Chapter Fourteen: The Enemy Within
"Thank you for doing this," Keiko smiled weakly. She had taken Kuwabara home to keep an eye on her and ensure that Tsarakino didn't come back for her. With his powerful sixth sense, he'd be able to detect Tsarakino's presence if he came anywhere near them. Her home was close now, they could both see it as they walked. The sky was getting darker now, and a pale shade fell over the two as they walked. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. That...thing...was just..." Keiko experienced a full body shiver, remembering how horrible it had been to have him inside her mind.
"Hey, no problem." Kuwabara lifted his fist up in front of himself, grinning. "That thing comes anywhere near you, I'll give it a taste of my Spirit Sword!" Keiko giggled a little at Kuwabara's proud stance. The two had become fast friends, back when Yusuke had died. They'd met under the strangest of circumstances, with the dead Yusuke's attempt at returning to life bringing them to their first meeting, as his best friend and his rival. Keiko had since taken the position of girlfriend, with Kuwabara rising to take the claim of best friend.
"We're almost to my house," Keiko sighed. "I just hope my parents are in a good mood. They probably aren't going to enjoy the idea of having a boy they've never met sleep over, especially this soon after she got back. She knew she was going to have to put up with some fairly suspicious looks, but it was necessary. She definitely couldn't explain to them what was going on. Even if they would believe her, which she doubted, she did not want to have to deal with them freaking out over her being made a target because of Yusuke.
Kuwabara whistled as they approached the building. Keiko's family made their home in the back of a ramen restaurant, which was run by her parents. The place was closing up by this time, and she was sure her parents were wondering where she was. She wasn't usually out this long, especially considering she'd just gotten back from vacation.
Keiko pushed the door open and hurried inside. She was soon greeted by the voice of her mother, calling out to her. "Keiko!" The girl ran to her mother and gave her a hug, while Kuwabara walked slowly towards them. "Where have you been? We were worried!" The mother's eyes fell upon Kuwabara, and a look of concern washed over her face when she saw him. "And who is this?"
Keiko's mother looked young for her age. She was in her late thirties, but she looked like a twenty-year-old version of Keiko. She had brown hair that came down to her shoulders and light brown eyes, with only a few wrinkles in her distinct features. She stood about 5'4, and was dressed in a light green robe. Keiko smiled warmly, gesturing at Kuwabara. "This is my friend, Kazuma Kuwabara. Kuwabara, this is my mom."
Kuwabara grinned like an idiot. "Hi, nice meetin' ya."
Mrs. Yukimura looked down at her daughter, who spoke with a nervous tone in her voice. "Mom, is it okay if Kuwabara spends the night here tonight?" Her mother looked like she was about to argue, so Keiko continued. "His...um...his sister is having a party, and he needs a place to-to-to stay!" She garbled the lie out as fast as she could, and only hoped it would work. "Please?"
Mrs. Yukimura rubbed her hand under her chin, considering for a moment. It was a school night, and although tomorrow was a day Keiko had off, she was certain this Kuwabara boy did not. But, if what Keiko suggested was true, then he would likely not get much sleep at his home, either. So, with a reluctant sigh, she agreed. "Okay, he can stay."
A smile washed over Keiko's face. She wrapped her arms tightly around her mother's neck, hugging her with everything she had. "THANKS, MOM!" She hadn't expected her to cave so quickly, and it made things so much easier.
"But," Mrs. Yukimura interjected, "I want you to leave your door open." She was very serious about this point, and Keiko blushed in embarrassment when she realized what her mother was suggesting. "Leave your door open, and then he can stay."
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Slowly, carefully, she crept through the branches. Her eyes constantly following the demon Hiei as he moved, watching carefully to make sure she couldn't lose him. She'd been following him for over an hour, though it had been difficult to watch him once he left the house. She was, however, determined to keep track of him.
He was fast, however. She had had to drop the stealth and run several times just to avoid losing him, and even then, she wasn't nearly as fast as he was. She was only lucky that he wasn't using his full speed. Part of her nagged about this, though, that he was moving just fast enough that she could keep up. That suggested he knew she was there.
