"Prince-ling, I'm here. What do you want, calling me after hundreds years of silence?" Yusuke called, stepping into Reikai. Despite his words, rare warmth was heard in Yusuke's words.
There was no answer.
"Hello, anyone home?" Yusuke shouted, eyes darting around. But there was no one in sight. Yusuke scratched his head, a little bemused. "What's with this hide-and-seek, Pacifier Breath?"
Yusuke waited for someone to pop up, but still there was only silence. Finally, Yusuke sighed and extended his Spirit Energy, seeking for the aura of the Reikai prince. It had been a while since he had last felt it, but Yusuke was pretty sure that he would still recognize it.
Yusuke frowned when he sensed a strange energy deeper down the hall but nothing else. "What's going on?" Yusuke wondered aloud, before heading down the hall to investigate.
As Yusuke closed the distance and stepped into the open space beyond the hallway, the floor glowed, emitting red light. Yusuke's eyes widened as he looked down and upon seeing the arrays of seals inscribed on the ground, he attempted to step away, only to find himself stuck.
"What the…?"
At that moment, the strangest feeling overcame him. It was a light nudge from all sides at first, until the nudge became a push and the push became a shove. And then the shoves were coming from all directions, trying to squish Yusuke into something much tinier than he was. Yusuke gasped, feeling his massive spirit and demon energy slowly conforming to a ball at the shoves.
"Fuck," Yusuke gasped, wounding an arm around himself as he was forced down to one knee from the pain. Yusuke clenched his teeth to keep himself from crying out and instead urged his energies to push back. It worked for a second, until the arrays glowed brighter and began to lift off the ground, wrapping firmly around Yusuke and pushing and suddenly, the shoving redoubled its force.
"What-?"
"Demon, you might as well give up," a voice called out. Yusuke looked up through sheer will and saw someone he'd never thought he would see again.
"Koenma's dad," Yusuke identified through his haze of pain.
Anger crossed the god's face. "It's King Emma, boy," he stated. "You'll do well to remember that." A smirk crossed his face as he calmed down. "Not that it'll matter in the future, I suppose. After all, soon, you will cease to exist."
Yusuke couldn't hear any of that, could scarcely care. There was only one thing he wanted to know. "Koenma told you to do this?" Yusuke asked, sharp eyes staying on Emma's face. He didn't let any inflection enter his voice.
"Koenma, my foolish son?" Emma said. "No. Even after becoming the Ruler of Reikai, he is still as foolish as ever. He begged me to not go through with this plan, saying you have no malicious intention towards anyone. Granted he had done a pretty good job governing the worlds, but heavens, he is still so naïve. How could he trust a demon's intention, much less than one with the abilities to destroy the world with a little more than the flick of his finger? You were fortunate this hadn't been done before, protected by my son as you were, but the second I was released from my imprisonment," he spat, "I suggested eliminating you. So many of the council members agreed and my poor son, who had always somehow managed to hold them back, was outvoted this once. My status among the council's eyes would greatly elevate after this." Emma's gaze flicked to him. "Don't curse or hold a grudge against me, demon. Be grateful that my son allowed you to live this long."
Yusuke forced himself to yawn through his discomfort, satisfaction coursing through him at the flash of anger in Emma's eyes. "How boring," Yusuke commented. "Why do all villains have to spend time explaining their dastardly plan?"
"Villain!" Emma exploded, face turning red. "You-!"
"Me," Yusuke nodded, slowly forcing himself up. Emma drew back despite himself, shock flashing across his face. A moment later, he recovered his calm.
"Try harming me, demon," Emma said smugly. "I promise you you won't be able to. I've had my people spend centuries preparing this seal before I presented my plan. It's flawless."
Yusuke howled and brought his hand up to his standard Spirit Gun pose. He shot two burst of energy towards Emma, knowing before they even left him that they were much, much weaker than he was capable of. The fucking arrayed seal…
The energy shot towards Emma, homing closer and closer to him before they shot right into an invisible wall. Yusuke hadn't felt the urge to kill someone in years until Emma's ugly smug face.
"Goodbye, demon," Emma said, before he lifted a hand, "and eliminate your presence from this world."
Yusuke watched in horror as his body slowly… disappeared. Like a bad software with glitch, tiny squares just started parting from his body and disappearing, leaving a chunk of his arm missing and still counting. Worse part was that Yusuke couldn't feel any pain. It was like a fucking dream.
