Disclaimers- I still don't own Yuyu Hakusho or Weib Kruez but I still wish I do.
Blood
Kurama was walking through the forest that night when he heard the unmistakable voices of the four guardians. Thinking that they were training with each other Kurama headed for that direction only to find Yuko and the four guardians fighting it out, four against one. He watched as Aya, Omi, Yoji and Ken sent elemental attacks to Yuko which she evades, blocks or takes. Not only does she avoid the elemental attacks but also the attacks the four guardians were delivering. She is punched, kicked and sent to multitudes of trees before dropping on the ground. When she looks up and starts to stand new assaults ensues. When the attacks neared her Kurama jumped in front of her and blocks the attacks with his wind powers, creating a wall where the attacks dissipate and dissolve. When the assault stopped and the guardians were able to see the wall, they went to Kurama who had dropped the wall instantly and turned to Yuko who was kneeling on the ground breathing heavily.
"What are you doing here?"
"Saving you, what else? You just finished a fight a while ago, lost most of your blood from the wounds and the plant, you were unconscious for the rest of the day and I find you here training again. Don't you think it's way too much abuse on your body?"
"Kurama I'd move aside if I were you."
"You were her guardians, how can you let her abuse herself like this?"
"Watch what you're saying Kurama."
"Excuse me? Watch what I am saying? I can't believe you're training her!"
"Kurama stand down, she is not who she appears to be."
"No, I'm not letting you hurt her again."
"Kurama stand down."
Ken gathered a small amount of energy when Kurama would not move from his place. He directed the said energy towards Kurama sending him to a tree and sprayed with water. When Kurama was gone from the path the rest of the guardians rushed forward and started attacking Yuko but much more severe than the last. Kurama tried to reach Yuko but Ken did not let him and increased the water pressing on Kurama.
"I'm sorry Kurama but we must do this."
Kurama watched as the three guardians attacked and slowly tortured Yuko without any mercy. When they were through and Yuko was barely alive, the girl shifted and changed into a demon. Ken had let him go now, feeling the pressure off his chest he coughed and stood behind the guardians looking at the demon, soaked but unharmed. Aya pulled the demon by the hair and threw him unto a tree; Omi suspended the demon from the ground with a steady gust of wind.
"Who hired you to kill the princess?"
"You can't make me talk."
"We'll see. Kenren."
Ken nodded and gathered a small amount of energy, enough to drench the demon and with it he threw it towards the demon while Yoji held Kurama away knowing full well he would want a piece of the filthy thing. Ken then stands aside and Yoji lets Kurama go, walks up to the demon and sent electricity unto his body. The demon reacted to the electricity involuntarily, increasing the pain and the suffering because of the water covering his skin. The smell of burning skin and slowly cooking flesh filled the night air; it was disgusting and gut-churning for Kurama but the four guardians had seem to not mind it at all. Yoji had stopped the flow of current and Ken splashed the demon with water again to wake him up. When the demon opened his eyes a little Aya had his katana on its throat.
"Who hired you to kill the princess?"
"I'm not talking."
"Mamomi."
Omi seemed to concentrate and give out more pressure on the wind attack causing the lack of air passing through the demon's lungs. After a few minutes and the demon was changing its color, the demon started talking.
"The... Ki- king..."
Omi released the demon who now lay motionless on the ground. They turned to leave bringing Kurama with them when he heard movement from behind them. Kurama reached something in his hair just as the demon moved to attack them. Kurama evaded the attack while the rest kept on walking, he had jumped as landed behind Yoji, who placed his arm around his shoulder and seemed to whisper something to Kurama. The demon had stopped at where he was and when Kurama and the others were a fair distance the demon fell on the ground, in pieces.
"Oka-san!" (Mother!)
Yuko woke up with a start and sat up on her bed looking at her surrounding briskly. When she had finally identified where she was, she placed her hand on her temple and started crying. Suddenly a soft, gentle hand started stroking her hair, and she felt the mattress weigh down with the added pressure and with the touch she felt relaxed and comfortable. She looked up at the owner of the touch and saw golden eyes looking straight at her gently, understanding what was going on. Arms wrapped around her body, pulling her closer into the warmth and the comfort.
"There, there dear child, it's all right, everything is all right."
"Kat... No, Yu- Yuna? What are you doing here?"
"I bring bad news child but first a gift."
"A gift?"
Yuko pushed herself away and looked at Yuna; there in her hands lay an orb with silver blue aura and a seal. Yuko recognized it as the orb his father used to threaten her with, Kurama's soul. Yuko cupped this in her hands and felt the surge of recognition from her touch, her essence was inside.
"It is mine?"
"Yes, your father does not have Kurama's soul, he has yours."
"But why would he say that it was Kurama's?"
"He knows you would not try to escape Subete if you knew the truth. He wanted you to escape, find the guardians and the warriors so that you would be able to bring them here and it would be a much easier task of destroying them together than apart. Increasing the possibility of his reign and your diminish."
"He played me again."
"I'm sorry Yuko, I should have told you this a long time ago. Your father bribed one of the elder guardians and consulted him for his future and the only thing they saw was defeat. Knowing, thus he looked for his perfect warrior to defend him but we were not powerful enough. Please be careful princess."
"What about Kathrin? You are here instead of her, has anything happened to her?"
"Kathrin was captured by the King. She is now dead. That was a gift from her. The laws of Subete are firm and cruel, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life. Do not think of her now princess. Go back to sleep, everything would be all right."
Yuna passed her hand on Yuko's eyes and Yuko had fallen to her pillow and slept. The orb lay in her hands and Yuna placed it near her heart and slowly her body absorbed the orb, finally it was back to where it originally belonged. Yuna slowly stood up from the bed and looked at Yuko. She had shed a tear but wiped it away. She walked out of the room and when she was past the room and the corridor she began to change and shift.
Kurama wanted to apologize at how he had acted a while ago but they had clearly pointed that it was not needed. As they had explained: They could see past disguises and masks for they were given that power. And he should have known it wasn't Yuko because he could not feel the pain she was receiving when they were attacking her. He had wanted to explain but it was clear from Aya that it was not necessary. He had wandered to Yuko's door, he thought about what he was doing there and seeing no harm in watching her for a few minutes, he opened the door and made his way to her side.
Yuko wanted to escape the dream she was in. It could not trigger any memory from the past, nor can she recognize the people in it. But she could clearly see the suffering and the pain they were in. She wanted to help but she could not think of anything at that precise moment. All she could think of was that she needs to help them, save them. It was the only thing passing through her brain when she heard herself say, "I'd do it." It was sort of distant and her voice seem to be small and higher in pitch. However the people did not let them go instead they killed the guy sending Yuko awake from her dream screaming.
