Author's note: Sorrysorrysorry. It's been far too long since the last update. Been kinda busy lately so...yeah, here it is.

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all the characters in the wonderful show do not belong to me but all original characters do.

Note: italics indicate thoughts. /words/ indicate telepathy.


Confinement
Chapter Six: Consciousness

"What does she mean by that, Kurama?" Yusuke demanded. He was getting sick and tired of Shinju's stuck-up attitude and stupid riddles, and now she was just standing there, smirking and speaking nonsense. It was making him very irritated.

The redhead did not respond. He was too shocked by the girl's response to his whispered question.

"Oi, Kurama!" Yusuke screamed.

Kurama finally came out of his stupor and glanced over at the raven-haired boy. "It means it's impossible for us to kill her," he answered in a dead tone, "She can't die. She's immortal."

"Che, she's gotta be lying," the leader of the group said, "Even I know that only gods can be immortal."

"It took you long enough."

"Look, you bitch," Yusuke shouted, "I am sick and tired of you and your damned secrets. Just who the fuck are you?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Shinju asked, "You said yourself, 'only gods can be immortal.'"

"And you're expecting us to believe that you are a god?" Yusuke stuck out his middle finger to show just what he thought of her answer. "Don't make me laugh."

Shinju paid no attention to his rude gesture or his remark. Instead, she closed her eyes and focused her energy within her. Her form began to glow again, only this time, it shined with a much greater intensity. The air around her picked up and became fierce cyclones of wind. Her soiled clothes ripped away from her body and her form disappeared in the blinding light.

The Reikai Tantei crouched into their defensive stances but nothing could have prepared them for what happened next.

Though they thought impossible, Shinju's form glowed even brighter, so bright that the four of them had to avert their gaze. It was as if her entire body had been engulfed by white light. Then the light started to extend, becoming longer and longer. When the stream of light reached the length of sixty feet, the glow died down. The Tantei looked in horror and awe as a dragon materialized in front of them.

The dragon was Oriental in nature, long and slender. Her glistening scales were the color of pure snow. Silky white mane covered her back from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. Even in the low lighting inside the cave, her sharp talons gleamed liked diamonds. The dragon's form floated in front of the four detectives, staring at them with amused ice blue eyes.

"Dra-dra-dragon!" Kuwabara was the first to find his voice.

/Aren't you a smart one?/ Shinju's sarcastic voice appeared inside of their heads.

"You're a telepath, too?" Kurama inquired.

/Only in my true form,/ Shinju answered, /Telepathy allows me to communicate with non-dragons./

"Now that you've shown your true shape," Hiei said, "identify yourself. Who are you?"

/I did not lie to you about who I am. Some call me by the name of Shinju,/ the voice said, /but perhaps my official title will be more familiar to your ears./ Shinju's dragon form rose in the air and towered over the four. /I am Tatsumi-joshin, Pearl of the Sea, the youngest and most beloved daughter of Ryuujin./ The dragon bared her teeth and flexed her claws. /And now that I'm in my true form, killing you will be even simpler./

Everything around them proceeded to erupt.

"I'm definitely gonna kill Koenma for this," Yusuke said in a painful grunt.

Yusuke didn't quite know how they got away from that attack but they somehow did, though not without some serious injuries. He could feel a few broken ribs under his skin. The raven-haired leader then looked around and surveyed the rest of the team. Kuwabara was lying on his back, breathing heavily and bleeding from several wounds. Hiei managed to get by with only a few cuts and bruises but Kurama had not been so lucky. He seemed to have suffered the brunt of the attack. The redhead was unconscious with his head cradled in Hiei's lap. Most of Kurama's minor injuries had been cared for by the fire demon, but the fox was too pale and too still. Only the steady rise and fall of Kurama's chest indicated he was still living.

Suddenly, the redhead started to toss and turn, though his eyes stayed tightly shut. He looked like he was having a nightmare. A very vivid nightmare. Kurama's hands were clenched tightly, his nails digging into his skin. Silent moans escaped from his lips. And then his eyes snapped open, filled with sudden realization and understanding.

"Kurama, what did you see?" Hiei asked.

It took a moment for the fox to regain his composure, but when he did, he replied, "I think I know why Shinju's after me." He then explained everything.

"Koenma-sama, Botan just came back from Jinshan," George informed.

"And?" the lord asked, currently in his teenage form, "What did she find?"

"Nothing," the oni said sadly, "She couldn't get a read of what was happening inside the cave. Tatsumi-joshin must have completely blinded the outside world with her powers."

"It is as I feared," Koenma admitted. He sighed and looked at the opened book in front of him. He had been reading up on the goddess, her father, and dragons in general. It just did not add up. "Why the animosity, though? Out of the four elemental dragons, water dragons are the Watchers, preferring not to get involved in affairs that are not their own. They are supposed to be beautiful, elegant and aloof creatures. Why trap human souls within a cave?" He pondered on the question for a few minutes but, like all the times before, he drew up a blank.

"Koenma-sama, what are you going to do about Yusuke and the others?" George asked, "Do you have a plan to rescue them?"

Koenma sighed again, more sadly this time. "It would be foolish and suicidal to send a team into that cave," he said, "Until we can find a way to defeat Tatsumi-joshin and her powers, Yusuke and his team are on their own. I just hope they know what they're facing."

George's face looked grim but then suddenly lit up. "Sir, might I suggest an idea?"

