A/n-Yes, only 2 more chapters to go! I can't wait to get this series done! It's not that I didn't have fun writing it, it's just that it's been a huge weight on my shoulders.
Chapter 17: Keep Your Promises
Avari slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Groggily, she sat up and stretched. Man, did her back really hurt! She really needed to talk Genkai into getting her a new mattress... Wait! She wasn't in her bed, or even in her bedroom!
She was in a spacious room, lying on a marble slab, which was more of a platform, with stairs on all sides. Shelves and shelves of thick, intellectual books and variously shaped vials of colorful liquids covered the walls. One particularly heavy book sat on a stone pedestal. The suits of armor and weaponry of noble knights on display added to the room's grandeur. However, the main focal point of the room was the glass ceiling, that allowed warm sunlight to pour onto the glossy, marble floors.
Perhaps, she was in a genius's study? Was she a specimen he or she wished to study? But, then again, what genius would display weapons? Maybe one who was obsessed with knives! That was creepy... Just the way the sunlight reflected off of the daggers, swords and spears hanging on the walls gave her the heebie jeebies.
At that moment, the giant, oak double doors behind Avari opened. She almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden noise. She tried desperately to move around to see who it was, but now, she realized something was holding her back.
A ball and chain was attached to each of her ankles and wrists. Was she some kind of criminal? I don't think so. She had only spent years of her life helping Spirit World to maintain it's security! Still, she felt like a prisoner...
"Long time, no see, sister dear!" a voice called from behind her. It was the person who had come into the room, obviously.
With great struggle, Avari was able to maneuver herself around to face the person. Her jaw dropped at who she saw.
It was Yamiko, in the flesh. Silver hair and penetrating blue eyes. He had that same smug, evil look on his face that fit his personality so well.
In response to him, Avari simply glared.
"Oh my! Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed... er, stone slab this morning? Or is it that time of the month?" Yamiko said, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"Where the hell am I?" Avari insisted, ignoring his jokes.
"You're at my humble...er, phantasmagorical abode in Demon World," he replied snobbishly. He always used big words to rub in how much wealthier and smarter he was than her.
"And... why am I here exactly?" Avari asked.
"I need you for the ceremony."
"Ceremony?" She cocked her head to the side, perplexed.
"For when I 'inherit' the family's power." Yamiko walked a little deeper into the room.
Inherit? More like 'take-over' or 'steal'! It wasn't even his family's power. It was Avari's mother's family's! Since he had a different mother and all, they were only half-siblings. This fact made her much happier, however. She didn't want to be related to a twat like him!
"And, why do you need me for this?" Avari questioned. Could he just give her all of the freaking details at once? They weren't playing "20 Questions!"
"I need the blood of a virgin," he replied as he began to pace the width of the room. His dark blue cape swished along behind him as he moved. A silver tunic, dark blue pants and knee-high black boots accompanied it perfectly. He looked like a prince from the 15th century. It was definitely the 21st century, dude!
He immediately ceased his continuous gait and turned to Avari, an eyebrow raised.
"You are still a virgin, aren't you?"
A low growl of irritation was his only reply.
"Why do I even bother asking? Of course you are, Ms. Goody-goody-two-shoes."
Avari hadn't been talking to him for more than 2 minute and already, she wanted to wring his neck! He always had to rub everything in! So what if she was a virgin? It was something to be proud of! Yamiko was practically a man whore, she knew for a fact. He just always had to be so mean and poke fun at her!
"Well, I had better go get ready for tomorrow night's ceremony! Ta-ta!" Yamiko said haughtily and turned to walk out of the room. However, he was stopped by the abrupt entrance of someone.
"I just found the perfect kimono for the ceremony!" the person exclaimed, in a very Valley Girl voice.
Avari took a good look at the person. It was either a very ugly woman or a very pretty man. He, or she, wore a lime green, fitted top with green and black pin-stripped pants, completed with a black beret. It complimented his forest green hair and lime green, cat-like eyes. Avari concluded that he was a very pretty, very gay man.
