******* PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS A REPUBLISHING******
Chapter 47 was originally published November 8th 2023. HOWEVER, FanFiction's emails were broken at the time and some of you may have missed it.
I am republishing to ensure nobody misses out on the final few chapters of Book 3.
Sorry to everyone who is still waiting for the last 3 chapters, I am still working on them and will have them out ASAP.
Rosentic (November 18th 2023)
A.N. Hi everyone. I hope you all find this.
FanFiction has been TERRIBLE lately. Stats have been broken for two months and email notifications for almost a month. I keep hoping that things will get fixed, but it hasn't happened. Over on Twitter (yes, I refuse to call it X), people are begging for it to be taken care of, or at the VERY least an update or acknowledgement, but so far all comments have been completely ignored. Le sigh.
So, when/if things get fixed, I WILL BE REPUBLISHING THESE LAST FEW CHAPTERS. It's been 2.5 years since I started Book 3 and I want everyone to experience it the way I intended.
Starrat/Love Or Pain/B. Martinez: Here you go. Enjoy!
Keyword LF: Yeah, Sakura has a new form! A half transformation, but oh boy I loved that reveal.
Yes, Koenma's contingency plan has certainly thrown many readers off guard. I honestly thought everyone would see it coming, but eh. It's fun either way. Haruki is definitely a tricky one. Even though his arc is drawing to a close, he needs to pay for the horrific things he's done and I will always be grateful to him for being such a gift of a character.
Read on and see if Haruki can be reasoned with, or distracted long enough for the boys to rescue Sakura.
Hope you enjoy this one, when you find it.
Lumina Rose: He definitely is a monster, and there is no going back.
Hina714: Ooh I'm so glad, I was really hoping you'd figure out the chapter had been posted. There will be pictures, MCWolf is already on it :)
Yeah, it's a little sad that Book 3 is about to end, but Book 4 awaits. I will definitely be taking a break in between them, but I'll explain more when we get there.
Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 47: Listen To Me
Haruki started shaking his head. "No…this is a trick. This isn't real!"
Sora did not take her eyes off him. "Would I lie to you, Hari-chan?"
"Or me?" another voice asked.
Haruki's mouth fell open when another familiar face stepped out of the mist beside Sora.
"K-Kenji!"
Even after twenty years, the bronze hair had not changed, nor his height. He wore the same training gi in which he had been killed. His hazel eyes were still alive and knowing, and now they were fixed on Haruki.
"That's right, Hari," Kenji said. "We're all here."
With that, more faces Haruki recognised emerged behind Kenji and Sora. Benjiro, Hinata, Yuto, Shizuka…and the remaining nine members of his class.
"What the heck?!" Kuwabara gasped. "Who are all these kids? Why are they here?!"
"Master Shinsuke's entire class," Kurama said. "All murdered by the Toguro brothers twenty years ago."
For once, Kurama wasn't sure he understood the reasoning behind this. And beside him, Yusuke looked equally stunned.
"What is this, Pacifier Breath? What's going on?!"
"I had Ayame bring the souls of his classmates back, at least so they can be seen," Koenma explained quietly. "Biggest Lands of the Dead operation Spirit World has done. Getting fifteen souls all the way to Demon World is no picnic, especially considering that they've been gone twenty years…"
"Well that's cute," Yusuke growled under his breath. "But what exactly do you think this is going to do?"
"It's our only chance to either talk Haruki down," Koenma said, "or at the very least distract him long enough to get her away from him."
In his peripheral vision, Koenma saw an eye roll from Hiei. And for a fraction of a second, he also saw understanding pass over Kurama's face.
Meanwhile, Haruki hadn't noticed or heard anything from them. He was solely fixated on his friends.
"It's been so long, Hari-chan," Sora trembled. "I've missed you."
"How can this be?" Haruki asked. "I…you…no, I can't be…you can't be here! It's not real, it can't be -!"
"It is," someone else said. "We've come a long way to see you, Hari-kun. And talk to you."
Haruki's eyes automatically scanned the small crowd to see who had spoken.
"Yuto?!"
In his shock, Haruki's grip on Sakura had slackened just enough for her to breathe normally again, and a moment later she opened her eyes.
Those voices…they sound…familiar.
Kura! Yusuke's frantic voice broke through her mind. Hey, it's me. Are you ok?!
Yusuke…what's…going on?
