Angst and Demon World Training

Machiko

Great. The original man with a plan was back.

Apparently Seaman had never heard the real Shinobu until this minute.

"This is the first time I've shown my face to anyone in months."

"Wait a minute," I had to ask. "If this is the first time in months he's made an appearance, who'd thrashed the fur off me? It wasn't Kazuya, or I'd be dead right now!"

"Machy…" Kamiko spoke up. "Just…don't ask. You probably don't actually want to know."

After a little weirdness, Shinobu actually addressed Itsuki where we were trapped. "May I have the arms and spare clothes?"

I stared at Itsuki for a second. "And while you're at it, can I get out of here? The zero-gravity feel is starting to get to me!"

After some exchanges, Itsuki remarked, "Such a complex side, I guess that's why I like him the most!"

Hiei actually glared at the strange demon, and Kamiko color-shuddered again. I knew that pattern by now: revulsion.

"Just going by this new name isn't gonna make him any stronger, right?" Kuwabara growled.

I'd happened to be looking at Itsuki right at that moment. His eyes had been on Kuwabara since the stupid teenager had started talking, and when he'd shut up, his eyes had widened for a second, with an odd little smile on his face.

I sighed. "Kuwabara, I hate you."

"What'd I say?"

"Have you ever noticed that in movies, if someone says that something 'isn't gonna get any stronger, right?'" I mimicked his voice for a second, "they're proven wrong in the very next scene?"

Sensui got a new shirt thanks to Itsuki. I felt completely crazy. "I hate zero-gravity! Seriously, if I promise not to do anything to interfere, can I please get out of here?"

Kamiko suddenly joined in the chorus. "I agree! We with wings just can't deal with zero gravity for long: we start feeling like a bunch of stuff's supposed to be happening, and when it isn't, we start to panic!"

"If I make an exception for you," Itsuki finally told us, "I'd have to make the exception for all of you."

"I really want to hit you right now."

Suddenly, Shinobu started laughing – I don't know, maybe Yusuke said something that hit his funny bone – he started glowing with energy and the whole cave outside started breaking up!

"What the hey?" I yelped, flaring my wings as if it'd actually do something.

Kamiko

I glided back down to Kurama and took hold of his shoulders, shivering. Part of that was my desperate need to have proper gravity again. The other part was just how crazy Shinobu sounded right now.

Then Kurama suddenly called to Yusuke. "That's not spirit energy at all!"

"It's not demon energy, either!" Hiei added.

"Wait a second," Kuwabara addressed the two demons, "if it's not demon or spirit, then what kind of energy is it? Solar?"

Machiko started laughing a little. But it sounded weak.

Koenma finally woke up out there…I wondered what would happen next. As it happened, Koenma named the energy: sacred energy!

…I seem to be making a habit of getting into Kurama's arms. I couldn't help it – not to put too fine a point on it, but I was helpless right now!

I don't even know for sure what Shinobu did, but Yusuke went flying backwards into the wall, forming a crater where he hit!

And yet…Yusuke went running right back for more.

I blinked at Kurama. "Isn't that the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results?"

All Yusuke's punches connected…but it was as if Yusuke had been, well, me – no fighting experience or desire to hurt anyone, so all punches were pulled! Shinobu didn't even react! Well…not beyond laughing again.

I wasn't clear on what happened next…beyond Yusuke's shoe hitting Shinobu's face. Then I just rested my own face against Kurama's chest, gripping his ankles with my unusual feet. "Zero gravity's starting to bother me." "Starting"…hah! It's been bugging me for a while now, it's just that now I'm starting to feel sick again!

Kurama's arms circled around my back. "Easy there."

…You know what? I spent nearly the entire rest of the fight between Shinobu and Yusuke with my face hidden in Kurama's chest, so I won't even try to describe what happened next.

I think Hiei called it when he said Yusuke didn't have a plan. And…

I focused a little, and made an eyespot open that was pointed at him.

He was sweating! Hiei was sweating! Was I mistaken, or was Hiei actually scared?

"Your senses probably aren't sophisticated enough to know this," Hiei went on, addressing Kuwabara, "but Sensui's energy is currently equal to that of an S-class apparition."

"That's a lot, right?"

