DISCLAIMER: I do not own YYH – but all my original twists to the plot are mine.
a/n: Man…schools such a bummer U.U ah well, what can you do right? Hehe, but at least I still have some time to type this up! Yay!
Ah…I just want to take a nice looooong nap that lasts the rest of the week…
But it's still all good n.n !
And thank you all for reviewing! I do respond to everyone who sends a signed review (and I'm not quite sure how that works) but I think it sends it to your email address or something…
Enjoy!
Thoughts
Forever Fornever III
:Nameless:
The gravel shifted along the cavern floor. A boat sitting at the center of a small lake rocked slightly as its only occupant lifted his head. The ripples from the boat gently cradled the shore and washed up along the intruder's feet.
"Mr. Sensui…?" the man called across the lake.
He smiled – and as if the smile had words the second man nodded and lowered his head, "Is everything going as planned, Itsuki?"
Itsuki paused and frowned slightly. His hands rested calmly in his lap as an ever-growing black void hovered above him. Small bits of energy crackled along the edges of the portal…and if one would listen carefully, they could even hear the faint moans coming from the other side.
"There seems to be an unexpected barrier…" the demon said quietly, "…I did not expect there to be a blockade standing between Makai and Ningenkai; one of your spirit world's kekkai barriers I presume," Sensui noticed his brow furrow a little, "My power allows me to open up the holes between dimensions…not break barriers like these," for the first time, Itsuki opened his eyes, "It will take a strong person to divide the kekkai wall…"
Sensui smiled again, "…I assure you, if there is a strong enough person – I will find them…"
For a moment there was a gap of silence as the portal began to sputter with small fragments of electricity. The dark-haired man glanced down briefly at the ground before his smile slowly began to fade from his lips.
"I have also found a complication," he whispered.
The demon across the lake stiffened, but said nothing and kept his eyes closed.
Suddenly, his smile returned, "…I believe…Mr. Itsuki…We'll be receiving an unexpected visitor in a very short amount of time…"
-:-
Genkai calmly lifted open the briefcase she had borrowed from Botan earlier. The screen flickered under the cheap lighting, and Koenma's face suddenly appeared on the monitor. He blinked in surprise when he realized that, for once, it wasn't Botan calling.
"What's wrong, Genkai?" he asked her seriously.
The older woman leaned up against the back of her chair, "After you called us earlier, Mai fainted…" she informed him (but he didn't seem too surprised by the news), "She's lost all spiritual energy from the tournament; leaving her vulnerable to any attack…" she continued and her eyes flashed towards the demigod, "Someone was using her remaining energy pattern to search for her…"
Koenma stiffened suddenly and she noticed his hand tighten into a fist, "I see…"
Her eyes narrowed, "Have you been expecting this? You act as though you know who it is," she said; confronting him rather seriously.
He lowered his gaze, "No…" his insisted quietly, "But…keep an eye on her, will you?"
-:-
Sunlight danced across the floor of the detective's room. A bird chirped outside on the balcony before fluttering away to the rooftop. From the bed, Mai shifted restlessly in her sleep before she turned towards the window and blinked her eyes open.
She froze suddenly when she found Yusuke's body directly next to hers.
Urk.
The detective stretched slightly, "Ugh…" he mumbled softly, "Five more minutes, please…" he said and rolled over onto his side.
…
"YOU PERVERT!"
A loud slap quickly followed and then the sound thump of a body hitting the floor. An instant later, and the detective was suddenly hurtled from the room, and he crashed neatly up against the wall on the other side of the hallway.
Genkai calmly walked down the hall with a tea cup in her hand, "Good morning…it seems that Mai's feeling better…"
"I…can't believe I fell asleep…" Yusuke moaned, "I should have known this would happen…"
The older woman narrowed her eyes at him, "What were you doing in her bed anyway?" she asked suspiciously, "You looked pretty comfortable on the floor last night…"
Yusuke's cheeks puffed out in agitation, "Oi! For the record – that's my bedroom! And just what the hell were you doing spying on me last night?" he demanded, "You act as though you don't trust me or something—"
"I was just making sure you didn't molest her or anything," she replied nonchalantly.
"—WHAT? I didn't molest her!" he shouted frantically, "Where the hell do you get these ideas anyway…?"
