there's something else there. Something that smells like power, and the ocean; perhaps both are the same thing."
Fay sat down on the grass, wrapping her hands around her knees.
"It's a long story. Let's just say fate screwed me over and serendipity decided to well…take pity on me."
It wasn't quite a smile, but it was close to it. "I have the time."
Deciding she'd rather tell him her history than start on a second marathon, Fay took a deep breath and begun her story.
'It's been over a day now. Yusuke, what's taking so long?' She wouldn't think that her friends hadn't yet found a way to get to her, she knew they would.
"Keep up."
Keiko hurried after Hakel, wondering where she was being taken now. Hakel had looked after her since Keiko had finished dinner last night.
Today she had woken to find another kimono set out for her and breakfast on a table in her room. After that, Hakel had arrived; showing her the castle grounds and even the garden, but Keiko hadn't had a chance to escape at all.
Hakel stopped in front of a double door and flung them open. The room on the other side of the doors was decorated in gold's', reds, and oranges, matching the clothes of the young man sitting on an armchair reading a comic book.
"Arel,' Hakel stepped aside, gesturing for Keiko to precede her. Hesitantly, Keiko complied.
Arel looked up from his comic book. "What's up?"
"You're to guard Kathleen."
"My name's Keiko."
"Until everything is in place." Hakel continued as if Keiko hadn't spoken.
"Yeah, whatever." Arel shrugged and went back to his reading.
"Do not attempt to escape." Hakel warned Keiko before she shut the doors, the click of a lock sounding soon after.
Uncertain, Keiko looked around the room, then at the Malaika sitting on the armchair.
"I'm not Kathleen, you know." She stated firmly.
Arel flipped a page and nodded. "Yeah, I know."
Startled, Keiko stared at him. "Then why are you going along with this?"
Arel raised his eyes to her. "Suriel told me about your reaction to the jewelry, and that it was no less and no more than the rest of your friends. You have her soul, I'll admit to that, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're her, because your heart isn't hers, it's yours. However, to Azrael that doesn't really matter. And since he's my family, I can't really do anything but support him."
"Even when he's wrong?" Keiko demanded.
Arel nodded. "I can't betray him; well it's more that I won't. He's looked after us for ages, literally. He's more like a father to me than anything else. So even if he's being a complete idiot about this, I'm not about to betray him. So no, I won't help you escape."
Sighing, Keiko looked away. "I guess I can understand that."
"Don't look so depressed. Your friends should be arriving soon to rescue you." Arel smiled encouragingly. "Maybe they can pound some sense into Azrael. I mean, if they manage to get through all of us."
Keiko looked back at him. "You're going to fight them?"
"Well, yeah. It's not like I have any other choice, but I have heard they're pretty tough. They must be to bring down the Demon Faction, so I'm sure whoever I end up fighting will defeat me."
"Are you…going to throw the fight?"
"Nope, that wouldn't be fair, but I'm sure they'll still manage." He leaned down, picked up a comic book from one of the three large piles at his feet and tossed it to Keiko.
"So until they come get you, relax, read a comic book." He gestured to the arm chair across from him. "And sit down; it's a lot more comfortable."
Keiko looked at the comic book in her hand. Walking over to the armchair she sat, opening the book. 'Yusuke, please come soon.'
Hakel hurried to Azrael's room, pausing a few feet from where he worked. "They approach."
Azrael set down the book of spells. "I have not yet completed my research. Go greet our guests, Hakel. Make certain the others are in position."
She bowed. "Of course." Hakel retreated from the room, meeting all but one of their members in the corridor.
"Well?" Ashriel asked. "How should we delay our guests? I can activate the traps, but that might not be enough."
"It won't." Hakel responded.
"Melee, then?"
Hakel shook her head. "No, I believe one on one will do, but with a small change that should buy Azrael enough time to return Kathleen to her former self."
"And that would be?" Suriel asked.
Hakel smiled. "Simple enough…"
The group had expected some sort of defense once they reached the castle's front gates, but it was completely empty, the gate itself open.
They raced across the courtyard to the doors to find that they too were open.
"Either they have the worse security in the world, or we're expected." Yusuke said, stepping inside.
"It may very well be a trap." Kurama cautioned.
"Not like we can do anything about it." Yusuke said. "Not as long as they have Keiko."
He took a deep breath and shouted. "Okay! We're here, so hand Keiko over or prepare to get your asses kicked!"
