Hehe, okay, this chapter is a bit...long...XD 11 pages, compared to my first chapter's 4... Hope you like it
Chapter Two
Sacrifice
"So where exactly is this place anyway?" Kuwabara asked as the group made their way through the forest silently. Well almost. The ningen's continuous questions kept everyone on edge.
"If we knew, we'd be there already," Hiei snarled at him, stopping in mid-stride to face him. Though the Jaganshi's head only came up past Kuwabara's waist, the human took a step back.
"Okay, okay..."
"Seriously. And you call yourself a Spirit Detective?"
Kurama's senses tingled, alerting him rather swiftly to a new sort of ki. He tuned out his partners' argumentive conversation and tried to focus on what he had just felt. It wasn't strong enough to be the Kitsune, that he was sure of...
By now the trio behind him had fallen silent as well, listening keenly. The only thing Kurama could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat pounding at his temples as he waited. There was no sound throughout the forest; even the nocturnals had stopped making whatever noises they usually did. Nothing. But there was definitely a source of energy coming from the terra.
"I believe we have visitors," he whispered, pulling a minute seedling from his pocket and within only seconds he held a fully bloomed, red rose in between his fingers. His weapon of choice.
A crunch of leaves behind them made Kurama spin around, a deadly whip forming from the beautiful flower in his hand. The rose whip cracked in the cold night air, slashing past Kuwabara, who had tripped and fallen into a nearby snowbank at the surprise, hitting its intended victim. A young woman, only a bit taller than Hiei herself, wearing loose-fitting, gauzy garments stared at them, her sapphire-colored eyes glittering with a strange cunning as she locked gazes with Kurama. Her hair, which was an eerie silver, shaded her pale skin, but Kurama was only intent on one thing. This woman was a Vulpess, a race not unlike the Kitsune but by far lesser in power and nobility. Atop her head were twin fox-ears, white furred with black tips, and behind her swayed two tails.
"And who the hell are you?" Yusuke stepped forward, holding a bold stance. Hiei jetted up beside the other youth, katana in hand. He was, however, facing away from this enemy, glowering angrily at something in the distance. Kurama suddenly felt a burst of energy hone in from behind and he knew then that the vixen was not alone.
The woman ran a hand through her long hair, smiling slightly. "'M called Kasumi Istaki..." Her accent was soft, a mixture of the Kitsune-demonic language Kurama recognized, and of the humans' own British. "An' he's called Katsu." She let out a sharp bark of laughter.
"What do you want with us?" Kuwabara wondered, gathering his bearings and moving near as well. "We're busy, get the heck outta our way."
"Ah, ah, ah," Kasumi murmured tauntingly, waggling her finger at him. "Tonight's the night of the blood moon. Nibori wouldn't be happy if we let you through, not at all."
"We've heard about you...the so-called famous Spirit Detectives," said a husky male voice, Katsu, from behind. From the corner of his eye Kurama could see him. His face was pale as well, though three, clawlike scars ran down over his right cheekbone from brow to chin. His hair was a dark mahogany, eyes glittering like rubies and, like his sister, he also wielded fox-appendages. "I've never before seen human and demon work so...willingly together. It's sickening. But never mind that. We'll see how famous you are when Nibori is stripping the meat from your frail, broken bones."
Yusuke had had enough and with a yell, he charged the man, hands balled into fists. Kurama cried out to him, trying to keep the boy from being too reckless, but Yusuke paid him no heed. That's right... Kurama thought, shaking his head. He's an adult now...no one can stop him, and if he gets himself killed, then fine.
Katsu blocked or dodged each and every one of Yusuke's moves, which only made the stubborn youth angrier. With the rise of his hands, Katsu let out a curse. His lips moved but no sound emitted from them. There was a flash of red light that filled the whole area they were battling in and the ground began to shake with rigid tremors. Liquid fire sprayed willingly from Katsu's open palms, burning everything around them.
