It's here, this is the longest chapter yet standing at a whopping 5.6k... Hope you don't mind though.
Disclaimer:
I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or it's characters.
English isn't my native language so excuse some grammar errors, please DO tell me about reoccurring errors so I can keep them in mind while writing.
Other than that. Enjoy.
She took the disappointing walk back to the ferry girl's sleeping quarters, Koenma had disapproved of her idea, again, she kept her head low, this wasn't the first time Koenma had turned her away. "Get some rest Botan." The words kept spinning in her head yet she didn't accept them. Sleep was something which had been on the bottom of her priority list ever since they disappeared. Kuwabara and Hiei's return made her hopeful, their tales however, did not. As time progressed, so did her worry.
She unlocked the door to her room and shoved her freshly disapproved plan under the stack of things she's been thinking of. Just because she wasn't in the line of battle herself didn't mean she didn't invest time and effort in order for her team to succeed. It made her feel helpless, knowing they were still stuck, hoping someone will come for them. She hated the very thought of it.
She laid on her bed, eyes closed, the ticking of her clock being the only sound in the room, yet she didn't sleep, she couldn't. A presence had been lurking in the hallways and after a few minutes, it's footsteps began to simulate it's restlessness. Botan knew they were restless too, they had spoken about plans and actions, about what's going on in there and what they should expect. Hiei had planned on going back the exact same day as his escape, it took Koenma and Botan a great deal of being cussed at and guilt tripped by the small demon, but they got him to stay. Yet Botan never knew it would take this long.
A knock at her neighbor's door didn't come as a surprise to her. Unbeknownst to Kuwabara, Hiei had knocked at his door a couple of nights prior. This time was different however, Kuwabara opened the door. She could hear them speak. A click of the balcony door pierced the walls and the voices became clearer as they moved outside, her balcony directly next to Kuwabara's.
She listened to their muffled speech, clear enough for her to understand. After a few minutes, she sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed.
"Thoughts." She heard Kuwabara mutter.
Her chest tightened, she had spoken to him about what he saw in there and what he was thinking about. He had told her about his dreams, visions, hallucinations, how Yusuke risked his own wellbeing by making sure they could exit the building, how he actually tripped over Kurama as he was hunted down. She has had thoughts about how they were doing, the only thing she knew for certain is that they weren't dead.
"Kurama would have come up with a plan in no-time."
She smiled. A soft, warm feeling embracing her as memories fabricated themselves inside her mind. She felt his warmth, the smile which never failed to leave her starstruck, the blood red hair and emerald eyes she had become so fond of. Clever and thought out strategies which never seemed to fail.
"And Yusuke would have stormed out ahead of us all to start a rampage."
She chuckled. The familiar spunky energy and sharp words seem to bounce off of the walls, sheepish laughter, never ending encouragement, trust and loyalty to his teammates and friends.
"It's all so empty now."
Botan felt the warmth and encouragement disappear, she let herself fall on her side, burying her head into her pillow as her memories were replaced by eery thoughts and theories about their current situation. She listened to the conversation a little longer before deciding on trying to join them. She got up and opened her balcony door.
"We'll beat their asses and get them back! And after we've finished this we'll go back to our old lives, I still gotta beat Yusuke in a battle of Goblin City." Kuwabara pumped his fist into the air.
"You'll have to practice a bit more before you can beat him I suppose." Botan laughed at Kuwabara's sudden change as he noticed her.
"H-how long have you been listening?!" Kuwabara stammered.
"Long enough." Hiei answered for her, she knew Hiei could sense her.
"And you didn't fucking tell me?" Kuwabara threw his hands in the air. "You made me look like a complete idiot and didn't tell me someone was watching us?!"
Botan chuckled.
"I didn't make you do anything." Hiei scoffed. "Anyway, any news on the rescue mission?"
"No." Botan's face fell. Kuwabara, who had been ranting about looking like an idiot, suddenly quieted as he saw the switch in her mood.
"What do you mean, no?" Kuwabara's arms fell to his side. "So we're STILL not allowed to go back out there?! How long would this take?!" He yelled as he started walking in circles on his balcony.