"There goes our element of surprise." Shishi muttered. They were in a large echoing foyer, in the distance he could make out a winding staircase leading upwards.
"Great, another staircase,' Kuwabara grumbled. "Why can't these places ever have elevators, or at least escalators?"
"I hope you don't expect an answer to such a foolish question." The words reached them before the figure materialized in a flurry of white feathers.
The boys tensed, ready to attack if necessary, at least all but Kuwabara. 'I am not fighting a girl!' he thought stubbornly.
"Where's Keiko!" Yusuke demanded, taking a threatening step forward.
"By the time you reach her, she will not recognize that name nor any of you." Hakel stopped in the middle of the foyer, her right hand going to the hilt of her sword and pulling it from its sheath.
"However, you are welcome to continue with your foolish quest,' she pointed the tip of her sword at them. "If you can get through me."
The battle field rose around them, but this time the six could feel a difference in it.
'Don't tell me-' before Kurama could finish the thought, the battle field began to transform.
The foyer doubled in size, the ceiling and walls disappeared to reveal a moonlit sky; except that here and there they could also see other planets, much closer than the moon itself. The marble floor beneath them turned to gray stone, and a barrier rose up between them and Hakel.
"Let me guess,' Touya said grimly. "This is a level two battle field."
"It seems you're well informed." Hakel said. "Yes, this is that. To allay your fears, no, you will not need to seek out the cornerstone, in the small possibility that you defeat me. If you manage such a feat, the cornerstone shall appear to you immediately. However, for that to happen one of you must face me. The rules are simple: no interference is allowed within this battle field until one has fallen."
Hiei stepped forward. "In that case I'll finish this quickly." He walked through the barrier, unsheathing his katana.
Hakel moved into her battle stance. "Seems I will finally be able to punish you for your impudence at our last meeting."
"Hn! I highly doubt that." Hiei rushed her.
When Fay had finished telling her story, he was silent, again. Her eyes were beginning to droop when he at last spoke. "I know a Kurama. He's a young thief, but he sounds more like the Youko you mentioned."
Raizen watched as her eyes brightened and she scooted closer to him.
"You know Youko?"
He nodded. "I think you may be confused, it sounds to me as if they're both one and the same."
She tilted her head, puzzled. "Who?"
"Youko Kurama." He answered.
"You mean Youko and Kurama. I think Kurama knows Youko, but he doesn't seem to like talking about him. I wonder why."
"You misunderstood."
When she gave him that same puzzled look, he shook his head and stood.
Fay scrambled to her feet again and hurried to catch up with him, when he noticed, Raizen slowed his step.
Half an hour later, he spoke again. "My name, it's Raizen."
Fay smiled up at him, a trusting friendly smile that up until a few days ago, he would have enjoyed wiping off her face by ripping her throat open. Now…he wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Nice to meet you Raizen."
It was the first time anyone had said something like that to him.
There was a word for people like this strange human girl; he just had to find it. Once he did, he couldn't help the smile that stretched over his lips.
Fay lost track of how long she followed Raizen. After telling her his name, he kept silent, moving through the woods with that same assured stride. Now and then she caught a glimpse of demons in the shadows of the woods, but they appeared too scared to approach with Raizen there.
'He must be really strong.' She thought, hurrying to catch up with him again.
She was about to ask if they could stop when they neared a clearing, the sound of voices reached her before she saw the group of demons gathered around a campfire.
As soon as the demons spotted Raizen, they called out friendly greetings. One of the demons, a woman with light green hair, stood up and headed for Raizen.
"It's about time you got back, where have you been for three days?" she demanded. Then the demon woman caught sight of Fay.
"What's with the human?"
"Maybe he brought us a snack." A silver skinned demon leaned down to examine her, reaching a hand out to her.
"Don't touch me!" Fay backed away from him, stepping closer to Raizen.
"Let her be." Raizen warned the demon.
"That's unlike you, Raizen." A large red skinned, horned demon peered over Raizen's shoulder. "I never thought you'd decide to take a human pet."
"I'm not a pet!" Fay bristled, startling the demon.
"And just because I'm human doesn't mean I'm stupid, so don't talk like I'm not here!"
She immediately regretted her words since it brought the group's attention to her.
The red skinned demon laughed. "She's a firecracker."
Fay's eye twitched. 'I'll show you firecracker, you little…'
"I've come to a decision." At Raizen's words, all attention switched to him.
