Author's Note: Just a warning kiddies, things are about to get gruesome. Remember the whole 'violent scenes and character death' from the rating warning? Well... just don't hate me too much. I love to throw curve balls, after all. –winks- It's just my style! –hides- And also, there is a special note at the end of these updates. Please read and be warned.
Not doing review replies; sorry loves. Read note when I'm done updating everything.
Song for Chapter:
This Means War - Avenged Sevenfold, Hail to the King
Chapter Twenty-One: Showtime
Another week later...
Yusuke was sick to his stomach with the amount of enemy troops emerging from the thicket. His and Mukuro's armies had been forced so far back, he could see his fortress just in the distance. That meant they were closer to the healers and closer to defeat.
He did not know what to do any more.
Kuwabara has been valiantly fighting with him through this chaos and the two still had not seen Kurama. They figured he was trying to deter Yomi as best as he could or something large was in the works that the fox had to stay incognito for. Either way, they trusted him unconditionally and knew he would aid them when he could.
Hiei, the poor bastard, had been kicking ass and taking names, but without the use of his dragon. Every time he called it out more than once, Mukuro immediately forced him back to the roach to assess his injuries.
The King of Tourin knew what was going on and he certainly did not like it.
That old bitch was trying to keep Hiei to herself, despite the fire apparition clearly having another female's mark on his neck. Long ago, they had believed the King of Alaric had let Hiei go, but all their worries had come back to bite them square in the ass.
"URAMESHI! WE CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!"
"Damn it," the Mazoku snarled under his breath. "RETREAT! EVERYONE RETREAT TO THE FORTRESS! NOW!"
This was the second time he had called for a retreat and he hated it more now than ever. It would only bring Yomi's army closer to his home, but they could not do anything else.
"Running again, Yusuke?" The blind king's voice echoed through the battlefield decadently.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Truth be told, Yusuke still had no idea how the King of Gandara could project his voice like that. Unfortunately, that was the least of his worries.
The troops scrambled away from the war and ran for their lives back to the keep. Walls had been erected to surround the fortress and accommodate the vast number of demons he had fighting on his side. Now, after Yusuke found himself on a balcony overlooking the desolation, he realized just how few of his men and women he had left. Even as Mukuro's men filtered in and the gates were closed, the armies of Yomi went on for a mile into the distance.
"We're losing!" He gripped angrily at the railing, crunching the stone in his fingers. "We can't keep doing this. He's going to win."
"I've never heard you talk like that, stupid. What happened to your honor?" Kuwabara, bloody and bruised, had appeared beside him. They watched even now as the armies came to the wall separating them from victory and Yusuke and Mukuro from defeat. "We can still win this!"
"Yeah, how idiot? He still has tons more men than we do, even with Mukuro's help! And we all know that old bitch will turn on us the moment Yomi's defeated, if we can swing it!" Yusuke pulled at his long hair.
"Maybe we just need a miracle?" Kuwabara, loathing to admit it, was losing faith as well. "Hell, let's go down there and die fighting! If they win, Yukina, Keiko, our kids, and our friends will all die, so we can at least make sure they have a chance!"
The former Spirit Detective could see no other option before him, no matter how he turned the ideas over in his head. "If Yomi and his damn son would just come out, I could kill both of them and the war would be over with in no time! I think you're right, Kuwabara. We need a miracle or a coffin."
From Kuwabara's hands, a Spirit Sword erupted of magnificent caliber. It was longer, steadier than just a short hour previous in the heat of battle. "Yeah, let's go Urameshi!"
The two readied themselves to leave, determination gleaming in their eyes and death waiting in their hearts. They would die for their loved ones and Yomi would go down with them, no matter the stakes, no matter the cost. They could not let their families die at the hands of a maniacal king, whether it be Mukuro or Yomi.
A horn sounded in the distance and the men swiveled to see the cause of it. They were starting to lose their nerve with the longer they waited, but something caught their eyes. Something glimmering and gold.
"What the hell?" Yusuke squinted, only to find more than one set of the strange colors moving at unreal speeds. They would disappear for a moment than reappear somewhere further along.
