Chapter 64
Card Tricks
Three weeks have past since Kurama's battle with Saber. The only big thing that had happened since then is when Kuwabara and Crystal went out on their first real date.
Riku swung his sword forcing Hiei to jump back. The wolf spun around and stopped a swing from Nami. She jumped back and disappeared. Hiei followed suit. Riku flipped back to avoid more swings before disappearing as well. They appeared as blurs as they fought at high speed. Not to far away Kurama and Yusuke were also sparring. Kuwabara was off with some of his friends to find the perfect location for his next date with Crystal.
Since the whole Saber incident the group had begun intense training incase of another attack. The Demon King and his minions hadn't attacked in a while which meant they were planning something.
Riku stopped another swing from Hiei and kicked Nami back. "Not so hard" Nami said rubbing her stomach. "Sorry" Riku said before pushing Hiei back. Hiei stumbled back as Riku raised his sword. Before he could swing Nami appeared in front and punched him in the face.
Riku fell on his behind but managed to flip back to his feet. "You two make a good team" he said. Hiei and Nami smirked before disappearing.
"I wish I was that fast" Yusuke said. "So you can deal with enemy's better?" Kurama asked. "No so I won't be late for anymore dates with Keiko" Yusuke replied. Kurama sweatdropped.
Nami started swinging her sword repeatedly at Riku, which force him to go on the defensive. Hiei saw his chance and charged. Riku saw Hiei and flipped back making Nami lose her balance. As Hiei swung Riku spun out of the way and pressed the tip of his sword on Hiei's stomach. "I win" he said as he pulled back. "Hn" Hiei said as he sheathed his sword.
"What a workout" Nami said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "You've improved wolf" Hiei said. "You guy's done over there?" Riku called to Yusuke and Kurama. The two nodded. "Let's head back to the temple, I'm hungry" Riku said.
The five started walking toward the temple. "So what do you think their next move will be?" Hiei asked. "They'll probably send one of the Apocalypse Ten at us" Kurama said.
Riku stopped walking and looked around. "What is it?" Nami asked. "Something's out there, I can smell it" Riku replied. The other's started looking around for trouble. "I don't see anything" Yusuke said. "EVERYONE DOWN!!!" Hiei yelled. They all dropped to the ground just in time to avoid the talons of a huge demon bird covered in black feathers.
They got back up and watched as it circled around for another attack. "That bird only lives in the Demon Realm" Kurama said. "It's to big to be brought to this world through any portal" Hiei said as he unsheathed his katana. "Someone tell that to the bird" Yusuke said.
The bird let out a cry and charged. "I'll deal with it" Riku said. He leaped toward the bird. When he reached it the bird grabbed him in one of its claws. Riku sliced the claw to pieces and swung upward. He sliced a vertical wound from the bird's stomach, to its head. With a final cry the bird fell to the ground in two pieces.
Riku landed with a suspicious look on his face. "Nice work" Yusuke said as the others ran up to him. "How did something that big get into this world?" Riku said. "Someone must have helped it" Yusuke said.
"Quit the detective aren't we" a voice said from the forest. "Who's there?" Hiei said. "I'm right here" the voice said again. The five looked up. Standing on a tree branch was Ace. His cape fluttered in the wind as he held a deck of cards in his left hand.
"Who are you?" Riku asked. "Didn't Dusk tell you? I'm Ace of the Apocalypse Ten" he replied. "So the king finally decided to attack" Hiei said. "He doesn't seem like much of a threat" Nami said.
"Oh really?" Ace said as he pulled a card from his deck. "Stone dragon, I summon you" he threw the card to the ground and it started to glow. A ten-foot tall dragon made of stone rose from it. "What the?" Yusuke said as he took a step back. "This is my special ability. Using these cards, I can summon demons from the Demon Realm and bring them here no matter how big and powerful they are" Ace replied. "Oh great" Yusuke said as he got into a fighting stance. "Stone Dragon, attack!!!" Ace said. With a roar the dragon charged.
The group jumped out of the way as it flew past them. "Kurama and I will handle him, you guys go after Ace" Yusuke said. Riku, Nami, and Hiei nodded and ran toward Ace. "Don't worry, I have more demons for you" Ace said. He pulled out two cards card. "Perfect, I summon the Flame Ox and Skull Giant" a red ox surrounded by flames rose from one card and a giant skeleton with a massive sword rose from the other.
