Disclaimer: I don't own the YYH characters, but I do reserve the rights to Takashi Ashitare. She's my little mystic.

A/N: kaasan (mother); otousan (father)

Of Mystics and Youkai

Chapter 7

Ashitare gets back up after being slammed into the wall. She begins to untie her taraa to use as a shield when she hears a familiar voice. Please, come find me. Before it's too late. Ashitare looks over at her teammates. She doesn't want to leave them, but it's her kaasan calling out to her for help. Please Ashitare, help me….She runs for the doorway at the far end of the large room.

"Ashi! Wait!" Hiei starts after the girl, dodging a swipe from one of the shifters.

Kurama sees Hiei chasing after the mystic, "Hiei, no! You must remain here! We'll catch up with her! I promise!"

Hiei halts his pursuit. Every part of him wants to follow her, but he can't leave Kurama and the others to fight the shifters. He resumes his assault on the shifters, hoping Ashitare will be ok.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Final assault

Ashitare could feel something pulling her along. She raced down the hallway and stopped in her tracks. At the end of the hallway was a large double wooden door with crests on both doors. Just like the vision. She opened the doors wide and entered. It was the room in which her kaasan died. She stared down at the space where she had seen her body. Beautiful, even in death. She bent down and touched the cold stone floor. Kaasan…

Ashitare sensed a presence and looked up, katana at the ready. What she saw chilled her very soul.

"Welcome home child." Ashitare stared in stunned silence. Her hands were beginning to shake and she tightened the grip on her katana. There, standing on the vestibule, with the Suspension Orb in hand, was Shirogane Takashi. He was an imposing figure, with shoulder-length white hair and piercing green eyes. He held out his arms in welcome to Ashitare. "Don't be rude child. I haven't seen you in ages. Come give your otousan a hug."

"You! You're the one behind this?" Shirogane takes a few steps toward Ashitare and she instinctively takes a step back. "Do not come any closer! I did not come here to fight you. I only came for the Orb."

Shirogane chuckles and smiles down at his daughter, "And you think I'm just going to hand it over to you out of familial loyalty?" He suddenly loses his genial countenance and becomes cold and harsh, "No Ashitare. You will put that blasphemous piece of metal down and come greet your otousan properly. Like a good, obedient daughter."

Ashitare flinched at her otousan's last statement. Like a good, obedient daughter. Her whole childhood was lived under that statement. "No! I escaped your tyranny and I'm not going back."

"Koenma will pay for sending you after me. I expected his precious Reikai Tantei. I guess my shifters were too much for those amateurs."

"Think again asshole! We're here for the orb!"

Yusuke and the rest of the team poured into the room behind Ashitare. She didn't turn around but she felt the strong presence of her teammates and it eased the panic gripping her heart. Shirogane never let his eyes leave Ashitare.

"Oh my poor girl. You've been reduced to working with…..this?" Shirogane turns his gaze on Yusuke, "This doesn't concern you whelp." Shirogane raises a hand and a force field springs up around team Urameshi. Yusuke starts to reach towards the force field to test its strength.

"Yusuke no! That field is enforced by Majik. There's no way of knowing what kind of cast it's infused with."

"Listen to her whelp. She's the expert after all. Now please, Ashitare, forget this nonsense and join me. Help me to create a new world."

Ashitare takes a defensive stance, katana poised for action. "I won't let you do this."

"Take care child. You know I do not tolerate disobedience."

"I am not under your control! I will stop you. Or die trying."

"How ironic. That's exactly what that fool Masamoto said before I had him killed."

Ashitare felt the tension leave her body. She almost dropped her katana. She tried to speak, and barely managed to get one word out which held all the horror that gripped her heart, "N-no."

"Did you really think I'd let him live? He poisoned your mind into picking up that crude weapon. I only tolerated it for so long because ultimately it worked to my advantage. Your apparent guilt over training behind my back drove you to throw yourself into your true studies like a fanatic. You did it all to please me."

You did it all to please me. Those words snapped Ashitare out of her shock and she firmed up her grip on her katana. A steady stream of tears raced down her cheeks at the memory of her teacher, body sliced to shreds. Tagashi Masamoto, the man who was more of an otousan to her than the man standing in front of her ever was. When she spoke, her voice was no longer weak. It was forceful and full of venom.

"I didn't do it to please you. I did it out of fear. Fear of what punishment I would suffer if I didn't meet your expectations. Fear that I would never be out from under your control."

"I made you what you are today; One of the most powerful mystics to ever live. Now stop masking yourself. Show me how powerful you have become child."

