Here it is, folks! The final chappie! I am SOOOOO sorry that this took so long to get up what with the death of my computer, work and being involved in a few Tumblr writing weeks and working on several stories at once…
But here it is now!
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"Man, this sucks! How much longer until we reach the place they're holding Yukina? I am so tired of walking in this crappy cave. I hate caves…" Yusuke was going on and on as they traversed the twists and turns of the underground tunnel system, lit by the light of his Spirit Gun and led down the many paths by Kuwabara's Sacred Energy that still had a firm read on Yukina's location.
"It's not much further," Kuwabara told his companions, "Just a little ways ahead it feels like a large open space. She's there."
"Hello, guys, can you hear me?"
Botan's voice came through their communicators and they stopped for a moment to look at their screens. Botan came through the fuzz, sitting at Koenma's desk with a paper in her hand.
"We're here, Botan," Kurama whispered, "Do you have new information?"
"Yes! After some research on the description you gave us, Kuwabara, it turns out he is in our files. His name is Kikou and he's in charge of a group of kidnappers who steal family members of well-known or wealthy demons who owe him or other demon criminals a debt and hold them for ransom. He's not picky either, he will take anyone from anyone. We knew it was him because he always leaves the ransom message in a dream or vision."
"But why did he send the message to this idiot instead of me?" Hiei asked angrily.
Botan shrugged.
"Hiei is not the easiest demon to find," she mused, "Maybe Kuwabara was the easiest person who was close to her to reach."
Kuwabara turned on Hiei, eyes flashing dangerously as he stepped up to tower over the small demon.
"Alright, Hiei, enough of this stupid secretive crap!" he growled threateningly, "Tell us what you did. Why are these assholes out to get back at you?!"
Hiei smirked, but his eyes betrayed his nervousness. "Has it occurred to anyone that I've been a sought after criminal for my entire life? I can't even begin to tell you the amount of bounties that were on my head before the Tournaments. No one has the nerve to challenge me now that they've seen me fight…but there are still demons out there who want me gone, the fools. How do they possibly think they can best me? But, to answer your question, I do not know who these demons are or what they want from me."
"Maybe they figured taking your sister may just knock you off your high horse," Yusuke suggested, one eyebrow cocked up.
"I think they assume that after the tournaments, Hiei has let his training go," Kurama suggested, "They probably think he has weakened since then or gotten lazy. Plus they have the added leverage of having his sister, the only person he is known to care for. It's very clever…too bad they don't know Hiei never stops training."
"There's more, boys, and you really need to know this stuff! Kikou feeds off of emotions. Especially feelings of hate, sadness, anger or anything negative. He WILL use them to his advantage to create your fears into illusions. Please be careful and don't assume anything you see is real!"
Kuwabara halted the progress of the team and his back stiffened.
"We're very close," he said quietly, "Turn off the communicators before they hear us!"
They told Botan to stay available in case they needed her and then shut their communicators and the hall fell into darkness. Kuwabara sent out a hint of energy and sensed movement ahead.
"They have Yukina," he said in a panicked whisper, "They're moving her to where Kikou is!"
"Well then, hell, let's go!" Yusuke lit his finger again and sprinted ahead.
It wasn't long before they saw a light shining ahead at the end of the tunnel and they ran full out into a wide open cavern, nearly as big as Sensui's old hideout and at the far end, two ugly and low class demons stood on either side of Yukina, which was gagged and tied to a post. When she saw Kazuma, her eyes went wide and she let out a muffled cry of his name.
Kuwabara looked ready to destroy the entire cave when he saw her like that but he was relieved to see that she was unharmed, just scared.
"Don't worry, baby," he called to her, "Stay calm, we're gonna get you out of here."
Then, a horribly sickening laugh flooded the cavern.
"Don't bother coming any closer to her or you will see her suffer." The voice's tone was cruel, but playful as well, which made it even more sinister, "Welcome to your downfall. You are the first guests to this cave to be early. Usually they show up too late on the second day or they never show up at all. I usually end up killing the pursuant, then the hostage and keep the money. You four seem to be eager for your deaths to come so soon."
A shadowy figure emerged from the dark corner behind the guards, his dark cloak covering his face and body, dragging behind him on the floor. Kuwabara recognized the presence immediately.
"That's him," he muttered grimly, "The son of a bitch from my dream."
Teeth flashed beneath the darkness of the hood, a wicked smile, and the figure reached a grey, cold, claw-like hand out towards Yukina, threading a few strands of her hair around his horrifying fingers and raising them to his face to sniff them.
Kuwabara felt white hot rage course through him and he made a move to charge but Kurama's arm shot out to hold him back and the red haired demon shook his head.
"Wait." He said firmly.
