Chapter 5
They walked towards the deep end of the forest. The night was already pitch-black, Kuwabara has been complaining of not seeing his way for about fifteen minutes or so.
"Wait..." Hiei said.
"He's in here". He added as he closed his eyes and made sure that his jagan did see Kurama.
"Exactly where?" Yusuke asked. He was already holding his right wrist, ready to use his Reigan in case something bad will happen.
Hiei pointed at the massive boulder of rock about three kilometers away from them. "Behind that rock."
"Quick! We'll be losing him!" Hiei said as he quickly went for Kurama with the speed of light.
The rest followed Hiei. All of them in a hurry to save Kurama in the nick of time.
When they were only a few meters away, they stopped. Nobody spoke. They already have a plan and talking would just be a total waste of time.
Yusuke and Kuwabara both went to the opposite ends of the boulder. They were standing with a distance of some feet away from the boulder. Koenma and Botan stood a few feet away from the middle of the rock while Hiei waited for their signal.
With a nod from Yusuke, Hiei withdrew his sword from his sheath. In a split of a second, he was able to break the huge rock into two. It revealed a non-conscious Kurama, floating into the air as his blood continued dripping to the ground.
As if awaken from his slumber, the tortured Kurama turned to face them. His face was now different. His face was now more of the beast Hiroki than the pretty Kurama they all knew.
As planned, Yusuke shot his Reigan at Kurama, controlling the flow of energy so as not to damage Kurama even more. Just enough to keep both Kurama and Hiroki in place.
Kuwabara already summoned his Spiritual sword. He was the back-up plan. If anything should go wrong with their original plan, he has to fight with Hiroki first.
"Now, Botan! Now!!!!" Yusuke shouted over at Botan. He was having a hard time controlling his powers. And Hiroki is already fighting back. If he raise the flow of energy from his Reigan, he would be hurting Kurama.
Botan nodded at Yusuke. He was shocked to see Hiroki again. But her shock could wait, Kurama was already dying and she's not doing anything to help him.
She closed her eyes and brought her index finger and thumb from both hands together to from a triangle. She concentrated very hard. Starting the countdown in her mind. Five, four, three, two... Her powers were starting to concentrate on the middle of the triangle she had formed with her hands.
Before she could release her powers, she opened her eyes to see her aim. She made sure that it would hit Hiroki with one shot. She can't miss. She just can't. She saw the look on Yusuke's face. Same with Kuwabara, Koenma-sama and Hiei. She just can't disappoint them. And more then anything, she wanted to save Kurama.
"It's payback time, Hiroki!" Botan shouted with bitterness as she let go of her powers.
She felt her whole body tremble with mixed emotions. She felt like her knees were giving up. But she resisted, she has to witness Kurama's comeback and Hiroki's death.
Apparently, Hiroki was unprepared. He has his mind set on taking over Kurama's body as fast as possible. It would only be after a few seconds. He didn't expect they would go after him. After all, fighting him would mean fighting Kurama. And Botan with her summoned powers, which he knows was the only thing that could beat him, was totally not in his mind.
Surprise was all over his face as Botan's power neared him. He recognized it, it was Botan's sleeping powers awakened. And it was the only thing that could kill him now without having to kill Kurama.
It was too late to do anything now. He was caught both unaware and unsuspecting. All he had managed to do was scream in pain as it hit him.
It was like daylight in that part of the deep end of the forest. The light produced by the clashing of Botan's power with Hiroki's evilness was blinding. All of them watch as the pink light radiates around Kurama's body. Eating up everything Hiroki had done in him.
After a few minutes the light died down and Kurama fell. Before he could crash on the ground, Kuwabara ran to catch him.
Kuwabara laid Kurama on the ground as Koenma, Hiei, Botan and Yusuke walked towards them. The half-human, half-demon was unconscious. Who wouldn't be after all the things that had happen to him?
His skin was still lashed out, he looked worse than ever. But his face no longer bear traces of Hiroki.
"I think we saved him just in time." Kuwabara said.
"Yes, just in time..." Yusuke echoed.
Botan kneeled down beside Kurama. He put his hand on Kurama's forehead with her palm facing downwards. She is going to heal Kurama.
And again, the blinding pink light flowed out of Botan's hand into Kurama's body. Reviving every bit of life in Kurama.
