Spirits of War
Chapter 1
An Unwanted Visitor
It was an average Friday, sunny and boring. Sky was blue, roads were full of gusty winds, and sidewalks were calm with only small tramplings of busy feet. Looking out the window of a classroom staring at the beautiful day was enough to make Yusuke Urameshi sick. Times have been relatively quiet since the Dark Tournament. Aside from no action, other than beating local school bullies blue in the face, Yusuke forced himself to actually attend class, something he regreted dearly. But since he promised Kayko he would try to be be a good student, Yusuke tried his best, Unfortunately, Yusuke had a short attention span when it came to school. As soon as lunch came around, he headed for the rooftop of the school and decided to take his afternoon nap, a long nap.
Kayko was running all around the school looking for anyone that may have been unconscience. She thought that Yusuke may have broken his promise of being a good student. Kayko then thought of the rooftop. He is most likely sleeping again, she thought to herself. Well, at least he hasn't picked a fight...yet... After ascending the staircase, Kayko turned the corner and walked through the small, narrow hallway toward the door that led out onto the rooftop. Immediately after turning the doorknob, she could already hear Yusuke snoring away. Ten minutes until class starts. That should be enough time for me to drag him downstairs to class. Bending down to Yusuke's head, she whispered...
KAYKO: Yusuke...Yussssukkeeeeeee...
Yusuke groaned in his sleep. He responded...
YUSUKE: Whaaaaaaa? No, mom, I want the red one...snore
Kayko tried not to laugh. But she could not help herself. She burst out laughing and caused Yusuke to wake up. Yusuke looked around in embarrassment. Although, he was relieved to see that only Kayko was there and not, say, Kuwabara.
YUSUKE: Hi, Kayko. yawn What time is it?
KAYKO: Time to get your lazy-self to class. We have less than five minutes!
YUSUKE: Don't sweat it. Geometry is last period. The teacher doesn't care if we're late. He doesn't even care if we're present. yawn I'm going back to sleep.
KAYKO: Yusuke! You already forgot your promise! Ugh, sometimes you are so irresponsible!
Looking at her watch, Kayko noticed they had two minutes to get to class. Instead of trying to convince Yusuke to go to class, she picked him up by his ear and literally dragged him down the stairs and through the hallway, with Yusuke yelping and hollaring all along the way. Miraculously, they made it to class on time. That's the last time I let Yusuke leave lunch early, Kayko angrily mumbled to herself. Yusuke sat down, folded his arms on his desk, and propped his head on them, getting ready to continue his nap. I never shoulda made that promise. Me? A good student? Yeah, that'll be the day when Hiei and Kuwabara become friends, he grumbled.
Before dozing, he turned his head to stare out the closed window. Then something caught his eye. He squinted his eyes to make out what seemed to be some kind of bird with huge wings. As it flew closer to the school, he could make out a long tail, large ears, and what seemed to be bat wings.
YUSUKE: What the? Could that be...A DEMON!
TEACHER: Demon, Mr. Urameshi? Are you daydreaming again? Pay attention or I'll send you to Mr. Takenaka's office...again.
YUSUKE: Huh? Oh...Yes sir...
The class gave a low chuckle and went back to studying. Kayko looked over at Yusuke, wondering why he exclaimed "demon". He's probably thinking about fighting again. Well I'll make sure he goes directly home after school. Yusuke looked back out at the window but could no longer see the demon. He was excited, however, thinking that he would finally get some action in his dull life. Wonder what it's doing here, he thought. Hope it lands close to the school. I might be able to catch up to it and have some fun!. Yusuke had a huge grin on his face. Kayko noticed and gave a sigh. She knew what he was thinking. I guess I'll have to call my mom and tell her I''ll be home late again. Honestly, I feel like his babysitter sometimes.
School let out. All the students left like lightning, excited that it was Friday. Yusuke took his normal route home. He crossed the street and headed southward toward downtown. He was looking for the demon he saw from school. Little did he know, Kayko was hot on his trail. She followed him everywhere and kept up every step of the way. Yusuke turned into a street alley. Kayko was a little nervous about alleyways, but she followed anyway. Yusuke stopped for a bit to look around. He sat down on an old crate and focused on the sky, hoping to see the demon fly over. Kayko hid behind a stack of crates, keeping watch on Yusuke.
YUSUKE: Darn it! Where could it be? I'm pretty sure it was heading this way when I saw it at school. sigh Well, if it's out to kill me, it'll find me first.
KUWABARA: Who will find you first?
Startled by Kuwabara's sudden entrance, Yusuke fell off the crate, nearly hitting his head on a garbage can.
YUSUKE: Kuwabara! What are you doing here! Don't you live in another alleyway?
KUWABARA: Very funny, mister "good student". For your information I'm looking for a de-- Hey! I asked you first!
YUSUKE: small chuckle I'm looking for a demon I saw at school. It was heading this way I think so I thought that maybe it wanted to chat with me. So what are you doing here? Shopping?
KUWABARA: Yeah, whatever, Urameshi. I saw the demon, too. The one with those bat wings? I was bored at school and no bullies from other schools wanted to visit me. So I figured I could get some fun today after school.
YUSUKE: Me, too. Now that school's out, I can finally be myself instead of "Mister Good Student".
KUWABARA: Man, Kayko's been keeping tabs on ya for a while. Ha! Yusuke has his girlfriend as a babysitter!
Kayko was offended by Kuwabara's statement and accidently shouted out...
KAYKO: Oh be quiet, Kuwabara! gasp
YUSUKE: It's all right, Kayko . I knew you were there the whole time. I could feel your spirit energy.
KUWABARA: smirked to Yusuke No, you didn't.
