Chapter Three - Paralyzed
Yusuke stepped forward, grinning like an idiot. He cracked his knuckles, wondering if it would cause the possessed woman to go on the defensive. He was actually quite surprised when she merely glanced at him, snorted, and turned her eyes away. She treated him like he was not worth her time, and that pissed him off a little, as his eyebrow twisted.
"Hey!" he shouted. "We're here to take you back to Koenma! You can either come quietly, or I'll kick the shit out of ya until you decide otherwise!"
"Yusuke," Kurama whispered from behind him. "I do not think aggravating her will help."
Yusuke ignored him, keeping his eyes on the female. She flickered her eyes toward him once more in acknowledgment, before taking a step forward. He tensed, ready for battle, and was surprised when she stepped up beside him. She did not look at him again, but he grinned. This was so much easier than he thought it would be. "Oh, so you're going to go willing? I was hoping for a fight, but I suppose that'll do."
She surprised him, though, when she spoke. "Toushin," she said, her voice soft. He narrowed his eyes, because she did not seem pleased as she sniffed the air lightly. She even turned her head away in annoyance, before the next word left her lips. "Trash."
Yusuke nearly exploded, but held it in. It really did not matter what that blasted bitch thought. Especially since it was normal for old, stupid demons to think they were better than everything else. Even when they were trapped inside the body of little girls.
She moved by him, walking with such grace that she never seemed to actually touch the ground. She did not acknowledge him again, ignoring his existence, and moved onto Kurama. Yusuke frowned at her actions, wondering what her game was, as her back stiffened. She circled Kurama, obviously trying to determine what he was, and Yusuke smirked. There was no way she would ever be able to figure out that Kurama was a human with a thousand year old fox soul living inside of him. Not even the scent would give him away, since they mixed together so well over the years.
She stated only four words, and anyone who did not know what she was talking about would have been confused. "Fox. Human. Avatar. Trash."
She snarled in warning as she moved by him, ignoring him completely afterward. She moved onto Kuwabara, and barely even looked at him. Yusuke twitched a little when she stated, "Worthless human trash." Then, like the rest of them, she ignored him, and continued on.
Yusuke was positive she would do the same with Hiei. Call him a dirty hybrid and maybe even state he was lower than trash. And he was waiting for the moment that Hiei lost it and attacked her. It would serve her right.
So, Yusuke readied his Spirit Gun. There was a likely chance, as well, that after examining them all she would decide to attack. If she made even one wrong move, he would hit her. The demon inside of her should make it so that she was not killed, and he really did not care if Koenma yelled his head off about burns. After getting his hopes up and crushing them, he wanted to give the demon a nasty mark to remember him by.
It did not seem fair to the girl, but it was logical in his mind.
His frown returned, though. If she had wanted to attack someone, she would have probably gone after Kuwabara. He was fully human; she had called him worthless trash, and would probably have fallen before he could do anything to defend himself. Especially with the way he seemed to tense and relax over and over again so close to her. His senses were clearly going haywire, and he probably would not be able to summon his Spirit Sword to fight her off.
But Yusuke did not know that something in the air had caught her interest. Her nose was twitching, searching, and now she knew that the smell of ash scattered on snow had to come from the one that controlled the strange dragon. The scent had stopped her from killing them, and even now she was pushed toward the option. Yet the scent intrigued her, and she wished to understand the reason that it did. She wished to know the exact reason, and in order to do that she had to be closer.
When the scent was strongest, she knew that the demon before her was the one that intrigued her. She leaned her head back only slightly to gaze into his eyes, blinking at the crimson coloration that stared at her. It was interesting, for she knew that she had always liked amber, yet the crimson sent shivers down her spine. The guarded emotions she saw dancing behind those orbs was something she desired, and she growled only slightly when his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
She realized he was dangerous. The speed that his aura moved at showed that. So, she kept her distance. He intrigued her, yes, but she would not provoke him until she knew the reason why.