Well…I'm not down on the details but it looks like Koenma's brought some dead kids back. He thinks if they talk to Crazy Pants it'll help?
Sakura raised her head by a fraction. Her vision was still a little hazy, but she could make out a number of tiny figures standing between Haruki and the boys.
"Hari-chan, please put her down," one said.
Disbelief overtook Sakura. She recognised the silhouette, and the voice.
It can't be! Is that…Sora?!
She blinked again and her sight cleared.
Oh God…it's…
Yes, the sweet blonde girl she'd seen in Haruki's memories was truly there. And she wasn't alone. The boy beside her…taller than his age would suggest, a navy blue training outfit…
Kenji?
And even then, there were more children behind those two. More children that she'd watched being murdered in those old memories. But how?
Yusuke must have seen the look of utter shock in her eyes. Perhaps he mistook it for fear, because his next words were more on the reassuring side.
Hang in there Squirt. Once these brats finish their tea party with the Mad Hatter we'll get you free.
Yusuke, no. I can't let any of you get hurt -
Will you shut it for ONCE, you damn brat? Even through telepathy, Yusuke's anger and frustration rang loud and clear. We can take care of ourselves. And I'm damned if I'm letting that freak take you anywhere. None of us will!
Sakura couldn't argue with him. Not with the look he was shooting in her direction. Besides, Sora was addressing Haruki again.
"Hari-chan, did you hear me?"
Haruki said nothing, nor did he obey Sora's earlier command.
"Are you deaf?!" Kenji snapped. "Put. Her. Down."
Haruki's face hardened. "No. She belongs to me."
"No she doesn't! You can't own a person, especially a girl. Just put her down already. You're being a big baby!"
Haruki paused. Sure sounds like Kenji…
It had been so long since he'd heard their voices, but they sounded exactly as he remembered. They looked exactly the same too.
But that was all part of the trick. It had to be. Just another sad attempt to manipulate him.
Haruki looked behind everyone towards Koenma. "Nice try, Prince. You've really outdone yourself this time. You almost had me there for a second, but I'm not fooled. I know this isn't real."
"Oh for crying out loud!" Kenji rolled his eyes. "I never took you for this much of an idiot. What the hell happened to you?!"
Sora put a hand on Kenji's arm. "Hari-chan, why is it so hard to believe? You really think I'd lie to you?"
Haruki hesitated, then said, "The real Sora wouldn't. But you can't be her. I watched her die. I watched all of them die."
Sora nodded. "But before we died, I was so happy, Hari-chan. You made me happy. That last day was the best morning of my life. Don't you remember?"
Her tears began falling thick and fast.
"We went out to the woods, on the south east side. You showed me the fairy garden you'd made. The replacement one, after my first one got ruined. The one by the stream."
Haruki took a step back. For the first time, he looked uncertain.
"It was beautiful. You did a really good job. It made me cry," Sora said. "And you gave me a flower. A tsubaki. And I floated us to the top of that tree."
"That's right," Haruki whispered. "All of it…"
Nobody else had known about that morning. Nobody. Not until he'd shown his memories to Sakura, just a few hours ago.
No hallucination or false vision could know what happened, and especially not those details.
Haruki swallowed hard and said, "The flowers…the tree…only Sora would know that."
"Damn straight," Kenji said. "Speaking of which…"
He pulled his shirt up to reveal the dark wound on his stomach, exactly where Toguro had pierced him. The sight made Haruki recoil.
"Yeah, I thought you'd remember," Kenji said. "Still think we're fake?"
"Kenji…Sora," Haruki choked out. "Is…is it really you?"
Sora wiped her eyes, but fresh tears quickly replaced them. "Yes, Hari-chan. It's really me. It's all of us."
"You're all here!" Haruki looked on the verge of tears himself. "I…I don't believe it…why?"
"Because we need to talk," Yuto piped up from somewhere towards the back of the group. "Miss Ayame told us that this might be the only way you'd listen to reason."
"And you can start right now," Kenji sent one of his famous glares at Haruki. "Put that girl down, Hari. I mean it."
Haruki scowled back, but a moment later, he very slowly, and very reluctantly, lowered Sakura until her feet touched the ground again.
"There. You happy?!"
"No," Sora choked. "Look at you, Hari-chan. Just look at what you've done!"
More tears flooded her eyes, but Haruki wasn't listening.
