Shade- number five… I don't own them.

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Chapter 5: Every Hero Dies at Some Point

"What? No hands shake? Okay, be that way." Zlyana retreated her hand from in front of her and let it swing be her side. The whole group just stared at her, imagining what happened to her in Limbo and how she overcame it.

"Zly- Zlyana, you're- you're actually here." Koenma was barely speaking above a whisper. He was afraid to move, seeing her for the first time in a hundred years surprised him so much.

"Yes Koko, I told you on that faithful day that you would regret it all. Don't you remember?" Zlyana cocked her head to the side, giving Koenma time to remember.

A Hundred Years ago

"Take her away and lock her up." Koenma was standing behind his father, peering at Zlyana struggle in the arms of the guards. He found himself gripping the bone angel figurine around his neck tighter as the guards began to struggle as well with keeping Zlyana under control.

"Let go of me you vile pigs! I will take your souls and make you eat them to the last energy beam before you put me there!" As Zlyana kept trying to kick her way out of their grip, she tried her hardest to get her hands out of the straight jacket that kept them plastered to her body. If she could just get them out and get some skin to skin contact she could free herself.

"You brought this on yourself Zlyana. Committing sins beyond all reason, and after we trusted you with the job of Grim Reaper. I can't believe this." Koenma's father really did have a liking to Zlyana straight from birth, but he had no choice but to exile her.

"They should be happy for what I did for them! Those stupid humans, I had to watch them everyday, living their pitiful lives like the shit they are! I'm surprised I never murdered myself before. But I did them a favor killing those idiots." Zlyana had started to weaken in her fight to get free.

"Zlyana, I am very disappointed." Enma just stood there and stared, slightly teary eyed, at Zlyana. "Koenma, come say good bye." Enma stepped aside, exposing his scared son. At first sight of Zlyana's calm body, Koenma shrank into a ball and grabbed his angel and stuck it in front of him, still scared to death of her. At the angel's power pressured closer to Zlyana, she grimaced in pain that the mixture of angels, pure bone, black lace and holy water did to her. She opened her pure black eyes and peered at Koenma, actually showing sadness in them.

"Come on." At the lowering of Zlyana's defensives, the guard took advantage and gripped harder on her tiny arm. She winced as the guards walked away. Then, quickly getting over her sad feeling, she had the meanest face plastered on her. She stared straight at Koenma, striking fear in his heart, even with her departure.

"You'll regret this Koenma, trust me for ever and for always, you will regret doing this." With that, Zlyana gave Koenma a death glare to the highest degree and striked a chord in his heart with her black as coal eyes. The guards stood at the edge of never ending darkness, and threw her in. She never spoke another word.

Present

Koenma gulped, remembering what had happened. He looked at Zlyana straight in the eye for a split second before looking away.

"That's right Koenma; you were a scared little baby. Even with this taller stature, you are still the scared piece of crap I last saw cowering over in fear at the gates of Limbo." Zlyana started to walk closer and closer to Koenma, her scythe still in hand and dragging across the floor, creating a quiet scratching sound.

"And I will now dispose of you. No hesitation, no fun, no games," She said as she rested her scythe in the crook of her bent arm and slowly slipped her silk glove from off her right hand and continued forward toward Koenma. As everyone else backed away as far from Zlyana as they could get, Koenma stayed frozen in his spot, staring at the withered hand of the Grim Reaper. Yes, that's right, Zlyana's actual body showed almost true to her real age; it was the face that presented her only youth. Even with the body of a dead corpse, she could move just as fast as she needed to get her pray. As she carried on closing in on Koenma, she stuck her rubbery fingers out in front of her ready to touch Koenma on the cheek; ending his life instantly. No one could escape the power that Zlyana held, and that's why King Enma needed her on his side. It was too bad that she couldn't be good and had to use her deadly power for bad.

"Don't do it, please don't do it." By now, Koenma was teary eyed and broke down to his knees, staring at the wrinkly hand come closer to his own smooth skin. He trembled all alone as everyone else in the room could only watch in horror. Then, as Zlyana closed in on one inch till his face he made one more plea. "Please, don't do it Yanny..." Koenma then sucked in as much breath as he could and closed his eyes tight, waiting for what was to come. However, at the name spoken, Zlyana froze herself. She looked down at Koenma's trembling face in nostalgia. Then, she laughed.

