Solitary Mask

Chibi Tsuki

A/N: This chapter is a dedication to my faithful readers for coming so far into this story with me. Thanks Mizustarangel, xxx-Kuronue-xxx, my dear buddy Demon-princzess! I'm very grateful to you! And of course all my other readers out there . It's really exciting to open the review page and see how many reviews I get after I post it. Anyway, read on

Chapter 14

We Meet, Fury Whirlpool

The red-haired youkai shielded his eyes with his arm as the light blared straight at him. He was frustrated, frustrated of having been a minute late. The light dimmed and soon it returned back to normal; a small crack in the roof of the chamber above the centre of the pool, allowing moonlight to flow naturally in. Almost immediately, Kurama lifted up an arm to block the attack aimed straight at him. He grunted as he slid backwards approximately two metres. Quickly he regained his guarding stance and from the back of his neck, pulled out a pure, red rose. During the motion of swinging it forward, the single rose turning into a deadly and thorny whip. It made a sound, 'crack'. He surveyed the area around him, his enemies had already surrounded him. Now Kurama and Yuusuke had to defend each others backs.

"We'll fight one on one. Tournament style," the dark red-haired man whom he had seen the night before uttered in a calm voice. His garments today were slightly different to the last nights or perhaps he just added another two layers of clothes on top. A wing spiky-haired youkai and a heavily cloaked character with a slender frame held their stance while everyone else dropped their guard and took a step back. The cloaked character peeled off several layers of clothing and threw it onto the damp ground, revealing long reddish brown hair and shining purple eyes and a womanly figure. Her fighting garments were very fancy indeed, with assorted colours and long bands flowing everywhere. Alike the others, she had a single gold earring and the top of her pointy ears. She smiled seductively at Kurama, obviously impressed by his charming looks. "This one's mine, Kokunai," she informed her comrade, her sweet voice matching her young appearance. "My name's Hakkiri. Let's get acquainted shall we?" Being the first to launch an attack, she flung her right hand at him and a creamy white strip of cloth from her sleeve flew right at him. Kurama dodged it as she controlled it to continuously follow him, the cloth constantly coming from her sleeve, growing longer and longer as if it were never-ending. Slashing it with his whip seemed useless as it proved to be as hard as steel. It was pretty amazing how she could direct it wherever she wanted it to go but Kurama didn't stop to admire it. He tried to aim his whip at her but she countered it with another strip of cloth from her left sleeve; this one was light pink in colour. Although Kurama had to admit that she was quite attractive one thought struck him, something he wanted to know badly. Just why weren't they fighting together?

Meanwhile Yuusuke was having slightly more luck than him, being able to score several punches on his blind opponent. But his opponent's sensitive ears often tracked his exact position thus he was able to strike Yuusuke with a small chance of missing. Here he would need a strategic plan to defeat his enemy.

Mikazuki glanced around calmly in the dark even though she had no idea where she was except that this place felt oddly familiar. There wasn't really anything around her well nothing she could physically see. But she felt her saturated hair and clothes and instantly knew that she had reached this place through some sort of waterway. There had been a trapdoor in the bottom of the pool so perhaps she fell through. She stepped out of the waist-height water and onto solid ground. It was rather rocky and had sharp edges sticking out, meaning that not many people had been here and although it was right beside a water source, it hadn't been worn away by flooding. At the moment all she could remember was gawping at the sparkling chamber and the water that kept reflecting millions and millions of different colours. It had somehow caught her into a trance and she then lost track of what happened after it. Gripping tightly onto the handle of her double bladed sword she stepped forward cautiously, knowing that something was lurking around. She felt tension running through her veins as if she were in an examination except failure was not an option. Her ears were perked upright and her body constantly alert. How am I supposed to conquer this Fury Whirlpool if there isn't a whirlpool? Unless that name is just a title for something or someone. Something caught her eye; it was a movement in the shadows, one that was barely visible. Right now she still felt calm for some peculiar reason. Her feet automatically slid into a fighting stance, her arms raised and ready. She could hear the soft padding of feet, two her left and right. There were two of them; shoeless and clawed. They were about five metres away, circling her like vultures waiting for a kill before they took their share but these two weren't vultures; they were beasts going in for the kill. In a way she pitied them. It must've been a long time since they'd eaten well since their breaths smelt of bugs but she wasn't going to be their dinner. It would be easier to put them out of their misery. With a quick slice along the stomach, the first beast fell soundlessly onto the ground. The second one died just as quickly, a gash leading from the head through to the chest. Without looking backwards she moved onwards, following her instincts. As she walked around a bend, she saw a faint light not too far away, only one or two stories up but that wasn't where she was heading. She made her way to a platform directly opposite to it, squeezing through rocks and crawling on her stomach half of the time. Often scraping her elbows against the protruding ledges and rocks, she continued on as if they never happened, determined to reach the end. Clambering up a hole swiftly, she neatly avoided smashing her head against the roof and peeked through the cracks to see what was on the other side. It was all sparkly like before, except this one was even more amazing. Mikazuki took a daring leap onto a ledge and jumped onto the top platform just as the ledge gave way. She knew it would, the ledge had been weathered down by wind coming from the opening.

