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Kath: I present to you: the next one.
Laine: I would never leave you hanging for long!
Jiana: You're not the only one... I too wonder what'll happen.
Guest: You didn't have to wait that long this time. :)
Note
Ready for some progression?
English isn't my native language but I'm trying my best. Do tell me about reoccurring error's so I can implement and improve wherever needed. Tell me what you think or theorize in the comments, they always inspire me.
On second thought
Botan huffed as Xinlan's eyes traced her from head to toe and back. "Are you going to let me go now?" She sighed as he shook his head.
"Oh no, no darling, no I won't." Xinlan snickered as he bounced a small rubber ball against the wall only to catch it and repeat.
"I already told you I don't know anything about this artifact stuff." Botan said, agitated by their unwillingness to cooperate.
Xinlan threw his head back as he grunted audibly. "We wanted to see if you could possibly be a host but as it only attaches to demon energy, and you are a deity, we'll have to wait until the actual host comes through our doors. In short, we're waiting for your rescuers, only then will we think about letting you go. But that all depends on them. Just be glad Uranrel prohibited anyone from touching you."
"What if he hadn't?" Botan asked with slight curiosity, though she knew the answer would not be pleasant.
Xinlan inhaled to answer but was cut short as he suddenly snapped his head towards the door, inhaling in a repeatedly fast manner.
"You.." He said as he approached Botan. She leaned back in her chair, expecting him to be angry but instead, he smiled. "You are very lucky." Xinlan spoke, a smile on his face.
"W-what do you mean?" Botan stammered, taken aback by his mood.
Xinlan didn't respond, skipping towards the door and exiting the room only to return with Uranrel.
"I see they've arrived." Uranrel announced. "If they obey our demands you'll be free in no time."
…
A sharp pain shot through his back as he regained consciousness. Yusuke opened his eyes but saw nothing but a small slither of light which didn't even reach him. He still laid on his back, thinking back to how he got into this position, a pained grunt snapped him out of his trance.
"Kurama?" Yusuke called out. He attempted to sit up but grimaced as the pain increased, he opted to roll off of the object which causes his discomfort. "Are you there?" He said, his words disappearing into the blinding darkness.
"I'm here." A soft voice answered, closer than Yusuke expected. He reached out and blindly patted the cold concrete floor.
"Where are you?" He asked as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, one arm supporting him up while the other was tightly pressed against the point of impact.
"A little to your left." Kurama replied.
"No shit." Yusuke huffed. "Fuck, this damn door got me good." He sighed. "I know what you're going to say. You'll say I should've listened and maybe I should've but then again, I can't do much about it now."
He heard Kurama groan as he seemed to shift into what Yusuke thought would be a sitting position.
"No, you listened and executed one of my options. For all I know, this is my fault. This is all my fault." Kurama halted, holding his breath as he let the pain from his fall pass.
"What are you talking about?" Yusuke raised an eyebrow.
"All of this. Ruining Hiei's plan, Botan being in danger, us being stuck here." Kurama wiped his eye as a warm liquid ran across it.
"Stop being so harsh on yourself." Yusuke demanded. "We'll get out of here, we'll save Botan, figure out how to seal this energy back into an artifact and after all of that, quit your job and study for something you're actually meant to do."
Kurama smiled as he wiped his eyes again, the liquid returning as soon as he removed it. "Thank you."
"We need to find a light source." Yusuke flipped the conversation.
Kurama regained his composure. "Indeed.. Yusuke, can you locate that door you busted down?"
Yusuke snorted. "I got practically impaled by the doorknob, I'm sitting on it."
"I wish I was that door."
"Did you say something, Kurama?" Yusuke moved to sit on his knees.
"No.. I thought it was you.." Kurama replied. A short silence falling amongst them in the darkness. "Anyway, that door is made of dry wood which should be able to be set on fire."
"And you think I have fire?" Yusuke scoffed.
"You smoke." Kurama said bluntly. "Of course you have a lighter in your pocket, right?"
