The Inky Writer: Book one - Pen holder

by OhhTaylorJade

Our apocalypse is brimming to a final boiling point, yet I have my own problems. I have a life with my sister, my reluctant friend who has a nifty trick with water, my not-so-boyfriend who's psychic power is to transform into another person, and someone who I hate more than anything for lying to me, but who I couldn't imagine being near anyone else, to actually love anyone else.

9. Car Radio

Chapter Seven: Car Radio

At this point the only thing we were able to do was retreat back to the apartment to check on everyone. Obviously my original mission had been skewed whenever my sister decided she wanted to try and zap the life out of me.

My fears were confirmed whenever Keiko, Kurama and I arrived; Shizuru had been gravely injured among the attack. As quickly as possible Kurama swooped the elder Kuwabara in his arms and we fled back up the stairs. Thankfully we were able to find Genkai, Koenma and a perfectly fine (yet nervous) Mitari within Yusuke's room.

Really whatever was left of the room.

Come to find out Botan was also injured due to her pushing Mitari out of the way from the collapse of the bookshelf. I couldn't express my gratitude more whenever she was conscious.

Mitari, however, was more confused by why Botan had risked her life to save his. He was so in denial about how people initially do care about one another. I remember clearly about how he spoke that no one had ever been there to help him before, and I definitely remember how I was hurt by that statement.

"That's not fair to say, Mitari. Have I not tried my hardest to protect you from those fuck-heads back at school? I give a damn, I really do."

I sighed while looking down as I replayed the memory over in my mind. It took some convincing by both Kurama and I, but I think we were able to get through to him.

We all (with the exception of Shizuru and Keiko who stayed behind just in case Yusuke showed up) had decided that it was best to try and find Yusuke and aid him in defeating Sensui as well as to rescue Kuwabara. Mitari made a very brave choice in joining our cause, but not without a warning from Kurama that if he decided to join Sensui again that it would not end well with him. As protective as I was over Mitari I knew that I couldn't force him to come, or make him stay. Thankfully he came with us.

This helped us out tremendously since he was able to tell us where exactly where Sensui was going to take Kuwabara. Obviously to wherever the portal was being opened, since the whole purpose of capturing Kuwabara was to open the Kekai Barrier, it only made sense for them to head there. So while Koenma told us he was leaving, and pulled Botan to the side to discuss some secretive business, we had decided to pick up two out of the three favorite Mushiyori City locals to help us out.

Once they were able to meet us I instantly went to Yanagisawa's arms and embraced him tightly. There wasn't enough to explain everything over the phone with them, so my moment of slight PDA was a little out of character for me.

I didn't care though, because things were far more serious now. I was thankful that he didn't question it and returned the hug.

We explained the basics first (There was an attack, Kuwabara was kidnapped and Yusuke was off chasing them) before Kaito pulled out a handmade map (to which he did not let us forget) while explaining where Demon's Door was located. After we established through Mitari that this was the correct location we were off.

It took us a while to get there but once we did we weren't alone for long.

"Hey, look over there!" Botan's command brought me out of my long thinking session and pointed toward the direction she had mentioned.

Two figures were walking toward us, one noticeably taller than the other. Squinting, my face brightened up significantly when I saw that these were no strangers.

"Hey… is that…?" Botan questioned. For them they noticed exactly who we were and started to pick up the pace.

"Like I said," Genkai voiced. "we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Agreed." Kurama added while stepping up to my side, not once taking his eyes off of the two coming closer. "Say, Natalie, didn't you have a bet with Yusuke?"

My once happy face turned into wide eyes of dread and a tight grin.

I leaned closer to Kurama while chuckling nervously through the stretched smile. "Please, shut the fuck up."

A deep chuckle was all I heard as I leaned away. Unfortunately it did not slip Yusuke's mind either.

"Hey, Montgomery!" He called a few feet away before jogging to a stop in front of me. "Whatya say after we kick Sensui's ass we carry out that bet, huh?"

A shit grin was plastered on his giddy face. I blinked before tilting my head to the side and giving him a fake smile.

"You're absolutely right, Yusuke! I knew Hiei was going to come back and I honestly can't believe you doubted him for a second."

Yusuke's face melted into a confused expression before he started voicing his opinion.

"No way, I said Hiei—"

"'Would never come back' I know exactly what you said! Can't wait for that 100 yen; that was easy money!"

Through my peripheral I noticed that Hiei had narrowed his eyes at me like countless times before and scoffed at us.

Before anything else could be exchanged between us I heard someone clear their throat. I realized that hopefully there would be time later to fuck with Yusuke, and that it was time to get serious once again. Turning around after sticking my tongue out at Urameshi we all huddled around each other.

During this time of the day the sun had started to cast long and dark shadows from not only us but from the trees. I took in the way the air had felt warmer, but I also had a sense that it was just fine like before. It was just a sudden and hardly noticeable change within the atmosphere. I started to wonder if that was the affect of the tunnel, which did not make me feel safe at all.

"First things first, let's go over what we know about the enemy." Kurama started. "We know there were eight of them to begin with."

"Wait," Yana spoke up this time. "I thought that Murota guy said there were seven?"

I felt the nervous flutter of butterflies within my stomach so suddenly that I had to put a hand over it. I cleared my throat and sighed while looking up at Yana.

"Apparently, there were eight. Clara is the eighth member."

"Your sister?!" Both Kaito and Yana exclaimed. I nodded back to them while looking down.

"I honestly don't know what to think of it…"

"Damn, I knew your sister was rude but I didn't think she was evil." Yana muttered while putting an arm around me. I slide my arms around his waist while laying my head on his chest. "Don't worry, Nat; we'll help her."

"As if she really needed help." I snapped my vision to the three-eyed, ankle-biting, munchkin asshole who thought his opinion mattered.

"What gives you the right to say that?" I snapped.

"Think about it you foolish little girl, your sister is beyond help if she's gotten this far. She understands exactly what she's doing, and if you think for a second she doesn't you're blind."

It must've been completely obvious that his words had affected me more than I really wanted to let on, because in that moment I felt Yana tighten his grip on me just a bit while rubbing his thumb on my shoulder.

"That's not fair." I turned quickly to look at the new voice of blond haired boy. He shifted his eyes at everyone as they all paid attention to him now and were waiting for his next words.

"Oh, really, what makes you so sure?" Hiei taunted.

