10 Years of Waiting

by Kurohi Tatsaki

Day 25b - Elemental Sites Part 1

Disclaimer - I don't own YYH; am not making money off this; am not Yoshihiro Togashi. Kurohi, Yamiryuinu, Shirokoori, all the other original characters I Kohaku Frost come up with are property of Beware of Mage Tsuki Ryu Productions (AKA, myself and Kohaku Frost ;). Use our characters without permission we will be pissed.

Major note about the punctuation: For some reason, I can't use a question mark and then an exclamation point, or two question marks and an exclaimation point, or one question mark and two exclamation points. I hope you readers can infer the marks where they go...

In the darkness of night, one can see a Meikai pillar in the distant city, piercing through the black clouds with its haunting light-rose glow. It's a shame and yet a blessing that normal ningen can't see it, spared from the oddities of the corrupted Spiritual World energy.

Several swans of the purest of white sleep in the lake, their heads resting against their sides without pain due to their long, elegant necks. However, something disturbs them from their rest, and they quickly fly off with quacks of alarm.

Kuwabara races loudly across the thin land to a connected, round peninsula that is base to a small cave, footsteps echoing loudly and soundly against the soil beneath his shoes.

A shadow that doesn't belong to him suddenly seems to appear beside him, racing with him.

"Kuwabara!"

The redhead stops just before he reaches the site and blinks at the forming shadow, the lines from its flight quickly fading to reveal the figure of elegance and relatively short stature before him.

Sharp blue-violet eyes gaze back at him, accented by dark blue hair that drifts as if by its own wind before it settles calmly against its back. The figure's armor is on, forming horns just above its ears that spread outwards like a magnificent dragon's, and a small red gem sits in the center of the light-gray headgear. Winged-stone armor rests on its shoulders and crosses over a male, bare chest, revealing the tattoo on his back and breasts in all its glory. "Hey," he greets, smiling. Long fangs peek out and overlap slightly at his bottom lip.

"Kurohi! Where've ya been?" he greets back, thwacking the half-god's arm.

"Trying to find him," comes the enigmatic response. "His presence seems to stop here." His form ripples, and he makes a questioning sound. In a low flash, his body returns to its usual normal of spiky brown and silver hair with deep sapphire eyes, having the long orange tail with black stripes, and casual blue clothes. He shrugs at the unconscious change. "I guess my other form wishes to surprise him," he mused with a chuckle, toying with his dragon sword at his side.

"Do whatever," replied Kuwabara with a slight roll of his eyes. "Now, do you wanna help me open the site?"

Kurohi nods once and follows the taller man to the site. As they stand before it, the redhead holds his chin thoughtfully as no particular ideas on how to unlock the power come to mind. The site within the cave looks like a small temple.

This must be the elemental site of the Soul. He cracks his knuckles, as if to bash it open. The younger-looking warrior looks almost alarmed at this show that usually occurs before a fist fight, but at the man's relaxed demeanor, Kurohi, too, relaxes slender shoulders that he had not realized were tense. "All right, time to open it up."

A small ripple occurs within the green-tinted lake, followed by a small amount of bubbles. Curious at the sound - and showing it on his face, too - Kuwabara turns to the source. He walks toward it, followed by the high A-Class demon at a reasonable distance.

"Nan da?" (What's that?)

"That's what I'd like t'know," replies Kurohi, standing beside the older-looking man. "After all, water is not my forte."

Once they near it, the bubbles surge upward like the light pillars, startling Kuwabara - but not Kurohi, because he senses Youki - and then even more when it becomes nearly tripled in size and height. Kurohi frowns at the oddity, how water could rush and defy gravity as it is. Kuwabara cautiously looks at it closely, his shock quickly disappearing in place of curiosity. To fuel it, he raises his right hand about level with his face to influence the moving water's duller reflection. He then walks away a little, his eyes always on the water; then he quickly zooms back in on it, giving it a suspicious, sideways gaze with a slight sniff.