"Koenma wants to interview the runaway demon first and then-"
"I should have never left in the first place." Hiei cut her off. "I should have taken matters into my own hands, yet Koenma forced me to stay here and wait for some sort of genius plan which will NOT work because when we actually get to go, we'll be too late to even drag their rotting corpses back to this fucking place."
Botan gasped, suprised at the sudden outburst of anger. "I-I'm sorry." She whispered.
"They might as well be dead by now." Hiei grunted.
"No they are not!" Kuwabara, who was by now leaning over the edge of the balcony, his face covered by his ruffled up hair. "They are not dead. They can't be."
"Well, better start accepting it cause we are not allowed to go out there without a plan, one which has not even been created yet." Hiei leaned his back against the railing like he did before and eyed the stars.
Silence fell upon them, a silence so strong Botan could feel it stab her in the gut. She could feel her eyes starting to burn as the stabbing feeling reached her heart. The salty taste of tears reached her lips before she realized she was crying.
"I've been pitching so many idea's." Botan gave a soft sob. Kuwabara eyed her in disbelief as another sob left her mouth. "So many of them, rejected." She pulled her sleeve up to her eyes to wipe away the tears but to no avail. "I'm trying so hard, I really am."
Hiei didn't look at her, instead, he kept his gaze on the stars above. His eyebrows being the only traitor of his usually cold and collected facade.
"What are you talking about?" Kuwabara's tone was soft, trying to sooth the weeping ferry girl with words. "You're doing more than we could've ever hoped for."
"But not enough." Botan hid her face in the sleeves of her shirt.
"It's not your fault Koenma is such a dense piece of shit." Hiei mumbled as if talking to himself.
Kuwabara looked at him and laughed. "Where did you learn that word, shrimp?"
"Yusuke." Hiei said blandly.
Botan began to laugh. "Bet Yusuke is cursing the crap out of Ichigaki."
Kuwabara joined her. "God, if words could actually kill, Yusuke would've won the dark tournament without lifting a fucking finger."
"This is worse though." Botan's laugh died and she hung her head.
"What do you mean?" Kuwabara rushed one hand through his hair to slick it back.
"During the tournament I was able to cheer you all on, I could see what happened and even though I hated most of it, I could always see it and think of ways to help with wounds and other dilemma's." Botan shook her head. "Now I don't even know where they are, I don't know if they're hurting, I can't yell encouraging words and I can't smack a demon on the head when his horns block my vision." She couldn't help but chuckle at the last few words. "Now I just feel helpless."
"I guess you're right." Hiei admitted. "I felt helpless watching Kurama get beat up by that Bakken asshole. But at least I saw what happened and knew how he was doing. Now even my jagan can't reach them." Hiei paused as he moved to sit on the edge of the balcony. "If only Koenma cared enough to-".
"He does care." Botan cut him off. "You think he doesn't but he does. He just wants to be careful, yet I think waiting will do them more harm than good."
"Well." Kuwabara straightened himself and braced himself against the railing. "Just because we aren't near doesn't mean we can't encourage them." He gave a deep breath. Botan watched in amazement as Kuwabara started yelling from the top of his lungs. "HANG IN THERE, WE'RE COMING!"
"Oh my GOD Kuwabara you're gonna wake up all the ferry girls!" Botan whispered harshly, a soft appreciative smile graced her face.
"I don't give a shit!" Kuwabara yelled.
That was the only thing Botan needed as she place her hands on either sides of her face and yelled. "We're on our way! You've got this!"
Hiei smiled, he didn't yell anything but Botan knew he had yelled the loudest of them all that night.
...
Botan sighed as she distributed the blankets on the beds, taking extra time to make sure they are spotless and wrinkle free. People constantly entered and leave the room, though Botan would not recognize them, she kept her focus on the task at hand, wether she liked it or not.
"You look troubled."
Botan jumped out of her skin and turned around. "Master Genkai." She gave a sigh of relief at seeing the old psychic.
