Power Gained, a Friend Captured

Kamiko

I chose to ignore Yusuke as he shouted at Kaito over Kurama being missing. I had no comments to make. Sure, the portal opening in one week was a bummer and all, but Machiko was starting to worry me.

After Yusuke stormed out, Keiko turned to me. "Kamiko, are you okay?"

"Hm. I'm fine, but I'm worried about my sister."

Yanagisawa was the next to ask a question. "Why? What's she doing?"

"Writing, actually; she's writing a lot and mumbling to herself. And her handwriting's atrocious, so even when I get a hold of her papers, I can't tell what she's writing about."

Kaito asked the question whose answer worried me the most. "How long has she been doing this?"

"Since…since the hospital thing."

Boton cocked her head. "You said you can always sense your sister in your head…have you…"

"All I can pick up is that it has nothing to do with the demon portal. Her very emotions…let's see if I can give you a basic picture of her emotions here…"

I tapped my link with Machiko…she was up to that writing again…and put her emotions into my color-changing skin.

"Whoa!" Everyone except Genkai jumped back when my colors suddenly exploded into a rainbow, twisting and swirling chaotically and not remaining the same thing for very long. All colors were remaining on my skin, but they were shifting about so much…

Genkai spoke. "Your sister definitely has conflicting emotions over something."

I let my color return to normal. "That's an understatement."

Genkai ended up pounding Yusuke for his running off to the arcade instead of finding Kuwabara. Apparently the goof had more power inside him than expected, and if our enemies found out…they'd take him on first.

Well…he made it back…with all his friends and one other kid in tow.

The next morning…when the kid woke up, all of us were there. Including Machiko; I had to do something to get her out of her rut.

"You're Yusuke."

"That's right, Goldie; and that's my bed you're sleeping in, thanks to Mister Freight Train over there dragging you in so we could stitch you back up!"

Machiko started snickering.

Kurama told the kid about what we did with Kuwabara's friends. I just stood there swishing my tail. If this kid had been spying on us for any length of time, there was no reason to hide what I was.

"Kuwabara saved you after you tried to kill him, you think any of your psychic pals would have done that?" Yusuke was determined to get info. "You owe him big, so start talking!"

He told us…about some video that he'd been shown, a video called Chapter Black. Kurama elaborated on what that was. Apparently Hiei's wanted it for years, and it documented every awful thing humanity's done.

I gritted my teeth as the kid kept talking. Yusuke yelled out, and the kid kept going!

Machiko

I glanced over at Kamiko. Her color was darkening rapidly. She'd gone red over Kurama's description of that Chapter Black video, and this kid was just getting her angrier.

It took Yusuke telling the kid what Kuwabara had said when he'd briefly come to in order to make the kid burst into tears instead. I glanced at Kami. Her color had hit an odd warp when he'd started crying.

Yusuke and Kurama left the room to talk. I heard Yusuke say something about the 6-o-clock news pissing him off and how that tape must have humanity's worst.

Kamiko's color hadn't exactly returned to its golden normal. I'm not sure how she's going to take anything else.

Then Yusuke started shouting at Koenma through the briefcase-thing, something about how Koenma knows exactly who our opponent is and hasn't told us!

"I wasn't positive until the videotape." Koenma had an unreadable expression. "Only one man has a copy of that. I just didn't want to believe it."

Yusuke yelled one more time. "Cut to the meat, pal!"

"…As you wish, Yusuke. The name of the mastermind…Shinobu Sensui. He was the spirit detective of the earth before you came along."

After a bit more explanation, one that ended with Koenma saying he was going to come to Human World soon, Yusuke yelled, "Well, I'm not going to let some guy just like me be the end of the world!"

Somehow…that sentence struck me as funny.

Kamiko

We got to talking about this Sensui guy…kind of. I went with Boton to see that kid Seaman. He still looked really sad. I considered showing him my color-change party trick. The only question was, who would I do it with? The trick involved me and another person. Normally I practiced that move with Machiko, but I did that one so often it was easy, for all that her colors walked the line between easy and difficult.

Then I came back into the room where the guys were talking. Koenma had appeared, this time looking like a hot teenage boy…though I'm not sure why he kept the pacifier.

He explained to us about Sensui. Apparently, he'd been a fabulous Spirit Detective who saw things in black and white – just the mention of those colors side by side got everyone at the table glancing at Machiko – and he'd been sent on a mission with loads of gray: sealing a tunnel between the human world and the demon world.

Demons were being caught by that tunnel and sold on the black market. Suddenly, while Koenma was in the middle of that story, Machiko flinched.