"Toooyaaa!"
She was catching her breath when she started crying and clutching her body. Just then something scooped her into his arms and hugged her tightly pulling her close to his chest. She cried openly now, not caring what was around her or the fact that she was soaking the clothes she was leaning on. The person that hugged her slowly loosened his hold and kissed the top of her head. Yuko felt calm and peace and she had closed her eyes as the person stroked her hair gently, lovingly. He seems to be humming something but Yuko had ignored this basking in the comfort the person was giving. There were the kisses and the caresses, the touch and the hum, everything felt so perfect and yet there was no such thing as perfect. She opened her eyes and found Kurama looking at her, smiling and caressing her tear stained cheeks.
"Everything's all right now."
"How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know you had a nightmare and you just screamed Toya."
"Toya?"
The name sounded familiar to her as well as the nightmare but she could not still pin point what it was. Suddenly she felt very very scared, as if something was going to happen and she doesn't know what it was. She held on to Kurama like a little girl and then images, memories and the like flooded her head like rushing water. She closed her eyes and she was swimming in the memories that were sealed at the back of her mind now unlocked and flooding into her.
Kurama thought she had fallen back to sleep when she had quieted down. He placed her back to the bed and decided to see Aya about Toya. He pulled the blanket up to her neck and kissed her on the lips lightly. He turned to go just as he heard her crying again. This time it was almost inaudible. Kurama choose to ignore this and closed the door behind him. He turned to the door beside Yuko's room and knocked softly. He then opened the door and found Aya looking out the window to the moon. Kurama made his way to him and when he was beside him Aya spoke.
"Being a guardian is the best thing that could ever happen to a Cerenian and yet it is also the worst."
"I think I know what you are getting at."
"I heard the name Toya and yes I can tell you who he is but I think it's not in my authority to tell you. Yuko would tell you if she is ready."
"How long had you known her?"
"10 Cerenian years, that would be 20 earth years."
"Before that who takes care of her then?"
"Her mother, the queen."
"But when we met in Makai she was looking for her mother."
"I can not tell you why. I am the only one who knows why she is the way she is, that is why I am so keen on protecting her. The other guardians have no knowledge of what had happened before we were joined together. There was no need to until I found out that we re going to Exile but then there was no time to tell them."
"Have you ever regretted being her guardian?"
"That's a trick question right?"
"No I'm serious."
"In Subete there is no such thing as regret. If you regretted something the world would know, it can feel, you fall out of the grace of the fates, sealing your life in death. Why do you think we were all sent to Exile? Being the guardians of a powerful being and the princess our minds were opened from everything even the laws of the fates. We were able to open our eyes in the other things that make up Subete, something we could not see before. In a way we were freed from the bonds or the ignorance Cerenians possess. However we were still bound by the laws and the threads of fate. The good thing is that they could not kill us, the princess would not pick anyone else causing one of the minor unbalance in the world so the only way to return that balance was to send us out of Subete but still we were her guardians."
"You make it look like Subete isn't such a nice place to live in."
"Because it is not. After our minds were opened we found out how we were controlled by the King and his fates. How our lives were just lived with no freedom or thinking, we were given what to think what to do what to believe in. The only things that were free from that were the animals, the guardians of destiny, the four of us and the shifters."
"Guardians of Destiny?"
"Yuna's clan is not able to go out of the Dark forest because they are bound by the tradition of being guardians of destiny, as you had already known Kathrin is Yuna's daughter but like Yuko she is not bound by anything in Subete."
"If Subete is more like a prison than a place then why are you protecting Yuko, the next ruler of this world you hate so much?"
"It does not necessarily mean that if you do not like what is going on in the place you do not like to live there anymore. We are protecting Yuko because she can change everything in Subete. She can erase the laws and the fates, she can free us. How this is possible I can not say. But there is one thing I will tell you. The four guardians have broken too many laws, we have defied the fates for too many times and when the final epitaph is written inside the fates' book, we will fall. Yuko knows this and yet can not accept. We are willing to die for her and for this place but there is something we are not willing to do."
"And that would be?"
"Letting Yuko change Subete by offering her life. Please Kurama don't let her enter a crystal, she knows there is another way but she would not do it."
"I will try."
"Thank you."
The next day they made their way towards the stadium only to be surprised that it was changed into a forest. Yumiko, the commentator was seated up a branch while commenting on the following battle. The audience was either seated on the ground or the low branches. The ring was changed into an elevated clearing. Yuko looked at her guardians and then to the others. She made her way towards Yumiko, jumped to level with her and talked for a while. When she returned to them she had a worried look on her face. She pulled the guardians aside and when they had stopped talking the four of them turned around and went another direction.
"Yuko what's going on?"
"The stadium was changed for the request of the other team; I told Rairan and the others to find out something about this stadium."
"You're not sure if this is safe?"
"No I'm not sure if there is a stadium. Come on."
They made their way around the ring and Yuko stopped at something she saw. Just then the guardians returned panting.
"Yuko sama..."
"It's not real."
"How did you know?"
"Look at her."
Yuko pointed to the girl that was seated in front of her, she was breathing but she seemed to fluctuate and then go back to the girl seated and breathing. Yuko turned around and started running out of the stadium. The others followed and sped up even more when they looked at the watch and found that they have only three minutes to get to the other stadium which was a ten minute walk from the hotel.
Meanwhile inside the stadium Koenma was starting to get hysterical when Yusuke and the others were not yet there and they were doing the countdown for the forfeit of their battle. Yumiko was telling the audience about the fighters and unusually so the king was there watching from his throne. The doors were already starting to close when there was only 30 seconds to go before Yuko and the others forfeit.
Yuko was already near the door when she saw them start to close. She ran faster and the others followed her with ease. She passed the doors and delivered an attack that suspended the doors from moving allowing the others to enter. When everyone was already there she had dropped the attack and the doors slammed shut in front of her. She turned to the stadium where the others were waiting and the king looking straight at her. She walked towards the ring and jumped unto it followed by the four guys and the referee appeared in front of them.
"This is the final bout for the Subete tournament. The fight would be an all out battle between the two teams; the objective is to have as many fighters left inside the ring. Fighters ready!"
Yuko and the others positioned themselves as the other team started shedding their cloaks. When they had completely taken off their cloaks Yuko seems to be paralyzed on the spot. Four very familiar faces greeted her and her team mates, she was surprised and also angry; something inside her wanted to go all out on every one but then a part told her to stay calm. She was battling herself for the decision she had to take.
