Chapter 13
"keiko you there? emergency!"
Rin stared at her phone screen like the Catholic faithful in Saint Peter's Square watching for black smoke from the Vatican. She had texted Keiko, figuring that Yusuke's girlfriend was the one from their group most likely to keep her phone (and her wits) about her.
Upon entering the hotel lobby, Rin had chosen to ride the elevator to the hotel's top floor. Unlike Hiei and Kurama, she couldn't leap straight up the side of a building, and running up ten flights of stairs would leave her totally useless. She decided to use the elevator's transit time to give her friends upstairs a heads up on the unfolding situation. Though she was normally anxious, in times like this a blanketing calm fell over her. She could freak out later.
"what's up"
Rin breathed a heavy sigh of relief and tapped out a reply with shaking fingers. "demon on patio. hiei and kurama in pursuit. need distraction."
"got it."
If nothing else, Keiko was dependable. She always had her head on straight even in the most stressful situations.
As she watched the floor numbers above the elevator doors light up in sequence, Rin took stock of herself to see if her appearance would cause a ruckus as she stepped into the reception. Her dress was ripped at the hem, she was still barefoot, and her legs were covered in dirt and tiny scratches from the forest underbrush. Turning, she checked her face in the mirrored back wall of the elevator. Her makeup was still mostly intact (thank you setting spray), but her hair was a wild mass of tangled brown curls. Not much she could do there. She tried to finger-comb it and thought longingly of the hair tie in her abandoned clutch under the table in the reception hall, but it would have to wait. Maybe in the dark it would look like she had partied a little too hard.
The elevator finally dinged at the tenth floor and Rin spilled out, expecting to find chaos, panic, and screaming. Instead, she saw Yukina in the middle of the dance floor, her back to a group of women laughing and jockeying for position behind her. Other guests crowded around to watch the spectacle. Kuwabara looked on from the sidelines, joy written all over his angular face.
Over the speaker system, the DJ was saying, "Last call for the bouquet toss! The Kuwabaras invite any women who would like to catch the bouquet to the dance floor! No need to be single, ladies - it's all in good fun!"
All attention was on the dance floor. No one even looked at the doors to the patio. Nice distraction, Keiko, Rin thought, looking around for her friends. Spotting Keiko at the DJ booth, Rin skirted the edges of the party and ran over as Yukina tossed her bouquet high in the air. A cheer went up a moment later as someone presumably caught it.
"Keiko!" she called as she skidded to a stop. "Where's Yusuke?"
"Outside," Keiko replied, turning from her conversation with the DJ, who wore a snappy black suit and matching fedora. "Jorge and I have things covered here. We'll keep everyone distracted."
"Wait, what? Jorge?"
Keiko grinned and cocked a thumb at the DJ, who waved and smiled. Now that Rin looked closer at him, she noticed that the man did have a bluish cast to his skin. He pushed the brim of his hat up to reveal a tiny horn in the middle of his forehead.
"Jorge? The ogre?" she exclaimed. "Oh my god - I didn't know you were here!"
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Miss Rin?"
His rumbling baritone washed over her, bringing with it memories of the Dark Tournament. No wonder she had thought earlier that the DJ sounded familiar!
"You're a DJ now?" Rin said, distracted from the ongoing crisis for a moment. "How cool!"
Keiko cut in with a proud grin, "Jorge's been moonlighting as a DJ and an emcee."
"When Lord Koenma will let me," the ogre added with a rueful smile. "There's usually overtime work to do." Changing tracks, he said confidently, "Don't worry, Miss Rin. The cake-cutting is coming up, and I've still got some line dances up my sleeve. We've got this."
"Go help the boys," Keiko ordered. "We'll handle things in here."
Rin fought the urge to salute. Instead she said, "Yes, ma'am," and rushed away.
Taking a deep breath to center herself, Rin carefully pushed open the patio doors a crack. Something green obscured her view, but nothing was exploding or on fire, so that was a good sign. She ventured out on silent feet to see that the green was a protective screen of tropical and demonic plants around the door.
"Rin?" came a voice from her left.
It was Kurama, watching the patio beyond through a break in the foliage. Tension thrummed in every line of his body.
"Kurama. What's going on?" Rin asked as she tiptoed over to him.
"Yusuke and Hiei have Nokawa at a standoff," Kurama said, gesturing for her to look through the leaves. "We stopped him before he could get inside the reception, but we seem to have run into a problem. The two of them can't take care of him without the situation becoming… messy. Nokawa knows that our objective is to deal with this quietly, so naturally he's using that to his advantage."
Hiei and Yusuke stood side by side across the patio from Nokawa. The three combatants watched each other's every move, but so far they were at a standstill. The dragonfly demon's head almost brushed the fairy lights strung overhead; his shimmering, glassy wings were still and silent. There was a sword in Hiei's hand - where had he gotten it? - while Yusuke glowed with a golden energy that felt different from the blue Spirit Energy that Rin remembered. The two of them were breathing hard, while Nokawa stood there with skinny arms crossed.