Ashitare never let her eyes leave Shirogane. She let her guards down, one by one. Her ki kept rising and her body began to glow with a blue flame, then it turned white as she reached her maximum. Her teammate's eyes were wide with wonder. Her otousan just looked at her, a smile on his face.

Kurama couldn't take his eyes off his friend, he had no idea she contained that much power. "Hiei, did you know?

Hiei didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the mystic. He had always sensed she was holding back some of her power, but he had no idea she had reached such a level.

Shirogane looked on with pride, "Beautiful. The day you were born, I knew you were destined to be one of the most powerful mystics ever."

"And I'm here to stop you."

Shirogane placed the orb on a stand off to the side. When he looked back at Ashitare, she could see the darkness written on his face. "If I have to destroy you child, I will."

Ashitare launched herself. Shirogane raised his arm and used it to hold off the descending blade. Ashitare pressed the swing a few moments, then leapt back to quickly dodge a blast. Ashitare sent an energy slash for Shirogane. She followed closely behind the blast heading towards her otousan, ready to follow through with another plunge of her katana after the impact of the slash. Shirogane dodged the slash but was too slow to fully avoid Ashitare's katana. Ashitare flew through the air, her katana making a red trail down Shirogane's back.

The evil mystic let out a roar as the blade sliced his flesh. He whirled to find Ashitare already in a stance, waiting. His face was twisted with hatred. "I was going to give you a quick, painless death. But for that, you must be punished first."

Shirogane waved his hand through the air. A yellow mist snaked its way towards Ashitare. She raises her palm at the mist and uses a cast to produce a gale force wind to sweep the mist out of the room. She quickly follows it with a sunburst cast, temporarily blinding Shirogane. She seizes the advantage to launch herself in the air, striking at Shirogane's head. The blinded mystic erects an energy field just before Ashitare's blade comes down on his head. Ashitare bounces back after her katana is repelled by the field. Shirogane, his vision clear, collapses his energy field and releases his next attack, Starburst Bomb. A hailstorm of energy bombs fly through the air in every direction. Ashitare easily dodges the first twenty or so before getting clipped by one, then two, and finally taking on direct hits. The force of the successive bombs throws her through the wall.

Ashitare picks herself up off the rock pile, a little shaken. She reaches for her katana as Shirogane steps through the newly created opening. Ashitare sends a cast at Shirogane, hoping her aim isn't off as she stumbles over some rocks.

"Soul Binder!"

A wide golden band glows around Shirogane's chest, binding his arms to his chest.

Shirogane glares at his daughter, a smirk on his face, "This won't hold me."

Ashitare makes her way over to the captive mystic elder, "It will hold you long enough for me to--"

Her vision blurs, and a searing pain rips through her head. No! Not now! She tries to fight off the impending vision. She drops her katana, both hands clutching her head. Shirogane is working to free himself while the young mystic is occupied. Ashitare staggers backward and hits her head on a wall. The unexpected blow shakes the vision. She places a steadying hand on the wall, trying to regain her balance and clear her eyesight. She becomes aware of a white hot burning sensation creeping up her arm and over her body. It's emanating from the wall. She let her senses reach out to the next room trying to identify the source of the heat. She senses a powerful force. It almost seems familiar. She takes a few steps back and blasts a hole in the wall.

Ashitare enters the small dark room. There are no windows, the only light filtering in through the hole she made. She starts toward the source. Ashitare's breath catches in her throat. The sword! As she reaches for it, her body is gripped by a penetrating coldness. She can't move a muscle. She hears footsteps approaching from behind but cannot even speak a counter cast. Shirogane grabs a handful of hair and pulls Ashitare from the small room. On her knees, being held up by her hair, she's a rag doll in his grasp.

"It didn't have to be this way child. You could have joined me and saved me the trouble of having to punish you. But I guess some have to learn the hard way."

Shirogane lands a blow on the side of Ashitare's head. Another blow follows on the other side. He keeps the pattern for a few more blows then throws her against the wall. Shirogane walks over and picks the girl up by her neck. He slams her head into the wall a few times and then throws her to the other side of the room.

Yusuke's body is shaking with anger and frustration as he looks on, helpless. "We've gotta do something! He's gonna kill her!"

Kuwabara puts a hand on his best friend's shoulder, "We can't blast the field. It'll fry us. If we're lucky."

Hiei pushes past the tall redhead and approaches the field. He places both hands on the field before anyone can react.

Kurama reaches out to stop the fire demon, but he's too late, "Hiei! No!"

Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara watch in horror as the fire demon's body goes rigid, consumed by flames, absorbing the energy of the field. The field starts to falter, and within moments disappears. Hiei slumps to the ground, clothes half burned away, skin smoking with patches of burnt flesh. Yusuke takes off for the next room to save Ashitare as Kurama runs over to Hiei. Kuwabara grabs Kurama's arm before the youko can reach the fire demon.

