He had been wasting no time in traveling through the forest; he had been given orders to only speak of what was urgent…and this, was far beyond such. Having been told to watch the happenings at the mazes, there was no time to put the rest of the plans into play. Hiei had come of his own accord and been hurt, and Sesshoumaru, he knew, had no intention of talking to more people or partaking in any fights whatsoever; the others were in the mazes, and far too involved with the Guardian Dragons to be worth a worry.
Of course, when Kentamaru told his friend of all this information, there was an eruption of anything but calmness…
Hitairu: Why didn't you stop them!
Kentamaru: Well, I couldn't. Sansai has a higher rank than I do, and I couldn't interfere.
Hitairu: Who the hell is Sansai? (Such unusually harsh language...)
Kentamaru: Setare's brother…Apparently, there's nothing but rivalry between the two--
Hitairu: I don't give a damn about their sibling rivalry! I told you to watch, not let Hiei be killed! (It's a little unnerving...)
Kentamaru: But like I said, I couldn't--
Hitairu: My…orders…come straight from Kuro himself! Do you NOT think I outrank some feeble excuse of a dragon!
Kentamaru: There's no need to get excited… (he was beginning to get nervous; Hitairu was usually calm and collected…)
Hitairu: I'm not EXCITED! I'm fucking PISSED OFF! There's a BIG DIFFERENCE! (...Now was a good time to be afraid; but how to get out of such a predicament?)
Kentamaru: Now, now…(he began to back away) Is that any kind of language to use in front of your young son?
Hitairu was about to lash out and grab the man, but he held himself back, knowing Kentamaru was right; such behavior wasn't good for a young boy of the equivalent to seven years to see…At least if he were going to grow up knowing how to fight, he would know better than to fight his friends, right? Thus is the thought that made him hold himself back, and glance over his shoulder at the child watching the scene with a blank interest; pale eyes identical to his father's were partly covered by black hair that hung messily into his face while they focused on the two older dragons before him. His tail was black and seemed rather long for his body as it wrapped around him while he sat cross-legged; his expression was nonexistent for the most part, but a small eyebrow was raised in a slight arch while he observed the scene.
Hitairu: Sensaru, (he forced himself to calm down; no need to make the boy think it was him his father was angry with…) go back to Yashira.
Without a word, the boy stood and obeyed. The second he disappeared into the forest, however, Hitairu turned back to Kentamaru with a glint in his glaring eyes; the brown dragon took another step backward, but Hitairu advanced, making the other dragon cower even more. When he spoke, his anger obviously sounded in his voice, because Kentamaru also looked quite uneasy as he heard the venomous words.
Hitairu: Now listen to me, and listen well. You WILL go back to the mazes and you WILL make sure that no one else is critically harmed; there's a tiger demon there, however, but he and his mate are unimportant. Make sure that the Guardian Dragons DO NOT harm the fox, or Yusuke. The human, however, is unimportant as well…though, I suggest you keep him safe. If there's ANYONE else there, say…Kenyusa, then make sure they aren't harmed. Rather, you WILL bring them to me, understood?
Kentamaru: But what if I--
Hitairu: UNDERSTOOD!
Kentamaru: Yes, yes, understood!
Hitairu: …Good. (he turned to leave, but after a few steps, looked back over his shoulder) And Kentamaru…(he sighed with a slight frown and his tone softened quite a bit) Don't fail me again. Much more than…my sanity, rides on this whole web of tangled lies and schemes and the fact that it can't fall apart. I trust you…Don't make me regret it…
He heard Kentamaru's footsteps trail off behind him as the brown dragon ran off again, and a smile appeared on his face as his energy surged freely. However, he was unaware of the pale-eyed gaze being directed at him, until the holder of that gaze emerged from the foliage. The boy shook his head to rid his face of some of the ebony strands falling into it, and he frowned, obviously seeing the hue of the energy wafting before him.
Sensaru: I knew you weren't my father…He remains much more calm than you.
Hitairu: Listen, draglet; you don't know what you're talking about.
Sensaru: If it is so, then why don't you even use my name? Father always calls me by my name. (his voice, though accusing, never lost its original, slow drawl and the apparent speech that foreshadowed an obvious monotone.)
Hitairu: …You see it, don't you?
With a nod, the boy held out his hands as though catching water in the cupping of his palms; above said hands, a large orb of light appeared, and glowed white. Within the cloudy mists of the sphere, the image of Yusuke and the others in the dungeons of Dragon Realm appeared, and then the images faded away when the orb was consumed by a black aura. In it then showed his father, lurking about the forests of an area unfamiliar, and then the picture changed one final time to reveal Hiei, still unconscious, but being tended to by Abunai back at the castle. Sensaru closed his eyes briefly, and the orb disappeared before he dropped his hands; eyes the color of blue topaz trailed up, and caught those of the man impersonating his father. The man himself, smirked again before his body flashed white, and Sansai reappeared.