The ox charged first followed by the skeleton. The ox opened its mouth and sent a ball of fire at Riku. Riku sliced through it and jumped over the bull. As it past under him he brought his sword down and stabbed its back. The bull fell to the ground and the flames around it died down.
Hiei and Nami flitted out of the way of the giant's swing. Hiei appeared behind and prepared to swing but the giant surprisingly spun around and slammed the palm of its hand into him. It slammed him into a nearby tree and started squeezing both him and the tree.
"Hey, let him go!!!" Nami yelled as she sliced through the giant's arm. She gasped when the hand only squeezed tighter even though it had been cut off the rest of the body. "Nice try there but Skull Giant's limbs can act independently of the body. Now for a modification" he said as he pulled another card from the deck. "It's one of my upgrade cards, Undead Armor activate" he threw the card at the giant. The card glowed and separated into several large objects. When the objects hit the giant they turned into a chest plat, gauntlets, a Roman-style helmet, and shin guards. In the process of the merge the giant's hand grew back.
"With that armor his power increases dramatically" Ace said. The giant roared and raised its foot. Nami rolled out of the way. "I hate this guy" she mumbled as she prepared her scimitars and charged.
Riku made his way to where Ace stood. The card master saw him coming. "I have just the thing for you, Mirror Image" he threw a card at Riku. It took the shape of a six-foot tall mirror, which stopped in front of Riku. Riku looked at his reflection in the mirror. His reflection smirked before jumped out at him. He dodged its Crescent Edge and punched it in the gut. He grunted when he felt tremendous pain in his gut. He jumped back while rubbing the sore area. "Maybe I should have mentioned that any pain you cause the mirror image is transferred to you" Ace said. Riku growled as his copy attacked.
The copy swung downward but he deflected it and kicked its face causing them both to fall to the ground. The copy got back up first and swung horizontally. Riku tried to dodge but the sword managed to slash his right arm. He growled and jumped back. How am I supposed to fight something that can hurt me but I can't hurt? He thought.
He glanced at the mirror and noticed it was glowing. "That's it" he said. The copy charged and swung at him. He wind morphed toward the mirror. He appeared in front of it and sliced it right down the middle. He turned around and saw the copy baring down on him. He wouldn't be able to block a swing on time. Before the copy could swing it disappeared.
"SPIRIT GUN" Yusuke's attack bounced off the dragon. It looked at him and opened its mouth. Dozens of fist sized rocks shot out of its mouth. "SHOTGUN" Yusuke's attack hit the rocks before they could reach him. Kurama took that moment to attack it from behind.
Before he could reach it the dragon sung its tail at him. He blocked the swing with his left arm and winced when he felt the bone break. It was at least better than the tail hitting his head. He tightened his grip on his whip and ignored the pain from his left arm. The dragon roared and charged.
Kurama readied his whip but before it could reach him a blue blast hit the dragon's back. It turned and saw Yusuke in the firing position. "Come on rock head" Yusuke said. The dragon raised its claws and charged. "Kurama, go take care of that caped freak" Yusuke said as he prepared to fight. Kurama nodded and started running to where Ace stood.
"Damit" Nami said as she stepped back. Her battle had not been going well. On top of that, the hand was still squeezing the life out of Hiei. "Na-mi…go for…the head" he gasped. Nami nodded and tossed her scimitars into the air. She brought her hands to her side as flames gathered in them. "GRAND INFERNO" her beam of fire hit the giant's head and completely destroyed it. The rest of the body fell to the ground. The hand went limp and Hiei kneeled on the ground to catch his breath.
Before Nami could run to his side she was hit by one of Ace's cards. She screamed and fell to the ground. "Nami!!!" Hiei said as he ran to her. He cradled her in his arms. She was shivering and her lips were starting to turn blue. "So cold" she said. "What did you do to her?" Hiei said angrily. "You've heard of someone's inner flame. Well I've awakened her inner ice. I suggest you keep her warm or she will freeze to death from the inside out" Ace replied. As Nami shivered Hiei concentrated and black flames surrounded body. These will keep her warm but if I leave her side they'll die down Hiei thought.
Ace saw Riku and Kurama heading for him. He threw a card at them and they were forced to shield their eyes from an intense flash. When it died down, Riku looked at Kurama. "Kurama you o…" he stopped when he saw a monster with maroon skin, insect-like green eyes, and a tentacle for a right arm. "Riku, you okay?" Kurama asked. Riku raised his sword and swung at Kurama. Kurama was surprised but managed to dodge. "Riku, what's wrong with you?' he asked.
