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Jiana: Thank you, hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well! I think you'll like this chapter (I hope).
Guest: Sorry for the long wait :p
Cezarina: Well I can ;) And I'm doing it again... *winkwink*
Note
I'm turning a year older next week, this chapter is a little bit shorter (500 words less) than normal but I just had to publish it. I hope you had a wonderful start of the year. I'll be updating 'Purple' again soon as well!
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.
To Take What's Mine
"Don't you fucking dare." Yusuke hissed as he kept a death grip on the cuff of Kurama's sleeve. As he felt the effect of the extraction, he met Kurama's gaze just to see, nothing. He saw nothing. Kurama janked his arm free, turning away as Yusuke was too late to reach out again.
"But my patience isn't limitless.." His words echoing. Who was he talking to? Yusuke thought it could be both himself and the demon he was facing.
"Those who are made can be unmade." Kurama said as he tossed the cloth away, revealing the wound he received while fighting the kamaitachi.
"No restraints." The demon grinned. "That's a battle worth fighting."
Yusuke's eyes widened. "Stop it! We can handle this!" He raised his voice as he got up to his feet. He bolted to stand in front of Kurama. "What the fuck are you doing?! We had an agreement!"
"You're in my way." Kurama said bluntly, trying to dismiss Yusuke. He hadn't had the time to react as he was forcefully thrown back towards Kuwabara.
"What has gotten into him?!" Yusuke groaned as Kuwabara helped him to a sitting position.
Kuwabara shook his head. "I don't know. He was fine when I went to him a few minutes ago."
"He has loosened his restraints." Hiei said as he jumped down from the tree branch above their heads. "Their energy levels are nearly identical. I won't be surprised if this demon has the biggest amount of yami out of all the one's Koenma had listed for us."
The demon had charged towards Kurama who had easily avoided the attack. Balling his fist, he punched the demon in the face, hard enough to have halted the demon's assault.
As if changing his mind, Kurama lowered his hands and sloughed his shoulders. The demon recoiled and charged again, hitting Kurama hard in the abdomen. A slight groan was the only indication it had hit.
"The fuck!" Yusuke pumped his fist up in the air. "You can at least try to dodge, I even saw him coming!"
By now, the demon was going ham, punching up, down, left, right with no reaction from Kurama whatsoever. "You're a joke, a big talker whose actions don't match his words." The demon sneered. "And here I thought I'd finally get an actual fight."
He was about to strike again but froze as Kurama dodged, grabbing his lower arm with one hand and the base of his upper arm with the other. As he did so, the demon felt his power leave him, Kurama had started extracting. The demon janked his arm free, popping it out of its socket as Kurama's grip was tighter than expected.
The demon stepped back, forcing his arm back into the socket with a sickening crunch. "So you know how to extract without killing, huh? Very impressive." He took a few steps back. "My name is Varrun. I stumbled upon Yami while hunting with my mate, I don't have to tell you what I did to my mate, do I?"
Silence.
"I suppose not." Varrun shook his head. "You know all too well what it can do. We both have the same goal so let's let loose. Show me what this power can do!"
Silence.
"Luckily for me, I noticed you choose a slightly larger amount of power according to the amount I use." Varrun smiled. "Probably to make sure you have the dominant hand. So when I max out, you will too. Don't worry, we're the only beings in this area, aside from your little entourage that is." He eyed them from the corner of his eyes.
"This is bad." Hiei braced himself. "We have to run."
"No way! We're not running!" Kuwabara shook his head.
"Yes we are." Yusuke said. "Genkai said to run if things get out of hand. I consider this to be a situation about to go out of hand."
The hairs on the back of their necks stood on edge as the wind laid down, disappearing all together. "We have to run now!" Hiei pulled both Kuwabara and Yusuke with him as Varrun unleashed what Hiei could only describe as a shockwave, the trees swayed along with the wave of energy and Hiei felt the energy creeping closer. As they ran, another shockwave pushed them forward, urging them to run faster.
