In the Wake of What Follows

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fight

Terra's heart was beating so fast she couldn't even feel it anymore. Her hand gripped Kurama's sleeve and she was sure she had torn the fabric. Of all the gruesome fights on the screens, there was only being paid attention to. All of Alaric had their eyes glued to the screen as Hiei and Goro tore into each other.

Goro was strong. He had to have been to dethrone Mukuro and stay unchallenged in his seat. Hiei was stronger. It was hour three and Hiei was bleeding so much you would think his skin was the same color as his eyes. Goro was far worse.

It was the final moments of the battle, and if Terra had the mind to think of anything else, she would be worried her grip might break Kurama's arm. Goro's movements grew steadily slower as the fight went on, and now he was damn near glacial compared to Hiei, whose stamina was barely waning. When the final moment came, it seemed to come out of nowhere. One moment there were two men standing. Then there was one.

Goro was still breathing, his large stomach heaving up and down in ragged movements. Hiei's blade, which had been lost from his hand at some point, now protruded from Goro's belly. He must have found it in the mess of their battlefield before this last attack. Hiei dragged the katana downward, slicing his opponent open. Terra wanted to look away but found herself transfixed. She had to watch. Hiei reached his bloody red arm into Goro's open gut, and when he pulled it back out, it was soaked in a deep green viscous blood. Something was clutched in his fingers, but it was impossible to tell what. Hiei's words were swallowed by the distance. And then, Goro took his last, shuddering breath, and Hiei had won.

"Revenge is not a pretty sight," Kurama murmured, placing a comforting hand on top of Terra's death grip. His words were barely audible over the roar of the crowd, the cheers of triumph from the Alaric denizens around them.

"Death never is." It was the violence, the aggression, the intent that made this death so much worse than all the others Terra had witnessed in her life. Revenge wasn't pretty. As shaken as she had been by seeing Hiei fight for the first time, it wasn't the morality and reality of the killing that had her blood ringing in her ears now. Instead, it was worry. Worry if Hiei would be okay.

He seemed to be moving fine as the camera followed him. They kept broadcasting even though the fight was over. His win was displayed in the top corner and the next match contestants were slated at the bottom. Hiei walked with purpose to where the little flying shuttle was waiting to take him back to home base here.

"Is it bad he's walking at a normal pace?"

Kurama shook his head. "He likely just needs to rest for a few hours. The fact Hiei is still awake only proves the fight wasn't nearly as difficult as he made it seem. Although I'm sure it was still a challenge."

"Will they bring him to the medic station?" She knew where it was now, up in the building at the top of the stands. Terra looked behind them, the charms of her naginata's cap chiming with the movement. The medic station was up there, easy access.

"I wouldn't suggest going there, Terra," Kurama said. "He won't want you to see him right now."

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. She snapped her jaw shut, grinding her teeth together with the force of how tense she was. Why did she have to care about someone like him? Someone who would always push her away? "What am I supposed to do, then?"

Kurama sighed. "I can't stop you if that's what you intend to do. I'm just informing you. Hiei won't like to display his vulnerabilities to you. Nor do I think you've fully processed what you've just witnessed enough to face him."

She breathed out through her teeth. Kurama was right. Terra barely had a grasp on her thoughts. They were doomed to fight if she met up with Hiei now, and she wouldn't be able to clearly defend whatever stance she accidentally took. "Will you meet with him, then? For me?" She dared a glance at Kurama and realized she was still holding onto his arm. She let go and looked down at her feet. "I know you're going to sneak off soon. Will you just make sure he's alright first? Let me know if he's okay?"

Kurama placed his hand on her arm, a light grip to remind her that he was there for her and cautious enough in case her energy was spiking. "I can manage that. Do you wish to stay in the stands? I can find one of our friends to leave you with. Or would you like to go back to the hotel?"

"I'll stay here," she said. Her thoughts and emotions were warring inside of her, and the hotel room would give her no outlet. Here she could let the wash of foreign energies distract her. The roar of the crowd and the thrum of the screens were fodder to the chaos inside her, and she needed that right now.

Kurama led her through the stand to where Rinku and Shishi had made camp to watch the fights, having both been eliminated in the prelims. Rinku's eye was still bruised and Shishi had morphed into a sprite form somehow, resting on Rinku's hat. Kurama didn't look terribly pleased to leave her in their company, but there weren't better options available at the moment. "I'll be fine," Terra assured him, rolling her eyes. "I can even put my full barrier up if it'll make you feel good enough to leave me here."

