Chapter 22: Forest of Lost Souls

The leaves rustled in the dark, carrying the twisted sounds of death rippling through the forest. Strange howls could be heard washing through the branches, and every so often, the branches would ripple with a new hunger even more horrific than the last. "Well, mates," a strong voice spoke with a thick, accented voice, "Looks like we're 'ere." The man sighed, dropping from his feet and slamming his back against the wall as he fell. "Ah need a drink. Y'all feel free to start without me, 'til I git back on m'feet."

The man stood tall, towering over his partners when he was on his feet, but he much preferred the position on his bum. A blue mohawk, so bright it rivaled Botan's hair color, ran down his back before being tied with red bands into two long ponytails. A green line was drawn horizontally across the center face, crossing his nose and drawing attention away from his scraggly, unshaven facial hair.

The man wore a wool jacket wrapped in blue cloth, that he kept closed in the front, but the tufts of wool could not be concealed around the edges, especially the neckhole. Green pants and boots covered in wool around the legs but left with only leather around the feet completed the ensemble; the man was dressed for comfort, not for efficiency.

"Oh!" The little boy was next to step through the trees, walking into the grassy meadow before the four of them. Whining the moment he saw the man, the boy grumbled. "You never take anything seriously! How are we supposed to win the next tournament if all you do is sit there and drink?"

The boy looked like he was dressed for a circus. Not even three feet tall, he wore blue jeans and white sneakers, as if going to his first day of school. Tufts of brown hair could be seen underneath his bright cap, that was partitioned into eight vertical lines, trading off between red and yellow. His shirt was red, with yellow sleeves, and he wore a small, green pouch on his right side, held by a green strap around his shoulder and neck.

Rinku and Chuu, the sole survivors of Team Rokuyukai from the Dark Tournament, had always had quite the brotherly rivalry running between them. Chuu drew on his power to transform alcohol into energy within his body, and had mastered the art of drunken boxing. Expecting a sparring match now that they had come to this meadow, he wanted to get a good drink going to warm up.

"We're not starting anything," the third voice spoke. This voice was calmer, and surprisingly gentle even as it carried a hint of power within it. Dressed in light blue pants made from the finest silk, with a dark blue vest with a sky blue toga over it, crafted of the same material, this man looked as though he came from a rather decent bit of money. A belt kept his toga down, buckled with a steel circle, but if the chainmail coming out the armholes of his vest and running down to his wrists was any indication, he was far from helpless. This man had green hair, with light blue eyes, but only the bangs that came down in frigid spikes and covered the left side of his face could be made out; the rest of his hair was frozen to his head, and its color had vanished beneath the ice.

The ice master Touya walked forward into the clearing, casting his eyes ahead. "We didn't come here to practice, Chuu. We came here for Her. If the legends are true, then Her blessings should give us everything we need to win the next tournament. With Her power, not a demon or apparition should be able to stand in our way."

"Uh...who?" Chuu rubbed his little finger into his right ear, trying to unclog his hearing. "Maybe ah'm jus' a lit'le confused, but who's this 'Her' ya keep yammerin' about?"

"You boy came from Reikai," the fourth voice spoke, "so we kin excuse yer ignorance." The fourth sailed overhead, sitting crosslegged in the air twenty feet above the ground. "Ain't a demon in Makai hasn't heard of Her, nope there ain't. But you sure this pile o' rocks is what we're lookin' for, Touya? Looks like a demon party game to me!"

Jin, the levitating wind master, was easily the least serious of the group. With a thick mane of red hair that, while not going far past his neck, ran out around his head like a loose covering, Jin's long ears could barely escape his hair's cover. A single horn rose from his head, and red eyes glimmered out of his skull. He wore just the loose, white pants, that looked about six sizes too big for him but were kept up with a blue belt, and two white straps that crossed each other, making an X over his bare chest, before wrapping around his back.

"I'm certain," Touya nodded his head as he stepped forward. Before them in the clearing lay a cobble of stones, resting in the middle of the glade. A trench of water surrounded the rocks, which upon first glance appeared to have little meaning. But when one looked closer, they would see the layout of the rocks, pitch black as the darkest night and one laid after another to make a chain, connected by steel bonds between each rock, over a monument of cement. "This is Her grave."

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DING-DONG

The Kuwabara residence had been quiet since Kazuma had left. Shizuru had expected to get some rest, and to wait for Sakyo's return. But alas, that was not to be, as Shizuru answered the door to find a frightened girl standing on the other side. Her friend Keiko had her eyes to the ground, and she looked as if she were about to cry. "You okay?" Shizuru asked, knowing this wasn't going to end fast.