Genkai shrugged and turned back towards the kitchen, "That's what it looked like from here," she told him as she disappeared around the corner. He blinked at her in confusion before his face suddenly contorted as his cheeks burned a ferocious red.
SHE SAW?
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door creaking open. The detective turned (and flinched purely on instinct) as Mai stuck her head out into the hallway.
"I have a question…" she said slowly as she looked around, "…Why am I in your apartment?"
"Because my other house burnt down," he answered bluntly, "You fainted last night, don't you remember?"
The guardian shook her head – but then let out a small laugh and scratched the back of her head, "Ah, it must have been from the heat of Kaitou's territory though, right? It was pretty hot in there…"
She stepped back into the hallway, fully dressed in the clothes Genkai had brought for her from the temple. It didn't look much like anything Yusuke had seen her wear though. Mai stepped out into the hallway in a yellow summer dress and a small coat over it; she looked almost awkward in something like that (the only other time he had seen her in a skirt was at school).
Urameshi stared at her for a moment, but she caught him and blinked, "What?"
He blushed fiercely and looked away, "Nothing…" he mumbled.
The guardian shifted uncomfortably in her jacket and glanced down the hallway, "Did I just hear baa-san out here earlier?" she wondered.
Yusuke – still blushing – nodded and gestured down the hallway, "In the kitchen – we're going to meet up with Yana and Kido later and search Mushiyori City for that tunnel. Kurama and those guys are going to start on the other side of town."
"Which means you should get your ass moving, dimwit!" called the old woman from the other room, "If you hadn't slept with Mai we might have been able to meet them on time!"
Urameshi clenched his fist and opened his mouth to retaliate, but Mai quickly ushered him back into the bedroom, "Ah – why don't you just get dressed?" she said; trying to prevent another conflict. The detective turned to say something to her, but only noticed that she was blushing furiously despite her smile – and decided to oblige.
She continued to smile even as he closed the door, and the blush still remained.
"Do you feel up to today?"
Mai jumped as Genkai suddenly appeared behind her. A little surprised, she turned shakily towards her and offered a nervous smile. She nodded, "No, I'll be fine," she insisted, "It's just…do you still want me to go with you guys – I mean, I'm not really much use to any of you. I could stay here and—"
But the older woman shook her head, "You'll be safer with our group anyway. At least we'll have four available fighters if the need be – last time I checked Kurama's group only has two," she added off-handedly, but then grew serious again when she turned back towards her, "If you were to stay here, you'd be in more danger than if you came with us."
The guardian was quiet for a moment, before she nodded slowly, "A-alright."
She watched as Mai went into the kitchen, and turned when she heard the bedroom door click open. Yusuke slipped into a dark-tinted jacket as he stepped into the hallway.
"What's the matter with her staying here?" he asked Genkai seriously as he glanced down the corridor, "What's the big deal?"
The older woman was quiet for a long time and she lowered her head.
She sighed heavily and lifted her eyes towards the detective; "You haven't noticed yet have you, Yusuke?" she said and watched him stare at her dumbly, "Ever since the tournament Mai has been abnormally weak. Just because you and the others brought her back to life doesn't mean the wound on her heart as fully healed," her eyes narrowed slightly, "With a heart condition like hers, I highly doubt she will ever be able to take place in another fight like that. The strain might even kill her."
Yusuke just stared at her…but Genkai wasn't finished.
"…I also have reason to believe," she said quietly and carefully, "That someone is searching for Mai."
-:-
The team filed out of the station into the city. Yana, Kido and Genkai led the way out onto the street – while Yusuke was careful to follow as close behind Mai as he dared. He put his hands behind his head and frowned at his feet.
Someone…was looking for Mai…? And not only that, Genkai had said she now had some sort of heart condition…
He glanced up again…but didn't quite make it all the way. Instead, his eyes seemed to lock directly on the area where Mai's dress appeared to end – and instantly, his face burnt up once again. He coughed a bit noticeably and turned this head before the guardian could turn around.
But he froze suddenly along with Kido, Yana, and Genkai at the entryway of the train station. He grimaced in disgust when he noticed grotesquely large insects floating around the city – above the heads of hundreds of civilians. There were even a few perched on top of heads – invisible to the normal human eyes.
"Geez…" Kido mumbled, "It's a good thing normal people can't see them…there'd be a huge panic if they could see all the Makai insects flying around—"
"Bugs?" Mai blurted suddenly in her own panic, "Holy crap – where?"
