Get Out Alive
Chapter Five
We congregated in the kitchen with Kurama, Kuwabara, Koenma, and Hiei who to my chagrin whooped us in our foot race.
"You're power has increased significantly since our last meeting Yuna." Koenma praised.
"Yea, well you stuck me with one tough old bitch." I grouched while flopping down at the low table. A projectile flew through the open doorway giving me a split second to duck before it smashed against the wall behind me.
"Stop acting like a impudent child." Genkai growled while walking through the door. I raised my brows at Koenma in a 'see what I'm talking about' expression. The bastard hid a smirk behind his hand. Ignoring his lack of sympathy I jumped right to the point. "What have you found and why has it taken so long?" Yusuke snorted at my lack of finesse.
"The Makai is vast and treacherous which is why making a map of it takes so long, but before we begin I would like to try something." Koenma looked at Hiei before his gaze briefly flickered to me. "I want Hiei to use his Jagan and briefly enter everyone's mind."
"Why?" Yusuke asked skeptically.
"I have a theory I wish to test." Reluctantly the rooms occupants nodded.
"Good. I want all of you to let your defenses down and don't try to block him." Koenma instructed. I watched Hiei remove his cloth allowing the eye to open. Its violet hue pulsed with immense power. A long minute passed before the eye slid shut and Hiei re-tied the fabric.
"They're silent." Was Hiei's only statement.
"I could feel Hiei's presence." Kurama informed and the other four occupants made noises of agreement.
"Yuna, are you able to lend your energy?" Koenma surveyed me, his face beaming with curiosity. I racked my brain for any instance in which I had.
"Not that I'm aware of." I answered honestly. A smile was beginning to form in the corners of the young rulers mouth.
"Well, It would seem you subconsciously shield the minds of those in your vicinity."
"How...how is that even possible?" I asked him flabbergasted.
"I'm assuming It took you longer to learn offensive attacks. Tha-"
"It didn't," I interrupted, only slightly embarrassed by his scowl. "Offensive attacks came like second nature, it was the only thing I trained on there. The piece of shit would never teach me defense." Koenma tapped his fingers on the table while be considered the new information.
"Could we test it?" His question felt more like a demand. "I'd like to see how far you subconsciously project."
I looked to the others and found eight pairs of eyes trained on me. The only not staring at me like some kind of oddity was Hiei. The back of my neck heated with a blush. "I guess."
"Good. Yusuke go with Yuna." He threw what looked like a foundation compact at him. "Start at the top of the stairs and I'll let you know when to go further." The two of us walked out into the night, the murky darkness was a refreshing break from the scrutinizing eyes. We reached the stairs and waited a moment before Yusuke whipped open the compact.
"Fixing your make-up?" I teased. Yusuke scowled.
"No! I told Koenma these things look stupid." There was a small screen where the mirror should have been and buttons where foundation would be. Odd. The little screen went fuzzy for a moment before revealing Koenma's face.
"Try another thirty feet or so." He ordered. Yusuke snapped the device shut without replying and began down the steps.
"I hate these steps." I muttered. Yusuke laughed loudly. His voice echoing through-out the surrounding forest.
"Your short legs probably make each step seem like two, runt." He taunted taking them two at a time, his foot snagged a hole and he stumbled forward.
"Ha! At least my short legs retain balance, klutz." I smirked at his sour moue. We tred in silence for awhile and I let my mind drift. A stray thought hit me like a brick.
"Hey Yusuke?" He grunted letting me know he was listening, at least i think thats what it meant. "If I'm unintentionally projecting all of this energy, doesn't it weaken what I can control?" I was conflicted over being happy that I could safeguard the ones around me to being angry that an involuntary power drew from my limited supply and could quite possibly be preventing me from reaching my full potential.
