Watching Insanity

Kamiko

I was relieved when the Sinning Tree sent out more branches or whatever and twined them about Toguro's upper body, for a twofold reason: it muffled his shrieks and hid the stomach-wrenching appearance of his head sprouting from Gourmet's…neck and jaw.

"Such is the nature of this tree," Kurama finished. "Only your sins can hurt you."

"Hey, uh, Kurama?" Yusuke asked. "If I ever did something that pissed you off, I'm sorry."

I hid my mouth behind my hand, trying not to giggle.

"Me, too!" Seaman added.

Then I thought about what Kurama had said a bit more carefully, and shuddered. "Me three."

Yusuke yelled at Sensui next. "Your End-of-the-World party is dwindling, Sensui, and I doubt you want to be plant food! Give Kuwabara back to us like you promised!"

I sensed something coming…something fast. "Hello?" I deliberately thought. "Sis, is that you?"

"You didn't seriously think I'd let you and Hiei take all the fun, did you?"

There was an interesting undercurrent to the name "Hiei." "Well, as long as you're coming, I think you'll have to rescue Kuwabara. It's highly unlikely Sensui is going to give him to us." I broadcast an image of Kuwabara in the boat and the portal behind him.

"Right!"

Although as it happened, we got Kuwabara back in the strangest misdirection ever. Kurama was trying to get info out of Kuwabara about how he'd gotten from the boat to here, but the info was lacking.

I suddenly realized through the link I had with my sister…she was still coming…she knew thanks to me that we had Kuwabara…she was going to rush Sensui!

"…Scrap!"

"Is something wrong, Kamiko?" Kurama turned his gaze on me.

"Um…Machiko's coming."

Then a strange shadow approached us from the lake!

"Okay," Yusuke sounded nervous, "another thing on my Weird List just got checked off!"

Then a strange mouth-type thing opened beneath us!

"Yup, there goes another one!" Yusuke yelped as we all fell into it!

I sprouted my wings as a natural reflex to falling. "Grab hold, you guys!"

Seaman grabbed one of my ankles, Kurama grabbed my other one, and Yusuke grabbed hold of my tail. I beat my wings hard trying to stay up, but the weight was too much for me.

I didn't even try to grab Kuwabara or Hiei.

I didn't have to – Machiko dove in after us and grabbed Kuwabara herself with her hands and feet together! I noticed out of the corner of my eye Hiei grab hold of her newly-healed tail and her tail respond by twining about one of his wrists.

We fought as hard as we could to stay up…but it was a losing battle. Neither of us was all that experienced in flight, and both of us had more weight than we could fly with.

The hole closed over our heads, and suddenly Yusuke was yanked off of my tail!

After falling for a bit, we ended up floating in some strange location! Everyone let go of their respective locations and Machiko let go of Kuwabara and started working on his ropes.

Technically, Machy and I could have put away our wings…but if our feet weren't on anything solid, we felt better with them.

Kurama, Seaman and Hiei were speculating on where we were. I chose to just look around.

Machiko looked at me. "Hey…how come you're in your 'Keep Away From Me' Fear Mode? Don't you prefer your 'Now You See Me, Now You Don't' Fear Mode?"

I was quiet for a minute. Then I answered her. "I'm trying. My vanishing trick isn't working here; the energy of this place is messing with my abilities. It's just like back in the cave with the demon portal."

Then someone came in – the person Seaman had called Itsuki!

"You're not really a human, are you?" Kurama asked him.

He smiled. "Do you really think a human could have produced that tunnel?"

Then he revealed what he was.

"He's an actual Yamanate," Kurama sounded impressed.

Hiei wasn't impressed at all, and Kuwabara…

"I don't care if he's a unicorn! Let's start this fight! We'll see how special he is when I smash him!"

"Why'd I untie him?" Machiko rolled her eyes.

Itsuki held a hand towards us. "Calm your anger, Kuwabara, I'm not here to fight."

"What? Then why the heck did you bring us to this freaky place – for sightseeing? I've seen enough!"