He disappeared suddenly, faster than her eyes could track. She cursed internally, she wouldn't lose him! She had come this far, she was not going to– "Why are you following me?" She heard his voice behind her, like a shadow stalking over her. Whirling around on the branch, she saw only nothing, for he had vanished once more.
"Calm down," she whispered to herself. She couldn't afford to get nervous, to get afraid. Hiei was a dangerous person to be around, but she knew she could control herself, she knew that she could handle this mission. She had the power, after all, not him. She had the–
"I will not ask again." Hiei dropped straight down onto the branch right in front of her, causing her to shriek and topple backwards. Losing her balance on the branch, she fell and landed hard on her back, on the hard grass floor below. The glowing green eyes from her visor dimmed for a moment, because she found herself afraid.
The woman was a demon, this was unmistakable. If the dark red scales that rippled up and down her body were not evidence enough, there were also the horns that grew from her shoulders, curling upwards. A hard shelled V shape came down along her forehead, coming up into further horns as it rose. Her eyes were concealed by a thick, black visor that ran from one side of her head to the other. Long, silver hair streamed down from behind the V shape, hair that came down all the way to her waist. Lastly, her wrists contained concealed blades, with only the very edges poking out from the raised slits when retracted.
Hiei stood in the branch, staring down at the demon girl. "Who are you? Talk." She'd been following him for some reason, and he wanted to know it. The girl curled her lip up into a snarl, but Hiei simply scoffed. "Do not insult me. Now, I will not ask again." He unsheathed his sword about two inches, to demonstrate just how serious he was.
The girl scowled up at him. She did not like being caught, and especially did not like being cornered like this. "My name is Kitrone. I saw you fight in the Tournament." She wasn't lying. She knew his capacities, knew his power over fire and understood just how dangerous his ultimate technique, the Black Dragon Hellfire, could be. She knew she had to be very cautious. "I was hoping to meet–"
"Then go find one of those other fools from the other teams," Hiei scoffed. "I don't have time for this." His mood was fouler than usual. Disappearing in a puff of speed, he was gone, leaving Kitrone alone on the ground.
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"So...uh...Kuwabara, was it?" Mr. Yukimura questioned. Kuwabara was one of very few male friends that Keiko had, at least, that the Yukimuras had met. "How do you know our daughter?"
Kuwabara glanced at Keiko for a moment, uncertain about how much he should tell. Obviously none of the Spirit Detective information could come into play, but how much about Yusuke did they know? Did they even know Keiko had a boyfriend? "We...um...we met through Urameshi," he offered, hoping it would be enough.
Evidently it was, for the mother smiled and the father simply nodded. Mrs. Yukimura reached over and ran her hand affectionately down her daughter's hair. "That boy can be a handful. I hope you can help smack some sense into him, Kuwabara. I know our Keiko's been trying her hardest." Keiko blushed and looked down at her plate.
Images danced through Kuwabara's mind. He saw himself faced against Yusuke in one of their sparring matches. He lunged, thrusting his fist down at the shorter fighter, but Yusuke retaliated by pushing underneath the fist and striking him twice in the stomach, before lifting his own fist up and connecting it to Kuwabara's jaw. Kuwabara stumbled back for a moment, dazed by the attack, which gave Yusuke the opportunity to throw himself forward and land one more shot right to Kuwabara's face, sending him sliding hard along the ground, crashing his head against the wall. As the image faded, Kuwabara gulped. "Yeah...I do what I can."
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Deep within Tomorrow's Sanctuary, the demon Fjerin paced restlessly before his throne. Lost in thought and in anxiety, his eyes kept darting towards the chained up Atsuko, waiting eagerly for news from his most talented spy. The jar containing the Jigan Eye sat beside the throne, waiting for the time when it would find a host in Unit K.
"What is keeping him so long?" the demon muttered. He was eager for news and did not like being kept waiting, though he knew it was mostly his own eagerness for Phase Two of their operation that was getting to him. Tsarakino's necessary vessel for Phase Four needed time to dig through, and this was an operation he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Tsarakino would enjoy.
