The Shotgun Approach

by SuperNova90

In my mind I saw all the tiny chess pieces and tried to predict all their movements, from start to finish, but Yusuke was always the wild card—that one unknown factor that could ruin the entire game. Etternia is a rare demonic species called Elementa. She works as a paramedic in Sarayashiki and finds herself quite tangled up with Yusuke Urameshi, current king of demon world.

14. A Ritual of Renewal

The Shogun Approach

Chapter 14: A Ritual of Renewal

A/N: This is a Yusuke POV chapter!

. . .

"I can't believe this..." I grumbled. "It's completely blown my mind to fucking smithereens."

"Yeah, who woulda guessed she had a husband. Crazy."

"I don't know a damn thing about her. Zip, ziltch, nada."

"I believe we've been telling you this all along..."

I rolled my eyes at Kurama, shoving my hands into my pockets and hunching over, in a miserable mood. The look on my face made pedestrians jump off the sidewalk just to avoid me. I glared at anyone who was stupid enough to glance a little too long.

"Don't take it out on random people, Urameshi. It's not their fault."

"I don't give a shit whose fault it is. It's still bullshit!"

It's been a few days since I last saw and spoke to Ettie. After the incident involving her husband (the thought made my stomach twist) she'd kicked both me and Hiei out without further explanation. I didn't know if she was okay and that, more than anything, was eating at me to the point of turning my moods sour.

Kurama and Kuwabara had come to try and cheer me up, but it was just annoying. I didn't want coffee and conversation. I wanted to pummel the shit out of Ettie's ex-husband and then wring the answers I needed out of her.

And with that, I was irritated even more, because my mind couldn't seem to concentrate on the violence I kept telling myself I was craving. No. When I said I wanted to wring answers out of Ettie I wanted to do it in a much more pleasurable way, which heated my blood and frustrated me all at once.

"Have you spoken to Hiei?" asked Kurama, casting me a sidelong glance so full of concern that I wanted to barf in the street.

"I've tried, but the little bastard's avoiding me. I think he knows more about her than he's letting on."

"Wouldn't he have told you?"

"Like he told me about ditching Mukuro? I got my ass handed to me at the last council meeting because of that. I tried to cover for him but she isn't stupid enough not to see through it."

"That...doesn't sound like something the shrimp would do," Kuwabara and Kurama shared a look, one that left me buzzing with anxiety.

"Perhaps...he's finally decided he no longer wishes to be her second," Kurama said.

Kuwabara snorted. "Yeah right, he was pretty adamant about staying with her until he could beat her. That hasn't happened as far as I know."

I choked on air and turned to give Kuwabara an incredulous look. "Wait a minute, you never heard?!"

"Heard what, Urameshi—" and then, "You tellin' me that asshole beat Mukuro and you guys never told me?!"

I shrugged. "Figured you knew. Sorry man."

"It happened sometime last year, that incident when Hiei showed up at my apartment on the brink of death," Kurama added.

"Oh yeah...I remember that. It was pretty hairy there for awhile..."

"He would have died if we weren't able to take him to Yukina. But don't ever tell him she was the one that fixed him up, he'd have a conniption fit," I said.

"He lets Ettie patch him up no problem," Kuwabara said, a hand on his chin. "Why is that?"

I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat, bad mood rearing its ugly head again. Why'd he have to go and mention her name?

"Still," Kuwabara continued, "you assholes should have told me that's what happened. I'm not a goddamn mind reader. Can't believe the squirt actually beat her..."

"Wish I could've seen it," I said. "Bet it was badass."

We rounded the corner, headed towards the usual cafe. I kicked a can out of my way, eyes trained on the ground, when I heard Kuwabara mumble, "Speak of the devil."

I looked up and lo and behold, stepping out of the shop was Hiei and Ettie. They were both in uniform, but that didn't matter to me. Seeing them together didn't irritate me for any particular reason other than the fact Hiei was hiding shit from me. He was one of my right hand men, and here he was keeping secrets for some girl.

Who cared if that girl also happened to be someone I would very much like to have a relationship with.

Hiei noticed us instantly and let out a long suffering sigh. He could probably tell just by the look on my face that I planned on starting shit. He turned to Ettie and said something I couldn't hear, careful to keep his voice low.