"Sora-chan…" his words shook. "Kenji…all of you, I'm…so sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't fast enough. I-!"
"Zip it!" Kenji growled. "We're not here so you can apologise for something that wasn't your fault. We're here because-"
"I tried, I really did!" Haruki said almost desperately. "But as soon as I made it outside, these people were waiting, and I…they…"
"Hari-chan, listen!"
"I couldn't stop it. I wasn't quick enough. I never, NEVER meant to leave you all behind…"
Yusuke and Kurama barely registered Haruki's voice, much less his child-like babbling or his classmates' attempts to hush him. They were far more focused on Sakura. Yes, she had regained consciousness and Haruki had definitely stopped trying to escape with her, but that wasn't going to last forever. With his arms still locked around her body, she was in a treacherous position.
Squirt, you have to hold on! Yusuke told her. Hang on for just another minute, ok? We're just…we're figuring it out…
She gave an infinitesimal shake of her head. Just let them…talk…you don't know…the story…
Her eyes slid shut and Yusuke stole a glance at his friends. "Any day now would be great, Fox Boy!"
"My plant is taking a little longer than I anticipated," Kurama muttered. "I must be more depleted than I thought. But when the moment comes -"
"We will," Hiei said, apparently reading Kurama's mind. Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded. They were ready to leap into action at a moment's notice.
"HARUKI, YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW!"
Sora's command quelled Haruki into silence. She had never been angry at him before. And it stung.
"We never blamed you for what happened to us!" Sora yelled. "But that's not the point. Look at what you've done! What you're doing!"
She indicated Sakura first, then all around them. "Why would you want to destroy the Realm where we were so happy? Why would you hurt this girl?"
"I haven't-"
"You HAVE!" Kenji cut him off. "You just have to look at her face. What's the matter with you?!"
"Haruki, listen to them," Sakura said. "They're right-"
Haruki pulled her closer into him. "I thought I told you to be quiet!"
"I won't!" Sakura burst out. "It's over, Haruki. It's over. You have to stop this-!"
Haruki pressed his arm down on her throat in warning. "Don't push me, honey. I mean it."
Kurama hissed. His three friends growled, and Sora was actually stamping her foot in a rage.
"Hari-chan, let go of her right now!"
"I can't, you don't understand," Haruki said. "There's a lot you don't understand. Trust me, this is for her own good."
"What if someone did that to me, Hari-chan?! You wouldn't like it!"
"That's different!"
"No it ISN'T!" she shouted. "You're not the Hari-chan I knew! He'd never hurt anyone!"
Haruki looked down and took a deep breath before saying, "I've changed, Sora-chan. For the better. I had to do all this. It's for the greater good. It's for you. All of you!"
"But we don't want this, Hari-kun!" Benjiro spoke for the first time. "We don't want you to hurt other people. We don't want you to destroy the world. It isn't right!"
"I never taught you this," Kenji said in disgust. "You were supposed to be a man, Hari. I taught you to fight so you could protect people, not hurt them."
"I did what I had to do!" Haruki said. "Don't you understand? This was the only way to make it right!"
"Like hell it was!" Kenji shot back. "You think Sora got you out of there so you could help destroy the world? You think for a second that any of us wanted to be avenged like this?!"
"Humanity is the disease, Kenji! They're the ones who poison everything. I've seen the truth. You don't understand. They had to pay!"
Sora shook her head fiercely. "This isn't what I wanted, Hari-chan. I didn't help you escape so you could cause so much pain."
"You don't know what I went through!" Haruki shouted suddenly. "You don't have a CLUE what happened to me! Just LOOK!"
Still holding onto Sakura, Haruki used his free hand to rip his own shirt open and reveal the scars.
A murmur swept through the students. Several gasped. Even the boys flinched at the sight.
"Yeesh, that's nasty," Kuwabara was heard to mutter. "Where did he get all those things from?"
Kurama had no answer for him, but judging from the sadness painted on Sakura's face, she knew the secret.
"Look at them!" Haruki shouted at everyone in the vicinity. "They…I was…I went through hell! Every day, for five years! And you know what kept me going? The only thing that made me want to survive? All of you!"
Sora put a hand to her mouth. Kenji's face hardened.
