Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.
Thanks to my reviewers:
kurama and hiei fav girlf- Glad you like it! Here's the update!
D.F. Feda- Thank you! Don't worry, I'll have plenty of plot twists later on, and a hint in this chapter (it's at the end, see if you can figure it out!) Glad you like it so far!
Lupa of Rome- I LOVE MONTY PYTHON!!! ESPECIALLY BRAVE SIR ROBIN!! I HAVE THE WHOLE MINSTREL SONG MEMORIZED!! (Minstrel: Bravely bold Sir Robin rode forth from Camelot. He was not afraid to die, oh brave Sir Robin! He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways. Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin! He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, or to have his eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken, to have his kneecaps split, and his body burned away. Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin! His head smashed in and his heart cut out and his liver removed and his bowels unplugged and his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off and his pe-) lol I love it!! The Black Knight will always triumph!! Mwahahahaha!!!
Kyu-bi- I'm really glad you like my story!! Addicted? Wow, thanks. Here's the update!
(Note: This and all of my work is NON-YAOI. I don't like it, so I don't write it. Thank you and have a nice day.)
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!! Finally chapter 16!! Enjoy, please review, and let's see who can guess who the person under the hood at the end of the chapter is….
…………………
The odd team sat scattered around the small room.
Kuwabara and Yusuke sat on the flat rocks.
Jin floated Indian-style a few feet above the floor.
Ioe and Kir sat against opposite cave walls.
Korio laid stretched out on the bed, his hands resting behind his head.
Only Jerin stayed on his feet, leaning against a wall with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes watching everything alertly under the guise of a bored expression.
"So...what now?" Kuwabara asked after a long silence.
Jerin threw him a look of disgust. "Gee, maybe we should think of a plan," he snidely remarked.
"Okay, that's IT! I've had it up to HERE with you're "Oh I'm so cool cuz I don't care" junk!!" Kuwabara yelled, jumping to his feet.
Jerin blinked, retaining his bored attitude. "Do you intend to fight me, human?"
"Yeah, bring it on!" Kuwabara yelled, punching his fist into his palm and taking a few steps toward the demon hunter.
Ioe sighed and shook his head, but Kir looked on with interest.
Jin had actually stopped bobbing up and down, and now stayed frozen in midair.
Yusuke didn't want a fight on his own hands, so he refrained from saying anything to get on Jerin's bad side, like, "Yeah, Kuwabara! About time someone gave this cocky creep a good ol' throwdown!"
Korio simply closed his eyes and pushed his head back further on Jerin's pillow, which was more accurately his pillow, for Jerin rarely used the bed, allowing his partner to sleep there most of the time.
Jerin closed his eyes. "If you insist," he said coolly. Then he was gone.
"What the-" Kuwabara shouted.
"Up here, fool," came Jerin's cold voice from above him.
Kuwabara looked up, but the demon hunter had vanished again.
The orange-haired teen looked around wildly, but the Sparian was nowhere to be seen. "Where the heck did he go?!" he yelled.
"It's called camouflage," Jerin's voice hissed from behind him.
Kuwabara whipped around.
"Come now. Can't you do any better?" the Sparian mocked, from below him this time. "Come on. Where am I?"
"Jerin's clearly toying with him," Ioe muttered. Kir just watched on in fascination. Jin threw a look at Yusuke, as if to say, "Tha' big bloke frien' o' yours don' have a chance." Yusuke clenched his fists. How the heck could Kuwabara fight if his opponent was invisible?
Kuwabara swung this way and that, trying desperately to find the demon hunter. A column of water erupted from the ground below him. He quickly threw himself away, but a column of rock was waiting for him. His head gave a sharp crack against the stone as it hit. He slumped over from the shock.
A wooden blade appeared at his throat. Jerin melted into view in front of him.
"And that's how I win," the Sparian jeered. "If you're going to challenge someone, make sure you're prepared for whatever they may bring."
"Challenge this!"
Fist met jaw.
Korio moved for the first time since the fight began. Without opening his eyes, he rolled lightly off the bed and landed on the floor on all fours. A split second after, Jerin crashed into the wall and dropped down onto the bed.
Kuwabara was there. He took Jerin by the neck and shoved him back up against the wall. The Sparian gasped for air.
"And that's how I win, you cocky little son of a jackal," Kuwabara said angrily.
"Human filth," Jerin spat, still trying to force air into his bursting lungs. "No one...defeats me...that easily."
The cave wall behind him shook. Two arm-like projections erupted from either side of the demon hunter. They hit Kuwabara full on, pushing him back against the opposite wall, where they melded into the stone. Kuwabara was now encased in rock, only his head and limbs protruding from the stone. He waved his arms franticly. "Hey! Lemme outa here!!"
Jerin rubbed his bruised throat. "Aronae sparo ya kometa," he hissed in his own language, then switched back to what everyone could understand. "You foolish human slime. You're not fit to wipe the dirt from my boot."
"You take that back!! Now get over here and fight me like a man!!" Kuwabara screeched.
"If I'm not mistaken, I already have. And I've already won." Jerin's glare hardened. He picked up his wooden katana from where it had fallen and pointed it at Kuwabara. "Do not underestimate me again, human. Next time, I will not be so merciful."
The rock covering the orange-haired teen melted away, and he fell to the ground with a crash.
