Pt 17
"What in the…" Keiko spun when the door swung open. "Yusuke!" Yusuke stumbled in carrying Miya.
"Hurry, she's lost a lot of blood. Grab the med kit! I'm putting her in the guest room." Keiko nodded dumbly and raced for the med kit. Gently Yusuke carried Miya to the large bed and lowered her down. She winced once she shifted position but almost instantly her expression settled back to the fixed blank look. Damn Hiei, this has got to be the worst kind of payback; you've put her life in my hands. Fine, I'll keep up my end of the deal but if you get yourself killed I'll never forgive you, you bastard.
Keiko came rushing in and shooed him out. The only thing he did worse than dishes was dressing a wound.
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Hiei bit back a swear when Jougen advanced. Damn it, the guy was too fast to see.
"You see, Hiei, I let the little kitsune girl win. In fact you cannot beat me on your own." Hiei gritted his teeth and tried to concentrate on the flashes. Jougen appeared to his left, only to vanish and reappear behind him. His arm sliced through empty air repeatedly. A punch to his gut knocked him back and Jougen took advantage of his lack of balance and rained blows on him. Hiei's arms flailed until they hit the wall and he used it to steady himself. He wiped off blood from his chin while Jougen chuckled.
"Come on, at least make me break a sweat!" With a growl Hiei shoved himself off the wall and launched himself at the yokai. Jougen sidestepped him easily but didn't see when Hiei twisted just as he missed Jougen's shoulder and sent a flying kick at his legs. Jougen's feet went flying out from underneath him and Hiei followed it up with a kick to the side of his head. It connected with a satisfying thud. Hiei smirked until Jougen's fingers wrapped around his wrist and yanked him backward.
The crack echoed as the koorime's skull connected with the hard, tiled floor. Before he could react, the malignant yokai's foot came crushing down on his ribs. His eyes widened and he coughed up blood. Jougen snickered and pressed his foot down harder. With a shudder, Hiei sent a blast of spirit energy up at him.
He dodged and jumped back and Hiei rolled quickly to the side to escape the reflected attack. He lay on his stomach trying to regain his breath. Blood dribbled onto the white floor in front of him. Jougen looked mildly irritated. A pencil-line of blood oozed out of his cheek. He wiped it off and idly flicked his finger as if disposing of some minute irritant.
"Very good Hiei. A dumb move in a desperate situation turned out to be your best attack so far. You were actually able to do some damage." Desperately Hiei tried to remember everything Koenma told him about Banshi's weaknesses.
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"For heaven's sake, don't shoot him! He reflects any and every spirit attack; it's his strength." Yusuke scratched his head.
"So then how are we supposed to fight this guy?"
"You could try using your brain for once! Try out-thinking him, out-smarting, out-running, out-lasting, out-punching, out-anything except out-shooting."
"What about my spirit sword?" Koenma sighed in exasperation.
"Were you always this thick Kuwabara or is it something you've learned from Yusuke? What is it about ANY AND EVERY SPIRIT ATTACK that you don't understand? I mean your attack is called a SPIRIT sword for crying out loud!" Hiei snickered.
"It looks like idiocy is a common trait among ningens!" Yusuke and Kuwabara glared at him.
"I dunno what that means but I don't like your tone of voice!" Kuwabara sputtered. The koorime sighed.
"My point precisely."
"Surely you don't think that all humans are that way. I'm human right now." Hiei glanced over at the red-headed kitsune.
"I've never considered you to be human, Kurama."
"If we've finished with the name and species calling, this is serious!" All four fighters turned to the ranting toddler. "He's fast. He tends to stay out of reach until he's ready to attack. At times he can move fast enough to seem like he's in two places at once. If you get a hold of him don't let go. Holding on to him is the only way to ensure that he'll be where you want him when you actually do launch an attack. It's going to take all of you everything you've got to take this one down. Banshi was one of the best we had here."
"Koenma, when did Banshi leave here?"
The toddler pushed a few buttons on the screen and swore. A chibi version of Koenma ranted across the screen.
"Kari!!" The young assistant came into the office.
"Yes sir?" He waved absently to the fighters.
"Kari these are the guy, guys Kari."
"She's eight years old!" Kuwabara exploded. Kari grinned impishly.
"Thanks for noticing!"
"Kari, first, get this off the computer. Second I need Banshi's record." One tap got rid of the embarrassing picture.
"All you had to do was access the database labeled SpiritWorld Paperwork. Then just choose the Table icon and click on Employees. Then click on Yokai Employees and that'll take you to a list. There're only two choices, Current or Past. Banshi's past so click that one. The names of SpiritWorld ex-employees are listed alphabetically so you scroll down until you see his name. Surface stats are listed horizontally and you have to click on In-depth to get the rest. Think you can do that?"
"That's what I pay you for!" She sighed and clicked apparently randomly and then Banshi's face appeared. "Let's see, it says here that he left exactly nineteen years eleven months and twenty eight days ago."
"Funny," Hiei looked thoughtful, "that's exactly the same time Kurama escaped from the Makai world and entered the human world!" Kurama shrugged.
"Some coincidence!" Kari didn't look convinced. She typed a few words and another screen came up.
