Yayness for another chappie! I hope you all enjoy it. This is actually one of my favorite scenes from this fic. (Of course, there are many others to come, but you'll have to be patient for those.) Remember, three reviews and I'll update!
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, but I do own The Feline Curse...I've just noticed I don't bold my disclaimer anymore...ah whatever it does the job.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – DARK MASTER OF ILLUSIONS
Catalyn woke up slowly, like one would when waking up on a long weekend. Her senses returned to her bit by bit, and, yawning, she opened her eyes. She felt refreshed and full of energy. That power nap sure did her good.
Yusuke and Kuwabara were waking up as well. Kurama was already standing.
"Rest well?" he asked Catalyn.
She nodded vigorously as she stood up and stretched. "Yeah, really well," she said. "I feel ready to take on the last three alone and then some!"
Yusuke rubbed his eyes. "Aw, don't be selfish, save some of the fun for me."
"Yeah, yeah," she giggled. "I was kidding." She was amazed with how good she felt. She hadn't felt that energetic in a while, and she missed that feeling. Suddenly everything was enough to make her smile.
As soon as they had all stretched and felt ready to go, with Kurama supporting the inert Hiei, they entered the dark room Kuwabara had been fighting in. This time, the room was fully lit, and there were splotches of blood in random places. At the other side of the room was an elevator.
"And it's all thanks to me we can get in there!" Kuwabara said proudly.
"You won a fight, big deal," Yusuke mumbled.
"Yeah, well you lost yours," Kuwabara countered.
Yusuke snapped, "No, I blew the guy to smithereens!"
"And you hurt Hiei!"
Yusuke punched Kuwabara so hard that he went flying across the room. "Shut your trap if you know what's good for you," he said in a low, extremely threatening voice. Catalyn had never seen him look scary like that.
The two boys charged for each other, both very angry. With a huge sigh, Catalyn took off, moving faster than either of them thanks to her newly found energy, and as they punched, she grabbed their fists in an iron-hard grip, her claw-like nails scratching their knuckles. They tried to pull away, but she held tight.
"Save your little grudges for later," she ordered. "We're not finished here yet." Then, leaping into a perfect split, she released them and kicked them both in the chest. Then she created reiki barriers to stop them from falling hard. They got up, glaring, but speechless.
"Well," Kurama said, "let's board the elevator."
As soon as they had boarded and the doors closed, the elevator shot up with shocking speed. A few seconds later, it stopped, then plummeted downwards. Then the cycle repeated itself over and over again, with the spirit detectives screaming inside.
"Kurama!" Catalyn yelled. "What floor do we need to get to?"
"How many levels have we been on?" he yelled back.
"This is the fourth floor!" she answered. "But how many floors did we climb to get to Hiei and Yusuke?"
Kurama thought about it, as Yusuke and Kuwabara screamed and prayed he'd hurry up. "There were three!" he cried suddenly.
"Then set the elevator to the eighth floor!" she shrieked.
As soon as Kurama pushed the button labelled with the glowing number eight, the elevator abruptly shuddered and stopped. Then the doors opened, and they stumbled out of the elevator, relieved. The room was dark, lit mainly by the stars in the night sky.
Wait a minute, she thought to herself. Stars? Sky?
Then she understood. The room was made to resemble the outdoors at night. The grounds were covered in grass, there were trees in random places, and it seemed like the sky was cloudless and filled with stars. However, it was impossible to tell the walls from the ceiling, let alone where the walls and ceiling actually were.
Just then, one of the nearest tree branches cracked. They all jumped. Kurama put Hiei down next to the elevator door and readied his rose whip. They all entered their fighting stances.
"Someone's on that branch," Catalyn muttered. "Be careful, I think this place is just an illusion. The enemy must be a master of illusions to create a room like this." She thought to herself, this could be the one who created the illusion I went through earlier.