Machiko suddenly shot a thought in my direction. "Keep trying to vanish, Sis; it's possible that you still can, it's just that you've never had to vanish in a place that's loaded with demon energy before and that's what's messing you up."

I tuned out everything else that was being said and glared at my hand, trying to get the colors to change to match my surroundings.

It was actually Itsuki who got me to vanish with one part of his story. "Yes…I admit my attraction was not purely academic, I always wished he would become my lover."

Kuwabara also took exception to that remark. "Okay, you can stop right there, I don't think my ears are old enough for this!"

"If you truly care for him," Kurama called out, "then help us to stop him! This path he's taking will destroy everything, and us as well!"

"You can't save the damned."

I tuned them out again and started practicing flying about and keeping my newfound faux invisibility active at the same time. I ended up behind Itsuki, but I wasn't about to try anything; I'm not a fighter.

Eventually Hiei got a laugh from Machiko. "If we kill him, I get the first hit."

"You, Shorty?" she mocked him. At least she kept it to that instead of extending it like she had outside the caves.

"I'm afraid these surroundings are making us stir-crazy," Itsuki remarked. "Let's have a better view."

I flew over his head as two giant windows opened behind him and me, looking into the cave we just were.

Yusuke and Sensui were facing off, though apparently neither had moved yet.

Then Yusuke managed to land a punch on the creep!

"Yeah!" Kuwabara fist-pumped. "Now that's a statement-punch!"

After a minute, Kuwabara yelled at Itsuki, "From now on, you're in Quiet Time, okay?!"

I covered my face. Kuwabara…stop it. He's entitled to his own opinion.

I also couldn't watch as everything Yusuke was throwing at Sensui was getting parried and then when I looked up, Yusuke had been thrown across the room.

Machiko winced. "Ouch. I remember when I took him on. Nothing I did worked, and he really pounded me good. I had to take on a large portion of this form in order to avoid getting seriously hurt."

"He was going easy on you," Itsuki suddenly spoke.

She spun around. "WHAT?!"

"You think he couldn't have caused a great deal of damage to a true demon with his fighting style? He could have broken your ribs five times over, as well as caused any number of other fractures. The thing was, he felt…"

"Don't say it!" she snapped, her wings flaring. "Don't say he felt sorry for me because I was a demon stuck growing up in a human world and forced to take on a weaker human form to blend in!"

She was ticked. If she were me, she'd probably be a very dark red right now.

"Very well, I won't say it."

Her eyes narrowed, and I could see the fangs that she had chosen to leave off when she'd flown in starting to take form. Our fangs aren't all that long – our lips will still close over them, and they don't interfere with our speech patterns – but they're plenty sharp enough to where if we needed to, we could probably pierce living flesh with them.

Then Yusuke managed to pound Sensui so that the guy went flying into the lake.

"What's that, Sensui? You say you forgot how to swim? You drowned?" Yusuke yelled at the lake. "Great! We'll pack up and go! You heard Kuwabara, he's starved!"

Well…now I know he can hear us.

Then Sensui came out of the lake minus his shirt. I was astonished at all the scars he had! After a remark from Kuwabara about all the fights Sensui had been through, the old Spirit Detective looked at us. "Don't you know what they say about assuming, Kuwabara? These wounds aren't from enemies – no one's ever hurt me that bad. I gave myself these scars as part of my training."

I shuddered. "Wow…that's…wrong."

Then an energy ball leaped out of the water and circled over to hover next to Sensui!

"Oh, great!" Kuwabara complained. "Now he can make things move without touching 'em!"

"And that won't be all!" Kurama sounded worried. Hiei made a noncommittal sound.

Itsuki just laughed a little.

Then Sensui formed loads of little energy balls around him! Kuwabara wanted to know how Yusuke was going to hit Sensui through that.

"The real problem will be," Kurama was still worried, "getting away from him."

