File 41: Godslayers

Night had fallen. Kurama asked Genkai about her wounds but she was fine. Hiei walked up to the injured's room and gasped when he saw Yukina lying there, unconscious. Keiko was right next to her, in the same state. Hinageshi was tending to them. Kuwabara came running and noisily opened the door wider (much to Hiei's discontent), crying his beloved's name. The spirit guide motioned for him to be quiet as the Ice Maiden had just fallen asleep. He entered, reached out his hand, hesitated, made a stream of frustrated sounds, withdrew his hand he curled into a fist, and ran away, screaming in rage. The little fire demon tightened his fist, biting back his feelings. After helping take care of the injured and informing everyone of what had happened, Yusuke had returned to the wooden stairs from which he had not moved since then. Hinageshi came and softly told him Keiko's condition was not serious.

"Those bastards said they found half the Power Sphere inside Botan and the other half inside Akari. I take it that Koenma, unable to destroy it, could only split it to weaken its influence and make it harder to find, especially given Akari's ability to travel through dimensions. But now that they have that sphere, the source of their energy, they will..." Genkai started, joining her disciple.

"Even though they have retrieved the Meikai Gyouku, the Meikai is already extinct. With no place to go and the Spirit World disempowered... Yakumo and his brethren have one aim in mind..." Kurama continued.

"Right, it is to obtain their true restoration here, in the Ningenkai. Botan and Akari probably knew that when Koenma entrusted them with the sphere. They hid it inside their own bodies so that those demons wouldn't find it. They risked their own lives, knowing its power would overwhelm them should they come into contact with Yakumo. And we never realized..." The old woman hung her head and returned inside. Even though her own granddaughter had been involved, she had never discerned anything. Yusuke's eyes widened. Hinageshi sank on her knees and started sobbing. Botan had wanted her to notice but she didn't. If only she had been more aware... And as the little girl was crying and apologising over and over, Urameshi was shaking in anger and mortification. Kurama also left, his head down. Hidden behind a tree, Kuwabara had heard everything... and was blaming himself for his helplessness. If only he had some reiki left... He ran away.

Yusuke remembered Yakumo's cruel laugh, he remembered Keiko being thrown down, Botan falling into his arms and begging for his help, and then falling into the enemy's clutches, he remembered Akari fighting in his stead despite the rampage of the sphere's power inside her, how she had protected him yet again, and her unconscious figure in Yakumo's arms. Twice, he had failed to save Botan, and he didn't how many times he had failed to save Akari despite the number of times she had saved him. But what he knew was that even now, they must be fighting, they were trying to prevent these guys from having the Power Sphere... his eyes opened and showed his new found determination and will to fight. He leapt, did a front flip and landed. He slowly straightened up and as he did the wind picked up around him from the pressure caused by the power welling up inside him and overflowing.

"This is no joke! You think I'll let you get away with that?! YAKUMO!"

In the woods, Kuwabara was also firing himself up. Even if he had no power right now, there was no way he would just sit there and do nothing. Even if he had no chance of winning, there was no way he'd let things end like this. He punched a trunk and broke it after three hits.

The fox had gone to the temple's natural hot springs nestled in a bamboo grove. Its water possessed restorative properties. The smell of bamboo... reminded him of that day and of what he had heard Kuronue say just earlier... "You left me to die..." He looked at his hand and held his wounded side. But then he remembered Akari's words... "I'd like you to believe in yourself, and in me, and the choices I make. I believe in you." He entered the hot bath and removed his bandages before cutting a small bamboo branch and hiding it into his red hair, a small smile on his lips.

"I won't abandon the Reikai or Ningenkai, and Akari, I will never abandon you. This time, I'll be the one to save you."

"This time, it's our turn to attack, right, Akari?" Hiei clenched his fists and fiercely glared ahead, his Evil Eye glowing in full view.