Yusuke thought for a second before realising. "Ah yes I do!" He grinned as he pulled the lightner out of his back pocket. Turning towards the door beneath him, he blindly broke off a plank of wood before flipping his lightener open and holding the wood against the flame. It took a while before the flame caught onto the wood and it started burning slowly.
"Now, where are you?" Yusuke said as he rose to his feet and started walking towards where Kurama would be. He took four steps before finding him, sitting on the floor with one hand pressed against his head as the other was wiping at his eyes. Yusuke knelt next to him as he saw red spots falling from his chin.
"It's okay, I must've hit my head during the fall." Kurama smiled bluntly. "If only I could use my spirit energy to heal us."
"You are to not use your energy, ever." Yusuke said harshly. "Not with all of this still clinging on to you."
"I know." Kurama said as Yusuke laid the makeshift torch down to help him.
He managed to stop the bleeding. Kurama wiped the last bits of residue away from his eyes before straightening his back. Yusuke held out a hand to help him up.
"So what was that about you wanting to be a door…" Yusuke said with a confused frown. "I think you might have hit your head a little too hard."
"I thought the same thing about you, Yusuke. I wasn't the one speaking." Kurama mirrored his confusion and they both stood there, in the dim light of the fire which didn't illuminate anything in the room other than themselves.
A sudden voice made them jump. "Yeah, that was me. Sorry."
The muscles in Yusuke's face tensed. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah.." Kurama said as he stared directly at Yusuke. "I don't think we're alone."
"No way! Really?!" The voice scoffed softly. "Didn't expect that, much smart, wow."
"Who are you?" Yusuke called out at the black abyss. His eyes searching for the smallest hint of a silhouette. He picked up the piece of burning wood and slowly made his way towards where the voice came from, Kurama following him closely.
"Yo." An incubus grinned as some of the light touched his face.
Yusuke yelped when the sudden sound caught him off guard. "Holy sh-"
"Don't yell, you'll wake them up!" The incubus whispered harshly.
"Wake who up?" Kurama whispered back.
"Who are you and why are you shackled to the wall like that?!" Yusuke followed the sudden trend of whispering.
The incubus looked around. "The other's." He said. "I'm chained here because I tried escaping a little too often."
Yusuke lifted an eyebrow. "Other's? What is this place?"
"Welcome to the basement my friends." The incubus grinned. "I bet you got through the hallway, too bad you didn't make it past their traps. Usually, when demons succumb to the temptation, they get discarded here alongside the incubi and succubi who disobey Uranrel's rules."
"Who's Uranrel?" Yusuke continued questioning.
"The big boss. We live within some sort of democracy here, we choose our leaders. That means he's nothing important, just a smart ass with a huge ego." The incubus shook his head slowly as he pursed his lips into a thin line.
"You said you got out of here a couple of times." Kurama interrupted. "Mind spilling some beans?"
The incubus sighed softly as he thought. "You know what, why not. It's not every day I get visitors."
"Please." Kurama nodded as a respectful gesture.
The incubus thought for a second. "Actually." He began, a smirk appearing on his face as he squinted his eyes. "I'll show you the way out if you free me."
"No way." Yusuke whispered harshly. "We ain't gonna drag you along, we don't even know if we can even trust you!"
"Calm down, friend. I just want to be able to lower my arms, I don't need to go where you want to go.. I don't want to look for Uranrel, I want to go out all together so we'll go our separate ways." The incubus sighed.
Yusuke eyed Kurama who nodded in approval.
"We don't really have a choice, Yusuke. He knows this basement better than us considering he has escaped before." Kurama dropped his shoulders.
"Fine." Yusuke said. "But one wrong move and you're dead, understood?"
"You could not have been clearer." The incubus nodded. "I'll point you towards the fastest exit and I'll go the other way."
Yusuke looked at the shackles around his wrists. "Kurama, you're good at lockpicking, right? Do you need your spirit energy for that?"
"No need, I only need a hairpin and some silence." Kurama said as he got closer to the incubus.