Then he leapt up. "You little-" He ran at the demon hunter, who merely stepped lightly to the side and stuck his foot out. Kuwabara tripped and fell flat on his face. In a second he was up again and throwing punches like crazy. Jerin side-stepped him again, and again he lost his balance and fell.
"That's enough, Kuwabara," Korio said, rising from the floor and smiling ever so slightly. "It's over now. Besides, we're wasting time."
Ioe nodded in agreement, as did Kir. Jin blinked down from his position by the ceiling, still extremely shaken by the forcefulness of the Sparian's previous attack. The rock had hit right where he had been floating only seconds before, and it had taken some quick flying skills to maneuver out of its path.
Kuwabara growled like a rabid dog, but stopped his attacks on Jerin and threw himself onto the stone next to Yusuke. "Don't worry about that creep," Yusuke muttered. "You'll get 'im next time."
"Yeah," Kuwabara replied, clenching his fist.
Jerin sheathed his katana and assumed his original position against the wall. "Now can we be serious?" he asked. "Too much time has been wasted already."
"Does anyone have a suggestion?" Ioe asked after a brief silence.
Korio stepped forward. "Obviously the Shadow Clan knows that we'll go looking for our comrades. They may be expecting us."
"Perhaps it's a trap," Jerin said. "Runae may be plotting something larger than what our brains are imagining right now. Hiei, Kurama, and Touya are probably serving as bait, and we're the fish."
"Yeah, but how do we know that?" Yusuke countered.
"We don't," Korio said. "But like Jerin said, it's a possibility. We must be cautious."
"Yer righ' abou' tha'," Jin said, swooping lower. "Bu' we can' jus' si' around 'ere an' do nothing."
"I agree," Kir informed them.
Yusuke punched his right fist into his left palm. "I say we get started right away. It's already been almost two months, according to you guys. We have to get going, and I'm ready for anything."
"We can't afford to be reckless," Jerin snapped.
"I've always been reckless, and it's always worked out for me," Yusuke challenged.
"Well, yes, but either you or one of your foolish friends who follow your lead have practically died in the process each and every time," Jerin shot back.
Yusuke jumped up. "Don't you talk about my friends that way!"
"I can talk any way I please."
"You think you can just-"
"Enough!"
White and blue flames erupted between the Detective and the Sparian. Yusuke was thrown backward, while Jerin narrowed his eyes and backed away.
"I have had enough petty bickering and clashing of personalities! Now we are all going to sit down and discuss this calmly, or we can all just give up and go home!"
The flames reached up to the ceiling, making Jin twist this way and that to keep from getting burnt.
Then, everything just stopped. Standing in the middle of the room was Korio, his normally sparkling green eyes as hard as stone, and his friendly features twisted into knots of anger. The room was silent, and no one dared move.
"Make your choice," Korio said angrily. "If you all can't learn to get along and work together then I suggest you leave now." He pointed at the cave entrance.
Everyone stayed put.
"Good," the Master Detective said. "Now let's get down to business."
&&&&&
Kurama's head shot up, despite the pain that went through his nervous system. "Hiei?"
"Yeah."
Kurama smiled and dragged himself as close to the bars as possible. "Are you all right?"
"I was about to ask you the same question."
"Answer me."
"I'm fine."
Kurama's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."
"You're hurt, but still as persistent as ever," Hiei growled. He forced himself into a sitting position. "You're wrong, though. Besides a few cuts I'm fine."
"You think you are, but you aren't," Kurama said. Hiei's eyes slitted in confusion, and Kurama explained what had been happening for the past two months.
The fire youkai's eyes blazed in anger. "How dare he do this to us? Does he think he can actually get away with this?"
Kurama shook his head. "He's after Yusuke. We have to warn him."
"But how? We can't-"
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud scream that echoed through the chambers like nails on a chalkboard echoing through a classroom.
Both the demons snapped their heads around.
"Was that who I think it sounded like?" Kurama asked.
"Unless my ears have rotted, I think so," Hiei replied.
They both looked at each other. "Touya."
&&&&&
Touya screamed. It was so intense. Each second seemed like its own eternity and even longer.
His tormentors laughed while he screamed in excruciating pain. He couldn't move an inch, chained by the wrists and ankles high on the stone wall. He couldn't do a thing to rid himself of it. Nothing would save him.
His eyes teared, each wet drop burning on his cheek, sizzling into nothingness. He couldn't think, he couldn't do anything.
The pain blinded him. It ripped through his veins, channeled through to his soul. The agony consumed him entirely. And all he could do was scream.
&&&&&
The hooded figure appeared once again in the dark throne room.
"Back again? What kept you?" Runae asked from his place on the throne.
"I have my reasons," the dark figure replied.
"Well, tell me your news."
The dark figure walked to the Junik's side. "There is unrest and distrust within the opposition."
"Explain," Runae said.
The hooded figure growled. "Yusuke Urameshi has formed a group to oppose you, including Jin the Wind Master. They are planning to come after their friends. Still, arguments break out frequently among the group, and I know that none are sure who to trust. Their alliance may rip at the seams if presented with the correct type of conflicts."
"I am not interested in what will break their bonds," Runae said. "I have all the weapons I require to defeat them. But I need you to draw them here. Follow my plan, and you will be rewarded."
"Of course," the figure replied emotionlessly. But beneath the dark hood, a pair of green eyes closed in shame.