Sansai: So you have The Gift. Impressive, for such a young boy.
Sensaru: Who are you? (the raspy monotone of his young voice never died away, and Sansai raised an eyebrow at the boy's bold question.)
Sansai: Consider me "The Hydra Devil." Nothing more.
Sensaru: What have you done to Father's half-brother? Why is he harmed?
Sansai: You wouldn't understand; don't worry about it. (he turned to walk away)
Sensaru: Wait. (the man stopped, but didn't turn around) …You're keeping my grandfather in the Dragon Realm Dungeons, aren't you?
This particular question provoked an explosive response, and Sansai whirled, capturing the boy in a glare of surprise as well as rage. He rushed forward, as though about to lay hands on the child, but the second he got close enough, Sensaru's eyes widened, and pale irises darkened into a deep navy hue, an aura appearing of the same color. Though he was small, Sensaru was powerful, and Sansai was thrown backward, though he landed on his feet with supreme reflex. When he didn't attack again, the draglet before him returned to his normal state, and his eyes brightened, returning to their sleepy-looking state. Sansai, through shock and a bit of anger at being bested by someone not even a third his age, sighed and shook his head before standing, now appearing to be more placid.
Sansai:…Part of your Gift, right?
Sensaru: Father said that Sight shows everything to the person with the power. I guess its true…
Sansai: Indeed it is so. But you can't say anything.
Sensaru: Why not? Are you going to kill those other people in the Dungeons too?
A bit taken aback, Sansai didn't know how to answer. Sure, that exact thing had been his plan, as well as partially his orders, but the fact that the boy said it so casually was what got to him. Hitairu's son was obviously exposed to more battle-concept and bloodshed than one of so young an age should have an inkling of, and if this was the case while the boy was so young, then Heavens forbid that he grow up…Sensaru was a War-Lord in the making, and Sansai silently wondered if that was what Hitairu was like as a child, unlike himself, who had gained a thirst for blood, rather than grown up with one…But with these thoughts in mind, he felt a clichéd mindset forming in his brain; he didn't want it to come out like it had, but his response left his lips too fast to be held back…
Sansai: Of course I'm not; nobody should be that heartless.
The strong urge to use every swear-word he knew arose in him, as well as the feeling that he should clap his hand over his mouth and beat himself for what he'd just said. He hadn't meant to say it, let alone for it to be true, and thus he found himself having turned into the perfect example of a "bad-guy-gone-good." The feeling itself, was absolutely sickening. Apparently, it shown on his face.
Sensaru: Is there something wrong? (no concern, but still that young-aged monotone. It was becoming rather unsettling…)
"Why bother lying now?" Sansai thought, not knowing if the boy could read his thoughts.
Sansai: Nothing at all…Just having an epiphany. Stay here with Yashira, okay? Your father will be back soon.
And on that note, he teleported with a flash of white, back to the dungeons.
Taisei: How's he doing now?
Abunai: He's weak, and still hasn't woken up, but he should be alright in a matter of time.
Taisei: I guess Koenma'll want to know that. I'd better--
He was interrupted by the loud echo of the main doors slamming closed, and he whirled around to see Sesshoumaru moving rather swiftly toward his chambers. Taisei caught up with him at the stairs, but his presence was ignored; the younger demon seemed to have other, more-important things on his mind.
Taisei: Sesshoumaru, what's going on?
Sesshoumaru: (pausing briefly) …What are you talking about?
Taisei: Why are you in such a hurry?
Sesshoumaru: It's none of your concern.
Taisei: It is my concern! Hiei's half-dead in there--
Sesshoumaru: Half?
Taisei: …Yeah…
Sesshoumaru: Then it's not my problem.
Before Taisei could respond, Sesshoumaru turned, and picked up the pace he took to his chambers. His footsteps were silent, but he could definitely hear those of his elder cousin behind him, keeping a determinately short distance between them while he followed. Sighing inwardly, Sesshoumaru turned sharply down an almost-hidden corridor, and upon following the mass of abrupt corners, came to yet another set of large doors where the ceiling was abnormally high. With his ring, he touched the diamond to a tiny indenture on the door, and one side of the opening swung backward with an echoing bang against the stone of the wall, revealing row after row and level after level of bookshelves and their books. When he entered, Taisei didn't move slow enough, and slipped through the door after Sesshoumaru just as it was swinging closed; he supposed it was a close enough call to lose him a few hairs on his azure ponytail, but that really wasn't the focus of his attention at the time. He was much more intent with finding out what was wrong with his younger relative; the man was like a son to him in a way, and twin brother in others. To see Sesshoumaru in such a silent state of distress was not something he liked at all.
