Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. I also don't own the movie Kingdom of Heaven.
A/N: I'm hoping that this chapter shows up on the "Just In" page on Lately, none of my stories have been showing up and it's pissing me off to no end cuz almost no one sees the stories.
And MizuFlame, no worries. I am actually never logged in unless I'm updating stuff.
Chapter II: "Thunder in Paradise"
How long they had traveled, Yusuke had no idea. He had never been the best at keeping track of the date seeing as how he had never really needed to. He slept when he was tired and traveled when he had the energy, whether it be night or day. The life of a thief didn't exactly demand that one be able to tell time.
"Boy." Raizen coughed from where he lay in his cot, his hands shaking as they tightly gripped the white linen sheets at his sides. Yusuke stood up from where he sat and moved to his father's bedside, bending low and taking a knee so that the two would be closer to sharing the same eye level.
As I said earlier, Yusuke was not the best at telling time, so he had no idea how long it had taken them to reach this point. He did, however, know that they were in the port of Messina, the waterway to the Holy Land.
"What know you," Raizen forced himself to speak through gritted teeth, "of Jerusalem?"
His face was thickly coated in sweat and his face haggard. His hair lay wildly strewn about around his head and did not retain the golden hue it had held when he had first met his son in the wilderness.
Yusuke shrugged.
"I know it's the Holy Land." He answered, thinking it over as he rested an arm upon the bed, "People make pilgrimages to the place."
Raizen chuckled weakly as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, breathing in deep.
"It is a new world." He managed to croak, sitting up slightly and ignoring his son as he made to restrain him from moving, "A better world than has ever been seen. A kingdom of conscience. A kingdom of heaven."
Yusuke furrowed his brows as Raizen weakly grabbed his hand and clutched it tightly.
"There is peace between Christian and Muslim." He continued, "We live together. Or at least, between Mukuro and the King, we try. Hard to believe after a crusade, eh?" He laughed, his grip lessening as his head began to droop.
"Remember, boy," He spoke, his voice becoming softer as he struggled to get the words out. Yusuke inclined his head inwards and placed a hand on his father's shoulder. "That no matter what your position; you are of my house, and you will serve the King of Jerusalem."
Yusuke nodded, unable to think of the right words to use in an answer. Raizen smirked, his hand falling limp as he exhaled deeply.
"You are all that survives me." He finished, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling of the room, "At least try not to disappoint."
"Yeah." Yusuke said, standing up and straightening himself, "I'll try."
Raizen watched as the boy turned and left the room. Had he the strength, he would have smiled when his son took a quick glance back at him. It was a strange feeling to love someone so much who you had hardly known for even a month.
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"How is he fairing?" Kurama asked as Yusuke approached where he and Kuwabara sat outside upon a sort of patio that overlooked the sea.
"Not good." He answered, casting his gaze out at the water that crashed down upon the rocks littering the shore. He bit the inside of his cheek and looked back to the Knight Hospitaller.
"He can barely talk."
Kurama nodded, ripping a section from the roll he held in his hands and placing it in his mouth.
"It's remarkable that he can still speak at all. Most men would have passed on by this point into either death or madness." He spoke, suddenly offering a small smile, "Then again, your father is not most men. He once fought for two days with an arrow through his testicle."
"Sounds like he's a pretty hardcore badass." Kuwabara spoke up from where he was perched, his legs dangling freely over the side of a wooden table, "But how'd he even get sick?"
Kurama sighed as he took another bite of his bread and washed it down with a swig of water from his goblet.
"It is God's will." He offered weakly from between gritted teeth. Yusuke scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Then God's an ass." He retaliated, moving over to the edge of the patio and leaning upon the low wall that ran about waist high. Kurama frowned and examined his drink before taking another swallow.
"There is a reason, regardless of whether or not we understand it." He answered back, getting to his feet and setting the cup down upon the table, "I must go examine him now. I shall tell you what I find." He said to Yusuke, giving and receiving a nod before disappearing through the doorway the heir had just come through.
