Chapter Nine
Oshoku sat on his throne, waiting as Mayonaka walked her way down the vertical red carpet that led to his seat. She eyed him, her hands stiff at her side. She noticed that Zenshin was standing at her adopted father's side. He looked scared as if something was about to happen. A giant grin formed across Oshoku's frog-like lips. He stood up and extended his arms outward as if to hug her.
"My daughter! How good it is to see you! I see that Fukai has found you. I must say, I was getting worried about you, but I had no doubt that you would succeed," he said in a cheerful tone. However, it wasn't genuine.
"You knew. You knew everything about what had happened back in human world," Mayonaka said. She looked at Zenshin, feeling her heart break. "You were in on this, weren't you?" The lizard demon didn't say a word. He just averted his gaze. He felt guilty going against her. He felt her pain. "What do you want from me?"
Oshoku chuckled. "You already delivered what I wanted." He rose his hand and three minions raced to Kurama. One of them took the mirror while the other shackled the fox's wrists together. Oshoku took the mirror and smiled with satisfaction.
"Don't hurt him," Mayonaka warned. "You got your stupid mirror."
"Bring him to the dungeon and into one of the cells. I'll be down later," the frog demon ordered. He looked at the bat demon. "You don't give the orders here. You went behind my back and teamed up with the enemy, after all I did for you when you were a child."
Mayonaka gritted her teeth. "You didn't do anything for me. The only thing you did was leave me an orphan. I know what happened that day, and I know that you killed my father!"
Oshoku glared at her and slapped her across the face. "Whether I killed your father or not does not excuse the fact that I took you in and taught you everything that you know."
She placed a hand on her hot cheek, looking at the floor beneath her. "You're sick, you know that?" She looked over at Zenshin and Fukai, both people that she grew up with. "Do you know what happened with your parents? Or did Oshoku brainwash you, too?" She took a step back, inching toward the exit of the room. Once she realized that no one was moving, she left and ran down the hall.
She didn't realize that she was running to the room that she stayed in the castle. She swung open the heavy wooden door and closed it. The room was the same as she left it. The bed was still made, her spare weapons scattered in the corner by the dresser. She felt a tear run down her cheek. After wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she made her way to the bed and sat down on the edge. Everything happened so fast that she didn't have time to think. Kurama was down in the basement. Fukai and Zenshin were working against her. She had to free the fox demon by herself. There was no way that Oshoku could use the mirror without the special item. She had to come up with a plan.
The three full moons rose into the sky that night. Rays of moonlight shone into the room. The bat demon, who was sitting on the bed for most of the day, finally got up and walked toward the large window. As the light hit her, she could feel her strength grow. The halls were quiet, too quiet for her liking. Usually there were subjects moving through with certain duties that needed to be done. She knew there was a vent in the corner above the dresser. She could probably crawl through it to get to the closest room where the basement stairs were. She flexed her wings out in a stretch. No. She wouldn't be able to fit with her wings, but maybe in her human form she could.
"What are you thinking?" asked a calm voice.
She didn't have to turn to know who was in the room with her. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "Why show your face to me? Haven't you done enough damage?" Piercing indigo eyes looked at the perfectly glowing spheres in the sky. "Not only that, but you also came to me during the night. Do you have a death wish?"
Zenshin stood there with his arms folded. "Maybe I deserve it," he said. "I only wanted to keep you safe."
"So, you go ahead and spy on me. Then tell Oshoku about what has been happening? That's not protecting me." She could feel her blood boil through her veins. "If you have been following me, then you know what he's planning to do, why he needs that mirror and the secret item. Are you okay letting him sacrifice innocent lives for his own greed?"
There was a pregnant pause. "I couldn't go against him, Mayonaka. You know that."
Mayonaka withdrew her scythe and pointed it at her lizard friend. "No. I don't know. I don't understand why he has such a hold over you."