Kurohi raises an eyebrow at the childish display, casually folding his arms against his stomach, his tail curling at his feet. Humans can be so funny... In any case, it seems he's having fun.

Quickly, Kurohi's companion flips his hair up and keeps it that way while he opens his mouth wide, sticks out his tongue, and makes a strange "belobelobaah!" noise. His reflection does not move with him. Instead, it closes its eyes and aims its face downward cockily.

"Hmph. Baka wa omoshido." (Fools are amusing.)

Smirking, Kurohi pipes in, "Aa, yatsura wa." (Yeah, they are.) I know it's him – his youki is so similar to mine it ain't funny. I sense a copycat... He MUST be...!

Kuwabara jumps back in shock or fright – Kurohi couldn't tell which was best the description - and into a defensive battle stance, stealing a glance at Kurohi. His big blue eyes are shining with a strange emotion, and he looks almost sadistic. His Youki is spewing around his body, licking frostily at any enemy who dares to come too close.

He turns back to his enemy, his back shivering at the icy energy flowing from his companion's body, and the softly-masked youki of his opponent. Both youki had a sort of quiet power, just begging to be released. "N-Nan da temee wa!" (W-Who are you?)

The strange reflection chuckles as it steps out of the water, revealing the feminine-like blue-haired demon god. He props one hand on his slender hip. His armor looks clunky, and he also wears dark blue cloth-like material on his arms and torso. His gold eyes shine predatorily. "I am Majari, one of the three demon gods of the Meikai." Stepping forward a bit more, he continues to talk in his slightly-high male voice. "I shall destroy that elemental site."

"Nan da to?" retorts Kuwabara, growling out the last syllable. (What did you say?) "You think I'll let you do that?" –

Kurohi watches the exchange curiously, but his energy growing colder.

- "I shall kill anyone in my way," he says, cocking his head to one side, narrowing his eyes, and smirking.

The redhead growls, "Aren't you superior?" He holds out his right hand. "Rei Keeen!" A glowing orange sword materializes in his hand. His stance is more of a casual stance, rather than on his guard.

Majari seems to pout his lip a bit, but the rest of his face looks interested "Ohh... Looks interesting."

Kuwabara looks down at Majari sideways. "Yaruuu!" (Bastard!) He starts to lunge, but Majari brings up his right hand.

"Rei Ken!" he pronounces, forming a green light in his hand, shocking Kuwabara into stumbling back. No where in his travels had he ever seen someone that could copy another's abilities. It was almost shocking to see such a rough, yet graceful, reflection of his sword, such a sword, which had saved him more times than he cared to count. It was disheartening to see it in the hands of such a demon.

"Nani!" What the hell!

Majari forms a green Spirit Sword in his hand and chuckles. He holds the sword closer to him. "Let me show you what I'm known for." He holds up the sword and twirls it around with his arm and wrist, the sword in his hand hissing with every movement. Perhaps, it didn't like its master. "I can mirror my opponents." His eyes narrow sinisterly before he seems triumphant. "I have copied your skills and your ideas. You have no chance at victory." He swings it once, stopping just as far as his arm goes down, but his wrist holds the weapon upward.

Kuwabara shakes his fist at Majari. "Say that after we've fought!"

"Yamero, Kuwabara!" the odd voice of Kurohi growls, getting in front of Kuwabara, throwing one arm out to further stop his friend. His short fangs bare themselves, and he glares at his father. His hair seems to flutter with his emotions. "You open the site... while I take care of this horrible excuse for a kami no youkai!"

"Oh, uh, sure!" Kuwabara steps back a moment, puts away his sword, and starts to tend to the site.

Majari turns his head slightly, his pale face accented by violet lipstick and eye shadow. "How dare you talk to me that way, you insignificant whelp! I shall kill you!" He narrows his eyes.