Yusuke replied with a fist to Kuwabara's head, knocking him on the ground with a huge bump on his head. Kayko came out from behind the crates. She gave a funny look to Kuwabara as he was getting up off the ground. Kayko turned to Yusuke and asked him...
KAYKO: So...you are looking for a demon? What happened to being a good student?
YUSUKE: You said to be good in school. You didn't mention anything about being good after school.
KUWABARA: rubbing his head from Yusuke's mini attack Hehe, nice loop hole, Yusuke.
KAYKO: sigh Yusuke, why can't you just put aside fighting for once in your life and concentrate on other things? Like school for instance? Or helping your mother or getting home on time? I'm tired of following you everywhere and being suspicious.
Yusuke turned to Kuwabara who was still checking to see if his head was bleeding. He looked back at Kayko . She had on her angry face. Yusuke knew just what to say...
YUSUKE: Well...don't be suspicious and don't follow me. It's as simple as that!
This time Yusuke took a fist to his head from Kayko .
KAYKO: Yusuke!
While the three were busy yelling and bapping each other, a shadow crept up the wall just opposite to the students. Kuwabara was the first to notice...
KUWABARA: pointing at the shadow Hey, uh, Yusuke?
YUSUKE: holding his arms over his head in case Kayko decided to punch him again Yeah, what?
KUWABARA: Who's shadow is that?
YUSUKE: looking at the wall What shadow? There shouldn't be a shadow there anyway. The sun is facing us. I did hit you pretty hard. smirking You're just seeing things.
KAYKO: No, Yusuke. He's right. Look!
The shadow was moving what looked like a tail. The shadow itself was the same height as Yusuke. What stirred the three most was the fact that the "eyes" of the shadow were glowing a deep navy blue color. The shadow moved slowly along the wall until it reached the corner, where it began to take on a solid form. Kuwabara took a step back; Kayko stood behind Yusuke; Yusuke took aim with his finger, ready to fire his Spirit Gun if necessary...
KAYKO: in a frightened voice What is that thing?
KUWABARA: now standing next to Yusuke, pulling out his Spirit Sword That must be the demon. addressing the solid figure All right, you! Get ready to be pummelled!
YUSUKE: Yeah, I'm sure it's real scared now.
KUWABARA: Hey I'm just trying to get psyched up! I haven't beaten anyone in a long time.
KAYKO: Um, could you two stop arguing and pay attention to the creepy monst--AHH!
The figure was now completely solid. It had on a black cloak. Eeverything was completely covered except for its black tail. The tail was twitching, similar to how a cat's tail moves when the cat is angry. The red and black fur on the tip of its tail blended into each other as the tail swished back and forth faster and faster.
A few minutes passed by. No one moved or said anything. Yusuke was starting to get goosebumps because of Kayko's trembling. Kuwabara was about to put out his sword since he was wasting his energy by not using it. But Yusuke told him to keep it out in case the figure tried to pull something on them...
YUSUKE: All right. Since no one is doing anything, I'll make the first move. addressing the figure It's your lucky day! You're the first demon today to have your face messed up. You should be honored!
With that Yusuke cried out "SPIRIT GUN!" A huge ball of energy gathered at the tip of Yusuke's finger and was shot instantly at the figure. The gunshot went straight through the figure and blew up a good chunk of the wall behind it...
KUWABARA: Oh man! What just happened? It went right through!
KAYKO: uncovering her ears from the blast Did you hit it?
YUSUKE: Darn! That's no demon! It must be a ghost.
KUWABARA: Man, I hate ghosts...
KAYKO: If that's a ghost, then why does it have dust on it? points to the dirt on the cloak from the blast
YUSUKE: Good point..Ok, then it's a demon. A really...weird...demon.
The figure blew the dust off its shoulder. It stepped forward. Its eyes glowed even brighter. The figure's left arm made its way out of the cloak. Four extended claws were open to the three. The longest claw glowed a bright violet color...
KUWABARA: Wh-what's it doing?
KAYKO: in a worried tone Yusuke...
YUSUKE: KAYKO! RUN!
At that, Kayko ran out of the alley way. At the same time, just as she was turning the corner, the figure aimed its claw in Kayko's direction and a ball of dark energy formed in its palm. It was shot at Kayko, nearly hitting her, when Yusuke jumped in the way and took the hit. Kayko made her way around the corner. She turned to see Yusuke on the ground, stunned. His clothes were ripped, but his flesh was not cut. Kayko fled the scene, running to get help. Kuwabara knelt down to check Yusuke...
KUWABARA: Urameshi!
YUSUKE: ...
KUWABARA: Come on! Get up! shoving Yusuke's shoulder Wake up! turning to the figure, fist clenched You'll pay for that!
Kuwabara pulled out another spirit sword. He stood up and was ready to charge when the figure shot a blast at him, knocking Kuwabara to the ground just a little farther away from Yusuke. The figure walked over to the two boys. It then focused its attention on the wall it had first appeared on. Its claw faced the wall. The violet glow opened a portal, where one could see a desert on the other side. The figure picked up Yusuke and threw him into the portal. Kuwabara was then hurled through after Yusuke. Finally, the figure closed the hole and faced in the direction of where Kayko ran. Its eyes no longer glowed. It jumped onto the rooftop and overlooked the roads. Some of the hood was pulled back to reveal a large ear, which had a striking resemblance to its wings. The ear moved back and forth, trying to pick up Kayko's footsteps. Then it stopped twitching. Kayko had been pinpointed. The figure opened the back of the cloak. Two small, black, bat wings "grew" from inbetween the scapulas (shoulder blades). They continued to grow until they were each about four feet long. The wings flapped hard and fast. The figure jumped high into the air and took flight, directly toward Kayko.
End chapter 1