"I think..." Keiko shook her head, then tried to bring words to her voice. "I think something's wrong with me, but I don't know what. I don't...I don't know."

Shizuru sighed, removing the cigarette from her mouth as she stepped aside. "C'mon in, we'll get you something to drink." She knew she was going to regret this, but inside, she just couldn't sit back and watch Keiko lose it.

It wasn't long before they were seated at the short table in the living room. Keiko looked as though she were on the verge of tears, and from the conversations of the boys, she had a feeling she knew why. Keiko had been strong, but she was more afraid than she was willing to let Yusuke know. "I think something's wrong with me," she spoke quietly. "I've been having these...these nightmares, and I don't even know what they're about. And everyone acts like they know something that they're not telling me, but every time I ask them, they try to pretend like it's no big deal."

Shizuru sighed, knowing why the boys were keeping Keiko out of the loop but also knowing the kind of worry that not knowing would do to her. Sometimes the mystery was more painful than the truth. "Look, kid, I can't say I know what's going on. But I will admit, something about you does feel kinda different. I can't say what, but it almost feels like your spirit's being prepared for something."

"What do you mean?" Keiko was starting to get even more frightened than she was before. "What is it...what are you talking about?'

Shizuru sighed. She didn't know how to explain what she was feeling, and she certainly didn't have all the information the boys did. "Look, why don't you let Kurama explain this. He can do it better than I can."

"Kurama?" Keiko blinked her eyes, confused.

"Yeah," Shizuru growled towards the hallway, "If he stops stalking you from a distance and starts acting like a man." There was a moment's silence, as her words hung in the air, before the door to Kuwabara's room slid open.

Kurama stepped out from the room, with a defeated expression on his face. Shizuru had caught him, as he should have known someone with her psychic abilities would have. "I'm afraid," he started, "that I don't know what's going on. I can't help fill you in."

"Then why are you following Keiko?" Shizuru narrowed her eyes, unwilling to put up with any bullshit at this point. "You know more than I do, and I didn't feel you here until she was. You're watching her and I want to know why. More importantly, she deserves to know why."

Kurama's eyes fell on the teary-eyed mess that was Keiko Yukimura, and with a reluctant sigh, he opened his mouth. "There's something after you, Keiko. We don't know what; only Kuwabara has been able to sense it, and even then he said it was hard. As if the creature wasn't even there. We've been doing our best to keep track of it, but Kuwabara is still the only person who has even seen it."

The truth frightened Keiko even more than the silence had. Kurama took a deep breath. "Koenma is already looking into this strange demon. We should have answers soon enough." He hoped so, at least. "That's why Yusuke and the others have left me behind. Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to you." As he spoke these words, he could feel a nagging sensation of guilt welling up in the back of his mind. He knew he couldn't truly assure such things. He only hoped he was right.

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"I'm certain," Touya nodded his head. "This is Her grave. Nightmare." A cold chill washed through Touya and Jin at the very sound of her voice. Both knew the legends, the rumors, and the myths. The story of Nightmare was known all across Makai.

"Who's this Nightmare gal?" Chuu asked. Not being from Makai, their stories and legends were mostly unknown to him. Touya chuckled at the question; it had been a long time since he'd heard it.

"Nightmare," Touya began with a shiver, "was the first queen of Makai." Kneeling before the pile of rocks, and the grave beneath them, his eyes fell on the shape of the rocks, the way they were connected together. "A huge, black snake, not the most impressive of shapes but it was the one she carried. According to the legends, the demon queen Nightmare was the first to unite the demon clans of Makai. Under her charismatic guide, demons of all shapes and sizes worked together, and her very presence was enough to amplify their demonic power. She brought together the clans for one purpose: to bring war to Reikai. And she very nearly succeeded in wiping them out."

"Whoa," Chuu's eyes boggled. "Sounds like a right nasty bitch. So what happened?" Now he was interested. He hadn't heard any of this in Reikai; he supposed they didn't like to talk much of their failures.

"It happened a long time ago, before written history had found its way to Ningenkai. This grave is the only evidence left that Nightmare ever existed in Makai. I'm sure Reikai has their own records, but over here, this is all we have. As I said, Nightmare very nearly won. Legend has it, she used and deceived a young prince by the name of Yama." When Touya saw the surprise on Chuu and Rinku's faces, he nodded his head. "Yes, that Yama."

"You have to be joking," Rinku whispered in awe. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Prince Yama...that had to have been eons ago.

Touya continued his story, as he hoisted one of the chained stones in his right hand. "According to the legends, Nightmare was finally destroyed by the very first Spirit Detective Reikai has ever had. They say in the final battle that he broke her body into a thousand pieces, which were scattered across this very forest. No one knows what happened to her spirit, though. Some believe it was destroyed. No one knows for sure."