I fluttered down to Kurama and let my hands rest on his shoulders. I was still nervous, and now that my hiding was working again, it meant that there was no way he could see me if he looked over his shoulder.

Kurama lifted a hand and rested it on one of mine, an effort to reassure me.

Then Sensui sent all those energy balls towards Yusuke!

Machiko suddenly started shaking. "If I'd gotten here just a minute later, I'd be out there with him! Those would tear through my wings like paper!"

Yusuke dodged for a while, but after a bit he got hit by a bunch of them! The resulting dust cloud completely obscured our view of him!

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara really sounded worried.

My hands clenched tighter on Kurama's shoulders. I hadn't grown claws this time, there hadn't been any need for them, so I knew I wouldn't pierce his clothing, let alone his skin.

"Poor Mister Urameshi," Seaman's voice trembled.

"Don't get too worried yet," Kurama reassured us. "It'll take a lot more than that to do him in."

"Are you sure?"

Kurama just nodded, but I sensed he was still a little uneasy. I could fill in the words he didn't say: How much more…that I'm not sure of.

Then Yusuke leaped out as the dust cloud was starting to dissipate. "Is that all you've got?"

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Then Sensui got ready to do the same thing again! Yusuke made some remark about playing something other than dodgeball.

Kurama almost choked, and not on laughter. "No time for…jokes, Yusuke! His energy is so much stronger now!"

Sensui bragged over having loads more spirit energy than Yusuke, and Seaman cried out that Yusuke would be murdered!

The attack was launched, and I put away my wings, flipped over Kurama's head and pressed up against his chest again. I was still watching…I couldn't look away…but now I was in a position where a reassuring gesture would be easier.

Yusuke was knocked head over heels again, but he still was able to get up again.

"He's insane." That's all Machiko said about it.

The third time the attack was launched, Yusuke just rushed headlong into it!

"You're right, Machy," I commented, feeling my third eyelids close so I wouldn't miss anything, "he is insane!"

"Individually, those attacks aren't so bad," Kurama suddenly realized. "It's when they reconvene and strike Yusuke all at once that they become too much to handle."

Yusuke unloaded a lot of punches on Sensui and then leaped high, yelling, "Bet you didn't see this coming!"

And…he landed in the lake.

I blinked. "…What was that?"

And then he started swimming around in the lake.

Suddenly I faded back into view. I wasn't scared anymore, I was stunned. "I don't believe it."

After a minute, he popped back out and lunged in for more punching action.

Wait – he didn't punch – he ripped his shirt off and used it to catch Sensui's wrist!

"That should block his splinter resshūken," Kurama sounded relatively calm, "for the time being, at least."

Their wrists were tied together, so Yusuke was doing all his punching with one arm and had brought Sensui down onto his back so that he could continue pinning the creep and Sensui couldn't run away!

Then…I don't know what happened, but Yusuke suddenly went flying!

And Sensui…had a gun on the end of one arm?

"What was that?" Hiei asked.

"It appears he's transformed his arm into the barrel of a gun!" Kurama sounded borderline between his usual calm and scared.

"It must have taken restraint to hold back on that for as long as he did."

I sensed Machiko look at Hiei. "Well don't sound so impressed, Shorty!"

Then Sensui started talking completely different!

"His tone has changed!" Kurama was just as surprised as I was. "That doesn't sound like Sensui anymore."

"Yeah," Kuwabara spoke next, "he's got a potty mouth now! Hey, don't you know there are girls listening to this?"

"It's not him," Itsuki spoke for the first time in a while. "He's been substituted now. The only person who can produce that weapon is the person called Kazuya."

Kuwabara completely missed the point. Kurama got it, though. "Multiple personalities?"

"What?" Kuwabara still sounded shocked. "Oh, don't tell me this is getting weirder!"

"Indeed." Itsuki answered Kurama as if Kuwabara hadn't spoken. "There are seven, all coexisting within Sensui's brain, each with distinct traits and talents."

"There're seven of him?" Kuwabara's tone could best be described with the phrase, "oh great now what?"