Mitari looked down for a moment before pressing on. "Because for a while Clara and I would spend a lot of time together when we first joined Mr. Sensui," Mitari admitted. "I never understood what she was talking about but I have a feeling I do now. She kept talking about redemption and how sometimes people do things to protect others even if it meant hurting someone for the greater good…"

Mitari looked up directly at me with sympathy before continuing. "At the time I thought she was talking about how people would forgive her, or us, because I thought what we were doing was justified… but now I think she was talking about something else…"

I looked down for a moment, eye-brows knit together while looking back up to Mitari. With this new piece of information I felt slight warmth of hope relax my muscles and calm my fears.

"That could mean there's a chance…" I looked to Hiei while holding my chin up and forming a critical expression. "I'm not giving up on my sister," I started with a calmer voice. "I am not giving up on my family."

I saw a different look on Hiei's face this time, yet it was almost too quick to catch.

"Hn…" Was all he had to say.

"With that being said, let's continue." Kurama pushed the conversation along once again. "Yusuke took out the Doctor…"

"And I did away with Sniper…" Hiei added. I looked between Yusuke and Hiei for a moment before bringing my attention back to Kurama.

"Yes… Eight minus two equals six."

"And Mitari's with us now which means just five." Botan added while motioning to her right.

"We know they'll head back to Demon's Door Cave; that's where we'll go to intercept them and retrieve Kuwabara." Kurama finished.

"Now that we're done sittin' on our asses waitin' patiently…" Yusuke's snarky remark did not go unnoticed by anyone.

"Stick a sock in it, you impulsive twit!" Genkai retorted earning a light giggle from myself and a snort from Yana. "The tunnel opens in two days, your sarcasm won't close it any faster!"

"But that's four days earlier than our team or Spirit World was estimating!" Botan was quick to remind everyone how much of a time-crunching situation we were in.

"Uh, yeah," I spoke up while undoing my grasp from Yana, straightening up and folding my arms to give a skeptical look to Botan. "you'd think Spirit World would try and be on this shit as accurately as possible; what's up with all these's unwanted updates? It's worse than my phone and it's system updating shit…"

"Took the words right out of my mouth; it's like every day the tunnel is growing faster." Yanagisawa chuckled as he agreed.

"When a psychic tampers with the sort of power like Itsuki has there's a tendency to be over powered and lose control." Kurama was more than fine with adding that crucial detail at this exact moment.

'No one wanted to, you know, give a heads up?' I thought while putting my hands on my hips.

"Now that you mention it he did say it was growing a lot faster than he thought…" Mitari also didn't mind to not spare any of those details as well. "Like the tunnel has a mind of its own and wants to grow."

"You can tell how fast it's growing just by looking at our fair city…" Kaito added while adjusting his glasses. "Well, once fair city…"

I looked down while nodding in agreement. Even though the Kekai Barrier wasn't cut yet Mushiyori City was still infested with all those Makai insects, terrible vibes of demonic energy practically suffocated you within the city let alone being right near the entrance of the cave. It already looked like Hell; I couldn't imagine what it would look like if the barrier was opened and all those monsters running around like kids on the playground.

"All the more reason for us to storm the cave now before the gate way can expand any wider, especially now that they have Kuwabara." Kurama looked down for a moment. "If they can use his new found power to cut through dimensions and release the higher demons we're done… though I doubt Kuwabara would willingly help Sensui."

"But they don't need him to," Mitari cut in which earned all of our attention. "because they have Gourmet."

"Right," Kurama nodded once. "According to Mitari, they're most likely going to have this Gourmet eat his powers so that he can use him to break the Kekai Barrier."

I scrunched my face at my friends' words while raising my eye-brow.

"What do you mean…'eat'?" I cautiously asked while looking to Mitari for answers. He winced while nodding and shrugging.

"I've seen him do it once and it was the most horrific thing I'd ever seen. He consumes their abilities by literally eating them whole while they're still alive."

Both Botan and I both made noises of disgust as well as Yana muttering the words 'what the fuck…' out loud.

"Does he at least put somethin' on 'em?" Yusuke asked earning narrowed eyes from me and lightly shaking my head. "Mustard, chilli?"

"That's so gross, Yusuke…"

"What? I'm just wondering." Yusuke defended while rolling his eyes to look at me.

"No, he just east them." Mitari answered. "Once their inside of him their powers are his; his territory exists entirely in his stomach."

On cue the wind started to pick up to rustle the many trees around us. Pushing some of my hair out of my face and behind my ear I looked around and took in the vibes I was feeling. Something ominous was all around us, like the feeling of dread and panic that kept me on my toes.

"There goes that familiar wind again." Hiei spoke solemnly, closing his eyes as he continued. "I think two days is overly optimistic."

Yusuke scoffed and instantly caught my attention. "I guess that means I'll have to kick a little ass."

"Down, boy." Genkai interjected earning a fussy and impatient look from Yusuke. Turning toward Genkai's direction she explained how it would be better to send in a small group in first to scout out the cave. This meant that the best three fighters we had needed to take the lead.

"That way just in case you're killed down there, the rest of the world still has a chance of surviving this disaster. We'll be the second line of defense, hang back here and see how everything goes."

I didn't know if Genkai knew this or not, but leaving the safety and protection of the entire world into my hands alone was a sure fire way for it to not work. I believed she was also being overly optimistic.

"Excuse me, Master Genkai." Mitari took a step forward as he spoke. "Should I go along to show them the way? Inside that cave it's a maze and I know it better than anyone else here."

"Yeah, also," I took a step forward this time while raising my hand lightly. "you got me fucked up if you think I'm not going in after Clara."

"Natalie, that isn't very wise." Kurama immediately dismissed me. I narrowed my eyes at him for a quick moment before I started to hear the nervous protest of Yana and whirled around to glare at him disbelief.

"You, too?!"

"Nat, it's not safe for you to go in."

"Guys, that's my sister! We've already been through this; I'm not staying here, and none of you are going to reach to her like I can, so accept it!—"

"You'll be a liability." Hiei was quick to cut in as well. "We don't need to babysit you while we're fighting, and why the Hell should we trust you?"

Hiei's question wasn't directed toward me, but to Mitari. This caught the blue-eyed boy off guard for a moment, sighing and looking down before he pleaded his case.

"Because I'm much more indebted to Mr. Kuwabara than anybody."