Aya saw the reaction Yuko had when she saw the four people in front of her. He recognized them and in a matter of minutes he saw the aura seeping out from Yuko. He made his way to the edge of the ring and shouted,
"Yusuke, Kurama get out of there now! Hiei, Kuwabara get the hell out of there!"
Yusuke turned to look at Aya and understood the look he gave them. When the referee gave out the signal to start Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara jumped out of the ring and headed for Aya and the others. They watched as Yuko powered up, how she positioned herself in another stance and seem to invite the four people to attack her. They had rushed straight for her and all Yuko did was deliver one punch and the four slowly disintegrated into nothing, as well as the ring that was reduced to dust but she was floating off the ground. She slowly touched the dust covered ground and look at her father above only to find him not there.
The door leading to the opponents quarters opened and two figures walked out of the shadows. Yuko saw her father walking with another person in a cloak covering his face. Yuko could never forget her father's face, those emerald eyes that she hates so much because it seems to reflect greed and evil all the time, his fiery hair that was always cut short above his ears and the cruel smile he had, she had always thought it was the only smile he knew. He was garbed in his favorite Magenta trousers and black royal shirt. In his hand, he was holding the scepter of Subete, a rod with the crescent moon on top, the four symbols of the elements engraved on the crescent and wings on either side of the moon.
The king and his companion stopped just a few feet away from Yuko and seem to look at her and the guardians with disgust and irritation. The hooded person released a powerful energy field around them killing the lower class demons and the other "unworthy" audiences. Yuko was not affected as well as the others except for Kuwabara because he was a human. Omi stayed beside him giving him first aid as well as protecting him from the flowing energy. Yuko felt the intense destruction following the wave and to counter it she sent an energy field matching the power of the first to balance the energies released in the stadium. Her father clapped.
"Bravo... It had seemed my perfect warrior has finally returned and awakened."
"I will never follow or help you."
"Oh but I can make you... I can certainly make you, just like how I made you into what you are now."
He waved the scepter in front of them and to images flashed in front of Yuko. She remembered the lady that was in front of her, those golden eyes, sweet loving smile, long ebony black hair and flowing white dress. She remembered her, how can she possibly forget her own mother. Then the young man that was beside her sent Yuko stepping a few steps back. The red hair, those violet eyes, pale skin and emotionless demeanor clearly reminded her of Aya. She shook her head and held it with her right hand. Aya outstretched his hands and a force field surrounded the eight people behind Yuko just as she released a very powerful energy. She screamed as she released it killing those few people that was left inside the stadium and wasn't able to escape.
When the energy had dissipated Yuko looked up at her father anger and hate visible in her eyes. The king was still smiling at her. He walked towards her and lifted her chin towards him. Aya had dropped the force field but he was drained in putting it up. It had been so long since she had last used her powers and yet it still sent the same results towards them. He could not understand it, she should have known by now but it had seemed that the medicine was still inside her. The king smiled at Yuko and looked at her guardians. He sent a wave of power towards them and Yoji quickly countered it with his lightning.
"You have seemed to train them even more. Don't you remember how you used to play with those powers?"
"Let me go."
"And I remember how you would plead for your brother's life."
"Let me go."
"As well as for your mother."
"I said let me go."
"Then it was for your own."
"Let her go!"
It was the first time Kurama spoke up and the King looked at him with death in his eyes. He then smiled looking at the Youko with an amused grin. He had let Yuko go and backed away a little but he never left his stare at the Youko.
"So this is the Youko, we meet again. Let's see what you do now Yuko."
Yuko watched in horror as the king pointed the crescent scepter towards Kurama's direction sending him to complete torture. Yuko rushed towards him only to fall on the ground in pain. She almost forgot about the bond. She slowly stood up and looked at her father.
"You promised you would never hurt him!"
"Ah but the Youko asked for it little one. Besides, don't you learn? I always lie… Why does it bring back memories?"
Images flashed into Yuko's head vividly reminding her why she was so keen in finding her guardians. As well as why she had hated her father so much.
Flash Back
The screams filled her line of hearing. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Oka-san...
Then there was the sound of wood connecting to skin, the cracks of broken bones and shouts of a tormented brother.
Oni-chan... (older brother)
She could not stop the tears falling from her closed eyes. This was what she had been born to do? Watch how her family was tormented and killed? She opened her eyes to see the disfigured body of her brother and the dying body of her mother. She cried even more, she couldn't do anything to stop what was happening to them and there was nothing she could do chained to the wall opposite to theirs.
"Oka-san... Oni-chan... Gomen nasai... Gomen nasai..." (Mother... Older brother... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry)
"Shhh... Don't worry Yuko, it's not your fault."
"Mother's right. I don't want to become father's perfect warrior because it will just cause an irreversible unbalance, he doesn't see that."
"I don't understand."
"You will soon little lily."
Yuko smiled through the tears when her brother used the pet name he had given her. That was before darkness filled her vision and the shouts of her mother and brother became distant and faded. She woke up in her bed; she sat up abruptly and looked around until her gaze fell upon her father who was looking at her. She backed away scared that he was going to make her watch how he slowly kills her mother and her brother. She pulled her teddy bear near her and hugged this as she looked at her father.
"Ah little lily."
"Don't call me that! You don't have a right to call me that. Only oni-chan can call me that!"
"Okay okay. Look Yuko, you can still save them if you want. It all rests upon your decision."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"What I mean is that your decision would ensure if they live or die."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Be my perfect warrior."
"No."
"Then they'll die. It's that simple."
"No."
"Don't you want to be powerful? To be like your brother?"
"No, he said you would cause irre- irre-her-sibal unbalance."
"Irreversible?"
"That too."
"Well your brother is an idiot. He does not see that if I am able to make the perfect warrior there will be no balance to think of."
"Oni-chan is not an idiot."
"Oh I'm sorry. So what do you say Yuko, you want to become powerful? You can still save them."
"You promise to let them go?"
"I promise with all my heart."
"Mama said you have no heart."
"Well then I promise with all my soul then."
"She said you have no soul as well."
"Well where do you want me to promise then?"
"You're honor as the king and as a man."
"Okay then I promise I'd let them go, I promise with my honor as the king and as a man."
"Okay... I'll be your warrior."
The king smiled and snapped his fingers. Yuko's mother and brother were brought in front of her and the tape on their mouths was pulled out. Yuko was about to run to them when the king stopped her.
"I have to tell you something Yuko, you see... I lied. Kill them!"
Yuko's eyes widened and saw how her mother was killed by being strangled, then blooded and her brother was beaten to death. She rushed to them but she was held back, some of her brother's blood splashed on her.