"I can't believe this!" Seaman sounded just as shocked. "I had no idea!"

"His subconscious created them to cope with the madness." Itsuki sounded way too calm for the revelation he was giving us. "It's an impulsive defense mechanism, the brain's own survival instinct, much like your vanishing trick, Kamiko."

Kuwabara started trying to generate his dimension-cutting sword as Yusuke was getting kicked around by this freak's psycho personality. I huddled closer to Kurama, sensing that my fear was causing my color to fade out again.

Kurama put his arms around me. "Easy, Kamiko. It's not over yet."

Kuwabara got a sword, but he wasn't managing to cut through so either it was the wrong weapon or this place didn't follow the rules of dimensions.

Then Hiei lunged for our window with a yell of "Step aside!" And yet, it didn't work!

His back was to me, but I could imagine the nonplussed look on his face.

A quiet laugh left Itsuki. "You're wasting your time." I tuned out the rest of what he said. The important part had already entered my head.

Yusuke was getting all shot up, none of the hits being instantly fatal. This was just proving what Itsuki had said about Kazuya tormenting his victims.

Right before the creep was about to blow Yusuke's head off, a new voice cut through the cave. "Shinobu!"

I blinked. "Was that Koenma?"

Even after Koenma showed up, Kuwabara was still trying to get out. It was getting old.

"The only way to transfer out is through my power," Itsuki told us, "which I'm sure you'll never possess."

Machiko growled at him. "Well, then…you'd better let us out!"

Kuwabara rushed Itsuki, only to have Hiei parry the sword-swing!

"Hey, what was that for? I'm gonna smash him!"

"Why don't you think a little?" Hiei replied, sounding somewhere between snide and resigned.

Kurama picked up the explanation. "Itsuki's the only one who can free us. Kill him and we'll be trapped here."

Well. That took away his thunder.

Machiko

As Koenma and…Kazuya talked out there, I absently glanced towards Kurama and Kamiko. Not that I could really see her at all from my exact angle, just the way that Kurama's clothes were reacting to the pressure of a girl's body. And judging by the way certain wrinkles were starting to form, she was nearly trying to squirm inside his skin from sheer nerves.

Considering how shy my sister normally is, this was saying something. What it was saying, about what, I'm not sure. Maybe she'd forgotten she was in Kurama's arms, because of how focused she was on our double-screen TV. Or maybe…

A smile spread onto my face. Or maybe she likes him.

Suddenly a Spirit Gun explosion went off! Kamiko went white again, perfectly visible in Kurama's arms, and I was tight as a bowstring!

The conversation taking place outside hinted that Yusuke had missed, and was exhausted now. The talking was, once again, between that creep Kazuya and our own friend Koenma.

After a minute, I started dashing in flight around our prison. I nearly bumped into Itsuki twice, and both times he dodged. Then again, he could probably sense that I wasn't actually trying to attack him.

"Machiko," he asked when he had to duck for the third time, "what are you doing?"

"Flying practice. Since I can't leave until you say so, the movie's gotten boring. And this place is definitely roomy enough."

I sensed Kamiko's regard. Then I barely heard her speak. "Not a bad idea, sis." The next minute, we were flying a complicated dance about each other, just practicing maneuvers in empty space.

What made the dodging around fun was the sheer amount of debris that was also floating in space here.

Then Kurama mentioned something about a thought Murota reading being misinterpreted! "By seven, we assumed he meant the psychics he recruited. We assumed Sensui cared for his team; but in truth, the seven were his own personalities!"

"The psychics were expendable," Hiei countered, "he planned to be the sole survivor from the very start!"

"That's correct." Itsuki. "As his partner from the naive years, I was the only one who realized. But I can take care of myself."

I glanced at his face on a pass-by. He looked almost sad. Considering that remark about hoping they could be lovers, I wasn't all that surprised.

That wasn't all he said, but I tuned out the rest of it. I know, hardly smart, probably there was something important in his story; but I wasn't all that good at listening.

