I only got one review. *looks sad* I guess not many people read this. Ah well.
Yaoi-Rules: Thanks so much, Becca-chan! You're my only reviewer! At least I can count on you.
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angels, Demons and Sacrifices
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a dilapidated old building in downtown Tokyo, several dark shapes issued. They paused at a street junction; then each darted off in a different direction, seeking their prey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the darkness of her bedroom, Medra stirred. It seemed like there was someone else in the room. "W... who's there?" Medra yawned, her voice thick with sleep.
Suddenly, a net was thrown over her. Jolted awake, she struggled, then cried out as the net was flooded with electricity. Then she collapsed as the power flowed out again.
The demon that had attacked her grunted, satisfied with his work, then gathered up the net to take her away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keiko Yukimura yawned, rubbing her eyes. ~It's so late...~ she thought, glancing at the clock. 11:49.
~I really should be getting to bed. But I just had to finish up studying. The big test is next week, and...~ She yawned again. ~On second thought, no use studying if you fall asleep during the test.~
She gathered up her papers and closed her book, when a shadow fell across her. "Huh?" She turned to see a demon standing behind her with a nasty grin on his face, arm raised to knock her out. The last thing she thought before she fell into unconsciousness was, ~What does this thing want with me?~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukina sat upright in her bed at Genkai's shrine. She had woken up and could not get back to sleep. ~Maybe some warm milk will help me sleep.~
She got up, intending to go to the fridge at the back of the shrine, but paused in midstep. A flash of black had run past her window, and she felt the signature of a youki, there and gone too quickly for her to identify. ~Hiei-san?~ But why was he moving so slowly? Was he hurt?
Concerned, she quickly threw on her kimono and went outside. "Hiei-san?" she voiced cautiously. "I-is that you?"
A sound made her whip her head around to see a large, ugly demon standing behind her. Another, to her left, approached as well. She turned to run back to the shrine but was stopped by a third demon, this one more human-looking, holding a piece of paper. Looking at it, she quailed, remembering the awful days spent in the captivity of Tarukane. But these markings were slightly different-
The demon stuck the paper on her, grinning.
~-They induce... sleep...~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shizuru woke up, feeling the tingling on the back of her neck that she usually associated with her spirit awareness. She lay still in the darkness, listening carefully. She could hear the sounds of snores coming from the room next to hers, which meant that it wasn't her brother sneaking a midnight snack. She reached outward with her spirit awareness. Two of them. In the kitchen.
Soundlessly she got up and picked up a baseball bat from beside the bedroom door for just such an emergency. She crept out of the room and down the hall. There. One of them was just inside the doorway. Closer... closer...
She burst inside, swinging the baseball bat and taking one of them out. He dropped without a sound. She turned quickly to deal with the other one but was stopped by a sweet-smelling pad pressed close to her face. ~Chloroform...~
Shizuru slumped against the wall as the demon woke his companion and slung the girl over his shoulder. They reached the front door and vanished into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, dear," Koenma said as he looked at the four reports. "This is bad. Very bad."
He called Botan into his office. "It looks like Vironem has made his move sooner than we expected," he told her grimly.
Botan nodded, all business now. "Who's been taken?"
"It's not just some ningens this time, Botan," he warned her. "Shizuru, Medra, Yukina and Keiko have been taken."
Botan gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth. "Not-"
"The very same."
"This is awful!" she cried, horrified. "We have to get them out of there before it's too late!"
"Yes, I know," he said. "Which is why I want you to go down there and spy for me. See if you can find where the captives are being held and then report back to me. I'll send Yusuke and the others to get them."
Botan nodded quickly. "I'll get right on it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yusuke woke up to the ringing of the phone. "Mom?" he said sleepily, then remembered that she had spent the night at a friend's house. Yawning, he got up and shuffled sleepily towards the phone.
"Moshi moshi..." he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Yusuke?" It was Keiko's mother, and she sounded distressed... like she had just been crying, and was trying to keep from doing so over the phone.
Yusuke woke up a bit more. "Yeah?"
"Is Keiko there?"
"No, she's not," Yusuke replied. "Why? What's going on?"
"We think... Keiko's..." Mrs. Yukimura was having trouble getting the words out. "Keiko's been... kidnapped."
"WHAT?!?!?!?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kuwabara rolled over and woke. Sunlight streamed through the window - a lot more sunlight than he was used to. ~What time is it?~ he wondered, glancing at his clock.
~8:27?!?!~
Panicking, he threw his clothes on and grabbed his books. "Why didn't you wake me up, sis?!?" he yelled to Shizuru.
No answer came.
Kuwabara paused in his frantic activity, listening. "Sis?"
Still nothing.
A quick search led him to discover that Shizuru was not in her room - nor, indeed, anywhere in the house. Everything else was there - all her clothes, food, even the car. Except that the baseball bat she kept beside her bedroom door was missing.