Nobody spoke as she heals Kurama. They were amaze as how fast it was healing Kurama. His wounds were disappearing one by one. His skin was getting back into its normal condition. After a few minutes, Botan finally stopped.
"He's alright now. He'll be up in just a few." Botan said.
Kurama's eyes slowly opened. He saw all of their expecting face. I am okay... I am finally okay.
"I thought that that was the end of me." Kurama said with a smile as he sat up.
He looked at Botan. He knew what Botan had done for him. Somehow in his poor state while Hiroki was in the process of possessing him, he can still make out what was happening outside of him. He saw Botan's efforts and he also saw Botan's willingness, and for that he was grateful.
"Thank you." He finally said to her.
* * *
Botan woke up with a startle.
"Hurry up, Botan! Everybody is waiting for us downstairs for breakfast!" Keiko commanded at Botan.
"Breakfast?" Botan asked.
"Yes, breakfast! It's already eight in the morning! We'll be leaving in a couple of hours! Better hurry!"
"Leaving? We're leaving today? But..."
"I didn't know you were such a big fan of Makai. Yep, we're leaving. Now hurry up and don't get us waiting!" Keiko cut her off.
"But I can't even remember yesterday..." Botan said. She was a little time confused.
"You spend all day yesterday sleeping --and weeping over Genkai. You didn't even come down to join lunch with us and dinner."
"I slept? And wept?"
"Stop asking, okay? Now get ready and I'll be waiting out in the hall, okay?" Keiko said as she left for the hall.
Botan obeyed and got herself dressed and met Keiko out in the hall. She let go of her confusion. So what if I can't remember yesterday?
The two of them went straight to the hotel's cafe where the rest are waiting for them.
"Good morning." Kurama greeted them.
"Good morning!" Both of them answered in unison.
Koenma looked at Botan. Thinking of what just happened yesterday. She was able to save Kurama's life yesterday. But she doesn't know it. Yes, she still has her powers. It wasn't sleeping, not yet, but soon it will. Because, as what the oldest trick in the book says, the only way to put your powers to sleep is to never use them, to 'forget' about them. He had again erased everything about Hiroki and Ira and yesterday's incident out of Botan's memory. And he believed it would do Botan just good.
They walked towards the deep end of the forest. The night was already pitch-black, Kuwabara has been complaining of not seeing his way for about fifteen minutes or so.
"Wait..." Hiei said.
"He's in here". He added as he closed his eyes and made sure that his jagan did see Kurama.
"Exactly where?" Yusuke asked. He was already holding his right wrist, ready to use his Reigan in case something bad will happen.
Hiei pointed at the massive boulder of rock about three kilometers away from them. "Behind that rock."
"Quick! We'll be losing him!" Hiei said as he quickly went for Kurama with the speed of light.
The rest followed Hiei. All of them in a hurry to save Kurama in the nick of time.
When they were only a few meters away, they stopped. Nobody spoke. They already have a plan and talking would just be a total waste of time.
Yusuke and Kuwabara both went to the opposite ends of the boulder. They were standing with a distance of some feet away from the boulder. Koenma and Botan stood a few feet away from the middle of the rock while Hiei waited for their signal.
With a nod from Yusuke, Hiei withdrew his sword from his sheath. In a split of a second, he was able to break the huge rock into two. It revealed a non-conscious Kurama, floating into the air as his blood continued dripping to the ground.
As if awaken from his slumber, the tortured Kurama turned to face them. His face was now different. His face was now more of the beast Hiroki than the pretty Kurama they all knew.
As planned, Yusuke shot his Reigan at Kurama, controlling the flow of energy so as not to damage Kurama even more. Just enough to keep both Kurama and Hiroki in place.
Kuwabara already summoned his Spiritual sword. He was the back-up plan. If anything should go wrong with their original plan, he has to fight with Hiroki first.
"Now, Botan! Now!!!!" Yusuke shouted over at Botan. He was having a hard time controlling his powers. And Hiroki is already fighting back. If he raise the flow of energy from his Reigan, he would be hurting Kurama.
Botan nodded at Yusuke. He was shocked to see Hiroki again. But her shock could wait, Kurama was already dying and she's not doing anything to help him.
She closed her eyes and brought her index finger and thumb from both hands together to from a triangle. She concentrated very hard. Starting the countdown in her mind. Five, four, three, two... Her powers were starting to concentrate on the middle of the triangle she had formed with her hands.