"Care for some tea?" Genkai held the door open to which Botan dropped her blankets and gladly followed her towards the gardens. She was surprised to see Yukina waiting for her, a small, white colored, iron table stood in the middle of the gardens. Yukina smiled at her as she entered.
"Tea?" Yukina handed her a small cup, a slightly faded rose image and golden rim decorated the small porcelain cup.
"Please." Botan took the cup with two hands, allowing them to be heated by the hot tea inside. She leaned in closer. "Chamomile." She whispered under her breath.
"It helps you calm and heal your mind." Yukina chuckled. "It's Kurama's favorite and now I understand why." She took a sip of her tea and exhaled. "It actually helps."
Botan smiled at Yukina before turning back to her own cup, her breath creating little wrinkles in the liquid as she softly blew. Warmth enveloped her once more as she took a sip, closing her eyes she could see the emeralds, how his eyes would squint a little as he smiled, how red contrasted perfectly with a white blouse.
Genkai and Yukina watched Botan's lip tremble as she smiled, her brows frowned above closed eyes. After what felt like minutes, Botan opened her eyes and lowered her head.
"Are you okay?" Yukina asked after a minute of silence.
Botan, as if snapping out of a trance, lifted her head and nodded. "Just stress, I'll be fine." She tangled her fingers tighter around the cup. "Just worried."
"We all are." Yukina met her gaze. "We're all worried but we must have faith in them."
"I do have faith in them, never doubted them." Botan smiled. "I hope they are alright."
"They will be alright." Genkai chimed in, taking the third and last cup. "All we can do right now is prepare and wait for their return."
...
He stood frozen as his eyes locked with the red head's.
"Let's just say, the hunted becomes the hunter." Ichigaki chuckled.
Kamiya looked deep within the emeralds, unseeing in their pain. He gasped as a hand softly patted his shoulder and turned to face Ichigaki.
"Come on now, don't want to be late to the party, do we?" Ichigaki folded his hands behind his back and started walking. "Come on." He murmured. Kamiya started walking after him, noticing Kurama following suit.
"Sir." Kamiya called after him as he saw Kurama's sluggish movements.
"What is it?" Ichigaki didn't stop nor did he look back at Kamiya.
"I don't think he's able to-"
"He is." Ichigaki intervened.
They walked for another minute before a gasp made Kamiya turn. Kurama had fallen behind and was leaning against a tree, clutching his stomach, his bangs hiding his face as he hunched forward.
"Sir. I really don't think he can go on." Kamiya didn't move towards Kurama, scanning him with his eyes he kept his distance.
"Nonsense." Ichigaki turned and moved past Kamiya towards the fox.
"He's injured." Kamiya said with a firm tone.
"I can see." Ichigaki stood next to Kurama, cupping his chin with one hand he yanked his head up. "He's still good, just bleeding out." Ichigaki smirked. "We still have time."
"But he won't." Kamiya replied sourly as he eyed the trails of blood seeping through his clothing.
"What'd you want me to do about it?" Ichigaki turned towards Kamiya.
"H-heal him." Kamiya stammered, Ichigaki's stare making his skin crawl like he were a deer in the headlights of an upcoming truck.
"No can do." Ichigaki shrugged his shoulders. He gave a high pitched hum as he reached into one of his many pockets, retrieving a syringe. "I can give him a boost though."
"Boost?" Kamiya raised an eyebrow at the sight of the syringe.
"Some adrenaline, combined with some extra spirit energy should do the trick." Ichigaki tilted Kurama's head, exposing the blood vessels in his neck more clearly.
Kamiya winched as Kurama's eyes seemed to scream at him, the syringe plunged in his neck, he saw the fluid leave the syringe's reservoir and enter the fox's system. Ichigaki retracted the syringe, discarding it in the mud and laid one wrinkled hand upon his back. A soft glow enveloped his hand as the exchange of energy began. The distant look in Kurama's eyes returned and he straightened himself as Ichigaki retrieved his hand.
"Lucky I took this with me, it'll buy us all some time." Ichigaki huffed. "Where's Yusuke. He should've been here already." He shrugged his shoulders as he resumed his walking pace. "We can handle it without him. Come on now, or else we'll really be late."
...