The platform she was on led to another chamber, one with contents that were sparkling like diamonds, its beauty was indescribable. But if you had to describe it, about fifteen metres down from where Mikazuki stood was ice. It wasn't just any ice, but ice that spiralled as it descended in height, much like a slippery slide with spikes that stuck out from every angle. It seemed almost never-ending. Well she definitely couldn't see a bottom to it but it must've stopped somewhere. Suddenly she knew that this was the Fury Whirlpool: for it resembled the shape of a whirlpool, the spirals a whirlpool made. "This is the Fury Whirlpool." She stepped through the metre-high opening into the chamber and gazed at the Fury Whirlpool. It was simply enchanting. "So now what do I do?" she asked herself as she surveyed the chamber with inquisitive eyes. There were many ledges that lead higher up, but none that could lead her down. "Hm…" A passage from out of nowhere came to her mind; the one that her leader had read so many times today, over and over to himself, always laughing so giddily about. That made her wonder whether he was really their leader or just a fake replica. When she thought over it twice, she noticed a difference between him and their leader's usual cold demeanour. Their leader was more of a master than a real leader. He taught them to hunt, kill and survive whereas this one just got excited over power their master already had. Her eyebrows furrowed as she came into the realisation that the man with the exact same features as her leader was just a fake. Although why he was acting as their leader was still a mystery. But this wasn't exactly the time to be side-tracked. The young youkai recited that passage out loud, "When the moon is full thrice, the ice will melt. The waters will find their way, chosen by the gleam of moon. Once mastered, it then will vanish." The first part was easy. It simply meant that when the three moons in Makai became full, the pool's surface which was originally ice would melt. That would explain why the water was freezing cold, but the latter parts weren't that easy to decipher. "Waters? What waters? It doesn't make any sense. 'The waters will find their way?'" Defeated, she sat on the ledge and stared down at the frozen whirlpool. Ice is water, steam is water and I can control water. "Could it possibly mean a water elemental user? But how exactly will I find my way through… this?" The tone of her voice became rather thoughtful. Leaping onto her feet, she stretched her arm downwards at the Fury Whirlpool and launched a water attack on it; breaking on of the icy spikes off it. She stared at it, waiting for something to happen which never came. "Maybe not…"

Just then she felt a sudden fierce gush of wind blowing straight at her, causing her to fall off the ledge and down below. Automatically her legs fell back under her body, her arms stretched outwards and her tail wrapped back around her waist. Her body leaned to the left, hoping to land on the un-spiked part of the whirlpool. It was a dim chance, but not a dim chance for Mikazuki as she latched her right arm around a spike before she started sliding down the spiral. With her feet firmly planted on the ice, she stroked her hand down the cold spike. It was standing even taller than her. The ice was so cold that it let out a form of mist. Her investigation went further as she bent down and inspected the strangely smooth ice under her feet. She swiped the surface with the tip of her finger, wiping away some of the frost. Blinking once, twice, she looked closely at the patch of ice without frost. Almost immediately, her hands were working at wiping away the frost. There was something inside the ice.

"What are you doing you morons!" the leader demanded, his arms waving madly about in the air. "Kill them! Stop fighting one on one!" His face was twisted with disgust and his fists trembling with anger. He stomped up to the captain of the elite team and swung his fist at him, missing pitifully. Izure ignored him as the man with overgrown confidence continued to rampage around him. Unable to stand him, the defeated Hakkiri flogged him with her weapon until he could no longer stand.