"You mean you're finally ready to marry me?" The green haired demoness asked.
Ignoring her words, Raizen continued. "I have decided to stop eating humans, and fighting these meaningless battles."
Fay's eyes grew large at his words. 'Hold on…he eats humans?' Now that she thought about it, the silver demon had called her a snack. In that case… she definitely agreed with the no human diet.
The other demons didn't like it at all. The moment the words left his mouth, they all began arguing against it, calling it foolish.
"You can't be serious; you'll die if you don't eat!" A blue hair demon exclaimed.
They all kept trying to change his mind, but all Raizen did was stand there quietly while they barraged him with words.
"Is it because of this little human?" A demon with horns picked her up by the scruff of her jacket, glaring at her.
"Hey, let go!" Fay tried to punch him, but his arm reach was longer, and she didn't even come close to touching him.
"No." Raizen took her from the demon, though she would have appreciated it more if he weren't treating her like a handbag.
"This is my decision, one I will not change." He looked at the green haired demoness. "I met a human woman,' they all looked at Fay, who shook her head in quick denial.
"Another one, more mature and far more beautiful."
'There goes the last of my ego.' Fay thought wryly.
"She made me realize how meaningless all this fighting, the hunt, has become. Until I see her again, I will never eat a human."
"So you're dumping me!" The demoness shouted. "For a human tramp!"
When Raizen didn't answer, the demoness spun away. "Fine! But you just watch, you'll come begging for me to take you back soon!"
She stomped away, grumbling under her breath.
"We can't agree with this, Raizen." The red skinned demon said, sounding almost sorry.
"I know, Enki."
With a sad shake of his head, Enki followed after the demoness.
"Look after Koku." Raizen said.
Enki stopped, nodded without turning around and continued walking.
"I hope you find whatever you're looking for, Raizen." Enki called over his shoulder.
The rest of the demons stayed, uncertain of what to do, but soon they too began following Enki.
"Hold on!" Fay shrugged out of her jacket, landing on her feet.
"He's your friend! You don't just abandon your friends because he decided to change his lifestyle, you support him! And if it's stupid, you still support him!"
Koku glared at the human. "You don't know what you're talking about, brat, so stay out of it unless you want to become a snack."
Fay returned the glare. "I know exactly what I'm saying, you're the idiot! I would never abandon my friends, especially when they need me. His reasons for doing this may not sound important to you, but they are too him. Shouldn't that be enough?"
Her jacket was draped over her head, and she looked up at Raizen. "Let them go, it's their decision."
When he started away from the clearing, Fay glanced from the demons still watching them, to Raizen. She shrugged into her jacket and headed after him.
Over the next fifteen minutes, Fay kept looking over her shoulder, expecting Raizen's friends to come after him. "They're going to show up right, Raizen?"
He didn't answer.
"They're your friends, they should understand."
He still didn't answer.
"What's so wrong with not eating humans anymore? There's always fruits and vegetables."
She could almost swear that he smiled, but the next second his expression was impassive again.
"My body doesn't take well to those, our kind must eat humans to survive and keep up our strength. Nothing else will do."
"Oh…" She didn't know what to say. As a human, she really didn't like the idea of her kind being eaten…but… "Have you considered a prison diet?" she suggested. "Death row maybe?"
This time she was sure he smiled.
"I've made up my mind. I won't go back on my word."
Fay came to a halt, her gaze troubled. When Raizen noticed it he stopped, turning back to her.
"In that case, I don't think it's a very good idea for you to stay with me." She said.
"And why is that?" Raizen questioned.
Fay looked away. "I tend to attract a lot of attention, the bad kind. If you stay with me, you'll end up fighting, and you said you wouldn't fight any more meaningless battles."
He walked back to her, turned his back to her and crouched. "Get on. With your speed, we'll never get there."
Hesitantly, Fay wrapped her arms around his neck, tightening her grip when he stood. "But what about what I said?"
"What I said was that I wouldn't fight meaningless battles." Raizen answered. "I doubt that fighting to keep you safe is meaningless." He started running, speeding through the forest.
Raizen nodded when Fay whispered her thanks.
Chu watched as the demon ran off. 'Nothing but weaklings round here.' Not to mention none of them had seen Fay.
"You done there, Rinku?" Chu called.
"Yup." Rinku rejoined Chu, a grin on his face. "And I got some information too. One of the demons I captured said that a strange human girl was seen to the north of here."
