Sayomi, Yusuke, and Hiei ran down the road. When Sayomi spotted the city in the distance, she smiled. We're almost there!
Why are you so excited?
Sayomi scowled at Hiei's annoyed tone echoing in her head. It means we're about to close the portal and finally put this mess to rest. Why else?
Do you not intend to go back?
Sayomi hesitated a moment before answering. Not yet... Not until... She looked at Yusuke and bit her lip. I just can't yet...
Hiei glanced at her silently. Before he could say anything, Yusuke stole their attention. "Huh? They're already here?! Must've taken the train."
Sayomi smiled again when she noticed their friends waiting for them at the edge of the city. Among the group was Kurama, Genkai, Botan, Kaito, Yanagisawa, and Mitarai. Sayomi's brow arched at the unexpected addition. He's coming too?
When they reached the group, Botan smiled and pulled Sayomi into a rib-crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're both okay!" She lowered her voice and whispered in Sayomi's ear. "You'll have to tell me everything as soon as we're alone!"
"Uh..." Sayomi blinked and squirmed out of the reaper's arms. "What...?"
"Lose your shirt, man?" Yanagisawa asked.
"Oh yeah." Yusuke grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "That creep, Sniper, took out my ride and sent me crashing into the pavement. He chased us with a freakin' gas tank and tried to take us out with an explosion. Then Hiei came in, saved us, and took care of him."
"Does that work for you, Botan?" Sayomi scowled at the girl.
The reaper smiled and waved her hand. "That's just the summary. I need details."
Sayomi sighed and shook her head. I don't think I'll ever understand girls. Or maybe it's just Botan…
Genkai grunted and said, "Well, let's go. Might as well get this boy a shirt before we move on."
"Why?" Yusuke asked. "Let's just go take care of it now so we don't waste any more time."
"He said we have two days," Genkai reminded him. "We can spare two hours to get you a shirt."
"No one wants to see you half naked, Yusuke," Sayomi teased.
"Hey!" Yusuke glared at her, but he couldn't hide the smirk on his face. "All the chicks wanna see this!"
"Not all of them," Botan argued. "I'm sure Keiko wouldn't want you walking around like this either."
"Why does everyone feel the need to bring Keiko into things?" Yusuke pouted as they started walking into the city.
"You know why." Sayomi smirked.
Yusuke scowled at the demoness and muttered, "Oh sure. Just don't let your eyes wander too much or a certain someone might get jealous."
Sayomi glared at her charge. "Shut up, Yusuke."
Botan listened to their exchange with a mischievous smirk and snuck a peek at Hiei. He walked behind the group with his hands in his pockets and stared at nothing in particular. When he noticed her staring, he glared and asked, "What?"
Botan smiled nervously and waved her hand. "Oh, it's nothing. I just didn't expect you to come back!"
Hiei scoffed and said, "My actions are my own business. I don't need to explain myself."
Botan blinked and slid a glance towards Sayomi, who was playfully fighting with Yusuke. She smiled as she thought about the possibilities.
Hiei narrowed his eyes at her.
It took them about a half hour to get to the nearest store. It was a simple shop off the side of a busy street. Pedestrians walked by, gossiping about a thunderstorm and the missing Dr. Kamiya.
Sayomi sighed as she glared through the hordes of demon insects. She leaned against a wall with her arms crossed as Yusuke searched the store for the cheapest shirt he could find. She did her best to ignore Hiei who posted next to her with his eyes closed. Why must we keep coming back here?
You're the one who was excited to come here.
Sayomi ignored the urge to direct her glare towards Hiei. Not to actually come here, though. These bugs are even more annoying than the last time.
"Can we really trust his word, Master Genkai?" Botan asked.
"Do we have a choice?" Genkai countered. "If Mitarai is telling the truth, then that means Kuwabara is the key to getting what he wants."
"And even if Kuwabara doesn't comply, there's still Gourmet." Kurama looked at Sayomi and Hiei. "If we have two days, that gives us today and tomorrow. While there's no immediate rush, sooner would be better."
Sayomi frowned as she imagined what Kuwabara must've been going through. Knowing him, he's probably mouthing off about how he'll never help them. But if this Gourmet can eat – Her stomach growled, cutting off her train of thought.