Itsuki did startle me at one point. "Of the seven personalities, one is a girl."

Kamiko also had a color-swirl at that moment. I didn't see what the colors were, I only noticed out of the corner of my eye. It got worse when he said that sometimes he thought that he and that girl-persona were in love.

"What are you saying?!" Kuwabara yelled. "No, don't answer – I don't want to catch your crazy disease!"

I shuddered, briefly forgetting to flap my wings; not that it mattered in this place, I stayed in the same spot anyway.

"Hey, Shinobu!" Kazuya's voice drew my attention again. "You awake yet?"

Oh, Koenma must have asked to speak with him.

"Shinobu!"

Apparently, he's not taking any calls.

Kazuya's next words pretty much confirmed that idea.

I flew down to Seaman, lightly resting my clawed hands on his shoulders. He flinched, no surprise as he's not used to demons particularly, but otherwise didn't move. "Hey, you want a ride? I want to practice flying around with someone on my back, and you're probably the lightest one here."

"Um…"

"Don't worry, I won't be going out of range of the TV. You can still watch your show."

"…Okay." He flipped around onto my back and I started flying some more. "Just curious, though, why not Hiei? He's smaller than me."

"Smaller, sure, but not necessarily lighter: that small body is packed with muscle. He probably weighs about the same as…I don't know, Kurama? Maybe Kuwabara? Yusuke's pretty much all muscle, he's probably heavier than Hiei."

"Oh."

Kamiko

Kazuya taunted Koenma. "Face it, Princey, we've all chosen our fates!"

"…Then so have I." Koenma did…something…

I flew closer to try to see what he'd done. The result was I smacked into the window. "Ow! Good grief!" Then I focused my eyes.

Did he…remove that pacifier?

"Down in front, sis!" Machiko shouted at me. "Don't block the TV!"

I folded my wings, angled them down away from my body, and heaved them upwards, causing an equal and opposite reaction of pushing me downwards. I kept my gaze on Koenma and that dopey pacifier, though.

Energy started surging off of it, moving his hair and clothes and causing ripples in their space!

Koenma explained what he was going to do with the pacifier, giving Kazuya, Shinobu and everyone else inside that head a chance to back down.

"We'll chat it over." Then Kazuya crossed his arms and just stood there, while the energy was still swirling.

After an unbearable length of time, Kazuya moved. "We've made our choice! It's unanimous among all seven." Then he aimed his gun at Koenma. "We're continuing our plan – as soon as I kill you off!"

That's it? Five minutes of silence, and that's what you picked? I'd expected more sense from you – especially you, Miss Shinobu! You're supposed to be the compassionate one!

Then Yusuke intervened in what Koenma was going to do!

"Yusuke…do you even have a plan?"

"He rarely does," Kurama answered me.

After tossing the dopey pacifier around between his hands from not wanting to touch it, Yusuke finally just shoved it into his pocket.

Koenma…you don't want to put that in your mouth again.

Yusuke's "Let's just get back to killing each other!" remark had me snickering a bit.

Then he had to punch Koenma. After doing so, Yusuke made the strangest sound and said through gritted teeth, "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that!"

I sighed, winged backwards and set myself into a hover almost right next to Itsuki. "Wake me when sanity prevails, will you?"

"What are you defining as sanity?"

"I don't know…everybody outside shutting up?"

He laughed softly. "Very well."

No, I didn't actually fall asleep there. I just proceeded to tune out everything Yusuke, Kazuya and even my friends said next.

After a few minutes, total silence entered existence. Itsuki's hand lightly touched my arm. "Your definition of sanity seems to have prevailed."

I swiveled again, opening my eyes.

Yusuke was standing, and Kazuya – Shinobu – whoever he was, he was kneeling on the ground, his arms crossed in front of his stomach. I couldn't see if he still had a gun-arm.

Then he slowly got back to his feet.

"Which freak am I talking to now?" Yusuke asked through gritted teeth.

Then he looked up. "My name is Shinobu. It's an honor to meet you."