"It was a distraction." Hiei threw some of the vines on the ground.
"No shit sherlock." Kuwabara spat. "Why didn't you go after him?!"
"He's not our main concern at the moment." Hiei brushed some dust off his cloak.
"Not our main concern..." Kuwabara was flabbergasted. "Aren't they the reason we're back here in the first place? What do you mean not our main concern?!"
"Our main concern is the detective himself." Hiei replied in a harsh yet hushed tone. "That stupid fox is far to injured, he won't make it very far anyway. The detective however." Hiei pointed his eyes at the tree where Kuwabara had distributed Yusuke earlier. "He's gone and we don't need a surprise attack from him."
"Yusuke is partially blinded, I don't see him as a threat." Kuwabara said calmly. "And why do you belief Kurama is easier to catch then Urameshi? I would think Kurama's is very good at hide and seek."
"He is." Hiei admitted. "He is, when he's in somewhat of a representable condition."
"And he isn't because.." Kuwabara left his sentence open, expecting Hiei to finish it, which he did.
"Because I wasn't afraid to fight my own teammate." Hiei stared at him blankly.
"And what if he bleeds out? What if he dies before we get to him?" Kuwabara stood frozen.
"Then that's too bad for us now, is it?" Hiei scoffed at him. "We can't afford another slip up. We need to find the detective, then locate the red haired idiot and get them to Genkai's temple."
"Another slip up?" Now Kuwabara was starting to get offended. "What are you trying to say, hamster legs? That this is my fault?"
"No." Hiei shook his head. "We both let our guard down. Now we have to fix this and though I hate to admit it, I can't do it on my own, we have to do this together."
"As a team." Kuwabara nodded.
"As a team." Hiei repeated.
Silence fell upon them, the howling of the wind as it rushed through the leaves and trees became unbearably loud.
"What do we know so far?" Kuwabara leaned against one of the tree trunks as he crossed his arms.
Hiei watched him in awe.
"This always worked for us." Kuwabara smiled. "Though Kurama was always the one to actually think about information, their tasks now fall on us. So, let's think, then act."
"Right." Hiei frowned. "What do you know so far?"
"Well." Kuwabara lifted his fist. "They don't respond to our words." He ticked it off on his hand as he raised his index finger. "They do everything Ichigaki and Kamiya say." Raising his middle finger to tick of two.
"But how do you know they do as they say?" Hiei quirked an eyebrow.
"When I arrived at the threshold with Jiro, I was taken to Ichigaki's office. Kurama and Urameshi were there yet." Kuwabara fell quiet a second before continuing in a different, hushed voice. "They didn't seem to react when I spoke. Kurama was bandaging Urameshi's eye and they told me something went wrong, so Urameshi is partially blinded." Kuwabara raised his ring-finger to tick of three. "Then Ichigaki got a call that you were inside of the building. He called Kurama's name, telling him to take care of it and." Kuwabara frowned. "He bowed."
Hiei hummed under his breath. "But Jiro took you there because.."
"He didn't know they had already launched their plan, he was clueless." Kuwabara defended.
"Fine." Hiei finished.
"Anyway, they noticed the collar wasn't working and after Kurama left, I tried attacking Ichigaki, only to be stopped by Urameshi." Kuwabara slightly gasped. "So that's what the bastard was saying."
Hiei eyed him in mild interest. "Elaborate."
"As I tried to attack Ichigaki, he said something yet I don't recollect what he said, after he said it though, Urameshi intervened allowing the two bastards to escape." Kuwabara swallowed thickly. "Your turn."
"Hmn." Hiei hummed. "When I sensed Kurama nearing it felt very familiar, yet, it was as if he had no control whatsoever."
Kuwabara ticked off another finger. Four.
"He used too much energy with his attacks. The fox would never fight this recklessly." Hiei mentally cringed.
"Was there any communication on his side to you?" Kuwabara's voice rose. "Verbally?"
"Non whatsoever." Hiei replied. "I spoke to him though, asked him things yet he didn't seem affected by any of it." He watched as Kuwabara ticked off yet another finger. Five. Raising his other fist he ticked off the sixth finger.