"Kas-" Yamiko began, but was cut off by the man's cheerful rambling.
"Oh, it's the perfect color!" the man exclaimed, then letting a squeal of joy. He walked over and held the teal kimono up to Avari's face. "It contrasts so well with your stunning eyes, darling! I am a fashion genius!" He practically sang these words in his high-pitched voice.
"Kashi!" Yamiko exclaimed, desperately trying to catch the man's attention. Avari assumed that Kashi was the man's name.
"You never told me she had different colored eyes than you!" Kashi continued. "Luckily, teal is so her color, or else I would have had a nervous breakdown!"
"Kashi! Shouldn't you be helping Rem with preparations for the ceremony?" Yamiko asked.
"Oh, I am, sweets. I'm working on the wardrobe. Everyone must look their best! I have the perfect outfit for you, too. No need to worry," Kashi replied, flicking his wrist as if to wave away all of Yamiko's worries.
"Kashi! There you are!" a new, very deep voice called out.
In walked the demon who Avari had given the locket to. She knew that voice had sounded familiar.
"Oh, I was coming right back, Rem honey. You're all a bunch of worry warts," Kashi said, flicking his wrist yet again.
"Everyone out of the observatory!" Yamiko exclaimed in frustration. "I was having a chat with my sister until you dolts came in!"
"Oh, so sorry to interrupt the family reunion, my dears. We'll leave you two alone," Kashi said, apologetically. He took the other demon by the hand, who Avari assumed was Rem, and exited the room.
"Very interesting friends you have," Avari commented, once Rem and Kashi were gone. She was on the verge of bursting out laughing. Her brother had a personal fashion designer! This was priceless! "Or is Kashi more than a friend?"
"You'll be sorry you ever made that crack, sister dear!" Yamiko warned, slightly blushing. "I'll see you tomorrow evening, when I get the power to take over the world! Muhahahaaa!"
"You really need to work on the evil laugh. It's lacking," Avari criticized.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed and walked out of the room. The grand doors slammed behind him.
Finally, some privacy and silence. Avari lay back down on the marble slab, allowing her thoughts to run wild.
That had been very interesting encounter with her brother, or rather half-brother. She hadn't seen him in years... Yet, he was still the same snobbish, conceited, twisted, cruel villain he had always been.
When they had been growing up, he would always push her around and make fun of her. It had hurt for so long, knowing that her own brother didn't love her. But, she had outgrown those feelings years ago. Once he had left the family, she knew he was good for nothing. She had then grown to hate him and still did to this day.
And now... He was going to get what he wanted. He was going to kill her, just like he had killed her parents, and gain the family's power in one night. He had never come right out and told her that he had been behind her parent's death but, she knew. The demons had bore his clan's trademark red X. And who else had such a grudge against them? Only him.
Anger boiled in her veins. If only she could get out of these chains! She would teach him a very valuable lesson! Never mess with Avari Raji! She gathered her Spirit energy in her fists and feet, to try and break the chains.
Yet, nothing happened. It didn't work. Yamiko was smarter than that anyway. These were probably special chains, invincible and impenetrable.
Feeling even more angry and frustrated, she banged her fists on the marble beneath her. She had let Yamiko trap her here! She felt so gullible. He wasn't one to want a truly fair bargain. Of course, he was going to have her captured after he had the locket!
There was nothing she could do though... Her spirit energy wasn't helping her and no one knew where she was. She would never be rescued. She would just have to admit defeat and let Yamiko kill her... Maybe it was better this way. Maybe he would just leave Genkai alone.
Utterly defeated and exhausted, Avari lay back down on the marble platform and let sleep take over. Maybe things would go her way in her dreams...
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"She dumped a whole bowl of miso soup on my head, grandma!" Yusuke exclaimed. His voice echoed throughout the open training hall.