"I'm sure that's not necessary," he said demurely. "Just don't stray, if you please."

"Sure thing."

Terra looked back up to the top of the stands where another story of the adjoined building sat above them all. Hiei was there now, she could feel it. His anger had subsided since the match ended. Familiar lukewarm energy called to her like it would clear out all the turmoil swirling around her. Terra took the staff from her back and held it in front of her. It was all she could do to keep from chasing that energy.

"I'll be back soon," Kurama promised. Then with a shared nod, he was off towards the medic station.

"Hiei sure did that toad-man a doozy," Rinku whistled before flashing his pearly whites at her. "You like the fight?"

"Like's a strong word," Terra said, looking back out to the screens. Jin was fighting in one of them, and Chuu's name had been called recently, so his fight would start somewhat soon. "Sure was bloody."

Rinku laughed at that, as if Terra had made the funniest joke possible. "That's what was so great about it!" Rinku cheered. Out of all the demons she's met, Terra thought Rinku was most like the fey folk from books she'd read growing up. Childish and bloodthirsty. Shishi fluttered around Terra for a moment, snickering into her ear, before landing back on Rinku's hat. Terra followed the movement lazily, but her eye caught on someone in the distance.

A familiar energy cut through the crowd when she spotted him at the far edge of the stands, heading down to the road. Murky swamp water and coarse reptilian hide ran over her like a heavy shroud.

She froze, not quite watching as she tracked Rizu through the stands. He wasn't moving very fast, as if his descent from the seating area wasn't a high priority.

"Good news."

Terra spun around, heart in her throat. Kurama was still a few paces away, coming down from the top of the stadium. His voice had startled her. Terra searched for Hiei's energy on reflex but couldn't place it. If Kurama noticed her unease, he didn't comment.

"Hiei's already healing on his own," Kurama assured her. "His next match is not likely for some time, by the pace of his current bracket, so he's gone to his quarters to sleep it off. He told me not to expect him at dinner."

Terra scoffed. "And how much of that was bullshit?"

"It was both all true, and also a convenient excuse, I believe," Kurama said knowingly. "Don't take it too harshly on yourself. The time will come for you to see him again."

She sighed, not all that comforted. "You off?"

Kurama nodded. "Afraid so. Do you still wish to stay here?" He looked over at Rinku and Shishi, who were yelling over one of the fights.

Terra hesitated, the breath for an answer on her tongue, but no words on her lips. A buzzer sounded declaring another match over. "Yeah, I'm good."

"If you want to head back to the hotel, please have an escort. For my sanity, if nothing else."

Terra nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine."

"I mean it."

"I know."

Kurama didn't press further, his own task dominating his attention. He left without much word to Rinku and Shishi, only reminding them of the same thing he asked of Terra. That she not be left alone. Terra tracked Kurama until he was out of sight, then looked back over to the other side of the stands. Rizu was still there, lumbering his way through the spectators.

"You think Jin's going to win?" Rinku asked Shishi, their attention already gone from her and Hiei's fight forgotten. "He's getting kinda slow there."

Terra wanted to check on Jin's fight, but she didn't want to lose track of Rizu as he made his way down the steps. His hulking form knocked others out of his way whenever he moved. It wasn't surprising that he would be attending the tournament. He was a powerful demon, had been for sixty-odd years. Terra wondered if he had found a way to demon world before or after the barrier got taken down. While before, only low-level demons could slip through the barrier – and even then only when pockets were made big enough for them – now there was nothing keeping demons as strong as Hiei and Yusuke from traveling between the two realms. They still had to find pockets of space that would allow for travel without Kuwabara's help, but nothing stopped them from crossing. Was Rizu weak enough to cross over when he had first been turned into a demon? Had he been living here for all those years? Or was he too powerful at the time, stuck in the human world where he no longer fit in?

She was hyperfixating to distract herself. He was a mystery, and a piece to the puzzle she had been long trying to put together. Rizu was the only one who could answer her question now that Koenma had failed to be any help. Terra knew she was fixating, mind scrambling through impulses and possibilities like speeding through a full movie in five seconds. Rizu was dangerous. Even Hiei had been cautious of him. She threw that thought away as quick as it came.

It wasn't smart. But she was restless, and Hiei had already made his stand on seeing her today. Her feet moved on their own volition as Rizu took a few more steps down. "Where you of to?" Rinku asked, distractedly.

"A drink," Terra said. "Don't wait up."