"Kuwabara, Hiei," Kurama yelled over the crackling of the fire as it surrounded them, catching the trees and the grass on its way. "This way!" With a nod towards the west, their destination, Kurama began to run. The heat was climbing surprisingly high and soon his hair was slick and soaked with sweat. He turned his head to see Kuwabara following suit, but Hiei was nowhere in sight. Not looking where he was going, Kurama slammed to a stop as he hit a wall, staggering backwards. A cold chill had quieted the fire, leaving trees only to ash. To his surprise, the wall was made of ice. Solid ice.
"Ah! But not so fast!" Kasumi said, coming out from behind the wall. She smirked at him, her ears flattening against her head as she let out a hiss of anger. "You aren't thinking of leaving us so soon, now are you?"
Realizing he was trapped, fear set in upon Kurama's heart, making his mind burn with panic and anger. He spun away from her, going to head back to where Katsu and Yusuke had been. Katsu had Yusuke pinned up against a tree, choking him. Kurama grabbed another seed, ready to plunge into battle to save his friend, when a glint of sterling caught his eye. Hiei's sword.
The katana sliced into Katsa's forearm and he yelled out in anger, letting a very singed Yusuke drop to the ground, gasping for breath. Hiei glowered at the other fire-bearer and licked the smear of red blood from his blade with a smirk. Katsu's furor rippled throughout the forest as he let out a scream and lunged for Hiei, his ears flat against his hair.
"Katsu, stop!" Kasumi yelled out, stopping her brother dead in his tracks. As they locked gazes, both their ears perked and their tails swished around their waists. "He's stronger than the other one... Let's take him into our territory, shall we?"
Katsu glared at Hiei once more, but fleeted to his sister's side instead. "Agreed." They began to chant and Kurama felt the heat of Kuwabara's shivering body up against his own as the pair closed in. Hiei had gotten ahold of the now-unconscious Yusuke and was holding him like a mother would a child, but with only one arm. The other held his katana and he was aimed to kill. He charged the pair again but just before his blade slashed into Kasumi's throat, about to spill blood across the ground, there was a sudden shift in temperature and they were thrown forwards, into darkness. As quick as it came, it faded again and they were alone together inside a strange world of darkness and light.
"They're twins," Kurama murmured. "And twins of Fire and Ice as well...This place isn't the Human World."
"It's not a world," Hiei said, laying Yusuke on the ground, which was smooth and ice-like, but not cold. "It's a realm. More importantly, their realm. It gives them a ring advantage.""That means we're at their mercy," Kuwabara growled slightly, still shivering.
"Not if I can help it!" Hiei snarled and, taking up position again, leaped at Katsu.
"Kuwabara, please. Watch over Yusuke. I'll take care of the vix!" Kurama ordered, calling upon his rose whip once again as he took up a fight with the deadly vixen. Killing them, he knew, was the only way out of their realm. It was either do or die.
-
A male vulpess raised his snout to the sky as a flicker of strange vibes went through his body. The moon...it had been a pale sliver before, but now...now it was almost full, tinted a fire-red. The blood moon was upon them. It would be that night.
Takashi, as he was known, looked around the terra on which they were holding the sacrificial party...or whatever you'd want to call it. There were hundreds of torches, each containing their own flame, encircling a huge willow. The Sacrifice Tree, as Nibori had called it. And around the tree, but not in between the torches and the tree, danced demons of their clan. It was a special night for them. Nibori, their Kitsune leader, would claim power under the blood moon, a night that only occurred every 300 years. The ritual was sacred among the Kitsune and their clans. The leader and 300 of his chosen clan made their way into the Ningenkai, where the blood moon held the most potential. Then, as his people danced and the flames flickered, the Kitsune lord would sacrifice one of his own, usually a mongrel elder, to the tree just as the blood moon made its peak at midnight. If the ritual worked, they could tell by the animals' and the demons' reactions all around the world. The night would be filled with shrieks and screams everywhere until the blood 'drained' from the moon, leaving it pale again. After that happened, they were to repeat the ritual once again, in a full month when the strange moon would reoccur. And the Kitsune would rise to a deadly power.
Takashi had been looking forward to seeing his lord's rise of power among the three worlds. That was, until he found out who the decided sacrifice would be...
