Kurama::reading over the chapter: So you reward their patience with this?
Varan: Hey! I'd expect that from Hiei not you!
Hiei: Hn. Just answer the reviews onna.
Review Responses:
Kitsune Kit::grins: Maybe, guess you'll have to wait and find out ne?
Serinay Kawasaki: Thank you very much! I know the stupid word processor screwed up when I loaded it onto the site, so the paragraphs bunched together. I'll do what I can to try and fix it this time, but I can't promise I can make it work :sweat drop:.
Carri: Oops, sorry about that. :cowers: I know I haven't updated in a while but I'm doing it now! Please don't hurt me!
Princess Shadowcat: Here's the update!
Koroga: Thanks for the review! Those always put me in a good mood!
tigerhw114: Thank you!
Dolphingirl32173: Yes I swear I will finish this story! ...Eventually at least. It's hard to do with all my stupid school work!
Varan: Well at least no one's killed me yet.
Hiei: I would if I could.
Jack: Same here.
Varan: Yeah, yeah whatever. Let's give the readers what they want! Oh, and just to warn you, there is a lot of fighting in this chappie!
"Grrr...what the hell is with these demons!" Yusuke scowled angrily and shot at the demon standing in front of him with it's claws raised. "Are all of them suicidal or something? That's the fifteenth attack today!" K.L. shrugged before throwing one of her daggers at the demon she was facing off with.
"Well, at least it's good practice," she pointed out, nimbly dodging the demon's sword as it shook off her fire. Yusuke sighed as his opponent collapsed at his feet.
"For you maybe. This is plain boring for me." The detectives had been ambushed several times by large groups of C-class demon. They weren't very strong or smart, but they came in large numbers and were as irritating as a swarm of mosquitoes. Aquarion stabbed a demon with his sword and moved to stand with the two humans.
"I agree with Yusuke," he said. "This is just tedious." Above their heads they heard Rita laughing giddily.
"What are you guys talking about! This is lots of fun!" She sent five demons flying through the air and laughed even harder as they almost crashed into Hiei. The fire demon dodged at the last second, then turned to glare at the wind demon.
"Watch it onna," he snarled as Kurama sliced the remaining demons with his rose whip. Rita laughed and landed lightly on the ground in front of Hiei.
"Oh calm down Hi-kun, that was an easy dodge for you." Hiei grasped his sword tightly and his glare intensified.
"I told you not to call me that!" With a sigh, K.L. turned away from the two bickering demons to address Aquarion. For some reason Rita had taken to calling Hiei by a nickname, and the fire demon was not happy about it. The others had learned quickly that it was best to ignore both of them when Rita started teasing him.
"So, I'm guessing we're near the heart of the forest right," she asked. "Because there are a lot more demons here than there were closer to the edge."
"It's also getting much darker," Kurama added, moving to stand next to K.L. "I assume that means we're close to Nightshade's stronghold." Aquarion nodded.
"Hai, we are very close now," he replied. "We should reach the stronghold soon." He watched Hiei and Rita begin a game of cat and mouse and sighed. "That is, if those two would stop fighting long enough for us to get there."
"She's acting like a fangirl," K.L. mused with a grin. Aquarion stared at her.
"A what?"
"Never mind, I'll explain it some other time." She looked around, noticing that her familiar was missing. "Angel? Hey, where'd ya go?" Angel trotted up from her spot behind Yusuke and headed straight for K.L.. Her fur was standing on end, making her look like a giant chia pet. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"
: This place...it's practically oozing dark energy: the wolf replied. : The closer we move to the heart of the forest, the stronger the feeling gets. : She gave a low whine and crouched down protectively. : I don't like it. : Aquarion nodded in understanding.
"What you are sensing is Nightshade's demonic aura. It covers this entire forest like the shadow of a hawk hovering over it's prey." K.L. frowned.
"Really? I hardly feel anything." She rubbed her arms and shivered. "Well, except for these goosebumps on my arms."
"I've felt it the whole time we've been in this forest," Kuwabara said suddenly. The elemental glanced at him and noticed for the first time just how pale he was. He hadn't looked like that when they had first set out.
"Wow, you really do have a strong sixth sense." K.L. had never really liked Kuwabara, but now she was beginning to feel a little sorry for him. She bit her lip and watched as Hiei and Rita continued to run circles around the group. "I say we get this finished as soon as possible.
"I agree whole heartedly," Aquarion said. "But first we have to calm Rita and Hiei down." K.L. turned to Kurama, using puppy eyes.
"Can't you do something about Hiei? You've known him the longest." Kurama swallowed and averted his eyes.