Some time later, Hinageshi was praying. The sleeves of her hakama were held back by a cloth and she had tied a headband around her forehead. She was vowing to rescue Botan and Akari. She ran outside. Keiko was laying on her futon, awake. Suddenly she heard the door slightly sliding open and felt a familiar presence leave. She sat up and murmured Yusuke's name with an anxious expression. Hinageshi joined Yusuke at the temple's door. They left under Genkai's watch. In the forest, Kuwabara was waiting for them. He had also changed into his delinquent battle outfit with black boots, white pants, long white jacket he left open, revealing his bare chest and bandaged abdomen. They kept walking. Soon, they were joined by Kurama, dressed in his Chinese outfit. Hiei jump from roof to roof and landed before them, his back to them. They all marched on in a line into the city where the situation had worsened. From the kekkai as the center, an ominous fog was spreading. Not a single person roamed the streets. All electric devices were functioning abnormally. They arrived before a sea of mist from which the top parts of cranes were emerging. Really, that was just a large construction site below sea level. It formed something like a basin where the mist had thickly gathered. Since it looked so dreadful, Hinageshi wanted to use a different route but the fox disagreed. It didn't matter which route they'd take. Although in all honesty, he wanted to take the shortest route (the straight one) to get to Akari as fast as possible. Suddenly, a sickle attached to a wire shot up from below and planted itself in the ground before them.

"You are correct." A shadow advanced towards them. Kurama recognized him as Kuronue. Yusuke was surprised that his friend knew the enemy.

"He was a partner of mine back when I was a thief." The fox told them. "Let me take care of it." He walked forth, without waiting for an answer.

"Kurama! You still intend to go against your old partner?! Come Kurama!" 'Kuronue' jumped back into the sea of mist. The kitsune looked around and saw an elevator he boarded. He went down alone. Urameshi screamed his name. Kazuma too was quite worried about him. Kurama stepped out and walked into the fog, on alert. "You're really a despicable guy. In the past, you fled and left me to die. And now you are trying to destroy our dream." He threw his weapon that was properly dodged this time.

"Kuronue, it's true that I could not rescue you that day... but please believe this... I..."

"Silence!" He hurled his sickles again and again at Kurama who dodged everything with somersaults before faltering. He had reopened his wound, and blood was seeping through. Kazuma was cursing his inability to help his friend. Hiei scoffed. That was HIS problem. It was something he had to solve by himself. The fox summoned his rosewhip and defended himself. But even that was difficult in his state. He was forced to put one knee down. "What's wrong? You're not fighting back?" The demon god mocked.

"What you are trying to do now is wrong!"

"You say it's wrong?! How dare you say that?!" The black haired one retrieved his weapon, disappeared in the fog only to swoop down on Kurama from above. The fox couldn't defend and only barely escaped with his life and a deep gash from his shoulder down his chest. "You still haven't remembered have you? Your dirty act..." Kuronue started playing with his pendant again while sickles were swaying. "Traitor." The word, spat with so much venom, echoed in the kitsune's mind.

Meantime, the guys had been hearing a strange, eerie noise for a while without being able to put their finger on it. Suddenly, Hiei managed to locate it and threw his sword in the direction. He made a sickle fall. It was just as he had thought. That demon was causing many scythes like this to resonate and create a shield. Inside it, he was able to create evil hallucinations. The fox had been tricked. A scythe sliced Kurama's leg, adding to the several cuts that covered his body. He struggled to get up. His opponent taunted him. Now he could make up for his ugly past! The teen tried to protest but he was silenced by another bitter and incisive comment.

"What? You want to kill me again to save yourself?" The meikaiki laughed maliciously.

No, he's wrong... that time, his pendant...

"I will use this scythe to cleanse your ugly soul!" 'Kuronue' threw his pendant at Kurama, shocking him greatly.

"Stop, Kuronue!" The fox remembered yelling desperately as the bat demon nonetheless went back to retrieve his most precious object. And he also remembered what his most precious friend had screamed back then, even as he was bleeding to death...

"Forget about me and run, Kurama!" And he also recalled Akari's words... Akari who was now in the enemy's clutches, fighting for her life, for her world, with everything she had...