I looked to Mitari, folded my arms and sent a small sympathetic smile to him. He looked up and over at Yusuke who had been watching him the whole time. There was a seriousness to his face that I had seen maybe once before, but this time it seemed lighter and more thoughtful.

Yana took a step beside Yusuke while leaning down to ask Yusuke something privately. Yusuke ended up waving him off before he looked to me. The same thoughtful and serious look was over his face as if he was still deciding to either side with me or against me.

"Yusuke," I said. "you can't stop me." Though my tone wasn't rude or heated I could see that he took those words in. He looked back to Mitari while walking over to him to reach out and lay a hand on Mitari's shoulder. This caught my friend off guard, as well as myself.

"You're alright." Was all Yusuke said to him with a confident grin playing on his lips. "As for you Montgomery I can tell you're not going to take no for answer," he continued while looking over at me and letting his hand drop from Mitari's shoulder. "and with that attitude of yours' I think you'll be giving Clara a run for her money."

I gave Yusuke a genuine smile while giving a curt nod. I noticed Yana scratch the back of his head, and it wasn't hard to tell that he was uncomfortable with the idea of me going. Whether it was because he didn't want me to leave his sight during this war, or because he knew I'd probably come out a little banged up in the end, it didn't matter. The determination that I had to win and to help my sister was going to be enough, so I'd hoped.

"Let's go." Yusuke finished while turning back to Mitari who also nodded.

"I won't let you down."

"Yusuke!" Genkai raised her voice to attract everyone's attention, even though it was mainly for her apprentice. "Remember the last time you raced into something without thinking?"

"Which time was that?" Yusuke crossed his arms while looking up into the sky, his eyes moving back and forth a bit as if he really had to think about the last time he acted on his impulses.

Of course if I had acted on my impulses as many times as he did I'd probably have to take a minute, too.

"Oh," Yusuke turned to where Yana, Kaito and I were standing to motion with his finger at us. "you mean when these guys captured me."

"How thoughtful." My monotone reply did not go unnoticed by Yusuke who threw another shit grin my way.

"That's right," Genkai crossed her arms as she continued. "so looking back ,Yusuke, what lessons can we take with us from that experience in hopes we can apply to this one?"

Yusuke scoffed while grinning. "Oh, don't get caught. Yeah, I'll keep that little pearl of wisdom in mind when I'm kicking Sensui's ass."

Genkai sighed before muttering 'idiot' to him.

(-)(-)(-)

"Hello, Natalie? Sweetheart, is that you?"

I took in a deep breath and exhaled to try and calm my nerves while adjusting my cell phone that I had pressed against my ear.

"Yeah, Nana, it's me."

"Thank God you're alright! I've been so worried about you and you're sister; have you heard anything from Claire-Bear?"

Shutting my eyes as tightly as possible I turned completely away from the group even though I was a good distance away. We were about to head for the cave's entrance but were given some time to take care of a few affairs. Whether it was changing into more fighting appropriate attire or making a quick phone call to loved ones, this is when everything became all too real.

At this moment I had called my Grandmother to try and warn her to get away from Japan as quickly as possible. Even though it wouldn't buy her more than a few days time before the world would be completely obliterated, I still had to try and do something.

"Yeah… Nana, something really bad is happening… and I don't know how to tell you this, but you need to catch a plane or something as soon as possible."

My throat started to tighten, my voice becoming thick and my eyes stinging. I tried my best to hold it together for everyone around me because I didn't want anyone to think I wasn't capable of handling this situation to the best of my abilities. It was very hard, however, to try and say goodbye without endangering the ones I loved the most.

There was a long moment of silence before I heard my Grandmother speak again, this time the worry had completely vanished from her voice and it even almost sounded as if she was smiling on the other side of the phone.

"My little Natalie," She spoke. "there won't be a need for that."

I blinked away the fresh tears that had threatened to spill as the feeling of dread turned into confusion.

"You… you don't sound like I need to explain anything…"

"Oh, dear," A cheerful chuckle came from the other end before sighing and continuing. "where do you think you get your little talents and skills from?"

I pulled the phone away from my ear to give my phone a dumbfounded look before putting it back to my ear.

"But how?—"

"Precognition is what the fancy scientist call it."

A let a small grin form on my lips while shaking my head and letting the word 'wicked' slip out.

"Now, Natalie, I'm going to let you go and I'm going to leave you with two pieces of advice before you take care of this situation."

I nodded and straightened up as if my Grandmother was right in front of me before I voiced for her to continue.

"Trust your instincts, and don't mourn those who aren't dead."

Although I wasn't sure what she meant by these two things I didn't have time to express this concern; the small ding of my phone battery going off before finally shutting off left me to groan and curse myself for not investing in a portable charger or some kind. I let the words run ramped through my mind as I decided to carry on.

Given the few minutes to ready ourselves I took the time to throw my hair up into a high-pony tail, fasten my black combat boots, remove any jewelry that could possible injure myself during a fight and removed my jacket to give to Yanagisawa after returning to the group. I had completely forgotten about the attack from earlier involving Clara, and how she had left visible evidence of said attack on my body.

"Natalie, what happened?!" Botan's shrill voice cut me from my thoughts as I looked up at her. Instantly she pointed at my left arm before speaking again. "It's all over your back, too!"

I happened to be wearing a white tank-top where the straps were tied together in a knot in the back. The knot was just under nape of my neck which meant there was a bit more exposure of my shoulders and upper back.

"Does it hurt?" Yana was quick to come to my aid as well as Botan, Yusuke, Mitari and of course Kurama.

"Shit, Montgomery you look like you got fried!"

"Guys!" I held my hands to try and create a personal boundary between all of them. "I am totally fine; Clara was able to get me alone and attack me, but I made her kiss some pavement so we're all good for now. Honestly, it doesn't even hurt anymore I'd forgotten all about it."

"What exactly can your sister do to cause something like that?" Kaito questioned.

Putting my hands on my hips I sighed and shrugged. "I'm not really sure if there's a specific name for it, but she can emit an energy blast that's… composed completely from pain?"

"Pain?" Botan questioned.

I looked up and sighed once again, frustrated at how difficult it was to explain Clara's voodoo magic without a demonstration.

"It's like she takes any memory of physical pain and can intensify it. Sore muscles, punches, kicks, Hell even cramps if she wanted to; one time she played by an electric fence when we were younger and she got shocked after tripping and falling into it. She uses that one the most… last time we had time to mess around with our abilities she was working on using emotional pain, but I'm not sure if she's been able to perform that just yet."