"Father!" a voice called out, startling Yusuke out of his shock. He glanced over to the right to see Koenma hurrying towards them, in his teenage form and sweat dripping down his skin. His eyes widened when he saw Yusuke disappearing. "No…" Koenma said in disbelief. "Yusuke!"
Koenma lifted his hand and the air froze for a moment. Then, particles that disappeared slowly came back, attaching themselves to Yusuke again.
"Koenma, stop this foolishness right this instant," Emma growled. "I have yet to talk to you about letting this demon roam free on Earth all these years yet. Step back and let me eliminate him."
"No," Koenma replied, his voice hard. "I'm the Ruler of Reikai now. Step back, Lord Emma."
Emma froze in disbelief for a second, enabling Koenma to take that time and rebuild Yusuke's forearm. Just as Yusuke's hand was about to come back to him, it was stopped once more. Yusuke was beginning to feel like some kind of being made from Lego pieces.
"My own son pulling rank on me," Emma hissed. Koenma flinched and Yusuke lost a section of his wrist.
"Father," Koenma called, faltering.
"Don't call me father," Emma shouted. "I don't have a son the moment you went against me and imprisoned me for some demons."
"You were brainwashing them!" Koenma exclaimed.
"Reikai is justice and demons are evil," Emma said. "It has always been that way."
"Humans and demons are coexisting now," Koenma exclaimed. "They have been for centuries!"
"I acknowledge your rule is effective but keeping this demon alive is a mistake. Eventually, he would destroy the world." Yusuke lost half of his forearm.
"You don't know that," Koenma replied, frustration in his voice. "Why won't you give him a chance?"
"Yeah, why won't you give me a chance?" Yusuke asked, no longer frightened by him disappearing but rather a little bored by the father-and-son-dispute.
"SILENCE!" Emma exclaimed and Yusuke lost his whole right arm in one go. "Give him a chance? To do what?!" he said, apparently ignoring Yusuke in favor of addressing his son. "To destroy the worlds?!"
"If I wanted to destroy the world," Yusuke droned, "wouldn't I have done it by now?"
Emma's face turned red. "I said SILENCE!" he exclaimed. "I'll end this for once and for all and there'll be no more taking chances with the worlds."
And with those words, Yusuke lost a chunk of his right shoulder as well. Yusuke looked at the empty spot where his shoulder once was for a long moment, before sighing exaggeratedly. Finally, he turned to face Koenma.
"Koenma," Yusuke said, addressing the Ruler of Reikai for the first time in hundreds of years. Koenma's eyes went to Yusuke. "Let go."
Koenma looked blankly at Yusuke, uncomprehending for several of moments. By then, Yusuke began to lose some of his leg as well. Yusuke looked at the blank spot where his leg was and jumped experimentally.
"Funny how I don't actually feel like I've lost a leg or anything," Yusuke commented. "I mean, it's not like my balance sudden becomes off or anything…"
"Yusuke," Koenma said shaking-ly. Despite the genuine fear (for Yusuke) in Koenma's voice, there was incredulous, fond exasperation as well. Koemna sounded like he was struggling not to do the cross-between-laughing-and-crying routine. "This is no joking matter."
Yusuke raised an eyebrow and gave Koenma a look. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"No," Koenma exclaimed, sudden and heatedly, "and that's what frightens me. Where is the Yusuke that would fight the journey to death with tooth and nails? Where has that Yusuke have gone?!"
At those words, age slowly settled into Yusuke's eyes and a small smile crossed Yusuke's face. Koenma stared in shock and horror. "That Yusuke is long dead, Koenma," Yusuke said slowly. "I'm no longer the person I once was."
"No," Koenma said, shaking his head as a side of Yusuke's head slowly faded. Koenma's eyes widened at that and he pushed his power outwards, slowing the process of the fading. "You're still the same Yusuke."
"Am I?" Yusuke asked and there was the tired tone in Yusuke's voice that Koenma had never heard from Yusuke before. Not the Yusuke that Koenma knew. "Centuries is a long time, Koenma. Enough time for someone to change, enough time to make someone sick of living."
Koenma's eyes widened at those words. "Yusuke, you don't mean that. You always lived life fuller than anyone else I knew."
"Lived," Yusuke emphasized. "There's so little things to live for after so much time had passed." Sorrow drifted into Yusuke's voice. "Genkai is long gone, Kuwabara and Keiko long dead and reincarnated several dozen times by now. What am I living for?"
Koenma was slowly shaking his head without him noticing. "What about Hiei and Kurama?" he asked, "Chu and all your other friends."