"Don't you get it?!" Haruki glared at every one of his friends with a kind of insane despair. "Any time I got a scar or…something else, I only survived the moment by remembering our life together. Those memories…the thoughts of you…it was all I had left. I clung to them, Sora-chan. I held on to them every single second. Remembering hurt like hell, but it was the only thing…the one reason I had to hold on each day. And I did. I held on. For five years."
Haruki's eyes began to blaze with hatred.
"I didn't have anything left. Nothing. Not until Master Sakyo came along. Then he was gone too. And Mr Sensui…" he took a shuddering breath and squared his shoulders. "I lost you all. I lost Mr Sakyo. Everything is gone. Everything. Except for my little porcelain doll."
Haruki yanked Sakura back off the ground.
"Now I finally have a chance to start again. I have a chance to get what I want…what I deserve, and nothing is going to stand in the way of that. NOTHING! She belongs to me!"
Sakura wanted to protest, but Haruki was holding her too tightly, and it certainly sounded like her friends were doing an excellent job on her behalf anyway.
I just want this to be over already. Please. I don't care how. Just let it end. I can't take it anymore…I don't have anything left to give.
"Just make it stop…" Sakura whispered. "Let it be over…"
She closed her stinging eyes while two tears slipped out underneath. Thankfully, it seemed like Haruki hadn't heard. He was too busy ranting about Master Shin and the perceived abandonment.
Kura?
She paused. Kurama, sounded more worried and determined than ever.
Just another few seconds, my love. I promise, you will be safe very soon.
He won't let me go, Kurama. I know he won't.
Kurama's ki signal flared slightly as he forced more power into his rapidly growing plant.
He won't have a choice.
The utter fury and resolve in Kurama's words sent shivers down Sakura's spine.
Kurama?
Sakura blinked the tears from her eyes and made herself look past all the children, towards the boys.
Hiei, flexing his fist where the Black Dragon lay in wait. Kuwabara, hand splayed in preparation for his ki sword. Yusuke, teeth clenched and glaring at Haruki with more venom than a taipan convention. And Kurama, who radiated pure vengeance while his golden eyes flashed.
This isn't over, Kura.
They had fought so hard for so long, and they were preparing to keep fighting as long as necessary.
At last, reality broke through Sakura's mad desire to keep them all away from Haruki's insanity.
They aren't going to back down. Even if I want them to, they aren't going to give up. Not until I'm safe.
Kurama was right. This most definitely was not over.
"Haruki!" Kenji roared back. "Will you shut up already?! Have you seriously forgotten what Master Shin used to say? How he'd-?"
"NO!" Haruki shrieked louder than ever. "I don't care what he said. Why should I care about ANYTHING the old man said?! I waited for him, every single day! I trusted that he'd come for me, but no. Never happened, NEVER! He left me for dead! He means NOTHING to me! NOTHING!"
Kenji's jaw dropped. "Are you…even listening to yourself?"
Sora had gone very white. Then, she pointed a finger and said in a quivering voice, "He didn't leave you. He looked for you, Hari-chan! He's STILL looking for you!"
Time seemed to freeze in place. Sakura's eyes widened.
"What did you just say?"
Sora turned to Sakura, looking devastated. "Miss Ayame said that he didn't think Hari-chan had really crossed over. He won't come join us until he knows for sure. We've been waiting for him for so long."
"No…" Sakura began to tremble. "No, please…that can't be…he's meant to be at rest…"
"Who cares?!" Haruki growled at her. "The world's best telepathy master…sure didn't do him much good when he was supposedly looking for me. I don't want to hear another word about the old man!"
"Shut it!" Kenji shouted. "Hari, just give it up already! You're wrong about this!"
"No, Kenji. You don't understand the truth about humans. They're the disease. They deserve to be wiped out-"
"So you're saying that if we were still around, you'd want us to be wiped out too?!" Yuto snapped.
Haruki looked like he'd been slapped. "What?! No…no, that's not what I'm saying!"
"That's exactly what you're saying!" Benjiro said. "You said it yourself. All humans deserve to be wiped out…we're all human, aren't we?"
Sakura felt the steel in Haruki's arms loosen.
"Hari-chan, this won't solve anything," Sora said. "You can't change what happened to all of us, or what happened to you. And to hurt Miss Sakura, to try and make her your only hope…it hurts me, Hari-chan. It's not how I remember you."
"That naive little boy died a long time ago," Haruki said. "I know the truth! I know better! They have to die!"
