~High Voltage~
. . .
Chapter Four: Meet The Shadow
. . .
Yusuke clenched his fists and
spread his feet shoulder-length apart. "All right Shadow, come on
out!"
"Is that what they call
me?" This time the Shadow didn't use telepathy.
"He's here," Kuwabara said.
"What a brilliant
observation," the Shadow commented, still hidden in the trees. They
couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from. "But you're not
entirely correct..." Suddenly a black figure dropped from one of the limbs
of the tree in front of them. It landed on its two feet,
one hand planted on the ground, and slowly rose. Even in the daylight, the
Shadow remained a shadow--dressed completely in black. The black cloak covered
nearly all of its face, and the rest was hidden in the shadow of the hood.
Kuwabara
suddenly laughed out loud. "Hey everybody, that guy is just a kid!"
He pointed to the Shadow. "Look, he's as short as Hiei!"
"Wrong
again, you brainless wexa," the Shadow spat
back. Its voice was cold and bitter. With one quick motion, the Shadow
lifted one hand and threw off the black cloak.
"Whoa!" Kuwabara was startled by the face beneath the cloak.
"Shadow is--he's--he's a girl!"
The Shadow turned to face them.
"It would be in your best interest to watch what you call me--I just might
make your death even more painful."
Indeed, the Shadow was
definitely female--there was no mistaking that fact. She stood there so
confidently, knowing that she could beat them. Her thin hair was dark, with a
tint of red, and came down to her bare shoulders. Her eyes were dark, cold and
hard. Her attire told them that she was neither self-conscious nor fashion
conscious; her outfit was black, the top was strapless
and exposed her well-toned midriff. It looked as though the bottom of the shirt
had been ripped off, probably to be used as a make-shift bandage at one time.
Her pants were baggy, loose, but dangerously low. A thick belt held them in
place at her hips. On her feet, she wore black boots, military style, that came up to just below her knees. As she stood
watching them, they noticed the long scar on her neck; it started just below
her right ear and ended just above her collar bone.
"So," she began,
"this is the famous Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi."
She gave them an malicious grin, and Kuwabara shuddered involuntarily. "It's about time you
showed up. Such a shame to have to kill another one of Koenma's errand boys."
"You know, you
criminals are all the same," Yusuke said. "You stand there and brag
about how great you are, but in the end it's always the same."
"I don't believe that
stating a fact can be classified as bragging, Spirit Detective," the
Shadow retorted without raising her voice. "I can understand your
impatience, though I don't know why you've come here. It's not for a fight; I
can tell. So what is it you want from me?" She stared at him with those
cold eyes, as if looking through him.
"We're here to get you to
come with us," Yusuke answered.
The Shadow smirked, amused.
"Just what makes you think I would go along with this?"
"I thought you might say
that. That's why we're prepared to fight you." Yusuke began to gather his
spirit energy.
"This is a waste of
time," she glared at them. "You and your friends--Kurama,
Kuwabara, Hiei," her
gaze shifted to each individual as she said their names. "--you can fight
me all day if you want but I won't be agreeing to go anywhere with you. If you
want me to go with you, then you'll have to kill me first."
"If that's the way you
want it, then it can be arranged," Hiei shot
back, narrowing his eyes at her.
The Shadow fixed her dark eyes
on the fire demon. "Well, if you honestly think you have what it takes to
defeat me, then go right ahead and try. But I won't show you any mercy when
you're begging for it."
"Don't think for one
second that I'm going to be a push-over. Underestimating me will be the last
mistake you ever make." Hiei stepped forward,
ready to fight.
. . .
Next chapter: Hiei
vs The Shadow
AN: Yeah, this is getting good! I love Hiei
fights, they're always so good. I'm afraid I may not do him justice in this
next chapter, though, but I'll give it my best shot.
