Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z or Yu Yu Hakusho
An Undetermined Future
Chapter 1
New Champions Arrive
It was a cold day in early winter. There was a nice breeze and everything seemed perfect for this time of year. The Christmas season was at its peak. The streets were full of shoppers and the stores were trying to make as many sales as possible. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for the moment.
In a small part of the city Kuwabara Kazuma, now 20 years old, was walking down the street. The Spirit World had been pretty quiet lately and there hadn't been a case in months. He slowly looked up as snow fell from the sky. In the corner of his eye he saw two people appear on a roof of a building. He thought nothing of it until he felt a strong surge of spirit energy. He turned around and looked for the two figures. They had disappeared but the strange spirit energy remained. It was coming from the same roof; he was sure of it. "Better check this out" he thought to himself as he ran into the building and headed up the staircase to the roof.
When he got to the top, he slammed the door open and saw a boy, a girl and a huge dog in front of him. The dog had black fur and long fangs. The boy was tall with short black hair and gold eyes. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants and black shoes. The girl was a little shorter with long silver hair and deep red eyes. She was wearing the same outfit as the boy. The spirit energy the trio was emanating was amazing.
"They're demons alright," Kuwabara thought, "but I can handle them." Out loud he said, "I'm Kuwabara Kazuma and I'm an official first class spirit detective of the Spirit World." He took out a small badge with his name and picture on it that showed his position.
"Good. We finally found you," the boy said smiling. "You may not be that Urameshi guy but we could get a good price for your head. You're worth a lot dead you know."
"Not surprising. I'm sure tons of demons want me gone," Kuwabara replied. "I've put a whole lot of you out of business over the years." He smiled. "Now I'm sure you didn't come here to tell me my worth. So let's just get down to business, alright?"
The boy smiled in return. "Fine. A quick kill will be a nice change of pace. Then we can get on to bigger and better prey."
The boy charged at Kuwabara and threw a punch. Kuwabara dodged it but was hit across the face with the boy's other fist. Kuwabara grinned then punched the boy in the stomach, sending him across the roof. The boy got up and walked back. His smile was bigger. Kuwabara could see the boy's spirit energy now and felt this huge power increase.
"Not bad," Kuwabara thought, "but not good enough. This will end soon and I probably won't even break a sweat." As Kuwabara finished that thought, the boy vanished. He reappeared behind Kuwabara kicking him in the back of the head and causing him to almost fall over. Kuwabara turned around and caught the boy's next punch. He gave the boy a straight upper cut knocking him into the air before he fell on the roof.
"Come on. I know you can do better with that kind of power," Kuwabara said as he watched the boy get up.
"You're totally right about that," the boy replied as two rope-like things came out of his shirt sleeves. They wrapped themselves around Kuwabara's arms and lifted him up above the roof.
"What the.," Kuwabara sputtered in amazement as he was lifted a foot above the roof. The rope-like things began to tighten, tearing his shirt sleeves into shreds.
"Let's see how long it will take to cut your arms off," the boy said grinning a little as he made the ropes tighter.
"Time to end this," Kuwabara shouted. "Double Spirit Swords appear." Two red swords made out of his spirit energy formed in his hands. With a small movement of the swords, he cut the ropes and dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. "I can't die until I beat Urameshi, alright?" He pointed one of the swords at the boy's neck. "Now do you give up?"
"Oh man. I really underestimated you. I can't believe it," the boy said in a droning voice, hitting his head lightly. "What was I think not even using 10% of my power against the great Kuwabara."
"Well next time don't take me so lightly," Kuwabara said. "Now give up nicely so I can take you in. I've got more important stuff to do."
The boy smirked and snapped his fingers. "Idiot Portal open," he said. Suddenly a black hole appeared under Kuwabara's feet and swallowed him up.
.......
Kuwabara woke up to a blue sky dotted with huge, fluffy white clouds. "Man, I hate it when they open up those dimensional portals," he muttered. "I'm probably three blocks away and by the time I get back to the rooftop, he'll be gone." Kuwabara sat up and looked around. His mouth opened in amazement. "Wh.wh.where am I?," he stammered.
Kuwabara found himself sitting on a grass-covered hill. Below him was an enormous city that looked nothing like Tokyo. There were huge buildings and in the center of the city was a castle that looked like it was made of crystal. He slapped himself in the forehead and collapsed on the grass. "Man, I'm really screwed this time. It looks like that demon guy sent me halfway around the world. My sister's going to be really mad when I call her collect long distance." Suddenly, a new thought entered Kuwabara's mind and he gulped nervously. "Man, I hope I'm still on Earth." He stood up and brushed the dirt and grass from his clothes and hair. He looked around him, but there were no other signs of civilization except the strange town below. "Okay Kuwabara, you're not going to find out where you are standing here, so I guess the only thing to do is head down into that city." He stuck his hands in his pockets and started down the hill.
Kuwabara's nervousness subsided somewhat as he walked through the city but didn't entirely disappear. There were humans here, but he wasn't getting any signs of their spirit energy. He did feel other energies but they felt different from human and demon spirit energy.