"Not good," Rin mused, watching the tableau. Then: "So far, Keiko's got everything under control inside. No one has any idea."
"Thank goodness for small mercies," Kurama said, brushing a lock of garnet hair behind his ear. "But those two are growing frustrated. If we don't do something soon, I fear one of them may..."
The small figure that was Hiei disappeared and then reappeared a split second later above and behind Nokawa, sword raised in an overhand strike to slash the demon's head off his skinny neck. Rin gasped, but Kurama shook his head. As if to illustrate Kurama's point, Nokawa dodged and snatched Hiei's sword arm, using Hiei's momentum to throw him bodily at Yusuke. The Spirit Detective squawked and leapt to the side; Hiei bounced a few times on the concrete patio and skidded to a stop in a crouch.
"... Do something foolish," Kurama finished. "Nokawa's not very strong, but his speed is unmatched. He uses all our attacks against us. I've never seen anything like it."
"It's like demon aikido," Rin mused.
Hiei stood, his face thunderous. If looks could kill, Hiei's red-eyed glare would have. His headband was gone and his Jagan eye glowed with an ominous purple light, but it seemed to have no effect on his opponent.
"I grow tired of these games, Spirit Detective," Nokawa called, shaking his head mournfully. "If you - ."
Yusuke interrupted, "Why do I feel like I've heard this all before?" He glanced at Hiei, who shrugged.
"Don't blame me, Detective," Hiei said, deadpan. "You've pushed all your opponents' patience well beyond their breaking point. It might just be your specialty."
Sanzu Nokawa gaped at the two of them. Rin had to hold back a nervous giggle. Not everyone was used to Yusuke's trademark brand of fearless arrogance and penchant for making jokes in high stakes situations. The dragonfly demon's mouth - his bizarrely human mouth - snapped shut under those horrible insect eyes.
"Why do you even want me so bad, you freaking weirdo?" Yusuke asked quizzically, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm not the Spirit Detective any more. I don't even know you." He turned to Hiei. "Do you know who he is?"
The fire demon shook his head, shrugged, and said, "Some pathetic weakling not worth our time."
Sanzu Nokawa took a shaking, steadying breath, as if he was barely containing his rage, then said, "Yusuke Urameshi. You are the former Spirit Detective and the architect of the Demon World Tournament. In effect, you have personally rendered demons everywhere absolutely helpless to the whims of Spirit World and of humans. This is a heinous crime that must be punished. I will be your judge, jury, and executioner. Once you are dead, Demon World will return to its natural order. Know that it gives me no pleasure to pronounce this judgment upon you."
Yusuke stared at him, momentarily stunned by the waterfall of words. Then: "I get it," Yusuke said slowly, realization dawning. "You're one of those nutcases obsessed with the 'good old days.' This isn't about tradition or any of that noble crap - you just want to kill humans."
"I - I want to return Demon World to its former glory," Nokawa sputtered angrily. He puffed up with self importance. "I am a soldier of the revolution! I will rid Demon World of your cowardly human ideals!"
"By using my best friend's wedding as a shield?" Yusuke asked, a lazy, mocking smile stealing over his features. "That seems pretty cowardly to me."
"Pathetic," Hiei put in disdainfully.
"Race traitors like you two have no idea," Nokawa said, flustered. "I'm fighting for freedom. For everyone in Demon World!"
"I'm not here to debate you," Yusuke said, shaking his head. "We heard your little speech. Look, no harm no foul. For tonight. Just get out of here."
"I didn't agree to that," Hiei muttered, side-eyeing the Detective with all three eyes.
"I won't leave until Demon World is free!" Nokawa declared, sounding exactly like the zealot he was. A fire burned in his compound eyes as he crossed his arms and planted his feet mulishly.
Yusuke and Hiei did the same, and there it was. Another standoff.
"Why haven't they - ," Rin started, then said, "Oh," as realization struck her. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame was totally off the table. Even summoning its essence would vaporize everything within a hundred yards. Yusuke couldn't use his Spirit Gun or even a measure of his full power - he'd destroy the hotel and everyone in it. And Kuwabara would certainly figure out that a demon had crashed his wedding if the building was a smoking ruin.
"Exactly. So therein lies our problem," the fox replied.
Rin murmured her agreement, thinking hard. It frightened her, but there was only one way she could be useful here, only one way she could think of that they could win this fight.
"I've got a plan," she said.
Rin stole along the patio, weaving between fire pits and chairs, her footsteps spider quiet on the concrete, her blanket of invisibility tight around her body and knives in each hand. She approached Sanzu Nokawa from behind, watching him carefully to see whether he would sense her presence, but his focus never wavered from Yusuke and Hiei. When she was inches away, Rin dropped her invisibility and slammed her knives into the base of his spine.