"So far we have, not responding to us, obeying Ichigaki and Kamiya, Urameshi is partially blinded, they have no control of themselves whatsoever, using too much energy with their attacks and they don't communicate verbally..." Kuwabara raised a seventh finger. "Kurama is basically at death's door." He raised an eighth. "And we shouldn't forget to kick Koenma's ass for making us wait this long."
"Wait." Hiei held one hand up, halting Kuwabara in what was about to become a rant.
"What is it?" Kuwabara eyed him with interest.
"I saw something in Kurama's eyes before they got away." Hiei lowered his eyes in thought.
"Oh now we're getting to the juicy bit!" Kuwabara smiled.
"It was slight, but he looked less dead." Hiei snapped his fingers repeatedly as if the answer was on the tip of his tongue, yet not within reach.
"So he was slowely regaining control?" Kuwabara questioned in order to help.
"As if he was trying to regain control." Hiei confirmed. "If he wanted to kill you with the veins he would've without a doubt be able to do it." He frowned at the thought.
"So why didn't he?" Kuwabara followed.
"Because he didn't want to." Hiei's voice rose slightly.
"That's quite.." Kuwabara halted and took a few steps forward, stopping just before the spot where he had dropped Kurama. "What's this?" Kuwabara bend down, examining a small glowing weed.
"It's a lamp weed!" Hiei said, his tone a bit more exited than he actually intended.
"A lamp weed?" Kuwabara eyed him in confusion. "What the fuck is a lamp weed?"
"It's one of Kurama's tricks. It's like leaving a trail in case you get lost." Hiei smiled.
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why the hell would Kurama be lost in here?"
Hiei chuckled at his unknowingness. "Maybe he isn't lost, I'm pretty sure he isn't lost."
Kuwabara looked up at Hiei, his confusion only growing. "Then why would he drop this."
Hiei looked around and pointed towards where Kurama had disappeared, another small lamp weed illuminated the darkening forest floor. "Because maybe he's using them for others to follow."
"Others?" Kuwabara started looking around anxiously.
"Us." Hiei grinned. "He wants us to follow him."
"Now why the hell would you say that?" Kuwabara hummed.
"Because maybe he's more awake than we realize." Hiei scoffed.
"So we're going after him?" Kuwabara got up and straightened himself. "Thought you wanted to catch Urameshi first."
"We have a lead, so let's follow it."
Kuwabara grinned as they made their way into the darkened forest.
...
Darkness, there was only darkness. Kurama tried to open his eyes but found himself unable to. Although he knew he was starting to wake up, there was no getting used to the feeling. He felt his eyelids were open, he blinked yet he didn't see, didn't feel, he felt like a bodiless soul drifting through the dark infinite void.
Suddenly, he felt pain, he hissed and attempted to reach the source of the pain with his hand, yet he found himself unable to move. He shivered as something cold and wet pressed against his chest and legs. Was he laying down?
Muffled voices reached his ears and he held his breath. Was he on the steel table in Ichigaki's lab? He wanted to move, he wanted to see, he wanted to speak yet he couldn't do anything but feel the cold seeping through his clothes. The voices became clearer and Kurama concentrated, 'Hiei'?
As if a switch had been pulled, he stood, unseeing, his body finally moving to his command, or so it seemed.
His vision started to return, standing in front of him was a small blur. 'Hiei!' Kurama wanted to call out but found out his body was not yet in his control. His vision kept swimming. 'Kuwabara' He could hear them speak but their sentences seemed to fade into what sounded like a completely different language. He watched the black blur, trying to blink to clear his vision, yet his eyes didn't do what he asked them to. He felt the throbbing pain in his abdomen starting to increase in it's intensity.
He felt his hand move on it's own, his spirit energy rising. 'No.' He tried to speak again, not to Hiei, not to Kuwabara, but to himself, to his body, the body which didn't feel like his. He felt his spirit energy flowing through his body into the grass below. The black blur disappeared, followed by a yelp from Kuwabara. His body didn't turn, he wanted to turn, but he couldn't turn, his body wasn't his to command.
