Trials of the Soul: Chapter Eight
by: Kawaii Kitsune

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all the characters in the wonderful show do not belong to me, blah, blah, blah. You get the point. No money, don't sue, blah, blah, blah. Moving on.

Note: italics indicate thoughts.


Koenma, heir of the Reikai, sat in his office, mindlessly chewing on his pacifier, stamped away at the stacks of paper accumulated on his desk.

A girl died in a car accident

Stamp.

A boy in a fire.

Stamp.

A man in a bombing.

Stamp.

Just when the baby lord thought the monotony would never end, an oni ran into the office, carrying a file filled with papers. The oni set the file folder down in front of Koenma and waited for a response.

"What is this?" Koenma asked, picking up the file as he did so. The front of the file read "Syrona," which meant nothing to him.

"It's the surveillance reports for the kingdom of Syrona for the past six months," answered the oni.

"And I want to see this why?" Koenma inquired, a confused and annoyed look on his face. He opened the file folder and glanced at the words on the documents. After skimming for a minute or two, Koenma raised his head in alarm and demanded, "Why wasn't this brought to my attention sooner?" The oni stuttered to find a suitable explanation but the little lord waved it off, not caring for a useless excuse. "Never mind. Go get me Botan."

The oni bowed and scampered off to find the bubbly ferry-girl.

* * * * *

"Hiei, put me down!"

Kurama's exasperated cry startled the birds perched on the nearby trees. They did not know how long they were imprisoned but the sun had already risen a few inches above the horizon. The two had escaped to a small patch of woods outside the city walls of Syrona. No one followed them. Certain that they were alone and far enough from the city, Hiei placed Kurama down.

"What the hell was that for?" The fox was furious. His usually placid countenance was replaced by one of pure anger. Obviously he did not like being swung over Hiei's shoulder like a rag doll.

"You wouldn't listen to reason," Hiei stated calmly, unfazed by Kurama's display of fury, "so I had to resort to something more drastic."

"What reason? Leaving Angel in there is not reasonable."

"And you think dying is?"

"They were not that powerful, Hiei. We could've killed them."

"We may be S-Class demons but that does not mean we are invincible. We tire, too. You were slowing down and you know it." Hiei glared at the kitsune, daring him to contradict it.

Kurama couldn't. He couldn't truthfully say that he wasn't tiring with each passing enemy. He couldn't deny that he'd made careless mistakes, left openings that could've gotten him killed, had the attackers been more attentive. He also couldn't ignore this feeling of helplessness that left him drained and exhausted. I couldn't do anything to help her…

The fire demon watched as his lover sighed in defeat. No doubt he's blaming himself for everything, he thought, That's so like him, making himself the scapegoat. Hiei cursed within his head, damning everyone and everything for putting them in this circumstance, just when their lives together had gotten so comfortable and peaceful. He cursed Angel for appearing after a whole year. He damned the lord of the kingdom for his unknown desire to capture the girl. He swore at Kurama for his stubborn attachment to their so-called daughter. And he condemned himself for his inability to prevent it all.

"Kurama-san! Hiei-san!" The female voice snapped both of them out of their stupor.

Botan flew towards them with unbelievable speed. She didn't wait for her oar to slow down before she jumped off, landing with an umph right next to the two demons.

"Good, I finally found both of you," Botan said between breaths, "Koenma-sama needs to see you now."

"Hn, what has that brat gotten himself into now?"

"He didn't tell me anything specific," she answered the surly fire demon, "just that it was urgent."

"We're a bit preoccupied with a problem of our own, Botan," Kurama said, "And since we are no longer under the employment of the Reikai, we're going to have to decline his gracious invitation."

"Kurama-san," the ferry-girl said in a pleading voice, "Please. Koenma-sama wouldn't have asked for your help unless it was really important. At least find out what the problem is before you say no."

The redhead signed and glanced at Hiei, who only shrugged with indifference. He turned back to Botan and said, "Fine."

"Arigatou, Kurama-san, Hiei-san!" she squealed.