"Because he saved me when I was almost killed. My village was wiped out. I had no one left. He took me in." Mayonaka stared at the person in front of her, listening to what else he had to say. Zenshin began to walk toward her. "So, you see, I can't go against him. At least that's what I thought." He stopped in front of her scythe. "When you came into the castle, I remember how upset you were. You were distant with the others, staying in this room. I was interested in you and wanted to see who you were. You remember that day, right?"
Mayonaka didn't answer him. Of course she remembered that day. She was outside on her first training day. She was horrible at controlling the scythe. Zenshin was watching her by a few bushes. One of her scythes got loose and nailed him in the arm. Mayonaka ran over to him to see his arm bleeding.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, irritated that someone was watching her.
Zenshin held his injured arm with his other hand. "I just wanted to see what you were doing. You haven't been here long in the castle I was just curious." He gave her a weak smile. Mayonaka scoffed and went to walk back to her training ground. "Wait! What if I help you?"
It took a couple of tries, but eventually Mayonaka accepted that Zenshin wasn't going to go away. They eventually became good friends that always trained together.
Zenshin grinned. "When I saw you with that fox demon, I felt my heart get ripped in two. You looked so happy and content, but I had a job to do. I was torn." Mayonaka looked at her friend. Zenshin chuckled. "Which is why I'm going to help you get the fox back."
She lowered her weapon. "How? He's probably heavily guarded."
"Trust me. I have a way."
The dungeon was dark and damp. Kurama could only make out the silhouettes of objects that were nearby. His wrists were bound together and hung over his head. One guard was stationed at the cell's exit. This was going to be easier than he thought. He tugged on the chain that held him while focusing his spirit energy. Vines suddenly made their way from within his hair and crawled toward the guard. The thick vines wrapped themselves around the frightened guard. Suddenly a violent shock ran through his body, causing it to go limp on the chain supporting him. The vines flopped to the ground around the guard.
"He's tough. I wouldn't have expected anything less from the legendary Youko," Oshoku said as he stepped into the cell. He picked up one of the vines and studied it. "Pretty silly if you ask me. Controlling such useless things."
"Um… but, sire, it almost choked me," the guard said meekly. "It was quite frightening."
Oshoku simply glanced at his minion before dropping the plant on the concrete. He leisurely made his way to the unconscious fox. He grabbed a handful of red hair and yanked his head off the cold floor. "This form of his is weak. Why does he choose this?"
"I'm not entirely sure, my lord," the guard answered.
The king frowned. "Wake up, fox!" He kicked the limp body in the stomach, causing Kurama to cough. Green spheres groggily looked up to see a blurry frog king. "Have a nice nap?"
Kurama gritted his teeth and looked over at the guard who backed away slowly. He could feel his whole-body tingling after the shock. His heart was racing in his chest and his head throbbed painfully against his skull. The bastard must have had a device on him. He turned his attention to the man in front of him, a satisfied smirk on his froggy lips. "Where's Mayonaka?"
"Oh, she's fine. She's just pissed at me," Oshoku said as if it was nothing.
"You already have the mirror," Kurama said.
"I do, and I thank you for keeping it safe for all these centuries," Oshoku said, the smirk not leaving his face. "But that doesn't get you off the hook. You took something very valuable from me, and I don't let people go without punishment." The king took out a small black box that had different switches on it. "I'm sure you were wondering if my guard had anything on him. He didn't. He was just bait to see what you would do. Of course, I already knew, but I wanted to see it firsthand."
"You… knew?" the guard asked in disbelief.
"Of course," Oshoku shrugged. The guard fell silent and just stood in the corner. "Where were we? Oh, yes. I knew what you were capable of. That's why I used this before you could kill off my guard here." His thumb flicked a switch. Jolts of electric waves weaved through Kurama's body. The redhead screamed in agony. His limbs felt like they were on fire. He gritted his teeth as he waited for the shock to stop. Oshoku laughed as the fox demon withered in front of him.