All the evidence led him to the obvious conclusion...
"Shizuru's been abducted by aliens!"
No, you moron, the other obvious conclusion.
"Oh. You mean..."
"SHIZURU'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!!!"
There you go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurama headed cheerfully towards Medra's house to see her before he went to school. This had become a daily routine for them - Kurama would talk to her for a few minutes before school, then come over after school for some tutoring. Her parents approved of him, although they thought that he was only helping her keep up in school. (Remember, she's homeschooled.) They were discussing getting her into the public school - if she went to the bathroom in between classes, she might be able to let her wings out long enough for her stay wingless until the end of the school day.
He reached the front door and was about to knock when he paused. Something wasn't right. He could smell the lingering scent of an unfamiliar youkai. And he couldn't hear Medra coming down to greet him. In fact, he heard... sobbing...
He burst inside. The sight that greeted his eyes only confirmed his suspicions. Mr. Tsunimayo was holding Mrs. Tsunimayo as she sobbed into his shirt. "What's happened? Where's Medra?" Kurama asked wildly.
"Gone..." sobbed her mother. "She's... gone..."
"We believe she's been kidnapped," said her father gravely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiei woke to the sun in his eyes and birds cheerfully singing. He jumped out of the tree that he had spent the night in, stretched, and prepared to use the Jagan to check on Yukina. It had become his morning routine to see her happy and smiling in Genkai's garden.
But this time, something was different. Instead of seeing his twin's face, he saw... a blue shield, thick and impenetrable. Frowning, he pushed harder, trying to break it.
A whirlwind of pain surrounded him, screaming faces and sobs, death, torture, and through it all the *pain*...
He sat back, shaken. Something was definitely not right.
As soon as he had recovered his breath, he sped off to Genkai's shrine. There, he saw the old hag standing in the front yard, as if waiting for him. "Where's-" he began.
"She's not here, you fool, and I suggest that if you want to find her, you'd better get to work quickly. They didn't leave many traces." she snapped. That tone didn't fool him, though - judging by her white knuckles and the strength with which she spoke, she was worried.
Hiei sped off to find his twin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All four of them met at a street corner. "What the heck are you doing here?" Yusuke snapped.
"I'm looking for my sister-" Kuwabara started, but was cut off. "Yukina's missing," said Hiei darkly. "Medra, as well," Kurama stated.
"Well, I'm looking for Keiko."
They stared at each other.
"This is beginning to seem like it's not a coincidence..." Kurama began slowly.
"Damn right it's not a coincidence."
They turned to see an image of Koenma appear in the sky above them. Luckily, there was no one else around.
"Hey! Do you know something, pacifier breath?!" Yusuke yelled at the young god. All his thoughts were on Keiko, and he was worried.
"Yes I do, and would you please stop calling me that," Koenma said, directing a glare at Yusuke. "Listen up."
"A long time ago, some demons worshipped an evil demi-god named Thalkarsh. Through sacrifices and strange rituals, his power grew, until he was feared throughout the Makai. But that wasn't enough for him."
"He tried to challenge my father, the ruler of Reikai. Naturally, Dad defeated him, and after he was done, he sealed Thalkarsh in a pocket dimension and killed all his worshippers. Since Thalkarsh gained his power through worship and sacrifice, we believed he was trapped."
"Recently, we have learned that one demon survived and made it through to the Ningenkai. He gathered a small following and attempted to break Thalkarsh's bonds, but was discovered by your government and killed in a cover-up attack. One of *his* followers survived and found out the correct method of raising Thalkarsh: one hundred human sacrifices."
"Over the years, he has slowly stolen and killed enough humans to make quite a stir - if they were stolen all at once. He prefers to take one from here, another from there, in no discernible pattern. Now, all that's needed is one more sacrifice."
"So why did he take all four?" Yusuke yelled.
Koenma bowed his head. "I have no idea."
"WHAT?!"
"I sent Botan down to retrieve information last night, but so far she hasn't returned. I am afraid she must have been kidnapped as well."
"This makes no sense," Hiei muttered. "If he only needs one, why take three ningens, an apparition, and a ferry girl?"
"You must get them back before before he sacrifices them," Koenma ordered. "If he does, Thalkarsh will rise - in the Ningenkai."
"So where is it?" Kuwabara asked, bringing up a good point.
"Downtown, near the old movie theater."
"Well, then-" Yusuke broke into a predatory smile. "Let's go."
They set off at run, hoping that it wasn't too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew! That was long. Hope I didn't confuse you too much with the changing viewpoints and all. ^_^; Oh, and I borrowed the name of the demon from Mercedes Lackey's book Oathbreakers. Well, read and review!