"You okay, Matchy?" I asked.

"…Just something Dad told me before he left. I…can't quite remember it right now, but it was something about a Black Black Club. I think he'd been one of its victims."

Koenma's eyes rested on her briefly. "Is that so? He must have been an early one, and one of the smarter ones if he managed to escape on his own."

One name mentioned, Genkai had mentioned some time back and I hadn't paid mind to: Sakyo.

"You mean he was starting stuff when I was being kicked out of kindergarten?" Yusuke demanded.

"One way to look at it, yeah." Koenma sounded a little shaky when he answered.

And apparently, Sensui had seen humanity's darkest side when he went into that mission, and it drove him into a version of madness.

Then Yusuke set himself up for a joke, and Koenma obliged by throwing the joke himself. Apparently he'd chosen Yusuke as the next Spirit Detective because he knew Yusuke wouldn't think too much.

Machiko started snickering. Then Yusuke and Kurama sensed something…as did I…and we looked out the window.

Pardon the phrase…speak of the devil.

Kuwabara had to run in and save Seaman, and Kurama and Genkai were reading Sensui's lips to figure out what he was saying. Apparently the one they needed was among us!

I glared through the window. Kuwabara ran off, and Yusuke chased after him. I went to see Seaman again, spreading my wings – just my wings; I'd finally gotten practiced enough to where I didn't go full-demon to spread my wings – and gently folding one around his shoulders.

"You've…you've got wings?"

"Sometimes. I don't use them very often, and I've only flown once." I laughed at the memory.

Shizuru looked up at me. "Was that the time you described yourself as a dying duck?"

Seaman started giggling, only to stop as it apparently pulled awkwardly at his stomach.

Machiko

I dove out the window on vibrantly-striped wings and landed next to Kurama, letting my wings flare as an attempt to look more menacing.

A few words were exchanged, including Yusuke telling Keiko to stay against the wall.

"Machiko," Koenma glanced at me. "If you value those wings of yours, you'd best stay on the ground."

"I'm not an idiot." I was speaking low, and my wings were already receding into my back again. "I saw those pinpoint-shot whatevers the other guy had flicked through the window; if I took to the air, I'd be target practice for that guy. He'd either fill my wings with holes or go for a heart or head shot, depending on how interested he was in toying with me."

"Precisely."

I was shaking. I didn't know if I could stay still if any blood was shed, or what I'd do if I felt pain. I'd never actually been in combat against anything larger than those spirit insects.

Yusuke took the guy on first, and he kept getting deflected.

Kamiko

"Kuwabara's in danger!" Seaman insisted to us. He explained about how Kuwabara's power was what Sensui wanted. Then he turned to me. "Can't you fly down and get him out of there?"

"Did you hear us just now comparing my flying to that of a dying duck? I'm not that good a flyer yet. And besides that, the one time I flew – recently – I was lifting Kurama up to the top of the hospital, and I barely managed to pull that stunt off. Kuwabara'd be way too heavy for me to lift off the ground right now, the best I'd be able to do would be to use my momentum to knock him flat!"

"Well, then we've got to warn them!" Boton threw the window open and called once. I spread my wings and got ready to leap past Boton, but I barely gained the wall with my feet before she grabbed hold of my tail. "Wait!"

And then I saw what she saw: Sniper, aiming for us with something! And I was already off-balance; Boton was using every bit of her weight counterbalancing me!

"Wait for it…if we don't time it right, we'll both still get hit…"

My sharp eyes caught sight of the first flick. "Now!"

Boton let go and scrambled back while loads of shots went in our direction. I scrambled around and clung to the underside of the balcony with morphed hands and already-clawed feet until the sounds of breaking glass and impacts stopped. Then I turned around and ran up, back onto the top of the wall and leaped back into the room, turning and springing onto the ceiling. "I don't dare try to fly down there now," I put my wings away, "he'd shoot me down easy!"

Shizuru came up with an idea. I volunteered to stay with Seaman. "I'm a screaming-bright target anyway."

Machiko

An energy ball streaked towards us from that jerk Sensui, and we barely had to move for it to go past us.

Kuwabara had one quip. "Guess all the training in the world can't account for bad aim."

Suddenly I stiffened. I had sharper eyes than most, and I'd tracked where it was going…and more important, what was in its path: Yusuke's apartment and my sister! I took off running, racing the energy ball! "Sis, there's a powerful attack coming! Make sure everyone's safe!"

Will she hear me? That was the main reason I was racing the ball, hoping that I was in range.