"Even if you were unable to save your friend I don't think it could be helped. But you still feel guilty, and that guilt raise doubts. That's the opening the enemy is taking advantage of. But don't forget: the enemy is not Kuronue, but one of the three Meikai Gods, and beyond that, it is yourself. That's why I'd like you to believe in yourself, and in me, and the choices I make. I believe in you."

"Now the final blow!" The man shouted, taking out two scythes and leaping. The mist started twirling. Kurama took out the small bamboo branch from his hair and waited. As he had expected, he was attacked from behind and above. "Y-you bastard..." The demon god stuttered as his scythe fell down harmlessly and blood flowed from his mouth. Kurama had pierced him through with a bamboo spike.

"The one with the ugly rotten soul is you!" The fox turned around to face him, his green eyes glaring hatefully. "You are not my old friend Kuronue. Who are you?! Show me your true form!" He roughly pulled the wooden pike. His enemy stumbled backwards, holding his wound. The illusion faded, revealing Meikai God, Kaiki's true form. And it was an unsightly one. Kaiki asked Kurama how he had discovered his trick. "I could tell. Kuronue always carried this with him. He would never throw it away." He held the pendant aloft. "What's more... no matter the circumstances, he would never attack an enemy from the rear!" Kurama stood up, his youki rising to frightful levels. He marched towards his enemy who threw his weapon, trying to behead him, and missing. "Kuronue risked his own life, telling me to run away. You twisted the friendship between me and Kuronue to your advantage!" He roared and planted his bamboo pike in the ground. Fed by the kitsune's youki, it took root, spread all over and grew at an exponential rate. Its shoots pierced through Kaiki in multiple areas and kept growing until they reached twice, thrice their adult height, taking the Meikai God with them.

Urameshi's group was shocked to see a whole bamboo forest sprouting right before them. Hiei disappeared. The corpse of the deity vanished in an explosion of light. Bamboo leaves fell down, blown by the wind, and started blanketing the ground.

"So even someone as cool as you occasionally gets angry. That's good to know." Hiei commented, though in this case 'angry', was an understatement. Kurama looked down.

"Not being able to save Kuronue that day-"

"Kurama, there is no one that does not have scars in his heart. If there was someone like that, he'd be a shallow bastard. Besides, we're going to save Akari, right?"

"Yeah." The fox instantly recovered all his determination. The little demon walked away when the others walked in.

"Let's go!" Yusuke smirked.

The group ran and arrived at the border of the kekkai but they could not go further... unless they could walk on water. Kazuma cursed. Hinageshi saw a floodgate on which they could cross. They dashed towards it. But a series of explosions occurred at its base and it collapsed. And now the explosions were heading to them like they were remotely controlled! When the smoke cleared, they were all fine though. A mocking laugh resounded. It was Raigo, standing on a lamppost. It was his power that had caused the detonations. His power that Hiei had sensed just seconds ago, right before the first explosion. Raigo called them persistent maggots. They stood up.

"So you still intend to fight, huh? It seems you won't learn till I crush you like that old lady and little girl at the temple..."

"What?! You're the bastard who attacked Genkai-baa-san and Yukina?!" Kuwabara flew off the handle.

"So what if I was?"

"Bastard! I, Kuwabara Kazuma, shall punish you!" The human charged... until he was tripped by Hiei and fell face first on the ground.

"Leave this scum to me. You have no chance without your spiritual power." The fire demon spoke in a low, deep, dangerous, dreadful voice. He could see it... his sister being thrown into the wall, Akari being knocked out and taken away... His rage welled up and overflowed and his Jagan glowed. He leapt, threw away his jacket and slashed. But he missed.

"You cannot treat me like the others, Hiei. You are no match for my Evil Eye." Yakumo's right hand man removed his cape and increased his youki. Yusuke asked what type of demon he was. Hinageshi told him he was a powerful one who could draw out the wickedness from his opponent's soul and manipulate them with his Jagan. Hiei was going to become evil!

