Chapter 60

Wolf vs. Dragon 

Draco was the first to charge. He swung his Bo horizontally at Muraku but the dark wolf easily blocked it. Draco growled and continued his assault. Muraku smirked as he blocked more and more swings.

Draco saw his chance and kicked Muraku right in the stomach. As Muraku doubled over Draco spun around and slammed his foot into Muraku's head sending him flying into a boulder. The impact caused a cloud of dust to shot up.

Draco looked carefully at the cloud. Muraku could come charging out at any second. The dust finally settled only to reveal no one was where the cloud was. "Where is he?" Draco asked quietly. "Behind you!!!" Lita called out. Draco spun around to defend but was immediately punched in the face. As he stumbled back Muraku slammed the side of his head with the broad side of the Luna Edge. Draco fell sideways to the ground.

As he stumbled back up Muraku watched with an amused look. He's to fast. I couldn't even sense him behind me. Good thing Lita warned me he thought. "So are we going to continue or are you just going to sit there all day?" Muraku asked. Draco growled and stood up. "Are you ready?" Muraku asked. "Bring it" Draco replied.

Muraku charged at Draco as the ninja prepared his Bo. As Muraku swung Draco lifted his Bo to block. Muraku went right through him. As he let his guard down to figure out what happened Muraku kicked the back of his head from behind.

As Draco fell forward Muraku threw his sword into the air and readied his right hand to fire. Just before Draco hit the ground Muraku fired a series of small blasts at the dragon, which pounded him into the ground. When he stopped and caught his sword a small hole in the shape of Draco was left in the ground. But Draco wasn't in it.

Muraku positioned his sword vertically over his back and blocked a swing from Draco. "You actually thought you could sneak up on me" Muraku said mockingly. He pushed back Draco's Bo and spun around. Draco just managed to dodge the swing to hit stomach. He jumped back and landed on his feet.

Muraku smirked as he watched Draco try to come up with a plan of attack. Now's my chance he thought. Before Draco knew it he was doubling over from a knee to the gut from Muraku. "To fast for you?" Muraku asked. Draco growled but was silenced as Muraku pulled back his knee and slammed it into his gut again. Muraku stepped back as Draco fell to his knees clutching his stomach.

Muraku relaxed his body and waited for Draco to recover. He didn't notice the smirk on Draco's face. Draco saw his chance and dropped his Bo. He quickly put his hands together and thrust them forward. "DRAGON FIRE CANNON" the dragon was at such close range that Muraku had no time to dodge. It slammed into him and carried him into the side of a cliff. The resulting explosion caused the top of the cliff to come crashing down on top of him.

As the dust settled Draco smirked and picked up his Bo as he stood up. He was about to walk back to Lita when a howl filled the air. He turned around and looked at the ruble Muraku was buried under. A purple pillar of energy blasted the ruble back as the howl intensified. The pillar got wider and wider and was causing the ground to shack. Draco was doing is best to stay on his feet. The pillar of energy finally died down.

Draco looked at where the ruble once was. Now there was a 50-foot wide crater in the round. Muraku stood in the middle with an amused look on his face and surrounded by a purple aurora. He started walking toward the dragon. Draco stuck his Bo into the ground and prepared his hands. "DRAGON FIRE CANNON" once again the golden dragon hit Muraku and caused a huge explosion. The area Muraku was standing in was now covered in flames started by the attack. "Burn in hell" Draco said. 

A laughed could be heard from the flames. Draco watched in amazement as Muraku stood in the middle of the flames. His purple aurora protected him from the intense heat. He slowly walked out of the flames with a smirk on his face.

"Anything else?" he asked. Draco grabbed his Bo and leaped into the air. "STAFF SWIPE" he sent ten green blades at Muraku and caused a cloud of dust to fly up.

He landed and watched the cloud carefully. "SOUL BREAKER" Muraku's sword extended toward Draco. Draco jumped to the side and dodged it but as the blade retracted Muraku charged and kicked him the face. Draco was sent flying into a tree.

He struggled to his knee and looked at Muraku. "Any more tricks?" Muraku asked. Only one choice Draco thought. He got to his feet and threw his Bo to the side. "Hope you're ready whoever you are. Its time to kick it up to the next level" said Draco. Man that was corny Muraku and Lita thought at the same time.

Draco concentrated as a silver aurora surrounded him. He closed his eyes as the glow intensified. With a yell he was surrounded by a silver glow that concealed him from view. The glow gradually got bigger and bigger till it was nearly ten feet high.