"Oka-san! Oni-chan! NO!!!!!"
End of Flash Back
Yuko's head was bowed now, tears streaming down her cheeks. The pain she was feeling now was slowly evaporating from her body. She looked up at her father and that cruel smile was all she saw.
"So what do you say little lily? You want to save him don't you?"
Yuko gathered enough energy in her hands and threw this to her father, causing him to let the scepter fall and stop the pain coursing through Kurama. Yuko delivered another energy ball towards the scepter destroying this. She looked at the fallen king being helped by the hooded person.
"I did save him and I told you before only oni-chan can call me by that name!"
She turned and looked at Kurama. She made her way towards him and helped her stand up just as Aya came up to them and took Kurama from her. She placed her hand on Kurama's chest and sent enough ki to heal anything that the pain has caused. She looked up at Aya and nodded.
"Tell him everything and before I could forget again, thank you for everything you have done for me and done with me."
"It was my outmost pleasure princess."
"Thank you."
She pushed away from Kurama just as a beam went straight for her. Ken had jumped in front of her and blocked it. Yuko jumped and landed a few meters away from the group. She looked at the king and the hooded person. He had seemed to just stand there but there was something about him that made Yuko feel worried.
Aya had made Kurama lean on the wall and when he was opening his eyes Aya smiled at him and opened his hands. Kurama saw a small orb and looked at Aya questioningly. He just smiled and pushed the orb into Kurama's chest. In a matter of seconds Kurama was plunged into images and memories. Everything was swirling around him but then stopped and he saw Yuko as a little girl chained to the wall, her eyes closed and across her a lady and a young man was being tortured. Kurama tried to make a move but a hand stopped him. He turned and saw Aya holding him back.
"We are only in a memory; we can only watch what is going on in this orb."
Kurama saw how Yuko had agreed to become the perfect warrior, how she had seen her mother and her brother be tortured and killed in front of her. It had placed Kurama in depression. He watched as Yuko was strapped in a chair and forced with chemicals, blood and other things in her system. All the while Aya was explaining it to him.
"Those blood you see them putting in her are the blood from her mother and brother. The chemicals that followed made sure that the genes of the blood was incorporated into her and the genes for strength, power and anything the can be used for war was enhanced and forced to reproduce inside her so that she can be a perfect fighting machine. Nano machines are placed inside her to distinguish the genes as well as moderate the chemicals."
"How does she take all this?"
"She is put to sleep but when she awakens in the middle of the transfer, she is plunged into pain and hallucinations, and it did not happen only once or twice. There's nothing they could do about it because anesthetic can produce damage to the chemicals."
"How do you know all these things?"
"I was assigned to guard her after the operations and the transfers. They explained to me what to do and what symptoms to watch out for. They explained the chemicals and the things they placed in her to be sure that I would be able to handle anything that can cause a problem to the experiment. They had to tell me everything so that I can distinguish anything normal, a slight problem or a fatal one."
"You agreed to everything?"
"I had no choice."
"Her brother, Toya why does he look so much like you?"
"Because of this."
He pointed to the last operation where they saw some of the machines malfunctioned; some of them exploded and added some more chemicals into her blood stream. Everyone was able to stop the operation and save the data as well as the machines but when Yuko had opened her eyes she had gone wild and wanted to destroy everyone, resulting to the halt of further experiments on her. Kurama watched as Yuko would try to kill Aya when he brings her food or tries to talk to her. In this memory Kurama noticed that Aya was looking very different from how he had looked now.
The following events explained why, Aya had undergone an operation so that he would look like Yuko's brother, so that he would be able to take care of her however at the same time Yuko was undergoing an operation where her memory was altered to think that everything that had happened before that day was nothing more than a dream. A new memory was placed in her mind and Kurama heard that she showed potential genes of a Youko because of the reaction of the chemicals in her. With that knowledge they had placed a memory of a Youko named Sienna as her mother and everything followed.
Kurama clenched his hands in anger and Aya stopped him in doing anything rash. Kurama watched as Yuko opened her eyes and saw Aya, now in Toya's features. Yuko smiled up to him but when Aya had said little lily Yuko shook her head and told him that she was Yuko. Kurama watched as Yuko grew up and met the other guardians, how Aya attacked her and how she lived in Subete without them. Kurama had never known anyone live a life like that and yet be filled with so much love. His thoughts seemed to echo because Aya had answered him.
"Her mother's gentleness, love and sweetness was incorporated into her, while her brother's determination, fighting abilities, and intelligent was also incorporated. It was a semi success operation as the scientists termed it. However they had high expectations for her, she was the first person they had done the experiment without dying after the first few days. Her fighting potentials were increased, as well as her stamina."
Kurama looked at him with outmost surprise and saw that his surroundings shifted and changed back into the stadium they were in. Kurama looked at Yuko who was fighting her father one on one. Kurama stood up with ease and watched as Yuko fought with all her strength with her father, supposedly her loving father. Just then the King sent a powerful attack to Yuko which she wasn't able to block. She was sent to the wall, creating a dent on it. The king laughed out loud and before Yuko could move he had spoken.
"Yuko you are impressive but I got a surprise for you."
A screen went down from the ceiling and showed them the slow destruction of the Dark forest. Yuko looked at it with horror. She watched as Yuna and the other guardians were killed and murdered by the trackers as well as the king's elite unit. Yuko watched even though she could not take the destruction of her friends and her people.
"Oh and there's another surprise I was meaning to give you."
Yuko looked at her father as the hooded person went to his side and slowly pushed back the hood, Yuko's eyes widened in disbelief. There standing beside her father in a black overall and an evil smile was Kathrin. Yuko looked up again at the screen and saw the same person kill her mother. Was this what Yuna said about the gift? Kathrin's gift?
"So you knew about her exchanging your soul for hers? Those guardians could be such a pain."
"I knew because she told me not because of the guardians of destiny."
Kathrin smiled towards her gently but then it changed into an evil grin and that's when she saw the gathered energy on her hands and before she could move or block it was released straight for her. It had hit her on the chest sending her deeper into the wall, she heard another blast and she saw a part of the ceiling falling towards her. However before it could fall upon her she had sunk into the darkness of unconsciousness.