Kurama smiled. "Hungry?"
Sayomi smiled sheepishly and rubbed her stomach. "Yeah, I guess so. I forgot I haven't eaten since yesterday..."
Genkai smirked. "Might as well grab a bite to eat. Don't need anyone passing out from an empty stomach in the middle of the fight."
"Did someone mention food?" Yusuke walked up to the group wearing a plain white t-shirt.
Genkai turned to Kaito and Yanagisawa. "Know any decent restaurants nearby? Nothing too expensive. We can't afford this idiot's appetite."
"Hey!" Yusuke glared at the old woman.
"There's a ramen shop not too far from here. Decent prices for the portions they serve." Kaito pushed up his glasses. "Although, there are other options if you'd like something else."
"What's ramen? Is it good?" Sayomi asked curiously.
"You've never had ramen before?" Yusuke asked in shock.
"No." Sayomi shrugged her shoulders.
"Well that settles it!" Botan declared. "To the ramen shop!"
Kaito and Yanagisawa led the way to the shop and everyone took seats where they could. Genkai sat down with Kaito, Mitarai, and Kurama. Yusuke, Yanagisawa, and Botan occupied another booth. Hiei sat by himself at a separate table.
Sayomi debated between sitting with Yusuke's group or Hiei. When she caught Botan's eye, the reaper smiled and patted the seat next to her. The glint in her eye was enough to sway Sayomi's choice. She sat down in front of Hiei and browsed the menu.
Hiei scowled, but he didn't object to her company. Sayomi let out a small sigh of relief. Better than having to deal with Botan's interrogation.
Interrogation?
Sayomi looked up from the menu. Hiei was staring out the window. His chin rested in his open palm and his eyes reflected his obvious boredom. She looked back down at the menu. She wants me to tell her what happened.
What do you mean?
I don't know. Yusuke already explained it, so I don't see the point in going into details. Her eyes stopped on an item on the menu in curiosity. Pork based broth with chashu, soft-boiled egg... Sayomi's mouth began to water as she read the ingredients.
Minutes later, her bowl arrived and the smell of the broth, meat, and vegetables made Sayomi's stomach growl. She broke her chopsticks and hefted the noodles to her mouth. Her eyes lit up as the flavors burst over her taste buds. She quickly began to take in the soup, barely stopping for air, until she heard a low chuckle.
Sayomi looked up to see Hiei smirking at her through the window's reflection. She swallowed her noodles and straightened in her seat. She arched a brow at him with annoyed curiosity. What?
Your appetite is rather similar to the detective's and the oaf's. Hiei watched as Sayomi scowled and set her chopsticks down.
She glared at him and looked down at her half-empty bowl. She sighed and muttered, "I haven't eaten all day, okay? And this is pretty good."
"Why haven't you eaten?" Hiei asked.
"Let's just say it's been a busy day. I haven't had the chance." Sayomi picked up her chopsticks again to take another bite. "Besides, I've been too anxious to eat. Having to worry about Yusuke, you, and –"
"Hm?" Hiei turned to look at her curiously.
Sayomi quickly slurped down more noodles to buy her time to think. Uh-oh...
Hiei stared at her for a moment. Then he smirked. "I see. So there's some truth to Yusuke's claim."
Sayomi glared at Hiei, her cheeks pink from her slip. "You can't blame me, can you?" When Hiei just stared, she sighed. "The last time you were here, you told me to stay away. Now you show up, save us, and decide to help us again?"
Without answering, Hiei reached out and stole her chopsticks. Before she could object, he dug into her bowl and stole a piece of sliced pork. "Back then, you were acting like a coward. Now you're fighting again, despite the danger. Care to explain that change in tactic?"
Sayomi gaped at Hiei in disbelief. "Did you just eat my food?"
Hiei reached for another helping, but Sayomi quickly pulled the bowl out of his reach. He glared at her, annoyed by the move.
"Get your own," Sayomi warned.
Hiei crossed his arms, the chopsticks dangling in his hand. Sayomi glared at him and brought the bowl to her mouth. Before she could get a sip, Hiei grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She stared at him with wide eyes, stunned by the sudden move. Hiei gently coaxed her to put the bowl down so he could take another bite. They locked eyes until Hiei swallowed and set down the chopsticks.