The silver glow dispersed as two translucent silver wings spread out. They were attached to a transformed Draco. He was now in his dragon form, which was a European type dragon. His body was silver with a gray belly. His reptilian eyes had a hazel ring around the iris. He had three horns a small one at the tip of his nose and two above his ear holes. A row of spikes that pointed forward went from the base of his head to halfway down his tail.

"My, my you've done some growing" Muraku said calmly. "Now you pay" Draco said with a more reptilian voice. With a mighty roar he charged.

He first tried to crush Muraku but the wolf flitted out of the way. Muraku appeared behind him but before he could swing, Draco's tail looped around him. As he struggled to get free Muraku tossed him into the air. He spread his wings and with one flap took off after Muraku.

As he got closer his body was surrounded by a silver glow. "SONIC BLADE" he started spinning around till he became a silver ball (Like Sonic the Hedgehog). He flew toward Muraku and slammed into him. The spinning motion meant Muraku was hit multiple times. Draco stopped spinning and used his tail to slammed Muraku into the ground.

Muraku landed on his back. Before he could recover Draco stomped on him with his right foot. The wind was knocked out of Muraku. Draco lifted Muraku and threw him into the cliff. He charged as his clawed hand was surrounded by a purple glow. He slammed it into Muraku and caused most of the cliff to fall on top of him. He used his wings as a shield. When it settled Draco still hand his hand over Muraku and appeared to have crushed him.

"You did it Draco!!!" Lita said happily. Draco's lips curved up in a reptilian smirk. He suddenly roared in pain and stumbled back clutching his left hand. Lita was puzzled at first but then saw the Muraku's sword was imbedded in the palm of Draco's hand. Muraku jumped out from the hole in the cliff he was in and used his foot to push the blade deeper into Draco's palm.

Draco roared in pain again. Muraku smirked and grabbed his sword handle with his left hand. He pulled it out and watched as Draco stumbled back. Muraku smirked and fisted his right hand. It was covered in a black glow. "This is my newest technique. Hope you like it" Muraku said as he prepared his hand to fire. "BLACK FLASH" he thrust his hand forward and a massive black beam shot out of it.

Lita watched in horror as the blast engulfed Draco. The resulting explosion left a hundred-foot crater in the ground. Muraku smirked and landed on his feet. In the middle of the crater lay Draco. He was back to his normal form and badly hurt.

"Time to finish this" Muraku said as he took his sword in his right hand. Lita knew she had to do something even though she wasn't fully healed. She picked up her swords and charged.

Muraku saw her coming and swung his sword upward. A shockwave was sent out and slammed into Lita. As she stumbled back Muraku kicked the side of her head and sent her flying to a tree not to far from where Draco lay.

"I'll deal with you after him" Muraku said as he continued toward Draco. When he reached him he readied his sword to stab Draco. "Foolish dragon, you should have stayed out of my battle" Muraku said as he brought his sword down.

Before it hit Draco Muraku dropped his sword as a surge of pain went through his body. He stumbled back as the pain intensified. He fell to his side clutching his heart. "Why is this happening now?" Muraku asked.

Lita saw her chance and ran to Draco's side. "Draco, Draco wake up" she said as she shook him. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "Lita?" he said as he sat up. "Are you okay" she asked. "Where is he? "Draco said as he looked around. Lita pointed to where Muraku was lying on the ground. "Think we should finish him?" she asked. "I say we get as far away from him as possible" Draco said as he stood up.

He winced and clutched his hand. "Let me see it" she said. He let her examine his wound. She ripped a piece of her ninja suit off and used it to bandage the wound. "That should do it till we reach the temple" she said. "Alright, let's go find the others" Draco said. He grabbed her hand with his good one and they ran into the forest away from Muraku.      

Muraku had never felt this much pain going through his body. Why is my restriction kicking in? Weren't they the bad guys? He asked himself. The pain was so great he started to lose consciousness. I swear Koenma. If you thought your father's spankings were painful just wait till I get my claws on you he thought before going unconscious. In Spirit World Koenma hid under his desk.   

With Kuwabara and Crystal

Kuwabara and Crystal had been holding out against the shadows. Only three were left but they continued to attack. The three copies prepared to charge again.

"Get ready Crystal" said Kuwabara. Crystal nodded. Before the copies could reach them they seemed to melt away. Kuwabara and Crystal looked on with puzzled looks. "What's going on?" Kuwabara asked. "Do you think something happened to Draco?" Crystal asked. "I don't know but I think we should head for where Urameshi is. The other guys are heading for him" Kuwabara said. Crystal nodded and they started running in Yusuke's direction.

With Yusuke and Dusk

Yusuke had finally gathered enough of his remaining energy to finish Dusk off. Dusk was to badly hurt from the Spirit Wave to move too much. He knew his time had come.