Yusuke stared at her in disbelief, "You're afraid of some little bugs?" he asked before suddenly realizing the irony of his statement.
She made a small, affirmative whimper as she clenched her eyes shut.
"Well it's a good thing you can't see them, then; they're everywhere."
"That doesn't help!"
"Okay fine – then I guess you probably don't mind knowing there's one on your shoulder—"
"WHAT?"
"Hey, I'm just kidding!"
Slap!
"You jerk! That was not funny!"
"Master Genkai…" Yana started slowly, "Do they always fight like this?" he wondered as he and Kido watched the detective twitch on the ground. Mai shouted at him again when she caught him looking up her skirt and stomped on his stomach.
The old woman ignored their fight, "At relatively frequent intervals…" she told them as she walked down the street, "Those two better hurry it up; we don't have any time to waste…I doubt our enemies will just let us find them."
-:-
"Are we sure this is where that tunnel's supposed to be?" Kazuma asked as he stepped precariously over a shattered beer bottle. He looked over the empty grass field and at the randomly scattered debris across it.
Botan scratched the back of her head, "Well…technically it could be anywhere…"
He growled irritably, "Well if this is the place – where's the guy opening the portal?" he asked as he kicked a can with his foot.
But Kurama shook his head, "I don't think this is it…" he said, "There's no one here for one, and there's no actual evidence that says this is the exact spot," he told them as he observed the area around the suspiciously.
Kaitou pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, "It could be possible that it's underground—"
Suddenly, Kurama's eyes flickered off to his left. In an instant, he raced off through the field with the others calling out his name. He ducked swiftly around an old, run-down shed.
"Oi! Kurama!"
The akage came to a sudden halt as he rounded the corner. He was breathing slightly as he stared at the empty field in front of him…just as it had been before.
"Kurama! Kurama what are you doing?" Botan called as they caught up with him.
He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily, "There was someone just here…"
The dark-haired psychic surveyed the field seriously, "It seems that whoever our enemy is…has become aware of our presence and our plans to stop them from opening the portal to Makai…No doubt they've already gone to tell their ringleader about us…"
Kuwabara frowned, "Ah…I don't think so. I someone was there, why didn't I sense any of their ki?"
The ferry-girl stared at him, "Maybe it's because you lost your ki abilities," she teased.
He scowled, "Don't remind me…" he grumbled and folded his arms, "It's not as like I want to be powerless – if I did have my powers I'd at least be able to fight or do something!"
Botan giggled, "Like protecting Mai?"
He turned quickly to retaliate, but was cut off when Kurama started talking again, "I think it's best if we reunite with Yusuke's group and work as one."
After a moment, they all agreed and made their way out of the field. Kurama seemed wary as they left, but continued on without glancing back. Behind them, the grass rustled as a blue-eyed stranger watched them leave.
-:-
Yusuke stopped and turned, "Mai, what the hell are you doing?"
The guardian frantically swiped at the air around her. She'd pause, only to swipe at a different direction. He stared at her in disbelief – how did she actually think she was hitting anything with her eyes closed like that? …Pure luck he guessed.
He sighed, "Oi, come here already," she obliged abnormally quick, "Look, I'll make sure none of them come near you alright? Just…calm down already…?
"So what do you think of our fair city?" Kido called to them from ahead.
Urameshi blinked as he casually swatted a Makai insect away from Mai, "Well I can't really say under the circumstances. Not that I could tell anyway with all these insects flying around, "the guardian flinched and whimpered at this and he rolled his eyes, "I haven't really had time to enjoy the scenery you know…"
AS he continued forward – he found himself stopped suddenly in a complete halt. His eyes widened as an odd presence abruptly filled the air. On instinct, his hand clenched…This feeling…he had felt it before…
Genkai's eyes narrowed, "You sensed that, didn't you, Yusuke?"
He nodded stiffly, "Yeah…" he answered, "Like I just walked into somebody's territory…"
All in unison, they turned. Against the sidewalk was a set of stairs leading below the surface. There was a sign above it indicating a bar beneath them. The stairs were dark – all save for a dim light somewhere at the bottom.
"You're not going to forget what I told you earlier," the old woman said as she shot the detective a glance, "Be careful, dimwit."
He smirked, "Heh, don't worry, I won't be that stupid again."
"Let's hope not," Mai grumbled.