When he was walking down the hill, he decided that the castle would be his destination, but as soon as he got to level ground, he lost sight of it among the other tall buildings. Confident that if he just kept walking toward the center of town he would find it, Kuwabara trudged on, certain the castle would appear at the end of the next block. However, the walk down the hill was longer than he thought and after several blocks, it was starting to get dark in the city, Kuwabara was exhausted and still no castle was in sight.
Finally, Kuwabara had to admit defeat. He was tired, thirsty and exhausted. Wherever this castle was, it would have to wait until the morning. Kuwabara sat down on the closest bench he could find and gave a sigh of relief. He checked his wallet to see how much money he had to live on. He was relieved to find some cash. It wasn't much, but it should be enough to get something to eat. Relaxing a little with his immediate concerns taken care of, he sat back to watch the passersbys as he rested.
The streets were busy. Everyone he saw was carrying some sort of bag or parcel. He remembered it was Christmas. "Well, at least this seems like a nice peaceful place," he thought. "It looks like they're getting ready for Christmas too." He decided to rest a few more minutes before looking for a place to eat. Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the area. People started screaming and running in all directions. Kuwabara stood up and looked around. He thought the explosion came from the center of the city, the same place where the crystal castle stood.
"Crap. Everyone back there, take cover," a man yelled.
Kuwabara ran over to the man and grabbed him by the arm. "What's going on?" he shouted. "Where'd that explosion come from?"
The man pulled Kuwabara's hand off his arm. "Where have you been? It's those demon humans who plan to change the world," he said. "They're attacking the Queen again."
"How far is the castle?" Kuwabara asked.
The man pointed toward the center of the city. "Staight ahead, six more blocks. But if you're smart, you stay away from there." The man pushed past Kuwabara and ran in the opposite direction.
"Looks like I found a someone who needs my help," Kuwabara said. "Don't worry little lady. Kuwabara Kazuma, Spirit Detective, is on his way." With that Kuwabara started running in the direction the man indicated.
He was closer than he thought. After more two blocks, Kuwabara entered what looked like an older section of the city. The buildings were smaller and no longer hid the towers of the mysterious castle. A few minutes later, Kuwabara reached the castle. There was a huge park-like area in front of the castle and Kuwabara could see three figures fighting in front of the gate. As he got closer, he could see two of the fighters were women. Their opponent was a man with short brown hair and a black energy sword that looked similar to Kuwabara's.
The man was shorter then Kuwabara. He had blue eyes and was wearing the same clothes as the demon boy he had fought earlier but Kuwabara sensed this guy was much stronger and he seemed a lot more skilled. The two women who were fighting him seemed to be wearing some kind of uniform but Kuwabara had never seen it before. One of the women had long blonde hair. The other woman had the same hair style except her hair was black.
The black-haired woman shouted "Mars Celestial Fire Surround." A fire seemed to attack the lone swordsman. He gave a little grin and with a wave of his free hand a huge gust of wind sprang up and knocked the attack back at her. The blonde-haired woman shouted "Venus Love Chain Encircle." Kuwabara watched in amazement as a chain suddenly burst from the woman's hand and headed toward the man. The swordsman laughed as he caught the chain and broke it with his hand. He gave an evil smile to the two women.
"Nice try little ladies but you can't stop me," the swordsman said. "This battle is pointless. Just give up. Oh, and don't bother to call your friends. I'll just kill them too." The swordsman's raise his weapon in front of him and pointed it at the women. "A new and glorious time is ahead of us. Too bad you won't be here to see it. The swordsman ran toward the women. He was so fast it was hard for Kuwabara to see what was happening. He heard the swordsman's shout "Flame Double Slash" as he reached the two women. The sword seemed to burst into flames. The swordsman made two quick slashes of his fiery weapon and as Kuwabara watched, the two women went flying through the air. The flames around the sword disappeared as quickly as they materialized. The swordsman turned around and laughed. "See, I told you your efforts were futile. Now prepare to die."
"Stop it," Kuwabara shouted. The swordsman turned to him. "Don't you know that it's wrong to beat up women? Now I, Kuwabara Kazuma, first class spirit detective will be your opponent. So you better get ready."
"What a foolish man you are," the swordsman said with a grin. "Why you don't even have a weapon." He shook a finger at Kuwabara. "You should not get involved in other people's business. It might just get you killed. Now mister hero man. leave or prepare to meet your maker."
Kuwabara took a fighting stance. "Why don't you stop with the big talk and just attack," he replied. "I'm really sick of you idiots telling me who I can and can't beat." Kuwabara grinned. "And don't worry about the weapon. I never go anywhere without it." Kuwabara raised his right hand and shouted "Spirit Sword." A flaming red sword formed in his hands. A movement behind the swordsman caught Kuwabara's eye. The black-haired woman was slowly starting to get up.
"Hey, you were fighting us. Just leave him out of this," the black-haired woman gasped.
The swordsman turned half way to see her. "Stupid woman. Just stay down," the swordsman said. Then he shouted "Wind Slash" as he made a diagonal slash through the air with his sword. A strong gust of wind flew from the sword's arc and knocked the woman back down in a crumpled heap.