The dark figure let go of Yukina's hair with a flourish and bowed low. "I am Kikou, Lord of Nightmares, and I am very pleased to meet you all. However, Hiei is really the only one I need here since he is, after all, the reason for this."
Yusuke had apparently heard enough and he raised his Spirit Gun.
"Ok, I'm gonna give you assholes one chance to release Yukina to us…if not, you die. Your choice."
Kikou's withered hand reached up to the hood of his cloak and pulled it back from his head, revealing his face at last. His hair was jet black that hung down to his shoulders, his skin grey as death, and his eyes were a crimson red. The same eyes Kuwabara remembered from his dream.
"I see no point in fighting with all of you," Kikou said with a nasty grin, "I don't even have to touch you, I can use your thoughts and fear against you. You will destroy yourselves from the anguish if confronting your tarnished souls. Especially you two."
He pointed at Hiei and Yukina, red eyes glowing brightly. Hiei drew his sword and Kurama produced his rose whip, Kuwabara followed their leads and created his Sacred Spirit Sword with a furious growl. But Kikou only chuckled and reached out a hand toward Yukina, his taloned finger slid along the back of her neck and she let out a shriek of terror, her eyes wide and unfocused, vision of fear and pain filling her mind.
"I normally don't get attached to those that I capture," Kikou said softly as he leaned down to get closer to Yukina, "But she is a rather beautiful demoness, I see why you vie for her. I think I may keep her for myself after I dispatch you."
Seeing Yukina's fear only served to enrage Kuwabara further, his desire to see her safe and far away from the hands of this monster fueled his determination.
"Let her go," he said firmly, doing his best to control his anger until Yukina was handed over to them, "Hiei is the one you want and here he is, you hold up your end of the deal and give her to us."
Kikou let out a wicked laugh and he cupped Yukina's chin in his hand.
"You see, my plans with Hiei are simply to defeat him and show Mokuro that I am the right choice to be at her side," he explained, 'I have no need for a sword and physical strength that can fail...my power comes from the power of imagination and emotion. I will tear you apart, Hiei, starting with letting you watch your sister destroy herself with fear."
He turned his horrible red eyes on Yukina and her face froze, taking on an expression of horror and she let out a loud scream, her eyes unfocused as she relived her own personal hell.
"Please, stop! Don't hurt them, please!" she cried, tears springing from her eyes and solidifying as they fell, landing with clinks on the floor.
Kuwabara knew exactly what she was seeing in her mind, her time with Tarukane and the deaths of her animal friends in the hands of Toguro. He couldn't take it anymore. He shoved Kurama's hand away and charged forward with an angry roar, raising his sword and bringing it down directly towards Kikou's neck…but his hit did not land, it glanced off of something that Kuwabara could not see and he stepped back with a shocked look. Kikou just grinned and pointed up and that was when Kuwabara saw a slight shimmer that was surrounding the monster and his beloved Yukina…an invisible energy shield.
"You're pathetic," Kuwabara snarled, and he smiled from the sheer madness of his rage, "You talk big and then hide behind your little barrier. Well I'm not going to be stopped by something so stupid!"
And with another angry roar he began swinging his sword down on the barrier, putting all of his strength behind the blows. Kikou just watched him with a wild glint in his eyes.
"Oh you foolish boy," he cackled, looking delighted, "I don't need to fight to defeat any of you, don't you see?"
And he gripped Yukina's chin tighter, causing her to shriek again as another painful vision filled her mind.
"You! How dare you hurt her!" Hiei ripped off his cloak and drew his sword, rushing forward. Kurama was right behind him and they took out the two guards outside the barrier with ease. Yusuke took aim at Kikou and let off a large blast from his Spirit Gun, but it did nothing more than glance off the barrier around Kikou and Yukina.
"Very brash and not very intelligent, young man," Kikou said with a nasty laugh, "You may have killed me if your energy made it through my barrier, but you would also have killed your precious Yukina."
"How are we supposed to get through that nut job's barrier, guys?" Yusuke asked as the four of them regrouped.
"His barrier seems to have gotten stonger during our attack," Kurama noted quietly, "We need to weaken him…I believe his barrier is feeding off of our emotions, mainly our anger."
Hiei grunted and flew at the barrier again, and stared in dismay as his sword splintered into tiny metal shards, scattering across the stone floor of the cave. He landed and tossed the hilt aside with a sniff of dismay and glared at the demon still clutching his sister's face.
"Here I am, Kikou, you don't need her anymore," he offered, changing his stance to a non-aggressive one, offering himself to his enemy, "I won't fight you, just let her go."
"You mean nothing to me now, Hiei," Kikou informed him, "My goal was to be at Mukuro's side, to share in her power…but now that I've seen this precious jewel that is your sister, she is my desire. I believe I will keep her."