Kurama saw Kathrin deliver another attack directed above Yuko sending piles and tons of rubble down on the unmoving princess. He moved towards that direct to try and save Yuko but as the dust settled around the stadium all the others could see was the pile of rubble and no sign of Kurama or Yuko. They looked at the two figures and attacked them. There were no more need for words their minds were already linked and thinking of the same thing. There was also no more time to wait, they need to stop the king at all cost… Even at their own…
Blood
Kurama was walking through the forest that night when he heard the unmistakable voices of the four guardians. Thinking that they were training with each other Kurama headed for that direction only to find Yuko and the four guardians fighting it out, four against one. He watched as Aya, Omi, Yoji and Ken sent elemental attacks to Yuko which she evades, blocks or takes. Not only does she avoid the elemental attacks but also the attacks the four guardians were delivering. She is punched, kicked and sent to multitudes of trees before dropping on the ground. When she looks up and starts to stand new assaults ensues. When the attacks neared her Kurama jumped in front of her and blocks the attacks with his wind powers, creating a wall where the attacks dissipate and dissolve. When the assault stopped and the guardians were able to see the wall, they went to Kurama who had dropped the wall instantly and turned to Yuko who was kneeling on the ground breathing heavily.
"What are you doing here?"
"Saving you, what else? You just finished a fight a while ago, lost most of your blood from the wounds and the plant, you were unconscious for the rest of the day and I find you here training again. Don't you think it's way too much abuse on your body?"
"Kurama I'd move aside if I were you."
"You were her guardians, how can you let her abuse herself like this?"
"Watch what you're saying Kurama."
"Excuse me? Watch what I am saying? I can't believe you're training her!"
"Kurama stand down, she is not who she appears to be."
"No, I'm not letting you hurt her again."
"Kurama stand down."
Ken gathered a small amount of energy when Kurama would not move from his place. He directed the said energy towards Kurama sending him to a tree and sprayed with water. When Kurama was gone from the path the rest of the guardians rushed forward and started attacking Yuko but much more severe than the last. Kurama tried to reach Yuko but Ken did not let him and increased the water pressing on Kurama.
"I'm sorry Kurama but we must do this."
Kurama watched as the three guardians attacked and slowly tortured Yuko without any mercy. When they were through and Yuko was barely alive, the girl shifted and changed into a demon. Ken had let him go now, feeling the pressure off his chest he coughed and stood behind the guardians looking at the demon, soaked but unharmed. Aya pulled the demon by the hair and threw him unto a tree; Omi suspended the demon from the ground with a steady gust of wind.
"Who hired you to kill the princess?"
"You can't make me talk."
"We'll see. Kenren."
Ken nodded and gathered a small amount of energy, enough to drench the demon and with it he threw it towards the demon while Yoji held Kurama away knowing full well he would want a piece of the filthy thing. Ken then stands aside and Yoji lets Kurama go, walks up to the demon and sent electricity unto his body. The demon reacted to the electricity involuntarily, increasing the pain and the suffering because of the water covering his skin. The smell of burning skin and slowly cooking flesh filled the night air; it was disgusting and gut-churning for Kurama but the four guardians had seem to not mind it at all. Yoji had stopped the flow of current and Ken splashed the demon with water again to wake him up. When the demon opened his eyes a little Aya had his katana on its throat.
"Who hired you to kill the princess?"
"I'm not talking."
"Mamomi."
Omi seemed to concentrate and give out more pressure on the wind attack causing the lack of air passing through the demon's lungs. After a few minutes and the demon was changing its color, the demon started talking.
"The... Ki- king..."
Omi released the demon who now lay motionless on the ground. They turned to leave bringing Kurama with them when he heard movement from behind them. Kurama reached something in his hair just as the demon moved to attack them. Kurama evaded the attack while the rest kept on walking, he had jumped as landed behind Yoji, who placed his arm around his shoulder and seemed to whisper something to Kurama. The demon had stopped at where he was and when Kurama and the others were a fair distance the demon fell on the ground, in pieces.
"Oka-san!" (Mother!)
Yuko woke up with a start and sat up on her bed looking at her surrounding briskly. When she had finally identified where she was, she placed her hand on her temple and started crying. Suddenly a soft, gentle hand started stroking her hair, and she felt the mattress weigh down with the added pressure and with the touch she felt relaxed and comfortable. She looked up at the owner of the touch and saw golden eyes looking straight at her gently, understanding what was going on. Arms wrapped around her body, pulling her closer into the warmth and the comfort.
"There, there dear child, it's all right, everything is all right."
"Kat... No, Yu- Yuna? What are you doing here?"
"I bring bad news child but first a gift."
"A gift?"
Yuko pushed herself away and looked at Yuna; there in her hands lay an orb with silver blue aura and a seal. Yuko recognized it as the orb his father used to threaten her with, Kurama's soul. Yuko cupped this in her hands and felt the surge of recognition from her touch, her essence was inside.
"It is mine?"
"Yes, your father does not have Kurama's soul, he has yours."
"But why would he say that it was Kurama's?"
"He knows you would not try to escape Subete if you knew the truth. He wanted you to escape, find the guardians and the warriors so that you would be able to bring them here and it would be a much easier task of destroying them together than apart. Increasing the possibility of his reign and your diminish."
"He played me again."
"I'm sorry Yuko, I should have told you this a long time ago. Your father bribed one of the elder guardians and consulted him for his future and the only thing they saw was defeat. Knowing, thus he looked for his perfect warrior to defend him but we were not powerful enough. Please be careful princess."
"What about Kathrin? You are here instead of her, has anything happened to her?"
"Kathrin was captured by the King. She is now dead. That was a gift from her. The laws of Subete are firm and cruel, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life. Do not think of her now princess. Go back to sleep, everything would be all right."
Yuna passed her hand on Yuko's eyes and Yuko had fallen to her pillow and slept. The orb lay in her hands and Yuna placed it near her heart and slowly her body absorbed the orb, finally it was back to where it originally belonged. Yuna slowly stood up from the bed and looked at Yuko. She had shed a tear but wiped it away. She walked out of the room and when she was past the room and the corridor she began to change and shift.
Kurama wanted to apologize at how he had acted a while ago but they had clearly pointed that it was not needed. As they had explained: They could see past disguises and masks for they were given that power. And he should have known it wasn't Yuko because he could not feel the pain she was receiving when they were attacking her. He had wanted to explain but it was clear from Aya that it was not necessary. He had wandered to Yuko's door, he thought about what he was doing there and seeing no harm in watching her for a few minutes, he opened the door and made his way to her side.
Yuko wanted to escape the dream she was in. It could not trigger any memory from the past, nor can she recognize the people in it. But she could clearly see the suffering and the pain they were in. She wanted to help but she could not think of anything at that precise moment. All she could think of was that she needs to help them, save them. It was the only thing passing through her brain when she heard herself say, "I'd do it." It was sort of distant and her voice seem to be small and higher in pitch. However the people did not let them go instead they killed the guy sending Yuko awake from her dream screaming.