Alongside the man tagged a boy, a vulpess hybrid. He was pressed up against Takashi, his red-furred fox ears flat against his head, and his one, single tail was tucked tight between his legs as he trembled. His hair was dark, almost black, with a chocolate hue, which hung down past his chin in a strange, almost spikish, style. His eyes were a pale blue and filled with fear as the demons danced around them. He wore unusual tatters of clothing and his feet were bare, but at his side was a long dagger encased in a leather scabbard.
Kazuki's father had dumped the boy on the streets after his mother had died of illness. He was young and sickly himself and deadly afraid of everyone. In fact, the only thing he wasn't afraid of doing was singing, making words up as he went and remembering them always...
Takashi had found the boy, about 4, in a damp alley, trying to scavenge food out of the trash. The hybrid child had acted wild out of fear and it took Takashi several months to finally get the boy to settle down around others, but he trusted no one. Takashi had taken the child on, like the unborn son of his own, and he taught him how to use a sword and how to use basic martial arts for protection. Kazuki had no interest in fighting, but learned it out of fear of being vulnerable, Takashi knew.
"Tak–Takashi...?" Kazuki whispered, looking around frightenedly. Takashi's heart fell... "What exactly is going to happen. Why am I here. I want to go home, Takashi."
"Shhhh," the man murmured, turning away from him. "Listen to me, little Fox...stay here, okay? I've got to go talk to Lord Nibori real quick. I'll be back. I promise." Kazuki nodded and watched in fear as the only person he knew and trusted walked away from him. He gave a quick glance around, flattening his ears even more, hand on the hilt of his own blade. Just in case... He trusted no one and talk of this blood moon thing scared him.
Takashi entered Nibori's tent with lowered ears and a bowed head. "Lord? I came to ask something of you..." he began, his tone soft. Nibori nodded silently, his golden gaze flickering slightly in the soft firelight, motioning for the guard to go on. "Sir...I know you don't like him, but please...can't you find another sacrifice? He's just a boy..."
Nibori let out a snort of laughter. "He's a mutt. A mongrel. His type is usually used for this kind of thing, child or not. Do you not see that?"
"Yes, sir, but–"
"Yes?"
Takashi lowered his head even farther. It wasn't normal for clans like theirs to show favoritism or even affection towards whelps that weren't of their own bloodline. "But Kazuki is like a son to me...I don't want to watch him die. I just want to take him home..."
There was silence for many moments before Takashi met the Kitsune's gaze once again. It was cold and unruly. "Takashi, I've already made up my mind. The hybrid whelp is to be used tonight for one purpose."
"Lord!"
"Shut up! Get out of here," Nibori turned away with a snort.
"No! If you think I'll just dance on as the boy I've raised is killed for your power, if you think I'm going to scream happiness to the gods that you will rise in strength and lead us to nobility, then you're wrong!" Takashi was yelling now. "I'm out, Nibori. I'm leaving."
The Kitsune sneered and flattened his ears with a hiss. "You can't get back to the Makai without me!"
Takashi didn't care. Anger and pain had already set in. "No, you're right. I can't. But I refuse to witness the death of Kazuki Himora. I'd rather live among the ningen for my entire life." And with that, the guard turned on his heel and plowed past the other demons, to get to Kazuki. He could be rash and hide the child, but he knew Nibori would find him...
The look of happiness in Kazuki's eyes as he neared made his heart clench in pain, and he couldn't meet the boy's gaze. He merely came up beside him, resting a hand on Kazuki's head and ruffling his hair a bit. "You'll be alright..." he murmured, half to himself, as he turned and left.
Kazuki just stood there, watching him go, feeling a dreading sense of unbelonging and fear start to ease its way in. He's leaving me, he realized. "Takashi!" He yelled, but the man didn't turn, couldn't turn. He just pretended as if the wind had carried Kaz's voice away and kept walking. And feeling the tears welling up in his eyes, he slid to rest on his knees in the soft dirt.
As the moon began to peak, the demons around grew more and more excited and anxious. Kazuki sat motionless where Takashi, his father, had left him, arms wrapped around his knees, head buried in them. He had cried himself halfway to sleep when he was jerked to his feet. Kazuki let out a yell as he looked up at his attacker, giving a slight snarl, then a gasp when he met the cold topaz eyes of the Kitsune lead. Nibori.