"How are you holdin' up?" Kuwabara asked suddenly, scratching the back of his curly orange hair.
Yusuke frowned visibly and continued to watch the waves.
"I mean it, Urameshi." He pressed, getting up from off of his rear, "You've gone from rags to riches in a matter of days and right after you meet your old man he's circling the drain."
"I'm fine." Yusuke answered sourly, pressing his thumbs together as though they were fighting to the death, "But thanks."
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"This caravan is armed, Toguro." Announced a man sporting the raiment of the Knights Templar, the vibrant red cross printed upon the tabard distinguishing itself from the dull colors around it in this desert setting.
"Good!" The man mounted beside him upon a steed squealed, baring his fangs in a hideous grin as he watched the small convoy below the sand dune their unit stood upon, "No sport otherwise!"
His figure looked twisted, even when he was garbed in his armor. The man had obviously seen his fair share of battles judging from the grotesque scars that adorned his body where flesh was visible. With a gloved hand, he moved a strand of his grey, dead, and wry hair out of his decayed looking eyes.
"And they've seen us." The other said, gripping the reigns of his steed. Toguro cackled, giving the other knight a look of mock disapproval.
"Lord Sensui, you fret far too much! Nothing will come of it!"
"I would prefer not to be hung before my wife is queen." The man answered, adjusting the chain mail that covered his dark hair. Toguro laughed again, his left eye rolling about in its socket.
"Milord, your hands are clean!" He assured him, "WHO BUT TOGURO?! They'll say! It's always me. They'll believe it in Jerusalem, I assure you." He finished, drawing his blade from the sheath at his waist.
"To the best of my knowledge, aren't you at Nazareth praying?" He added, giving a twisted smirk to his comrade and nodding to the knights mounted behind them, who mimicked him by brandishing their swords as well.
"You're a dangerous man, Toguro." Sensui answered with a smirk of his own.
"If the war is to be now or later, I'd have it now. How much longer can that infected rodent last?" He answered, mocking the King by contorting his face into an inflicted expression and forcing his free arm to twitch violently.
"GOD WILLS IT!" He shouted then, delivering a firm blow to the side of his horse as the remainder of the company cried out as well, their steeds leaping forward over the sand and flying down the side of the hill.
Sure enough, screams erupted from the caravan of Muslims as they desperately made to arm themselves and protect the women and children. It would only be a matter of moments before their souls burned in hell's mighty furnace.
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"URAMESHI!" Kuwabara roared, looking about frantically in every corner of the complex. Why the hell would they make a place this big?! He didn't have the slightest idea of where he was.
"URAMESHI!" He shouted again, running over to the edge of a balcony and looking down. God be praised, there was Yusuke, drinking an ale while playing some sort of gambling game with some other men.
"Urameshi, come quick!" He bellowed down to him, waving with his arms quickly. Yusuke jumped up and sprinted up the stairs, "Come on, it's Raizen." He said, leading the heir through the maze of a rest-house to a room in which many curtains hung from the ceiling. Yusuke moved forward and looked back to Kuwabara.
"You coming?" He asked, only to receive a shake of the head.
"I can't go any further." The carrot top answered, stepping back and lowering his head. Yusuke frowned and kept going, pushing through the veils until he finally came before his father, Kurama, and several monks who knelt upon the ground.
"Get on your knees." Kurama spoke from where he stood next to Raizen, who sat in a small wooden chair. The room was eerie looking at best, illuminated only by the dim glow of multiple candles. Face blank, Yusuke stepped forward and did as he was told, falling down slowly onto his knees and watching as his father tried to stand, only to almost fall had it not been for Kurama catching him. Another monk arose from where he knelt and grabbed Raizen's other arm to keep him standing, but the lord quickly shoved the two off of him and managed to maintain his balance.
"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave an upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth. Always. Even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong." He slurred out, his voice cracking with every word.
"That is your oath." He forced, suddenly lurching forward and punching Yusuke across the face. Kurama pulled him back up onto his feet as Yusuke rubbed his cheek. That would be sore in the morning.