His hand still held onto her wrist and Sayomi became increasingly aware of the heat spreading from the point of contact. When Hiei turned her wrist over to look at the marks, she became self-conscious. What is he doing? He's seen them before...
"What was it that convinced you to change your mind?" Hiei asked quietly.
Sayomi glanced behind him. Yusuke was already slurping down his second helping of noodles while Botan scolded him and Yana smiled. Genkai and Kurama were huddled over the table, in deep discussion with Kaito and Mitarai. She looked back at Hiei to see him staring straight at her. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves before she answered. "Master Genkai and Kaito suggested it. They figured, since I was able to train under her without the marks appearing, then I should probably go back to doing that. When I first got here, she let me manipulate my aura, but it was more for healing and just being more in tune with it. She only taught me the basics for my weapon. I was the one who started using my aura for attacks."
"Would returning to the Demon Plane help you at all?" Hiei asked. He studied the markings on her arm and tracked them to the nape of her neck. "I can't imagine why you would want to defend a world that's not even yours."
"Let's just say I'm still in debt to someone and I can't go back until I finish paying it off," Sayomi muttered under her breath. She snuck another glance at Yusuke before looking back at Hiei. "I don't know how long it'll take, but if Yusuke is set on protecting this world then so am I."
Hiei scowled and let go of her wrist. "You're always fretting over the detective. Why?"
"Does it really matter?" Sayomi asked. "I have my reasons."
"Does it have something to do with this debt you owe?" Hiei asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Sayomi countered.
"I have my reasons." Hiei smirked.
Sayomi glared at the swordsman until an idea popped into her head. "Wait... Is it because...? Nah, it couldn't be."
"What?" Hiei asked, annoyed with her elusive speech pattern.
"You're not jealous, are you?" Sayomi smirked when Hiei's scowl darkened.
"Nonsense," Hiei denied instantly.
"Well why else would you be so interested in my secrets?" Sayomi challenged.
Hiei glared at her for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. He rested his chin in his hand and stared out the window. "What about after?"
"After?" Sayomi quirked a curious brow. "You mean after I pay my debt?"
Hiei nodded and tilted his head to look at her. Sayomi chewed her lip as she tried to put her thoughts in order. Where is this coming from? Why would he want to know? "I guess... After I pay my debt, I don't really know what to do..."
Hiei watched her quietly as she played with the chopsticks on the table. She stared down at her hands until Hiei asked, "Would you stay with the detective?"
Sayomi shrugged her shoulders. "That depends, I guess. If things turn out as planned, then probably not. I don't want to go back there if I can help it."
"Why not?" Hiei asked.
Sayomi's eyes became distant as she shifted through her memories. "Let's just say I wasn't really welcome there. I was tolerated under someone else's protection. So now I owe him this debt. Once paid, I'm free to go where I please."
"You have somewhere else to go?" Hiei asked.
"I guess I could look for my brother," Sayomi suggested half-heartedly.
Hiei's eyes narrowed at the mention of the shadow demon. "What if you had another option?"
"What other option is there?" Sayomi asked.
Hiei stared at her silently. Sayomi tried to avoid eye contact, but she couldn't stop her gaze from wandering back to his. His eyes were confident with a hidden layer of mischief that piqued Sayomi's curiosity. Without breaking eye contact, Hiei reached for the bowl and finished the rest of the noodles.
"Hey!" Sayomi protested.
"You guys ready to go yet? Hm?" Yusuke blinked. Sayomi was glaring at Hiei. The fire demon sat smugly in his seat. The empty bowl of ramen sat between them. Yusuke grinned when he put the pieces together. "Alright, you two. Date's over. Let's go get this over with then you can pick up where you left off."
Sayomi turned to Yusuke in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Hiei got up from his seat and followed the group out the door. Sayomi and Yusuke exchanged glances and Yusuke asked, "Was it something I said?"
Sayomi shook her head. "How should I know? If you had shown up just a little sooner, I might've been able to save the last of my food."
Yusuke smirked and ruffled her hair. "I can make you some later. Let's get going before we waste any more time."
Sayomi sighed and got up from her seat. She followed Yusuke and the others, but she couldn't focus on their conversation. What was Hiei trying to say? Was he offering me an alternative... with him? That doesn't seem like something he'd do, but... what other option would he have in mind?