I scratched the back of my neck while looking at everyone. No one seemed to be eased by my explanation and it was completely evident on their varied expressions.

"It'll be fine; she thinks she's unstoppable but she must be forgetting that I've been sparring with her for a good while now and I know how to beat her. I've just never been hit with that kind of intensity before."

"How exactly are you able to stop her?" Kurama asked from behind. I turned to him and folded my arms while answering.

"Knock her unconscious. I have a theory that the harder the hit, the faster the pain will go away. The more she lingers on being conscious there's more of a chance she could gain the upper hand by playing on the pain."

During the time I decided to change into something more fitting for a fight Kurama also did the same. He was dressed in a green and white fighting outfit. I think it was called a tunic, but honestly I had no idea and didn't care for details at the moment.

With that being said, and of course double checking to see if I was really and truly alright, we were off. I had given Yana a quick but firm kiss on the cheek before hurrying away to catch up with the others. I knew this had caught him off guard by the quick glance of his expression, hopeful for my return, worried for my safety and a hint of hurt.

I stopped half way between the others and where Yana was standing. This could be the last time I ever see those people ever again, and the last time I ever speak to them. Everyone there had grown on me to the point where I cared for their wellbeing and protection. Mitsunari Yanagisawa wasn't the one I cared about the most, but he was up at the top. He had done so much for me, and had been a wonderful support system for me during this time.

I didn't want him to think that I didn't care about him in this very crucial time.

I spun around, ignoring Yusuke's bitching to run up to Yana and throw my arms around his neck and kiss him on the lips. It was evident he was shocked by this too, but quickly got over the shock and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I overheard Botan speaking about how sweet we were together, along with Kaito throwing some shade our way (I quickly reminded him that I could hear him by flipping him off like always) I ignored them and with one last second pulled away from Yana again to run full speed back to where the others were at.

"So, Montgomery, trying to get in a little tongue action before the big fight, huh?" Yusuke teased while motioning back to Yana.

As I jogged up to their speed I immediately retaliated by flipping Yusuke the bird.

"Shut up, you pervert. At least I don't try to get a sneak peek of the girls' locker room after second period."

This threw Yusuke off leaving him to stutter out how I could've possibly known that.

"Your bitch ass thinks that no one else is gonna have spirit awareness when you're hiding away in your little Peeping Tom hiding spot? Try again, or don't because the next time I ever feel your spirit energy around the locker rooms again, you won't have to deal with me… but Keiko."

After bantering back and forth with Yusuke the rest of the way was silent as we headed toward the cave. I wasn't sure whether or not this was awkward silence or if it was comfortable, but I knew that the silence was almost deafening. It left me with too much to think about, too much information to go over and brought nothing but dread in the pit of my stomach.

I don't think I was as prepared as I had led on.

(-)(-)(-)

The entrance to the cave was large and very wide. A small militia could probably fit just at the entrance. The green truck from before was parked just outside near the broken wooden fence. In the middle of this fence was a sign that wrote "Danger: Do not enter" on it.

"Well, that's definitely the truck they took Kuwabara in." Yusuke observed.

"So this is the entrance to Hell," Hiei added. "it's drearier than I expected."

"Well, I'm sure they were going for a more… creepier appeal." I mumbled while eyeing the cave's entrance. I wasn't exactly sure where Hiei got 'dreary' from, but the cave gave off a darker and intimidating vibe.

I guess when you've seen it all the end of times just seems dull.

"Mitari," Kurama turned to his right to look at him as he spoke. "approximately how long will it take to get to Itsuki?"

I leaned forward a bit to look at Mitari from the side as well and waited for his answer.

"If we leave quickly but cautiously it should take about two hours to get there."

"What?!" Yusuke and I exclaimed in unison. Walking for two hours straight? Or in this case possibly running for our lives, dodging attacks and fighting just to get to the center where this psychic was at?

"That is…" Mitari looked back to the entrance of the cave. "if we don't encounter any problems along the way."

"Stole the words right out of my mouth, kid." I grumbled while putting my hands on my hips and kicking the nearest rock.

No one spoke as I was sure everyone was thinking over the possible dangers we were about to face.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Yusuke's brash interruption brought me back to reality instantly.

"You to stop talking..." Hiei answered earning a light chuckle for me.

"Well let's go, now." Yusuke grumbled while taking the lead.

The cave was dark with hardly any light to see too far ahead of us. Mitari took us down through many paths and I was incredibly thankful that he was on our side now. We would've probably been wandering around for years before we'd be able to find the center, and God knows we'd be too late at that point. Along the way Kurama started to leave, in his own words, 'bioluminescent bread crumbs' AKA these small flowers that illuminated with spirit energy. They were quite pretty and essentially very helpful.

I'd probably sucked down three cigarettes and even let Yusuke have one before I had to cut myself and him off. I had about three left, and if I made it through this apocalyptic mayhem I was definitely going to need some nicotine for later.

"We should be coming upon a large cavern, once we pass that we'll be about halfway there." Mitari informed us.

"Thank fucking God…" I groaned while dragging myself to keep up with them. I wasn't tired of the walking, but I had built up this little hike through the cave system to be more... dangerous. At least set up some booby-traps, or something.

"Hold on!" Suddenly Mitari held out his arm to stop us from walking any further almost causing me to run into Kurama's back.

"What's going on?"

"See that door?" Mitari answered Yusuke's question with his own, and pointed in front of us. "There isn't supposed to be a doorway there!"

I looked forward to see what Mitari was mentioning. It was a bit hard to see from where I was standing, but as we advanced forward it was becoming a lot clearer. The door was pretty tall and painted a dark red with a giant 'G' right in the middle of it. They definitely looked out of place considering they were looked to be made out of what appeared to be steel. It totally clashed with the rock theme that the cave was made from.

"Perhaps…" Kurama took a step forward. "We took a wrong turn?"

"No, I'm sure of it, we've done everything right. This door is a new addition and I'd be willing to bet that nothing good could be lying behind it."

Mitari's words left me puzzled as I continued to stare at the door. The more I looked at it the more it felt familiar; like I'd seen it so many times before and yet I could not think for the life of me what it was.