The two Evil Eye users lunged at each other. Their swords clashed in mid-air. Raigo gathered energy around his right fist while Hiei used his fist of the mortal flame, enhancing his abilities in close range battles. They collided and the blast of energy sent them crashing into opposite building. They got up inside the offices. The little one cursed. The 'hell-scum' laughed and pointed at him. "Let your eyes open to the evil that dwells inside your soul, Hiei!" Raigo started chanting his hypnotic spell. Maliciously laughing will-o'-the-wisps seemed to surround Hiei. It was bad! If he looked in the evil abyss for too long, he'd be pulled into their world! And indeed, soon, Hiei faltered, and eyes opened all over his body and he turned green. He was taking his demonic form! "That's right. Now the eyes shall open and you shall despise your friends. Your true character is an incarnation of Evil! Go after them!" He pointed at Urameshi and his friends. "Your power is now at its maximum! Smash them!"

Hiei's eyes grew extremely cruel and were now gleaming with a savage and bloodthirsty delight. Fire surrounded his right arm and burned the seal, revealing his black dragon. He summoned the black flames of the Makai, causing heavy damage in the area. He was preparing for the Kokuryuuha! Kuwabara was freaking out as they were doomed if he unleashed that. Yusuke was having doubts, but in the same time, he still trusted his friend, that everything they had gone through together could not lose to a measly spell. As ordered, the fire demon unleashed his dragon. Kuwabara went crazy, sure that Hiei had finally revealed his true evil character, and was cursing him for it. The beast of flames rampaged before swooping down on Urameshi's group. Yusuke screamed his name. Raigo was already laughing victoriously when Hiei recovered his usual skin color and the eyes on his bust disappeared.

"Don't underestimate me!" He yelled ragingly.

"What?!" The meikai god exclaimed, shocked. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hinageshi, they were all fine! The dragon had dodged them! "You bastard!" He screamed in terror as the beast swooped down on him this time, destroying him into oblivion. He had overestimated his hypnotic power. However, the attack also knocked over the whole building that fell onto the river, forming a makeshift bridge and creating an opening in the kekkai... Geez, that Hiei... what a reliable little fellow... The fire demon returned to his friends and his black dragon returned to his arm.

"It was impossible for that Evil Eye to seduce my Kokuryuuha." He coolly bragged. Kazuma asked what was going on. Urameshi explained that Hiei hadn't been tricked at all... he was the one doing the tricking... much to Kuwa's shock. But then the Jagan master fell on his knees, utterly exhausted. That was the backlash of this technique. Yusuke stupidly asked if he was okay, as if he couldn't see that for himself. "Don't worry about me. There's no time, hurry!" He managed before passing out. Yusuke dashed ahead, followed by Hinageshi on her oar while Kurama remade the seal on Hiei's left arm. Then Kuwabara picked the little one and carried him over his shoulder. He complained about what a troublemaker he was but the conclusion had to be seen with everyone present.

They crossed the 'bridge' and ran through the empty city to the center of the kekkai, the tallest building. At the top, the King of the Netherworld was staring down at his dominion. Raigo and the others were dead, but it didn't matter. As long as he retrieved the Power Sphere, the Ningenkai would become the Meikai, and years of resentment shall finally end. He walked towards the girls. Now, not only Botan but for Akari too, the pain had gotten so intense that she could barely move. All of their energy served to contain the power of the Meikai Gyoku. The man acknowledged their resistance, but it was useless. He was the only master of the Power Sphere. They would only suffer. He removed the glove of his right hand, and his right hand went into Botan's abdomen like into jelly. The Spirit Guide screamed in agony, and Akari screamed her friend's name and tried to reach out to her. Yakumo praised her for being still conscious. She should just let go and surrender everything to him like the Reikai woman. He grasped the sphere inside Botan, but as he was taking it out, she woke up and grabbed his arm, although very weakly. How futile. He retrieved the ball without any injury on the receptacle and swung his arm, making her let go and hurtling her away. Then he turned to Akari and plunged his hand into her abdomen. She screamed and blood flowed from her mouth. The sphere was not exactly in her body of flesh, but in her soul. And that was where Yakumo was searching, much less gently... until he found it, and seized it. Blood spurted from her mouth again.

