File 47: The roots of Evil
Botan and Shizuru were changing Mitarai's bandages but since there wasn't enough, Keiko decided to go by some with Puu-chan. Koenma, Kuwabara, Genkai, Akari, Kurama and Yusuke were sitting at a table in the next room. So what kind of dirty bastard Sensui was? And he had been a Spirit Detective too... and thus supposed to defend mankind. How could he make such a 180-degrees turn? The prince cleared his throat.
Sensui was born with strong spiritual powers. As a result, from the time he was a child, he has survived while constantly having his life targeted by youkais and evil spirits. That was how he had developed a Manichean view of the world. Humans were good while the very existence of youkais was evil. They should all be returned to nothingness. He had a very strong sense of justice... until an incident made him reverse himself and distrust humanity. It came about because of the given order (that was to become his last order): 'close up the tunnel that connects to the demon realm.' ...the same as Urameshi's current mission. But the scale had been different then. The diameter of the entrance had been no bigger than 10 meters, just enough for summoning low level monsters. It was conducted by a giant illegal trade organization that considered all living things as commercial objects, the Black Book Club, the same one that had taken Yukina captive. The summoned demons were caught and trafficked in for a great deal of money. And at that time, they had an up-and-coming specialist in capturing youkais, Sakyo.
"That bastard! He's been doing this ever since I was in kindergarten?!" Urameshi remarked, shocked. Koenma continued.
Humans employing demons as brokers, as bodyguards, capturing others in order to sell them... the one who created this whole system was Sakyo. The Reikai came by some information that a large trade of youkais was to be conducted in a villa deep in the mountains so Koenma had sent Sensui and his partner, Itsuki, after them. The youkais employed by Sakyo then were extremely weak, nothing compared to the Toguro Brothers. The raid was a success and they pursued Sakyo and the other organisation executives until they were just one step away. However, after having separated, Sensui saw something he shouldn't have... what could be called mankind's pinnacle of evil, an orgy of wickedness, unthinkable in this world. There, the summoned demons were made sport of, tortured in unimaginably cruel ways and finally brutally slaughtered. As he saw this debauchery held by humans thirsting for blood, steeped in hedonism, he found them to be even more savage, cruel and ugly than the monsters he had detested for so long.
He had seen something that was the complete opposite of the sense of values he had held until now. It was indeed similar to the time when Urameshi and Kuwabara had gone to Tarukane's mansion, but the decisive difference was that unlike them, Sensui had killed all the humans present there. By the time Itsuki returned to him, it was too late. His feet and hands drenched in blood, he told Itsuki there had been no humans here, not a single one. It was after that that Sensui showed unusual interest in the Black Chapter that recorded the crimes of mankind and started having doubts about humanity as a whole. Perhaps his sense of duty had been overly strong. He sensed evil in the very existence of humanity and sought to have all mankind atone for their sins.
"And that's why he's trying to open a tunnel to the Makai." Genkai concluded.
"Keh! That's why those ultra-serious guys are so hard to deal with! They always go swinging from one extreme to the other." Yusuke complained. Akari nodded her assent.
"Yeah, which is why I chose such a frivolous guy to be the next Reikai Tantei."
"Oh! I understand now!" The fox exclaimed, angering Yusuke. That wasn't something he had to agree with!
"Well, Akari's capacities made her a suitable candidate for the post but with that personality of hers she'd have just done whatever she wanted. We can't have someone who's too selfish either." Junior noted.
"That's right. Bothering too much isn't good for your mental and physical health. Thank you very much for not having pushed all the trouble onto me." The girl said proudly and gratefully.
"But you don't mind pushing all that trouble onto someone else. I can't believe your nerve." The Detective voiced his resentment.