"Here goes nothing. SPIRIT…" before he could attack a foot slammed into his face and caused him to fire into the sky. He sat up and looked at his attacker. Standing in front of him was none other than Shade. "I won't let you kill my father" he said.

Yusuke got back to his feet and Shade attacked. Yusuke managed to dodge Shade's swings but he couldn't counterattack since he was out of spirit energy. Shade landed a punch to Yusuke's face. As Yusuke fell back Shade prepared to finish him.

Before he could swing his weapon was yanked out of his hand. He looked to his right and saw Kurama had looped his whip around the weapon and pulled it out of his grasp. "You shouldn't try to fight a wounded opponent": Kurama said. He readied his whip to attack.

"COSMIC FIREBALL" Kurama jumped out of the way of the blast. Javik, Naien, and Azeri came running into the scene. "Seems we got here just in time" Naien said as they took defensive stances next to Shade.

"I see them Crystal" Kuwabara said as he and Crystal ran toward them. They stopped next to Kurama. "So did we miss anything" Draco said as he and Lita reached the scene. He was still pulling her by the hand. "Don't start without us" Nami said as she and Hiei flitted next to Yusuke. "So there you are" Riku said as he arrived.

The clan took a defensive stance in front of Dusk and the gang did the same with Yusuke. "You can never run from the great Kazuma Kuwabara and get away with it" Kuwabara said to Draco. "Time for round two" Shaded said to Riku. "Your dragon can't save you now" Hiei said to Javik. "I'll make you pay Kurama" Azeri said. "You to Nami" Naien said. Both sides prepared to charge.

"HOLD IT!!!" Yusuke yelled. Everyone looked at him as he got back to his feet. "Listen guys we don't have to fight anymore. Their not really the bad guys" he said. "What are you talking about?" Hiei asked. "I used the Spirit Wave on Dusk. It should have killed him but it didn't. That means he's not evil" Yusuke said.

"Did he hit you on the head or something?" Riku asked. "We should finish their leader now and take out the rest afterward" Hiei said.

"No way. I'm not about to let you kill my dad. He's the only family I have left" Shade said. "Dusk is like a father to all of us. He helped me realize what I'm capable of" Javik said. "He's provided a home for my family and he's going to be related to me soon." Azeri said. "If you want to finish him, you'll have to get through us" Shade said.

"Stand down" Dusk said. The clan looked at him in shock. "What do you mean stand down?" Shade asked. "The detective is correct. They are not our real enemies" Dusk said as he stumbled toward them.

He and Yusuke both walked past their groups and stopped in front of each other. "You fought well. An opponent like you deserves to live" Dusk said. "Hey you weren't to bad yourself" Yusuke said. The others gathered around them. "It's okay guys. This battles over" Yusuke said. "He's correct. We've fought enough for now. This battle has been pointless" Dusk said. The others relaxed. 

"So why did you attack us if you're not really that bad?" Yusuke asked. "It was an order from my master, the Demon King" Dusk said. All the demons in the gang gasped. "The Demon King?" Nami said. Dusk nodded. "Why's he interested in attacking us?" Kurama asked. "Him" Shade said motioning toward Riku. "Me?" Riku said. "He wants you dead because you're the Devil Wolf" Dusk said. "How do you know this?" Hiei asked. "I am only of the Demon King's Apocalypse Ten" Dusk replied.

"Why are you working for him?" Yusuke asked. "He placed a curse on my family. Myself and Shade were given a demon's lifespan. And my wife was put into a permanent sleep. She's at our temple as we speak inside a pod. The deal was if I kill the Devil Wolf we'll be freed from it" Dusk said. "So is there any other way to break the curse?" Riku asked.  "The only other way is to kill the King himself" Dusk replied. "Well if he wants Riku dead then he's our enemy to. Just leave him to us" Yusuke said. "You realize he's only been defeated once" Shade said. "If it's a rematch he wants then let him come" Riku said.

"I wish you luck. The King will no doubt send another one of the Apocalypse Ten after you" Dusk said. "So who are we up against" Nami asked. "There is Kane, a being made up of the souls of corrupt warriors, Ace, the card master, And Demonus, leader of the Apocalypse Ten and the Demon Kin's only son" Dusk replied. "Wait was he the silver haired guy you were with at the restaurant?" Kurama asked. Shade nodded. "I guess he's not so cool after all" Yusuke said.

"Any more questions?" Dusk asked. "Just one, Gurumin told me only four of the Apocalypse Ten were killed in the war. You've only mentioned three and if your added that makes four. What about the other two generals?" Riku asked. "One is Shion, a curse samurai. He left our ranks after the war and is somewhere in the human world. The other is anyone's guess. Not even I know who he is. Only the Demon King knows his true identity. Some of us wonder if he even exists" Dusk said.  "Sounds like trouble" Crystal said.

