Disclaimer: I do not own YYH
The Girl, the God, and The Demons
Chapter Fourteen: The Close Escape
Artemis watched with arrogant satisfaction as her silver arrow drew nearer to Kurama's exposed flesh. Laughing, she traced its path with her cold yet enchanting turquoise eyes.
"Well, Yoko... This is the end. Sorry for not killing you faster..." The goddess paused, looking thoughtful. "Wait, no I'm not. What I'm really sorry for is that you couldn't stay conscious long enough to scream in pure, horrific, bloody TERROR! MUWHAHAHAHA!" She cleared her throat and instantly regained her composure, acting as though she had not just acted very unlike a Grecian goddess should act, albeit the goddess of the hunt. Looking back at Kurama, she expected him to be dead, an arrow through him.
She was wrong.
As her freckled face turned toward her victim, a bright blue-white burst of energy filled the clearing. Coughing in a most un-goddess-like way, Artemis waved her delicate hand regally and immediately the smoke resulting from the blast dissipated. A scowl plastered on her face, the tunic-clad burnet looked toward Kurama and was shocked to see him sprawled in a puddle of his own blood, free of binds. Above the battered fox demon stood an even more shocking sight: a teenage boy of average height, clad in the outfit of Mieou High, although his was in a great deal cleaner than Kurama's, not to mention still in one piece. An unfathomably enraged expression graced the otherwise rather handsome features looming underneath the boy's greased chocolate hair. His eyes, a brown lighter than that of his hair, but still a deep shade nonetheless, shone with an intense fire of vengeance. Clearly, he intended to make Artemis pay. Yusuke Urameshi then smirked arrogantly, somehow managing to show disrespect and anger at the same time.
"Y'know that talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity, right? Or maybe it was answering your own questions..." The spirit detective looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "Ah, hell, who cares? Point is, you're as insane and sadistic as they come. And that's saying a lot, 'cause I know Hiei." Artemis was not in the mood to joke.
"Shut up, you male chauvinist! How dare you interrupt my killing of that pathetic little pion! For that you will pay!" Yusuke immediately dropped his smirk, replacing it with a death glare rivaling that of Hiei's worst. He sidestepped Kurama's prone form and the goddess immediately raised her bow in defense. Yusuke spotted this action of defiance and laughed in his typical 'you-can't-beat-me' fashion.
"He's pathetic? Please! Look at yourself! You're losing power as we speak." Against her instincts, the goddess glanced at her hands; the bright crimson glow that was usually her energy had faded to a pinkish-red combination. She cursed.
"Fine! I'll just have to kill you fas-" Yusuke was suddenly at her face, sneering. Catching her off guard, the teen was able to knock the dangerous bow out of her hands. Before the goddess could respond, knowing this fight would be a challenge, Yusuke then delivered the most powerful, spirit-energy-powered right hook he could muster to her midsection, putting most of his power behind it. She flew back several feet, crashing straight through the tree behind her and doing so through at least seven of the sturdy trunks. Yusuke's eyes widened slightly; had it been that powerful? Shrugging, he walked to the goddess' still form, following the trail of the fading energy. Underneath that energy, however, the spirit detective sensed something very strange... Something almost like a human... That can't be, he thought, it's almost like that freaky transfer Kurama likes... Suddenly, Yusuke found himself on the receiving end of a crimson blast. He was now back where was he was to begin with, next to Kurama, who had still not moved.
Laughter rang through the forest for the umpteenth time that night. Now, however, it was more morning than anything. The sun was rising, promising a very black day for the tentai.
"Really, you actually think that hurt! Ha!" Artemis, completely unscathed, emerged before them in all her majestic glory. She smirked and for the first time since facing her, Yusuke felt the fear that had filled him after hearing Kurama's distant scream (although he did not know it was Kurama's at the time). "Time to die now. So long, little detective." The goddess nocked her bow and aimed. As she loosed, Yusuke got up and used what remained of his sprit energy to shield himself. The arrow, however, proved too powerful. It penetrated his defense and was able to nick his shirt as well as his chest severely before falling. Luckily, penetrating the Reikai shield seemed to have taken most of its effort. The goddess strode closer to the spirit detective; the teen backed away hastily, stopping rather abruptly as he collided with Kurama's ragged and unconscious body.
The goddess was now scant centimeters away from Yusuke, who hurriedly pushed himself out of Kurama's blood puddle and stood up shakily, trying and failing extravagantly to create a bluff of strength. Artemis put a finger on the boy's chest wound, smirking. Yusuke, rather than take the chance to attack, shot the deity a confused glare; it was his last mistake of the fight.
Next thing he knew, the brown-haired teen was lying on the ground, shocks coursing through his system at the pace of one million per minute. Artemis, standing above him as he writhed in pain, shook her head in mock shame; reddish-brown locks swung to and fro in front of her freckled face, but they could not hide the ecstatic flame in the goddess' turquoise eyes. She was clearly enjoying every minute, every gasp, every grunt of pain and agony that was emitting from the boy in excess.
"Well, now, I think I've had my fun," Artemis muttered in quiet triumph as she waved her hand; immediately, the shocks ceased. Well, I'm really just about to lose my power... She thought, noting the now pinkish-white glow about her hands with disgust. Yusuke, now lying flat on his back, leaves as his bed, panting heavily, had he had more energy, would have noticed that Artemis' ancient footwear had been traded for a pair of worn-in converse; the name 'Diana' was written all over the white rims in sloppy, almost incomprehensible handwriting.
The goddess set aside the imminent panic rising within her delicately adorned chest and picked up the bow lying at her feet, exactly where it had been when Yusuke had knocked it from her hands when their fight began. It seemed like eons ago, although in reality it had only been about half and hour. She nocked it and aimed at the boy, but did not loose; more gloating was to be done first.
Sighing melodramatically, the turquoise-eyed divinity stared down at her soon-to-be prey.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted. But who should I kill first: you, or Kurama?" Switching her aim back and forth, she stopped as Yusuke weakly lifted his head. Shock shined in her irises.
"You're not killing anyone, lady. You're time's up." He rasped, still panting. Artemis, enraged at his unending arrogance, dropped the bow and sent a powerful shock of gold at him. This gold energy, it appeared, was the goddess's very life force, for then she suddenly shone brightly and collapsed, falling to the ground.
A/N: Long enough, you think? I hope it at least kinda makes up for my lack of good stuff in this story. Please, PLEASE, please review!