"Gomen ne K.L., but there's not much I can do when he's in a rage like this." K.L. dropped the puppy face and scowled, placing her hands on her hips.
"Well this stupid lovers tiff of theirs is holding us up!" Yusuke snickered.
"Hey, I never thought of it that way," he said with a grin. "They do make a pretty cute couple don't they?"
"You had better be talking about the kitsune and the elemental Detective," Hiei warned suddenly, breaking off from his chase and raising his katana threateningly. Yuskue quickly tried to defend himself as Rita continued to run in circles, unaware that Hiei was no longer chasing her. K.L. cupped her hands around her face and called out to the wind worker.
"Oi, Rita! Look behind you!" Rita glanced over her shoulder and skidded to a stop when she saw Hiei threatening the Spirit Detective. She smiled sheepishly at the human girl.
"Sorry K.L., I guess I got a little carried away." K.L. fought back a grin.
"No prob. But you and Hiei need to save your energy for the real fights OK?" Rita's smile turned into a grin and she saluted the elemental.
"You've got it!" K.L. gave up trying to be serious and broke out in a fit of laughter while Kurama tried to pry Hiei away from Yusuke.
"Now, now Hiei he was only kidding around. Besides, if you kill him Koenma will lock you up for good." Hiei glared at the kitsune and reluctantly released his captive.
"Hn," he muttered, sheathing his sword. K.L. got a hold of herself and grinned as the angry demon stomped off. She and the others exchanged looks and followed. This time, Yusuke was careful to keep his distance from Hiei. They continued on like that for half an hour, before Hiei stopped and gripped the hilt of his katana. "Look." The others stopped as well and followed the direction of his gaze. Up ahead the trees thinned, and gave way to a large castle covered completely in shadow. K.L. raised an eyebrow.
"Well that has to be the most cliché spooky manor I've ever seen," she muttered. Aquarion's normally calm eyes hardened.
"That is Nightshade's lair," he growled. He looked up as a large raven cawed overhead. The bird cawed loudly once more and soared over their heads toward the castle. "And he knows we're here." Yusuke cracked his knuckles eagerly.
"Then why don't we go say hello," he suggested. Aquarion nodded and took the lead.
"We must be very cautious now. I've never actually crossed the threshold, so I don't know what is waiting for us behind those walls." K.L. placed a reassuring hand on the water demon's arm.
"Don't worry Aquarion. Our boys here are used to fighting blind."
"Ain't that the truth," Kuwabara muttered. Aquarion blinked and moved toward the castle, at the same time dislodging K.L.'s hand from his arm. They left Puu to wait outside in case someone needed to get help from Koenma, and made their way through the large stone doors of the castle into a pitch black room. The door closed behind them, and torches positioned along the walls suddenly flared to life, revealing an empty stone chamber. On the other side of the chamber was a demon guarding a wooden door. Aquarion paled as the demon moved forward into the fire light. He was a water demon with the same blue skin and white hair as Aquarion. The new demon looked a few years younger than Aqauarion, and his hair was much longer, pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his neck. He watched them with dull blue green eyes.
"Jonah," Aquarion whispered. There wasn't even a flicker of recognition in Jonah's eyes as he turned his attention to his elder brother.
"I am the one known as Minion," he told them in a monotone voice. "Master Nightshade has sent me to greet you all." He moved away from the door, stopping in the middle of the room. "He also sent me to bid you farewell." He raised his right hand, and energy flowed up his arm, taking the form of a sword made entirely out of water. Grasping the hilt, he rushed towards K.L.. The elemental raised an arm to defend herself and readied her daggers. Just as Minion's sword was about to make contact, Aquarion jumped in front of the girl, his blade clashing with his brother's. He pushed the younger demon back and charged forward, locking blades once more. K.L. gasped and got rid of the daggers in her hands.
"Aquarion! What-"
"Go take care of Nightshade," he ordered harshly. "This is my fight."
"But...he's your brother," K.L. protested.
"Just go!" Hiei grabbed K.L.'s arm before she could protest again.
"Come on," he ordered. "It's not our place to interfere." K.L. bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.
"All right. But you'd better not get yourself killed Aquarion! I'm sure Jonah wouldn't want you to die at his hands!" Aquarion didn't reply, and the others ran to the door. Once they were gone, the water demon turned all of his focus to his younger brother.
"You don't have a chance otoutou," he said as their blades clashed and sparks flew. "I taught you everything you know." Minion jumped away and the sword dissipated.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied as emotionlessly as before. "Master Nightshade has ordered you death, there is no escaping your fate." He placed the heels of his palms together and made a v-shape towards Aquraion. "Frozen wasteland!" As he spoke, Minion spread his arms as wide as he could, creating a wave of ice that flowed directly toward his brother. Aquarion sheathed his sword and bowed his head so that his bangs covered his eyes.