"Probably." He replied bluntly. He studied my disappointed expression from his peripherals. Lacing his fingers behind his head he tilted his face to me. "Ya know, when I trained with grandma she made me wear these things called spirit cuffs. They made it feel like thousand pound weights were strapped to my wrists and the only way to move my hands was by using my spirit energy. I fought an entire tournament unable to use a portion of my energy because it had to be at full power day and night. When I was finally able to take the cuffs off my energy sky rocketed." He paused letting what he told me sink in and allowing him to get Koenma on the line, who told us to move away another 100 feet. He didn't speak until after we resumed our steps. "Think of it like a weight, you keep training with it and you'll be that much stronger when it's gone." He shrugged. I halted in my perplexed state. I hadn't thought of it like that.
"That actually makes me feel a lot better. Thank you Yusuke."
"Yea well tell anyone I got all sentimental and I'll break your face." And there was the Yusuke I was used to.
"Duly noted." I replied dryly. We continued our trek an occasional barb here and there to keep us entertained. We were roughly a quarter of a mile from the temple when Koenma called the makeup gadget.
"Hiei is beginning to get bits and pieces of our thoughts, you guys can head back." When the compact closed Yusuke turned to me with a wiry grin.
"Race ya!" He barely barked out before bolting. We ran along the small trail that led to the evil steps, not taking chances I ran off to the side of them while Yusuke shot straight up the middle. Refocusing what little energy I had left from our sparring match I encouraged my legs to go faster. To my utter delight I entered the temple's kitchen half a second before him. It was a small victory but a victory none the less. I laughed at Yusuke's sullen look when he trudged in the room. The heavy feeling of our earlier conversation completely forgotten.
"That was quite impressive Yuna." Kurama spoke from his seat at the table. It was the first sentence he had directly said to me and it took me by surprise.
"Oh. Uh, thank you." I rubbed at my arm and hoped the exchange wasn't as blatantly awkward as it felt. The gleam in the pretty boys eyes told me that it was. Saving face I walked briskly to my previous seat and pretended it didn't happen. When we settled in Koenma pulled a large folded map from the brief case next to him. At long last we were getting down to business.
"We were able to narrow down the area you described and according to the grid there are three possible compound locations." He spread the map out across the table smoothing it down at the edges. "Simply labled A, B, and C. Because of Itachi's ability to control minds I couldn't think of a way to infiltrate each structure without putting all of you at risk, until now." He smiled at me from across the table. "What I'm planning is having all of you sent to each area, with Yuna being able to shield your minds this catastrophe will end swiftly."
"Wait," again all eyes snapped to my face, with sheer will power I beat down the redness that attempted to stain my cheeks. I could swear in front of a nun and not bat an lash but when people were expecting advice or direction my face decided it was meant to be a tomato. "I know I can block Hiei and he's powerful and all but Itachi is a master. There's no way to be positive I'm able to defend their minds from him."
"We have faith in you Yuna." Kuwabara spoke up and reminded me to ask him why he was at this little shindig, they told me earlier he wouldn't be assisting.
"I will not risk failure on your ridiculous notion of faith." Hiei's eyes opened for the first time since he was told to read everyone's thoughts. His glowing orbs critically analyzed me but when Koenma started to speak he settled their icy fury on him.
"I can vouch that Yuna is capable of blocking Itachi from your mind."
"How can you be certain?" He demanded. Koenma shied away from Hiei's penetrating glower.
"I've done my research, lets leave it at that."
"You never did tell us how you came up with your theory on Yuna's projection Koenma." Kurama stated. I had wondered the same thing myself and figured he knew because well, he's a god. Watching him now made me curious and a little apprehensive. A small line of sweat rolled down his face at his hair line and he wouldn't directly look at any of us. What was he hiding? And did I really want to know?
"Stop with the suspense and just tell us." I was fairly positive Yusuke was born without patience.
"I read through the files on the girls Itachi killed last month. Each of their experiences were thoroughly documented. Seven of the girls' files focused predominantly on one event that happened, the last four cases didn't even mention it. All I did was put two and two together."
"What changed?" Yusuke blurted out. My sick sense of curiosity wanted to know too but my apprehension was growing. Koenma's jaw clenched and un-clenched. His face looked ashen.