Kuwabara took this time to launch his own attack. He raced toward his opponent and slashed at him with his sword. The swordsman blocked Kuwabara's attack with his own sword. Kuwabara and the swordsman traded several more blows but neither one was able to land a hit. Suddenly the swordsman lunged at Kuwabara. As Kuwabara jumped out the of way, the swordsman raised his left hand. A strong gust of wind flew toward Kuwabara, lifting him into the air and sending him flying into a tree. As Kuwabara slid to the ground, the swordsman laughed. "That was easier then I thought," he said.
Kuwabara jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "Hey, you're nowhere near done," he said. "I'm just warming up.You just caught me off guard there but it won't happen again." Kuwabara put his sword straight in front of him and charged at the swordsman. "Now you'll see what I can do," he shouted.
The swordsman raised his weapon again. "Well bring it on," he replied as he ran toward Kuwabara. The two fighters both took a slash at each other and stepped back. The swordsman looked down and saw a cut in his shirt. "He's better then I thought," he said to himself.
"Man, I haven't had a fight like this in a long time" Kuwabara thought. His cheek stung and when Kuwabara wiped it with his hand, he saw he was bleeding. "I better take this more seriously or it's over."
The swordsman faced Kuwabara. He wasn't smiling anymore. "No more playing around," he said. "You have proven yourself worthy enough to see some of my advanced techniques. How about my "Flame Double Slash", the same one I used against the great Sailor Scouts." He then ran at Kuwabara, flames suddenly covering in his sword.
Kuwabara put both hands in front of him and braced himself. "Double Spirit Swords," he shouted. A second sword appeared out of Kuwabara's left hand. As the swordsman attacked, Kuwabara's swords blocked his double blows. The force of the attack threw both fighters backwards away from each other. "Now it's my turn," Kuwabara shouted. He raced toward the swordsman and started slashing with his swords. He kept hacking away at his opponent, only to have the swordsman block his blows over and over again. Kuwabara looked for an opening and when he was close enough to his opponent, he made one of his Spirit Swords vanish and punched the swordsman in the stomach with his free hand. Kuwabara hit him in the stomach again before getting a good shot to the swordsman's face. The force of the blow pushed the swordsman backward, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, but he was quickly on his feet again. When he faced Kuwabara, the swordsman was grinning again but there was blood dripping from his lip.
"You really do pack a punch," the swordsman said lightly as he wiped the blood from his face. "But you'll need more than that to beat me. Now for my next technique, The Invisible Wind Slash."
"Just shut up and fight me," Kuwabara shouted as he lifted his arm to strike. As Kuwabara moved closer, he watched his opponent slash the sword at him. Kuwabara ignored the blow as the swordsman was too far away to strike him. Suddenly, Kuwabara felt a burst of strong wind hit him in the chest. Ajolt of pain went through him and he staggered backwards. When he looked down, his shirt was covered with holes and his chest was covered with bruises. Reeling from the pain, Kuwabara fell to his knees and mumbled "Spirit Sword extend." Kuwabara's sword lengthened instantly and struck the swordsman in the leg. Screaming in pain, the swordsman fell to one knee and dropped his sword as his pants leg seemed to become completely red.
The swordsman staggered to his feet and looked down at his leg. He looked at Kuwabara again, his face was contorted with rage. "You did this?" he said angrily. "How did a low level fighter like you do this?" He bent over and picked up his sword. He began to rise slowing into the air. "This ends now. I will not let you live. Prepare for death." The swordsman was about 20 feet into the air when he stopped.
Sweat formed on Kuwabara's forehead. "He can fly," Kuwabara said to himself. "That totally gives him the upper hand."
"Now we'll see who the best fighter is," the swordsman said as he put the sword over this head. "Super Invisible Wind Slash," he shouted. With that, he slashed the sword down. A huge blast of air flew from the sword. As it touched the ground, the area it struck began explode sending dirt and rocks into the air.
"Oh crap," Kuwabara shouted as he jumped out of the way and started to run.
The swordsman laughed. "What? Out of tricks already. Well, just stand still. It won't hurt for long," he shouted as he repeated his attack almost hitting Kuwabara again.
"I can't just keep running," Kuwabara said as he stopped and faced the swordsman. He was covered in dirt and he had new cuts and bruises where he had been struck the rocks and dirt. The wounds from the swordsman's first attack were bleeding now and the pain in Kuwabara's ribs was almost unbearable. "What can I do?" Kuwabara thought desperately. "How can I fight some guy who won't stay on the ground". Everything was looking hopeless when he heard someone yell "Venus Crescent Beam." A golden beam hit the swordsman and he cried out in pain. Kuwabara looked to see where the attack came from. It was coming from the blonde-haired woman who was back on her feet. The beam stopped. The woman collapsed on her hands and knees but she kept her eyes on the floating swordsman.
"You should have stayed down woman," the swordsman shouted angrily. "I might have let you live, but not anymore." The swordsman sent four slashes at her. She managed to dodge the first three but the fourth hit her, sending her flying back and landing near the top of the castle's staircase. The swordsman grinned. "Now to end this."