To my friend: You know who are. Happy 6-month anniversary.
Yaoi-Rules: Thanks so much, Becca-chan! You're my only reviewer! At least I can count on you.
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angels, Demons and Sacrifices
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a dilapidated old building in downtown Tokyo, several dark shapes issued. They paused at a street junction; then each darted off in a different direction, seeking their prey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the darkness of her bedroom, Medra stirred. It seemed like there was someone else in the room. "W... who's there?" Medra yawned, her voice thick with sleep.
Suddenly, a net was thrown over her. Jolted awake, she struggled, then cried out as the net was flooded with electricity. Then she collapsed as the power flowed out again.
The demon that had attacked her grunted, satisfied with his work, then gathered up the net to take her away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keiko Yukimura yawned, rubbing her eyes. ~It's so late...~ she thought, glancing at the clock. 11:49.
~I really should be getting to bed. But I just had to finish up studying. The big test is next week, and...~ She yawned again. ~On second thought, no use studying if you fall asleep during the test.~
She gathered up her papers and closed her book, when a shadow fell across her. "Huh?" She turned to see a demon standing behind her with a nasty grin on his face, arm raised to knock her out. The last thing she thought before she fell into unconsciousness was, ~What does this thing want with me?~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukina sat upright in her bed at Genkai's shrine. She had woken up and could not get back to sleep. ~Maybe some warm milk will help me sleep.~
She got up, intending to go to the fridge at the back of the shrine, but paused in midstep. A flash of black had run past her window, and she felt the signature of a youki, there and gone too quickly for her to identify. ~Hiei-san?~ But why was he moving so slowly? Was he hurt?
Concerned, she quickly threw on her kimono and went outside. "Hiei-san?" she voiced cautiously. "I-is that you?"
A sound made her whip her head around to see a large, ugly demon standing behind her. Another, to her left, approached as well. She turned to run back to the shrine but was stopped by a third demon, this one more human-looking, holding a piece of paper. Looking at it, she quailed, remembering the awful days spent in the captivity of Tarukane. But these markings were slightly different-
The demon stuck the paper on her, grinning.
~-They induce... sleep...~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shizuru woke up, feeling the tingling on the back of her neck that she usually associated with her spirit awareness. She lay still in the darkness, listening carefully. She could hear the sounds of snores coming from the room next to hers, which meant that it wasn't her brother sneaking a midnight snack. She reached outward with her spirit awareness. Two of them. In the kitchen.
Soundlessly she got up and picked up a baseball bat from beside the bedroom door for just such an emergency. She crept out of the room and down the hall. There. One of them was just inside the doorway. Closer... closer...
She burst inside, swinging the baseball bat and taking one of them out. He dropped without a sound. She turned quickly to deal with the other one but was stopped by a sweet-smelling pad pressed close to her face. ~Chloroform...~
Shizuru slumped against the wall as the demon woke his companion and slung the girl over his shoulder. They reached the front door and vanished into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, dear," Koenma said as he looked at the four reports. "This is bad. Very bad."
He called Botan into his office. "It looks like Vironem has made his move sooner than we expected," he told her grimly.
Botan nodded, all business now. "Who's been taken?"
"It's not just some ningens this time, Botan," he warned her. "Shizuru, Medra, Yukina and Keiko have been taken."
Botan gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth. "Not-"
"The very same."
"This is awful!" she cried, horrified. "We have to get them out of there before it's too late!"
"Yes, I know," he said. "Which is why I want you to go down there and spy for me. See if you can find where the captives are being held and then report back to me. I'll send Yusuke and the others to get them."
Botan nodded quickly. "I'll get right on it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yusuke woke up to the ringing of the phone. "Mom?" he said sleepily, then remembered that she had spent the night at a friend's house. Yawning, he got up and shuffled sleepily towards the phone.
"Moshi moshi..." he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Yusuke?" It was Keiko's mother, and she sounded distressed... like she had just been crying, and was trying to keep from doing so over the phone.
Yusuke woke up a bit more. "Yeah?"
"Is Keiko there?"
"No, she's not," Yusuke replied. "Why? What's going on?"
"We think... Keiko's..." Mrs. Yukimura was having trouble getting the words out. "Keiko's been... kidnapped."
"WHAT?!?!?!?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kuwabara rolled over and woke. Sunlight streamed through the window - a lot more sunlight than he was used to. ~What time is it?~ he wondered, glancing at his clock.
~8:27?!?!~
Panicking, he threw his clothes on and grabbed his books. "Why didn't you wake me up, sis?!?" he yelled to Shizuru.
No answer came.
Kuwabara paused in his frantic activity, listening. "Sis?"
Still nothing.
A quick search led him to discover that Shizuru was not in her room - nor, indeed, anywhere in the house. Everything else was there - all her clothes, food, even the car. Except that the baseball bat she kept beside her bedroom door was missing.