The demon glared down at him, snapping one word. "Rank!" Kazuki's ears immediately flattened, his tail tucking in fear. They were ranked within a clan and the underdog was to show respect to his alphas. Nibori smirked at the fear Kazuki was showing, but took it as respect anyways, and pushed Kazuki through the crowd and towards the torches. The youth's eyes rested on the tree and it was made apparent to him then what he was to be used for...
He knew, Kazuki thought sadly, lowering his head as he was placed up against the tree, Nibori doing his work quickly and efficiently. Kazuki felt his limbs seize up as the Kitsune's psychokinesis bound him and he let out a whimper of fear. Takashi had known...and he had left Kazuki to his fate.
Silence settled in the forest as the moon shone red, overlooking the whole world, bathing them all in dark light. A flash of black caught Kazuki's eye and he jerked his head up to see Nibori holding a blade of black steel. The Kitsune began to chant in the language known to his race, a chant of sacrifice. Kazuki's heart constricted and he turned his head, afraid to witness his own death, and he mentally closed his mind to the world, trying to block the chant's words from his knowing.
Darkness
A moon of blood hue
Casting shadows o'er the land
Fox, cunning and wild
In the depths of the darkness
Both his heart and mind
With a blade of ebony
Spill blood under the moon
Bring the Fox to power...
Kazuki let out a cry as a sharp pain bit into his chest. Ears flat, his eyes were shut tightly, though he knew what was happening. He felt the Kitsune's power release him and he dropped to the ground, not bothering to try and balance his fall. He felt a wet warmth soaking into his shirt, felt darkness invading his mind as his body began to fall limp underneath him. The last thing he heard were screams of emotions, filling the forest's silence, filling the world...
-
Hiei dropped to the ground, landing nimbly on his feet, slipping his katana back into its sheath at his side as he moved away from Katsu, who lay ripped open, blood beginning to pool on the ground. The Jaganshi sported various burns and a deep slice in his chest, but other than that was seemingly okay.Kuwabara was still kneeling near Yusuke, but the other boy had awakened and was sitting up, watching the two demons fight.
"What...did you do?" Kasumi murmured in horror, looking upon the remains of her brother. "Katsu..." She turned to Hiei, fangs bared as she leapt at him, but Kurama's whip caught her off balance and flung her to the ground. "Let me go...you bastard," the vixen snarled, but her eyes were fearful.
"Let us go first," Kurama murmured, pinning the woman to the ground. "You've had your fun. Pull this illusion off and let us leave, and no more blood will be spilled here."
Kasumi snapped at his throat, but he caught her under the jaw with his fist, jolting her teeth together. She whimpered finally, giving in as she averted her eyes. "Fine." Her voice was weak as she whispered a slow chant and darkness fell upon them again.
When Kurama next opened his eyes, they were back in the Ningenkai, but something was terribly wrong. The Kitsune's strength was rising by the second. Kasumi gathered herself and looked up at the sky, ears perked. "The moon...Nibori..." she murmured. Hiei stepped forward swiftly, ready to slash the vixen into pieces as well when she sent them a glare and converted to a pure white fox, darting off through the brush with a hiss.
"We may still have time–" Yusuke said, arm around Kuwabara's shoulder for support, when thousands of voices, screams, shrieks, cries and calls wailed through the air, cutting the Spirit Detective's sentence short. The screams carried on for many minutes, and Kurama looked up at the moon, which was a blood red. The blood moon.
"No time left," he said softly, letting his arms drop to his sides. The sacrifice had been made, the ceremony fulfilled. "He's done it..."
Hiei snorted. "You're acting like the battle is lost. Come on! If we hurry and follow the Kitsune's ki, we might be able to find him and end this now!" Kurama, Kuwabara and Yusuke stared at him in silence and the Jaganshi gave another snort, this time of disgust, before leaping into the trees, intent on finding the Kitsune and his followers and killing them off so he could return to what he had been doing before that idiot, Koenma, had disrupted him. Oh no. He wasn't going to let some fox rule the world, even if it meant the death of him.