And suddenly my irritation morphed into an irrational anger. Where did he get off? Just because they worked together didn't mean they needed to be all buddy-buddy, it was disgusting.

I stopped in my tracks, Kuwabara and Kurama walking past me to greet Hiei and Ettie, as if we hadn't spent this entire walk talking about the both of them behind their backs. I was tempted to turn around and head back to my place, to get some actual work done, at least that's what I told myself. But in reality I was embarrassed.

The emotion eating at me wasn't just irritation or even anger—it stemmed from something worse. Jealousy.

I was seriously, overbearingly jealous of Hiei.

Unbelievable.

Never in my life had I ever been jealous of another person, least of all over a woman.

I knew exactly what Hiei would tell me in this situation—how unbecoming of a king. And he would be right. I didn't need to be jealous, so what if he liked her? I cared about Hiei and wanted to see the guy happy, even if that meant giving up on Ettie.

But I also knew what I was thinking was beyond irrational. Hiei was wary of her at best, completely distrustful at worst. I knew he was interested in her, in her powers and heritage. But whether that interest spread into the realm of wanting her for himself, I didn't have a clue. I made jabs at him like I did and they always seemed to hit some tender point, but that wasn't evidence enough to prove he liked her.

Right?

So I took a deep breath, tried to expel all that negative emotion, and slapped a grin on my face.

I really did plan to go up and greet them like the old chum I was, but I took one look at Ettie—dressed in her uniform, hair braided in a tight twist on top of her head, a new jeweled stud in her bottom lip—and I lost it.

"I'm in love with you," I blurted.

There was an awkward beat of silence...and then Ettie's cup of coffee slipped out of her bandaged fingers and smashed all over the ground.

Oops.

. . .

"Bahahaha! I—I can't—" more laughter, "can't believe—shit—can't believe you said that!"

"Shut the hell up Kuwabara before I knock all your teeth out," I groused over a beer later that evening.

"It wasn't exactly your finest moment," Kurama added, grinning over the rim of his glass.

"I've never seen a more pathetic display," Hiei said, downing a shot of what smelt like straight rubbing alcohol.

I couldn't help but agree.

It took a year for me to admit it, but I'd fallen hard for Etternia the Elementa. So hard that I made a fool of myself every time I was around her.

I excused myself from the table, lying about needing the bathroom, and left them to make fun of me by themselves. I needed to make a call. I couldn't rely on my team to help me out with this one, I needed an expert's advice.

I found a secluded corner near the restrooms and pulled out my cellphone. I hit the third speed dial button and waited.

It rang so long I almost hung up.

"Hello, Yusuke?"

Her voice made the space where my heart used to beat constrict. Painful. It would always be painful.

"Hey, Keiko..."

"It's really good to hear your voice. We haven't talked since Christmas."

"I know, I'm sorry." I rubbed at the back of my neck and sighed. "I need some advice."

"I'm at work right now, but I might be able to slip away for a few minutes."

I was about to tell her to forget it, that it wasn't important. But then I remembered the absolute fuck up from this afternoon and bit my tongue.

"Can you? I'm in a real bind."

She muffled the phone for a second and a few breaths later said, "Okay, all clear. Is everything okay? No one's hurt right? You're okay?"

I clicked my tongue and chuckled. "We're fine Keiko."

"Then why did you sound so serious? You shouldn't make me worry, Yusuke!"

"Sorry, but I didn't know who else to talk to..."

I explained everything, I didn't leave out a single detail. I told her everything I felt and I was honest. I didn't embellish things or leave out my own stupidity in the whole situation. Keiko worked best when she knew all the details and I didn't worry about them hurting her. She'd decided long ago we were never meant to be a couple, not really.

But we'd always love each other anyway.

She listened with rapt attention, allowing me to talk my fill, to purge all these thoughts and feelings that I'd been harboring for what felt like ages. If anyone overheard they would probably think I was some kind of sappy wimp. But I didn't care.

When I was finished I fished a cigarette out of the pack in my jeans' pocket and lit it with a match. I took a long drag to calm my nerves.

"Yusuke...are you smoking?!"

I coughed, choking on the next inhale. "What?! No!"