That was when Yusuke and Hinageshi arrived. They saw Botan unconscious on the ground and rushed to her. And they saw Akari struggling, despite the excruciating pain. They cried her name and tried to help but the pressure from that man's energy blast sent them flying. The King was pulling his hand back when the girl caught his arm too like the maw of a trap for wolves... but it was not so much the strength of her grip than what he saw in her eyes that made him feel that way. But he soon recovered from his initial shock. He smiled, wrapped his other arm around her back and sent his energy coursing through her and she screamed again. Then he leant in, really close to her ear.

"That's right, I should thank you first. Normally our revival should have taken more years, but we were able to come out now, do you know why? Because it was YOU... who sped our revival." He whispered like the Devil himself. The girl's amber eyes widened. "Your hatred, your resentment, your despair, your fears, your thirst for blood, so intense, so extreme, so powerful... you know what I'm talking about, don't you?" He trailed off meaningfully. She knew exactly what he was talking about as it was still so vivid. "The Evil in your heart resonated with the Meikai Gyoku and gave us power... YOU called us here..." He asserted with a cruel smirk. Akari took the blow. Yakumo yanked his arm from her and flung her now useless body. Yusuke caught her. The triumphant laugh of the King of the Netherworld thundered as he fused the two spheres into one. Botan apologised for not having been able to protect the sphere. But Akari stood up again and staggered forward, holding her belly, even though she shouldn't even have the strength to move.

"Wait... give... it back..." She reached out, radiating rage and fighting spirit. How could she allow something like that to happen... there was no way she would... she must get that thing back... And seeing as she was all intent on fighting that man and recuperating the Power Sphere despite her condition, Yusuke had no choice but to stop her forcefully, although it required very little strength. If she could not even break free, there was nothing she would be able to do against Yakumo.

"No! You wait! Can't you even see the state you're in?! Don't be crazy! You'll get killed! Let me do it!" He entrusted her to Hinageshi. "You just rest for now and let me take care of it. It's not like I'm that unreliable, right?" The boy smiled confidently, removed his jacket and walked forth. "I won't let you do whatever you want!" He glared at Yakumo.

"The origin of the Netherworld's strength, the Power Sphere has returned. Now I shall restore our world!" The ball vanished, as if all its power had been absorbed by Yakumo. "I shall become the god and master of this place!" And his sphere of influence extended while the impact his power had on the land grew. Water pressure increased, removed all limiters, like taps, manholes, fire hydrants, and others, and started flooding the city. Humans screamed and fled. And the top of the building, still in construction, was replaced by an eerie greenish palace room. It was large and round and circling its edge were two lines of columns. Yusuke was at the center and in front of him was a flight of stairs. "Humans seem to be quite stupid creatures. Do you think you can match me?" Yakumo questioned with overflowing and annoying haughtiness. His outfit had changed, as if he had clothed himself in power. Atop his black top and black pants, there were pieces of bone-like armor: a headgear covering his cheeks and forehead, his chest and shoulders were also protected and he had a belt, and guards on his forearms, shins, and knees. And out of two bone –like 'outgrowth' in his back flowed a long deep red cape.

"We don't necessarily attack because we think we can win!" Yusuke retorted.

"Then is that the great aim of protecting the world for a sense of justice?"

"That's wrong too!"

"What incomprehensible creatures." The King commented.

Pulsating red organic matter started appearing on the buiding, like a plant or some other similar and disgusting parasitic creature living off of it. Kurama and Kuwabara (still carrying Hiei) were hurrying towards the top. The situation didn't bode very well. They reached Botan, Hinageshi and Akari. And they saw Yusuke sprawled at Yakumo's feet, crushed by the sheer pressure of the power of the enemy towering above him.

"I am going to create my own world. What is wrong with that?"

"Why are you doing it in the human world?" The human desperately struggled to raise himself.

"You are the ones who called me."

"What?"