Taisei: Sesshoumaru…I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong.
Sesshoumaru: I suppose I'll have to ignore you then.
The pallid-haired demon made his way through numerous shelves, and disappeared within the midst of a few of them, away from Taisei's vision; thus, the older canine followed the path Sesshoumaru had taken. When he found the male, he was hovering near the top of a wide shelf with an assortment of black books on it, flipping through the pages of a large volume in particular with scarlet lettering on the outside covers and some sort of golden pattern that glittered each time the book was shifted even in the slightest of ways. Suddenly interested, Taisei leapt up to sit on the top of the shelf (it didn't quite reach the ceiling here, and left enough comfortable perching space) and looked over his cousin's shoulder. Though he was sufficiently ignored, he could see the annoyance building in the man's aura after quite some time of looking at the cryptic words and riddles written in red on the slightly yellowed pages, and after a few more seconds of staring at a particularly confusing mess of metaphors and similes, he watched Sesshoumaru close the book and put it neatly back in its place on the shelf. The demon then cast his golden eyes toward the man atop the bookshelf.
Sesshoumaru: Are you through?
Taisei: Why were you reading that book? I didn't know you held a liking of poetry, and what happened to ignoring me?
Sesshoumaru: I felt it significant, I don't, and it is no longer necessary. I do hope you paid attention to the words of that book; now if you'll leave me alone for a while…
He didn't leave room for argument, because his body was consumed by a white light before he became nothing more than a sphere of illumination in the same hue. Taisei watched it hover a bit, before it disappeared completely. Sighing again, Taisei rolled off the shelf, and landed back on the floor with a kneel; as he did so, however, his eye caught another volume of literature, and he plucked it from its place on the shelf to have a look at it. It was a book of what appeared to be legends of some sort, and when he opened it, it was written in the same ruby scroll that the other book was. There was only one page, however, and he began to ponder over this before rolling his eyes and slamming the book shut. Standing, he touched two fingers to his temple, and closed his eyes as the voice of a man invaded his brain; though familiar it was, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to respond…But it did seem urgent, and with a burst of lavender light, he too, vanished from the room.
"You're still alive up there, right?" he called over his shoulder.
"…For the most part, I think…" came the drawled reply.
Yusuke had been running near-endlessly for the better half of an hour, and still, the corridor remained the same around him; quite endless. By the way that Satsuki was getting heavier, he supposed that either she was relaxing more (which wasn't a good thing) or that he was getting more tired (which was even worse, because the roars around them were still echoing). He hoped, however, that it was the latter, for a dead dragoness on his back was the last thing that he needed…especially when it was Hitairu's daughter that they were talking about; all in all, this was not a good situation. Hisaka, however, was still running silently behind him, and though she didn't make a sound, it was obvious that she was afraid; her energy was very tense, and it reminded him of being near a caged wild animal. It wasn't a good feeling, and he thought to look back to see if she was okay…but luck (and another cliché) just weren't working with him at the time…
The wall beside them shattered with the force of a dynamite explosion, and it sent all three of them sprawling down the hallway. Satsuki fell from Yusuke's back somewhere between the time that his feet left the ground and when he landed roughly on his side; but as his head had collided with stone in none-too-gentle a manner, he was too dazed to feel the shattering of half his ribcage, nor hear the sound it made. Thus, he also felt no pain, but he did notice what it was that had caused such a disruption in his running. Towering over them, eyes gleaming through the haze of dust it caused, was the largest Raptor Dragon that he had ever seen; even Hiei's last transformation would have been put to shame---absently, he wondered just how the thing could fit in the hall in the first place…Until he saw the massive hole that it caused, as well as the extra bend and slump to its posture. However, something was different about it, which set it apart from the others---it was then that he realized that it was changing shape, and this one, was more familiar.
Large and long, the thing's body stretched all the way around several corners that they had taken; its scales were an angry red, and its eyes glowing more brightly than ever. The claws and fangs were slightly different now, the talons being black and its fangs silver, but the eyes, too had changed. The sharp-oval orbs were the most pallid green that Yusuke had ever seen; even Kenyusa's eyes would have held no torch, and oddly, the underside of the dragon was gold…Apparently, Konamu had done quite a bit of evolving. Somewhere beside him, Hisaka gave a startled gasp, and Satsuki gave a groan of pain so quiet that he almost missed it; when he moved his hand, he soon found out why. There was blood covering the floor, whether it was his own or hers, he wasn't sure, but taking the chance to turn his head, he quickly determined that it wasn't his own; Satsuki's clothes were covered with red, and had become so soaked with it, that the garments looked brown.