Kenji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "We trained to protect what was most precious to us, Hari," he said. "Not this. Never this. And neither did Master Shin."
The deranged look in Haruki's eyes returned.
"DON'T SAY HIS NAME IN FRONT OF ME!" he roared. "You don't have the slightest idea of what I went through. You'll NEVER understand! I deserve to keep her. I've EARNED it! I don't care what anyone thinks. I don't care what anyone says; not even YOU! She's MINE! SHE BELONGS TO ME!"
His voice was now so loud and shrill Sakura wondered if her eardrums might rupture. But having reached his limits, Haruki's ranting finally ceased. Temporarily.
For a moment, all was still aside from Haruki's haggard breathing.
A few quiet seconds passed, until Kenji spoke.
"You're not who we knew," he said softly. "You've lost your mind."
"WHO'S FAULT IS THAT?! BLAME THE OLD MAN! HE'S THE ONE WHO LEFT ME FOR DEAD!"
"Then direct your anger and blame at me."
Everyone looked towards the source of the voice. Not that they really needed too, for the blinding light accompanying it was more than enough. But as soon as the speaker appeared, jaws dropped all around.
"You're kidding me!" Yusuke breathed. "How the hell?"
The students parted to allow better vision and Master Shinsuke was revealed. Unlike the students, he was not whole; his appearance was fainter, transparent, and more than half his body could not be seen thanks to a swirling, glowing mist that shrouded him.
Sakura saw, but could not speak.
Master Shin.
Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined this.
Haruki went deathly pale. His mouth opened, though his voice seemed to have vanished.
The moment was seconds away. Kurama clenched his right hand, ready for the final move.
This is it.
Around him, his friends prepared to act. This had to end, and it had to end now.
Master Shin's misty figure glided forward. He stopped around halfway through the path between his students and simply looked at Haruki.
Nobody spoke. Even the air itself had frozen in place.
Grief and anguish was etched in every line on the old man's face while he finally faced his missing student. And still, nobody said a word.
"Master…" Sakura breathed. "How? I thought…"
"Oh, Sakura."
Master Shin looked down at her, still held in place by Haruki, and she saw the anguished tears fill his eyes while he took in her terrible condition.
"Dearest, dearest Sakura. I should never have allowed this to happen. Forgive me, child."
"It's not your fault," she whispered. "Not your fault."
Haruki took a step backwards, though his eyes did not waver from his old teacher.
Master Shin raised his head once more and locked his gaze on Haruki while tears began to stream down his face.
"Twenty years of searching, of hoping, and now I see you, Haruki."
That's when it happened. Sakura almost saw the final thread of Haruki's mind breaking apart.
Perhaps it was the final and worst betrayal of Sensui. Perhaps the shock of seeing his classmates again had finally gotten to him. It might have been inevitable. Or maybe, just maybe, it was triggered by hearing his name spoken from the teacher he had blamed above all else.
Nobody knew, and they never would, why Haruki began screaming at the top of his lungs. Screaming with the kind of pain that neither fire or physical injury could cause, howling from the untold misery, anguish and horror deep inside him.
"Holy hell," Yusuke muttered.
"He's mental," Kuwabara's voice shook slightly. "That's it. He's lost it."
"Yes."
To everyone's surprise, Kenji turned to face the boys. He looked on the verge of tears himself as he said, "What are you waiting for? Just do it."
Hiei and Kurama exchanged a grim look.
"Do it," Kenji repeated. Each word sounded like it was agony for him, but he kept going. "Please. He's in pain. He can't be helped. Just stop it already. I can't watch it anymore."
Haruki's screaming was growing more frenzied. More hysterical. There was no end to it.
"Haruki," Sakura said with a choked sob. "It never had to be this way…"
"No, Miss Sakura," Sora's gentle, if heartbroken voice was somehow still audible over Haruki's cries. "This isn't your fault."
"I tried to…tell him," Sakura said. The world was spinning again. She didn't have long. "I really did. Tried so hard…"
"We know," Kenji mumbled. "Thank you, for trying."
All around them, the students were hugging and consoling each other, but Sora refused Kenji's outstretched hand.
"Miss Sakura, you have to let them stop Hari-chan. He's sick. He can't be fixed in this world."
At last, Sakura gave a feeble nod. "I know."
Kenji and Sora stole a final glance at the still-wailing Haruki.
"See you on the other side. I hope."