"As I said, don't sweat the details. It isn't good. Who cares how it's come to be, now that you're the Reikai Tantei, all you have to do is see it through." Akari smiled sweetly. Urameshi's eyebrow twitched and veins appeared on his head. Kurama smiled embarrassedly. She truly had some incredibly selfish sides... and was incredibly shameless about it. Still, she had gone on missions when Yusuke couldn't... when she found an interest or a reward, or on a whim, or when she was bored like hell and a mission was better than nothing. However, those statistics increased when Kurama came in the picture. Officially, it was so she could monitor him to see if he could be trusted... but the true reason was so he'd boost Akari's motivation and make sure she'd properly do her work... since she had a strong tendency to skip out whenever things became too boring or she felt it was no longer worth the trouble. Being a far cry from the responsible, reliable, altruistic type, she usually needed powerful incentives in order to move and a skilled supervisor (that she couldn't scare away, manipulate, or abandon somewhere) to keep her on tracks... since she also disliked having someone on her back.
"In any case, I don't know why he waited for ten years just to act now. There's no way of knowing what he's been doing for those ten years either. The only thing I can say is that once Sensui starts acting, there's no stopping him until he achieves his objective." Koenma concluded. Suddenly, Yusuke, Kurama and Akari sensed something and turned to look out of the glass doors. Kaname and Sensui were standing on the rooftop of the opposite building. The next moment, the three young psychics had bolted on their feet and were before the glass door, staring intently, warily at their enemy. The former Reikai Tantei made a sign with his head and the Sniper opened his hand and prepared to flick the dice on his palm at them. Akari's stance shifted to a battle one before the shooter aimed at the room next to them. Her eyes widened and Kuwabara gasped. Mitarai was in danger!
Kuwa dashed to the bedroom and threw himself on the boy. They fell to the ground, ducking just in time as the dice broke the glass and embedded themselves in the wall. They would have ended in Kiyoshi's chest if Kazuma hadn't saved him. Botan was scared. Shizu asked what was going on. Sensui had come to attack! He told everyone to keep their head low and hide under the window before getting off Mitarai. It was then Seaman noticed something in the pocket of his jeans and took it out. It was a listening device. Botan turned to Sensui and yelled at the evil guy for having dared do that to his own ally... before shrinking and screaming as more dice were shot at her in response.
"Mitarai, your frailty was part of my equation. I knew you would go over to their side. I've been checking in on everything you've been saying and doing." The enemy head revealed. Yusuke wanted to know what that guy was grumbling about.
"Apparently, he was manipulating Mitarai from the beginning." Kurama answered, tightly holding Akari against him from behind. She had tried to charge ahead when the sniper attacked but he had stopped her. There could be casualties if she and Sensui fought in that place, including those she wanted to protect. They could destroy the buildings and that sniper could still target them. Charging alone would be exactly what they wanted. Besides, they came to challenge them, they weren't going to run.
"Eh? You can hear them?" Urameshi questioned, incredulous. Knowing Kurama, it was possible. Still, his ears were really something!
"Something like that." The kitsune replied.
"He's reading his lips." Genkai, who had joined them, explained.
"But who would have thought that the person with the ability we've been looking for was among our enemies... it's ironic but it feels like it was destined... destined that we fight each other, that is." Sensui commented.
"The person with the ability they're looking for?" Kurama repeated. Yusuke wondered what he was talking about. Enraged by the bastard who was fine with killing his comrades as soon as they had become useless, Kuwabara ran out of the room. From Shizuru's arms, Kiyoshi tried to stop him but his wound wouldn't allow for a powerful voice or sudden movements. Yusuke came out too, yelling at his friend to rest. Not only was he injured but he couldn't use his spiritual powers!
"I haven't told you yet, but thanks to Mitarai, I've recovered and even powered up! I don't understand it too well myself but the shape of the sword changed somewhat so it has to mean that I've powered up!" The reiken user exclaimed as they exited the apartment and ran down the stairs of the building. Akari directly jumped from the floor down to the street, making sure to erase her presence so normal people wouldn't see her. And she had been late because she had (just in time) thought of and taken precautions regarding the safety of those who would stay.
Sensui told Kaname about the Jigentou, the Dimensional Blade, that Kuwabara used. With that, they could break the subspace peripheral field set up between the Makai and Ningenkai. First, seize Kuwabara. It was fine if they killed the others... except Akari. They were no match against her so they should leave her to him. And they could always find a use for her ability to absorb people's energy and copy their techniques. Well, for now they were going to have her behave herself... Hagiri nodded and they also went down the building.
