Of Demons and Roses
Chapter 10: The Battle Begins
Kurama and Hiei spent the whole day training. Both of them were willing to risk anything and everything to get their daughter back. The events of that morning had shaken them both, especially Hiei. He felt as if he did not do a good job watching over and protecting his daughter. And he swore that he would kill Kokuei for what he's done.
In that middle of the day, they took a short break to re-gather their spirit energy.
"It's not your fault Hiei," said Kurama in a soft comforting tone. Hiei just stared at the sky. Kurama moved closer to his koi and wrapped his arms around him.
"We will get her back," he said to Hiei. Hiei leaned into Kurama's warn arms and wrapped his arms around Kurama. Kurama always had a way of making Hiei feel better, even in the worst of situations.
The day had gone by fast, and without any words from Nobara's concerned parents. Before anyone knew it, night started to slowly creep up on them. Kurama and Hiei gathered their weapons and Nobara's staff that she dropped and went on their way to the abandoned warehouse to meet Kokuei.
Kokuei was standing at the door, waiting for them when they arrived. He was the first to speak.
"So, you made it," he said.
"Where's Nobara?" asked Kurama with tension in his voice.
"You're very demanding Kurama. She's right up there," Kokuei said, pointing to a high tower. It looked as if it could fall apart any minute, and Nobara was still unconscious.
"Bastard! You better not have done anything to her!" said Hiei angrily when he saw where Nobara was.
"My my Hiei! You sound eager to fight. Would you like to be my first opponent?" said Kokuei, toying with Hiei. He knew anger clouds the mind, and it took a lot for Hiei to get angry. His plan was to make Hiei so mad that he would blindly attack him, giving Kokuei the advantage.
"No. Your opponent is me," interrupted Kurama before Hiei could answer.
"Kurama..." said Hiei. He paused while they looked each other in the eyes. "Very well. But, save the final blow for me." Kurama nodded.
Kurama had his own strategy. If he were to fight first, then Hiei would see Kokuei's attacks and patterns. Also, Kurama knew that Kokuei is hiding his true strength. Kurama wanted to weaken Kokuei so that Hiei would have a bigger advantage when he fought.
"Very well fox. If you want to die first, that's fine with me," said Kokuei. He knew that Kurama is wiser than Hiei, and obviously has something planned. He just didn't know what.
"This area is our ring. This is a fight to the death," said Kokuei. Kurama said nothing. "Let's begin!"
With that, Kokuei went on the defense and hid in the shadows. Kurama stood motionless, trying to pinpoint Kokuei's exact location. He felt Kokuei' spirit energy rise as he powered up in the shadows.
Suddenly, Kokuei sprang out behind Kurama and tried to hit him on the back. But Kurama jumped out of the way, avoiding it. He then got a glimpse of Kokuei's weapon as he landed on the roof. It was an axe. It was almost as long as his body and the blade was fairly large.
"You avoided that well Kurama," said Kokuei.
Kokuei then took to the offensive, charging at Kurama with his axe. That began a series of motions so fast, it was hard for Kurama to read his movements. Kurama saw an opportunity and went on the offensive, landing a punch on Kokuei's face.
Meanwhile, up on the tower, Nobara began to stir and wake up. She felt a little dizzy at first, but found her focus quickly. She then sat up and thought about the last thing she remembered. She remembered being kidnapped. She remembered waking up in a place she'd never seen before. She remembered Kokuei telling her that her parents were going to die, right before she got knocked out again.
She looked over her shoulder and saw Kurama and Kokuei in the middle of a fight. She also saw Hiei watching, studying their moves. Then, she realized that she was on top of a tall, collapsing tower. Instead of panicking and destroying the tower, she stayed calm and sat still. Kokuei glanced up at her, then back at Kurama.
"It looks like your daughter is awake," he said. "This just makes things more interesting."
"How so?" asked Kurama. Both of them kept charging at each other.
"Now that she's awake, Nobara will be able to watch the death of her parents, starting with her pretty mother," as he said that, Kokuei landed his axe on Kurama's shoulder.
Blood came gushing out of his left shoulder as he retreated to put some distance between them. A cloud of dust covered the spot where Kurama landed, hiding him. Hiei's eyes widened in shock and Nobara's heart began to race.
"KASAN!!!!" yelled Nobara. She kept her eyes on Kurama, hoping he would be alright. The tower seemed like it was starting to break down. Kokuei had two targets, the tower and Kurama. He hit them both. Kurama noticed this and became really pissed off.
The cloud of dust lifted, revealing Kurama. He was standing, but he looked different. Instead of red hair, Kurama had silver hair and his green eyes turned to yellow ones. He also got fox ears and tail. The Kurama standing before Kokuei is Youko Kurama.