"Stop imitating our leader!" she growled as she used her remaining energy to sit down. Kokunai and Hakkiri had been defeated after a thirty minute battle with the pair from the Reikai Tantei. It had ended up being an interesting battle, the two had lost by their weaknesses but they had definitely worn their opponents down. Kurama and Yuusuke caught their breaths while their next opponents stepped up to face them. The youkai's eyes held a tone of surprise and uncertainty.

"Hey Minamino Shuichi, haven't seen you in a while. Or should I say Kurama?" Hiketsu greeted cheerily, lifting his hand up to say 'hi'. Beside him was the blue-haired guy from the infirmary, his eyes as cold as ever. "Let me introduce, this is one of my closest buddies, Iryoku. He doesn't like strangers that much."

Yuusuke flashed Kurama and questioning look that said, 'do you know them?' But Kurama was suddenly feeling too angry to notice it. Although his expression was calm, Yuusuke could tell by his trembling fists that something wasn't right. "Where is she? Where did you take her?" he asked in a strong and subtly threatening tone. He knew that there was more to Mikazuki than she'd told him. The youkai had thought of the fact that she could possibly be something more than a human ever since that moment when he saw Kanari Hiketsu again.

"You mean Mika?" the taller man stopped and pondered for a second. "We didn't take her anywhere. She just disappeared all of a sudden. I really don't have a clue where she is." He shrugged, clueless.

"Tell me, is she a youkai?"

Hiketsu opened his mouth to speak and immediately closed it again, his hand reaching for his weapon. His eyes weren't on Kurama anymore; they were looking at the newcomers coming from the tunnel behind Kurama and Yuusuke. "Yuusuke, Kurama, are you guys ok?" it was Botan, with Hiei, Kuwabara and Genkai behind them. Even Yukina was with them. Yuusuke nodded and asked them how they managed to get here so quickly. Botan replied, explaining how Genkai and Yukina had found them and helped them.

"Urameshi, Kurama, take a break," Kuwabara muttered. "Hiei and I will take it from here." Just as he stepped forward, Kurama placed his arm out, motioning for him to stop.

His voice was calm again and his mind seemed slightly more relaxed. "It's ok Kuwabara, this is my battle." Not knowing what to say, Kuwabara stepped back as Hiei substituted Yuusuke.

Placing her hands on the surface, Mikazuki started melting the layers of ice within two metres of her. This procedure was going to burn a good amount of her energy but nevertheless she continued. Ten minutes later the last layer of ice melted and underneath was… more ice? She growled in frustration and nursed her sore arms. There was something strange about it the ice; it was even colder than the surface layers and it released a lot more mist-like gas. Something caught her eye. It was a small spike of ice sticking out of the water. It didn't melt with the water that was originally ice. Once again she worked on it again, the substance underneath catching much of her interest.

A short while later, she noticed the spikes of the object inside gradually spread out and the surface of it became a lot smoother. She ran her hands down one particular area where it supposedly made a shape as it had edges and a curved surface that resembled an eye. Gingerly tracing the grooves, she smiled for the thing reminded of the sculptures she made at school during one of the art lessons. The one she had made was a wolf, sleek and yet powerful looking. Noticing some dirt-like substance coating the curved surface, she sprayed it with water and suddenly it shone white. For a moment she was blinded by the brightness and all she could hear was the sound of the ice cracking around her. Mikazuki leapt off the breaking ice, skilfully reaching the platform with the opening. When she could see again; an amazing creature floated before her; made out of ice. It was a dragon with a slightly beak-like nuzzle and sharp, ragged teeth. Its eyes were pupil-less and had spikes sticking out of its head, reaching upwards. Mist surrounded its entire body, giving it a powerful and grand air. The dragon cast a glance at her, studying from head to toe.

"Tsukishiro Mikazuki," he uttered as if he were telling himself. Amazingly when he talked, his lips never moved once. "So you're the one they sent eh?" Uncertain of how to reply, she just stood in silence, her hand unconsciously placed over the handle of her weapon she had tied to her belt. "They are in need of me once again."

"They? Who's they?"

"You will find out in time." Suddenly his thoughtful mood changed and his eyes narrowed again. He seemed to be rather doubtful. "I will lend you a bit of my strength, if you survive this test that is."