"But where do we find a hair- dude.." Yusuke was surprised as Kurama pulled a hairpin out of his hair. "You use hairpins?!"
"Of course I do." Kurama chuckled softly. "How else do you think I style my hair?"
"I don't know man, gel? Wax? Literally anything other than hairpins." Yusuke said as he positioned the burning wood a bit closer to Kurama, illuminating the first shackle.
"If you've ever paid attention you'd notice that you'll find hairpins laying around my entire apartment." Kurama shook his head.
Yusuke thought back and gasped softly. "Oh I thought they were Botan's!"
"They are Botan's as well as mine. My hair is way too long for gel or wax, I might cut it, who knows." Kurama bent the hairpin and inserted it inside the keyhole. "Some quiet, please."
"Don't cut it." Yusuke said quickly. "It suits you." He saw Kurama smile softly at the compliment after which he motioned to zip his lips together as Kurama started working on the lock. Soft little clicks were heard before the shackle snapped open with a louder click, freeing the incubus's left hand.
"Thanks man!" The incubus flexed his arm as Kurama moved to the other side. The incubus was free in no time.
Kurama took a few steps back towards Yusuke. "We've done as you requested. Now, show us how to get to Uranrel, he's most certainly the one who has Botan with him."
"The pretty blue one?" The incubus lifted his eyebrow. "You're here to save her?"
"Yes, now please tell us where to go." Yusuke hummed impatiently.
"Right, right." The incubus pointed towards their right, meaning they had to go in deeper. Kurama turned towards the pointed direction before he stiffened, feeling a hand on his shoulder. The incubus was standing way too close in his comfort zone and a shiver ran across his back as the hand moved over his other shoulder towards his waist.
"W-what should we expect when we go there?" Kurama asked, his face tense as the incubus leaned against him.
"A door, you can easily pick that lock. Climb the stairs and go into the air vent on the right, that one will take you to Uranrel's chamber." The incubus's hot breath made Kurama's hairs stand on edge as he spoke.
Yusuke hadn't noticed this directly but heard the slightest tremor in Kurama's voice, he turned to see what made him tense. He walked up to them and squeezed himself in-between them, practically pushing Kurama out and away from him. Yusuke threw his arm around Kurama's shoulders in a protective manner as he forced them both a few steps back.
The incubus huffed. "You could've said you're taken, damn. You're lucky." He told Yusuke. This made Yusuke frown before a nudge from Kurama made him turn towards him. He was thrown a look which warned him to not go against it, just play along.
"Y-yeah." Yusuke tightened his grasp on Kurama's waist. "Well, we should get going now." He said after a short and awkward period of silence.
"Yeah me too." The incubus sighed softly. "Oh, before you go. Don't make too much sound and watch where you're walking, they sleep here and trust me, you do not want to wake them."
"Thank you." Yusuke kept an eye on his as he pushed Kurama to walk, it wasn't long before the incubus was swallowed by the darkness again. "Geez, what's his problem?"
Kurama shook his head softly. "Those are incubi, just play along when things like this happen. Some will take it but some won't."
"Weird creatures." Yusuke clicked his tongue.
They walked in silence, their footsteps echoing through the darkened abyss as they made their way towards where that door should be. Yusuke walked behind Kurama but was met with a surprise when Kurama stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Look.." Kurama pointed to the ground where countless creatures lay slumbering.
Yusuke eyed Kurama in disbelief. "You're kidding me.. We have to go through that without waking them or stepping on their limbs? That's impossible!" He whispered harshly.
"The incubus warned us about them." Kurama said matter of factly.
He looked behind him, swinging the makeshift torch in unison with his vision. A strange feeling had been settling in his stomach, the feeling that they were being followed, yet, there was no-one there. "We better get going. Let me go first, I'll light our way."
Kurama nodded and let Yusuke pass him.
…
"You what?!" Kuwabara choked on his own words as his eyes darted from Hiei to the incubus standing in the doorway.
Hiei sighed audibly, rubbing his eyes with his hand. "Didn't I say I met one of them but told you you'll regret meeting them as soon as you meet them?"