Yusuke shot her an angry glare – that she easily ignored – and grudgingly followed the stairs below the surface. At the bottom opened a pair of automatic doors that lead directly into a small pub. As they entered, the bar keep smiled and offered a hello, followed by a cute young waitress sliding from behind the bar with a tray in hand. The only other people were just a few high-school students.
"I can't tell whose territory it is…" Yana whispered.
"Me neither…" Kido said as he scanned the room, "There are six people including the bartender…for all we know it could be any of them."
Mai frowned slightly, "Oh right, no one ask the dud for her opinion…" she mumbled.
She trailed off suddenly when a deep-throated chuckle greeted them. They turned together towards the man sitting near the back of the bar. He hardly looked older than them, but the pink shirt he wore sort of freaked them all out.
He was looking over – what, unfortunately, appeared to be – a colored porno magazine, "What do you guys want with me?" he asked as he placed the magazine on the counter and stood, "You must be the one's whose power I felt…"
"Hey, hey, hey!" the bartender cried frantically, "Sit down already – I won't tolerate any fighting in here—"
"Can it," the man snapped at him.
The bar keep was silenced – as well as the rest of the bar.
He turned back towards the group, "I don't quite know the reason why you're here, but I don't want to participate in a useless fight either…" his eyes flashed, "So why the hell are all of you here?"
"We're looking for someone," Yusuke replied, "Someone who's building a really big tunnel somewhere in the city."
The man quirked an eyebrow and seemed interested, "Really? There's a tunnel somewhere? You don't mean the tunnel between Makai and Ningenkai, do you?" he mused and seemed to take pleasure in watching their shocked expressions.
"How the hell did you know?" Yana demanded.
He smirked, "It was only a matter of you all telling me," he said carefully and watched their confused looks, "Only it was a matter of telling me through your minds…"
Mai blinked, "You're a mind-reader!" she exclaimed.
"And I'd happily read your mind…" he told her and put on a deviant smirk.
Yusuke automatically stepped between him and the guardian – who grimaced ("Was he just hitting on me?"); his eyes flashed dangerously, but his voice didn't show any signs of anger, "He's probably lying. If we didn't know any better, I'd say he's hiding his real power and he's one of the guys we're looking for," he suddenly changed into a fighting stance, "And if that's the case, I'm ready to take him down—!"
He stopped abruptly when Kido grasped him by the shoulder, "Please, let me handle this, Yusuke…" he said as he took a step forward.
The psychic took a fighting stance. He would use his ability then follow it up from there…he frowned, but if the man really could read minds – if he was telling the truth – then he was completely screwed.
Across from him, the pink-shirted man chuckled, "You wanna fight then?"
Kido nodded shortly, "Only if you use your power…and then I'll use mine," he told him as his eyes narrowed.
In an instant, he charged towards the boy in the pink shirt. As he raced across the bar, the air shifted even more as he released his territory out through the entire room. He jumped into the air in front of him and angled his body so he would land on the man's shadow—
The man however, suddenly stepped out of his reach.
Kido's eyes widened as he staggered on impact. He moved!
"He…he moved," Yana said in disbelief.
The detective clenched his fist – so the bastard was telling the truth! "Kido – get the hell out of there!" he shouted suddenly towards him—
All of a sudden, the psychic cried out in pain when an uppercut to the ribcage caught him off guard. The man in the pink shirt grinned and suddenly attacked him with a merciless barrage of uppercuts to his face and chest. Kido's eyes continued to widen in pain; his pupils dilated.
With a final punch, the man suddenly hurtled the psychic across the room. He slid across the tile to the base of his team's feet.
"Kido!" Mai cried in alarm.
"Hah!" the man laughed, "It's a shame he couldn't use his ability to step on my shadow," he taunted.
Yana stared at him as he lifted Kido off the ground and placed his harm over his shoulder, "So…you really can read minds," he said in disbelief.
The other high school boys in the bar suddenly stood from their booth; shoving their money on the table as they rapidly pushed their way past the group and back up the stairs in terror. The bartender slowly reached out towards the telephone attached to the side wall.
The pink-shirted man laughed, "It's a little too early to be calling the police…" the bar keep stared at him before carefully hanging up the phone, and the man turned back to the group with a smirk, "I've always wanted to be a boxer, but it really wouldn't have been fair with this ability and all; I'd be able to read my opponent's next move. It would be kinda cheap being the boxing champ with this power."