They were flickering out of sight, going back to the Spirit World where they belonged. Kenji slipped an arm around Sora, and right as they vanished, Sakura heard him whisper, "Don't look."
Despite the chaos, Kurama's head felt oddly light and clear. It was as if Kenji's final, impassioned plea had removed the last barrier, and it was time to finish this for good.
The students were gone. Likewise, Master Shin's ghost moved backwards. Haruki's terrible shrieks had not ceased. Every howl only seemed to increase his insanity.
"So this is how it ends," Master Shin closed his eyes. "I feared as much."
Going by the little they could see of him, he could not bear this anymore.
He turned around.
"I'm sorry, Master Shin," Koenma said. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to see this. But there was no other way."
"No," Master Shin said. "There was not."
His ghost began to disappear before their eyes, but he had one final request.
"Boys," he said. "Please, do what has to be done."
A dangerous calm swept over Kurama, and he nodded.
"It is by my own failures that this happened. Nothing more."
"Go, Master Shin," Koenma said. "Quickly. You shouldn't watch."
Master! With the greatest effort it had ever taken her, Sakura cried out telepathically. Master, wait! It wasn't…don't blame yourself…!
Only his eyes remained visible, but his voice was stronger than ever in her mind.
Sakura…there is something I must tell you…
And then he was gone.
"NO! NO NO NO NO NO!"
Haruki's eyes had gone black with mania. His face was distorted beyond recognition. He sounded more like a wounded beast than a man. He screamed and screamed and screamed without restraint, without pause.
Sakura's legs started to give out. Everything was fading.
There was nothing standing between the boys and Haruki now. How they had longed for this moment. Vengeance would be sweet…
"On my count," Kurama said. "You know what must be done. Rescuing Kura is the top priority. After that…"
"Right," Yusuke muttered. "We send him to hell."
Sakura closed her eyes. They were going to end this, and she needed to let them. There was no other way.
Kurama…just do it.
And with that, Kurama's plant emerged from the ground behind Haruki. An eerie, deep green tentacle-like vine reared up and pierced into his spine
"That will paralyse him first," Kurama said as Haruki screamed again. "Go!"
As one, the boys hurled themselves forward with one goal in mind: destruction.
BAM!
Yusuke's ever-prepared fist sank deep into Haruki's jaw with a horrid crack.
"How do you like that, asshole?!" he shouted. "I got more!"
"Heads up, Urameshi!"
Kuwabara leapt down from above, Spirit Sword at the ready.
"Kura, duck!"
With the last of her strength, Sakura shifted out of the way as Kuwabara's sword slashed across Haruki's chest, right above the place her head had been. Haruki gave another blood curdling shriek as his hold slackened further.
"Idiot!" Yusuke snarled. "You almost-!"
"Move, Detective!"
Sakura felt herself wrenched free of Haruki's grasp and hurled through the air.
"Hiei!" someone yelled.
Yusuke?
Perhaps, but Sakura didn't have time to figure it out before she slammed into something rock hard. For a moment, she thought it was the ground or a tree trunk, but when a pair of arms wrapped around her, she realised it was a person. The impact sent whoever it was straight on the ground. They rolled over and over and over before finally coming to a stop and the arms released their hold.
"Kura? Hey, Kura?!"
Sakura forced her eyes open and found herself staring into her brother's panicked face.
"Kura, can you hear me?!"
"Yusuke, what's happening?"
"I got her, Fox Boy. It's ok!"
Kurama?
Before Sakura could begin to register what was going on, Yusuke stood up, dragging her with him.
"Squirt, you alright?!"
Sakura gazed past Yusuke's shoulder just in time to see Haruki fall backwards.
RIIIIP!
Hiei's sword rammed through his stomach and emerged on the other side amid torrents of blood and more unearthly screams.
Sakura swayed on her feet. "Haruki…"
Was this real? Was Haruki finally getting the punishment he deserved? Or was it just another elusive dream?
"Kura, you ok? Kura?!"
Yusuke was shaking her, and Kuwabara was running towards them, but Sakura couldn't find her tongue. Not now that she'd noticed Haruki's severed arm lying at Hiei's feet…his sword was dripping with blood after hacking it off in one move…
"Urameshi, is she ok?!"