"Y-yes.." Kuwabara grumbled in confusion.
"Exhibit A." Hiei said as he motioned towards Xinlan.
"I'm exhibit A." Xinlan laughed. "We met a long while ago, had some fun.."
"We did not have fun." Hiei interrupted. "We didn't do anything nor will we do anything."
"Geez shrimp.. Calm yourself." Kuwabara saw him searching for words as his complexion grew a shade warmer than usual.
"I will not calm myself." Hiei spat. "I'm being accused of things I didn't do and I'm not having it."
"I didn't say anything about accusing you of.. Anything." Xinlan said confused, arms crossed as he stared them down. "You're making a big fuss about it, not me."
Hiei growled as his frustrations got the better of him. "You're tricking me, aren't you?"
"Do I look like I'm tricking you?" Xinlan raised an eyebrow, a toothy grin on his face as he was clearly amused by the rambling fire demon.
"Hiei, he's right there, no way he's tricking you." Kuwabara's head was spinning faster than the cars in a nascar race.
"You don't know what mind tricks they can perform." Hiei whispered harshly at Kuwabara before shooting a haunting glare at Xinlan.
"I am curious what happened between you two." Kuwabara was ready to put his life on the line for this little bit of information but was left in the cold as he didn't receive any replies. The two were locked in a stare down. "Why can't we just.. You know.. Attack?"
Xinlan was the first to break their staring contest. "Because we have your hostage and you don't want her blood on your hands, do you?"
Kuwabara swallowed thickly and opened his mouth to ask something but Hiei was faster.
"Where is she?" He demanded.
"Inside." Xinlan took a step to the side, freeing the entrance to the room. "Get in and behave, you know the consequences."
Hiei scoffed as he pulled Kuwabara with him, passing Xinlan without making any eye contact.
…
Yusuke lifted his foot and placed it in between the limbs of the resting demons, Kurama followed his footsteps, making sure to not touch anyone or anything. The creeping feeling which had settled in Yusuke's stomach was growing and he occasionally looked back to see Kurama following him, one hand on his shoulder so as to not lose each other.
It was a few minutes later when Kurama suddenly halted, slightly squeezing Yusuke's shoulder. He turned again to see Kurama's calculated but panicked expression. He furrowed his eyebrows to silently ask him what's wrong, what made him stop. A slight nudge downward and Yusuke saw the problem.
Kurama stood still like a statue as an unexpected hand had suddenly grabbed hold of his ankle. To his relief it seemed the demon was still asleep and must have caught his foot in its dream.
"Don't move." Yusuke whispered.
"I'm not moving." Kurama confirmed.
Yusuke bent down to see what he could do, the demon had its hands firmly around Kurama's ankle and showed no signs of letting go.
He hesitated before coming up with a possible solution. "I'll numb its limb with some of my energy, maybe the-"
"Don't!" Kurama whispered harshly as he shook his head. "Do not use your energy on me."
"I'm not using it on you." Yusuke shrugged at Kurama's sudden worry.
"No, you're using it on that demon." Kurama grew agitated at their situation. "That demon is currently stuck to me, using your spirit energy on its limb will result in it transferring to me. Just our luck, that is one of the few things we are to avoid at all costs, or did you forget?"
Yusuke paused and thought about what Genkai said. "You're right.. How do we get this thing off?"
Careful not to stir the demons, Kurama went down on one knee and started picking at the fingers. Loosening them one by one, hoping they'd let go.
"Be careful." Yusuke whispered.
"I have no choice." Kurama whispered back. He released a sigh of relief as the hand was detached from his ankle. Kurama faced Yusuke who seemed as relieved, Yusuke stood, held out his hand to help Kurama back up.
They stood there for a couple of seconds, catching their breath. Kurama gently shook his head in disbelief and Yusuke smiled, glad they didn't wake any of the slumbering demons. The strange feeling suddenly resettled in Yusuke's stomach and he frowned, reaching over Kurama's shoulder with the torch.