Yusuke and Kazuma jumped down into the street to find out that Akari, Sensui, and that shooter were already there, staring at each other in the parking lot... since when?! Dark Angel made a V-sign, annoying Kazuma. It wasn't a V-sign though, but the time left until the tunnel was completely open: two days. The two younger teens looked shocked. They thought they still had about a week left. Akari clicked her tongue. So the opening speed of the tunnel had really increased this much. Kurama, Genkai and Koenma arrived too. The prince of the Reikai greeted his former employee who curtly returned the courtesy.
In Yusuke's room, Botan and Shizuru were tending to Kiyoshi. He begged them to stop Kuwabara, to bring him back, but when they asked why, he kept silent. He trembled and gritted his teeth from the pain of his injuries and the conflict that was tearing him. He had decided to turn the world upside down along with Sensui! He had seen the true nature of mankind! He had seen their horror, their cruelty, the ugliness of their baseness... but Kuwabara had saved him, an enemy who had tried to kill him and hurt his friends. He had seen kindness, a drop of white in the darkness.
"Are you really THAT stupid to believe that darkness and cruelty is all there is to mankind? Humans are capable of the worst AND the best. It's up to humans to decide which way they want to live... Just like him..."
He recalled Sensui's merciless expression... and Kaname just as mercilessly trying to finish him off as soon as he had ceased to be useful. Botan, who had gone to the window, worriedly said those guys really intended to fight it out in the middle of the city.
Keiko came running from an alley... and noticed the tense and dangerous atmosphere, and saw the not very friendly-looking pair. She fearfully whispered Yusuke's name. He told her to stay back. She obeyed, and backed a little to hide behind the building. Kuwa wanted to go at those dastards but the detective stopped him. The injured should stay back. Kurama agreed, and so did Genkai.
"Right, right, you don't need to go. Just sit back and enjoy the fight. Yusuke, I'm counting on you, even if you die, bring out the most of his techniques. I'll take over from then." Akari smiled and tapped his back.
"Alrigh- ...eh? Ah! You bitch! You just want to use me as a tester and get the good part for yourself!"
"Tsk. Oh my, since when have you gotten so smart? I can't believe a learning ability finally bloomed into you."
"Whaddya say?! I thought you hated manipulators!"
"Excuse-me, I didn't know you were that weak and impressionable."
"I'm not!"
"Then it's fine. And just to remind you, I'm going out with a manipulator." Akari said coolly, making Yusuke scream out of frustration. "What? Just go greet your great senpai already and learn from him. What are you dilly-dallying around for? Wasn't it your intention from the start?" The annoyed girl boredly looked away, picking her ear.
"The way you're putting things and using me is pissing me off!"
"Don't be such a sissy and go already!" She kicked him away. The boy got up cursing her under his breath. Regardless of how maddening she could be, she was still right. And looking at Sensui's sneering face only reinforced that feeling. Yusuke was already grinning when Koenma came to help him up.
"I know what Akari said but I advise against it. Don't get any closer to him. He can store up his reiki and shoot it, just like you. His force is considerable, though I don't know how much he's changed these last ten years." The prince warned him. Urameshi smirked wider. Akari really knew him best after all.
"Sounds like fun." He walked to the enemy, much to Koenma's dismay, and Kuwa's anger. He should listen to people's warnings! And he blamed Katsuyama for having needled him but it was useless, he would have gone anyway even without her intervention. They should know that was the kind of guy he was. "Yo, senpai. From what I've heard, you've gone crazy, haven't you?" The boy greeted once he reached Sensui.
"That is a misunderstanding. I've been awakened to the truth."
"I'll stop you!"
"It's impossible!" They both released their reiki. Kaname left the scene under Akari's eyes. Well, she had made sure to protect the guys in the apartment. His attacks could not touch them. Suddenly the two Spirit Detectives ran sideways. The fight had begun. Then Urameshi lunged. He couldn't tell his opponent's strength by just listening to stories. He had to see with his own eyes! The teen dived under and went for a punch to the face. Certainly he had got his adversary in a difficult position which should have been enough to get a reasonably strong person... but not that insanely strong guy. Sensui deflected the arm and instantly retaliated with a kick to the side of the head that sent Yusuke flying. He regained his balance and skidded a few meters before cursing as blood oozed from his cut forehead. The teenager charged again to the same result... except the kick was stronger and he crashed into the post at the parking lot entrance.