Kuwabara looked back, seeing a shadow similar to the patch of darkened land they found while searching for the first half. His breath was knocked out of him as he tripped over a protruding tree root.
"Damnit Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled as he turned and grabbed Kuwabara's jacket, dragging him across the ground as Kuwabara scrambled backwards, away from the creeping darkness. Both of them stopped as the mass reached to a halt. Bordering just a few inches away from Kuwabara's feet.
They watched the trees fall, withering away together with the grass, which turned into a lifeless soil.
"It's like when we first discovered it." Kuwabara stated.
"You're right." Yusuke shook his head in disbelief. "Another fucking crater in the forest, Koenma is going to kill us. As long as Kurama doesn't do it first."
"What?" Kuwabara turned towards him.
"Kill us." Yusuke replied.
"No way, that won't happen." Kuwabara scoffed slightly at their speculations.
"Think about it, Kuwabara." Yusuke shook his head. "He nearly took all of your spirit energy, he's more closed off than usual and he went against Genkai's advice twice despite him usually being the one hammering on following rules."
Their attention was pulled towards the two remaining on spilled soil, their forms vaguely visible through the debris.
Varrun had started his attack while Kurama stayed firmly in his place, only blocking the attacks with his hands and occasionally reaching for an arm or neck to try and contain the demon. They went on for a while before Varrun stopped, saying something to Kurama which they couldn't hear from their position. It stirred something however.
It wasn't long before they were both attacking each other with full force, the ground trembled with each countered blow. It took Kuwabara a moment to realize that Varrun probably had no clue how to work with it, then again, neither did Kurama, or did he? He shook his head softly and tried to see more of their movements.
Their silhouettes dashed from left to right until one attack hit with such force that it threw the other off of their feet and onto the ground. Kurama had been hit, but there were no wounds, there were only beginning bruises from punches and scrapes from the branches they dashed through.
Rolling a few times as he hit the ground, Kurama quickly got back to his feet just in time to dodge an attack from above. They went in and out of frame, their movements obstructed from view by both the still disintegrating debris and the distance. It was a few more minutes and a lot more movements later that Kurama finally fully came into view, he was panting and slightly hunched forward.
As Varrun approached to attack again, Kurama's posture changed, his back straightened and his right hand went from a fist to a flat hand, his palm up while his fingers were firmly together. He waited until Varrun was close enough before he striked.
Kuwabara's blood ran cold as Kurama swung his flattened hand up, fingers first into Varrun's stomach, tearing through clothing, then through skin and muscle. In one swift motion, Kurama's entire upper arm was completely submerged into the demon's chest cavity, entering just underneath the ribcage up towards his heart.
Mouth wide open, Yusuke was unable to say what was on his mind. His eyes darted towards Kuwabara for a second to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Kuwabara's blood drained skin told him enough.
The extraction had begun again, this time with no escape for Varrun, the demon only looked down in confusion, the effects of the attack not yet reaching the nervous system due to adrenaline and shock. He reached down to Kurama's arm, tracing it down to the elbow after which he couldn't track it any more.
With Kurama being that close to the heart, the extraction was quick and swift. Yusuke saw the darkened patch disappear, retreating to Kurama like a shadow in moving light. As if a switch was turned off, Kurama retreated his hand in a quick yet hesitant motion allowing the demon to fall to his knees.
Kurama seemed confused as he took a few steps back, assessing his red covered arm and the demon in front of him over and over before he leapt forward, catching the demon as he fell.
Nothing had changed in Kuwabara's state of being, he just watched Kurama help Varrun lean against one of the fallen tree trunks and step back. The figure in the corner of his eye started to move, pacing forward slowly, calculating each step he took. Yusuke was on the move again, he snapped out of his trance and followed, staying behind him.
As they came closer, Kuwabara felt the overwhelming need to vomit. Kurama's arm and sleeve was covered in thick, clotted blood, his expression confused, terrified and baffled. It was after Yusuke realized it was safe that he began to fasten his pace. Kuwabara did not follow his increasing speed.