"You're quite right," came a male voice from the tree. Then, suddenly, he appeared right in front of her. He looked pretty much human, with long black hair, tight black clothing, and a black cape. He wore a black mask to cover all of his face except for his eyes, which were black and reminded Catalyn of never-ending tunnels. "Greetings, spirit detectives," he said in a smooth, icy voice. "I am Yami, master of darkness and illusions." With that, he vanished, and appeared again right behind her.
Catalyn froze as he reached out and stroked her chin with a long, nimble finger. Her whole body felt a chill – his fingers were like ice.
"Sweet demon girl, why do you side yourself with humans?" he asked silkily. She made no reply, just held her breath. Then he vanished, and appeared next to Kurama. "And tell me, Kurama, why did you switch from being a demon thief to a human detective? I want answers, both of you."
"I'm still human," Catalyn retorted at the same time that Kurama said, "I'm still demon."
Yami vanished and reappeared in front of the four of them, further back. "I know you are, my sweets," he simpered. "But sweet kitten, if that's the case, those demonic powers do not suit you. Either give them up and remain human, or become full demon and join me."
"Don't tell me what to do," she snapped. "But since I've got my powers, I figure I might as well use them to destroy what I hate most: demons like you."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Yami, and he turned to Kurama. "If you are still a demon, what made you side with humans?"
Kurama answered smoothly, "One with evil intentions such as yourself couldn't possibly understand that."
That was when Kuwabara whined, "Hey, why do they get so much attention? I deserve some too, much less Urameshi!"
Yami shot him a piercing look. "Weak humans don't peak my interest."
Both humans' fists clenched. "Weak humans, eh?" Yusuke growled.
From the look in Yami's eyes, Catalyn figured he was smiling. "You can try to prove yourselves to me, if that makes you content," he said. "But you might regret it. Actually, take that back. You won't even have time to regret it. You'll be dead before you have the chance."
Catalyn raised her arms, her claws glinting. "We'll see who kills who," she said calmly.
Yami's eyes were narrowed. "Sweet kitten, I'd be delighted to fight you and the handsome Kurama as well. I wouldn't want you to get jealous, thinking I'll only battle the weak ones." He sighed as they all glared at him. "I guess you want to die with the humans, then. Fine by me, I suppose. Being able to see you die side by side is much more enjoyable, as well as appealing to the eye."
Before he could utter another word, Kuwabara and Yusuke had both launched themselves at Yami. Right before Kuwabara's aura sword and Yusuke's fist came into contact, he vanished. Catalyn looked around and tried to sniff him out in the darkness, but it didn't work.
"Stand together, back to back," Kurama advised, and they all did so, waiting for Yami to reappear.
His voice echoed throughout the room, making it impossible to locate. "With my powers of illusion, I can make myself invisible to you, and I can manipulate my powers to make it so you cannot pinpoint my exact location. Plus, with my stealth skills, I can sneak up on you anytime I want. I work best in the darkness after all. You'll be dead before you even feel my blow."
Catalyn tried as hard as she could to find him, but she couldn't sense his energy. Still, she kept at it, hoping maybe she'd find something else along the way… Then she gasped in surprise. She'd found a way!
"What's wrong?" Yusuke asked.
She smiled. "If we can't see in the dark, what do we do?" She answered herself, "We turn on the lights." She summoned balls of flame to her fists and threw them across the room in different directions, slightly illuminating the room. Yami's shadow darted to her right. She dashed up to meet him, and grabbed onto his arms, holding them tightly.
"Fire isn't enough," Yami said mysteriously, and he vanished again.
Catalyn was left holding only air. But how? My grip was solid… she thought. Even so, this surprise could not mask her triumph. Suddenly the night sky disappeared, and light returned to the room. Yami was right next to Kurama, and had to jump back quickly as the rose whip lashed out. He was evidently startled.
"How?" he asked incredulously.