"Toooyaaa!"
She was catching her breath when she started crying and clutching her body. Just then something scooped her into his arms and hugged her tightly pulling her close to his chest. She cried openly now, not caring what was around her or the fact that she was soaking the clothes she was leaning on. The person that hugged her slowly loosened his hold and kissed the top of her head. Yuko felt calm and peace and she had closed her eyes as the person stroked her hair gently, lovingly. He seems to be humming something but Yuko had ignored this basking in the comfort the person was giving. There were the kisses and the caresses, the touch and the hum, everything felt so perfect and yet there was no such thing as perfect. She opened her eyes and found Kurama looking at her, smiling and caressing her tear stained cheeks.
"Everything's all right now."
"How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know you had a nightmare and you just screamed Toya."
"Toya?"
The name sounded familiar to her as well as the nightmare but she could not still pin point what it was. Suddenly she felt very very scared, as if something was going to happen and she doesn't know what it was. She held on to Kurama like a little girl and then images, memories and the like flooded her head like rushing water. She closed her eyes and she was swimming in the memories that were sealed at the back of her mind now unlocked and flooding into her.
Kurama thought she had fallen back to sleep when she had quieted down. He placed her back to the bed and decided to see Aya about Toya. He pulled the blanket up to her neck and kissed her on the lips lightly. He turned to go just as he heard her crying again. This time it was almost inaudible. Kurama choose to ignore this and closed the door behind him. He turned to the door beside Yuko's room and knocked softly. He then opened the door and found Aya looking out the window to the moon. Kurama made his way to him and when he was beside him Aya spoke.
"Being a guardian is the best thing that could ever happen to a Cerenian and yet it is also the worst."
"I think I know what you are getting at."
"I heard the name Toya and yes I can tell you who he is but I think it's not in my authority to tell you. Yuko would tell you if she is ready."
"How long had you known her?"
"10 Cerenian years, that would be 20 earth years."
"Before that who takes care of her then?"
"Her mother, the queen."
"But when we met in Makai she was looking for her mother."
"I can not tell you why. I am the only one who knows why she is the way she is, that is why I am so keen on protecting her. The other guardians have no knowledge of what had happened before we were joined together. There was no need to until I found out that we re going to Exile but then there was no time to tell them."
"Have you ever regretted being her guardian?"
"That's a trick question right?"
"No I'm serious."
"In Subete there is no such thing as regret. If you regretted something the world would know, it can feel, you fall out of the grace of the fates, sealing your life in death. Why do you think we were all sent to Exile? Being the guardians of a powerful being and the princess our minds were opened from everything even the laws of the fates. We were able to open our eyes in the other things that make up Subete, something we could not see before. In a way we were freed from the bonds or the ignorance Cerenians possess. However we were still bound by the laws and the threads of fate. The good thing is that they could not kill us, the princess would not pick anyone else causing one of the minor unbalance in the world so the only way to return that balance was to send us out of Subete but still we were her guardians."
"You make it look like Subete isn't such a nice place to live in."
"Because it is not. After our minds were opened we found out how we were controlled by the King and his fates. How our lives were just lived with no freedom or thinking, we were given what to think what to do what to believe in. The only things that were free from that were the animals, the guardians of destiny, the four of us and the shifters."
"Guardians of Destiny?"
"Yuna's clan is not able to go out of the Dark forest because they are bound by the tradition of being guardians of destiny, as you had already known Kathrin is Yuna's daughter but like Yuko she is not bound by anything in Subete."
"If Subete is more like a prison than a place then why are you protecting Yuko, the next ruler of this world you hate so much?"
"It does not necessarily mean that if you do not like what is going on in the place you do not like to live there anymore. We are protecting Yuko because she can change everything in Subete. She can erase the laws and the fates, she can free us. How this is possible I can not say. But there is one thing I will tell you. The four guardians have broken too many laws, we have defied the fates for too many times and when the final epitaph is written inside the fates' book, we will fall. Yuko knows this and yet can not accept. We are willing to die for her and for this place but there is something we are not willing to do."
"And that would be?"
"Letting Yuko change Subete by offering her life. Please Kurama don't let her enter a crystal, she knows there is another way but she would not do it."
"I will try."
"Thank you."
The next day they made their way towards the stadium only to be surprised that it was changed into a forest. Yumiko, the commentator was seated up a branch while commenting on the following battle. The audience was either seated on the ground or the low branches. The ring was changed into an elevated clearing. Yuko looked at her guardians and then to the others. She made her way towards Yumiko, jumped to level with her and talked for a while. When she returned to them she had a worried look on her face. She pulled the guardians aside and when they had stopped talking the four of them turned around and went another direction.
"Yuko what's going on?"
"The stadium was changed for the request of the other team; I told Rairan and the others to find out something about this stadium."
"You're not sure if this is safe?"
"No I'm not sure if there is a stadium. Come on."
They made their way around the ring and Yuko stopped at something she saw. Just then the guardians returned panting.
"Yuko sama..."
"It's not real."
"How did you know?"
"Look at her."
Yuko pointed to the girl that was seated in front of her, she was breathing but she seemed to fluctuate and then go back to the girl seated and breathing. Yuko turned around and started running out of the stadium. The others followed and sped up even more when they looked at the watch and found that they have only three minutes to get to the other stadium which was a ten minute walk from the hotel.
Meanwhile inside the stadium Koenma was starting to get hysterical when Yusuke and the others were not yet there and they were doing the countdown for the forfeit of their battle. Yumiko was telling the audience about the fighters and unusually so the king was there watching from his throne. The doors were already starting to close when there was only 30 seconds to go before Yuko and the others forfeit.
Yuko was already near the door when she saw them start to close. She ran faster and the others followed her with ease. She passed the doors and delivered an attack that suspended the doors from moving allowing the others to enter. When everyone was already there she had dropped the attack and the doors slammed shut in front of her. She turned to the stadium where the others were waiting and the king looking straight at her. She walked towards the ring and jumped unto it followed by the four guys and the referee appeared in front of them.
"This is the final bout for the Subete tournament. The fight would be an all out battle between the two teams; the objective is to have as many fighters left inside the ring. Fighters ready!"
Yuko and the others positioned themselves as the other team started shedding their cloaks. When they had completely taken off their cloaks Yuko seems to be paralyzed on the spot. Four very familiar faces greeted her and her team mates, she was surprised and also angry; something inside her wanted to go all out on every one but then a part told her to stay calm. She was battling herself for the decision she had to take.