Kurama's eyes found his, the dull thud echoed as Yusuke's fist connected with Kurama's jaw, forcing his head to the side. "Twice!" Yusuke yelled. "You broke your own promise twice!"
"I had no choice, Yusuke." There was no movement from Kurama, his head still to the side as he eyed the soil.
"Choice?!" Yusuke scoffed. "You went against your own plan for fuck sakes. Why have a plan when you're not going to follow it in the first place?!"
Eyes still to the ground, Kurama just grimaced. He was suddenly pulled upright by the collar of his shirt, forcing eye contact. A small trickle of blood fell from Kurama's chin, his lip was busted. He looked past Yusuke. "Hiei, please.." Another blow to his face.
Hiei didn't speak, he barely managed a nod before moving towards and kneeling next to Varrun. Kuwabara was just a spectator by now. He didn't understand what Kurama would want to ask Hiei at first, but as he felt Hiei's energy flare in a pattern rarely openly seen from the fire demon, Kuwabara understood. Kurama had asked him to attempt and help the demon, Kuwabara remembered Kurama telling him about Hiei's reserved healing abilities, only using it on himself and Kurama.
The yelling continued and another thud pulled Kuwabara out of his thoughts.
"Do not touch me, especially not with that." Yusuke pushed Kurama back before taking a few steps back himself. "You couldn't control it then, you won't be able to control it now." Then, Yusuke turned towards Kuwabara, a scowl visible on the detective's face as he walked away, pulling Kuwabara with him. "Are you coming or not?" He snapped at Hiei who was still at Varrun's side.
Hiei quickly glanced towards Kurama, receiving a persistent nod to follow them. So he did, leaving his comrade behind.
…
"They're scared." Varrun's voice took him off guard for a moment, he had watched them leave with Hiei being the only one to look back.
"They're not the only ones." He said solemnly.
"You came to collect all of it, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"And they were supposed to help you."
"Yeah." Kurama looked down at the ground as he touched his busted lip, wiping away the small amount of blood. "We weren't prepared for it, I wasn't the one who should've taken it.. I've hurt the ones who are dear to me."
Varrun shifted uncomfortably. "Do you have a mate?" He asked suddenly.
"Sort of, I've turned her away when all of this went down."
"At least she's alive."
Kurama turned towards Varrun who had lowered his head, his hair covering most of his eyes. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I don't even know how I did it." Varrun scoffed softly. "I let something stupid like Yami influence me, invade and take me over to the point where I don't even remember doing certain things.. She was dead before I knew it."
They sat there, in each other's company and in silence. Kurama was the first to snap out of it. He stood, addressing Varrun while avoiding looking at him directly. "Hiei has seared your wound closed and stopped the bleeding, he can't really heal but he can prolong life that way. You should be able to heal yourself soon, I'm afraid I can't help you."
"You already have."
This made Kurama turn his head. "How?"
"By freeing me, thank you for that."
Kurama nodded softly.
"How much of it have you managed to collect?" Varrun pressed his hand against the wound, though burned closed, he felt the effects of internal damage rising to the surface.
"Over half of it now, it's hard to know exactly how much. But I do know that, now, my own energy level is lower than the amount of Yami." Kurama remained stoic.
Varrun hummed under his breath, trying to keep his composure. "Be careful, from now on, you won't have the upper hand anymore." He paused a bit to fight the blood rising from his throat to his mouth. "Are you going after them?"
"No. I'll only drag them down further."
Varrun nodded in understanding. "I never really caught your name."
"It's Kurama."
"Thank you, Kurama."
…
"We're going home?" Kuwabara fastened his pace.
"We're going to Genkai's." Yusuke corrected as he fidgeted with the communicator.
"So we are just going to leave Kurama behind?"
"Absolutely. It's clear he can take care of this on his own, I'm not waiting around to be killed."