In a flash, he pushed Kurama behind him with a startled yelp. Looming behind them was a small swarm of demons, they stepped back as the light threatened to touch them.
"What was that all about?!" Kurama whispered harshly as he regained his balance, trying not to fall over any of the sleeping demons as he was pushed aside and behind Yusuke. He saw him frantically swinging the torch from left to right, slowly backing up.
His heart skipped a beat as some of the demons were awoken and began rising to their feet. "We have to run." Yusuke blindly reached for Kurama's arm, missing a couple of times.
"What?" Kurama was trying to understand what Yusuke was seeing but found a hint as the demon next to him was standing up, followed by many others, surrounding them.
Yusuke kept swinging with the fire, covering all sides now. "They don't like the light." He concluded.
"Probably because they've been here for some time." Kurama added. "What do we do?!"
"I was about to ask you that question. Remind me again, who has the most active brain cells?" Yusuke spat.
Kurama thought for a moment. "Can't you fire your spirit gun?"
"If we're truly underground and this space is the main structural point of the building, my spirit gun will result in the entire building collapsing on top of us." Yusuke said.
"That's true." Kurama bit his lip. "But spirit energy does give off a great deal of light..."
"But then I won't be able to protect you." Yusuke interrupted, already catching on to Kurama's idea. "I promised I will protect you, I'm not leaving you in the dark with these things."
Kurama swallowed thickly. "Or we'll have to fight them with hand to hand combat but I doubt that'll work. We need to move carefully, stay in the light and keep our eyes and ears open."
"Where were we going?" Yusuke asked for directions. "We'll move slowly, there are a lot of them and I don't know where they end, I can't see all of them."
"This way." Kurama said as he motioned behind him. Yusuke got close to him and they moved in unison, making sure to repel the demons with the light.
They moved for a couple of minutes before Yusuke was seeing a change in Kurama. His breathing was uneven and he was starting to shake slightly. "Buddy?" He asked urgently.
Within seconds, Kurama pushed himself away from Yusuke. "Don't come near me." Kurama groaned as a threatening flow of spirit energy bounced off of him.
"What's going on?!" Yusuke stopped in his tracks as Kurama warned him, he wanted to get Kurama back into the light, where the demons would not dare to advance. He received his answer soon enough as the energy overwhelmed both him and all other demons in the basement.
To his surprise, the demons stepped back, fear written all over their features. Kurama stood, holding his right arm tightly to his side with his other hand. "Keep moving but don't come near me, lead the way, I'll follow."
Yusuke was about to open his mouth before Kurama threw him a 'questions later' look. He turned and started to carefully walk towards where the door should be, making sure Kurama wasn't too far behind.
He saw the door and approached it with caution, Kurama's stumbling footsteps were the only thing assuring him of his presence.
Yusuke fumbled with the lock. "It's locked, can you pick it?" He hesitated to ask him the question considering the state he was in.
"Move." Was the only thing Kurama said as he approached. Yusuke took a few steps to the side, giving Kurama full access to the door. He laid his hand on the lock and Yusuke's eyes widened. The metal on the lock began to rust and fall apart, allowing them to enter. Yusuke was surprised by the small light illuminating the closet sized room. He laid the fire down in front of the door to prevent any of the demons from coming near the door.
Yusuke let Kurama enter and closed the door behind them while Kurama moved to sit against one of the walls. He was about to approach his red haired friend to help when Kurama called out. "Don't!" His voice lined with anger.
"I'm sorry." Yusuke raised his hands above his head and backed off towards the opposite wall where he slid down to sit on the floor.
He only heard Kurama repeat to himself. "It should pass. It should pass... It'll pass." He repeated as he controlled his breathing, the foreign energy diminishing into nothing soon after. He stayed there, sitting in the corner of the small room, basically curling up on himself as he buried his head on his knees.
Yusuke sat quietly on the other side until soft scratching at the door made him aware that there was still a horde of demons waiting outside, eager to get in. "We should get going." Yusuke said as he approached the ladder, looking up to the ventilation pipe it was connected to.