"Hmm, strange you say,' Chu rubbed his chin, looking in the direction Rinku pointed. "That does sound like Fay. Come on kid, we better find her before she calls more attention to herself."
"Personally, I think it's a little late for that." Rinku headed after Chu. "He also said that she'd been seen wondering with some powerful demon."
'Well that's no good.' By now Chu knew Fay well enough to know that she trusted too easily, an admirable trait, unless she was wrong about the person.
Jin hit the ground on his knees, struggling to keep the wind from escaping. 'She wasn't kidding when she said it'd be difficult.' Most of his concentration was going to keeping the power inside him in check.'I could have passed Fay and not known it at all.' It wouldn't do, he had to concentrate on finding her.
He stood, closing his eyes and calming his mind. 'I can't be failing now, she's depending on me.' He bend the wind to his will and blasted off, for a few moments going much faster and higher than he'd intended. He willed the wind to obey him, and after a short struggle, managed it. He hated to admit it, but Isis was right, he'd be needing more training to manage this as easily as she made it look.
Kuronue landed on a thick branch, folded his wings quietly and knelt, listening to the two low level demons beneath him.
"We can't take the human if she's with him. He'll squash us like bugs."
"We won't have to face him, all we have to do is gather as many demons as possible, and while they're keeping him busy, we snatch the human and eat her."
The first demon laughed menacingly. "Sounds like a plan."
The two demons headed away, leaving Kuronue to think. 'Human… there's only one human I know who any demon would go through so much trouble to gain." He could keep looking on his own, or he could simply follow these weaklings until they led him to Fay. Smiling coldly, he stood, his wings spreading behind him. As soon as they led him to Fay, he would dispose of them.
"You're telling me she's with him?" Suzuka couldn't believe what the pig demon had informed him after he'd beat him down a few times. But if it were true, this situation was about to get much more dangerous.
"I'm telling you,' the demon snorted. "He just showed up, killed most of us, and she followed him."
Suzuka inwardly shook his head. 'Fay, Fay, Fay.' She should have run the other way… then again…
"Raah!" Suzuka materialized a crystal dagger and threw it at the attacking demon, striking his throat and killing him. "Unlike you, I'm no weakling." And it was thanks to Fay that he'd managed to gain this strength, he couldn't let anyone, including Raizen, harm her. 'Not to mention the beating Yusuke will give us before Kurama finishes us off.' He took off running, hurrying to follow the demon's trail back the way he had come.
Hakel easily parried Hiei's strike, then pushed against him until he found himself sliding back. He stopped himself, managing to take a step forward, but not enough to make her take one back.
"You are ages, quite literally, behind me." She was still there, but at the same time, she was to Hiei's left and right.
"Hiei, she's behind you!" Yusuke shouted.
Hiei leapt into the air, avoiding being sliced into three. When he landed, he once more faced one opponent.
"Using your dirty tricks again, I see." Hiei scoffed, his tone disdainful.
"Not at all." Hakel replied calmly. "Simply put, my agility far surpasses that of yours, thus it seems as if there are more than one of me."
He scowled. "Are you calling me slow?" He raced towards her, bringing his katana up to attack, but the blade went right through her and before he could move, he found her blade at his throat.
"In one word: yes." She pushed the blade against his neck, but Hiei managed to throw himself back just enough to keep his throat from being sliced open. He hit the ground, brought his feet up and lashed out at Hakel, but she was gone again.
Hiei got to his feet, wiping the string of blood across his neck.
"What are you doing, Hiei! Stop stumbling around and fight!" Kuwabara shouted.
"Quiet, you fool!" Hiei didn't bother looking his direction. "What do you think I'm doing?"
Hakel moved again. Hiei brought up his katana, stopped her sword on the first and second strikes, but her third came from a completely different direction.
He jerked to the left, Hakel's blade cutting a thin line down the side of his face before he managed to move far enough away.
She landed in a crouch, stood and headed after him, her speed increasing until he couldn't make her out at all.
"Hiei, beneath you!"
Heeding Yusuke's warning, Hiei looked down, bringing his katana up before him. Hakel's blade struck his own, then ripped it out of his grip even as she brought her foot up in a high kick that hurled him into the air.
"What the hell's wrong with you, Hiei! Don't just let her kick you around like that!" Yusuke shouted.