Kurama did all he could to stop the flow of energy, to stop the growth of whatever he was summoning behind him, his vision became clearer and he focused his energy to the grass under his feet, to summon a common weed known in Demon World yet very distinct.
He felt his body beginning to move and his vision swam back to black, his body going numb once more. 'No, not yet.. not- yet.' He thought. As his vision returned again, vaguely, he wasn't in the same spot, he was within a darker place of the forest yet he could still hear the distant voices of Hiei and Kuwabara. He focused his energy to the ground once more, attempting to summon another weed before his vision went black again.
He didn't count the amount of times he had regained consciousness, all he knew was that he was moving through muddy parts of the forest, summoning lamp weeds whenever he had the chance.
It took another few episodes before he stood eye in eye with Kamiya, he tried to scowl but all he could do was watch the blurred image of the man in disgust. His audio was like that of a broken speaker, but he knew Ichigaki was speaking. He mentally jumped when he heard it. "Bingo!" An image of Botan flashed through his mind at the mention of that one word. The only word he was able to identify in an ocean of foreign languages and broken records. He saw a small, blurry figure approach him. 'Hiei?' Kurama thought but dismissed it quickly, Hiei wasn't here, this wasn't a friend, this was Ichigaki. He felt his breath in his neck, 'disgusting'. More broken sentences were thrown at him before he notices the figures disappearing from his line of sight, just as they disappeared, so did his consciousness as he felt himself being pushed back to the void again.
It felt like an eternity before he could see again, the pain in his body returning, increasing beyond his expectations. Kurama could feel his body becoming heavy, he could feel his body, he could feel his feet connecting with the muddy soil below. The pain worsened and he gasps, to his surprise, audibly. He felt his body leaning against a tree and for the first time, he could connect his hand with the pain that had lingered in his mind. He hunched forward, panting loudly, his body was giving up. That's when his sense of smell returned. Blood. It took him all of his strength to look at his hand which laid upon the gaping wounds in his abdomen. A lot of blood.
Pain shot through his entire body as his head was suddenly yanked up, he froze as his eyes forcefully met Ichigaki's. He could hear something about time, why are they talking about time? What time is it? What day is it? What year is it? Kurama's head began to ache as his vision became clearer. He could see Kamiya, he wasn't that far away but he could see the horror on his face. He felt his head being tilted and he shivered.
Something sharp was inserted in his neck, he wanted to scream but his lips were sealed, so he kept staring, staring at the person semi-responsible for all this. He screamed without voice, his fear growing as he felt himself being pushed back again. He fought, he fought with everything he had yet a strong force forced him back into the void with the intent to keep him there, to never regain control again.
...
"Here!" Hiei stood by a tree, a small lamp weed at his feet, barely reaching above the grass.
"The distance between them has been increasing." Kuwabara muttered.
"Let's not fall behind." Hiei walked into the direction of what he hoped was another weed, however, they wouldn't find another.
"Dead end." Kuwabara snorted. "Another distraction?"
"No." Hiei said firmly as he pointed at the ground. "The ground here is getting muddy, if he summoned lamp weeds here they would have been submerged by the mud if growing at all."
"Footprints." Kuwabara suddenly bursted out.
"Hmn?" Hiei watched the ground closer, finding there were indeed footprints. He followed them until the seemed to stand still, Kuwabara following close behind. "There are multiple."
Kuwabara watched the ground and saw three pairs of footprints, they seem to be fresh. "Seems they're all going that way." He pointed towards the continuation of the trail.
It didn't take long before Hiei stopped near another tree.
"What's wrong?" Kuwabara asked, holding his breath.
Hiei said nothing, he bend down and picked up what looked like a needle, a syringe.
"What the-" Kuwabara scowled.
"There are also remnants of Ichigaki's spirit energy here." Hiei touched the tree with one hand, brushing his fingers across it's rough texture.
"Which means..." Kuwabara could sense Ichigaki's energy, but didn't think much of it.
"Which means he probably transmitted some of his energy to Kurama." Hiei retreated his hand.
"Which means..." Kuwabara repeated.