Urameshi's party ran closer. Kazuma angrily yelled at him to flatten that bastard with all he's got. Yusuke got back on his feet and wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth. He didn't look quite as confident as before. And Akari could see why. Just then, he had put all his power into the punch.
"This is bad. He's the kind of opponent Yusuke is weakest against!" The fox remarked. "He doesn't avoid Yusuke's punches but doesn't take them square-on either. Without giving up his own balance, he changes the course of Yusuke's punch and counterattacks." He explained. Genkai recognized the Resshu-ken style. The 'Splitting Kick Technique' was a martial art mainly based on footwork. The upper body defended in order to shift the course of an attack while a destructive kick crushed the opponent. It was a style one wasn't allowed to be taught until they had mastered all other forms, and that was said to be the most powerful style ever when compared to other barehanded fighting techniques.
"Kuwabara must not be alone!" Mitarai screamed. Shizu and Botan reassured him. He was not alone but with everyone. "He's the one Sensui-san has been searching for, the one with the ability to cut through dimensions. His goal is to capture Kuwabara, no doubt about it!" Alarmed, Botan went to the balcony to warn the guys but the older woman told her to get down. She looked at the next building and saw that Sniper had returned. He shot marbles at them. The girl ducked but they harmlessly bumped into the kekkai Akari had put in place. She sighed, relieved, stood up again and called. However, her voice could not reach them.
Sensui admitted being a Resshu-ken practitioner. But that wasn't all. He summoned a ball of energy the size of a handball above his palm. By mixing his own spirit power with the Resshu-ken, he had created his own martial art, the Reikouresshu-ken. He threw the ball in the air and leapt.
"Take that! Resshu Koukyu-ha!" He kicked the sphere of energy like a soccer ball that headed straight for the group of onlookers. Kuwa screamed in fright. Shizuru left the room, telling Botan to take care of Mitarai. Kazuma was her little brother. She had to do something. Akari stepped forth and aimed. But against all expectations, it changed its course, rose in the air, passed them, and turned around the building... to Yusuke's apartement! It collided against Katsuyama's kekkai, and there was a large explosion. The building shook. Inside, Shizuru, who was running down the stairs, tripped and fell. Black smoke rose. So this had been his aim from the start! Kuwabara swore. Mitarai and Botan, not to mention his sister were still there! He dashed. Yusuke screamed his name warningly and the punk looked up just in time to see Sensui's foot descending on him. Horrified, he backed and fell on his butt but suddenly, his attacker raised arm to protect the right side of his head as Akari's leg collided with it with enough force to send him crash against the wall that cracked. He slid down and coolly landed on his feet.
"Sorry, but as long as I'm here, I won't let you lay a finger on anyone but your cute little good-for-nothing of a kouhai." The pink-haired girl smirked, hitting her fist against her palm and cracking her knuckles. Urameshi told Genkai and Koenma to go see Mitarai and the others. He was going to defeat Sensui!
"Defeat me? If that's a joke I'm not laughing."
"I'm dead serious!" Yusuke lunged again, and stopped his fist before it made contact with his opponent's palm. He then started to move around with great speed. A feint, huh? As both Akari and Sensui noted, for a guy as half-witted as that one, he did appear to be thinking. Urameshi tried to punch again but was seen through and sent flying by a good kick in the abdomen. He crashed though glass doors into a building.
"Your moves are half-baked. You're better off re-learning from the basics. And you really should let Katsuyama Akari fight. The gap between you in term of power, speed, and experience is showing. It must be thanks to fighting all those demons in the Makai. Help us open the hole, and you'll benefit from the same training regimen." Dark Angel taunted from the hole in the glass, his hands in his pockets. The detective glared at him.