Yusuke suddenly took a step forward. He shoved his hands into his pockets, "You know, Yana here has the ability to copy someone exactly, even their memory," his eyes narrowed slightly, "If it turns out you're not one of the ones we're looking for, you could be of some use to us…but if you are – you're in for a world of hurt, understand?"
"Heh," he snorted, "So you want to make a copy of me?"
The detective nodded, "Pretty much."
He glared at him suspiciously, "Well I refuse – I don't wanna get involved in whatever the hell you guys are in to: he suddenly raised his fists and hopped to and fro from one foot to the other, "I'll tell you what, though – if you're able to defeat me, I'll let your guy use his little gift on me."
Yusuke quirked an eyebrow, "I don't understand what the hell you're talking about, but if you're just going to be stubborn – whatever," he slipped off his jacket and handed it off to Mai, "Hold this, will you?"
She nodded and took it fro him while Yana frowned, "But how could he possibly win when the guy can read his mind?"
Genkai snorted, "I wouldn't worry too much. He may look like a dimwit – and he is – but he's also the grand champion of the Ankoku Bujutsukai. Of course it took a little motivation…" Mai blinked slightly, "But he does have a bit more under that thick skull of his – no matter how much we don't quite think so. This guy is like an ordinary human compared to some of the demons he's had to face."
Mai blinked again – but this time out of curiosity; somehow…she didn't think the old woman meant it as literally as it seemed…
The pink-shirted man smirked, "Oi, what's wrong with you?" he laughed, "Attack already!"
Urameshi didn't flinch, nor did his facial expression falter, "I'm gonna tell you what I'm going to do beforehand," he removed his hands from his pockets, "One, single straight-on-punch."
He frowned, "What?"
"I'm using one punch – one attack from the front," he told him, "So you better prepare yourself, alright?"
Mai just stared at him, "You think that's a good idea?"
But the man smirked, "I'll check to see if you're lying first…" he told him in return.
The detective nodded, but the pink-shirted man had already reached out to his mind. He frowned slightly…it was exactly as he said: I'll hit him with one punch, but stop in front of his face. I'll hit him with one punch, but stop in front of his face. I'll…The man smirked in disbelief. It was true! That idiot was going to attack him from the front – only a fool would attack head-on!
Yusuke changed his stance, "Let's go."
At probably the lowest speed possible, Urameshi moved forward across the bar. At the last minute, he threw out a punch – directly in front of the man's face – his eyes widened in the fear that he really would complete the punch – but Yusuke froze, just like he said he would. The man stared at his fist in horror as a trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face.
All of a sudden, the man began trembling violently – and a small river of blood seeped down from behind his hairline. With a sudden jolt, his body was flung up against the wall in a sudden burst of energy.
From behind them, the waitress and the bar keep gripped at each other in pure terror. But Yana and Kido stared in fascination at the detective's attack.
"That…was so cool…" Kido whispered, and Yana could only nod.
Genkai snorted, "That was only a fraction of his power; the man wasn't knocked out from the punch, but from the energy resulted afterwards."
The detective cocked his head back towards them, "Yo, Yana…copy our mystery man, will you?"
He nodded and moved across the bar where the man lay slumped against the wall. Yana knelt beside him on the floor and placed his hands on the man's head. There was a pause before a veil of orange ki surrounded them. Yana's face began to morph as he began to take on the man's appearance – all save for his clothes.
Yusuke cocked an eyebrow, "Well?"
The psychic shook his head, "Nothing…just a normal human with special abilities…"
"If that's so…" Genkai started, "Then he should still be of some use to us."
-:-
Koenma stared rather off-handedly and shuffled through the papers in front of him absently. His eyes flickered off to the corner of his desk where a single file lay preserved from the last few days.
Kurama had already called him; they were going to meet up with Yusuke's group…the destination Ayame had given them had be unsuccessful. He sighed…it might be better for them to work as one anyway…
He caught sight of the folder again. The bold type held his gaze for a long time…
The Memory Removal Department…
His eyes widened all of a sudden.
"Koenma, sir…I reanalyzed the data you asked for…" Ayame said as she materialized through the wall, holding a stack of papers.