"It would have been hard enough trying to keep up with her, but with the added strain on his body, I don't think Hiei can do more than he's already doing." Touya said grimly.
"What do you mean added strain?" Kurama questioned.
"Before we left, Isis handed over her elementals to us. She said it would increase our ability, as well as show us what it truly takes to handle an elemental." Touya explained. "She also talked Hiei into taking her fire elemental. The problem with that is that they keep straining against us." Touya looked down at his hand; it had a slight blue tinge to it thanks to Ceres's power bleeding out of him. "It takes a lot of power to keep them restrained. I can honestly say this is the hardest thing I've ever done."
"Isis is only training you two, why give Hiei her elemental?" Yusuke asked. "Heck, how did she get him to agree?"
Kurama shook his head, returning his attention to the fight. "Simple enough, she questioned his ability."
"Okay, so if he has an elemental why isn't he using it to fight her?" Kuwabara demanded. "Isn't that what it's for?"
"It is…' Touya's eyes darkened grimly, "If you know how to control it."
"That doesn't sound good." Kuwabara muttered.
Their attention returned to the fight, where Hiei had just barely managed to dodge Hakel's incoming strike, but not before it cut a streak across his forehead, tearing his bandanna in two.
Hiei opened his Jagan eye, pulling on his control to keep the fire from consuming him from the inside, and tried to follow Hakel's movements. 'She's getting faster.'
It meant that she'd been toying with him. The knowledge made him angry, but that feeling threatened to break his control, so he restrained himself and concentrated on blocking her over and over again.
'Damn! This is getting me nowhere!' With his Jagan open, he could follow her movements better, except now it appeared to him as if there were more than one of her, but the moment he struck, they disappeared, revealing that they had been after images.
He stumbled back after her next attack, hitting the ground.
'What the hell.' He thought resigned. Even if he did end up dead, he'd at least take the woman along with him.
He stood up, about to release his hold on the elemental.
Hakel disappeared from before him. No matter where he looked he couldn't find her, and then Hiei felt her grip as she sent him flying up.
"I'm done playing, little demon." Hakel brought her sword up, the blade cutting at his chest.
He hit the ground hard, his right hand going to his chest where the blood had begun to seep from the wound.
"Stop it!" He heard Yusuke shout. "Let Hiei go! I'll take his place!"
"Don't you dare think about it, detective!" Hiei snarled. "This is my battle!"
"Don't be stupid, Hiei! She's about to kill you!" Yusuke shouted back.
Hakel stomped hard on his chest before he could rise. "It appears I will soon have the pleasure of killing your detective friend as well." Hakel brought the sword down over his heart.
"So where exactly are we going?" Fay asked after Raizen set her back down sometime later.
"To see your thief, but I warn you, he may not be what you expect."
Fay couldn't help her smile. "That's okay, he's still Youko." Besides, he couldn't have changed all that much…right?
She would have hurried through the woods then, but Raizen stopped her, and she soon saw why. A spear landed a few feet from her. Raizen looked up and so did Fay.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A disembodied voice called down.
"My name is Raizen. I'm here to see your leader."
The voice gasped. "I apologize, I didn't know it was you oh, great Raizen."
Fay raised an eyebrow in question, her eyes going to Raizen.
He gave her a quick glance before heading past the two thick trees.
'They make him sound like his royalty.' Fay followed closely, giving the tree a last look. She still couldn't see the demon, but she could feel it watching them.
"Stay close." Raizen warned her.
Fay nodded, her gaze searching for a silver hair demon once they entered the bandits camp. More than a few demons stopped whatever they were doing to stare as she passed.
'I'm not here, I'm not here.' Fay repeated in her head, hoping they were starring cause she was human and not because they could sense her power.
'Then again, Raizen said he could smell it.' If it clung to her like a smell… 'I am so screwed.'
It also reminded Fay that she should be looking for her friends, not coming to see Youko, but she couldn't help it. She'd wanted to see him up close for a while, to be able to talk to him, not see him right before she fainted, or in the distance.
She finally spotted him speaking to another demon. Although it looked more like he was listening, face impassive, while the other demon raved.
"It's the perfect time!" The demon hissed. "We can bring the humans down and take over the territory if we strike now! Think of it! I'm sure they'll have great riches hidden inside!"
"No." The one word from Youko silenced the unknown demon. "It is not the time to strike, Yomi. Do not disobey me this time."
Yomi opened his mouth to argue, but Youko simply walked away, heading their way.
