Chapter 8

Determination

Time seemed to stop and everything suddenly went quiet as the Night Maiden fell before Jacknife, her innocent blood spilled for the second time, no one could believe what had just happened.

Jacknife smirked and began to feel his eye heal back to normal, whenever a Night Maiden attacked someone and left a life changing mark, then that wouldn't heal unless the Night Maiden is killed or in critical condition, but Jin and the others couldn't tell if Loreena was alive or not.

"MOVE OUT MEN, WE'VE DONE WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE!"

What was left of Jacknife's group left with him in the shadows, and Jin and the others were left alone with a dying companion…

But giving the others no time to say anything, Loreena slowly stood up from the ground and weakly started pulling the ice spikes out of her body, but everyone ran towards her to help her up.

"She needs to see someone quick!" Kuwabara informed everyone.

"But what about the tournament?" Yusuke asked.

"That might have to wait Yusuke!" Touya shouted at him.

"Let's jus' get her t' someone quick!" Jin yelled at them.

But they were interrupted as Loreena pushed away from them and sat down by a tree, glaring at them, her eyes telling them to stop fighting.

Jin, with a confused face, walked over to Loreena, sat in front of her and looked at her angered eyes.

"Wha' do yu wan' us t' do Loreena?" he asked quietly, and she pointed to the camp that could barely be seen through the rough curtain of trees.

"Yu wan' t' go on?"

She nodded and tried to stand up, but Jin just caught her and picked her up bridal style and carried her back to Yusuke and the others, who were waiting patiently.

"What happened Jin?" Touya calmly.

"She wants t' go on," Jin whispered.

Everyone just stared at Jin for what he had just said, surprised at Loreena's efforts to keep going despite the pain and wounds she was enduring with her last bits of strength.

"But where will we get help?" Yusuke asked everyone, and they all realized that Yusuke was right.

Since the demon camp came to Spirit World, King Enma and the other rebel spirits were in hiding, so almost no one would still be living in the other areas anymore.

"Let's go find Koenma and see if he can help us," Touya suggested out of the blue, and they all agreed, but the downside was that none of them knew where Koenma's whereabouts were.

But speak of the devil, Botan suddenly flew down from the dark clouds and beside them, having her usual smile on as always.

"Hello everyone, sorry for the delay, I'm here to take you guys to Koenma!" she said happily, but everyone was just staring at her.

"How did you know where we were?" Yusuke asked suspiciously.

"I…ummm…I can't explain it now, but Koenma made me come get you guys, but who's this?" she asked, pointing to Loreena.

"She's a new companion, we were going to enter the new tournament before it was too late," Kurama explained simply, not wanting to be in the forest any longer.

Botan looked a little unsure as she studied Loreena, but she just nodded and helped Jin with getting Loreena on Botan's oar, but the grim reaper had to make a second trip anyway.

"Jus' hold on a wee bit longer Loreena…yu weel be alroight," Jin told Loreena in a worried voice, but he put on a brave face for his friend as he and Botan flew through the now clear night to Koenma's hideout.

-Unknown Hideout/Underground Building-

"Botan, it's about time…." Koenma paused in mid-sentence when Jin, Yusuke and the others entered his now office with Loreena in Jin's arms. "WHAT IS A NIGHT MAIDEN DOING HERE?"

"Geez pacifier breath, what crawled up your butt and died?" Kuwabara asked.

"Don't go there Kuwabara, now isn't the time for humor," Kurama scolded.

"Oh fine, but we need help healing her, we were attacked by one of those weird demons from the Black Cross Fortress," Kuwabara said again, pointing to the wounded Night Maiden, who glared back at him.

"Does anyone know you're here?" Koenma wondered.

"No, we escaped just in time," Hiei explained, and the baby ruler nodded.

"Botan, you take the Night Maiden and take her to the Healing Wing and get her cleaned up, I don't want any blood on my new floors!" Koenma commanded, and the grim reaper took Loreena and was gone in a flash.

"Have you heard of the new tournament being held?" Touya asked quietly, standing out of the crowd to be heard.

Koenma nodded in a fearful gesture, he had known for a long time from his spies that had searched the land for clues of the new fortress.

"But how did Yusuke and the others get here?"

"Well, it's uh…kind of a strange story…" Kuwabara said nervously.

So Kurama and Yusuke told Koenma of how they were summoned by Jin and Touya, and the information they learned of the mysterious Night Maiden.

A few hours lazily passed by, and another rainy night washed upon the sorrowful land of Spirit World when Touya stepped into the room Botan had made for Loreena.