Aya saw the reaction Yuko had when she saw the four people in front of her. He recognized them and in a matter of minutes he saw the aura seeping out from Yuko. He made his way to the edge of the ring and shouted,
"Yusuke, Kurama get out of there now! Hiei, Kuwabara get the hell out of there!"
Yusuke turned to look at Aya and understood the look he gave them. When the referee gave out the signal to start Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara jumped out of the ring and headed for Aya and the others. They watched as Yuko powered up, how she positioned herself in another stance and seem to invite the four people to attack her. They had rushed straight for her and all Yuko did was deliver one punch and the four slowly disintegrated into nothing, as well as the ring that was reduced to dust but she was floating off the ground. She slowly touched the dust covered ground and look at her father above only to find him not there.
The door leading to the opponents quarters opened and two figures walked out of the shadows. Yuko saw her father walking with another person in a cloak covering his face. Yuko could never forget her father's face, those emerald eyes that she hates so much because it seems to reflect greed and evil all the time, his fiery hair that was always cut short above his ears and the cruel smile he had, she had always thought it was the only smile he knew. He was garbed in his favorite Magenta trousers and black royal shirt. In his hand, he was holding the scepter of Subete, a rod with the crescent moon on top, the four symbols of the elements engraved on the crescent and wings on either side of the moon.
The king and his companion stopped just a few feet away from Yuko and seem to look at her and the guardians with disgust and irritation. The hooded person released a powerful energy field around them killing the lower class demons and the other "unworthy" audiences. Yuko was not affected as well as the others except for Kuwabara because he was a human. Omi stayed beside him giving him first aid as well as protecting him from the flowing energy. Yuko felt the intense destruction following the wave and to counter it she sent an energy field matching the power of the first to balance the energies released in the stadium. Her father clapped.
"Bravo... It had seemed my perfect warrior has finally returned and awakened."
"I will never follow or help you."
"Oh but I can make you... I can certainly make you, just like how I made you into what you are now."
He waved the scepter in front of them and to images flashed in front of Yuko. She remembered the lady that was in front of her, those golden eyes, sweet loving smile, long ebony black hair and flowing white dress. She remembered her, how can she possibly forget her own mother. Then the young man that was beside her sent Yuko stepping a few steps back. The red hair, those violet eyes, pale skin and emotionless demeanor clearly reminded her of Aya. She shook her head and held it with her right hand. Aya outstretched his hands and a force field surrounded the eight people behind Yuko just as she released a very powerful energy. She screamed as she released it killing those few people that was left inside the stadium and wasn't able to escape.
When the energy had dissipated Yuko looked up at her father anger and hate visible in her eyes. The king was still smiling at her. He walked towards her and lifted her chin towards him. Aya had dropped the force field but he was drained in putting it up. It had been so long since she had last used her powers and yet it still sent the same results towards them. He could not understand it, she should have known by now but it had seemed that the medicine was still inside her. The king smiled at Yuko and looked at her guardians. He sent a wave of power towards them and Yoji quickly countered it with his lightning.
"You have seemed to train them even more. Don't you remember how you used to play with those powers?"
"Let me go."
"And I remember how you would plead for your brother's life."
"Let me go."
"As well as for your mother."
"I said let me go."
"Then it was for your own."
"Let her go!"
It was the first time Kurama spoke up and the King looked at him with death in his eyes. He then smiled looking at the Youko with an amused grin. He had let Yuko go and backed away a little but he never left his stare at the Youko.
"So this is the Youko, we meet again. Let's see what you do now Yuko."
Yuko watched in horror as the king pointed the crescent scepter towards Kurama's direction sending him to complete torture. Yuko rushed towards him only to fall on the ground in pain. She almost forgot about the bond. She slowly stood up and looked at her father.
"You promised you would never hurt him!"
"Ah but the Youko asked for it little one. Besides, don't you learn? I always lie… Why does it bring back memories?"
Images flashed into Yuko's head vividly reminding her why she was so keen in finding her guardians. As well as why she had hated her father so much.
Flash Back
The screams filled her line of hearing. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Oka-san...
Then there was the sound of wood connecting to skin, the cracks of broken bones and shouts of a tormented brother.
Oni-chan... (older brother)
She could not stop the tears falling from her closed eyes. This was what she had been born to do? Watch how her family was tormented and killed? She opened her eyes to see the disfigured body of her brother and the dying body of her mother. She cried even more, she couldn't do anything to stop what was happening to them and there was nothing she could do chained to the wall opposite to theirs.
"Oka-san... Oni-chan... Gomen nasai... Gomen nasai..." (Mother... Older brother... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry)
"Shhh... Don't worry Yuko, it's not your fault."
"Mother's right. I don't want to become father's perfect warrior because it will just cause an irreversible unbalance, he doesn't see that."
"I don't understand."
"You will soon little lily."
Yuko smiled through the tears when her brother used the pet name he had given her. That was before darkness filled her vision and the shouts of her mother and brother became distant and faded. She woke up in her bed; she sat up abruptly and looked around until her gaze fell upon her father who was looking at her. She backed away scared that he was going to make her watch how he slowly kills her mother and her brother. She pulled her teddy bear near her and hugged this as she looked at her father.
"Ah little lily."
"Don't call me that! You don't have a right to call me that. Only oni-chan can call me that!"
"Okay okay. Look Yuko, you can still save them if you want. It all rests upon your decision."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"What I mean is that your decision would ensure if they live or die."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Be my perfect warrior."
"No."
"Then they'll die. It's that simple."
"No."
"Don't you want to be powerful? To be like your brother?"
"No, he said you would cause irre- irre-her-sibal unbalance."
"Irreversible?"
"That too."
"Well your brother is an idiot. He does not see that if I am able to make the perfect warrior there will be no balance to think of."
"Oni-chan is not an idiot."
"Oh I'm sorry. So what do you say Yuko, you want to become powerful? You can still save them."
"You promise to let them go?"
"I promise with all my heart."
"Mama said you have no heart."
"Well then I promise with all my soul then."
"She said you have no soul as well."
"Well where do you want me to promise then?"
"You're honor as the king and as a man."
"Okay then I promise I'd let them go, I promise with my honor as the king and as a man."
"Okay... I'll be your warrior."
The king smiled and snapped his fingers. Yuko's mother and brother were brought in front of her and the tape on their mouths was pulled out. Yuko was about to run to them when the king stopped her.
"I have to tell you something Yuko, you see... I lied. Kill them!"
Yuko's eyes widened and saw how her mother was killed by being strangled, then blooded and her brother was beaten to death. She rushed to them but she was held back, some of her brother's blood splashed on her.