Kuwabara was barely able to stand, but he had to make his move now. "Second Spirit Sword," he said and a sword appeared in his left hand. He had use most of his energy all ready, but he still had to use more to pull over his attack. As he moved second sword into position, he heard someone shout "Mars Firebird Strike." Kuwabara looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the black-haired woman was on her feet again. A flame in the shape of a bird appeared over the woman's head.
"What? I thought you were dead," the swordsman shouted.
"Now's my chance," Kuwabara thought. "Spirit sword one extend," he said pushing his second sword into the ground. As the sword lengthened, Kuwabara was lifted into the air.
At the sound of Kuwabara's voice, the swordman's looked down in his direction. "Blast it. Not you too." Just then the black-haired woman's attack hit the swordsman's back and he coughed out some blood.
Kuwabara finally reached his opponent. "Now you'll pay," he shouted as he slashed his first sword at the swordsman.
The Spirit Sword cut into the top of the swordsman's shoulder but the fighter managed to stop the blade with his hand. As Kuwabara let his second Spirit Sword disappear, he hurled himself at his opponent, grabbing him by the shirt. The impact of Kuwabara's body knocked the swordsman's weapon out of his hand and as it flew through the air, the blade disappeared. As the two fighters fell to the ground, Kuwabara released his first Spirit Sword and punched his opponent in the face. Kuwabara felt himself slowly suddenly. The swordsman had gained of their flight. Kuwabara kept up the blows, rapidly punching the swordsman across the face over and over again. Suddenly Kuwabara hit the ground with a thud. The jolt loosened his grip on the swordsman's shirt. The swordsman pushed Kuwabara and he fell backwards hitting the staircase. Neither fighter moved. They just stared at each other, saying nothing. Both of them were breathing hard and dripping blood.
"Next time you won't be so lucky," the swordsman said as he picked up the sword handle and vanished. Kuwabara started to go up the stairs but after two steps he passed out.
.......
In an icy barren waste miles from the city, a tall man appears out of nowhere. He had messy black hair and he was wearing a red uniform. He had an unconscious man draped over his shoulder. The unconscious man had uncombed brown hair and he appeared to be dressed all in black. The edge of a holster could be seen at his waist.
The tall man scanned the sky as if searching for something. His face had cuts and bruises. Suddenly he stopped and looked to the right. He shifted the unconscious man on his shoulder and tightened his hold. "Well, looks like we're got lucky. I can sense people over in that direction. I just hope this world as a hospital of some sort." The tall man grinned and patted his lifeless companion on the back with his free hand . "Don't you die on me. You owe me another all out battle," he said. With that, the man rose into the air and flew off.
..........
A couple of hours later, Kuwabara woke up in a place that looked like a hospital. There were bright lights and tons of different kinds of machinery. He sat up. There was no one in the room but he knew someone had been there because he was all bandaged up. He was about to get out of the bed when a small woman entered the room. She had short blue hair and Kuwabara knew she was the doctor because of the white coat she was wearing.
"You woke up much sooner then I thought you would," the blue-haired woman said smiling. "And that's not the only surprise you've given me today. From what I was told of the fight, your wounds should have been much worse." Suddenly she looked flustered. "Oh where are my manners. Here I'm babbling on and I haven't introduced myself. I'm Dr. Ami Mizuno."
Kuwabara blushed at the compliments. "Well I'm pretty tough," he replied. "I've been through worse fights than then that. Oh and I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, first class spirit detective."
"So Mister Kazuma where're you from," Ami asked.
"Umm, just call me Kuwabara, okay," Kuwabara said. He looked embarrassed. "Ahhh, well let's just say I'm not from around here. In fact, I'm from so far away you've probably never heard of the place. Ah, I'm just here for, ah, a visit." He smiled. "Yeah, that's it. I'm here for a visit and I wanted to see the palace and well, I heard an explosion and the next thing I know I'm fighting some sword-wielding, flying guy."
"Wow, sounds like you've been through a lot today," Ami replied.
"Well, let's just say this wasn't my first fight. Fighting is part of my business and compared to some of my other battles, this was a walk in the park," Kuwabara replied. Suddenly an alarm went off. Kuwabara looked around excitely. "What's that? Are we under attack again?" The doctor went over to the computer and pressed so button.
"Relax, Mr. Kuwabara. We're not under attack, at least not yet." The doctor looked away from Kuwabara so she didn't look in his eyes. "There seems to be some kind of unidentified power heading toward our main hospital," she said, "and I'm not sure if it's friendly or not." She smiled. "I guess you're not the only one having an unusual day, but when you work at Crystal Palace, the unusual is, well., to be expected. I'm really sorry but I have to deal with this. Why don't you get back into bed and I'll check on you later." After Kuwabara got back under the sheets, the doctor hurried out of his room..
"Crystal Palace. Man, where did that demon guy send me. Well, I'm not going to get any answers lying around here and it looks like that hospital needs the help of Kuwabara Kazuma, first class spirit detective." With that, Kuwabara slowly and painfully forced himself up, got dressed and left his room. When Ami came back all she found was an empty bed. She went to inform the others.