The Night Maiden was sitting by the window, her left arm put into a cast dangling from a thick white cloth. Her black kimono was replaced a new silk one with gold dragons softly glowing in the candlelight by her side.

Her fine auburn hair was brushed and hanging loosely about her shoulders, but she didn't really seem to notice the Ice Shinobi's presence.

"You seem calmer now," he said in a low voice.

She turned and nodded in response, then turned to look out to the rainy night, the wet drops gently pattering against the glass window.

"Are you still sure you want to participate in the tournament?"

She obviously nodded, knowing for a while that the subject would come up eventually. She didn't seem to notice either when Touya sat by her, his bright blue pupils staring at her.

She felt her necklace under the silk kimono glow, and her voice temporarily returned once again, but the voice still didn't belong to her.

"Do you have the will to fight in the tournament as well?"

"Yes, but I don't have much determination as you do."

"And who doesn't, I seem to be the most persistent one that wishes to kill those monsters!" she hissed, ignoring his face.

"We all do Loreena, but since we don't know what exactly takes place in that prison, we just don't understand as clearly as you do…please forgive my intrusion."

The two went silent for a while, silently enjoying the rain's soft melody as it continued to swiftly patter against the glass window, the moon nowhere in sight anymore.

"No Touya, I should be the one to apologize…it's just that I can't be relieved of the grudge I have against them. So much has been taken from me since the day I stepped one innocent foot into that place," she apologized in a low, stubborn tone, not wanting to let her guard down.

"I'm sorry for your losses in the past, I wanted to say so sooner."

"I never thought one as cold as you would feel sympathy for one such person as me," she said back with an amused smile.

He laughed then; amused by her dark remarks towards him, he smiled and patted her injured arm.

"What makes you think I'm a cold demon?" he asked slyly, enjoying their witty game.

"The way you act towards the rest of the group, the way your voice never softens and warms up to others, that's what I mean."

His smile didn't fade as she now stared at him, her lit up cerulean blue eyes glinting with confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked like he was offended.

"Now that you must discover for yourself," she commented and fell silent.

He leapt down from the large windowsill she sat on, whispered "good night" to her then softly closed the door to leave her in privacy.

"So that's the case…" Koenma said to himself after Yusuke finished the story of how they met Loreena and what they learned about the Black Cross Fortress. "It must be a trap of some kind to lure her back."

"Maybe so, but what kind of choice do we have?" Hiei said sarcastically, amazed that even a ruler of Spirit World didn't know the solution to the problem before them.

"We should jus' go t' th' tournament! We don' have much o' a choice anyway," Jin interrupted, the large gold doors closing loudly as he entered the room.

"Jin is correct Koenma, either is a lethal trap or not, we must enter that tournament to defeat those four demons," Kurama added, but Koenma still seemed confused and deep in thought.

"Let think this overnight, we'll continue this in the morning," Koenma said wearily, massaging his temples as the crew left the room for their own.

Jin almost opened his door when he thought of something, and started walking down the hall to another room.

"Can I come in?" he asked, and the door instantly opened.

He walked in to see Loreena still staring out at the wondrous raining scene outside, and she smiled as he entered the room and walked over to her side.

"Yu feelin' better Loreena?"

She nodded and stretched her good arm a couple times, that telling Jin that she was tired from the journey here and the previous fight against Jacknife in the forest.

He helped her down from the windowsill and to the welcoming futon, stacked with thick quilts and feather pillows, the candle light by the window slowly dying away.

"Will yu feel better tomorru fer th' tournament?"

She nodded, but looked up at him with the confusion her eyes showed Touya when he was here a few hours before.

"Wha's wrong Loreena?"

She lightly touched her pendant again, feeling its warm beating and felt her unknown voice return to her silent mouth.

"Touya was here and told me he wasn't a cold hearted person like I had told him earlier, I didn't Shinobi's of his kind would feel any ounce of sympathy for our kind at all," she explained, and he just gave her a goofy grin in response.

"Weel, Touya's jus' means tha' one person's looks doesn' determine a person's 'eart," Jin explained, wondering why the Night Maiden didn't understand the meaning of prejudice or personality.

At first, she still seemed confused, but after a few more minutes of utter silence, she nodded in understanding and he smiled again.

"I guess I'll leave yu now…sleep weel Loreena," he whispered, gently squeezing her hand before tucking her in the warm futon, said "good night" once more, then left the room for his own.