Kuwabara shook his head in protest. "We were supposed to look after him, you wouldn't just leave me behind, would you?" His eyes met Yusuke's, calm anger was the most dangerous expression he had ever seen him wear.
"You aren't trying to kill me, are you?"
"Urameshi, you're acting ridiculously."
"You think I'm being ridiculous?"
"Have any of you ever even thought of the possibility that Kurama might not even have control over what he does?" Hiei interfered. "What kind of friend are you?"
"Says who? You're talking kinda big for a little traitorous piece of burnt toast." Yusuke shoved Kuwabara to the side, clearing his view on the fire demon. "Where were you all this time? Something didn't go your way so you just disappeared to lick Mukuro's ass while we're here cleaning up the mess."
"I needed to reevaluate-"
"Reevaluate my ass, Hiei. You're asking me what kind of friend I am? Have you ever thought about what kind of friend you are? Returning to help out only when Koenma blows his little dog whistle."
"Guys please, we're not fighting each other here." Kuwabara stepped in between the two as he felt Hiei's energy sore to ass kicking level. "We need to get back to Kurama, we can't just leave him here with.. That."
"He'll kill us like he did to that demon." Yusuke groaned.
"I thought you and Kurama got so much closer after what you've been through. What happened to that?"
An involuntary silence hung above the group like a thunderous cloud, they were waiting for the lightning to strike. Hands audibly ran through black hair as a loud sigh echoed with the slowly returning makai wind.
"We should go back. Genkai will kill us if we were to return without him." Kuwabara eyed Yusuke as he slicked his hair back, previously loosened strands tucking back into waxed hair.
"Hiei." Kuwabara turned, earning a busted look from the small apparition. "Can you track him?"
Hiei's brown furrowed as he shook his head. "I wish I could but his spirit energy diminished greatly when he defeated Varrun to the point where I can't correctly track him anymore."
Both of them stared at Hiei in confusion. "Wait." Yusuke rubbed his temples. "How can one's energy just diminish? He didn't even use his own energy, it should still be the same."
"I know. But his level of Yami has become greater than his own level of energy, every time he gains more, he'll lose some of his own energy. Someone's level of energy is hugely reliant on the capacity one's body has. We can't have unlimited amounts of energy, same goes with energy transfers, give someone too much and it might be lethal for them."
"So Yami is replacing his spirit energy. Can't we just scan the area for Yami?" Kuwabara asked.
"We can, but considering there are still infected demons here, we won't know which one is Kurama."
"Can you rewind what you said? If one receives more energy than he can harness.." Yusuke's eyes widened.
"He'll go into shock and die." Hiei confirmed. "It's slowly replacing and discarding Kurama's own energy to make room. I know we are going to lose our advantage as soon as Yami's power replaces over half of Kurama's."
Kuwabara looked around uncomfortably. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I didn't want to scare him."
Both Yusuke and Kuwabara arched their brows as the fire demon crossed his arms, a feeble attempt at comforting himself.
"Back when we camped while looking for it, Kurama couldn't sleep, he was worried almost as if he already knew what was going to happen." Hiei tightened his grip on his own arms. "I told him that I didn't want to get him into trouble, that I fear what it might do to a human body."
"Hiei.." Yusuke's expression softened, Hiei was showing a side of him none of them, aside from Kurama, have seen before.
"I failed in more than one way, Yusuke. I had to deal with my failure and try to accept it."
"You didn't tell him about what you found to protect his sanity." Kuwabara nodded in understanding.
"I'm pretty sure Kurama already realized it himself, maybe long before I did. I just didn't want to tell him he would probably die with the third artifact."
"We have to go back and find him." Yusuke turned on his heels and started walking back. Walking turned into running and before he knew it, he was sprinting as if death itself was on his heels.
He reached Varrun but saw no traces of Kurama. Looking around, he yelled his name.
"It's no use." Varrun said, shaking his head softly as he slowly healed the damage he'd sustained. "He's long gone."