In another corner of the city, a man came out of a fast food with a hambuger. Around him, people were gossiping about the pillar of black smoke they could see in the distance, wondering what had happened. He was joined by a small child who had come out of a game center. The little one noted it was the signal. The big one agreed. Time for an all-out war.
Yusuke stood up and cursed, holding his belly. He had to do something about his feet. Suddenly, Sensui smirked and ran away, chased by Urameshi, Akari, Kurama and Kuwabara. Keiko reached the apartment building. Despite the explosion, it didn't suffer much damage. She saw Shizuru-san climbing down the stairs. She was holding her shoulder. She was injured! The older woman reassured her saying it was nothing and asked her to tell Yusuke and others to stop her idiot brother. Those people were after Kazuma's power. That moron was sure to become carried away and get too far ahead of himself. If she didn't hurry, they'd catch him! Yukimura agreed and ran back out.
Urameshi's party ran out of an alley into a busy street. They looked around. Suddenly, Sensui's tall and dark form appeared, mixed in with the crowd. He stopped and looked at them with that patronizing smile of his and ran away again. They entered a large building. The enemy was waiting for them atop a flight of stairs. This really seemed to be just a sick goddamn game to him, and that face had a knack for getting under people's skins. Yusuke leapt, swung, and missed. On the upper level, the two lunged at each other and the teen's punch was once more turned aside but this time, he could block the kick like his opponent had done with Akari's kick. Seeing this improvement, Sensui looked surprised at first before a slight genuine smile curved his lips, though the force of the kick still hurled the boy away like it had happened with him. Urameshi landed on his back. He raised himself to see his enemy dashing to him. Dark Angel forced him on the defensive with a barrage of kicks.
Kuwabara yelled at him to use the reikohado but Kurama knew that as long as Yusuke couldn't tie up Sensui's footwork, he couldn't hit back. And surely, Yusuke himself was aware of this too. And indeed, the Reikai Tantei purposely withstood a hit and caught his opponent's leg. He gathered reiki in his right fist. Sensui smirked ferally, jumped, and kicked Urameshi's head with his other leg, making him let go and projecting him far away, to the other end of the hallway. Dark Angel was coolly approaching when a voice stopped him.
"Hold it! You're going to face me! The Warrior of Love, Kuwabara the Man, returns! Enjoy that composure while you can! I'm about to show you my powered-up sword!" Bakazuma ran to them, stopped and summoned his reiken. The ex-detective thought it was a good opportunity to confirm with his own eyes whether they could make use of his ability. But to both his and Kuwabara's disappointment, it was just his usual reiken. Looked like he still didn't know how to use the Jigentou. Undaunted, the sword user charged head first like the idiot he was... only to have his spirit blade turned aside too, to the others' surprise. Akari clicked her tongue, vanished, and reappeared behind the man in black. She slashed from under the arm that was holding the reiken away right as he was moving for the kick. If he continued with his movement, so would she, and he'd be cut in two. He shifted his stance and jumped, avoiding her... but not as well as he had thought. His shirt had been ripped and blood was oozing from a cut. It wasn't deep but she had still managed to wound him. He looked truly surprised for a moment before smiling widely. As soon as he landed, Kurama took out his rose whip and attacked. The red head cracked his weapon. Sensui jumped back and back again until he broke through the glass wall to the outside. He was smirking as he looked at them. He landed like it was nothing and dashed again.
This time the enemy leader waited for them on a crowdy bridge above a street. He chuckled arrogantly. Kurama couldn't use his whip here. It had been the reason why he had challenged them to battle in the middle of the city. Urameshi's side wanted to avoid collateral damage but those guys couldn't care less. Their moves had been brilliantly sealed. Yet, all of a sudden, he started running again, chased by Yusuke, Kuwabara and Akari. The fox's path was blocked when Kaname landed before him on his bike and aimed at him.
"Does that mean you're my opponent?"