"You said 'please come'. It is true that my world was beaten in a battle with the Spirit World and was sealed in the darkness of outer space. I waited patiently for an opportunity. And I collected the evil power of those humans who were sent into space by the Spirit World. And through the sphere inside that woman, I received her power, the power of her dark feelings... And I gathered enough power to break the seal. I seem to get along just fine with that evil human power which the Spirit World could not handle..." He was obviously enjoying himself. Akari and Kuwabara felt guilty frustrated. But all the more, the girl was eager on setting things right. And for that, she had to recover as quickly as possible. It was then Hiei woke up and asked what was going on. "Now I shall let you taste the power of human beings' wicked hearts!" He released the pressure only to flick a bullet of energy at Yusuke who dodged in time before attacking from behind with a barrage of punches.

His enemy though retaliated with a power blast that was dodged again. The boy leapt, attacked from above and missed as Yakumo sidestepped and got behind him... and whose power punch split the ground. Urameshi had barely evaded again. He started running but his opponent vanished and reappeared right before him and flicked a bullet at him that suddenly enlarged. And although Yusuke had stopped in time not to crash into him, he could only block the attack a little and was blown away. He managed to deflect it but the momentum made him skid on his back. He recovered and jumped high to avoid a possible blast but his action had been anticipated and Yakumo was already above him and struck his back with a bullet. The human put his arms before him to protect his head as he crashed down.

As Kuwabara and Kurama remarked, their friend was being toyed with. He was no match! But that didn't stop Urameshi from standing up again and cursing, his energy burning around him and overflowing. It started gathering at the tip of his right index. The King scoffed, advising him against wasting his remaining bit of reiki, and fired at him, but Yusuke dodged all the projectiles and in an instant closed in on his enemy, much faster than the latter would have expected. Yakumo swung his fist down but the boy had foreseen it and evaded by jumping far away. The punch shattered the ground almost up to the columns and caused a huge crater. The blast even reached the onlookers who escaped at a safer distance. From the center of the crater, the Meikai God kept shooting, and the human kept evading, still carefully preserving his reigun, waiting for the chance. Urameshi lunged and missed as his opponent sidestepped and tried to stomp on him, only to miss too as the teen leaped high. The King of the Netherworld launched a ball of energy, but Yusuke, who had purposely positioned himself right above him dodged again, and the blow destroyed part of the ceiling that crumbled right into the crater where the king still was. Here and now, hidden in the dust, was the opportunity Yusuke had been waiting for. He fired his reigun almost at point blank range. However, although the explosion was impressive, in the end, Yakumo was completely unscathed. What more, the room had gone back to how it was before and was perfectly intact... Unlike Yusuke who had heavily suffered from the backfire and was down...

"This is my world. I said everything is according to my thoughts. You cannot harm me. You are a fool... harming yourself with your own power. You have wasted the last of your spiritual power. I'll make this the end!" The King shot a ball of energy at the unconscious boy. But Kazuma jumped in the way and caught it. Its force drove him back until he was right before his fallen comrade, and then his sheer strength of will allowed him to hurl the ball into a pillar, shocking the God.

"You fool, Urameshi isn't your only opponent! Did you forget that I'm still here?!" Or so Kuwabara shouted fervidly, but no matter how much zeal he put in his voice, he couldn't change his body's condition, he couldn't make up for his total absence of physical strength or spiritual power. That one attack had already left him on his knees, unable to get up. The sovereign slowly climbed down the stairs and walked up to him, mocking him, before kicking his face up. The teen landed on his back next to his friend. Yusuke had woken up was now standing up, insulting Yakumo and insisting that the fight was a one-on-one. Kazuma tried to stop him and let him fight instead. But of course that was impossible. Urameshi told him to rest here. Again, Yakumo ridiculed them.

"Are you protecting each other? The reason you are weak is because you're stuck believing in that shallow facile friendship." He lorded over. Yusuke yelled at him to shut up. "Don't you know the meaning of 'fear'?" Suddenly, he released his power and the ground cracked. "Your body should be feeling the disparity in our power." The floor collapsed in a wide circle around them, like they were in an arena. The collapsing spread almost to the columns while the makeshift ring rose up to the sky, above the crumbling roof, supported by a pillar. The Meikai Gyoku reappeared in Yakumo's hand. "The time has come to change the Human World into the Netherworld!" From the Power Sphere, a ray of light shot to the sky, acting as a signal for energy to come down from the clouds and encompassing the whole pillar in a white kekkai rendering impossible for those outside and inside to see each other. Hinageshi climbed onto her oar. "Die! I shall blow you away along with your world!" Yakumo yelled. But just as Urameshi was bracing himself, Hinageshi broke through the barrier like glass, and the whole kekkai fell apart.