"Test?" She reached for her weapon and unfolded it so that both blades were directly opposite each other. Leaning into her fighting stance she stared at the dragon, her eyes strong and determined.

The dragon stated, "Not that type of test." It gave it once last steady glance before flying straight at her forehead and somehow entering it. But she didn't have time to wonder how a dragon's head that was twice her size could enter her body, her body shone white and blue as pain streamed through her veins. Something had entered her body and was threatening to blow that small body apart. Her knees collapsed under her, her fingers and nails digging at the rocky surface, drawing blood onto her fingertips. Her entire body felt as if she had an ice-burn and her throat was on fire. Mikazuki felt like screaming but when she opened her mouth, not a single sound came out. She tried to extinguish the burning in her body with the water in it but no matter how much she tried, it only felt worse. Suddenly parts of her arms, shoulders, back, legs and neck felt as if she had been pierced by thousands of needles being pricked into her skin. Gravity was fighting against her; not allowing her to stand up. Even the winds were playing a game with her, blowing fiercely at her, threatening to push her off again and let her plummet into her own death below. Collapsing altogether, she fell face flat against the ground and drifted into what seemed like death. All around her was darkness, an omen of death. She looked up and saw a tunnel of light. Then she glanced downwards and saw an inferno. Was this heaven and hell? Scanning to her left, she noticed a new world, a different world and on her right was just darkness. The world on her right suggested reincarnation whereas the empty space on her right was the place for drifting souls without a place to go. Each place beckoned for her to come and yet she stood there, waiting patiently. It felt as if she was standing forever, however she made no indication of moving. She wasn't ready to die, there was much more out there waiting for her to do; to watch movies and go to theme parks with her new friends Emi and Shuichi. Shuichi… that name lingered in her mind, her lips curving upwards. No he wasn't Shuichi, he was Kurama. Youko Kurama. Surely Kurama had Shuichi's heart. Oh how she yearned to see him again. Her face felt like it was flushed. What did these feelings mean? Perhaps…? Kind of impossible though. No… nothing is impossible if you put the will to do it. "Nothing's impossible!" she screamed into the empty space before her, suddenly there was an echo; repeating that single phrase she had yelled. Without a warning, she started falling, falling down into… hell.

Her eyes flickered open, quickly analysing the problem. She was in her body again but this body was falling downwards. She came into the realisation that she must've been blown off the platform again. Cursed wind! Although her body was throbbing she took no notice of it and gripped her fists tightly. Somehow her weapon was in her hands. Not stopping to ask questions, she leaned to the right in order to get closer to the wall. She thrust her ice-covered blade into the rock and clung onto it with all her strength. Carefully she placed her feet on a small crevice just big enough for her to stick her toes into and transferred her weight on the rock. I must remember to thank Iryoku for the gloves when I get out of here.

'I see your determination wolf,' a voice in her mind said. It was the dragon's voice. It was still inside her.

"I'll show you that I'm worthy of your power! I'm going to survive!" she yelled. With her right hand, she formed a large round block of ice and dropped it down. There was a 'splash', meaning that there was water. It would be easier to descend rather than to climb all the way back up. Using her power to melt the ice around one of her blades, she tugged it out easily and fastened it onto her belt again. Her hands skilfully found their way in small tight spaces, her feet able to do the same. She made her way down carefully, reaching the bottom eventually. It was then that she realised how painful her bloodied fingers were and how tired she was. The water was fresh down there but there was only time to wash her wounds and get a quick drink before she had to leave. As she washed her fingers, she noticed a strange necklace hanging on her reflection in the water. She took the necklace off her own neck and investigated it. It had a plain gold chain and she could make out an oddly shaped pendant on it in the dark. Having hidden it in a pocket, she dried her hands and stood up. There was much to be done and not much time to do it in.

The youkai in human form called forth an attack and sent his sharp rose petals slashing at Hiketsu's body. The man was blocking them with his mighty sword, a friendly grin still on his face. Only two had managed to hit; grazing his cheek and arm. He ignored it and continued to fight, letting their weapons connect frequently. If he was hiding something from his enemy, he certainly wasn't showing it. Each move and stroke he did was thoughtful, as if they led to the next attack or parry. Kurama's mood had softened and was concentrating deeply on defeating his opponent. Nothing else mattered, not for now anyway. Something shone in the corner of his eye. It was the stalagmite made of ice. He feigned an attack with his rose whip once, and then twisted it stylishly making it knock a group of the stalagmite with one stroke. They flew in Hiketsu's direction. The man blocked them impressively but never saw one coming from above. Kurama had broken a single stalactite with a single rose. The large object crashed downwards, gashing Hiketsu's side deeply. He fell immediately. Blood gushed from his massive wound, flowing freely. He groaned as he tried to determine how badly injured he was. Once he saw it his head fell back immediately.