Or, she tried to. Nokawa moved at the last possible moment and grabbed her by the arms, then pulled her against him. Her Spirit Knives sputtered out and vanished. His body was covered with leathery chitinous plate; Rin shuddered at the rough shark skin texture and struggled to get away, but his hands held her fast.
"And who is this?" The demon's voice buzzed through her body.
"Rin!" Yusuke yelled across the patio.
At the same time, Hiei started forward, sword raised, cold-blooded murder in his eyes. Rin locked gazes with him, willing him to stay still. He bared his teeth in frustration but subsided. Kurama emerged from behind his wall of plants, face grim as he joined his friends opposite Nokawa.
"Let her go, Nokawa," Kurama called. "Your battle is with us."
"She's an assassin. She knows the cost of failing. And you sent her against me, a thief in the night. Just the thing a Spirit World dog would do," Nokawa said, one of his hands fisting painfully in her hair. "But I think our brave little girl here changes things. Give yourself up, Spirit Detective, or I will kill this human before your very eyes. A fate all humans so richly deserve." He punctuated his last sentence by tugging up so viciously on her hair that Rin was forced to raise her chin and expose her neck.
"No!" she cried desperately, half choking. "Don't do it, Yusuke!"
She made brief eye contact with Kurama, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Then, ignoring the pain in her scalp, she formed Spirit Knives at her elbows and thrust them savagely backwards into Nokawa's flesh. He flinched back but his grip on her didn't falter, and her knives sizzled away into nothing. Something flew past her face.
"Little bitch," he ground out, shaking her by the hair like a dog with a squeaky toy. "That hurt." He wiped away a bit of blood, then pulled up and up until she was standing on tiptoe, face to face with the demon. "You know what? I don't care if they give me the Spirit Detective. You're going to die first. Then, when he's broken by your death - then, I will kill him and free Demon World for all time."
Distantly, Rin heard a bellow from across the patio. She stared up into the eerie rainbow iridescence of Nokawa's moist compound eyes, holding the demon's gaze. If she was going to die, at least she had drawn blood.
"I'm not afraid of you, Nokawa," she ground out over the burning pain in her scalp and neck, over the straining of her toes to reach the ground. "You're just a second-rate hack who couldn't fight my friends on a level playing field."
"And in the righteous fight for freedom, tell me - what advantage is there in playing fair?" Nokawa hissed as he pulled her closer, his long, thin tongue flicking out and tasting the air a hair's breath from her face.
"None at all," Rin said, using the last of her Spirit Energy to create one more flickering energy knife, this one more air than substance, and plunging it into one of the demon's bulbous eyes. Black blood burst over her face in a fountain of gore.
Nokawa roared in pain and raised one of his stick-like arms, which Rin saw now with perfect clarity were lined with a razor-sharp ridge of spikes. Yusuke yelled, Kurama shouted, and underneath it all the breeze still whispered through shadowed trees. Rin winced and closed her eyes as the demon bared his teeth in a feral smile and aimed for her neck.
Then there was a cracking sound, like a dead tree finally succumbing to gravity and falling to the earth. Nokawa's grip on her hair loosened and then his hand fell away; Rin dropped to the ground in a heap as tendrils of green bloomed from the demon's chest. The chitinous armor was falling away in shards as Nokawa tried in vain to hold the vines back.
It had worked. Kurama's Death Plant was taking over, sown and grown in Nokawa's body while Rin provided a heroic (and doomed) distraction. It was always her plan to be caught, divide Nokawa's attention, and gamble that the wily fox would be able to take advantage of the commotion.
Rin scrambled away backwards in a crab crawl, her heart hammering, as Nokawa fell to his knees. The vines twined up his chest and around his neck, and though he tried to wrench them away, they only wrapped tighter around him. Warm hands landed on her shoulders; a fall of garnet hair obscured her vision as Kurama took most of her weight.
"Well done," the fox murmured in her ear. "It seems I owe you an apology, Rin."
Hiei and Yusuke stalked forward like lions in the final moments of hunting a wounded hyena, their auras radiating purple and gold like spotlights in the night.
Nokawa raised a hand wrapped in vines as if to ward them off. "Justice never dies," he choked out through the plants crushing his throat. "Demon World freedom forever!" He dragged a fist to his chest and placed it over his heart.
Yusuke glanced at Hiei, hesitated as some wordless communication passed between them, then nodded and stepped back. The fire demon raised his sword and grinned savagely, a baring of his teeth that was all fiery rage.
Rin looked away. She had no need to watch Hiei take his final, brutal revenge.
Author's note: And thus concludes the obligatory battle arc portion of the story - this is a busy evening for the Spirit Detective and his friends! I didn't want this section to be too long, but would it really be a YYH fic without some fighting? Next chapter: things begin to heat up between Rin and her favorite fire demon.
Thank you to everyone reading this, and thank you to ThexyMallory for the follow!