The group stopped in an empty field just outside the city. Sayomi looked up at the sky, admiring the vibrant colors in the clouds as the sun started to set. She didn't want to look back towards the city.
"Let's review the situation," Kurama said. "Hiei's taken Hagiri out, so four enemies remain. They got Kuwabara and retreated to Irima Cave." He held up two fingers. "Sensui said in two days the portal will be complete, undercutting the Underworld's estimate by four days."
"Probably because Itsuki, the spell caster, is growing in power," Botan suggested.
"Itsuki said it might go quicker than expected," Mitarai agreed. "One look around makes that clear."
Sayomi scowled and rubbed her arms as she imagined the insects swarming the city.
"Now that they have Kuwabara..." Kurama continued. "We have to go in and stop them – now! Or they'll use Kuwabara's sword to complete their work. Until they reach that point, he should be okay. Then again... They do have Gourmet."
"Not good, huh?" Yusuke asked.
Kurama turned to the boy and said, "He might 'consume' Kuwabara's ability, allowing them to dispose of Kuwabara."
"I'm afraid you're right about that," Mitarai confirmed. "I once saw Makihara devour a demon."
A demon? Sayomi's ears perked up at the information.
"Was it named Toguro, by any chance?" Kurama asked.
Mitarai nodded. "Yeah."
"How does he 'eat,' exactly?" Yusuke asked.
"He swallows the guy whole. His territory is inside his body." Mitarai became pale as he spoke.
"Enough standing around," Hiei interjected. "We can talk on the way to the cave."
"Just a moment," Genkai said. "We shouldn't all just charge in."
"I agree," Kurama said.
"Sayomi... Hiei... Kurama... Yusuke..." Genkai pointed at each person in turn. "You four take this one."
Sayomi could feel the excitement building in her system, but she hid it behind a calm mask. This is my chance!
"If we went as a gang," Genkai continued. "We'd just increase the risk of the enemy exploiting any weaknesses. The rest will stay on lookout. They may have agents set to flank us if we all go in."
"That cave's like a giant maze. I'll guide you." Mitarai jerked his thumb at himself.
"Can we trust you?" Hiei asked.
Mitarai looked down in shame and guilt. Sayomi scowled and elbowed Hiei in the ribs. When Hiei glared at her, she glared back. You didn't have to say it like that.
"I want to help Kuwabara." Mitarai looked up at Yusuke nervously.
Yusuke met his gaze, gauging the boy's sincerity. When Yanagisawa lifted his hand, offering to lend his power to check him, Yusuke waved him off. Instead, he clapped his hand on Mitarai's shoulder and said, "Welcome aboard. Let's go."
"Thanks," Mitarai said with genuine gratitude.
Sayomi smiled at the gesture. Poor kid. He must feel responsible for Kuwabara's situation.
That's because he is.
Sayomi let out a huff of breath and crossed her arms. She ignored the urge to glare at Hiei. Why do you keep invading my thoughts? I thought we agreed to certain boundaries.
Those boundaries included communication, didn't they?
Sayomi took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It took her a few moments to calm down again. That doesn't mean you can listen in all the time. I like having some privacy every now and then.
"Yusuke..." Genkai called out, stopping the boy from leaving. "Does this remind you of anything?"
"Hm...?" Yusuke blinked. "Oh!" He pointed at Kaito and Yanagisawa. "When these three captured me!"
"Right," Genkai approved. "So don't race ahead of what wits you possess."
"Don't worry." Yusuke smirked. "We'll drag Sensui outta there in no time."
"Heh..." Genkai crossed her arms and smirked.
"Let's go!" Yusuke led the way to Irima Cave until he realized he didn't know where he was going. "Uh... Kurama? Where is the cave again?"
"I'll show you," Mitarai volunteered.
"Sure." Yusuke smirked. "Lead the way, man."
As Mitarai guided them to the cave, Sayomi could only focus on their growing shadows. Time sure is going by pretty quickly.
Exactly my point. Hiei kept pace with her behind the group. He watched Mitarai, skeptical of the boy's intent. All we've done is waste time.
Sayomi glared at him without turning her head. You weren't complaining when you ate my food.
You took too long. It was already cold.