And then Kikou turned his horrible face back to Yukina, his claw of a hand removing her gag…then he pulled her forward by her chin and smashed his lips to hers. Yukina's eyes were wide with disgust and shock and she let out a muffled scream against his horrid mouth.
Kuwabara stared in shock, unable to believe what was happening, unable to accept that he couldn't reach them to rescue Yukina from such a terrible fate. His Sacred Energy flared in his desperation and he charged forward again, slamming his sword down on the barrier. The cavern began to fill with light from his sword as his power increased more and more with each blow to the barrier, the force of his rage and the strength of his desire to rescue his love began to dent the barrier, but only slightly.
Yukina yanked her face away from Kikou's hand, her eyes blazing as she growled at him, her lips pulled into a twisted, feral snarl.
"You think I would ever go willingly with you?" she snapped, "You're disgusting!"
She spat in Kikou's face and his red eyes closed slowly and he wiped his face, slowly and deliberately.
"Oh, Yukina…who said you had to be willing?" he said quietly, and then his eyes opened and his hand shot out, landing hard against Yukina's cheek so that she was jerked to the side, her head twisting to avoid the brunt of the blow. Then she raised her eyes again, her eyes filled with deadly anger.
Kuwabara let out a ferocious rage-filled howl and his swings at the barrier became even stronger, more aggressive.
Kurama stepped up between Hiei and Yusuke, a smirk on his face.
"Kikou isn't going to know what hit him in a moment," he said softly.
"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked, wide-eyed.
"Just watch…" Kurama nodded at the barrier. It was cracking, spider web like fissures opening all along the surface.
"H…how!?" Kikou watched in horror as the barrier began to weaken, no matter his attempts to repair it and strengthen it, the cracks continued to form and grow. "How is he doing this? His rage…it should be making my barrier even stronger! I don't understand! Hate is the most powerful emotion of them all!"
"You're wrong," Yukina whispered, her eyes now filled with hope as she watched a particularly long crack form in the barrier, "Love. Love is the most powerful force in all three worlds. I have the love of Kazuma and my friends and my brother…and they have mine, and that is something you can't stop."
"The barrier is crumbling under the positive energy," Kurama said, readying his rose whip, "Our enemy seems to have underestimated his opponents. He can't stand against positive emotions."
Hiei cocked his lips into a half smile, his eyes narrowing as he took in the look of fear on Kikou's face.
"This is going to be enjoyable to watch," he said.
Kuwabara brought his sword down again in another powerful swing, his sword flashing with a wave of power, and the barrier shattered at last, splintering like glass but melting as the pieces hit the ground. The force of the blow sent the energy in an arc directly into Kikou's chest, throwing him back onto the ground, blood welling from the deep gash across his torso.
Hiei smirked and stepped up to the dying demon and pressed his foot down on his shoulder, causing Kikou's head to loll to the side, his fast glazing eyes fixed on Hiei with fear.
"My final wish…is for the deaths….of all of you…" he sputtered, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"We can't all get what we wish for," Hiei muttered grimly, watching in sick satisfaction as Kikou took his last breath and expired beneath his heel.
Kuwabara and Hiei exchanged nods, confirming that Kikou was dead, the battle won, and then Kuwabara kneeled down in front of Yukina and untied her from the post, pulling her into a tight hug and pressing kisses to the top of her head.
"Are you ok?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," Yukina replied immediately, "Knowing you were coming for me kept me strong. I'm safe now, Kazuma…please, let's just go home."
"I agree with Yukina," Yusuke said loudly from the entrance to the cavern, "I am so damn tired of caves! Let's get out of this stupid place and back up to the surface! I'll contact Botan and let her know we're alright."
Kuwabara nodded in agreement and stood up, holding his hand out to help Yukina to her feet.
"Are you hurting anywhere?" he asked her when she winced slightly.
"Just sort of stiff from being locked in that tiny room," she informed him, "But I'm fine other than that. They really didn't hurt me."
"I can carry you if you want," Kuwabara offered gently. Yukina smiled and held her arms open and lifted her into his arms, bridal style. Before he could even begin walking, Yukina pressed her lips to his in a long awaited and much needed kiss. He was surprised, but he melted into the kiss despite the eyes of Hiei and Kurama watching them, Hiei in disgust and Kurama with a smile.
"Well? Good kiss?" Kuwabara asked when they separated.
"No one compares to your kisses, Kazuma," Yukina assured him, her eyes soft as she settled her arms around his neck.
They all followed after Yusuke into the tunnels, heading back towards the surface of Demon World. Yukina was silent for a long time.
"Kazuma," she whispered a while later, "You saved me, just like you promised. Thank you…for loving me so strongly."