Fjerin turned his attention to Atsuko once more, watching her lay against the ground. Her struggling had ceased a couple days ago. It seemed she had finally accepted her inevitable fate, that she would serve as a puppet for Tsarakino for as long as they required her, and would be executed once she no longer had any purpose. "You look like crap," he muttered. "Where's all that fiery spirit from before?"
"Just let me die," Atsuko responded, without even moving her head. She was beaten, and she knew it. Now she merely awaited the end.
"Bah, you're no fun anymore," Fjerin chided. "You used to have so much–" He was cut off by the sight of Atsuko's head whipping upwards, and a green energy emanating from her eyes for a moment. This made him smile. Finally, Tsarakino was back. "Welcome back, old friend," he greeted his partner. "Any news from the front lines?"
Tsarakino curled one side of Atsuko's lip up into his trademark smirk. "Everything is going according to plan, Fjerin. Unit K has returned from whatever business kept her before, and has already made contact with the enemy. She's not ready to receive the Jigan just yet, but I think the plan is going well."
Fjerin grinned. This was wonderful news. The Spirit Detective would be crumbling into dust before they knew it. "And Phase Two? How is that progressing?"
Tsarakino laughed. "Phase Two is going marvelously. The vessel has willingly offered itself, and it is only a matter of time before it will be prepared for Phase Four. I think, in a couple more days, it will probably be begging me to take it. Speaking of which, it's almost time to go. My audience awaits." Tsarakino's smirk turned to a grin. They were going to win, he knew that powerfully. The end was on its way.
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Night fell over Japan, and the stars bloomed in the sky. The lights went out in the Yukimura residence, and Keiko's parents had since gone to bed. Keiko's bedroom was dark, the only light being the moonlight streaming in through the window. As she lay in her bed, she found herself tossing in the dark, worry creeping over her. She wondered where Yusuke was, whether he was asleep in his own bed or if he was out
Rolling over in her bed, she looked down at Kuwabara. He was resting on his back on a sleeping bag they'd put on the floor of the bedroom. He insisted that he didn't need much, his chivalry preventing him from letting Keiko put herself out. His eyes were still wide open, and he looked like he was thinking. "Kuwabara?" she asked tentatively, "are you still up?"
"Yeah, I'm awake," he smiled. "Something on your mind?"
Keiko sighed. She had the chance to say it, but she didn't know how to say it. She didn't want to give the wrong impression, but she wanted Kuwabara to hear it. She knew he probably didn't hear this a lot. "Listen...we really do appreciate you. Yusuke and I...I don't know how far we would've gotten if we didn't have you in our lives. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done."
Kuwabara smiled, turning his head up to look at Keiko. "I really haven't done much of anything," he admitted. "Except for pounding a few demons."
Keiko shook her head. "You've done so much more. You delivered that message to me when Yusuke died. And you've been there for him so much." She didn't know much about Yusuke's previous cases, but she did know that he and Kuwabara had gotten a lot closer since Yusuke had become Spirit Detective. And she had seen one case, if it counted as a case: the Dark Tournament.
Kuwabara smiled, feeling a bit better at this. "Yeah, Urameshi and I've been a team about as long as he's known Genkai." He looked up at Keiko and grinned. "But I'm still the baddest." She knew that was just his ego, and to an extent, so did he.
Keiko giggled. She smiled, this conversation was really helping to put her mind at ease. "Do you think you guys will get him? The guy that...invaded me..." A worried tone crossed her lips when she spoke, but Kuwabara nodded his head.
"I'm sure of it. Urameshi and I have faced worse odds before, trust me. We'll get him and we'll pound him EXTRA hard for you!" Kuwabara grinned.
Keiko was feeling a lot better now. "Thank you. I know you boys can do it. If anyone can pull it off, it's you guys." She didn't know what to say. She'd seen some amazing things at the Dark Tournament. Every round was another exciting clash of powers that she had no idea even existed. "I was very impressed by your fight in the Tournament," she smiled. She was very impressed by every fight, although Hiei and Kurama's matches had both terrified her. She was speaking, at the moment, of Kuwabara's fight with the older Toguro brother.