"Liar!" But her voice held no bite, if anything she was smiling.

I cleared my throat and then said, "So, what do you think?"

She paused a little too long and that alone told me all I needed to know.

"Never mind, it was stupid to call you, I'm sorry—"

"No, Yusuke, it wasn't stupid. I just...just be careful okay? You, well, I've never heard you talk about someone like this before."

"Jealous?" I asked, a lecherous grin quirking my lips.

"You wish," she said with a breathy laugh. "I want you to be happy, but I think you should reconsider who you've chosen."

"I was afraid you'd say that..."

"I say it not as your ex-fiancee, but as a friend who loves you. You don't know enough about her, she's harboring secrets that could really hurt you, Yusuke. So please, just be careful, that's all I ask."

"I love her Keiko...I can't help it," I said, and I didn't think I'd ever heard my voice sound so small.

"Okay," she said, as if gearing herself up, "then you need to do something for me."

"Huh?"

"I want you to spend one whole month without seeing her or calling her. No contact at all."

"What?! Are you crazy?! Hiei works with her!"

"And that's Hiei, not you. Go spend some time in demon world for once, I'm sure the monks could use your help."

"I-I have to be here, what if something happens?"

"Then you have three of your closest advisers there to handle it. You can trust them, Yusuke."

"I don't see the point in this, why a whole month?" I was getting annoyed now. What a stupid suggestion. And I was so sure Keiko would be able to help me.

"Because, the separation will do you some good. It will give you a chance to clear your head," she said. "But, if you spend that entire month thinking of nothing else except her—ask her on a date."

"But you just said—"

"I know what I said," Keiko cut me off, "and I'm still unsure if she's the right choice, but if you really love her then I can't stop you. I just want you to be certain that's what you're feeling."

"I, uh—"

"Just a minute," she muffled the phone again and I waited, tapping my foot on the floor and smoking my cig, doubly annoyed. When she next spoke it was to tell me, "Sorry, Yusuke, I have to go. Call me later?"

"Yeah, sure..." I wouldn't. She knew I wouldn't. But she wished me goodbye and I clicked my phone shut, stuffing it back in my pocket. "Damn it!"

I wanted to hit something. None of that was what I wanted to hear, but I knew she was right. So I marched back out into the main part of the bar and did my best not to punch Kuwabara when he asked me if I fell in the toilet.

"I'm going to the Makai for awhile," I announced.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Kuwabara asked, his drink halfway towards his mouth and the grin on his face slipping into a frown.

"Did you have an existential crisis while in the bathroom?" Hiei sneered, another shot clutched between his fingers.

I eyed the table, seeing the line of shot glasses, counted them—five, six—ten total, the eleventh in his hand. Interesting. It was unusual for Hiei to get shit faced drunk, but a few more of those and he'd be on the goddamned floor.

As I watched, he drank the eleventh and let the empty glass tumble from his fingers. It rolled across the table towards Kuwabara, who raised an eyebrow at the demon. I wasn't the only one to notice his odd behavior, it would seem.

All thoughts about going to demon world fled. "What the fuck's wrong with you?"

Kurama gave me a look that clearly told me to bite my tongue, but the sharp look I cast him in return had him moving his gaze to the table. I wasn't the king in name alone. And Hiei was my goddamned friend too.

Hiei just sneered at me, lip curling in disgust. Over what, I had no idea. When he waved the bartender over and asked for another round of shots, we all stared at him in abject horror.

Five more glasses were placed in front of him, five more of those vile things he called liquor but might as well have been turpentine for how it smelled. I let him drink the twelfth and then Kurama and I stole the last four before he could even set the other glass down. He shattered it against the bar's wall in protest.

"Give them back."

I narrowed my eyes at him and downed the two in my hands. I shivered, sticking my tongue out—totally gross. And I wasn't adverse to the strong shit. But this was on a whole other level.

Kurama wasn't as brave as I was, and merely got up and handed the shots back to the bartender, who raised an eyebrow but took them anyway. I watched him funnel them back into the bottle and rolled my eyes—cheap bastard.

"I'm cutting you off," I said to Hiei. "Go sleep off whatever—" I waved a hand vaguely in the air, "—this is."