They didn't try and stop her as she rushed down the stands. It wasn't hard to push through the crowd of demons. For all the caution the boys had, no one gave her much attention. A few snarled as she passed, cursing out a human being in the crowd, but they weren't dumb enough to make a move. It stood to reason that the few humans who came to these tournaments were generally friends of competitors. Between all the demons Terra had already spent time with while out here, she doubted anyone paying attention would risk hurting her or think they'd get out of a trade with all their limbs attached if they kidnapped her.

Rizu turned past the corner of the stadium seating, just out of sight, by the time Terra made it to the road. She hurried through, hoping he hadn't gotten too far. It would be best to confront him in public. The crowds would provide her protection in this case.

The strip of land between the stadium seating and the gated area that marked the end of the tournament's space was surprisingly sparse of demons. It made it easy to spot Rizu as he passed through the entrance that Terra had come by with Yusuke and Kurama only a few days ago. The hotel was further down the road, but still in the confines of the gates. She wondered where Rizu was headed, then.

For one halting moment, Terra searched for Hiei's energy. Any sign of him to maybe remind her to not be stupid. To not follow her self-destructive impulses. To think of what her limits were before she reached them. The moment was brief. Terra hadn't even noticed it come and go. She merely took a breath, feet grounded as she looked back towards the screens. Then, unsettled in the sense that something was missing, she chased after Rizu.

Terra lost sight of Rizu by the time she made it to the entrance, but that didn't stop her. She had a lock on his energy, knee-deep in his personal swamp. He was out there. Terra circled herself with her staff, building up her barrier beyond just her skin as she left the relative safety of the venue. Rizu's energy was emanating from the woods nearby. She stalled, just outside the edge of the tree line.

She was chasing after the bad feeling that once made her afraid to jump a fence. She was taking an unnecessary risk because, why? Because she was hurt that Hiei was ignoring her? Because this last puzzle piece was the only thing keeping her sane before needing to figure out a new page to her life? Because she wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't the weak, insignificant human who couldn't keep her friends alive, who couldn't keep herself safe, the last time she went into a demon-infested wood? She was being an idiot.

But it was too late.

"Nakashima."

Her name rumbled from deep within the woods, low and gravely. It held a note of clarity that Rizu's voice hadn't last time. He was sober.

"Rizu," she said.

He appeared before her as if summoned by his name. Terra's breath caught in her throat by his speed. Her grip on her weapon tightened. She hoped she wouldn't need it.

"What a pleasant surprise," Rizu sneered, an amused lilt to his words. Even blind and through the matted hair, his stare was piercing. Something buzzed against her senses and Rizu hissed. His tail had brushed against her barrier. She couldn't be sure if it was intentional or not. "Nice trick you got there," he said, almost impressed. "What do you want?"

Before Terra could respond, Rizu was turning away from her to head deeper into the thick of woods.

This was stupid. This was as stupid as wandering into a side alley of Tokyo, regardless of the type of energy emitting from it. As stupid as trespassing on private property to hike a mountain just to go somewhere others couldn't. As stupid as climbing rooftops when her body was barely stitched together, or ones that were fifty-odd stories high.

She followed Rizu.

"When you fought," Terra started, having thought of having to speak to him for so long but never imagining what to say, "in the Dark Tournament…" she trailed off, watching how Rizu's tail swept back and forth, cracking trunks from the slight movement as he walked.

"You wanna know about your grand poppy?" he asked, a throaty laugh to his words that set her on edge. "Because I can tell you all about him."

"I already know about him," she said. "I came to ask about you. And your wish for winning the tournament."

Rizu stopped in his tracks and Terra fought the chill that ran down her spine. She had to stay focused. Kuwabara hadn't trusted this man. Hiei hadn't wanted Yukina near him. He had fought alongside Genkai, strong enough that the Toguro's had roped Terra's ancestor into supplying them with blackmail so that Rizu would be on their team. Terra was a reckless idiot, but she still needed to be careful.

"You sound like you already know all about it," Rizu sneered, then resumed his march through the woods. "I thought I'd ask for my eyesight. But then I learned what those bastard brothers asked for, so I wanted the same thing, only better."

"Better?" From all Terra could piece together, the Toguro brothers were near unstoppable monsters. Considering they blackmailed Rizu to be on their team, they were also egotistical megalomaniacs who wouldn't allow someone else to be better than them.

Rizu pushed aside a tangle of foliage and a clearing came into view, nestled against some type of cliffside. A campsite was set up with a firepit and a cooking pot hung over it with makeshift seating from a felled log. A few trunks circled the area, full of supplies of some kind, but no tent.

