::12::Destination Break::
"That's it?"
"Yes…the Palace of Makai."
"You can feel the you-ki emanating from it…"
The bat youkai's leathery black wings folded tightly against his back as he stole a glance at Kurama, Yusuke and Hiei. Swatting a few pitch-black strands of hair from shading his amethyst orbs, he felt his body tense with growing apprehension. He could tell his other two companions were feeling the same way; they were three against an army.
In the far distance, settled in an unearthly-looking bamboo forest, sat the grand Palace of Makai. The stonewalls were sheeted with pure gold, reflecting the sunlight like a mirror as the many youkai wandered around it. Most seemed to be training, with weapons like swords, spears…err…big energy blasts…
"They all have similar energy signals," Kurama pointed out, "we can safely assume they are all deriving their power from Yakumo."
"So if we take out their ring leader they all go down?" Yusuke asked, turning his head to look at the kitsune.
"Not necessarily. They will not die, but instead go back to their original power class."
"It still means Yakumo's our only target," Kuronue stated, "We just have to get past the guards."
Kurama nodded, "Exactly."
"Hn…" Hiei suddenly spoke up for the first time in hours, "so I suspect you have a brilliant plan, thieves?" he smirked.
"Not really," Kurama said bluntly, "First we need someone to cover the perimeter of the Palace so we have a good idea of the guards' positions."
"Fine," Hiei nodded, and before anyone could blink he disappeared in a barely visible flash of black and white.
"Once Hiei comes back we can devise a strategy for entering the Palace unnoticed."
……
Several hours later, Hiei returned with the information the thieves and detective needed. Kurama and Kuronue, with some help from Hiei, worked on the breaking-and-entering plan while Yusuke kept an eye on the guards below for any suspicious activity.
"Kuronue. With Yakumo using the power of your pendant, what can we expect?" Kurama asked, sweeping a silver strand of hair out of his sharp eyes to look at his partner.
"Yakumo probably does not know how to use the stone properly. Only a descendant, or trainee, of my great-great grandfather can wield it without side effects," the bat explained, "I wasn't even able to wield it properly. He shouldn't have access to its energy."
"So you don't know what sort of power he can wield now?"
"Right."
Kurama sighed, closing his amber orbs as he leaned against the trunk of another tree. His silver bangs swung smoothly back into place over his eyes as he let his head roll to the side to look at his partner again. "You know these odds are against us, Kuronue. Without a basic understanding of his abilities we have very little chance of winning…"
"I know. I suppose we'll have to wing it once we get inside."
"Yes," sighing again, the kitsune turned his sharp gaze to Yusuke, looking bored as he watched the demonic activity below, "Yusuke! Come here, you will need to know the plan before we execute it…"
……
WHAM!
A pale fist made hard, silent contact with the skull of a green-skinned demon. Said unconscious creature was quickly dragged into the trees, and nobody was the wiser.
Kuronue's pitch-black wings fanned out behind his lean, muscular form as he rose into the dark Makai sky, his narrowed violet eyes scanning the ground below for his next ambush victim.
From his vantage point, he could see a silver sheen amongst the yellow-green bamboo poles, but only because he'd been specifically looking for the kitsune. Anyone else would never have noticed.
Pumping his leathery wings, Kuronue soared smoothly through the windless night, almost perfectly blending in with the black, moonless sky above. His hawk-like violet gaze caught movement below, and he immediately swooped into a perfect dive, aiming a well-placed kick to the other youkai's neck below. Hearing a satisfying crack that said a neck had been snapped in two, he quickly pulled out of the dive and glided a few feet, before rising steadily upwards again on a warm column of air.
"Last one," he muttered to himself, confirming that his task was done.
Watching the ground below intently, he hovered in mid-air, making long, slow pumps with his wings.
Suddenly the quiet scene on the ground erupted into chaos.
"Over there! INTRUDER!"
"Those two have ambushed us!"
"MOVE OUT!"
"There it is…!" zooming like an airborne torpedo, the bat youkai cut through the air with amazing speed. The actual Palace was just yards ahead…
Finally he reached the roof, unnoticed, making a smooth, silent landing on the shiny stone surface of the Palace roof.
"So gullible," a deep, smooth voice echoed from behind him.
"True," smirking with satisfaction at the flawless ambush, Kuronue turned to meet the steady amber gaze of Kurama.
As if a silent cue had been issued, the two thieves ran to the edge of the roof and looked down at the side of the Palace.
"There's a window," Kurama pointed to a dark opening in the shiny stone a few feet to their right, and hoisted himself over the edge without hesitation, quickly followed by Kuronue.
Keeping a firm grip on the edge of the roof, the two thieves edged their way along the side of the Palace, easily finding foot holds where the old stone had eroded away, taking the gold sheeting with it. Once they reached the window, their feet perched on the top that jutted out of the side of the Palace, they let go and expertly jumped down, so they were resting on the windowsill with their hands gripping the top of the window.
Sliding in, they silently landed on the dull stone floor.
"I can smell him, that way," Kurama took off at a silently, swift run down a pitch-black hallway, with his bat partner closely in tow.
……
"REIGUN!"
WHAM!
Several youkai guards met their deaths as they slammed up against various thick bamboo trunks, their spines snapping in two like dried up winter twigs.
Smirking, the wielder of said reigun cockily crossed his arms over his chest, glancing sideways as the sound of metallic clashing reached his ears.
He watched as Hiei's sword collided with his foe's, easily flinging the sword out of the other youkai's hand. It went flying in a graceful arc, before landing somewhere in the bamboo forest, probably caught up between several stalks.
Hiei made a swift swipe at the guard's head, decapitating it without trouble. Blood splattered his smooth, pale face again; he made an absent wipe at the specks with his black-cloaked arm before sheathing the weapon.
"So that's it?" Yusuke approached the shorter youkai, scrutinizing the bamboo forest as if it was the reason the fights had ended so soon.
"It seems so. I guess Yakumo didn't want to waste his power on these foolish guards…they must not be a part of his real army," Hiei said briskly.
"Well, now that their asses are kicked, let's go back up foxboy and batman," Yusuke took off at a run to the now-deserted front of the Palace, making wild swipes at the bamboo that got in his way as he ran.
Hiei snorted at Kuronue's new "nickname" before disappearing after the detective, easily zooming ahead of the teen and slicing any bamboo stalks that got in his way.
……
"Do you think the commander was foolish enough to send all of his guards after Hiei and Yusuke?" Kurama inquired of Kuronue curiously, getting bored after running down several pitch-black passages. It was odd; they hadn't run into one single member of Yakumo's army.
"I hope so," was the bat's reply, "they can probably get through any that stayed back, though."
The rest of the passages were run through in total silence as the two thieves prepared to confront a force completely unknown, with Yusuke and Hiei struggling to follow their footsteps not far behind.
::End::Chapter::
Five pages…well, next chap a bunch of real action starts, so get ready! This is getting easier to write as I go along so expect possibly sooner updates from now on…hopefully…