"I was informed you'd come. Why?" Youko asked.
'He sounds…colder.' Fay couldn't help the shiver it sent down her back.
That small movement brought Youko's attention to her.
His golden eyes narrowed as he studied her. "What are you?"
Fay found herself feeling scared, but she knew that wasn't why her heart was beating so fast.
She tried to get her voice to work, but not even her mouth was cooperating with her right now. All Fay could do was stare.
When she didn't speak, Kurama stepped closer to her. "Are you scared little human?" His ears twitched as the sound of her heart reached him.
He set fingers to her chin, raising her head higher. "You haven't answered; what are you?"
This close, her scent wafted over him, puzzling him. The smell was human, yet not. But that wasn't what puzzled him. His scent lingered over her. It was…different, but still his. It should have been impossible. He had never met this little human before. He would have remembered.
"I'm losing my patience." He warned softly.
"I lo-" She clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. "I…I mean, I…thought you…no, you…remind me of someone else. Yeah, that's all. And I…uh…am human, that's all." Her words came out in a rush, muffled somewhat by the hands she still held over her mouth.
She dropped them, trying to move away from him. He gripped her wrist, keeping her in place.
"Your voice…" He couldn't help feeling as if he should know it.
'Ridiculous.' He let go of her, curling his hand against the warmth.
"Leave now." He turned away from them. "Whatever she is, I don't need the trouble she'll bring."
'He's leaving.' Panic rushed through Fay and she ran after him, her hand reaching out to grab him before he could leave, but Raizen stopped her, placing himself between her and the retreating figure. "Let's go find your friends."
"Oh…yeah…my friends." Fay shook her head, trying to clear her thinking. 'That's right; I've already wasted enough time wondering around. I have to find them; maybe they've already found Keiko.'
That's what she had to do; not stand here acting like an infatuated idiot. Besides, and she still couldn't believe she'd almost said that, she didn't love Youko, she loved Kurama. She would never love anyone else.
So the further from Youko she was, the better.
Without waiting for Raizen to take the lead, Fay headed back the way they'd come, moving as quickly as she could without looking as if she were running away.
Raizen easily followed, staying silent until they were well away from the camp and Fay finally turned to face him.
"I'm not sure where my friends are. I tried contacting Hiei, but I don't think I did it right, I'm no psychic." She bit her lip, trying to think. "The Factions... I think… well from what I've seen so far, they prefer to live away from humans whenever possible. So somewhere secluded, but big. They also seem to like their space."
"I know a place like that." Raizen said. "An abandoned castle some distance from here."
Fay nodded. "Okay, let's try that place then."
There was a rustle of leaves above them before Youko landed, startling Fay and sending her heartbeat into a frenzy.
"I hope you don't mind if I tag along."
"But I thought you didn't want me around." Fay said, trying to control the breathlessness in her voice.
"It is why I am here alone."
Fay tilted her head, confused.
"There is no reason to speak of it. Shall we head out?"
Fay glanced at Raizen, but he didn't seem inclined to answer her either. "Get on; we will never reach our destination with your speed."
'Yeah, yeah.'
"That is unnecessary." Youko set a staying hand on her shoulder before she could climb onto Raizen's back.
"I will carry her."
Shivers raced down her spine. Fay shrugged away from him. "No, it's…uh…okay; I don't want to trouble you." she said quickly.
"In other words; she prefers I carry her." Raizen returned.
Youko's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is that so…"
Raizen stood. "If you're really that determined, go ahead."
'No!' Fay silently wailed. Just being near him sent her heart into a flutter, now she had to touch him?
"Come here." Youko stretched a hand out to her.
'Get a hold of yourself,' she mentally slapped herself. 'You can do this.' She stepped forward, but suddenly stilled.
Her aquamarine eyes turned vacant before she toppled over.
The sword shattered as it came into contact with his chest, leaving skin unbroken.
'What…just happened?' Yusuke thought in disbelief.
That sword should have sliced through him, but it hadn't. He also knew Hiei hadn't planned it, even he looked surprised. 'Not that I'm not thankful, but what the hell was that?'
Hiei's surprise melted into a smirk. He kicked out at Hakel, who had no choice but to retreat.
The Jagan eye on his forehead had gone from purple to red, while his eyes had turned gold. Fire poured out of his body, the flames dancing about him, as if impatient for a command.
"Let's try this again."