Chuu lifted an eyebrow at Touya's story. "Wait a tick, wouldn't 'er soul 'ave just gone through Reikai, like any other?"

"Not Nightmare," Touya explained. "She was too widely loved by the demons that worshipped her. The demons employed in the punishment dimensions of Reikai's afterlife system were no exception to that rule; to send her there would be to set her free. And any other would be to reward her for what she'd done, and I have few doubts a demon as intelligent as Nightmare reputedly was would have found a way to escape."

Chuu whistled. "That is a right nasty piece of work, ain't she? So what're we doin' 'ere? Takin' a trip down mem'ry lane?"

"No," Touya closed his eyes as he spoke. "We're here to see if the rumors are true. They call this place the Forest of Lost Souls. Rumor has it, those who venture into this place never venture back out. Nightmare's black, twisted heart was buried at this monument, and some believe that her spirit still haunts these woods, devouring any who fall into her grip."

Rinku inched closer to Chuu now, his eyes casting into the shadows around them. "Wait, we're here to get eaten by a big snake!"

"No," Touya said. "I believe there's something more at work here. Something–hey...that's funny."

"Hmm?" Jin perked up from the air above the group. "Sor'y, havin' too much fun list'nen to the storytime I was. Somethin' goin' up that shouldn' be in the air?"

"No," Touya's voice was cautious now, as he started to move the stones aside. "Something isn't down that should be." Jin floated over Touya, lowering himself back down towards the ground when he heard Touya's confused words. Before long, he could see what had Touya so freaked. When the stones were moved aside, it was not hard to tell; Nightmare's grave had been disturbed. A hole was cracked in the cement, and someone had dug into the dirt below. The demon's heart had been buried here; was that what whoever had done this had been after?

Before they had time to ponder, voices sounded from the woods around them. "Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart." The voices were moving through the woods, coming closer, and they kept chanting the same words over and over again.

"Well, this is gettin' a right bit crazy, ain't it?" Chuu was on his feet now, with his fists up in the event he needed them. He could almost see the source of the voices moving towards them. A flash of brown, moving through the woods.

"Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart."

"I think we should go," Rinku tugged on the back of Chuu's shirt. There was no denying it; he was frightened. They were in a place they definitely shouldn't have been and now something was coming. Maybe it was the spirit of Nightmare. Maybe she was coming to devour them.

"Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart."

"This is not going to end well," Touya whispered to himself. He knew what was coming; whatever it was, it was coming to this grave. It could be whatever had dug up the grave; but then, for all he knew, it could be the Shinobi come to reclaim him and Jin. Certainly didn't sound like Shinobi though.

"Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart. Flesh. Eye. Blood. Heart."

Jin dropped back towards Rinku and Chuu, preparing for the coming fight. He certainly wasn't going to go down without a fight, and he knew better than to expect that whatever was chanting these words was friendly. "C'mon, let's give 'em a pop then."

As Touya backed towards the others, the chanting suddenly stopped. Silence fell through the meadow, an eerie quiet that displaced all other sounds. There was silence for a minute, and the trees stood motionless. Touya knew better than to let his guard down; they were caught, and he knew it.

WHIFFWHIFFWHIFFWHIFFWHIFF

Before he knew what was happening, they came. Slipping out of the trees, never turning away from them, one right after another until the four fighters were completely encircled by what had to be at least thirty of these strange figures. Brown cloaks and hoods concealed them from view; whoever these people were, they were very serious, and didn't take lightly to strangers.

"Why are you here?" A voice snarled from in front of Touya. One of the figures, larger than most of the others, stepped forward to greet them. It lowered its hood, revealing the brown, scaled snout of a reptilian demon, and nasty, yellow eyes that looked as though they were carving holes in Touya with his glare.

"I don't..." Touya cleared his throat. "We came to pay our respects to Her grave."

The demon turned his eyes back to the grave, before returning his look to Touya. The rock snake was still off the grave; Touya had no doubts this creature had seen the hole. "The heart," the beast snarled. "Nightmare's heart."

"Looks like trouble, mate." Chuu kept his fists up, watching the circle carefully. "Looks like 'bout thirty of 'em. That's a good seven er eight fer th' each of us."

Touya raised his left hand to calm Chuu. He wanted to see if he could avoid a conflict, before he made any plans to fight. "The grave was like that when we arrived. Someone's taken the heart; I didn't see it, I don't know who."

"You know, then," The demon snarled, and Touya got the feeling he'd said the wrong thing. "You know too much, friend. I'm afraid I can't permit you to leave these woods."

Touya backed into Jin, Rinku, and Chuu, raising his fists. "Was worth a shot. Time for plan B."