An Undetermined Future
Chapter 1
New Champions Arrive
It was a cold day in early winter. There was a nice breeze and everything seemed perfect for this time of year. The Christmas season was at its peak. The streets were full of shoppers and the stores were trying to make as many sales as possible. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for the moment.
In a small part of the city Kuwabara Kazuma, now 20 years old, was walking down the street. The Spirit World had been pretty quiet lately and there hadn't been a case in months. He slowly looked up as snow fell from the sky. In the corner of his eye he saw two people appear on a roof of a building. He thought nothing of it until he felt a strong surge of spirit energy. He turned around and looked for the two figures. They had disappeared but the strange spirit energy remained. It was coming from the same roof; he was sure of it. "Better check this out" he thought to himself as he ran into the building and headed up the staircase to the roof.
When he got to the top, he slammed the door open and saw a boy, a girl and a huge dog in front of him. The dog had black fur and long fangs. The boy was tall with short black hair and gold eyes. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants and black shoes. The girl was a little shorter with long silver hair and deep red eyes. She was wearing the same outfit as the boy. The spirit energy the trio was emanating was amazing.
"They're demons alright," Kuwabara thought, "but I can handle them." Out loud he said, "I'm Kuwabara Kazuma and I'm an official first class spirit detective of the Spirit World." He took out a small badge with his name and picture on it that showed his position.
"Good. We finally found you," the boy said smiling. "You may not be that Urameshi guy but we could get a good price for your head. You're worth a lot dead you know."
"Not surprising. I'm sure tons of demons want me gone," Kuwabara replied. "I've put a whole lot of you out of business over the years." He smiled. "Now I'm sure you didn't come here to tell me my worth. So let's just get down to business, alright?"
The boy smiled in return. "Fine. A quick kill will be a nice change of pace. Then we can get on to bigger and better prey."
The boy charged at Kuwabara and threw a punch. Kuwabara dodged it but was hit across the face with the boy's other fist. Kuwabara grinned then punched the boy in the stomach, sending him across the roof. The boy got up and walked back. His smile was bigger. Kuwabara could see the boy's spirit energy now and felt this huge power increase.
"Not bad," Kuwabara thought, "but not good enough. This will end soon and I probably won't even break a sweat." As Kuwabara finished that thought, the boy vanished. He reappeared behind Kuwabara kicking him in the back of the head and causing him to almost fall over. Kuwabara turned around and caught the boy's next punch. He gave the boy a straight upper cut knocking him into the air before he fell on the roof.
"Come on. I know you can do better with that kind of power," Kuwabara said as he watched the boy get up.
"You're totally right about that," the boy replied as two rope-like things came out of his shirt sleeves. They wrapped themselves around Kuwabara's arms and lifted him up above the roof.
"What the.," Kuwabara sputtered in amazement as he was lifted a foot above the roof. The rope-like things began to tighten, tearing his shirt sleeves into shreds.
"Let's see how long it will take to cut your arms off," the boy said grinning a little as he made the ropes tighter.
"Time to end this," Kuwabara shouted. "Double Spirit Swords appear." Two red swords made out of his spirit energy formed in his hands. With a small movement of the swords, he cut the ropes and dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. "I can't die until I beat Urameshi, alright?" He pointed one of the swords at the boy's neck. "Now do you give up?"
"Oh man. I really underestimated you. I can't believe it," the boy said in a droning voice, hitting his head lightly. "What was I think not even using 10% of my power against the great Kuwabara."
"Well next time don't take me so lightly," Kuwabara said. "Now give up nicely so I can take you in. I've got more important stuff to do."
The boy smirked and snapped his fingers. "Idiot Portal open," he said. Suddenly a black hole appeared under Kuwabara's feet and swallowed him up.
.......
Kuwabara woke up to a blue sky dotted with huge, fluffy white clouds. "Man, I hate it when they open up those dimensional portals," he muttered. "I'm probably three blocks away and by the time I get back to the rooftop, he'll be gone." Kuwabara sat up and looked around. His mouth opened in amazement. "Wh.wh.where am I?," he stammered.
Kuwabara found himself sitting on a grass-covered hill. Below him was an enormous city that looked nothing like Tokyo. There were huge buildings and in the center of the city was a castle that looked like it was made of crystal. He slapped himself in the forehead and collapsed on the grass. "Man, I'm really screwed this time. It looks like that demon guy sent me halfway around the world. My sister's going to be really mad when I call her collect long distance." Suddenly, a new thought entered Kuwabara's mind and he gulped nervously. "Man, I hope I'm still on Earth." He stood up and brushed the dirt and grass from his clothes and hair. He looked around him, but there were no other signs of civilization except the strange town below. "Okay Kuwabara, you're not going to find out where you are standing here, so I guess the only thing to do is head down into that city." He stuck his hands in his pockets and started down the hill.
Kuwabara's nervousness subsided somewhat as he walked through the city but didn't entirely disappear. There were humans here, but he wasn't getting any signs of their spirit energy. He did feel other energies but they felt different from human and demon spirit energy.