The older Toguro had the power to shift his body around. He was almost like rubber, capable of shifting everything around himself, stretching and forming into strange shapes. He could change his shape at will, and even move simple parts of him. As he, himself, had boasted, he could only be killed by a direct blow to the brain or heart, which he could move quickly to any part of the body he desired, and even alter the shape of. This made him nearly invulnerable.
Kuwabara had defeated him by widening his Spirit Sword into an area form. He called it, at the time, his Spirit Flyswatter, and he had mashed Toguro into the ring with it. Keiko smiled, recalling that. "That thing you did with the ring was very cool," she admitted. "I thought for sure that he was going to win, because it looked like he couldn't really be beaten. I was very impressed."
Kuwabara's mood lightened. It wasn't often he heard positive comments about his own skills, except when they came from Yukina. Ahh, Yukina, the icy beauty of Makai...so gorgeous, so...amazing...he was smitten, and he knew it. She was truly a–wait, what was he thinking about, again? Well, crap. "Thanks," he smiled. "You should probably get some sleep. Hard to say what's going to happen tomorrow."
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They were all gone. Even her brother had left. Shizuru was alone, where they couldn't interfere. She walked to the kitchen, dressed in a pair of gray sweat pants and a buttoned up pajama top. Casual sleeping attire, but she wasn't ready to sleep just yet. Stopping in the kitchen, she opened the fridge, rustling for food. That's when she heard his voice again, whispering in her mind. "Shizuru...my love..." She whirled around, casting her eyes across the lit kitchen, but she couldn't see anything.
"Where are you?" she asked quietly. He had returned, just as he had promised. He had come to her earlier today, but had left abruptly. But now he was back, now they could be together again. "I can't see you." Suddenly, a green energy emerged from her eyes, and she felt something entering her body. A warmth spread over her, just as it had earlier today, and she knew he was back. "Sakyo?"
"I'm here," the voice whispered in her mind. It sounded so much like him, and it knew so much about her. She believed it, believed that he had returned to her. "Right here with you." An image began to appear in her vision, something that wasn't really there. She could see his image, see him standing there before her. His matted black hair, with the single strand that came down in the front. The long scar that ran across his eye. The black business suit he wore day after day. She saw him and she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he had returned. But there was something that nagged at her, something she couldn't explain. Something was wrong.
"You...you came back...just like you promised..." Shizuru's voice stammered. She wasn't usually like this, and she chided herself for the kind of nervous concern she was expressing. "You promised, when he was gone, you'd be back..."
The voice whispered in her mind once more. "I couldn't be around with him here. He would find me, and he wouldn't understand. We were not on the best of terms at the Tournament." That was an understatement. Sakyo was the owner of Team Toguro, which had essentially threatened Team Urameshi into entering the Tournament. "He wouldn't understand what we share, you and I." The image of Sakyo smiled softly towards her, but once again, something didn't seem right.
"Is it really you?" she asked. Suspicion was nagging at her mind, but she told herself it was nothing. She was afraid that he would be a lie, and that made her think too strongly that he was. But good things did happen in this world, she knew that. It was possible for him to come back to her, wasn't it?
"Of course it's me, Shizuru," the vision responded. "Who else could it be?" She didn't have an answer for that, and it made her feel better. It really was him, she knew it. "I'm going to try something. Don't fight it. Trust me, I won't hurt you." Shizuru didn't know what was going on, but she closed her eyes, trusting him. She felt her arm move, felt its fingers slip slowly up her stomach, moving beyond her control. The fingers tipped slowly upwards, and began to undo the buttons of her pajama top. She gasped for a moment, uncertain, but she heard his voice whisper within her mind. "Don't fight it, sweetheart. You and me, we're going to have a lot of fun together." And before she knew what was happening, she could feel one side of her lip begin to curl up into a smirk.