"Hmm…" I heard Yusuke hum to himself while putting his finger and thumb to his chin, squinting at the door in concentration. "That's odd, I think I've seen this door somewhere before, I just can't remember where."

"Yeah," I finally spoke up. "I think I've seen it, too…"

After a few moments of spitting back and forth between ideas, both Yusuke and I were at a complete loss for what this door meant.

"Where the Hell have I seen this damn door?!"

After Yusuke's outburst the question to answer became simple, only it wasn't really simple, but the answer should've been easier to guess.

"Welcome to Goblin City!"

I jumped back a bit along with the others (minus Hiei and Kurama who apparently were unfazed by any surprises) at the sudden sound of the familiar narrator for Goblin City.

"Your team of seven heroes must clash iron with the evil Goblin King, and restore peace to the town."

"That's peculiar." Kurama muttered in front of me.

"Oh yeah, of course, I've seen it a million times at the gates of Goblin City!" Yusuke explained while pointing at the doors.

"Goblin City?"

"A popular arcade game." Kurama answered Hiei's disgusted question.

"Hell yeah, me and Yana play that stupid video game all the time!"

"It's not just any video game," Yusuke added while turning toward me. "it's the video game. You gotta kill the Goblin King who's like this master of every single game, but what's so sweet about it is it combines all these different games into one. Sports, fighting, trivia, puzzles and so on; the king challenges you to different ones at random, and you gotta beat him—four out of seven—to free Goblin City."

I was thoroughly impressed with how informative Yusuke was about this game. The only times I had played with Yana when he practically begged me to, and there only about three different challenges I was able to beat him at compared to the whole game. Needless to say I did not like where this was going.

"Of course that doesn't explain why it's come alive in a cave."

"Amanuma…" Mitari answered while putting his thumb to his chin, scratching it with his nail. "He is the Game Master."

"Which one is he exactly?" I stepped forward while folding my arms. Before I was able to get an answer from Mitari however another voice spoke up first.

"Welcome to my territory."

"Oh yeah, that's him alright." Mitari glared at the door as his theory was proven.

"Mitari, that voice sounded like it came from a fetus; how old is this kid?"

"Hey!" I looked to the door as the voice over the magical sound system spoke up again. "I'm not a kid; I'm eleven, thank you!"

I rolled my eyes while putting a hand over my forehead. I still remember how I was at that age, and I still remember that I was also very sensitive about still being called a child even though I was, technically, a child.

"Ahem!—The rules of the game are the rules of my territory, and the rules of my territory are the rules of the game!"

I had to instantly put my hand over my mouth and seriously tried to focus on not snorting or even giggling at this kid and his attempt at being intimidating. It was kind of precious, in a sense.

"If his territory is the game… Then we can't even get through the door unless with fit into the game somehow." Mitari concluded. "Unfortunately we have to pass through there if we want to get to where Itsuki is and save Mr. Kuwabara from Gourmet."

"Well, how do we fit in?" I asked him. The blond boy looked to me and shrugged while looking a bit lost for the answer as well.

"I can't see how many players are out there," Amanuma, or Game Master, yelled once again. "but your team must have seven heroes to clash iron with me!"

"We got enough heroes to beat you four times out of seven!" Yusuke argued while raising a fist to the door.

"The rules say seven!"

I sighed in agitation while rubbing both of my temples. This kid really was asking to get his stupid video game ass handed to him.

"We have no choice but to follow every guide line." Mitari sighed before looking to Yusuke. "That's the only way we're going to get through that door."

"Yes," Kurama agreed. "It doesn't seem he's going to be very flexible with the rule that would be a party of seven."

"Seven! There must be seven heroes to clash iron with me—"

"Okay, oh great Goblin Brat we heard you!" I hissed back. I decided within that moment that I was never going to reproduce, ever. With my luck I would end up with a child just as obnoxious and probably just as eager to destroy the world as the one we were facing.

"They must've guessed we'd be cautious and enter as a small group at first, and designed this to get us all in here together." Kurama suggested. Shaking my head and rolling my eyes I let a sigh of frustration out.

"That means we're gonna have to go all the way back, and come all the way here—"

"Yeah, yeah, Montgomery, just smoke ya another cigarette and you'll be alright."

I wasn't alright even if I did only smoke half a cigarette. I was way too impatient to be able to find my sister and get Kuwabara away from Sensui and his freakish comrade named Gourmet. Plus it was a bit awkward going back and having to see Yana after I dramatically kissed him and ran away. In the end we were able to retrieve two more people and head back to where the door to where we left off.

Yana volunteered to stay back to keep Botan company and make sure she would be alright, which meant that Kaito and Genkai were able to come with us. Honestly, I wasn't worried about Kaito knowing anything about this game as much as I was worried if either Genkai, or Heaven forbid, Debby-Downer-Dwarf were chosen to play.

"Best laid plans. Pity theirs were better laid than ours." Genkai said.

When Yusuke stepped forward to announce that the correct amount of players were there the same Goblin City music started to play instantly, yet as the music's cheerful and medieval theme rang through my ears I was all but cheery about this. Anticipation was thick in the air, but I wasn't too nervous about this next battle, if you can call it that. I was just ready to get this over with in all honesty.

The crimson doors groaned and creaked as they started to open. There was a bright white light that was almost too much for me to handle, causing me to shield my eyes for a moment at most. Once the light dimmed down into a normal setting I was shocked to find that we were inside of the room with those tall doors behind us. We hadn't taken a single step forward and yet we had advanced into the room? Definitely some mind games going on around here.

"Well, we're not in Mushiyori City anymore…" Yusuke mumbled.

The room was comfortably spacious considering we were in a cave underground. The funny thing was it was set up looking very sleek and modern. A giant screen was straight ahead with another giant read 'G' in the middle of it.

"You're in my territory now."

Looking slightly to the right I noticed a small figure sitting on a cushioned chair wearing a ridiculous cloak with fake, stuffed horns on the hood. Though they weren't hard to see they were still within the shadows of the room, making it difficult to make out the persons features.

"Sure took you long enough to find seven people, sheesh. Even I've got six friends."

A single spot light immediately clicked on over the person and illuminated their features just enough for me to tilt my head to the side. Pieces of hair were sticking out of the front of the hood and reflected a light brown color, and though his eyes were covered with a dim shadow I was able to tell that they were an almost violet dark blue. Freckles were speckled over the tops of his cheeks and his skin held a light tan that only added to his childlike appearance.