"This had better be something resembling the end of the world," Kurama said as he gripped onto Botan's oar.

"You'll regret saying that, fox."

* * * * *

Angel woke to darkness. Pure and utter darkness. She waited for several minutes, letting her eyes adjust to the total lack of light, but even still, all she could see was darkness.

Where am I? she wondered.

Her memory was blurred and her thoughts were filled with confusion. Angel raised a hand to try to massage her temple, only to find that her body did not obey. In fact, here body did not exist.

She cried out in surprise upon the discovery. Or at least she tried to. Her voice - along with every other of her senses - was gone. She could not see, could not speak, could not hear, and could not move. It was as if she became a bodiless spirit, drifting in the emptiness of space.

What happened to me? Angel tried to remember. We went to the Oracle, who told us to travel to Syrona. When we arrived, we were ambushed and captured, and then I…

It hit her.

I'm trapped within my mind.

* * * * *

"Angel, open you eyes and gaze upon you master," Kamishi commanded. He stood before the long-haired girl who was currently kneeling with her eyes closed. Upon hearing his order, the girl raised her head and opened her eyes to look at the youkai lord. Kamishi smiled.

The usual fervent red of Angel's eyes was no longer present. Instead, that fire had been dulled and the spirited light had been dimmed. She no longer displayed any sign of life behind those detached orbs. The parasites had done their jobs.

"Kamishi-sama," Akuma exclaimed, "it worked! She's obeying your words."

"Of course it worked," the king stated matter-of-factly, "No one can fight against my parasites once they've taken hold of their victim." He laughed. "Now…for the ultimate test. Angel, transform into your youko form."

At once, Angel's body began to glow. A magical mist started to form around her, spiraling and twisting from the ground upwards. The mist soon engulfed her body as the atmosphere surrounding her changed. Then an unnatural wind picked up, dispersing the mist and revealing the new creature kneeling there.

* * * * *

Inside her mind, Angel witnessed it all. She heard Kamishi's command through her now functioning ears, and though she tried to resist his words, her body obeyed and opened her eyes. The darkness was dispelled and she saw everything through those eyes that were no longer hers to control. She tried to express her hatred in words but she mouth remained shut. She tried to attack but her limbs remained frozen. She tried again and again until she became mentally exhausted from the ventures. That was when she heard the next command.

"Angel, transform into your youko form."

Youko form? What youko form?

Before she knew it, her body began to change. Angel could feel her shape transform into something new and foreign. Something foreign…yet familiar. Though the only form she had ever known was that of the redhead, this new form seemed right also, as if she had always worn it. The transformation stopped and her body continued to kneel, staring up at Kamishi's face.

* * * * *

"Beautiful," the lord praised, "Simply beautiful."

The form prostrated before him was now that of a youko. A silver youko, to be exact. She looked to be the female replica of Youko Kurama. Her face was fine and angular, chiseled in perfect splendor. Her hair, long and silver, matched the fur on her ears and her long swishing tail. The gold in her eyes would have glittered had it been under normal circumstances. Her body was slim and curvaceous, fitted in a strapless black dress that hugged every bend of her body. The dress was accented with crimson trimming and ended mid-thigh with slits on both sides to allow freedom of motion. The outfit also included detached sleeves that started inches above each elbow and ended with a point at the base of her middle fingers. A pair of flexible black ankle-high boots completed the ensemble.

"Now, my youko," Kamishi said with delight, "you will bring my kingdom glory. The Ningenkai will become my new domain."

"Hai, Kamishi-sama," the mindless Angel answered, her voice slightly deeper than normal due to the change. The response was emotionless, just the empty words coming from a soulless puppet.

"Go and prepare my army for battle. I wish to begin my conquest as soon as possible."

"As you wish, my master."

End of Chapter Eight


I've noticed that my stories always take so long to get to the actual action... Oh well, I guess building up suspense is what I'm good for. Plus, I'm no good at writing action and fighting stuff. Oh, I'm working on a new story call "Confinement," also YYH. Please try to check it out.