"Where did he go?"
Varrun turned his head. "He went that way, though I don't think he kept his route in a straight line."
Yusuke looked at the direction Varrun pointed out.
"He doesn't resent you, you know." Varrun spoke. Yusuke appreciated his words and nodded. It wasn't long before Hiei and Kuwabara joined him.
"Yusuke.." Kuwabara caught his breath. "We should go."
"He said Kurama went this way." Yusuke started walking but stopped when Kuwabara spoke again.
"Home.. We should go home. I contacted Genkai and she ordered us to return."
"Without him?"
"Yes." Kuwabara dropped his head. "She's arranging a portal for us to pass through, it will manifest here."
"But we promised not to!" Yusuke turned and yelled his name again, only to receive silence as an answer.
"It's out of our control, we should go back and regroup. After that we will either go for a rescue or a collecting mission." Hiei shook his head. A soft crackling indicated the manifestation of a portal. "We have to go."
Hiei had gone in first, Kuwabara waited for Yusuke, wanting to make sure he passed the portal and not run off on his own.
He turned his head towards Varrun, who was still on his spot on the ground. "Are you going to be okay?" Kuwabara asked.
Varrun nodded, a mall but grateful smile on his face. "Yes, don't worry. Do thank that little friend of yours, I would've been dead if it weren't for him."
Kuwabara returned the gesture with a soft "I will," before turning back to Yusuke, still yelling the name of their missing team member. As he was about to pull Yusuke towards the portal, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A creeping sensation he had felt before, a couple of times actually.
As he came close to the portal, Yusuke felt this sensation too.
"Just go." Varrun said. "It won't be safe here in a few minutes."
"What about you?" Yusuke shook his head.
"I'll be fine, I have a liar closeby. Go, now."
Yusuke wanted to speak again but he got pulled through by Kuwabara. The crackling subsided as the portal vanished before Varrun's eyes. He stood, wobbling on his feet while he leaned against any standing tree he could find for support. His liar truly was closeby and he turned to watch the sky one more time. Dark clouds forming what would become a storm.
Not a normal storm, Varrun knew this. The Makai was about to witness the wrath of the power rumored to have been lost, found and set free.
…
His mind flared in and out of the background, his consciousness fighting to keep his body standing while something else was pressing itself to the foreground more and more. He swayed a little and leaned against one of the trees, catching his breath.
He had heard Yusuke call out for him and he had turned to reply but something stopped him. His body had frozen and his mind had been forced to the background. He wanted to explain to Yusuke that he didn't want to step in and break the promise, he didn't want to, but he was forced to. For weeks, after breaking the second artifact, Yami had stayed mostly silent. It only offered a helping hand but it had gotten more aggressive as time progressed, forcing him to hand over control over time.
Kurama had felt his mental barriers falter, Yami had replaced over half of his energy and he is feeling the effect, he wasn't the boss of his own body anymore. Moving the other way might have been a mistake, but it was the only way of keeping the others out of the way, his way. He had speculated on the effect of Yami, but he never thought them to be this bad.
Yusuke had called his name again but he wasn't allowed to move, to speak, he wanted to tell him he's here, but to no avail. The voice hadn't gone silent when he completely lost his touch with his physical form.
Now he stumbled through the woods, unknown wounds lacing his body. Waking up in a strange part of the forest was a whole other sensation, his moral compass was a mess, which way was home? Stay awake.
The night was ruthlessly dark and cold. A shive climbed up his spine and his jaw ached from chattering teeth. He walked, where-to was unknown for him as well, he was pulled towards Yami's energy signature thus his feet carried him there. He wanted to turn, go back, find one of his liars but sleep would be a dangerous privilege. Stay awake.
So he walked, for how long? He didn't know. He stumbled through the night, a small trail of blood behind him. Sleep was dangerous, thus he avoided it for now. Stay awake.