I found it incredibly strange that Shinobu Sensui recruited someone of that age, and a child with this sort of behavior to aid him in an entire human genocide.

"You're tellin' me that… that's the Game Master, but he's just a little pipsqueak!"

"Well… he did say he was eleven, Yusuke, I'm really not sure what else you were expecting."

This earned me a soft nudge from Yusuke along with a few words grumbled under his breath. Automatically I nudged him back but a bit harder, causing him to rub his side while narrowing his eyes at me.

"I may be small, but when it comes to video games my talents huge. So, let's play shall we?"

From then on it was a competition of brains and brute strength.

We had to play this very smart and strategize the best way we were going to win this battle. We concluded that the main fighters to play were Yusuke, Genkai, Mitari and I. I was essentially just a back up player since I only knew how to play, and win, about three categorize within the game.

Mitari was the first to compete against one of the three lower level Goblins in the category of sports. The sport was tennis and it was decided that the level was seven, chosen by a large slot machine device ran by a russet colored Goblin. Even with Amanuma doing his best to try and distract Mitari during his turn he was able to preserver and win. We were off to a great start, and not to mention I was very proud of Mitari.

My friend even spoke a few words of wisdom to the Game Master in hopes of being able to enlighten him about Sensui. Amanuma, however, was having none of that.

The next person to fight was Genkai, and at first I was skeptical of her skills I easily shut down any doubt in my mind after watching her play. At a level six the new game was a simulated fighter jet competition, with three chances to beat the new lower level Goblin. Genkai did not lose any lives and was able to strategically defeat said Goblin. Needless to say we were all impressed, and shouldn't have doubted her skills. The Goblin Brat was even really impressed her, even though she was an 'old lady'.

For the third time the slot machine spun to spit out the next game to play. It was a level one fighting game which Yusuke practically pissed all over to claim as his own. After a few yelling matches between him and Genkai, and losing one life, Yusuke was able to beat his game while sauntering back to our group.

We had defeated all three lower level Goblins and were able to advance to the next portion of the battle where we were to face Amanuma, the off brand version of the Goblin King, to beat the game.

The slot machine produced a trivia game at a level three. It was between Kaito and Kurama to decide which one would play first. After much discussion on how it was vital to play this as carefully as possible Yuu Kaito ended up going first.

You see this is where things became complicated for our group. Though Amanuma expressed how much he disliked this kind of game he was completely fine, and in fact almost too eager to play against Kaito. So eager that he was willing to give Kaito the first five questions free.

Even though Kaito had played this game so much to the point where he practically memorized the questions through a unique technique, it did not phase the child one bit. Whenever it came time for Amanuma to start playing he had already keyed in his answer before the question was even read off.

Apparently the game had specified that the trivia questions were selected through random drawings, but the Game Master had figured out that there was a specific system that the questions were picked. It only took him the first five questions to figure out what route the questions were going in before he could easily key in the answers without the question being read off.

Frustrated with himself, and not one for losing either, Kaito started to make random guesses before Amanuma could key in his own. By the time that Kaito had answered wrong for the third and final time, the Goblin Brat had nine correct answers while Kaito only had five.

This wasn't even the part that caused me to become nervous all over again.

Once Kaito came back we had gathered around again to discuss the events over. Kurama had come to the conclusion that we weren't fighting for our lives in the game, but in fact we were fighting for our time. Sensui had set up this whole distraction to waste our time and to make sure we weren't going to get through the game before the tunnel opened.

"Well now that you've figured out my plan, we've got all the time in the world to play games! So, c'mon let's play some more 'cause you guys are fun to beat!"

I shook my head while turning to the kid and squinting my eyes at him.

"You've got to be the most stupid, most immature brat that ever lived, and that's a lot comin' from me!" Yusuke spat. "Your games are gonna get us all killed."

"Nah," Amanuma replied while shrugging. "once the tunnel is done I'll throw the game and lose."

The solution sounded so simple, too simple at that. Did this child not understand what would happen if the tunnel was to really open? Bye, bye, video games; hello, demon food.

"Then you'll all be free to go!"

"Where exactly are we going to be able to go?" I asked while looking over to Yusuke.

"We've gotta be able to find a way out of this." He responded while shaking his head at me.

"It's no use." Hiei called from behind and catching our attention. "I tried and look what good it did us. We're stuck inside this child's territory, and just as it was with Kaito in that ugly mansion, we're bound to the rules he set no matter how ridiculous…"

How could I forget to mention that he once again used brute strength to try and escape a psychic's territory? Because honestly I felt like I was watching a movie on repeat whenever he tried to destroy the large screen in front of us only to have it appear completely fine in a split second.

Turning away from us Yusuke questioned where the shorter demon was headed off to.

"I know as much of games as I do of hugs and puppies," Hiei answered aloofly while sitting down and leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. "and care for them even less. Wake me for the end of the world."

I scoffed while sneering at him and shaking my head. "At least he's honest…"

"Kurama, is there any way you could whoop this kids ass?"

I looked over at Kurama after Yusuke's question in hopes that he had a positive answer. Instead I watched as Kurama looked away and straight head with a grimace tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Actually," Kurama looked down. "I'm more worried of defeating Amanuma than I am of not."

Tilting my head to the side I shared a look with Yusuke before I pressed on.

"I think Yusuke and I can agree we're going to need a little bit more of an explanation."

Kurama glanced at me for a moment before looking back straight ahead. It was almost as if he didn't want to look at me whenever he explained himself.

"As Hiei said he's made it so that everyone in his territory operates under the laws of the game. Thus, our fate is that of the same as the challenger in the arcade; as long as we choose to continue we can go on indefinitely. If we quit our lives are over, however as Kaito demonstrated Amanuma is not immune to his own territories logic…

"I'm afraid this young boy is naïve when it comes to the dire consequences of his own power."

As Kurama spoke I was really able to notice the slight changes in his features. He was worried, but also very upset with what he was saying. A small glint of sweat had formed from his temple, and I swore I saw guilt swimming around in those verdant eyes.

"If he loses… He too must follow the game's counter-parts fate; merely a pawn in Sensui's shadowy grasp."

I blinked while stepping in front of him this time; mouth slightly slacked while staring up at him with worry. Though he did not look at me I was able to see that the worry on his face had grown.