No, it wasn't! Sayomi took slow breaths to keep herself under control.
Yusuke took a careful peek behind his back. Hiei and Sayomi followed them in silence. Yusuke leaned in closer to Kurama and lowered his voice. "Hey, is it just me, or do they seem kinda chummy since he got back?"
Kurama took a sly peek at the pair and he smiled. "It is a possibility. Whether it is or isn't, it's really none of our concern. I have already warned him about what would occur should she get hurt, but ultimately it isn't up to us."
"You too?" Yusuke smirked. "I was actually hoping to go for round 3, but if you want to make this a tag-team..."
Kurama chuckled. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"Right." Yusuke sighed and asked, "So how far is this cave supposed to be?"
"At that boulder, we're gonna veer right," Mitarai answered. "From there we keep going for another 20 minutes. After that – "
"Geez!" Yusuke sighed. "It's gonna be dark by the time we get there."
"Maybe if you didn't take off after them on your own, we could've saved on time," Sayomi pointed out.
"Oh, look who decided to join us!" Yusuke teased. "Did we disturb your flirting back there?"
"Shut it, Yusuke." Sayomi glared at the boy.
"Besides," Yusuke continued. "If I hadn't gone, then we wouldn't have run into Hiei and taken out Sniper. Not to mention the food that we paid for."
"Actually, Yusuke," Kurama interrupted. "Master Genkai and Botan paid for you and Sayomi. Everyone else paid for themselves."
"Oh, whatever, Fox Boy." Yusuke grumbled.
Sayomi smirked at Yusuke's defeated posture. That's what you get!
About 45 minutes later, they reached an old wooden gate with a worn sign that read 'No Trespassing'. Both the gate and the sign were wrapped in barbed wire. Ignoring the warning, they hopped over the fence and followed the trail to a large cave. Parked off to the side of the road was the same truck Sensui had used to escape. At the cave entrance, there was another short wooden fence.
Sayomi sighed and shook her head. "Don't they realize how easy it is to get over these barricades?"
"Not many people come around here too often unless they're trying to commit suicide." Mitarai smiled and said, "Fortunately, we haven't found any dead bodies since we started coming here."
"How long will it take to reach Itsuki?" Kurama asked.
Mitarai stared into the dark cave. "At a cautious pace, I'd say about two hours. If we go undetected."
Sayomi stared into the dark cave and switched to infrared vision. She picked up dark blues and pitch black. The ground gave off a hint of violate. "I don't see anyone hiding near the entrance, at least."
"Come on," Yusuke said sternly.
They followed Mitarai into the cave. Despite not being able to see, he seemed to know where to walk and for how long. When the path forked, he led them down the right. "This way."
Kurama tossed a small seed on the ground. It quickly sprouted into a small weed with a glowing bud. Yusuke looked at it curiously until Kurama explained. "Blazing our trail, just in case."
When Sayomi looked at the small flower, she saw a glimmer of red-orange that shined brightly against the cooler color tones. "It'll come in handy when we need to come back."
"I just hope he doesn't run out of seeds," Yusuke said with concern.
"We're coming up on two forks close together. We're going to keep right, then take the left path," Mitarai informed the group.
After the tenth fork in the path, Sayomi gave up on keeping track of their turns. I'm glad Kurama was prepared.
Half an hour later, Yusuke turned to look back at their glowing trail. "We've taken twenty forks so far. We'd be lost without Kurama's Glo Buds."
Mitarai pointed ahead. "There's a large cavern up ahead. That's about the halfway point."
Sayomi resisted the urge to groan. Barely halfway? If I could, I would just travel to the end through the shadows.
Don't let us keep you from going. I'm sure you can handle Sensui and bring back Kuwabara on your own.
Your sarcasm isn't needed, Hiei.
"Hold it!" Mitarai stopped walking and cautioned everyone else to do the same. "Uh-oh... That door! It's new!"
Sayomi looked ahead to see two large double doors with a large G engraved on the center. "Strange place for a door."
"The Gatekeeper's work?" Kurama asked.
"No..." Mitarai shook his head. "Itsuki has to stay with the portal. I'm not sure who's behind this."
"Hmm..." Yusuke cupped his chin as he stared at the door in thought. "Something about it seems familiar."