"Don't touch him! He absorbed too much energy, his skin will burn you. Prepare a salve and painkillers. He's gonna need it."

Kurama nods mutely and reaches in his hair for the necessary seeds. Kuwabara heads for the next room. He sees Yusuke occupied with Shirogane, so he heads for Ashitare's crumpled body. He supports her weight and starts to stand up when Shirogane whirls on them and fires an energy blast. Kuwabara drops Ashitare in time to take the full force of the blast which knocks him into the small room housing the sword.

"I'm not done with her yet. She needs to be taught respect."

"You're not going anywhere near her. You deal with me!" Yusuke runs head first at Shirogane, dodging energy blasts, only to be frozen in mid punch by a cast. Shirogane fires a blast point blank into the youkai's face and watches as his body flies into the wall. He advances on the stunned youkai, impressed that the blast didn't kill him.

Ashitare manages to get herself up on her knees. She wipes some blood out of her eyes and watches Yusuke fly into the wall.

"Yusuke! No!"

She wills her body to stand, every muscle and bone fiercely protesting. She sees her katana and goes to retrieve it when she hears Yusuke yelling her name. She looks up in time to see an energy wave headed right for her. She can't move fast enough and the force of the impact slams her against the wall.

She doesn't know how long she was out. Not long by the look of things. Yusuke has transformed to his full Toushin aspect and has been joined by Kurama. Together they are giving Shirogane some trouble. Maybe she can try the spell now. She starts running the incantation through her mind, concentrating all her remaining ki, when her thoughts are interrupted by a voice, calling her name. Ashitare, I am here. She looks around for the source of the voice. Ashitare. She wipes her eyes again, trying to clear her eyesight. Ashitare. She turns in the direction of the voice. She sees Kuwabara emerging from the small room. Didn't she find something in there? Kuwabara put a steadying hand on Ashitare's shoulders.

"The sword! I found it."

The sword! She had forgotten all about it. Kuwabara helps Ashitare over to the room.

"No! Get away from that room!"

Kuwabara, ready for this blast, shoves Ashitare into the small, dark room and deflects the blast with his Spirit Sword. Ashitare lands hard on her shoulder. Her eyesight blurry, she fumbles in the dimly lit room searching for the sword. Ashitare's finger is suddenly shocked and she knows she has found it. She grabs the hilt with all her might and feels the white hot wave wash over her, banishing all the pain. She can't see anything but white flames. They consume her entire being. And then Ashitare hears the ethereal voice again.

"At last you have found me, Ashitare Takashi."

"Who are you?"

"I am Reikana, the soulsword. I am yours alone to wield."

"I don't understand."

"I was created for you. Maehara Takashi gave up her ki to create me, for you."

"Maehara? My kaasan? She died when I was a child. Why would she create a sword for a child? How -?"

"I will show you, Ashitare Takashi."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Soulsword

The bright white surrounding her washed away to reveal an all too familiar room. It was the same room Ashitare had watched her kaasan choke to death. Her kaasan drifted into the room with a baby wrapped in her arms. She was humming sweetly to the sleeping infant.

"Maehara knew of your destiny. She knew you would become a powerful mystic and were destined to rid the four worlds of a great evil. She commissioned a sword when you were born. She hid it from Shirogane but was betrayed by a servant. Shirogane was furious at the betrayal and the thought that his daughter would someday fall under the influence of his traitorous wife. His wrath was swift."

Ashitare stared wide-eyed at the scene being presented before her. Shirogane was advancing on Maehara, she had found the sword but it was too late. She was lying dead on the ground in mere moments.

"But Shirogane made a mistake. He left Maehara there, thinking her dead, and left the sword by her side. Maehara was not dead yet. She knew she could not escape death, so she performed the incantation that would place her soul, her ki, into the sword. When a soulsword is created, the creator becomes the sword. And when the true owner of the sword claims it, the soulsword becomes part of its owner. The two merge into one consciousness."

Ashitare watched her kaasan's lips quiver, reciting some ancient text she couldn't understand. As she did this, Ashitare could see a faint outline of a body melding into the sword. Maehara's lips stopped moving and the sword began to glow. Then everything turned white again and Ashitare winced against the overwhelming brightness.

"So, are you my kaasan?"

"Only in spirit Ashitare Takashi. When you claimed me, your kaasan's true soul was freed. What remains is her essence. Her ki."

"Reikana, what happens now?"

"That is up to you. You are my other half. I will be with you wherever you go."

"How do I get out of here? I need to help my friends and stop my otousan."