"And that's so you remember it." Raizen finished, weakly ripping a ring from his right hand and placing it in Yusuke's palm. Kurama then picked up a blade with a jewel encrusted hilt and placed it carefully in Raizen's grasp, who then held it outstretched until Yusuke took it from him.
"Rise a knight and Baron of Ibelin." Kurama spoke as Yusuke stood slowly, his eyes never leaving his father's as he remained standing shakily and breathing heavily. Struggling to speak, Raizen suddenly plummeted to the ground, only to be caught in his son's arms just before hitting the stone.
"D-Defend the K-King." He stuttered in a hoarse whisper, clutching Yusuke's shoulder, "And if the King is no more… p-protect the people."
"My lord, it is time to confess to Holy God not your son." Kurama spoke, stepping forward and holding Raizen as he fell into him. The redheaded holy man withdrew a vial of water from within his robes.
"Are you sorry for all of your sins?" He asked, kneeling down. Raizen laughed weakly, summoning up the very last of his strength to give one final smirk to Yusuke.
"For all… but one." He managed before his body went limp and his life left him. Kurama bowed his head as he began anointing Raizen's forehead in holy water, a prayer in Latin softly escaping from his lips. Yusuke stared for what seemed like an eternity at his father's corpse until he felt his eyes roaming upwards. His expression remained stoic as they came to rest on the cross illuminated upon the wall.
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"You'll sail now for Jerusalem as your father wished." Kurama stated, smiling softly as he observed the new Baron of Ibelin. The redhead stood dressed in the raiment of his order with several of his brothers-in-arms standing beside him. Kuwabara stood next to Yusuke and remained silent.
"I'll be along within the week." The Knight Hospitaller continued, "Be wary. The journey is perilous. However, if the Lord has purpose for you there he will keep you safe in his hands. If not…" He paused, placing a hand on Yusuke's shoulder, "…God bless you."
"Yeah. Thanks, Kurama." The ex-thief muttered darkly. Kurama offered another smile and a nod before he and his men turned on their heels and vanished into the bustling streets of Messina. Yusuke frowned, looking to Kuwabara.
"We're screwed?" The carrot top asked. The baron laughed darkly.
"To the wall."
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The scene was truly grotesque to behold. Bodies lay scattered about on the dunes, tossed this way and that without remorse. The murderers responsible paid no heed to age nor sex whenever they had done their dirty work, butchering the pilgrims mercilessly.
This would not go well. That was all that Hiei could be certain of at this point. Mukuro would demand the heads of those responsible, and the Imams would scream for the fall of Jerusalem. The damned Christians were fools, never thinking ahead to what the results of their genocide could be.
"Siddiq," a soldier said, bowing his head low as he came to stand before Hiei, "we've counted over forty bodies. Only seven of the men were armed." He stated, watching as his master dismounted from his horse and began walking forward. It was strange how a man of such short stature commanded so much respect.
His face devoid of any expression, he knelt down upon a knee after coming next to the body of a young woman. His blood red orbs looked her over, noting her bloodstained features. She could not have been a day over fifteen. He felt his free hand ball itself tightly into a fist, his nails piercing the flesh of his palm and drawing some blood.
"Send riders in each direction and instruct them to ride until they find Christians. Then bring them to me." He commanded, his voice dry and cold as he straightened himself.
"Shall I send word to Lord Mukuro?" The soldier questioned, hands rested upon his belt. Hiei frowned, glancing to the man who's face was concealed beneath a coat of chainmail and a turban.
"No." The spiky haired commander answered, his gaze shifting until it fell upon the towers of Jerusalem far in the distance. His eyes narrowed as a gust of desert wind kicked up the sand about him, the bottom of his black cloak dancing about at his feet.
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A/N: Alright, that's chapter 2. Next chapter is when the opening crap will finish and the story will start to get good(or at least what I think is good). The gang from the show will meet up and we'll go into Jerusalem and the actual story will start.