"I will always protect you, Yukina," he replied sincerely, "I promise I will, no matter what I have to stand against."
"I know you will," Yukina replied with a smile, "I just want to let you know I'm thankful to my brave hero."
She looked around to make sure Hiei and Kurama were far enough away so they wouldn't hear her next comment, she leaned in and whispered in his ear.
"And I can think of many ways to show you just how how thankful when we get home."
"God…woman…I love you!"
"I love you too, Kazuma."
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Kuwabara and Yukina's homecoming was a mix of Shizuru's relief at Yukina being safe and her wrath at Kazuma for letting her get kidnapped in the first place. The siblings fell into their regular routine of yelling at eachother and Shizuru beating Kazuma up so Yukina just shook her head with a smile and left them to sort it out and headed to the backyard.
The sky was full of stars, shining bright in the black, cloudless sky. She sighed, remembering the cramped feeling of the tiny room in that lightless cave. It had only been a day but it had felt like so much longer as she sat there in chains, waiting for Kazuma because she knew he would find her. Even if it felt like months, she had known she could endure as long as it took…as long as Kazuma was coming for her, she could survive anything. This she knew beyond all doubt.
A while later, Yukina heard the sliding door open up behind her and she turned to smile at Kazuma as he crossed the yard to stand beside her.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.
"I was thinking about my life," she replied honestly, "How lucky I am to know the people I do, to have a brother who loves me and friends who are loyal, and a boyfriend who will always be there to protect me. Everything I've been through, good and bad, has led me where I am now…and I wouldn't change a thing. I am stronger now."
"It showed today," Kazuma told her, "You were brilliant in the cave…I still can't believe you spit in his face!"
"I hated that he kissed me…" Yukina said unhappily, "I did my best to fight him off."
"I know you did, baby," Kazuma said with a nod, "It wasn't your fault."
Yukina turned then and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her forehead into his stomach.
"I love you more than ever, Kazuma. You make me feel safe and content…you're my hero."
She felt his chest puff out with pride and she knew he had a look of pure happiness on his face.
"I wanted to thank Hiei and the other but they left before I could," Yukina sighed.
"I think they already know, sweetie," Kazuma reassured her.
They stood there in the yard, wrapped in eachothers' arms for a long time, both remaining silent as they listened to the crickets chirping in the trees.
"Y…Yukina…" Kazuma's voice broke the silence at last, his voice filled with nervousness.
She looked up and he was looking down at her, starlight reflecting in his eyes as he scanned her face, looking incredibly thoughtful and hopeful.
"Is there something on your mind, Kazuma?"
"Let's get married, Yukina."
Yukina gasped loudly, her hand flew to her mouth. She had not been prepared for such a sudden and bold statement and she fell silent for a long time.
Kazuma dropped down to one knee and took a deep breath, looking at her with such seriousness that it made Yukina's heart squeeze with emotion.
"Yukina, you're so strong and so beautiful and smart and caring…there is no one I'd rather be with than you. I've always believed our love was destined, that it was fate, and everything we've been through lately has made me believe that even more sure of that. The red string of fate…it's real, I saw it, it led me to you! And…I know I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you but I can't be without you and I know that all I want is to make you as happy as you've made me. I promise to do my very best to make our lives together the best it can be…and I don't give a damn about life spans or species or anything anyone says against us…I just know I want to be with you for the rest of my life, no matter how long or short it may be. Please be by my side for the rest of my life, Yukina. Will you marry me?"
Yukina's eyes welled with tears, unique shaped tear gems that would probably have been worth millions spilled into the grass, forgotten and not even considered…the real treasure was the choice she had before her and she knew her answer already, she had for a long time.
"Kazuma, you deserve me…of course you do. You have always had me…and my answer is yes, Kazuma. Yes, a million times!"
Kazuma let out a loud cheer and grabbed her in his arms, spinning her in a wide circle as he stood up, she laughed excitedly at the weightless feeling as they twirled.
"YUKINA SAID YES!" Kazuma shouted at the top of his lungs, "WHO'S THE LUCKY ONE NOW!?"
Shizuru peaked out the upstairs window.
"You're going to wake up the whole neighborhood, Kazu! Congratulations, now shut up!"
Shizuru closed the window and stepped back from it, shaking her head and smiling gently as she watched Kazuma slip the ring on Yukina's finger, a ring made from the tear gem he'd saved from their night together at the beach.
"Way to go, little bro." She whispered quietly.
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TADA!
Thank you all for sticking with this story and a huge, massive shoutout to kuwayukifan91 and all her help with this story and her input and encouragement and awesome ideas! Go check out the sequel to this story on her page and give her lots of great feedback like you all gave me
It's been a pleasure writing this story, thank you! Peace out!