Hiei tensed, while she sniffed the air around him. He doubted the female would be able to tell what he was, even if she managed to pick apart Kurama. Most did not have a nose keen enough to smell anything but the more dominate of his elements, and labeled him as a fire demon. Yet he did put into account that she labeled Yusuke and Kurama correctly with only a few good whiffs.
She began to circle him much like Kurama, sniffing time and again as she did so. As she moved, Hiei took in the scent of her in case he would need to search for it later. He could already tell that the Jagan did not wish to penetrate her mind, despite its search for her, and would be stubborn to do so. So, he took in her scent, and frowned at it. It was strange, what she smelled like. It was covered in death and blood, yet she seemed to smell like a breeze, mixing with the scents it picked up, and creating something he could not quite describe.
Even stranger, it was not unpleasant, as he would expect such a scent to be.
Once facing him again, she stepped forward. Hiei watched her through narrowed eyes, while her nose continued to take in his scent. He resisted the pull of the dragon and the Jagan, standing firm, and knowing instinctively that until she found what she was looking for, she would not attack him. And even if she did, he was confident that he would be able to defend himself. However, that did not mean that she could not step over the line.
Her nose grazed along the skin of his jaw, and he growled at her. She pulled back for a moment to tilt her head, before leaning in again. Hiei growled again, but she was not deterred the second time. She breathed deeply, sniffing lightly at his neck to take in his scent to the fullest. Her nose practically buried itself in the junction of his neck, and he twitched, because he was positive all three of his teammates were going to ask him if the female was trying to come onto him.
His scent was so strong, and her nose delighted in the discovery. She growled lightly in her chest, moving lower, searching along his shoulder. She found nothing, and a part of her soared when it realized it, confusing her. She shook off the confusion with ease, though, before returning to his exposed neck, sniffing to confirm what she had found.
Hiei did not trust the way she grinned as she pulled away from him. She surprised him, though, by leaning closer to his face. He leaned back, determined to escape if she truly was planning to fuck him, but his eyes widened when she suddenly spoke. Her light voice caressed his ears, but it was what she said that caught him off guard.
"Forbidden," she hissed. Her voice was pleased, unlike the pervious times she had spoke the title of his teammates. Hiei recoiled when she invaded his personal space even more, wondering why she had not labeled him as trash. Then, again, the title she had given him slipped from her lips. "Forbidden."
Yusuke raised his hand, as quite suddenly, the girl leaned close enough that she might as well have been kissing Hiei. Her mouth opened and a thick, black mist escaped, rushing up inside of Hiei's nose and mouth without him having to breath it in. The hybrid stiffened afterward, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and his body slumped forward. The girl caught him, lifted him up like a rag doll, and turned to smirk at them.
"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted, his sword suddenly in hand. "What are you waiting for?"
"I can't!" Yusuke shouted back. "I'll hit Hiei, damn it!"
Kurama, however, was not hindered by the thought. His rose whip snapped out toward the girl, but she easily maneuvered herself out of the line of fire. Her hold on Hiei was strong, and she seemed to find him weightless as she dodged the deadly whip. Kurama growled a bit, determined to retrieve his friend, and watched as the girl launched herself into the air after hissing at him. He slashed out his whip again, calculating where she would move, and was surprised when she avoided it once more. Hiei's extra weight should have stopped her from doing so while in the air, but he supposed he did not give the demon enough credit.
She kicked her foot out, avoiding the whip again, before landing. She began to take on a strange glow, and Kurama raised his whip again to counter whatever she might throw at him. He gritted his teeth, watching from the corner of his eye as Kuwabara raced forward to help, and blinked only once. When his eyes opened, he was surprised to see Kuwabara on his ass and the girl gone. Just gone.
"What the fuck!" Yusuke cursed, turning around in a circle. His eyes searched wildly for anything that might tell him where the girl had gone, but he found nothing. "Where the fuck did that bitch go? She was right there!"
"I don't know," Kurama frowned in confusion.
"Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled.
"Don't tell me you didn't see that, Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted back. "That damn ball of light she created practically bowled me over!"
