**Standard Disclaimers Apply** Lots of plot things in this chapter.
Hi all, I was very tired and very eager to get this published when I uploaded this chapter last night even though I wasn't 100% happy with it. When I read it again this morning on the way to work, I liked it even less. I've now made some tweaks and allowed Yusuke to suffer a bit more but kept most of the chapter intact. If you've been following the story, I'm sorry for my constant editing. I hope this now reads better.
Yusuke had promised himself one week. One week to train, yes, seriously train, train like his life depended on it, train like an entire country depended on it. Scratch that, his country did depend on it because after one week, Yusuke was going to challenge Mukuro. He didn't tell this plan to Hokushin - the stuffy monk would only get in his way - but he did tell Kuwabara.
Much to his surprise, instead of making fun of him or trying to talk him out of it, Kuwabara had encouraged him. And then, to his greater surprise, Kuwabara had promised to back him up when the time comes. In between training sessions, the two of them researched Mukuro's techniques then discussed battle tactics and strategies. They took turns role-playing the fight, first with Kuwabara as Mukuro, and then Yusuke as Mukuro. They were so very, very psyched up.
On day five, a report came.
They were mock-fighting in the courtyard when it came. It was Yusuke's turn to be Mukuro and he was wearing the plates from a rusty suit of armor on his right arm, trying to imitate Mukuro's robotic arm (this was serious business and serious business required serious simulations). Hokushin loudly cleared his throat to get their attention. Behind him, Seitei was frowning and Touou looked more agitated than normal.
"Your Majesty, we've received an important report from our scouts," said Hokushin, producing a scroll from his pocket.
"What's the news?" Kuwabara was the first to react.
"Lemme see that!" Yusuke took a last swipe at Kuwabara while he still was distracted, then dropped the armor and leapt towards Hokushin, snatching the parchment from his hands. He eagerly unrolled it and -
"Shit, I can't read this." The report was in a language unique to Makai. Yusuke tossed the scroll back to Hokushin. Behind him, Kuwabara howled in laughter.
Hokushin frowned and took a quick scan of the report. The look on his face changed from smooth and impassive to wrinkled in concern and then to utter horror. He looked up from the report. Four pairs of eyes peered back anxiously at him.
"Your Highness.." Hokushin looked like he was at a loss for words. "Our scouts are reporting strong energy activity at our border with Alaric again. It seems King Mukuro and General Hiei are conducting military exercises."
"So what?"
"Your Highness, there is a high possibility that they could be preparing an attack on us. This could be the repercussion of killing twelve of their captains."
"Oh yeah? Bring it on!" Yusuke exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah! We're so ready for this!" Kuwabara added.
Touou scowled at their enthusiasm.
"The scouts were able to take a rough measure of their power," Hokushin continued, still looking completely horrified. "I regret to inform you that Mukuro alone measured over 2 million in ki energy. Hiei measured at almost the same level."
Unsure of what that meant, Yusuke ventured, "Hokushin, what's your power level?"
"Your Highness, my ki maxes out at 36,000." Hokushin responded, looking increasingly aghast. Seitei was slowly shaking his head and Touou looked dejected.
The five of them looked at each other in silence. If Yusuke wasn't so taken aback by this news, he would have found their facial expressions priceless. Especially Kuwabara. The carrot top's eyebrows were practically touching his hairline, his eyes were so wide that his irises became mere brown dots in a sea of white, and his jaw was just about to touch the ground.
Without even needing to make eye-contact with the carrot-top, Yusuke already knew they were thinking the same thing: There was no way in hell they could beat Mukuro.
Yusuke felt so bummed-out and confused. The last week had been full of strange events and bad news. First it was the disturbance at the border, then it was Shuichi's reappearance, followed by Shuichi's disappearance, then the report on Mukuro's power, and finally the realization that they might be soon at war with the powerful king. Now, Shuichi was playing mad scientist.
Shuichi had returned two days after the report arrived. Without announcing his return or even seeing Yusuke, he had retired to his private quarters with a request to not disturb him. Of course, growing up sharing a tiny 2DK* apartment with his mother, Yusuke had no concept of personal space. Request denied.
The Tourinese king barged into Shuichi's private quarter with a plate of Makai pheasant. The servants have been leaving the redhead food outside his doors but the he left it all untouched. Yusuke was determined to make Shuichi eat whether he liked it or not, besides, he desperately needed advice.
He found Shuichi dozing fitfully at his desk with his head on folded arms. Surrounding him were beakers, flasks, test tubes in test tubes holders, pouches upon pouches of plant matter, tiny little jars of god-knows-what, a microscope, and other lab equipment Yusuke could not identify.
Yusuke gently tapped the redhead while noting his haggard appearance. Something must have happened to Shuichi while he was away.
Stirring and turning his head towards Yusuke, emerald eyes still half closed, Shuichi muttered, "Yusuke san?"
"Hey there sleeping beauty! We need to talk!" Yusuke summoned up as much spunk as possible to hide how dejected he was.
