~High Voltage~
. . .
Chapter Three: The
Hunt...The Game
. . .
Yusuke stared at the demon
compass, completely bewildered. It had been going nuts a few seconds ago, and
now all of a sudden the arrow was pointing north-east as if nothing had
happened.
"I don't get it," he
said to nobody in particular. "Is it working or not?"
"What are you mumbling
about, Urameshi?" Kuwabara
wondered.
"This stupid demon compass
doesn't work," Yusuke replied. He was about to toss it away when he heard
something--a voice, in his head:
'I wouldn't say that,' it said.
"What? ...You know, maybe
it's just my imagination but I could have sworn I just heard something."
He shook his head as the others gave him strange looks.
'How about
it? You up to a little game, Yusuke?'
"How do you know my
name?" Yusuke yelled, looking around frantically for the source of the
voice. The others stopped and turned to watch him.
'You're
not going to find me that way.'
"Ah! I heard it too!"
Kuwabara cried out. He looked at Kurama
and Hiei. "Did you guys hear that?"
"Yes," Kurama answered.
'I'll
make it easier for you. ...Use your little toy...if you're sure you really want
to find what you're looking for, that is.'
"Boy, that's kinda creepy," Kuwabara
remarked.
"Oh, I bet we're supposed
to be scared, huh?" Yusuke yelled again, though he really had no idea to
whom he was yelling at, or where for that matter. "Well, we're coming for
you!" He waited a few minutes, but there was no reply.
"Well, now we know that
the Shadow is telepathic," Botan observed.
"But we may want to be extra careful. The Shadow knows we're coming for
him, and he's going to be waiting for us. We'll most likely be walking right
into a trap."
"Ah, he's not so
scary!" Kuwabara said. "He sounds like a
sissy! I bet he's just trying to scare us off 'cause he knows we're a lot
stronger than him!"
"I don't think so," Kurama disagreed. "While that is a possibility, I
don't believe we should underestimate this 'Shadow' character. Botan has a good point; from what we've heard about him, he
could very well be leading us into a trap."
"Well, what does it
matter?" Yusuke shrugged. "He's just making our job that much easier.
He'll lead us to him, so now all we have to do is get him to come with
us."
"You think that's going to
be easy?" Hiei eyed him. "What makes you
believe that this 'Shadow' character is going to come quietly?"
"He will if he knows
what's good for him," Kuwabara answered.
"Nobody wants to mess with Kazuma Kuwabara, 'cause they know they'll get beat up!"
"Would you care to test
that theory?"
"Shut up, Shrimp, or I'll
hit you so hard it--it'll hurt so bad, it'll hurt...really bad!"
"Man, Kuwabara,
is that the best you could come up with?" Yusuke stared at Kuwabara, holding back a laugh. "That's really
pathetic."
"I have to concur, it is
rather sad," Kurama agreed.
"What do you guys know
anyway?" Kuwabara mumbled.
"All right boys, shouldn't
we be looking for the Shadow?" Botan
interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah," Kuwabara shifted the bag in his arms. "It'd be a heck
of a lot easier to carry this thing if it had straps..."
They continued the long walk
through the forest, following the direction of the demon compass Yusuke was
carrying, knowing that they would be walking into a trap but realizing that
they had no other choice.
. . .
The Shadow laughed silently as
it leaped from tree limb to tree limb, leading the Spirit Detective and his
friends deeper and deeper into the forest, having some fun with them. The
Shadow never liked killing its victims immediately. Actually the honest truth
was, the Shadow didn't enjoy killing at all. Being responsibe for the end of one's life was not something that
most were proud of, and on top of that killing was often rather messy. But
there was no other choice--when somebody was tracking down the Shadow, there
was nothing else to be done but kill.
But this Spirit Detective,
Yusuke Urameshi, he was different. The Shadow had
heard many things about him, and had also watched him fight in the Dark
Tournament. He posessed an incredible power--nothing
like the Shadow, but he would make a worthy opponent nonetheless. The Shadow
had decided not to kill Yusuke Urameshi from the
shadows right away, like it usually did with any other imbecile who was fool
enough to come searching for it. Instead, the Shadow was going to fight the
Spirit Detective; to see just how tough this kid really was, to satisfy a curiousity, and to answer the
one nagging question: "Can he beat me?"
The Shadow was pretty certain
it already knew the answer to this question, but still...it had never fought
anyone quite like this kid. He was very unique. The Shadow could understand why
every demon in Spirit World wanted a piece of him.
The Shadow landed on a tree
limb and paused, making sure that Yusuke Urameshi and
his friends were still following. They were, and now they were approximately
three miles away. Now to find the perfect spot to do battle...
. . .
"We've been walking around
for hours," Yusuke announced. "I bet this guy is just having fun with
us all because he knows where we are and we have no idea where he is. This is
so stupid!"
"Now don't get angry,
Yusuke," Botan said, still with a cheerful
attitude. "I'm sure we can't be too far from the Shadow now."
"She's right," Kurama said. "We're getting closer. The Shadow is
leading us into the deepest part of the forest; probably to a spot suitable for
a fight to take place."
'I see you're a smart one, Kurama.'
They all stopped as they heard
the Shadow's voice inside their heads again. Yusuke clenched his fists.
"You know, you're really
starting to tick me off! When I find you, I'll--" He stopped, suddenly
remembering that they weren't supposed to kill the Shadow.
'Wexa,' the Shadow responded. 'You don't need to worry about
"finding" me. I already told you I would lead you to where I am.'
"Why are you doing
this?"
'Why? I could avoid you, if you prefer.'
"There's no use avoiding
us!" Kuwabara yelled. "We're gonna get you no matter how far you run, you little
punk!"
'Do
you really believe that?' They heard the Shadow laugh quietly; a laugh of
contempt and scorn with just the hint of malice. 'You must be that half-wit, Kuwabara.'
"Hey! I am not!" Kuwabara protested.
"You still haven't
answered my question," Yusuke said. "If you know we're after you,
then why are you leading us to you?"
'I haven't had a suitable
opponent in years. Besides, I could use a bit of...entertainment.'
"Fine!
But if we beat you, then you're coming with us!" Yusuke yelled back. He
waited a few seconds for an answer. "Do we have deal?"
After a minute it spoke again.
'I don't make deals. And if you're going to stand around all day and waste my
time talking, then don't bother coming. If you want me, then come and get me.
But be prepared to die. I don't leave any survivors.'
"Just who do you think you
are? You don't scare me!" Kuwabara retorted when
he was sure the Shadow wasn't listening anymore.
Yusuke eyed him. "Is that
why your legs are shaking, Kuwabara?"
Kuwabara
looked down at his wobbling knees. "Shut up, Urameshi,
I'm just cold!"
"It's sixty degrees out
here."
'Enough.' They were surprised to hear the Shadow's voice again. 'Do you see that log about one hundred feet
ahead? Just beyond that is where I'll be waiting for you. Quit wasting time.'
"I see it," Yusuke
said. "Let's go." They began to run towards the spot that the Shadow
had told them about, Yusuke leading the way and Botan
bringing up the rear, all of them mentally preparing for the upcoming fight in
one way or another. They jumped over the log and found themselves in a small clearing
surrounded by trees, the only light coming from above where it peeked in
through the leaves.
"We're here!" Yusuke
yelled. "Now show yourself!"
. . .
Next chapter: Meet The
Shadow