"You leave me no choice Jonah. I only hope that you can forgive me." He raised his head, and his eyes began to glow a dark blue color. "I will do what I must to free you from Nightshade's hold!" He leaped over the wave of ice, which crested on the wall behind him and flowed across the floor of the chamber. Almost immediately it began to melt from the heat of the torches. Aquarion's eyes glowed more brightly and the ice water rose up to surround him. The water swirled around him twice, then broke off into tiny needles that shot themselves at Minion. The younger demon guarded his face with his arms as the rest of his body was scored with thousands of tiny cuts. When he looked up, Aquarion's sword was inches from his face. He ducked and formed his water blade once more, using it to slice his brother's side as he passed underneath him. The cut was deep and blood dripped down Aquarion's leg as he turned to face Minion. He ignored the pain in his side and lunged again. This time when his brother ducked, Aquarion brought his leg around and slammed it into Minion's stomach. While the younger demon was stunned, his brother brought his sword around and pierced his chest. At the same time, he gained another cut from Minion, running from his left shoulder to his right hip. Minion gasped and clutched at the sword, feeling his blood slip through his fingers. He stared at his brother, his breathing becoming harsh and labored, and his eyes slowly lost their emptiness.
"N-Nii-san..." Jonah's blue green eyes filled with tears and he beamed happily. "Thank you so much. I'm so s-sorry..." He fell to his knees and coughed violently. "Nii-san...I'm finally...free..." His eyes clouded over and he collapsed onto his side. Aquarion gazed down at his younger brother's still body, before falling to his knees as well. He reached out to placed hand on his brother's head, while his other arm cradled his still bleeding wound.
"I'm glad Jonah," he whispered. "You will never lose your freedom again." He closed his eyes and slowly slumped to the ground. "I just wish I could be there to see the others kill the bastard who stole it from you."
Aquarion: I can't believe you just did that.
Varan: TT I had to!
Aquarion: Well I hope you're not thinking of ending it there.
Varan: Of course I'm...:notices angry readers holding various deadly weapons: ...not! Here's the rest!
While Aquarion fought his brother, the others found themselves in a large hallway with dozens of doors. Yusuke cursed blackly at the sight.
"Chikusho! Always with the stupid mazes," he ground out.
"Can you figure out which door to use," K.L. asked Kuwabara. He shook his head.
"No, there's too much yoki in the castle. I can't pinpoint the source." K.L. sighed in frustration.
"Well this sucks! How the hell are we supposed to find Nightshade?"
"CAW!" The sudden noise brought their attention to the door in the very middle of the right side of the hallway. Perched above it was the raven from before, watching them with mocking black eyes. Angel growled angrily and snapped at the bird.
: That is where we must go: she told the others. : According to Nightshade's filthy chicken that is. :
"Can we trust it," K.L. asked.
"I don't think we have a choice," Kurama replied. Yusuke scowled at the bird and kicked the door open.
"Then let's go! I'm tired of these damn games," he snarled as they crossed through the doorway.
"Are you really Urameshi-san," an unfamiliar voice questioned. The door shut behind the detectives with a loud slam. "Well that's too bad, because the games have only just begun." They were now in another chamber, smaller than the first. This chamber was also decorated with several scarlet colored wall hangings and a matching carpet. In the center of the room, a demon sat in a comfortable high backed chair that was the same color as the wall decorations. The demon had short cropped sand colored hair that gave way to sharply pointed ears. He smirked impishly at the detectives, revealing sharp fangs, and his copper colored eyes glowed mockingly. His outfit was similar to the one that Yusuke wore during the dark tournament, only his shirt matched the color pattern of the room and was the same color as the chair he sat in. Yusuke glared at him.
"Who the hell are you," he asked. The demon stood and bowed slightly.
"The name's Donal, and I am to be your executioner," he replied. "And Kuwabara-san's as well." Kuwabara copied Yusuke's glare with one of his own.
"I'd like to see you try it punk," he shouted waving his fist at the demon. Donal smirked.
"And you shall." He turned to the others. "Feel free to leave whenever you wish, the Master's raven will guide you to my comrades who have been assigned to kill the rest of you."
"But we can't leave them," Rita protested. "They're just ningens!"
"Don't worry about us," Yusuke told her. "You four go ahead, we can take care of ourselves."
"I don't like the idea of separating the group," K.L. said. Donal laughed abruptly.
"Well little ningen that's too bad. The raven will not lead you to Master Nightshade until all of the executions have begun. He doesn't want any unnecessary annoyances to hinder his fight."