"No! Stop!" The king turned his head and saw Mayonaka standing there, his guard on the floor unconscious. He didn't even sense her. A smirk snaked across his lips. "Please, Father, I beg of you to stop this. What good does this do?" she asked. She knew the answer, but she had to buy time.
Oshoku chuckled as he pressed a red button on the remote. The electricity stopped immediately. "Now you call me 'Father'? My child, you are too predictable." He waltzed over to her, making her move further into the cell. His beady eyes lay on the necklace that gently hung around her neck. "That necklace. Do you know what exactly that is?"
Mayonaka grabbed the pendant with her right hand, holding it close to her. "It was a gift from my mother to my father…"
"True, but do you know the significance of that gem?" There was silence. Mayonaka spotted Zenshin in the background. The lizard demon tiptoed over to the unconscious fox demon. "Did you know that your mother was part of Spirit World? That gem holds great power. The missing piece to the mirror of destiny."
"No…" Mayonaka shook her head. "You're lying! My mother…"
"Why are you denying it? Did your father fail to tell you that?" Before Mayonaka could answer the question, Oshoku looked behind him and saw Zenshin trying to free Kurama. "I knew I smelled a rat." In a blink of an eye, Zenshin was shoved against the furthest wall by Oshoku's brute strength. "Ho ho. I did not expect this. My son, are you betraying the one who saved you, too?"
Zenshin coughed, feeling his lungs being crushed from the frog's weight. "I am only serving the one who matters most." He looked at Mayonaka. "I would do… anything for her."
Oshoku backed off from the lizard and looked at the young demons. A smile appeared on his face. "How nice. I did not realize you two were that close." The king made his way back to the bat demon slowly. "It swells my rotten heart to know such loyalty." He took his sword from his sheath and held it in front of him. Mayonaka backed away but was stopped by the brick wall. "I would love to see what would happen if I relieved her head from her shoulders."
"N-No…" Zenshin croaked. He gasped for air as he saw the sword swing to the side. Oshoku was really going to kill her. His body moved on its own as he raced toward the one person he cared for the most. His feet left the concrete ground as he lunged in front of the flying blade. Intense pain hit his side as he fell hard onto the ground. Crimson blood gushed from the wound as he lay there. He could hear a bloodcurdling scream. He turned his head weakly and saw Mayonaka kneeling beside him, river of tears flowing down her cheeks. "D-Don't cry… Mayo…naka. I did it… for you." With a small smile and a final exhale of air, he was gone from the living world.
"Z-Zenshin! No! You can't die on me!" Mayonaka screamed. She shook his lifeless body, hoping that he was just unconscious. Her heart shattered into tiny pieces.
"My my. I did not see that coming. Or maybe I did," Oshoku said nonchalantly. He bent down and ripped the necklace from her neck. "I'll be taking this in the meantime. I would give him a proper burial."
"I… will kill… you," Mayonaka threatened.
Oshoku bent down and grabbed Mayonaka by the throat, keeping the pressure of his hand just enough to make her choke. "Actually, I have a role for you to play after all." He side-eyed the unconscious fox. He pulled her with him and left the fox alone in the chamber.
Yusuke and the gang stood on top of a hill in demon world. The wind picked up as they waited. Finally, their visitor showed up. Hiei appeared in front of them. He had on a serious look on his face, but more of a troubling look to go with it.
"What's going on, Hiei?" Yusuke asked. He didn't have a good feeling.
"Kurama and that demon girl have been in that castle for a long time. Kurama has been prisoned and the girl has been taken by Oshoku. He now has the gem," Hiei explained.
"Damn it. We're too late!" Kuwabara gritted his teeth.
"No, we're not. We can still save them," Yusuke said. "Take us to the castle, Hiei."