Light reached his senses through the darkness of the Makai night, cold as the wind howled past him. The light brought warmth, voices, energy signatures. He didn't want to fight anymore, he had awoken to new wounds, new victims and new confusion too many times, he had lost count if he even counted to begin with. Stay awake.
"Who's there?!"
The voice seemed familiar, not threatening, he stepped closer until he was in the light, he couldn't stay awake.
…
"I wanted to return, but I was too late." Yusuke bowed his head to the blue haired ferry girl in front of him. "I failed to protect him."
She pursed her lips as her hands loosened around the fabric of her kimono. Koenma had granted her access to Genkai's grounds as long as they agreed to protect her, which Genkai happily oblighted to.
"He was gone before we could return."
"He'll be fine, right?" Botan nodded softly. "He's strong enough, right?"
Yusuke opened his mouth to speak when Hiei interrupted. "He's not."
A flash of worry crossed Botan's face as she processed the words. "How?"
"He's losing his control, his barriers are collapsing." Hiei explained briefly.
"I see." Botan sighed softly under her breath. "I've thought of a solution, how we can contain this once more."
"Did you find something?" Kuwabara edged closer to Botan.
"I did." She started. "Genkai told me about how this Yami creature obtained this power, which means he had to get it from somewhere. If we can find the source we might be able to return it there."
"What about the third?" Yusuke asked, his eyes still to the ground. "If we return it to the source, what do we do with the third? Kurama will..." He stopped.
"We know." Genkai broke her silence, watching and listening from behind Botan. "Kurama knows this as well."
"What will we do?" Kuwabara asked.
"We should avoid him finding it." Hiei added. "We should make sure he'll never find it. The first one was from the Makai, the second one was from spirit world. Which means the third one is somewhere in Ningenkai."
"So we should try and find it first without Kurama knowing and hide it somewhere he'll never get to reach it." Yusuke shot up.
"The spirit world's fault." Botan nodded. "No-one is allowed back there anymore. They've increased security to such an extent that even Koenma has trouble getting in."
"You shouldn't underestimate Kurama's abilities. He can pick any lock and with that I really mean any damn lock." Hiei crossed his arms.
"We're not underestimating Kurama, hell, not after that sinning tree, creeped me out. No, we're talking about Yami." Kuwabara said.
Hiei shook his head, his brows knitted. "We shouldn't make assumptions on Yami's abilities either, the thing has been stuck for centuries, it had enough time to curse every living being individually let alone thinking of a plan to escape when it gets the chance."
"And now it has the chance to do so." Yusuke scoffed. "I shouldn't have left, I shouldn't have walked away."
"It's not just you, Yusuke." Kuwabara placed a hand on his back. "We all left, we're all equally guilty, don't beat yourself up over this."
Genkai cleared her throat and straightened her back. "Thus you are all to blame, so you will all fix this together. I'll have people locate the next artifact and make sure it'll be unreachable. As for Kurama, we'll collect him first thing tomorrow morning and bring him back into the dome."
…
His head hurt, his body felt bruised, he was cold but the environment felt warm.
"Hey."
A voice, that familiar voice he had heard when moving towards that source of warmth and light. It spoke in a hushed tone.
"Hey, can you hear me?"
There it was again. Kurama tried opening his eyes but his headache worsened when a sliver of light reached his retina. He covered his eyes and attempted to sit up.
"Please lay back down, Kurama."
He knew his name? He couldn't remember introducing himself, but then again, the familiarity of the voice was suspicious. "Where.." Is the only thing he managed to say, his voice hoarse. The space he was in was warm, the smell of burning wood filled the air with a calming aroma.
"You're safe."
Can he trust this voice? He opened his eyes, slowly, painfully squinting against the light. It was dim and didn't emit much light, but to Kurama's enhanced senses it felt like he was in front of a spotlight.
The creature which spoke to him finally gained form.
"Hey, It's been a while." Jiro gave him a soft smile.
It took Kurama a while before he finally recognized him. "How did I get here?"