"Oka-san! Oni-chan! NO!!!!!"
End of Flash Back
Yuko's head was bowed now, tears streaming down her cheeks. The pain she was feeling now was slowly evaporating from her body. She looked up at her father and that cruel smile was all she saw.
"So what do you say little lily? You want to save him don't you?"
Yuko gathered enough energy in her hands and threw this to her father, causing him to let the scepter fall and stop the pain coursing through Kurama. Yuko delivered another energy ball towards the scepter destroying this. She looked at the fallen king being helped by the hooded person.
"I did save him and I told you before only oni-chan can call me by that name!"
She turned and looked at Kurama. She made her way towards him and helped her stand up just as Aya came up to them and took Kurama from her. She placed her hand on Kurama's chest and sent enough ki to heal anything that the pain has caused. She looked up at Aya and nodded.
"Tell him everything and before I could forget again, thank you for everything you have done for me and done with me."
"It was my outmost pleasure princess."
"Thank you."
She pushed away from Kurama just as a beam went straight for her. Ken had jumped in front of her and blocked it. Yuko jumped and landed a few meters away from the group. She looked at the king and the hooded person. He had seemed to just stand there but there was something about him that made Yuko feel worried.
Aya had made Kurama lean on the wall and when he was opening his eyes Aya smiled at him and opened his hands. Kurama saw a small orb and looked at Aya questioningly. He just smiled and pushed the orb into Kurama's chest. In a matter of seconds Kurama was plunged into images and memories. Everything was swirling around him but then stopped and he saw Yuko as a little girl chained to the wall, her eyes closed and across her a lady and a young man was being tortured. Kurama tried to make a move but a hand stopped him. He turned and saw Aya holding him back.
"We are only in a memory; we can only watch what is going on in this orb."
Kurama saw how Yuko had agreed to become the perfect warrior, how she had seen her mother and her brother be tortured and killed in front of her. It had placed Kurama in depression. He watched as Yuko was strapped in a chair and forced with chemicals, blood and other things in her system. All the while Aya was explaining it to him.
"Those blood you see them putting in her are the blood from her mother and brother. The chemicals that followed made sure that the genes of the blood was incorporated into her and the genes for strength, power and anything the can be used for war was enhanced and forced to reproduce inside her so that she can be a perfect fighting machine. Nano machines are placed inside her to distinguish the genes as well as moderate the chemicals."
"How does she take all this?"
"She is put to sleep but when she awakens in the middle of the transfer, she is plunged into pain and hallucinations, and it did not happen only once or twice. There's nothing they could do about it because anesthetic can produce damage to the chemicals."
"How do you know all these things?"
"I was assigned to guard her after the operations and the transfers. They explained to me what to do and what symptoms to watch out for. They explained the chemicals and the things they placed in her to be sure that I would be able to handle anything that can cause a problem to the experiment. They had to tell me everything so that I can distinguish anything normal, a slight problem or a fatal one."
"You agreed to everything?"
"I had no choice."
"Her brother, Toya why does he look so much like you?"
"Because of this."
He pointed to the last operation where they saw some of the machines malfunctioned; some of them exploded and added some more chemicals into her blood stream. Everyone was able to stop the operation and save the data as well as the machines but when Yuko had opened her eyes she had gone wild and wanted to destroy everyone, resulting to the halt of further experiments on her. Kurama watched as Yuko would try to kill Aya when he brings her food or tries to talk to her. In this memory Kurama noticed that Aya was looking very different from how he had looked now.
The following events explained why, Aya had undergone an operation so that he would look like Yuko's brother, so that he would be able to take care of her however at the same time Yuko was undergoing an operation where her memory was altered to think that everything that had happened before that day was nothing more than a dream. A new memory was placed in her mind and Kurama heard that she showed potential genes of a Youko because of the reaction of the chemicals in her. With that knowledge they had placed a memory of a Youko named Sienna as her mother and everything followed.
Kurama clenched his hands in anger and Aya stopped him in doing anything rash. Kurama watched as Yuko opened her eyes and saw Aya, now in Toya's features. Yuko smiled up to him but when Aya had said little lily Yuko shook her head and told him that she was Yuko. Kurama watched as Yuko grew up and met the other guardians, how Aya attacked her and how she lived in Subete without them. Kurama had never known anyone live a life like that and yet be filled with so much love. His thoughts seemed to echo because Aya had answered him.
"Her mother's gentleness, love and sweetness was incorporated into her, while her brother's determination, fighting abilities, and intelligent was also incorporated. It was a semi success operation as the scientists termed it. However they had high expectations for her, she was the first person they had done the experiment without dying after the first few days. Her fighting potentials were increased, as well as her stamina."
Kurama looked at him with outmost surprise and saw that his surroundings shifted and changed back into the stadium they were in. Kurama looked at Yuko who was fighting her father one on one. Kurama stood up with ease and watched as Yuko fought with all her strength with her father, supposedly her loving father. Just then the King sent a powerful attack to Yuko which she wasn't able to block. She was sent to the wall, creating a dent on it. The king laughed out loud and before Yuko could move he had spoken.
"Yuko you are impressive but I got a surprise for you."
A screen went down from the ceiling and showed them the slow destruction of the Dark forest. Yuko looked at it with horror. She watched as Yuna and the other guardians were killed and murdered by the trackers as well as the king's elite unit. Yuko watched even though she could not take the destruction of her friends and her people.
"Oh and there's another surprise I was meaning to give you."
Yuko looked at her father as the hooded person went to his side and slowly pushed back the hood, Yuko's eyes widened in disbelief. There standing beside her father in a black overall and an evil smile was Kathrin. Yuko looked up again at the screen and saw the same person kill her mother. Was this what Yuna said about the gift? Kathrin's gift?
"So you knew about her exchanging your soul for hers? Those guardians could be such a pain."
"I knew because she told me not because of the guardians of destiny."
Kathrin smiled towards her gently but then it changed into an evil grin and that's when she saw the gathered energy on her hands and before she could move or block it was released straight for her. It had hit her on the chest sending her deeper into the wall, she heard another blast and she saw a part of the ceiling falling towards her. However before it could fall upon her she had sunk into the darkness of unconsciousness.
Kurama saw Kathrin deliver another attack directed above Yuko sending piles and tons of rubble down on the unmoving princess. He moved towards that direct to try and save Yuko but as the dust settled around the stadium all the others could see was the pile of rubble and no sign of Kurama or Yuko. They looked at the two figures and attacked them. There were no more need for words their minds were already linked and thinking of the same thing. There was also no more time to wait, they need to stop the king at all cost… Even at their own…