All the evidence led him to the obvious conclusion...
"Shizuru's been abducted by aliens!"
No, you moron, the other obvious conclusion.
"Oh. You mean..."
"SHIZURU'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!!!"
There you go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurama headed cheerfully towards Medra's house to see her before he went to school. This had become a daily routine for them - Kurama would talk to her for a few minutes before school, then come over after school for some tutoring. Her parents approved of him, although they thought that he was only helping her keep up in school. (Remember, she's homeschooled.) They were discussing getting her into the public school - if she went to the bathroom in between classes, she might be able to let her wings out long enough for her stay wingless until the end of the school day.
He reached the front door and was about to knock when he paused. Something wasn't right. He could smell the lingering scent of an unfamiliar youkai. And he couldn't hear Medra coming down to greet him. In fact, he heard... sobbing...
He burst inside. The sight that greeted his eyes only confirmed his suspicions. Mr. Tsunimayo was holding Mrs. Tsunimayo as she sobbed into his shirt. "What's happened? Where's Medra?" Kurama asked wildly.
"Gone..." sobbed her mother. "She's... gone..."
"We believe she's been kidnapped," said her father gravely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiei woke to the sun in his eyes and birds cheerfully singing. He jumped out of the tree that he had spent the night in, stretched, and prepared to use the Jagan to check on Yukina. It had become his morning routine to see her happy and smiling in Genkai's garden.
But this time, something was different. Instead of seeing his twin's face, he saw... a blue shield, thick and impenetrable. Frowning, he pushed harder, trying to break it.
A whirlwind of pain surrounded him, screaming faces and sobs, death, torture, and through it all the *pain*...
He sat back, shaken. Something was definitely not right.
As soon as he had recovered his breath, he sped off to Genkai's shrine. There, he saw the old hag standing in the front yard, as if waiting for him. "Where's-" he began.
"She's not here, you fool, and I suggest that if you want to find her, you'd better get to work quickly. They didn't leave many traces." she snapped. That tone didn't fool him, though - judging by her white knuckles and the strength with which she spoke, she was worried.
Hiei sped off to find his twin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All four of them met at a street corner. "What the heck are you doing here?" Yusuke snapped.
"I'm looking for my sister-" Kuwabara started, but was cut off. "Yukina's missing," said Hiei darkly. "Medra, as well," Kurama stated.
"Well, I'm looking for Keiko."
They stared at each other.
"This is beginning to seem like it's not a coincidence..." Kurama began slowly.
"Damn right it's not a coincidence."
They turned to see an image of Koenma appear in the sky above them. Luckily, there was no one else around.
"Hey! Do you know something, pacifier breath?!" Yusuke yelled at the young god. All his thoughts were on Keiko, and he was worried.
"Yes I do, and would you please stop calling me that," Koenma said, directing a glare at Yusuke. "Listen up."
"A long time ago, some demons worshipped an evil demi-god named Thalkarsh. Through sacrifices and strange rituals, his power grew, until he was feared throughout the Makai. But that wasn't enough for him."
"He tried to challenge my father, the ruler of Reikai. Naturally, Dad defeated him, and after he was done, he sealed Thalkarsh in a pocket dimension and killed all his worshippers. Since Thalkarsh gained his power through worship and sacrifice, we believed he was trapped."
"Recently, we have learned that one demon survived and made it through to the Ningenkai. He gathered a small following and attempted to break Thalkarsh's bonds, but was discovered by your government and killed in a cover-up attack. One of *his* followers survived and found out the correct method of raising Thalkarsh: one hundred human sacrifices."
"Over the years, he has slowly stolen and killed enough humans to make quite a stir - if they were stolen all at once. He prefers to take one from here, another from there, in no discernible pattern. Now, all that's needed is one more sacrifice."
"So why did he take all four?" Yusuke yelled.
Koenma bowed his head. "I have no idea."
"WHAT?!"
"I sent Botan down to retrieve information last night, but so far she hasn't returned. I am afraid she must have been kidnapped as well."
"This makes no sense," Hiei muttered. "If he only needs one, why take three ningens, an apparition, and a ferry girl?"
"You must get them back before before he sacrifices them," Koenma ordered. "If he does, Thalkarsh will rise - in the Ningenkai."
"So where is it?" Kuwabara asked, bringing up a good point.
"Downtown, near the old movie theater."
"Well, then-" Yusuke broke into a predatory smile. "Let's go."
They set off at run, hoping that it wasn't too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew! That was long. Hope I didn't confuse you too much with the changing viewpoints and all. ^_^; Oh, and I borrowed the name of the demon from Mercedes Lackey's book Oathbreakers. Well, read and review!
To my friend: You know who are. Happy 6-month anniversary.