When he was walking down the hill, he decided that the castle would be his destination, but as soon as he got to level ground, he lost sight of it among the other tall buildings. Confident that if he just kept walking toward the center of town he would find it, Kuwabara trudged on, certain the castle would appear at the end of the next block. However, the walk down the hill was longer than he thought and after several blocks, it was starting to get dark in the city, Kuwabara was exhausted and still no castle was in sight.
Finally, Kuwabara had to admit defeat. He was tired, thirsty and exhausted. Wherever this castle was, it would have to wait until the morning. Kuwabara sat down on the closest bench he could find and gave a sigh of relief. He checked his wallet to see how much money he had to live on. He was relieved to find some cash. It wasn't much, but it should be enough to get something to eat. Relaxing a little with his immediate concerns taken care of, he sat back to watch the passersbys as he rested.
The streets were busy. Everyone he saw was carrying some sort of bag or parcel. He remembered it was Christmas. "Well, at least this seems like a nice peaceful place," he thought. "It looks like they're getting ready for Christmas too." He decided to rest a few more minutes before looking for a place to eat. Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the area. People started screaming and running in all directions. Kuwabara stood up and looked around. He thought the explosion came from the center of the city, the same place where the crystal castle stood.
"Crap. Everyone back there, take cover," a man yelled.
Kuwabara ran over to the man and grabbed him by the arm. "What's going on?" he shouted. "Where'd that explosion come from?"
The man pulled Kuwabara's hand off his arm. "Where have you been? It's those demon humans who plan to change the world," he said. "They're attacking the Queen again."
"How far is the castle?" Kuwabara asked.
The man pointed toward the center of the city. "Staight ahead, six more blocks. But if you're smart, you stay away from there." The man pushed past Kuwabara and ran in the opposite direction.
"Looks like I found a someone who needs my help," Kuwabara said. "Don't worry little lady. Kuwabara Kazuma, Spirit Detective, is on his way." With that Kuwabara started running in the direction the man indicated.
He was closer than he thought. After more two blocks, Kuwabara entered what looked like an older section of the city. The buildings were smaller and no longer hid the towers of the mysterious castle. A few minutes later, Kuwabara reached the castle. There was a huge park-like area in front of the castle and Kuwabara could see three figures fighting in front of the gate. As he got closer, he could see two of the fighters were women. Their opponent was a man with short brown hair and a black energy sword that looked similar to Kuwabara's.
The man was shorter then Kuwabara. He had blue eyes and was wearing the same clothes as the demon boy he had fought earlier but Kuwabara sensed this guy was much stronger and he seemed a lot more skilled. The two women who were fighting him seemed to be wearing some kind of uniform but Kuwabara had never seen it before. One of the women had long blonde hair. The other woman had the same hair style except her hair was black.
The black-haired woman shouted "Mars Celestial Fire Surround." A fire seemed to attack the lone swordsman. He gave a little grin and with a wave of his free hand a huge gust of wind sprang up and knocked the attack back at her. The blonde-haired woman shouted "Venus Love Chain Encircle." Kuwabara watched in amazement as a chain suddenly burst from the woman's hand and headed toward the man. The swordsman laughed as he caught the chain and broke it with his hand. He gave an evil smile to the two women.
"Nice try little ladies but you can't stop me," the swordsman said. "This battle is pointless. Just give up. Oh, and don't bother to call your friends. I'll just kill them too." The swordsman's raise his weapon in front of him and pointed it at the women. "A new and glorious time is ahead of us. Too bad you won't be here to see it. The swordsman ran toward the women. He was so fast it was hard for Kuwabara to see what was happening. He heard the swordsman's shout "Flame Double Slash" as he reached the two women. The sword seemed to burst into flames. The swordsman made two quick slashes of his fiery weapon and as Kuwabara watched, the two women went flying through the air. The flames around the sword disappeared as quickly as they materialized. The swordsman turned around and laughed. "See, I told you your efforts were futile. Now prepare to die."
"Stop it," Kuwabara shouted. The swordsman turned to him. "Don't you know that it's wrong to beat up women? Now I, Kuwabara Kazuma, first class spirit detective will be your opponent. So you better get ready."
"What a foolish man you are," the swordsman said with a grin. "Why you don't even have a weapon." He shook a finger at Kuwabara. "You should not get involved in other people's business. It might just get you killed. Now mister hero man. leave or prepare to meet your maker."
Kuwabara took a fighting stance. "Why don't you stop with the big talk and just attack," he replied. "I'm really sick of you idiots telling me who I can and can't beat." Kuwabara grinned. "And don't worry about the weapon. I never go anywhere without it." Kuwabara raised his right hand and shouted "Spirit Sword." A flaming red sword formed in his hands. A movement behind the swordsman caught Kuwabara's eye. The black-haired woman was slowly starting to get up.
"Hey, you were fighting us. Just leave him out of this," the black-haired woman gasped.
The swordsman turned half way to see her. "Stupid woman. Just stay down," the swordsman said. Then he shouted "Wind Slash" as he made a diagonal slash through the air with his sword. A strong gust of wind flew from the sword's arc and knocked the woman back down in a crumpled heap.