He walked up to Kurama and reached out his hand again. "Let's go." He said as Kurama lifted his head to face him. He nodded softly before taking his hand. "What happened?" Yusuke added as Kurama rose to his feet.
"Whenever I feel stressed or overwhelmed, it starts acting up." Kurama began. "I can feel it coming which is nice, but it hurts and it won't go away until I get rid of the feeling." He turned his gaze towards the ground as he continued. "Usually I just get nauseous but this wasn't like any other time.. I couldn't stop it."
"It's okay." Yusuke squeezed his shoulder. "You're doing your best and that's all we can ask for. I'm sorry I couldn't prevent all of this."
He received a soft smile from his friend, he always saw Kurama as this unshaken, smart fighter and it was weird to see him troubled.
"We should take the vent on the right." Kurama said as he stared up at the towering ladder. "That'll take us to where Uranrel is. Botan should be with him. You go first, we never know what we encounter."
"Throwing me under the bus again I see." Yusuke laughed and patted Kurama's back. "Just kidding. I'll go first."
He set foot on the first few steps, the rusted metal creaking under his weight.
"I'll wait until you're up." Kurama called after him. "I don't think it'll be able to support both of us at the same time."
Yusuke looked down at Kurama, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge as a screw fell out of the wall on which the ladder was mounted. "Shouldn't you go first?" Yusuke swallowed as he saw the ladder loosening. "This stuff is pretty old, I don't think it'll hold anything anymore after I'm up there."
"Just go Yusuke." Kurama said. "You're halfway, going back down will only work to our disadvantage."
"Got it." Yusuke looked up at his destination. "The vent on the right, I got it. Are you enjoying the view?" He tried joking as the metal continued to creak.
Kurama sighed. "No comment." He scoffed softly as he held the ladder steady.
Yusuke reached the vent without any trouble other than a few scares. He got in the vent and turned around, looking down at Kurama. "I made it, get up here."
Praying softly under his breath, Kurama started climbing the ladder. He got up without any problem until he was in arm's reach of Yusuke. The metal creaked and he felt the ladder shifting. Calling out to Yusuke, he reached up. Yusuke took his hand just before the top portion of the ladder gave out, clattering towards the floor.
"I got you." Yusuke said. "No need to stress, I got you."
Kurama furrowed his brows. "I'm not stressed, Yusuke. I trust you, now get me up."
He was hoisted up into the vent. A loud bang was heard and they looked down to see the demons had adjusted to the light and made their way into the small confined space. One of them looked down at the fallen portion of ladder, following its path up to see Yusuke and Kurama peaking at them from above.
"Ha! Suck on that incubi!" Yusuke smirked as he flipped them the bird. He stopped as Kurama slapped him on the back of the head.
"Do not provoke them, Yusuke." Kurama shook his head. "Let's just continue, please."
"Yeah, sorry." Yusuke gave him a sheepish smile before leading the way through the darkened air vent. Passing a few open places where other demons were receding, they crossed them as quietly as possible.
It was after a few minutes when Kurama stopped.
"Do you hear that?" He whispered.
"What?" Yusuke pressed his ear against the floor of the ventilation shaft. "The voice that belongs to a seventy-five year old chain smoker? I hear it. Can't be anyone other than Kuwabara." He smiled, glad to have almost made it.
They continued their journey, looking for a ventilation grille. Once found, he was glad to see the top of Kuwabara and Hiei's head alongside some other demons he didn't recognize. A soft hue of blue caught his attention. "Botan is here indeed." He told the person behind him.
"Is she okay?" Kurama asked.
"She doesn't seem hurt so I guess she's okay." Yusuke said after eyeing her for a few more minutes. He fumbled with the grille only to find it stuck, he hissed as he wasn't able to open it. "Go back a few paces." He said. "We're going in the old fashioned way."
Kurama was puzzled but saw what he meant when Yusuke lifted his fist, a soft glow of energy surrounding his balled fist. "Yusuke no!" He tried to stop him but failed as Yusuke's fist connected with the grille.