"Those boys wanted to be transformed," Rizu said, stopping to light the fire. "Sold their souls to turn their bodies into something unheard of. I was smarter." Hiei had known what a wani was, but he hadn't sounded too impressed. "I asked to be a demon that the Toguro's couldn't kill. So, they gave me the hide of a dragon." The fire sparked and burned in a blue haze, woodsmoke filling the clearing like incense.

"Who?"

The flames lit Rizu's face, the thick matted hair falling forward just enough to peek underneath. Any trace of the man from Genkai's photo was long wiped away. His face was like a series of scabs and scars that weaved together to form a crocodile's lip, a reptilian nose, the scales and spikes of a dragon of some forgotten species. He smiled, eyes unseeing yet somehow still gleaming in her direction. Terra gripped her naginata tighter as if to stay away the sight.

"Not interested in me at all," he mused, standing to his full height from where he had crouched by the firepit. "But the wish. The change." Rizu turned from her and headed further into the clearing.

"I just want to understand how it worked," Terra said, trailing after him in a desperate panic. This was her last chance. "No one else seems to know. How were you and the others turned into demons?"

"Oh, that's simple," Rizu chuckled, coming up to the cliffside. When he pushed aside another mass of tangled plants, it seemed as if he stepped straight into the void. The cave's mouth was well hidden, and no light made its way inside. "I can tell you who did it."

"Who?" she asked again. Her voice bounced off the inside of the cave and sent the question back at her. "Rizu!"

Rizu was blind. It was possible he didn't know how dark the cave was. He had clearly been sleeping inside for shelter, but cooked his meals outside. Probably due to space and ventilation. There was a chance he was simply heading to where his things were, but the way his energy still rubbed against her skin like scummy water and the course scrape of scales… he was leading her inside. Rizu was as dark and cold-blooded as the crocodile he had become.

The mouth of the cave was already too close to teeth at her jugular. For all her want of information, that was one step too far. She didn't trust Rizu. She knew how to fight blind, but he was familiar with the cave, and she wasn't. He was luring her, and so far, she had fallen for it. Terra was reckless and stupid and self-destructive, but she was trying her damn best not to be suicidal anymore.

"Who's turned you?" Terra called into the cave, her last attempt at answers. "What did they do to you?"

A low chuckle echoed from the cave. "Now," he said from the darkness, "what makes you think any of this information is coming for free?"

Terra curled her lip in frustration. Was that all? He wanted something? "What can I trade you?"

"I made two promises when I entered the tournament with your grand poppy's team. The first was that I'd come back and kill the Toguro's once I cleared out what they had on me." The nature of Rizu's blackmail wasn't something Terra was able to uncover. She should probably be glad for it, judging by the man in question. "Can't kill them now. Urameshi took that honor. Still satisfying to know I outlived them. Outgrew them. I'm more than Toguro ever was."

She hoped he was exaggerating. "And the second?" Terra asked.

"I promised Ryunosuke that I would take what was his. But time passed me by. It's easy to forget that humans live such short lives when you're no longer one and can't even see the days."

Terra gasped, her mind racing. She heard the scrape of Rizu's tail against the stony ground, but wasn't able to react in time. Fear took over her rational thought she was able to hold onto during training. Rizu's tail swatted her down onto her back and wrapped around her leg. How? How could – her barrier! The extended energy had worn away, swallowed by the smoke of the fire. Whatever he had burned ate at her outer defense.

She was going to die. She was going to die all because she was mad at Hiei.

Fuck.

Rizu dragged her into the darkness of the cave before Terra could wrap her head around all the events unfolding. Jagged rocks scraped against her back. She couldn't get enough air in her lungs to even scream. "You should have known how much I hated Nakashima!" His voice reverberated against the cave walls, surrounding her. "The only reason I let you live before was out of respect for Genkai. She was the only one not part of their scheme. But I curse Ryunosuke!"

In a semblance of her wits, Terra gathered her energy and pushed it where Rizu's tail was wrapped around her leg. He roared against the spike of her energy, the bind loosening enough for her to pull free. Terra scrambled to her feet and ran, a death grip on her staff. She strained to hear over her own breath. To catch if he'd fallen from the venom of her power, hear his clawed feet scrape against the stone, his coat and tail drag through the dirt. To hear his heavy breathing right behind her.

Terra swung her staff to block his arm, planting her feet in the effort. Her energy in the staff burned his hand and he yelled, pulling back. She was so close to the clearing, but still trapped with Rizu. If she turned to run now, he would surely claw her down. "What do I have to do with this? I never even knew the man!"