Cursing silently, he tried to determine which way was "up" and upon coming to the conclusion that it felt like "down," he was back on his feet. This sudden change in position gave him a slight twinge in his chest, but there was no definite pain, so he stooped over Satsuki and hoisted her up (best as his body would allow) onto his back again, and then tugged Hisaka by the back of her shirt to get her to stand and run ahead of him. In the worst case, he could be killed along with Satsuki, but the best thing that could happen would be for them to get to the actual dungeon, and get Kuwabara back…The best thing never happened without a price, so he chose not to look on the bright side and get moving. He really didn't need to wait for Konamu to extract revenge for the whole "tournament" escapades…They were Hiei's fault, after all…
Yusuke: Hisaka! (he whispered harshly) Run quick--see if you can find the dungeons.
Hisaka: What happens if I run into another dragon! I can't--
Yusuke: Don't argue, just go. The worst thing you'll run into should be Kurama…
He didn't know why at the time, but he pushed her down a well hidden path that was simply a sliver of a hall that cut through the wall. She didn't move, however, and thus, he took the opportunity to lift Satsuki from his back, finding her unconscious, but still alive. With a sigh of relief and a look backward at the beast that was drawing nearer, he gave a hasty word for Hisaka to keep the dragoness safe and then continued off on the straight path, hoping that sooner, rather than later, he would be able to find the dungeons.
Emerald eyes scanned the darkness, trying to find another of the hidden corridors; when he found a shadow darker than most, he moved quickly, squeezing through the hall until he saw the fifth of the spectral hues in the torchlight. After he had finally understood the order of the spectrum that the Dragon Realm ran by, he supposed that finding the dungeons would be rather easy; it wasn't exactly finding that was giving him the trouble, however. The color he was now facing happened to be a deep scarlet, and whether it was because of animal instinct or not, it was aggravating him more by the second. Stopping to shake his head and clear his mindset, he heard the distant echo of a roar somewhere above him---he took it as a sign that he was closer to his destination. The color brightened and he found himself at another forked path…Rather tempting, true, but he kept his eyes peeled for the next of the eight hidden routes; he found a black door, well camouflaged into the stone of the wall, and took the chance to open it. He was greeted by a level of stairs, lighted by several torches that were lit with a murky, brownish hue. The flames didn't give much light, and in fact, they made the area seem more eerie, but it was obviously the correct path, as all his other hunches had been proved affirmative. Having only two more colors ahead, he picked up his pace, now looking for the exit to this hall so that he could find the next hue.
It leapt out at him like moonlight through a starless sky, and he turned down the corridor with the white torches. This one in particular was a straight line, and he cleared it with ease; the final path, however, was just before him---his only problem now, was how to see what he was looking for.
Completely dark, this large, open area had absolutely no light whatsoever. Kurama had a hunch about the final path he was going to have to take, and thus, when arriving at said path, his suspicions were confirmed. Not being a dragon, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have to hunt and feel for his way around, whereas, were Satsuki with him, he probably could have asked her where to go. Alas, she wasn't there, so he took a cautious step into the shadows. Nothing attacked him, and there was no trickery, so he took another, more bold, but still rather on edge. Deciding that a straight line would be the best, he continued, still wary, and after catching the sense that he was about to crash into something, and stuck out his hand to touch it before he hit it headlong. What came against his palm was the smooth surface of a wooden door, reminding him of the Spirit World's gates…What happened when he touched it, however, was a complete surprise.
The emerald around his neck gave a searing heat, and began to pulse violently against his chest. There seemed to be some kind of pattern on the door before him, and it was as though a jade waterfall splashed through the carvings on the wooden surface; an image was illuminated, and he stepped back to view it as the picture completed.
Slowly but surely, there was an elaborately carved image on the surface of the door, and as it appeared, Kurama was awestruck. A large dragoness, her body like a long, graceful anaconda, was engraved in the wood. Six legs, powerful and strong, were ended with talons like none that he had ever seen. From her mouth, there was a detailed depiction of energy, most likely either flame or ice. Eyes were nothing more than a solid green mass, and her tail wrapped around her lower body, spike-less, but having the deadly weapons tipping her massive wings as they were spread about her body as well. Before Kurama's eyes, the head of the creature shook violently and wings flapped with the wind that opened the door; a roar sounded as the pathway cleared, and the fox-demon went through it before it slammed forcefully behind him. He paused briefly to look back at the way he'd come, before he realized just where he was.
The torches were normal, and the feeling around him dark and damp. With a satisfied smile to himself, he sprinted down the empty hallway, now, knowing exactly where he was supposed to be going.
Well, don't you hate me for taking forever, and creating a longwinded arrival to the dungeons? No? Well…if not, it's a big surprise. I introduced a new character, who'll be for character-development, as well as a few MUCH more important things later, so be on the lookout for it….and I don't mean Hitairu's son…