Catalyn grinned. "Like all places with no connection to the outdoors, light comes and goes from a switch. I wasn't just searching for you, Yami. I was trying to find your switch. You camouflaged it with your illusions, but you forgot to hide your own aura from lingering around it." She held up a small bush from the ground. "The switch was in here." Her fist around the switch flamed up, and the switch was reduced to ashes. "You're exposed now, and there's nothing you can do about it." She grinned at the others, and they all grinned back. "Ready to die, Yami?"
Though Yami was surprised, there were no signs of fear in his eyes. "Very good, sweet kitten," he hissed calmly. "But that won't be enough to defeat me." Then he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Yusuke asked warily.
"You humans are so naïve," chuckled Yami. "You really have no idea what my powers can do. Here, I'll give you a little demonstration. Watch closely, now. I wouldn't want you to miss this." He extended an arm, his open palm facing one of the smaller trees. What seemed to be dark waves of energy were released and flowed into the wood. They ate at the tree, making it smaller and smaller, until it was nothing but a wooden sword. Yami picked it up. "Look, I've even created myself a bokuto." He fixed his gaze upon his enemies, staring them down. "My dark waves will engulf you, devour you, and eat away at your very soul. You can't escape it." He gave another chuckle. "Plus, with my powers of illusion, I can create clones of myself, and you'd never be able to tell the difference." Sure enough, he closed his eyes, and suddenly there were five of him facing the spirit detectives.
"Four clones and one original," Catalyn muttered to herself. "Okay," she said to the guys. "Let's each take one, and then move on to the real thing. This shouldn't be too hard."
At the same time, they all leaped away to face one of Yami's clones.
With tremendous speed, Catalyn slashed at one of the clones and it disappeared. Her ears prickled. The clone's energy was still in the air all around her, and there was a faint gust of wind. No doubt the clone was circling her. She just had to find it.
The original Yami sat comfortably in a tree. He said, "One of my basic techniques is to disappear and reappear faster than you can keep track." He nodded over her shoulder.
Instantly she whirled around in time to see the swish of a bokuto. The next second, there was a bleeding gash in her left shoulder. She stumbled and clutched her wound with her good hand, then looked at her palm. It was smeared with blood, but she wiped it on her pant leg and tried to ignore the pain. But the clone had vanished again.
The clone is nothing, she decided. I need to get the real thing. So she charged for the tree Yami was sitting in instead.
"Tsk, tsk," Yami murmured.
His clone appeared right in front of her, the bokuto aiming for her head. She ducked as fast as she could, then pushed off of the ground with her feet and tail, above the clone. She snapped a tree branch to take with her as she soared upwards, and then came down. She whizzed down and kicked the clone hard, but he blocked it with both hands on the bokuto. Catalyn pushed the branch down hard on his skull and pushed herself over him. As soon as she landed behind him, her fist flaming, she punched the back of its neck. The clone fell to the ground and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Yami jumped down from his tree. The other three clones had been vanquished as well, with the boys, though slightly injured, still ready to put up a tough fight.
Yusuke cracked his knuckles. "Seriously," he said. "If you wanted us to beat you so easily you could have just asked."
"Yeah!" Kuwabara added, pointing his aura sword at him.
Kurama said nothing – his expression was enough.
Catalyn joined in the trash talking. "So, why don't you fight us face to face, instead of cowering behind your illusions?"
She knew right away that she'd touched a nerve, for Yami's eye narrowed dangerously. "You will seriously regret saying such things to me," he growled softly, his voice filled with menace. She just stared right back at him, never letting her gaze falter. He began to walk towards her, trying to stare her down. But she would not look away, at least not until he did first.
Finally he was right in front of her. He put a hand on her injured shoulder, and it stung. But she didn't give an inch. "I know you can hurt," he whispered, almost amused.
Without dropping her gaze, she raised her right arm and prepared the strongest flaming punch she could muster. Yami caught it with his other hand. Dark waves flowed from his hand into hers. She gasped in surprise, her eyes still on Yami, trying hard not to cry out. It felt as if her skin was being sliced off bit by bit with a razor-sharp knife, delivering electrifying pain each time. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she kept glaring, trying not to give any indication that she was in pain. She clenched her teeth together and bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood. She couldn't break Yami's grip. And she couldn't look away.