The notches inside my mind were starting to spin as I let Kurama's words mull over in my mind. Basically Amanuma was also under the influence of his territory as the Goblin King, yet I hadn't played the game to completion even though Yana and I had played it so many times. That raised the question I wasn't too okay with answering; what happens if you beat the Goblin King?

"Puzzle," Amanuma called out as the ringing of the slot machine started to go off once again. "Three-Seven, level G! Alright, the game is Three-Seven; which one of you wants to play next?"

I turned around to look away from Kurama in fear that the answer to my question was something I did not want to hear. Instead I looked over to where Amanuma was standing to see his confident baby face grin mischievously at all of us.

"There's only four left, and one of you is actually sleeping!"

"Yeah, think of it more as a self induced time-out." I retorted to the Game Master's comment; the young boy in front of me scoffed while spitting a raspberry my way and pulling down his lower eye-lid with his finger.

"Not that I couldn't beat you at Three-Seven in my sleep."

"I'll do what's best," Kurama spoke from behind, causing me to look over my shoulder at him just before he started to walk forward. His expression did not settle my fears, nor did it leave me much to be reassured about. His face was masked to conceal what he was hiding, but not like the calm, cool, collected way he usually did. This time this mask was a hardened look, but this mask did not hide that he was very much upset.

The question I was avoiding could not be left unattended to at this point, especially now that Kurama was volunteering to compete with the young boy. My eyes were practically burning holes in the back of Kurama's head, and I was almost sure he could tell.

Could Kurama, someone I had grown to trust and care for under these dire circumstances, someone who I knew would never consciously hurt an innocent, and someone who valued the lives of humans as if he were one, actually carry out such a difficult task?

Did I want him to do this at all?

Once Kurama was far enough out of ear shot I mumbled a string of curse words while pulling out my pack of cigarettes and lighting one of the longer ones. From my peripheral I watched as Yusuke raised his hand and had started to speak, but before he could even get the first word out I shoved the pack into his hand.

"Just take the rest, Urameshi. I'll just buy a pack later or… you know, quit."

A mischievous chuckle came from Yusuke as I lit the end of the cigarette and took a very long drag while handing him the lighter.

"You, Miss. Freight Train, quit? Doubt it, Montgomery."

"Yeah, I know." I didn't even bother to retaliate as I took another puff.

I watched Kurama stand in front of the control column as the room became quiet. The silence that filled the room did nothing but made me agitated and even fueled my worry for this next game competition. I swallowed the bile that had built in my throat but did nothing to remove my anxiety.

"Listen, Amanuma," Though Kurama spoke in a low tone I was still able to hear his words clearly. "I have something I need to ask you."

The small child started to walk up to his own column with his hands behind his head, so relaxed and at ease without a care in the world.

"What is it?" He asked while turning his body to the game column but keeping his gaze to Kurama who was also looking at the child.

"Did Sensui specifically instruct you to challenge us to Goblin City?"

Another swallow but the nerves were still there, another puff and yet it did nothing to calm me down.

Amanuma was still upbeat as ever as he answered.

"What's it to ya? Yeah, Mr. Sensui really likes this game and thought it'd keep you guys busy." Using his thumb Amanuma motioned to himself as he continued. "I said I didn't care 'cause I'm good at them all."

Kurama said nothing but quickly turned away to look ahead of him. Did this mean his theory was correct, or did this mean there was a bit of hope for Amanuma? Another question I did not want to answer.

"I need to know… Do you understand what Sensui plans to do?"

I watched Kurama carefully but with such a distance between us it was hard to tell how he was reacting. For a moment I could've sworn I saw his hands shaking from the fists he had made.

"Of course I do," Amanuma replied as if it were obvious to everyone in the room as well. "He'll let a bunch of demons out of their hole and let them wreak a bunch of havoc, and mess with everyone."

The more this kid spoke the more I felt the dread creep up inside of my stomach. I couldn't conceal my emotions at this point because I felt too much of it all at once.

"I thought it'd be fun plus no school for a while, sweet!"

I felt anger toward Sensui and how he had easily manipulated a young child and played on his emotions to trick him into his sick plan. Sadness because Amanuma did not have a single clue that Sensui would only use him as pawn, and frustration because that meant that we'd have to break the news to this kid.

"I think the best part is while all those dumb people are running and screaming, I'll be safe in my territory; playing games without homework or parents!"

Yet I felt guilt the most because I knew that the only way we were going to win this battle was by killing the Goblin King.

"Didn't Sensui tell you that you wouldn't be around for that long…?"

Kurama's words were solemn and grim. I did not need to look to know that Amanuma was caught off guard by this question.

"You'll die if you lose."

I squeezed my eyes shut while keeping my head down; I couldn't bear to see the look on Amanuma's face as my dear friend dropped this bombshell on him.

"What?!"

"Is… that true?"

I ignored Yusuke's and Kaito's questions while turning slightly away from them and flicking the ashes of my cigarette with more force than I intend.

"What do you think; does it still sound fun?" Kurama's words were cold but I don't think they were meant to be cold toward Amanuma. I knew Kurama's anger was placed at Sensui just like mine.

"Ha!" I snapped my eyes open and looked up to look at Amanuma who was giving a skeptical look to his opponent. "You almost had me for a sec but I'm not that gullible; he told me you'd try something like this!"

Amanuma was obviously in denial as he whipped away from Kurama and folded his hands. Denial, or maybe stubbornness, either way he was having none of it.

"Because he's counting on us to figure it out, now I'm sure you've made to the games end more times than I…"

Kurama's words pulled the boy's attention back to him; confusion was evident all over his baby-face.

"The end of the game…?"

I shook my head slightly at how Amanuma was confused by this as well. Did he not know what happens at the end of Goblin City, or even test it out before this little ruse was set up?

"At the end of the game they vividly depict the Goblin Kings death; that's an ending very specific to this game."

I watched Amanuma very carefully and saw how Kurama was finally getting through to him about the seriousness of the situation he was in. I felt an ache in my chest and the constriction in my throat at the thought of being so young and being told such things. This boy was a lot different than the boy I had met at the beginning of this shit storm. Instead of a confident little heathen I was starting to see more of the childlike innocence. I took back to back hits from my cigarette to try and keep myself together, but nicotine could only do so much.

"He too must follow the counter-parts fate. Of course, Sensui never wanted you to practice your power playing Goblin City inside your territory, did he?"