Jiro helped him to sit up and offered him some water. "You found us."
"I found you?"
"Yes, I didn't sense you coming, but you came out of nowhere and collapsed. Your wounds weren't very serious but your energy is dangerously low. You're here for the problem with Yami, where are the others?"
"Safe, they're safe. I'm collecting Yami, he's replacing my own energy with his which might explain my lack of energy signature."
"I see."
"Jiro, is anyone in your party infected?"
"Why?"
"I can sense some of it nearby."
"It's Emrath, he started acting strange some days ago but other than that I haven't noticed a thing with the members of my party."
"Lead me to him."
"What are you going to do?" Jiro stood back as Kurama got up.
"Collect what I'm supposed to collect."
He stood confused for a second before leading him towards the exit. "Very well."
Kurama stepped out of the tent, the light of day temporarily blinding him. "How long have I been out?"
"All night." Jiro patted his back and walked past him towards one of the other tents. Holding the entrance open for Kurama to enter.
He stopped short of entering, the energy signature he had been tracking was inside of the tent. He looked behind him, at Jiro. "Can you do me a favor?" He asked, knowing what would happen, were he to inherit more of the thing set to destroy both him, all three worlds and all their inhabitants.
"Of course." Jiro said, nodding softly. "What is it?"
"Can you tell Yusuke that I didn't intend to do all of this and that I'm sorry?"
"All of what? Sorry for what?"
Kurama shook his head. "It's too complicated to explain, but he'll understand." He turned to face the tent again. "Oh and please don't follow me."
Jiro just hummed in understanding as Kurama entered the tent.
…
None of them had slept that night, Yusuke had wandered the border of the barrier hoping for Kurama to have found his way back but to no avail. Now they were gathered at the edge of the barrier, ready to go back, assess the damage and retrieve their hopefully not yet fallen friend.
Botan stood by Genkai's side as they gathered, Yukina had prefered to stay in the garden, the situation making her uncomfortable and worried.
They went over the steps, the possible locations and what to do in worst case scenarios. None of it seemed to matter however as Yukina's panicked voice traveled through the air.
"Yusuke!"
Hiei bolted, gone within a second before Yusuke and Kuwabara could even hear the sound.
Genkai turned together with Botan. "This energy signature.." She said softly. "It's a creature from Yami."
Yusuke's eyes widened and he ran towards the gardens with Kuwabara, leaving Genkai and Botan behind. When he reached them, Hiei was shielding Yukina from something yet unknown.
"What is it, Hiei?" Kuwabara panted from behind Yusuke, yet Hiei didn't respond. He just eyed the disturbance in the back of the garden which nearly crossed paths with the border. With the effect of allowing things in but not allowing things out, it was easy for demons to reach the temple. Though most if not all of them didn't dare to approach the temple, the wards rendered their energy useless.
Stepping out into the flower fields, Yusuke prepared himself to fight. He readied his spirit gun and pointed it towards the direction as soon as he could get a shot.
He didn't shoot however. Kuwabara called his spirit sword back and allowed Genkai and Botan to enter.
There he was, he had made his way back. Yusuke smiled, relieved they didn't have to go back to find him in the Makai. He was bruised, his physical appearance was a mess but he didn't expect anything better considering he had wandered the Makai alone for a whole night and a morning.
Genkai hummed under her breath, eyeing the familiar form with the unfamiliar energy. How much had he collected for his own energy signature to be hardly noticeable?
A gasp was heard from behind Genkai, Botan had stepped forward. She was shocked, he looked worse than she could ever imagine. For the others, the decline wasn't as noticeable as they were small changes over a longer period of time. But for Botan, seeing him again after a few weeks, she felt tears burning.
Yusuke dropped his hand and stepped forward to approach him when Hiei stopped him. His ruby ones never left the 'intruder', which is how he saw him now. He spoke in a warning manner, his body tense as he kept Yukina behind him.
"That's not Kurama."
Cliffy!
See you in the next one. ;)