"No, I didn't see it!" Yusuke shouted, wanting to stomp his foot.
Kurama narrowed his eyes, asking, "A ball of light, Kuwabara?"
"Yeah!" Kuwabara said, waving his sword. "It was like a huge ball of energy that surrounded them both and it shot off that way!" He pointed toward the west, while trying to search the sky for the orb he had watched her create around herself and Hiei. Clearly the others were either blind or had closed their eyes, because he knew it had happened quite fast.
"Tch, ball of light my ass," Yusuke complained.
"No," Kurama replied. "Such an ability is possible. I just did not think that the demon that has possessed Higurashi Kagome had such a power. It would make sense, though, considering the demon is a combination of many demons."
"See!" Kuwabara grinned proudly.
"Yeah, whatever," Yusuke waved his hand. "Can you contact Hiei and ask him where he is, Kurama?"
"No," Kurama shook his head. "I cannot contact him while he is unconscious. And even if he wasn't, the speed at which they're traveling would probably effect the link."
That brought up another question. "What the fuck did she do to him, Kurama? I've never seen something like that happen!"
"I do not know," Kurama sighed. "The demon could have some type of paralyzing substance in her breath, or it could have been a poison designed to knock out its opponent. I cannot tell from the symptoms that Hiei showed. They happened far to quickly for anything to be determined, and the coloration was off for it to be any of the poisons that might work that quickly."
"So, he's probably paralyzed and unable to contact you because of how fast they're moving?" Yusuke asked.
"At the moment, I would say yes," Kurama nodded.
"But, his eyes rolled back and…" Kuwabara trailed off as Kurama looked at him.
"The paralyzing agent probably attacked his brain, Kuwabara," Kurama explained. "It worked so fast that his body shut down in a similar fashion to falling unconscious. The paralyzing agent will simply keep him in that state until it wears off, which will be much like him waking up."
"Oh," Kuwabara blinked. In Kuwabara's mind, it simply meant that Hiei had fallen unconscious because of the paralyzing stuff, which basically meant he had fallen unconscious. He understood what Kurama had said, but the amount of words to say it was just ridiculous.
Sighing again, Kurama said, "I think it best that we call Botan and tell Koenma of the current situation. He should be able to search out Hiei's signature and give us the location the girl has taken him to. At least then we will be able to get this over with quickly, instead of searching blindly."
"Right," Yusuke growled. He pulled out his compact, and got ready for the bubbly face of Botan that would soon pop up on the screen. Once he had prepared himself for it, he flipped open the device and watched as the blank screen suddenly lit up.
"Hello, Yusuke!" Botan greeted him. "Is the mission complete already? Do you need me to come get you guys or was there something else you wanted?"
"Botan, I need to talk to the toddler." Yusuke tried to sound civil, he really did, but it was just so hard at that moment.
Botan's bubbly face deflated until worry etched itself clearly into her features. She frowned deeply at him, before asking, "Is something wrong, Yusuke? Has something happened? You're not hurt, are you? Keiko would—"
"I'm not hurt, alright," Yusuke sighed. "I just need to talk with Koenma."
"Oh, all right," Botan nodded. She did not look convinced. "Do you want me to come get you so you can talk to him directly?"
Yusuke looked up, and watched as Kurama nodded. He told Botan that it would probably be best afterward; knowing that at the moment there was really nothing they could do. The girl's scent was already fading away, almost as if she had never been there, and they had no way to track where she had gone. Especially if her way of travel was as fast as Kurama's tone made him believe it was.
Kuwabara watched as Yusuke snapped the compact shut, and asked, "Do you really think Koenma will be able to find them? He had to send us out to find her, so…"
"Koenma should have Hiei's energy signature keyed into his tracking system," Kurama replied. "Most likely he would have put all of ours in when we first came into his service, in case we ever tried to defy him. I doubt he would have deleted the information with how valuable it is."
"Yeah," Yusuke growled. "Being able to track us down in a heartbeat. Must be nice."