Kuwabara took this time to launch his own attack. He raced toward his opponent and slashed at him with his sword. The swordsman blocked Kuwabara's attack with his own sword. Kuwabara and the swordsman traded several more blows but neither one was able to land a hit. Suddenly the swordsman lunged at Kuwabara. As Kuwabara jumped out the of way, the swordsman raised his left hand. A strong gust of wind flew toward Kuwabara, lifting him into the air and sending him flying into a tree. As Kuwabara slid to the ground, the swordsman laughed. "That was easier then I thought," he said.
Kuwabara jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "Hey, you're nowhere near done," he said. "I'm just warming up.You just caught me off guard there but it won't happen again." Kuwabara put his sword straight in front of him and charged at the swordsman. "Now you'll see what I can do," he shouted.
The swordsman raised his weapon again. "Well bring it on," he replied as he ran toward Kuwabara. The two fighters both took a slash at each other and stepped back. The swordsman looked down and saw a cut in his shirt. "He's better then I thought," he said to himself.
"Man, I haven't had a fight like this in a long time" Kuwabara thought. His cheek stung and when Kuwabara wiped it with his hand, he saw he was bleeding. "I better take this more seriously or it's over."
The swordsman faced Kuwabara. He wasn't smiling anymore. "No more playing around," he said. "You have proven yourself worthy enough to see some of my advanced techniques. How about my "Flame Double Slash", the same one I used against the great Sailor Scouts." He then ran at Kuwabara, flames suddenly covering in his sword.
Kuwabara put both hands in front of him and braced himself. "Double Spirit Swords," he shouted. A second sword appeared out of Kuwabara's left hand. As the swordsman attacked, Kuwabara's swords blocked his double blows. The force of the attack threw both fighters backwards away from each other. "Now it's my turn," Kuwabara shouted. He raced toward the swordsman and started slashing with his swords. He kept hacking away at his opponent, only to have the swordsman block his blows over and over again. Kuwabara looked for an opening and when he was close enough to his opponent, he made one of his Spirit Swords vanish and punched the swordsman in the stomach with his free hand. Kuwabara hit him in the stomach again before getting a good shot to the swordsman's face. The force of the blow pushed the swordsman backward, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, but he was quickly on his feet again. When he faced Kuwabara, the swordsman was grinning again but there was blood dripping from his lip.
"You really do pack a punch," the swordsman said lightly as he wiped the blood from his face. "But you'll need more than that to beat me. Now for my next technique, The Invisible Wind Slash."
"Just shut up and fight me," Kuwabara shouted as he lifted his arm to strike. As Kuwabara moved closer, he watched his opponent slash the sword at him. Kuwabara ignored the blow as the swordsman was too far away to strike him. Suddenly, Kuwabara felt a burst of strong wind hit him in the chest. Ajolt of pain went through him and he staggered backwards. When he looked down, his shirt was covered with holes and his chest was covered with bruises. Reeling from the pain, Kuwabara fell to his knees and mumbled "Spirit Sword extend." Kuwabara's sword lengthened instantly and struck the swordsman in the leg. Screaming in pain, the swordsman fell to one knee and dropped his sword as his pants leg seemed to become completely red.
The swordsman staggered to his feet and looked down at his leg. He looked at Kuwabara again, his face was contorted with rage. "You did this?" he said angrily. "How did a low level fighter like you do this?" He bent over and picked up his sword. He began to rise slowing into the air. "This ends now. I will not let you live. Prepare for death." The swordsman was about 20 feet into the air when he stopped.
Sweat formed on Kuwabara's forehead. "He can fly," Kuwabara said to himself. "That totally gives him the upper hand."
"Now we'll see who the best fighter is," the swordsman said as he put the sword over this head. "Super Invisible Wind Slash," he shouted. With that, he slashed the sword down. A huge blast of air flew from the sword. As it touched the ground, the area it struck began explode sending dirt and rocks into the air.
"Oh crap," Kuwabara shouted as he jumped out of the way and started to run.
The swordsman laughed. "What? Out of tricks already. Well, just stand still. It won't hurt for long," he shouted as he repeated his attack almost hitting Kuwabara again.
"I can't just keep running," Kuwabara said as he stopped and faced the swordsman. He was covered in dirt and he had new cuts and bruises where he had been struck the rocks and dirt. The wounds from the swordsman's first attack were bleeding now and the pain in Kuwabara's ribs was almost unbearable. "What can I do?" Kuwabara thought desperately. "How can I fight some guy who won't stay on the ground". Everything was looking hopeless when he heard someone yell "Venus Crescent Beam." A golden beam hit the swordsman and he cried out in pain. Kuwabara looked to see where the attack came from. It was coming from the blonde-haired woman who was back on her feet. The beam stopped. The woman collapsed on her hands and knees but she kept her eyes on the floating swordsman.
"You should have stayed down woman," the swordsman shouted angrily. "I might have let you live, but not anymore." The swordsman sent four slashes at her. She managed to dodge the first three but the fourth hit her, sending her flying back and landing near the top of the castle's staircase. The swordsman grinned. "Now to end this."