"She did, huh?" Genkai said, rather thoughtfully, her thumb and index finger rubbing her chin. "Then, I have taught her well." Yusuke did an anime fall.
"What are you saying? You should ground her for a month!" Yusuke cried out, his arms waving wildly in the air.
"You deserve it, dimwit! I only wish I had been the one who had done it!" Genkai yelled at him. "But still, I would like you two to make up. Follow me."
"Where are we going, old hag?" Yusuke inquired, as Genkai grabbed his wrist roughly and practically dragged him down the lengthy hallway.
Ignoring Yusuke's question, Genkai stopped in front of a door. It answered his question. They were in front of Avari's room.
Genkai knocked on the door once. She expected Avari to instantly open the door but, there was no answer.
She knocked again, a little harder this time... and then a few more times. Still, no answer.
"Oh, no! Not this again!" Genkai yelled. She burst the door open. "Avari! Turn off those idiotic, 1950's films already!"
But, there was not a noise, not a motion, not a light in the room.
"Where are you, Avari?" Yusuke called out, walking into the room behind Genkai. He noticed a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up.
After scanning it for no more than two seconds, he knew what had happened.
"Uh... Genkai. You might want to take a look at this."
Genkai snatched the note from Yusuke's hand and read it.
"We're going to Koenma's," Genkai said.
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The double, cherry wood doors leading into the office burst open. The doors banging against the wall from the impact of Yusuke's thrust. Despite all of the racket, Koenma sat, unfazed at his desk. He was deeply engrossed in his work apparently.
"Hey, binky sucker!" Yusuke called out as he walked into the room, followed closely by Genkai.
"Yusuke, do you have to make such an entrance? I'm trying to do paperwork!" Koenma exclaimed, looking up from his stacks of papers. He sounded extremely stressed and frustrated. He then returned his attention back to putting his seal of approval on the important documents.
"You're worried about paperwork, when Avari's in danger?" Yusuke yelled violently. He walked over to Koenma's desk and pushed the piles of papers out of the way, causing them to scatter all over the ground. "I promised that I would protect her, no matter what!"
"Yusuke! Control yourself!" Genkai barked at him. Honestly, the dimwit didn't need to take out all of his anger on poor Koenma. Although, it was fun to see the baby ruler get angry.
"Ah! What have you done?" Koenma looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Do you know how long it took me to sort out all of those papers? I stayed up all night!" He lay his head down on the table, overwhelmed and crushed.
"Just get that guy with the loin cloth to fix it for you," Yusuke suggested, his temper obviously subsiding.
"That's a good idea," Koenma agreed, looking a lot happier. "Oh, Ogre!"
"Yes, sir?" Blue Ogre asked, as he came rushing into the room.
"Pick up these papers. Now," Koenma commanded, almost heartlessly. He pointed to the mass of papers in disarray all over the carpeted floor.
"But, sir... I'm busy booking the appointments for your diaper rash treatment and footsie pajama fittings..." he objected. He pointed to the cordless phone in his other hand.
"Do that later! Take care of the papers now!" Koenma screamed, interrupting the poor ogre's pleas.
"Footsie pajamas? Diaper rash? Oh man! This is too much!" Yusuke said, trying not to laugh, but failing miserably. He then burst into wild fits of laughter.
"Why were you here again?" Koenma asked, through clenched teeth as an anger vein popped from his forehead. He really had to restrain himself from kicking Yusuke out of the office.
"We're here to find out where Yamiko's lair is located," Genkai answered, her tone very serious. She hit the still-laughing Yusuke on the head with a book. "We need to go there and rescue Avari."
"Alright, I'll get my other ogres on that right now," Koenma said, getting up from his seat and walking over to speak with the other ogres.
"Ouch, grandma! Did you have to whack me so hard?" Yusuke complained, rubbing the bump that had formed on his head.