"That's as strong as they get," Kurama answered the goof, hugging me tighter. "And I think Sensui's been restraining himself for as long as he possibly can! He broke Yusuke's arm with limited power, delicately, as if snapping a twig!"

Hiei almost sounded like he'd given up already! I could hear Machiko growling behind us.

Now, it's occurred to me numerous times that I didn't actually know what either of us could do. We were half-demons – presumably, we had some sort of special power to go with the claws and tails. Still…it was highly doubtful that either of us had anything that could bust us out of here.

Then the cave around us started shaking again!

Kurama hugged me so tightly I was having a little trouble breathing, but I didn't complain – largely because I was willing the shaking to stop.

I heard Machiko start making some sound like she was running a line between wanting to scream, and trying not to scream.

"Was that me?" Shinobu asked. I blanked the rest of what he said, because the question part had just been so stupid.

It was Itsuki, oddly enough, who drew Kurama's attention to how tightly he was holding me. "Excuse me…Kamiko, was it? What's that color mean – that light blue-gray?"

"Gray and blue combined…" I gasped a little. "Not enough air."

I sensed Kurama look down, and felt his grip loosen.

"Thanks."

I did watch as Koenma played his ace-in-the-hole, that dumb pacifier's load of spirit energy that could trap S-class demons!

I don't know what shocked me more: that his pacifier had so much strength…or that it didn't work!

Koenma fell to his knees outside our prison…he looked devastated with every word Sensui said.

And yet…Yusuke still apparently had a plan. I considered hiding my face again, mostly because of Kuwabara.

Suddenly Kurama told us Yusuke's plan – he was going to die, giving all of us a chance to win!

Machiko's voice came from behind me. "I…don't…think I'd be able to do that."

"Me neither," I shivered.

"Think, Kuwabara," Kurama said in response to something I'd missed, "what you did wasn't a real gamble. You knew what Yusuke had just been through."

I don't know what thoughts Kuwabara had rattling around in his head. I tended to ignore him.

Hiei nearly made me laugh. "Well, maybe we should kill Kuwabara again."

"That won't work," Kurama countered. "Yusuke's capped out. We're the untapped ones; we have the power, but we don't know how to access it. Not without the pain of loss."

Kuwabara started going bonkers.

Kurama looked down at me. "When I have to try something…you'll have to move." And he let his arms fall.

I decided to move early and swung around so I was gripping his shoulders from behind.

Kuwabara sounded like he was in anguish, begging Yusuke not to throw his life away.

I glanced up at Machiko. I knew we were thinking the same thing:

"We've only known Yusuke for a couple of days, and yet…we don't want to see him die. We have so few friends, losing even one at this point would be awful!"

And that went double for Machiko, she doesn't get out as often as I do!

"Lover-boy," Hiei suddenly snapped at Itsuki, tossing off his cloak,"release us now and you may keep the ability to breathe! If we're going to die, let us die in war – against Sensui!"

Kuwabara sounded stunned, but Kurama suddenly pulled a rose from his hair, and I decided it would be better if I moved back.

Kurama gave Kuwabara the plan, sort of, while creating his Rose Whip. "Kuwabara, Hiei and myself will join Yusuke in four-on-one combat against Sensui using every tactic we have! We've gone far past the stage of fighting for our honor!"

I missed what Kuwabara said.

"We just need Itsuki to let us out of this creature; perhaps torture would suffice!"

I stared at Machiko. She stared at me. Then I looked back at Kurama. "Even if we had a breakthrough simultaneously, we're untrained and would be a liability. We'll stay out of your way."

Kurama's head bobbed, acknowledging what I'd said.

Then Itsuki dissed them.

"Hiei's not going to take that well," Machy whispered to me.

"Neither's Kurama," I whispered back.

Kuwabara almost rushed in, but Kurama stopped him. "If you really think we can't help, then what was the purpose of trapping us?"

Ah, logic…gotta love it.

"Well, while you were never a threat for defeating Sensui, you could perhaps with teamwork…run away."

"Oohh…" Machiko's emotions were erratic. "Take it back, Itsuki, Hiei never runs away from combat!"

"I thought you didn't like him."

She didn't answer that.

"We never run!" Kuwabara declared.

"We should ask your more strategic friends. Hiei…Kurama…I sense that neither one of you is terribly far from becoming an A-class demon. In fact, Spirit Fox, I believe you once were."