"Get me Botan," he said urgently all of a sudden. The ferry-girl blinked, but nodded, "I need to tell her something…" he glanced back at the folder on his desk and clenched his fist involuntarily. They might all be in danger…
-:-
The large fountain behind them trickled repeatedly in an endless stream. There was an oversized clock above them that struck two thirty just then. The small team stood around it and the pink-shirted man from before. Mai paced absently in a few little circles.
"So your name's Shigeru Murota…" Yusuke said as he sat down next to him; yet he somehow was able to seem uninterested as to whether he was pronouncing it right or not, "Murota, how big's your territory?"
"Thirty meters in radius," he answered automatically as he gingerly massaged his head from where Yusuke had attacked him earlier, "But all the thoughts just come at random; 'I want that idiot to die' 'I wish I had money' and thoughts like 'There's a test today, I should skip…'" he paused and laughed, "Heh, there's some guy to the right thinking some pretty nasty thoughts about your girlfriend there…"
He blinked suddenly when he found that the detective had vanished. When he found him, Yusuke was tackling some random kid in the crowd. Mai shouted at him and made some movement to stop him, but the boy on the ground made a comment, and her face flushed. She kicked him in the groin.
"The stronger they are, the stronger their thoughts are," Murota told them.
"Just listen to anyone passing by your territory," Genkai ordered him as the other pair returned and Yusuke straightened his jacket, "Report if anyone says anything odd…but in case they're watching, let us know through eye contact," she folded her arms over her chest, "The people we're looking for have special abilities…they'll be able to sense your territory."
Murota nodded – but he had hardly lowered his head in concentration before his eyes widened.
"What?" came the frantic, unified cry.
He pointed with a shaking hand at a school girl, "She wants to make love to her teacher…" he had a nosebleed, "Lucky bastard," he grumbled.
In unison, Genkai and Yusuke punched him over the head, "Stop minding the stupid stuff," the old woman told him irritably as the detective gripped him furiously by the collar of his shirt.
"Look," he muttered darkly, "I'll kill you if I have to – now get back on track, you idiot!" Murota mumbled an apology and Yusuke let him go, "We'll stay here all day if we have to…I have no problem with that…"
Mai's eyes flickered slightly. She blinked and suddenly stood from her place beside the fountain. A small grouping of flowers sat at the base of the streetlamp in a small plot of dirt. She lowered herself to it. There was a small frown that formed at her lips when she caught sight of a spider web attached to a pair of flowers.
A tiny butterfly struggled in its webbing as a spider crawled close to it…
And her eyes began to fade…
"But why? Why won't you kill it? It'll hurt the butterfly if you don't!"
He stared slowly at the web before him. His hands reached out and ever so gently, began to untangle the butterfly from it, "Kill the spiders and save the butterflies…" he whispered
"…But in doing so, don't you become a spider yourself?"
Mai started suddenly and backed away from the flower bush.
Her hand shook at her side and her eyes widened, "…Shi-san…"
Murota's scream suddenly pierced the air. The guardian whirled to find the other psychic desperately clutching his head as pure terror crept at his eyes. There were some among the crowd who stopped in confusion and tried to figure out what all the commotion was. Murota shook violently as sweat drenched his face.
"Oi! Murota!" Yusuke cried, "What the hell's wrong? MUROTA!"
He was trembling in pure terror as his eyes widened at the ground in front of him. He looked as though he were in pain as his pupils dilated out of focus. He shook his head slowly, "That voice…" he murmured in hardly more than a whisper, "It's so calm…and – and yet…"
I will kill all the ningens…once the tunnel is complete they will be hunted down and slaughtered purely for the sport of youkai. They will all die…All of them—
Murota screamed again and buried his head in his lap – as if the voice in his head was proving to be too strong for him to handle.
"This is the first time I've ever heard a voice like this…" he whispered in horror, "…It's so calm – as if they knew they were speaking with me directly…" his eyes widened suddenly hand his knuckles whitened as he gripped at his hair, "But it's so evil…all it talks about is killing – he wants everyone in Ningenkai to die—"
"Tell us where they are," Yusuke told him immediately, "Don't point, just tell us!"
The psychic trembled, and for a second it seemed as though he was too terrified to tell them. But in a shaking voice he answered finally, "There…on the right. A tall man in a black shirt…"
All at once, the group whirled. A blur of black appeared amongst the swirling mass of people passing by.
