Well, once again I'm extremely late in putting up the next chapter, and I apologize. So, I'll make this one fast. There will be two more chapters after this one (possibly three depending on how I break things up) and then The Feline Curse series will come to a close. I do have a sort of sequel series planned out, so if you would like me to write it up I would be happy to. And yeah...that's about it. We're almost there!
Okay, thanks to my five reviewers, Vitanie Tora, TheSoulsDemise, Angelkitsune-Naomi, BluesDaughter, and fangimation. I don't have much to say this time around, except that I was surprised by the many comments of people hating Kitkit. I actually like her character...anyways moving on...
Oh yeah, this series is not set after the third season of YYH, so no one knows Yusuke is part demon yet. I guess you could say it is set between the Dark Tournament and the Sensui Saga. Just to clear things up a little.
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH, just The Feline Curse. Five reviews till I update!
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IMPORTANT NOTICE: Sorry, one more thing before we start. This is important, because it concerns something that happens during this chapter, near the end. There is a special scream, made by Catalyn. When I first wrote this, I had just finished watching Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (love that movie! the second one too) and it kinda inspired me. There's a part, near the beginning of the movie, when the pirates invade and they enter Elizabeth's house and go after her. The butler answers the door and is promptly shot and killed, and Elizabeth screams then covers her mouth...well, imagine that scream, just prolonged a bit longer. Catalyn's gonna make that scream sometime in the chapter (not saying where), and you'll know because the sentence will be "Catalyn screamed" and no more than that. Okay? Got it? Good, now you can read.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – A NIGHTMARE COME TRUE
Kitkit's aura swirled around her in a blaze of fire, the strength of it stirring up a fierce wind. Now she was no longer holding back, and Catalyn was able to get her readings. At least, she tried to. It was positively overwhelming.
She knew Kurama felt the same way. He had his arms over his face to shield himself from the wind. "This power," he said. "It's enough to kill us all in one stroke!"
"She really intends to kill us," Catalyn heard herself say in a distant voice. She felt dazed by this show of power.
"We'll have to fight her with that same intent," Kurama stated.
"Kurama, don't you have any plants that can hurt her a little?" she asked hopefully.
He answered, "Most of them are plants that are attracted to open wounds. There's not much I can do at this point. But there might be one I can use…don't move an inch, though."
Catalyn nodded, knowing exactly what he was up to. Hiei was motionless too, but she was sure he'd much rather be moving. Then, with the flick of a seed, it emerged – the deadly purple, three-headed plant with snapping jaws that had almost enabled Kurama to be Karasu in the Dark Tournament.
The plant snapped it jaws open and shut, revealing many layers of pointed teeth. Kitkit grinned, her eyes wild with excitement, and stepped towards it.
"I assume you don't realize the situation you're getting yourself into," Kurama said smoothly as the plant lunged for the cat demon, who easily dodged it. "And the more you move, the more vicious it will get."
Kitkit received less and less time to regroup after dodging. Soon the plant had her on the ropes. Still she grinned, her aura going strong.
"How long can you keep this up?" Kurama asked.
Kitkit's grin grew wider. "How long can you?" she retorted. Then she made her move. She deliberately leaped into one of the plant's mouths and its head exploded in flames. Then she aimed straight for the plant's heart. She pressed one palm against it, and the whole thing was engulfed in a roar of flame, and then winds as big as those of an explosion kicked in. With a blaze of wind and fire in a huge blast, the plant was completely obliterated. Kurama barely had time to escape the blast, and it left him covered in scratches and a few minor burns.
Catalyn hurried over to him. "Kurama, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.
He nodded, putting a hand to his shoulder and winced. His sleeve had ripped off, revealing a shining, circular burn. "Well, it could have been worse," he said.
Catalyn took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. Her hands were shaking again. She'd never accomplish her task in that state, but she couldn't help the rising despair.
"Tsk, tsk, Kurama," Kitkit chided suddenly, grabbing their attention. Kurama scowled. "I expected better from you. Weren't you the legendary bandit Youko Kurama? This is pathetic. You're really letting your former self down."
Kurama glared at her, his eyes blazing but saying nothing. Catalyn had never seen him glare like that. It was almost scary. But she could understand his anger. She knew what he was thinking. If only he could transform into his Youko form, and then he'd be strong enough… But it just couldn't happen.
Kitkit continued. "And as for you, little kitten," she said, and Catalyn frowned at the nickname, "you don't seem to be very strong. Where are your special techniques? And why haven't you used your flames against me yet?"
"I don't use the powers you gave me anymore," she snapped angrily. "I never asked for them and I don't want them. I'm satisfied with my own techniques."
Kitkit shook her head and made a tutting noise. "You're lying," she said in a singsong voice. "In order to reduce the effects of the curse, you have no choice but to rely on those powers I gave you. If you never used them, you'd have been dead a long time ago."
