Author's Notes:
Thank you KyoHana and TheNotSoNiceLibarian for your constant support! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! We're nearing the end now though. 3-4 more chapters to go!
"It's time. The ceremony is now in progress," Touya announced, sounding every bit like a ningen business executive.
"Your Highness, shall we go?" At Yusuke's nod, Hokushin turned to look at the group of eight gathered around him in the Tourinese throne room. "Gentleman, are you ready?"
"You bet we are!" Chu loudly exclaimed, jug of liquor in one raised hand and the other arm draped over Kuwabara's shoulder, possibly for support.
Kuwabara stood in a heroic stance, chest puffed out and arms on his waist. "I, Kuwabara Kazuma, am born ready." Jin grinned in agreement, showing off his ears which have elongated and grown pointy in his excited state. Next to him, Suzuki nodded.
Turning to Setei and Touou, Hokushin lead the chant for creating their ki barrier. The small green bubble once again appeared between them and grew until it enveloped the entire group. "Remember, if we are to stay undetected, we must stay within the boundaries of this barrier. This includes any offensive attacks you may make." Hokushin looked at Yusuke pointedly.
"I know, I know, I won't do it again," Yusuke weakly yielded, recalling how he had shot his spirit gun the last time they were in a ki barrier. Not only was he much stronger and easier to detect now, there was also more at stake. Yomi must not find out that Yusuke had a hand in destroying his lab until all chemical weapons have been disposed of, that was why they choose this exact moment to strike. Yomi would be in the middle of his wedding ceremony now, and possibly too distracted to notice anything amiss.
At Touya's signal, Kuwabara summoned his dimension sword. Everyone's thoughts immediately turned to the coordinates of the Tempest Mountain labs to help the carrot-top pinpoint its location. When he was ready, Kuwabara raised his hands and brought his sword down in one exaggerated motion to cut a portal into the air. Passing through the portal, careful to ensure that they were all encased within the ki barrier, the group found themselves just outside of Yomi's laboratory surrounded by the howling winds that these mountains were known for.
Deciding to take an indirect approach when confronting a potential group of mad scientists with biochemical weapons, the group headed towards the back where there was a half exposed basement and a waste disposal area. Jin summoned his wind barrier to protect the group from any concealed bio-hazardous material. Once again, Kuwabara raised his dimension sword to cut through the thick walls of basement, this time a bit more discretely.
It took Yusuke a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light upon entering the new portal. When he could finally see, he was astonished to find dozens of soulless eyes widened in shock, reflecting the dim moonlight. The group of creatures had scurried from them as soon as they entered and huddled in a far corner of the dark chamber, softly whimpering and crying. Kuwabara drew out his spirit sword and held it in front of them like a torch. A dozen illuminated faces looked back, emaciated bodies squirming and shielding themselves desperately from the sudden intrusion of light. Yusuke realized with a start that these were humans. Men and women so weak of malnutrition that their skin were mere paper wrappings, their bodies twisted like deformed twigs, marks of torture apparent on their frames. Many were missing limbs. Still others were unable to move without assistance. All looked sick. Yusuke was secretly thankful for Jin's wind barrier, which was still protecting them from any airborne viruses.
"We're here to help," Yusuke whispered in Japanese, language never being his strong suit. Chu translated quietly in English, though Yusuke doubted anyone could understand him with his heavy accent.
Pointing to himself, Kuwabara added, "I'm human too. We're here to get you out of here and destroy this place."
A few of them nodded in understanding.
Glad that some of them understood Japanese, Yusuke asked, "How many of you are here?"
A teenage girl with large brown eyes and unkempt shoulder length hair whispered back, "There are 20 of us in this room. But there are more rooms." Her voice was steady. She had her arms around another girl, stroking her back and comforting her as she spoke.
"Do you know your way around here?"
"I've been to some parts of the main floor."
"Are there guards?"
"Two at night. They make their rounds every half hour."