Spirit Fox? … "Fox-boy"…Kurama?

(Yes, this was about the first that I was starting to suspect what Kurama actually was.)

I was close to tuning out exact words that Itsuki continued saying. The gist was, maybe they were planning on experience-grinding to become strong, beat Sensui as a team afterwards, and…something about damage control, that last part made little sense.

"You're clever, Itsuki," Hiei snapped, "but you've guessed wrong!"

"Don't try your bluffs on me, Hiei, I know your kind too well. Just stand here and do the only thing you can: watch Yusuke die."

Kuwabara ended up distracting us by trying to generate some serious energy and failing.

"Idiot," was all Hiei said. Kurama was more gracious. "He still hasn't learned to hone his new power."

Itsuki effectively called Kuwabara useless for not being able to generate the power at will. At least that had been why they hadn't let him get eaten.

Then Sensui started pounding Yusuke!

Hiei and Kurama both clenched tighter fists, while Kuwabara started moaning like a moron.

Then…of all things…Kuwabara started punching the energy he needed!

"Finally!" Machiko blasted into my mind. She'd probably thought it so as not to blow the moment and distract him, a rare moment of consideration.

Itsuki yelled out in a near panic! "I've done all I can – finish him, Sensui!"

Kuwabara got us out! We were falling – properly falling again! Machiko and I both took flight in relief, while the other four people landed in the shallows of the lake.

But…it wasn't in time. Sensui landed his final blow on Yusuke.

Everything just seemed to stop.

Machiko

I landed. So did Kamiko. All of us looked at the fallen.

Kuwabara checked Yusuke's heart…and going by his reaction, there was no sound.

I'd seen death already…but actually knowing the person changed things dramatically. I could only imagine what Kamiko was feeling –

For a second, I sensed her memories. The only death Kamiko had ever seen in real life was that of the Gamemaster, and there was no blood…no marks…she'd been sad, he was just a kid, but nothing truly horrifying.

Kuwabara and Kamiko screamed at the exact same time: Kuwabara shouting "No" and Kamiko letting out a single, pure-note shriek.

"There's little time for closing arguments," Sensui told us. "The tunnel is open. Are any of you brave enough to lead the way? Then come to finish what your late friend could not."

"Sure," Kuwabara sounded drained, "bravery's the only thing we got left."

Hiei unbound his right arm, revealing a cool dragon tattoo…that moves? And he revealed and opened an eye on his forehead!

Kurama looked angry. And then suddenly he pitched forward for a second and changed completely – his red hair got longer and silver, his ears traveled on top of his head and became pointed animal ears, he got a silver-furred tail and even his clothes changed to some white getup!

Then I glanced at Kamiko. She'd stopped screaming and had fixed her gaze on Sensui. And her color had just turned a deep midnight black.

I was ready. Kamiko and I might not have had any formal training, but we were pissed, and that was likely to be enough…for now.

We all lunged forwards, though Kuwabara was a little slow on the uptake.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" Hiei shouted, letting his black dragon-tattoo shoot forwards and annihilate every lesser demon coming out of the portal! Then it actually caught up Sensui! "Here's a one-way ticket straight to Hell, you bastard!"

It didn't destroy him – it carried him through the portal! The wind caught all of us, and Kamiko and I spread our wings to the fullest and rode the currents through, with our friends following us. There was no way we were letting Sensui get away!

Kamiko

I kept stealing glances at Kurama while we rode through pseudospace. That's a new look for you, Kurama. …Is that still the Kurama I know?

I got my answer in another second when he answered some question from Kuwabara. "I have not become Yoko Kurama, I have merely taken on his form while retaining my human personality! It's a side effect of this increase in demon energy."

"There he is!" Hiei interrupted the lecture.

"Whoa!" Kuwabara sounded giddy, "It's like being inside of a video game!"

"No," Hiei snapped, "trust me: it's not."

Then we saw a net in front of us! One of the demons – I'm not sure which one – named it as the Kakai Barrier!

We landed near it. At least we could stand.

Sensui was on the other side.

"And how the heck did he make it through here?" Kuwabara demanded.