He blurred from the table, and I wasn't sure when the hell he'd gotten fast enough that I couldn't see him again, and reappeared in front of me. He balled my shirt up in a fist and reared back to hit me. His face was vicious, but something in his eyes...

I dodged the punch aimed for my nose. But a drunk Hiei was a dangerous one. He lacked all inhibition and when I dodged the first hit it only made him angrier.

He used my shirt to swing me around and then smashed my face into our table. I heard my nose crack before I felt it, the metallic tang of my own blood flooding my mouth. And now I was pissed. I didn't give a shit what his problem was, because nothing would excuse this.

"H—hey! Take it outside!"

Neither of us heeded the bartender. I tore Hiei's hand off my shirt, letting him rip a piece off as a souvenir, and picked up a chair, ready to bash him over the head with it.

He dodged the chair, which splintered into pieces as it collided with the floor instead, but that was the last of his gracefulness. Hiei was so drunk he could barely stay on his feet, which made me wonder how the hell he'd managed to break my nose in the first place.

I spat out a great gob of blood, eyes narrowing. I was off my game.

"This is stupid," I said. "Go home and sleep it off, man."

He spat some obscenity, using one of the tables to stay upright and holding his face in his other hand. I was surprised his white knuckled hold on the table's edge didn't snap the wood.

"What's up with you, short stuff?" Kuwabara looked just as confused as the rest of us and he was the only empath in the room.

"Now isn't the time for teasing, Kuwabara," Kurama admonished, pulling the man aside as if he could protect him from Hiei's sudden bout of homicidal rage.

I tried to wipe the blood off my face, only managing to smear it across my cheek, and then ran a hand through my hair. This was...I don't know what this was, honestly.

"You wanna fight, I'm all for it, you know I'm always down for a good brawl." I cracked my knuckles and shrugged a shoulder, frowning. "But I'm not gonna do it when you're too drunk to function."

"Since when do you care about a fair fight?" Hiei said from between his fingers.

"Since this isn't about fighting, but about whatever fucked up emotion you got swimming around in your head right now." I sighed, all the previous adrenaline seeping out of me like rain into a gutter. "I'll be your punching bag if that's what you need...except I don't think it is, not really."

Hiei said something under his breath, more than likely words of disgust for me daring to show that I cared about him, and then breezed by. He swung his fancy ass coat off the back of his chair, pulled it on with more grace than I thought him capable of this drunk, and walked out the door without a backwards glance.

"What," started Kuwabara, "the hell was that?"

I picked at the hole in my shirt, avoiding their gazes and mulling over the entire display. It was...out of character...and yet not. Hard to explain.

"When was the last time any of us saw him partake in such a way?" said Kurama. "He might indulge in a drink here and there..."

"But getting shitfaced for no reason isn't normal, I know," I said.

Kuwabara hummed for a minute and then it was like a light bulb went off in his head. "AH! You remember the last time something like this happened, don't you, Kurama?"

Kurama looked doubtful, wracking his brain for the last time Hiei decided drinking was a better alternative to whatever thoughts kept running through his head. There were only a couple of times I could think of and none of them were all that recent.

"The last time..." Kurama murmured. "Wasn't it shortly after the accidental reveal of his origin to Yukina?"

"I wasn't there for that," I said. "He drank like this?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara said, "it was like...he wanted to forget it even happened. I still don't understand that whole deal, even years later. Why wouldn't he want Yukina to know?"

"That is Hiei's business and now isn't the time to discuss past events," Kurama chided. "One of us should make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"I'll go," I volunteered, already throwing on my jacket. It was chilly for being so late in Spring.

"Thought you were off to demon world," Kuwabara said, giving me a sour, pinched look that made me roll my eyes.

"Later, for now it's safest I stay here and deal with our favorite edge lord."

I garnered a snort from Kuwabara and a wry laugh from Kurama before I took off. Tracking Hiei's energy was easy, even if it wasn't normally my forte. He wasn't doing much to hide it, given the circumstances. He might as well have been asking to get ambushed, with how much care he put into hiding his presence from the rest of the demonic population.

The blood on my face dried as I ran, turning into a crusted mess that would be loads of fun scrubbing off later. The dull throb from my nose was ignored, it would heal overnight, my cells' regeneration was better than most. But I was still annoyed that Hiei managed to one-up me like that. I was slacking.