Noticing that his opponent was distracted, Hiei thrust his elbow forcefully into Iryoku's stomach. He crashed into the stalagmites, luckily they were much taller or else he could've been pierced through the head with the point of one of them. But his body had crashed against the solid objects, suffering a shock from the sudden hit. The blue-haired youth coughed up blood and slowly crawled onto his knees.

"I guess this is where we say good bye Iryoku," Hiketsu said with difficultly in between his laboured breaths. He chuckled softly on his back, wincing in pain at the movement. "Then again, I want to see whether we were successful. Is our little friend back yet?"

"Not yet," his dark-red haired companion replied as he supported him. "Sleep, it'll do you good." Obediently, Hiketsu closed his eyes with his head on Izure's coat.

Unable to stop sympathising him, Kurama reached into his pocket and produced a seed. He threw it to Izure and said, "It'll stop the blood." Izure smiled and thanked Kurama. So this is what the Youko Kurama became – a gentle creature with a gentle heart. Perhaps those seventeen years in Ningenkai did him good. It had made him less ruthless and cold unlike their last encounter when he was only nine.

Hiei watched as his opponent regained his stance and he too fell into his own. Unlike Kurama, he wasn't as soft. He didn't pity enemies nor did he distribute natural healing methods to them. All that mattered to him was the defeat of his opponents and the survival of the current opponent was according to his own abilities. He readjusted his grip on his katana and then rushed forward at Iryoku, attacking from below. Currently he had the upper hand ever since he had knocked Iryoku into the stalagmites. The guy's strength and ability had decreased. He was just waiting for the perfect time to launch his finishing blow and that was now. Bringing his sword upwards to slice his opponent, Hiei flashed a grin. But just before he was able to connect the tip of the blade with Iryoku's flesh, something countered his attack, hitting Hiei's katana out of range. He growled and looked up at the intruder. It was the silver-haired mute! Where did he come from? He had lifted up his hand, catching his blade in it. Iryoku smiled and stumbled next to Hiketsu and Izure. Their battles were over and this would be when the real game would start.

Mikazuki grinned at the sight of Kurama, glad to see him. She was thankful that she was wearing the mask or else he would see her slight blush. She glanced at Hiketsu, noticing his wound. He was smiling though, he must've had a good fight. Issuing a battle against Kurama, Mikazuki pointed at him with a bloodied finger and slowly slid into a fighting stance.

Kurama looked at the wolf-youkai as he lifted a finger and pointed at him. He noticed the torn clothes and scratched down his arms. Something must've happened after he disappeared. Could he have conquered the Fury Whirlpool? He confirmed it by the grin on his face. He must've, why else would he be so happy? His intuition told him that if he were to see Mikazuki again, he would have to defeat this opponent and this time the battle would last until one surrendered, could no longer fight or died. Hopefully the outcome wouldn't be the last reason. Gathering his whip once again in his hand, Kurama stood his ground and uttered, "This is a fight between us."

A/N: Kurama ain't gonna be alone. Well I hope not. glomps Kurama-'kun'

Kurama: Um… hehe… .;; You planning to stop glomping me sometime soon?

CT: No

Kurama:waves some lollies over CT's head Fetch!

CT: arf arf

Cast: major sweatdrop

Back to business...

Maruken – I'll put your wish in somewhere. Maybe soon wink

Krystal – ff.n is absolutely free unless you want the extra stuff

Oh yeah, I'm also thinking about writing a little humorous side-fic starring Mika and Kurama. If I do, it's going to a pointless addition just for the sake of it. So should I? Will anyone read it because if no one will, I don't think I'll bother…

Anyways I'm sure you can predict what happens in the next chapter as it is quite obvious. Mika and Kurama battle! I wonder who'll lose! Anyone wanna suggest?

Mikazuki: Ahh.. CT's on a high again! Help anyone? Now who gave her an overdose of sugar?!