"Thanks for the info. If you need help just ask" Yusuke said. "We are eternally grateful detective. Good luck" Dusk said. "You to" Yusuke said. He and the gang turned and headed back to Genkai's temple.

"Do you think they can do it?" Shade asked. "If anyone can it's them. Let's head home" Dusk said. Everyone prepared to leave. It was then that Draco and Lita realized they'd been holding hands the entire time. They blushed and let go of each other. Shade shook his head before they melted into the shadows.

A few hours later. At the clan's temple

Serena greeted the ninja's at the temple's entrance. "You okay sis" she asked Azeri. "Don't worry I'm fine" Azeri replied. "We all are" Shade said. Serena rushed to him and threw her arms around him. "I was so worried" she said. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay" he replied. "All of you get some rest. You've earned it" Dusk said.

After dinner, Javik meditated in the dojo, Naien went to sleep in a tree, Azeri went to her room, and Serena and Shade headed for the garden.

Draco was seated on the temple wall as he watched the sun set. "Mind if I join you" Lita said. "Not at all" Draco replied. She took a seat next to him. "So how's your hand?" she asked. "It'll heal" he replied. They sat in silence for a few seconds. "I never really thanked you for saving me back there" she said. "Well your welcome" Draco replied. "I'm also sorry I couldn't help you. The only reason your even alive is because something happened to that guy" she said. "Hey it's okay. You were wounded. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself any further" Draco replied. He nervously wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She was surprised at first but smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. The dragon and the tiger hanyou watched the sunset together.  

Dusk reached the room with pod and walked in. He stopped in front of the pod. Behind the glass was a woman in her mid-twenties with waist length black hair and pale skin and dressed in a white kimono with red flowers along the bottom.. Dusk sighed and for the first time in a while removed his mask. He had narrow almost eagle-like brown eyes and short black hair. He walked to the pod and placed his hand on the glass. I'm counting on you, Devil Wolf he thought.   

With the gang 

The gang finally arrived back at Genkai's. They walked in and were greeted by their loved ones. "You all made it back safely" Yukina said as she hugged Riku. "I was starting to worry" Botan said as she threw her arms around Kurama. "I see you took good care of my brother" Shizuru said. "Actually he protected me" Crystal replied. "I bet your all starving. We'll start dinner" Keiko said as she and Yukina headed for the kitchen.

The others walked into the living room. They were surprised to find Kairi sitting on the couch. "It's nice to see you're all okay" she said. "Wait if you're here then where's Muraku?" Riku asked. "He said he was going to fight the people who attacked you" she replied. "Muraku wasn't at the battle" Yusuke said.

"I think I know what happened. You see Draco left our battle to go help one of his friends. I bet it was Muraku he fought" Crystal said. "I don't think we have to worry about him. He can take care of himself" Kairi said. Everyone took a seat. "So how have things been going with you?" Riku asked. As they waited for dinner they listened to Kairi tell them about her and Muraku's adventures together.

After dinner Yusuke, Keiko, Kurama, Botan, Kuwabara, and Shizuru headed for their homes, Hiei and Nami slept on the couch, and Kairi was given the guest room.

As she combed her hair she wondered where Muraku was. He hadn't shown up all day. She sighed and got into bed. I hope he's okay she thought before falling asleep.

Outside Muraku watched Kairi sleep from a tree outside the window. He had woken a few minutes ago and headed for the temple. Congratulations Riku. You and the others have defeated another powerful enemy. And you didn't even have to kill them. But I sense greater dangers in the future.          

In the Demon World

The Demon King fired a blast that destroyed the crystal ball he was watching the battle with. "I knew I couldn't depend on that ninja. He always was to soft hearted" he growled. Shade, Ace, and Kane watched as the King cursed about the ninjas.

"What's our next move dad" Demonus asked. "I need time to think. Out of my sight" the king replied. The three bowed before heading out.

'You should have used me' a voice said telepathically. 'Who's' there?' the King asked. 'It's me' the voice replied. 'Oh yea I was wondering when you'd report in. What do you want?' the King asked. 'If you didn't notice I was almost killed' the voice replied angrily. 'Calm yourself; I had my sorcerers place a protective shield around your body. You're to valuable to lose so soon' the King said. 'I'm honored but when can I attack?' the voice asked. 'When I begin my invasion of the human world, you'll be freed from your prison' the King said. 'Thank you my lord' the voice said before disappearing. "Riku and his friends won't know what'll hit them till it's to late" the King said.  

Next chapter, Muraku and Kairi continue their wandering and add some new members to their little group. Review please.