Kurohi smirks, flowing into a stance that most humans use when they're tired of running, hands bracing himself by his thighs. His long tail flicks around. "Under normal circumstances, you can chase me anywhere, and you'll never catch me! Not even if you try for over a million years!" He brings out his right hand, grinning at his father. "Now, let me show you what I'm known for! REI KEEEEN!" A blue aura forms around his hand before materializing as a shining blue saber.

Majari's stares apathetically. "So?"

Still smirking, the son replies in a replication of his father's tone, "I can mirror my opponents. I have copied your skills and your ideas. You have no chance at victory." Brute strength and dexterity.

"N—Nani!"

"Dumbass," Kurohi retorts, languidly swinging his sword and eyeing it a little. He could feel the power coursing through him, and he'd be damned if it didn't even tempt him to swing it around. "If it weren't for my father, impregnating my mother, Tokiai, I would never have this power... and such a curse... Now, put two and two together, or must I talk to you using your dust-collecting title, hm?"

Tokiai... my lover...! Could this boy be...! But he doesn't even look like me! ...He looks like... her... No! It MUST be a coincidence!

He gasps slightly as Kurohi's body ripples, making a near-perfect image of himself, but there were major flaws with the reproduction. The hair is slightly longer and more aerial in body, arching just so that parts of the headgear are not visible. Dark violet-blue eyes glow from behind the bangs with a predatory gleam, enhanced by light blue eye shadow. His figure is slightly bulkier than his own. He also does not wear anything under the armor on his torso, and then, his eyes glow with sadness as well. "Because of my birth, I have been through much, Father. I have nearly died several times in my half-god life, having no protection for even a moment. Not even from those I was supposed to trust! Mother died trusting and protecting me, and all I could do was watch as she breathed her last! Even my lame excuse for a half-brother has tried to kill me! And now..." The Rei Ken in his hand flares up to life, becoming longer. "I am going to use your own ideas against you!" ...just like I did a long time ago, when I defeated my first dragon! "Kagosh'na!" (Prepare yourself!)

He flits over and swings his sword, the blade cutting right into his father's arm, sending the god to the ground with the simple vacuum effect. "This is sad, Father," he says, looking down at the prostrating form of his dad. Majari slowly sits up only to have the flaming blue blade aimed between his eyes. "With one thrust, I can kill you, and I'm only a half-god." His own blue eyes narrow, and his hand jerks forward slightly, piercing the other man's forehead just slightly, but only enough to create a small cut. He slowly realizes that he can't move his arm any further. His eyes widen and he drops the Rei Ken to stare at his hand. Upon impact, the Rei Ken sizzles and then disappears. I have never failed to defeat my opponent before... so... why do I hesitate? Why does a dull pain rattle my mind at the thought! It makes no sense! I barely even know him! So why- "GHK!" he chokes as Majari's hand closes over his throat.

"Kurohi!" he hears Kuwabara yell.

Blue-violet eyes dilate and narrow with anger.

"You are nothing but an imposter of me! A poorly-created one as well!" he snarls, aiming the green saber at his son's head. "You look NOTHING like me!"

"Imposter! I am... ME! I'm... NOT... YOU!" he retorts, bringing up his hands to remove his father's from this throat. "Leggo...!" he snarls, showing his fully-formed fangs. "Yame...ro!" He twists around and then sinks his teeth into the closest wrist he can find. Majari snaps back his hand just as Kurohi rolls backward and lands on all fours a few paces away, blue-tinted hair fluttering across his back and down his shoulders. "Oh, don't you know my name yet!"

"I do not need to know the name of who I kill," comes the languid reply as he licks at his injured hand.