When the hell did he get so fast?

Perhaps time in demon world would do me some good. I would goad Hokushin into training with me. I couldn't let Hiei get too far ahead or I would lose my place as king in the next tournament.

I continued to follow his energy signature through the city, weaving into a neighborhood that had grown familiar. When I eventually found Hiei it was in the most unlikely of places, although it didn't surprise me. And I told myself I shouldn't be as irritated by it as I was.

I jumped from balcony to balcony, until I found the one I needed.

He was crouched in the corner, hidden behind the curtain on the other side of the sliding door, a clear vantage point into Ettie's open living room.

When I went to ask him what he hell he thought he was doing, he held a finger to his lips and just pointed towards the glass. I took the hint and crouched down beside him, huddling close enough that I could feel his unusual amount of body heat even through my clothing. My face flushed and I hoped he wouldn't notice.

Inside Ettie's apartment was dark, save for a single candle lit, wax melted to the wooden floor. So focused on Hiei, I never noticed that Ettie was inside and oblivious to her surroundings. A dangerous thing...considering two high powered demons were camped outside her home.

Hiei's energy drew back, the suffocating heat he normally exuded detracting until it was only a hazy memory. I followed suit, struggling to put a cap on my power as well. Hiding wasn't something I generally liked to do.

"Why didn't you suppress it before?" I whispered.

"She didn't notice. I came here for something else...but found her like this."

My eyes slipped back to the room, where Ettie was knelt before that single candle, hands in careful placement against her thighs, eyes closed. Her hair was down, the tight braids beside her temples mixed amongst the rest, meant to keep any loose strands out of her face.

"What is she doing?"

But Hiei just shook his head, his breaths tight and stunted, as if afraid that would give him away more than the blatant display of energy from earlier.

A cloud covered the moon.

The flame of the candle flickered out.

The caw of a raven split my attention and I nearly screamed like a pansy when the sliding door was thrown open.

Ettie stepped onto the balcony. She was nude, minus a pair of underwear. It was nothing I hadn't seen before, but I never looked long, not long enough to memorize the numerous scars that littered her body, leaving white streaks through her tanned skin. Some were large, large enough to be death wounds. And others were smaller...and some looked as if they'd been self inflicted, like the night she was captured.

Something thundered through my chest at the sight of her, as I drew my eyes up from her feet to her face, noting the missing pinky toe on her left foot. There was what looked like blood painted across her nose and the center of her chin, down her neck in a straight line towards her collar bones. More blood painted her abdomen, her hips, her thighs...

A breath of the night's air confirmed my suspicions.

It wasn't human. That's all that mattered.

A strange power permeated the air, something ancient and harrowing. Something that struck a deep seeded dread into my soul.

She cast a look our way, a dead look, devoid of...anything. She was aware of us this entire time. Ettie didn't speak a word, just held her arms out, the flesh still burnt to near charred cinders, towards the sky.

The cloud passed, bathing her in the ethereal cold light of a full moon. I didn't even think to move, still crouched on the ground, my attention so caught up in her that everything else in my mind became nonexistent.

What was this...?

If my heart still beat, I knew it would be racing. I could feel sweat slipping down my face even though a cold wind had picked up.

And that wind swirled around Ettie now...or Etternia, because this was not the Ettie I knew. No. This was the demon of before, the Elementa from somewhere so far North in demon world even Hokushin wasn't sure where she hailed from.

She was summoning the element, I could feel her youki permeating from her flesh, spreading out, out, out...until it touched us. Hiei was first to rise, flickering away to a neighboring balcony. And it struck me then how dangerous this situation I'd gotten myself into was, for Hiei to turn tail and watch from a safe distance meant that whatever was about to happen made him wary—afraid, even.

I stood, but made no move to leave. I wanted to see this, up close and personal. To see Ettie just as she should be, not the human face she put on day after day. Not the act she put on to pretend she was one of us—but the beast beneath. The ancient past that lurked inside her intrigued me far more than anything else about her, and I was sure Hiei was drawn to her for much the same reason.

There was still so much we didn't know about Ettie.