Kuwabara went to say something, but stopped when a portal opened and Botan came flying out. She ushered them inside, saying that Koenma was already informed they were coming, and Kuwabara followed. However, before he stepped into the portal, he took a glance at the battlefield and remembered the sadness that had washed over him. His eyes hardened—he would help that girl, whether Koenma believed she could not be saved or not.
"Come on, Kuwabara," Yusuke rolled his eyes, pushing his friend from behind.
"Hey, don't push, Urameshi!"
"Well, get a move on then!" Yusuke growled back. "We're got more important things to do then stand here, and—"
"Is something the matter?" Botan asked from above. Her eyes settled onto them, having been surveying the area, and bit her lip a little from the very thought. So many dead, and all because one demon had been set free from its prison. And truly, though she had listened to Koenma yell and whine about it being the demon's fault, it was the Reikai's fault for giving the demon even a small chance to do so.
"No, just thinking," Kuwabara muttered back.
"Oh, well we better be going," Botan tried to smile. It was so hard within the presence of such a large deathbed. And she did not ask, but she wondered where Hiei had gone. "Koenma's waiting, and he'll probably get angry if you keep him waiting too long."
"Yeah," Kuwabara nodded. Putting his back to the scene of death, he stepped into the portal, and soon found himself in Koenma's office. Yusuke and Botan followed soon after, Kurama having stepped in without hesitation the moment it appeared. The avatar was even looking at them in curiosity, probably wondering why they had taken so long to cross.
Koenma glanced up from his paperwork, twitching slightly when he saw only three of his four spirit detectives standing in front of him. Sending a sharp glance toward Botan, he asked, "Where is Hiei?"
"That's actually why we're here, Koenma," Kurama replied.
"Why?" Koenma asked, beginning to sit up straighter. "Has something happened to him? Or has he run off in search of the demon on his own?"
"No," Yusuke snorted. "That damn bitch you sent us after took him!"
Botan gave a small gasp, her eyes widening. "What? She took him?"
Yusuke glanced at her a little, nodding.
Koenma was instantly standing in his chair, turning red. "What do you mean she took him?! Why in the world would she want to do that?"
"Like we know!" Yusuke finally yelled. "All we know is she sniffed at us, knew exactly what we were, and took off with him!"
"She knew what you were?" Koenma asked, the red tint to his face fading to white.
"Yes," Kurama said calmly. "She took in our scents and knew our race without having to do anything else. In fact, she showed quite a bit of intelligence throughout the entire encounter."
"Intelligence?" Koenma gulped. "But the demon should only wish to kill and destroy. It should not have any type of intelligence. Not when it's only running on instinct and pleasure."
"Yeah, well," Yusuke scowled, "she did a lot of both."
"This is not good," Koenma muttered.
"Duh!" Yusuke snapped.
Koenma's eyes snapped up, and he looked at Kuwabara. The human blinked at him, while he quickly asked his question. "Kuwabara, did you feel anything odd about her? I'm sure you would have picked up something, if anything, if something were wrong with her? You should have only felt a deep hatred, maybe insanity, and a lust to kill."
"I felt that, but…" Kuwabara frowned. "She was so sad. Her energy clashed against something that was causing her to feel those things, and I think the girl was struggling to overcome whatever it was."
Koenma shook his head. He could not have been wrong about the demon breaking free from the Shikon. There was nothing else that made sense, especially with the jewel gone. Yet it did not add up, because the girl's spiritual powers had been locked up and she should not have the strength to fight the demon. Especially considering the battle she had just been in, most likely draining her of most of what she had been allowed to use.
"Koenma," Kurama spoke up, "I believe it also best you know the demon knows how to use the girl's powers."
Koenma slumped back into his chair, disbelief coloring his face. Finally, after a moment, he looked up and asked, "And the demon took Hiei? Only took him? It did not do anything else?"
"It killed a bunch of demons before we got there, but yeah, basically it just took him," Yusuke said.