(The Next Day)

An inky, bright morning peeked through Loreena's window as she gradually opened her eyes to welcome another day of her life.

Botan and a few nurses entered her room a few minutes later, did last minute adjustments on her arm, removed the splint, and then assisted her into her uniform she would wear when her journey would continue.

Meanwhile, Yusuke and the other guys were crowded into King Enma's chamber, the large king towering over them.

"Koenma and I have made our decision," King Enma bellowed, his deep voice almost causing everyone to fall to the floor.

"Yes your majesty?" Touya asked patiently, leaning one knee now.

"You all may take your journey to this tournament held at the Black Cross Fortress, but take extreme caution on your way there…stay away from them at all times, and always keep your senses aware. Is that understood now?" King Enma asked.

Kurama and Jin took one courageous step forward, then got on one knee and bowed respectfully.

"We respect your decision, Lord Enma," Kurama said calmly.

"We will come back s'ccessfully," Jin added, wondering what the king would say next.

But King Enma just nodded in approval and sent them from his chambers, Koenma following behind after closing the large doors.

When they returned to Koenma's office, Botan and Loreena were stranding by the doors on the other side.

Loreena was no longer in her black short kimono, but in a long black cape covering long white baggy hakamas that went past her ankles, black leather boots, and a long sleeved black haori shirt with a gold dragon serving a clasp securing the shirt in place.

"SHE'S…HOT!" Kuwabara said in a hyper voice, running to her but she once again flipped him over and smacked his face into the concrete wall.

The orange haired idiot winced and tried to get out of the concrete wall, but he heard everyone else laughing at his effort, then he was pulled out and fell on his butt.

"Why is it that hot chicks like her always hate me?" he asked sadly.

Yusuke snickered and punched Kuwabara playfully in the arm and helped him up, and held his sides as he cracked up a storm of laughter again.

"She…doesn't hate you…Kuwabara, she's just…not used to having… a big lug…run at her to…do something perverted!" Yusuke answered his friend, now on the floor laughing for a while longer until Touya kicked him in the side.

"You've had your humor escapade long enough, we must get going!" Touya told the cracked up Spirit Detective, and Yusuke got himself together.

"Botan, is the Night Maiden ready now?" Koenma asked sternly.

"Yes Koenma sir, I'll bring her before you," Botan answered.

Botan guided Loreena to Koenma's desk, where the kid ruler examined Loreena's collar, then took his pacifier out of his mouth.

He chanted a spell while closing his eyes, and the now glowing pacifier slowly floated to the collar, and then the power of the collar and the pacifier clashed as soon as they touched.

Black and green rays blasted across the room for a long time, but then everything fell silent after Koenma finished the chant and the collar around Loreena's neck fell to the ground in ashes.

No one spoke for a long time as well, their shocked faces preventing them from saying a word. The silence was laid heavily upon them until Loreena suddenly coughed numerous times.

After the Night Maiden stopped coughing, she turned to face her still shocked companions, who stared at her in wonder.

"It…It…it's…gone…" she whispered, her clear and real voice echoed like a harp across the room, her true voice was now free.

But everyone noticed they were staring and kept their cool, then talked with Koenma for a while longer before they made their way back to the surface of their troubled world.

-Entrance to Black Cross Fortress Port-

As they wrote down their names on the participation list, they boarded the ship on the side for the unknown island where the tournament would take place.

"This is dejavu all over again," Kuwabara said wearily as he leaned against the dock fence.

"I agree, but I wonder if we'll fight any old opponents," Yusuke added.

"Who knows, this still seems pretty suspicious to me," Hiei finally said after his remark back at Koenma's hideout.

"You're right Hiei, but we'll just have to see the truth when we arrive there," Touya said simply, turning to Loreena, who was staring out at the sea. "You ok Loreena?"

She broke her chain of thinking to look at the others, who were wondering what she was thinking about.

She looked back towards the sapphire ocean, her eyes filled with mystery and wonder as she gazed at the water for the first time.

"I'm not sure myself Touya, but I can sense those monster's presences on this ship, their evil souls reeking of sinister intentions. But I hope we all can work as one and give those bastards what they've always deserved," she told them, her voice showing as much determination that her eyes revealed.

Jin nodded by her side, his hand secretly taking hers for support, unknown to the others and she held his in response to accept his act.

Soon enough, the captain announced their departure and the rules, then they large ship was off into the still blue ocean to the island where Jin and his companions would try to attempt their objective: To bring the Era of Prosperity back to their land.

TO BE CONTINUED…