"Shinju, or Tatsumi-joshin, fell in love with a human two thousand years ago," Kurama explained, "They were a very happy couple, it seemed. Shinju completely trusted the young man and entrusted him with her secrets. Among them was the only way to seal a dragon: with the dragon's blood. As time passed, the young man's interest in Shinju diminished and he found himself another girl that could his fancy. He couldn't risk the goddess' wrath so he decided to trick her into this cave and trap her here. It worked. The blood seal we saw is proof of that.

Over the past two thousand years, Shinju's been taking her anger out on the people of the neighboring villages. Since she's a water dragon, and a rather powerful one at that, she has complete control over the element, which meant she could cause floods, draughts, and anything else that's associated with water. She wrecked havoc on the villages until they prayed for her to stop. However, they had to pay a price for her mercy: human sacrifices. Shinju demanded a young couple be sent into the cave every month. She killed them and kept their souls entrapped. 'If I can't be free, I'll just have to imprison you all.' That was her viewpoint.

The sacrifices started to thin down after a while; the villages were just no longer willing to send young lovers to their graves. Shinju completely lost it and flooded the entire area. That happened about five hundred years ago. A hundred years later, the people began to populate the area again, only they knew nothing about the vengeful goddess trapped inside the mountain. Instead of opening declaring her presence, Shinju decided it was more interesting to trick humans into the cave. She's been doing that for the past four hundred years."

"That's one messed up lady," Yusuke said, "but it doesn't explain why she hates you so much."

"I think she has valid reason to hate the one who sealed her here," Kurama countered.

"You?!?" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted at the same time.

The redhead shook his head. "I'm not saying I sealed her personally," he explained, "but from what I've gathered from my visions and our conversations with Shinju, it was definitely my ancestor that did the job. My human ancestor."

Hiei smirked at this. "Impressive, fox," he mocked, "You manage to make powerful enemies no matter what form you're in."

Kurama smiled a little, too. "What can I say, Hiei, it's a gift."

"Well, now I understand why she's so pissed off with you," Yusuke interrupted, "but it's not like it was you who trapped her here. She can't be so eager to kill you simply because you're a decent of her betraying ex-lover."

"Unfortunately, Yusuke," Kurama said in a solemn voice, "that's exactly why she's so eager to kill me. My death will end the binding spell."

"How?" Hiei beat Yusuke to the punch on that question.

"The blood seal that was placed on Shinju is directly connected to the sealer's blood. Simply put, the last of bloodline must die to release the magic on the seal. I'm assuming the bloodline we're talking about is my father's, since Kaasan is most definitely still alive. Tousan has no living kin except for me. I would be the last, then, wouldn't I?"

"And there's no other way to end the curse?" Kuwabara asked.

The redhead furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought. "I don't know," he eventually said, "I've read about these kind of seals but no much is said about how to remove them. I suppose there could be another way…"

"Great!" the carrot-top exclaimed, "All we have to do is find it. Then she'll let us go, right? After all, she only wants to leave this cave."

"I guess," Kurama admitted, "but to find it and execute it before she finds us and kills us could prove to be very difficult."

"She's powerful, I'll give her that," the raven-haired leader said, "but she's not invincible. We've managed to injure her before."

"Baka," Hiei said, "She was in her human form then. Now that she's shown her true self, she'll be a lot more powerful."

"And I'm sure you've all noticed that she can use telekinesis," Kurama added.

"Yeah, what about that?" Yusuke asked.

"Well, even among dragons, telekinesis is a rare ability," the fox explained, "Only the most powerful dragons have the time and patience to develop it enough to actually use it. Two thousand years is a long time to practice and perfect the ability. From seeing Shinju in action, I'd say her powers are near those of her father's."

There was a moment of dead silence.

"If she is truly that powerful," Hiei said, breaking the silence, "then we'd best have a plan. I won't let her kill Kurama."

"Hiei..." The display of concern was underlined with a touch of love. Kurama knew that it was as much affection as Hiei would show in public.

The fire demon gave a small shrug, as if to say 'don't get all mushy, fox.' "She won't get near Kurama without a fight."

The other three detectives nodded and they began work on formulating a course of action.

Damn it, they got away again!

Though the wounds she had sustained could not render her unconscious, they still took their toll on Shinju's body. It was because of her weakened state that allowed the four Reikai Tantei to survive her attacks once more. Shinju transformed back to her human form as it took up less space and energy to maintain. Her wounds were healing quickly and the blood lost was already being replaced, but the goddess still felt physical exhausted from the numerous battles that took place in such a little timeframe.

"I suppose I can let them have a few moments of rest," she said as she dove into the lake's water, just letting her body sink towards the bottom. The water felt refreshing against her skin. Shinju looked down at her naked form. "I should probably get another change of clothes, too." With a small smile, she proceeded to do a little "shopping" on the lake bottom.

She swam slowly through the clear water, stopping every now and then to study a certain corpse's clothing. Finally finding one to her tastes, Shinju used a little bit of her telekinetic powers to remove the outfit from the rotten body. By the time the clothes reached her hands, the water had cleaned it thoroughly. Shinju chose a long sapphire summer dress, one with a blue bow on the back that trailed down the length of the dress. She put it on quickly and then floated above the water to admire her reflection on its surface. All her wounds had healed by then and her skin was once again flawless.

"Ready or not..." she said before she was engulfed by white light. Her form changed to that of a dragon once again, beautiful and ethereal. /...here I come./


One more chapter and then a short epilogue. Sorry it took so long. Next chapter should be up really soon, I promise. Please review!