The ball got there first, and I ended up skidding as I heard my sister's thoughts in my head. "We're fine, but Kuwabara's a target because of his power! Don't let Sensui take him!"

I rounded back and tore back towards them. I actually collided with him as he was running by. He outweighed me by a few pounds, so of course I didn't actually stop him so much as ricochet off of him and spin over to the side of the road. At least since we were both surprised, he didn't bother attempting to kill me at the same time.

I caught up with the three boys who ran past me a bit later. Yusuke was at least managing to deflect the guy's feet as Sensui was swinging at him.

I caught hold of Kuwabara's wrist. "Hey, Kuwabara…I've got a message for you from the girls and their patient."

"Hm? You mean they're okay?"

"Thanks to the twin telepathy I've got, yeah. Unfortunately, there's something else…" I whispered into his ear, "You're the target. Sensui wants to capture you and use your power to finish his tunnel."

"What?!"

"Just don't give him the opportunity to lay his hands on you, got it? I'm not telling you to leave, because I know you won't, but don't close in for combat."

"Alright, fine…I'll see what I can do."

While I watched, I thought about what else I'd picked up along my link. Kamiko had been in…a lot of pain.

Kuwabara did go rushing in, but at least he…kind of remembered what I'd told him. Though the power he'd been hoping to use…didn't appear.

I set a hand on my face as Kuwabara got kicked away. "What a moron. How's Shizuru put up with him?"

Kurama was next to dash in, brandishing a thorny whip. (Yes, this is my first time really seeing Kurama in action.)

The guy dodged, and then…the jerk stopped among a bunch of people and dared Kurama to use the whip around civilians.

Finally, I'd had enough. I put away my tail, but left my feet and legs alone. "Guys, let me try. He's not the only one who fights with his legs."

"Machiko, you've never fought before, at least not against a human opponent."

"Don't remind me, Kurama!" I rushed him. The main reason I was running was because it was the only way I could stay on my feet without my tail.

I leaped, and started raining down kicks from above.

I was annoyed that he was deflecting every single kick and not even flinching at the claws I bore. One flip backwards planted my feet again, but I wobbled dangerously off-balance.

The jerk just smirked at my wobble. "You have good form, but your technique is sloppy, like one who learned everything they knew from movies and video games. And how are you at defense?"

That was my cue to attempt to deflect his feet. It was just like with Yusuke…only…I was getting hit more. I was deflecting maybe one kick out of three? I ended up taking on more fur-coated demon muscle under my clothing than I'd really wanted to, because it was the only way I could endure all those strikes. I was still going to end up with bruises on my sides.

Then he kicked me back, and I landed flat at Kurama's feet. He ran off, followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara. Kurama helped me up, but a motorcycle stopped between us and the chasers.

And Sniper was on the motorcycle, all ready to fight us.

Then Keiko ran up, providing a target that we didn't need around. The guy shot at her and then bailed. After making sure that she was okay, we got a reminder that we needed to get to Kuwabara.

I grinned. "Hey, Kurama, I know how we can get there quickly, but in order to keep from shocking civilians, I need some help."

He looked at me. "I'm listening."

I lifted a foot. "Let me see the end of that whip – the business end, you keep the handle."

Well, he passed it to me. "Careful."

"Of course."

I gripped it tight but carefully with my long toes. "Keep a good grip, but the moment you feel slack, get ready to jump off the other side of the bridge."

His eyebrows rose in understanding. "You're going to swing under the bridge and obtain your wings, and I'm to jump onto your back."

I nodded, hopped twice towards the bridge, and then flipped up and over the rail, keeping him from asking the next important question, which was "And how often have you flown?"

The answer to that question was "More often than Kamiko, but still never with a passenger."

I only hoped Kurama was light enough for me to pull this stunt.

I swung out, felt the whip go taut, and swung back. Once I was in the shadow of the bridge, I got my tail and wings and let go. A few good flaps and I came out from under the bridge…

And felt weight descend on my back.

Kurama's sudden appearance caused my flight to wobble, but I stayed in the air and just kept my wings pumping.

Then Kurama knelt on my back and grabbed hold of my torn shirt. "How often have you flown?"

"…Saving…breath…for…flying."

He apparently read into what I didn't say. "I was afraid you'd say that. Listen, if it looks like we won't reach them before you run out of energy, don't kill yourself."

I nodded, but that was it.

As it turned out, we didn't make it in time – Kuwabara still wound up kidnapped.

And…it was my turn to faceplant under Kurama's weight.

Could today possibly get any worse?