"Ok, we'll ambush them when they come. Where are the rest?"
"Their sleeping quarters are on the top floor. Ten guards in total."
"And researchers?"
"Twelve."
"I'm Urameshi Yusuke." He was impressed at how collected this girl seemed and the way she held self with dignity despite her circumstances. If she wasn't so sickly, she would probably be quite attractive, but at the moment she simply looked frail.
"Yukimura Keiko."
When the guards came to make their next round, Suzuki and Touya made quick work of them, knocking them unconscious and taking their keys. The group beckoned the humans to stay, explaining that they must disable all the guards before they can roam freely. Using the instructions Keiko offered, the group was able to easily navigate their way to the guards' quarters. Even with the monks and Jin unable to fight due to the concentration required in maintaining the ki and wind barriers, the rest of the group were able to quickly slay the eight remaining guards with little trouble. This was so easy it was making Yusuke uncomfortable.
Quietly moving on to the researcher's quarters, the group was ready to pounce when Touya stopped them. "We need them alive," he explained. "They may be the only ones who can help those sick ningen."
Most likely to the demon monks' dismay, Yusuke barged into the room and flipped on the lights shouting, "Listen up you little shits! We're here to kick your sorry asses. If you promise to cooperate, I'll promise to show some mercy and not bash your face in!"
Startled awake by the rough intrusion, some of the researchers jumped out of their bed while others put their arms up in surrender, still others cowered in their beds, shaking. All but one. This one, a clean-shaven dark hair man with thick rimmed glasses, was slowly making his way towards the group of intruders. He smiled pleasantly and spoke with an air of authority, "Welcome gentlemen. What can a humble group of researchers focused on bettering Makai society do for you?"
"Better society, my ass!" Chu spat, emitting a distinctive ki that stank of distilled Makai spirits. "You've been conducting experiments on humans, infecting them with viruses."
"Ah, in the pursuit of knowledge, one must make certain….sacrifices. Our work will ultimately benefit all of Makai and Ningenkai. We've been making groundbreaking discoveries in vaccinations for previously incurable diseases. Now how is this not bettering society?" The bespectacled man responded, a small smile still on his face.
"Enough of these excuses! I'm drunk, but I'm not stupid! Kidnapping and testing viruses on unsuspecting humans and demons is wrong no matter how you put it!" Chu roared, and charged at the man with a ball of energy in his hand. The demon monks quickly spread themselves out to create a larger ki barrier.
Nimbly grabbing another researcher, the man blocked Chu's attack with the live shield. The unfortunate researcher cried out in pain and languished on the ground as soon as he was released. The bespectacled man replaced his polite smile with a psychotic sneer. With a flourish of aura, he summoned a group of mutated winged insects.
"Kamiya! What do you think you are doing?" a female researcher screamed, covering herself with a blanket. "Are you trying to infect us all?" The insects swarmed at her, easily penetrated her ineffective shield and stung her repeatedly. Other researchers were visibly alarmed by the insects.
"Jin, turn off your wind barrier. We can't have those insects leave this room," Touya warned before concentrating his energy in his palm and blowing into it, freezing the moisture in the air into sharp ice crystals. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the crystals shooting towards the insects, piercing many.
Changing technique, Jin extended his arms outward and spun them rapidly until miniature tornadoes whirled around his fists. He struck at the insects, pulverizing them. Next to him, Kuwabara had turned his spirit sword into a giant spirit flyswatter, dramatically swinging it around to smash the insects. Yusuke, Chu and Suzuki rushed to protect the demon monks, who were defenseless as long as they were holding the ki barrier. But no matter how hard his team was fighting, Kamiya the scientist kept summoning more insects. Yusuke had no choice, he must create a distraction so that Kuwabara could disable the ruthless man. Gathering his mazoku powers around his finger, Yusuke created the biggest spirit gun sphere he had ever forged, a ball of energy almost as wide as he was tall. Behind him, Hokushin shouted, "Your Highness! This barrier will never hold!"