Hakel materialized another sword, using it to counterattack his quick strikes. The blade soon broke and she had to materialize another, then another, until she had no choice but to bring up a barrier in order to keep him away.
'How could he have grown so strong in just a few seconds!' It made no sense to her.
Hiei stopped, starring at the barrier through narrowed eyes. "Is that your strategy now, to hide behind a barrier?"
Even as he spoke, he carried on another conversation in his mind.
'I never asked for your help.'
'You don't have too; I'm doing this for my own peace of mind.'
'Hn!' He would have asked where she was, but her presence soon faded. It didn't matter; he had full control of this power now. As soon as this was finished, he'd find her if those other fools couldn't.
"This is merely a delaying tactic." Hakel answered. "Giving me enough time to do this!"
Four wings sprouted behind her back, the feathers falling from them to encase her. They merged together to become white armor over a white dress, her ears taking on the form of miniature white wings.
The barrier fell. The two came together in blows that began to break up the stone ground beneath them.
"Can anyone follow them?" Kuwabara blinked a couple of times, trying to focus on where they were. All he caught sight of now and then was a white light and a red flame.
"They're up there."
Kuwabara followed the direction of Touya's gaze, but the Ice Master's eyes soon travelled to another part of the arena.
"Am I the only who can't see them?" Kuwabara grumbled.
"No,' Kurama said. "I can't follow them at all anymore."
"And I keep losing them." Yusuke said. His eyes were starting to hurt from trying to keep up with them.
The two combatants reappeared again; Hiei on the left, Hakel on the far right.
The bandages on Hiei's right arm had fallen away, revealing a dragon that had begun turning gold.
Feathers drifted around Hakel, thickening by the second, taking on the form of a large white bird, almost like a swan.
"Dragon of the Eternal Flame!"
"Heavenly Guard!"
The attacks came together in a blinding explosion of power that shook the barrier walls around them, silver cracks running down.
When they were finally able to see, the first person they saw was Hiei.
Yusuke grinned. "Way to go Hiei! One down!"
Then he saw the other one. "How's she still alive after that!"
"Hiei isn't the only one who launched an immense attack. However, take another look." Doing as Kurama suggested, Yusuke first studied Hiei, then Hakel.
Fire no longer surrounded Hiei, and his Jagan eye had closed. He'd also lost his cloak, his shirt, and his pants were torn in several places, but he was still standing straight, a weak aquamarine glow around him.
The armor over Hakel's dress had disappeared, and the dress itself was torn in several places. Her ears had returned to normal, and she looked as if she were forcing herself to stay up.
"I won't let you,' Hakel took a wobbly step forward. "You can't…take her…away. Not,' she took another step, her whole body shaking from the strain, her eyes reflecting pain. "Again." She finally collapsed, loosing counciousness.
The barrier between the four and Hiei came down just as a small glass angel appeared, hovering inches from Hiei.
"Nice job Hiei." Yusuke said as he approached him.
"Hn." Hiei took a hold of the angel and threw it to the ground. It shattered, and as it did, their surroundings rushed away, the foyer replacing them.
"You think she's okay?" Kuwabara knelt beside the fallen girl, checking her pulse. "She's alive."
"That's more than she deserves." Hiei looked down at the aquamarine fish he held in his left hand. Even as he watched, it broke apart, turning to dust. He curled his hand around it.
"She's still a girl, you know." Kuwabara protested. "Did you have to use that golden dragon on her?"
"She would have killed him otherwise." Shishi reasoned.
"Yeah, I know but..." Kuwabara trailed off. At least she wasn't dead.
Hiei picked up his katana, then walked over to the sheath, looking down at it with a disgruntled frown. The sheath had broken into several pieces at some point during the fight. With a scoff, Hiei returned to the group.
"Let's go."
Yusuke nodded, looking at the staircase. "Yeah, Keiko's waiting somewhere up there."
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Looking as if he'd rather do the opposite, Yusuke nodded, stepping back. "Okay, Kuwabara. Just, don't get killed."
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Yusuke?" Touya asked.
"No." Yusuke admitted. "But what can we do, he's determined to do this."
Kuwabara stalked through the barrier, glaring across at his opponent.
"Okay punk, come at me." He materialized his spirit sword, bringing it up in preparation.
"I don't have to." With a flick of his wrist, Ezekiel hurled a startled Kuwabara into the air.
He kept going, higher and higher until he was lost from sight to those on the ground.