"Psycological torture." He forced out, we could all see what talking about it was doing to him, when no one intervened he grudgingly continued. "The first seven were unhinged, driven past the edge of sanity. Usually when a child or young adult dies in such a way we have their soul reincarnated. Erase the event and give them a chance to live a full life. It's easier for the soul to find peace in the later stages of life. What he did to those girls," his knuckles drained of all color from how tightly he balled them into fists. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly he cautiously stretched out his hands. "Their souls were dilapidated, only tormented pieces remained. Not even death could offer them salvation."
"What did you do with them?" Kuwabara murmured, his voice raspy.
"With no other option we had to expunge them." Koenma wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. I was horrified by the information, my expression matched almost everyone in the room. I didn't even know obliterating a soul was possible, let alone spirit world had the means to do so.
"Expunge?" Yusuke asked.
"Completely destroyed." Kuwabara answered, no hint of humor or annoyance in his tone. Before Yusuke could retort Koenma spoke.
"I couldn't leave them like that. You have to understand It was the only way to end their suffering." He defended, however he had no need to. Not one of us opposed his actions. The room felt suffocating and an unrelenting urge to flee had me jumping to my feet. I was out of the kitchen and disappearing into the inky calignosity before anyone else spoke. I didn't get far before my legs gave way and I crumpled to the cold earth. My hands furiously scrubbed at my wet face but the tears wouldn't cease.
I was responsible for their suffering. It may have been indirect but that didnt soften the guilt that twisted in my stomach. That sick psychotic fucker took them because of me. I let young girls, children, die in place of me. I vomited, hunched over expelling the contents of my stomach until all I had left was acid and dry heaves. Thick impenetrable clouds of self loathing rolled through my mind like a torrent. A scream so loud it deafened my ears tore from my burned throat. I was past caring about the others hearing my despair. I hated me, how could they think any differently. My wails punctured the once silent night until my raw voice box would no longer permit noise. I dropped to the ground away from my retch in weary exhaustion. The wet grass bit cold shivers into my exposed skin. It felt like hours passed and I still couldn't find the will to pull myself together.
"Are you done?" His tone was sharp, like it always was.
"What do you want?" The hoarse whisper scratched my throat like knives. He didn't respond but I could feel him standing over me. I was unable to face him and see his look of abhorrence.
"Your woeful display won't gain you pity from me." He snapped. I saw red.
"I don't want your fucking pity or anyone else's!" My voice fluctuated, inept at keeping a steady tone. Irate, I wanted to yell at him, to tell him to Fuck off and beat him til he was bloody.
"Then what are you doing?" He said it with his usual growl, however it held an undertone that suggested he truly didn't understand. At long last I sought out his blood like hues. His fixed glare wasn't as pronounced, a glimmer of displeasure was present but for the life of me I couldn't locate any hatred.
"Grieving." My broken murmer crackled at the end.
"You've grieved, now be done with it. It's pathetic to mourn for the past, it wont change." He sat quietly on the ground. I was surprised and a bit annoyed he didn't leave after scolding me.
"Why do you seek me out?" It was spoken in a broken mutter, I didn't think he even understood what I said. Pulling my eyes from him I looked to the stars. I used to star gaze a lot as a kid, back then I longed for a better more exciting life. Now all I wished for was to return to that time and knock sense into younger me. I had been so foolish, longing for danger when I could have lived a happy life surrounded by people who loved me.
"The silence." His voice almost made me jump, I hadn't been expecting a response. His eyes were shut with his head down. His leg was bent propping up his bandaged arm. Looking past him I realized he was leaning against a tree, we were right on the border where Genkai's lawn met her forest. I wanted to ask him what he meant, to tell him seeking out a blubbering science experiment wasn't the best place to find peace and quiet. Instead I said nothing, my throat hurt, my face simultaneously itched and burned and my eyes felt heavy. I decided the silence he provided was...nice. Facing the sky I let my drooping lids remain shut and allowed the fatigue that ached over my entire body to pull me to sleep.
I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this out! Life and work keep me busy but I am trying to update at least once a week. Thank you to those who reviewed, they really keep me focused and drive me to get out faster updates. Also thank you to those who are following I'd love to hear what you think! Until next time!