Catalyn could find no words to retort back. All she could do was clench her fists, grit her teeth, and glare. Then she heard Hiei speak: "She might be too cowardly to use fire, but I assure you I'm much stronger than that. You want firepower? I'll give it to you." Catalyn frowned at the insult but stopped when she saw Hiei undoing the bandages on his right arm. She hoped that this attack would be strong enough to cause some damage.
With the bandages gone, Hiei's black dragon tattoo was revealed, and dark flames, the sign that he was about to unleash his most devastating technique, surrounded his arm. He charged for Kitkit, yelling, "Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" and in one swift movement, he sent his giant black dragon straight for Kitkit.
Kitkit jumped back, but the dragon caught up to her. Then she did the most amazing thing: she pushed her flaming palms against its mouth in an attempt to push it back. Her entire body flamed up, and the dragon pushed harder, but she had a firm hold on it now. Catalyn and Kurama both gasped in surprise, shocked that the black dragon was being beaten so easily. Hiei was surprised as well, but he leaped into action, charging up behind his attack, preparing a fist of mortal flame assault. Then, with the same technique used against Kurama's deadly plant, Kitkit obliterated the dragon. The explosion carried towards Hiei, but he shielded his face and pushed upwards into the air. As the flames subsided, Hiei flew down to meet Kitkit head-on. He punched…and she caught his fist in an iron-hard grip, her fist aflame.
"Nice try," she said with a smirk.
There was a flash of fire and the booming sound of a small explosion, and Hiei fell through the air, his body surrounded by Kitkit's flames. At the last second, he flipped and managed to land safely, and the flames subsided. His clothes had ripped too, and he also became the victim of many scratches and burns. He glared at Kitkit, panting.
Catalyn could only stare in shock. Hiei and Kurama's most powerful techniques had been in vain. Kitkit was totally invincible! There was absolutely no way this could be true, but the evidence was right there in front of her. Was there any way this could work out?
"Are you just going to stand there wetting your pants?" Kitkit taunted her. "Are you, you little worthless b----?"
That completely did it. Catalyn launched into her five specialty techniques, one after the other, never pausing in between to catch her breath or to give Kitkit time to recover. But in her rage, she failed to see that this whole time, Kitkit was easily keeping up with her. She'd blocked every single blow and had taken them all without giving an inch. It was as if she couldn't even feel them. Kurama was yelling for her to stop, that Kitkit was toying with her and that she'd be killed at this rate, but she was paying him no attention.
Then, just before her fifth technique was completed, Kitkit found her perfect opening. She pushed a flaming palm onto Catalyn's stomach and shoved her into the air. It was as if her whole body was on fire from an everlasting flame. Every inch of her body, inside and out, exploded with agony. "AAAAAHHHH!" Then Kitkit punched her hard, and she fell to the ground. The exploding pain stopped, but a burning sensation remained. She coughed up blood, choking and wheezing.
Kurama yelled, "Catalyn!" and tried to run towards her, but Kitkit sent over an explosive blast of fire and he was blasted back. Then explosion kept going until it reached Hiei, and both boys were blasted far away from her.
Catalyn tried to get up, but something above her burned terribly and she fell back down. All around her, wherever she tried to go, she felt a searing heat. She was trapped.
"You can't fight off these heat waves of mine," Kitkit said matter-of-factly. "You can try to escape, but look what will happen. And if the boys try to get close, they'll be blasted back again. So now you'll just sit tight and watch your friends die because of your stupidity."
Catalyn looked in the direction Kitkit was pointing, and saw that Yusuke and Kuwabara were still fighting Kashi.
"Kashi can't use explosive flames like I can just yet," Kitkit said with a short laugh, "but her flames are becoming almost as destructive as mine. Of course, manipulating heat will result in a stronger attack, but her flames will work almost as well. She's quite the prodigy. Now watch how she'll finish them off."
Catalyn stared, the shock numbing her pain, analyzing the situation. Kashi was grinning wickedly, laughing at the boys for being so weak. Now that Catalyn thought about it, she grinned exactly like her mother did.
"This was awesome entertainment," Kashi said, "But I'm starting to get bored." Catalyn could see that Kashi was getting tired. It would have been the perfect opportunity to finish her off, but Yusuke and Kuwabara had much less energy left.
Still, Yusuke still had enough to launch one last spirit gun. He fired it, and Kashi sent out some flames to meet it. There was an explosion, and Kashi emerged unscathed.
"Damn it all," Yusuke muttered. Kuwabara made a sort of groaning noise.
Kashi sighed heavily. "I guess that's it, then," she said. "You guys have got nothing more to give. You're all out of energy." Then, in a singsong voice that sounded exactly like her mother's, she said, "Lights out." And flames exploded around them.