Hiei didn't say a word and turned his heel to the east. It was a hike heading over to the castle that held their friends. There were many trees and demons who eyed them as they moved along the path. Kuwabara mentioned how dull the demon world always looked, like the sky was always on fire, how the air smelt of death and despair. Hiei ignored him and finally stopped on a mountain top. The castle stood tall beneath them. Kuwabara made a comment on the building.
"If you don't shut up, I'm going to toss you down there to fend for yourself," Hiei sneered.
Kuwabara stood there and gulped at the height that they were at.
"How do we get in?" Yusuke asked. "Without going through the front entrance, of course."
"There's a small door around the back that you can use," Hiei explained. "But be careful. I still don't trust that bat demon. This could all be some sort of plan."
"Don't worry about us. We'll be okay," Yusuke said with a grin. Hiei just looked at the spirit detective.
The three fighters made their way inside the castle from the back. It was dank inside, and there was minimal light. Yusuke took a torch from the stone wall and looked around. He noticed that there was another door that led downstairs. He waved his hand forward and moved on. He carefully opened the rickety, old door and saw a bunch of cells.
"This is the dungeon I'm assuming," Yusuke whispered. "It really smells down here."
He made his way further in and stopped at the cell in front of him. Kurama was still bound by chains and hung there unconscious.
"Is that Kurama?" Kuwabara asked as he moved forward.
"He's been beaten pretty bad," Yusuke said as he walked into the cell.
"Who's there?" came a voice. Before the demon guard could see, Hiei released him of his head with his sword. "We don't have much time. The Jagan is seeing Oshoku up on the roof with the girl."
"Why is he on the roof?" Kuwabara asked.
"How should I know? "Hiei answered.
Yusuke managed to get the chains off and laid Kurama down. "Come on, buddy. We need you to wake up." Yusuke shook him hard, making the fox demon groan in pain. He slowly opened his eyes and saw all three standing over him.
"Yusuke… Hiei… Kuwabara… how?" he whispered.
"We tracked you down," Yusuke said. "With the help of Hiei here. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, man. You look awful," Kuwabara added.
Kurama smiled weakly. "Heh. This is nothing compared to what Karasu did to me. He was way worse." He slowly got to his feet. He felt dizzy and almost fell back down. Yusuke took hold of an arm and Kuwabara took the other. "I guess I'm not one hundred percent."
"You're not even at fifty," Hiei stated.
"Listen, Kurama. Oshoku has Mayonaka on the roof. I don't know what he's planning, but it can't be good," Yusuke said seriously.
"We need to stop him," Kurama said weakly.
They slowly made their way out of the dungeon and up to the main level. They took out anyone who stood in their way. Yusuke ran to the entrance and outside. He could see the frog king and the bat demon on the roof.
Oshoku looked down and grinned. "I see that you've found him, Detective. No matter. I had my fun. He stole something precious of mine. Now I will steal something precious of his." He hung Mayonaka by the throat for all to see. "My daughter, you've done well, but it's time to say goodbye." He struck her in the abdomen with his long nails. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth. He flung her to the bottom where the rest of the gang stood. With a loud thud, her body hit the dirt. Kurama pushed away Yusuke and Kuwabara and weakly ran to her.
"Stay with me," he demanded. She coughed as he cradled her in his arms.
"I'll be fine, Kurama… I don't think… he hit anything vital…" Mayonaka whispered. "Let me rest a bit." She closed her eyes.
Kurama went to Kuwabara. "Can you help move her somewhere safe?"
"Of course," Kuwabara said. He took hold of the unconscious body and moved her into the castle.
Kurama withdrew some seeds from his hair. The seeds sprouted into long leaves. "These leaves have healing properties. It should work on her." He carefully undressed her top half. Kuwabara turned away with a blush. Kurama wrapped the leaves around her wound and placed her shirt back on. He looked at the sleeping form, giving her a small kiss on the lips. "She'll be fine." He looked at Kuwabara. "We must stop Oshoku at all costs." Kuwabara agreed and the two of them raced out of the castle.