And that should have made me changed my mind about her, made me think of her differently. But if anything my infatuation just grew. I knew Keiko was right. I needed to put some distance between us, clear my head.

However, I no longer knew if there was enough willpower within me remaining to do it—to escape her clutches.

The draw on my power wasn't a shock. What was, was Ettie flicking her gaze towards Hiei and holding a hand out towards him. He stiffened, standing on the balcony's railing, prepared to jump at any given moment if he felt he needed to.

"You agreed to this earlier," she called, "did you not?"

And even her voice sounded different. The accent thicker, heavier in the air. The words hung there, waiting for a reply that wouldn't come.

She'd talked to him about this? When? And why?

What the fuck was this in the first place?

Hiei hesitated and then took in one long, suffering breath.

He jumped from the other balcony, landed beside Ettie, eyes only for her. He nodded once, an agreement, and snapped, "Get on with it, then."

The draw on my power receded until it wasn't there at all. The wind stopped tousling my hair, my clothing settled back into place.

It surrounded Hiei and Ettie instead—her power, her pull on the very world. Not once did I consider the magnitude of the fact she controlled elements of every kind, that her small body harbored more power than I gave her credit for. Than any of us had given her credit for.

She breathed once, a shuddering, broken thing, then turned her chin up towards the moon.

Flames swirled at her feet, lifting higher and higher until she was inside an inferno that did not burn. It coalesced together, siphoning off until it formed a bright glowing ball in front of her, like a mini sun.

I could see the strain on Hiei's face, the way sweat blossomed across his forehead and his legs shook beneath him.

She was draining his element—his fire.

The thought occurred to me that I should stop this, should help my ally and friend. But then I remembered the bastard had agreed to this. He should reap what he sowed.

His night of drinking also made a lot more sense now. He'd been gearing up for this exact moment. Showing weakness in front of someone he didn't trust, giving away his power—it was an unfounded turn of events. Something I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams. Hiei was far too prideful for something like this.

The ball turned molten, droplets of napalm like flames falling to the ground and fizzling out at Etternia's feet.

She fell to her knees, holding her hands out for the tiny sun, and letting it fall into her palms. It melted apart, snaking down her arms like liquid, twining around her hands, her wrists...her entire arm, until it was engulfed.

With a shout and a burst of her youki, it hardened to stone, encasing her arms and hands.

By then Hiei was pale, but he stood stalwart against the onslaught, even as his hands trembled and his nose began to bleed. He wiped it away with his bandaged hand, leaving a smear of red on what was once a pristine white.

Ettie's wind picked up again, billowing her hair around her face, lifting Hiei's black coat until he looked much like the giant raven he described to me several weeks ago.

I waited, breath bated, for what I didn't know.

A moment later Ettie's power was sucked back in, leaving a hollow, unsettling feeling in my stomach. It was just gone, as if it never was, her core shifting back to neutrality.

Hiei moved, circling around until he stood before her, and gripped each of her stone encased arms. With a load crack, he broke them with a mere squeeze of his hands, and they began to crumble.

What was revealed beneath was virgin skin—perfect and unblemished—as if they had just built Ettie a new set of arms.

She flexed them, testing the new skin, and then stood. She clapped Hiei on the shoulder and wished him a heartfelt thank you that shocked me. She swept his sweaty hair out of his face and Hiei batted at her hands, irritated at the touch.

And all I could do was gape at the both of them.

"What in the fuck was that?"

But Ettie just smiled, all secretive and unabashed, and licked the palms of each of her new hands. She placed these against Hiei's cheeks and craned her head upwards until their foreheads touched. He did not jerk away or even try to stop her, and when she released him I could feel some unspoken agreement between them coming to a resolve.

Except now I was even more confused than I was before.

And nothing pissed me off more than that.

. . .

A/N: This chapter was interesting to write. And apparently Ettie has been telling Hiei more than he's been letting on ;)

And Yusuke, my brash, lovable idiot, telling her he loves her? Bahahaha xD

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you guys for all your awesome comments, you make my day! Oh and the anon reviewer who caught on that Ingvar looked a bit like Ragnar from Vikings xD Ya caught me!

P.S. I've started yet another playlist for this fic, strictly for the instrumental music I listen to while writing this. You can find it on youtube, labeled The Shotgun Approach.