…
Botan shifted uncomfortably on the chair, no matter how soft it may be, she was getting sick of sitting here. Her ears perked up as she heard two familiar voices. Xinlan had heard them too and was standing in the doorway talking to the two familiars.
"Kuwabara! Hiei!" She smiled as they entered.
"Botan!" Kuwabara smiled back. "We've found you. I'm so glad you're okay."
"Kuwabara?" Uranrel scratched his head as he thought. "It's him? A human?" He said with disgust. "But that's impossible, it only attaches to demon energy."
Xinlan approached Kuwabara and pushed him against the wall. Kuwabara grimaced as Xinlan sniffed his neck, moving down to his shirt.
"Stop that!" Kuwabara pushed him away as he felt more and more uncomfortable.
"It's not him." Xinlan stated. "His energy isn't the same as the ones I picked up in the apartment."
Kuwabara was flabbergasted. "Apartment? What..?"
"That is none of your business." Uranrel waved him off. "Where are the other two, we sensed four entering the building."
Botan threw Hiei a questioning glare. He nodded at her, answering her silent question.
"I'm afraid they fell into one of your traps." Hiei crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall.
"Which one?" Uranrel turned to Xinlan.
A mischievous smirk appeared on Xinlan's face. "The basement, sir."
Uranrel gave a short "Oh."
Botan was puzzled, she had been held captive, was interrogated about something she didn't know anything about and she was ready for some answers. She took a deep breath. "What in the name of Enma is going on?!"
Kuwabara met her confused gaze before he lowered his head like a puppy caught chewing on a good pair of shoes.
"Anyone?! Can anyone answer?!" Botan said in disbelief as none of the two rescuers dared to look at her. "So they were right, I've been lied to." She concluded.
Uranrel turned towards her. "So you really didn't know."
"Of course I didn't know!" Botan yelled. "I still don't know."
Xinlan chuckled. "Told you she wasn't lying." He said matter of factly.
"It's a long story." Uranrel said as he turned away from her once more.
"And you won't even tell me why I'm here." Botan said, defeated. "Anyone?"
They all kept their silence which hung around for a while, none of them communicating with words. Hiei had enough of it and reached for his sword.
"Any further and the deity meets her demise." Uranrel threatened. Hiei looked up to where Botan was, Xinlan holding a knife dangerously underneath her chin. Uranrel continued. "We'll wait here for the other two until we start our negotiation.
Hiei halted, letting out a frustrated sigh before crossing his arms once more. Uranrel had motioned for Xinlan forward as he took his place next to Botan, sitting on the armrest of her chair.
"We can negotiate without them." Kuwabara attempted to ease the tension.
"No." Uranrel scoffed.
Kuwabara fidgeted with the collar of his jacket. "Just tell us what you want in exchange."
"You can't give us what we need." Uranrel shook his head.
Hiei saw Xinlan inhale, ready to say something when he lifted his eyes to the ceiling. He didn't have enough time to react as a ventilation grille clattered down, followed by pieces of ceiling ventilation pipe. A familiar voice gave a startled yelp as the person crashed down on Xinlan, followed by a blur of red who was also added to the pile.
Kuwabara blinked a few times before realizing Yusuke and Kurama literally fell out of the ventilation shaft. "Hi Yusuke." He said bluntly.
"Oh, hi Kuwabara." Yusuke answered with the same casual tone. "That hurt." He said as he laid sandwiched between Xinlan and Kurama.
On the other side, Kurama was slowly and painfully getting up after his most recent fall. He looked up, locking eyes with Botan who was somewhere between being surprised, happy, shocked and furious. "Hi honey." He said as he sat on his knees, straightening his abused back.
"Don't you 'honey' me." Botan spat to Kurama's surprise.
He furrowed his brows. "What..? Are you okay? Did they hurt you in any way?" Kurama spoke.
"Oh they were totally fine. But I did find out I've been lied to." She said as she stared at him angrily.
"We'll talk about this later." Kurama tried to calm her down but was interrupted as Botan shook her head furiously.
"No we're not talking about this later. I need to know, now." She huffed.