Yusuke and Kuwabara cried out, but it didn't last long. They hit the ground, their bodies burned in different places. Their eyes were closed, and they didn't move. As good as dead.
Catalyn let out a dry sob, fighting back the tears stinging her eyes. She tried to look away, but the sight of their bodies kept her gaze riveted to the spot. All because she'd dragged them along…
"NOOOOO!"
Kashi sighed again. "Too bad. I kind of liked them." Then she grinned at Kitkit. "Happy now, Mother?"
"Delighted," Kitkit answered with that same grin and tone of voice. "Now, take their corpses inside. The sight of them will distract me."
Kashi nodded. Then she began to drag the boys' bodies into the house.
Catalyn let out another choked sob. As much as she tried, she could stop herself. It was all her fault…she dragged them into this with her…it was all her fault…
Then she noticed that both Kurama and Hiei seemed to have reached a newfound level of power. Kurama was gone…replaced by the silver-haired, white-clothed, legendary bandit Youko Kurama. She stared in shock, blinking back her tears. Hiei's arm was glowing with flames again. He can't release a second dragon, she thought worriedly. He'll hurt himself!
But he didn't release it, even though he came very close to it. He charged for Kitkit and threw a huge punch at her. She blocked it with both flaming hands, and then tossed him back. Youko Kurama came up to meet her, and then the two of them were covered in smoke so that no one could see what was going on.
Hiei landed not too far off from Catalyn. She tried to get up, but the pain reminded her that the heat waves still had her trapped. "Are you okay?" she asked him tearfully. As much as she usually hated the runt, she couldn't help being emotional now. She'd already lost two friends. If she lost another… She couldn't bear it if she saw any more deaths.
He looked at her, frowning as usual, but she knew he was tired. "Hn. Aren't you one to talk," he said. "Look where your carelessness got you."
The comment stung, but she was filled with regret all the same. Then the smoke cleared, and Youko Kurama landed near them, glaring at Kitkit. Some sort of tree trunk stood smouldering next to the cat demon, and she was grinning. "Nice try, Youko," she said sarcastically. "As if a sinning tree would really work against me." Catalyn didn't know what a sinning tree was, but it had to be something powerful for Youko Kurama to use it. Then Kitkit turned on Hiei. "And if your first black dragon didn't work, how can you expect half of one to?"
Youko Kurama and Hiei both glared, but they could no longer move. Kitkit had caged them as well in her heat wave traps.
"Now," Kitkit said, looking at Catalyn with a sinister smile. "Back to business. You'll be the first to die, since you're the most useless of the group. You didn't even try! You were so pathetic I almost felt sorry for you."
She didn't even try to find words to retort with. Kitkit was absolutely right, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Please," Catalyn begged her suddenly. "Just answer me one thing."
Kitkit's look seemed to soften, but so slightly she wasn't even sure it happened. "Ah, why not? It can't hurt now," she said. "Shoot."
So she asked, "Why me? Why? Why did you decide to make me a demon? You haven't properly explained it yet, and if I can't get rid of this curse, I'd at least like to know why I deserved it. Please, answer me."
Kitkit grinned. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you, if you insist," she said. "I was roaming the human world – for the fun of it, you see – when a human found me. He was very, very powerful, and he would not allow me to roam his world. He caught me by surprise, since normal humans didn't have the power to see me, and he tried to kill me. He nearly did do it that day, and I was forced to assume the form of a cat to keep myself alive. I wandered on the brink of death, until I found shelter. I'd never hated humans more than that day in my life. So I decided that once I had regained all my powers and was healthy again, I'd vent my anger on you, the first human I met in cat form. That way, at least someone would be able to feel the hatred I felt upon nearly being killed."
"But I nursed you back to health!" Catalyn protested. "I care for you! Not all humans are bad!"
Kitkit shrugged. "Oh well, you're cursed now and that's that. And you're definitely too weak to deserve being freed."
"You're despicable," Youko Kurama snarled. And maybe Catalyn was imagining things again, but Hiei looked angrier too…
Then Kitkit declared, "Well, I've answered your question, just like you asked. Now you're going to die."
Catalyn instinctively brought her arms up over her face to shield herself, but she knew that now it was too late. If Kitkit really wanted to kill her, there was nothing she could do. Never before had she felt so weak, but this was the end. She started to close her eyes.
"DIE!" Kitkit yelled, and an explosive heat wave charged for her. And then –
Youko Kurama and Hiei charged up to meet the attack, having broken free of their traps. As they collided with the heat wave, their auras blazing, she thought she saw, in a flash of light, Youko Kurama turning back into his human form. Then they were obliterated right before her eyes.
Catalyn screamed.
They hit the ground near Kitkit. She licked her lips. "One more to go."