"Spirit gun!" Yusuke's attack hit Yami's arm, and he released her instantly. He turned away from her and faced the boys, who were all charging him.
Catalyn fell to her knees and gasped when she saw her hand. It looked completely red and raw and was bleeding in many places. It hurt to even move it.
Kurama jumped back after attacking with his rose whip. "Are you okay, Catalyn?" he asked worriedly.
She winced. "Yeah, fine," she lied, trying to shake it off. Her hand was throbbing and stinging painfully, and it was almost too hard to ignore. Then she and Kurama joined Yusuke and Kuwabara in their all-out assault against Yami.
Yami proved to be very fast, even without relying on his illusionary tricks. If one of them even did manage to make contact, he would send dark waves into their flesh, forcing them to retreat. Now that Catalyn's right hand, the one she relied on most, was out of commission, she knew she couldn't afford to make contact with Yami again. She knew one more hit to her hand would destroy it completely. She wasn't about to charge in recklessly, and respected her limits. Instead, she tried her best to provide the boys with opportunities. She aimed mostly for the bokuto, where he couldn't emit dark waves. But eventually, they all retreated to gather more strength.
Yami didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he seemed pleased. "I know all humans are fragile and tire eventually," he said. "And Kurama, this little seed of yours is of no use if I can just devour it." He held up a small green speck, which he dissolved in his fingers instantly. "And as for you two human boys, you may not be ordinary humans, but having spiritual fortitude means nothing against me." Then he looked at Catalyn. "If you're not going to attack me full-out, don't even bother trying," he advised. "I didn't even need to try to avoid your blows. I could sense your hesitation with each attack you made. They had no strength."
Her fists clenched so hard that it hurt her right hand especially. "Shut up!" she snapped angrily.
"Easy," cautioned Kurama. "Don't be rash."
"Would you rather me lie?" Yami sneered.
That did it. She charged for Yami, all holds barred. She focused all of her power into her right fist, causing it to explode with pain, but she followed through and released her most powerful punch ever. But before she made contact, the butt of the bokuto collided with her stomach. She flew through the air, hit the wall hard, coughed out blood, and fell sprawled on the floor, fighting the dizziness that plagued her.
Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama all tried a joint attack, but Yami fired a dark ball of energy into each of their stomachs, sending them all to the ground, where they struggled to sit up.
Yami laughed sharply. "What a lovely sight!" he swooned. "Four valiant but weak fighters, too cocky and just not good enough, lying on the floor in front of me, their lives in my hands. What should I do? Spare them? No, I simply must see them die. Should I kill them one at a time? That would definitely add to the suffering. But no, I shall kill them all together, for those who fight together die together! How utterly sad indeed!" And he laughed even harder. Then he stopped abruptly.
Catalyn had risen to her feet, swaying. She could feel her aura blazing around her. She was so angry, yet so cool at the same time. Two words echoed in her brain over and over, becoming her universe, her one train of thought: Destroy him! Destroy him! DESTROY HIM!
"Catalyn, don't, he'll kill you," Kurama cried urgently.
But she paid him no heed. Her arms tingled terribly. All she could think about were those two words: Destroy him! Destroy him! DESTROY HIM!
As Kurama stared at Catalyn, too weak to stop her, he was shocked by what he saw. Something was wrong. She was angry, her aura had flared, and her fists were clenched, but there was definitely something wrong. Something in her eyes…
"Catalyn, don't!" he yelled one last time, but she'd already charged. And then –
Yami appeared behind her and twisted her right arm behind her back, pushing her forwards. One of his hands was on her fist again, just like before. She looked back over her shoulder at him, her eyes wide and her breaths coming in gasps. How could be, that after all that, he stopped her? Now he was in the perfect position to kill her…
Yami laughed softly, so softly she was the only one that heard. Then he said smoothly, "I see you've separated yourself from the rest. Very well. You shall be the first to die."