Riku couldn't hear his voice and continued to attack. "What did you do with Kurama?" he asked. "I'm right here" Kurama replied. Riku continued to swing at him. Kurama stopped one swing with his good arm and held on to the sword. Riku managed to shake off Kurama's grip and slash Kurama's right shoulder. Kurama screamed in pain as he fell back. It was then that the illusion around the fox disappeared. "Kurama!!!" Riku said when he saw the monster turn into Kurama. "Glad to have you back Riku" Kurama said. "I sorry, I didn't know" Riku replied. ""Your forgiven, now go get Ace" Kurama replied. Riku nodded and continued on.
Nami's condition was getting worse. Hiei had resorted to wrapping his cloak around her body but she was still getting colder. Hiei concentrated and the flames around her body intensified. "Hold on Nami" he said.
Ace chuckled as he watched Hiei try to save Nami's life. He's only slowing down the inevitable he thought. It was then Riku appeared in front of him. "Hello Ace" he said before swinging. Ace stepped to the side and jumped of the branch. "CRESCENT CLAWS" Riku attack shredded most of Ace's deck. The dragon disappeared and Nami stopped shivering. "Hiei" she said gently. "Your safe now Nami" Hiei replied.
"My cards" Ace said. "You've got bigger things to worry about" Riku said as he charged. Ace pulled a card from his pocket and threw it at Riku. It hit him and his body was surrounded by a white glow. "What's going…" he wasn't able to finish because in a flash of light he disappeared. All that was left were his cloths, which now lay in a pile. "I'll be back" Ace said before disappearing.
"Riku" Yusuke said as he ran toward the pile of cloths. He started to rummage through them. He jumped back when two big golden eyes looked at him from the pile. He looked more carefully and gasped. Riku was in one piece but he looked like he was three years old. His eyes were bigger, his ponytail was shorter, and his tail was fluffier. "Riku?" Yusuke said. "Who you?" Riku replied as he tilted his head. "Yusuke what's…" Nami stopped talking when she saw Riku. Riku blinked in confusion. "What happened to him?" Hiei said. "Looks like Ace's card changed him into a child again. This isn't good" Kurama said.
"Who you people?" Riku asked. "Don't you remember us?" Yusuke asked. Riku shook his head. "Well we're your friends, I'm Nami that's Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei" Nami said. "My name Riku" the wolf pup replied. "We know" Yusuke said. "What should we do?" Hiei asked. "We should get him back to the temple" Kurama said as looked at Riku. "You funny looking girl" Riku said staring back at Kurama. Kurama growled. He hated it when people thought he looked like a girl (Didn't we all think he was a girl when we caught our first glimpse of him, I know I did).
"Where my cloths?" Riku said. "Hiei give him your cloak" Nami said. Hiei nodded and walked toward Riku. He picked him up and wrapped his cloak around him. "You have weird hair. I call you Spike" Riku said while giggling. Hiei growled and handed the pup to Nami. "You have to admit, he is cute" Nami said. "Let's go" Kurama said. Everyone nodded. Yusuke and Hiei picked up Riku's cloths and the Crescent Edge and headed for the temple.
When they reached it Botan, Crystal, Keiko, and Kuwabara were waiting for them in the living room. "What took you so long?" Botan asked. "We were attacked by Ace but we managed to hold him off" Yusuke replied. "Kurama your shoulder!!!" Botan said. "It'll heal" Kurama replied. "Yukina get in here" Botan said. "Coming" Yukina said as she rushed out of the kitchen.
She examined Kurama's shoulder then his arm. "The wound on your shoulder is deep but missed the arteries and your arm is only broken. I can heal them easily" she said as she placed her hands on them. In a few minutes they were healed. "Thank you" Kurama said. Yukina smiled and turned to the others. "Where's Riku?' she asked. Yusuke and Hiei froze in place. "Well it's a really interesting story" Yusuke said. He pointed to where Nami was struggling to hold Riku. "Quit squirming" Nami said. "I'm hungry" Riku said.
Yukina's mouth dropped. "R-R-Riku?" she said. "Hello" Riku said with a smile. Yukina fainted.
Oh boy, Riku's a chibi. Will Yukina ever wake up? When will Ace attack? Will Riku ever change back? You'll have to read to find out. Next chapter, the gang must take care of an energetic and troublesome wolf pup. Review please.