Kuwabara was barely able to stand, but he had to make his move now. "Second Spirit Sword," he said and a sword appeared in his left hand. He had use most of his energy all ready, but he still had to use more to pull over his attack. As he moved second sword into position, he heard someone shout "Mars Firebird Strike." Kuwabara looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the black-haired woman was on her feet again. A flame in the shape of a bird appeared over the woman's head.
"What? I thought you were dead," the swordsman shouted.
"Now's my chance," Kuwabara thought. "Spirit sword one extend," he said pushing his second sword into the ground. As the sword lengthened, Kuwabara was lifted into the air.
At the sound of Kuwabara's voice, the swordman's looked down in his direction. "Blast it. Not you too." Just then the black-haired woman's attack hit the swordsman's back and he coughed out some blood.
Kuwabara finally reached his opponent. "Now you'll pay," he shouted as he slashed his first sword at the swordsman.
The Spirit Sword cut into the top of the swordsman's shoulder but the fighter managed to stop the blade with his hand. As Kuwabara let his second Spirit Sword disappear, he hurled himself at his opponent, grabbing him by the shirt. The impact of Kuwabara's body knocked the swordsman's weapon out of his hand and as it flew through the air, the blade disappeared. As the two fighters fell to the ground, Kuwabara released his first Spirit Sword and punched his opponent in the face. Kuwabara felt himself slowly suddenly. The swordsman had gained of their flight. Kuwabara kept up the blows, rapidly punching the swordsman across the face over and over again. Suddenly Kuwabara hit the ground with a thud. The jolt loosened his grip on the swordsman's shirt. The swordsman pushed Kuwabara and he fell backwards hitting the staircase. Neither fighter moved. They just stared at each other, saying nothing. Both of them were breathing hard and dripping blood.
"Next time you won't be so lucky," the swordsman said as he picked up the sword handle and vanished. Kuwabara started to go up the stairs but after two steps he passed out.
.......
In an icy barren waste miles from the city, a tall man appears out of nowhere. He had messy black hair and he was wearing a red uniform. He had an unconscious man draped over his shoulder. The unconscious man had uncombed brown hair and he appeared to be dressed all in black. The edge of a holster could be seen at his waist.
The tall man scanned the sky as if searching for something. His face had cuts and bruises. Suddenly he stopped and looked to the right. He shifted the unconscious man on his shoulder and tightened his hold. "Well, looks like we're got lucky. I can sense people over in that direction. I just hope this world as a hospital of some sort." The tall man grinned and patted his lifeless companion on the back with his free hand . "Don't you die on me. You owe me another all out battle," he said. With that, the man rose into the air and flew off.
..........
A couple of hours later, Kuwabara woke up in a place that looked like a hospital. There were bright lights and tons of different kinds of machinery. He sat up. There was no one in the room but he knew someone had been there because he was all bandaged up. He was about to get out of the bed when a small woman entered the room. She had short blue hair and Kuwabara knew she was the doctor because of the white coat she was wearing.
"You woke up much sooner then I thought you would," the blue-haired woman said smiling. "And that's not the only surprise you've given me today. From what I was told of the fight, your wounds should have been much worse." Suddenly she looked flustered. "Oh where are my manners. Here I'm babbling on and I haven't introduced myself. I'm Dr. Ami Mizuno."
Kuwabara blushed at the compliments. "Well I'm pretty tough," he replied. "I've been through worse fights than then that. Oh and I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, first class spirit detective."
"So Mister Kazuma where're you from," Ami asked.
"Umm, just call me Kuwabara, okay," Kuwabara said. He looked embarrassed. "Ahhh, well let's just say I'm not from around here. In fact, I'm from so far away you've probably never heard of the place. Ah, I'm just here for, ah, a visit." He smiled. "Yeah, that's it. I'm here for a visit and I wanted to see the palace and well, I heard an explosion and the next thing I know I'm fighting some sword-wielding, flying guy."
"Wow, sounds like you've been through a lot today," Ami replied.
"Well, let's just say this wasn't my first fight. Fighting is part of my business and compared to some of my other battles, this was a walk in the park," Kuwabara replied. Suddenly an alarm went off. Kuwabara looked around excitely. "What's that? Are we under attack again?" The doctor went over to the computer and pressed so button.
"Relax, Mr. Kuwabara. We're not under attack, at least not yet." The doctor looked away from Kuwabara so she didn't look in his eyes. "There seems to be some kind of unidentified power heading toward our main hospital," she said, "and I'm not sure if it's friendly or not." She smiled. "I guess you're not the only one having an unusual day, but when you work at Crystal Palace, the unusual is, well., to be expected. I'm really sorry but I have to deal with this. Why don't you get back into bed and I'll check on you later." After Kuwabara got back under the sheets, the doctor hurried out of his room..
"Crystal Palace. Man, where did that demon guy send me. Well, I'm not going to get any answers lying around here and it looks like that hospital needs the help of Kuwabara Kazuma, first class spirit detective." With that, Kuwabara slowly and painfully forced himself up, got dressed and left his room. When Ami came back all she found was an empty bed. She went to inform the others.