"Unless you'd like people to get hurt, you'll stay here with me a little longer." Hagiri replied. The kitsune swore innerly. Their fighting force was being divided according to the enemy's plan. It was bad. At this rate he was going to lose sight of Akari and the others. But soon, noticing that her boyfriend wasn't following, Katsuyama decided to return to him. The opposition was dividing them, no one must be left alone. Kuwabara should be fine if he stuck close to Yusuke. Keiko spotted Kurama from the street and climbed the stairs. She called him and tried to warn him about Kuwabara when the red head yelled at her to stay back. The sniper smirked and shot a marble at her, though Puu protected her. He was going to shoot another one when he remarked that Akari was coming back and he quickly rode away. If he ended inside her range, he was done for. Keiko knelt down and, worried sick, shook the creature that woke up. She hugged it, relieved. The pink-haired girl arrived. She had hoped to dispatch that sniper in a second so the next second they could join up with the others. She couldn't let anyone stray from the group. They asked Yukimura why she had come all the way here. She told them about Kuwabara.
Yusuke pursued Sensui up the emergency stairs of a building, followed at a slower pace by Kazuma who tripped and fell in order to avoid bumping into a child. He scolded him. This was a parking garage here, a dangerous place! Kids should be playing somewhere else! He was about to keep climbing when he sensed a familiar sense of displacement. He was in someone's territory. And the only one around was... that brat! Kuwa glared at him. Another tall guy appeared from behind a car and his fingers elongated. The Reikai Tantei apparently cornered Dark Angel onto the rooftop, which was also an empty parking lot.
"I'm through playing tag with you! We're going to settle this right here!" The boy affirmed. But a second later, they heard Kuwabara's scream. "Where are you, Kuwabara?!" Suddenly, Sensui ran to the side and jumped over the fence. The teen looked down and saw him land on the open cargo area of a green pickup truck, next to Kazuma who was all tied up, seemingly by ropes, held by a guy on the front. The vehicle was actually driven by the child. Urameshi cursed and dashed back down stairs. The car turned and Akari, Kurama and Keiko spotted Kazuma on the back. "Wait!" Yusuke jumped down and aimed. And, hell bent on not letting them escape, he got carried away and fired a full-powered reigun that could blast the car AND his friend... thing he realized too late... "Oh crap! I forgot to hold back!" Freaked out, he held his head in his hands, Kurama blamed him for his carelessness but not Akari... it might just be good with Sensui onboard!
"Urameshi! If I die, I'll haunt you!" Kazuma screamed. But he had nothing to fear for now. The enemy leader kicked his Resshuu koukyu-ha. The handball sized sphere collided with the man-sized energy ball, detonating it. Urameshi was shocked. An even match?! That puny ball packed as much power as his full-powered reigun?! It couldn't be! He must have unconsciously held back! Sensui waved at them as the pickup drove onto the street. A number of veins appeared on Yusuke's head... that bastard mocking him like that! He took a bicycle. Keiko tried to stop him but he had to save Kuwabara. How could he sit quietly after they had made a fool out of him like this?! She wanted to protest but he knew what she wanted to say. He won't do anything reckless. He told her to take care of everything here and started chasing the car at full speed. Akari sighed, hanging her head.
"There's really no helping idiots... Kuwabara who's always reckless despite being injured, Yusuke who's just as short-fused and can't fight properly due to piled up frustrations and loss of reflexes after a period of peace... or us who couldn't see the opponent's aim before it was too late. Why did the last boss only truly showed himself after Kuwabara's fight? They kept redirecting our line of sight, drawing our attention only to certain points, luring us, forcing us to walk to their pace... And we magnificently fell into that goddamn wretch's multi-layered trap. But the fact that he showed himself is still an opportunity for us. We can't let him escape. We can't let him divide our forces more than that and let Yusuke face that bunch alone." She coolly analysed but as she raised her eyes they were shining with a bloodthirsty light and a feral grin was curving her lips. "But more than anything, I won't be satisfied until I wipe that smirk off that smug pan of his and completely smash it!" She revealed her true feelings and took off to the sky like a rocket, radiating murderous intent.
Author's note: I know it's still a bit ahead but I wanted your opinion on something. Akari will participate in the Makai tournament, and I wanted to know who you would like as her opponents. And since there are several rounds, I would like several names. Please give me your answers by PM - if possible - rather than review.