A resigned look crossed Yusuke's face and he closed his eyes. "They're demons to begin with," Yusuke started. "Kurama understands a little, but he's not me. They can never understand how it feels to live forever without a purpose in life, without a goal or an end. I have experienced practically everything in life. The only thing that could ever stimulate me anymore is a good fight, but even that can't keep my interest anymore." Yusuke looked at Koenma. "I'm already too strong, Koenma. No one can rival me now or even pose a little challenge. Hell, I can end the world if I wanted to."
"You won't," Koenma said, ever quick to defend his friend.
"No, I won't," Yusuke agreed and somehow, his agreement made everything seem much worse, because it made him sound so much more tired. Resigned.
"Yusuke, don't give up on me," Koenma said, nearly begging. By then, half of Yusuke's chest disappeared.
Yusuke quirked a half-smile for Koenma, and Koenma wanted to cry. "It's not a bad ending, Koenma," Yusuke said. "I was a dad, a grandpa, a great-grandpa, a great-great-great grandpa and so forth. I've witnessed my son born and I've seen my great-grandkids die. Enough is enough. I don't have any regrets." Yusuke's smile widened a little and his eyes brightened slightly. "Hell, I even got to see you before the end. Damn you for not visiting me all these hundreds years or so."
"I'll visit you," Koenma exclaimed. "I'll goddamn visit you, Yusuke. Just. Don't. Go."
"Too late," Yusuke answered with a quick smile and Koenma watched as half of Yusuke's nose disappeared. "Seeing you before I disappear is enough."
"No," Koenma said, shaking his head in denial. "No." A steely, determined look appeared in his eyes. "I won't let you disappear like this, Yusuke."
"Koenma," Yusuke called, alarm flashing across his face. The last time Koenma had that look… it was when he defied Emma's special force for Yusuke's sake and got exiled. "Koenma, whatever crazy plan you're thinking of, drop it!"
A reckless smile tinted with sadness and nostalgia flashed across Koenma's face. "You're not the only one on the team who gets to do crazy stuff, Yusuke," and with those words, Koenma took one last look at Yusuke and ran.
The disappearing process that was slowed by Koenma sped up again. Yusuke watched as his body disappeared at a much more rapid pace and looked back anxiously at where Koenma had disappeared into.
"Whatever your son is planning, stop him alright!" Yusuke called out to Emma, who was silent until then.
Emma scoffed. "My foolish son doesn't have any way to stop this, short of injuring me," he said, "and he would never do that even if he had the audacity to imprison me."
"You don't know your son if you think he is completely powerless," Yusuke replied, glancing back at Emma.
Emma snorted disbelievingly and Yusuke glanced down at his own body. By then, only one-third of his body remained. "C'mon," Yusuke said, "can't you speed this up any more?" Yusuke glanced back at where Koenma had disappeared to, willing him not to come back until Yusuke completely faded.
Emma looked at Yusuke incredulously. Yusuke stared right back. "C'mon," Yusuke urged. "Didn't you want me gone? Now is your chance!"
Emma recovered his composure. "Don't tell me what to do, demon," Emma growled, but Yusuke noticed with satisfaction that Yusuke was fading much faster now.
If Yusuke was a program and the world was a computer, Yusuke would say he was about 20% away from being deleted completely.
19%
18%
17%
16%
Koenma burst into the room, shouting into the item in his hand. "Mirror, show me Yuuko Ichihara."
15%
14%
Yusuke could hardly understand who this woman Yuuko Ichihara or why Koenma desperately wanted to see her at this critical moment. Judging from Emma's wide eyes and gapping mouth, however, Yusuke concluded there was some kind of significance to that.
13%
There was a moment frozen in time, before a hologram appeared above the mirror.
12%
"Yuuko, stop Urameshi Yusuke's presence from being erased," Koenma said desperately.
11%
10%
9%
Yuuko blinked, before glancing towards Yusuke, who really only had tiny pieces of himself left. "Oh, Koenma, he is almost gone," she started.
8%
7%
"The price for that-"
6%
"I don't care!" Koenma exclaimed.
5%
"Take anything you need," he said.
4%
Koenma glanced at Yusuke, meeting Yusuke's single eyeball for a second.
3%
"Please Yuuko," Koenma begged.
2%
Yuuko nodded in the hologram and symbols began to appear in the air. "Don't regret it, Koenma."
"I won't," Koenma said.
1%
0%
Yusuke no longer exist.
If Yuuko Ichihara sounds familiar, it is because I borrowed her from the CLAMP universe. Yuuko Ichihara is also known as the The Dimension Witch.