"Look at this!" She scrolled down the screen. "Banshi was born on the exact same day five hundred and twenty seven years ago. He was hired on the same day, he quit on the same day, the barrier between human worlds went down on the same day…it looks like about twenty different things happened concerning Banshi happened on the exact same day of different years!" Everybody turned to look at Kurama.
"Maybe he was the one who tried to kill me that time I was caught stealing!" Koenma nodded.
"Probably, that would explain why you were forced into the human world on that particular day." Only Hiei noticed the sigh of relief Kurama breathed, and he wondered about it.
"So what does this mean?"
"Damn it! It means that he's been toying with us! He wants us to know that he can do what he wants and he can set everything to happen on the same day every year. If he's planning something it will happen two days from now!"
"Remember he's an A class so be careful!"
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He's an A class, almost unbeatable and stronger than Koenma's charts can effectively measure. How can I win this?!
Hiei couldn't see when Jougen attacked him, much less get a hold on him. Each hit left him wounded. He struck several times in the place where he last saw the yokai but always his fist whizzed uselessly through the air. His attempts seemed to amuse Jougen.
"A little faster next time Hiei!" His taunts flew out too rapid to trace. Finally Jougen jumped backward. Hiei panted in exhaustion, more than slightly relieved in the lull in attack but leery of what a fresh start would enable Jougen to do. "In truth Hiei, I really shouldn't be fighting you until tomorrow."
"Everything has to be done on the ninth of January, yeah, I figured. What I don't know is why the hell the date matters to you." Jougen chuckled.
"Were you not listening Hiei? We're just pawns in a much bigger game and every game has to have rules. One of them is that I should act on the ninth of January every year and give you an entire year to defeat me before my next move. My Lord Banshi set the trend and all I'm doing is following it. We all have to play by the rules Hiei. Your friend Kurama didn't; see what happened to him?" Hiei's entire being went rigid.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Immediately Jougen was directly in his face.
"The rules Hiei," he whispered, "Kurama didn't play by the rules so his entire family suffered." The blow was unexpected and for a moment Hiei was in shock. Jougen's fist was pulled back as suddenly as it was thrust forward and Hiei fell to one knee, arms clutched in pain around his stomach.
"Tell me," he wheezed, "what was it that Kurama did wrong?"
"He interfered when he wasn't supposed to; he directly changed the outcome of the game. In essence, dear Hiei, he wasn't supposed to die."
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"Where…where am I?"
"It's okay," a soft voice reassured her and someone placed a cool cloth on her head. "You're with friends now." Miya was lying on a bed softer than any she had ever felt. Slowly her eyes opened. A kind face framed by curly brown hair peered down at her.
"Is she awake?" The woman nodded and immediately her image was replaced by that of a black-haired man. "Good afternoon Miya, welcome to the human world."
"The human world…but how did I …"
"Hiei and I came in time; if we had been any later Banshi would have killed you. Hiei fought him and told me to get you out of there. I'm Urameshi Yusuke and this is Keiko." The young kitsune healed herself and pushed herself up.
"Thank you very much Urameshi-san…"
"PLEASE call me Yusuke!"
"Right, Yusuke, but who is Banshi?" Yusuke and Keiko exchanged worried looks.
"Um…he's the guy you were fighting, the same one who killed your parents." Miya shook her head vigorously.
"UH Uh! No way! That man's name was Jougen and he killed my mom, not my dad. "He's nowhere near powerful enough to kill my father! He might on a very rare occasion be able to defeat Dad's human side but there's no way in hell he'd be able to stand against his yoko form!" The ex-spirit detective wet his dry, cracked lips.
"How can you be sure?"
"My mother and I, we shared a telepathic bond. Even when I was very young I had access to a lot of her memories. My father was many times more powerful than anyone but she and I knew. Jougen's aura is evil but mom's memories of the man who killed my father – his was different, even darker than Jougen could ever become. He's no ordinary yokai, I'm sure of it!" Yusuke regarded her seriously for a moment then turned and headed toward the door. "Wait! Where are you going?"
"Back to Jougen's castle. Hiei's got no idea what he's up against and if what you're saying is true then he has no chance of winning. I have to help him."
"I'm coming too!"
"No Way In Hell!" Miya looked stunned.
"But…"
"No buts! A minute ago you almost bled to death on my floor. There's no way I'm taking you to the other world and have you jump into a battle and get yourself killed!"
"I heal myself, humans don't!" She glanced meaningfully at his fresh bandages.
"She's got a point Yusuke." Miya immediately liked Keiko.
Yusuke scowled, upset at being ganged up on. He adopted his best fatherly tone.
"Young lady you are staying here and that's final!" He stormed out and Miya sank back on the bed.
"You're going. Aren't you?" She looked up in surprise.
"What makes you say that?"
"I've raised two teenagers and I had to put up with Yusuke's teen years; I know how rebellious teens are. And I recognize that stubborn look on your face." Miya smiled guiltily.
"I guess I'm caught."
"I guess so…What are you waiting for?" Her smile changed to a devious grin.
"I'm giving him a head-start."
"Just be careful."
"I will." Now that her ribs had healed, Keiko removed the brace from Miya's waist. "Um Urameshi-san?"
"Keiko."
"Keiko, I need to ask a favor and it's going to sound really strange." Keiko wrinkled her nose.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Could you…could you cut my hair?"