Kurohi smirks and draws himself up to his full height. "I remember every detail of my mother, your lover, which you abandoned so long ago! She had bright violet eyes that could soothe even MY frightened soul! My name is as it is because supposedly, my eyes burn with a cold flame, and her hair is long and contains the shade of bronze. However, from you, I obtained THIS form! Now get it through your thick skull that I am your KIN! I am Kurohi: the half Meikai god and Tsuki Ryu, of you and your LOVER!" He has to believe me. My mother was full-Tsuki Ryu. Majari... my father... is full-Meikai god... And putting those together, I fully know exactly who and what I am! He HAS to believe me!

"You...! You liar!" Majari growls, brandishing the Rei Ken again. "I'll kill you for talking about my lover with such contempt!" He swings.

Cool blue-violet eyes lose their reflection of the moon and stars, taking on the tint of darkness. "Sou ka..." He brandishes his sword, drawing it from the scabbard, and blocks the blow. His eyes narrow in confusion at what meets his gaze.

My sword has not transformed... Why? Indeed, the katana, that normally springs erratically, has remained straight and slender, a gray dragon decorated upon the blade, the tail making up the hilt. A pulse flutters across his hand; several strings flow from the bottom of the handle and, tied to them, are the scales of the most powerful moon dragon ever to live: Kurendatsu.

A loud pulse races through his fingertips and he deflects his father's attack, slowly making the Meikai kami lose ground.

...I don't want to kill you. Too much death has occurred in my life. Too much pain.

An opening presents itself; he takes it, sharp pains lancing through his back quite suddenly. He started to smell his blood... Perhaps it was the pulsing of the odd heart within his fingertips; perhaps it was his own heart pounding in his chest?

"HAAAA!"

Everything seems to slow down. A shadow slowly casts itself over himself and his enemy, spreading wide...

The stars twinkle above, many among the infinite darkness of space. The bridges below glow with artificial light atop poles mounting deep in the ground, illuminating a dark figure as he stands atop a commercial building, his arms behind his back.

Hiei was never fond of cities to begin with. They were too crowded; too noisy and smelly. He well-preferred the crisp, clear scents of the Makai over the smoggy, choking smoke of pollution. All that cities were good for were buying new rubber bands and sweet-snow... and finding a random person for information on the off chance that such action ever is required.

All in all, he hated where he stood, but as long as Kurama was with him, he didn't care so much.

Kurama lit the flame in his heart; Kurama WAS his heart, and held onto it for at a minimum of ten years. Amazing.

But, such sentiments were beside the point of his mission; Hiei shook his head slightly and briefly scanned his surroundings. All right... Where is it...?

Buildings sit below the bridges, and cars drive mindlessly across the tall bridges. The wind blows his cloak, and we can see the red inner lining. Parts of his hair look blue in the darkness. Hiei turns his head, red eyes looking downward, and his Jagan glows a neon green color. It sees through obscurities and he can see the next site, illuminated with white amidst the green, as all objects he sought were illuminated as.

"Asoko da!" (It's over there!) he murmurs to himself. He hops off his perch in silence, arms outward, but his cloak billows noisily.

A red-haired demon that could be mistaken for a vampire with its gray cloak, deep red, almond-shaped eyes and pale complexion busts through the left-building's glass window and flies at him, glass flying outward only to fall like oil-saturated feathers. Ruby eyes widen and the Jaganshi turns to the enemy, twisting just in time to dodge enemy's dagger and only have part of his cloak severed. He feels fortunate that it was not his gut that just was sliced. Both of them fly backward, and after the Jaganshi falls a barely even two stories, he turns his head to look behind him, sensing youki, some of his shorter hair strands whipping his face, and the longer strands flapping above him.

The demon behind him has light blue hair and a dagger, and hops upward in midair to dodge Hiei's fist.

He comes to a halt leaning against the window, his fingers splayed out to increase the contact and perhaps improve his uncanny balance. He doesn't dare draw his katana in such a position, but he is sorely tempted to. He glares up at his enemy even as the blue-haired one hops to the opposite side, and he looks up in alarm as the "vampire" demon descends upon him. He dodges forward while twisting around to see his original enemy, but looks back at his newest enemy in alarm as the mint-haired one descends upon him, too, and he barely falls fast enough to dodge.