"Whoa, I feel some massive ki!" Kuwabara shuttered.
And all hell broke loose.
From above, a scythe propelled by deadly slices of wind cut through dozens of demons in Yomi's forces, sending them fleeing to avoid the strange golden blips in the skies. From the back, behind the forces, two different sets of golden pairs emerged, one wielding lightning and ripping through demons, the other set using doses of familiar reiki. Another area began to fill with ice, then colorful explosions of burning acids, but the last was the one that had caught Yusuke and Kuwabara's attention. Two were arriving from the other side of his fortress, one of which threw the wind around in erratic cycles. Bombs that were invisible to most but clearly seen by the two men watching in awe began to explode, burning flesh and rending limbs from their hosts.
"Someone's come to help!" Yusuke threw himself over the balcony and into the fray, nearly a mile into the sky. "KUWABARA! COME ON! TROOPS, GET READY TO MOVE OUT!"
The troops had not seen the carnage, but they certainly heard it. Where most believed it was Yomi's forces trying to get in, others knew immediately they had received aid by their king's reaction.
Yusuke threw the doors to his enormous gate open and sprinted towards the golden group coming together as one unit in the middle of Yomi's army. His Spirit Gun and demonic energy tore through any opposing demons that got in his way- and some of Mukuro's, by accident of course- but that did not stop him. He would not cease his run until he knew his allies.
~:.:{ Buy Into the Fear }:.:~
"Hiei, what is going on?" Mukuro narrowed her eyes from the windowed room of her fortress, staring in bleak fascination at the mayhem below and just past the gate. Yomi's forces were dropping like flies.
The fire apparition maintained a safe proximity from the female king, but even he was interested. "How would I know?"
"I want you to investigate."
And he did without hesitation, leaving the female king to glare at the golden group that had come when they were losing.
~:.:{ I See the Man Ripping at My Soul Now }:.:~
"THAT'S OUR CUE, MATES!" Chu laughed excitedly and guzzled from a bottle he had not been allowed to touch in months. The alcohol filled his system in little time and he felt his youki begin to churn and twist.
"Let's get going then!" Rinku threw the helmet from his head and his shoes were off in moments, soon replaced by yoyos between every toe and finger.
"Hmm, I wonder who this could be helping us?" Shishiwakamaru, despite his curiosities, brandished his sword and soon transformed it into his deadliest weapon. "BANSHEE SHRIEK!"
From the middle of Yomi's forces, they began to make a stand and move towards the golden group, shining like beacons of light in the middle of dark times.
~:.:{ I Know the Man, I Know Him All Too Well }:.:~
The group of golden warriors had stopped dead in the middle of the fray, bodies piled into innumerous heaps around them. Blood coated their gleaming uniforms and helmets successfully hid their faces from any curious onlookers. No, all that mattered was their affiliation and how they had ripped apart Yomi's current battalions with sheer strength and ki.
Yusuke had finally made it to them just as Chu, Shishi, and Rinku had. Hiei and Kuwabara were at his side, but none went any closer to the shining group, cautious if their allegiance was not truly theirs.
"Show yourselves," Yusuke called, stomping a few steps closer. Yomi's armies had retreated for the time being, leaving them to handle this business while the enemy attempted to reconvene. "Did you not hear me?"
"We love to make an entrance." Suzuka yanked off his helmet with a flourish, flurries of light dancing behind him. "These beautiful creations are my own design! They can take low bursts of ki and redirect them and are nearly impenetrable to simple swords or arrows!"
"Suzuka?" Rinku even seemed to be a little perturbed that their guardian angel had been the pretty fool. "Wait, who are all of you? It can't be just Jin and Touya!"
"Gots a weird feelin'," Chu mumbled, but no one paid any mind to him.
"Yup, it's us too, lad!" Jin tugged his helmet off fitfully, even though it allowed extra room for his lengthy ears and horn. "Right foul place ya got yerselves in, ya did!"
"Well that rules off two of you, no three." Yusuke pointed to one of the shorter demons and glared. "Touya, that you?"
"Obviously." The Ice Master had been in the process of tugging off his helmet before Yusuke pointed.