Shuichi must have realized that he had been neglecting his duties as Yusuke's adviser because he suddenly jerked up and straightened his back. "Forgive me for not seeking you out earlier," said Shuichi as he got up from the desk. "What's the matter?"
"Mukuro is planning an attack on us." As soon as he said that, the emotions he have been trying so hard to control all came out like the floodgates have been opened. Yusuke have never been good at hiding his feelings and it was impossible to hide how dispirited he was right now. "I was such a fool. I thought I could take her on, but I've been training and training, and there's no way I can match her powers, let alone beat her."
"Yusuke san, its unlike you to sound so defeated," Shuichi said with a gentle smile. He got up from his desk and started rummaging through his possessions. "I don't believe your problem to be lack of power, as a matter of fact, you have plenty of it. The problem is concentration, but more importantly, the problem is your humanity."
Not really listening, Yusuke continued his train of thoughts. "This is serious shit, Shuichi. I sat down with Kuwabara and the monks and we looked at power levels, terrain, weapons arsenal, troop size, and a boat load of other stuff. The only thing we have on Mukuro is pure man power and resources. We have stores of food, and we have almost double the population of Alaric."
Shuichi nodded. "The great Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu once said 'I make the enemy see my strengths as weaknesses and my weaknesses as strengths, while I cause his strengths to become weaknesses and discover where he is not strong.' Perhaps there is something we can learn here."
Yusuke was too deep in his own thoughts to really absorb and digest Shuichi's comment. There were too many factors at play and too many things to worry about. This wasn't a street fight where if you lost, you may have to suffer the humiliation but no one else is affected. There was an entire country at stake here and Yusuke felt like the world was on his shoulders. He let out a big sigh.
"I may have something that can help you," Shuichi said thoughtfully. Finally finding what he was looking for, he presented Yusuke with a plain little box. "This will not help us win a war, but it may buy us some time."
Inside the box was a thick golden ring with seven spokes pointing outward from its broader end. "What's this?"
"This concentration ring multiples the available power of its wearer by threefold. It will help you concentrate your raw power into a strong spirit gun blast." At the excited look on Yusuke's face, Shuichi quickly added. "But, Yusuke san, you will only get three shots daily, and you will be severely exhausted afterwards."
"How's that going to help us? I need to take down both Mukuro and Hiei!"
"As I've said, this will not aid us in a full scale war. Instead, it may delay the battles if we manage to deceive our enemy into thinking we are stronger than we actually are. It may give us extra time to build up our powers and our forces. In short, this is a ruse."
Realization slowly hit Yusuke. "Oh, I get it! You want me to wear this and blast my energy towards Alaric." He grabbed the ring and tried it on his index finger. Putting his hand up towards the light, he admired the way the ring glinted. He was right to come to Shuichi for advice.
"Yes, Yusuke san. Being Raizen's son, I believe your true demon powers to be as high as Mukuro. Since this ring helps you concentrate your powers and increases it by threefold, it should serve as a good deterrence. I advise that you fire a few shots near the border."
"Ok, but how much time will that buy us? It doesn't change the fact that we're not strong enough."
"That's true. That's why we should also double our efforts in tracking down King Raizen's old friends." It was clear that Shuichi was trying to encourage him.
A fire sparked in Yusuke's eyes. "Yes! We haven't lost yet! We can do this!" Yusuke gave the redhead a big pat on the back. "Thank you!"
"We will find a way to overcome this." Shuichi smiled politely then sat back down at his desk to tinker with the jars of strange substances.
"What's all this?" Having let his load off on his adviser, Yusuke now turned his attention back to Shuichi's lab. It was the first thing he noticed when he entered the room after all.
"An experiment. I'm making a potion."
"Yah ok. What for?"
"To make me stronger, so I won't be a burden."
Yusuke have never seen Shuichi be so self-conscious about his lack of power. "You're not. You're the smartest person here. I don't know what I would do without you." Not sure how to comfort him, Yusuke gave his adviser another big pat on his back causing Shuichi to spill a small jar of liquid.
Shuichi gave a little yelp then quickly dabbed his desk with a rag. "Please understand, this is something I must work on. And I do hope you can honor my request to not be disturbed from now on," said Shuichi, sounding wary and exasperated.
Feeling a little ashamed that he had been intruding, Yusuke bowed in apology. The redhead did look quite haggard. Besides, he'd always been a very private person. Realizing that he might have agitated his most trusted adviser, the muzoku king tried to lighten the mood the only way he knew how: throw on his enthusiastic demeanor. "Okay! You do whatever you gotta do. I'm gonna go scare off Mukuro!"
With that, he quickly retreated out of Shuichi's room and slammed the door, only to poke his head in again a short moment after. He pointed at the plate of pheasant. "Don't forget to eat!"
The redhead nodded in acknowledgement but didn't look up from his work.
Author's Note:
*2DK is a two bedroom Japanese apartment.
Sorry this chapter was a little slow! The next chapter should be at a much faster pace.