Kurama was upon Haruki now, slitting his throat with sharpened claws…
"I…I don't know, I-"
The screams still refused to stop. How was it possible? Why was this still happening? It needed to be over…it had to end…
"Kura, it's ok now. You're safe, nobody's going to hurt you anymore…"
"Yeah, you're gonna be fine…"
The reassuring voices sounded farther away than ever. Or was it just the deafening sound of Haruki's final moments?
He could still survive. He's already survived so much…
"You alright? KURA!"
The grip on her upper arms tightened, which forced Sakura to look back at her twin.
"Kura! Hey, can you hear me?!"
No, it wasn't just him, Kuwabara was there too, pale and scared as Yusuke.
"You…" She blinked slowly. "You're…you're here?"
"Yeah, it's us!" Yusuke said. "We're here. It's alright!"
Her mind couldn't handle it. Couldn't discern what was going on…
"It's ok Kura, I've got you," her brother was saying. "I won't let anything happen to you again…"
"It's gonna be fine!" Kuwabara added. "Don't worry, that jerk is so dead…"
Sakura blinked again. Something wasn't right. Her brother didn't look right.
That hair…the markings…is that…?
Her head whirled. "No…it can't be…"
"Huh?" Yusuke said quickly. "What did you say?"
The little colour remaining in Sakura's face evaporated.
I don't believe it…
"Kura!" Yusuke shook her again. "Hey, what is it? What's wrong?!"
"It's you…" she whispered.
"Huh? Of course it's me, it's Yusuke!"
"No…him…" Sakura murmured. "You're…like him…who I've been…seeing…"
And then she collapsed.
"Kura!"
Yusuke caught her and lowered himself to the ground. Kuwabara quickly joined them.
"Urameshi, is she-?"
"Yeah, she's ok," Yusuke muttered. "Just unconscious."
Both he and Kuwabara glanced at each other. There was no way on earth that Sakura was ok. Alive, yes. Safe in Yusuke's arms, yes. But most definitely not ok.
But just then, Haruki's dreadful scream caught their attention.
The monster had been paralysed, sliced, stabbed through the stomach, lost an arm and had his throat slit, but Kurama was not done. Not at all.
"You will never," Kurama was snarling in Haruki's face, "NEVER touch her again!"
There was no trace of serenity on Kurama. Not a speck of mercy. Cold fury and wrath radiated from every part of his being. Yoko Kurama had taken over entirely.
Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "Make sure it's done this time, Fox Boy."
Kurama didn't indicate that he had heard Yusuke, but he didn't need to be told. Instead, he raised his hand and plunged it directly into Haruki's chest, right over his heart.
Yusuke and Kuwabara winced. Even Hiei backed off, as a glowing plant began sprouting from within Haruki's body.
"I've been cultivating this just for you, filth," Kurama said. "The plant has a taste for flesh and bone, but likes its meals…liquidated and seasoned with anguish. You will melt away from the inside, while hallucinations of your past haunt you. And believe me, such an end is more than you deserve."
With that, Kurama stood to allow his plant to work its magic. Haruki's horrible, choked screams as he melted before their eyes was the most beautiful sound he could ask for.
Yusuke pulled Sakura tightly against him. I'm not letting you go, Kura. Never, EVER again.
Horrifying as it was, he wasn't going to look away. And neither, he knew, were his friends.
Especially Kurama. His cold, dangerous gaze did not waver. He did not blink.
As it had been with Akumu at the Dark Tournament, he was going to watch every moment of the monster's demise. Ensure that the threat was permanently, irrevocably eliminated.
You will never touch her again.
Yusuke held onto his twin. Hiei watched, silent, with a kind of mad relish in his eyes. Kuwabara's jaw set into a straight, angry line while his hands shook. Kurama made no sound.
Haruki went on screaming, though whether from agony or madness nobody could say. The howling, the shrieks, the unearthly sound of insanity echoed around the forest, filling the air until at last, they fell silent forever.
A.N. Its finally over. Though I never planned for Haruki to survive beyond Chapter Black, I had such a hard time figuring out the exact nature of his death. Honestly, everyone hates him so much that I didn't think any end would be enough. XD
If you find this chapter, PLEASE let me know what you think. I hate how broken the site is right now, and who knows what the people running it are doing. Hopefully it'll get resolved, but it's already been weeks and that's bad enough.
We're about to wrap up here, and the final 3 chapters are short so I'll have them out VERY soon.
Rosentic xx