Before she could release her powers, she opened her eyes to see her aim. She made sure that it would hit Hiroki with one shot. She can't miss. She just can't. She saw the look on Yusuke's face. Same with Kuwabara, Koenma-sama and Hiei. She just can't disappoint them. And more then anything, she wanted to save Kurama.
"It's payback time, Hiroki!" Botan shouted with bitterness as she let go of her powers.
She felt her whole body tremble with mixed emotions. She felt like her knees were giving up. But she resisted, she has to witness Kurama's comeback and Hiroki's death.
Apparently, Hiroki was unprepared. He has his mind set on taking over Kurama's body as fast as possible. It would only be after a few seconds. He didn't expect they would go after him. After all, fighting him would mean fighting Kurama. And Botan with her summoned powers, which he knows was the only thing that could beat him, was totally not in his mind.
Surprise was all over his face as Botan's power neared him. He recognized it, it was Botan's sleeping powers awakened. And it was the only thing that could kill him now without having to kill Kurama.
It was too late to do anything now. He was caught both unaware and unsuspecting. All he had managed to do was scream in pain as it hit him.
It was like daylight in that part of the deep end of the forest. The light produced by the clashing of Botan's power with Hiroki's evilness was blinding. All of them watch as the pink light radiates around Kurama's body. Eating up everything Hiroki had done in him.
After a few minutes the light died down and Kurama fell. Before he could crash on the ground, Kuwabara ran to catch him.
Kuwabara laid Kurama on the ground as Koenma, Hiei, Botan and Yusuke walked towards them. The half-human, half-demon was unconscious. Who wouldn't be after all the things that had happen to him?
His skin was still lashed out, he looked worse than ever. But his face no longer bear traces of Hiroki.
"I think we saved him just in time." Kuwabara said.
"Yes, just in time..." Yusuke echoed.
Botan kneeled down beside Kurama. He put his hand on Kurama's forehead with her palm facing downwards. She is going to heal Kurama.
And again, the blinding pink light flowed out of Botan's hand into Kurama's body. Reviving every bit of life in Kurama.
Nobody spoke as she heals Kurama. They were amaze as how fast it was healing Kurama. His wounds were disappearing one by one. His skin was getting back into its normal condition. After a few minutes, Botan finally stopped.
"He's alright now. He'll be up in just a few." Botan said.
Kurama's eyes slowly opened. He saw all of their expecting face. I am okay... I am finally okay.
"I thought that that was the end of me." Kurama said with a smile as he sat up.
He looked at Botan. He knew what Botan had done for him. Somehow in his poor state while Hiroki was in the process of possessing him, he can still make out what was happening outside of him. He saw Botan's efforts and he also saw Botan's willingness, and for that he was grateful.
"Thank you." He finally said to her.
* * *
Botan woke up with a startle.
"Hurry up, Botan! Everybody is waiting for us downstairs for breakfast!" Keiko commanded at Botan.
"Breakfast?" Botan asked.
"Yes, breakfast! It's already eight in the morning! We'll be leaving in a couple of hours! Better hurry!"
"Leaving? We're leaving today? But..."
"I didn't know you were such a big fan of Makai. Yep, we're leaving. Now hurry up and don't get us waiting!" Keiko cut her off.
"But I can't even remember yesterday..." Botan said. She was a little time confused.
"You spend all day yesterday sleeping --and weeping over Genkai. You didn't even come down to join lunch with us and dinner."
"I slept? And wept?"
"Stop asking, okay? Now get ready and I'll be waiting out in the hall, okay?" Keiko said as she left for the hall.
Botan obeyed and got herself dressed and met Keiko out in the hall. She let go of her confusion. So what if I can't remember yesterday?
The two of them went straight to the hotel's cafe where the rest are waiting for them.
"Good morning." Kurama greeted them.
"Good morning!" Both of them answered in unison.
Koenma looked at Botan. Thinking of what just happened yesterday. She was able to save Kurama's life yesterday. But she doesn't know it. Yes, she still has her powers. It wasn't sleeping, not yet, but soon it will. Because, as what the oldest trick in the book says, the only way to put your powers to sleep is to never use them, to 'forget' about them. He had again erased everything about Hiroki and Ira and yesterday's incident out of Botan's memory. And he believed it would do Botan just good.