"I'm glad you asked," Sensui replied. "As you remember, my energy is of the sacred kind. Unfortunately, the brains in charge of Spirit World only made this net filter out demon energy. That's why I passed through unscathed, while Hiei's attack burned out when it hit the net. But you and your friends should take consolation in the fact that this barrier only blocks out A- and S-class demons."

Kurama approached the barrier. When Kuwabara asked what the fox was doing, Kurama didn't answer.

He tried to put his hand through the barrier. A grand old energy wave blew wind past him, and he didn't get through. I saw that his hand had gotten a little singed as he pulled it back. After giving his fingers a tiny lick, he confirmed, "He's right, we're trapped."

"Now, granted," Sensui turned his gaze to me and my sister, "there are a couple of demons in your group that aren't that high a level of power. Neither of you were told what your class was, were you?"

I was honest. I shook my head.

"Very well, I'll just tell you what your power ranking is. Bear in mind, it's not going to be completely accurate as you're both just half demons. You're both right in the middle of D-class."

About where Koenma said Hiei used to be.

Machiko didn't take that well. "Both of us? I've seen combat! With you, no less!"

"Oh, if you want to get more specific, yes, Machiko, your ranking is somewhat higher than your sister's; but within D-class, differences are hardly worth noticing."

Machiko growled, flaring her wings. And then Kuwabara cut through the barrier.

We dashed after him again. And for the record, readers, just because I'm sounding completely calm while I'm writing this entry, doesn't mean I haven't lost my pitch-black anger. It's still there; I'm still midnight-black.

Finally we made it through the exit – to find ourselves miles above the ground!

"Hiei, do you know where in Demon World we are?" Kurama asked.

"Yes, I've been in these parts before, and if I'm right, we're rather lucky: the Forest of Fools, just low-level demons that won't present any challenge to us – well," and he shot a look at my sister and me, "maybe a challenge to the twins over there. This would be an excellent training ground for them if they don't die first."

"Hiei…" Machiko glared. "I hate you."

Kurama got our attention. "You both really might as well go hunt out some demons here, Sensui's out of your league."

I waved my arms out to the sides, my in-flight equivalent of a shrug. "If you don't need our help reaching the ground…come on, Machy, let's find some demons stupid enough to take me on when I'm this angry."

"Oh yeah!" And both of us folded our wings and went into power-dives.

I spared a glance backwards and saw that Kurama had grown something vaguely butterfly-winglike and had caught himself, Hiei and Kuwabara.

In that glance, I made eye contact with Hiei. A smirk crossed his face. "Have fun, ladies, and meet up with us later! You are capable of tracking, right?"

"You think it'll be hard to find you? I could track Kurama anywhere!" I ignored the surge of emotion I felt when the name Kurama crossed my mind.

He nodded, and I focused my attention on the dive again.

We actually divebombed right past Sensui, who was still free-falling backwards! Machiko waved cockily with her tail. "See ya groundside, idiot! We're off to find a party!"

Way to make sure he knows we're not about to fight him.

Light shows were happening off a nearby plateau when we entered the forest. That was probably where the others were. I sent a thought to Machiko. "When we get close to the ground, put away your wings. We might as well save our aerial strength for when we have to get back to our friends."

"Got it!"

…Saying I felt bad over leaving the three men to fight Sensui…would be an overstatement. I knew that we'd have been a liability. Sensui's a human, a Spirit Detective, trained in the art of fighting. We were a couple of teenage half-demons, mid-D-class, with no training whatsoever…between us.

So what was the difference between fighting a lone human and fighting loads of demons? Well…partially it was terrain: we were practically in our element dodging around in the forest. And it was also in part because of our using the element of surprise. And there was one last thing. Sensui had a face to us. Fighting him with the intent to kill would have been hard, at least for me. But demons…at least the lower-class demons…they were all ugly near-faceless brutes, all the same to me.

At first we were fighting just for fun, not trying to kill anyone. Then the demons actually started coming for us, and we had to fight for survival. That was when we started truly killing.

Machiko had made it a game even when the stakes got higher – she was keeping count. As soon as I'd figured out what she was up to, I started keeping track as well.

We were learning new techniques the whole time. Tearing something vital open with footclaws, breaking a neck with a tail, slitting arteries with the claws on hands…Machiko even used the horns on her head and ran full-tilt into a couple of opponents.

Maybe I won't have to ask Genkai for self-defense lessons after all.