"But how could you possibly know that?" Amanuma insisted. "No, I couldn't play this cause I didn't have seven people to play with! Besides, it's not like I died in other games!" The boys' voice was frantic to defend Shinobu Sensui's guidance, Kurama's know-it-all answers and his own mistakes.

"But you have never tested your powers in manifesting any games of this type have you, Amanuma? Where you take the role of the villain who explicitly dies at the games conclusion?" Kurama retaliated with a few more hard hitting questions.

"Is that correct?"

"I don't know… yes?"

From where I was standing even I could see it on the child's face that he wasn't actually sure of this answer.

"Surely Sensui gave you some reason for avoiding them."

"Well…" Amanuma looked down slightly as his mind went to work on retrieving any memories to justify Kurama's words.

There was a short moment of silence before Yusuke spoke up to break it.

"What a second, so Sensui's putting his own men up on the chopping block just to stall us for a couple of hours while he digs a hole? I gotta tell ya between you and Mitari, Sensui's not big on the whole 'building company loyalty' is he?"

Though Yusuke's words and tone were light it did raise an interesting question that I hadn't thought about before: why was Sensui so careless when it came to his own teammates? It seemed very strange that he would gather eight strangers, mind fuck them with a few hours of a snuff film, and release them out to do his bidding but never batting an eye-lash if they were killed? Hell, he was trying to make sure that Mitari was killed.

"A man like Sensui…" Kurama cut through the temporary silence, an edge to his voice as he spoke. "Has no other loyalty except to himself and his cause."

I looked over to watch as Kurama lifted his hand up to examine it, but from this angle I could not exactly tell what he was looking at.

"And he cares nothing for how much blood is shed to reach that goal." Kurama quickly turned to look at Amanuma as he continued. "Not even the blood of an ignorant young boy who foolishly chose wrong over right!"

Kurama's harsh words had finally struck a chord in Amanuma. The child's face turned from shock to panic as the sound of the game announcer's voice started the game of Three-Seven.

(-)(-)(-)

"Well we won't… will we?"

"Kurama has. That's why he told the boy the truth; to make him weak."

The conversation between Yusuke and Genkai played over my mind as I watched the downfall of the Game Master against Kurama. I had blocked the others out of my mind and kept my attention focused on those two alone. It was a dirty trick that Kurama had pulled in order to win, and as much as I tried to defend the action within my mind as the only way to ensure us a way to get past Amanuma, I could not bring myself to be totally okay with this.

Flicking the finished cigarette to the side I turned around to look at Genkai knowing that desperation was written all over my face, and my eyes pleading for some kind of hope.

"Please tell me it doesn't have to go down like this, Genkai…" My voice was kept low in an attempt to try and not distract the two from their puzzle.

Genkai said nothing but frowned before looking down as her answer. Shaking my head I whirled back around to see how the progression of the game was going. Even from the distance I could see the boy's body shaking as his arms and fingers twitched over the controls, compared to Kurama who was moving his hands over the control with ease and precision.

"Please," Amanuma looked over to Kurama as he spoke. "is there any way I can get out of this?!"

Unfortunately due to Amanuma's attempt at trying to resolve the matter, he ended up missing another opportunity to connect more to the puzzle and added to the quick growing of the blocks. This made Amanuma let out a strangled gasp while pleading for more help from Kurama.

"…Is there not a way to shut down this territory and void your power?" Kurama offered.

"No, I've tried that! It's impossible to shut it down while a games still in progress!"

Amanuma looked back to Kurama and offered his own solution; throw the game or there was no way out of it. I kept my eyes on Amanuma because I already knew what Kurama's answer was going to be.

"I'm sorry but that's not going to happen…"

Another easy miss in Amanuma's puzzle sent him into a full-blown panic attack. He started to hyperventilate, switching between hands to wipe away the continuous flow of tears while small sobs had escaped his mouth.

"This is about choosing one life over another," Kurama spoke. "you know what Sensui's going to do… I can't say you're not responsible for your fate."

In that moment I wanted to rip Kurama apart for the cruel words he was effortlessly throwing at Amanuma. The world was not cut into black and white; there was so much gray to account for. Kurama was not taking into account that this was simply a boy who had been lied to and tricked; not some crooked villain who willingly understood the consequences of his actions.

Unfortunately I also knew that this was the only way for us to win; kick the kid while he was down.

"B-But I didn't mean… f-for this stuff to really h-happen!" Amanuma pleaded while leaning forward to cry out a little more. Another miss within the puzzle brought him back out of his sobbing but only for a moment. One after another Amanuma started missing turns as if he had suddenly stopped. I took a few steps closer to see that he was so scared he became paralyzed from being able to use the controls. He even struggled with moving the control that he had to use both hands.

The hyperventilating escalated to the point where it was breaking my heart with each attempt to take in more air. I could practically hear the terror with each desperate gasp of air.

"I don't wanna die!"

Tears started to burn my eyes and my vision immediately became clouded.

"I don't wanna die!"

I turned around quickly while covering my mouth to try and stop my weeping but unfortunately a sob had escaped. I didn't know who I had turned to but luckily Yusuke did not pull away when I buried my face into his chest and grabbed at his shirt with my other hand, repeating over that I just couldn't watch this anymore.

He did the best that he could to comfort me by putting one hand on the back of my neck and the other in the middle of my back.

"Breathe, Nat, breathe…" Yusuke's voice was soft within my ear, but the comfort of his words did not last long as the sound of the buzzer went off. There was an uncomfortable silence within the air for a few seconds before the thud of something heavy hitting the floor broke it.

I did my best to try and contain myself as much as possible, but with the convulsions of my body and the small sob that escaped again from behind my hand I couldn't hide my hurt.

"Game over! Hark and rejoice as the evil Goblin King is dead, and peace has been restored to the town!"

---

Author's Note:

Two chapters in a week? Is, like, Hell freezing over or something? Think again my dear readers! I've been on top of my shit lately and hopefully I'll be able to stay like this until I finish this series! I know my other chapter hasn't been out long so I only have two people to thank this time for their reviews. Can I get a "Hell yeah!" for CountingSinfulStars and OwlLoveYou ?! Ahaha thanks guys, seriously.

If I get more reviews from the last chapter I'll try and add them on whenever I find the time to. Anyway, thanks guys for the read, and if you could drop a small, big, or whatever kind of review you wanna put down it's much appreciated!