Kurama looked back at Hiei and Kuwabara, neither of them meeting his gaze as they were looking around so as to not look suspicious. "Botan.."
"That's him." Xinlan interrupted as he pointed towards Kurama, still pinned underneath Yusuke. "Hey man, as much as I like this position, I do need to get up." He said as he nudged Yusuke to get off of him.
Uranrel eyed Kurama from head to toe. "A human?"
"A half-blood." Xinlan sat up. "Or shall I rather say, an inherited one. A merger. A human with demon energy." Meanwhile, Yusuke moved to stand in front of Kurama.
"Interesting." Uranrel purred. "So you broke the vase?"
"No" Hiei chimed in. We found it already shattered. We were sent to collect it but something went wrong."
Botan was trying to make sense of the entire situation as they exchanged words, many of them not reaching her or not making sense at all.
"So little red here has it?" Uranrel asked and stood when he received an approving nod from Hiei. He motioned Xinlan towards the large chest standing next to the bed while he himself loosened Botan restraints.
Xinlan lifted the disk out of the chest, still wrapped in the cloth, and tried to hand it to Kurama.
"What's that?" Yusuke asked as he shoved Kurama further behind him.
"Thought you'd know." Xinlan scoffed as he reached closer to Kurama.
Uranrel helped Botan out of her chair but forced her in front of him. Retrieving a switchblade from his pocket, he held it against the frail skin of her throat. "Take it." He demanded.
"No." Yusuke said. "What is it?"
"Yusuke.." Kurama began.
"Take it, or do you not care about your precious deity?" Uranrel gave Botan a rough shake as she whimpered under his touch, afraid of the sharp blade threatening to pierce her skin.
"Yusuke." Kurama said in a firm tone. "Stop."
Kuwabara stood there, watching the scene unfold. "Hiei.." He turned towards him. He wanted to ask what he should do, what he can do. But Hiei just shook his head. He had no choice but to stay there. This was between them, chiming in would just get them into more trouble.
To Yusuke's surprise, Kurama walked past him. "Will you let her go if I accept this?" He asked.
"Almost." Uranrel answered. "Accepting it is the first step."
Kurama watched Botan before taking the wrapped disk within his own two hands. "What now?"
"Break it."
"No!" Hiei pushed himself off of the wall he was resting against. "You can't demand this. You know what will happen."
"I don't." Xinlan turned towards Uranrel, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.
He sighed deeply before regaining his composure. "I don't. That's why I want him to do it."
"Whatever you're planning, it's not worth it." Kuwabara pleaded. "Please."
"Do it." Uranrel pressured as he pressed the knife against Botan's skin. Her scared whimpers resonating like music in his ears.
Kurama looked around confused. There was a choice he had to make, the unknown disk felt familiar even though he had never seen or touched it before. Something was calling him, yet he couldn't place the strange feeling.
"Do it!" Uranrel yelled as he placed more pressure on the plade. "Release it!"
"Stop it!" Hiei's hand moved to unsheathe his sword while Kuwabara reached out to Yusuke, pulling him away as he sensed something bad.
"Unleash it!" Uranrel repeated.
Kurama heard it call out his name, he held it in his hands. He knew what it was, something in him told him to break it while something else told him not to. The internal conflict was enforced by the commotion caused by the incubi, they had taken Botan because of it…
Botan…
He looked up, sensing Hiei getting into action and seeing Yusuke being janked away from his side. He met with amnesty, the confused and pleading eyes of the one he was looking for. The strange feeling increased as he felt a surge of energy emerge climbing up his spine.
He saw the blade as it pushed against the skin he swore to protect. He promised to protect.
His ears caught the pleading whimpers. He heard his name. She was whimpering his name. Her lips moved but there was little to no sound. His hand ached, a scorching feeling intensified as the skin on his arm burned.
He heard her plead. "Kura.."
As the disk broke in two.
It's time... Oh boy let's go...
Important message from my friend: "UWUbara." ... Thanks I hate it...
See you in the next chapter!