"Don't even try to save yourself with that one Koko." She spoke in hatred and nearly spat the nickname she had given Koenma. He opened his eyes in surprise and looked up at her as best he could through his blurry vision.

"This is where the regret should kick in." She cracked her knuckles single handedly before coming even closer to finally end her grudge. Her dirt covered, skeletal hand finally was about to touch Koenma's forehead before she was stopped.

"No!" All of a sudden, Yusuke tackled Zlyana to the floor away from Koenma. After hearing the scuffling and thud on the ground, he opened his eyes and saw Zlyana struggling beneath Yusuke's body. He knew Yusuke wasn't safe.

"Yusuke! Get off of her!" By now, the whole room was erupting in screams and people running around, afraid of what could happen now.

Zlyana was being held by her wrists to the ground and she couldn't bend her hand well enough to touch Yusuke's own so she tried her best to get him off. Seeing that it wasn't working, she made a plan in her head. Opening her hand, she called for her scythe fly into it since it had fallen to the ground when she was blindsided. The deadly weapon flew across the room, its blade facing forward. Yusuke couldn't react fast enough and only saw metal when he had turned his head around. Barely a second after that, the blade sank into his skin.

Crying out in pain, Yusuke removed his hands mistakenly and brought them to his quickly bleeding face. Then, following her planned out attack, she ripped Yusuke's hands from his face with her glove covered hand and followed in with her bare one. She grabbed hold of his face, letting her skin melt into his own, and listen in bliss at his pain filled screams.

"Yusuke!" An array of voices screamed his name as they watched him die. Zlyana then sat up; overpowering Yusuke's weakening body till she had her hand digging his head into the floor. Soon enough, a dark mist slowly came around his body, collecting it to take it to the other side. Zlyana never let go of his face till the mist had finally worked its way up his body and covered the tip of his head. As the picture of Zlyana leaning over a blanket of dark mist slowly faded away as the haze evaporated, the onlookers only watched in fear. Slightly panting, Zlyana stood up.

"Who's next?" Before she could take another step, ogre came bursting into the room covering his eyes with one arm as he screamed and ran forward with something in his outstretched arm. Then, at its close presence, Zlyana shrank away under a coat in pain. It seemed there was another object that could defend Zlyana's awesome power, and it was in ogre's hand.

The light shined off of the 12 inch gold cross in ogre's left hand. Encrusted in it were lines of diamonds, with the largest center jewel being a pink diamond that rested in the crossing of the vertical and horizontal lines that made the cross. Ogre retrieved the item after hearing that there was no struggle in Zlyana's voice when he listened in from the other side of the door in worry. He assumed that the angel figures were not working and headed to get the big dog that would more then definitely fend off Zly.

He removed his arm from in front of his face and saw that Zlyana was now rendered defenseless from the excruciating pain of the cross. He slightly smiled though was still a little afraid as he continued on closer to her. She shrank away more, shuffling away as far as she could get. Finally, she couldn't bare the pain anymore, and tried to a last attempt to free herself from the pain. With the little energy she had left, she thrusted her body into the air, and swung her scythe straight at the hands of ogre, using its extending ability to her advantage. Then, the gold cross that was in his hands broke in half, releasing its full power into the little room. With one last bloodcurdling scream, Zlyana disappeared from the room, relieving her pain, and destroying the one thing that could stop her. Everyone was still frozen in their spots, surprised at what had just happened.

"Yu- Yusuke..." Tears filled Botan's eyes as she stared at the spot his body was just laying. Nothing. Nothing was there now, he had gone to the other side, and because Zlyana sent him there the way she did, she was the only one who could retrieve him in the same way. She brought her hand to her trembling mouth when she finally just broke down and cried.

"He's gone. I can't believe he's gone." Kuwabara was blanked face. Not truly understanding it all just that quick. Kurama and Hiei had just lowered their heads. Koenma stood from his knees and walked to the window, trying to stay composed of what just happened; Zlyana's return and Yusuke's death in thought.

"She's out there... free." Koenma was speaking to his self as opposed to everyone else who weren't really listening anyways. "We have to get her. She has to pay for what's she's done now."

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