"And what about you guys?" Multiple eyes narrowed on the group of unknown soldiers.
The one at the head and near to Jin and another tall demon pulled off their helm to reveal none other than Kotone. "Miss me, Yus?"
But her eyes were on Hiei.
The fire apparition let a small smirk slide on his face, but did not dare to advance closer. Mukuro's eyes were burning into his back even now, but he wanted nothing more to gather the wind demoness before him in his arms. It had been far too long since they had last seen one another...
"Ko?!" Kuwabara and Yusuke chorused, but Chu, Rinku, and Shishi seemed to laugh. "Where the hell have you been?!"
"Everyone, listen carefully. You're about to get a shock of a lifetime, but you can't do anything stupid. These guys are on our side. We've all been training together for months," she explained quickly, her hands motioning heatedly to the others behind her, still hidden. "I nearly killed Jin for going ballistic on one of them…"
"There's nothing left that can shock me," Shishi mumbled, folding his arms into his sleeves. "I don't believe any are Hajime and Daiki. They're not the right sizes, any of them."
"Just promise me not to freak out and try to kill anyone," she growled, growing more impatient by the minute. "Promise me."
"You act like we're gonna be mad," Kuwabara huffed. "Fine, I promise."
"Hn." That was good enough for her, though she smiled secretively to him. 'Your presence has been... missed... woman.'
'I missed you too, spit-fire.'
Chu, Shishi, and Rinku all agreed before Yusuke muttered a, "Fine, fine, just show us already!"
"Go ahead," Kotone glanced around at her allies. "You, first."
Kuronue did so without hesitation, though none knew who he was exactly. Even Hiei, who she thought would have more insight, seemed to be confused inwardly.
"Kuronue," he said for all to hear.
"The bloke's named after the legendary bat thief!" Chu grinned triumphantly at realizing something before anyone else.
Well, he thought he knew what was going on.
"Sure," Kotone drawled out, clicking her tongue nervously. "How about we just get the shock factor over in one blow, eh? Everyone, if you would please..."
And from five heads, helmets were pulled off to reveal a youthful array of mighty contenders.
"Wait... a... GENKAI?!" Kuwabara was rubbing his eyes to process what he was seeing before him. "HOT GENKAI!"
"Dimwit," she hissed.
"This is going well," Yuji stated plainly but his presence had not gone unnoticed. A certain fire apparition had set his sights on the undead, alabaster-haired male. "Oh, hello there."
"Kotone..." Hiei's warning tone and grinding teeth alerted the wind demoness that she needed to explain, and fast.
"Put it this way," Kuronue started for her, "Ko decided the best way to win a war was with those she knew to be powerful. Thus, she resurrected me, along with Yuji, then Raizen, Genkai, Karasu, and finally the human version of Toguro. It's not a full life, but it's a life." He shrugged to end his rather blunt speech. "Get it?"
"But that's impossible!" Yusuke pointed an accusing finger at the wind demoness. "How in the hell..."
It seemed the information processed for everyone at once, because the onslaught of intermingling conversation began like a torrent on the sensitive ears of the golden group.
"SHUT UP!" Kotone threw her hands in the air and snarled for all she was worth, throwing the wind around her erratically to cease the movements. Hostility was a major emotion, but the undertones of curiosity and love had radiated through as well. Regardless, she could not handle all of this right now. "It is possible, obviously! Kurama gave me a special array of seeds that happened to work quite well at resuscitating old warriors when blood and life was given to them! Now get the heartfelt reunion over with so we can get this shit on the road!"
Like clockwork, her tone brought smiles to some faces and the others were left by the wayside.
But that was not all her tone brought forth.
Explosions, hard enough to rock Makai, shot out from every corner.
They had not done this; this was not planned.
Thus, the real war began.
~:.:{ This Means War }:.:~
Next in 'Revelation, Defamation':
Hell had finally come to the Yu Yu Gang and friends, family. Two of the three worlds would face the fury of Yomi and his wrath, his need for blood and death. Lives would be lost, people would be separated, and the hope that had come by means of golden soldiers would once more be eradicated. Next time in Revelation, Defamation!