A tall man in black…just as Murota had said. The man slowly came to a halt, as if sensing their gaze…and a smile inched along his lips. His dark hair was slicked back away from his face…all save for a single strand that fell over his eyes. They all saw him…
…And Mai's hand suddenly fell limp at her side—
The man's dark eyes flashed towards them—
And in the same instant something shot through the air like a bullet; piercing Murota directly on the head. A spurt of blood erupted from his skull and he fell backwards into the fountain. Somewhere in the crowd, a woman screamed and others turned towards the team.
But Yusuke somehow found himself locked in the man's gaze. He lifted his head up…and a smile curled around his lips – but there was nothing cheerful about it. There was however, something that kept him spellbound to the man's ice-cold eyes…
This is just one of my people's skills, Urameshi Yusuke…
The detective's eyes suddenly widened as a sudden thought occurred to him—
"Yusuke!"
He turned suddenly back towards they group as Kido and Yana lifted the other psychic out of the water. Genkai was the one who had called out his name though. At first he didn't understand what she was shouting for – but then his eyes widened further and he whirled…
The man had vanished from the crowd…
…But now Mai was gone too.
Panic raced through him at an alarming speed…and for the first time in awhile, a wave of terror swept over him.
'Someone is searching for Mai…'
-:-
Mai frantically pushed her way through the crowd swarming in around her. She staggered when she lost her footing, but refused to fall. The sight of dark hair was slowly beginning to vanish from her sight amidst the crowd and she grew frantic. Desperately, she tried to pick up her pace; to get through to an opening where she could freely catch up with him.
Her heart thumped painfully in her throat and ears…and her breaths came out in gasps.
Where had she seen those eyes before?
Someone crossed her path and for a moment, she lost sight of the man ahead of her. She cried out and shoved several people out of the way; she couldn't lose sight of him – Where had she seen him before?
…Where had she seen those eyes?
For a second, she thought she heard someone call her name, but she ignored it. As she glanced back up towards her destination, it suddenly had occurred to her that he never completely got out of her reach…as if he were purposely keeping his pace; as if…as if he wanted her to catch up. But as if in a dream, it was as though no matter how fast she ran something dragged her back…like she would never fully reach him after all…
Without warning, sudden tears of despair filled her eyes. But why…? Why was she suddenly so—?
Seven faces…
She nearly stopped. Her eyes widened…
Seven unknown faces emerged from the shadows. One was crying…and another held a gun aloft in their hand. A face smiled sadly and another smirked with a foreboding malice. There was a flower petal that drifted to the ground from one of their hands and another folded their arms over their chest darkly…
A final suddenly stepped forward from the darkness and stretched out his hand and smiled slowly.
"…Arakawa-kun…"—
"Don't go…" she gasped as she hurtled through a group a people. Her voice strained as her chest began to constrict and an unexpected pain shot through her heart. A tear slid off her face, "Don't go—!"
"Mai!"
All of a sudden, she jerked to a stop. A hand gripped her tightly at the wrist as she stood panting unusually hard. With a small cry of despair she realized that the man had vanished yet again within the crowd of people…and another tear sank down the side of her face. But slowly she turned around and found Yusuke holding onto her wrist for dear life. He breathed heavily also – but not nearly as heavy as her…
He panted, "Mai…"
She stared at him for the longest time, and said nothing. But suddenly, she felt her body giving way beneath her and she sank to her knees. Yusuke was able to catch her before she fell. He grunted slightly as he hoisted her arm over her shoulder. The detective could hear her struggled breathing in his ear…and could almost feel the painful beating of her heart against his back.
Without saying a word, he hauled her back towards the fountain and his eyes stared off distantly at the ground. He frowned slightly though when he realized that Mai had followed after the man on her own free will. What, did she think she could actually take him on without any spiritual powers? Even she wasn't that clueless…so why did she seem so urgent to reach him?
Instinctively, he clenched his fist at his side and gritted his teeth. But that man…there was no doubt in his mind that he was the one behind the portal to Makai…
-:-
Sensui watched as the ambulance drove off down the street. He frowned slightly as it disappeared behind a corner and placed his hands calmly inside of his pockets, just as a soft thump came from behind him. The psychic closed his eyes and smiled, "So you weren't able to catch up, were you, Hagiri?"
The psychic behind him calmly ran a gloved hand through his hair, "Yeah, sorry…" he said nonchalantly, "…But Seaman just checked in," he told him, as he continued on, "He says the second group is planning to meet back up with Urameshi's team…And Urameshi and the others are heading straight for Kamiya at the hospital."