"Return the Power Sphere!" She demanded, grabbing the man's arm and holding onto it with her whole body. "You can't keep that thing which Botan and Akari almost died to-" But she was unable to finish as she had touched the sphere and she was exposed to its darkness and screamed because of the icy yet searing pain. Kurama and Hiei jumped and with his rose-whip, the fox immobilised the king's arm that the fire demon attempted to slice, only to have his sword break on his skin. Yakumo swung his arm and the Spirit Guide was sent flying... with the Meikai Gyoku still in her possession. But the impact made her let go and it rolled away. Hiei leapt away but couldn't dodge an energy blast that sent him crashing against the columns, and with another violent swing of his arm, it was Kurama who was made to join his red eyed friend. The fire demon wanted to release his Kokuryuuha but the fox stopped him. He could die if he unleashed it so soon after the previous one. Hiei reluctantly complied but just then, they were hit by Yakumo's energy ball. Yusuke had gone to see Hinageshi and was holding her in his arms. He screamed Hiei's and Kurama's names. The ferry girl asked him about Meikai Gyoku before passing out. He looked at the small round object. He no longer had any spiritual power, but in that thing... Suddenly, he saw it levitating and hovering over someone's hand...

"Akari!"

"Yakumo, you are truly strong. But even if we die, we won't acknowledge your strength. You're a lot like someone I knew... your matchless power that doesn't need anything, your disregard for everything other than strength, your contempt for companions... And both of you are complete fools for forgetting something basic: there always comes a time when your own strength fails, at that moment, what supports you is your comrades' strength. That's why we won't die. We won't lose to you. And you're a fool for another reason..." She smirked, stopped her telekinetic power and caught the ball. Instantly she felt it trying to overwhelm her, its power literally envelopped her. "Did you truly think I wouldn't do anything all those years? It may have been feeding on my darkness... but I fed on its raw power, little by little at first so I wouldn't be the one consumed. My ability is energy conversion... with such a bothersome tenant... of course the rent would be high... Your return might have complicated things... but I've already started learning how to handle it..." She jeered. Even though she was panting, sweating, suffering so much from the incredible strain she was under, she was still smiling confidently, mockingly...

"What useless bravado... and useless efforts. You could barely contain half of it, the whole thing is impossible for you. Just look at how much you're struggling already. Even Emperor Enma could not handle it. The best he could do was dividing its power to seal it. I am the only one who can manage the Meikai Gyoku." The Lord of the Netherworld scorned with still a hint of apprehension in his tone.

"Then watch me as I become its new master!" She removed her limiters and released all her energy into the sphere. It was true she had yielded Toguro to Yusuke for the sake of future benefits but now she had no reasons to do the same and all the reasons in the world to be the one to end that man. And soon, the color of the energy around her began to oscillate between her own and that of the Netherworld, much to Yakumo's shock and Yusuke's joy. Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei had also come to and were watching her fight. Akari roared as, her eyes glowing, she burned her soul into pure power. The sheer pressure caused tears in her clothes. And then the sphere was completely dyed in her own color. She fell down on one knee from the exhaustion. Urameshi rushed to her to help her, and when he touched her, the energy enveloped him too and he was suddenly brimming with power once more. And then so were Kurabara, Kurama and Hiei. She had given them all energy. They joined her and Urameshi, and due to their arrival, all of their strengths multiplied. The five of them looked like a single mass of great and incommensurable power, although dangerously unstable.