"And just who will he be fighting," Kurama asked. Donal shrugged.
"Follow the raven and find out." Angel growled and impatiently tugged on K.L.'s jeans with her teeth.
: Come on! We won't accomplish anything if we just stand here and listen to him yap! Let Yusuke and Baka handle him: Kuwabara glared at the wolf.
"I'll get you for that later mutt," he threatened before turning to K.L.. "But she is right. We're the ones he wants to fight, so you guys go ahead." K.L. looked questioningly to Kurama.
"I agree with Angel," the kitsune told her. "We're wasting time here."
"Don't worry about the idiots onna," Hiei said. "They're too stubborn to die so easily." K.L. sighed in defeat.
"Fine, let's go then." Angel led the way to the door on the other side of the room. K.L. was the last to reach the door, and when she did, she turned back to the two boys. "Be careful, or else Keiko and Shizuru will end up storming the gates of Reikai just to find you and drag you back home." Yusuke gave her a thumbs up.
"Sure thing K.L.. You be careful too." She smiled sadly and followed after Angel and the others.
"Finally," Donal sighed. "I didn't think we'd ever get to start!" His eyes shone with an unholy light. "I can't wait to see the blood flow from your veins!" Yusuke snorted in disgust.
"Great, a blood thirsty psychopath. Could this day get any better?"
"No wonder he likes the color red so much," Kuwabara muttered. Donal grinned maliciously.
"I can think of nothing more beautiful than the sight of a human's blood pouring from a wound that I have inflicted upon them," he told them. The claws on his hands began to grow until they were as long as daggers. "I can't wait to see how beautiful yours is!" He lunged at Yusuke and swiped at him with those lethal claws. Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword and knocked the demon away from his friend. Donal flipped and landed lightly on his feet. The two teens charged at him side by side, and jump kicked him into the closest wall. Donal growled angrily and wrenched his back out of the wall, using the leverage to launch himself at them again. This time he managed to cut Yusuke across his right cheek, and Kuwabara along his upper arm. Yusuke wiped the blood off with a grin.
"Just like old times, ne Kuwabara," he asked. Kuwabara grinned back.
"Yep. Just like when we were beating punks on the street," he replied.
"Don't you dare ignore me ningens," Donal hissed slashing at them again with his claws. They dodged easily and glanced at each other.
"Now," Kuwabara asked. Yusuke nodded.
"Now!' Energy gathered around their fists and they charged at the blood thirsty demon, pounding him into the wall behind him. With lightning quick reflexes, they delivered punch after punch, until he resembled tenderized meat. After a minute they stopped and stepped back. Donal slid to the floor and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He looked down at the pool of his own blood that surrounded him and his eyes shone again.
"So...beautiful," he whispered. The two human boys grinned at each other as his life faded.
"Well that was easy," Yusuke said. Kuwabara nodded.
"Yeah I know. Nightshade really underestimated us." He wiped some sweat off of his fore head and glanced at the door the others had used to leave. "What now? Should we move on?"
"Yeah, I think so." They walked to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Yusuke banged on the door as hard as he could, but it wouldn't budge. "What the hell? Kuwabara, try the other door!" Kuwabara ran to the other door and tried to open it. He had the same result as Yusuke.
"No good Urameshi! We're trapped!" Yusuke angrily punched the door.
"Dammit! What about Aquarion and the others? Unless I'm in danger, Puu won't know to go get help!"
"Not like anyone would get here in time anyway," Kuwabara pointed out. Yusuke sighed and leaned against the door.
"Yeah. I hope those guys take care of Nightshade before this demon starts to decompose though." Kuwabara wrinkled his nose and looked at the ground.
"Me too. I've been getting a bad feeling since they left. Like...like we won't see one of them again after this battle." Yusuke blanched.
"Is someone gonna die," he asked. Kuwabara shrugged.
"I don't know Urameshi, I just don't know."
Varan: Ow...my fingers hurt.
Kurama: That's what you get for typing too fast.
Jonah: And for killing me off! And what was with the whole Minion thing! Why couldn't I use my name?
Varan: Heh, sorry Jonah-kun, but Nightshade erased all of your memories of your life while you were under his control. Well, come on Kurama we need to get some rest.
Kurama: Why?
Varan: Because we're going shopping tomorrow!
Kurama::sweat drop: Whatever for?
Varan: A present for my friend and a bunch of other stuff!
Kurama: And why do I have to come?
Varan: Because I want you to!
Jonah::shakes head: Better him than me. Please review minna!
Varan::waves: Yes please do! And I'll do my best to update more quickly next time!