He would have continued on, but he suddenly noticed that Sensui hardly seemed to be paying attention to him – as if he had his mind fixed on something else. The elder psychic smiled and closed his eyes again.
"I never expected for Mr. Urameshi to be so calm…" he mused aloud and smirked, "He just seems to get a little preoccupied at times…But we'll fix that…"
Sniper watched him suspiciously as he stared over the edge of the building.
-:-
"I will kill all the ningens…once the tunnel is complete they will be hunted down and slaughtered purely for the sport of youkai. They will all die…All of them," Murota repeated quietly as he massaged the bandage along his forehead. He frowned, "There was something else too…"
'We'll build seven graves…one for each of us…'
They all sat in the lobby of the hospital. Some nurses passed by them on their way to check on other patients within the hospital itself. Their team had become earlier quiet after their encounter earlier that day…
"He gave the name's of his group members…Dark Angel, Gate Keeper, Sniper, Gourmet, Game Master, Doctor, and Seaman…" he shook his head as he tried to recall, "But that's it…after that I don't remember anything except getting shot in the head with…" he frowned, "…what was it again?"
Genkai held out her hand and showed the small head of a pencil eraser, "This."
The group frowned in confusion at the tiny piece of rubber.
"But how could something like that do so much damage?" Kido wondered.
No one was able to give an answer to that, though. Not even Genkai had a possible answer for them that might have explained the phenomena – except that it probably was the result of one of their enemy's abilities.
"But those names…" Yana said, "…Do you think their some sort of code name they use for each other?"
The old woman nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised…" she thought for a moment, "Their nicknames probably represent their abilities within their territories as well – not just for secrecy amongst themselves," she turned back towards Yusuke and folded her arms, "But you should be happy, dimwit, we finally have all the information we need to go after them like you wanted…"
Urameshi nodded and punched his fist into his open palm, "Yeah…Can't think of anything else I would want more after seeing him today…" his eyes narrowed and he glanced off towards the ground, "But there was something about him…just from looking at him I felt uneasy; it gave me a foul taste in my mouth…" he muttered darkly and his eyes narrowed further, "Almost how Toguro made me feel…except this time it was a hell of a lot worse—"
"I…"
They paused for a moment and turned towards where Mai sat with her eyes locked solemnly on the ground. For a moment it looked as though she was contemplating whether or not to continue…but then she sighed and turned her head away and became silent.
Genkai's eyes locked on her for a long time, before she lowered her head and snorted, "Nonetheless…we should all feel at least a little better knowing that he wasn't the one who shot Murota…"
Yana blinked and scratched his head, "What are you talking about, Master Genkai?"
But Yusuke nodded with her, "She's right…that guy didn't do anything but look."
The old woman smirked slightly, "Nice of you to figure that one out; that even took less time than noticing Mai was gone…" the detective's face contorted but she ignored him and turned to the other three psychics, "The rubber was shot from the front and followed a one-hundred and eighty degree angle. Our guy was to the right about twenty degrees; it would be impossible for him to have shot it. When the eraser bounced off Murota's head, it still had spirit energy in it…but whoever shot it was out of my sight range."
"That's over five-hundred meters!" Kido said in alarm.
Urameshi frowned a little, "That must be one his guy's skills…kind of stupid though, if all he can shoot is little rubber erasers…" he shoved his hands into his pockets, "Then again, if he had shot it any harder, Murota here could've died—"
The psychic cried out in terror and suddenly clutched at Mai's arm, "Dear God – don't let me die! You all have to protect me, please—!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Yusuke shouted and kicked him square in the side of the face. He fell of the chair and began twitching as Mai shifted warily to the next seat over, "No touching her! Geeze…I hate to say it, but Kuwabara's starting to look more manly right about now compared to this guy…"
—Above them, a reflection appeared in one of the windows overlooking the lobby. A smirk filled their face as the doctor calmly placed his hand within his pocket and shadowed his eyes behind his glasses…
—Mai's hands clutched at the hem of her dress…
But where had she seen those eyes before…?
-:-
a/n: Alrighty…ah well…
Yeah I should probably go study n.n;;
But I really need to work on the Yusuke/Mai relationship a lot more; I seem to be neglecting that…whoopsie n.n;;
SAYOUNARA MINNA-SAN!