Everyone watched the door carefully. The silence stretched for a few minutes before a loud disembodied voice put everyone on alert. "Welcome to Devil City! You are the seven chosen warriors! The city will only know peace if you manage to defeat the Evil Gamer King!"
"It's 'Game Battler'!" Kurama exclaimed.
"That's right!" Yusuke glared and pointed at the door angrily. "That was the opening sequence!"
"'Game Battler'?" Hiei asked.
"A video game," Kurama answered.
"So Amanuma set this up!" Mitarai realized.
"So what is it exactly?" Sayomi asked. "I know Yusuke plays them all the time, but they're not all the same, right?"
Kurama nodded. "'Game Battler' is a game where you must defeat the Evil Gamer King, the Master of all genres of games, to bring peace to Devil City. The Gamer King challenges the player with sports games, fighting games, trivia games, and puzzle games, and the player must win four out of seven matches. It's so popular that kids hold 'Battler Parties,' where friends with different areas of expertise band together to try to win the game."
"Sounds too complicated to actually be any fun," Sayomi commented.
"Welcome to my territory," A young, high-pitched voice said out of nowhere. "I don't know how many of you are out there..."
"Amanuma's voice!" Mitarai recognized the boy's voice.
"...But in my territory, you have to follow the rules of the game. Seven warriors are chosen, so seven warriors there must be!"
"Bossy little runt, isn't he?" Sayomi commented.
"Amanuma's territory recreates games in real life," Mitarai explained. "Anyone who isn't a part of the game can't set foot inside his territory."
Sayomi and the boys stared at the door with suspicion. So he's using human kids too? How twisted is this guy to use a child to wipe out the human race?
Yusuke rubbed his chin as he said, "So we have to join in, eh? He must think a lot of his gaming skills."
"And just how good are your gaming skills?" Sayomi asked.
"Better than yours, I bet," Yusuke answered.
"It also trumps our strategy," Kurama pointed out. "We can't go forward without our entire group."
"Wait here!" Mitarai exclaimed. "I'll go fetch the others!"
"No!" Kurama objected. "We all go! It'll take time, but we don't dare split up."
Sayomi let out a sigh and stretched her arms as they turned to leave the cave. "So we have to go all the way back to that field? They should've just come with us to the cave entrance in the first place."
"We can plan for caution, but we can't plan for every scenario," Kurama reasoned. "Given the stakes, caution is the best course of action."
"So who are we bringing back? We only need two people, right?" Yusuke asked.
"We need enough people to fill the count, but we also want to use every advantage at our disposal. Someone will need to stay behind until this is settled."
"Well I'm not staying," Yusuke declared. "If there's a fighting round, then I can take it."
"Yes," Kurama agreed. "We will want experienced gamers with a diverse enough skill set if we want to stand a fair chance at victory."
"I'm pretty good with sports games," Mitarai said. "It's not much, but..."
"That's good. We'll still need you with us afterwards to lead us the rest of the way."
"Master Genkai will probably be another good choice," Sayomi suggested. "Her temple has a whole room full of games."
"So it comes down to Kaito and Yana," Yusuke concluded.
"Yes," Kurama nodded. "To be honest, I believe the only non-gamers among our group are Botan, Hiei and Sayomi."
"I don't think I'm gonna like where this is going," Sayomi muttered under her breath.
"We'll leave it up to you to decide who stays. Considering neither of you are familiar with games, it would hardly matter who comes," Kurama said.
Sayomi glared down at the dirt floor. Why am I always the one getting left behind?
Who says you need to stay behind?
Apparently, the brat says so. And so does everyone else.
Hn. You're going to let that stop you?
Well if only one of us can go in, does that mean you'll stay behind?
Not a chance.
Sayomi glowered at Hiei in the dark. Yeah, I didn't think so.
What about your powers? Can't you just merge with the shadows around you?
I can, but what if I'm not able to sneak into his territory? You expect me to just wait outside that stupid door by myself? That's even more annoying.
The reaper will be with you.
You're not helping, Hiei...
Two hours later, Yusuke returned with Kurama, Hiei, Mitarai, Genkai, Kaito, and Yanagisawa. Genkai stared up at the door and sighed. "Oh brother..."
"Welcome to Devil City!" The disembodied voice announced. "You are the seven chosen warriors!"