Kamiya laughed shrilly, "Release that, boy, and you'll also free my pets into the surrounding forests." As Yusuke had guessed, years of experience brawling together has provided Kuwabara with a keen sense of the Tourinese king's ploys. The carrot top manipulated his spirit blade into a tracking laser, striking the demented scientist in the arm while he was distracted, severing the limb at the shoulder. Holding his profusely bleeding shoulder, the inhuman ningen screamed, insects no longer appearing in troves. Yusuke retracted his energy, having never intended on firing his spirit gun and leapt over to Kuwabara to give him a high five.
"I will destroy you all!" Kamiya screamed, psychotic sneer wiped cleanly from his face. He picked up his arm and held it against his injured shoulder. With a blast of energy, the injured tissues and muscles started rebuilding themselves before Yusuke eyes, until the arm was readhered back to his shoulder. Kamiya then focused his energy in his fingers, turning them into glowing blue scalpels. In a graceful swipe of his arm that sliced the air, he sent an invisible attack at Touya, who deftly slid around the wave of energy. The bed behind where he once stood was halved.
Clearly angry at missing, the demented scientist reacted in hysteria, randomly slicing the air without regards to who the waves hit. The slashes ripped through the air in all directions. Too slow to dodge the attacks, many of the researchers were struck down. Knowing that ranged attacks were out of the question given their need for concealment, Yusuke parried, swerved, and slid until he was right next to Kamiya to swipe his legs from under him. Catching on just in time, Kamiya leaped backwards and attempted to slice Yusuke with his energy scalpels. The young king parried with a piece of headboard from a destroyed bed, scalpel wave promptly cutting it in half, and in one fluid motion, rotated his arm to slam the remainder of the headboard into Kamiya's chin, sending him flying. The agile scientist did a quick back flip in the air, but before he could land, Chu leapt and slammed him against the wall before pummeling him with his bare fists. By the time Chu exhausted his battle rage, Kamiya's torso was an unrecognizable mess.
Turning to the surviving scientists, Yusuke joked, "alright, who's next?"
Even after their kings have left for the mating ritual, the wedding guests continued to jubilate. Hiei stood and nodded at eight sentries who have been quietly standing guard in different parts of the pavilion throughout the ceremony. All at once, they started a slow chant, a silver string of energy joining one sentry to another until a ring was formed around the parameter of structure. Together, they raised their volume until the ring formed a canopy over the ceremonial banquet hall and enclosed it. The barrier would allow air and sound to escape, since Yomi had a keen sense of hearing and would quickly know something was amiss if he couldn't hear the celebration. But as long as that barrier was in place, no demon nor its ki would pass.
Though most did not notice, one particular guest, who was still relatively sober, raised from his seat in alarm. The Class A Gandaran lord poised to strike the closest sentry, but before he could, Enki appeared before him, shielding the target. In a flash, Hiei was beside him holding a blade to the lord's throat. "Move again, and you're dead." Hiei threatened. The Gandaran lord nodded, eyes darting, apprehension written on his face.
"Now, now, General Hiei, didn't we agree that there'd be no need for bloodshed?" Enki, who was over twice the height of the forbidden child, said in a respectful tone while flaring his youki. Under any other circumstances, Hiei would have taken that as a challenge, an opportunity to test his skills against Enki, but there was something more important at stake and time was of the essence.
"I cannot have him raise the alarm," Hiei responded coolly, free hand ripping off the ward on his forehead so he could invade the lord's mind with his jagan. A quick scan in the muddled consciousness showed that this demon knew nothing. He was pacified and led silently back to his seat where he was immediately fed more liquor by the serving maids.