Rizu lashed out again. She felt the surge of his energy before the whip of the air or the pain of her skin slicing open by sharp, thin objects that embedded into her. For a moment, the car crash replayed in her mind. The impact. The shattered glass. The thousand bleeding cuts. If Rizu had a long-range attack, she had less of a chance to use her power against him.

"You're all of Ryunosuke there is left," he told her. He sounded angry, a little short of breath. The first was bad, but the second good. It meant her energy was affecting him. "And I plan on taking it."

Terra reached her arm through the ring of her staff's cap and yanked it off, pushing back the pain and the fear and the panic. The naginata's blade gleamed in what little light made its way into the cave. She readjusted her grip, the ring-cap on her arm like an oversized bracelet.

This time, when he sent a wave of his shuriken-like weapon, Terra closed her eyes. She forced her heart to calm and her breath to slow, and she spun her staff as she had in so many of her lessons, blocking the objects as they came. A few went past her, digging into her shoulder and thigh, but most were knocked off course.

Without hesitating – because hesitation could cost you your life, because missing an opening meant giving over the power to your opponent, because if you didn't have the mind of a tactician, taking time to think would more likely just be freezing in your steps and losing all wit about you – Terra raced forward. Anger washed over her. At herself, at Rizu, at the world. It twisted with her energy, bubbling under her skin like boiling water. She would burn this beast through.

She made an attack with her weapon. Rizu blocked, but the contact let Terra spill more poison into his system. In the darkness, she heard him stumble. Rizu was twice her size, but it made for a large target. And the bigger they were, the harder they'd fall. Rizu was powerful. and fast, and perhaps the Toguro's wouldn't be able to kill him. But she could cripple Hiei, and Chuu. She was toxic to Rizu because he had turned into the very thing that was supposed to grant him strength.

Terra swung back around again, knocking him into the cave wall. He crashed against it, shaking the whole structure. Rizu's tail snapped for her. Terra plunged her naginata down, and Rizu wailed as it was pierced in place. When he came at her, he was slower than before, a steady stream of her venom flowing through her staff's blade and into his tail and corrupting his chi. Even blind to his movements, Terra was able to track his attack.

As he grew closer, Terra used the staff to swing herself around and behind him, kicking him off balance and knocking him to the ground. She stepped on one meaty arm, willing her energy to push through the soles of her shoes and into his body. Her knee dug into his back. She trapped his other arm with her hand, pouring more of herself into keeping him trapped. His neck to the ground, he couldn't turn enough to bite her if he wanted to. Rizu thrashed against her, but his strength weaned by the second.

Terra took a few shaky breaths, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. "Now," she said, trying to control her flow of energy as not to kill him or exhaust herself, "you're going to tell me what you know, or I'm going to let my energy poison your chi."

Tears threatened at the corner of her eyes. Whether from pain or simply the whole situation, she couldn't be sure. She didn't want to think about it. She had never fought someone before. A real fight – not training, not practice. Terra swallowed back the onslaught of all the ways she could have died in the last few moments. Shock was a powerful drug, and now was not the time to deal with her psychological wellbeing.

"Shigure," Rizu spat into the dirt.

"What?"

"Shigure," he growled, his breath short and pain tensing his muscles. It was becoming all he could do to talk. "The surgeon. The one who gave the Jaganshi his eye. Gave us our bodies. Turned us." Low, rumbling laughter shook Rizu's core, shifting Terra as she pressed him to the ground. "He's dead! All this for a dead man's name!"

A/N:

Hey everyone! I'm sorry about the completely accidental uhhhhh year long hiatus (almost to the day! yike!) of this fic.

I had been really excited about finally having time to get back into it, and now the whole world mess is happening so... I definitely have time to get back into it. I sort of had an existential crisis earlier thinking about all the things I would regret if I died. Never writing a novel is top of the list, but also I was horrified to think of leaving these fics unfinished and abandoned for all time. Weird priorities, I guess, but fandom has done so much for me over the years, and writing fanfiction has been a huge catharsis in my life, I don't want to leave these stories that mean so much to me just hanging.

But also, I'm not sick (fingers crossed that stays true). I'm just in high anxiety panic mode.

I hope all of you are doing okay. I hope you're safe, and healthy, and have supplies. I hope that, if any of those aren't true, that things come through and you come out the other side of this in a good place. I can't give much, but I can give my love and my stories. I'll be writing and sharing as much as I can during this time.

I thank you for your patience if you've been a fan of this fic since before the hiatus, or during the hiatus. This fandom is precious to me and I love you all.