Tapping his lip with his hand, Koenma thought for a moment. Calming himself down, he nodded at the information. "We should be able to track Hiei then. We do not have a record on the girl's aura mixed with the demons; so it will be the best we can do. We can only hope she has not killed him and left his body somewhere—though, I suppose we'll know that when his soul shows up here."
"He's not going to die that easily," Yusuke replied.
"Yusuke," Kurama called his attention, "you must remember that the girl paralyzed him or worse. Hiei will be defenseless against anything she does to him until he regains consciousness."
"Wait," Koenma scowled. They really should have brought the information up in the first place. Anything they got on the girl would be helpful, considering he had questioned the family and found she edited basically everything she told them. Apparently she did not wish for her family to deal with the hardship that was thrust upon her, and tried to make it seem a little easier. "How did she paralyze him? You didn't mention that."
"She breathed this weird black stuff into his face," Kuwabara spoke up. "It looked like it attacked him, and he just fell over a moment later."
"What else can she do?" Koenma asked. "Surely you saw enough to give me an accurate picture."
"The demon can use the miko's energy, create a whip out of energy, spray acid from her claws, exhale what we believe is a paralyzing agent, and condense itself—and apparently anyone it carries—into a ball of energy for travel," Kurama listed. "It also showed, as I have already stated, intelligence and the ability to think up quick strategies."
Koenma narrowed his eyes, thinking over the information. That did not sound like the demon he had an entire file on, but he decided that he would go back over it just to make sure. Its time within the Shikon no Tama could have given it enough time to learn such abilities, though there was the complication of Midoriko. Surely the miko's soul would not have allowed the demon to become more powerful and cunning while it was trapped with the demon?
"Koenma?" Kurama asked.
'I think he knows something he's not sharing,' Youko growled in his head.
Kurama mentally nodded in agreement. Yes, I believe so.
In fact, Koenma was positive those abilities sounded one of a kind. As if he had read them somewhere, from some great demon bloodline, but he could not recall where it had come from. He almost wanted to snap at anyone and everyone to look for the mysterious file. For he was certain that somewhere in their records was a file of a powerful demon that had the exact abilities. But, it simply was not possible for the girl to have gained them, because he could not think of a single place she could have picked them up from.
And it was odd for her to have simply taken Hiei. What possible reason could she have for doing so?
"So?" Yusuke growled. "What the hell are you going to do about this, toddler?"
Koenma stiffened at the nickname, but merely said, "I am going to track Hiei's energy signature. I will call you when I have an exact location, so you're free to go until then."
"How long will it take?" Kuwabara asked.
"That really depends on where the demon is taking him, and how often she decides to move," Koenma replied.
Deep in the Makai, a shadowed figure stepped into the entrance of a large cave. The old scent of dog wafted up into the air, but the figure did not stop to consider not using the cave. Instead, they stepped inside and dropped their cargo against the back wall without hesitation.
Looking down at the limp form, a grin spread across the figure's mouth. In their conscious, another pounded on the door, trying to make them see reason, but there was nothing more to see. They had taken what they wanted, what they needed in the end, and they were going to keep it. The one that cried out, trying to make them see that trapping another was wrong, would simply have to deal with it.
Because what they wanted, they kept.
The rage bubbling underneath the surface began to bubble up once more, demanding death. It was hard to contain, but they managed. They pressed down upon it, suppressing it, and kept it from destroying what they needed. For they knew that allowing the rage to spill over would result in the others death, and they did not want that.
They never wanted that. No, no, for they needed them. They needed them more than they would ever wish to admit, for everything else meant nothing. Where everything else was trash, this one was important. This one demon would be what they needed, and they never wanted to destroy them.
Stepping back from the limp form, the shadowed figure moved back to the entrance and placed their hand upon the cool stone. Almost instantly a dark barrier shimmered into life, keeping everything they wanted out, out, and everything they wanted in, in. The grin on their face became brighter; knowing they had accomplished the first step, for their energy smothered anything that might be traceable by those with the means of doing so.
And now, they knew without a doubt that their precious cargo was not going to run away.