They land in the busy street, and the two demons hop up at Hiei again, and they perform an X-strike, but Hiei dodges backward out of danger. It seems to frustrate his enemies.

However, a car and three semis suddenly collide into one-another at the disturbance with a shock of fire and red and brown smoke, trying not to hit any of the three demons, for, at the glance, they were seemingly humans that had just landed upon the ground out of nowhere. Hiei lands just after the first car passes and hops away again, both of the Meikai lesser demons in pursuit.

Hiei draws his sword at the demon and parries the blow with ease. "Don't mess with me!"

Hiei parries the redhead's left-handed horizontal blow with a vertical one of his own and hops upward as the demon strikes downward as the other demon hops up into the air and slashes at Hiei, but the blow is parried again, for the Jaganshi is a formidable swordsman to reckon with. The first enemy hops upward as the other demon lands and strikes, but Hiei dodges, and once the first and second are down at the ground, Hiei swings his sword at the redhead before raising the blade and slicing downward at the mint-haired demon. The redhead falls off the side of the highway bridge and lands on a "5Km to Ginza" sign in a crouching position, the blade in its left hand pointed downward. With a wordless battle cry, Hiei flies downward and slices the enemy in half horizontally at the stomach, blood splattering in all directions.

The mint-haired demon lunges and pierces Hiei's back just below the shoulders with its own battle cry, blood flying. The demon allows himself a small smirk just before the stunned, dead warrior disappears out of nowhere.

Jaganshi Hiei appears, descending from behind his enemy from above, sword out and ready. He smirks, black and white hair framing his round face nicely, as parts of his hair have come out of the ponytail. "Hn!"

The mint-haired demon turns around, shock evident in its almond-shaped, pupil-less green eyes. An instant later, the demon boredly cuts his opponent in two at the stomach, killing it. Hiei's cloak and hair billow in the wind, his red eyes wide with the adrenaline from battle, but his breathing unbelievably calm, his sword pointed down at a relaxed angle and his free left hand clenched at his side.

It's over... for now. He allows himself a tired smile of satisfaction. ...I wonder how Kurama is faring.

After a moment, a Meikai demon god with one normal eye, one artificial left eye, and wearing a black cloak appears in a shadow's blur. Noticing the new energy, so proudly flaunted, Hiei looks back with a soft gasp, his red eyes wider than normal, the only expression of his surprise. Suddenly, from the demon's upper head, a vertical, red, pupil-less eye opens wide, and its master sends out a powerful command, sending Hiei, screaming in one long syllable, into the opposite building and shattering the glass upon impact. The force is high enough to ricochet the small swordsman off of the broken glass, and send him plummeting into the river below with a splash. It doesn't seem that he will surface for a few moments.

The eye turns back to green, and the three-eyed Meikai Demon God chuckles in satisfaction, his cloak billowing in the breeze.

Started: 7/14/04 3:50AM Finished: 2/20/05 10:06PM

Thank you ALL for the reviews! Augh, I hate getting behind on my stories (and writers' block...) I am sorry for the serious delay (and the bit of cliff-hanger). I haven't been in much of a YuYuHakusho mood lately, but know this: This fic isn't over until it says, "The End!" Hmm... if I get around to it (since I'm working on a similar thing for Quarter-Demon) who would like to see a 10YoW videogame for RPGMaker 2000, 2003, or XP? Jeez, I'm going to be so loaded if I decide to do both... I've wanted to do a 10YoW game for, like, ever, but I've never gotten around to it. I think I will use 2003, though, just because I don't want to have to keep toying with the RGSS of RPGMaker XP. Oh, and, lately, I draw Kurohi's hair down rather than weirdly-spiked. It just got too tiresome, I guess, and I guess I got tired of counting the spikes on his head.