"Yes! The harder I hit, the more sense it might knock into you!" Genkai barked. She then hit him again, even harder, but in a place where the sun doesn't shine.
Yusuke began to whimper and groan. Clutching the affected area, he rolled on the floor in pain.
"Okay, I have them figuring out the lair's location, but it might take a while," Koenma said to Genkai, after he had come back over from his little conference with his employees. He noticed Yusuke's absurd behavior. He looked like a dog rolling around on its back. "What happened to him?"
"He got what was coming to him," Genkai replied.
"Oh," Koenma said, carelessly. "In the mean time, I think we should call in the other Spirit Detectives and brief them on the situation until we have the location."
"I better still be able to have kids, Genkai! Or else you're paying for the gene therapy!" Yusuke exclaimed irritably.
Both Koenma and Genkai just walked away from him.
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It had been almost two hours since they had arrived in Spirit World. But finally, Koenma's ogres had been able to find out Yamiko's hideout. Yusuke didn't know how they did it, whether it was radar or some other advanced equipment, but it was impressive.
The complete Team Urameshi, plus Genkai, was situated in front of Koenma's nifty television screen. Kuwabara and Kurama sat in cushiony chairs, as Genkai and Yusuke shared a couch. Yusuke was being a baby and had an ice pack on his head and crotch. Hiei, being too cool to sit down, preferred to lean against the wall in the lone, back corner. Koenma sat at his newly cleaned desk, looking quite eager to have the opportunity to use his control buttons.
"Here is Yamiko's lair." Koenma pushed a yellow button and the image of a castle appeared on the screen. It looked like one of those medieval castles, yet well-kept and clean. The gray stone walls weren't crumbling and it even had a mote. "It's located in Demon World and is guarded by his lesser minions. So, it should be easy to break in."
"If it's so easy to break in, then why do we all have to go? Why can't Yusuke just go?" Kuwabara complained. "I'm missing the Kitty Marathon on Animal Planet!"
"There will be plenty of other cat specials! We need all the help we can get to save Avari!" Yusuke yelled, sounding quite protective and manly.
"Why the sudden want to rescue her, Yusuke?" Kurama inquired, curiously. "I thought you two had broken up."
"She's still my friend... So, why shouldn't I want to help her?" Yusuke defended, turning slightly pink.
"He made a promise to her," Genkai piped in.
"Aw... And what was that?" Kuwabara asked, in a baby voice. "That you would always be her knight in shining armor?"
"Face it," Koenma said, walking over to the blushing Yusuke. "You still love her." He pulled on Yusuke's cheek jokingly.
The whole gang began to laugh. Even Hiei smirked.
"Everybody, shut up!" Yusuke screamed. Immediately, they all fell silent. "I'm going to go rescue her, no matter what anyone says or who comes along, okay?"
"Then, I'm in!" Kuwabara agreed. "I can have Eikichi fill me in on the marathon."
"I'm in, too," Kurama said. "I'm a sucker for true love."
"She's my grandniece, after all," Genkai said.
"Hn," was all that Hiei contributed. After all, he is a man of a few words. They took his grunt as a, "Yes, I'd be glad to help!"
"Then, let's go kick Yamiko's ass!" Yusuke exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. He may have moved a little too soon though. Shooting pains ran through the place where Genkai had whacked him. "Ouch! Maybe we'll go in a little bit..." He sat back down, only to be whacked on the head by Genkai, yet again. "That's enough, you old hag!"
-To Be Continued-
-Will the YYH gang be able to get there in time to save Avari? Will Yusuke even be able to stand up without feeling pain? What crazy outfits does Kashi have for Yamiko and Avari to wear at the ceremony? Find out next time on The Power Locked Within!
-A/n- Did everyone like that? Please review and let me know! Thanks to everyone who does review! I'm going to try and wrap up the series during the weekend, so be in store for a quick update! And a word to the wise, Use the Submit button!