By now, the rest of Raizen's old associates have gotten up from their seats. Still masquerading as a bunch of jolly drunks, they mingled with the crowd to isolate the potential threats from the other guests. One by one, the threats were brought before the Hiei, who scanned their thoughts to see what they knew. Those who were innocent of any wrongdoing were freed after their short term memories were wiped. Those who knew of the biochemical weapons research center, or worse still, knew of the plan to deploy the weapons, were detained in the kitchen using Enki's demon barrier. The wait staff made certain that everyone else was too sloshed to take notice.
When they had first arrived at the dessert, the nine powerful friends of Raizen had requested an audience with Mukuro and Yomi separately, claiming they wanted to hear both sides so they could understand where alliance stood. Concluding this as the only way to win the nine demons' support, Yomi and Mukuro swiftly granted the request. As soon as they were left alone with Mukuro, they produced a single white blossom that bore a message. It warned of an unthinkable ploy being hatched by Yomi and urged them to help put an end to it. The message also named Mukuro as a possible ally and someone to trust as far as Yomi was concerned.
None of this was news to Hiei. All along, he and Mukuro had planned to strike at the ceremony, a rare opportunity where the Gandaran lords would be gathered. However, he had not expected to receive any assistance from outside forces. A quick glance at Mukuro showed that she was not surprised at this turn of events. She had been expecting the nine demons, she explained, producing a white blossom of her own with a simple message that said, "Raizen's nine has been notified."
Hiei was quick to surmise who the sender of the messages was. But not being one for many words or for disclosing information, he kept silent. It was obvious that Mukuro knew too, but she did not reveal his identity either. Instead, citing a shortage of time and a concern that a lengthy meeting may raise Yomi's suspicions, she had focused the rest of the discussion on their plan of attack.
Shifting his focus back to the present, Hiei was dismayed that none of the threats they identified tried to put up a fight. He would have welcomed the confrontation, the past few days have been so incredibly monotonous. What's the point of having a youki barrier if he wasn't allowed to flex his ki? Hiei let out a deep sigh and continued his work.
Once Yomi's conspirers have been identified, they were frozen in place by Saizou, an ice apparition, to be dealt with afterwards. Having gained quite a bit of information from invading the enemy's thoughts, Hiei was able to piece together several past events and fit them into a larger picture. For one, the weak soldiers in the Gandaran camps he found at the borders were actually demons capable of telekinesis. They were stationed at the border to infect Alaric and Tourin with incurable viruses at a moment's notice. The fox must have been lurking about to keep an eye on these camps, he had stated plainly that he didn't agree with Yomi's methods. Even now, these soldiers were on standby with instructions to deploy the biochemical agents should this union come to naught, which was also why Mukuro sent two thirds of the barrier creating demons on a separate mission. Secondly, the Tempest Mountain structure that the fox had required his aid to find was in fact the chemical weapons research center. Hiei recalled having to use the scent of Kurama's blood before he could trace its exact location.
Suddenly, these disparate pieces of information came together like lock and key: the fox himself was infected.
Hiei was roused from his thoughts with a rambunctious rendition of a well-known Alarican folk song by Enki and his friends. Kouou, Enki's wife nudged Hiei to join in. Uncharacteristically, the normally sullen ki youkai reluctantly sang along. They had better make this loud enough for Mukuro to hear.
A lone demon was waiting in the forest. She has been quietly watching a small camp of soldiers for the past day. The mission for her team of sixteen was simple: reach each demon's designated mark and when the time is right, neutralize the threat with his barrier. Conducting a final check of the height and angle of the moon, the demon spun into action. She concentrated her energy in her hands and slowly expanded it until it became a dome on the ground. Slowly, she crept towards the camp to encase it within the barrier, but before she could reach it, a circle of purple plants burst forth from the ground, circumscribing the camp and trapping the demons within.
Author's Note: It is very likely that the next chapter will contain an explicit and possibly disturbing scene. If that happens, I will either split the chapter into two or make a clear indication of when the disturbing scene begins. I expect it to be difficult to write...and since I'm also travelling for work in the next ten days, I don't think that chapter will be ready until mid-November. A BIG thank you to all of you who have been following along!