"It can't be... does she really have the strength to change the Netherworld's power... into spiritual energy?!" Yakumo muttered in disbelief as he shielded himself from the wind pressure and the floor cracked and rose up. The girl extended her hand to the sky and the Meikai Gyoku was absorbed into her palm. The sheer pressure of her power caused rocks to levitate. And then all the rocks shattered. Rogue splashes of energy spilt down and splattered all over the place, destroying everything made of netherworld power they fell on. The whole scenery started changing. They were once more on the building under construction. The king's influence had disappeared. Full of rage, Yakumo hurtled I-beams at the group through his telekinesis before leaping and firing his power blasts in rapid volleys.

But Akari had protected everyone with a kekkai. She and Yusuke fired their reiguns which were barely avoided. Kurama took over and whip of energy slithered to attack the man from behind. In the same time, a sword tried to slice him, but he dodged them all. However, he received a straight hit. Although he managed to block, the stream of energy did not weaken in the slightest. On the contrary, it grew stronger as it mixed with black flames of the Makai and took the shape of a dragon, forcing him back and making him crash down, floor after floor, down the building... all the way down to the ground.

On each corner of the flooded city, the flow of Netherworld power began to recede. And Akari stopped the output from the sphere too. They all stared tensely at the huge hole before them in anxious waiting. Then, they finally relaxed. It was over. They started looking for Hinageshi and Botan. The guys walked away but the girl noticed a hairband blowing in the wind, caught in a metal bar. A hairband she remembered having seen on Hinageshi's forehead... She ran over to it. Suddenly, netherworld power shot up right from below the guys, but before she could react, she felt the same presence that had moved right below her. Yakumo caught her foot and made her fall down with him before tightly wrapping his arms around her from behind. She could not use reiki-based attacks like this. She noticed that he was missing his left leg and his right forearm was in a very, very, very sorry state, but his physical strength was still nothing to laugh about. She struggled and broke free after jabbing her elbow hard into his right side, forcing him to let go. Akari tried to punch him but she caught the back of her neck. She swung her arm and hit his head. He turned her and tried to strangle her or rip her head from her neck. He was demanding the Meikai Gyoku.

"If that's what you want... I'll give it back to you..." The girl made the sphere appear in her hand. Yakumo let go of her and immediately went for it but she easily dodged and kicked him down. When he had seen the sphere he had been so desperate his movements had gotten pathetically sloppy. But there was no way she'd feel any pity for that guy. She threw the sphere after him and aimed. "This is the last blow!" She fired her full-powered reigun. It shattered the sphere and destroyed the King of the Netherworld. There was a huge explosing whose shockwave blew her right back up to the top where she fell and crashed, taking the full impact as she no longer had the energy to shield herself or break her fall.

In the city, the waters receded and the flow of netherworld energy from the reikimons completely stopped. Instead, something else was sent to the Spirit World. Yusuke woke up and looked around. He could only see rubble, not a sign of life. Then he noticed Botan. He ran to her, shook her, called her name... when a soft rain of light fell on them from the sky, and on two spots nearby. Hiei and Kurama got up too, followed by Kuwabara who had been completely buried in the debris. It also fell on Hinageshi who was freed. They were all perfectly fine. And at last, Botan woke up. But where was Akari?! They saw light fall on another pile of rubble. Hiei took the rock covering her away and Kurama knelt next to her, lifting her a bit, they all feared she was dead. But she suddenly hugged the fox tight around his waist and they heard her mumble something that sounded like 'kitsune'... and then 'udon'. And they all sweatdropped and laughed that just like Akari to be sleeping like this and dreaming about food after having saved the Ningenkai and Reikai. A good fight, a good sleep, a good meal, that was her entirety, her identity, all her life revolved around those. Certainly, she hadn't once thought about the world, justice or duty. She had simply wanted to preserve her current lifestyle and pay back Yakumo for the pain he had put her and her loved ones through. Well, though it required strength and intelligence to properly pull things off, she was just a simple-minded idiot at core. Kurama took her in his arms while Yusuke took care of Botan. Dawn was rising.

"It's finally over."

"Yeah, somehow."

"Did that bastard really die?"

"I don't know, he could be hiding among us."

"Eh? That's not even funny!"

"But if he is, we'll give him another good beating."