"That Kurama is running out of energy, quickly." Hiei halted. "That he and the detective are running out of time."
"We'll have to keep moving." Kuwabara coaxed Hiei onward to which Hiei placed the syringe into his pocket. His eyes snapped wide open as his ears caught the sound of distant screams. Without warning, he took off towards the sound, Kuwabara following as fast as he could.
...
Jiro and Taro ran outside, towards the commotion and froze, finding themselves in the company of Ichigaki, Kamiya and to Jiro's horror, Kurama.
"Seems we're just in time for the party." Ichigaki cackled.
"What fucking party?!" Jiro yelled, clearly disturbed by being caught. Taro directed everyone back inside.
"This party." Ichigaki laughed as he spread his arms. "To think you would betray me. I've actually already anticipated it but your timing is beyond despicable."
"You used us!" Jiro yelled back. "You lied to us and then you used us!"
"That's no way of talking to the person who saved your clan from-"
"Saved?! You didn't save us." Taro cut him off. "You misused the goodness of our people, took away their children then their spouses, brothers, sisters, parents, you took everything from everyone and for what? To fuel your own useless plan, revenge upon the group of fighters that destroyed your chance to win that stupid tournament."
"I've heard enough." Ichigaki's tone turned to a threatening one as his arms were behind his back again. He turned towards Kurama. "Go on. Hunt." But Kurama would not move. "What's wrong with you." Ichigaki demanded. "I said hunt."
Jiro froze as Kurama began to move towards him, his head begging his body to move yet it wouldn't comply. A ruffle in the bushes redirected his attention towards the woods, he wanted to smile as he saw Hiei and Kuwabara emerge from the dark woods but the expression on their faces worried him more then anything. A sharp gasp pulled him back to the upcoming threat and his eyes grew wide.
He stood within an inch of Kurama's leaf blade, it's blade didn't strike him and had pierced through Taro instead. He wanted to scream but he found his voice to be lost. The blade retracted after a few agonizing seconds and Taro fell towards the ground. Finding his strength again, Jiro caught his falling brother before he could hit the ground.
"Brother." Jiro gasped. "No." He struggled to keep pressure on the hole in his brothers stomach. "Why did you.." He could feel the trembling in his voice as he comprehended the impossible. His brother had stepped in and taken the blow which was meant for him, now he was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"I'm sorry lil bro." Taro gave a sad smile. "Guess you're on your own now."
"That's what you get when you try to protect everyone." Ichigaki huffed. "You voluntarily get the short end of the stick."
Kamiya didn't say anything, he just watched the scene unfold, his face contorted in a mixture of pain and regret.
"Stop this!" Kuwabara yelled, catching Ichigaki's attention.
Ichigaki turned towards him but only laughed. "You're late."
Kuwabara was confused at first but turned as he heard someone behind him. "Urameshi?!"
Yusuke stood, his index finger up and readied for a spirit gun, his expression blank.
Kurama still held the blade, blood slowly dripping off onto the ground below.
"Now we're talking! It's starting!" Ichigaki blasted in pure joy, throwing his hands up as he smiled from ear to ear. Kamiya took a few voluntary steps back, clearly shaken.
Ichigaki watched Yusuke then moved to Hiei and Kuwabara, to Jiro cradling Taro close, anger prominent on his face. Ichigaki's eyes hovered towards Kurama and lastly Kamiya. He laughed as he closed his eyes for a moment, regaining his composure. Opening them again with a haunted stare which shook all who were concious to the core.
"Another one will fall."
Aaah this is it! The next chapter will be the final! (and an epilogue after that one) but this story is nearing it's end...
I can't express my gratitude enough for all who are reading this and have been reading since the start, thank you all for your reviews, for thinking with me on this story and staying with me even if the chapters became a bit of a mess.
I want to announce that the sequal "Into The Dark." is officially in the making, storyboarding, brainstorming, new characters, I'm excited for that one.
For now, I hope to see you all soon with the next chapter and Final of "Another One Will Fall", continued by an epilogue and after that; the sequel "Into The Dark."
Stay home, stay safe.
Lot's of love,
Farure