"As you wish Ashitare Takashi."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ashitare is suddenly thrown back into reality. She's standing in the darkened room, holding the glowing soulsword. She can feel the connection, the power coursing through her body. Her time in the whiteness with Reikana had lasted only mere seconds in true time. She steps from the room to find Shirogane squaring off against three of her teammates. Where was Hiei? She quickly senses him in the other room, unconscious. He's giving off a ridiculous amount of heat but seems stable. She turns her attention back to the battle before her.

"SHIROGANE!"

Ashitare's scream stops all four combatants. They look in awe at the soulsword glowing within her grasp. Without taking her eyes off Shirogane, she raises her hand and quickly teleports her teammates in the other room and places an energy barrier at the entrance.

Yusuke pounds on the barrier, "Ashitare! God damn it! We're a team and we finish this together. Don't be stupid!"

Ashitare meets the amber eyes and she offers a small smile, "No Yusuke. This is my fight."

And with that statement, she turns and launches herself at Shirogane, soulsword in striking position. The demon lets out a mighty war cry as he raises his hands to produce a barrier to block the blow. Ashitare lets the soulsword clash with the barrier to see just how much power the sword has. A small, cold smile appears on her face as her eyes remain fixed on Shirogane. This will do just fine. Ashitare pulls the attack and leaps back, ready for a counter attack.

Shirogane recognizes the invitation and happily complies. He strides towards her chanting, gathering energy within his fists. When he is within five yards of Ashitare, he sends a tremendous energy wave with his left hand and follows it with an energy bomb from his right hand. Ashitare knows she can't dodge the energy wave so she raises the soulsword and braces for the impact. She staggers backward a few steps as the wave passes through her. She feels the burning impact down her entire body. She takes a deep breath after the wave passes, just in time to see the energy bomb explode in her face.

Ashitare's head meets the wall with a sickening thud. As she pushes herself up and clears the cobwebs, she realizes she doesn't have the soulsword. She frantically looks around but can't see it anywhere. Suddenly, Shirogane grabs her by the throat and smashes her into the wall so she is eye-to-eye with him. Shirogane just smiles at her, eyes glinting. This is it. I can't defeat him. Ashitare starts seeing spots in front of her eyes as Shirogane tightens his grip.

"I'm sorry child, but you've left me no choice. You have proven to be a traitor, just like your kaasan."

"Ashitare Takashi. I am here! Call me forth!"

Ashitare hears the voice in her head. It is calm and strong and makes her forget the pain. What do I do? Please tell me!

"You need only feel me in your grasp and I will be there."

Ashitare closes her eyes and tries to concentrate. …feel me in your grasp….I will be there. Ashitare clenches her fist and sees, in her mind, the soulsword materialize in her hand. And then she feels the hilt of the soulsword in her hands. Her eyes fly open and she swings her arm up with every ounce of strength she can muster. Shirogane shrieks as his arm is severed at the elbow. He reels back, stunned. Ashitare coughs away the tightness in her throat and fixes Shirogane with a cold, deadly look. She advances toward him slowly. Shirogane backs up, the rage seeping from his face.

"You killed Maehara. You killed Tagashi. Now I will return the favor."

With a movement so fast, most demons eyes would have trouble detecting it, Ashitare flies at Shirogane. She's amazed at how easily the blade penetrates his chest, sliding smoothly out the other side. Shirogane's face is frozen in a mask of pain and horror. Ashitare calmly observes the dying mystic as he gasps his last few breathes. She knows killing him won't wipe away all the years of pain, torment and treachery. But it's a damn good start. Ashitare removes the soulsword and Shirogane falls to his knees. She raises the glowing blade and brings it down one last time, beheading Shirogane. She watches the head roll to a stop. Is this real? Ashitare brings the glowing blade up to her face, marveling at the enchanted gift from her kaasan. Thank you kaasan. Thank you Reikana. Ashitare can hear the beautiful ethereal voice in her head:

"You did well Ashitare Takashi. Rest now."

And just like that, the soulsword faded, until Ashitare's hand clutched air. But she could feel it inside her now. She recognized the familiar, warm presence. As she turns around surveying the damage, Ashitare sees her teammates watching in awe from behind the energy barrier. Oh yeah. She waves her hand and the barrier dissipates. Yusuke slowly walks over to Ashitare. He remains silent, but Ashitare can see the concern and questions in his eyes. But she doesn't want to talk right now. She lays her head against his chest and lets the emotions flow out of her. Yusuke sinks to the floor, cradling the crying mystic. He closes his eyes and lets his ki envelope them, trying to soothe her. For all the power she commanded, and all the skill she possessed as a swordsman, she was still vulnerable to heartache, just like the rest of them.

To be continued…..